is a fact that falls within the domain of history. To relate the events connected with this .Revelation, their sequence, relations, and results, in order to impart a knowledge of Christian doctrine, is to follow the historical method. In his treatise for catechists, a work which left a lasting impress on the Church's catechetical system, St. Augustine strongly recommends this method. He advises the catechist to give a brief account of religious history from the beginning, in order to explain creation and original sin; to show how the Old Testament foretells the coming of the Redeemer, and the establishment of the Church; then to relate the events of our Lord's life, the beginnings of the Church and her subsequent history; and thereby to convey to the pupils a knowledge of Christian belief and precepts.
On the simple enunciation of a truth of faith the mind may ascend from the ideas expressed to principles on which these ideas depend; or it may develop the consequences contained in the truth. This is the logical plan, based on the natural tendency of the mind to correlate and systematize its knowledge. It is followed by the great catechism published by the authority of the Council of Trent, for the purpose of resisting Protestantism, which did not dispute the fact of Revelation. The influence of this catechism has caused the logical method to predominate for the last three centuries. The historical method, however, was maintained and perpetuated by Bossuet, who, following the counsels of St. Augustine, composed for his diocese an abridgment of sacred history to be used in conjunction with the catechism in vogue.
The truths of faith and the facts of religious history, associated with Revelation and its propagation, are perpetuated in a striking, sensible manner by institutions, laws, customs, ceremonies, symbols, prayers and other observances. The Church, with her entire constitution, organization, discipline, and worship, is a per-
