Key Takeaways
1. The Theology is the Foundation of All Truth
Theology, inasmuch as it is the science of God, is the ocean which contains and embraces all sciences, as God is the ocean which contains and embraces all things.
Divine Source of Knowledge. Donoso Cortes asserts that all truth—political, social, and moral—ultimately derives from theology, the science of God. Just as God encompasses all existence, so too does theology encompass all knowledge, making it the perpetual subject of all human speculation. Without faith, truths diminish, and societies turn to darkness.
Historical Evidence. Throughout history, religion has been the indispensable foundation of human society. Ancient civilizations, from Plato's Greece to Numa's Rome, recognized this, attributing wisdom and longevity to pious nations. Even figures like Voltaire acknowledged religion's necessity for societal formation, demonstrating a universal, albeit sometimes confused, understanding of this principle.
Consequences of Denial. To deny God is to deny the source of all laws governing humanity and the universe. Societies that abandon the worship of truth for the idolatry of genius inevitably face sophistry, revolution, and executioners. Every political or social affirmation implicitly relies on a theological one, making theology the ultimate light of history.
2. Catholicism: The Universal System of Order and Love
Catholicity is a complete system of civilisation, so complete, that in its immensity it embraces everything—the science of God, the science of the angel, the science of the universe, and the science of man.
All-Encompassing Truth. Catholicism is presented as the universal and perfect system of civilization, embracing all truths about God, angels, the universe, and man. It provides the criteria for sciences, actions, and affections, bringing order to the moral, political, and domestic spheres. Its doctors and theologians surpass ancient philosophers in wisdom and insight.
Divine Authority and Governance. Catholic theology reveals God as the singular, universal cause, infinite in substance and multiple in persons, governing all things through His Providence and His vicars. This divine origin sanctifies authority and obedience, condemning both despotism and rebellion. Rulers, as ministers of God, serve the people, fostering a society where freedom from human subjugation is paramount.
Harmony in Diversity. The Catholic God, one in essence and triple in persons, serves as the exemplar for all creation, which is both unified and diverse. This divine pattern is reflected in the family (father, mother, child united by love) and the Church (unity in its head, variety in its members), demonstrating how infinite variety is resolved into infinite unity through love.
3. Human Liberty and the Origin of Sin
The free will of man is the masterpiece of creation, and the most wonderful, if I may say so, of the divine wonders.
God's Masterpiece. Human free will is the pinnacle of creation, so sublime that even God, who bestowed it, cannot revoke it. This liberty, however, is often misunderstood. It is not merely the faculty of choosing between good and evil, but the faculty of understanding and willing. Perfect liberty, therefore, lies in understanding and willing perfectly, a state only God fully possesses.
Imperfection and Choice. Man's liberty is imperfect because his understanding is fallible and his will susceptible to evil. The ability to choose between good and evil, often seen as the essence of freedom, is, in fact, the danger of human liberty, as it allows for deviation from the good and descent into error. This imperfection is inherent to the creature, distinguishing it from the Creator.
The Fall and Its Consequences. When man, through pride and disobedience, separated his understanding and will from God, his liberty became impaired. This act of sin, a negation of divine order, introduced disorder into man's internal constitution (ignorance, weakness) and the external world (sickness, death, a cursed earth). Sin is the ultimate disorder, a rebellion against the Supreme Good.
4. Divine Providence Transforms Evil into Greater Good
If God permits sin, which is the evil and the disorder par excellence, this consists in the fact that sin, far from impeding His mercy and His justice, serves as an occasion for new manifestations of His justice and of His mercy.
God's Sovereign Skill. While human liberty allows for the creation of evil and disorder, God's infinite power ensures that these deviations ultimately serve His greater designs. He transforms disorder into order, perturbation into harmony, and evil into good, demonstrating His supreme reason and omnipotence. Sin, rather than thwarting divine will, becomes an occasion for new manifestations of divine justice and mercy.
Union Through Disunion. The ultimate good for intelligent beings is union with God. Sin, a voluntary disunion from God's grace, paradoxically leads to a new form of union: falling into the hands of His justice or becoming the object of His mercy. Thus, the creature's liberty to choose disunion is reconciled with God's sovereignty, as all paths, whether of rebellion or obedience, ultimately lead back to Him.
Creation's Circle. God is both the center and circumference of creation. No creature can escape His embrace; liberty lies in choosing the path of return. The angelic and human prevarications, though accidental perturbations, are harmonized into the universal order, allowing God's justice and mercy to shine forth alongside His goodness and magnificence, completing the reflection of His divine perfections.
5. Solidarity: Humanity's Interconnected Destiny
By solidarity, man, elevated to a superior dignity and a more sublime sphere, living before and surviving himself, is prolonged as long as time, and extended as far as space.
Unity of the Human Race. The dogma of solidarity reveals the profound interconnectedness of humanity, a concept largely absent in ancient societies. It stems from the substantial unity of the human race, concentrated in Adam and transmitted to all men. This means individuals share a common responsibility, where the merits or demerits of one can affect others, elevating man to a sublime dignity.
Shared Responsibility. Man is bound by solidarity across time (with ancestors and descendants) and within various associations (family, nation, humanity). Yet, this collective responsibility does not negate individual accountability. A person can be a saint in a sinful family or a reprobate in a holy priesthood, demonstrating the delicate balance between collective fate and personal free will.
Pagan vs. Catholic Solidarity. Ancient societies recognized solidarity, but imperfectly. Their limited understanding led to disastrous consequences, such as the tyranny of family over individuals or the perpetual warfare of nations. Catholic solidarity, however, subordinates all lesser solidarities to the universal human solidarity, fostering peace and justice by embracing all men as brothers under God.
6. The Purifying Power of Accepted Pain
If pain is not a penalty, it is an evil without admixture of good whatever; if it is a penalty, though it be an evil from its origin, which is sin, yet it is a great good, by the purification of sinners.
Pain as Penalty and Remedy. Pain, a universal human experience, is not merely a misfortune but a penalty for sin. This divine imposition transforms suffering into a potential blessing, offering expiation and purification. When voluntarily accepted as a penalty, pain acquires a supernatural virtue, enabling man to rise above his fallen state and convert the consequences of sin into instruments of salvation.
Universal Suffering, Universal Purification. All men suffer from birth to death, reflecting the universality of sin and the necessity of purification. This constant pain, when embraced, subdues the rebellion of the flesh, strengthens the will, enlightens the intellect, and ultimately restores man's obedience to God. It is the crucible in which hardness of heart yields to compassion, pride to humility, and impurity to chastity.
Source of Heroism. Pain is the origin of all heroism and greatness. Those who voluntarily accept suffering, whether physical or spiritual, are transformed, gaining vitality, maturity, bravery, and sanctity. Conversely, the pursuit of pleasure leads to corruption, enervation, and a descent into vice, demonstrating the corrosive nature of delights when unmoderated by the purifying fire of accepted pain.
7. Liberalism: A Contradictory and Impotent Philosophy
The Liberal school is the only one which has no theologian among its doctors and masters; the Absolutist school had them, often raised them to the dignity of governors of peoples, and the peoples increased during their government in importance and power.
Anti-Theological Blindness. The Liberal school, in its profound ignorance, despises theology, failing to grasp the intrinsic link between divine and human affairs. It believes in an abstract, deistic God who set laws in motion but remains detached from governance. This anti-theological stance renders it impotent to address fundamental problems of good and evil, reducing complex issues to mere questions of governmental form.
Inherent Contradictions. Liberalism is a contradictory edifice, proclaiming existences it annuls and annulling existences it proclaims. It champions monarchy while undermining it with ministerial responsibility, and advocates for popular sovereignty while restricting it with electoral eligibility. Its pursuit of an elusive equilibrium between opposing principles leads only to confusion and a perpetual state of internal conflict.
Path to Corruption and Scepticism. This school thrives in periods of societal decline, fostering skepticism by endlessly debating all notions. It avoids definitive affirmations or negations, preferring to "distinguish," thereby eroding common sense and paving the way for radical ideologies. Its ultimate "power" lies in corruption, as it creates a system where all are compelled to be either corruptors or corrupted, leading to societal gangrene.
8. Socialism: A Logical but Destructive Atheology
Socialism is strong, only because it is a theology; and it is destructive, only because it is a satanic theology.
Superiority in Logic, Inferiority in Truth. Socialist schools, though rationalistic and atheistic, are more logical and consistent than Liberalism because they confront fundamental problems directly and offer decisive, albeit destructive, solutions. They recognize the theological nature of societal questions, unlike Liberalism's superficial focus on governmental forms. However, their strength is rooted in a "satanic theology" that ultimately leads to nihilism.
Denial of Sin, Affirmation of Nihilism. Socialism's fundamental error is the denial of sin and its possibility, which logically leads to the negation of human liberty, individual responsibility, and all forms of solidarity (family, political, human). By denying these foundational concepts, Socialism dismantles the very fabric of existence, reducing humanity, society, and even individual identity to a theoretical, ephemeral point, ultimately ending in nothingness.
Contradictory Practices. Despite their theoretical negations, Socialists often contradict themselves in practice. They deny family and national solidarity but then form their own "families" and "nations" with common chiefs and glories. They proclaim universal equality and liberty but then establish new forms of tyranny, demonstrating a profound inconsistency that exposes their doctrines as "stupid contradictions" and "chaos."
9. The Incarnation: God's Ultimate Solution for Humanity
The glorious mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, is the only title of nobility the human race possesses.
Divine Love and Redemption. The Incarnation of the Son of God is the supreme mystery, uniting all divine perfections, especially infinite love. It is the ultimate solution to sin and human weakness, blotting out primitive sin and fortifying the sinner. God's love, not merely His justice or mercy, commanded the Redeemer's coming, offering hope and salvation to fallen humanity.
Reconciling Creator and Creature. This prodigious mystery resolves the dualism of Creator and creatures into a supreme synthesis. Just as man is a synthesis of spirit and matter, God Made Man synthetically unites the divine and human natures, and through them, all creation. This act of divine humanization restores universal order, which was impeded by man's voluntary renunciation of deification through sin.
Merit and Grace. The Incarnation and Christ's sacrifice on the cross not only atoned for sin but also bestowed grace, enabling man to accept tribulation voluntarily and transform it into meritorious virtue. This divine intervention empowers man to rise above his natural incapacity, making him capable of returning to God's grace and friendship. The cross stands as the eternal symbol of God's love and the pledge of His grace, offering strength, mercy, and joy to all who embrace it.
10. The Invincible Logic of Catholic Dogma
Catholicism is not a thesis, and not being so, cannot be combated by an antithesis; it is a synthesis which embraces all, which contains all, and which explains all, which cannot be, I will not say conquered, but even combated, except by a synthesis of the same species, which, like it, should embrace, contain, and explain all things.
A Perfect and Universal Synthesis. Catholic dogmas form an immense, harmonious synthesis, where each truth is intrinsically linked to all others, making it impossible to affirm or deny one without affecting the whole. This divine coherence, transcending space and time, offers a complete explanation for all universal and human phenomena, from the origin of evil to the purpose of suffering.
Rationalism's Incoherence. In contrast, Rationalistic schools, including Liberalism and Socialism, are condemned to inconsistency and absurdity because they selectively deny Catholic dogmas without offering a coherent alternative. Their solutions are partial, contradictory, and ultimately fail to explain the fundamental problems of existence, demonstrating reason's inherent incapacity when abandoned to itself.
The Choice: All or Nothing. Man is faced with a stark choice: accept all Catholic affirmations with absolute faith, or deny them all with a radical negation bordering on nihilism. Any attempt at eclectic compromise, like those of Liberalism or Socialism, results in intellectual confusion and societal instability. Catholicism, as the "atmosphere of intelligences," ultimately draws all who seek truth, even those who believe they are outside its bounds, into its invincible logic.
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