November 25, 1656
REVEREND FATHERS,
As your scurrilities are daily increasing, and as you are employing them in the merciless abuse of all pious1 persons opposed to your errors, I feel myself obliged, for their sake and that of the Church, to bring out that grand secret of your policy, which I promised to disclose some time ago, in order that all may know, through means of your own maxims2, what degree of credit is due to your calumnious4 accusations5.
I am aware that those who are not very well acquainted with you are at a great loss what to think on this subject, as they find themselves under the painful necessity, either of believing the incredible crimes with which you charge your opponents, or (what is equally incredible) of setting you down as slanderers. “Indeed!” they exclaim, “were these things not true, would clergymen publish them to the world — would they debauch10 their consciences and damn themselves by venting11 such libels?” Such is their way of reasoning, and thus it is that the palpable proof of your falsifications coming into collision with their opinion of your honesty, their minds hang in a state of suspense12 between the evidence of truth, which they cannot gainsay13, and the demands of charity, which they would not violate. It follows that since their high esteem14 for you is the only thing that prevents them from discrediting15 your calumnies16, if we can succeed in convincing them that you have quite a different idea of calumny17 from that which they suppose you to have, and that you actually believe that in blackening and defaming your adversaries18 you are working out your own salvation19, there can be little question that the weight of truth will determine them immediately to pay no regard to your accusations. This, fathers, will be the subject of the present letter.
My design is not simply to show that your writings are full of calumnies; I mean to go a step beyond this. It is quite possible for a person to say a number of false things believing them to be true; but the character of a liar20 implies the intention to tell lies. Now I undertake to prove, fathers, that it is your deliberate intention to tell lies, and that it is both knowingly and purposely that you load your opponents with crimes of which you know them to be innocent, because you believe that you may do so without falling from a state of grace. Though you doubtless know this point of your morality as well as I do, this need not prevent me from telling you about it; which I shall do, were it for no other purpose than to convince all men of its existence, by showing them that I can maintain it to your face, while you cannot have the assurance to disavow it, without confirming, by that very disavowment, the charge which I bring against you.
The doctrine22 to which I allude23 is so common in your schools that you have maintained it not only in your books, but, such is your assurance, even in your public theses; as, for example, in those delivered at Louvain in the year 1645, where it occurs in the following terms: “What is it but a venial24 sin to culminate25 and forge false accusations to ruin the credit of those who speak evil of us?” So settled is this point among you that, if any one dare to oppose it, you treat him as a blockhead and a hare-brained idiot. Such was the way in which you treated Father Quiroga, the German Capuchin, when he was so unfortunate as to impugn26 the doctrine. The poor man was instantly attacked by Dicastille, one of your fraternity; and the following is a specimen27 of the manner in which he manages the dispute: “A certain rueful-visaged, bare-footed, cowled friar-cucullatus gymnopoda — whom I do not choose to name, had the boldness to denounce this opinion, among some women and ignorant people, and to allege29 that it was scandalous and pernicious against all good manners, hostile to the peace of states and societies, and, in short, contrary to the judgement not only of all Catholic doctors, but of all true Catholics. But in opposition30 to him I maintained, as I do still, that calumny, when employed against a calumniator31, though it should be a falsehood, is not a mortal sin, either against justice or charity: and, to prove the point, I referred him to the whole body of our fathers, and to whole universities, exclusively composed of them whom I had consulted on the subject; and among others the reverend Father John Gans, confessor to the Emperor; the reverend Father Daniel Bastele, confessor to the Archduke Leopold; Father Henri, who was preceptor to these two princes; all the public and ordinary professors of the university of Vienna” (wholly composed of Jesuits); “all the professors of the university of Gratz” (all Jesuits); “all the professors of the university of Prague” (where Jesuits are the masters); —“from all of whom I have in my possession approbations of my opinions, written and signed with their own hands; besides having on my side the reverend Father Panalossa, a Jesuit, preacher to the Emperor and the King of Spain; Father Pilliceroli, a Jesuit, and many others, who had all judged this opinion to be probable, before our dispute began.” You perceive, fathers, that there are few of your opinions which you have been at more pains to establish than the present, as indeed there were few of them of which you stood more in need. For this reason, doubtless, you have authenticated32 it so well that the casuists appeal to it as an indubitable principle. “There can be no doubt,” says Caramuel, “that it is a probable opinion that we contract no mortal sin by calumniating34 another, in order to preserve our own reputation. For it is maintained by more than twenty grave doctors, by Gaspard Hurtado, and Dicastille, Jesuits, &c.; so that, were this doctrine not probable, it would be difficult to find any one such in the whole compass of theology.”
Wretched indeed must that theology be, and rotten to the very core, which, unless it has been decided35 to be safe in conscience to defame our neighbor’s character to preserve our own, can hardly boast of a safe decision on any other point! How natural is it, fathers, that those who hold this principle should occasionally put it in practice! corrupt36 propensity37 of mankind leans so strongly in that direction of itself that, the obstacle of conscience once being removed, it would be folly38 to suppose that it will not burst forth39 with all its native impetuosity. If you desire an example of this, Caramuel will furnish you with one that occurs in the same passage: “This maxim3 of Father Dicastille,” he says, “having been communicated by a German countess to the daughters of the Empress, the belief thus impressed on their minds that calumny was only a venial sin, gave rise in the course of a few days to such an immense number of false and scandalous tales that the whole court was thrown into a flame and fill ed with alarm. It is easy, indeed, to conceive what a fine use these ladies would make of the new light they had acquired. Matters proceeded to such a length, that it was found necessary to call in the assistance of a worthy40 Capuchin friar, a man of exemplary life, called Father Quiroga” (the very man whom Dicastille rails at so bitterly), “who assured them that the maxim was most pernicious, especially among women, and was at the greatest pains to prevail upon the Empress to abolish the practice of it entirely41.” We have no reason, therefore, to be surprised at the bad effects of this doctrine; on the contrary, the wonder would be if it had failed to produce them. Self-love is always ready enough to whisper in our ear, when we are attacked, that we suffer wrongfully; and more particularly in your case, fathers, whom vanity has blinded so egregiously42 as to make you believe that to wound the honour of your Society is to wound that of the Church. There would have been good ground to look on it as something miraculous43, if you had not reduced this maxim to practice. Those who do not know you are ready to say: How could these good fathers slander8 their enemies, when they cannot do so but at the expense of their own salvation? But, if they knew you better, the question would be: How could these good fathers forego the advantage of decrying44 their enemies, when they have it in their power to do so without hazarding their salvation? Let none, therefore, henceforth be surprised to find the Jesuits calumniators; they can exercise this vocation45 with a safe conscience; there is no obstacle in heaven or on earth to prevent them. In virtue46 of the credit they have acquired in the world, they can practise defamation47 without dreading48 the justice of mortals; and, on the strength of their self-assumed authority in matters of conscience, they have invented maxims for enabling them to do it without any fear of the justice of God.
This, fathers, is the fertile source of your base slanders49. On this principle was Father Brisacier led to scatter50 his calumnies about him, with such zeal51 as to draw down on his head the censure52 of the late Archbishop of Paris. Actuated by the same motives53, Father D’Anjou launched his invectives from the pulpit of the Church of St. Benedict in Paris on the 8th of March, 1655, against those honourable55 gentlemen who were intrusted with the charitable funds raised for the poor of Picardy and Champagne56, to which they themselves had largely contributed; and, uttering a base falsehood, calculated (if your slanders had been considered worthy of any credit) to dry up the stream of that charity, he had the assurance to say, “that he knew, from good authority, that certain persons had diverted that money from its proper use, to employ it against the Church and the State”; a calumny which obliged the curate of the parish, who is a doctor of the Sorbonne, to mount the pulpit the very next day, in order to give it the lie direct. To the same source must be traced the conduct of your Father Crasset, who preached calumny at such a furious rate in Orleans that the Archbishop of that place was under the necessity of interdicting57 him as a public slanderer7. In this mandate58, dated the 9th of September last, his lordship declares: “That whereas he had been informed that Brother Jean Crasset, priest of the Society of Jesus, had delivered from the pulpit a discourse59 filled with falsehoods and calumnies against the ecclesiastics60 of this city, falsely and maliciously61 charging them with maintaining impious and heretical propositions, such as: That the commandments of God are impracticable; that internal grace is irresistible62; that Jesus Christ did not die for all men; and others of a similar kind, condemned63 by Innocent X: he therefore hereby interdicts64 the aforesaid Crasset from preaching in his diocese, and forbids all his people to hear him, on pain of mortal disobedience.” The above, fathers, is your ordinary accusation6, and generally among the first that you bring against all whom it is your interest to denounce. And, although you should find it as impossible to substantiate65 the charge against any of them, as Father Crasset did in the case of the clergy9 of Orleans, your peace of conscience will not be in the least disturbed on that account; for you believe that this mode of calumniating your adversaries is permitted you with such certainty that you have no scruple66 to avow21 it in the most public manner, and in the face of a whole city.
A remarkable67 proof of this may be seen in the dispute you had with M. Puys, curate of St. Nisier at Lyons; and the story exhibits so complete an illustration of your spirit that I shall take the liberty of relating some of its leading circumstances. You know, fathers, that, in the year 1649, M. Puys translated into French an excellent book, written by another Capuchin friar, On the duty which Christians68 owe to their own parishes, against those that would lead them away from them, without using a single invective54, or pointing to any monk69 or any order of monks70 in particular. Your fathers, however, were pleased to put the cap on their own heads; and without any respect to an aged28 pastor71, a judge in the Primacy of France, and a man who was held in the highest esteem by the whole city, Father Alby wrote a furious tract33 against him, which you sold in your own church upon Assumption Day; in which book, among other various charges, he accused him of having made himself scandalous by his gallantries,” described him as suspected of having no religion, as a heretic, excommunicated, and, in short, worthy of the stake. To this M. Puys made a reply; and Father Alby, in a second publication, supported his former allegations. Now, fathers, is it not a clear point either that you were calumniators, or that you believed all that you alleged73 against that worthy priest to be true; and that, on this latter assumption, it became you to see him purified from all these abominations before judging him worthy of your friendship? Let us see, then, what happened at the accommodation of the dispute, which took place in the presence of a great number of the principal inhabitants of the town on the 25th of September, 1650. Before all these witnesses M. Puys made a declaration, which was neither more nor less than this: “That what he had written was not directed against the fathers of the Society of Jesus; that he had spoken in general of those who alienated74 the faithful from their parishes, without meaning by that to attack the Society; and that, so far from having such an intention, the Society was the object of his esteem and affection.” By virtue of these words alone, without either retraction75 or absolution, M. Puys recovered, all at once, from his apostasy76, his scandals, and his excommunication; and Father Alby immediately thereafter addressed him in the following express terms: “Sir, it was in consequence of my believing that you meant to attack the Society to which I have the honour to belong that I was induced to take up the pen in its defence; and I considered that the mode of reply which I adopted was such as I was permitted to employ. But, on a better understanding of your intention, I am now free to declare that there is nothing in your work to prevent me from regarding you as a man of genius, enlightened in judgement, profound and orthodox in doctrine, and irreproachable77 in manners; in one word, as a pastor worthy of your Church. It is with much pleasure that I make this declaration, and I beg these gentlemen to remember what I have now said.”
They do remember it, fathers; and, allow me to add, they were more scandalized by the reconciliation78 than by the quarrel. For who can fail to admire this speech of Father Alby? He does not say that he retracts79, in consequence of having learnt that a change had taken place in the faith and manners of M. Puys, but solely80 because, having understood that he had no intention of attacking your Society, there was nothing further to prevent him from regarding the author as a good Catholic. He did not then believe him to be actually a heretic! And yet, after having, contrary to his conviction, accused him of this crime, he will not acknowledge he was in the wrong, but has the hardihood to say that he considered the method he adopted to be “such as he was permitted to employ!”
What can you possibly mean, fathers, by so publicly avowing81 the fact that you measure the faith and the virtue of men only by the sentiments they entertain towards your Society? Had you no apprehension82 of making yourselves pass, by your own acknowledgement, as a band of swindlers and slanderers? What, fathers! must the same individual without undergoing any personal transformation83, but simply according as you judge him to have honoured or assailed84 your community, be “pious” or “impious,” “irreproachable” or “excommunicated,” “a pastor worthy of the Church,” or “worthy of the stake”; in short, “a Catholic” or “a heretic”? To attack your Society and to be a heretic are, therefore, in your language, convertible85 terms! An odd sort of heresy86 this, fathers! And so it would appear that, when we see many good Catholics branded, in your writings, by the name of heretia, it means nothing more than that you think they attack you! It is well, fathers, that we understand this strange dialect, according to which there can be no doubt that I must be a great heretic. It is in this sense, then, that you so often favour me with this appellation87! Your sole reason for cutting me off from the Church is because you conceive that my letters have done you harm; and, accordingly, all that I have to do, in order to become a good Catholic, is either to approve of your extravagant88 morality, or to convince you that my sole aim in exposing it has been your advantage. The former I could not do without renouncing89 every sentiment of piety90 that I ever possessed91; and the latter you will be slow to acknowledge till you are well cured of your errors. Thus am I involved in heresy, after a very singular fashion; for, the purity of my faith being of no avail for my exculpation92, I have no means of escaping from the charge, except either by turning traitor93 to my own conscience, or by reforming yours. Till one or other of these events happen, I must remain a reprobate94 and a slanderer; and, let me be ever so faithful in my citations95 from your writings, you will go about crying everywhere: “What an instrument of the devil must that man be, to impute96 to us things of which there is not the least mark or vestige97 to be found in our books!” And, by doing so, you will only be acting98 in conformity99 with your fixed100 maxim and your ordinary practice: to such latitude101 does your privilege of telling lies extend! Allow me to give you an example of this, which I select on purpose; it will give me an opportunity of replying, at the same time, to your ninth Imposture102: for, in truth, they only deserve to be refuted in passing.
About ten or twelve years ago, you were accused of holding that maxim of Father Bauny, “that it is permissible103 to seek directly (primo et per se) a proximate occasion of sin, for the spiritual or temporal good of ourselves or our neighbour” (tr.4, q.14); as an example of which, he observes: “It is allowable to visit infamous104 places, for the purpose of converting abandoned females, even although the practice should be very likely to lead into sin, as in the case of one who has found from experience that he has frequently yielded to their temptations.” What answer did your Father Caussin give to this charge in the year 1644? “Just let any one look at the passage in Father Bauny,” said he, “let him peruse105 the page, the margins106, the preface, the appendix, in short, the whole book from beginning to end, and he will not discover the slightest vestige of such a sentence, which could only enter into the mind of a man totally devoid107 of conscience, and could hardly have been forged by any other but an instrument of Satan.” Father Pintereau talks in the same style: “That man must be lost to all conscience who would teach so detestable a doctrine; but he must be worse than a devil who attributes it to Father Bauny. Reader, there is not a single trace or vestige of it in the whole of his book.” Who would not believe that persons talking in this tone have good reason to complain, and that Father Bauny has, in very deed, been misrepresented? Have you ever asserted anything against me in stronger terms? And, after such a solemn asseveration, that “there was not a single trace or vestige of it in the whole book, “ who would imagine that the passage is to be found, word for word, in the place referred to?
Truly, fathers, if this be the means of securing your reputation, so long as you remain unanswered, it is also, unfortunately, the means of destroying it forever, so soon as an answer makes its appearance. For so certain is it that you told a lie at the period before mentioned, that you make no scruple of acknowledging, in your apologies of the present day, that the maxim in question is to be found in the very place which had been quoted; and, what is most extraordinary, the same maxim which, twelve years ago, was “detestable,” has now become so innocent that in your ninth Imposture (p. 10) you accuse me of “ignorance and malice109, in quarrelling with Father Bauny for an opinion which has not been rejected in the School.” What an advantage it is, fathers, to have to do with people that deal in contradictions! I need not the aid of any but yourselves to confute you; for I have only two things to show: first, That the maxim in dispute is a worthless one; and, secondly110, That it belongs to Father Bauny; and I can prove both by your own confession111. In 1644, you confessed that it was “detestable”; and, in 1656, you avow that it is Father Bauny’s. This double acknowledgement completely justifies112 me, fathers; but it does more, it discovers the spirit of your policy. For, tell me, pray, what is the end you propose to yourselves in your writings? Is it to speak with honesty? No, fathers; that cannot be, since your defences destroy each other. Is it to follow the truth of the faith? As little can this be your end; since, according to your own showing, you authorize113 a “detestable” maxim. But, be it observed that while you said the maxim was “detestable,” you denied, at the same time, that it was the property of Father Bauny, and so he was innocent; and when you now acknowledge it to be his, you maintain, at the same time, that it is a good maxim, and so he is innocent still. The innocence114 of this monk, therefore, being the only thing common to your two answers, it is obvious that this was the sole end which you aimed at in putting them forth; and that, when you say of one and the same maxim, that it is in a certain book, and that it is not; that it is a good maxim, and that it is a bad one; your sole object is to whitewash115 some one or other of your fraternity; judging in the matter, not according to the truth, which never changes, but according to your own interest, which is varying every hour. Can I say more than this? You perceive that it amounts to a demonstration116; but it is far from being a singular instance, and, to omit a multitude of examples of the same thing, I believe you will be contented117 with my quoting only one more.
You have been charged, at different times, with another proposition of the same Father Bauny, namely:. “That absolution ought to be neither denied nor deferred118 in the case of those who live in the habits of sin against the law of God, of nature, and of the Church, although there should be no apparent prospect119 of future amendment120 — etsi emendationis futurae spes nulla appareat.” Now, with regard to this maxim, I beg you to tell me, fathers, which of the apologies that have been made for it is most to your liking121; whether that of Father Pintereau, or that of Father Brisacier, both of your Society, who have defended Father Bauny, in your two different modes — the one by condemning122 the proposition, but disavowing it to be Father Bauny’s; the other by allowing it to be Father Bauny’s, but vindicating123 the proposition? Listen, then, to their respective deliverances. Here comes that of Father Pintereau (p. 8): “I know not what can be called a transgression124 of all the bounds of modesty125, a step beyond all ordinary impudence126, if the imputation127 to Father Bauny of so damnable a doctrine is not worthy of that designation. Judge, reader, of the baseness of that calumny; see what sort of creatures the Jesuits have to deal with; and say if the author of so foul128 a slander does not deserve to be regarded from henceforth as the interpreter of the father of lies.” Now for Father Brisacier: “It is true, Father Bauny says what you allege.” (That gives the lie direct to Father Pintereau, plain enough.) “But,” adds he, in defence of Father Bauny, “if you who find so much fault with this sentiment wait, when a penitent129 lies at your feet, till his guardian130 angel find security for his rights in the inheritance of heaven; if you wait till God the Father swear by himself that David told a lie, when he said by the Holy Ghost that ‘all men are liars131,’ fallible and perfidious132; if you wait till the penitent be no longer a liar, no longer frail133 and changeable, no longer a sinner, like other men; if you wait, I say, till then, you will never apply the blood of Jesus Christ to a single soul.”
What do you really think now, fathers, of these impious and extravagant expressions? According to them, if we would wait “till there be some hope of amendment” in sinners before granting their absolution, we must wait “till God the Father swear by himself,” that they will never fall into sin any more! What, fathers! is no distinction to be made between hope and certainty? How injurious is it to the grace of Jesus Christ to maintain that it is so impossible for Christians ever to escape from crimes against the laws of God, nature, and the Church, that such a thing cannot be looked for, without supposing “that the Holy Ghost has told a lie”; and, if absolution is not granted to those who give no hope of amendment, the blood of Jesus Christ will be useless, forsooth, and would never be applied134 to a single soul!” To what a sad pass have you come, fathers by this extravagant desire of upholding the glory of your authors, when you can find only two ways of justifying135 them — by imposture or by impiety136; and when the most innocent mode by which you can extricate137 yourselves is by the barefaced138 denial of facts as patent as the light of day!
This may perhaps account for your having recourse so frequently to that very convenient practice. But this does not complete the sum of your accomplishments139 in the art of self-defence. To render your opponents odious140, you have had recourse to the forging of documents, such as that Letter of a Minister to M. Arnauld, which you circulated through all Paris, to induce the belief that the work on Frequent Communion, which had been approved by so many bishops141 and doctors, but which, to say the truth, was rather against you, had been concocted142 through secret intelligence with the ministers of Charenton. At other times, you attribute to your adversaries writings full of impiety, such as the Circular Letter of the Jansenists, the absurd style of which renders the fraud too gross to be swallowed, and palpably betrays the malice of your Father Meynier, who has the impudence to make use of it for supporting his foulest143 slanders. Sometimes, again, you will quote books which were never in existence, such as The Constitution of the Holy Sacrament, from which you extract passages, fabricated at pleasure and calculated to make the hair on the heads of certain good simple people, who have no idea of the effrontery144 with which you can invent and propagate falsehoods, actually to bristle145 with horror. There is not, indeed, a single species of calumny which you have not put into requisition; nor is it possible that the maxim which excuses the vice146 could have been lodged147 in better hands.
But those sorts of slander to which we have adverted148 are rather too easily discredited149; and, accordingly, you have others of a more subtle character, in which you abstain150 from specifying151 particulars, in order to preclude152 your opponents from getting any hold, or finding any means of reply; as, for example, when Father Brisacier says that “his enemies are guilty of abominable153 crimes, which he does not choose to mention.” Would you not think it were impossible to prove a charge so vague as this to be a calumny? An able man, however, has found out the secret of it; and it is a Capuchin again, fathers. You are unlucky in Capuchins, as times now go; and I foresee that you may be equally so some other time in Benedictines. The name of this Capuchin is Father Valerien, of the house of the Counts of Magnis. You shall hear, by this brief narrative154, how he answered your calumnies. He had happily succeeded in converting Prince Ernest, the Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinsfelt. Your fathers, however, seized, as it would appear, with some chagrin155 at seeing a sovereign prince converted without their having had any hand in it, immediately wrote a book against the friar (for good men are everywhere the objects of your persecution), in which, by falsifying one of his passages, they ascribed to him an heretical doctrine. They also circulated a letter against him, in which they said: “Ah, we have such things to disclose” (without mentioning what) “as will gall72 you to the quick! If you don’t take care, we shall be forced to inform the pope and the cardinals156 about it.” This manoeuvre157 was pretty well executed; and I doubt not, fathers, but you may speak in the same style of me; but take warning from the manner in which the friar answered in his book, which was printed last year at Prague (p.112, &c.): “What shall I do,” he says, “to counteract158 these vague and indefinite insinuations? How shall I refute charges which have never been specified159? Here, however, is my plan. I declare, loudly and publicly, to those who have threatened me, that they are notorious slanderers and most impudent160 liars, if they do not discover these crimes before the whole world. Come forth, then, mine accusers! and publish your lies upon the house-tops, in place of telling them in the ear, and keeping yourselves out of harm’s way by telling them in the ear. Some may think this a scandalous way of managing the dispute. It was scandalous, I grant, to impute to me such a crime as heresy, and to fix upon me the suspicion of many others besides; but, by asserting my innocence, I am merely applying the proper remedy to the scandal already in existence.”
Truly, fathers, never were your reverences161 more roughly handled, and never was a poor man more completely vindicated163. Since you have made no reply to such a peremptory164 challenge, it must be concluded that you are unable to discover the slightest shadow of criminality against him. You have had very awkward scrapes to get through occasionally; but experience has made you nothing the wiser. For, some time after this happened, you attacked the same individual in a similar strain, upon another subject; and he defended himself after the same spirited manner, as follows: “This class of men, who have become an intolerable nuisance to the whole of Christendom, aspire165, under the pretext166 of good works, to dignities and domination, by perverting167 to their own ends almost all laws, human and divine, natural and revealed. They gain over to their side, by their doctrine, by the force of fear, or of persuasion168, the great ones of the earth, whose authority they abuse for the purpose of accomplishing their detestable intrigues169. Meanwhile their enterprises, criminal as they are, are neither punished nor suppressed; on the contrary, they are rewarded; and the villains170 go about them with as little fear or remorse171 as if they were doing God service. Everybody is aware of the fact I have now stated; everybody speaks of it with execration172; but few are found capable of opposing a despotism so powerful. This, however, is what I have done. I have already curbed173 their insolence175; and, by the same means, I shall curb174 it again. I declare, then, that they are most impudent liars — mentiris impudentissime. If the charges they have brought against me be true, let them prove it; otherwise they stand convicted of falsehood, aggravated176 by the grossest effrontery. Their procedure in this case will show who has the right upon his side. I desire all men to take a particular observation of it; and beg to remark, in the meantime, that this precious cabal177, who will not suffer the most trifling178 charge which they can possibly repel179 to lie upon them, made a show of enduring, with great patience, those from which they cannot vindicate162 themselves, and conceal180, under a counterfeit181 virtue, their real impotency. My object, therefore, in provoking their modesty by this sharp retort, is to let the plainest people understand that, if my enemies hold their peace, their forbearance must be ascribed, not to the meekness182 of their natures, but to the power of a guilty conscience.” He concludes with the following sentence: “These gentry183, whose history is well known throughout the whole world, are so glaringly iniquitous184 in their measures, and have become so insolent185 in their impunity186, that if I did not detest108 their conduct, and publicly express my detestation too, not merely for my own vindication187, but to guard the simple against its seducing188 influence, I must have renounced189 my allegiance to Jesus Christ and his Church.”
Reverend fathers, there is no room for tergiversation. You must pass for convicted slanderers, and take comfort in your old maxim that calumny is no crime. This honest friar has discovered the secret of shutting your mouths; and it must be employed on all occasions when you accuse people without proof. We have only to reply to each slander as it appears, in the words of the Capuchin: “Mentiris impudentissime — You are most impudent liars.” For instance, what better answer does Father Brisacier deserve when he says of his opponents that they are “the gates of hell; the devil’s bishops; persons devoid of faith, hope, and charity; the builders of Antichrist’s exchequer”; adding, “I say this of him, not by way of insult, but from deep conviction of its truth”? Who would be at the pains to demonstrate that he is not “a gate of hell,” and that he has no concern with “the building up of Antichrist’s exchequer”?
In like manner, what reply is due to all the vague speeches of this sort which are to be found in your books and advertisements on my letters; such as the following, for example: “That restitutions have been converted to private uses, and thereby190 creditors191 have been reduced to beggary; that bags of money have been offered to learned monks, who declined the bribe192; that benefices are conferred for the purpose of disseminating193 heresies194 against the faith; that pensioners196 are kept in the houses of the most eminent197 churchmen, and in the courts of sovereigns; that I also am a pensioner195 of Port-Royal; and that, before writing my letters, I had composed romances”— I, who never read one in my life, and who do not know so much as the names of those which your apologist has published? What can be said in reply to all this, fathers, if you do not mention the names of all these persons you refer to, their words, the time, and the place, except — Mentiris impudentissime? You should either be silent altogether, or relate and prove all the circumstances, as I did when I told you the anecdotes198 of Father Alby and John d’Alba. Otherwise, you will hurt none but yourselves. Your numerous fables199 might, perhaps, have done you some service, before your principles were known; but now that the whole has been brought to light, when you begin to whisper as usual, “A man of honor, who desired us to conceal his name, has told us some horrible stories of these same people”— you will be cut short at once, and reminded of the Capuchin’s “Mentiris impudentissime.” Too long by far have you been permitted to deceive the world, and to abuse the confidence which men were ready to place in your calumnious accusations. It is high time to redeem200 the reputation of the multitudes whom you have defamed. For what innocence can be so generally known, as not to suffer some injury from the daring aspersions of a body of men scattered201 over the face of the earth, and who, under religious habits, conceal minds so utterly202 irreligious that they perpetrate crimes like calumny, not in opposition to, but in strict accordance with, their moral maxims? I cannot, therefore, be blamed for destroying the credit which might have been awarded you, seeing it must be allowed to be a much greater act of justice to restore to the victims of your obloquy203 the character which they did not deserve to lose, than to leave you in the possession of a reputation for sincerity204 which you do not deserve to enjoy. And, as the one could not be done without the other, how important was it to show you up to the world as you really are! In this letter I have commenced the exhibition; but it will require some time to complete it. Published it shall be, fathers, and all your policy will be inadequate205 to save you from the disgrace; for the efforts which you may make to avert206 the blow will only serve to convince the most obtuse207 observers that you were terrified out of your wits, and that, your consciences anticipating the charges I had to bring against you, you have put every oar208 in the water to prevent the discovery.
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1
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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calumnious
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| adj.毁谤的，中伤的 | |
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accusations
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| n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名 | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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slanderer
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| 造谣中伤者 | |
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slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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debauch
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| v.使堕落，放纵 | |
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venting
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| 消除； 泄去； 排去； 通风 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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gainsay
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| v.否认，反驳 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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discrediting
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| 使不相信( discredit的现在分词 )； 使怀疑； 败坏…的名声； 拒绝相信 | |
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calumnies
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| n.诬蔑，诽谤，中伤（的话）( calumny的名词复数 ) | |
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calumny
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| n.诽谤，污蔑，中伤 | |
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adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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venial
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| adj.可宽恕的；轻微的 | |
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culminate
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| v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮 | |
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impugn
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| v.指责，对…表示怀疑 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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allege
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| vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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calumniator
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| n.中伤者，诽谤者 | |
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authenticated
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| v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 )；鉴定，使生效 | |
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tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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calumniating
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| v.诽谤，中伤( calumniate的现在分词 ) | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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egregiously
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| adv.过份地，卓越地 | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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decrying
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| v.公开反对，谴责( decry的现在分词 ) | |
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vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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defamation
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| n.诽谤；中伤 | |
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dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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slanders
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| 诽谤，诋毁( slander的名词复数 ) | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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invective
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| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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56
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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interdicting
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| v.禁止（行动）( interdict的现在分词 )；禁用；限制 | |
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mandate
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| n.托管地；命令，指示 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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ecclesiastics
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| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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64
interdicts
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| n.正式禁止( interdict的名词复数 )；禁令；（罗马天主教）停止（某人）教权的禁令；停止某地参加圣事活动v.禁止（行动）( interdict的第三人称单数 )；禁用；限制 | |
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substantiate
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| v.证实；证明...有根据 | |
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scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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72
gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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alienated
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| adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等） | |
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retraction
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| n.撤消；收回 | |
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apostasy
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| n.背教，脱党 | |
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irreproachable
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| adj.不可指责的，无过失的 | |
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reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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retracts
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| v.撤回或撤消( retract的第三人称单数 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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avowing
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| v.公开声明，承认( avow的现在分词 ) | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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convertible
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| adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车 | |
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86
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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renouncing
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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exculpation
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| n.使无罪，辩解 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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reprobate
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| n.无赖汉；堕落的人 | |
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citations
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| n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬 | |
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impute
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| v.归咎于 | |
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vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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imposture
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| n.冒名顶替，欺骗 | |
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permissible
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| adj.可允许的，许可的 | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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peruse
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| v.细读，精读 | |
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margins
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| 边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数 | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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110
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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111
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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112
justifies
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| 证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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113
authorize
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| v.授权，委任；批准，认可 | |
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114
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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115
whitewash
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| v.粉刷，掩饰；n.石灰水，粉刷，掩饰 | |
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116
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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117
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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118
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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119
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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120
amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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121
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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122
condemning
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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123
vindicating
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| v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的现在分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护 | |
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124
transgression
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| n.违背；犯规；罪过 | |
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125
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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126
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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127
imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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128
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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129
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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130
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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131
liars
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| 说谎者( liar的名词复数 ) | |
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132
perfidious
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| adj.不忠的，背信弃义的 | |
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133
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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134
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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135
justifying
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| 证明…有理( justify的现在分词 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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136
impiety
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| n.不敬；不孝 | |
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137
extricate
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| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
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138
barefaced
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| adj.厚颜无耻的，公然的 | |
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139
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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140
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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141
bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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142
concocted
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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143
foulest
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| adj.恶劣的( foul的最高级 )；邪恶的；难闻的；下流的 | |
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144
effrontery
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| n.厚颜无耻 | |
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145
bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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146
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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147
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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148
adverted
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| 引起注意（advert的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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149
discredited
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| 不足信的，不名誉的 | |
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150
abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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151
specifying
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| v.指定( specify的现在分词 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性 | |
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152
preclude
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| vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍 | |
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153
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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154
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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155
chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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156
cardinals
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| 红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数 | |
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157
manoeuvre
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| n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动 | |
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158
counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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159
specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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160
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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161
reverences
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| n.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的名词复数 )；敬礼 | |
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162
vindicate
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| v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确 | |
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163
vindicated
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| v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护 | |
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164
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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165
aspire
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| vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于 | |
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166
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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167
perverting
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| v.滥用( pervert的现在分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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168
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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169
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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170
villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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171
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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172
execration
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| n.诅咒，念咒，憎恶 | |
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173
curbed
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| v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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174
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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175
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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176
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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177
cabal
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| n.政治阴谋小集团 | |
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178
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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179
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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180
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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181
counterfeit
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| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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182
meekness
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| n.温顺，柔和 | |
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183
gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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184
iniquitous
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| adj.不公正的；邪恶的；高得出奇的 | |
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185
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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186
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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187
vindication
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| n.洗冤，证实 | |
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188
seducing
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| 诱奸( seduce的现在分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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189
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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190
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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191
creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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192
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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193
disseminating
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| 散布，传播( disseminate的现在分词 ) | |
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194
heresies
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| n.异端邪说，异教( heresy的名词复数 ) | |
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195
pensioner
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| n.领养老金的人 | |
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196
pensioners
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| n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 ) | |
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197
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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198
anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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199
fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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200
redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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201
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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202
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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203
obloquy
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| n.斥责，大骂 | |
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204
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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205
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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206
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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207
obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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208
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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