The Vatican Council, Number Two [pp. 841-854]

852 T/i~ Vatican Council.
other speakers, and in such manner It would scarce comport wifl~ il~e digas to render any repetition unneces- nity of the assembly. The prelates
sary. The speakers were from North listened in silence and attentively, and
Amenca, South America, France, seemed to weigh carefully the merits
Spain, Italy, Prussia, Belgium, Aus- of each argument or criticism as it
tria, Hungary, Greece, Armenia, and dropped from the lips of the speaker.
Chalden. The Latin was their com- All these discourses were carefully
mon language, and it was wonderful taken down by the stenographers of
with what correctness and readiness the council, and were immediately
all spoke it. Some of them-the wntten out. At the conclusion of the
Italians and Hungarians especially- discussion, the Schema itself which had
were as fluent as if it were their been discussed, and all the speeches
mother-tongue-as indeed it almost on it, were referred to the deputais for them. The nationality of the tion or committee on fa~th, who will
speaker might generally be known at make such alterations and amendonce by the intonations of his voice ments in it as a careful weighing of
and the peduliarities of his pronuncia- the remarks made may show to be
tion. But the widest differences heard advisable. In this amended form,
there did not prevent their perfectly it will come again before the congreunderstanding each other. There gation for further consideration, and
was no one to use the "English" ultimately for approval or rejection.
pronunciation of Latin. Had that In the mean time, other schemata or
been heard, the majority of the draughts on discipline have been
bishops would have thought it some placed in the hands of the prelates,
dialect of English. As it was, the to be studied, discussed, and acted on
var;ations seemed like the differences in a similar way.
of English, Irish, Scotch, and Amen- In the congregation of January
can orators, who all speak the same 3d, the deail~ of Cardinal Reisach,
language, each with a maH~ed accent chief of the presiding cardinals, was
and peculiar mode of pronunciation; announced. He had not been able to
yet all are perfectly intelligible to return from Switzerland to take his
ead~ other. seat in the council. It was also an But these peculiarities were forgot- nounced that the holy father had
ten, as the prelates bent forward to appointed Cardinal De Angelis to
catch the calm and earnest words, in fill the vacant place. Cardinal de
whid~ the successive speakers brought Angelis is Bishop of Fermo, in Italy,
their intimate knowledge of the Holy and is a hale old man, approaching
Scnptures, of the traditions of the seventy years of age. He has sufchurch, of the acute reasoning of the fered not a little from the government
sd~olastics, of modern philosophy, of of Victor Emanuel, and is looked on
history, ecclesiastical and civil, and as a confessor like those of the earlier
<)f modern sciences in their most ad- ages of the church. He was imvanced stages, to bear on the sub- prisoned, maltreated, taken away from
jects before them. The speakers his see, and kept for years i?~ domiseemed somewhat awed by the ma- elijo coallo, under arrest, as we would
jesty of the assembly, but they spoke say, and forbidden to go beyond cerfirmly and freely; for they were ful- tain restricted limits. He was set at
filling a sacred duty in thus expressing liberty about two years ago. He is a
their matured thoughts and earnest bishop of vast learning, full of zeal and
convictions. There was no applause. energy, and of unshakable firmnes~.