第15部分(第4/7 頁)

prevailed　to　such

an　enormous　extent；　has　especially　attracted　attention。　The　Indian　Tim？rtis；　as　also　the　Chinese　abstraction　of

the　Trinity；　has　furnished　clearer　evidence　in　point　of　subject　matter。　The　savants；　M。　Abel　Remusat　and　M。

Saint　Martin；　on　the　one　hand；　have　undertaken　the　most　meritorious　investigations　in　the　Chinese　literature；

with　a　view　to　make　this　also　a　base　of　operations　for　researches　in　the　Mongolian　and；　if　such　were　possible；

in　the　Tibetan；　on　the　other　hand；　Baron　von　Eckstein；　in　his　way　（i。e。；　adopting　from　Germany　superficial

physical　conceptions　and　mannerisms；　in　the　style　of　Fr。　v。　Schlegel；　though　with　more　geniality　than　the　latter）

in　his　periodical；　Le　Catholique；　—　has　furthered　the　cause　of　that　primitive　Catholicism　generally；　and　in

particular　has　gained　for　the　savants　of　the　Congregation　the　support　of　the　Government；　so　that　it　has　even

set　on　foot　expeditions　to　the　East；　in　order　to　discover　there　treasures　still　concealed；　（from　which　further

disclosures　have　been　anticipated；　respecting　profound　theological　questions；　particularly　on　the　higher

antiquity　and　sources　of　Buddhism）；　and　with　a　view　to　promote　the　interest　of　Catholicism　by　this　circuitous

but　scientifically　interesting　method。

§　67

We　owe　to　the　interest　which　has　occasioned　these　investigations；　very　much　that　is　valuable；　but

this　investigation　bears　direct　testimony　against　itself　for　it　would　seem　to　be　awaiting　the　issue　of

an　historical　demonstration　of　that　which　is　presupposed　by　it　as　historically　established。　That

advanced　condition　of　the　knowledge　of　God；　and　of　other　scientific；　e。g。；　astronomical

knowledge　（such　as　ha