Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/387

 rare among  us,  but  the  simplicity  of  faith  is  not  perhaps  the  less so. We would  feel  a  horror  at  quitting  the  belief  of  our  fathers; but we  wish  to  refine  upon  our  sincerity. We do  not  permit  ourselves to  doubt  upon  the  main  part  of  the  mysteries;  but  obedience is  philosophically  given,  by  imposing  our  own  yoke,  by  weighing the  holy  truths,  receiving  some  as  reasonable,  reasoning  upon others, and  measuring  them  by  our  own  feeble  lights;  and  our  age, more than  any  other,  is  full  of  these  half  believers,  who,  under  the pretext of  taking  away  from  religion  all  that  credulity  or  prejudice may have  added  to  it,  deprive  faith  of  the  whole  merit  of  submission.

Now, my  brethren,  sanctity  ought  only  to  be  spoken  of  with  a religious  circumspection. Faith is  a  virtue  almost  equally  delicate as modesty:  a  single  doubt,  a  single  word  injures  it;  a  breath,  as I  may  say,  tarnishes  it. Yet nevertheless,  what  license  do  they not allow  themselves  in  modern  conversations  on  all  that  is  most respectable in  the  faith  of  our  fathers? Alas! the terrible  name  of the  Lord  could  not  be  even  pronounced  under  the  law  by  the mouth of  man;  and  at  present,  all  that  is  most  sacred  and  most august in  religion  is  become  a  common  subject  of  conversation; there every  thing  is  talked  over,  and  freely  decided  upon. Vain and superficial  men,  whose  only  knowledge  of  religion  consists  of  a little  more  temerity  than  the  illiterate  and  the  common  people; producing, as  their  whole  stock  of  learning,  some  common-place and hackneyed  doubts,  which  they  have  picked  up,  but  never  had formed themselves;  doubts  which  have  so  often  been  cleared  up, that they  seem  now  to  exist  no  longer  but  to  glorify  the  truth;  men who, amid  the  most  dissolute  manners,  have  never  devoted  an  hour of serious  attention  to  the  truth  of  religion, — act  the  philosopher, and boldly  decide  upon  points  which  a  whole  life  of  study,  accompanied with  learning  and  piety,  could  scarcely  clear  up.

Even persons  of  a  sect,  in  whom  ignorance  on  certain  points would be  meritorious,  and  who,  though  knowing,  good-breeding and decency  require  that  they  should  affect  to  be  ignorant;  persons who are  better  acquainted  with  the  world  than  with  Jesus  Christ; who even  know  not  of  religion  what  is  necessary  to  regulate  their manners, — pretend doubts,  wish  to  have  them  explained,  are  afraid of believing  too  much,  have  suspicions  upon  the  whole,  yet  have none upon  their  own  miserable  situation  and  the  visible  impropriety of  their  life. O God! it is  thus  that  thou  deliverest  up  sinners to  the  vanity  of  their  own  fancies,  and  permittest  that  those who pretend  to  penetrate  into  thine  adorable  secrecies  know  not themselves. Faith is  therefore  glorious  to  man:  this  has  just been shown  to  you:  it  now  remains  for  me  to  prove  that  it  is necessary  to  him.

Part III. — Of all  the  characters  of  faith,  the  necessity  of  it  is the  one  which  renders  the  unbeliever  most  inexcusable. All the other motives  which  are  employed  to  lead  him  to  the  truth,  are foreign, as    I    may    say,   to   him;    this  one   is    drawn  from   his