cannotspendALLmytimeinsaying，HailMary，beforethestatueoftheVirgin。”TheresultwasawarmpersonalattachmentbetweenSimonandRenan；bothwereBretons，educatedinthemidstofthemostorthodoxinfluences，andbothhadunwillinglybrokenawayfromthem。
Renanwasnowemancipated，andpursuedhisstudieswithsucheffectthathewasmadeprofessorattheCollegedeFrance。HisLifeofJesus，andotherbooksshowingthesamespirit，broughtatempestuponhimwhichdrovehimfromhisprofessorshipandbroughtgreathardshipsuponhimformanyyears。Buthisgeniuscarriedtheday，and，tothehonouroftheFrenchRepublic，hewasrestoredtothepositionfromwhichtheEmpirehaddrivenhim。FromhispenfinallyappearedtheHistoireduPeupleIsrael，inwhichscholarshipbroad，thoughattimesinaccurateinminordetails，wassupplementedbyanexquisiteacutenessandapoeticinsightwhichfarmorethanmadegoodanyofthoselessererrorswhichaGermanstudentwouldhaveavoided。Athisdeath，inOctober，1892，thismonumentalworkhadbeenfinished。Inclearnessandbeautyofstyleithasneverbeenapproachedbyanyothertreatiseonthisoranykindredsubject：itisaworkofgenius；anditsprofoundinsightintoallthatisofimportanceinthegreatsubjectswhichhetreatedwilldoubtlesscauseittoholdapermanentplaceintheliteraturenotonlyoftheLatinnationsbutoftheworld。
AninterestinglightisthrownoverthehistoryofadvancingthoughtattheendofthenineteenthcenturybythefactthatthismostdetestedofheresiarchswassummonedtoreceivethehighestofacademichonoursattheuniversitywhichforageshadbeenregardedasastrongholdofPresbyterianorthodoxyinGreatBritain。
InFrancetheanathemaslavisheduponhimbyChurchauthoritiesduringhislife，theirdenialtohimofChristianburial，andtheirrefusaltoallowhimagraveintheplacehemostloved，onlyincreasedpopularaffectionforhimduringhislastyearsanddeepenedthegeneralmourningathisdeath。[488]
[488]ForaremarkablyjustsummaryofRenan’swork，eminentlyjudicialandatthesametimedeeplyappreciative，seetheRev。
Dr。Pfleiderer，professorattheUniversityofBerlin，DevelopmentofTheologyinGermany，pp。241，242，note。ThefactsastotheearlyrelationsbetweenRenanandJulesSimonweretoldin1878bythelattertothepresentwriteratconsiderablelengthandwithmanyinterestingdetailsnotheregiven。Thewriterwasalsopresentatthepublicfuneralofthegreatscholar，andcantestifyofhisownknowledgetothedeepandheartyevidencesofgratitudeandrespectthenpaidtoRenan，notmerelybyeminentoratorsandscholars，butbythepeopleatlarge。AstotherefusaloftheplaceofburialthatRenanespeciallychose，seehisownSouvenirs，inwhichhelamentstheenevitableexclusionofhisgravefromthesitewhichhemostloved。Astocalumnies，onemasterpiece，verywidelyspread，throughthezealofclericaljournals，wasthatRenanreceivedenormoussumsfromtheRothschildsforattackingChristianity。
Inspiteofallresistance，thedesireformorelightuponthesacredbookspenetratedtheolderChurchfromeveryside。
InGermany，towardthecloseoftheeighteenthcentury，Jahn，CatholicprofessoratVienna，hadventured，inanIntroductiontoOldTestamentStudy，toclassJob，Jonah，andTobitbelowothercanonicalbooks，andhadonlyescapedseriousdifficultiesbyampleamendsinasecondedition。
Earlyinthenineteenthcentury，Herbst，CatholicprofessoratTubingen，hadendeavouredinasimilarIntroductiontobringmodernresearchtobearontheolderview；buttheChurchauthoritiestookcaretohaveallpassagesreallygivinganynewlightskilfullyandspeedilyeditedoutofthebook。
Laterstill，Movers，professoratBreslau，showedremarkablegiftsforOldTestamentresearch，andmuchwasexpectedofhim；
buthisecclesiasticalsuperiorsquietlypreventedhispublishinganyextendedwork。
DuringthelatterhalfofthenineteenthcenturymuchthesamepressurehascontinuedinCatholicGermany。Strongscholarshaveverygenerallybeendrawnintothepositionof“apologists“or“reconcilers。”and，whenfoundintractable，theyhavebeendrivenoutoftheChurch。
ThesamegeneralpolicyhadbeenevidentinFranceandItaly，buttowardthelastdecadeofthecenturyitwasseenbythemoreclear-sightedsupportersoftheolderChurchinthosecountriesthatthemultifarious“refutations“andexplosiveattacksuponRenanandhisteachingshadaccomplishednothing；thatevenspecialservicesofatonementforhissin，likethefamous“Triduo“atFlorence，onlydrewafewwomen，andprovokedridiculeamongthepublicatlarge；thatthrowinghimoutofhisprofessorshipandcalumniatinghimhadbutincreasedhisinfluence；andthathisbrilliantintuitions，addedtothecarefulresearchesofGermanandEnglishscholars，hadbroughtthethinkingworldbeyondthereachoftheoldmethodsofhidingtroublesometruthsandcrushingpersistenttruth-tellers。
Thereforeitwasthatabout1890abodyofearnestRomanCatholicscholarsbeganverycautiouslytoexamineandexplainthebiblicaltextinthelightofthoseresultsofthenewerresearchwhichcouldnolongerbegainsaid。
Amongthesemenwere，inItaly，CanonBartolo，CanonBerta，andFatherSavi，andinFranceMonseigneurd’Hulst，theAbbeLoisy，professorattheRomanCatholicUniversityatParis，and，mosteminentofall，ProfessorLenormant，oftheFrenchInstitute，whoseresearchesintobiblicalandotherancienthistoryandliteraturehadwonhimdistinctionthroughouttheworld。Thesemen，whilestandingupmanfullyfortheChurch，wereobligedtoallowthatsomeoftheconclusionsofmodernbiblicalcriticismwerewellfounded。Theresultcamerapidly。ThetreatiseofBartoloandthegreatworkofLenormantwereplacedontheIndex；
CanonBertawasoverwhelmedwithreproachesandvirtuallysilenced；theAbbeLoisywasfirstdeprivedofhisprofessorship，andthenignominiouslyexpelledfromtheuniversity；Monseigneurd’HulstwassummonedtoRome，andhassincekeptsilence。[489]
[489]ForthefrustrationofattemptstoadmitlightintoscripturalstudiesinRomanCatholicGermany，seeBleek，OldTestament，London，1882，vol。i，pp。19，20。ForthegeneralstatementregardingrecentsuppressionofmodernbiblicalstudyinFranceandItaly，seeanarticlebyaRomanCatholicauthorintheContemporaryReview，September，1894，p。365。ForthepapalcondemnationsofLenormantandBartolo，seetheIndexLibrorumProhibitorumSanctissimiDominiNostri，LeonisXIII，P。M。，etc。，Rome，1891；Appendices，July，1890，andMay，1891。Theghastlypartoftherecord，asstatedinthiseditionoftheIndex，isthatboththesegreatscholarswereforcedtoabjuretheir“errors“andtoacquiesceinthecondemnation——Lenormentdoingthisonhisdeathbed。
ThematterwasevidentlythoughtseriousinthehigherregionsoftheChurch，forinNovember，1893，appearedanencyclicalletterbythereigningPope，LeoXIII，onTheStudyofSacredScripture。
Muchwasexpectedfromit，for，sinceBenedictXIVinthelastcentury，therehadsatonthepapalthronenoPopeintellectuallysocompetenttodiscussthewholesubject。While，then，thosedevotedtotheolderbeliefstrustedthatthepapalthunderboltswouldcrushthewholebroodofbiblicalcritics，votariesofthenewerthoughtventuredtohopethattheencyclicalmight，inthelanguageofoneofthem，prove“astupendousbridgespanningthebroadabyssthatnowdividesallegedorthodoxyfromestablishedscience。”[490]
[490]Forthisstatement，seeanarticleintheContemporaryReview，April，1894，p。576。
Boththeseexpectationsweredisappointed；andyet，onthewhole，itisaquestionwhethertheworldatlargemaynotcongratulateitselfuponthispapalutterance。Thedocument，ifnotapostolic，woncreditas“statesmanlike。”Ittookpains，ofcourse，toinsistthattherecanbenoerrorofanysortinthesacredbooks；itevendefendedthosepartswhichProtestantscountapocryphalasthoroughlyastheremainderofScripture，anddeclaredthatthebookofTobitwasnotcompiledofman，butwrittenbyGod。HisHolinessnaturallycondemnedthehighercriticism，buthedweltatthesametimeonthenecessityofthemostthoroughstudyofthesacredScriptures，andespeciallyontheimportanceofadjustingscripturalstatementstoscientificfacts。Thisutterancewasadmirablyoracular，beingsusceptibleofcogentquotationbybothsides：nothingcouldbeinbetterformfromanorthodoxpointofview；but，withthatstatesmanlikeforecastwhichthepresentPopehasshownmorethanonceinsteeringthebarkofSt。Peteroverthetroubledwavesofthenineteenthcentury，hesofarabstainedfromcondemninganyofthegreaterresultsofmoderncriticalstudythatthemainEnglishdefenderoftheencyclical，theJesuitFatherClarke，didnothesitatepubliclytoadmitamultitudeofsuchresults——results，indeed，whichwouldshocknotonlyItalianandSpanishCatholics，butmanyEnglishandAmericanProtestants。
Accordingtothisinterpreter，thePopehadnothoughtofdenyingthevarietyofdocumentsinthePentateuch，orthepluralityofsourcesofthebooksofSamuel，orthetwofoldauthorshipofIsaiah，orthatallaftertheninthverseofthelastchapterofSt。Mark’sGospelisspurious；and，asregardsthewholeencyclical，thedistinguishedJesuitdweltsignificantlyonthepowerofthepapacyatanytimetodefineoutofexistenceanypreviousdecisionswhichmaybefoundinconvenient。Morethanthat，FatherClarkehimself，whilestandingasthechampionofthemostthoroughorthodoxy，acknowledgedthat，intheOldTestament，“numbersmustbeexpectedtobeusedOrientally。”andthat“alltheseseventiesandforties，as，forexample，whenAbsalomissaidtohaverebelledagainstDavidforfortyyears，cannotpossiblybemeantnumerically“；and，whatmusthavegivenafearfulshocktosomeProtestantbelieversinplenaryinspiration，he，whileadvocatingitasadutifulSonoftheChurch，woveoveritanexquisitewebwiththedeclarationthat“thereisahumanelementintheBiblepre-calculatedforbytheDivine。”[491]
[491]FortheseadmissionsofFatherClarke，seehisarticleThePapalEncyclicalontheBible，intheContemporaryReviewforJuly，1894。
Consideringthedifficultiesinthecase，theworldhasreasontobegratefultoPopeLeoandFatherClarkefortheseutterances，whichperhaps，afterall，mayproveabetterbridgebetweentheoldandthenewthancouldhavebeenframedbyengineersmorelearnedbutlessastute。EvidentlyPopeLeoXIIIisneitheraPaulVnoranUrbanVIII，andistoowisetobringtheChurchintoapositionfromwhichitcanonlybeextricatedbysuchludicroussubterfugesasthosebywhichitwasdraggedoutoftheGalileoscandal，orbysuchatortuouspolicyasthatbywhichitwrithedoutoftheolddoctrineregardingthetakingofinterestformoney。
Inspite，then，oftheattemptedcrushingoutofBartoloandBertaandSaviandLenormantandLoisy，duringthisveryepochinwhichthePopeissuedthisencyclical，thereiseveryreasontohopethatthepathhasbeenpavedoverwhichtheChurchmaygracefullyrecedefromtheoldsystemofinterpretationandquietlyacceptandappropriatethemainresultsofthehighercriticism。Certainlyshehasneverhadabetteropportunitytoplayatthegameof“beggarmyneighbour“andtodrivetheolderProtestantorthodoxyintobankruptcy。
InAmericathesamestrugglebetweentheoldideasandthenewwenton。InthemiddleyearsofthecenturythefirstadequateeffortinbehalfofthenewerconceptionofthesacredbookswasmadebyTheodoreParkeratBoston。Athinkerbraveandofthewidestrange，——ascholarindefatigableandofthedeepestsympathieswithhumanity，——amancalledbyoneofthemosteminentscholarsintheEnglishChurch“areligiousTitan。”andbyadistinguishedFrenchtheologian“aprophet。”hehadstruggledonfromthedivinityschooluntilatthattimehewasoneoftheforemostbiblicalscholars，andpreachertothelargestregularcongregationontheAmericancontinent。ThegreathallinBostoncouldseatfourthousandpeople，andathisregulardiscourseseverypartofitwasfilled。Inadditiontohispastoralworkhewieldedavastinfluenceasaplatformspeaker，especiallyinoppositiontotheextensionofslaveryintotheTerritoriesoftheUnitedStates，andasalectureronawiderangeofvitaltopics；andamongthosewhomhemostprofoundlyinfluenced，bothpoliticallyandreligiously，wasAbrahamLincoln。DuringeachyearatthatperiodhewashearddiscussingthemostimportantreligiousandpoliticalquestionsinallthegreaterNortherncities；buthismostlastingworkwasinthrowinglightuponoursacredScriptures，andinthishewasoneoftheforerunnersofthemovementnowgoingonnotonlyintheUnitedStatesbutthroughoutChristendom。EvenbeforehewasfairlyoutofcollegehistranslationofDeWette’sIntroductiontotheOldTestamentmadeanimpressiononmanythoughtfulmen；