ne presidency, were politeness
itself, though they treated the Fathers so ill. Her Majesty, with
beautiful art, in this Letter, smooths the raven plumage of Vota;--and,
at the same time, throws into him, as with invisible needle-points,
an excellent dose of acupuncturation, on the subject of the Primitive
Fathers and the Ecumenic Councils, on her own score. Let us give some
Excerpt, in condensed state:--

"How can St. Jerome, for example, be a key to Scripture?" she
insinuates; citing from Jerome this remarkable avowal of his method of
composing books; "especially of his method in that Book, _ Commentary on
the Galatians, _ where he accuses both Peter and Paul of simulation and
even of hypocrisy. The great St. Augustine has been charging him with
this sad fact," says her Majesty, who gives chapter and verse; ["Epist.
28*, edit. Paris." And Jerome's answer, "Ibid. Epist. 76*."] "and Jerome
answers: 'I followed the Commentaries of Origen, of'"--five or six
different persons, who turned out mostly to be heretics before Jerome
had quite done with them in coming years!--"'And to confess the honest
truth to you,' continues Jerome, 'I read all that; and after having
crammed my head with a great many things, I sent for my amanuensis, and
dictated to him now my own thoughts, now those of others, without much
recollecting the order, nor sometimes the words, nor even the sense.'
In another place (in the Book itself farther on [_ "Commentary on the
Galatians, _ chap. iii."]), he says: 'I do not myself write; I have an
amanuensis, and I dictate to him what comes into my mouth. If I wish to
reflect a little, to say the thing better or a better thing, he knits
his brows, and the whole look of him tells me sufficiently that he
cannot endure to wait.'"--Here is a sacred old gentleman, whom it is not
safe to depend on for interpreting the Scriptures, thinks her Majesty;
but does not say so, leaving Father Vota to his reflections.

Then again, coming to Councils, she quotes St. Gregory Nazianzen
upon him; who is truly dreadful in regard to Ecumenic Councils of the
Church,--and indeed may awaken thoughts of Deliberative Assemblies
generally, in the modern constitutional mind. "He says, [_ "Greg.
Nazian. de Vita sua." _] No Council ever was successful; so many mean
human passions getting into conflagration there; with noise, with
violence and uproar, 'more like those of a tavern or still worse
place,'--these are his words. He, for his own