The-papacy-its-history-dogmas-genius-and-prospects-wylie

BIBLE UNKNOWN IN ITALY. 187there was no prohibition against the sacred volume,—thatif they would be willing to circulate it,—and that really andsincerely there was no other objection than the difficultiesarising from the price of the book,—that difficulty should atonce be obviated : I would myself undertake to obtain fromEngland, through the Bible Society, any number of Biblesthat could be circulated ; and that they should be sold atthe lowest possible price, or given freely and gratuitously, tothe inhabitants of Rome. I stated that the people of Englandloved the Scriptures beyond all else in this world ; andthat it would be to them a source of delight and thanksgivingto give for gratuitous circulation any number of copies of thesacred volume that the inhabitants of Rome could require." He immediately answered, that he thanked me for thegenerous offer; but that there would be no use in acceptingit, as the people of Rome were very ignorant, were in astate of brutal ignorance, were unable to read anything; andtherefore could not profit by reading the Scriptures, even ifwe supplied them gratuitously." I could not conceal from myself that he was prevaricatingwith me,—that his former excuse of poverty, and thislatter excuse of ignorance, were mere evasions ;so I askedhim whose fault it was that the people remained in suchuniversal and unaccountable ignorance.There were abovefive thousand priests, monks, and nuns, besides cardinalsand prelates, in the city of Rome ; that the whole populationwas only thirty thousand families ;that thus there wasa priest, or a monk, or a nun, for every six families inRome ; that thus there were ample means for the educationof the people; and I asked, therefore, whether the Church wasnot to blame for this ignorance on the part of the people ?" He immediately turned from the subject, saying, thatthe Church held the infallibility of the Pope, to whom ittherefore belonged to giveof the Scriptures."*the only infallible interpretation* Mornings among the Jesuits at Rome, pp. 132-135,