{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_61165/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_61165","id":"gutenberg_61165","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61165","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Index librorum prohibitorum","Prohibited books"],"text":"The Roman Index of\n                Forbidden Books\n\n         BRIEFLY EXPLAINED FOR CATHOLIC\n            BOOKLOVERS AND STUDENTS\n\n\n                       BY\n            FRANCIS S. BETTEN, S.J.\n\n\n          WITH A SUMMARY OF THE INDEX\n\n\n                 SECOND EDITION\n\n              ST. LOUIS, MO., 1909\n             Published by B. Herder\n               17 South Broadway\n\n   FREIBURG (BADEN)    | LONDON AND EDINBURGH\n      B. HERDER        |    SANDS AND CO.\n\n\n\n\n  NIHIL OBSTAT.\n      St. Louis, die 1. Nov., 1908.\n          R.J. Meyer, S.J.\n            Praep. Pror. Missour\n\n\n  NIHIL OBSTAT.\n      St. Louis, 17 Nov., 1908.\n          F.G. Holweck.\n            Censor Librorum.\n\n\n  IMPRIMATUR.\n      St. Louis, 17 Nov., 1908.\n          O.J.S. Hoog, V.G.\n\n\n  Copyright, 1909, by Joseph Gummersbach.\n\n                   \u2014BECKTOLD\u2014\n           PRINTING AND BOOK MFG. CO.\n                 ST. LOUIS, MO.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\n\nThis short treatise was written for the benefit of those who cannot\ndevote much time to the study of the Index. It appeared first in the\n\u201cCatholic Union and Times,\u201d Buffalo, N.\u00a0Y., and was reprinted in the\n\u201cCatholic Mind\u201d series, Fordham University Press, New York, as numbers\n23 and 24 of 1907.\n\nThose who wish to make a deeper study of the subject are referred to\nthe following books:\n\n\nRev. Timothy Hurley.\u2014_A Commentary on the Present Index Legislation._\nDublin, Brown and Nolan. New York, Benziger Bros. $1.35.\n\nRev. Arthur Vermeersch,\u00a0S.J.\u2014_De prohibitione et censura librorum._\n$0.85.\n\nRev. Jos. Hilgers,\u00a0S.J.\u2014_Der Index der verbotenen B\u00fccher._ St. Louis,\nHerder. $3.25.\n\n\u2014_Die B\u00fccherverbote in Papstbriefen._ St. Louis, Herder. $0.95.\n\nRev. Jos. Hilgers,\u00a0S.J.\u2014_The Roman Index and its Last Historian. A\nCritical Review of \u201cThe Censorship of the Church of Rome\u201d by George\nHaven Putnam._ Techny,\u00a0Ill. Society of the Divine Word. 10\u00a0cents.\n\nThere is also a long article on \u201cCensorship,\u201d written by Rev.\nJ.\u00a0Hilgers,\u00a0S.J., in vol.\u00a0III of the _Catholic Encyclopedia_.\n\nAn English translation of the Constitution \u201cOfficiorum ac munerum\u201d is\ncontained in _The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo\u00a0XIII_, with\nPreface by Rev. John J.\u00a0Wynne,\u00a0S.J. New York, Benziger Bros. $2.25.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n                                                            PAGE\n  Section I.\u2014Commentary.\n    1. The Index                                               1\n    2. The Power of the Church                                 4\n    3. Book Prohibitions Antedating the Roman Index            7\n    4. The Roman Index                                        11\n    5. Books Forbidden by General or Particular Decrees       13\n    6. Duties Imposed by Law and by Nature                    18\n    7. Who Puts Books on the Index?                           24\n    8. The Method of Examination                              28\n    9. The Spirit of the Index Congregation                   33\n    10. Further Explanations                                  35\n      a. Why an Author is not Permitted to Defend His Book    35\n      b. The Index does not Advertise Bad Books               37\n      c. Index Decisions not Omitted for Fear of Apostasies   39\n      d. The \u201cGood Catholic\u201d                                  41\n      e. A Mortal Sin                                         43\n      f. The Galileo Case                                     44\n      g. Non-Catholic Book-Laws                               46\n      h. Some Examples of Submission to the Index             48\n\n\n  Section II.\u2014A Summary of the Index.\n    1. Our Duties in Relation to Forbidden Books              51\n    2. Forbidden Books                                        53\n      a. Books Forbidden by General Decrees                   54\n      b. Books Forbidden by Particular Decrees                57\n\n\n\n\nSECTION I\n\nCOMMENTARY\n\n\n1. The Index.\n\nIn 1901, a reviewer of the Roman Index of Forbidden Books opened his\ncriticism by congratulating himself upon having before him a genuine\ncopy of that book, of which, he says, only a very limited number were\nprinted for the exclusive use of \u201cthe leaders of the Church.\u201d Owing to\nits scarcity, he thinks, the owner of the volume, which he had\nborrowed, must have paid at least two hundred dollars for it. He could\nhave bought a brand new copy for $2.25. The Index of which he speaks,\nissued by order of Leo\u00a0XIII, in 1900, is for sale in this country by\nB.\u00a0Herder, St.\u00a0Louis, Mo. So are the three later editions (1901,\n1904, 1907), the last two issued under, and by order of, our\ngloriously reigning Pontiff, Pius\u00a0X. When the critic felt his heart\nbeat with joy upon being allowed to view with his own blessed eyes a\nbook so rare, so expensive, and so jealously guarded by \u201cthe leaders\nof the Church,\u201d a whole edition of that same book had already been\nsold, and a second was about to be put on the market. Its title is\nnow:\n\n_Index librorum prohibitorum, Leonis\u00a0XIII Sum. Pont. auctoritate\nrecognitus SS. D.\u00a0N. Pii P.\u00a0X iussu editus. Pr\u00e6mittuntur\nConstitutiones Apostolic\u00e6 de examine et prohibitione librorum._ (Index\nof forbidden books, revised by the authority of Pope Leo\u00a0XIII, and\nissued by order of His Holiness Pope Pius\u00a0X. Preceded by the Apostolic\nConstitutions on the examination and prohibition of books.)\n\nA glance at the neatly printed volume will disclose the reason why it\nis called \u201cIndex\u201d;\u2014almost nine-tenths of it consists of a catalogue of\nbooks condemned by the Roman authorities. Of still greater importance\nthan this catalogue are the first thirty-four pages, which give, in\nthe \u201cApostolic Constitutions,\u201d the general laws of the Church\nregarding books.\n\nThere are only two \u201cConstitutions.\u201d But the whole work is introduced\nby a brief of Leo\u00a0XIII, in which the Pontiff declares that this\nedition is to be the authentic one for the whole Church. _It is to be\nbinding on all the faithful of the universe, regardless of race or\nlanguage, nationality or country, education, learning or station in\nlife._ In a preface headed \u201cLectori\u00a0S.,\u201d the Secretary of the Roman\n\u201cCongregatio Indicis\u201d compares this edition of the \u201cIndex\u201d with the\nformer ones, points out the changes that were made, and explains the\ntechnical arrangement of the book.\n\nAfter these preliminaries follow the \u201cConstitutions.\u201d The first is the\n\u201cOfficiorum ac munerum\u201d of Leo\u00a0XIII, dated Jan.\u00a025, 1896. This\ndocument recasts the whole legislation of the Church regarding the\nproduction, dissemination, reprinting and prohibition of such books as\nthe Church may and must concern herself with. It abrogates all former\nlaws and regulations of General Councils as well as of Sovereign\nPontiffs, with one exception: the Constitution Sollicita ac provida\nof Benedict\u00a0XIV, also reprinted here, by which this great pope\nestablished or rather sanctioned a method\u2014the one still in use\u2014of\nexamining and passing sentence on the books submitted to the Roman\nauthorities.\n\nThese two Constitutions contain the entire general legislation of the\nChurch on the head of books.\n\nThere is no \u201cIndex expurgatorius.\u201d If there were, it would consist of\nbooks condemned conditionally, _donec corrigatur_, \u201cuntil amended.\u201d\nBut such books are all entered in the ordinary Index, with those two\nLatin words added. In Pope Leo\u2019s edition they are, besides, marked\nwith an asterisk.\n\n\n2. The Power of the Church.\n\nThat the Church has the right to legislate on the publication and use\nof all books that touch on questions of faith and morals, must be\nevident to every Catholic. It is a truth clearly contained in the\nwords of Christ to St.\u00a0Peter: \u201cFeed my lambs, feed my sheep,\u201d and in\nthe duty imposed on the Apostles of \u201cteaching the faithful to observe\nall, whatsoever I have commanded you.\u201d\n\nThe fact that general councils as well as many popes have issued laws\nand decrees regarding books, is sufficient evidence of their power and\nof their commission to do this. This very fact must also convince us\nthat the observation of these laws must be salutary and conducive to\nthe welfare of the Church at large and of the individual Christian.\n\nThe inventions, discoveries and progress of our times can introduce no\nchange in this respect. The human mind is still as prone to err and as\nmuch subject to the persuasive influence of books as it ever was.\nGood books are as useful to-day as they were in olden times, and\nobjectionable writings have the same deplorable effects they had a\nthousand years ago.\n\nNor can the Church, possessing the power to watch over our reading,\nneglect to make use of this power when the salvation of souls calls\nfor its exercise. Bad literature is one of the worst enemies of\nmankind. The Church can never allow it to corrupt the hearts of her\nchildren or to undermine the foundation of their faith, without at\nleast raising a warning voice.\n\nHow great are the precautions the civil authorities take in case of an\nepidemic; yet, no matter how seriously the precautions hamper traffic\nand trade, we find them reasonable. We should even censure our\nexecutive and legislative officers if they omitted to take proper\nprecautions. But, says Pope Leo, in the Constitution Officiorum ac\nmunerum, nothing can be conceived more pernicious, more apt to defile\nsouls than uncurbed license in the writing and disseminating of bad\nbooks. \u201cTherefore,\u201d he continues, \u201cthe Church, whose office it is to\nwatch over the integrity of faith and morals, has ever striven, as far\nas in her power lay, to restrain the faithful from the reading of bad\nbooks as from a deadly poison.\u201d\n\n\n3. Book Prohibitions Antedating the Roman Index.\n\n\u201cThe early days of the Church witnessed the earnest zeal of St. Paul,\u201d\nwhen the Christians at Ephesus brought together all the superstitious\nbooks they had in their possession and burned them publicly. This\nexample of loyalty to the Church cost them, as Holy Scripture says,\nbetween eight and nine thousand dollars. Such was the policy in regard\nto bad books at Ephesus at a time when the Apostle whom many love to\ncall the most liberal and broadminded, ruled that part of the Church.\n\nEvery subsequent age records similar measures of vigilance. The first\nGeneral Council of Nic\u00e6a, in 325, besides proscribing the heresy of\nArius, also issued a decree prohibiting the use of Arius\u2019 book\n_Thalia_, which contained his heresy; indeed, at all times the\ncondemnation of a heresy by the Church entailed the prohibition of\nthe works propagating it. Pope St.\u00a0Leo the Great, 440\u2013461, does not\nhesitate to declare that one who reads forbidden books cannot be\nconsidered a Catholic.\n\nIn the early days the Church had to direct her attention largely to\nthe many so-called apocryphal books, falsely claimed to have been\ninspired by God and to form part of Holy Scripture. In 496, Pope\nGelasius issued his famous decree, in which he enumerates the true\nbooks of the Bible, a number of the writings of the Fathers, (which he\nrecommends,) together with a short list of apocryphal and heretical\nbooks, the reading of which he forbids.\n\nIn 745, by order of the Pope, a Roman synod examined and forbade a\nnumber of superstitious books sent by St.\u00a0Boniface, who had found them\namong the Germans.\n\nIn fact, already in those days the entire present-day book legislation\nof the Church existed in all its essential features, though there were\nfew written decrees. It seems the loyal Christian\u2019s duty of avoiding\nbad books, and the power of the Church to prohibit them, were held to\nbe so self-evident that the need of written laws was not felt.\n\nThe necessity of watching over the mental food of the faithful became\nmore urgent when, in the fifteenth century, was invented _printing_,\nwhich popes and bishops hailed as a \u201cdivine art\u201d and eulogised as the\ngreatest blessing of God\u2019s providence in the natural order. It spread\nrapidly. Before the year 1500, the city of Rome alone had one hundred\nand ninety printing establishments. The oldest of them, in the first\nseven years of its existence, produced not less than twenty-eight\nworks in forty-seven editions, the total number of pages being one\nhundred and twenty-four millions.\n\nAs to the moral quality of the books printed at that period, a German,\nWimpheling, writes with pardonable pride in 1507: \u201cWe Germans\npractically control the whole intellectual market of civilized Europe;\n_the books, however, which we bring to this market are for the most\npart high-class works, tending to the honor of God, the salvation of\nsouls, and the civilisation of the people_.\u201d How soon, alas, was this\nto change! Even while these words were written, the evil was already\nstriking root, and steps had been taken by the civil as well as by the\necclesiastical power, to prevent the printing and spreading of\nnoxious books.\n\nBut it was not until the beginning of the so-called Reformation that\nthe boundless increase of heretical and other pernicious literature\ncalled for radical and extensive measures. They began in 1520 with the\nsolemn condemnation of Luther\u2019s doctrine and the prohibition of his\nwritings. About that time the first indexes or catalogues of forbidden\nbooks appeared. They were not issued by the popes, but emanated mostly\nfrom bishops, provincial councils, or universities. The civil power\nwas expected to enforce them. In some cases the princes themselves or\nthe magistrates of cities and republics issued their own indexes, in\nfull harmony and after consultation with the clergy.\n\nAs the object of these measures was to safeguard the faithful against\nimminent danger, we can easily understand that catalogues of forbidden\nbooks were most numerous in those countries that were most exposed to\nheresy, namely, Germany, Belgium, France, and Northern Italy.\n\nIt is remarkable that Henry\u00a0VIII of England, who afterwards fell away\nfrom the Church, was among the first to legislate against heretical\nbooks, his index of forbidden books appearing as early as 1526. After\nhis apostasy he continued with increased severity the policy of\nprohibiting books which he deemed objectionable.\n\n\n4. The Roman Index.\n\nMore than thirty years after the first index of Henry\u00a0VIII had\nappeared, the first Roman Index of Forbidden Books was compiled and\nissued by order of Paul\u00a0IV. It remained in force only a few years,\ntill 1564, when the so-called Tridentine Index was published under\nPius\u00a0IV. It was called \u201cTridentine,\u201d because it had been drawn up by a\ncommission appointed for this purpose by the Council of Trent. It was\nmilder than the Index of Paul\u00a0IV, and contained divers \u201cIndex rules,\u201d\nthe forerunners of the general decrees embodied in the Constitution\n\u201cOfficiorum ac munerum.\u201d\n\nThe Tridentine Index remained _the_ Roman Index for more than three\nhundred years. Its \u201crules\u201d were occasionally modified, new\nregulations were added or old ones abrogated, other books were\ninserted in the catalogue; but the essential features remained the\nsame.\n\nIn 1897, Leo\u00a0XIII took the matter up again. The index of forbidden\nbooks was thoroughly revised. About a thousand were dropped. The\n\u201crules,\u201d too, were overhauled, \u201cto make them milder, without altering\ntheir nature, so that it cannot be difficult or irksome for any person\nof good will to obey them.\u201d\n\nThis, then, represents the whole book legislation of the Church. There\nare no other documents, except the decrees by which, as occasion\ndemanded, individual books were forbidden. The encyclical of Pius\u00a0X on\nModernism merely enjoins on the bishops special vigilance in regard to\npublications infected with modernistic views.\n\nThis universal legislation, however, does not preclude the local\nprohibition of books by bishops or other ecclesiastical authorities.\nThus Spain had, until 1820, its own Index, controlled by the Spanish\nInquisition.\n\n\n5. Books Forbidden by General or Particular Decrees.\n\nAs we have already mentioned, the Constitution \u201cOfficiorum ac munerum\u201d\nestablishes the general laws by which books are forbidden. As will be\nseen in our Summary, these laws deal with classes of books. The only\none named expressly is the Bible. But all the books clearly contained\nin these classes are as strictly, and sometimes even more strictly,\ncondemned than those listed singly in the second part of the Index.\n\nPope Leo changed the Tridentine rules \u201cwithout altering their nature.\u201d\nIt is, indeed, difficult to see how the nature of these regulations\ncould have been changed. They simply express the point of view from\nwhich the Church must look upon objectionable publications. While\nopposing and condemning spoken error, the Church surely cannot allow\nfull sway to the printed. In regard to the second part, or Index\nproper, many wrong notions are current. One of these is, that this\nIndex contains _all_ the books forbidden by the Church, and that there\nare no others which we are obliged to avoid. From the foregoing\nremarks, it must, on the contrary, be concluded that there are many\nother books forbidden by the laws of the Church. The worst of them are\nnot in this special Index at all, because they fall under the general\ndecrees.\n\nIt is by no means the intention of the Roman authorities to catalogue\nall the literary virus that has been vomited forth by printing presses\nall over the world in the course of four and a half centuries. By\nmeans of the general laws laid down in the \u201cOfficiorum ac munerum\u201d we\nare in all cases able to see our duty.\n\nThere are especially two purposes for which books are prohibited\nseparately and by name.\n\nWhenever there is a doubt about the nature of a book, recourse may be\nhad to Rome; sometimes the Roman authorities appointed for this\npurpose, will take up the matter without being appealed to. They will\ninvestigate and decide by putting the book on the Index, or, by\ndismissing it. This is the case with most books publicly censured.\nIt was the case with the books of Schell and Loisy, which, it was\nstrongly urged by learned men, propagated ideas contrary, or at least\ndangerous, to the faith, though a host of followers admired them as\northodox masterpieces. Rome had to speak, and settled the controversy\nby condemning the books in question.\n\nDismissal does not always mean that a book is unobjectionable. The\nauthorities may refrain from pronouncing deserved condemnation for\nreasons of prudence and expediency.\n\nSometimes the preservation of discipline or religious unity\nnecessitates this step. Thus about two hundred years ago the Pope had\nimposed silence on two factions that were carrying on a theological\nfeud. This silence was violated on both sides, a book appearing for\nthe defence of either position. What was more natural than that both\nbooks should be put on the Index? These and similar cases could not be\ncovered so clearly by the general decrees.\n\nWhat has thus far been said, offers a partial solution of another\ncurrent error. The Index is not a studiously selected, not even a\nsystematically arranged catalogue of objectionable books. It was the\nneed of the moment, doctrinal blunders, cavillations and heresies,\ngrievous trespasses against discipline and charity, proceeding from\nanimosity or want of tact, that caused the insertion of most of the\nbooks. In nearly all cases the Roman authorities confine themselves to\nbooks concerning which they are appealed to; and as there is no system\nin the making of these appeals, there can be no system in the\ncondemnations. In the new Leonine edition of the Index the books are\nenumerated alphabetically by authors or pseudonyms; anonymous books\nare listed according to titles.\n\nIt must now be obvious to the attentive reader why most of the books\nput on the Index are works on theology, or on the history and\ngovernment of the Church, and why (as may be expected in the case of\nsuch publications), a considerable percentage are written in Latin.\nHowever, a goodly number of books are on the Index because they are\ndetrimental to good morals. There are very few there which treat of\nthe natural sciences. The Index will not busy itself with publications\non electricity or X-rays, unless an author on a subject of this sort\ndevote a considerable part of his work to attacks upon religion.\n\nThere are some well-meaning people who, while agreeing that the\nproductions of Zola, Dumas and other writers of the same sort, fully\ndeserve condemnation, cannot understand why works like Ranke\u2019s\n_History of the Popes_, which is an acknowledged authority in its\nline, should be proscribed. Such works are not on the Index for the\ngood things they contain, but for the poison they mix with the\nwholesome food so cleverly that it takes more than ordinary\nscholarship and discretion to separate the one from the other.\n\nThe Roman Committee of Cardinals, which has charge of this part of\necclesiastical discipline, is not at all bent on proscribing books.\nWorks like the one mentioned are never put on the Index unless it is\nquite clear that the mischief to be feared from them will far outweigh\nthe good they may do. Scholars and students well grounded in their\nfaith, who have a real and legitimate cause for reading a forbidden\nbook can easily obtain a dispensation.\n\nIt is clear from the preceding explanations that a book may sometimes\nbe dropped from the Index. This is done when a book has long ceased\nto be dangerous, or a cause of dissension, or if it has fallen into\noblivion. Thus Pope Leo\u00a0XIII caused to be expunged about a thousand\ntitles. This does not imply a reproach for the authorities of former\ncenturies, much less the giving up of an iota of the old principles.\n\n\n6. Duties Imposed by Law and by Nature.\n\nSuppose a person were so well grounded in faith and virtue, so\nthoroughly versed in theology, philosophy, and the natural sciences,\nthat the reading of books e.\u00a0g. on Christian Science, or the works of\nVoltaire, would not harm him. The Index prohibits these books; would\nhe whom they could not harm be allowed to read them? As we put the\ncase, he would, by reading them, not commit the sin of seriously\nendangering his soul. Yet he would sin by disregarding a positive law\nof the Church. These laws are like the precautionary measures taken by\nthe civil authorities in times of epidemic; if they are to have the\ndesired effect, they must be observed by all. When the community is\nunder quarantine, those who declare themselves free from the disease\nmust observe the regulations as well as the rest.\n\nLet those who think they have _a good reason_ for reading a forbidden\nbook, and who are not mistaken in supposing that there is no danger\nfor them, humbly ask for permission, as did the Saints. By doing so\nthey declare that the standpoint of the Church is theirs, and that\nthey willingly submit to a power which was entrusted with the care of\n\u201cteaching to observe whatsoever I have commanded you.\u201d \u201cWe have to\ndevelop a loving habit of loyalty and obedience to the Church as to\nChrist, our Savior.\u201d\n\nSuppose, on the other hand, there were no Church laws prohibiting\npernicious reading. In that case should we be allowed to read any book\nwe pleased? By no means. We should then, it is true, by reading,\ne.\u00a0g., Zola\u2019s novels, not commit an act of disobedience to the Church.\nBut, as already hinted, there is another duty imposed on us by God\nHimself\u2014the grave duty to guard our soul from serious danger. This\nduty does not depend on any positive law or decree of authority, and\nit equally binds the Christian and the non-Christian. It is expressed\nin the fifth commandment: \u201cThou shalt not kill.\u201d This duty corresponds\non our part to what we ask of God in the sixth petition of the Our\nFather: \u201cLead us not into temptation.\u201d We should undoubtedly violate\nit by reading Zola\u2019s filthy works. The prohibition of these works by\nthe Church merely adds another obligation to that imposed by the\nnatural law, thereby considerably strengthening our will and enabling\nus to resist every enticement to read what can be read only at a\nserious risk to our soul.\n\nThis grave duty, therefore, is not imposed by the Church and cannot be\ntaken away by the Church. It is a natural duty and as such remains in\nforce even after we are granted a formal permission, which is neither\nintended nor able to suppress temptations that may arise from the\nperusal of bad books. If we have a good reason to apply for\npermission\u2014curiosity is not a good reason\u2014then and then only can we\nexpect a special protection from Divine Providence. Of course, this\nprotection does not dispense us from the necessity of using all the\nmeans of self-protection, both natural and supernatural.\n\nI know of a priest who was in every way a model man. He fell suddenly\naway from the Church, married, and is now a foremost champion in the\nranks of the enemy. His apostasy is, not without reason, attributed to\nthe reading of infidel books, though no doubt he had the necessary\ndispensation.\n\nThere was another priest, who has meanwhile died the death of the\njust, a celebrated author and art critic. In writing a work on\nVoltaire he had to study the books of that arch-agnostic. He obtained\nthe requisite permission, but, while perusing Voltaire\u2019s writings, he\nwas on his knees, to implore, as it were, by this humble posture the\nprotection of God against the wicked influence to which he was\nexposed.\n\nSt.\u00a0Francis of Sales, the great and learned Bishop of Geneva, had\nobtained permission to read the books of heretics in order to refute\nthem, and he is careful to let his readers know the fact, at the same\ntime thanking God in pathetic words that his soul had suffered no harm\nin so great a danger.\n\nThis grave natural duty in the choice of our reading matter extends\nmuch farther than the legislation of the Church. Parents and priests\ndo not comply with their obligation of controlling the reading of\ntheir charges if they merely look up the Index to see whether a\ncertain book is mentioned there. If an otherwise unobjectionable book\ncontains an obscene passage of a page or so, no one will claim that it\nfalls under the general law prohibiting obscene books. Nor is it\nlikely to be put on the Index. Yet such a book is apt to work havoc in\nthe innocent soul of your daughter or son, perhaps in your own. As\nlong as that passage is in it, the book\u2014even though it is not on the\nIndex\u2014cannot and must not, under pain of sin, be allowed in the hands\nof children.\n\nWould that this twofold duty were always faithfully complied with,\nespecially in our large cities, where books of every sort are within\neasy reach. Do not many, perhaps all, public libraries offer among\nother books such as are \u201cderogatory to the Church, the hierarchy, the\nreligious state,\u201d and especially novels which \u201cdefend as lawful or\ntolerable, freemasonry, suicide, divorce\u201d? How can we expect our young\npeople to have Catholic views on courtship and marriage, on the\npriesthood, on the veneration of the saints, if we allow them to\nimbibe the ideas of such writers as Balzac or Dumas? It is deplorable\nenough that the modern novel is the catechism of millions outside of\nthe Church. We must not allow it to displace the Catholic catechism or\nto unteach, totally or in part, the truths taught by it.\n\n\n7. Who Puts Books On The Index?\n\nThe popes have at all times exercised the prerogative of their supreme\noffice as guardians of the faith by condemning books opposed to the\nfaith. The latest of such condemnations is that, in 1862, of the works\nof the Munich professor, Frohschammer, who answered this condemnation\nby falling away from the Church. There are in all 144 books that were\nindividually proscribed by a papal document. In Pope Leo\u2019s edition\nthey are marked with a dagger. Yet only in cases of the utmost\nimportance did the popes act themselves. To facilitate the government\nof the world-wide Church, in the course of centuries special\ncommittees of cardinals were appointed, to whom part of the pontiff\u2019s\nvarious duties were entrusted. These committees are styled\nCongregations. A larger or smaller number of learned priests and\nbishops, generally called Consultors, assist the cardinals and\npractically do the greater part of the work, though the final decision\nin all cases is reserved to the cardinals.\n\nThe highest of these Roman Congregations is the _Sacrum Officium_ or\n\u201cGeneral Inquisition,\u201d called also the \u201cCongregation of the Holy\nOffice,\u201d of which the Pope himself is Prefect. Its purpose is\nespecially to watch over the purity of faith. It is this august body\nthat, after the Pope himself, is in the first place called to judge\nthe doctrines propounded in any book. It was this Congregation that\nperformed the preparatory work for the first Index of Paul\u00a0IV, and,\nalthough another congregation for the examining of books was soon\nafter established, the _Sacrum Officium_ continued to exercise the\nsame power. As may be expected, especially such works as seemed to\naffect the integrity of the faith, were submitted to this supreme\ncourt. In our days the works of the French priest Loisy were\nproscribed by the _Sacrum Officium_.\n\nBut the bulk of this work is at present performed by the _Congregatio\nIndicis librorum prohibitorum_, or \u201cCongregation of the Index of\nForbidden Books.\u201d It was founded by Saint Pius\u00a0V in 1571, seven years\nafter the publication of the Tridentine Index. Since then about eighty\nper cent. of all individual prohibitions of books have emanated from\nit. Its Prefect is a cardinal. The present one is Cardinal Segna. The\nperpetual assistant and secretary are always members of the Dominican\norder. Besides the seven or ten cardinals there are about thirty\nconsultors, many of whom are bishops.\n\nThough three or four prohibitions of books have emanated from other\nRoman authorities, the practice has been to let either the _Sacrum\nOfficium_ or the Congregation of the Index decide in all cases. The\nlatter Congregation, moreover, had to register all condemnations\npronounced by any of the legitimate authorities and to see that they\nwere entered in the new editions of the Index.\n\nOur present Holy Father, Pius\u00a0X, has lately brought about a long\ndesired reform in the central government of the Church. The competency\nof many of the Roman Congregations has been more clearly defined, and\nseveral of those originally instituted have been either suppressed or\nunited with others. The Congregation of the Index has received a wider\nsphere and greater power. While formerly it passed only on books in\nregard to which it was expressly appealed to, it has now become a\nregular vigilance committee for the whole Church. The Holy Father\nsays: \u201cFor the future it shall be the province of this Sacred\nCongregation not only to examine diligently the books reported to it,\nto prohibit them, if this should seem well, and to concede\ndispensations; but also to officially investigate in the best\navailable way whether writings of any kind that should be condemned\nare being circulated; and to remind the ordinaries how strictly they\nare bound to condemn pernicious writings and to denounce them to the\nHoly See.\u201d\n\nOn the relation of the Congregation of the Index to that of the\n_Sacrum Officium_ (Holy Office) the Pope says: \u201cAs the prohibition of\nbooks has very frequently the scope of defense of the Faith, which is\nalso the object of the Congregation of the Holy Office, we decree that\nin future in all things relating to the prohibition of books, and in\nthose alone, the Cardinals, Consultors and officers of both\ncongregations, may communicate with one another, and that all of them\nshall be bound by the same secret.\u201d\n\nThe Roman Congregations are not infallible. But they represent the\nPope in his highest capacity as shepherd of the entire flock of\nChrist. Therefore we owe them obedience. Their regulations and orders\nmust find us even more willing to obey than those of our bishops and\npastors, to whom only a small portion of Christ\u2019s kingdom is\nentrusted.\n\n\n8. The Method of Examination.\n\nOur confidence in the fairness of the verdicts of the S.\u00a0Congregation\nof the Index will be much increased, if we acquaint ourselves with the\nmethod it follows in carrying out its arduous, odious and yet very\nimportant task. This method is practically the same for both the Holy\nOffice and the Index. The usual procedure is based mainly on the\nregulations laid down in the Bull of Pope Benedict\u00a0XIV, \u201cSollicita ac\nprovida.\u201d\n\nWhen a book is reported to the Index Congregation, the secretary first\ntries to ascertain whether it is worth examining. He also inquires by\nletter from bishops and other reliable persons about the advisability\nof a condemnation. Several consultors assist him in this preliminary\ninvestigation; but the Cardinal Prefect has to ratify their decision.\n\nIf they think the book should be examined, it is handed to a\nconsultor, who has to study it carefully and to draw up a detailed\nreport, noting exactly the passages which he finds objectionable, and\nconscientiously pointing out all redeeming features. His report\ntogether with the book is passed on to other consultors, each of whom\ncan thus satisfy himself whether the first \u201cexaminer\u2019s\u201d verdict is\nfair, and has also an opportunity to formulate his own view. One\nquestion they have to answer is, whether the condemnation is likely to\nhave a good effect.\n\nAfter comparing the opinions of the consultors, the secretary of the\nCongregation draws up an official statement of the reasons for and\nagainst a prohibition, which statement together with the book is\nsubmitted to the Cardinal Prefect, by whose orders it is printed and a\ncopy sent to each cardinal and consultor of the Congregation.\n\nNext a preparatory meeting of the consultors is called for a previous\ndiscussion. The consultor who examined the book speaks first, then all\nthe others, beginning with the youngest. The secretary carefully\nrecords the views of each consultor, together with his reasons.\n\nAt least ten days must elapse between this meeting and the solemn\nsession of the whole Congregation, in which the question is finally\ndecided by a vote of the cardinals.\n\nThe decision arrived at is commonly given in one of these four\ntechnical phrases: _Damnetur_, \u201ccondemned\u201d; _dimittatur_,\n\u201cdismissed\u201d; _donec corrigatur_, \u201cforbidden until amended\u201d; _res\ndilata_, \u201cthe case is postponed.\u201d The verdict _donec corrigatur_ of\ncourse, can only be given when a book admits of correction; when it is\nthoroughly bad (e.\u00a0g. written for the sole purpose of eulogizing\nFreemasonry or maligning Catholic bishops), a _donec corrigatur_ would\nhave no meaning.\n\nFinally, the secretary of the Congregation lays the whole matter\nbefore the Pope, who, if he sees fit, authorizes the publication of\nthe decree.\n\nNobody will deny that this is a very excellent method of procedure.\nUnder it a book is examined at least three times, and twenty-five or\nthirty picked scholars participate in the proceedings, each of whom\nhas taken a solemn oath never to allow himself to be influenced by\nsympathy or antipathy and to have nothing in view but the eternal\nwelfare of souls.\n\nIf the author is a Catholic, he must be informed before the decree is\npublished. If but a few copies of the book have been sold, and the\nauthor promises either to suppress it, or to issue an amended edition,\nif possible, the decree is not published. But even when this cannot be\nprevented, e.\u00a0g. when a whole edition is already in circulation,\ncredit is given to the author in the decree itself for declaring his\nsubmission, by adding the words: _auctor laudabiliter se subjecit_,\n\u201cthe author has praiseworthily submitted.\u201d\n\nGreat care is taken to have all books examined by men who are not only\nwell versed in the subject matter, but who also understand thoroughly\nthe language in which they happen to be written. Nor does the\nCongregation in important cases confine itself to its regular\nconsultors; whenever it seems advisable, the services of other\ncompetent critics are enlisted.\n\nAll the members of the Congregation are bound by oath to keep absolute\nsecrecy with regard to every detail of the official transactions, no\nmatter whether a book under discussion is finally condemned or not. By\nthis means each feels more free in giving his opinion, and the\nreputation of the author is spared as long and as much as possible.\n\n\n9. The Spirit of the Congregation of the Index.\n\nAs to the spirit that should actuate the members of the Congregation\nof the Index, the rules laid down for its consultors by Benedict\u00a0XIV\nin the Bull \u201cSollicita ac provida\u201d are instructive.\n\n\u201c_Ipsos ... monemus ac vehementer hortamur ut in examine iudicioque\nlibrorum sequentes regulas diligenter inspiciant accurateque\ncustodiant._\u201d \u201cWe wish to admonish and exhort them most urgently to\nstudy carefully and observe accurately the following rules for\nexamining and judging books:\n\n1. Let them not imagine that it is their duty to use every means to\nbring about the condemnation of the books submitted to them. They\nought rather to study such books conscientiously, without passion or\nanxiety (sedato animo), in order to furnish such well-found\nobservations, such objective reasons, as will enable the Congregation\nto pass a just verdict.\n\n2. Should a consultor find that he is not competent to judge a book\nwhich he is asked to examine, let him know that he will not be free\nfrom guilt, either before God or man, unless he at once confesses his\nincompetence. Far from damaging his reputation with the pope or the\ncardinals, such an avowal will rather gain their esteem and praise for\nhis straightforwardness and honesty.\n\n3. Let them set aside absolutely all prejudice in favor of nation,\nfamily, school or order; let them relinquish all party spirit, and\nkeep before their minds the undoubted doctrine of the Church, as laid\ndown in the decrees of the councils, in papal documents, etc., knowing\nthat there are opinions that, while they seem certain to one nation,\nschool, or order, are, with the knowledge of the Holy See, opposed by\nothers; the Holy See leaving all these opinions in their degree of\nprobability.\n\n4. It must also be borne in mind that it is impossible to judge\nfairly the meaning of a passage, unless the entire book is studied,\nand unless the various statements found in different sections are\ncompared with one another, and the whole purpose of the book is\nsteadily kept in view.\n\n5. If an author who enjoys the reputation of sound theological\nlearning, has used expressions which might be understood in a wrong as\nwell as in a right meaning, fairness demands that they be, as far as\npossible, interpreted in his favor.\n\nThese and similar rules ... must be kept before the minds of the\nconsultors, in order that they may have due regard for their own\nconscience, the good name of authors, the interests of the Church, and\nthe welfare of souls.\u201d\n\n\n10. Further Explanations.\n\nA. Why an Author is Not Permitted to Defend His Book.\n\nIf an author could accompany every copy of his work that leaves the\nbookstore or library, he would be able to explain obscure passages\nand to show what meaning he wished doubtful phrases to convey to the\nreader. It is precisely because he cannot multiply himself that he\nemploys printer\u2019s ink to convey his ideas to others. It must,\ntherefore, be supposed that his words mean what he intends to say. The\nreader, at any rate, has no corrective. He has only the book, not the\nauthor to fall back upon. It is impossible to recur to the author when\nthere is question of the correctness or incorrectness of a book. If\nthe author has to be called upon to explain the meaning of his book,\nhe should have left it unprinted.\n\nMoreover, it is hardly credible, as Pope Benedict\u00a0XIV points out, that\nanything an author might advance in his favor, should escape so many\nexaminers without receiving due attention and emphasis.\n\nThe whole procedure is primarily not intended as a measure against the\nauthor, although pecuniary loss _may_ ensue, but to protect the\nfaithful. A condemnation is rather a warning to the would-be reader,\nthan a punishment inflicted upon the author. It is not an act of\njurisdiction. Were the author\u2019s personal views under investigation, he\nwould be summoned personally before another tribunal and tried\naccording to a method that would give him the amplest opportunity to\ndefend himself.\n\nThese considerations also show that the condemnation of a book after\nits author\u2019s death is not unreasonable. A book remains what it is\nindependently of its author. Nor would it change the nature of a book\nwere the author afterwards to prove his orthodoxy to the satisfaction\nof the authorities, or to do penance in sackcloth and ashes, or for\nthe rest of his mortal life consort with the Trappists. Were it\nmorally certain, however, that almost all the copies of a book were\ndestroyed, a prohibitory decree would fail of its purpose.\n\n\nB. The Index Does Not Advertise Bad Books.\n\nNow and then there is expressed an apprehension lest the Index, far\nfrom suppressing, rather advertises bad books and arouses a desire to\nread them. It is even maintained that in some cases evil-minded\nauthors have intentionally written so as to get their books put on the\nIndex.\n\nNow, every prohibitory law may have the effect of increasing the\ninclination of men towards the prohibited thing or act. Thus a person\nmay possibly feel a stronger appetite for meat on Friday than on any\nother day of the week. We have inherited this tendency from Eve, who,\nwhen tempted, saw that the forbidden fruit \u201c_was good to eat and fair\nto the eye and delightful to behold_,\u201d and then proceeded to violate\nthe first prohibitory law ever given. But is that a reason to do away\nwith every prohibitory law?\n\nWho does not see at once that the Index must prove a very poor\nadvertising medium? Those who have it are certainly not the\nprospective buyers of immoral novels or of works which propagate\nheretical views in theology; while those who hanker after\nsensationalism or doubtful theology will not invest $2.25 for a book\nlist which contains, e.\u00a0g. for the year 1898, fully eight titles,\nfour of which are German, and for 1903 fifteen, all French.\n\nThis side of the question, as we have remarked elsewhere, is also in\neach case carefully weighed by the Sacred Congregation, before it\nresolves upon a prohibition.\n\nEven if the sale of a book should be increased by the fact of its\ncondemnation, the Index would nevertheless achieve its main purpose,\nnamely, to warn the faithful that the ideas advocated in the\nproscribed book are contrary to faith and morals. This is enough for\nall men of good will to enable them to shun the poison. Those who\nrefuse to heed the warning will have to blame their own ignorance or\nmalice if the reading of a condemned book results in spiritual hurt.\n\n\nC. Index Decisions Not Omitted for Fear of Apostasies.\n\nA book, we are reminded, often represents the opinions not only of its\nauthor, but of many of his disciples and admirers. By forbidding it\nand thus branding such opinions as erroneous, it is said, many\ninfluential men may become embittered and may even be driven into an\nattitude of open hostility.\n\nHowever, the Church is in duty bound to exercise her guardianship;\nwhich she cannot do if every one is to have his own way. Nor can the\nChurch neglect the mass of her children in order to accommodate this\nor that coterie or school, whose opinions are manifestly wrong.\n\nMoreover, to be a trustworthy guide, the Church must state the truth\nclearly and unmistakably. The faithful are not guided by ambiguous\ncircumlocutions, by terms that may be understood in two or perhaps\nmore ways. Neither may she keep exclusively in the lofty heights of\ntheory; but she must instruct with regard to the facts of everyday\nlife. The dangers arising from books are _concrete_ not _abstract_,\nand they must be met by concrete measures. This can be done\neffectively only by an energetic and unmistakable \u201cthou shalt not,\u201d\nwhich makes men realize that they are \u201cunder authority.\u201d\n\nNo one has ever stated the truth more clearly, more unmistakably than\nChrist our Lord. Was it not precisely for this very fact that \u201cmany of\nHis disciples went back and walked no more with Him\u201d? (John\u00a06, 67.)\n\n\nD. The \u201cGood Catholic.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a Catholic. I live up to my religion and go regularly to the\nsacraments. I have had a good Catholic education and hear a sermon\nevery Sunday. I do not see why I should be afraid to read any book,\neven if it belonged to those forbidden by the Index.\u201d\n\nYou may do so; but you may fare in consequence as David fared\u2014David\nwho was a saint and yet committed adultery and murder. If you read a\nforbidden book without permission, you are as good a Catholic as one\nwho eats meat on Friday. The object of the law of abstinence is to\nmake sure that every Christian performs at least a certain minimum of\npenance. Now there are saintly persons who, in imitation of our\ncrucified Savior, do more penance on ordinary days than the average\nCatholic does by abstaining from meat on twenty or more Fridays; and\nyet they are not exempted from the law of abstinence and would be the\nlast to claim such an exemption.\n\nSimilarly the object of the Index is to make sure that every Christian\navoids at least the worst books. By obeying its laws we declare that\nour standpoint is that of the Church of God. This result cannot be\nobtained unless the prohibition is made universal, exempting no one,\nno matter how pious or learned he may be. Therefore, _all_ Christians,\ngood and bad, priests, religious and lay people, students and\nprofessors, unless they have a dispensation, are bound by the\necclesiastical laws regarding books. By asking for a dispensation we\nimplicitly acknowledge and approve of the official position of the\nChurch on the subject of wicked books, and, so far as in us lies,\nratify and sanction the reasons which lead to their condemnation.\n\nYou say you are a good Catholic, and therefore this law does not bind\nyou. Are there any commandments of the Church that bind only bad\nCatholics?\n\n\nE. A Mortal Sin.\n\n\u201cI am told that a transgression of the Index law is a mortal sin. Can\nit be true that the Church, the kindest of mothers, should load us\ndown with such a severe obligation?\u201d\n\nAccording to the theologians, the reading of a forbidden book, or of a\nconsiderable part of it, _is_ a mortal sin. The selection of the books\non which our souls feed is a matter of no small importance. True, the\nChurch is the kindest of mothers; but she is also the wisest. To\ndirect the consciences of her children and \u201c_to restrain them from the\nreading of bad books as from a deadly poison_,\u201d is the great object of\nher legislation. Under the leadership of a mastermind like that of\nLeo\u00a0XIII, the Roman authorities have labored for years in formulating\nthe present ecclesiastical laws about books. These laws are the voice\nof the supreme pastor, the successor of St. Peter. Let us not spurn\nit like the heathen and the publican.\n\n\nF. The Galileo Case.\n\nThe Roman Congregations are no more infallible than our bishops and\npastors. And yet there is practically but one case, during more than\nthree centuries, in which they are accused of having made a mistake.\nIt is the condemnation, by both the Holy Office and the Index, of\n_Galileo Galilei Linceo_ (died 1639) for defending the theory that the\nearth moves around its own axis and around the sun.\n\nThis teaching was according to the common belief of Catholics and\nProtestants, at that time, clearly opposed to Holy Scripture, which\nthe Church was bound to vindicate. If Galileo\u2019s theory was true, the\ntraditional interpretation of sundry Bible texts would have had to be\nabandoned.\n\nThe Church had weighty reasons for not allowing this. The new theory\nwas not at all certain. Galileo himself admitted he could not\nestablish more than a probability. Several very obvious objections he\nwas unable to explain satisfactorily. None of the real proofs used in\nour days were known to him. He was told by the Jesuit Cardinal\nBellarmin, if he could advance any convincing proof for his theory,\nthe traditional interpretation of those passages would be given up.\nBut all Galileo had to offer was an ingenious hypothesis. Had he\nadvocated it as such with due respect for the time-honored\ninterpretation of the Book of Books, had he not used bold, sometimes\nbitter and defying language, no steps would have been taken against\nhim, who had until then been a favorite of the pope and of many\ndignitaries. As matters stood, \u201cthe Church could wait for the\neducation of a physical system, but she could not allow a change in\nthe universally accepted interpretation of Scripture, before the\nnecessity of such a change was proved.\u201d (Guggenberger, _History of the\nChristian Era_. Vol.\u00a0II, pp.\u00a0456, etc.)\n\n\u201cThe marvelous unanimity of the enemies of the Church in concentrating\nall their attacks against the Roman Congregation on the case of\nGalileo, is a striking negative testimony to the value of the\ndecisions of courts which have been at work for centuries.\u201d (_Rome._)\n\n\nG. State and Protestant Book Laws.\n\nAs we have already remarked, Henry\u00a0VIII continued his policy of\nproscribing books opposed to his views long after he had constituted\nhimself the head of the English Church. Between 1526 and 1546 there\nwere issued by the King\u2019s authority nine catalogues of books which\nEnglishmen were forbidden to read. Among these books were the works of\nthe continental \u201creformers\u201d; for some years the English Bible; also\nwritings against the King\u2019s matrimonial projects.\n\nThe Protestants on the continent followed the same system. Calvin\ncondemned a Spanish physician, who happened to come to Geneva, to\nbe burned at the stake, because he had written a heretical book.\nThe Protestant princes and republics had each its special\nbook-legislation, which was made to serve not only religious but also\npolitical purposes.\n\nAfter the middle of the eighteenth century, in almost all Catholic\ncountries, the civil power usurped the monopoly of proscribing books,\nand practiced it in a truly despotic way. Thus in Austria 639 books\nwere forbidden within five years. No book was allowed to be printed\nwithout _previous_ permission, not even on forestry or cattle-raising.\nBishops were severely reproved for enforcing the prohibitions of the\nRoman Index in their seminaries.\n\n_Napoleon\u00a0I_ had a publisher shot, practically without trial, for\nissuing a work contrary to his political plans. One book was publicly\nburned because it contained the picture of Pius\u00a0VII. To enable the\nauthorities to control the book trade more effectively, no printing\nestablishment was allowed to have, in Paris more than four, and in the\nprovinces more than two, presses.\n\nNeedless to remark, the civil authorities _have_ the right to prohibit\nbooks that seriously endanger the common welfare. If they use this\nright in a reasonable way, their measures are likely to bring about\ngood and prevent evil. We all have occasional opportunities to observe\nthis in the measures taken against immoral literature by the police or\nthe post-office department.\n\n\nH. Some Examples of Submission to the Index.\n\nThe first Roman Index, that of 1559, was considered rather severe. One\nof the influential men who tried hard to have its provisions softened,\nwas _Blessed Peter Canisius_, the \u201cSecond Apostle of Germany.\u201d Yet the\nvery letters he wrote to Rome for this purpose show that he\nscrupulously observed all the regulations, though he himself, called\nthe \u201cHammer of Heretics,\u201d surely incurred little personal risk by\nreading forbidden books.\n\nAbout 1698, a book by _Archbishop F\u00e9nelon_ was under investigation at\nRome. F\u00e9nelon was a great scholar and one of the greatest preachers of\nall centuries, but he was also a loyal son of the Church. He knew a\ncondemnation of his book would mean his own condemnation in the eyes\nof Catholic France. His friends as well as his antagonists were\neagerly awaiting Rome\u2019s decision on one of the great churchman\u2019s\nbooks. At last the verdict was pronounced in the most solemn way by\nthe Pope himself, and it was a condemnation. F\u00e9nelon was just\nascending his pulpit, March\u00a025, 1699, when his brother broke the news\nto him. The great Archbishop at once proceeded to read to his own\nflock the papal document and preached an eloquent sermon on the\nobedience every Christian owes to his superiors. We can imagine what a\nprofound impression his words must have made. His was a truly heroic\nexample of self-abnegation.\n\nIn 1861 there died in Munich _Ernest von Lasaulx_, a famous professor\nof the University. In his writings he had now and then been very bold,\nand it was rumored that the Congregation of the Index thought of\ncensuring some of his books. Von Lasaulx knew this. A few weeks before\nhis death he made an implicit retraction of the errors he might have\ninvoluntarily committed, which was forwarded to Rome by his friends.\nAlready some years before he had declared that he had never intended\nto contravene the doctrine of the Church, but that he feared there\nwere many errors in his books. \u201cIf Rome would think it advisable to\nput my books on the Index, I should consider the verdict perfectly\njust, _since I firmly believe that such measures are truly in the\ninterest of the Catholic Church in our times_.\u201d Four of his books were\nreally condemned after his death.\n\nIn July, 1906, an Italian novel, _Il Santo_, (The Saint) by Fogazzaro,\nwas put on the Index. The author \u201csubmitted himself.\u201d An American\nedition of the book had meanwhile appeared; \u201cbut the prohibition by\nthe Roman authorities was duly respected by the publishers of the\nleading Catholic papers of America, which declined to accept\nadvertisements of the book.\u201d (Putnam.)\n\n\n\n\nSECTION II\n\nA SUMMARY OF THE INDEX\n\n\n1. Our Duties in Relation to Forbidden Books.\n\nRULE 1. We are not allowed to read forbidden books, nor any\nconsiderable portion of them, even if those portions be in themselves\nharmless. If, however, a book is forbidden merely on account of the\none or other objectionable passage it contains, the objection ceases\nas soon as these passages are expunged or rendered illegible.\n\nRULE 2. No one, whether he be the owner or not, is allowed to keep a\nforbidden book. He must either destroy it, or give or sell it to some\none who has permission, or he must obtain permission for himself.\n\nRULE 3. It is not lawful for a Catholic publisher or printer to\nissue, or print, or reprint forbidden books. Nor may a bookseller keep\nsuch books in stock, unless he has obtained formal leave to do so.\n\n_Note 1._ Although all the members of a Catholic family should\nendeavor to keep forbidden books out of the home, the head of the\nhousehold is chiefly responsible before God. It is to be remarked,\nhowever, that Catholic librarians or servants do not violate this law\nby keeping, handling, or cataloguing forbidden books for their\nemployers, e.\u00a0g. in the latter\u2019s house, or in a public library.\n\n_Note 2._ If a book or any particular issue of a forbidden periodical\ncalls for a speedy public refutation, _and_ if permission to peruse it\ncannot be waited for, any educated Catholic, who may be reasonably\npresumed to be competent to refute it by sermon, lecture or newspaper\narticle, may read such book or periodical without awaiting special\npermission.\n\n_Note 3._ In all other cases, each and every Catholic, be he priest or\nlayman, professor or student, must first obtain permission. Neither\npiety, nor learning, nor position exempts one from this law. The\npermission is granted by bishops and their vicars general, who can\nalso delegate this power to others. When asking for this permission\nthe applicant should mention the book which he thinks he has good\nreasons to read.\n\nThe juridical question, whether the bishop\u2019s faculty is _ordinaria_,\nor _quasi-ordinaria_, or _extra-ordinaria_, and how far it extends, is\nnot within the scope of this Summary.\n\n_Note 4._ All who are dispensed from the Church law regarding\nforbidden books, must apply every possible precaution, in order that\nthey may not suffer injury to their faith or purity of heart. Such\nprecautions are: the hearing of sermons, the reading of Catholic\nbooks, the frequenting of Catholic society, regular prayers, and the\nfrequent and humble reception of the sacraments.\n\n\n2. Forbidden Books.\n\nRULE 4. General Rule.\u2014Translations of a forbidden book into any\nlanguage, if they faithfully reproduce the original, are also\nforbidden.\n\n\nA. The General Decrees Prohibit the Following Publications.\n\nRULE 5, a. Books defending heresies, i.\u00a0e. doctrines contrary to\ndivine revelation.\n\n  b. Books derogatory to God, the Blessed Virgin, the Saints.\n\n  c. Books vilifying the sacraments, the clerical or religious\n     state, the hierarchy, the Church.\n\nRULE 6. Books professedly treating of, narrating or teaching lewdness\nand obscenity.\n\nRULE 7. Books teaching or recommending sorcery, Spiritism, Christian\nScience, or other superstitions.\n\nRULE 8. Books defending as lawful or harmless Freemasonry, divorce,\nSocialism, suicide, duelling.\n\nRULE 9. _Those newspapers and periodicals_ which, not only now and\nthen, but regularly and of set purpose, attack religion or morality,\nor propagate anti-Catholic views.\n\nRULE 10. Episcopal approbation, to be printed in the beginning or at\nthe end of the book, is required for all editions of the Bible or\nparts of the Bible in any language, likewise for all prayer books,\nbooks of devotion and of practical piety. Without episcopal\nauthorization such publications are forbidden, though they may have\nbeen issued by the most learned and pious men.\n\n_Note 1._ Leaflets which are so small that they cannot be called\nbooks, or even booklets or pamphlets, do not fall under this law. But\nif they are not approved by the bishop, the duty of making sure that\nthey contain nothing erroneous devolves upon those who use them.\n\n_Summaries of indulgences_, however, no matter how small, always need\nepiscopal approbation and may not be circulated without it.\n\n_Note 2._ All editions of the Bible, edited by non-Catholics, in\nancient as well as modern languages, are permitted to those, and those\nonly, who are engaged in serious theological or biblical studies,\nprovided, however, that the PROLEGOMENA AND ANNOTATIONS do not of set\npurpose impugn the Catholic faith. It is not enough that the text\nitself is faithfully and completely rendered.\n\n_Note 3._ An exception has also been made in favor of those classics,\nancient and modern, which on account of their obscenity fall under\nrule\u00a06. In as far as they are models of style they may be read by\npersons engaged in teaching university or higher college classes of\nliterature, by those who are preparing for such a position in the near\nfuture, and by those who, on account of their profession, e.\u00a0g. as\ncritics or authors of literary works, cannot well do without them.\n(See note\u00a04 above.)\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhenever we know, or discover while reading, that a book undoubtedly\nbelongs to any one of these classes, we may be sure that it is a work\nwhich our Holy Mother the Church does not wish to see in our hands,\nand we must then act according to the words of Christ: \u201cHe who heareth\nyou, heareth Me, and he who despiseth you despiseth Me.\u201d No need of\nfirst looking up the catalogue of forbidden books; whether the volume\nin question is mentioned there or not, makes no difference. Nor does\nit matter what the literary character of the book is. An apparently\nlearned history of the seizure of Rome in 1870, written with the\nobvious intention of maligning Pius\u00a0IX, is forbidden just as well as a\nnovel written for the same purpose, or the prayer book of some\nProtestant sect.\n\n\nB. Books Forbidden by Particular Decrees.\n\nThe following list contains a number of titles which every\nEnglish-speaking Catholic ought to know. All the books that have been\nput on the Index during the last few years have been mentioned, not so\nmuch for completeness\u2019 sake, as because they contain the palmary error\nof our time, namely: Modernism, and among its doctrines especially the\nunchristian treatment of the Bible. None of these books are written in\nEnglish. But some have been and others may soon be translated. Their\ntitles, as well as those of most other foreign books, are given in\nEnglish.\n\n\n  _Addison, Jos._\n    Remarks on Several Parts of Italy.\n\n  _Bacon, Francis._\n    De dignitate et augmentis scientiarum.\n      (On the Dignity and Increase of Science.)\n\n  _Balzac, Honor\u00e9 de._\n    All novels.\n\n  _Bentham, Jeremy._\n    Three Tracts, etc.\n    Deontology or the Science of Morality.\n\n  _Bingham, Jos._\n    Origines Ecclesiastic\u00e6, or The Antiquities of the Christian Church.\n\n  _Blunt, John James._\n    Vestiges of Ancient Manners and Customs, etc.\n\n  _Bois, Jules._\n    Satanism.\n\n  _Bruno, Giordano._\n    The Conflict of Religion, Morals and Science in Contemporary\n      Education.\n\n  _Bunsen, Christian Chas. J._\n    Hippolytus and His Age, or The Doctrine and Practice of the Church\n      of Rome under Commodus and Alexander Severus, etc.\n\n  _Bureau, Paul._\n    The Moral Crisis in Modern Times.\n      Preface by M.\u00a0Alfred Croiset.\n\n  _Burgess, Richard._\n    Lectures on the Insufficiency of Unrevealed Religion.\n\n  _Cudworth, Ralph._\n    The True Intellectual System of the Universe, etc.\n\n  _Darwin, Erasmus._\n    Zo\u00f6nomia or the Laws of Organic Life.\n\n  _Denis, Chas._\n    An Apologetic Lenten Course on the Fundamental Dogmas, 1903.\n    Church and State: The Lessons of the Present Hour, 1903.\n\n  _Descartes, Ren\u00e9._\n    Meditations on Original Philosophy.\n\n  _Dimnet, Ernest._\n    Catholic Thought in England.\n\n  _D\u00f6llinger, John Joseph Ignatius._\n    The Pope and the Council.\n    Janus.\n\n  _Draper, John William._\n    History of the Conflicts Between Religion and Science.\n\n  _Duggan, James._\n    Steps towards Reunion.\n\n  _Dumas, Alexander_ (father and son).\n    All novels, except The Count of Monte-cristo.\n\n  _Earle, John Chas._\n    The Spiritual Body.\n    The Forty Days, or Christ Between His Resurrection and Ascension.\n\n  _F\u00e9nelon, Fran\u00e7ois de Salignac._\n    The Principles of the Saints.\n\n  _Ferri\u00e8re, \u00c9mile._\n    The Soul a Function of the Brain.\n    The Apostles.\n    Darwinism.\n    The Scientific Blunders of the Bible.\n    Matter and Energy.\n    Paganism of the Hebrews.\n    Life and Soul.\n    The Myths of the Bible.\n\n  _Ffoulkes, Edmund S._\n    Christendom\u2019s Divisions.\n    The Church\u2019s Creed or the Crown\u2019s Creed.\n\n  _Fogazzaro, Antonio._\n    The Saint (a novel).\n\n  _Frohschammer, Jacob._\n    Origin of the Human Soul.\n    Introduction to Philosophy.\n    On the Liberty of Science.\n    Christianity and Modern Science.\n    The Right of One\u2019s Own Conviction.\n    The New Knowledge and the New Faith.\n\n  _Georgel, Mich\u00e9l._\n    Matter: Its Deification, Its Rehabilitation, and Its Ultimate\n      Destiny.\n\n  _Gibbon, Edward._\n    History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.\n\n  _Goblet d\u2019Alviella, Eug._\n    The Idea of God.\n\n  _Goldsmith, Oliver._\n    An Abridged History of England From the Invasion of Julius C\u00e6sar\n      to the Death of George\u00a0II.\n\n  _Graf, Arthur._\n    The Devil.\n\n  _Gregorovius, Ferdinand._\n    History of the City of Rome During the Middle Ages.\n    The Sepulchral Monuments of the Popes.\n    Urban\u00a0VIII in Opposition to Spain and the Emperor.\n    Athena\u00efs: The History of a Byzantine Empress.\n    Wanderings in Italy (fifth volume), Scenes in Apulia.\n\n  _Hallam, Henry._\n    The Constitutional History of England, etc.\n    View of the State of Europe During the Middle Ages.\n\n  _Heine, Heinrich._\n    De l\u2019Allemagne.\n    De la France.\n    Reisebilder.\n    Neue Gedichte.\n\n  _Hilaire de Paris._\n    Exposition of the Rule of St.\u00a0Francis.\n\n  _Hobbes, Thomas._\n    All works.\n\n  _Houtin, Albert._\n    The Biblical Question among the Catholics of France in the\n      XIX\u00a0Century.\n    The Biblical Question in the XX\u00a0Century.\n    My Troubles with My Bishop.\n    Americanism.\n    The Crisis of the Clergy.\n\n  _Hugo, Victor._\n    Notre Dame de Paris.\n    Les Mis\u00e9rables.\n\n  _Hume, David._\n    All works.\n\n  _James\u00a0I, King of England._\n    Basilikon d\u014dron (Royal Gift) divided into three books.\n    Triplici nodo triplex cuneus, etc.\n    Meditatio in Orationem dominicam.\n    Meditatio in caput XXVII evangelii S.\u00a0Matthali.\n\n  _Kant, Immanuel._\n    Critique of Pure Reason.\n\n  _Laberthonni\u00e8re, Lucien._\n    Essays on Religious Philosophy.\n    Christian Realism and Grecian Idealism.\n\n  _Lacaze, F\u00e9lix._\n    To Lourdes with Zola.\n\n  _Lang, Andrew._\n    Myth, Ritual and Religion.\n\n  _Lasserre, Henri._\n    The Holy Gospels.\n\n  _Lefranc, E._ (pseudonym).\n    The Conflicts of Science and the Bible.\n\n  _Le Morin, Jean._\n    Truths of Yesterday?\n\n  _Lenau, Nicolaus._\n    Die Albigenser.\n\n  _Lenormant, Fran\u00e7ois._\n    The Beginnings of History.\n\n  _LeRoy, Edouard._\n    Dogma and Criticism.\n\n  _Locke, John._\n    An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.\n    The Reasonableness of Christianity, etc.\n\n  _Loisy, Alfred._\n    Gospel Studies.\n    The Gospel and the Church.\n    The Fourth Gospel.\n    Apropos of a Little Book.\n    The Religion of Israel.\n\n  _Maurice, Frederick D._\n    Theological Essays.\n\n  _Mill, John Stuart._\n    Principles of Political Economy.\n\n  _Milton, John._\n    Liter\u00e6 pseudo-senatus Anglicani, Cromwellii reliquorumque\n      perduellium nomine conscript\u00e6.\n\n  _Mivart, St. George._\n    Happiness in Hell.\n\n  _Montesquieu, Chas. de Secondat de._\n    The Spirit of the Laws.\n    Persian Letters.\n\n  _M\u00fcller, Joseph._\n    Reform Catholicism.\n\n  _Negri, Ada._\n    Fatalism.\n\n  _Olive, Jos._\n    Letters to the Members of the Pious and Devout Society of the\n      Heart of Jesus, etc.\n\n  _Osborne, Francis._\n    Miscellaneous Works.\n\n  _Payot, Jules._\n    About Faith.\n    Before Entering Life.\n    Program of Modernism (a reply to the encyclical).\n\n  _Planchet, Franc. Regis._\n    Episcopal Absolutism in the Mexican Republic.\n\n  _Pufendorf, Samuel von._\n    Introduction to the History of the Principal States of Europe.\n    (Also four Latin works.)\n\n  _Qui\u00e9vreux, Camille._\n    Paganism in the XIX Century.\n\n  _Ranke, Leopold._\n    The Roman Popes: Their Church and Their State in the XVI and\n      XVII Centuries.\n\n  _Renan, Ernest._\n    Practically all his works (the Index names nineteen).\n\n  _Renouf, Peter LePage._\n    The Condemnation of Pope Honorius.\n\n  _Richardson, Samuel._\n    Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded.\n\n  _Robertson, Wm._\n    The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles\u00a0V.\n\n  _Rohling, August._\n    The Kingdom of the Future. (Der Zukunftsstaat.)\n\n  _Roscoe, William._\n    The Life and Pontificate of Leo\u00a0X.\n\n  _Rosmini-Serbati, Antonio._\n    The Constitution according to Social Justice.\n    Of the Five Wounds of Holy Church.\n\n  _Rousseau, Jean-Jacques._\n    Emile, or About Education.\n    The Social Contract.\n    Letter to Christopher de Beaumont, Archbishop of Paris.\n    Letters Written from a Mountain.\n    Julia, or the New Helo\u00efse.\n\n  _Sabatier, Paul._\n    Life of St.\u00a0Francis of Assisi.\n\n  _Saintyves, P._\n    The Intellectual Reform of the Clergy and the Freedom of Education.\n    The Saints as Successors of the Gods.\n    Miracles and Historical Criticism.\n    Miracles and Scientific Criticism.\n\n  _Sand, George_ (pseudonym).\n    All novels.\n\n  _Schell, Hermann._\n    Catholic Dogma (Katholische Dogmatik).\n    Catholicism as a Principle of Progress.\n    The Divine Truth of Christianity.\n    The New Time and the Old Faith.\n\n  _Seymour, Michael H._\n    A Pilgrimage to Rome.\n\n  _Souli\u00e9, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric._\n    All novels.\n\n  _Stendhal, H.B. de._\n    All novels.\n\n  _Sterne, Laurence._\n    A Sentimental Journey.\n\n  _Strauss, David F._\n    The Life of Christ.\n\n  _Stroud, William._\n    Treatise on the Physical Cause of the Death of Christ.\n\n  _Sue, Eug\u00e8ne._\n    All novels.\n\n  _Taine, H.-A._\n    A History of English Literature.\n\n  _Tolstoy, Dmitry._\n    Roman Catholicism in Russia.\n\n  _Vericour, L.R. de._\n    Historical Analysis of Christian Civilization.\n\n  _Viollet, Paul._\n    The Infallibility of the Pope and the Syllabus.\n\n  _Vogrinec, Anton._\n    Nostra maxima culpa (Our Greatest Fault).\n\n  _Voltaire, F.-M. Arouet._\n    Practically all his works.\n\n  _Whateley, Richard._\n    Elements of Logic.\n\n  _White, Thomas._\n    All works.\n\n  _Wiese, Sigismund._\n    Jesus (drama).\n\n  _Zola, Emile._\n    All works.","title":"The Roman Index of Forbidden Books: Briefly Explained for Catholic Booklovers and Students","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":11043}