For to give to man capacities, and those the highest and noblest of his soul, to give to him wants the deepest and most sacred of his heart, to condemn him to seek for their realization, to hold over his head their proper objects like the apple of Tantalus, and destine him never to reach them; this is not the work of a loving Deity, but cruelty the most refined of a fiend. If such be life, it is a curse; and he tells the truth of man who says, Thy curse it was to see and hear 6 And it is not to be wondered at, that all our modern and youthful poets sing of Death, not as an unknown form of a higher life,' but invoke his shaft as an escape from the mockery and wearisomeness of this, — saying with Schiller, 'Would this weary life were spent, Would this fruitless search were o'er!' And if such be life and such its promises, who would not say from the depths of his soul, in tones of earnestness, 'And rather than such visions, bless The gloomiest depths of nothingness.' † "But Mr. Emerson is wrong, not in saying that man loves the best and sees the perfect, no, to this every heart and head consents, but that he seeks in vain a realization of what he loves and sees. This is the error of Mr. Emerson and the whole school of this class of men. Our curse is not that we see into a life more clear and true, - this is the loftiest attribute of man, but that man has lost or not yet discovered the way that leads to the possession of such a life. This is the fiend, here lies the curse, did these men but know it. "There is a way. Has it been lost? or has it not yet been found? That, indeed, would be a sad plight for humanity, and no less a libel upon God's goodness and wisdom, to imagine that man has wandered up and down upon this earth for these thousand years, and that none has found the path which leads to his true home and country. "On the contrary, God, in creating man a free agent, was bound to make known to him the law and path to his destiny; leaving man to choose, to obey, and to follow it if he pleased, or not; otherwise, man would have no room to exercise the noble faculty of will. He must know this, too, in order to direct and * Lowell. † Sterling. employ his faculties and powers aright, to be what he should be; and until this is discovered, he is unable to act as a rational creature, as man. "There is, then, a path that leads us to our final aim; who is the one that has discovered it, and standing out as a guide, can say to humanity, ''T is I; I am the way that leads to truth and life, follow me!" "Does the past give us such an answer? What says the past ? "" pp. 88-91. The author, in answer to this question, seeks and finds a model man, and a model life, in Jesus the God-man. He deduces the idea of the Church from the wants of the soul, and then raises the inquiry whether that idea is realized, and if so, where. He first examines Protestantism, and in a few pages gives the most masterly refutation of it that we have ever read, by simply showing its inability to answer the questions of the soul, or to satisfy its wants. He then interrogates Rome, the Catholic Church, and shows, by a simple statement of Catholicity, that she can answer, has answered, and does answer, every question the soul asks, and satisfy every want it feels. He shows that she meets all the wants of the soul, and affords all the means and facilities necessary to enable every one to fulfil his destiny, whether general or special. This book might therefore be called The Questions of the Soul, and their Answers; for such it really is. Its great merit is, that it asks and answers those questions in the form in which they come up here and now, in our own age and country, and more especially as they have come up in our own New England. We have never met a man born and brought up in New York who had a more just appreciation of the New England inner life, and as a New England man by birth, though not by education, we most cordially thank him for the justice he does us. New England certainly is not the whole Union, but it has impressed its own mind upon no small part of it, whether for good or for evil it is not for us to say, and such, with all her faults, is her intellectual and religious influence, that her conversion to Catholicity would go a great way towards the conversion of the whole country. Nevertheless, no genuine Catholic can be in this country a sectionalist. We are all one country, one people, and one people too, whether Protestant or Catholic, whether Celt or Anglo-Saxon, German or French, by our descent. Catholicity is itself superior to all nationalities and all distinctions of race, but it respects every nationality in its appropriate sphere, and enlightens and protects and fosters a pure and ardent patriotism. We may see this in the concluding chapter of our author, with which we must close our extracts. race. "Am I not brave and strong? Am I not here "Man has a destiny, - his end is God, his life is divine. Jesus Christ is the complement of man, - the restorer of the The Catholic Church is the manifestation of Jesus Christ, the organ by which Jesus Christ perpetuates his life upon earth, and the organ of man's restoration, and nature's restoration through man. "The Catholic Church affords to man the opportunity of becoming Christian without violating the laws of his reason, without stifling the dictates of his conscience. She alone is able to guide man to his destiny, she is adequate to all the wants of the human heart, and in her religious orders she opens a pathway to those nobler souls who seek a perfect life. "This Church is here in the midst of us, but, strange as it may seem, it is concealed from the minds of the American people, by ignorance, misrepresentation, and calumny, as effectually as if it were once more buried in the Catacombs. But will the Bride of Christ always remain thus hidden? We think not. There are already some who have caught glimpses of her true character; and we may hope that the day is not far distant when sons and daughters of our own people will vie with the early Christians in devotion, self-sacrifice, and saintly lives, and, if need be, in the testimony of their blood for the truth. "Indeed, it is an anomaly well worthy the attention of a reflecting mind, how a people, constituted as we are, a practical and independent people, can still retain a purely speculative religion, like Protestantism; a religion without faith, without an altar, without a sacrifice, without a priesthood, without a sacrament, without authority, without any bond of union, a religion utterly unpractical, and destitute even of material grandeur! "America presents to the mind, at the present epoch, one of the most interesting questions, and one too of the greatest moment for the future destiny of man; the question, Whether the Catholic Church will succeed in Christianizing the American people, as she has Christianized all European nations, so that the Cross of Christ will accompany the stars and stripes in our future? 29 "We say that this question is fraught with great interest for the future of humanity. Our people are young, fresh, and filled with the idea of great enterprises; the people who, of all others, if once Catholic, can give a new, noble, and glorious realization to Christianity; a development which will go even beyond the past in achievements of zeal, in the abundance of saints, as well as in art, science, and material greatness. The Catholic Church alone is able to give unity to a people composed of such conflicting elements as ours, and to form them into a great nation. "The Church is the ever youthful bride of Christ. She is as pure, as bright, as fresh, as on the day of her birth. She can never fail. In her bosom are the inexhaustible sources of inspiration, strength, courage, holiness. 'Majesty, Power, Glory, Strength, and In this eternal ark of worship undefiled.'* "Youth of America! Here is opened to you a new, a noble, a divine career. Here is a godlike enterprise. An enterprise worthy of your energies, and glorious for your country. 'Tyre of the West! Whose eagle wings thine own green world o'erspread, Touching two oceans; O while thou yet hast room, fair, fruitful land, Ere war and want have stained thy virgin sod, Mark thee a place on high, a glorious stand, Whence Truth her sign may make o'er forest, lake, and strand.'”† - pp. 290–294. Neither our extracts nor our brief and imperfect analysis can give our readers anything like an adequate idea, hardly any idea at all, of the interest and value of this book. They must read it for themselves. It is written with great simplicity and eloquence. It is a genuine utterance, a faithful expression, as far as it goes, of the author's own heart. He has thought, felt, suffered, enjoyed, lived, all he here says; for, after all, the book is but a chapter from his own deep and varied spiritual experience. He himself is one who has sought and found peace in the very way he points out. What we admire in this book, even more than its sound theology, its rare philosophy, and its deep thought, is its genial spirit, its youthfulness and freshness, its enthusiasm, its hopefulness, and its charity. It is refreshing in these days to meet such a book. It is free, + Lyra Apos. * Byron. bold, independent, manly, but it is kind and gentle, tender and loving. We have not found a bitter expression or a sarcasm in it, from beginning to end. It is a model in its way, and shows how a Catholic can say all that it is needful to say without giving offence to any one. Even they who may not accept the author's conclusions will have no unpleasant associations connected with them, will be disarmed of many prejudices, and be drawn towards him with love and respect. We need not say that we have endeavored to profit by its perusal, and we hope that it will be studied by all our lay writers who wish to present Catholicity to the American mind and heart. Especially do we recommend this book to the youth of our country. Our hope for our country is in the youth, in the young men now growing up and forming their characters, who have not yet lost by contact with the world the down from their hearts. Young America, we know, is not just now in very good repute, but we know that there are thousands of warm and generous hearts among our educated young men, crying out for the great and kindling truths of this book, and demanding some object worthy of their lofty ambition. To them more especially is this book addressed, and we trust not in vain. They have each a mission. Our glorious republic too has a mission, a great work in Divine Providence, the sublime work of realizing the idea of Christian society, and of setting the example of a truly great, noble, Catholic people. In this work, young men, you are called to take your share, — a share in the work and in its glory. ART. IV. De la Valeur de la Raison Humaine, ou ce que peut la Raison par elle seule. Par LE P. CHASTEL, S. J. Paris: Leroux et Jouby. 1854. 8vo. pp. 530. WE feel ourselves much indebted to Father Chastel for his learned, conscientious, and elaborate work on The Value of Human Reason, a copy of which he has been so obliging as to send us. We have occasionally seen things from the author which seemed to us to savor of |