HISTORY OF THE CHURCH: BY J. CHANTREL. Approved by his Lordship Mgr. Gigneoux, Bishop of Beauvais, TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. THE Translator was pressed to undertake this Work by those who know the great need there exists for such a Book. The reason she chose Chantrel, was because he is essentially a student's writer; his style is at once lucid, concise, and interesting to the young. He has the knack of putting dry facts in such a way as to take hold of the memory, which is an art very necessary to those who write for students. This is a book, which will, I trust, be useful to all classes, all ages, as no one is too old to learn, and many Catholics, long arrived at man's estate, must regret the almost total absence of anything like detail regarding Church History, in their own early education. An apology may be needed for the appearance of the second volume of this work before the first. The reason is, unfortunately, very common-place. The first, being exclusively devoted to what is usually called "Bible History," the Translator feared to enter on a field already occupied, until she had first been able to give promise, in this sample of the Ecclesiastical History (so urgently called for), of the superiority, in method, arrangement, and choice of details, which M. Chantrel's "Sacred History" possesses over those already in our language. To single out one instance only, M. Chantrel has over a hundred pages on the History of the Jews after their return from Captivity, where our popular manuals give us only a few lines, on subjects of thrilling interest, and necessary to the understanding of the Books of the Machabees, &c., but which, are not to be found, as is well-known, in the Holy Bible itself; as likewise the period which ensues between the Machabees and the Coming of Christ. The Translator hopes that the encouragement given to this second volume of Chantrel's "Church History," will enable her soon to bring out the first. PREFACE. We have said, in the Preface to the preceding volume, what was our view as to how a History of the Church should be written, endeavouring, above all, to make known her interior life. We should have wished to give to this portion of the History, which concerns our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostolic times, developments better fitting their importance; but we think that doing this would make us exceed the bounds of a school book; we have, therefore, contented ourselves with relating, very concisely, the facts which are given in the New Testament. We have, moreover, the intention of consecrating an entire volume to these facts, beyond our classical course. It is of importance, in the face of the attacks directed, in our days, against the very person of our Saviour, and against the work of the Apostles, to give to this part of Ecclesiastical History more considerable developments. We shall follow, in the volume that we are now publishing, the order adopted in our classical works on history, so that it may be easily, if not studied, at least, read in the classes; whilst, at the same time, it may become a book for the use of Christian families. There is no necessity for us to say that we have taken every care to make this new edition worthy of the praise that was accorded to the first one; we have modified some passages, which no longer kept pace with the progress of historical science, and have carried the history of the Church up to the present day. |