elt deeply by many, and is doing incalculable
mischief to our cause, and is likely to hurt it more and more. In a
word, this isolation is doing as much as any one thing can do to
unchurch us, and it and our awakened claims to be Catholic and Apostolic
cannot long stand together. This, then, is the main difficulty which
serious people feel in accepting the English Church as the promised
prophet of truth, and we are far indeed from undervaluing it, as the
above remarks show.

But now taking the objection in a simply practical view, which is the
only view in which it ought to concern or perplex any one, we consider
that it can have legitimately no effect whatever in leading us from
England to Rome. We do not say no legitimate tendency in itself to move
us, but no legitimate influence with serious men, who wish to know how
their duty lies. For this reason--because if the note of schism on the
one hand lies against England, an antagonist disgrace lies upon Rome,
the note of idolatry. Let us not be mistaken here: we are neither
accusing Rome of being idolatrous nor ourselves of being
schismatical,--we think neither charge tenable; but still the Roman
Church practises what looks so very like idolatry, and the English
glories in what looks so very like schism, that, without deciding what
is the duty of a Roman Catholic toward the Church of England in her
present state, we do seriously think that members of the English Church
have a providential direction given them, how to comport themselves
toward the Church of Rome, while she is what she is. We are discussing
the subject, not of decisive proofs, but of probable indications and of
presumptive notes of the divine will. Few men have time to scrutinize
accurately; all men may have general impressions, and the general
impressions of conscientious men are true ones. Providence has
graciously met their need, and provided for them those very means of
knowledge which they can use and turn to account. He has cast around the
institutions and powers existing in the world marks of truth or
falsehood, or, more properly, elements of attraction and repulsion, and
notices for pursuit and avoidance, sufficient to determine the course of
those who in the conduct of life desire to approve themselves to Him.
Now, whether or no what we see in the Church of Rome be sufficient to
warrant a religious person to leave her, (a question, we repeat, about
which we have no need here to concern ourselves,)