vened chiefly through the efforts of the cardinals Moronus and Cervinus, the latter of whom had laid before the pope Ignatius's plan for a theological school at Rome for young people of the German nation, a bull for the erection of such a school was published by Julius III. on the 31st of August, 1552; copies were immediately printed and dispatched in large numbers to each of the princes and ecclesiastical dignitaries of Germany; and Ignatius, without loss of time, wrote to Cologne, Prague, and Vienna, where his disciples were already in full activity, engaging them to choose young people of talent, and send them to Rome to his seminary. Before the end of the year a sufficient number had been obtained to open the college. The first matriculation took place on the 21st of November, which, in memory of the event, was fixed for the anniversary festival of the college. The numbers considerably increased, and soon the fame of the establishment had spread from one end of Germany to the other. From the moment that his plan appeared likely to be carried into execution, however, Ignatius's first care had been to arrange the laws for the government of the college, which he divided into two rubrics, containing the rules to be observed respecting the entrance and dismission of students, as well as during their residence in it. Besides this, he founded a chapel and formed a library; and as our author tells us, in addition to the three ancient languages, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, the study of which was usual at this epoch, there were also taught, by the special permission of the Holy See, which Ignatius urgently sought for, and obtained with great difficulty, [moral] philosophy, physics, exegesis, and all the higher sciences. The warlike spirit of Paul IV. sapping the resources of the church, the colleges were in his reign reduced to great straits. 'The celebrated cardinal of Augsburg himself, who had hitherto been a most ardent advocate of the institution, drew back, and expressed himself in strong terms respecting the perpetual contributions of money which Ignatius required for its support. Ignatius replied, with calm dignity, that if any persons repented of the benevolence which they had extended to the institution, they had only to abandon it at once; that he would make every effort to sustain it, and would perish rather than leave his beloved Germans that he should rely upon the help of God, and then the difficulties he might meet with would only encourage him the more in his work.' In a private conversation, Ignatius, animated with an enthusiasm almost prophetic, expressed his conviction that the time would come, when a pope would not only deliver the college from its embarrassments, but would become its father, its most generous benefactor, and would feel constrained to secure for it a perpetual existence. This pope, as we shall soon see, was Gregory XIII. Passing the account our author gives of the skilful management by which the cardinal, assisted by Canisius, the restorer of learning in catholic Germany, engaged the interest of Gregory XIII. on behalf of the college; and also of that pope's visit to it, and his becoming its second founder, we come to the reorganization of the college code, which has since continued conformable to the following draught. 'These are in few words the fundamental laws of the institution. The pupils admitted into the college must be natives of Upper Germany, that is to say, of Alsace, the Rhine district, Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia, Westphalia, Saxony, Silesia, Prussia, Austria, the Tyrol, or Hungary. They must be of honourable [legitimate] birth, sound health, and have attained the age of about twenty years. Youths of noble families might, however, be received at the age of sixteen years. After residing six months in the college, during which time it was supposed they would have had time to reflect on the great and the sacred duties of the institution, so as not in after times to repent of the step they took, they were required to take the oath of consecration to the ecclesiastical life; and that they would, on their return to Germany, give themselves up exclusively to this life, and not profess or teach at the same time other faculties, such as medicine or law. The piety necessary to the ecclesiastical state, as well as the exercise of the spiritual virtues it requires, were particularly recommended to them. The manner of living was common to all. No one could leave the house, without the permission of the rector, and without a sufficient reason. The severest discipline was exercised over all the pupils as to morality, religion and learning. The time of study was limited to ten years, the first three of which were consecrated to philosophy and the higher branches of learning, the following four to scholastic [doctrinal], and the last three to moral, [ethical and practical] theology. After having finished their studies, the pupils must remain thirty days in the college, after which clothes and money were given them for their return to Germany. Those who gave proofs of superior talent might remain some time longer at Rome, if the rector of the college considered that it would be useful to them. If any of them wished to enter any [monastic] order, he was free to do so, but only in Germany. Students' places might not continue vacant more than a year. The most distinguished scholars might, after undergoing the necessary examinations, obtain academical degrees, such as the baccalaureate, the licence [degree of licentiate] and the doctorate. The appointment of the rector and professors, as well as the whole spiritual and temporal direction of the establishment, was confided to the fathers of the society of Jesus in perpetuity. 'Thus,' adds Dr. Theiner, 'arose by degrees the establishment which, from its origin, excited the admiration of the Italians and of all catholic nations, and became a source of glory to the fathers of the Society of Jesus. A third portion of the sequel of the work is filled with the account of the various efforts made by different popes and bishops to establish similar institutions in different parts of catholic christendom; a very large proportion of which were placed under the supervision of the Jesuits. This account comprises many curious and some interesting details. Notices of the several colleges which have been founded at Rome, Lisbon, Paris, Lille, Douay and elsewhere, for the training of English, Scotch and Irish priests, and the circumstances attending their establishment are scattered here and there. Among other topics which arrested our attention in the perusal, were Cardinal Pole's project (A.D. 1556) for the establishment of ecclesiastical seminaries in England on the plan of the German college at Rome; the correspondence between Pius V. and Sandoval, Bishop of Cordova, on the subject of seminaries to be formed according to the decree of the Council of Trent; the letters of the same pope to the bishop of Gubbio and the chapter of Evora; the establishment in 1602 of the college at Rome under the direction of the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, with the erection in 1636 of twelve, and in 1639 of thirteen Barberini scholarships in the same college for Georgians, Persians, Nestorians, Jacobites, Copts and others; the institution of the Cléricature of Bourdoise at Paris in 1618; and the association formed by Olier in 1641, of 'able and virtuous priests,' who should devote themselves exclusively to the direction of seminaries. We could have imagined, while perusing the account of the cléricature of Bourdoise, that we had fallen on a narrative of one of the first efforts made by our own ejected forefathers to provide for the future education of the ministry for the nonconformists of England. The remainder of the work is of a very inferior character. It is chiefly occupied with an account of the encyclopædists of France, and the philosophers and illuminati of Sans Souci, Wolfenbüttel, and other parts of Germany. But it is written with the utmost partiality and virulence, descends to the lowest abuse, and masks the most important facts. Supposing, therefore, that it was as relevant as (in the extent to which it stretches) it is irrelevant to the subject of the work, the representation of it here would answer no other purpose than to exhibit the author's moral incompetency for the task he has undertaken. It is scarcely possible to conceive a greater contrast than that presented by the investigation of rationalism in this volume, and in (heu! quantum mutatus ab illo !) Pusey's 'Historical Inquiry' into the same subject. The author is no longer an historian, but a furious pamphleteer: a fierce and rabid Romanist, devoted, like the Jesuits, to the exclusive interests of the papacy, and, like them, but too well versed in the literary delinquencies which Pascal's immortal pen exposed. We have no appetite, and trust our readers have none, for the declamatory accusations of a writer, who calls Voltaire the Luther of the eighteenth century,' and charges upon Jansenism the horrors of the French revolution. The Appendix of Documents contains:-I. The bull of Pope Julius III. (A. D. 1552), directing the erection of the German college at Rome. II. The constitution of the college, drawn up by St. Ignatius. III. The bull of Pope Gregory XIII., (A. D. 1584), re-organizing the constitution of the German and Hungarian colleges. IV. The Imperial Privilege, (A. D. 1628), for the German college at Rome. V. A catalogue of the illustrious men, who have been trained in the German and Hungarian colleges. VI. An extract from the decree of Cardinal Pole, as Papal Legate, (A. D. 1556), touching a reformation of the English church; in which he orders that a theological seminary shall be attached to every cathedral church. VII. The decree of the Council of Trent, (A. D. 1563), concerning seminaries. VIII. A pastoral letter of Pope Clement VIII. (A. D. 1592) to the rectors, prefects, and students of the seminaries immediately under the patronage of the Roman See, or which had been founded by the care and liberality of pious bishops and princes, for the furtherance of the christian religion. IX. A brief from Louis XIV. (A. D. 1698), addressed to the archbishops and bishops of France, ordering the establishment of seminaries. X. A memoir presented to the King of France by the bishops, on the subject of the ordinances of June 16, 1828, respecting secondary ecclesiastical schools. XI. A letter, dated February, 1834, from the archbishops and bishops of Belgium to the clergy of their dioceses, respecting the establishment of a catholic university in Belgium. XII. A bull of Pope Gregory XVI. (dated December 13, 1833), sanctioning the establishment of that university, and XIII. A bull of the same pope, (dated July, 1834), condemning the 'Paroles d'un Croyant' of the Abbé de Lammenais. Several of these documents contain interesting, and some of them instructive matter. The pastoral letter of the Archbishop of Paris, upon the subject of ecclesiastical studies, written in April, 1841, on occasion of the re-establishment of the 'Conferences,' and of the faculty of theology, and a copy of which is appended to the French translation of Dr. Theiner's work, is also curious and valuable. In the perusal of the really historical portion of Dr. Theiner's work, three things recurred perpetually. 1. The widely spread ignorance and demoralization of the Roman clergy. 2. The repeated declarations of popes, bishops, and councils, that well conducted seminaries of the highest class were the only remedy for these disorders; and, 3. The extraordinary activity of the Jesuits and the ablest of the Roman dignitaries, to fill all Europe with such seminaries. FAS EST, ET AB HOSTE DOCERI. 436 Art. IV. Lethe and other Poems. By Sophia Woodrooffe. Posthumously edited by G. S. Faber, B.D. Master of Sherburn Hospital, and Prebendary of Salisbury, 12mo. London. Seeley & Co. 1844. THIS is a volume of genuine poetry, the production of a young lady of singularly elegant and almost prematurely cultivated mind, who, after a short and unexpected illness, died at the age of twenty-two. The principal poem, Lethe,' was written at the age of nineteen. It displays most assuredly a vigorous imagination, a depth of thought, a command of language and flow of versification, altogether extraordinary in so young a poetess. The strong bias of her taste for classical subjects had evinced itself at the early age of sixteen, in a spirited translation of a chorus from Hecuba, while her earliest known production is a dramatic poem on the subject of Irene, written at the age of thirteen, which is justly pronounced by the Editor 'a literary curiosity. Among the miscellaneous pieces, we have translations from the Greek, the Italian, the French, and the German. Yet, with all this high and varied cultivation and proficiency, are united, in rare conjunction, an entire freedom from pedantry, a charming simplicity and ease, and exquisite purity of taste. The translations are elegant and spirited, yet they are not the best things in the volume. In the original poems, there is an ease and freedom which are quite surprising. We have been more especially struck with the stanzas addressed to Count Confalonieri on his recovering his liberty: they breathe an enthusiasm and a generous sympathy with the Italian patriots, for which the reverend Editor has deemed it necessary almost to apologize. It was natural,' remarks Mr. Faber, that a young and ardent mind enamoured of classic lore, and steeped in antique recollections, should anticipate the national resurrection of Italy.' We are not quite sure that a sympathy with living patriotism is naturally or constantly the accompaniment of a proficiency in classic lore; but what distinguishes these stanzas, and gives them, in our judgment, their highest value, is, that they breathe not a mere classic enthusiasm in reference to Imperial Italy,' but a sympathy with the liberated captive, the exiled patriot; there is heart as well as lyrical spirit in this address from the youthful poetess-she was only twenty years of age to the noble and heroic sufferer in his country's cause. TO COUNT CONFALONIERI. 'Yes, thou art free at length! Thou, that hast borne, Firm and unshrinking; thou art free again! |