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

208 CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH OF ROME.ism.In a court of justice, the latter would be counted butas one witness. They have not examined the matter forthemselves ; they believe it on infallibility ; their evidence,therefore, is simply hearsay, and in a court of law wouldbe held as resolving itself into the evidence of but one man.If he be right, they are right ; but if he be mistaken, theyall are necessarily mistaken. But in a Protestant Churchevery member acts on his own judgment and belief.Sucha body, therefore, contains as many independent, intelligent,and real witnesses as it does members. That Church, then,which boasts of Catholicism and numbers is, as far as testimonygoes, the smallest sect in Christendom.But, giving her the matter her own way, she includes withinher pale a decided minority of the human family. The onepagan empire of China alone greatly outnumbers her. TheGreek Church, an older Church than that of Rome, neverowned her supremacy; nor the other numerous Churches inAsia, nor the great and once famous Church in Africa, northe Church in the Russian empire. And, considering howmany kingdoms have broken off from her since the Reformation,the communion of Rome is now reduced to a verysmall part of the Christian Church. Around her limitedand restricted territory, which includes, it is true, many afair province in Europe, there extends a broad zone ofMahommedanism and Hinduism, which merges into anotherand a darker zone, which, as it stretches away towardsthe extremities of the earth, deepens into the unbrokennight of heathenism. Surveyed from the SevenHills, the empire of Rome does indeed seem ample,—alas !too ample for the repose and progress of the world ; butto the eye that can take in the globe, it dwindles into aninsignificant speck, lying embosomed in the folds of thepagan night.* But the dominion promised to the Church* It is computed, that of the inhabitants of the globe, little more thancue-third are Christians even nominally. Of the nine hundred andei^'hty millions of mankind, about six hundred millions are Pagans. If,then, we permit numbers to decide the question, we cannot remain Chris-