much must be said, if anything; so
much, that no room would be left us for matters of greater importance.
Important as it is that the sacred books should be faithfully rendered,
that it should be shown how long-prevalent errors, supposed to be
countenanced by them, are not so countenanced; important as it is, for
instance, to decide whether the sacred teacher said 'Repent,' or 'Do
penance,' it is yet more important to develop the principles to which
all modes of expression are subservient: to attend to the spirit rather
than the letter, to establish truths and explode errors to the
perception of which every intellect is adequate, than to debate matters
to which, though of inferior moment, peculiar qualifications are
requisite.

We willingly accept the following testimony of Fenelon to the fact of
the unrestricted use of the sacred writings in the early times of
Christianity; though we dissent from the concluding remark. The passage
is translated from a letter from Fenelon to the Bishop of Arras.
(_Oeuvres Spirituels de Fenelon_, 8vo. tom. 4, p. 241.) 'I think that
much trouble has been taken in our times very unnecessarily, to prove
what is incontestable, than in the first ages of the Church the laity
read the Holy Scriptures. It is clear as daylight, that all people read
the Bible and service in their native languages; that as a part of good
education, children were made to read them; that in their sermons, the
ministers of the Church regularly explained to their flocks whole books
of the sacred volume; that the sacred text of the Scriptures was very
familiar to the people; that the clergy exhorted the people to read
them; that the clergy blamed the people for not reading them, and
considered the neglect of the perusal of them as a source of heresy and
immorality. But in all this the Church used a wise economy; adapting the
general practice to the circumstances and wants of individuals. It did
not, however, think that a person could not be a Christian, or not be
well instructed in his religion, without perusing the sacred writings.
Whole countries of barbarians, innumerable multitudes of the faithful
were rich (to use the words of St. Paul) in words and science, though
they had not read the sacred writings. To listen to the pastors of the
Church who explain the Scriptures to the faithful and distribute among
them such parts as are suited to their wants, is to read the
Scriptures.'

This last proposition is in perfec