Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/256

244 244 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. destination* ; namely, that of the "Society of Brother Travellers for Jesus Christ." These missionaries were intrepid and hardy pioneers, whose lot it was to open the way for travellers who should afterwards follow in their track, from motives of policy, for the sake of commerce or of science, or perhaps nothing more than frivolous curiosity. They undertook these laborious peregrinations for Christ's sake, for the saving of souls, the diffusion of truth, for the enfranchisement of the nations, and for true civi- lisation. This society, an eminently Catholic one, had in its bosom bishops and archbishops, on whom the Holy See had conferred great power. The monks belonging to it were to be scattered over the countries of Mussulmans and idolaters, to preach the Catholic faith ; and St. Raymond of Pennafort, general of the Dominican Order, wishing to render the preaching of the missionaries more efficacious, employed a method which contributed much to the progress of the Gospel. He begged St. Thomas d'Aquinas, whose reputation was already very high in the Church, to compose a work which should contain a clear and methodical ex- position of the truths of the Christian religion, with their proofs, and answers to the objections of infidels. The holy doctor accordingly took up his pen, and composed his work in four volumes, " On the Catholic Faith," or " Summary against the Gentiles ; " and Ray- mond de Pennafort received, as a gift from heaven, a work that was to afford such signal help to the zeal of the missionaries. Alexander IV., the successor of Innocent IV., showed
 * Wadding, " Annales Minorum, Ann. 1252,"