Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/545



THE BIBLICAL COMMISSION. 539

Christian commonwealth the pure and incorruptible teaching of this science which is now so indispensable. The men of whom this commission shall be composed, in order to satisfy fully the serious obligation which is laid upon them and which confers on them such distinc- tion, should regard as peculiarly and especially their own the tasks which are here proposed to their zeal.

In the first place, having established exactly what is the actual intellectual trend of the present day with re- gard to this science, they should bear in mind that none of the recent discoveries which the human mind has made is foreign to the purpose of their work. On the contrary, let them make haste in any case where our times have discovered something useful in the matter of biblical exegesis to avail themselves of it forthwith and by their writings to put it at the service of all.

Wherefore they should devote themselves with the greatest care to the study of philology and kindred sci- ences and keep themselves abreast of the progress of the day. As it is generally on this point that the attacks on Holy Scripture are made, it is there that we should like- wise gather our arms of defence; so that there may be no inequality in the struggle between truth and error. Like- wise they shall take measures that the knowledge of the ancient and oriental languages, and above all the art of deciphering the ancient texts, should be assiduously culti- vated. Both of these branches are, as a matter of fact, a precious help in biblical studies.

In what concerns the integral safeguarding of the au- thority of the Scriptures, the members of the commission will employ an active vigilance and unremitting assiduity. The main point to be attained is that Catholics should not admit the malignant principle of granting more than is due to the opinion of heterodox writers, and of thinking that the true understanding of the Scriptures should be sought first of all in the researches which the erudition