Saint Augustine Accused of CretinismWith the title of Crétinisme, the Vedette du Limbourg, newspaper of Tongres, Belgium, on September 1st, 1866 contains the following article, reproduced from the Gazette of Huy:
“A book given as a prize in a boarding school for nuns, came to our hands. We opened it, and chance made us read, among other curious passages, the following one, well worthy, we believe, to be placed before the eyes of the reader. It is about the role played by the angels. Anyone that reads it will certainly wonder how it is possible that a work containing such absurdities can find a publisher! In our opinion, the one that prints such nonsense is as guilty as the one that writes them. Yes, we are not afraid to affirm it, author and printer must be certified masters in cretinism to dare launch such challenges to reason, to science, what are we saying, to common sense. Here is the passage in question:
According to Saint Augustine, the visible world is ruled by invisible creatures, by pure Spirits, and even there are angels that preside over everything visible, over all species of creatures that are in the world, whether they are animate, or inanimate.
Heavens and the stars have their driving angels; the waters have a particular angel, as it is recorded in the Revelation; the air has its angels that rule the winds, as it is seen in the same book, that further teaches us that the element of fire also has its own. Kingdoms have their angels; the provinces also have theirs, guarding them, as we see in the Genesis, because the angels that appeared to Jacob were the guardians of the provinces through which he passed, etc.
From this sample we can assess the kind of reading that young people educated in the convents do. Is it possible to conceive – allow me the expression – something more profoundly stupid?
To fill the gap, the publisher precedes the work with a warning in which we can read these lines: In his book, that is not less suitable to ecclesiastics than to lay people, the author deploys a power of reasoning and style that enlightens and subdues the mind; from his pen flows an anointing that penetrates and wins the heart. It is the work of a man deeply versed in spirituality.
We say: it is the work of a man gone mad with asceticism, much more to pity than to blame.”
Until now Saint Augustine had been respected even by those that do not share his beliefs. Despite the obvious errors that were due to the state of scientific knowledge of his time, he is universally regarded as one of the geniuses, one of the glories of humanity, and here with a stroke of the pen, an obscure writer, one of these young men that believe themselves to be the light of the world, throws mud on this secular fame, pronounces against him, out of his high reason, the accusation of cretinism, and this because Saint Augustine believed in invisible creatures, in pure Spirits presiding over all visible things. On that account, how many morons are there among the most esteemed contemporary literati! We would not be surprised one day to see Chateaubriand, Lamartine, Victor Hugo, George Sand and so many others accused of cretinism. This is the school that aspires to regenerate society through materialism; thus, it claims that humanity is turning to dementia; but we can relax, for its reign, if it ever happens, will be short-lived. It is well aware of its weakness against the general opinion that rejects it, and that is why it is agitated with a sort of frenzy.
