Page:History of Freedom.djvu/511

 CONFLICTS WITH ROl\1E

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heresy. Between the fall of Lamennais and the conflict with Frohschammer many metaphysical writers among the Catholic clergy had incurred the censures of Rome. I t is enough to cite Bautain in France, Rosmini in Italy, and Günther in Austria. But in these cases no scandal ensued, and the decrees \vere received with prompt and hearty submission. I n the cases of Lamennais and Frohschammer no speculative question \vas originally at issue, but only the question of authority. A comparison between their theories will explain the similarity in the courses of the two men, and at the same time will account for the contrast between the isolation of Lamennais and the influence of Frohschammer, though the one ,vas the most eloquent writer in France, and the head of a great school, and the other, before the late controversy, was not a writer of much name. This contrast is the more re- markable since religion had not revived in France when the French philosopher \vrote, while for the last quarter of a century Bavaria has been distinguished among Catholic nations for the faith of her people. Yet Lamennais was powerless to injure a generatión of com- paratively ill-instructed Catholics, while Frohschammer, with inferior gifts of persuasion, has won educated followers even in the home of Ultramontanism. The first obvious explanation of this difficulty is the l narrowness of Lamennais's philosophy. At the time of his dispute with the Holy See he had somewhat lost sight of his traditionalist theory; and his attention, concentrated upon politics, was directed to the problem of reconciling religion with liberty,-a question \vith which the best minds in France are still occupied. But how can a view of policy constitute a philosophy? He began by thinking that it \vas expedient for the Church to obtain the safe- guards of freedom, and that she should renounce the losing cause of the old régÙlle. But this \vas no more philosophy than the similar argument which had previously ,von her to the side of despotism \vhen it \vas the stronger cause. As Bonald, however, had erected absolute monarchy into a dogma, so Lamennais proceeded to do