ENCYCLICAL LETTER
                          OF POPE LEO XIII
 
                        PROVIDENTISSIMUS DEUS
                   ON THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
 
         TO OUR VENERABLE BRETHREN, ALL PATRIARCHS, PRIMATES,
       ARCHBISHOPS, AND BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC WORLD IN GRACE
                AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE
 
       -------------------------------------------------------
 
                             INTRODUCTORY
 
     The God of all Providence, who in the adorable designs of His
love at first elevated the human race to the participation of the
divine nature, and afterwards delivered it from universal guilt and
ruin, restoring it to its primitive dignity, has, in consequence,
bestowed upon man a splendid gift and safeguard--making known to him,
by supernatural means, the hidden mysteries of His divinity, His
wisdom and His mercy.  For although in divine revelation there are
contained some things which are not beyond the reach of unassisted
reason, and which are made the objects of such revelation in order
"that all may come to know them with facility, certainty, and safety
from error, yet not on this account can supernatural revelation be
said to be absolutely necessary; it is only necessary because God has
ordained man to a supernatural end."[1]  This supernatural
revelation, according to the belief of the universal Church, is
contained both in unwritten tradition and in written books, which
are, therefore, called sacred and canonical because, "being written
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their
author, and as such have been delivered to the Church."[2]  This
belief has been perpetually held and professed by the Church in
regard to the books of both Testaments; and there are well known
documents of the gravest kind, coming down to us from the earliest
times, which proclaim that God, who spoke first by the Prophets, then
by His own mouth, and lastly by the Apostles, composed also the
canonical Scripture,[3] and that these are His own oracles and
words[4]--a Letter written by our Heavenly Father and transmitted by
the sacred writers to the human race in its pilgrimage so far from
its heavenly country.[5]  If, then, such and so great is the
excellence and the dignity of the Scriptures, that God Himself has
composed them, and that they treat of God's marvelous mysteries,
counsels, and works, it follows that the branch of sacred theology
which is concerned with the defence and elucidation of these divine
books must be excellent and useful in the highest degree.
     Now We, who by the help of God, and not without fruit, have by
frequent Letters and exhortation endeavored to promote other branches
of study which seemed capable of advancing the glory of God and
contributing to the salvation of souls, have for a long time
cherished the desire to give an impulse to the noble science of Holy
Scripture, and to impart to Scripture study a direction suitable to
the needs of the present day.  The solicitude of the apostolic office
naturally urges and even compels Us, not only to desire that this
grand source of Catholic revelation should be made safely and
abundantly accessible to the flock of Jesus Christ, but also not to
suffer any attempt to defile or corrupt it, either on the part of
those who impiously and openly assail the Scriptures, or of those who
are led astray into fallacious and imprudent novelties.
     We are not ignorant, indeed, Venerable Brethren, that there are
not a few Catholics, men of talent and learning, who do devote
themselves with ardor to the defence of the sacred writings and to
making them better known and understood.  But whilst giving to these
the commendation they deserve, We cannot but earnestly exhort others
also, from whose skill and piety and learning We have a right to
expect good results, to give themselves to the same most
praiseworthy work.  It is Our wish and fervent desire to seen an
increase in the number of the approved and persevering laborers in
the cause of Holy Scripture; and more especially that those whom
divine grace has called to Holy Orders, should, day by day, as their
state demands, display greater diligence and industry in reading,
meditating, and explaining it.
 
         I.  MOTIVES FOR THE STUDY AND USE OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
                           A.  ITS UTILITY
 
     1.  DOCTRINAL--Among the reasons for which the Holy Scripture is
so worthy of commendation--in addition to its own excellence and to
the homage which we owe to God's Word--the chief of all is, the
innumerable benefits of which it is the source; according to the
infallible testimony of the Holy Ghost Himself, who says:  "All
Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproving,
for correcting, for instructing in justice; that the man of God may
be perfect, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
     a.  WORDS AND EXAMPLE OF CHRIST.  That such was the purpose of
God in giving the Scripture to men is shown by the example of Christ
our Lord and of His Apostles.  For He Himself who "obtained authority
by miracles, merited belief by authority, and by belief drew to
Himself the multitude"[6] was accustomed in the exercise of His
divine mission, to appeal to the Scriptures.  He uses them at times
to prove that He is sent by God, and is God Himself.  From them He
cites instructions for His disciples and confirmation of His
doctrine.  He vindicates them from the calumnies of objectors; He
quotes them against Sadducees and Pharisees and retorts from them
upon Satan himself when he dares to tempt Him.  At the close of His
life His utterances are from the Holy Scripture, and it is the
Scripture that He expounds to His disciples after His resurrection,
until He ascends to the glory of his Father.
     b.  THE APOSTLES.  Faithful to His precepts, the Apostles,
although He Himself granted "signs and wonders to be done by their
hands" (Acts 14:3), nevertheless used with the greatest effect the
sacred writings, in order to persuade the nations everywhere of the
wisdom of Christianity, to conquer the obstinacy of the Jews, and to
suppress the outbreak of heresy.  This is plainly seen in their
discourses, especially in those of St. Peter; these were often little
less than a series of citations from the Old Testament making in the
strongest manner for the new dispensation.  We find the same thing in
the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John in the Catholic Epistles; and
most remarkably of all in the words of him who "boasts that he
learned the law at the feet of Gamaliel, in order that, being armed
with spiritual weapons, he might afterwards say with confidence, 'the
arms of our warfare not not carnal but might unto God.'"[7]
     Let all, therefore, especially the novices of the ecclesiastical
army, understand how deeply the sacred books should be esteemed, and
with what eagerness and reverence they should approach this great
arsenal of heavenly arms.  For those whose duty it is to handle
Catholic doctrine before the learned or the unlearned will nowhere
find more ample matter or more abundant exhortation, whether on the
subject of God, the supreme Good and the all-perfect Being, or of the
works which display His glory and His love.  Nowhere is there
anything more full or more express on the subject of the Savior of
the world than is to be found in the whole range of the Bible.
     As St. Jerome says, "to be ignorant of the Scripture is not to
know Christ."[8]  In its pages His Image stands out, living and
breathing; diffusing everywhere around consolation in trouble,
encouragement to virtue, and attraction to the love of God.  And as
to the Church, her institutions, her nature, her office, and her
gifts, we find in Holy Scripture so many references and so many
ready and convincing arguments, that as St. Jerome again most truly
says:  "A man who is well grounded in the testimonies of the
Scripture is the bulwark of the Church."[9]  And if we come to
morality and discipline, an apostolic man finds in the sacred
writings abundant and excellent assistance; most holy precepts,
gentle and strong exhortation, splendid examples of every virtue, and
finally the promise of eternal reward and the threat of eternal
punishment, uttered in terms of solemn import, in God's name and in
God's own words.
     2.  ORATORICAL--And it is this peculiar and singular power of
Holy Scripture, arising from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, which
gives authority to the sacred orator, fills him with apostolic
liberty of speech, and communicates force and power to his eloquence.
     a.  HOLY SCRIPTURE.  For those who infuse into their efforts the
spirit and strength of the Word of God speak "not in word only but in
power also, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much fulness" (1 Thess.
1:5).  Hence, those preachers are foolish and improvident who, in
speaking of religion and proclaiming the things of God, use no words
but those of human science and human prudence, trusting to their own
reasonings rather than to those of God.  Their discourses may be
brilliant and fine, but they must be feeble and they must be cold,
for they are without the fire of the utterance of God[10] and they
must fall far short of that might power which the speech of God
possesses:  "for the Word of God is living and effectual, and keener
than any two-edged sword; and extending unto the division of the
soul and the spirit" (Heb. 4:12).  But, indeed, all those who have a
right to speak are agreed that there is in the Holy Scripture an
eloquence that is wonderfully varied and rich, and worthy of great
themes.  This St. Augustine thoroughly understood and has abundantly
set forth.[11]  This, also, is confirmed by the best preachers of all
ages, who have gratefully acknowledged that they owed their repute
chiefly to the assiduous use of the Bible, and to devout meditation
on its pages.
     b.  THE FATHERS.  The holy Fathers well knew all this by
practical experience, and they never cease to extol the sacred
Scripture and its fruits.  In innumerable passages of their writings
we find them applying to it such phrases as "an inexhaustible
treasury of heavenly doctrine,"[12] or "overflowing foundation of
salvation,"[13] or putting it before us as fertile pastures and
beautiful gardens in which the flock of the Lord is marvelously
refreshed and delighted.[14]  Let us listen to the words of St.
Jerome, in his Epistle to Nepotian:  "Often read the divine
Scripture; yea, let holy reading be always in they hand; study that
which thou thyself must preach. . . .  Let the speech of the priest
be ever seasoned with scriptural reading."[15]  St. Gregory the
Great, than whom no one has more admirably described the pastoral
office, writes in the same sense.  "Those," he says, "who are zealous
in the work of preaching must never cease the study of the written
Word of God."[16]  St. Augustine, however, warns us that "vainly does
the preacher utter the Word of God exteriorly unless he listens to it
interiorly;"[17] and St. Gregory instructs sacred orators "first to
find in Holy Scripture the knowledge of themselves, and then to carry
it to others, lest in reproving others they forget themselves."[18]
     Admonitions such as these had, indeed, been uttered long before
by th apostolic voice which had learnt its lesson from Christ
Himself, who "began to do and teach."  It was not to Timothy alone,
but to the whole order of the clergy, that the command was addressed:
"Take heed to thyself and to thy teaching, be earnest in them.  For
in so doing thou wilt save both thyself and those who hear thee"
(1 Tim. 4:16).  For the saving and for the perfection of ourselves
and of others there is at hand the very best of help in the Holy
Scriptures, as the Book of Psalms, among others, so constantly
insists; but those only will find it who bring to this divine reading
not only docility and attention but also piety and an innocent life.
For the sacred Scripture is not like other books.  Dictated by the
Holy Spirit, it contains things of the deepest importance, which, in
many instances, are most difficult and obscure.  To understand and
explain such things there is always required the "coming"[19] of the
same Holy Spirit; that is to say, His light and His grace; and these,
as the Royal Psalmist so frequently insists, are to be sought by
humble prayer and guarded by holiness of life.
 
                     B.  PRACTICE OF THE CHURCH
 
     1.  EXPRESS LEGISLATION--It is in this that the watchful care of
the Church shines forth conspicuously.  By admirable laws and
regulations, she has always shown herself solicitous that "the
celestial treasure of the sacred books, so bountifully bestowed upon
man by the Holy Spirit, should not lie neglected."[20]  She has
prescribed that a considerable portion of them shall be read and
piously reflected upon by all her ministers in the daily office of
the sacred psalmody.  She has ordered that in cathedral churches, in
monasteries, and in other convents in which study can conveniently be
pursued, they shall be expounded and interpreted by capable men; and
she has strictly commanded that her children shall be fed with the
saving words of the Gospel at least on Sundays and solemn feasts.[21]
Moreover, it is owing to the wisdom and exertions of the Church that
there has always been continued, from century to century, that
cultivation of Holy Scripture which has been so remarkable and has
borne such ample fruit.
     2.  CONSTANT USE OF THE BIBLE--And here, in order to strengthen
Our teaching and Our exhortations, it is well to recall how, from the
beginning of Christianity, all who have been renowned for holiness of
life and sacred learning, have given their deep and constant
attention to Holy Scripture.
     a.  IN EARLY TIMES.  If we consider the immediate disciples of
the Apostles, St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St.
Polycarp--or the apologists, such as St. Justin and St. Irenaeus, we
find that in their letters and their books, whether in defence of the
Catholic Faith or in its commendation, they drew faith, strength,
and unction from the Word of God.  When there arose, in various sees,
catechetical and theological schools, of which the most celebrated
were those of Alexandria and of Antioch, there was little taught in
those schools but what was contained in the reading, the
interpretation, and the defence of the divine written word.  From
them came forth numbers of Fathers and writers whose laborious
studies and admirable writings have justly merited for the three
following centuries the appellation of the golden age of biblical
exegesis.  In the Eastern Church, the greatest name of all is
Origen--a man remarkable alike for penetration of genius and for
persevering labor; from whose numerous works and his great HEXAPLA
almost all have drawn that came after him.  Others who have widened
the field of this science may also be named, as especially eminent;
thus, Alexandria could boast of St. Clement and St. Cyril; Palestine,
of Eusebius and the other St. Cyril; Cappadocia, of St. Basil the
Great and the two St. Gregories, of Nazianzus and Nyssa; Antioch, of
St. John Chrysostom, in whom the science of Scripture was rivalled by
the splendor of his eloquence.  In the Western Church there were many
names as great:  Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St. Hilary, St. Ambrose,
St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory the Great; most famous of all, St.
Augustine and St. Jerome, of whom the former was so marvelously acute
in penetrating the sense of God's Word and so fertile in the use that
he made of it for the promotion of the Catholic truth, and the latter
has received from the Church, by reason of his preeminent knowledge
of Scripture and his labors in promoting its use, the name, "great
Doctor."
     b.  IN THE MIDDLE AGES--From this period down to the eleventh
century, although biblical studies did not flourish with the same
vigor and the same fruitfulness as before, yet they did flourish, and
principally by the instrumentality of the clergy.  It was their care
and solicitude that selected the best and most useful things that the
ancients had left, arranged them in order, and published them with
additions of their own--as did St. Isidore of Seville, Venerable
Bede, and Alcuin, among the most prominent; it was they who
illustrated the sacred pages with "glosses" or short commentaries, as
we see in Walafrid Strabo and St. Anselm of Laon, or expended fresh
labor in securing their integrity, as did St. Peter Damian and
Blessed Lanfranc.  In the twelfth century many took up, with great
success, the allegorical exposition of Scripture.  In this kind, St.
Bernard is preeminent; and his writings, it may be said, are
Scripture all through.  With the age of the scholastics came fresh
and welcome progress in the study of the Bible.  That the scholastics
were solicitous about the genuineness of the Latin version is evident
from the CORRECTORIA BIBLICA, or lists of emendations, which they
have left.  But they expended their labors and industry chiefly on
interpretation and explanation.  To them we owe the accurate and
clear distinction, such as had not been given before, of the various
senses of the sacred words; the assignment of the value of each
"sense" in theology; the division of books into parts, and the
summaries of the various parts; the investigation of the objects of
the writers; the demonstration of the connection of sentence with
sentence, and clause with clause; all of which is calculated to throw
much light on the more obscure passages of the sacred volume.  The
valuable work of the scholastics in Holy Scripture is seen in their
theological treatises and in their scripture commentaries; and in
this respect the greatest name among them all is St. Thomas Aquinas.
     c.  IN MODERN TIMES--When Our predecessor, Clement V,
established chairs of Oriental literature in the Roman College and in
the principal universities of Europe, Catholics began to make more
accurate investigation on the original text of the Bible as well as
on the Latin version.  The revival amongst us of Greek learning, and,
much more, the happy invention of the art of printing, gave a strong
impetus to biblical studies.  In a brief space of time, innumerable
editions, especially of the Vulgate, poured from the press and were
diffused throughout the Catholic world; so honored and loved was Holy
Scripture during that very period against which the enemies of the
Church direct their calumnies.  Nor must we forget how many learned
men there were, chiefly among the religious orders, who did excellent
work for the Bible between the Council of Vienne and that of Trent;
men who, by the employment of modern means and appliances, and by the
tribute of their genius and learning, not only added to the rich
stores of ancient times but prepared the way for the succeeding
century, the century which followed the Council of Trent, when it
almost seemed that the great age of the Fathers had returned.  For
it is well known, and We recall it with pleasure, that Our
predecessors, from Pius IV to Clement VIII caused to be prepared the
celebrated editions of the Vulgate and the Septuagint, which, having
been published by the command and authority of Sixtus V and of the
same Clement, are now in common use.  At this time, moreover, were
carefully brought out various other ancient versions of the Bible,
and the Polyglots of Antwerp and of Paris, most important for the
investigation of the true meaning of the text; nor is there any one
book of either Testament which did not find more than one expositor,
nor any grave question which did not profitably exercise the ability
of many inquirers, among whom there are not a few--more especially of
those who made most use of the Fathers--who have acquired great
reputation.  From that time downwards the labor and solicitude of
Catholics has never been wanting; for as time went on, eminent
scholars have carried on biblical study with success, and have
defended Holy Scripture against RATIONALISM with the same weapons of
philology and kindred sciences with which it had been attacked.  The
calm and fair consideration of what has been said will clearly show
that the Church has never failed in taking due measures to bring the
Scriptures within reach of her children, and that she has ever held
fast and exercised profitably that guardianship conferred upon her by
Almighty God for the protection and glory of His holy Word; so that
she has never required, nor does she now require, any stimulation
from without.
 
              II.  PLAN FOR THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
                         A.  OUR ADVERSARIES
 
     We must now, Venerable Brethren, as Our purpose demands, impart
to you such counsels as seem best suited for carrying on successfully
the study of biblical science.
     But first it must be clearly understood whom we have to oppose
and contend against, and what are their tactics and their arms.  In
earlier times the contest was chiefly with those who, relying on
private judgment and repudiating the divine traditions and teaching
office of the Church, held the Scriptures to be the one source of
revelation and the final appeal in matters of faith.  Now, we have to
meet the Rationalists, true children and inheritors of the older
heretics, who, trusting in their turn to their own way of thinking,
have rejected even the scraps and remnants of Christian belief which
had been handed down to them.  They deny that there is any such thing
as revelation or inspiration, or Holy Scripture at all; they see,
instead, only the forgeries and the falsehoods of men; they set down
the Scripture narratives as stupid fables and lying stories:  the
prophecies and the oracles of God are to them either predictions made
up after the event or forecasts formed by the light of nature; the
miracles and the wonders of God's power are not what they are said to
be, but the startling effects of natural law, or else mere tricks and
myths; and the apostolic Gospels and writings are not the work of the
Apostles at all.
     These detestable errors, whereby they think they destroy the
truth of the divine books, are obtruded on the world as the
peremptory pronouncements of a certain newly-formed "free science," a
science, however, which is so far from final that they are
perpetually modifying and supplementing it.  and there are some of
them who, notwithstanding their impious opinions and utterances about
God, and Christ, the Gospels and the rest of Holy Scripture, would
fain be considered both theologians and Christians, and men of the
gospel, and who attempt to disguise by such honorable name their
rashness and their pride.  To them we must add not a few professors
of other sciences who approve their views and give them assistance
and are urged to attack the Bible by a similar intolerance of
revelation.  And it is deplorable to see these attacks growing every
day more numerous and more severe.  It is sometimes men of learning
and judgment who are assailed; but these have little difficulty in
defending themselves from evil consequences.
     The efforts and the arts of the enemy are chiefly directed
against the more ignorant masses of the people.  They diffuse their
deadly poison by means of books, pamphlets, and newspapers; they
spread it by addresses and by conversation; they are found
everywhere; and they are in possession of numerous schools, taken by
violence from the Church, in which, by ridicule and scurrilous
jesting, they pervert the credulous and unformed minds of the young
to the contempt of Holy Scripture.  Should not these things,
Venerable Brethren, stir up and set on fire the heart of every
pastor, so that to this "so-called knowledge" (1 Timothy 6:20), may
be opposed the ancient and true science which the Church, through the
Apostles, has received from Christ, and that Holy Scripture may find
the champions that are needed in so momentous a battle?
 
                  B.  PREPARATORY COURSE OF STUDIES
 
     1.  PROFESSORS--Let our first care, then, be to see that in
seminaries and academical institutions the study of Holy Scripture be
placed on such a footing as its own importance and the circumstances
of the time demand.  With this view, the first thing which requires
attention is the wise choice of professors.  Teachers of Sacred
Scripture are not to be appointed at haphazard out of the crowd; but
they must be men whose character and fitness are proved by their love
of, and their long familiarity with the Bible, and by suitable
learning and study.
     It is a matter of equal importance to provide in time for a
continuous succession of such teachers; and it will be well, wherever
this can be done, to select young men of good promise who have
successfully accomplished their theological course, and to set them
apart exclusively for Holy Scripture, affording them facilities for
full and complete studies.  Professors, thus chosen and thus prepared
may enter with confidence on the task that is appointed for them; and
that they may carry out their work well and profitably, let them take
heed to the instructions We now proceed to give.
     2.  PREPARATORY STUDIES--At the commencement of the course of
Holy Scripture let the professor strive earnestly to form the
judgment of the young beginners so as to train them equally to
defend the sacred writings and to penetrate their meaning.  This is
the object of the treatise which is called "Introduction."  Here the
student is taught now to prove the integrity and authority of the
Bible, how to investigate and ascertain its true sense, and how to
meet and refute objections.  It is needless to insist upon the
importance of making these preliminary studies in an orderly and
thorough fashion, with the accompaniment and assistance of theology;
for the whole subsequent course must rest on the foundation thus laid
and make use of the light thus acquired.  Next, the teacher will turn
his earnest attention to that more fruitful division of Scripture
science which has to do with interpretation, wherein is imparted the
method of using the Word of God for the advantage of religion and
piety.  We recognize, without hesitation, that neither the extent of
the matter nor the time at disposal allows each single book of the
Bible to be separately gone through.  But the teaching should result
in a definite and ascertained method of interpretation--and,
therefore, the professor should equally avoid the mistake of giving a
mere taste of every book, and of dwelling at too great length on a
part of one book.  If most schools cannot do what is done in the
large institutions--that is, take the students through the whole of
one or two books continuously and with a certain development--yet at
least those parts which are selected should be treated with suitable
fullness; in such a way that the students may learn from the sample
that is thus put before them to love and use the remainder of the
sacred book during the whole of their lives.
     3.  TEXT--The professor, following the tradition of antiquity,
will make use of the Vulgate as his text; for the Council of Trent
decreed that "in public lectures, disputations, preaching, and
exposition,"[22] the Vulgate is the "authentic" version; and this is
the existing custom of the Church.  At the same time, the other
versions, which Christian antiquity has approved, should not be
neglected, more especially the more ancient MSS.  For, although the
meaning of the Hebrew and Greek is substantially rendered by the
Vulgate, nevertheless, wherever there may be ambiguity or want of
clearness, the "examination of older tongues,"[23] to quote St.
Augustine, will be useful and advantageous.  But in this matter we
need hardly say that the greatest prudence is required, for the
"office of a commentator," as St. Jerome says, "is to set forth not
what he himself would prefer, but what his author says."[24]  The
question of "reading" having been, when necessary, carefully
discussed, the next thing is to investigate and expound the meaning.
And the first counsel to be given is this:  that the more our
adversaries contend to the contrary, so much the more solicitously
should we adhere to the received and approved canons of
interpretation.  Hence, whilst weighing the meanings of words, the
connection of ideas, the parallelism of passages, and the like, we
should by all means make use of such illustrations as can be drawn
from apposite erudition of an external sort; but this should be done
with caution, so as not to bestow on questions of this kind more
labor and time than are spent on the sacred books themselves, and not
to overload the minds of the students with a mass of information that
will be rather a hindrance than a help.
 
                 C.  ADVANCED STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
 
     The professor may now safely pass on to the use of Scripture in
matters of theology.  On this head it must be observed that, in
addition to the usual reasons which make ancient writings more or
less difficult to understand, there are some which are peculiar to
the Bible.  For the language of the Bible is employed to express,
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, many things which are
beyond the power and scope of the reason of man--that is to say,
divine mysteries and all that is related to them.  There is sometimes
in such passages a fullness and a hidden depth of meaning which the
letter hardly expresses and which the laws of interpretation hardly
warrant.  Moreover, the literal sense itself frequently admits other
senses, adapted to illustrate dogma or to confirm morality.
     1.  GUIDES--Wherefore, it must be recognized that the sacred
writings are wrapt in a certain religious obscurity, and that no one
can enter into their interior without a guide;[25] God so disposing,
as the holy Fathers commonly teach, in order that men may investigate
them with a greater ardor and earnestness, and that what is attained
with difficulty may sink more deeply into the mind and heart, and,
most of all, that they may understand that God has delivered the Holy
Scripture to the Church, and that in reading and making use of His
Word, they must follow the Church as their guide and their teacher.
St. Irenaeus long since laid down, that where the CHARISMATA of God
were, there the truth was to be learned, and the Holy Scripture was
safely interpreted by those who had the apostolic succession.[26]
     a.  THE CHURCH.  His teaching, and that of other holy Fathers,
is taken up by the Council of the Vatican, which in renewing the
decree of Trent declares its "mind" to be this--that "in things of
faith and morals, belonging to the building up of Christian doctrine,
that is to be considered the true sense of Holy Scripture, which has
been held and is held by our Holy Mother the Church, whose place it
is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Scriptures;
and, therefore, that it is permitted to no one to interpret Holy
Scripture against such sense or also against the unanimous agreement
of the Fathers."  By this most wise decree the Church by no means
prevents or restrains the pursuit of biblical science, but rather
protects it from error, and largely assists its real progress.
     A wide field is still left open to the private student, in which
his hermeneutical skill may display itself with signal effect and to
the advantage of the Church.  On the one hand, in those passages of
Holy Scripture, which have not as yet received a certain and
definite interpretation, such labors may, in the benignant providence
of God, prepare for and bring to maturity the judgment of the Church;
on the other, in passages already defined the private student may do
work equally valuable, either by setting them forth more clearly to
the flock and more skillfully to scholars, or by defending them more
powerfully from hostile attack.  Wherefore the first and dearest
object of the Catholic commentator should be to interpret those
passages which have received an authentic interpretation either from
the sacred writers themselves, under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit (as in many places of the New Testament), or from the Church,
under the assistance of the same Holy Spirit, whether by her solemn
judgment or her ordinary and universal MAGISTERIUM[28]--to interpret
these passages in that identical sense, and to prove by all the
resources of science, that sound hermeneutical laws admit of no other
interpretation.
     b.  ANALOGY OF FAITH.  In the other passages the analogy of
faith should be followed, and Catholic doctrine, as authoritatively
proposed by the Church, should be held as the supreme law; for seeing
that the same God is the author both of the sacred books and of the
doctrine committed to the Church, it is clearly impossible that any
teaching can, by legitimate means, be extracted from the former,
which shall, in any respect, be at variance with the latter.  Hence
it follows that all interpretation is foolish and false which either
makes the sacred writers disagree one with another, or is opposed to
the doctrine of the Church.
     c.  THE FATHERS.  The professor of Holy Scripture, therefore,
amongst other recommendations, must be well acquainted with the whole
circle of theology and deeply read in the commentaries of the holy
Fathers and Doctors, and other interpreters of mark.[29]  This is
inculcated by by St. Jerome, and still more frequently by St.
Augustine, who thus justly complains:  "If there is no branch of
teaching, however humble and easy to learn, which does not require a
master, what can be a greater sign of rashness and pride than to
refuse to study the books of the divine mysteries by the help of
those who have interpreted them?"[30]  The other Fathers have said
the same, and have confirmed it by their example, fir they
"endeavored to acquire the understanding of the Holy Scriptures not
by their own lights and ideas, but from the writings and authority of
the ancients, who, in their turn, as we know, received the rule of
interpretation in direct line from the Apostles."[31]  The holy
Fathers "to whom, after the Apostles, the Church owes its growth--who
have planted, watered, built, governed, and cherished it,"[32] the
holy Fathers, We say, are of supreme authority, whenever they all
interpret in one and the same manner any text of the Bible, as
pertaining to the doctrine of faith or morals; for their unanimity
clearly evinces that such interpretation has come down from the
Apostles as a matter of Catholic faith.  The opinion of the Fathers
is also of very great weight when they treat of these matters in
their capacity of Doctors unofficially; not only because they excel
in their knowledge of revealed doctrine and in their acquaintance
with many things which are useful in understanding the apostolic
books, but because they are men of eminent sanctity and of ardent
zeal for the truth, on whom God has bestowed a more ample measure of
His light.  Wherefore the expositor should make it his duty to follow
their footsteps with all reverence, and to use their labors with
intelligent appreciation.
     d.  LATER COMMENTATORS.  But he must not on that account
consider that it is forbidden, when just cause exists, to push
inquiry and exposition beyond what the Fathers have done; provided he
carefully observes the rule so wisely laid down by St. Augustine--not
to depart from the literal and obvious sense, except only where
reason makes it untenable or necessity requires;[33] a rule to which
it is the more necessary to adhere strictly in these times, when the
thirst for novelty and unrestrained freedom of thought make the
danger of error most real and proximate.  Neither should those
passages be neglected which the Fathers have understood in an
allegorical or figurative sense, more especially when such
interpretation is justified by the literal, and when it rests on the
authority of many.  For this method of interpretation has been
received by the Church from the Apostles and has been approved by her
own practice, as the holy Liturgy attests; although it is true that
the holy Fathers did not thereby pretend directly to demonstrate
dogmas of faith, but used it as a means of promoting virtue and
piety, as such, by their own experience, they knew to be most
valuable.
     The authority of other Catholic interpreters is not so great;
but the study of the Scriptures has always continued to advance in
the Church, and, therefore, these commentaries also have their own
honorable place, and are serviceable in many ways for the refutation
of assailants and the explanation of difficulties.  But it is most
unbecoming to pass by, in ignorance or contempt, the excellent work
which Catholics have left in abundance, and to have recourse to the
works of non-Catholics--and to seek in them, to the detriment of
sound doctrine and often to the peril of faith, the explanation of
passages on which Catholics long ago have successfully employed their
talent and their labor.  For although the studies of non-Catholics,
used with prudence, may sometimes be of use to the Catholic student,
he should, nevertheless, bear well in mind--as the Fathers also teach
in numerous passages[34]--that the sense of Holy Scripture can
nowhere be found incorrupt outside the Church, and cannot be expected
to be found in writers who, being without the true faith, only gnaw
the bark of the sacred Scripture, and never attain its pith.
     2.  HOLY SCRIPTURE AND THEOLOGY--Most desirable is it, and most
essential, that the whole teaching of theology should be pervaded and
animated by the use of the divine Word of God.  This is what the
Fathers and the greatest theologians of all ages have desired and
reduced to practice.  It was chiefly out of the sacred writings that
they endeavored to proclaim and establish the Articles of Faith and
the truths connected with it, and it was in them, together with
divine tradition, that they found the refutation of heretical error,
and the reasonableness, the true meaning, and the mutual relation of
the truths of Catholicism.  Nor will any one wonder at this who
considers that the sacred books hold such an eminent position among
the sources of revelation that without their assiduous study and use,
theology cannot be placed on its true footing, or treated as its
dignity demands.
     For although it is right and proper that students in academies
and schools should be chiefly exercised in acquiring a scientific
knowledge of dogma, by means of reasoning from the Articles of Faith
to their consequences, according to the rules of approved and sound
philosophy--nevertheless the judicious and instructed theologian will
by no means pass by that method of doctrinal demonstration which
draws its proof rom the authority of the Bible; "for theology does
not receive her first principles from any other science, but
immediately from God by revelation.  And, therefore, she does not
receive of other sciences as from a superior, but uses them as her
inferiors or handmaids."[35]  It is this view of doctrinal teaching
which is laid down and recommended by the prince of theologians, St.
Thomas of Aquin;[36] who, moreover, shows--such being the essential
character of Christian theology--how she can defend her own principles
against attack:  "If the adversary," he says, "do but grant any
portion of the divine revelation, we have an argument against him;
thus, against a heretic we can employ Scripture authority, and
against those who deny one article, we can use another.  But if our
opponent reject divine revelation entirely, there is then no way left
to prove the Articles of Faith by reasoning; we can only solve the
difficulties which are raised against them."[37]  Care must be taken,
then, that beginners approach the study of the Bible well prepared
and furnished; otherwise, just hopes will be frustrated, or,
perchance, what is worse, they will unthinkingly risk the danger of
error, falling an easy prey to the sophisms and labored erudition of
the Rationalists.  The best preparation will be a conscientious
application to philosophy and theology under the guidance of St.
Thomas of Aquin, and a thorough training therein--as We Ourselves
have elsewhere pointed out and directed.  By this means, both in
biblical studies and in that part of theology which is called
POSITIVE, they will pursue the right path and make satisfactory
progress.
 
            D.  DEFENCE OF THE AUTHORITY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
 
     1.  THE WORK OF THE CHURCH--To prove, to expound, to illustrate
Catholic doctrine by legitimate and skillful interpretation of the
Bible is much; but there is a second part of the object of equal
importance and equal difficulty--the maintenance in the strongest
possible way of its full authority.  This cannot be done completely
or satisfactorily except by means of the living and proper
MAGISTERIUM of the Church.  The Church, "by reason of her wonderful
propagation, her distinguished sanctity and inexhaustible fecundity
in good, her Catholic unity, and her unshaken stability, is herself a
great and perpetual motive of credibility, and an unassailable
testimony to her own divine mission."[38]  But since the divine and
infallible MAGISTERIUM of the Church rests also on the authority of
Holy Scripture, the first thing to be done is to vindicate the
trustworthiness of the sacred records, at least as human documents,
from which can be clearly proved, as from primitive and authentic
testimony, the divinity and mission of Christ our Lord, the
institution of a hierarchical Church, and the primacy of Peter and
his successors.  It is most desirable, therefore, that there should
be numerous members of the clergy well prepared to enter upon a
contest of this nature, and to repulse hostile assaults, chiefly
trusting in that armor of God recommended by the Apostle (Eph.
6:13-17), but also no unaccustomed to modern methods of attack.
     This is beautifully alluded to by St. John Chrysostom, when
describing the duties of priests:
 
               We must use every endeavor that the "Word of
          God may dwell in us abundantly" (Col. 3:16); not
          merely for one kind of fight must we be
          prepared--for the contest is many-sided and the
          enemy is of every sort; and they do not all use
          the same weapons nor make their onset in the
          same way.  Wherefore it is needful that the man
          who has to contend against all should be
          acquainted with the engines and the arts of
          all--that he should be at once archer and
          slinger, commandant and officer, general and
          private soldier, foot-soldier and horseman,
          skilled in sea-fight and in siege; for, unless he
          knows every trick and turn of war, the devil is
          well able, if only a single door be left open, to
          get in his fierce bands and carry off the sheep.[39]
 
     2.  EQUIPMENT OF THE DEFENDERS--The sophisms of the enemy and
his manifold arts of attack we have already touched upon.  Let Us now
say a word of advice on the means of defence.
     a.  ORIENTAL LANGUAGES.  The first means is the study of the
Oriental languages and of the art of criticism.  These two
acquirements are in these days held in high estimation, and,
therefore, the clergy, by making themselves more or less fully
acquainted with them as time and play may demand, will the better be
able to discharge their office with becoming credit; for they must
make themselves "all things to men" (1 Cor. 9:22), always "ready with
an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you"
(1 Peter 3:15).  Hence it is most proper that professors of sacred
Scripture and theologians should master those tongues in which the
sacred books were originally written; and it would be well that
ecclesiastical students also should cultivate them, more especially
those who aspire to academic degrees.  The endeavors should be make
to establish in all academic institutions--as has already been
laudably done in many--chairs of the other ancient languages,
especially the Semitic, and of subjects connected therewith, for the
benefit, principally, of those who are intended to profess sacred
literature.  These latter, with a similar object in view, make
themselves well and thoroughly acquainted with the art of true
criticism.
     There has arisen, to the great detriment of religion, an inept
method, dignified by the name of the "higher criticism," which
pretends to judge of the origin, integrity, and authority of each
book from internal indications alone.  It is clear, on the other
hand, that in historical questions, such as the origin and the
handing down of writings, the witness of history is of primary
importance, and that historical investigation should be make with the
utmost care; and that in this matter internal evidence is seldom of
great value, except as confirmation.  To look upon it in any other
light will be to open the door to many evil consequences.  It will
make the enemies of religion much more bold and confident in
attacking and mangling the sacred book;s and this vaunted "higher
criticism" will resolve itself into the reflection of the bias and
the prejudice of the critics.  It will not throw on the Scripture
the light which is sought, or prove of any advantage to doctrine; it
will only give rise to disagreement and dissension, those sure notes
of error, which the critics in question so plentifully exhibit in
their own persons; and seeing that most of them are tainted with false
philosophy and rationalism, it must lead to the elimination from the
sacred writings of all prophecy and miracles, and of everything else
that is outside the natural order.
     b.  NATURAL SCIENCES.  In the second place, we have to contend
against those who, making an evil use of physical science, minutely
scrutinize the sacred books in order to detect the writers in a
mistake, and to take occasion to vilify its contents.  Attacks of
this kind, bearing as they do on matters of sensible experience, are
peculiarly dangerous to the masses, and also to the young who are
beginning their literary studies; for the young, if they lose their
reverence for the Holy Scripture on one or more points, are easily
led to give up believing in it altogether.
     It need not be pointed out how the nature of science, just as it
is so admirably adapted to show forth the glory of the Great Creator,
provided it be taught as it should be, so, if it be perversely
imparted to the youthful intelligence, it may prove most fatal in
destroying the principles of true philosophy and in the corruption of
morality.  Hence, to the professor of sacred Scripture a knowledge of
natural science will be of very great assistance in detecting such
attacks on the sacred books, and in refuting them.  There can never,
indeed, be any real discrepancy between the theologian and the
physicist, as long as each confines himself within his own lines, and
both are careful, as St. Augustine warns us, "not to make rash
assertions, or to assert what is not known as known."[40]  If
dissension should arise between them, here is the rule also laid down
by St. Augustine for the theologian:
 
               Whatever they can really demonstrate to be
          true of physical nature we must show to be
          capable of reconciliation with our Scriptures;
          and whatever they assert in their treatises,
          which is contrary to these Scriptures of ours,
          that is to Catholic faith, we must either prove
          it as well as we can to be entirely false, or at
          all events we must, without the smallest
          hesitation, believe it to be so.[41]
 
     To understand how just is the rule here formulated we must
remember, first, that the sacred writers, or to speak more
accurately, the Holy Spirit "who spoke by them, did not intend to
teach men these things (that is to say, the essential nature of the
things of the visible universe), things in no way profitable unto
salvation."[42]  Hence they did not seek to penetrate the secrets of
nature, but rather described and dealt with things in more or less
figurative language, or in terms which were commonly used at the
time, and which in many instances were daily used at this day, even
by the most eminent men of science.  Ordinary speech primarily and
properly describes what comes under the senses; and somewhat in the
say way the sacred writers--as the Angelic Doctor also reminds
us--"went by what sensibly appeared,"[43] or put down what God,
speaking to men, signified, in the way men could understand and were
accustomed to.
     The unshrinking defence of the Holy Scripture, however, does not
require that we should equally uphold all the opinions which each of
the Fathers or the more recent interpreters have put forth in
explaining it; for it may be that, in commenting on passages where
physical matters occur, they have sometimes expressed the ideas of
their own times, and thus made statements which in these days have
been abandoned as incorrect.  Hence, in their interpretations, we
must carefully note what they lay down as belonging to faith, or as
intimately connected with faith--what they are unanimous in.  For "in
those things which do not come under the obligation of faith, the
saints were at liberty to hold divergent opinions, just as we
ourselves are,"[44] according to the saying of St. Thomas.  And in
another place he says most admirably:
 
               When philosophers are agreed upon a point,
          and it is not contrary to our faith, it is safer,
          in my opinion, neither to lay down such a point
          as a dogma of faith, even though it is perhaps so
          presented by the philosophers, nor to reject it
          as against faith, lest we thus give to the wise
          of this world an occasion of despising our faith.[45]
 
     The Catholic interpreter, although he should show that those
facts of natural science which investigators affirm to be now quite
certain are not contrary to the Scripture rightly explained, must,
nevertheless, always bear in mind, that much which has been held and
proved as certain has afterwards been called in question and
rejected.  And if writers on physics travel outside the boundaries of
their own branch, and carry their erroneous teaching into the domain
of philosophy, let them be handed over to philosophers for
refutation.
     c.  HISTORY.  The principles here laid down will apply to
cognate sciences, and especially history.  It is a lamentable fact
that there are many who with great labor carry out and publish
investigations on the monuments of antiquity, the manners and
institutions of nations, and other illustrative subjects, and whose
chief purpose i all this is too often to find mistakes in the sacred
writings and so to shake and weaken their authority.  Some of these
writers display not only extreme hostility, but the greatest
unfairness; in their eyes a profane book or ancient document is
accepted without hesitations, whilst the Scripture, if they only find
in it a suspicion of error, is set down with the slightest possible
discussion as quite untrustworthy.  It is true, no doubt, that
copyists have made mistakes in the text of the Bible; this question,
when it arises, should be carefully considered on its merits, and the
fact not too easily admitted, but only in those passages where the
proof is clear.
     3.  INERRANCY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE--It may also happen that the
sense of a passage remains ambiguous, and in this case good
hermeneutical methods will greatly assist in clearing up the
obscurity.  But it is absolutely wrong and forbidden either to narrow
inspiration to certain parts only of Holy Scripture or to admit that
the sacred writer has erred.  As to the system of those who, in order
to rid themselves of these difficulties, do not hesitate to concede
that divine inspiration regards the things of faith and morals, and
nothing beyond, because (as they wrongly think) in a question of the
truth or falsehood of a passage we should consider not so much what
God has said as the reason and purpose which He had in mind in saying
it--this system cannot be tolerated.
     a.  EXTENT OF INSPIRATION.  For all the books which the Church
receives as sacred and canonical are written wholly and entirely,
with all their parts, at the dictation of the Holy Spirit; and so far
is it from being possible that any error can coexist with
inspiration, that inspiration not only is essentially incompatible
with error, but excludes and rejects it as absolutely and necessarily
as it is impossible that God Himself, the supreme Truth, can utter
that which is not true.  This is the ancient and unchanging faith of
the Church, solemnly defined in the Councils of Florence and of
Trent, and finally confirmed and more expressly formulated by the
Council of the Vatican.  These are the words of the last:
 
               The books of the Old and New Testament,
          whole and entire, with all their parts, as
          enumerated in the decree of the same Council
          (Trent) and in the ancient Latin Vulgate, are to
          be received as sacred and canonical.  And the
          Church holds them as sacred and canonical not
          because, having been composed by human industry,
          they were afterwards approved by her authority;
          nor only because they contain revelation without
          errors, but because, having been written under
          the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God
          for their Author.[46]
 
     Hence, because the Holy Spirit employed men as his instruments,
we cannot, therefore, say that it was these inspired instruments who,
perchance, have fallen into error, and not the primary author.  For,
by supernatural power, He so moved and impelled them to write--He so
assisted them when writing--that the things which He ordered, and
those only, they, first, rightly understood, then willed faithfully
to write down, and finally expressed in apt words and with infallible
truth.  Otherwise, it could not be said that He was the Author of the
entire Scripture.  Such has always been the persuasion of the
Fathers.  "Therefore," says St. Augustine, "since they wrote the
things which He showed and uttered to them, it cannot be pretended
that He is not the writer; for his members executed what their head
dictated."[47]  And St. Gregory the Great thus pronounces:  "Most
superfluous it is to inquire who wrote these things--we loyally
believe the Holy Spirit to be the author of the book.  He wrote it
who dictated it for writing; He wrote it who inspired its
execution."[48]
     b.  INSPIRATION INCOMPATIBLE WITH ERROR.  It follows that those
who maintain that an error is possible in any genuine passage of the
sacred writings either pervert the Catholic notion of inspiration or
make God the author of such error.  And so emphatically were all the
Fathers and Doctors agreed that the divine writings, as left by the
hagiographers, are free from all error, that they labored earnestly,
with no less skill than reverence, to reconcile with each other those
numerous passages which seem at variance--the very passages which in
great measure have been taken up by the "higher criticism"; for they
were unanimous in laying it down that those writings, in their
entirety and in all their parts were equally from the AFFLATUS of
Almighty God, and that God, speaking by the sacred writers, could not
set down anything but what was true.  The words of St. Augustine to
St. Jerome may sum up what they taught:
 
               On my own part I confess to your charity
          that it is only to those books of Scripture which
          are now called canonical that I have learned to
          pay such honor and reverence as to believe most
          firmly that none of their writers has fallen into
          any error.  And if in these books I meet anything
          which seems contrary to truth, I shall not
          hesitate to conclude either that the text is
          faulty, or that the translator has not expressed
          the meaning of the passage, or that I myself do
          not understand.[49]
 
     4.  COOPERATION OF CATHOLIC SCHOLARS--But to undertake
fully and perfectly, and with all the weapons of the best science,
the defence of the Holy Bible is far more than can be looked for from
the exertions of commentators and theologians alone.  It is an
enterprise in which we have a right to expect the cooperation of all
those Catholics who have acquired reputation in any branch of
learning whatever.  As in the past, so at the present time, the
Church is never without the graceful support of her accomplished
children; may their services to the Faith grow and increase!  For
there is nothing which We believe to be more needful than that truth
should find defenders more powerful and more numerous than the
enemies it has to face; nor is there anything which is better
calculated to impress the masses with respect for truth than to see
it boldly proclaimed by learned and distinguished men.
     Moreover, the bitter tongues of objectors will be silenced or at
least they will dare to insist so shamelessly that faith is the enemy
of science, when they see that scientific men of eminence in their
profession show towards faith the most marked honor and respect.
Seeing, then, that those can do so much for the advantage of religion
on whom the goodness of Almighty God has bestowed, together with the
grace of faith, great natural talent, let such men, in this bitter
conflict of which the Holy Scripture is the object, select each of
them the branch of study most suitable to his circumstances, and
endeavor to excel therein, and thus be prepared to repulse with
credit and distinction the assaults on the Word of God.  And it is
Our pleasing duty to give deserved praise to a work which certain
Catholics have taken up--that is to say, the formation of societies
and the contribution of considerable sums of money, for the purpose
of supplying studious and learned men with every kind of help and
assistance in carrying out complete studies.  Truly an excellent
manner of investing money, and well suited to the times in which we
live!  The less hope of public patronage there is for Catholic study,
the more ready and the more abundant should be the liberality of
private persons--those to whom God has given riches thus willingly
making use of their means to safeguard the treasure of His revealed
doctrine.
     5.  DIRECTIVE NORM FOR SCHOLARS--In order that all these
endeavors and exertions may really prove advantageous to the cause of
the Bible, let scholars keep steadfastly to the principles which We
have in this letter laid down.  Let them loyally hold that God, the
Creator and Ruler of all things, is also the Author of the
Scriptures--and that, therefore, nothing can be proved either by
physical science or archaeology which can really contradict the
Scriptures.  If, then, apparent contradiction be met with, every
effort should be made to remove it.  Judicious theologians and
commentators should be consulted as to what is the true or most
probable meaning of the passage in discussion and the hostile
arguments should be carefully weighed.  Even if the difficulty is
after all not cleared up and the discrepancy seems to remain, the
contest must not be abandoned; truth cannot contradict truth, and we
may be sure that some mistake has been made either in the
interpretation of the sacred words or in the polemic discussion
itself; and if no such mistake can be detected, we must then suspend
judgment for the time being.
     There have been objections without number perseveringly directed
against the Scripture for many a long year, which have been proved to
be futile and are now never heard of; and not unfrequently
interpretations have been placed on certain passages of Scripture
(not belonging to the rule of faith or morals) which have been
rectified by more careful investigations.  As time goes on, mistaken
views die and disappear; but "truth remaineth and groweth stronger
forever and ever" (3 Esdr. 4:38).  Wherefore, as no one should be so
presumptuous as to think that he understands the whole of the
Scripture, in which St. Augustine himself confessed that there was
more that he did not know, than that he knew,[50] so, if he should
come upon anything that seems incapable of solution, he must take to
heart the cautious rule of the same holy Doctor:  "It is better even
to be oppressed by unknown but useful signs, than to interpret them
uselessly and thus to throw off the yoke only to be caught in the
trap of error."[51]
     As to those who pursue the subsidiary studies of which We have
spoken, if they honestly and modestly follow the counsels We have
given--if by their pen and their voice they make their studies
profitable against the enemies of truth, and useful in saving the
young from the loss of their faith--they may justly congratulate
themselves on their worthy service to the sacred writings, and on
affording to Catholicism that assistance which the Church has a right
to expect from the piety and learning of her children.
 
                              CONCLUSION
 
     Such, Venerable Brethren, are the admonitions and the
instructions which, by the help of God, We have thought it well, at
the present moment, to offer to you on the study of Holy Scripture.
It will now be your province to see that what We have said be
observed and put in practice with all due reverence and exactness;
that so We may prove Our gratitude to God for the communication to
man of the words of His wisdom, and that all the good results so much
to be desired may be realized, especially as they affect the training
of the students of the Church, which is Our own great solicitude and
the Church's hope.
     Exert yourselves with willing alacrity, and use your authority
and your persuasion in order that these studies may be held in just
regard and may flourish in seminaries and in the educational
institutions which are under your jurisdiction.  Let them flourish in
completeness and in happy success, under the direction of the Church,
in accordance with the salutary teaching and example of the holy
Fathers, and the laudable traditions of antiquity; and, as times goes
one, let them be widened and extended as the interests and glory of
truth may require--the interest of that Catholic truth which comes
from above, the never-failing source of man's salvation.  Finally, We
admonish, with paternal love, all students and ministers of the Church
always to approach the sacred writings with reverence and piety; for
it is impossible to attain to the profitable understanding thereof
unless the arrogance of "earthly" science be laid aside, and there be
excited in the heart the holy desire for that wisdom "which is from
above."  In this way the intelligence, which is once admitted to
these sacred studies, and thereby illuminated and strengthened, will
acquire a marvelous facility in detecting and avoiding the fallacies
of human science, and in gathering and using for eternal salvation
all that is valuable and precious; whilst, at the same time, the
heart will grow warm, and will strive, with ardent longing, to
advance in virtue and in divine love.  "Blessed are they who examine
His testimonies; they shall seek Him with their whole heart" (Ps.
18:2).
     And now, filled with hope in the divine assistance, and trusting
in your pastoral solicitude--as a pledge of heavenly grace, and a
sign of Our special good-will--to you all, and to the clergy, and the
whole flock entrusted to you, We lovingly impart in Our Lord the
Apostolic Benediction.
     Given at St. Peter's, at Rome, the 18th day of November, 1893,
the sixteenth year of Our Pontificate.
 
                                                         POPE LEO XIII
 
                              FOOTNOTES
 
     [1] Conc. Vat. sess. III, cap. ii DE REVEL.
     [2] Ibid.
     [3] St. Augustine, DE CIV. DEI xi, 3.
     [4] St. Clement of Rome, 1 AD COR. 45; St. Polycarp AD PHIL. 7;
St. Irenaeus CONTRA HAERESES ii, 28, 2.
     [5] St. John Chrysostom, IN GEN. hom. 2, 2; St. Augustine, IN
PS. 30, SERM., 3, 1; St. Gregory the Great, AD THEOD. ep. iv, 31.
     [6] St. Augustine, DE UTIL. CRED. xiv, 32.
     [7] St. Jerome, DE STUD. SCRIPT. AD PAULIN. ep. liii, 3.
     [8] IN ISAIAM PROL.
     [9] IN ISAIAM 54:12.
     [10] Jerem. 23:29.
     [11] DE DOCTR. CHR. iv, 6, 7.
     [12] St. John Chrysostom, IN GEN. HOM. xx, 2; Hom., lx, 3; St.
Augustine, DE DISC. CHRIST. ii.
     [13] St. Athanasius, EP. FEST. xxxix.
     [14] St. Augustine, SERM. xxvi, 24; St. Ambrose, IN PS. 118,
SERM. xix, 2.
     [15] St. Jerome, DE VITA CLERIC. ad Nepot.
     [16] St. Gregory the Great, REGUL. PAST. ii, 11 (al. 22); MORAL.
xvii, 26 (al. 14).
     [17] St. Augustine, SERM. clxxix, 1.
     [18] St. Gregory the Great, REGUL. PAST, iii, 24 (al. 48).
     [19] St. Jerome, IN MICH. 1:10.
     [20] Conc. Trid. sess. v, DECRET. DE REFORM., 1.
     [21] Ibid. 1-2.
     [22] Sess. iv, DECR. DE EDIT. ET USU SACR. LIBR.
     [23] DE DOCTR. CHR. iii, 4.
     [24] AD PAMMACHIUM.
     [25] St. Jerome, AD PAULIN. DE STUDIO SCRIPT. ep. liii, 4.
     [26] CONTRA HAERESES, iv, 26, 5.
     [27] Sess. iii, cap. ii, DE REVEL; cf. Conc. Trid, sess. iv,
DECRET. DE EDIT. ET USU SACR. LIBR.
     [28] Conc. Vat. sess. III, cap. ii, DE FIDE.
     [29] Ibid. 6, 7.
     [30] DE UTIL. CRED. xvii, 35.
     [31] Rufinus HIST. ECCL. ii, 9.
     [32] St. Augustine C. JULIAN. ii, 10, 37.
     [33] DE GEN. AD LITT. viii, 7, 13.
     [34] Cf. Clement of Alexandria, STROM. vii, 16; Origen DE PRINC.
iv, 8; IN LEC. hom. 4, 8; Tertullian, DE PRAES. 15; St. Hilary PICT.
IN MATT. 13:1.
     [35] St. Gregory the Great, MORAL. xx, 9 (al. 11).
     [36] SUMM. THEOL. p. i, q. i, a. 5, ad 2.
     [37] Ibid. a. 8.
     [38] Conc. Vat. sess. III, c. iii, DE FIDE.
     [39] DE SACERDOTIO iv, 4.
     [40] IN GEN. OP. IMPERF. ix, 30.
     [41] DE GEN. AD LITT., i, 21, 41.
     [42] St. Augustine, Ibid. 9, 20.
     [43] SUMMA THEOL. p. i, q. lxxx, a. 1, ad 3.
     [44] IN SENT. ii, Dist. q. i, a. 3.
     [45] OPUSC. X.
     [46] Sess. III, cap. ii, DE REV.
     [47] DE CONSENSU EVANGEL. i, 35.
     [48] PRAEF. IN JOB, n. 2.
     [49] EP. lxxxii, 1, et alibi.
     [50] AD IAMAR. ep. lv, 21.
     [51] DE DOCT. CHR. iii, 9, 18.