The Church and the Sects. By C. F. B. Allnatt.
(Burns and Oates.)—Mr. Allnatt has written ten letters (two series of five each) addressed to some Protestant disputant, and going over the ground of the Roman controversy. We do not profess to follow him all through this very extensive region ; but having looked into his book here and there, we do not feel inclined to put implicit confidence in his arguments and quotations. In Letter iv. of the first series, we find him saying, " Augustine himself frequently speaks of purgatorial pains or torments to bo endured after this life," and gives the reference of "De Civitat. Dei," xxi., 13. Now, the heading of this chapter is : " Contra opinionem oorum qni putant criminosis supplicia post mortem cause purgationis adhibori." He argues against purgatory throughout, allowing that there are purgatorias pcenw in this life ; but he goes on, " Ceterce omnes poetise, sive temporaries, sive sompiternes, inferuntur vel pro peceatis, vol pro exereenalis declarandisque virtutibus ;" that there are temporary penalties after death ; but he maintains that they are punitive, not purgatorial. To turn to a different subject, Mr. Allnatt gives some statistics to prove that illegitimacy
is far more common in Protestant than in Roman Catholic countries. As he likes this kind of argument, we will give him some figures. The average of England and Wales is 4.6 per 100; of Austria, 14; while in Carinthia, which is certainly not Protestant, it rises to 45. In Portugal, where there is scarcely a Protestant, it is 14; in Brazil it is 25; in Guatemala (among the Whites) it is 50, absolutely half the total. The three cities which stand highest on the list are Vienna, 449 ; Prague, 439 ; Munich, 439 (in 1,000 births). Are these Protestant cities P The fact is, that this is a very complicated subject, and that many things besides religion must be taken into account.
Previous page
