Chapter 32.—Praise of the Clergy.
69. There is not, however, such narrowness in the moral excellence of the Catholic
Church as that I should limit my praise of it to the life of those here mentioned. For how
many bishops have I known most excellent and holy men, how many presbyters, how many
deacons, and ministers of all kinds of the divine sacraments, whose virtue seems to me more
admirable and more worthy of commendation on account of the greater difficulty of pre-
serving it amidst the manifold varieties of men, and in this life of turmoil! For they preside
over men needing cure as much as over those already cured. The vices of the crowd must
be borne with in order that they may be cured, and the plague must be endured before it is
subdued. To keep here the best way of life and a mind calm and peaceful is very hard. Here,
in a word, we are among people who are learning to live. There they live.
Praise of the Clergy.
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Praise of the Clergy.