PRESUMPTION
403
PRESUMPTION
capacity at Trinity Church, the Church of the Annunci-
ation in West Fourteenth Street, and at Holy Inno-
cents, West Point. In 1847 he was ordained presbyter
by Bishop Delancey of Western New York, his own
bishop having refused to advance him to this order
on account of his rituahstic views. He believed
himself now a validly ordained priest of the English
branch of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church,
and served for some time at St. Luke's, Hudson
Street, New York, hearing confessions and urging
frequent Holy Communion. He was a deep student
of the early history of the Church and of the Fathers,
and thus gradually began to feel the branch theory
untenable. He was convinced of the truth of
Catholicity, as well as of his obhgation to embrace it,
before he had ever read a professedly Catholic book,
or spoken to a priest. He was baptized and received
into the Chm-ch on 14 November, 1849. In the
autumn of 1850 he was ordained priest, and assigned
to duty in the cathedral. In 1851 he was appointed
pastor of Yonkers with out-missions at Dobbs Ferry
and Tarrytown. In 1853 he became secretary to
Archbishop Hughes, and chancellor of the diocese.
He was appointed pastor of St. Ann's in 1863, and
was promoted in 1872 to be vicar-general. During
the absence of Archbishop Corrigan in 1890 he was
administrator of the diocese. He founded and di-
rected for many years the Sisters of the Divine
Compassion. He was a man of exquisite refinement,
of tender piety, and of intense loyalty. His Advent
and Lenten conferences attracted multitudes from
all parts of the city. His works are: "Reason and
Revelation" (New York, 1868); "The Divine
Paraclete" (1879); "Ark of the Covenant" (1860);
"The Divine Sanctuary" (1887); "Gethsemani"
(1887); "The Sacred Year" (1885); "Vicar of
Christ" (1878); "The Protestant Reformation"
(1879); "Protestantism and the Church" (1882);
"Protestantism and the Bible" (1888); "Christian
Unity" (1881); "The Watch on Calvary" (1885);
" Christ and the Church " (1870); "God and Reason"
(1884); "Devotion to the Sacred Heart".
Preston, Remembrances of My Brother Thomas; Br.\nn, The Rt. Rev. Thomas S. Preston, Vicar General (New York) ; Catholic Family Almanac (1S93); Monsignor Preston s Views (New York, 1890) : Cornell. Beginnings of the Church in Yonkers (Yonkerg, 1893); Golden Jubilee of St. Ann's Parish (1902).
Michael J. Lavelle.
Presumption (Lat. prassuinere, "to take before", "to take for granted") is here considered as a vice opposed to the theological virtue of hope. It may also be regarded as a product of pride. It may be defined as the condition of a soul which, because of a badly regulated reliance on God's mercy and power, hopes for salvation without doing anything to deserve it, or for pardon of his sins without repenting of them. Presumption is said to offend against hope by excess, as despair by defect. It will be obvious, however, to one who ponders what is meant by hope, that this statement is not exact. There is only a certain anal- ogy which justifies it. As a matter of fact we could not hope too much, assuming that it is really the super- natural habit which is in question.
Suarez ("De spe", disp. 2^, sect. 3, n. 2) enumerates five ways in which one may be guilty of presumption, as follows: (1) by hoping to obtain by one's natural powers, unaided, what is definitely supernatural, viz. eternal bliss or the recovery of God's friendship after grievous sin (this would involve a Pelagian frame of mind); (2) a person might look to have his sins forgiven without adequate penance (this, likewise, if it were based on a seriously entertained conviction, would seem to carry with it the taint of heresy) ; (3) a man might expect some special assistance from Al- mighty God for the perpetration of crime (this would be blasphemous as well as presumptuous); (4)
one might aspire to certain extraordinary super-
natural excellencies, but without any conformity to
the determinations of God's providence. Thus one
might aspire to equal in blessedness the Mother of
God; (5) finally, there is the transgression of those
who, whilst they continue to lead a life of sin, are as
confident of a happy issue as if they had not lost their
baptismal innocence. The root-malice of presumption
is that it denies the supernatural order, as in the first
instance, or travesties the conception of the Divine
attributes, as in the others. Theologians draw a sharp
distinction between the attitude of one who goes on
in a vicious career, precisely because he counts upon
pardon, and one whose persistence in wrongdoing is
accompanied, but not motived, by the hope of for-
giveness. The first they impeach as presumption of
a very heinous kind; the other is not such specifically.
In practice it happens for the most part that the ex-
pectation of ultimate reconciliation with God is not
the cause, but only the occasion, of a person's con-
tinuing in sinful indulgence. Thus the particular
guilt of presumption is not contracted.
SuTER, Manual of Moral Theology (New York, 1908); RirK- ABT. Moral Teaching of Si. Thomas (London. 1896); St. Thomas, Summa (Turin, 1885); Ballerini, Opus Theol. Morale (Prato, 1899).
Joseph F. Delany.
Presumption (in Canon Law), a term signifying a reasonable conjecture concerning something doubt- ful, drawn from arguments and appearances, which by the force of circumstances can be accepted as a proof. It is on this presumption our common adage is based: "Possession is nine points of the law". Presumption has its place in canon law only when positive proofs are wanting, and yet the formulation of some judgment is necessary. It is never in itself an absolute proof, as it only presumes that something is true. Canonists divide presumption into (1) presumption of law (juris), or that which is deduced from some legal precept or authority expressed in law or based upon precedents or similarities, and (2) presumption of a judge or man (judicis or hominis), when the law is silent on the subject and an opinion must be formed according to the way that circum- stances and indications would affect a prudent man or judge.
There are several sub-varieties of presumption of law. Thus, it is called presumption of law alone {juris tantum) when a thing is judged to be so until the contrary is proved. Hence the legal formula;: "Everyone is presumed innocent until his guilt is proved"; "Once bad always bad" (i. e. in the same species of ill-doing, if amendment is not certain); "\A'hat is known in a remote place is known in a neighbouring place", and others similar. It is denominated presumption juris el de jure, when the law so strongly supports the presumption that it is held to be certain in judicial proceedings. Against such a presumption no proofs are admitted except the evident truth. Thus, goods described in the in- ventory made by a guardian are presimied to belong to the possessions of the deceased, nor would the later testimony of the guardian himself to the contrary ordinarily be admitted. As to the presumption judicis or Hominis, it is called (a) veliei.ient, when the probability is very strongly supported by most urgent conjectures. Thus, a birth would be held illegitimate, which took place eleven months after a husband's decease. A vehement presumption is considered equivalent to a full proof in civil causes of not too great importance. As to whether it should have sufficient effect in criminal causes to produce the con- demnation of an accused person, canonists do not agree. It is termed (b) proba We, when it ari.ses from less urgent and only less probable conjectures and indications. Such presumption is looked on as merely a semi-proof, unless it be sustained by public
