given by inspiration of God, and are therefore wholly free from error, we cannot possibly feel the least certainty that some mistake may not have crept in,that some little omission or insertion, trivial in appearance, but making a mighty difference in the tenor of the whole, may not have occurred. Consequently, so long as we have any doubt whether these records are the works of fallible men, or of the infallible Spirit of God, so long must we hesitate to admit, upon a doubtful foundation, so vast a matter as the supreme authority claimed by Rome. And thus we see, that the Romish church itself cannot even find ground whereon to stand, until the inspiration of the scriptures has first been proved; and thus the very same difficulty which Dr. W. objects to us, belongs quite as much to his own scheme.

Rather more, indeed, we ought to say; for Protestants have found and established their Rule of Faith, as soon as the divine inspiration of the scriptures is proved; whereas that is only the first point in the inquiry with the Romanist; who, when he gains this first position, has in the next place to prove from scripture, the authority of his church; a task which is certainly not an easy one. But it is time to draw to a close; we will therefore endeavour to state in a few words, the remaining three of Dr. W.'s alleged difficulties? They are,—the difficulty of bringing the Protestant rule of faith, the Bible, into general use, by translating the scriptures into all languages; the difficulty of providing, especially before the invention of printing, a sufficient number of copies; and the difficulty of making the book intelligible to all, even when so dispersed.

Dr. Wiseman seriously alleges these as reasons,

why the scriptures could not have been intended by God to be the Rule of Faith for all mankind. Observe, the Rule of Faith; the standard held up; not the chief or the only means of bringing sinners to the knowledge of the truth. We are not arguing against that great institution of Christ, the preaching of the gospel. The question is not, whether preachers as well as bibles shall be sent throughout the world :—the question is, What is to be the standard, -the Rule of Faith,-to which these preachers shall appeal?

Now we say, Send the preacher, and with him send the word of God. Let him preach only what he finds in that word, and let him constantly appeal to that word for confirmation of every doctrine he advances. But the Romish church sends the preacher without his credentials, and without his proper commission. He may preach Jesuitism or Jansenism, the decrees of the council of Trent or the decrees of the council of Ephesus; he may preach, in short, what he will, for no chart or compass will the church of Rome send with her pilots.

But it is said that translations are made with difficulty, and are often erroneous. Is it so much easier, then, to preach than to write, in an heathen tongue ? Do the Romish missionaries address the Hindoos or Japanese in Latin? If not,-if they can preach to them in their own languages without liability to any serious blunders, what should prevent them from providing for them the gospel of St. Matthew or the New Testament itself? The objection of the difficulty of making translations, when advanced by those who boast of their missions to the heathen, is perfectly frivolous.

And equally absurd is that of the cost and trouble of procuring a sufficient number of copies. It is not seriously proposed by Dr. Wiseman, that men shall be left without any rule, or any instruction in divine things. He would send preachers. Now we are not objecting to the use of living missionaries: but when the point mooted as a serious objection to the use of the Bible as a rule, is, the cost and trouble of procuring copies, the obvious answer is, that a single living preacher must cost from £100. to £300. a-year; and that for that sum you might supply, every year, from five hundred to a thousand Bibles!

The last point mooted is that of the difficulty of understanding the scriptures. Now no Protestant will attempt to deny that there are deep and holy mysteries in the word of God. We could hardly suppose it to be a Revelation from heaven if it were without them. But we do mean to assert that by far the greater portion of the scripture is plain and level to every man's capacity, and full of every necessary instruction. Nor, when David declares it to be "a lamp unto his feet, and a light unto his path," is it either decent or comely for Dr. Wiseman to represent it as unintelligible and bewildering.

But the real question is, Is it the Rule prescribed by God himself? The existence of some lofty and still obscure prophecies in its pages is nothing to the purpose in this question. Here is a book, given by inspiration of God, for the use of man. It is, by the admission of all parties, wholly free from error or obliquity. It declares itself, again and again, to be sent to mankind as their infallible guide. And where is there any other? Those who tell us that the scriptures are not to be understood, ought to shew us 'the

voice of the church;' and let us see if that be more lucid and intelligible. But this voice of the church' is no where to be found, save in some threescore volumes of records of councils, or writings of fathers, which the great mass of the people could never possess, nor understand, if they were even to obtain them. Dr. Wiseman asks, 'Who ever heard of the propriety and wisdom of placing in men's hands a code or rule, which it was impossible for the greater portion of them to comprehend.' But we demand, in reply, Who ever heard of the propriety or wisdom of placing in men's hands no code or rule whatever; of leaving them without any other guide or director than a fallible man like themselves; and of taking away from them that which is not denied to be God's own word, merely because there are some passages in it which are too high for most men's comprehension !

We trust, then, that we have succeeded in shewing, that in every point suggested by Dr. Wiseman, as a ground for disbelieving that God intended the scriptures as a rule of faith to man,-the rival rule, put forward by Dr. W. himself,-to wit, THE CHURCH, is open to far greater objection. There must be a greater difficulty in establishing the authority of such a Rule, and a greater difficulty in applying it, if it could be established.

XIV.

INFALLIBILITY.

ON THE ALLEGED NECESSITY FOR AN INFALLIBLE

CHURCH.

IT now seems advisable, and, in fact, almost necessary, before proceeding further, to take a brief retrospect of the course of argument through which we have passed, and to gain, as far as may be, a correct idea of our present position.

The discussion has hitherto turned almost exclusively on the rule of faith. We have endeavoured to maintain the Protestant doctrine; that holy scripture was the one, sole, and sufficient rule, furnished and set forth by God himself;-and to shew the untenable nature of the opposite principle,—that the Catholic church is the true depository and only authorized expositor of Christian doctrine; dispensing from her ample stores, and with divine authority, both holy scripture and Catholic tradition, as in her wisdom she sees fit. In arguing the question, we have endeavoured both to establish the Protestant