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502

ESSAYS ON LIBERTY

German. At the time when Passaglia's reputation was great in Rome, his companion Clement Schrader shared the fame of his solid erudition. When Passaglia fell into disgrace) his friend smote him with reproaches and intimated the belief that he would follow the footsteps of Luther and debauch a nun. Schrader is the most candid and consistent asserter of the papal claims. He does not shrink from the consequences of the persecuting theory; and he has given the most authentic and unvarnished exposition of the Syllabus. He was the first who spoke out openly what others were variously attempting to compromise or to conceal. While the Paris Jesuits got into trouble for extenuating the Roman doctrine) and had to be kept up to the mark by an abbé who reminded them that the Pope, as a physical person) and without co-operation of the Episcopate) is infallible) Schrader proclailned that his \vill is supreme even against the joint and several opinions of the bishops.1 When the proceedings of the dogmatic commission, the acts of the Pope, and the language of French and Austrian bishops) and of the press serving the interests of Rome, announced that the proclamation of infallibility had ceased to be merely the aspiration of a party and was the object of a design deliberately set on foot by those to \vhom the preparation and management of the Council pertained) men became aware that an extra- ordinary crisis was impending, and that they needed to make themselves familar with an unforeseen problem. The sense of its gravity made slo\v progress. The per- suasion was strong among divines that the episcopate would not surrender to a party which was odious to many of them; and politicians were reluctant to believe that schemes were ripening such as Fessler described, schemes intended to alter the relations between Church and State. When the entire plan was made public by the Allgemeine Zeitung in March 1869, many refused to be convinced.

1 Citra et contra singulorum suffragia, imo praeter et supra omnium vota pontificis solius declarationi atque sententiae validam vim atque irreformabilem adesse potestatem.