whom he welcomed from afar. In the time of Isaac and Jacob,
abomination was spread over all the earth; but these saints lived in faith;
and Jacob, dying and blessing his children, cried in a transport which made
him break off his discourse, "I await, O my God, the Saviour whom Thou hast
promised. Salutare tuum expectabo, Domine."[110] The Egyptians were infected
both with idolatry and magic; the very people of God were led astray by
their example. Yet Moses and others believed Him whom they saw not, and
worshipped Him, looking to the eternal gifts which He was preparing for
them.

The Greeks and Latins then set up false deities; the poets made a hundred
different theologies, while the philosophers separated into a thousand
different sects; and yet in the heart of Judaea there were always chosen men
who foretold the coming of this Messiah, which was known to them alone.

He came at length in the fullness of time, and time has since witnessed the
birth of so many schisms and heresies, so many political revolutions, so
many changes in all things; yet this Church, which worships Him who has
always been worshipped, has endured uninterruptedly. It is a wonderful,
incomparable, and altogether div