emolument of the church. An indulgence; or remission of the punishment due for sin, may be either temporary or absolute; either partial or complete. A plenary indulgence is a remission of the whole punishment; a particular indulgence is a remission of a part only; and it scarcely need be said that a plenary benefit of this kind is considerably more expensive than a merely temporary one.
The language of these indulgences is abominably impious and profane. The amount of time for which sin is remitted; even to the month and the day; is distinctly set forth; and the agreement entered into between Heaven and the delinquent is affectedly clear and explicit in all its details.
The following is an exact copy of the form employed in such productions; which has often publicly appeared:—
"The faithful children of the church are forthwith informed; that the most benignant Bishops of Zacatecas and Durango have granted an indulgence of one hundred days for every half hour during which the images of the Virgin; of St. Peter, St. Michael; and St. Paul are publicly exposed; and another of three hundred days for each Ave Maria that
