首页 >出版文学> Warfare of Science with Theology>第75章
  [293]ThewriterintheCatholicWorld,alreadymentioned,ratherrashlyassertsthatthereisnosuchLifeofXavierasthatI
  haveabovequoted。ThereverendJesuitfatherhasevidentlyglancedoverthebibliographiesofCarayonandDeBacker,and,notfindingitthereunderthenameofVitelleschi,hassparedhimselffurthertrouble。ItissufficienttosaythatthebookmaybeseenbyhiminthelibraryofCornellUniversity。Itsfulltitleisasfollows:CompendiodellaVitadels。p。
  FrancescoXavierodellCampagniadiGiesu,Canonizatocons。
  IgnatioFondatoredell’istessaReligionedallaSantitadiN。S。
  GregorioXV。Composto,edatoinluceperordinedelReverendiss。
  PMutioVitelleschiPrepositoGeneraledellaComp。diGiesu。InVenetia,MDCXXII,AppressoAntonioPinelli。ConLicenzade’
  Superiori。MycritichazardsaguessthatthebookmaybealatereditionofTorsellinoTursellinus,buthereagainheiswrong。Itisentirelyadifferentbook,givinginitsprefacealistofsourcescomprisingelevenauthoritiesbesidesTorsellino。
  In1682,onehundredandthirtyyearsafterXavier’sdeath,appearedhisbiographybyFatherBouhours;andthisbecameaclassic。Inittheoldmiraclesofallkindswereenormouslymultiplied,andmanynewonesgiven。MiraclesfewandsmallinTursellinusbecamemanyandgreatinBouhours。InTursellinus,Xavierduringhislifesavesonepersonfromdrowning,inBouhourshesavesduringhislifethree;inTursellinus,Xavierduringhisliferaisesfourpersonsfromthedead,inBouhoursfourteen;inTursellinusthereisonemiraculoussupplyofwater,inBouhoursthree;inTursellinusthereisnomiraculousdraughtoffishes,inBouhoursthereisone;inTursellinus,Xavieristransfiguredtwice,inBouhoursfivetimes:andsothroughalongseriesofmiracleswhich,intheearlierlivesappearingeithernotatallorinverymoderateform,aregreatlyincreasedandenlargedbyTursellinus,andfinallyenormouslyamplifiedandmultipliedbyFatherBouhours。
  AndhereitmustbeborneinmindthatBouhours,writingninetyyearsafterTursellinus,couldnothavehadaccesstoanynewsources。Xavierhadbeendeadonehundredandthirtyyears,andofcourseallthenativesuponwhomhehadwroughthismiracles,andtheirchildrenandgrandchildren,weregone。ItcannotthenbeclaimedthatBouhourshadtheadvantageofanynewwitnesses,norcouldhehavehadanythingnewinthewayofcontemporarywritings;for,aswehaveseen,themissionariesofXavier’stimewrotenothingregardinghismiracles,andcertainlytheignorantnativesofIndiaandJapandidnotcommitanyaccountofhismiraclestowriting。Nevertheless,themiraclesofhealinggiveninBouhoursweremorenumerousandbrilliantthanever。
  Buttherewasfarmorethanthis。AlthoughduringthelifetimeofXavierthereisneitherinhisownwritingsnorinanycontemporaryaccountanyassertionofaresurrectionfromthedeadwroughtbyhim,wefindthatshortlyafterhisdeathstoriesofsuchresurrectionsbegantoappear。Asimplestatementofthegrowthofthesemaythrowsomelightontheevolutionofmiraculousaccountsgenerally。AtfirstitwasaffirmedthatsomepeopleatCapeComorinsaidthathehadraisedoneperson;
  thenitwassaidthatthereweretwopersons;theninvariousauthors——EmanuelAcosta,inhiscommentarieswrittenasanafterthoughtnearlytwentyyearsafterXavier’sdeath,DeQuadros,andothers——thestorywaversbetweenoneandtwocases;
  finally,inthetimeofTursellinus,fourcaseshadbeendeveloped。In1622,atthecanonizationproceedings,threewerementioned;butbythetimeofFatherBouhourstherewerefourteen——allraisedfromthedeadbyXavierhimselfduringhislifetime——andthename,place,andcircumstancesaregivenwithmuchdetailineachcase。[294]
  [294]ThewriterintheCatholicWorld,alreadyreferredto,hasbasedanattackhereuponamisconception——Iwillnotcallitadeliberatemisrepresentation——ofhisownbystatingthattheseresurrectionsoccurredafterXavier’sdeath,andwereduetohisintercessionortheuseofhisrelics。ThestatementoftheJesuitfatherisutterlywithoutfoundation,asasimplereferencetoBouhourswillshow。ItakethelibertyofcommendingtohisattentionTheLifeofSt。FrancisXavier,byFatherDominicBouhours,translatedbyJamesDryden,Dublin,1838。ForexamplesofraisingthedeadbythesaintDURINGHIS
  LIFETIME,seepp。69,82,93,111,218,307,316,321——fourteencasesinall。
  ItseemstohavebeenfeltassomewhatstrangeatfirstthatXavierhadneveralludedtoanyofthesewonderfulmiracles;buterelongasubsidiarylegendwasdeveloped,totheeffectthatoneofthebrethrenaskedhimonedayifhehadraisedthedead,whereatheblusheddeeplyandcriedoutagainsttheidea,saying:
  “AndsoIamsaidtohaveraisedthedead!WhatamisleadingmanIam!Somemenbroughtayouthtomejustasifheweredead,who,whenIcommandedhimtoariseinthenameofChrist,straightwayarose。”
  Noteworthyistheevolutionofothermiracles。Tursellinus,writingin1594,tellsusthatonthevoyagefromGoatoMalacca,Xavierhavinglefttheshipandgoneuponanisland,wasafterwardfoundbythepersonssentinsearchofhimsodeeplyabsorbedinprayerastobeunmindfulofallthingsabouthim。
  ButinthenextcenturyFatherBouhoursdevelopsthestoryasfollows:“TheservantsfoundthemanofGodraisedfromthegroundintotheair,hiseyesfixeduponheaven,andraysoflightabouthiscountenance。”
  Instructive,also,isacomparisonbetweenthesuccessiveaccountsofhisnotedmiracleamongtheBadagesatTravancore,in1544Xavierinhislettersmakesnoreferencetoanythingextraordinary;andEmanuelAcosta,in1571,declaressimplythat“XavierthrewhimselfintothemidstoftheChristians,thatreverencinghimtheymightsparetherest。”Theinevitableevolutionofthemiraculousgoeson;andtwentyyearslaterTursellinustellsusthat,attheonslaughtoftheBadages,“theycouldnotendurethemajestyofhiscountenanceandthesplendourandrayswhichissuedfromhiseyes,andoutofreverenceforhimtheysparedtheothers。”Theprocessofincubationstillgoesonduringninetyyearsmore,andthencomesFatherBouhours’saccount。HavinggivenXavier’sprayeronthebattlefield,Bouhoursgoesontosaythatthesaint,crucifixinhand,rushedattheheadofthepeopletowardtheplainwheretheenemywasmarching,and“saidtotheminathreateningvoice,`IforbidyouinthenameofthelivingGodtoadvancefarther,andonHispartcommandyoutoreturninthewayyoucame。’Thesefewwordscastaterrorintothemindsofthosesoldierswhowereattheheadofthearmy;theyremainedconfoundedandwithoutmotion。Theywhomarchedafterward,seeingthattheforemostdidnotadvance,askedthereasonofit。Theanswerwasreturnedfromthefrontranksthattheyhadbeforetheireyesanunknownpersonhabitedinblack,ofmorethanhumanstature,ofterribleaspect,anddartingfirefromhiseyes……Theywereseizedwithamazementatthesight,andallofthemfledinprecipitateconfusion。”
  Curious,too,istheafter-growthofthemiracleofthecrabrestoringthecrucifix。InitsfirstformXavierlostthecrucifixinthesea,andtheearlierbiographersdwellonthesorrowwhichheshowedinconsequence;butthelaterhistoriansdeclarethatthesaintthrewthecrucifixintotheseainordertostillatempest,andthat,afterhissafegettingtoland,acrabbroughtittohimontheshore。Inthisformwefinditamongillustrationsofbooksofdevotioninthenextcentury。
  ButperhapsthebestillustrationofthisevolutionofXavier’smiraclesistobefoundinthegrowthofanotherlegend;anditisespeciallyinstructivebecauseitgrewluxuriantlydespitethefactthatitwasutterlycontradictedinallpartsofXavier’swritingsaswellasinthelettersofhisassociatesandintheworkoftheJesuitfather,JosephAcosta。
  Throughouthisletters,fromfirsttolast,Xavierconstantlydwellsuponhisdifficultieswiththevariouslanguagesofthedifferenttribesamongwhomhewent。Hetellsushowhesurmountedthesedifficulties:sometimesbylearningjustenoughofalanguagetotranslateintoitsomeofthemainChurchformulas;sometimesbygettingthehelpofotherstopatchtogethersomepiousteachingstobelearnedbyrote;sometimesbyemployinginterpreters;andsometimesbyamixtureofvariousdialects,andevenbysigns。Ononeoccasionhetellsusthataveryseriousdifficultyarose,andthathisvoyagetoChinawasdelayedbecause,amongotherthings,theinterpreterhehadengagedhadfailedtomeethim。
  InvariousLiveswhichappearedbetweenthetimeofhisdeathandhiscanonizationthisdifficultyismuchdweltupon;butduringthecanonizationproceedingsatRome,inthespeechesthenmade,andfinallyinthepapalbull,greatstresswaslaiduponthefactthatXavierpossessedTHEGIFTOFTONGUES。Itwasdeclaredthathespoketothevarioustribeswitheaseintheirownlanguages。ThislegendofXavier’smiraculousgiftoftongueswasespeciallymentionedinthepapalbull,andwassolemnlygivenforthbythepontiffasaninfalliblestatementtobebelievedbytheuniversalChurch。GregoryXVhavingbeenpreventedbydeathfromissuingtheBullofCanonization,itwasfinallyissuedbyUrbanVIII;andthereismuchfoodforreflectioninthefactthatthesamePopewhopunishedGalileo,andwasdeterminedthattheInquisitionshouldnotallowtheworldtobelievethattheearthrevolvesaboutthesun,thussolemnlyorderedtheworld,underpainofdamnation,tobelieveinXavier’smiracles,includinghis“giftoftongues。”andthereturnofthecrucifixbythepiouscrab。Butthelegendwasdevelopedstillfurther:FatherBouhourstellsus,“Theholymanspokeverywellthelanguageofthosebarbarianswithouthavinglearnedit,andhadnoneedofaninterpreterwhenheinstructed。”And,finally,inourowntime,theRev。FatherColeridge,speakingofthesaintamongthenatives,says,“Hecouldspeakthelanguageexcellently,thoughhehadneverlearnedit。”
  Intheearlybiography,Tursellinuswrites。”NothingwasagreaterimpedimenttohimthanhisignoranceoftheJapanesetongues;for,everandanon,whensomeuncouthexpressionoffendedtheirfastidiousanddelicateears,theawkwardspeechofFranciswasacauseoflaughter。”ButFatherBouhours,acenturylater,writingofXavieratthesameperiod,says,“HepreachedintheafternoontotheJapaneseintheirlanguage,butsonaturallyandwithsomucheasethathecouldnotbetakenforaforeigner。”
  Andfinally,in1872,FatherColeridge,oftheSocietyofJesus,speakingofXavieratthistime,says,“Hespokefreely,flowingly,elegantly,asifhehadlivedinJapanallhislife。”
  Norwaseventhissufficient:tomakethelegendcomplete,itwasfinallydeclaredthat,whenXavieraddressedthenativesofvarioustribes,eachheardthesermoninhisownlanguageinwhichhewasborn。
  Allthis,aswehaveseen,directlycontradictsnotonlytheplainstatementsofXavierhimself,andvariousincidentaltestimoniesinthelettersofhisassociates,buttheexplicitdeclarationofFatherJosephAcosta。ThelatterhistoriandwellsespeciallyonthelabourwhichXavierwasobligedtobestowonthestudyoftheJapaneseandotherlanguages,andsays,“Evenifhehadbeenendowedwiththeapostolicgiftoftongues,hecouldnothavespreadmorewidelythegloryofChrist。”[295]
  [295]FortheevolutionofthemiraclesofXavier,seehisLetters,withLife,publishedbyLeonPages,Paris,1855;alsoMaffei,HistoriarumIndicarumlibrixvi,Venice,1589;alsothelivesbyTursellinus,variouseditions,beginningwiththatof1594;Vitelleschi,1622;Bouhours,1683;Massei,secondedition,1682Rome,andothers;Bartoli,Baltimore,1868;Coleridge,1872。Inadditiontothese,Ihavecompared,foramoreextendeddiscussionofthissubjecthereafter,averygreatnumberofeditionsoftheseandotherbiographiesofthesaint,withspeechesatthecanonization,thebullofGregoryXV,variousbooksofdevotion,andamultitudeofspecialwritings,someoftheminmanuscript,uponthegloriesofthesaint,includingalargemassofmaterialattheRoyalLibraryinMunichandintheBritishMuseum。IhavereliedentirelyuponCatholicauthors,andhavenotthoughtitworthwhiletoconsultanyProtestantauthor。TheillustrationofthemiracleofthecrucifixandthecrabinitsfinalformisgiveninLaDevotiondeDixVendredisal’HonneurdeSt。FrancoisXavier,Bruxelles,1699,Fig。24:thepiouscrabisrepresentedaspresentingthecrucifixbywhichajourneyoffortyleagueshehasbroughtfromthedepthsoftheoceantoXavier,whowalksupontheshore。ThebookisintheCornellUniversityLibrary。FortheletterofKingJohntoBarreto,seeLeonPages’sLettresdeFrancoisXavier,Paris,1855,vol。ii,p。465。ForthemiracleamongtheBadages,compareTursellinus,lib。ii,c。x,p。16,withBouhours,Dryden’stranslation,pp。146,147。Forthemiracleofthegiftoftongues,initshigherdevelopment,seeBouhours,p。235,andColeridge,vo。i,