The Objection which requires, perhaps, the least trouble and information to make, (and from its indistinctness is rather difficult to grapple with,) and which, therefore, is more frequently employed than any other, is founded on a charge of general and fatal Corruption of Christianity in the middle ages. Granting, it is said, the fact, that there was an unbroken Succession of Bishops in the Church Catholic from the beginning, still the gross and palpable corruption which so extensively pervaded the Church for ages, was quite sufficient to rob the Succession of all spiritual value. Now this wide and gratuitous assertion might fairly be met by asking the objector—how he comes to know this?—How he comes to be so sure that personal human corruption would wholly obstruct the super-human grace of a Divine institution? How he arrives at such a certainty that the grace of GOD is not mightier than the sin of man? How he _can_ be so sure that “where sin abounded,” grace did not “much more abound?” At the best, his objection rests on an unproved assumption in principle—an assumption too, directly at variance with our experience of GOD’S past dealings with man; as the history of the Jewish people bears witness. It would be difficult, as we remarked in our last Lecture, to find any parallel in the history of the Christian Church to the godless impieties of the Jewish, during four hundred years previous to CHRIST’S coming, and yet the anointing oil of the Priesthood was not inefficacious, nor even the Prophetical gifts withdrawn, up to the time of the Advent. Even CHRIST’S persecutor Caiaphas “_prophesied_, being High Priest that year.” It is, therefore, quite unsatisfactory, at the least, to take for granted in this way, that general Corruption would have totally destroyed the grace of Apostolic Succession. The utmost that can, with any show of fairness, be pretended is, that it _might_ have done so: and even this ought surely to be proved and not barely assumed as it here is. And even supposing that this were proved, then there would be one thing more to be shown, namely, that the amount of corruption in the Church had really, in point of fact, reached that height, which would overwhelm the grace of Her instituted Ministry. And how this could be certainly proved, even if true, it seems hard to say. In the nature of things, it would ever remain a point uncertain to man, and known to GOD alone. Our objectors, therefore, must assume this point too. And without, perhaps, being much justified in their assumption by the facts of history. For while a lofty moral sense is recognized among men, and so long as humility and self-devotion to GOD, and disinterested, even though untaught, zeal, are reckoned Christian virtues,—so long, in spite of party misrepresentations, will the great body of our Christian forefathers, lay and clerical, in the middle ages bear honourable comparison with us their overweening children. There is more of the