"The bread that I will give you is my flesh," St. John vi. 51; and that when afterwards at the Last Supper he said, with clear, solemn, testamentary emphasis, “This is my

charms; whilst on the other hand, error, on whichever side it may be found to be-for I have no right to assume that it is on mine-error will be, by this same energetic power of argument on the part of body, this is my blood," St. Matt. him that shall prevail, stripped of xxvi. 26-28, that he meant it to be all its false pretensions, and exposed understood, as is expounded by his to every eye, in all its native de- own words, "Verily, verily," and not formity. In other words, by one of as expounded by the tongues of Prothese our conflicting labours, that testants, "Figuratively, figuratively.” will come to pass this day, which our blessed Saviour has uttered, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up." St. Matt. xv. 13.

The gentleman who is this day opposed to me has, more than once during his address to you, deprecated any introduction, on my part, of the glorious fathers of the Yes, my respected friends, this church. My reverend opponent, I day, I confidently trust, will arouse must also remark, has boasted more many a slumbering soul to deep and than once, in his endeavours to solemn meditation on that most subvert or to disprove the doctrine vital, most important of all subjects of the Catholic Eucharist, which for the mind of a Christian to re- doctrine is, as he has properly devolve, namely, whether it be indeed fined it, though in other words,true, or whether it be but an idle the real presence of our Lord's fiction, a mere empty sound, that glorious and blessed body, under "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of the species of corruptible elements; Man, and drink his blood, ye have he has boasted, I say, that, in acno life in you." St. John vi. 53. complishing this, the sphere of his And here permit me to say, what I argumentation shall principally be most sanguinely anticipate, namely, the Bible, a book upon which he that some persons who have entered defies me to support my principle. this room this evening (though I am Now the Bible, 1 reply, or the New aware that many have entered it Testament, shall also be my prime without leaving their prejudices bulwark in defending it. Yes, my behind them), will go out of it friends, I will meet him, foot to entirely altered men or women, as to foot, on that hallowed ground: nay the whole texture of their religious more, I will encounter him at the sentiments, firmly and unconquer- very entrance of it, as it were, with ably resolved to obey the operations the four flaming swords of the of Divine grace beaming upon their cherubim to guard the stand I take : hearts, so soon as I shall have I mean, my friends, the express placed the truth in full blaze before texts of the four Evangelists, and, them. Yes, I repeat it, so soon as added to them, that powerful body their understandings shall have been of auxiliaries, the texts of Saint convinced by the force of irresistible Paul to the Corinthians. But, my and unanswerable arguments, that friends, whilst I also glory in claimwhen the Lord Jesus Christ said, ing the Bible as my chief prop, I some time before the Last Supper, cannot consent to deprive myself, to his disciples, preparing them for in corroborating my deductions that grand and august sacrament from that inspired volume, of the which he was about to institute,- benefit to be derived to me from

ductions precisely similar to my own, | therefore place before you, in the made in every age, since the foun- very front of this discussion, a dation of Christianity, by the re- quotation from one of those glorious nowned and glorious fathers of the Church. I cannot-I will not consent, in accommodation to modern dictators in theology, to break asunder that sacred link of tradition which hands down to me, in one regular, harmonious, beautiful line of unbroken succession, from age to age, and from father to father, the dogma of the Catholic Eucharist: namely, that in this sacrament Christ gave unto us his blessed body; yes, his very flesh to eat, and his very blood to drink.

fathers, in order to render the course which I am about to pursue more simple and easy. I shall lay before you one ever-memorable, ever-dazzling extract and I shall content myself, probably, with this, or at most one or two more, during the course of the limited time now prescribed to me. It is a quotation from St. Ignatius Martyr, who was a disciple, as Archbishop Wake, a Protestant archbishop, tells us, of St. John the Evangelist, and who was appointed, as the same archNo, my friends, I do not wonder at bishop tells us, to the see of Antioch, this his earnest deprecation against by the apostle St. Peter. He, theremy introducing the fathers of the fore, (St. Ignatius,) as I humbly Church, on the part of my learned conceive, ought to have known opponent. Were I in his situation, something, at least, of genuine I should have made a similar appeal Christianity, having had the benefit to my antagonist. But no, gentle- of such tuition, under such tranmen, I must have recourse to them; scendently holy and incontrovertibly such an overwhelming argument inspired masters. He laid his very cannot be passed by, by the Catholic life down in the cause of his blessed who is solicitous to do full justice Redeemer, facing with undaunted to the glorious cause he has under- fortitude the fierce and hungry lion taken to defend. It is an argument, in the amphitheatre at Rome, and my friends, that of itself, without dying with joy and gladness, in order the necessity of any close, scruti- to drink full streams of joy and nizing inspection into the inspired gladness for ever in the presence of pages, will for ever enable the the immaculate Lamb. Such a perCatholic, I will not say to frown, son, surely, will not be spoken of but to smile defiance on his Pro- slightly by my eloquent and my testant antagonist; who vainly en- pious friend. He, surely, can never deavours, by his feeble outcry, to undervalue Ignatius, the disciple of silence the loud voice that issues St. John the Evangelist; and if, in forth from the depth of ages-a the warmth of discussion, he should voice, my friends, which has never call him "oriental, metaphorical," ceased to re-echo, uninterruptedly, or "figurative," which, I believe, for now nearly nineteen centuries, were the epithets he ascribes to the from clime to clime, and from one language of the fathers, I shall beg end of Christendom to the other-of him, in an argumentative, not the doctrine of Transubstantiation.

I shall, therefore, gentlemen, in view of things (for I will never sy one to prescribe to me I think proper to tation)-I shall

orientalizing manner, when he arises to answer me, to do away, if he can, or to invalidate the strength of this infrangible passage in our favour and to show me wherein the orient. alism and figurativeness of the

expression consists. I shall hand it quainted with the subject, imagines over to him, in order that he may the Catholic to take; namely, a bit see that I quote it fairly, and ex- of flesh, or so many drops of blood; plain it to you with the utmost but he says, "which flesh the accuracy and the utmost precision. Father, in his goodness, resusHand it over, if you please, Mr. citated," or raised up, that is to Weld, to Mr. Finch, the Chairman on say, the flesh of Christ, animated the other side.] Bear in mind, my with his immortal soul, with his friends, that this Ignatius, who eternal Spirit; in other words, lived in the earliest ages of Chris-" Christ," as the Council of Trent tianity, as I told you, ought most has it, and as my learned friend, unquestionably to know what was with the utmost accuracy has expure and unadulterated Christianity pressed it, "Christ truly God, ana As these words are most important, truly man, whole and entire." I shall quote them in Greek, as I Such, gentlemen, is the Catholic have not the book now in hand; doctrine. Whether accurate or not, do not alarm yourselves, however, we shall examine when we come to for I shall translate them immedi- notice my learned friend's observaately into English. He is talking tions. But you have here, already, of certain persons whom he calls my friends, the demonstration of a heretics, and he says of these here- fact, which, in my own humble tics," They abstain from the Eu- opinion, supersedes the necessity of charist and prayer, because they any further inspection into the fado not believe the Eucharist to be thers of the Church at all; not that the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, I shall limit myself to this one which flesh suffered for our sins, and solitary quotation, but I say it is so which flesh, in his goodness, the Father powerful a quotation as to admit of resuscitated."-Ed. Pears. et Smith, no dispute as to its force and invinOxon. 1709. [Mr. French having cibility. It will be in vain for my parted with the book, repeated and learned friend to say he is not a true construed the Greek from memory.] father of the Church, because he is Now, you see, my friends, in not an inspired apostle. What! a the first place, that there were man educated by St. John the Evancertain heretics that absented them-gelist,-a man appointed Bishop of selves from the Eucharist in those Antioch, by St. Peter, not a father! days. And why, let me ask, did they thus absent themselves from a participation of that heavenly food? Why, Ignatius tells you, that they absented themselves because they would not believe that it was "the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ" and, mark the accuracy of the expression!--meaning to show what flesh, and that you might not imagine it to be an oriental expression, he says, "which flesh," not which bread "suffered for our sins." It goes on; the passage goes on to show, that it is not mere inanimate flesh, which the Protestant, unac

aye, and a grandfather, too, if I may use an illustrative expression of the learned gentleman. [Applause and hisses from different parts of the room, and cries of "Order!"]

Thus you see, my friends, that even in the days of the apostles the loud, bold voice of Protestantism was already heard resounding. There were men, even in those brightdawning days, as St. Ignatius tells us,-there were men who absented themselves from the holy Eucharist, because they could not make up their minds to believe in that doc trine which the Catholic so firmly

believes in. [Here the learned gen- | themselves; "their ears," to use the tleman was interrupted, and the language of the apostle, “could not meeting was called to "Order."] endure sound doctrine;" they con Silence being obtained, the learned tinued wandering in their vain gentleman continued: I must re-imaginations, through all the interquest my Catholic friends not to set minable mazes of infidelity and scepso bad an example. It is disgrace-ticism, instead of acquiescing with ful in the extreme. It does not lowly and implicit confidence in the animate me; it rather depresses unerring words of Him who is "the me, to hear such bursts of acclama-way, the truth, and the life;" "in tion. It confuses me- -destroys the whose lips was no guile," in whose thread of my disputation, and does words was no possibility of decepno good to yourselves. Yes, there tion; instead of crying out with were men (says St. Ignatius) who Peter-the rock upon which Christ lived and died aliens and strangers built his church-in reply to his to those heavenly rays which illu- Divine Master, "Lord, to whom minated the eyes of the believing shall we go? thou hast the words and the adoring Catholic. of eternal life," St. John vi. 68; thou hast said unto me, and said unto all thy followers, that "unless we eat thy flesh and drink thy blood, we have no life within us."

But, my friends, why should this excite our wonder and astonishment, when we reflect, that scarcely had the sacred lips of a Man-God (when here upon earth) announced the I must here observe, that I shall grand sacrament which he was be very willing, in imitation of the about to institute, when murmur- example set by my learned friend, to ings arose and spread around him refer immediately to the pages of the from mouth to mouth, questioning Bible and of the New Testament, its possibility, even in his blessed chiefly in order to prove the doctrine presence. "How can this man give of Transubstantiation; but, at the us his flesh to eat?" exclaimed the same time, I hope that you will not first Protestants of whom history deem it a departure from the system makes mention. "How can this pointed out, to which I shall, in man give us his flesh to eat?" St. some respects, be very willing to John vi. 52. Here, my friends, it adhere,-I say, I hope you will not occurs to me, that I may, perchance, deem it a deviation from that syshave given some assistance to my tem, if, whilst I refer to particular learned friend and opponent, in parts of Scripture, I likewise refer tracing the existence of his Church to the fathers of the Church, who, up to the apostolical days. How- inthe respective ages of that Church, ever, gentlemen, I am generous explained these passages and these enough to give him all the advan- texts precisely in the same manner tage he can possibly reap from this as we Catholics do at the present concession on my part; suffice it for day. My reverend opponent has me to call his attention, and your told you, that he is prepared, this attention, to this one undeniable evening, to adduce St. Augustine, ract:-that 'from that time for- and St. Jerome, with other fathers, ward," it is said, "they (the first as evidence against the doctrine of Protestants) walked no more with Transubstantiation. him." St. John vi. 66. No, they

Rev. Dr. CUMMING.-No; not left the teaching of our blessed St. Jerome: St. Augustine and Saviour, in order to dogmatize for others.

Iam

Mr. FRENCH.-Oh! he says, not stantiation on the part of those St. Jerome: St. Augustine and whose hearts are too hard to be others. Now, if there be one of all penetrated by the beams of heavenly the fathers more copious than an- grace. But is he the only father other, and more nervous in explain- that has done this? No, my friends, ing this doctrine, so that a child there are about nine or ten fathers may understand him, it is the who have referred to this very pas glorious St. Augustine. And before sage, viz. "This is a hard saying." I come to confine myself solely to I have given you St. Augustine; the books of the New Testament, I we will now take St. Cyril of Alexannust beg leave to quote one or two dria, who flourished in the year of passages from that renowned father our Lord 412. I have the Greek, of the Church, especially as the if my learned opponent wishes to learned gentleman has lighted upon see it. I shall give you the English him. I shall merely observe, before of it:-"But if thou persist, oh I cite, that Calvin has panegyrized Jew! in urging this, how, I will, in this father, the great St. Augustine, like manner, ask you how was the above all others that ever took pen rod of Moses transformed into a in hand. The quotations which are serpent? how was the water changed brought against me by my learned into the nature of blood?" (Tom. friend from this saint, I am prepared iv. p. 359, edit. Aubert, Lutetiæ, to meet, and to show the meaning 1638.) The next father to whom I of them to be in our favour; but shall refer lived in the year 369, I doubt very much whether the viz., the illustrious St. Basil, who learned gentleman, with all the ver- observes :-"We must not indulge satility of his genius, will be able to in doubts or disputes concerning give a different interpretation to the what our Lord has said, but cherish passage I am about to cite from a full conviction that every word of than that which I and all Catholics his is true and possible of effect, deduce from it. although nature should combat against St. Augustine, speaking of that its possibility; for it is in this very text in which is recorded the mur-point in which the struggle of faith muring of the Jews, i. e. "This is consists. The Jews, therefore, struga hard saying, who can hear it?" gled with one another, saying, 'How has this remarkable passage: can this man give us his flesh to "Durus est hic sermo quis potest eat?' Therefore he said to them, eum audire." 66 "Yes," says St.Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."" (1 John vi. 53.) Regul. 8. Moral. tom. ii. p. 240, edit. Ben.

Augustine, "Durus est, sed duris, incredibile est sed incredulis." That is, "It is hard,—aye, but to those only who are themselves hard. It is incredible, ave, but to those only who are themselves incredulous." (De Verb. Evang. Johan. vol. v. p. 640, edit. Bened.) Why, every one must here see, without any comment of mine, the plain meaning of St. Augustine's words. This allusion of the father must most unquestionably have referred to the difficulty of believing in Transub

Now, I see no "oriental" cast of expression in these passages; and, if there be none, then I affirm that these fathers of the Church were all genuine Papists; and however the learned gentleman may think it fashionable, in the nineteenth century, to run down these fathers of the Church, and cast, as it were, a contemptuous eye v