A REVIEW OF SUNDAY LEGISLATION IN CENTURY NINETEEN. NO. 9.
THE PAPAL CHURCH AND THE SARACENS.
In Nos. 6 and 7 of this paper I have shown that, by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the case of the Trinity Church Corporation vs. the United States, the nation, as far as the highest jurisdiction in the land could commit it, was committed to papal principles. And, moreover, I have proved that, the nation being given over to these principles, it will only be a matter of time until Rome herself, the mother of them, shall step in and demand the enforcement of some, at least, of her distinguishing dogmas upon the citizens of this country, and, in the light of her past history, that, too, if it can be effected by no gentler means, by the so-called Holy Inquisition.
It may be that some careful, thinking minds will deem me extravagant in my conclusions, and will be of the opinion that I base too much upon the dictum of Justice Brewer. Of all such I ask leniency, till I shall have time and space to complete an argument, which I know to be sound, when viewed in its entirety, and which I regret can only be given to the public by installment.
For the present, therefore, in order that I may not only partially disclose, and, consequently, completely destroy the vigor and value of other data, which it is my intention to present and discuss, I shall be obliged to content myself by simply stating that all the conclusions that I have already drawn, or shall hereafter adduce from the court decision in hand, have been arrived at after a careful study of the aforementioned decision, and in the light of subsequent religio-political movements and developments, all of which point toward the terminus which I have endeavored to show must be the inevitable ending of the whole matter, viz., ROMANISM, THE INQUISITION, AND NATIONAL RUIN.
Having now made this explanation and apology, which I have felt was due to my readers, I shall proceed to notice some other traits of Romanism, which, it will be manifest, are devilish in their nature, as well as spiritually and politically destructive in their tendencies and ultimate results. I refer to those papal characteristics most clearly betrayed in her (Rome's) treatment of the Spanish Mohammedans.
It has ever been a claim of the Roman Catholic Church that to her belongs all honor and rewards as the civilizer of these barbarous tribes, who, from their abodes on the shores of the Baltic Sea, the Thuringian Forests, and the wild and dreary marshes of Ancient Germany, poured in like an overwhelming flood upon the effeminate Romans, during the third, fourth, and fifth centuries, laid waste the fair fields of Campania and the vine-clad valleys of Languedoc, and settled themselves on the ruins of what was once the Roman Empire. This claim I am prepared to dispute, as the palm of reward does not rightfully belong to her, but to the followers of Mahomet who invaded and possessed themselves of Spain A.D. 711. Moreover, it is also a fact, and one easily proved, that those tribes with whom Rome came least in contact, became the most quickly civilized.
When the Saracens landed upon the rock of Gibraltar in 711, Rome—the Papacy—held sway over the minds, hearts, and fortunes of men for a period of about 386 years, i. e., from the Council of Nicea in 325. During all of this time she had so assiduously trained them in the good (?) way that by the eighth and ninth centuries their civilization is described by a non-partisan historian in the following language:—
From the barbarism of the native people of Europe, who could scarcely be said to have emerged from the savage state, unclean in person, benighted in mind, inhabiting huts in which it was the mark of wealth if there were bulrushes on the floor and straw mats against the wall; miserably fed on beans, vetches, roots, and even the bark of trees; clad in garments of untanned skin, or at the best of leather—perennial in durability, but not conducive to personal purity—a state in which the pomp of royalty was sufficiently and satisfactorily manifested in the equipage of the sovereign, an ox cart, drawn by not less than two yokes of cattle, quickened in their movements by the goads of pedestrian serfs, whose legs were wrapped in wisps of straw; from a people, devout believers in all the wild fictions of shrine miracles and preposterous relics, from the degradation of a base theology, and from the disputes of ambitious ecclesiastics for power, etc.
Such was the condition of all of that part of Europe which fell under Roman Catholic influence. Look at it, ponder it well, then turn to this beautiful word painting of Spanish Arabian civilization and splendor:—
Scarcely had the Arabs become firmly settled in Spain when they commenced a brilliant career. Adopting what had now become the established policy of the Commanders of the Faithful in Asia, the Emirs of Cordova distinguished themselves as the patrons of learning, and set an example of refinement strongly contrasting with the condition of the native European princes. Cordova [a city in Spain], under their administration, at its highest point of prosperity, boasted of more than two hundred thousand houses, and more than a million of inhabitants. After sunset a man might walk through it in a straight line for ten miles by the light of the public lamps. Seven hundred years after this time there was not so much as one public lamp in London. Its streets were solidly paved. In Paris, centuries subsequently, whoever stepped over his threshold on a rainy day stepped up to his ankles in mud. Other cities, as Granada, Seville, Toledo, considered themselves rivals of Cordova. The palaces of the khaliffs were magnificently decorated. Those sovereigns might well look down with supercilious contempt on the dwellings of the rulers of Germany, France, and England, which were scarcely better than stables—chimneyless, windowless, and with a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape, like the wigwams of certain Indians. The Spanish Mohammedans had brought with them all the luxuries and prodigalities of Asia. Their residences stood forth against the clear blue sky, or were embossed in woods. They had polished marble balconies, overhanging orange gardens; courts with cascades of water; shady retreats provocative of slumber in the heat of the day; retiring rooms vaulted with stained glass, speckled with gold, over which streams of water were made to gush; the floors and walls were of exquisite mosaic. Here a182fountain of quicksilver shot up in a glistening spray, the glittering particles falling with a tranquil sound like fairy bells; there apartments into which cool air was drawn from the flower gardens, in summer, by means of ventilating towers, and in winter through earthen pipes, or caleducts, imbedded in the walls—the hypocaust, in the vaults below, breathing forth volumes of perfumed air through these hidden passages. The walls were not covered with wainscot, but adorned with arabesques and paintings of agricultural scenes and views of Paradise. From the ceiling, corniced and fretted with gold, great chandeliers hung, one of which, it is said, was so large that it contained 1,804 lamps. Clusters of frail marble columns surprised the beholder with the vast weights they bore. In the boudoirs of the sultanas they were sometimes of verd antique, and incrusted with lapis lazuli. The furniture was of sandal and citron wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, ivory, silver, and relieved with gold and precious malachite. In orderly confusion were arranged vases of rock crystal, Chinese porcelains, and tables of exquisite mosaic. The winter apartments were hung with rich tapestry, the floors were covered with embroidered Persian carpets. Pillows and couches, of elegant forms, were scattered about the rooms, perfumed with frankincense. . . . Great care was taken to make due provision for the cleanliness, occupation, and amusement of the inmates. Through pipes of metal, water, both warm and cold, to suit the season of the year, ran into baths of marble; . . . there were whispering galleries for the amusement of the women; labyrinths and marble play courts for the children; for the master himself, grand libraries.
To the Saracens we are indebted for many of our personal comforts. Religiously cleanly, it was not possible for them to clothe themselves according to the fashion of the natives of Europe, in a garment unchanged till it dropped to pieces of itself, a loathsome mass of vermin, stench, and rags.
In the midst of all this luxury, . . . the Spanish Khaliffs, emulating the example of their Asiatic compeers, and in this strongly contrasting with the popes of Rome, were not only the patrons but the personal cultivators of all the branches of human learning. One of them was himself the author of a work on polite literature in not less than fifty volumes; another wrote a treatise on algebra. . . . The College of Music at Cordova was sustained by ample government patronage, and produced many illustrious professors.
In Cordova, Granada, and other great cities there were universities frequently under the superintendence of Jews. . . . They had also, in addition to these schools of general learning, professional ones, particularly for medicine.
The Arabians boasted of their language as being the most perfect spoken by man. . . . It is not then surprising that, in the Arabian schools, great attention was paid to the study of language, and that many celebrated grammarians were produced. By these scholars, dictionaries, similar to those now in use, were composed; their copiousness is indicated by the circumstance that one of them consisted of sixty volumes, the definition of each word being illustrated or sustained by quotations from Arab authors of acknowledged repute. They had lexicons of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, and cyclopedias, such as the "Historical Dictionary of Sciences."
Besides all of this civilization, learning, and splendor, as told by Draper, much more might be enumerated. The Spanish Arabians were especially famous for their discoveries in medicine, and for their skill in surgery. Much that is known in modern chemistry has come from them. While the papists were teaching that the earth was flat, the Spanish Arabians were teaching geography in their common schools "from globes." Among their astronomers, some compiled tables, "some wrote on the measure of time, some on the improvement of clocks, for which purpose they were the first to apply the pendulum; some on instruments, as the astrolabe." The introduction of astronomy into Christian Europe has been attributed to the translation of the works of Mohammed Fargani. It was the Arabs who introduced into Europe the Egyptian system of irrigation by flood gates, wheels, and pumps. "They also promoted many important branches of industry; improved the manufacture of textile fabrics, earthenware, iron, and steel." Their commerce was enormous. "The smallest weight they used in trade was the grain of barley, four of which were equal to one sweet pea, called in Arabic carat. We still use the grain as our unit of weight, and still speak of gold as being so many carats fine."
I have now drawn two pictures, one of barbarism, the other of civilization. The former was the result of about four hundred years of papal domination; the latter was the product of Saracen industry. But few European thinkers of the present day give to the Saracens historic renown which is justly theirs. Europe has never acknowledged their impress upon her arts, sciences, music, and literature; but, nevertheless, a careful and candid study of those times will reveal the fact that we owe them much. A study of the history of our sciences will reveal it.
From all of this it is clear that Rome was not the civilizer of the northern hordes, but the retarder of their civilization, and that her claim to this honor is a pious fraud.
In my next paper I shall discuss the treatment of the Saracens by the papists, and show the bearing of the same, and the lessons to be learned for the present situation.
There is another matter of interest, though not of prime importance, connected with this part of the subject. On the return of Columbus from his great voyage, March 15, 1493, Ferdinand and Isabella sent a courier to Pope Alexander VI., "for the purpose of insuring their rights to the new territories." The bull that he issued bears date May, 1493. "Its principle is that all countries under the sun are subject of right to papal disposal. It gives to Spain, in the fullness of apostolic power, all lands west and south of a line drawn from the Arctic to the Antarctic pole, one hundred leagues west of the Azores. The donation includes by the authority of Almighty God whatever there is toward India."
All of this is an infallible decree, by an infallible pope. So that this land, by an infallible decree, in the name of Almighty God, was once delivered to papal Spain. It was given to Spain because she was papal. It was given to Spain because her rulers recognized the sovereignty of the pope, even in things temporal. That they did admit the authority of the pope in things temporal is clearly shown by their course in this matter. Spanish money, Spanish ships, and Spanish sailors had discovered America. Therefore the Spanish Government had a just title to America; but the Spanish Government would not enter upon the possession of this land without the pope's sanction. Now if Spain had not been Catholic, Rome never would have given her America. But Rome, being infallible, and having given America into the hands of papal rulers by an infallible decree, she is bound to use all her power to see that our rulers are papal, and that her decree be continually fulfilled.