perstitious
ignorance of statecraft; and each has that in it which resembles
Catholicism, and that again which contradicts Catholicism. There is the
Religion of a warlike people, and of a pastoral people; there is a
Religion of rude times, and in like manner there is a Religion of
civilized times, of the cultivated intellect, of the philosopher, scholar,
and gentleman. This is that Religion of Reason, of which I speak. Viewed
in itself, however near it comes to Catholicism, it is of course simply
distinct from it; for Catholicism is one whole, and admits of no
compromise or modification. Yet this is to view it in the abstract; in
matter of fact, and in reference to individuals, we can have no difficulty
in conceiving this philosophical Religion present in a Catholic country,
as a spirit influencing men to a certain extent, for good or for bad or
for both,--a spirit of the age, which again may be found, as among
Catholics, so with still greater sway and success in a country not
Catholic, yet specifically the same in such a country as it exists in a
Catholic community. The problem then before us to-day, is to set down some
portions of the outline, if we can ascertain them, of the Religion of
Civilization, and to determine how they lie relatively to those
principles, doctrines, and rules, which Heaven has given us in the
Catholic Church.

And here again, when I speak of Revealed Truth, it is scarcely necessary
to say that I am not referring to the main articles and prominent points
of faith, as contained in the Creed. Had I undertaken to delineate a
philosophy, which directly interfered with the Creed, I could not have
spoken of it as compatible with the profession of Catholicism. The
philosophy I speak of, whether it be viewed within or outside the Church,
does not necessarily take cognizance of the Creed. Where the country is
Catholic, the educated mind takes its articles for granted, by a sort of
implicit faith; where it is not, it simply ignores them and the whole
subject-matter to which they relate, as not affecting social and political
interests. Truths about God's Nature, about His dealings towards the human
race, about the Economy of Redemption,--in the one case it humbly accepts
them, and passes on; in the other it passes them over, as matters of
simple opinion, which never can be decided, and which can have no power
over us to make us morally better or worse. I am not speaking then of
belief in the great objects