,,apologia ,,pro ,,vita ,,sua ,,being ,a ,history of his ,religious ,opinions4 ,,by ,,john ,,henry ,,cardinal ,,newman4 ,commit thy way to the ,lord and trust in ,him1 and ,he will do it4 ,and ,he will bring forth thy justice as the light1 and thy judgment as the noon-day4 ,,london ,,longmans1 ,,green1 ,,and ,,co4 ,,and ,,new ,,york3 #ae ,,east #afth ,,street #ahij4 ,,printed ,,by ,,kelly ,,and ,,co41 ,,gate ,,street1 ,,lincoln',s ,,inn ,,fields1 ,,and ,,kingston-,,on-,,thames4 ,,preface4 ,the following ,history of my ,religious ,opinions1 now that it is detached from the context in which it originally stood1 requires some preliminary explanation2 and that1 not only in order to introduce it generally to the reader1 but specially to make him understand1 how ,i came to write a whole book about myself1 and about my most private thoughts and feelings4 ,did ,i consult indeed my own impulses1 ,i should do my best simply to wipe out of my ,volume1 and consign to oblivion1 every trace of the circumstances to which it is to be ascribed2 but its original title of ,apologia is too exactly borne out by its matter and structure1 and these again are too suggestive of correlative circumstances1 and those circumstances are of too grave a character1 to allow of my indulging so natural a wish4 ,and therefore1 though in this new ,edition ,i have managed to omit nearly a hundred pages of my original ,volume1 which ,i could safely consider to be of merely ephemeral importance1 ,i am even for that very reason obliged1 by way of making up for their absence1 to prefix to my ,narrative some account of the provocation out of which it arose4 ,it is now more than twenty years that a vague impression to my disadvantage has rested on the popular mind1 as if my conduct towards the ,anglican ,church1 while ,i was a member of it1 was inconsistent with ,christian simplicity and uprightness4 ,an impression of this kind was almost unavoidable under the circumstances of the case1 when a man1 who had written strongly against a cause1 and had collected a party round him by virtue of such writings1 gradually faltered in his opposition to it1 unsaid his words1 threw his own friends into perplexity and their proceedings into confusion1 and ended by passing over to the side of those whom he had so vigorously denounced4 ,sensitive then as ,i have ever been of the imputations which have been so freely cast upon me1 ,i have never felt much impatience under them1 as considering them to be a portion of the penalty which ,i naturally and justly incurred by my change of religion1 even though they were to continue as long as ,i lived4 ,i left their removal to a future day1 when personal feelings would have died out1 and documents would see the light1 which were as yet buried in closets or scattered through the country4 ,this was my state of mind1 as it had been for many years1 when1 in the beginning of #ahfd1 ,i unexpectedly found myself publicly put upon my defence1 and furnished with an opportunity of pleading my cause before the world1 and1 as it so happened1 with a fair prospect of an impartial hearing4 ,taken indeed by surprise1 as ,i was1 ,i had much reason to be anxious how ,i should be able to acquit myself in so serious a matter2 however1 ,i had long had a tacit understanding with myself1 that1 in the improbable event of a challenge being formally made to me1 by a person of name1 it would be my duty to meet it4 ,that opportunity had now occurred2 it never might occur again2 not to avail myself of it at once would be virtually to give up my cause2 accordingly1 ,i took advantage of it1 and1 as it has turned out1 the circumstance that no time was allowed me for any studied statements has compensated1 in the equitable judgment of the public1 for such imperfections in composition as my want of leisure involved4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was in the number for ,january #ahfd1 of a magazine of wide circulation1 and in an ,article upon ,queen ,elizabeth1 that a popular writer took occasion formally to accuse me by name of thinking so lightly of the virtue of ,veracity1 as in set terms to have countenanced and defended that neglect of it which he at the same time imputed to the ,catholic ,priesthood4 ,his words were these3-- ,truth1 for its own sake1 had never been a virtue with the ,roman clergy4 ,father ,newman informs us that it need not1 and on the whole ought not to be2 that cunning is the weapon which heaven has given to the ,saints wherewith to withstand the brute male force of the wicked world which marries and is given in marriage4 ,whether his notion be doctrinally correct or not1 it is at least historically so4 ,these assertions1 going far beyond the popular prejudice entertained against me1 had no foundation whatever in fact4 ,i never had said1 ,i never had dreamed of saying1 that truth for its own sake need not1 and on the whole ought not to be1 a virtue with the ,roman ,clergy2 or that cunning is the weapon which heaven has given to the ,saints wherewith to withstand the wicked world4 ,to what work of mine then could the writer be referring8 ,in a correspondence which ensued upon the subject between him and myself1 he rested his charge against me on a ,sermon of mine1 preached1 before ,i was a ,catholic1 in the pulpit of my ,church at ,oxford2 and he gave me to understand1 that1 after having done as much as this1 he was not bound1 over and above such a general reference to my ,sermon1 to specify the passages of it1 in which the doctrine1 which he imputed to me1 was contained4 ,on my part ,i considered this not enough2 and ,i demanded of him to bring out his proof of his accusation in form and in detail1 or to confess he was unable to do so4 ,but he persevered in his refusal to cite any distinct passages from any writing of mine2 and1 though he consented to withdraw his charge1 he would not do so on the issue of its truth or falsehood1 but simply on the ground that ,i assured him that ,i had had no intention of incurring it4 ,this did not satisfy my sense of justice4 ,formally to charge me with committing a fault is one thing2 to allow that ,i did not intend to commit it1 is another2 it is no satisfaction to me1 if a man accuses me of this offence1 for him to profess that he does not accuse me of that2 but he thought differently4 ,not being able then to gain redress in the quarter1 where ,i had a right to ask it1 ,i appealed to the public4 ,i published the correspondence in the shape of a ,pamphlet1 with some remarks of my own at the end1 on the course which that correspondence had taken4 ,this ,pamphlet1 which appeared in the first weeks of ,february1 received a reply from my accuser towards the end of ,march1 in another ,pamphlet of #dh pages1 entitled1 ,what then does ,dr4 ,newman mean8 in which he professed to do that which ,i had called upon him to do2 that is1 he brought together a number of extracts from various works of mine1 ,catholic and ,anglican1 with the object of showing that1 if ,i was to be acquitted of the crime of teaching and practising deceit and dishonesty1 according to his first supposition1 it was at the price of my being considered no longer responsible for my actions2 for1 as he expressed it1 ,i had a human reason once1 no doubt1 but ,i had gambled it away1 and ,i had worked my mind into that morbid state1 in which nonsense was the only food for which it hungered2 and that it could not be called a hasty or farfetched or unfounded mistake1 when he concluded that ,i did not care for truth for its own sake1 or teach my disciples to regard it as a virtue2 and1 though too many prefer the charge of insincerity to that of insipience1 ,dr4 ,newman seemed not to be of that number4 ,he ended his ,pamphlet by returning to his original imputation against me1 which he had professed to abandon4 ,alluding by anticipation to my probable answer to what he was then publishing1 he professed his heartfelt embarrassment how he was to believe any thing ,i might say in my exculpation1 in the plain and literal sense of the words4 ,i am henceforth1 he said1 in doubt and fear1 as much as an honest man can be1 concerning every word ,dr4 ,newman may write4 ,how can ,i tell1 that ,i shall not be the dupe of some cunning equivocation1 of one of the three kinds laid down as permissible by the blessed ,st4 ,alfonso da ,liguori and his pupils1 even when confirmed with an oath1 because 'then we do not deceive our neighbour1 but allow him to deceive himself8' 444 ,how can ,i tell1 that ,i may not in this ,pamphlet have made an accusation1 of the truth of which ,dr4 ,newman is perfectly conscious2 but that1 as ,i1 a heretic ,protestant1 have no business to make it1 he has a full right to deny it8 ,even if ,i could have found it consistent with my duty to my own reputation to leave such an elaborate impeachment of my moral nature unanswered1 my duty to my ,brethren in the ,catholic ,priesthood1 would have forbidden such a course4 ,they were involved in the charges which this writer1 all along1 from the original passage in the ,magazine1 to the very last paragraph of the ,pamphlet1 had so confidently1 so pertinaciously made4 ,in exculpating myself1 it was plain ,i should be pursuing no mere personal quarrel2--,i was offering my humble service to a sacred cause4 ,i was making my protest in behalf of a large body of men of high character1 of honest and religious minds1 and of sensitive honour1--who had their place and their rights in this world1 though they were ministers of the world unseen1 and who were insulted by my ,accuser1 as the above extracts from him sufficiently show1 not only in my person1 but directly and pointedly in their own4 ,accordingly1 ,i at once set about writing the ,apologia pro vit su1 of which the present ,volume is a ,new ,edition2 and it was a great reward to me to find1 as the controversy proceeded1 such large numbers of my clerical brethren supporting me by their sympathy in the course which ,i was pursuing1 and1 as occasion offered1 bestowing on me the formal and public expression of their approbation4 ,these testimonials in my behalf1 so important and so grateful to me1 are1 together with the ,letter1 sent to me with the same purpose1 from my ,bishop1 contained in the last pages of this ,volume4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this ,edition differs from the first form of the ,apologia as follows3--,the original work consisted of seven ,parts1 which were published in series on consecutive ,thursdays1 between ,april #ba and ,june #b4 ,an ,appendix1 in answer to specific allegations urged against me in the ,pamphlet of ,accusation1 appeared on ,june #af4 ,of these ,parts #a and #b1 as being for the most part directly controversial1 are omitted in this ,edition1 excepting certain passages in them1 which are subjoined to this ,preface1 as being necessary for the due explanation of the subsequent five ,parts4 ,these1 7being #c1 #d1 #e1 #f1 #g1 of the ,apologia17 are here numbered as ,chapters #a1 #b1 #c1 #d1 #e respectively4 ,of the ,appendix1 about half has been omitted1 for the same reason as has led to the omission of ,parts #a and #b4 ,the rest of it is thrown into the shape of ,notes of a discursive character1 with two new ones on ,liberalism and the ,lives of the ,english ,saints of #ahdc-d1 and another1 new in part1 on ,ecclesiastical ,miracles4 ,in the body of the work1 the only addition of consequence is the letter which is found at p4 #bbh1 a copy of which has recently come into my possession4 ,i should add that1 since writing the ,apologia last year1 ,i have seen for the first time ,mr4 ,oakeley's ,notes on the ,tractarian ,movement4 ,this work remarkably corroborates the substance of my ,narrative1 while the kind terms in which he speaks of me personally1 call for my sincere gratitude4 ,may #b1 #ahfe4 ,i make these extracts from the first edition of my ,apologia1 ,part #a1 pp4 #c1 #bj-be1 and ,part #b1 pp4 #bi-ca and pp4 #da-ea1 in order to set before the reader the drift ,i had in writing my ,volume3-- ,i cannot be sorry to have forced my ,accuser to bring out in fulness his charges against me4 ,it is far better that he should discharge his thoughts upon me in my lifetime1 than after ,i am dead4 ,under the circumstances ,i am happy in having the opportunity of reading the worst that can be said of me by a writer who has taken pains with his work and is well satisfied with it4 ,i account it a gain to be surveyed from without by one who hates the principles which are nearest to my heart1 has no personal knowledge of me to set right his misconceptions of my doctrine1 and who has some motive or other to be as severe with me as he can possibly be4444 ,but ,i really feel sad for what ,i am obliged now to say4 ,i am in warfare with him1 but ,i wish him no ill2--it is very difficult to get up resentment towards persons whom one has never seen4 ,it is easy enough to be irritated with friends or foes vis--vis2 but1 though ,i am writing with all my heart against what he has said of me1 ,i am not conscious of personal unkindness towards himself4 ,i think it necessary to write as ,i am writing1 for my own sake1 and for the sake of the ,catholic ,priesthood2 but ,i wish to impute nothing worse to him than that he has been furiously carried away by his feelings4 ,yet what shall ,i say of the upshot of all his talk of my economies and equivocations and the like8 ,what is the precise work which it is directed to effect8 ,i am at war with him2 but there is such a thing as legitimate warfare3 war has its laws2 there are things which may fairly be done1 and things which may not be done4 ,i say it with shame and with stern sorrow2--he has attempted a great transgression2 he has attempted 7as ,i may call it7 to poison the wells4 ,i will quote him and explain what ,i mean4444 ,he says1-- ,i am henceforth in doubt and fear1 as much as any honest man can be1 concerning every word ,dr4 ,newman may write4 ,how can ,i tell that ,i shall not be the dupe of some cunning equivocation1 of one of the three kinds laid down as permissible by the blessed ,alfonso da ,liguori and his pupils1 even when confirmed by an oath1 because 'then we do not deceive our neighbour1 but allow him to deceive himself8' 444 ,it is admissible1 therefore1 to use words and sentences which have a double signification1 and leave the hapless hearer to take which of them he may choose4 ,what proof have ,i1 then1 that by 'mean it8 ,i never said it6' ,dr4 ,newman does not signify1 ,i did not say it1 but ,i did mean it8--,pp4 #dd1 #de4 ,now these insinuations and questions shall be answered in their proper places2 here ,i will but say that ,i scorn and detest lying1 and quibbling1 and double-tongued practice1 and slyness1 and cunning1 and smoothness1 and cant1 and pretence1 quite as much as any ,protestants hate them2 and ,i pray to be kept from the snare of them4 ,but all this is just now by the bye2 my present subject is my ,accuser2 what ,i insist upon here is this unmanly attempt of his1 in his concluding pages1 to cut the ground from under my feet2--to poison by anticipation the public mind against me1 ,john ,henry ,newman1 and to infuse into the imaginations of my readers1 suspicion and mistrust of everything that ,i may say in reply to him4 ,this ,i call poisoning the wells4 ,i am henceforth in doubt and fear1 he says1 as much as any honest man can be1 concerning every word ,dr4 ,newman may write4 ,how can ,i tell that ,i shall not be the dupe of some cunning equivocation8 444 ,well1 ,i can only say1 that1 if his taunt is to take effect1 ,i am but wasting my time in saying a word in answer to his calumnies2 and this is precisely what he knows and intends to be its fruit4 ,i can hardly get myself to protest against a method of controversy so base and cruel1 lest in doing so1 ,i should be violating my self-respect and self-possession2 but most base and most cruel it is4 ,we all know how our imagination runs away with us1 how suddenly and at what a pace2--the saying1 ,csar's wife should not be suspected1 is an instance of what ,i mean4 ,the habitual prejudice1 the humour of the moment1 is the turning-point which leads us to read a defence in a good sense or a bad4 ,we interpret it by our antecedent impressions4 ,the very same sentiments1 according as our jealousy is or is not awake1 or our aversion stimulated1 are tokens of truth or of dissimulation and pretence4 ,there is a story of a sane person being by mistake shut up in the wards of a ,lunatic ,asylum1 and that1 when he pleaded his cause to some strangers visiting the establishment1 the only remark he elicited in answer was1 ,how naturally he talks6 you would think he was in his senses4 ,controversies should be decided by the reason2 is it legitimate warfare to appeal to the misgivings of the public mind and to its dislikings8 ,any how1 if my accuser is able thus to practise upon my readers1 the more ,i succeed1 the less will be my success4 ,if ,i am natural1 he will tell them ,ars est celare artem2 if ,i am convincing1 he will suggest that ,i am an able logician2 if ,i show warmth1 ,i am acting the indignant innocent2 if ,i am calm1 ,i am thereby detected as a smooth hypocrite2 if ,i clear up difficulties1 ,i am too plausible and perfect to be true4 ,the more triumphant are my statements1 the more certain will be my defeat4 ,so will it be if my ,accuser succeeds in his manoeuvre2 but ,i do not for an instant believe that he will4 ,whatever judgment my readers may eventually form of me from these pages1 ,i am confident that they will believe me in what ,i shall say in the course of them4 ,i have no misgiving at all1 that they will be ungenerous or harsh towards a man who has been so long before the eyes of the world2 who has so many to speak of him from personal knowledge2 whose natural impulse it has ever been to speak out2 who has ever spoken too much rather than too little2 who would have saved himself many a scrape1 if he had been wise enough to hold his tongue2 who has ever been fair to the doctrines and arguments of his opponents2 who has never slurred over facts and reasonings which told against himself2 who has never given his name or authority to proofs which he thought unsound1 or to testimony which he did not think at least plausible2 who has never shrunk from confessing a fault when he felt that he had committed one2 who has ever consulted for others more than for himself2 who has given up much that he loved and prized and could have retained1 but that he loved honesty better than name1 and ,truth better than dear friends4444 99 99 99 99 99 ,what then shall be the special imputation1 against which ,i shall throw myself in these pages1 out of the thousand and one which my ,accuser directs upon me8 ,i mean to confine myself to one1 for there is only one about which ,i much care1--the charge of ,untruthfulness4 ,he may cast upon me as many other imputations as he pleases1 and they may stick on me1 as long as they can1 in the course of nature4 ,they will fall to the ground in their season4 ,and indeed ,i think the same of the charge of ,untruthfulness1 and select it from the rest1 not because it is more formidable but because it is more serious4 ,like the rest1 it may disfigure me for a time1 but it will not stain3 ,archbishop ,whately used to say1 ,throw dirt enough1 and some will stick2 well1 will stick1 but not1 will stain4 ,i think he used to mean stain1 and ,i do not agree with him4 ,some dirt sticks longer than other dirt2 but no dirt is immortal4 ,according to the old saying1 ,prvalebit ,veritas4 ,there are virtues indeed1 which the world is not fitted to judge of or to uphold1 such as faith1 hope1 and charity3 but it can judge about ,truthfulness2 it can judge about the natural virtues1 and ,truthfulness is one of them4 ,natural virtues may also become supernatural2 ,truthfulness is such2 but that does not withdraw it from the jurisdiction of mankind at large4 ,it may be more difficult in this or that particular case for men to take cognizance of it1 as it may be difficult for the ,court of ,queen's ,bench at ,westminster to try a case fairly which took place in ,hindostan3 but that is a question of capacity1 not of right4 ,mankind has the right to judge of ,truthfulness in a ,catholic1 as in the case of a ,protestant1 of an ,italian1 or of a ,chinese4 ,i have never doubted1 that in my hour1 in ,god's hour1 my avenger will appear1 and the world will acquit me of untruthfulness1 even though it be not while ,i live4 ,still more confident am ,i of such eventual acquittal1 seeing that my judges are my own countrymen4 ,i consider1 indeed1 ,englishmen the most suspicious and touchy of mankind2 ,i think them unreasonable1 and unjust in their seasons of excitement2 but ,i had rather be an ,englishman1 7as in fact ,i am17 than belong to any other race under heaven4 ,they are as generous1 as they are hasty and burly2 and their repentance for their injustice is greater than their sin4 ,for twenty years and more ,i have borne an imputation1 of which ,i am at least as sensitive1 who am the object of it1 as they can be1 who are only the judges4 ,i have not set myself to remove it1 first1 because ,i never have had an opening to speak1 and1 next1 because ,i never saw in them the disposition to hear4 ,i have wished to appeal from ,philip drunk to ,philip sober4 ,when shall ,i pronounce him to be himself again8 ,if ,i may judge from the tone of the public press1 which represents the public voice1 ,i have great reason to take heart at this time4 ,i have been treated by contemporary critics in this controversy with great fairness and gentleness1 and ,i am grateful to them for it4 ,however1 the decision of the time and mode of my defence has been taken out of my hands2 and ,i am thankful that it has been so4 ,i am bound now as a duty to myself1 to the ,catholic cause1 to the ,catholic ,priesthood1 to give account of myself without any delay1 when ,i am so rudely and circumstantially charged with ,untruthfulness4 ,i accept the challenge2 ,i shall do my best to meet it1 and ,i shall be content when ,i have done so4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is not my present accuser alone who entertains1 and has entertained1 so dishonourable an opinion of me and of my writings4 ,it is the impression of large classes of men2 the impression twenty years ago and the impression now4 ,there has been a general feeling that ,i was for years where ,i had no right to be2 that ,i was a ,romanist in ,protestant livery and service2 that ,i was doing the work of a hostile ,church in the bosom of the ,english ,establishment1 and knew it1 or ought to have known it4 ,there was no need of arguing about particular passages in my writings1 when the fact was so patent1 as men thought it to be4 ,first it was certain1 and ,i could not myself deny it1 that ,i scouted the name ,protestant4 ,it was certain again1 that many of the doctrines which ,i professed were popularly and generally known as badges of the ,roman ,church1 as distinguished from the faith of the ,reformation4 ,next1 how could ,i have come by them8 ,evidently1 ,i had certain friends and advisers who did not appear2 there was some underground communication between ,stonyhurst or ,oscott and my rooms at ,oriel4 ,beyond a doubt1 ,i was advocating certain doctrines1 not by accident1 but on an understanding with ecclesiastics of the old religion4 ,then men went further1 and said that ,i had actually been received into that religion1 and withal had leave given me to profess myself a ,protestant still4 ,others went even further1 and gave it out to the world1 as a matter of fact1 of which they themselves had the proof in their hands1 that ,i was actually a ,jesuit4 ,and when the opinions which ,i advocated spread1 and younger men went further than ,i1 the feeling against me waxed stronger and took a wider range4 ,and now indignation arose at the knavery of a conspiracy such as this3--and it became of course all the greater in consequence of its being the received belief of the public at large1 that craft and intrigue1 such as they fancied they beheld with their eyes1 were the very instruments to which the ,catholic ,church has in these last centuries been indebted for her maintenance and extension4 ,there was another circumstance still1 which increased the irritation and aversion felt by the large classes1 of whom ,i have been speaking1 against the preachers of doctrines1 so new to them and so unpalatable2 and that was1 that they developed them in so measured a way4 ,if they were inspired by ,roman theologians1 7and this was taken for granted17 why did they not speak out at once8 ,why did they keep the world in such suspense and anxiety as to what was coming next1 and what was to be the upshot of the whole8 ,why this reticence1 and half-speaking1 and apparent indecision8 ,it was plain that the plan of operations had been carefully mapped out from the first1 and that these men were cautiously advancing towards its accomplishment1 as far as was safe at the moment2 that their aim and their hope was to carry off a large body with them of the young and the ignorant2 that they meant gradually to leaven the minds of the rising generation1 and to open the gates of that city1 of which they were the sworn defenders1 to the enemy who lay in ambush outside of it4 ,and when in spite of the many protestations of the party to the contrary1 there was at length an actual movement among their disciples1 and one went over to ,rome1 and then another1 the worst anticipations and the worst judgments which had been formed of them received their justification4 ,and1 lastly1 when men first had said of me1 ,you will see1 he will go1 he is only biding his time1 he is waiting the word of command from ,rome1 and1 when after all1 after my arguments and denunciations of former years1 at length ,i did leave the ,anglican ,church for the ,roman1 then they said to each other1 ,it is just as we said3 we knew it would be so4 ,this was the state of mind of masses of men twenty years ago1 who took no more than an external and common sense view of what was going on4 ,and partly the tradition1 partly the effect of that feeling1 remains to the present time4 ,certainly ,i consider that1 in my own case1 it is the great obstacle in the way of my being favourably heard1 as at present1 when ,i have to make my defence4 ,not only am ,i now a member of a most un-,english communion1 whose great aim is considered to be the extinction of ,protestantism and the ,protestant ,church1 and whose means of attack are popularly supposed to be unscrupulous cunning and deceit1 but how came ,i originally to have any relations with the ,church of ,rome at all8 did ,i1 or my opinions1 drop from the sky8 how came ,i1 in ,oxford1 in gremio ,universitatis1 to present myself to the eyes of men in that full blown investiture of ,popery8 ,how could ,i dare1 how could ,i have the conscience1 with warnings1 with prophecies1 with accusations against me1 to persevere in a path which steadily advanced towards1 which ended in1 the religion of ,rome8 ,and how am ,i now to be trusted1 when long ago ,i was trusted1 and was found wanting8 ,it is this which is the strength of the case of my ,accuser against me2--not the articles of impeachment which he has framed from my writings1 and which ,i shall easily crumble into dust1 but the bias of the court4 ,it is the state of the atmosphere2 it is the vibration all around1 which will echo his bold assertion of my dishonesty2 it is that prepossession against me1 which takes it for granted that1 when my reasoning is convincing it is only ingenious1 and that when my statements are unanswerable1 there is always something put out of sight or hidden in my sleeve2 it is that plausible1 but cruel conclusion to which men are apt to jump1 that when much is imputed1 much must be true1 and that it is more likely that one should be to blame1 than that many should be mistaken in blaming him2--these are the real foes which ,i have to fight1 and the auxiliaries to whom my ,accuser makes his advances4 ,well1 ,i must break through this barrier of prejudice against me if ,i can2 and ,i think ,i shall be able to do so4 ,when first ,i read the ,pamphlet of ,accusation1 ,i almost despaired of meeting effectively such a heap of misrepresentations and such a vehemence of animosity4 ,what was the good of answering first one point1 and then another1 and going through the whole circle of its abuse2 when my answer to the first point would be forgotten1 as soon as ,i got to the second8 ,what was the use of bringing out half a hundred separate principles or views for the refutation of the separate counts in the ,indictment1 when rejoinders of this sort would but confuse and torment the reader by their number and their diversity8 ,what hope was there of condensing into a pamphlet of a readable length1 matter which ought freely to expand itself into half a dozen volumes8 ,what means was there1 except the expenditure of interminable pages1 to set right even one of that series of single passing hints1 to use my ,assailant's own language1 which1 as with his finger tip he had delivered against me8 ,all those separate charges had their force in being illustrations of one and the same great imputation4 ,he had already a positive idea to illuminate his whole matter1 and to stamp it with a force1 and to quicken it with an interpretation4 ,he called me a liar1--a simple1 a broad1 an intelligible1 to the ,english public a plausible arraignment2 but for me1 to answer in detail charge one by reason one1 and charge two by reason two1 and charge three by reason three1 and so on through the whole string both of accusations and replies1 each of which was to be independent of the rest1 this would be certainly labour lost as regards any effective result4 ,what ,i needed was a corresponding antagonist unity in my defence1 and where was that to be found8 ,we see1 in the case of commentators on the prophecies of ,scripture1 an exemplification of the principle on which ,i am insisting2 viz4 how much more powerful even a false interpretation of the sacred text is than none at all2--how a certain key to the visions of the ,apocalypse1 for instance1 may cling to the mind 7,i have found it so in the case of my own71 because the view1 which it opens on us1 is positive and objective1 in spite of the fullest demonstration that it really has no claim upon our reception4 ,the reader says1 ,what else can the prophecy mean8 just as my ,accuser asks1 ,what1 then1 does ,dr4 ,newman mean8 444 ,i reflected1 and ,i saw a way out of my perplexity4 ,yes1 ,i said to myself1 his very question is about my meaning2 ,what does ,dr4 ,newman mean8 ,it pointed in the very same direction as that into which my musings had turned me already4 ,he asks what ,i mean2 not about my words1 not about my arguments1 not about my actions1 as his ultimate point1 but about that living intelligence1 by which ,i write1 and argue1 and act4 ,he asks about my ,mind and its ,beliefs and its sentiments2 and he shall be answered2--not for his own sake1 but for mine1 for the sake of the ,religion which ,i profess1 and of the ,priesthood in which ,i am unworthily included1 and of my friends and of my foes1 and of that general public which consists of neither one nor the other1 but of well-wishers1 lovers of fair play1 sceptical cross-questioners1 interested inquirers1 curious lookers-on1 and simple strangers1 unconcerned yet not careless about the issue1--for the sake of all these he shall be answered4 ,my perplexity had not lasted half an hour4 ,i recognized what ,i had to do1 though ,i shrank from both the task and the exposure which it would entail4 ,i must1 ,i said1 give the true key to my whole life2 ,i must show what ,i am1 that it may be seen what ,i am not1 and that the phantom may be extinguished which gibbers instead of me4 ,i wish to be known as a living man1 and not as a scarecrow which is dressed up in my clothes4 ,false ideas may be refuted indeed by argument1 but by true ideas alone are they expelled4 ,i will vanquish1 not my ,accuser1 but my judges4 ,i will indeed answer his charges and criticisms on me one by one#a1 lest any one should say that they are unanswerable1 but such a work shall not be the scope nor the substance of my reply4 ,i will draw out1 as far as may be1 the history of my mind2 ,i will state the point at which ,i began1 in what external suggestion or accident each opinion had its rise1 how far and how they developed from within1 how they grew1 were modified1 were combined1 were in collision with each other1 and were changed2 again how ,i conducted myself towards them1 and how1 and how far1 and for how long a time1 ,i thought ,i could hold them consistently with the ecclesiastical engagements which ,i had made and with the position which ,i held4 ,i must show1--what is the very truth1--that the doctrines which ,i held1 and have held for so many years1 have been taught me 7speaking humanly7 partly by the suggestions of ,protestant friends1 partly by the teaching of books1 and partly by the action of my own mind3 and thus ,i shall account for that phenomenon which to so many seems so wonderful1 that ,i should have left my kindred and my father's house for a ,church from which once ,i turned away with dread2--so wonderful to them6 as if forsooth a ,religion which has flourished through so many ages1 among so many nations1 amid such varieties of social life1 in such contrary classes and conditions of men1 and after so many revolutions1 political and civil1 could not subdue the reason and overcome the heart1 without the aid of fraud in the process and the sophistries of the schools4 #a ,this was done in the ,appendix1 of which the more important parts are preserved in the ,notes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,what ,i had proposed to myself in the course of half-an-hour1 ,i determined on at the end of ten days4 ,however1 ,i have many difficulties in fulfilling my design4 ,how am ,i to say all that has to be said in a reasonable compass8 ,and then as to the materials of my narrative2 ,i have no autobiographical notes to consult1 no written explanations of particular treatises or of tracts which at the time gave offence1 hardly any minutes of definite transactions or conversations1 and few contemporary memoranda1 ,i fear1 of the feelings or motives under which1 from time to time ,i acted4 ,i have an abundance of letters from friends with some copies or drafts of my answers to them1 but they are for the most part unsorted2 and1 till this process has taken place1 they are even too numerous and various to be available at a moment for my purpose4 ,then1 as to the volumes which ,i have published1 they would in many ways serve me1 were ,i well up in them3 but though ,i took great pains in their composition1 ,i have thought little about them1 when they were once out of my hands1 and for the most part the last time ,i read them has been when ,i revised their last proof sheets4 ,under these circumstances my sketch will of course be incomplete4 ,i now for the first time contemplate my course as a whole2 it is a first essay1 but it will contain1 ,i trust1 no serious or substantial mistake1 and so far will answer the purpose for which ,i write it4 ,i purpose to set nothing down in it as certain1 of which ,i have not a clear memory1 or some written memorial1 or the corroboration of some friend4 ,there are witnesses enough up and down the country to verify1 or correct1 or complete it2 and letters moreover of my own in abundance1 unless they have been destroyed4 ,moreover1 ,i mean to be simply personal and historical3 ,i am not expounding ,catholic doctrine1 ,i am doing no more than explaining myself1 and my opinions and actions4 ,i wish1 as far as ,i am able1 simply to state facts1 whether they are ultimately determined to be for me or against me4 ,of course there will be room enough for contrariety of judgment among my readers1 as to the necessity1 or appositeness1 or value1 or good taste1 or religious prudence1 of the details which ,i shall introduce4 ,i may be accused of laying stress on little things1 of being beside the mark1 of going into impertinent or ridiculous details1 of sounding my own praise1 of giving scandal2 but this is a case above all others1 in which ,i am bound to follow my own lights and to speak out my own heart4 ,it is not at all pleasant for me to be egotistical2 nor to be criticized for being so4 ,it is not pleasant to reveal to high and low1 young and old1 what has gone on within me from my early years4 ,it is not pleasant to be giving to every shallow or flippant disputant the advantage over me of knowing my most private thoughts1 ,i might even say the intercourse between myself and my ,maker4 ,but ,i do not like to be called to my face a liar and a knave2 nor should ,i be doing my duty to my faith or to my name1 if ,i were to suffer it4 ,i know ,i have done nothing to deserve such an insult1 and if ,i prove this1 as ,i hope to do1 ,i must not care for such incidental annoyances as are involved in the process4 ,,contents4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,history of my ,religious ,opinions up to #ahcc ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,history of my ,religious ,opinions from #ahcc to #ahci ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,history of my ,religious ,opinions from #ahci to #ahda ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,history of my ,religious ,opinions from #ahda to #ahde ,,chapter ,v4 ,position of my ,mind since #ahde ,,notes4 ,note ,a4 ,on page #ad4 ,liberalism ,b4 ,on page #bc4 ,ecclesiastical ,miracles ,c4 ,on page #aec4 ,sermon on ,wisdom and ,innocence ,d4 ,on page #bac4 ,series of ,saints' ,lives of #ahdc-d ,e4 ,on page #bbg4 ,anglican ,church ,f4 ,on page #bfi4 ,the ,economy ,g4 ,on page #bgi4 ,lying and ,equivocation ,,supplemental ,,matter4 #a4 ,chronological ,list of ,letters and ,papers quoted in this ,narrative #b4 ,list of the ,author's ,works #c4 ,letter to him from his ,diocesan #d4 ,addresses from bodies of ,clergy and ,laity ,,additional ,,notes4 ,note #a1 on page #ab4 ,correspondence with ,archbishop ,whately in #ahcd #b1 on page #ij4 ,extract of a ,letter from the ,rev4 ,e4 ,smedley in #ahbh #c1 on page #ahe4 ,extract of a ,letter of the ,rev4 ,francis ,faber about #ahdi #d1 on pages #aid-aif4 ,the late ,very ,rev4 ,dr4 ,russell #e1 on page #bcb4 ,extract of a ,letter from the ,rev4 ,john ,keble in #ahdd #f1 on page #bcg4 ,extract from the ,times concerning the ,author's visit to ,oxford in #ahgh #g1 on page #cjb4 ,the oil of ,st4 ,walburga #h1 on page #cbc4 ,boniface of ,canterbury ,,my ,,religious ,,opinions4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,history ,,of ,,my ,,religious ,,opinions ,,to ,,the ,,year #ahcc4 ,it may easily be conceived how great a trial it is to me to write the following history of myself2 but ,i must not shrink from the task4 ,the words1 ,secretum meum mihi1 keep ringing in my ears2 but as men draw towards their end1 they care less for disclosures4 ,nor is it the least part of my trial1 to anticipate that1 upon first reading what ,i have written1 my friends may consider much in it irrelevant to my purpose2 yet ,i cannot help thinking that1 viewed as a whole1 it will effect what ,i propose to myself in giving it to the public4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was brought up from a child to take great delight in reading the ,bible2 but ,i had no formed religious convictions till ,i was fifteen4 ,of course ,i had a perfect knowledge of my ,catechism4 ,after ,i was grown up1 ,i put on paper my recollections of the thoughts and feelings on religious subjects1 which ,i had at the time that ,i was a child and a boy1--such as had remained on my mind with sufficient prominence to make me then consider them worth recording4 ,out of these1 written in the ,long ,vacation of #ahbj1 and transcribed with additions in #ahbc1 ,i select two1 which are at once the most definite among them1 and also have a bearing on my later convictions4 #a4 ,i used to wish the ,arabian ,tales were true3 my imagination ran on unknown influences1 on magical powers1 and talismans4444 ,i thought life might be a dream1 or ,i an ,angel1 and all this world a deception1 my fellow-angels by a playful device concealing themselves from me1 and deceiving me with the semblance of a material world4 ,again3 ,reading in the ,spring of #ahaf a sentence from ,dr4 ,watts's ',remnants of ,time1' entitled 'the ,saints unknown to the world1' to the effect1 that 'there is nothing in their figure or countenance to distinguish them1' c41 c41 ,i supposed he spoke of ,angels who lived in the world1 as it were disguised4 #b4 ,the other remark is this3 ,i was very superstitious1 and for some time previous to my conversion when ,i was fifteen used constantly to cross myself on going into the dark4 ,of course ,i must have got this practice from some external source or other2 but ,i can make no sort of conjecture whence2 and certainly no one had ever spoken to me on the subject of the ,catholic religion1 which ,i only knew by name4 ,the ,french master was an migr ,priest1 but he was simply made a butt1 as ,french masters too commonly were in that day1 and spoke ,english very imperfectly4 ,there was a ,catholic family in the village1 old maiden ladies we used to think2 but ,i knew nothing about them4 ,i have of late years heard that there were one or two ,catholic boys in the school2 but either we were carefully kept from knowing this1 or the knowledge of it made simply no impression on our minds4 ,my brother will bear witness how free the school was from ,catholic ideas4 ,i had once been into ,warwick ,street ,chapel1 with my father1 who1 ,i believe1 wanted to hear some piece of music2 all that ,i bore away from it was the recollection of a pulpit and a preacher1 and a boy swinging a censer4 ,when ,i was at ,littlemore1 ,i was looking over old copy-books of my school days1 and ,i found among them my first ,latin verse-book2 and in the first page of it there was a device which almost took my breath away with surprise4 ,i have the book before me now1 and have just been showing it to others4 ,i have written in the first page1 in my school-boy hand1 ,john4 ,h4 ,newman1 ,february #aath1 #ahaa1 ,verse ,book2 then follow my first ,verses4 ,between ,verse and ,book ,i have drawn the figure of a solid cross upright1 and next to it is1 what may indeed be meant for a necklace1 but what ,i cannot make out to be any thing else than a set of beads suspended1 with a little cross attached4 ,at this time ,i was not quite ten years old4 ,i suppose ,i got these ideas from some romance1 ,mrs4 ,radcliffe's or ,miss ,porter's2 or from some religious picture2 but the strange thing is1 how1 among the thousand objects which meet a boy's eyes1 these in particular should so have fixed themselves in my mind1 that ,i made them thus practically my own4 ,i am certain there was nothing in the churches ,i attended1 or the prayer books ,i read1 to suggest them4 ,it must be recollected that ,anglican churches and prayer books were not decorated in those days as ,i believe they are now4 ,when ,i was fourteen1 ,i read ,paine's ,tracts against the ,old ,testament1 and found pleasure in thinking of the objections which were contained in them4 ,also1 ,i read some of ,hume's ,essays2 and perhaps that on ,miracles4 ,so at least ,i gave my ,father to understand2 but perhaps it was a brag4 ,also1 ,i recollect copying out some ,french verses1 perhaps ,voltaire's1 in denial of the immortality of the soul1 and saying to myself something like ,how dreadful1 but how plausible6 ,when ,i was fifteen1 7in the autumn of #ahaf17 a great change of thought took place in me4 ,i fell under the influences of a definite ,creed1 and received into my intellect impressions of dogma1 which1 through ,god's mercy1 have never been effaced or obscured4 ,above and beyond the conversations and sermons of the excellent man1 long dead1 the ,rev4 ,walter ,mayers1 of ,pembroke ,college1 ,oxford1 who was the human means of this beginning of divine faith in me1 was the effect of the books which he put into my hands1 all of the school of ,calvin4 ,one of the first books ,i read was a work of ,romaine's2 ,i neither recollect the title nor the contents1 except one doctrine1 which of course ,i do not include among those which ,i believe to have come from a divine source1 viz4 the doctrine of final perseverance4 ,i received it at once1 and believed that the inward conversion of which ,i was conscious1 7and of which ,i still am more certain than that ,i have hands and feet17 would last into the next life1 and that ,i was elected to eternal glory4 ,i have no consciousness that this belief had any tendency whatever to lead me to be careless about pleasing ,god4 ,i retained it till the age of twenty-one1 when it gradually faded away2 but ,i believe that it had some influence on my opinions1 in the direction of those childish imaginations which ,i have already mentioned1 viz4 in isolating me from the objects which surrounded me1 in confirming me in my mistrust of the reality of material phenomena1 and making me rest in the thought of two and two only absolute and luminously self-evident beings1 myself and my ,creator2--for while ,i considered myself predestined to salvation1 my mind did not dwell upon others1 as fancying them simply passed over1 not predestined to eternal death4 ,i only thought of the mercy to myself4 ,the detestable doctrine last mentioned is simply denied and abjured1 unless my memory strangely deceives me1 by the writer who made a deeper impression on my mind than any other1 and to whom 7humanly speaking7 ,i almost owe my soul1--,thomas ,scott of ,aston ,sandford4 ,i so admired and delighted in his writings1 that1 when ,i was an under-graduate1 ,i thought of making a visit to his ,parsonage1 in order to see a man whom ,i so deeply revered4 ,i hardly think ,i could have given up the idea of this expedition1 even after ,i had taken my degree2 for the news of his death in #ahba came upon me as a disappointment as well as a sorrow4 ,i hung upon the lips of ,daniel ,wilson1 afterwards ,bishop of ,calcutta1 as in two sermons at ,st4 ,john's ,chapel he gave the history of ,scott's life and death4 ,i had been possessed of his ,force of ,truth and ,essays from a boy2 his ,commentary ,i bought when ,i was an under-graduate4 ,what1 ,i suppose1 will strike any reader of ,scott's history and writings1 is his bold unworldliness and vigorous independence of mind4 ,he followed truth wherever it led him1 beginning with ,unitarianism1 and ending in a zealous faith in the ,holy ,trinity4 ,it was he who first planted deep in my mind that fundamental truth of religion4 ,with the assistance of ,scott's ,essays1 and the admirable work of ,jones of ,nayland1 ,i made a collection of ,scripture texts in proof of the doctrine1 with remarks 7,i think7 of my own upon them1 before ,i was sixteen2 and a few months later ,i drew up a series of texts in support of each verse of the ,athanasian ,creed4 ,these papers ,i have still4 ,besides his unworldliness1 what ,i also admired in ,scott was his resolute opposition to ,antinomianism1 and the minutely practical character of his writings4 ,they show him to be a true ,englishman1 and ,i deeply felt his influence2 and for years ,i used almost as proverbs what ,i considered to be the scope and issue of his doctrine1 ,holiness rather than peace1 and ,growth the only evidence of life4 ,calvinists make a sharp separation between the elect and the world2 there is much in this that is cognate or parallel to the ,catholic doctrine2 but they go on to say1 as ,i understand them1 very differently from ,catholicism1--that the converted and the unconverted can be discriminated by man1 that the justified are conscious of their state of justification1 and that the regenerate cannot fall away4 ,catholics on the other hand shade and soften the awful antagonism between good and evil1 which is one of their dogmas1 by holding that there are different degrees of justification1 that there is a great difference in point of gravity between sin and sin1 that there is the possibility and the danger of falling away1 and that there is no certain knowledge given to any one that he is simply in a state of grace1 and much less that he is to persevere to the end3--of the ,calvinistic tenets the only one which took root in my mind was the fact of heaven and hell1 divine favour and divine wrath1 of the justified and the unjustified4 ,the notion that the regenerate and the justified were one and the same1 and that the regenerate1 as such1 had the gift of perseverance1 remained with me not many years1 as ,i have said already4 ,this main ,catholic doctrine of the warfare between the city of ,god and the powers of darkness was also deeply impressed upon my mind by a work of a character very opposite to ,calvinism1 ,law's ,serious ,call4 ,from this time ,i have held with a full inward assent and belief the doctrine of eternal punishment1 as delivered by our ,lord ,himself1 in as true a sense as ,i hold that of eternal happiness2 though ,i have tried in various ways to make that truth less terrible to the imagination4 ,now ,i come to two other works1 which produced a deep impression on me in the same ,autumn of #ahaf1 when ,i was fifteen years old1 each contrary to each1 and planting in me the seeds of an intellectual inconsistency which disabled me for a long course of years4 ,i read ,joseph ,milner's ,church ,history1 and was nothing short of enamoured of the long extracts from ,st4 ,augustine1 ,st4 ,ambrose1 and the other ,fathers which ,i found there4 ,i read them as being the religion of the primitive ,christians3 but simultaneously with ,milner ,i read ,newton on the ,prophecies1 and in consequence became most firmly convinced that the ,pope was the ,antichrist predicted by ,daniel1 ,st4 ,paul1 and ,st4 ,john4 ,my imagination was stained by the effects of this doctrine up to the year #ahdc2 it had been obliterated from my reason and judgment at an earlier date2 but the thought remained upon me as a sort of false conscience4 ,hence came that conflict of mind1 which so many have felt besides myself2--leading some men to make a compromise between two ideas1 so inconsistent with each other1--driving others to beat out the one idea or the other from their minds1--and ending in my own case1 after many years of intellectual unrest1 in the gradual decay and extinction of one of them1--,i do not say in its violent death1 for why should ,i not have murdered it sooner1 if ,i murdered it at all8 ,i am obliged to mention1 though ,i do it with great reluctance1 another deep imagination1 which at this time1 the autumn of #ahaf1 took possession of me1--there can be no mistake about the fact2 viz4 that it would be the will of ,god that ,i should lead a single life4 ,this anticipation1 which has held its ground almost continuously ever since1--with the break of a month now and a month then1 up to #ahbi1 and1 after that date1 without any break at all1--was more or less connected in my mind with the notion1 that my calling in life would require such a sacrifice as celibacy involved2 as1 for instance1 missionary work among the heathen1 to which ,i had a great drawing for some years4 ,it also strengthened my feeling of separation from the visible world1 of which ,i have spoken above4 ,in #ahbb ,i came under very different influences from those to which ,i had hitherto been subjected4 ,at that time1 ,mr4 ,whately1 as he was then1 afterwards ,archbishop of ,dublin1 for the few months he remained in ,oxford1 which he was leaving for good1 showed great kindness to me4 ,he renewed it in #ahbe1 when he became ,principal of ,alban ,hall1 making me his ,vice-,principal and ,tutor4 ,of ,dr4 ,whately ,i will speak presently3 for from #ahbb to #ahbe ,i saw most of the present ,provost of ,oriel1 ,dr4 ,hawkins1 at that time ,vicar of ,st4 ,mary's2 and1 when ,i took orders in #ahbd and had a curacy in ,oxford1 then1 during the ,long ,vacations1 ,i was especially thrown into his company4 ,i can say with a full heart that ,i love him1 and have never ceased to love him2 and ,i thus preface what otherwise might sound rude1 that in the course of the many years in which we were together afterwards1 he provoked me very much from time to time1 though ,i am perfectly certain that ,i have provoked him a great deal more4 ,moreover1 in me such provocation was unbecoming1 both because he was the ,head of my ,college1 and because1 in the first years that ,i knew him1 he had been in many ways of great service to my mind4 ,he was the first who taught me to weigh my words1 and to be cautious in my statements4 ,he led me to that mode of limiting and clearing my sense in discussion and in controversy1 and of distinguishing between cognate ideas1 and of obviating mistakes by anticipation1 which to my surprise has been since considered1 even in quarters friendly to me1 to savour of the polemics of ,rome4 ,he is a man of most exact mind himself1 and he used to snub me severely1 on reading1 as he was kind enough to do1 the first ,sermons that ,i wrote1 and other compositions which ,i was engaged upon4 ,then as to doctrine1 he was the means of great additions to my belief4 ,as ,i have noticed elsewhere1 he gave me the ,treatise on ,apostolical ,preaching1 by ,sumner1 afterwards ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 from which ,i was led to give up my remaining ,calvinism1 and to receive the doctrine of ,baptismal ,regeneration4 ,in many other ways too he was of use to me1 on subjects semi-religious and semi-scholastic4 ,it was ,dr4 ,hawkins too who taught me to anticipate that1 before many years were over1 there would be an attack made upon the books and the canon of ,scripture1 ,i was brought to the same belief by the conversation of ,mr4 ,blanco ,white1 who also led me to have freer views on the subject of inspiration than were usual in the ,church of ,england at the time4 ,there is one other principle1 which ,i gained from ,dr4 ,hawkins1 more directly bearing upon ,catholicism1 than any that ,i have mentioned2 and that is the doctrine of ,tradition4 ,when ,i was an ,under-graduate1 ,i heard him preach in the ,university ,pulpit his celebrated sermon on the subject1 and recollect how long it appeared to me1 though he was at that time a very striking preacher2 but1 when ,i read it and studied it as his gift1 it made a most serious impression upon me4 ,he does not go one step1 ,i think1 beyond the high ,anglican doctrine1 nay he does not reach it2 but he does his work thoroughly1 and his view was in him original1 and his subject was a novel one at the time4 ,he lays down a proposition1 self-evident as soon as stated1 to those who have at all examined the structure of ,scripture1 viz4 that the sacred text was never intended to teach doctrine1 but only to prove it1 and that1 if we would learn doctrine1 we must have recourse to the formularies of the ,church2 for instance to the ,catechism1 and to the ,creeds4 ,he considers1 that1 after learning from them the doctrines of ,christianity1 the inquirer must verify them by ,scripture4 ,this view1 most true in its outline1 most fruitful in its consequences1 opened upon me a large field of thought4 ,dr4 ,whately held it too4 ,one of its effects was to strike at the root of the principle on which the ,bible ,society was set up4 ,i belonged to its ,oxford ,association2 it became a matter of time when ,i should withdraw my name from its subscription-list1 though ,i did not do so at once4 ,it is with pleasure that ,i pay here a tribute to the memory of the ,rev4 ,william ,james1 then ,fellow of ,oriel2 who1 about the year #ahbc1 taught me the doctrine of ,apostolical ,succession1 in the course of a walk1 ,i think1 round ,christ ,church meadow2 ,i recollect being somewhat impatient of the subject at the time4 ,it was at about this date1 ,i suppose1 that ,i read ,bishop ,butler's ,analogy2 the study of which has been to so many1 as it was to me1 an era in their religious opinions4 ,its inculcation of a visible ,church1 the oracle of truth and a pattern of sanctity1 of the duties of external religion1 and of the historical character of ,revelation1 are characteristics of this great work which strike the reader at once2 for myself1 if ,i may attempt to determine what ,i most gained from it1 it lay in two points1 which ,i shall have an opportunity of dwelling on in the sequel2 they are the underlying principles of a great portion of my teaching4 ,first1 the very idea of an analogy between the separate works of ,god leads to the conclusion that the system which is of less importance is economically or sacramentally connected with the more momentous system#b1 and of this conclusion the theory1 to which ,i was inclined as a boy1 viz4 the unreality of material phenomena1 is an ultimate resolution4 ,at this time ,i did not make the distinction between matter itself and its phenomena1 which is so necessary and so obvious in discussing the subject4 ,secondly1 ,butler's doctrine that ,probability is the guide of life1 led me1 at least under the teaching to which a few years later ,i was introduced1 to the question of the logical cogency of ,faith1 on which ,i have written so much4 ,thus to ,butler ,i trace those two principles of my teaching1 which have led to a charge against me both of fancifulness and of scepticism4 #b ,it is significant that ,butler begins his work with a quotation from ,origen4 ,and now as to ,dr4 ,whately4 ,i owe him a great deal4 ,he was a man of generous and warm heart4 ,he was particularly loyal to his friends1 and to use the common phrase1 all his geese were swans4 ,while ,i was still awkward and timid in #ahbb1 he took me by the hand1 and acted towards me the part of a gentle and encouraging instructor4 ,he1 emphatically1 opened my mind1 and taught me to think and to use my reason4 ,after being first noticed by him in #ahbb1 ,i became very intimate with him in #ahbe1 when ,i was his ,vice-,principal at ,alban ,hall4 ,i gave up that office in #ahbf1 when ,i became ,tutor of my ,college1 and his hold upon me gradually relaxed4 ,he had done his work towards me or nearly so1 when he had taught me to see with my own eyes and to walk with my own feet4 ,not that ,i had not a good deal to learn from others still1 but ,i influenced them as well as they me1 and co-operated rather than merely concurred with them4 ,as to ,dr4 ,whately1 his mind was too different from mine for us to remain long on one line4 ,i recollect how dissatisfied he was with an ,article of mine in the ,london ,review1 which ,blanco ,white1 good-humouredly1 only called ,platonic4 ,when ,i was diverging from him in opinion 7which he did not like71 ,i thought of dedicating my first book to him1 in words to the effect that he had not only taught me to think1 but to think for myself4 ,he left ,oxford in #ahca2 after that1 as far as ,i can recollect1 ,i never saw him but twice1--when he visited the ,university2 once in the street in #ahcd1 once in a room in #ahch4 ,from the time that he left1 ,i have always felt a real affection for what ,i must call his memory2 for1 at least from the year #ahcd1 he made himself dead to me4 ,he had practically indeed given me up from the time that he became ,archbishop in #ahca2 but in #ahcd a correspondence took place between us1 which1 though conducted especially on his side in a friendly spirit1 was the expression of differences of opinion which acted as a final close to our intercourse4 ,my reason told me that it was impossible we could have got on together longer1 had he stayed in ,oxford2 yet ,i loved him too much to bid him farewell without pain4 ,after a few years had passed1 ,i began to believe that his influence on me in a higher respect than intellectual advance1 7,i will not say through his fault17 had not been satisfactory4 ,i believe that he has inserted sharp things in his later works about me4 ,they have never come in my way1 and ,i have not thought it necessary to seek out what would pain me so much in the reading4 ,what he did for me in point of religious opinion1 was1 first1 to teach me the existence of the ,church1 as a substantive body or corporation2 next to fix in me those anti-,erastian views of ,church polity1 which were one of the most prominent features of the ,tractarian movement4 ,on this point1 and1 as far as ,i know1 on this point alone1 he and ,hurrell ,froude intimately sympathized1 though ,froude's development of opinion here was of a later date4 ,in the year #ahbf1 in the course of a walk1 he said much to me about a work then just published1 called ,letters on the ,church by an ,episcopalian4 ,he said that it would make my blood boil4 ,it was certainly a most powerful composition4 ,one of our common friends told me1 that1 after reading it1 he could not keep still1 but went on walking up and down his room4 ,it was ascribed at once to ,whately2 ,i gave eager expression to the contrary opinion2 but ,i found the belief of ,oxford in the affirmative to be too strong for me2 rightly or wrongly ,i yielded to the general voice2 and ,i have never heard1 then or since1 of any disclaimer of authorship on the part of ,dr4 ,whately4 ,the main positions of this able essay are these2 first that ,church and ,state should be independent of each other3--he speaks of the duty of protesting against the profanation of ,christ's kingdom1 by that double usurpation1 the interference of the ,church in temporals1 of the ,state in spirituals1 p4 #aia2 and1 secondly1 that the ,church may justly and by right retain its property1 though separated from the ,state4 ,the clergy1 he says p4 #acc1 though they ought not to be the hired servants of the ,civil ,magistrate1 may justly retain their revenues2 and the ,state1 though it has no right of interference in spiritual concerns1 not only is justly entitled to support from the ministers of religion1 and from all other ,christians1 but would1 under the system ,i am recommending1 obtain it much more effectually4 ,the author of this work1 whoever he may be1 argues out both these points with great force and ingenuity1 and with a thorough-going vehemence1 which perhaps we may refer to the circumstance1 that he wrote1 not in propri person1 and as thereby answerable for every sentiment that he advanced1 but in the professed character of a ,scotch ,episcopalian4 ,his work had a gradual1 but a deep effect on my mind4 ,i am not aware of any other religious opinion which ,i owe to ,dr4 ,whately4 ,in his special theological tenets ,i had no sympathy4 ,in the next year1 #ahbg1 he told me he considered that ,i was ,arianizing4 ,the case was this3 though at that time ,i had not read ,bishop ,bull's ,defensio nor the ,fathers1 ,i was just then very strong for that ante-,nicene view of the ,trinitarian doctrine1 which some writers1 both ,catholic and non-,catholic1 have accused of wearing a sort of ,arian exterior4 ,this is the meaning of a passage in ,froude's ,remains1 in which he seems to accuse me of speaking against the ,athanasian ,creed4 ,i had contrasted the two aspects of the ,trinitarian doctrine1 which are respectively presented by the ,athanasian ,creed and the ,nicene4 ,my criticisms were to the effect that some of the verses of the former ,creed were unnecessarily scientific4 ,this is a specimen of a certain disdain for ,antiquity which had been growing on me now for several years4 ,it showed itself in some flippant language against the ,fathers in the ,encyclopdia ,metropolitana1 about whom ,i knew little at the time1 except what ,i had learnt as a boy from ,joseph ,milner4 ,in writing on the ,scripture ,miracles in #ahbe-f1 ,i had read ,middleton on the ,miracles of the early ,church1 and had imbibed a portion of his spirit4 ,the truth is1 ,i was beginning to prefer intellectual excellence to moral2 ,i was drifting in the direction of the ,liberalism of the day#c4 ,i was rudely awakened from my dream at the end of #ahbg by two great blows--illness and bereavement4 #c ,vide ,note ,a1 ,liberalism1 at the end of the volume4 ,in the beginning of #ahbi1 came the formal break between ,dr4 ,whately and me2 the affair of ,mr4 ,peel's re-election was the occasion of it4 ,i think in #ahbh or #ahbg ,i had voted in the minority1 when the ,petition to ,parliament against the ,catholic ,claims was brought into ,convocation4 ,i did so mainly on the views suggested to me in the ,letters of an ,episcopalian4 ,also ,i shrank from the bigoted two-bottle-orthodox1 as they were invidiously called4 ,when then ,i took part against ,mr4 ,peel1 it was on an academical1 not at all an ecclesiastical or a political ground2 and this ,i professed at the time4 ,i considered that ,mr4 ,peel had taken the ,university by surprise2 that his friends had no right to call upon us to turn round on a sudden1 and to expose ourselves to the imputation of time-serving2 and that a great ,university ought not to be bullied even by a great ,duke of ,wellington4 ,also by this time ,i was under the influence of ,keble and ,froude2 who1 in addition to the reasons ,i have given1 disliked the ,duke's change of policy as dictated by liberalism4 ,whately was considerably annoyed at me1 and he took a humourous revenge1 of which he had given me due notice beforehand4 ,as head of a house he had duties of hospitality to men of all parties2 he asked a set of the least intellectual men in ,oxford to dinner1 and men most fond of port2 he made me one of this party2 placed me between ,provost ,this and ,principal ,that1 and then asked me if ,i was proud of my friends4 ,however1 he had a serious meaning in his act2 he saw1 more clearly than ,i could do1 that ,i was separating from his own friends for good and all4 ,dr4 ,whately attributed my leaving his clientela to a wish on my part to be the head of a party myself4 ,i do not think that this charge was deserved4 ,my habitual feeling then and since has been1 that it was not ,i who sought friends1 but friends who sought me4 ,never man had kinder or more indulgent friends than ,i have had2 but ,i expressed my own feeling as to the mode in which ,i gained them1 in this very year #ahbi1 in the course of a copy of verses4 ,speaking of my blessings1 ,i said1 ,blessings of friends1 which to my door unasked1 unhoped1 have come4 ,they have come1 they have gone2 they came to my great joy1 they went to my great grief4 ,he who gave took away4 ,dr4 ,whately's impression about me1 however1 admits of this explanation3-- ,during the first years of my residence at ,oriel1 though proud of my ,college1 ,i was not quite at home there4 ,i was very much alone1 and ,i used often to take my daily walk by myself4 ,i recollect once meeting ,dr4 ,copleston1 then ,provost1 with one of the ,fellows4 ,he turned round1 and with the kind courteousness which sat so well on him1 made me a bow and said1 ,nunquam minus solus1 qum cm solus4 ,at that time indeed 7from #ahbc7 ,i had the intimacy of my dear and true friend ,dr4 ,pusey1 and could not fail to admire and revere a soul so devoted to the cause of religion1 so full of good works1 so faithful in his affections2 but he left residence when ,i was getting to know him well4 ,as to ,dr4 ,whately himself1 he was too much my superior to allow of my being at my ease with him2 and to no one in ,oxford at this time did ,i open my heart fully and familiarly4 ,but things changed in #ahbf4 ,at that time ,i became one of the ,tutors of my ,college1 and this gave me position2 besides1 ,i had written one or two ,essays which had been well received4 ,i began to be known4 ,i preached my first ,university ,sermon4 ,next year ,i was one of the ,public ,examiners for the ,b4,a4 degree4 ,in #ahbh ,i became ,vicar of ,st4 ,mary's4 ,it was to me like the feeling of spring weather after winter2 and1 if ,i may so speak1 ,i came out of my shell2 ,i remained out of it till #ahda4 ,the two persons who knew me best at that time are still alive1 beneficed clergymen1 no longer my friends4 ,they could tell better than any one else what ,i was in those years4 ,from this time my tongue was1 as it were1 loosened1 and ,i spoke spontaneously and without effort4 ,one of the two1 ,mr4 ,rickards1 said of me1 ,i have been told1 ,here is a fellow who1 when he is silent1 will never begin to speak2 and when he once begins to speak1 will never stop4 ,it was at this time that ,i began to have influence1 which steadily increased for a course of years4 ,i gained upon my pupils1 and was in particular intimate and affectionate with two of our probationer ,fellows1 ,robert ,isaac ,wilberforce 7afterwards ,archdeacon7 and ,richard ,hurrell ,froude4 ,whately then1 an acute man1 perhaps saw around me the signs of an incipient party1 of which ,i was not conscious myself4 ,and thus we discern the first elements of that movement afterwards called ,tractarian4 ,the true and primary author of it1 however1 as is usual with great motive-powers1 was out of sight4 ,having carried off as a mere boy the highest honours of the ,university1 he had turned from the admiration which haunted his steps1 and sought for a better and holier satisfaction in pastoral work in the country4 ,need ,i say that ,i am speaking of ,john ,keble8 ,the first time that ,i was in a room with him was on occasion of my election to a fellowship at ,oriel1 when ,i was sent for into the ,tower1 to shake hands with the ,provost and ,fellows4 ,how is that hour fixed in my memory after the changes of forty-two years1 forty-two this very day on which ,i write6 ,i have lately had a letter in my hands1 which ,i sent at the time to my great friend1 ,john ,william ,bowden1 with whom ,i passed almost exclusively my ,under-graduate years4 ,i had to hasten to the ,tower1 ,i say to him1 to receive the congratulations of all the ,fellows4 ,i bore it till ,keble took my hand1 and then felt so abashed and unworthy of the honour done me1 that ,i seemed desirous of quite sinking into the ground4 ,his had been the first name which ,i had heard spoken of1 with reverence rather than admiration1 when ,i came up to ,oxford4 ,when one day ,i was walking in ,high ,street with my dear earliest friend just mentioned1 with what eagerness did he cry out1 ,there's ,keble6 and with what awe did ,i look at him6 ,then at another time ,i heard a ,master of ,arts of my ,college give an account how he had just then had occasion to introduce himself on some business to ,keble1 and how gentle1 courteous1 and unaffected ,keble had been1 so as almost to put him out of countenance4 ,then too it was reported1 truly or falsely1 how a rising man of brilliant reputation1 the present ,dean of ,st4 ,paul's1 ,dr4 ,milman1 admired and loved him1 adding1 that somehow he was strangely unlike any one else4 ,however1 at the time when ,i was elected ,fellow of ,oriel he was not in residence1 and he was shy of me for years in consequence of the marks which ,i bore upon me of the evangelical and liberal schools4 ,at least so ,i have ever thought4 ,hurrell ,froude brought us together about #ahbh3 it is one of the sayings preserved in his ,remains1--,do you know the story of the murderer who had done one good thing in his life8 ,well2 if ,i was ever asked what good deed ,i had ever done1 ,i should say that ,i had brought ,keble and ,newman to understand each other4 ,the ,christian ,year made its appearance in #ahbg4 ,it is not necessary1 and scarcely becoming1 to praise a book which has already become one of the classics of the language4 ,when the general tone of religious literature was so nerveless and impotent1 as it was at that time1 ,keble struck an original note and woke up in the hearts of thousands a new music1 the music of a school1 long unknown in ,england4 ,nor can ,i pretend to analyze1 in my own instance1 the effect of religious teaching so deep1 so pure1 so beautiful4 ,i have never till now tried to do so2 yet ,i think ,i am not wrong in saying1 that the two main intellectual truths which it brought home to me1 were the same two1 which ,i had learned from ,butler1 though recast in the creative mind of my new master4 ,the first of those was what may be called1 in a large sense of the word1 the ,sacramental system2 that is1 the doctrine that material phenomena are both the types and the instruments of real things unseen1--a doctrine1 which embraces in its fulness1 not only what ,anglicans1 as well as ,catholics1 believe about ,sacraments properly so called2 but also the article of the ,communion of ,saints2 and likewise the ,mysteries of the faith4 ,the connexion of this philosophy of religion with what is sometimes called ,berkeleyism has been mentioned above2 ,i knew little of ,berkeley at this time except by name2 nor have ,i ever studied him4 ,on the second intellectual principle which ,i gained from ,mr4 ,keble1 ,i could say a great deal2 if this were the place for it4 ,it runs through very much that ,i have written1 and has gained for me many hard names4 ,butler teaches us that probability is the guide of life4 ,the danger of this doctrine1 in the case of many minds1 is1 its tendency to destroy in them absolute certainty1 leading them to consider every conclusion as doubtful1 and resolving truth into an opinion1 which it is safe indeed to obey or to profess1 but not possible to embrace with full internal assent4 ,if this were to be allowed1 then the celebrated saying1 ,o ,god1 if there be a ,god1 save my soul1 if ,i have a soul6 would be the highest measure of devotion3--but who can really pray to a ,being1 about whose existence he is seriously in doubt8 ,i considered that ,mr4 ,keble met this difficulty by ascribing the firmness of assent which we give to religious doctrine1 not to the probabilities which introduced it1 but to the living power of faith and love which accepted it4 ,in matters of religion1 he seemed to say1 it is not merely probability which makes us intellectually certain1 but probability as it is put to account by faith and love4 ,it is faith and love which give to probability a force which it has not in itself4 ,faith and love are directed towards an ,object2 in the vision of that ,object they live2 it is that ,object1 received in faith and love1 which renders it reasonable to take probability as sufficient for internal conviction4 ,thus the argument from ,probability1 in the matter of religion1 became an argument from ,personality1 which in fact is one form of the argument from ,authority4 ,in illustration1 ,mr4 ,keble used to quote the words of the ,psalm3 ,i will guide thee with mine eye4 ,be ye not like to horse and mule1 which have no understanding2 whose mouths must be held with bit and bridle1 lest they fall upon thee4 ,this is the very difference1 he used to say1 between slaves1 and friends or children4 ,friends do not ask for literal commands2 but1 from their knowledge of the speaker1 they understand his half-words1 and from love of him they anticipate his wishes4 ,hence it is1 that in his ,poem for ,st4 ,bartholomew's ,day1 he speaks of the ,eye of ,god's word2 and in the note quotes ,mr4 ,miller1 of ,worcester ,college1 who remarks in his ,bampton ,lectures1 on the special power of ,scripture1 as having this ,eye1 like that of a portrait1 uniformly fixed upon us1 turn where we will4 ,the view thus suggested by ,mr4 ,keble1 is brought forward in one of the earliest of the ,tracts for the ,times4 ,in ,no4 #h ,i say1 ,the ,gospel is a ,law of ,liberty4 ,we are treated as sons1 not as servants2 not subjected to a code of formal commandments1 but addressed as those who love ,god1 and wish to please ,him4 ,i did not at all dispute this view of the matter1 for ,i made use of it myself2 but ,i was dissatisfied1 because it did not go to the root of the difficulty4 ,it was beautiful and religious1 but it did not even profess to be logical2 and accordingly ,i tried to complete it by considerations of my own1 which are to be found in my ,university ,sermons1 ,essay on ,ecclesiastical ,miracles1 and ,essay on ,development of ,doctrine4 ,my argument is in outline as follows3 that that absolute certitude which we were able to possess1 whether as to the truths of natural theology1 or as to the fact of a revelation1 was the result of an assemblage of concurring and converging probabilities1 and that1 both according to the constitution of the human mind and the will of its ,maker2 that certitude was a habit of mind1 that certainty was a quality of propositions2 that probabilities which did not reach to logical certainty1 might suffice for a mental certitude2 that the certitude thus brought about might equal in measure and strength the certitude which was created by the strictest scientific demonstration2 and that to possess such certitude might in given cases and to given individuals be a plain duty1 though not to others in other circumstances3-- ,moreover1 that as there were probabilities which sufficed for certitude1 so there were other probabilities which were legitimately adapted to create opinion2 that it might be quite as much a matter of duty in given cases and to given persons to have about a fact an opinion of a definite strength and consistency1 as in the case of greater or of more numerous probabilities it was a duty to have a certitude2 that accordingly we were bound to be more or less sure1 on a sort of 7as it were7 graduated scale of assent1 viz4 according as the probabilities attaching to a professed fact were brought home to us1 and as the case might be1 to entertain about it a pious belief1 or a pious opinion1 or a religious conjecture1 or at least1 a tolerance of such belief1 or opinion or conjecture in others2 that on the other hand1 as it was a duty to have a belief1 of more or less strong texture1 in given cases1 so in other cases it was a duty not to believe1 not to opine1 not to conjecture1 not even to tolerate the notion that a professed fact was true1 inasmuch as it would be credulity or superstition1 or some other moral fault1 to do so4 ,this was the region of ,private ,judgment in religion2 that is1 of a ,private ,judgment1 not formed arbitrarily and according to one's fancy or liking1 but conscientiously1 and under a sense of duty4 ,considerations such as these throw a new light on the subject of ,miracles1 and they seem to have led me to reconsider the view which ,i had taken of them in my ,essay in #ahbe-f4 ,i do not know what was the date of this change in me1 nor of the train of ideas on which it was founded4 ,that there had been already great miracles1 as those of ,scripture1 as the ,resurrection1 was a fact establishing the principle that the laws of nature had sometimes been suspended by their ,divine ,author1 and since what had happened once might happen again1 a certain probability1 at least no kind of improbability1 was attached to the idea taken in itself1 of miraculous intervention in later times1 and miraculous accounts were to be regarded in connexion with the verisimilitude1 scope1 instrument1 character1 testimony1 and circumstances1 with which they presented themselves to us2 and1 according to the final result of those various considerations1 it was our duty to be sure1 or to believe1 or to opine1 or to surmise1 or to tolerate1 or to reject1 or to denounce4 ,the main difference between my ,essay on ,miracles in #ahbf and my ,essay in #ahdb is this3 that in #ahbf ,i considered that miracles were sharply divided into two classes1 those which were to be received1 and those which were to be rejected2 whereas in #ahdb ,i saw that they were to be regarded according to their greater or less probability1 which was in some cases sufficient to create certitude about them1 in other cases only belief or opinion4 ,moreover1 the argument from ,analogy1 on which this view of the question was founded1 suggested to me something besides1 in recommendation of the ,ecclesiastical ,miracles4 ,it fastened itself upon the theory of ,church ,history which ,i had learned as a boy from ,joseph ,milner4 ,it is ,milner's doctrine1 that upon the visible ,church come down from above1 at certain intervals1 large and temporary ,effusions of divine grace4 ,this is the leading idea of his work4 ,he begins by speaking of the ,day of ,pentecost1 as marking the first of those ,effusions of the ,spirit of ,god1 which from age to age have visited the earth since the coming of ,christ4 ,vol4 i4 p4 #c4 ,in a note he adds that in the term ',effusion' there is not here included the idea of the miraculous or extraordinary operations of the ,spirit of ,god2 but still it was natural for me1 admitting ,milner's general theory1 and applying to it the principle of analogy1 not to stop short at his abrupt ipse dixit1 but boldly to pass forward to the conclusion1 on other grounds plausible1 that as miracles accompanied the first effusion of grace1 so they might accompany the later4 ,it is surely a natural and on the whole1 a true anticipation 7though of course there are exceptions in particular cases71 that gifts and graces go together2 now1 according to the ancient ,catholic doctrine1 the gift of miracles was viewed as the attendant and shadow of transcendent sanctity3 and moreover1 since such sanctity was not of every day's occurrence1 nay further1 since one period of ,church history differed widely from another1 and1 as ,joseph ,milner would say1 there have been generations or centuries of degeneracy or disorder1 and times of revival1 and since one region might be in the mid-day of religious fervour1 and another in twilight or gloom1 there was no force in the popular argument1 that1 because we did not see miracles with our own eyes1 miracles had not happened in former times1 or were not now at this very time taking place in distant places3--but ,i must not dwell longer on a subject1 to which in a few words it is impossible to do justice#d4 #d ,vide note ,b1 ,ecclesiastical ,miracles1 at the end of the volume4 99 99 99 99 99 ,hurrell ,froude was a pupil of ,keble's1 formed by him1 and in turn reacting upon him4 ,i knew him first in #ahbf1 and was in the closest and most affectionate friendship with him from about #ahbi till his death in #ahcf4 ,he was a man of the highest gifts1--so truly many-sided1 that it would be presumptuous in me to attempt to describe him1 except under those aspects in which he came before me4 ,nor have ,i here to speak of the gentleness and tenderness of nature1 the playfulness1 the free elastic force and graceful versatility of mind1 and the patient winning considerateness in discussion1 which endeared him to those to whom he opened his heart2 for ,i am all along engaged upon matters of belief and opinion1 and am introducing others into my narrative1 not for their own sake1 or because ,i love and have loved them1 so much as because1 and so far as1 they have influenced my theological views4 ,in this respect then1 ,i speak of ,hurrell ,froude1--in his intellectual aspect1--as a man of high genius1 brimful and overflowing with ideas and views1 in him original1 which were too many and strong even for his bodily strength1 and which crowded and jostled against each other in their effort after distinct shape and expression4 ,and he had an intellect as critical and logical as it was speculative and bold4 ,dying prematurely1 as he did1 and in the conflict and transition-state of opinion1 his religious views never reached their ultimate conclusion1 by the very reason of their multitude and their depth4 ,his opinions arrested and influenced me1 even when they did not gain my assent4 ,he professed openly his admiration of the ,church of ,rome1 and his hatred of the ,reformers4 ,he delighted in the notion of an hierarchical system1 of sacerdotal power1 and of full ecclesiastical liberty4 ,he felt scorn of the maxim1 ,the ,bible and the ,bible only is the religion of ,protestants2 and he gloried in accepting ,tradition as a main instrument of religious teaching4 ,he had a high severe idea of the intrinsic excellence of ,virginity2 and he considered the ,blessed ,virgin its great ,pattern4 ,he delighted in thinking of the ,saints2 he had a vivid appreciation of the idea of sanctity1 its possibility and its heights2 and he was more than inclined to believe a large amount of miraculous interference as occurring in the early and middle ages4 ,he embraced the principle of penance and mortification4 ,he had a deep devotion to the ,real ,presence1 in which he had a firm faith4 ,he was powerfully drawn to the ,medieval ,church1 but not to the ,primitive4 ,he had a keen insight into abstract truth2 but he was an ,englishman to the backbone in his severe adherence to the real and the concrete4 ,he had a most classical taste1 and a genius for philosophy and art2 and he was fond of historical inquiry1 and the politics of religion4 ,he had no turn for theology as such4 ,he set no sufficient value on the writings of the ,fathers1 on the detail or development of doctrine1 on the definite traditions of the ,church viewed in their matter1 on the teaching of the ,ecumenical ,councils1 or on the controversies out of which they arose4 ,he took an eager courageous view of things on the whole4 ,i should say that his power of entering into the minds of others did not equal his other gifts2 he could not believe1 for instance1 that ,i really held the ,roman ,church to be ,anti-christian4 ,on many points he would not believe but that ,i agreed with him1 when ,i did not4 ,he seemed not to understand my difficulties4 ,his were of a different kind1 the contrariety between theory and fact4 ,he was a high ,tory of the ,cavalier stamp1 and was disgusted with the ,toryism of the opponents of the ,reform ,bill4 ,he was smitten with the love of the ,theocratic ,church2 he went abroad and was shocked by the degeneracy which he thought he saw in the ,catholics of ,italy4 ,it is difficult to enumerate the precise additions to my theological creed which ,i derived from a friend to whom ,i owe so much4 ,he taught me to look with admiration towards the ,church of ,rome1 and in the same degree to dislike the ,reformation4 ,he fixed deep in me the idea of devotion to the ,blessed ,virgin1 and he led me gradually to believe in the ,real ,presence4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is one remaining source of my opinions to be mentioned1 and that far from the least important4 ,in proportion as ,i moved out of the shadow of that liberalism which had hung over my course1 my early devotion towards the ,fathers returned2 and in the ,long ,vacation of #ahbh ,i set about to read them chronologically1 beginning with ,st4 ,ignatius and ,st4 ,justin4 ,about #ahcj a proposal was made to me by ,mr4 ,hugh ,rose1 who with ,mr4 ,lyall 7afterwards ,dean of ,canterbury7 was providing writers for a ,theological ,library1 to furnish them with a ,history of the ,principal ,councils4 ,i accepted it1 and at once set to work on the ,council of ,nica4 ,it was to launch myself on an ocean with currents innumerable2 and ,i was drifted back first to the ante-,nicene history1 and then to the ,church of ,alexandria4 ,the work at last appeared under the title of ,the ,arians of the ,fourth ,century2 and of its #dbb pages1 the first #aag consisted of introductory matter1 and the ,council of ,nica did not appear till the #bedth1 and then occupied at most twenty pages4 ,i do not know when ,i first learnt to consider that ,antiquity was the true exponent of the doctrines of ,christianity and the basis of the ,church of ,england2 but ,i take it for granted that the works of ,bishop ,bull1 which at this time ,i read1 were my chief introduction to this principle4 ,the course of reading1 which ,i pursued in the composition of my volume1 was directly adapted to develope it in my mind4 ,what principally attracted me in the ante-,nicene period was the great ,church of ,alexandria1 the historical centre of teaching in those times4 ,of ,rome for some centuries comparatively little is known4 ,the battle of ,arianism was first fought in ,alexandria2 ,athanasius1 the champion of the truth1 was ,bishop of ,alexandria2 and in his writings he refers to the great religious names of an earlier date1 to ,origen1 ,dionysius1 and others1 who were the glory of its see1 or of its school4 ,the broad philosophy of ,clement and ,origen carried me away2 the philosophy1 not the theological doctrine2 and ,i have drawn out some features of it in my volume1 with the zeal and freshness1 but with the partiality1 of a neophyte4 ,some portions of their teaching1 magnificent in themselves1 came like music to my inward ear1 as if the response to ideas1 which1 with little external to encourage them1 ,i had cherished so long4 ,these were based on the mystical or sacramental principle1 and spoke of the various ,economies or ,dispensations of the ,eternal4 ,i understood these passages to mean that the exterior world1 physical and historical1 was but the manifestation to our senses of realities greater than itself4 ,nature was a parable3 ,scripture was an allegory3 pagan literature1 philosophy1 and mythology1 properly understood1 were but a preparation for the ,gospel4 ,the ,greek poets and sages were in a certain sense prophets2 for thoughts beyond their thought to those high bards were given4 ,there had been a directly divine dispensation granted to the ,jews2 but there had been in some sense a dispensation carried on in favour of the ,gentiles4 ,he who had taken the seed of ,jacob for ,his elect people had not therefore cast the rest of mankind out of ,his sight4 ,in the fulness of time both ,judaism and ,paganism had come to nought2 the outward framework1 which concealed yet suggested the ,living ,truth1 had never been intended to last1 and it was dissolving under the beams of the ,sun of ,justice which shone behind it and through it4 ,the process of change had been slow2 it had been done not rashly1 but by rule and measure1 at sundry times and in divers manners1 first one disclosure and then another1 till the whole evangelical doctrine was brought into full manifestation4 ,and thus room was made for the anticipation of further and deeper disclosures1 of truths still under the veil of the letter1 and in their season to be revealed4 ,the visible world still remains without its divine interpretation2 ,holy ,church in her sacraments and her hierarchical appointments1 will remain1 even to the end of the world1 after all but a symbol of those heavenly facts which fill eternity4 ,her mysteries are but the expressions in human language of truths to which the human mind is unequal4 ,it is evident how much there was in all this in correspondence with the thoughts which had attracted me when ,i was young1 and with the doctrine which ,i have already associated with the ,analogy and the ,christian ,year4 ,it was1 ,i suppose1 to the ,alexandrian school and to the early ,church1 that ,i owe in particular what ,i definitely held about the ,angels4 ,i viewed them1 not only as the ministers employed by the ,creator in the ,jewish and ,christian dispensations1 as we find on the face of ,scripture1 but as carrying on1 as ,scripture also implies1 the ,economy of the ,visible ,world4 ,i considered them as the real causes of motion1 light1 and life1 and of those elementary principles of the physical universe1 which1 when offered in their developments to our senses1 suggest to us the notion of cause and effect1 and of what are called the laws of nature4 ,this doctrine ,i have drawn out in my ,sermon for ,michaelmas day1 written in #ahca4 ,i say of the ,angels1 ,every breath of air and ray of light and heat1 every beautiful prospect1 is1 as it were1 the skirts of their garments1 the waving of the robes of those whose faces see ,god4 ,again1 ,i ask what would be the thoughts of a man who1 when examining a flower1 or a herb1 or a pebble1 or a ray of light1 which he treats as something so beneath him in the scale of existence1 suddenly discovered that he was in the presence of some powerful being who was hidden behind the visible things he was inspecting1--who1 though concealing his wise hand1 was giving them their beauty1 grace1 and perfection1 as being ,god's instrument for the purpose1--nay1 whose robe and ornaments those objects were1 which he was so eager to analyze8 and ,i therefore remark that we may say with grateful and simple hearts with the ,three ,holy ,children1 ',o all ye works of the ,lord1 c41 c41 bless ye the ,lord1 praise ,him1 and magnify ,him for ever4' ,also1 besides the hosts of evil spirits1 ,i considered there was a middle race1 ,greek3 daimonia1 neither in heaven1 nor in hell2 partially fallen1 capricious1 wayward2 noble or crafty1 benevolent or malicious1 as the case might be4 ,these beings gave a sort of inspiration or intelligence to races1 nations1 and classes of men4 ,hence the action of bodies politic and associations1 which is often so different from that of the individuals who compose them4 ,hence the character and the instinct of states and governments1 of religious communities and communions4 ,i thought these assemblages had their life in certain unseen ,powers4 ,my preference of the ,personal to the ,abstract would naturally lead me to this view4 ,i thought it countenanced by the mention of the ,prince of ,persia in the ,prophet ,daniel2 and ,i think ,i considered that it was of such intermediate beings that the ,apocalypse spoke1 in its notice of the ,angels of the ,seven ,churches4 ,in #ahcg ,i made a further development of this doctrine4 ,i said to an intimate and dear friend1 ,samuel ,francis ,wood1 in a letter which came into my hands on his death4 ,i have an idea4 ,the mass of the ,fathers 7,justin1 ,athenagoras1 ,irenus1 ,clement1 ,tertullian1 ,origen1 ,lactantius1 ,sulpicius1 ,ambrose1 ,nazianzen17 hold that1 though ,satan fell from the beginning1 the ,angels fell before the deluge1 falling in love with the daughters of men4 ,this has lately come across me as a remarkable solution of a notion which ,i cannot help holding4 ,daniel speaks as if each nation had its guardian ,angel4 ,i cannot but think that there are beings with a great deal of good in them1 yet with great defects1 who are the animating principles of certain institutions1 c41 c4444 ,take ,england with many high virtues1 and yet a low ,catholicism4 ,it seems to me that ,john ,bull is a spirit neither of heaven nor hell4444 ,has not the ,christian ,church1 in its parts1 surrendered itself to one or other of these simulations of the truth8444 ,how are we to avoid ,scylla and ,charybdis and go straight on to the very image of ,christ8 c41 c4 ,i am aware that what ,i have been saying will1 with many men1 be doing credit to my imagination at the expense of my judgment--,hippoclides doesn't care2 ,i am not setting myself up as a pattern of good sense or of any thing else3 ,i am but giving a history of my opinions1 and that1 with the view of showing that ,i have come by them through intelligible processes of thought and honest external means4 ,the doctrine indeed of the ,economy has in some quarters been itself condemned as intrinsically pernicious1--as if leading to lying and equivocation1 when applied1 as ,i have applied it in my remarks upon it in my ,history of the ,arians1 to matters of conduct4 ,my answer to this imputation ,i postpone to the concluding pages of my ,volume4 ,while ,i was engaged in writing my work upon the ,arians1 great events were happening at home and abroad1 which brought out into form and passionate expression the various beliefs which had so gradually been winning their way into my mind4 ,shortly before1 there had been a ,revolution in ,france2 the ,bourbons had been dismissed3 and ,i held that it was unchristian for nations to cast off their governors1 and1 much more1 sovereigns who had the divine right of inheritance4 ,again1 the great ,reform ,agitation was going on around me as ,i wrote4 ,the ,whigs had come into power2 ,lord ,grey had told the ,bishops to set their house in order1 and some of the ,prelates had been insulted and threatened in the streets of ,london4 ,the vital question was1 how were we to keep the ,church from being liberalized8 there was such apathy on the subject in some quarters1 such imbecile alarm in others2 the true principles of ,churchmanship seemed so radically decayed1 and there was such distraction in the councils of the ,clergy4 ,blomfield1 the ,bishop of ,london of the day1 an active and open-hearted man1 had been for years engaged in diluting the high orthodoxy of the ,church by the introduction of members of the ,evangelical body into places of influence and trust4 ,he had deeply offended men who agreed in opinion with myself1 by an off-hand saying 7as it was reported7 to the effect that belief in the ,apostolical succession had gone out with the ,non-jurors4 ,we can count you1 he said to some of the gravest and most venerated persons of the old school4 ,and the ,evangelical party itself1 with their late successes1 seemed to have lost that simplicity and unworldliness which ,i admired so much in ,milner and ,scott4 ,it was not that ,i did not venerate such men as ,ryder1 the then ,bishop of ,lichfield1 and others of similar sentiments1 who were not yet promoted out of the ranks of the ,clergy1 but ,i thought little of the ,evangelicals as a class4 ,i thought they played into the hands of the ,liberals4 ,with the ,establishment thus divided and threatened1 thus ignorant of its true strength1 ,i compared that fresh vigorous ,power of which ,i was reading in the first centuries4 ,in her triumphant zeal on behalf of that ,primeval ,mystery1 to which ,i had had so great a devotion from my youth1 ,i recognized the movement of my ,spiritual ,mother4 ,incessu patuit ,dea4 ,the self-conquest of her ,ascetics1 the patience of her ,martyrs1 the irresistible determination of her ,bishops1 the joyous swing of her advance1 both exalted and abashed me4 ,i said to myself1 ,look on this picture and on that2 ,i felt affection for my own ,church1 but not tenderness2 ,i felt dismay at her prospects1 anger and scorn at her do-nothing perplexity4 ,i thought that if ,liberalism once got a footing within her1 it was sure of the victory in the event4 ,i saw that ,reformation principles were powerless to rescue her4 ,as to leaving her1 the thought never crossed my imagination2 still ,i ever kept before me that there was something greater than the ,established ,church1 and that that was the ,church ,catholic and ,apostolic1 set up from the beginning1 of which she was but the local presence and the organ4 ,she was nothing1 unless she was this4 ,she must be dealt with strongly1 or she would be lost4 ,there was need of a second reformation4 ,at this time ,i was disengaged from ,college duties1 and my health had suffered from the labour involved in the composition of my ,volume4 ,it was ready for the ,press in ,july1 #ahcb1 though not published till the end of #ahcc4 ,i was easily persuaded to join ,hurrell ,froude and his ,father1 who were going to the south of ,europe for the health of the former4 ,we set out in ,december1 #ahcb4 ,it was during this expedition that my ,verses which are in the ,lyra ,apostolica were written2--a few indeed before it1 but not more than one or two of them after it4 ,exchanging1 as ,i was1 definite ,tutorial work1 and the literary quiet and pleasant friendships of the last six years1 for foreign countries and an unknown future1 ,i naturally was led to think that some inward changes1 as well as some larger course of action1 were coming upon me4 ,at ,whitchurch1 while waiting for the down mail to ,falmouth1 ,i wrote the verses about my ,guardian ,angel1 which begin with these words3 ,are these the tracks of some unearthly ,friend8 and which go on to speak of the vision which haunted me3--that vision is more or less brought out in the whole series of these compositions4 ,i went to various coasts of the ,mediterranean2 parted with my friends at ,rome2 went down for the second time to ,sicily without companion1 at the end of ,april2 and got back to ,england by ,palermo in the early part of ,july4 ,the strangeness of foreign life threw me back into myself2 ,i found pleasure in historical sites and beautiful scenes1 not in men and manners4 ,we kept clear of ,catholics throughout our tour4 ,i had a conversation with the ,dean of ,malta1 a most pleasant man1 lately dead2 but it was about the ,fathers1 and the ,library of the great church4 ,i knew the ,abbate ,santini1 at ,rome1 who did no more than copy for me the ,gregorian tones4 ,froude and ,i made two calls upon ,monsignore 7now ,cardinal7 ,wiseman at the ,collegio ,inglese1 shortly before we left ,rome4 ,once we heard him preach at a church in the ,corso4 ,i do not recollect being in a room with any other ecclesiastics1 except a ,priest at ,castro-,giovanni in ,sicily1 who called on me when ,i was ill1 and with whom ,i wished to hold a controversy4 ,as to ,church ,services1 we attended the ,tenebr1 at the ,sestine1 for the sake of the ,miserere2 and that was all4 ,my general feeling was1 ,all1 save the spirit of man1 is divine4 ,i saw nothing but what was external2 of the hidden life of ,catholics ,i knew nothing4 ,i was still more driven back into myself1 and felt my isolation4 ,england was in my thoughts solely1 and the news from ,england came rarely and imperfectly4 ,the ,bill for the ,suppression of the ,irish ,sees was in progress1 and filled my mind4 ,i had fierce thoughts against the ,liberals4 ,it was the success of the ,liberal cause which fretted me inwardly4 ,i became fierce against its instruments and its manifestations4 ,a ,french vessel was at ,algiers2 ,i would not even look at the tricolour4 ,on my return1 though forced to stop twenty-four hours at ,paris1 ,i kept indoors the whole time1 and all that ,i saw of that beautiful city was what ,i saw from the ,diligence4 ,the ,bishop of ,london had already sounded me as to my filling one of the ,whitehall preacherships1 which he had just then put on a new footing2 but ,i was indignant at the line which he was taking1 and from my ,steamer ,i had sent home a letter declining the appointment by anticipation1 should it be offered to me4 ,at this time ,i was specially annoyed with ,dr4 ,arnold1 though it did not last into later years4 ,some one1 ,i think1 asked1 in conversation at ,rome1 whether a certain interpretation of ,scripture was ,christian8 it was answered that ,dr4 ,arnold took it2 ,i interposed1 ,but is he a ,christian8 ,the subject went out of my head at once2 when afterwards ,i was taxed with it1 ,i could say no more in explanation1 than 7what ,i believe was the fact7 that ,i must have had in mind some free views of ,dr4 ,arnold about the ,old ,testament3--,i thought ,i must have meant1 ,arnold answers for the interpretation1 but who is to answer for ,arnold8 ,it was at ,rome1 too1 that we began the ,lyra ,apostolica which appeared monthly in the ,british ,magazine4 ,the motto shows the feeling of both ,froude and myself at the time3 we borrowed from ,m4 ,bunsen a ,homer1 and ,froude chose the words in which ,achilles1 on returning to the battle1 says1 ,you shall know the difference1 now that ,i am back again4 ,especially when ,i was left by myself1 the thought came upon me that deliverance is wrought1 not by the many but by the few1 not by bodies but by persons4 ,now it was1 ,i think1 that ,i repeated to myself the words1 which had ever been dear to me from my school days1 ,exoriare aliquis6--now too1 that ,southey's beautiful poem of ,thalaba1 for which ,i had an immense liking1 came forcibly to my mind4 ,i began to think that ,i had a mission4 ,there are sentences of my letters to my friends to this effect1 if they are not destroyed4 ,when we took leave of ,monsignore ,wiseman1 he had courteously expressed a wish that we might make a second visit to ,rome2 ,i said with great gravity1 ,we have a work to do in ,england4 ,i went down at once to ,sicily1 and the presentiment grew stronger4 ,i struck into the middle of the island1 and fell ill of a fever at ,leonforte4 ,my servant thought that ,i was dying1 and begged for my last directions4 ,i gave them1 as he wished2 but ,i said1 ,i shall not die4 ,i repeated1 ,i shall not die1 for ,i have not sinned against light1 ,i have not sinned against light4 ,i never have been able quite to make out what ,i meant4 ,i got to ,castro-,giovanni1 and was laid up there for nearly three weeks4 ,towards the end of ,may ,i left for ,palermo1 taking three days for the journey4 ,before starting from my inn in the morning of ,may #bfth or #bgth1 ,i sat down on my bed1 and began to sob violently4 ,my servant1 who had acted as my nurse1 asked what ailed me4 ,i could only answer him1 ,i have a work to do in ,england4 ,i was aching to get home2 yet for want of a vessel ,i was kept at ,palermo for three weeks4 ,i began to visit the ,churches1 and they calmed my impatience1 though ,i did not attend any services4 ,i knew nothing of the ,presence of the ,blessed ,sacrament there4 ,at last ,i got off in an orange boat1 bound for ,marseilles4 ,then it was that ,i wrote the lines1 ,lead1 kindly light1 which have since become well known4 ,we were becalmed a whole week in the ,straits of ,bonifacio4 ,i was writing verses the whole time of my passage4 ,at length ,i got to ,marseilles1 and set off for ,england4 ,the fatigue of travelling was too much for me1 and ,i was laid up for several days at ,lyons4 ,at last ,i got off again1 and did not stop night or day1 7except a compulsory delay at ,paris17 till ,i reached ,england1 and my mother's house4 ,my brother had arrived from ,persia only a few hours before4 ,this was on the ,tuesday4 ,the following ,sunday1 ,july #adth1 ,mr4 ,keble preached the ,assize ,sermon in the ,university ,pulpit4 ,it was published under the title of ,national ,apostasy4 ,i have ever considered and kept the day1 as the start of the religious movement of #ahcc4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,history ,,of ,,my ,,religious ,,opinions ,,from #ahcc ,,to #ahci4 ,in spite of the foregoing pages1 ,i have no romantic story to tell2 but ,i have written them1 because it is my duty to tell things as they took place4 ,i have not exaggerated the feelings with which ,i returned to ,england1 and ,i have no desire to dress up the events which followed1 so as to make them in keeping with the narrative which has gone before4 ,i soon relapsed into the every-day life which ,i had hitherto led2 in all things the same1 except that a new object was given me4 ,i had employed myself in my own rooms in reading and writing1 and in the care of a ,church1 before ,i left ,england1 and ,i returned to the same occupations when ,i was back again4 ,and yet perhaps those first vehement feelings which carried me on1 were necessary for the beginning of the ,movement2 and afterwards1 when it was once begun1 the special need of me was over4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,i got home from abroad1 ,i found that already a movement had commenced1 in opposition to the specific danger which at that time was threatening the religion of the nation and its ,church4 ,several zealous and able men had united their counsels1 and were in correspondence with each other4 ,the principal of these were ,mr4 ,keble1 ,hurrell ,froude1 who had reached home long before me1 ,mr4 ,william ,palmer of ,dublin and ,worcester ,college 7not ,mr4 ,william ,palmer of ,magdalen1 who is now a ,catholic71 ,mr4 ,arthur ,perceval1 and ,mr4 ,hugh ,rose4 ,to mention ,mr4 ,hugh ,rose's name is to kindle in the minds of those who knew him a host of pleasant and affectionate remembrances4 ,he was the man above all others fitted by his cast of mind and literary powers to make a stand1 if a stand could be made1 against the calamity of the times4 ,he was gifted with a high and large mind1 and a true sensibility of what was great and beautiful2 he wrote with warmth and energy2 and he had a cool head and cautious judgment4 ,he spent his strength and shortened his life4 ,pro ,ecclesia ,dei1 as he understood that sovereign idea4 ,some years earlier he had been the first to give warning1 ,i think from the ,university ,pulpit at ,cambridge1 of the perils to ,england which lay in the biblical and theological speculations of ,germany4 ,the ,reform agitation followed1 and the ,whig ,government came into power2 and he anticipated in their distribution of ,church patronage the authoritative introduction of liberal opinions into the country4 ,he feared that by the ,whig party a door would be opened in ,england to the most grievous of heresies1 which never could be closed again4 ,in order under such grave circumstances to unite ,churchmen together1 and to make a front against the coming danger1 he had in #ahcb commenced the ,british ,magazine1 and in the same year he came to ,oxford in the summer term1 in order to beat up for writers for his publication2 on that occasion ,i became known to him through ,mr4 ,palmer4 ,his reputation and position came in aid of his obvious fitness1 in point of character and intellect1 to become the centre of an ecclesiastical movement1 if such a movement were to depend on the action of a party4 ,his delicate health1 his premature death1 would have frustrated the expectation1 even though the new school of opinion had been more exactly thrown into the shape of a party1 than in fact was the case4 ,but he zealously backed up the first efforts of those who were principals in it2 and1 when he went abroad to die1 in #ahch1 he allowed me the solace of expressing my feelings of attachment and gratitude to him by addressing him1 in the dedication of a volume of my ,sermons1 as the man who1 when hearts were failing1 bade us stir up the gift that was in us1 and betake ourselves to our true ,mother4 ,but there were other reasons1 besides ,mr4 ,rose's state of health1 which hindered those who so much admired him from availing themselves of his close co-operation in the coming fight4 ,united as both he and they were in the general scope of the ,movement1 they were in discordance with each other from the first in their estimate of the means to be adopted for attaining it4 ,mr4 ,rose had a position in the ,church1 a name1 and serious responsibilities2 he had direct ecclesiastical superiors2 he had intimate relations with his own ,university1 and a large clerical connexion through the country4 ,froude and ,i were nobodies2 with no characters to lose1 and no antecedents to fetter us4 ,rose could not go a-head across country1 as ,froude had no scruples in doing4 ,froude was a bold rider1 as on horseback1 so also in his speculations4 ,after a long conversation with him on the logical bearing of his principles1 ,mr4 ,rose said of him with quiet humour1 that he did not seem to be afraid of inferences4 ,it was simply the truth2 ,froude had that strong hold of first principles1 and that keen perception of their value1 that he was comparatively indifferent to the revolutionary action which would attend on their application to a given state of things2 whereas in the thoughts of ,rose1 as a practical man1 existing facts had the precedence of every other idea1 and the chief test of the soundness of a line of policy lay in the consideration whether it would work4 ,this was one of the first questions1 which1 as it seemed to me1 on every occasion occurred to his mind4 ,with ,froude1 ,erastianism1--that is1 the union 7so he viewed it7 of ,church and ,state1--was the parent1 or if not the parent1 the serviceable and sufficient tool1 of liberalism4 ,till that union was snapped1 ,christian doctrine never could be safe2 and1 while he well knew how high and unselfish was the temper of ,mr4 ,rose1 yet he used to apply to him an epithet1 reproachful in his own mouth2--,rose was a conservative4 ,by bad luck1 ,i brought out this word to ,mr4 ,rose in a letter of my own1 which ,i wrote to him in criticism of something he had inserted in his ,magazine3 ,i got a vehement rebuke for my pains1 for though ,rose pursued a conservative line1 he had as high a disdain1 as ,froude could have1 of a worldly ambition1 and an extreme sensitiveness of such an imputation4 ,but there was another reason still1 and a more elementary one1 which severed ,mr4 ,rose from the ,oxford ,movement4 ,living movements do not come of committees1 nor are great ideas worked out through the post1 even though it had been the penny post4 ,this principle deeply penetrated both ,froude and myself from the first1 and recommended to us the course which things soon took spontaneously1 and without set purpose of our own4 ,universities are the natural centres of intellectual movements4 ,how could men act together1 whatever was their zeal1 unless they were united in a sort of individuality8 ,now1 first1 we had no unity of place4 ,mr4 ,rose was in ,suffolk1 ,mr4 ,perceval in ,surrey1 ,mr4 ,keble in ,gloucestershire2 ,hurrell ,froude had to go for his health to ,barbadoes4 ,mr4 ,palmer was indeed in ,oxford2 this was an important advantage1 and told well in the first months of the ,movement2--but another condition1 besides that of place1 was required4 ,a far more essential unity was that of antecedents1--a common history1 common memories1 an intercourse of mind with mind in the past1 and a progress and increase in that intercourse in the present4 ,mr4 ,perceval1 to be sure1 was a pupil of ,mr4 ,keble's2 but ,keble1 ,rose1 and ,palmer1 represented distinct parties1 or at least tempers1 in the ,establishment4 ,mr4 ,palmer had many conditions of authority and influence4 ,he was the only really learned man among us4 ,he understood theology as a science2 he was practised in the scholastic mode of controversial writing2 and1 ,i believe1 was as well acquainted1 as he was dissatisfied1 with the ,catholic schools4 ,he was as decided in his religious views1 as he was cautious and even subtle in their expression1 and gentle in their enforcement4 ,but he was deficient in depth2 and besides1 coming from a distance1 he never had really grown into an ,oxford man1 nor was he generally received as such2 nor had he any insight into the force of personal influence and congeniality of thought in carrying out a religious theory1--a condition which ,froude and ,i considered essential to any true success in the stand which had to be made against ,liberalism4 ,mr4 ,palmer had a certain connexion1 as it may be called1 in the ,establishment1 consisting of high ,church dignitaries1 ,archdeacons1 ,london ,rectors1 and the like1 who belonged to what was commonly called the high-and-dry school4 ,they were far more opposed than even he was to the irresponsible action of individuals4 ,of course their beau idal in ecclesiastical action was a board of safe1 sound1 sensible men4 ,mr4 ,palmer was their organ and representative2 and he wished for a ,committee1 an ,association1 with rules and meetings1 to protect the interests of the ,church in its existing peril4 ,he was in some measure supported by ,mr4 ,perceval4 ,i1 on the other hand1 had out of my own head begun the ,tracts2 and these1 as representing the antagonist principle of personality1 were looked upon by ,mr4 ,palmer's friends with considerable alarm4 ,the great point at the time with these good men in ,london1--some of them men of the highest principle1 and far from influenced by what we used to call ,erastianism1--was to put down the ,tracts4 ,i1 as their editor1 and mainly their author1 was of course willing to give way4 ,keble and ,froude advocated their continuance strongly1 and were angry with me for consenting to stop them4 ,mr4 ,palmer shared the anxiety of his own friends2 and1 kind as were his thoughts of us1 he still not unnaturally felt1 for reasons of his own1 some fidget and nervousness at the course which his ,oriel friends were taking4 ,froude1 for whom he had a real liking1 took a high tone in his project of measures for dealing with bishops and clergy1 which must have shocked and scandalized him considerably4 ,as for me1 there was matter enough in the early ,tracts to give him equal disgust2 and doubtless ,i much tasked his generosity1 when he had to defend me1 whether against the ,london dignitaries or the country clergy4 ,oriel1 from the time of ,dr4 ,copleston to ,dr4 ,hampden1 had had a name far and wide for liberality of thought2 it had received a formal recognition from the ,edinburgh ,review1 if my memory serves me truly1 as the school of speculative philosophy in ,england2 and on one occasion1 in #ahcc1 when ,i presented myself1 with some of the first papers of the ,movement1 to a country clergyman in ,northamptonshire1 he paused awhile1 and then1 eyeing me with significance1 asked ,whether ,whately was at the bottom of them8 ,mr4 ,perceval wrote to me in support of the judgment of ,mr4 ,palmer and the dignitaries4 ,i replied in a letter1 which he afterwards published4 ,as to the ,tracts1 ,i said to him 7,i quote my own words from his ,pamphlet71 every one has his own taste4 ,you object to some things1 another to others4 ,if we altered to please every one1 the effect would be spoiled4 ,they were not intended as symbols cathedr but as the expression of individual minds2 and individuals1 feeling strongly1 while on the one hand1 they are incidentally faulty in mode or language1 are still peculiarly effective4 ,no great work was done by a system2 whereas systems rise out of individual exertions4 ,luther was an individual4 ,the very faults of an individual excite attention2 he loses1 but his cause 7if good and he powerful-minded7 gains4 ,this is the way of things2 we promote truth by a self-sacrifice4 ,the visit which ,i made to the ,northamptonshire ,rector was only one of a series of similar expedients1 which ,i adopted during the year #ahcc4 ,i called upon clergy in various parts of the country1 whether ,i was acquainted with them or not1 and ,i attended at the houses of friends where several of them were from time to time assembled4 ,i do not think that much came of such attempts1 nor were they quite in my way4 ,also ,i wrote various letters to clergymen1 which fared not much better1 except that they advertised the fact1 that a rally in favour of the ,church was commencing4 ,i did not care whether my visits were made to high ,church or low ,church2 ,i wished to make a strong pull in union with all who were opposed to the principles of liberalism1 whoever they might be4 ,giving my name to the ,editor1 ,i commenced a series of letters in the ,record ,newspaper3 they ran to a considerable length2 and were borne by him with great courtesy and patience4 ,the heading given to them was1 ,church ,reform4 ,the first was on the revival of ,church ,discipline2 the second1 on its ,scripture proof2 the third1 on the application of the doctrine2 the fourth was an answer to objections2 the fifth was on the benefits of discipline4 ,and then the series was abruptly brought to a termination4 ,i had said what ,i really felt1 and what was also in keeping with the strong teaching of the ,tracts1 but ,i suppose the ,editor discovered in me some divergence from his own line of thought2 for at length he sent a very civil letter1 apologizing for the non-appearance of my sixth communication1 on the ground that it contained an attack upon ,temperance ,societies1 about which he did not wish a controversy in his columns4 ,he added1 however1 his serious regret at the theological views of the ,tracts4 ,i had subscribed a small sum in #ahbh towards the first start of the ,record4 ,acts of the officious character1 which ,i have been describing1 were uncongenial to my natural temper1 to the genius of the ,movement1 and to the historical mode of its success3--they were the fruit of that exuberant and joyous energy with which ,i had returned from abroad1 and which ,i never had before or since4 ,i had the exultation of health restored1 and home regained4 ,while ,i was at ,palermo and thought of the breadth of the ,mediterranean1 and the wearisome journey across ,france1 ,i could not imagine how ,i was ever to get to ,england2 but now ,i was amid familiar scenes and faces once more4 ,and my health and strength came back to me with such a rebound1 that some friends at ,oxford1 on seeing me1 did not well know that it was ,i1 and hesitated before they spoke to me4 ,and ,i had the consciousness that ,i was employed in that work which ,i had been dreaming about1 and which ,i felt to be so momentous and inspiring4 ,i had a supreme confidence in our cause2 we were upholding that primitive ,christianity which was delivered for all time by the early teachers of the ,church1 and which was registered and attested in the ,anglican formularies and by the ,anglican divines4 ,that ancient religion had well nigh faded away out of the land1 through the political changes of the last #aej years1 and it must be restored4 ,it would be in fact a second ,reformation3--a better reformation1 for it would be a return not to the sixteenth century1 but to the seventeenth4 ,no time was to be lost1 for the ,whigs had come to do their worst1 and the rescue might come too late4 ,bishopricks were already in course of suppression2 ,church property was in course of confiscation2 ,sees would soon be receiving unsuitable occupants4 ,we knew enough to begin preaching upon1 and there was no one else to preach4 ,i felt as on board a vessel1 which first gets under weigh1 and then the deck is cleared out1 and luggage and live stock stowed away into their proper receptacles4 ,nor was it only that ,i had confidence in our cause1 both in itself1 and in its polemical force1 but also1 on the other hand1 ,i despised every rival system of doctrine and its arguments too4 ,as to the high ,church and the low ,church1 ,i thought that the one had not much more of a logical basis than the other2 while ,i had a thorough contempt for the controversial position of the latter4 ,i had a real respect for the character of many of the advocates of each party1 but that did not give cogency to their arguments2 and ,i thought1 on the contrary1 that the ,apostolical form of doctrine was essential and imperative1 and its grounds of evidence impregnable4 ,owing to this supreme confidence1 it came to pass at that time1 that there was a double aspect in my bearing towards others1 which it is necessary for me to enlarge upon4 ,my behaviour had a mixture in it both of fierceness and of sport2 and on this account1 ,i dare say1 it gave offence to many2 nor am ,i here defending it4 ,i wished men to agree with me1 and ,i walked with them step by step1 as far as they would go2 this ,i did sincerely2 but if they would stop1 ,i did not much care about it1 but walked on1 with some satisfaction that ,i had brought them so far4 ,i liked to make them preach the truth without knowing it1 and encouraged them to do so4 ,it was a satisfaction to me that the ,record had allowed me to say so much in its columns1 without remonstrance4 ,i was amused to hear of one of the ,bishops1 who1 on reading an early ,tract on the ,apostolical ,succession1 could not make up his mind whether he held the doctrine or not4 ,i was not distressed at the wonder or anger of dull and self-conceited men1 at propositions which they did not understand4 ,when a correspondent1 in good faith1 wrote to a newspaper1 to say that the ,sacrifice of the ,holy ,eucharist1 spoken of in the ,tract1 was a false print for ,sacrament1 ,i thought the mistake too pleasant to be corrected before ,i was asked about it4 ,i was not unwilling to draw an opponent on step by step1 by virtue of his own opinions1 to the brink of some intellectual absurdity1 and to leave him to get back as he could4 ,i was not unwilling to play with a man1 who asked me impertinent questions4 ,i think ,i had in my mouth the words of the ,wise man1 ,answer a fool according to his folly1 especially if he was prying or spiteful4 ,i was reckless of the gossip which was circulated about me2 and1 when ,i might easily have set it right1 did not deign to do so4 ,also ,i used irony in conversation1 when matter-of-fact-men would not see what ,i meant4 ,this kind of behaviour was a sort of habit with me4 ,if ,i have ever trifled with my subject1 it was a more serious fault4 ,i never used arguments which ,i saw clearly to be unsound4 ,the nearest approach which ,i remember to such conduct1 but which ,i consider was clear of it nevertheless1 was in the case of ,tract #ae4 ,the matter of this ,tract was furnished to me by a friend1 to whom ,i had applied for assistance1 but who did not wish to be mixed up with the publication4 ,he gave it me1 that ,i might throw it into shape1 and ,i took his arguments as they stood4 ,in the chief portion of the ,tract ,i fully agreed2 for instance1 as to what it says about the ,council of ,trent2 but there were arguments1 or some argument1 in it which ,i did not follow2 ,i do not recollect what it was4 ,froude1 ,i think1 was disgusted with the whole ,tract1 and accused me of economy in publishing it4 ,it is principally through ,mr4 ,froude's ,remains that this word has got into our language4 ,i think1 ,i defended myself with arguments such as these3--that1 as every one knew1 the ,tracts were written by various persons who agreed together in their doctrine1 but not always in the arguments by which it was to be proved2 that we must be tolerant of difference of opinion among ourselves2 that the author of the ,tract had a right to his own opinion1 and that the argument in question was ordinarily received2 that ,i did not give my own name or authority1 nor was asked for my personal belief1 but only acted instrumentally1 as one might translate a friend's book into a foreign language4 ,i account these to be good arguments2 nevertheless ,i feel also that such practices admit of easy abuse and are consequently dangerous2 but then1 again1 ,i feel also this1--that if all such mistakes were to be severely visited1 not many men in public life would be left with a character for honour and honesty4 ,this absolute confidence in my cause1 which led me to the negligence or wantonness which ,i have been instancing1 also laid me open1 not unfairly1 to the opposite charge of fierceness in certain steps which ,i took1 or words which ,i published4 ,in the ,lyra ,apostolica1 ,i have said that before learning to love1 we must learn to hate2 though ,i had explained my words by adding hatred of sin4 ,in one of my first ,sermons ,i said1 ,i do not shrink from uttering my firm conviction that it would be a gain to the country were it vastly more superstitious1 more bigoted1 more gloomy1 more fierce in its religion than at present it shows itself to be4 ,i added1 of course1 that it would be an absurdity to suppose such tempers of mind desirable in themselves4 ,the corrector of the press bore these strong epithets till he got to more fierce1 and then he put in the margin a query4 ,in the very first page of the first ,tract1 ,i said of the ,bishops1 that1 black event though it would be for the country1 yet we could not wish them a more blessed termination of their course1 than the spoiling of their goods and martyrdom4 ,in consequence of a passage in my work upon the ,arian ,history1 a ,northern dignitary wrote to accuse me of wishing to re-establish the blood and torture of the ,inquisition4 ,contrasting heretics and heresiarchs1 ,i had said1 ,the latter should meet with no mercy3 he assumes the office of the ,tempter2 and1 so far forth as his error goes1 must be dealt with by the competent authority1 as if he were embodied evil4 ,to spare him is a false and dangerous pity4 ,it is to endanger the souls of thousands1 and it is uncharitable towards himself4 ,i cannot deny that this is a very fierce passage2 but ,arius was banished1 not burned2 and it is only fair to myself to say that neither at this1 nor any other time of my life1 not even when ,i was fiercest1 could ,i have even cut off a ,puritan's ears1 and ,i think the sight of a ,spanish auto-da-f would have been the death of me4 ,again1 when one of my friends1 of liberal and evangelical opinions1 wrote to expostulate with me on the course ,i was taking1 ,i said that we would ride over him and his1 as ,othniel prevailed over ,chushan-rishathaim1 king of ,mesopotamia4 ,again1 ,i would have no dealings with my brother1 and ,i put my conduct upon a syllogism4 ,i said1 ,st4 ,paul bids us avoid those who cause divisions2 you cause divisions3 therefore ,i must avoid you4 ,i dissuaded a lady from attending the marriage of a sister who had seceded from the ,anglican ,church4 ,no wonder that ,blanco ,white1 who had known me under such different circumstances1 now hearing the general course that ,i was taking1 was amazed at the change which he recognized in me4 ,he speaks bitterly and unfairly of me in his letters contemporaneously with the first years of the ,movement2 but in #ahci1 on looking back1 he uses terms of me1 which it would be hardly modest in me to quote1 were it not that what he says of me in praise occurs in the midst of blame4 ,he says3 ,in this party the anti-,peel1 in #ahbi ,i found1 to my great surprise1 my dear friend1 ,mr4 ,newman of ,oriel4 ,as he had been one of the annual ,petitioners to ,parliament for ,catholic ,emancipation1 his sudden union with the most violent bigots was inexplicable to me4 ,that change was the first manifestation of the mental revolution1 which has suddenly made him one of the leading persecutors of ,dr4 ,hampden1 and the most active and influential member of that association called the ,puseyite party1 from which we have those very strange productions1 entitled1 ,tracts for the ,times4 ,while stating these public facts1 my heart feels a pang at the recollection of the affectionate and mutual friendship between that excellent man and myself2 a friendship1 which his principles of orthodoxy could not allow him to continue in regard to one1 whom he now regards as inevitably doomed to eternal perdition4 ,such is the venomous character of orthodoxy4 ,what mischief must it create in a bad heart and narrow mind1 when it can work so effectually for evil1 in one of the most benevolent of bosoms1 and one of the ablest of minds1 in the amiable1 the intellectual1 the refined ,john ,henry ,newman6 7,vol4 iii4 p4 #aca47 ,he adds that ,i would have nothing to do with him1 a circumstance which ,i do not recollect1 and very much doubt4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have spoken of my firm confidence in my position2 and now let me state more definitely what the position was which ,i took up1 and the propositions about which ,i was so confident4 ,these were three3-- #a4 ,first was the principle of dogma3 my battle was with liberalism2 by liberalism ,i mean the anti-dogmatic principle and its developments4 ,this was the first point on which ,i was certain4 ,here ,i make a remark3 persistence in a given belief is no sufficient test of its truth3 but departure from it is at least a slur upon the man who has felt so certain about it4 ,in proportion1 then1 as ,i had in #ahcb a strong persuasion of the truth of opinions which ,i have since given up1 so far a sort of guilt attaches to me1 not only for that vain confidence1 but for all the various proceedings which were the consequence of it4 ,but under this first head ,i have the satisfaction of feeling that ,i have nothing to retract1 and nothing to repent of4 ,the main principle of the movement is as dear to me now1 as it ever was4 ,i have changed in many things3 in this ,i have not4 ,from the age of fifteen1 dogma has been the fundamental principle of my religion3 ,i know no other religion2 ,i cannot enter into the idea of any other sort of religion2 religion1 as a mere sentiment1 is to me a dream and a mockery4 ,as well can there be filial love without the fact of a father1 as devotion without the fact of a ,supreme ,being4 ,what ,i held in #ahaf1 ,i held in #ahcc1 and ,i hold in #ahfd4 ,please ,god1 ,i shall hold it to the end4 ,even when ,i was under ,dr4 ,whately's influence1 ,i had no temptation to be less zealous for the great dogmas of the faith1 and at various times ,i used to resist such trains of thought on his part as seemed to me 7rightly or wrongly7 to obscure them4 ,such was the fundamental principle of the ,movement of #ahcc4 #b4 ,secondly1 ,i was confident in the truth of a certain definite religious teaching1 based upon this foundation of dogma2 viz4 that there was a visible ,church1 with sacraments and rites which are the channels of invisible grace4 ,i thought that this was the doctrine of ,scripture1 of the early ,church1 and of the ,anglican ,church4 ,here again1 ,i have not changed in opinion2 ,i am as certain now on this point as ,i was in #ahcc1 and have never ceased to be certain4 ,in #ahcd and the following years ,i put this ecclesiastical doctrine on a broader basis1 after reading ,laud1 ,bramhall1 and ,stillingfleet and other ,anglican divines on the one hand1 and after prosecuting the study of the ,fathers on the other2 but the doctrine of #ahcc was strengthened in me1 not changed4 ,when ,i began the ,tracts for the ,times ,i rested the main doctrine1 of which ,i am speaking1 upon ,scripture1 on the ,anglican ,prayer ,book1 and on ,st4 ,ignatius's ,epistles4 7#a7 ,as to the existence of a visible ,church1 ,i especially argued out the point from ,scripture1 in ,tract #aa1 viz4 from the ,acts of the ,apostles and the ,epistles4 7#b7 ,as to the ,sacraments and ,sacramental rites1 ,i stood on the ,prayer ,book4 ,i appealed to the ,ordination ,service1 in which the ,bishop says1 ,receive the ,holy ,ghost2 to the ,visitation ,service1 which teaches confession and absolution2 to the ,baptismal ,service1 in which the ,priest speaks of the child after baptism as regenerate2 to the ,catechism1 in which ,sacramental ,communion is receiving verily and indeed the ,body and ,blood of ,christ2 to the ,commination ,service1 in which we are told to do works of penance2 to the ,collects1 ,epistles1 and ,gospels1 to the calendar and rubricks1 portions of the ,prayer ,book1 wherein we find the festivals of the ,apostles1 notice of certain other ,saints1 and days of fasting and abstinence4 7#c47 ,and further1 as to the ,episcopal system1 ,i founded it upon the ,epistles of ,st4 ,ignatius1 which inculcated it in various ways4 ,one passage especially impressed itself upon me3 speaking of cases of disobedience to ecclesiastical authority1 he says1 ,a man does not deceive that ,bishop whom he sees1 but he practises rather with the ,bishop ,invisible1 and so the question is not with flesh1 but with ,god1 who knows the secret heart4 ,i wished to act on this principle to the letter1 and ,i may say with confidence that ,i never consciously transgressed it4 ,i loved to act as feeling myself in my ,bishop's sight1 as if it were the sight of ,god4 ,it was one of my special supports and safeguards against myself2 ,i could not go very wrong while ,i had reason to believe that ,i was in no respect displeasing him4 ,it was not a mere formal obedience to rule that ,i put before me1 but ,i desired to please him personally1 as ,i considered him set over me by the ,divine ,hand4 ,i was strict in observing my clerical engagements1 not only because they were engagements1 but because ,i considered myself simply as the servant and instrument of my ,bishop4 ,i did not care much for the ,bench of ,bishops1 except as they might be the voice of my ,church3 nor should ,i have cared much for a ,provincial ,council2 nor for a ,diocesan ,synod presided over by my ,bishop2 all these matters seemed to me to be jure ecclesiastico1 but what to me was jure divino was the voice of my ,bishop in his own person4 ,my own ,bishop was my ,pope2 ,i knew no other2 the successor of the ,apostles1 the ,vicar of ,christ4 ,this was but a practical exhibition of the ,anglican theory of ,church ,government1 as ,i had already drawn it out myself1 after various ,anglican ,divines4 ,this continued all through my course2 when at length1 in #ahde1 ,i wrote to ,bishop ,wiseman1 in whose ,vicariate ,i found myself1 to announce my conversion1 ,i could find nothing better to say to him than that ,i would obey the ,pope as ,i had obeyed my own ,bishop in the ,anglican ,church4 ,my duty to him was my point of honour2 his disapprobation was the one thing which ,i could not bear4 ,i believe it to have been a generous and honest feeling2 and in consequence ,i was rewarded by having all my time for ecclesiastical superior a man1 whom1 had ,i had a choice1 ,i should have preferred1 out and out1 to any other ,bishop on the ,bench1 and for whose memory ,i have a special affection4 ,dr4 ,bagot--a man of noble mind1 and as kind-hearted and as considerate as he was noble4 ,he ever sympathized with me in my trials which followed2 it was my own fault1 that ,i was not brought into more familiar personal relations with him1 than it was my happiness to be4 ,may his name be ever blessed6 ,and now in concluding my remarks on the second point on which my confidence rested1 ,i repeat that here again ,i have no retractation to announce as to its main outline4 ,while ,i am now as clear in my acceptance of the principle of dogma1 as ,i was in #ahcc and #ahaf1 so again ,i am now as firm in my belief of a visible ,church1 of the authority of ,bishops1 of the grace of the sacraments1 of the religious worth of works of penance1 as ,i was in #ahcc4 ,i have added ,articles to my ,creed2 but the old ones1 which ,i then held with a divine faith1 remain4 #c4 ,but now1 as to the third point on which ,i stood in #ahcc1 and which ,i have utterly renounced and trampled upon since1--my then view of the ,church of ,rome2--,i will speak about it as exactly as ,i can4 ,when ,i was young1 as ,i have said already1 and after ,i was grown up1 ,i thought the ,pope to be ,antichrist4 ,at ,christmas #ahbd-e ,i preached a sermon to that effect4 ,but in #ahbg ,i accepted eagerly the stanza in the ,christian ,year1 which many people thought too charitable1 ,speak gently of thy sister's fall4 ,from the time that ,i knew ,froude ,i got less and less bitter on the subject4 ,i spoke 7successively1 but ,i cannot tell in what order or at what dates7 of the ,roman ,church as being bound up with the cause of ,antichrist1 as being one of the many antichrists foretold by ,st4 ,john1 as being influenced by the spirit of ,antichrist1 and as having something very ,anti-christian or unchristian about her4 ,from my boyhood and in #ahbd ,i considered1 after ,protestant authorities1 that ,st4 ,gregory ,i4 about ,a4,d4 #fjj was the first ,pope that was ,antichrist1 though1 in spite of this1 he was also a great and holy man2 but in #ahcb-c ,i thought the ,church of ,rome was bound up with the cause of ,antichrist by the ,council of ,trent4 ,when it was that in my deliberate judgment ,i gave up the notion altogether in any shape1 that some special reproach was attached to her name1 ,i cannot tell2 but ,i had a shrinking from renouncing it1 even when my reason so ordered me1 from a sort of conscience or prejudice1 ,i think up to #ahdc4 ,moreover1 at least during the ,tract ,movement1 ,i thought the essence of her offence to consist in the honours which she paid to the ,blessed ,virgin and the ,saints2 and the more ,i grew in devotion1 both to the ,saints and to our ,lady1 the more impatient was ,i at the ,roman practices1 as if those glorified creations of ,god must be gravely shocked1 if pain could be theirs1 at the undue veneration of which they were the objects4 ,on the other hand1 ,hurrell ,froude in his familiar conversations was always tending to rub the idea out of my mind4 ,in a passage of one of his letters from abroad1 alluding1 ,i suppose1 to what ,i used to say in opposition to him1 he observes2 ,i think people are injudicious who talk against the ,roman ,catholics for worshipping ,saints1 and honouring the ,virgin and images1 c4 ,these things may perhaps be idolatrous2 ,i cannot make up my mind about it2 but to my mind it is the ,carnival that is real practical idolatry1 as it is written1 'the people sat down to eat and drink1 and rose up to play4' ,the ,carnival1 ,i observe in passing1 is1 in fact1 one of those very excesses1 to which1 for at least three centuries1 religious ,catholics have ever opposed themselves1 as we see in the life of ,st4 ,philip1 to say nothing of the present day2 but this we did not then know4 ,moreover1 from ,froude ,i learned to admire the great medieval ,pontiffs2 and1 of course1 when ,i had come to consider the ,council of ,trent to be the turning-point of the history of ,christian ,rome1 ,i found myself as free1 as ,i was rejoiced1 to speak in their praise4 ,then1 when ,i was abroad1 the sight of so many great places1 venerable shrines1 and noble churches1 much impressed my imagination4 ,and my heart was touched also4 ,making an expedition on foot across some wild country in ,sicily1 at six in the morning1 ,i came upon a small church2 ,i heard voices1 and ,i looked in4 ,it was crowded1 and the congregation was singing4 ,of course it was the mass1 though ,i did not know it at the time4 ,and1 in my weary days at ,palermo1 ,i was not ungrateful for the comfort which ,i had received in frequenting the churches2 nor did ,i ever forget it4 ,then1 again1 her zealous maintenance of the doctrine and the rule of celibacy1 which ,i recognized as ,apostolic1 and her faithful agreement with ,antiquity in so many other points which were dear to me1 was an argument as well as a plea in favour of the great ,church of ,rome4 ,thus ,i learned to have tender feelings towards her2 but still my reason was not affected at all4 ,my judgment was against her1 when viewed as an institution1 as truly as it ever had been4 ,this conflict between reason and affection ,i expressed in one of the early ,tracts1 published ,july1 #ahcd4 ,considering the high gifts and the strong claims of the ,church of ,rome and its dependencies on our admiration1 reverence1 love1 and gratitude2 how could we withstand it1 as we do1 how could we refrain from being melted into tenderness1 and rushing into communion with it1 but for the words of ,truth itself1 which bid us prefer ,it to the whole world8 ',he that loveth father or mother more than ,me1 is not worthy of me4' ,how could 'we learn to be severe1 and execute judgment1' but for the warning of ,moses against even a divinely-gifted teacher1 who should preach new gods2 and the anathema of ,st4 ,paul even against ,angels and ,apostles1 who should bring in a new doctrine8--,records1 ,no4 #bd4 ,my feeling was something like that of a man1 who is obliged in a court of justice to bear witness against a friend2 or like my own now1 when ,i have said1 and shall say1 so many things on which ,i had rather be silent4 ,as a matter1 then1 of simple conscience1 though it went against my feelings1 ,i felt it to be a duty to protest against the ,church of ,rome4 ,but besides this1 it was a duty1 because the prescription of such a protest was a living principle of my own ,church1 as expressed not simply in a catena1 but by a consensus of her divines1 and by the voice of her people4 ,moreover1 such a protest was necessary as an integral portion of her controversial basis2 for ,i adopted the argument of ,bernard ,gilpin1 that ,protestants were not able to give any firm and solid reason of the separation besides this1 to wit1 that the ,pope is ,antichrist4 ,but while ,i thus thought such a protest to be based upon truth1 and to be a religious duty1 and a rule of ,anglicanism1 and a necessity of the case1 ,i did not at all like the work4 ,hurrell ,froude attacked me for doing it2 and1 besides1 ,i felt that my language had a vulgar and rhetorical look about it4 ,i believed1 and really measured1 my words1 when ,i used them2 but ,i knew that ,i had a temptation1 on the other hand1 to say against ,rome as much as ever ,i could1 in order to protect myself against the charge of ,popery4 ,and now ,i come to the very point1 for which ,i have introduced the subject of my feelings about ,rome4 ,i felt such confidence in the substantial justice of the charges which ,i advanced against her1 that ,i considered them to be a safeguard and an assurance that no harm could ever arise from the freest exposition of what ,i used to call ,anglican principles4 ,all the world was astounded at what ,froude and ,i were saying3 men said that it was sheer ,popery4 ,i answered1 ,true1 we seem to be making straight for it2 but go on awhile1 and you will come to a deep chasm across the path1 which makes real approximation impossible4 ,and ,i urged in addition1 that many ,anglican divines had been accused of ,popery1 yet had died in their ,anglicanism2--now1 the ecclesiastical principles which ,i professed1 they had professed also2 and the judgment against ,rome which they had formed1 ,i had formed also4 ,whatever deficiencies then had to be supplied in the existing ,anglican system1 and however boldly ,i might point them out1 any how that system would not in the process be brought nearer to the special creed of ,rome1 and might be mended in spite of her4 ,in that very agreement of the two forms of faith1 close as it might seem1 would really be found1 on examination1 the elements and principles of an essential discordance4 ,it was with this absolute persuasion on my mind that ,i fancied that there could be no rashness in giving to the world in fullest measure the teaching and the writings of the ,fathers4 ,i thought that the ,church of ,england was substantially founded upon them4 ,i did not know all that the ,fathers had said1 but ,i felt that1 even when their tenets happened to differ from the ,anglican1 no harm could come of reporting them4 ,i said out what ,i was clear they had said2 ,i spoke vaguely and imperfectly1 of what ,i thought they said1 or what some of them had said4 ,any how1 no harm could come of bending the crooked stick the other way1 in the process of straightening it2 it was impossible to break it4 ,if there was any thing in the ,fathers of a startling character1 this would be only for a time2 it would admit of explanation1 or it might suggest something profitable to ,anglicans2 it could not lead to ,rome4 ,i express this view of the matter in a passage of the ,preface to the first volume1 which ,i edited1 of the ,library of the ,fathers4 ,speaking of the strangeness at first sight1 in the judgment of the present day1 of some of their principles and opinions1 ,i bid the reader go forward hopefully1 and not indulge his criticism till he knows more about them1 than he will learn at the outset4 ,since the evil1 ,i say1 is in the nature of the case itself1 we can do no more than have patience1 and recommend patience to others1 and with the racer in the ,tragedy1 look forward steadily and hopefully to the event1 ,greek3 t telei pistin phern1 when1 as we trust1 all that is inharmonious and anomalous in the details1 will at length be practically smoothed4 ,such was the position1 such the defences1 such the tactics1 by which ,i thought that it was both incumbent on us1 and possible for us1 to meet that onset of ,liberal principles1 of which we were all in immediate anticipation1 whether in the ,church or in the ,university4 ,and during the first year of the ,tracts1 the attack upon the ,university began4 ,in ,november1 #ahcd1 was sent to me by ,dr4 ,hampden the second edition of his ,pamphlet1 entitled1 ,observations on ,religious ,dissent1 with particular reference to the use of religious tests in the ,university4 ,in this ,pamphlet it was maintained1 that ,religion is distinct from ,theological ,opinion1 pp4 #a4 #bh4 #cj1 c42 that it is but a common prejudice to identify theological propositions methodically deduced and stated1 with the simple religion of ,christ1 p4 #a2 that under ,theological ,opinion were to be placed the ,trinitarian doctrine1 p4 #bg1 and the ,unitarian1 p4 #ai2 that a dogma was a theological opinion formally insisted on1 pp4 #bj1 #ba2 that speculation always left an opening for improvement1 p4 #bb2 that the ,church of ,england was not dogmatic in its spirit1 though the wording of its formularies might often carry the sound of dogmatism1 p4 #bc4 ,i acknowledged the receipt of this work in the following letter3-- ,the kindness which has led to your presenting me with your late ,pamphlet1 encourages me to hope that you will forgive me1 if ,i take the opportunity it affords of expressing to you my very sincere and deep regret that it has been published4 ,such an opportunity ,i could not let slip without being unfaithful to my own serious thoughts on the subject4 ,while ,i respect the tone of piety which the ,pamphlet displays1 ,i dare not trust myself to put on paper my feelings about the principles contained in it2 tending as they do1 in my opinion1 altogether to make shipwreck of ,christian faith4 ,i also lament1 that1 by its appearance1 the first step has been taken towards interrupting that peace and mutual good understanding which has prevailed so long in this place1 and which1 if once seriously disturbed1 will be succeeded by dissensions the more intractable1 because justified in the minds of those who resist innovation by a feeling of imperative duty4 ,since that time ,phaeton has got into the chariot of the sun2 we1 alas6 can only look on1 and watch him down the steep of heaven4 ,meanwhile1 the lands1 which he is passing over1 suffer from his driving4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such was the commencement of the assault of ,liberalism upon the old orthodoxy of ,oxford and ,england2 and it could not have been broken1 as it was1 for so long a time1 had not a great change taken place in the circumstances of that counter-movement which had already started with the view of resisting it4 ,for myself1 ,i was not the person to take the lead of a party2 ,i never was1 from first to last1 more than a leading author of a school2 nor did ,i ever wish to be anything else4 ,this is my own account of the matter2 and ,i say it1 neither as intending to disown the responsibility of what was done1 or as if ungrateful to those who at that time made more of me than ,i deserved1 and did more for my sake and at my bidding than ,i realized myself4 ,i am giving my history from my own point of sight1 and it is as follows3--,i had lived for ten years among my personal friends2 the greater part of the time1 ,i had been influenced1 not influencing2 and at no time have ,i acted on others1 without their acting upon me4 ,as is the custom of a ,university1 ,i had lived with my private1 nay1 with some of my public1 pupils1 and with the junior fellows of my ,college1 without form or distance1 on a footing of equality4 ,thus it was through friends1 younger1 for the most part1 than myself1 that my principles were spreading4 ,they heard what ,i said in conversation1 and told it to others4 ,under-graduates in due time took their degree1 and became private tutors themselves4 ,in their new status1 they in turn preached the opinions1 with which they had already become acquainted4 ,others went down to the country1 and became curates of parishes4 ,then they had down from ,london parcels of the ,tracts1 and other publications4 ,they placed them in the shops of local booksellers1 got them into newspapers1 introduced them to clerical meetings1 and converted more or less their ,rectors and their brother curates4 ,thus the ,movement1 viewed with relation to myself1 was but a floating opinion2 it was not a power4 ,it never would have been a power1 if it had remained in my hands4 ,years after1 a friend1 writing to me in remonstrance at the excesses1 as he thought them1 of my disciples1 applied to me my own verse about ,st4 ,gregory ,nazianzen1 ,thou couldst a people raise1 but couldst not rule4 ,at the time that he wrote to me1 ,i had special impediments in the way of such an exercise of power2 but at no time could ,i exercise over others that authority1 which under the circumstances was imperatively required4 ,my great principle ever was1 ,live and let live4 ,i never had the staidness or dignity necessary for a leader4 ,to the last ,i never recognized the hold ,i had over young men4 ,of late years ,i have read and heard that they even imitated me in various ways4 ,i was quite unconscious of it1 and ,i think my immediate friends knew too well how disgusted ,i should be at such proceedings1 to have the heart to tell me4 ,i felt great impatience at our being called a party1 and would not allow that we were such4 ,i had a lounging1 free-and-easy way of carrying things on4 ,i exercised no sufficient censorship upon the ,tracts4 ,i did not confine them to the writings of such persons as agreed in all things with myself2 and1 as to my own ,tracts1 ,i printed on them a notice to the effect1 that any one who pleased1 might make what use he would of them1 and reprint them with alterations if he chose1 under the conviction that their main scope could not be damaged by such a process4 ,it was the same with me afterwards1 as regards other publications4 ,for two years ,i furnished a certain number of sheets for the ,british ,critic from myself and my friends1 while a gentleman was editor1 a man of splendid talent1 who1 however1 was scarcely an acquaintance of mine1 and had no sympathy with the ,tracts4 ,when ,i was ,editor myself1 from #ahch to #ahda1 in my very first number ,i suffered to appear a critique unfavorable to my work on ,justification1 which had been published a few months before1 from a feeling of propriety1 because ,i had put the book into the hands of the writer who so handled it4 ,afterwards ,i suffered an article against the ,jesuits to appear in it1 of which ,i did not like the tone4 ,when ,i had to provide a curate for my new church at ,littlemore1 ,i engaged a friend1 by no fault of his1 who1 before he had entered into his charge1 preached a sermon1 either in depreciation of baptismal regeneration1 or of ,dr4 ,pusey's view of it4 ,i showed a similar easiness as to the ,editors who helped me in the separate volumes of ,fleury's ,church ,history2 they were able1 learned1 and excellent men1 but their after-history has shown1 how little my choice of them was influenced by any notion ,i could have had of any intimate agreement of opinion between them and myself4 ,i shall have to make the same remark in its place concerning the ,lives of the ,english ,saints1 which subsequently appeared4 ,all this may seem inconsistent with what ,i have said of my fierceness4 ,i am not bound to account for it2 but there have been men before me1 fierce in act1 yet tolerant and moderate in their reasonings2 at least1 so ,i read history4 ,however1 such was the case1 and such its effect upon the ,tracts4 ,these at first starting were short1 hasty1 and some of them ineffective2 and at the end of the year1 when collected into a volume1 they had a slovenly appearance4 ,it was under these circumstances1 that ,dr4 ,pusey joined us4 ,i had known him well since #ahbg-h1 and had felt for him an enthusiastic admiration1 ,i used to call him ,greek3 ho megas4 ,his great learning1 his immense diligence1 his scholarlike mind1 his simple devotion to the cause of religion1 overcame me2 and great of course was my joy1 when in the last days of #ahcc he showed a disposition to make common cause with us4 ,his ,tract on ,fasting appeared as one of the series with the date of ,december #ba4 ,he was not1 however1 ,i think1 fully associated in the ,movement till #ahce and #ahcf1 when he published his ,tract on ,baptism1 and started the ,library of the ,fathers4 ,he at once gave to us a position and a name4 ,without him we should have had little chance1 especially at the early date of #ahcd1 of making any serious resistance to the ,liberal aggression4 ,but ,dr4 ,pusey was a ,professor and ,canon of ,christ ,church2 he had a vast influence in consequence of his deep religious seriousness1 the munificence of his charities1 his ,professorship1 his family connexions1 and his easy relations with ,university authorities4 ,he was to the ,movement all that ,mr4 ,rose might have been1 with that indispensable addition1 which was wanting to ,mr4 ,rose1 the intimate friendship and the familiar daily society of the persons who had commenced it4 ,and he had that special claim on their attachment1 which lies in the living presence of a faithful and loyal affectionateness4 ,there was henceforth a man who could be the head and centre of the zealous people in every part of the country1 who were adopting the new opinions2 and not only so1 but there was one who furnished the ,movement with a front to the world1 and gained for it a recognition from other parties in the ,university4 ,in #ahbi1 ,mr4 ,froude1 or ,mr4 ,robert ,wilberforce1 or ,mr4 ,newman were but individuals2 and1 when they ranged themselves in the contest of that year on the side of ,sir ,robert ,inglis1 men on either side only asked with surprise how they got there1 and attached no significancy to the fact2 but ,dr4 ,pusey was1 to use the common expression1 a host in himself2 he was able to give a name1 a form1 and a personality1 to what was without him a sort of mob2 and when various parties had to meet together in order to resist the liberal acts of the ,government1 we of the ,movement took our place by right among them4 ,such was the benefit which he conferred on the ,movement externally2 nor were the internal advantages at all inferior to it4 ,he was a man of large designs2 he had a hopeful1 sanguine mind2 he had no fear of others2 he was haunted by no intellectual perplexities4 ,people are apt to say that he was once nearer to the ,catholic ,church than he is now2 ,i pray ,god that he may be one day far nearer to the ,catholic ,church than he was then2 for ,i believe that1 in his reason and judgment1 all the time that ,i knew him1 he never was near to it at all4 ,when ,i became a ,catholic1 ,i was often asked1 ,what of ,dr4 ,pusey82 when ,i said that ,i did not see symptoms of his doing as ,i had done1 ,i was sometimes thought uncharitable4 ,if confidence in his position is1 7as it is17 a first essential in the leader of a party1 this ,dr4 ,pusey possessed pre-eminently4 ,the most remarkable instance of this1 was his statement1 in one of his subsequent defences of the ,movement1 when moreover it had advanced a considerable way in the direction of ,rome1 that among its more hopeful peculiarities was its stationariness4 ,he made it in good faith2 it was his subjective view of it4 ,dr4 ,pusey's influence was felt at once4 ,he saw that there ought to be more sobriety1 more gravity1 more careful pains1 more sense of responsibility in the ,tracts and in the whole ,movement4 ,it was through him that the character of the ,tracts was changed4 ,when he gave to us his ,tract on ,fasting1 he put his initials to it4 ,in #ahce he published his elaborate ,treatise on ,baptism1 which was followed by other ,tracts from different authors1 if not of equal learning1 yet of equal power and appositeness4 ,the ,catenas of ,anglican divines1 projected by me1 which occur in the ,series were executed with a like aim at greater accuracy and method4 ,in #ahcf he advertised his great project for a ,translation of the ,fathers3--but ,i must return to myself4 ,i am not writing the history either of ,dr4 ,pusey or of the ,movement2 but it is a pleasure to me to have been able to introduce here reminiscences of the place which he held in it1 which have so direct a bearing on myself1 that they are no digression from my narrative4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i suspect it was ,dr4 ,pusey's influence and example which set me1 and made me set others1 on the larger and more careful works in defence of the principles of the ,movement which followed in a course of years1--some of them demanding and receiving from their authors1 such elaborate treatment that they did not make their appearance till both its temper and its fortunes had changed4 ,i set about a work at once2 one in which was brought out with precision the relation in which we stood to the ,church of ,rome4 ,we could not move a step in comfort1 till this was done4 ,it was of absolute necessity and a plain duty from the first1 to provide as soon as possible a large statement1 which would encourage and reassure our friends1 and repel the attacks of our opponents4 ,a cry was heard on all sides of us1 that the ,tracts and the writings of the ,fathers would lead us to become ,catholics1 before we were aware of it4 ,this was loudly expressed by members of the ,evangelical party1 who in #ahcf had joined us in making a protest in ,convocation against a memorable appointment of the ,prime ,minister4 ,these clergymen even then avowed their desire1 that the next time they were brought up to ,oxford to give a vote1 it might be in order to put down the ,popery of the ,movement4 ,there was another reason still1 and quite as important4 ,monsignore ,wiseman1 with the acuteness and zeal which might be expected from that great ,prelate1 had anticipated what was coming1 had returned to ,england by #ahcf1 had delivered ,lectures in ,london on the doctrines of ,catholicism1 and created an impression through the country1 shared in by ourselves1 that we had for our opponents in controversy1 not only our brethren1 but our hereditary foes4 ,these were the circumstances1 which led to my publication of ,the ,prophetical office of the ,church viewed relatively to ,romanism and ,popular ,protestantism4 ,this work employed me for three years1 from the beginning of #ahcd to the end of #ahcf1 and was published in #ahcg4 ,it was composed1 after a careful consideration and comparison of the principal ,anglican divines of the #agth century4 ,it was first written in the shape of controversial correspondence with a learned ,french ,priest2 then it was re-cast1 and delivered in ,lectures at ,st4 ,mary's2 lastly1 with considerable retrenchments and additions1 it was rewritten for publication4 ,it attempts to trace out the rudimental lines on which ,christian faith and teaching proceed1 and to use them as means of determining the relation of the ,roman and ,anglican systems to each other4 ,in this way it shows that to confuse the two together is impossible1 and that the ,anglican can be as little said to tend to the ,roman1 as the ,roman to the ,anglican4 ,the spirit of the ,volume is not so gentle to the ,church of ,rome1 as ,tract #ga published the year before2 on the contrary1 it is very fierce2 and this ,i attribute to the circumstance that the ,volume is theological and didactic1 whereas the ,tract1 being controversial1 assumes as little and grants as much as possible on the points in dispute1 and insists on points of agreement as well as of difference4 ,a further and more direct reason is1 that in my ,volume ,i deal with ,romanism 7as ,i call it71 not so much in its formal decrees and in the substance of its creed1 as in its traditional action and its authorized teaching as represented by its prominent writers2--whereas the ,tract is written as if discussing the differences of the ,churches with a view to a reconciliation between them4 ,there is a further reason too1 which ,i will state presently4 ,but this ,volume had a larger scope than that of opposing the ,roman system4 ,it was an attempt at commencing a system of theology on the ,anglican idea1 and based upon ,anglican authorities4 ,mr4 ,palmer1 about the same time1 was projecting a work of a similar nature in his own way4 ,it was published1 ,i think1 under the title1 ,a ,treatise on the ,christian ,church4 ,as was to be expected from the author1 it was a most learned1 most careful composition2 and in its form1 ,i should say1 polemical4 ,so happily at least did he follow the logical method of the ,roman ,schools1 that ,father ,perrone in his ,treatise on dogmatic theology1 recognized in him a combatant of the true cast1 and saluted him as a foe worthy of being vanquished4 ,other soldiers in that field he seems to have thought little better than the ,lanzknechts of the middle ages1 and1 ,i dare say1 with very good reason4 ,when ,i knew that excellent and kind-hearted man at ,rome at a later time1 he allowed me to put him to ample penance for those light thoughts of me1 which he had once had1 by encroaching on his valuable time with my theological questions4 ,as to ,mr4 ,palmer's book1 it was one which no ,anglican could write but himself1--in no sense1 if ,i recollect aright1 a tentative work4 ,the ground of controversy was cut into squares1 and then every objection had its answer4 ,this is the proper method to adopt in teaching authoritatively young men2 and the work in fact was intended for students in theology4 ,my own book1 on the other hand1 was of a directly tentative and empirical character4 ,i wished to build up an ,anglican theology out of the stores which already lay cut and hewn upon the ground1 the past toil of great divines4 ,to do this could not be the work of one man2 much less1 could it be at once received into ,anglican theology1 however well it was done4 ,this ,i fully recognized2 and1 while ,i trusted that my statements of doctrine would turn out to be true and important1 still ,i wrote1 to use the common phrase1 under correction4 ,there was another motive for my publishing1 of a personal nature1 which ,i think ,i should mention4 ,i felt then1 and all along felt1 that there was an intellectual cowardice in not finding a basis in reason for my belief1 and a moral cowardice in not avowing that basis4 ,i should have felt myself less than a man1 if ,i did not bring it out1 whatever it was4 ,this is one principal reason why ,i wrote and published the ,prophetical ,office4 ,it was from the same feeling1 that in the spring of #ahcf1 at a meeting of residents on the subject of the struggle then proceeding against a ,whig appointment1 when some one wanted us all merely to act on college and conservative grounds 7as ,i understood him71 with as few published statements as possible1 ,i answered1 that the person whom we were resisting had committed himself in writing1 and that we ought to commit ourselves too4 ,this again was a main reason for the publication of ,tract #ij4 ,alas6 it was my portion for whole years to remain without any satisfactory basis for my religious profession1 in a state of moral sickness1 neither able to acquiesce in ,anglicanism1 nor able to go to ,rome4 ,but ,i bore it1 till in course of time my way was made clear to me4 ,if here it be objected to me1 that as time went on1 ,i often in my writings hinted at things which ,i did not fully bring out1 ,i submit for consideration whether this occurred except when ,i was in great difficulties1 how to speak1 or how to be silent1 with due regard for the position of mind or the feelings of others4 ,however1 ,i may have an opportunity to say more on this subject4 ,but to return to the ,prophetical ,office4 ,i thus speak in the ,introduction to my ,volume3-- ,it is proposed1 ,i say1 to offer helps towards the formation of a recognized ,anglican theology in one of its departments4 ,the present state of our divinity is as follows3 the most vigorous1 the clearest1 the most fertile minds1 have through ,god's mercy been employed in the service of our ,church3 minds too as reverential and holy1 and as fully imbued with ,ancient ,truth1 and as well versed in the writings of the ,fathers1 as they were intellectually gifted4 ,this is ,god's great mercy indeed1 for which we must ever be thankful4 ,primitive doctrine has been explored for us in every direction1 and the original principles of the ,gospel and the ,church patiently brought to light4 ,but one thing is still wanting3 our champions and teachers have lived in stormy times3 political and other influences have acted upon them variously in their day1 and have since obstructed a careful consolidation of their judgments4 ,we have a vast inheritance1 but no inventory of our treasures4 ,all is given us in profusion2 it remains for us to catalogue1 sort1 distribute1 select1 harmonize1 and complete4 ,we have more than we know how to use2 stores of learning1 but little that is precise and serviceable2 ,catholic truth and individual opinion1 first principles and the guesses of genius1 all mingled in the same works1 and requiring to be discriminated4 ,we meet with truths overstated or misdirected1 matters of detail variously taken1 facts incompletely proved or applied1 and rules inconsistently urged or discordantly interpreted4 ,such indeed is the state of every deep philosophy in its first stages1 and therefore of theological knowledge4 ,what we need at present for our ,church's well-being1 is not invention1 nor originality1 nor sagacity1 nor even learning in our divines1 at least in the first place1 though all gifts of ,god are in a measure needed1 and never can be unseasonable when used religiously1 but we need peculiarly a sound judgment1 patient thought1 discrimination1 a comprehensive mind1 an abstinence from all private fancies and caprices and personal tastes1--in a word1 ,divine ,wisdom4 ,the subject of the ,volume is the doctrine of the ,via ,media1 a name which had already been applied to the ,anglican system by writers of repute4 ,it is an expressive title1 but not altogether satisfactory1 because it is at first sight negative4 ,this had been the reason of my dislike to the word ,protestant2 viz4 it did not denote the profession of any particular religion at all1 and was compatible with infidelity4 ,a ,via ,media was but a receding from extremes1--therefore it needed to be drawn out into a definite shape and character3 before it could have claims on our respect1 it must first be shown to be one1 intelligible1 and consistent4 ,this was the first condition of any reasonable treatise on the ,via ,media4 ,the second condition1 and necessary too1 was not in my power4 ,i could only hope that it would one day be fulfilled4 ,even if the ,via ,media were ever so positive a religious system1 it was not as yet objective and real2 it had no original any where of which it was the representative4 ,it was at present a paper religion4 ,this ,i confess in my ,introduction2 ,i say1 ,protestantism and ,popery are real religions 444 but the ,via ,media1 viewed as an integral system1 has scarcely had existence except on paper4 ,i grant the objection1 though ,i endeavour to lessen it3--,it still remains to be tried1 whether what is called ,anglo-,catholicism1 the religion of ,andrewes1 ,laud1 ,hammond1 ,butler1 and ,wilson1 is capable of being professed1 acted on1 and maintained on a large sphere of action1 or whether it be a mere modification or transition-state of either ,romanism or popular ,protestantism4 ,i trusted that some day it would prove to be a substantive religion4 ,lest ,i should be misunderstood1 let me observe that this hesitation about the validity of the theory of the ,via ,media implied no doubt of the three fundamental points on which it was based1 as ,i have described them above1 dogma1 the sacramental system1 and anti-,romanism4 ,other investigations which had to be followed up were of a still more tentative character4 ,the basis of the ,via ,media1 consisting of the three elementary points1 which ,i have just mentioned1 was clear enough2 but1 not only had the house itself to be built upon them1 but it had also to be furnished1 and it is not wonderful if1 after building it1 both ,i and others erred in detail in determining what its furniture should be1 what was consistent with the style of building1 and what was in itself desirable4 ,i will explain what ,i mean4 ,i had brought out in the ,prophetical ,office in what the ,roman and the ,anglican systems differed from each other1 but less distinctly in what they agreed4 ,i had indeed enumerated the ,fundamentals1 common to both1 in the following passage3--,in both systems the same ,creeds are acknowledged4 ,besides other points in common1 we both hold1 that certain doctrines are necessary to be believed for salvation2 we both believe in the doctrines of the ,trinity1 ,incarnation1 and ,atonement2 in original sin2 in the necessity of regeneration2 in the supernatural grace of the ,sacraments2 in the ,apostolical succession2 in the obligation of faith and obedience1 and in the eternity of future punishment1--pp4 #ee1 #ef4 ,so much ,i had said1 but ,i had not said enough4 ,this enumeration implied a great many more points of agreement than were found in those very ,articles which were fundamental4 ,if the two ,churches were thus the same in fundamentals1 they were also one and the same in such plain consequences as were contained in those fundamentals and in such natural observances as outwardly represented them4 ,it was an ,anglican principle that the abuse of a thing doth not take away the lawful use of it2 and an ,anglican ,canon in #afjc had declared that the ,english ,church had no purpose to forsake all that was held in the ,churches of ,italy1 ,france1 and ,spain1 and reverenced those ceremonies and particular points which were ,apostolic4 ,excepting then such exceptional matters1 as are implied in this avowal1 whether they were many or few1 all these ,churches were evidently to be considered as one with the ,anglican4 ,the ,catholic ,church in all lands had been one from the first for many centuries2 then1 various portions had followed their own way to the injury1 but not to the destruction1 whether of truth or of charity4 ,these portions or branches were mainly three3--the ,greek1 ,latin1 and ,anglican4 ,each of these inherited the early undivided ,church in solido as its own possession4 ,each branch was identical with that early undivided ,church1 and in the unity of that ,church it had unity with the other branches4 ,the three branches agreed together in all but their later accidental errors4 ,some branches had retained in detail portions of ,apostolical truth and usage1 which the others had not2 and these portions might be and should be appropriated again by the others which had let them slip4 ,thus1 the middle age belonged to the ,anglican ,church1 and much more did the middle age of ,england4 ,the ,church of the #abth century was the ,church of the #aith4 ,dr4 ,howley sat in the seat of ,st4 ,thomas the ,martyr2 ,oxford was a medieval ,university4 ,saving our engagements to ,prayer ,book and ,articles1 we might breathe and live and act and speak1 as in the atmosphere and climate of ,henry ,,iii4's day1 or the ,confessor's1 or of ,alfred's4 ,and we ought to be indulgent to all that ,rome taught now1 as to what ,rome taught then1 saving our protest4 ,we might boldly welcome1 even what we did not ourselves think right to adopt4 ,and1 when we were obliged on the contrary boldly to denounce1 we should do so with pain1 not with exultation4 ,by very reason of our protest1 which we had made1 and made ex animo1 we could agree to differ4 ,what the members of the ,bible ,society did on the basis of ,scripture1 we could do on the basis of the ,church2 ,trinitarian and ,unitarian were further apart than ,roman and ,anglican4 ,thus we had a real wish to co-operate with ,rome in all lawful things1 if she would let us1 and if the rules of our own ,church let us2 and we thought there was no better way towards the restoration of doctrinal purity and unity4 ,and we thought that ,rome was not committed by her formal decrees to all that she actually taught3 and again1 if her disputants had been unfair to us1 or her rulers tyrannical1 we bore in mind that on our side too there had been rancour and slander in our controversial attacks upon her1 and violence in our political measures4 ,as to ourselves being direct instruments in improving her belief or practice1 ,i used to say1 ,look at home2 let us first1 7or at least let us the while17 supply our own shortcomings1 before we attempt to be physicians to any one else4 ,this is very much the spirit of ,tract #ga1 to which ,i referred just now4 ,i am well aware that there is a paragraph inconsistent with it in the ,prospectus to the ,library of the ,fathers2 but ,i do not consider myself responsible for it4 ,indeed1 ,i have no intention whatever of implying that ,dr4 ,pusey concurred in the ecclesiastical theory1 which ,i have been now drawing out2 nor that ,i took it up myself except by degrees in the course of ten years4 ,it was necessarily the growth of time4 ,in fact1 hardly any two persons1 who took part in the ,movement1 agreed in their view of the limit to which our general principles might religiously be carried4 ,and now ,i have said enough on what ,i consider to have been the general objects of the various works1 which ,i wrote1 edited1 or prompted in the years which ,i am reviewing4 ,i wanted to bring out in a substantive form a living ,church of ,england1 in a position proper to herself1 and founded on distinct principles2 as far as paper could do it1 as far as earnestly preaching it and influencing others towards it1 could tend to make it a fact2--a living ,church1 made of flesh and blood1 with voice1 complexion1 and motion and action1 and a will of its own4 ,i believe ,i had no private motive1 and no personal aim4 ,nor did ,i ask for more than a fair stage and no favour1 nor expect the work would be accomplished in my days2 but ,i thought that enough would be secured to continue it in the future1 under1 perhaps1 more hopeful circumstances and prospects than the present4 ,i will mention in illustration some of the principal works1 doctrinal and historical1 which originated in the object which ,i have stated4 ,i wrote my ,essay on ,justification in #ahcg2 it was aimed at the ,lutheran dictum that justification by faith only was the cardinal doctrine of ,christianity4 ,i considered that this doctrine was either a paradox or a truism1--a paradox in ,luther's mouth1 a truism in ,melanchthon's4 ,i thought that the ,anglican ,church followed ,melanchthon1 and that in consequence between ,rome and ,anglicanism1 between high ,church and low ,church1 there was no real intellectual difference on the point4 ,i wished to fill up a ditch1 the work of man4 ,in this ,volume again1 ,i express my desire to build up a system of theology out of the ,anglican divines1 and imply that my dissertation was a tentative ,inquiry4 ,i speak in the ,preface of offering suggestions towards a work1 which must be uppermost in the mind of every true son of the ,english ,church at this day1--the consolidation of a theological system1 which1 built upon those formularies1 to which all clergymen are bound1 may tend to inform1 persuade1 and absorb into itself religious minds1 which hitherto have fancied1 that1 on the peculiar ,protestant questions1 they were seriously opposed to each other4--,p4 vii4 ,in my ,university ,sermons there is a series of discussions upon the subject of ,faith and ,reason2 these again were the tentative commencement of a grave and necessary work1 viz4 an inquiry into the ultimate basis of religious faith1 prior to the distinction into ,creeds4 ,in like manner in a ,pamphlet1 which ,i published in the summer of #ahch1 is an attempt at placing the doctrine of the ,real ,presence on an intellectual basis4 ,the fundamental idea is consonant to that to which ,i had been so long attached3 it is the denial of the existence of space except as a subjective idea of our minds4 ,the ,church of the ,fathers is one of the earliest productions of the ,movement1 and appeared in numbers in the ,british ,magazine1 being written with the aim of introducing the religious sentiments1 views1 and customs of the first ages into the modern ,church of ,england4 ,the ,translation of ,fleury's ,church ,history was commenced under these circumstances3--,i was fond of ,fleury for a reason which ,i express in the ,advertisement2 because it presented a sort of photograph of ecclesiastical history without any comment upon it4 ,in the event1 that simple representation of the early centuries had a good deal to do with unsettling me in my ,anglicanism2 but how little ,i could anticipate this1 will be seen in the fact that the publication of ,fleury was a favourite scheme with ,mr4 ,rose4 ,he proposed it to me twice1 between the years #ahcd and #ahcg2 and ,i mention it as one out of many particulars curiously illustrating how truly my change of opinion arose1 not from foreign influences1 but from the working of my own mind1 and the accidents around me4 ,the date1 from which the portion actually translated began1 was determined by the ,publisher on reasons with which we were not concerned4 ,another historical work1 but drawn from original sources1 was given to the world by my old friend ,mr4 ,bowden1 being a ,life of ,pope ,gregory ,,vii4 ,i need scarcely recall to those who have read it1 the power and the liveliness of the narrative4 ,this composition was the author's relaxation1 on evenings and in his summer vacations1 from his ordinary engagements in ,london4 ,it had been suggested to him originally by me1 at the instance of ,hurrell ,froude4 ,the ,series of the ,lives of the ,english ,saints was projected at a later period1 under circumstances which ,i shall have in the sequel to describe4 ,those beautiful compositions have nothing in them1 as far as ,i recollect1 simply inconsistent with the general objects which ,i have been assigning to my labours in these years1 though the immediate occasion which led to them1 and the tone in which they were written1 had little that was congenial with ,anglicanism4 ,at a comparatively early date ,i drew up the ,tract on the ,roman ,breviary4 ,it frightened my own friends on its first appearance2 and several years afterwards1 when younger men began to translate for publication the four volumes in extenso1 they were dissuaded from doing so by advice to which from a sense of duty they listened4 ,it was an apparent accident1 which introduced me to the knowledge of that most wonderful and most attractive monument of the devotion of saints4 ,on ,hurrell ,froude's death1 in #ahcf1 ,i was asked to select one of his books as a keepsake4 ,i selected ,butler's ,analogy2 finding that it had been already chosen1 ,i looked with some perplexity along the shelves as they stood before me1 when an intimate friend at my elbow said1 ,take that4 ,it was the ,breviary which ,hurrell had had with him at ,barbadoes4 ,accordingly ,i took it1 studied it1 wrote my ,tract from it1 and have it on my table in constant use till this day4 ,that dear and familiar companion1 who thus put the ,breviary into my hands1 is still in the ,anglican ,church4 ,so1 too1 is that early venerated long-loved friend1 together with whom ,i edited a work which1 more perhaps than any other1 caused disturbance and annoyance in the ,anglican world1--,froude's ,remains2 yet1 however judgments might run as to the prudence of publishing it1 ,i never heard any one impute to ,mr4 ,keble the very shadow of dishonesty or treachery towards his ,church in so acting4 ,the annotated ,translation of the ,treatises of ,st4 ,athanasius was of course in no sense of a tentative character2 it belongs to another order of thought4 ,this historico-dogmatic work employed me for years4 ,i had made preparations for following it up with a doctrinal history of the heresies which succeeded to the ,arian4 ,i should make mention also of the ,british ,critic4 ,i was ,editor of it for three years1 from ,july #ahch to ,july #ahda4 ,my writers belonged to various schools1 some to none at all4 ,the subjects are various1--classical1 academical1 political1 critical1 and artistic1 as well as theological1 and upon the ,movement none are to be found which do not keep quite clear of advocating the cause of ,rome4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so ,i went on for years up to #ahda4 ,it was1 in a human point of view1 the happiest time of my life4 ,i was truly at home4 ,i had in one of my volumes appropriated to myself the words of ,bramhall1 ,bees1 by the instinct of nature1 do love their hives1 and birds their nests4 ,i did not suppose that such sunshine would last1 though ,i knew not what would be its termination4 ,it was the time of plenty1 and1 during its seven years1 ,i tried to lay up as much as ,i could for the dearth which was to follow it4 ,we prospered and spread4 ,i have spoken of the doings of these years1 since ,i was a ,catholic1 in a passage1 part of which ,i will here quote3 ,from beginnings so small1 ,i said1 from elements of thought so fortuitous1 with prospects so unpromising1 the ,anglo-,catholic party suddenly became a power in the ,national ,church1 and an object of alarm to her rulers and friends4 ,its originators would have found it difficult to say what they aimed at of a practical kind3 rather1 they put forth views and principles for their own sake1 because they were true1 as if they were obliged to say them2 and1 as they might be themselves surprised at their earnestness in uttering them1 they had as great cause to be surprised at the success which attended their propagation4 ,and1 in fact1 they could only say that those doctrines were in the air2 that to assert was to prove1 and that to explain was to persuade2 and that the ,movement in which they were taking part was the birth of a crisis rather than of a place4 ,in a very few years a school of opinion was formed1 fixed in its principles1 indefinite and progressive in their range2 and it extended itself into every part of the country4 ,if we inquire what the world thought of it1 we have still more to raise our wonder2 for1 not to mention the excitement it caused in ,england1 the ,movement and its party-names were known to the police of ,italy and to the back-woodmen of ,america4 ,and so it proceeded1 getting stronger and stronger every year1 till it came into collision with the ,nation1 and that ,church of the ,nation1 which it began by professing especially to serve4 ,the greater its success1 the nearer was that collision at hand4 ,the first threatenings of what was coming were heard in #ahch4 ,at that time1 my ,bishop in a ,charge made some light animadversions1 but they were animadversions1 on the ,tracts for the ,times4 ,at once ,i offered to stop them4 ,what took place on the occasion ,i prefer to state in the words1 in which ,i related it in a ,pamphlet addressed to him in a later year1 when the blow actually came down upon me4 ,in your ,lordship's ,charge for #ahch1 ,i said1 an allusion was made to the ,tracts for the ,times4 ,some opponents of the ,tracts said that you treated them with undue indulgence4444 ,i wrote to the ,archdeacon on the subject1 submitting the ,tracts entirely to your ,lordship's disposal4 ,what ,i thought about your ,charge will appear from the words ,i then used to him4 ,i said1 ',a ,bishop's lightest word ex cathedr is heavy4 ,his judgment on a book cannot be light4 ,it is a rare occurrence4' ,and ,i offered to withdraw any of the ,tracts over which ,i had control1 if ,i were informed which were those to which your ,lordship had objections4 ,i afterwards wrote to your ,lordship to this effect1 that ',i trusted ,i might say sincerely1 that ,i should feel a more lively pleasure in knowing that ,i was submitting myself to your ,lordship's expressed judgment in a matter of that kind1 than ,i could have even in the widest circulation of the volumes in question4' ,your ,lordship did not think it necessary to proceed to such a measure1 but ,i felt1 and always have felt1 that1 if ever you determined on it1 ,i was bound to obey4 ,that day at length came1 and ,i conclude this portion of my narrative1 with relating the circumstances of it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from the time that ,i had entered upon the duties of ,public ,tutor at my ,college1 when my doctrinal views were very different from what they were in #ahda1 ,i had meditated a comment upon the ,articles4 ,then1 when the ,movement was in its swing1 friends had said to me1 ,what will you make of the ,articles8 but ,i did not share the apprehension which their question implied4 ,whether1 as time went on1 ,i should have been forced1 by the necessities of the original theory of the ,movement1 to put on paper the speculations which ,i had about them1 ,i am not able to conjecture4 ,the actual cause of my doing so1 in the beginning of #ahda1 was the restlessness1 actual and prospective1 of those who neither liked the ,via ,media1 nor my strong judgment against ,rome4 ,i had been enjoined1 ,i think by my ,bishop1 to keep these men straight1 and ,i wished so to do3 but their tangible difficulty was subscription to the ,articles2 and thus the question of the ,articles came before me4 ,it was thrown in our teeth2 ,how can you manage to sign the ,articles8 they are directly against ,rome4 ,against ,rome8 ,i made answer1 ,what do you mean by ',rome8' and then ,i proceeded to make distinctions1 of which ,i shall now give an account4 ,by ,roman doctrine might be meant one of three things3 #a1 the ,catholic teaching of the early centuries2 or #b1 the formal dogmas of ,rome as contained in the later ,councils1 especially the ,council of ,trent1 and as condensed in the ,creed of ,pope ,pius ,,iv42 #c1 the actual popular beliefs and usages sanctioned by ,rome in the countries in communion with it1 over and above the dogmas2 and these ,i called dominant errors4 ,now ,protestants commonly thought that in all three senses1 ,roman doctrine was condemned in the ,articles3 ,i thought that the ,catholic teaching was not condemned2 that the dominant errors were2 and as to the formal dogmas1 that some were1 some were not1 and that the line had to be drawn between them4 ,thus1 #a4 ,the use of ,prayers for the dead was a ,catholic doctrine1--not condemned in the ,articles2 #b4 ,the prison of ,purgatory was a ,roman dogma1--which was condemned in them2 but the infallibility of ,ecumenical ,councils was a ,roman dogma1--not condemned2 and #c4 ,the fire of ,purgatory was an authorized and popular error1 not a dogma1--which was condemned4 ,further1 ,i considered that the difficulties1 felt by the persons whom ,i have mentioned1 mainly lay in their mistaking1 #a1 ,catholic teaching1 which was not condemned in the ,articles1 for ,roman dogma which was condemned2 and #b1 ,roman dogma1 which was not condemned in the ,articles1 for dominant error which was4 ,if they went further than this1 ,i had nothing more to say to them4 ,a further motive which ,i had for my attempt1 was the desire to ascertain the ultimate points of contrariety between the ,roman and ,anglican creeds1 and to make them as few as possible4 ,i thought that each creed was obscured and misrepresented by a dominant circumambient ,popery and ,protestantism4 ,the main thesis then of my ,essay was this3--the ,articles do not oppose ,catholic teaching2 they but partially oppose ,roman dogma2 they for the most part oppose the dominant errors of ,rome4 ,and the problem was1 as ,i have said1 to draw the line as to what they allowed and what they condemned4 ,such being the object which ,i had in view1 what were my prospects of widening and of defining their meaning8 ,the prospect was encouraging2 there was no doubt at all of the elasticity of the ,articles3 to take a palmary instance1 the seventeenth was assumed by one party to be ,lutheran1 by another ,calvinistic1 though the two interpretations were contradictory of each other2 why then should not other ,articles be drawn up with a vagueness of an equally intense character8 ,i wanted to ascertain what was the limit of that elasticity in the direction of ,roman dogma4 ,but next1 ,i had a way of inquiry of my own1 which ,i state without defending4 ,i instanced it afterwards in my ,essay on ,doctrinal ,development4 ,that work1 ,i believe1 ,i have not read since ,i published it1 and ,i do not doubt at all ,i have made many mistakes in it2--partly1 from my ignorance of the details of doctrine1 as the ,church of ,rome holds them1 but partly from my impatience to clear as large a range for the principle of doctrinal ,development 7waiving the question of historical fact7 as was consistent with the strict ,apostolicity and identity of the ,catholic ,creed4 ,in like manner1 as regards the #ci ,articles1 my method of inquiry was to leap in medias res4 ,i wished to institute an inquiry how far1 in critical fairness1 the text could be opened2 ,i was aiming far more at ascertaining what a man who subscribed it might hold than what he must1 so that my conclusions were negative rather than positive4 ,it was but a first essay4 ,and ,i made it with the full recognition and consciousness1 which ,i had already expressed in my ,prophetical ,office1 as regards the ,via ,media1 that ,i was making only a first approximation to the required solution2--a series of illustrations supplying hints for the removal of a difficulty1 and with full acknowledgment that in minor points1 whether in question of fact or of judgment1 there was room for difference or error of opinion1 and that ,i should not be ashamed to own a mistake1 if it were proved against me1 nor reluctant to bear the just blame of it4--,proph4 ,off4 p4 #ca4 ,i will add1 ,i was embarrassed in consequence of my wish to go as far as was possible in interpreting the ,articles in the direction of ,roman dogma1 without disclosing what ,i was doing to the parties whose doubts ,i was meeting2 who1 if they understood at once the full extent of the licence which the ,articles admitted1 might be thereby encouraged to proceed still further than at present they found in themselves any call to go4 #a4 ,but in the way of such an attempt comes the prompt objection that the ,articles were actually drawn up against ,popery1 and therefore it was transcendently absurd and dishonest to suppose that ,popery1 in any shape1--patristic belief1 ,tridentine dogma1 or popular corruption authoritatively sanctioned1--would be able to take refuge under their text4 ,this premiss ,i denied4 ,not any religious doctrine at all1 but a political principle1 was the primary ,english idea of ,popery at the date of the ,reformation4 ,and what was that political principle1 and how could it best be suppressed in ,england8 ,what was the great question in the days of ,henry and ,elizabeth8 ,the ,supremacy2--now1 was ,i saying one single word in favour of the ,supremacy of the ,holy ,see1 in favour of the foreign jurisdiction8 ,no1 ,i did not believe in it myself4 ,did ,henry ,,viii4 religiously hold ,justification by faith only8 did he disbelieve ,purgatory8 ,was ,elizabeth zealous for the marriage of the ,clergy8 or had she a conscience against the ,mass8 ,the ,supremacy of the ,pope was the essence of the ,popery to which1 at the time of the composition of the ,articles1 the ,supreme ,head or ,governor of the ,english ,church was so violently hostile4 #b4 ,but again ,i said this3--let ,popery mean what it would in the mouths of the compilers of the ,articles1 let it even1 for argument's sake1 include the doctrines of that ,tridentine ,council1 which was not yet over when the ,articles were drawn up1 and against which they could not be simply directed1 yet1 consider1 what was the object of the ,government in their imposition8 merely to get rid of ,popery8 ,no2 it had the further object of gaining the ,papists4 ,what then was the best way to induce reluctant or wavering minds1 and these1 ,i supposed1 were the majority1 to give in their adhesion to the new symbol8 how had the ,arians drawn up their ,creeds8 was it not on the principle of using vague ambiguous language1 which to the subscribers would seem to bear a ,catholic sense1 but which1 when worked out on the long run1 would prove to be heterodox8 ,accordingly1 there was great antecedent probability1 that1 fierce as the ,articles might look at first sight1 their bark would prove worse than their bite4 ,i say antecedent probability1 for to what extent that surmise might be true1 could only be ascertained by investigation4 #c4 ,but a consideration came up at once1 which threw light on this surmise3--what if it should turn out that the very men who drew up the ,articles1 in the very act of doing so1 had avowed1 or rather in one of those very ,articles themselves had imposed on subscribers1 a number of those very ,papistical doctrines1 which they were now thought to deny1 as part and parcel of that very ,protestantism1 which they were now thought to consider divine8 and this was the fact1 and ,i showed it in my ,essay4 ,let the reader observe3--the #ceth ,article says3 ,the second ,book of ,homilies doth contain a godly and wholesome doctrine1 and necessary for these times1 as doth the former ,book of ,homilies4 ,here the doctrine of the ,homilies is recognized as godly and wholesome1 and concurrence in that recognition is imposed on all subscribers of the ,articles4 ,let us then turn to the ,homilies1 and see what this godly doctrine is3 ,i quoted from them to the following effect3 #a4 ,they declare that the so-called apocryphal book of ,tobit is the teaching of the ,holy ,ghost1 and is ,scripture4 #b4 ,that the so-called apocryphal book of ,wisdom is ,scripture1 and the infallible and undeceivable word of ,god4 #c4 ,that the ,primitive ,church1 next to the ,apostles' time1 and1 as they imply1 for almost #gjj years1 is no doubt most pure4 #d4 ,that the ,primitive ,church is specially to be followed4 #e4 ,that the ,four first ,general ,councils belong to the ,primitive ,church4 #f4 ,that there are ,six ,councils which are allowed and received by all men4 #g4 ,again1 they speak of a certain truth1 and say that it is declared by ,god's word1 the sentences of the ancient doctors1 and judgment of the ,primitive ,church4 #h4 ,of the learned and holy ,bishops and doctors of the ,church of the first eight centuries being of great authority and credit with the people4 #i4 ,of the declaration of ,christ and ,his ,apostles and all the rest of the ,holy ,fathers4 #aj4 ,of the authority both of ,scripture and also of ,augustine4 #aa4 ,of ,augustine1 ,chrysostom1 ,ambrose1 ,jerome1 and about thirty other ,fathers1 to some of whom they give the title of ,saint1 to others of ancient ,catholic ,fathers and doctors1 c4 #ab4 ,they declare that1 not only the holy ,apostles and disciples of ,christ1 but the godly ,fathers also1 before and since ,christ1 were endued without doubt with the ,holy ,ghost4 #ac4 ,that the ancient ,catholic ,fathers say that the ,lord's ,supper is the salve of immortality1 the sovereign preservative against death1 the food of immortality1 the healthful grace4 #ad4 ,that the ,lord's ,blessed ,body and ,blood are received under the form of bread and wine4 #ae4 ,that the meat in the ,sacrament is an invisible meat and a ghostly substance4 #af4 ,that the holy ,body and ,blood of thy ,god ought to be touched with the mind4 #ag4 ,that ,ordination is a ,sacrament4 #ah4 ,that ,matrimony is a ,sacrament4 #ai4 ,that there are other ,sacraments besides ,baptism and the ,lord's ,supper1 though not such as they4 #bj4 ,that the souls of the ,saints are reigning in joy and in heaven with ,god4 #ba4 ,that alms-deeds purge the soul from the infection and filthy spots of sin1 and are a precious medicine1 an inestimable jewel4 #bb4 ,that mercifulness wipes out and washes away sins1 as salves and remedies to heal sores and grievous diseases4 #bc4 ,that the duty of fasting is a truth more manifest than it should need to be proved4 #bd4 ,that fasting1 used with prayer1 is of great efficacy and weigheth much with ,god2 so the ,angel ,raphael told ,tobias4 #be4 ,that the puissant and mighty ,emperor ,theodosius was1 in the ,primitive ,church which was most holy and godly1 excommunicated by ,st4 ,ambrose4 #bf4 ,that ,constantine1 ,bishop of ,rome1 did condemn ,philippicus1 then ,emperor1 not without a cause indeed1 but very justly4 ,putting altogether aside the question how far these separate theses came under the matter to which subscription was to be made1 it was quite plain1 that in the minds of the men who wrote the ,homilies1 and who thus incorporated them into the ,anglican system of doctrine1 there was no such nice discrimination between the ,catholic and the ,protestant faith1 no such clear recognition of formal ,protestant principles and tenets1 no such accurate definition of ,roman doctrine1 as is received at the present day3--hence great probability accrued to my presentiment1 that the ,articles were tolerant1 not only of what ,i called ,catholic teaching1 but of much that was ,roman4 #d4 ,and here was another reason against the notion that the ,articles directly attacked the ,roman dogmas as declared at ,trent and as promulgated by ,pius the ,fourth3--the ,council of ,trent was not over1 nor its ,canons promulgated at the date when the ,articles were drawn up#e1 so that those ,articles must be aiming at something else8 ,what was that something else8 ,the ,homilies tell us3 the ,homilies are the best comment upon the ,articles4 ,let us turn to the ,homilies1 and we shall find from first to last that1 not only is not the ,catholic teaching of the first centuries1 but neither again are the dogmas of ,rome1 the objects of the protest of the compilers of the ,articles1 but the dominant errors1 the popular corruptions1 authorized or suffered by the high name of ,rome4 ,the eloquent declamation of the ,homilies finds its matter almost exclusively in the dominant errors4 ,as to ,catholic teaching1 nay as to ,roman dogma1 of such theology those ,homilies1 as ,i have shown1 contained no small portion themselves4 #e ,the ,pope's ,confirmation of the ,council1 by which its ,canons became de fide1 and his ,bull super confirmatione by which they were promulgated to the world1 are dated ,january #bf1 #aefd4 ,the ,articles are dated #aefb4 #e4 ,so much for the writers of the ,articles and ,homilies2--they were witnesses1 not authorities1 and ,i used them as such2 but in the next place1 who were the actual authorities imposing them8 ,i reasonably considered the authority imponens to be the ,convocation of #aega2 but here again1 it would be found that the very ,convocation1 which received and confirmed the #ci ,articles1 also enjoined by ,canon that preachers should be careful1 that they should never teach aught in a sermon1 to be religiously held and believed by the people1 except that which is agreeable to the doctrine of the ,old and ,new ,testament1 and which the ,catholic ,fathers and ancient ,bishops have collected from that very doctrine4 ,here1 let it be observed1 an appeal is made by the ,convocation imponens to the very same ancient authorities1 as had been mentioned with such profound veneration by the writers of the ,homilies and the ,articles1 and thus1 if the ,homilies contained views of doctrine which now would be called ,roman1 there seemed to me to be an extreme probability that the ,convocation of #aega also countenanced and received1 or at least did not reject1 those doctrines4 #f4 ,and further1 when at length ,i came actually to look into the text of the ,articles1 ,i saw in many cases a patent justification of all that ,i had surmised as to their vagueness and indecisiveness1 and that1 not only on questions which lay between ,lutherans1 ,calvinists1 and ,zuinglians1 but on ,catholic questions also2 and ,i have noticed them in my ,tract4 ,in the conclusion of my ,tract ,i observe3 ,the ,articles are evidently framed on the principle of leaving open large questions on which the controversy hinges4 ,they state broadly extreme truths1 and are silent about their adjustment4 ,for instance1 they say that all necessary faith must be proved from ,scripture2 but do not say who is to prove it4 ,they say1 that the ,church has authority in controversies2 they do not say what authority4 ,they say that it may enforce nothing beyond ,scripture1 but do not say where the remedy lies when it does4 ,they say that works before grace and justification are worthless and worse1 and that works after grace and justification are acceptable1 but they do not speak at all of works with ,god's aid before justification4 ,they say that men are lawfully called and sent to minister and preach1 who are chosen and called by men who have public authority given them in the ,congregation2 but they do not add by whom the authority is to be given4 ,they say that ,councils called by princes may err2 they do not determine whether ,councils called in the name of ,christ may err4 ,such were the considerations which weighed with me in my inquiry how far the ,articles were tolerant of a ,catholic1 or even a ,roman interpretation2 and such was the defence which ,i made in my ,tract for having attempted it4 ,from what ,i have already said1 it will appear that ,i have no need or intention at this day to maintain every particular interpretation which ,i suggested in the course of my ,tract1 nor indeed had ,i then4 ,whether it was prudent or not1 whether it was sensible or not1 any how ,i attempted only a first essay of a necessary work1 an essay which1 as ,i was quite prepared to find1 would require revision and modification by means of the lights which ,i should gain from the criticism of others4 ,i should have gladly withdrawn any statement1 which could be proved to me to be erroneous2 ,i considered my work to be faulty and open to objection in the same sense in which ,i now consider my ,anglican interpretations of ,scripture to be erroneous2 but in no other sense4 ,i am surprised that men do not apply to the interpreters of ,scripture generally the hard names which they apply to the author of ,tract #ij4 ,he held a large system of theology1 and applied it to the ,articles3 ,episcopalians1 or ,lutherans1 or ,presbyterians1 or ,unitarians1 hold a large system of theology and apply it to ,scripture4 ,every theology has its difficulties2 ,protestants hold justification by faith only1 though there is no text in ,st4 ,paul which enunciates it1 and though ,st4 ,james expressly denies it2 do we therefore call ,protestants dishonest8 they deny that the ,church has a divine mission1 though ,st4 ,paul says that it is the ,pillar and ground of ,truth2 they keep the ,sabbath1 though ,st4 ,paul says1 ,let no man judge you in meat or drink or in respect of 444 the sabbath days4 ,every creed has texts in its favour1 and again texts which run counter to it3 and this is generally confessed4 ,and this is what ,i felt keenly3--how had ,i done worse in ,tract #ij than ,anglicans1 ,wesleyans1 and ,calvinists did daily in their ,sermons and their publications8 how had ,i done worse1 than the ,evangelical party in their ex animo reception of the ,services for ,baptism and ,visitation of the ,sick#f8 ,why was ,i to be dishonest and they immaculate8 ,there was an occasion on which our ,lord gave an answer1 which seemed to be appropriate to my own case1 when the tumult broke out against my ,tract3--,he that is without sin among you1 let him first cast a stone at him4 ,i could have fancied that a sense of their own difficulties of interpretation would have persuaded the great party ,i have mentioned to some prudence1 or at least moderation1 in opposing a teacher of an opposite school4 ,but ,i suppose their alarm and their anger overcame their sense of justice4 #f ,for instance1 let candid men consider the form of ,absolution contained in that ,prayer ,book1 of which all clergymen1 ,evangelical and ,liberal as well as high ,church1 and 7,i think7 all persons in ,university office declare that it containeth nothing contrary to the ,word of ,god4 ,i challenge1 in the sight of all ,england1 ,evangelical clergymen generally1 to put on paper an interpretation of this form of words1 consistent with their sentiments1 which shall be less forced than the most objectionable of the interpretations which ,tract #ij puts upon any passage in the ,articles4 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 who hath left power to ,his ,church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in ,him1 of ,his great mercy forgive thee thine offences2 and by ,his authority committed to me1 ,i absolve thee from all thy sins1 in the ,name of the ,father1 and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,amen4 ,i subjoin the ,roman form1 as used in ,england and elsewhere3 ,dominus noster ,jesus ,christus te absolvat2 et ego auctoritate ipsius te absolvo1 ab omni vinculo excommunicationis et interdicti1 in quantum possum et tu indiges4 ,deinde ego te absolvo peccatis tuis1 in nomine ,patris et ,filii et ,spirits ,sancti4 ,amen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the sudden storm of indignation with which the ,tract was received throughout the country on its appearance1 ,i recognize much of real religious feeling1 much of honest and true principle1 much of straightforward ignorant common sense4 ,in ,oxford there was genuine feeling too2 but there had been a smouldering1 stern1 energetic animosity1 not at all unnatural1 partly rational1 against its author4 ,a false step had been made2 now was the time for action4 ,i am told that1 even before the publication of the ,tract1 rumours of its contents had got into the hostile camp in an exaggerated form2 and not a moment was lost in proceeding to action1 when ,i was actually fallen into the hands of the ,philistines4 ,i was quite unprepared for the outbreak1 and was startled at its violence4 ,i do not think ,i had any fear4 ,nay1 ,i will add1 ,i am not sure that it was not in one point of view a relief to me4 ,i saw indeed clearly that my place in the ,movement was lost2 public confidence was at an end2 my occupation was gone4 ,it was simply an impossibility that ,i could say any thing henceforth to good effect1 when ,i had been posted up by the marshal on the buttery-hatch of every ,college of my ,university1 after the manner of discommoned pastry-cooks1 and when in every part of the country and every class of society1 through every organ and opportunity of opinion1 in newspapers1 in periodicals1 at meetings1 in pulpits1 at dinner-tables1 in coffee-rooms1 in railway carriages1 ,i was denounced as a traitor who had laid his train and was detected in the very act of firing it against the time-honoured ,establishment4 ,there were indeed men1 besides my own immediate friends1 men of name and position1 who gallantly took my part1 as ,dr4 ,hook1 ,mr4 ,palmer1 and ,mr4 ,perceval2 it must have been a grievous trial for themselves2 yet what after all could they do for me8 ,confidence in me was lost2--but ,i had already lost full confidence in myself4 ,thoughts had passed over me a year and a half before in respect to the ,anglican claims1 which for the time had profoundly troubled me4 ,they had gone3 ,i had not less confidence in the power and the prospects of the ,apostolical movement than before2 not less confidence than before in the grievousness of what ,i called the dominant errors of ,rome3 but how was ,i any more to have absolute confidence in myself8 how was ,i to have confidence in my present confidence8 how was ,i to be sure that ,i should always think as ,i thought now8 ,i felt that by this event a kind ,providence had saved me from an impossible position in the future4 99 99 99 99 99 ,first1 if ,i remember right1 they wished me to withdraw the ,tract4 ,this ,i refused to do3 ,i would not do so for the sake of those who were unsettled or in danger of unsettlement4 ,i would not do so for my own sake2 for how could ,i acquiesce in a mere ,protestant interpretation of the ,articles8 how could ,i range myself among the professors of a theology1 of which it put my teeth on edge even to hear the sound8 ,next they said1 ,keep silence2 do not defend the ,tract2 ,i answered1 ,yes1 if you will not condemn it1--if you will allow it to continue on sale4 ,they pressed on me whenever ,i gave way2 they fell back when they saw me obstinate4 ,their line of action was to get out of me as much as they could2 but upon the point of their tolerating the ,tract ,i was obstinate4 ,so they let me continue it on sale2 and they said they would not condemn it4 ,but they said that this was on condition that ,i did not defend it1 that ,i stopped the series1 and that ,i myself published my own condemnation in a letter to the ,bishop of ,oxford4 ,i impute nothing whatever to him1 he was ever most kind to me4 ,also1 they said they could not answer for what some individual ,bishops might perhaps say about the ,tract in their own charges4 ,i agreed to their conditions4 ,my one point was to save the ,tract4 ,not a line in writing was given me1 as a pledge of the observance of the main article on their side of the engagement4 ,parts of letters from them were read to me1 without being put into my hands4 ,it was an understanding4 ,a clever man had warned me against understandings some thirteen years before3 ,i have hated them ever since4 ,in the last words of my letter to the ,bishop of ,oxford ,i thus resigned my place in the ,movement3-- ,i have nothing to be sorry for1 ,i say to him1 except having made your ,lordship anxious1 and others whom ,i am bound to revere4 ,i have nothing to be sorry for1 but everything to rejoice in and be thankful for4 ,i have never taken pleasure in seeming to be able to move a party1 and whatever influence ,i have had1 has been found1 not sought after4 ,i have acted because others did not act1 and have sacrificed a quiet which ,i prized4 ,may ,god be with me in time to come1 as ,he has been hitherto6 and ,he will be1 if ,i can but keep my hand clean and my heart pure4 ,i think ,i can bear1 or at least will try to bear1 any personal humiliation1 so that ,i am preserved from betraying sacred interests1 which the ,lord of grace and power has given into my charge#g4 #g ,to the ,pamphlets published in my behalf at this time ,i should add ,one ,tract more1 an able and generous defence of ,tractarianism and ,no4 #ij1 by the present ,lord ,houghton4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,history ,,of ,,my ,,religious ,,opinions ,,from #ahci ,,to #ahda4 ,and now that ,i am about to trace1 as far as ,i can1 the course of that great revolution of mind1 which led me to leave my own home1 to which ,i was bound by so many strong and tender ties1 ,i feel overcome with the difficulty of satisfying myself in my account of it1 and have recoiled from the attempt1 till the near approach of the day1 on which these lines must be given to the world1 forces me to set about the task4 ,for who can know himself1 and the multitude of subtle influences which act upon him8 ,and who can recollect1 at the distance of twenty-five years1 all that he once knew about his thoughts and his deeds1 and that1 during a portion of his life1 when1 even at the time1 his observation1 whether of himself or of the external world1 was less than before or after1 by very reason of the perplexity and dismay which weighed upon him1--when1 in spite of the light given to him according to his need amid his darkness1 yet a darkness it emphatically was8 ,and who can suddenly gird himself to a new and anxious undertaking1 which he might be able indeed to perform well1 were full and calm leisure allowed him to look through every thing that he had written1 whether in published works or private letters8 yet again1 granting that calm contemplation of the past1 in itself so desirable1 who could afford to be leisurely and deliberate1 while he practises on himself a cruel operation1 the ripping up of old griefs1 and the venturing again upon the infandum dolorem of years in which the stars of this lower heaven were one by one going out8 ,i could not in cool blood1 nor except upon the imperious call of duty1 attempt what ,i have set myself to do4 ,it is both to head and heart an extreme trial1 thus to analyze what has so long gone by1 and to bring out the results of that examination4 ,i have done various bold things in my life3 this is the boldest3 and1 were ,i not sure ,i should after all succeed in my object1 it would be madness to set about it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the spring of #ahci my position in the ,anglican ,church was at its height4 ,i had supreme confidence in my controversial status1 and ,i had a great and still growing success1 in recommending it to others4 ,i had in the foregoing autumn been somewhat sore at the ,bishop's ,charge1 but ,i have a letter which shows that all annoyance had passed from my mind4 ,in ,january1 if ,i recollect aright1 in order to meet the popular clamour against myself and others1 and to satisfy the ,bishop1 ,i had collected into one all the strong things which they1 and especially ,i1 had said against the ,church of ,rome1 in order to their insertion among the advertisements appended to our publications4 ,conscious as ,i was that my opinions in religion were not gained1 as the world said1 from ,roman sources1 but were1 on the contrary1 the birth of my own mind and of the circumstances in which ,i had been placed1 ,i had a scorn of the imputations which were heaped upon me4 ,it was true that ,i held a large bold system of religion1 very unlike the ,protestantism of the day1 but it was the concentration and adjustment of the statements of great ,anglican authorities1 and ,i had as much right to hold it1 as the ,evangelical1 and more right than the ,liberal party could show1 for asserting their own respective doctrines4 ,as ,i declared on occasion of ,tract #ij1 ,i claimed1 in behalf of who would in the ,anglican ,church1 the right of holding with ,bramhall a comprecation with the ,saints1 and the ,mass all but ,transubstantiation with ,andrewes1 or with ,hooker that ,transubstantiation itself is not a point for ,churches to part communion upon1 or with ,hammond that a ,general ,council1 truly such1 never did1 never shall err in a matter of faith1 or with ,bull that man had in paradise and lost on the fall1 a supernatural habit of grace1 or with ,thorndike that penance is a propitiation for post-baptismal sin1 or with ,pearson that the all-powerful name of ,jesus is no otherwise given than in the ,catholic ,church4 ,two can play at that1 was often in my mouth1 when men of ,protestant sentiments appealed to the ,articles1 ,homilies1 or ,reformers2 in the sense that1 if they had a right to speak loud1 ,i had the liberty to speak out as well as they1 and had the means1 by the same or parallel appeals1 of giving them tit for tat4 ,i thought that the ,anglican ,church was tyrannized over by a mere party1 and ,i aimed at bringing into effect the promise contained in the motto to the ,lyra1 ,they shall know the difference now4 ,i only asked to be allowed to show them the difference4 ,what will best describe my state of mind at the early part of #ahci1 is an ,article in the ,british ,critic for that ,april4 ,i have looked over it now1 for the first time since it was published2 and have been struck by it for this reason3--it contains the last words which ,i ever spoke as an ,anglican to ,anglicans4 ,it may now be read as my parting address and valediction1 made to my friends4 ,i little knew it at the time4 ,it reviews the actual state of things1 and it ends by looking towards the future4 ,it is not altogether mine2 for my memory goes to this1--that ,i had asked a friend to do the work2 that then1 the thought came on me1 that ,i would do it myself3 and that he was good enough to put into my hands what he had with great appositeness written1 and that ,i embodied it in my ,article4 ,every one1 ,i think1 will recognize the greater part of it as mine4 ,it was published two years before the affair of ,tract #ij1 and was entitled ,the ,state of ,religious ,parties4 ,in this ,article1 ,i begin by bringing together testimonies from our enemies to the remarkable success of our exertions4 ,one writer said3 ,opinions and views of a theology of a very marked and peculiar kind have been extensively adopted and strenuously upheld1 and are daily gaining ground among a considerable and influential portion of the members1 as well as ministers of the ,established ,church4 ,another3 ,the ,movement has manifested itself with the most rapid growth of the hot-bed of these evil days4 ,another3 ,the ,via ,media is crowded with young enthusiasts1 who never presume to argue1 except against the propriety of arguing at all4 ,another3 ,were ,i to give you a full list of the works1 which they have produced within the short space of five years1 ,i should surprise you4 ,you would see what a task it would be to make yourself complete master of their system1 even in its present probably immature state4 ,the writers have adopted the motto1 ',in quietness and confidence shall be your strength4' ,with regard to confidence1 they have justified their adopting it2 but as to quietness1 it is not very quiet to pour forth such a succession of controversial publications4 ,another3 ,the spread of these doctrines is in fact now having the effect of rendering all other distinctions obsolete1 and of severing the religious community into two portions1 fundamentally and vehemently opposed one to the other4 ,soon there will be no middle ground left2 and every man1 and especially every clergyman1 will be compelled to make his choice between the two4 ,another3 ,the time has gone by1 when those unfortunate and deeply regretted publications can be passed over without notice1 and the hope that their influence would fail is now dead4 ,another3 ,these doctrines had already made fearful progress4 ,one of the largest churches in ,brighton is crowded to hear them2 so is the church at ,leeds4 ,there are few towns of note1 to which they have not extended4 ,they are preached in small towns in ,scotland4 ,they obtain in ,elginshire1 #fjj miles north of ,london4 ,i found them myself in the heart of the highlands of ,scotland4 ,they are advocated in the newspaper and periodical press4 ,they have even insinuated themselves into the ,house of ,commons4 ,and1 lastly1 a bishop in a charge3--,it is daily assuming a more serious and alarming aspect4 ,under the specious pretence of deference to ,antiquity and respect for primitive models1 the foundations of the ,protestant ,church are undermined by men1 who dwell within her walls1 and those who sit in the ,reformers' seat are traducing the ,reformation4 ,after thus stating the phenomenon of the time1 as it presented itself to those who did not sympathize in it1 the ,article proceeds to account for it2 and this it does by considering it as a re-action from the dry and superficial character of the religious teaching and the literature of the last generation1 or century1 and as a result of the need which was felt both by the hearts and the intellects of the nation for a deeper philosophy1 and as the evidence and as the partial fulfilment of that need1 to which even the chief authors of the then generation had borne witness4 ,first1 ,i mentioned the literary influence of ,walter ,scott1 who turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages4 ,the general need1 ,i said1 of something deeper and more attractive1 than what had offered itself elsewhere1 may be considered to have led to his popularity2 and by means of his popularity he re-acted on his readers1 stimulating their mental thirst1 feeding their hopes1 setting before them visions1 which1 when once seen1 are not easily forgotten1 and silently indoctrinating them with nobler ideas1 which might afterwards be appealed to as first principles4 ,then ,i spoke of ,coleridge1 thus3 ,while history in prose and verse was thus made the instrument of ,church feelings and opinions1 a philosophical basis for the same was laid in ,england by a very original thinker1 who1 while he indulged a liberty of speculation1 which no ,christian can tolerate1 and advocated conclusions which were often heathen rather than ,christian1 yet after all installed a higher philosophy into inquiring minds1 than they had hitherto been accustomed to accept4 ,in this way he made trial of his age1 and succeeded in interesting its genius in the cause of ,catholic truth4 ,then come ,southey and ,wordsworth1 two living poets1 one of whom in the department of fantastic fiction1 the other in that of philosophical meditation1 have addressed themselves to the same high principles and feelings1 and carried forward their readers in the same direction4 ,then comes the prediction of this re-action hazarded by a sagacious observer withdrawn from the world1 and surveying its movements from a distance1 ,mr4 ,alexander ,knox4 ,he had said twenty years before the date of my ,article3 ,no ,church on earth has more intrinsic excellence than the ,english ,church1 yet no ,church probably has less practical influence4444 ,the rich provision1 made by the grace and providence of ,god1 for habits of a noble kind1 is evidence that men shall arise1 fitted both by nature and ability1 to discover for themselves1 and to display to others1 whatever yet remains undiscovered1 whether in the words or works of ,god4 ,also ,i referred to a much venerated clergyman of the last generation1 who said shortly before his death1 ,depend on it1 the day will come1 when those great doctrines1 now buried1 will be brought out to the light of day1 and then the effect will be fearful4 ,i remarked upon this1 that they who now blame the impetuosity of the current1 should rather turn their animadversions upon those who have dammed up a majestic river1 till it has become a flood4 ,these being the circumstances under which the ,movement began and progressed1 it was absurd to refer it to the act of two or three individuals4 ,it was not so much a movement as a spirit afloat2 it was within us1 rising up in hearts where it was least suspected1 and working itself1 though not in secret1 yet so subtly and impalpably1 as hardly to admit of precaution or encounter on any ordinary human rules of opposition4 ,it is1 ,i continued1 an adversary in the air1 a something one and entire1 a whole wherever it is1 unapproachable and incapable of being grasped1 as being the result of causes far deeper than political or other visible agencies1 the spiritual awakening of spiritual wants4 ,to make this clear1 ,i proceed to refer to the chief preachers of the revived doctrines at that moment1 and to draw attention to the variety of their respective antecedents4 ,dr4 ,hook and ,mr4 ,churton represented the high ,church dignitaries of the last century2 ,mr4 ,perceval1 the ,tory aristocracy2 ,mr4 ,keble came from a country parsonage2 ,mr4 ,palmer from ,ireland2 ,dr4 ,pusey from the ,universities of ,germany1 and the study of ,arabic ,,mss42 ,mr4 ,dodsworth from the study of ,prophecy2 ,mr4 ,oakeley had gained his views1 as he himself expressed it1 partly by study1 partly by reflection1 partly by conversation with one or two friends1 inquirers like himself3 while ,i speak of myself as being much indebted to the friendship of ,archbishop ,whately4 ,and thus ,i am led on to ask1 ,what head of a sect is there8 ,what march of opinions can be traced from mind to mind among preachers such as these8 ,they are one and all in their degree the organs of one ,sentiment1 which has risen up simultaneously in many places very mysteriously4 ,my train of thought next led me to speak of the disciples of the ,movement1 and ,i freely acknowledged and lamented that they needed to be kept in order4 ,it is very much to the purpose to draw attention to this point now1 when such extravagances as then occurred1 whatever they were1 are simply laid to my door1 or to the charge of the doctrines which ,i advocated4 ,a man cannot do more than freely confess what is wrong1 say that it need not be1 that it ought not to be1 and that he is very sorry that it should be4 ,now ,i said in the ,article1 which ,i am reviewing1 that the great truths themselves1 which we were preaching1 must not be condemned on account of such abuse of them4 ,aberrations there must ever be1 whatever the doctrine is1 while the human heart is sensitive1 capricious1 and wayward4 ,a mixed multitude went out of ,egypt with the ,israelites4 ,there will ever be a number of persons1 ,i continued1 professing the opinions of a movement party1 who talk loudly and strangely1 do odd or fierce things1 display themselves unnecessarily1 and disgust other people2 persons1 too young to be wise1 too generous to be cautious1 too warm to be sober1 or too intellectual to be humble4 ,such persons will be very apt to attach themselves to particular persons1 to use particular names1 to say things merely because others do1 and to act in a party-spirited way4 ,while ,i thus republish what ,i then said about such extravagances as occurred in these years1 at the same time ,i have a very strong conviction that those extravagances furnished quite as much the welcome excuse for those who were jealous or shy of us1 as the stumbling-blocks of those who were well inclined to our doctrines4 ,this too we felt at the time2 but it was our duty to see that our good should not be evil-spoken of2 and accordingly1 two or three of the writers of the ,tracts for the ,times had commenced a ,series of what they called ,plain ,sermons with the avowed purpose of discouraging and correcting whatever was uppish or extreme in our followers3 to this ,series ,i contributed a volume myself4 ,its conductors say in their ,preface3 ,if therefore as time goes on1 there shall be found persons1 who admiring the innate beauty and majesty of the fuller system of ,primitive ,christianity1 and seeing the transcendent strength of its principles1 shall become loud and voluble advocates in their behalf1 speaking the more freely1 because they do not feel them deeply as founded in divine and eternal truth1 of such persons it is our duty to declare plainly1 that1 as we should contemplate their condition with serious misgiving1 so would they be the last persons from whom we should seek support4 ,but if1 on the other hand1 there shall be any1 who1 in the silent humility of their lives1 and in their unaffected reverence for holy things1 show that they in truth accept these principles as real and substantial1 and by habitual purity of heart and serenity of temper1 give proof of their deep veneration for sacraments and sacramental ordinances1 those persons1 whether our professed adherents or not1 best exemplify the kind of character which the writers of the ,tracts for the ,times have wished to form4 ,these clergymen had the best of claims to use these beautiful words1 for they were themselves1 all of them1 important writers in the ,tracts1 the two ,mr4 ,kebles1 and ,mr4 ,isaac ,williams4 ,and this passage1 with which they ushered their ,series into the world1 ,i quoted in the ,article1 of which ,i am giving an account1 and ,i added1 ,what more can be required of the preachers of neglected truth1 than that they should admit that some1 who do not assent to their preaching1 are holier and better men than some who do8 ,they were not answerable for the intemperance of those who dishonoured a true doctrine1 provided they protested1 as they did1 against such intemperance4 ,they were not answerable for the dust and din which attends any great moral movement4 ,the truer doctrines are1 the more liable they are to be perverted4 ,the notice of these incidental faults of opinion or temper in adherents of the ,movement1 led on to a discussion of the secondary causes1 by means of which a system of doctrine may be embraced1 modified1 or developed1 of the variety of schools which may all be in the ,one ,church1 and of the succession of one phase of doctrine to another1 while that doctrine is ever one and the same4 ,thus ,i was brought on to the subject of ,antiquity1 which was the basis of the doctrine of the ,via ,media1 and by which was not to be understood a servile imitation of the past1 but such a reproduction of it as is really new1 while it is old4 ,we have good hope1 ,i say1 that a system will be rising up1 superior to the age1 yet harmonizing with1 and carrying out its higher points1 which will attract to itself those who are willing to make a venture and to face difficulties1 for the sake of something higher in prospect4 ,on this1 as on other subjects1 the proverb will apply1 ',fortes fortuna adjuvat4' ,lastly1 ,i proceeded to the question of that future of the ,anglican ,church1 which was to be a new birth of the ,ancient ,religion4 ,and ,i did not venture to pronounce upon it4 ,about the future1 we have no prospect before our minds whatever1 good or bad4 ,ever since that great luminary1 ,augustine1 proved to be the last bishop of ,hippo1 ,christians have had a lesson against attempting to foretell1 how ,providence will prosper and or8 bring to an end1 what it begins4 ,perhaps the lately-revived principles would prevail in the ,anglican ,church2 perhaps they would be lost in some miserable schism1 or some more miserable compromise2 but there was nothing rash in venturing to predict that neither ,puritanism nor ,liberalism had any permanent inheritance within her4 ,then ,i went on3 ,as to ,liberalism1 we think the formularies of the ,church will ever1 with the aid of a good ,providence1 keep it from making any serious inroads upon the clergy4 ,besides1 it is too cold a principle to prevail with the multitude4 ,but as regarded what was called ,evangelical ,religion or ,puritanism1 there was more to cause alarm4 ,i observed upon its organization2 but on the other hand it had no intellectual basis2 no internal idea1 no principle of unity1 no theology4 ,its adherents1 ,i said1 are already separating from each other2 they will melt away like a snow-drift4 ,it has no straightforward view on any one point1 on which it professes to teach1 and to hide its poverty1 it has dressed itself out in a maze of words4 ,we have no dread of it at all2 we only fear what it may lead to4 ,it does not stand on intrenched ground1 or make any pretence to a position2 it does but occupy the space between contending powers1 ,catholic ,truth and ,rationalism4 ,then indeed will be the stern encounter1 when two real and living principles1 simple1 entire1 and consistent1 one in the ,church1 the other out of it1 at length rush upon each other1 contending not for names and words1 or half-views1 but for elementary notions and distinctive moral characters4 ,whether the ideas of the coming age upon religion were true or false1 at least they would be real4 ,in the present day1 ,i said1 mistiness is the mother of wisdom4 ,a man who can set down a half-a-dozen general propositions1 which escape from destroying one another only by being diluted into truisms1 who can hold the balance between opposites so skilfully as to do without fulcrum or beam1 who never enunciates a truth without guarding himself against being supposed to exclude the contradictory1--who holds that ,scripture is the only authority1 yet that the ,church is to be deferred to1 that faith only justifies1 yet that it does not justify without works1 that grace does not depend on the sacraments1 yet is not given without them1 that bishops are a divine ordinance1 yet those who have them not are in the same religious condition as those who have1--this is your safe man and the hope of the ,church2 this is what the ,church is said to want1 not party men1 but sensible1 temperate1 sober1 well-judging persons1 to guide it through the channel of no-meaning1 between the ,scylla and ,charybdis of ,aye and ,no4 ,this state of things1 however1 ,i said1 could not last1 if men were to read and think4 ,they will not keep in that very attitude which you call sound ,church-of-,englandism or orthodox ,protestantism4 ,they cannot go on for ever standing on one leg1 or sitting without a chair1 or walking with their feet tied1 or like ,tityrus's stags grazing in the air4 ,they will take one view or another1 but it will be a consistent view4 ,it may be ,liberalism1 or ,erastianism1 or ,popery1 or ,catholicity2 but it will be real4 ,i concluded the ,article by saying1 that all who did not wish to be democratic1 or pantheistic1 or popish1 must look out for some ,via ,media which will preserve us from what threatens1 though it cannot restore the dead4 ,the spirit of ,luther is dead2 but ,hildebrand and ,loyola are alive4 ,is it sensible1 sober1 judicious1 to be so very angry with those writers of the day1 who point to the fact1 that our divines of the seventeenth century have occupied a ground which is the true and intelligible mean between extremes8 ,is it wise to quarrel with this ground1 because it is not exactly what we should choose1 had we the power of choice8 ,is it true moderation1 instead of trying to fortify a middle doctrine1 to fling stones at those who do8444 ,would you rather have your sons and daughters members of the ,church of ,england or of the ,church of ,rome8 ,and thus ,i left the matter4 ,but1 while ,i was thus speaking of the future of the ,movement1 ,i was in truth winding up my accounts with it1 little dreaming that it was so to be2--while ,i was still1 in some way or other1 feeling about for an available ,via ,media1 ,i was soon to receive a shock which was to cast out of my imagination all middle courses and compromises for ever4 ,as ,i have said1 this ,article appeared in the ,april number of the ,british ,critic2 in the ,july number1 ,i cannot tell why1 there is no ,article of mine2 before the number for ,october1 the event had happened to which ,i have alluded4 ,but before ,i proceed to describe what happened to me in the summer of #ahci1 ,i must detain the reader for a while1 in order to describe the issue of the controversy between ,rome and the ,anglican ,church1 as ,i viewed it4 ,this will involve some dry discussion2 but it is as necessary for my narrative1 as plans of buildings and homesteads are at times needed in the proceedings of our law courts4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have said already that1 though the object of the ,movement was to withstand the ,liberalism of the day1 ,i found and felt this could not be done by mere negatives4 ,it was necessary for us to have a positive ,church theory erected on a definite basis4 ,this took me to the great ,anglican divines2 and then of course ,i found at once that it was impossible to form any such theory1 without cutting across the teaching of the ,church of ,rome4 ,thus came in the ,roman controversy4 ,when ,i first turned myself to it1 ,i had neither doubt on the subject1 nor suspicion that doubt would ever come upon me4 ,it was in this state of mind that ,i began to read up ,bellarmine on the one hand1 and numberless ,anglican writers on the other4 ,but ,i soon found1 as others had found before me1 that it was a tangled and manifold controversy1 difficult to master1 more difficult to put out of hand with neatness and precision4 ,it was easy to make points1 not easy to sum up and settle4 ,it was not easy to find a clear issue for the dispute1 and still less by a logical process to decide it in favour of ,anglicanism4 ,this difficulty1 however1 had no tendency whatever to harass or perplex me3 it was a matter which bore not on convictions1 but on proofs4 ,first ,i saw1 as all see who study the subject1 that a broad distinction had to be drawn between the actual state of belief and of usage in the countries which were in communion with the ,roman ,church1 and her formal dogmas2 the latter did not cover the former4 ,sensible pain1 for instance1 is not implied in the ,tridentine decree upon ,purgatory2 but it was the tradition of the ,latin ,church1 and ,i had seen the pictures of souls in flames in the streets of ,naples4 ,bishop ,lloyd had brought this distinction out strongly in an ,article in the ,british ,critic in #ahbe2 indeed1 it was one of the most common objections made to the ,church of ,rome1 that she dared not commit herself by formal decree1 to what nevertheless she sanctioned and allowed4 ,accordingly1 in my ,prophetical ,office1 ,i view as simply separate ideas1 ,rome quiescent1 and ,rome in action4 ,i contrasted her creed on the one hand1 with her ordinary teaching1 her controversial tone1 her political and social bearing1 and her popular beliefs and practices1 on the other4 ,while ,i made this distinction between the decrees and the traditions of ,rome1 ,i drew a parallel distinction between ,anglicanism quiescent1 and ,anglicanism in action4 ,in its formal creed ,anglicanism was not at a great distance from ,rome3 far otherwise1 when viewed in its insular spirit1 the traditions of its establishment1 its historical characteristics1 its controversial rancour1 and its private judgment4 ,i disavowed and condemned those excesses1 and called them ,protestantism or ,ultra-,protestantism3 ,i wished to find a parallel disclaimer1 on the part of ,roman controversialists1 of that popular system of beliefs and usages in their own ,church1 which ,i called ,popery4 ,when that hope was a dream1 ,i saw that the controversy lay between the book-theology of ,anglicanism on the one side1 and the living system of what ,i called ,roman corruption on the other4 ,i could not get further than this2 with this result ,i was forced to content myself4 ,these then were the parties in the controversy3--the ,anglican ,via ,media and the popular religion of ,rome4 ,and next1 as to the issue1 to which the controversy between them was to be brought1 it was this3--the ,anglican disputant took his stand upon ,antiquity or ,apostolicity1 the ,roman upon ,catholicity4 ,the ,anglican said to the ,roman3 ,there is but ,one ,faith1 the ,ancient1 and you have not kept to it2 the ,roman retorted3 ,there is but ,one ,church1 the ,catholic1 and you are out of it4 ,the ,anglican urged ,your special beliefs1 practices1 modes of action1 are nowhere in ,antiquity2 the ,roman objected3 ,you do not communicate with any one ,church besides your own and its offshoots1 and you have discarded principles1 doctrines1 sacraments1 and usages1 which are and ever have been received in the ,east and the ,west4 ,the true ,church1 as defined in the ,creeds1 was both ,catholic and ,apostolic2 now1 as ,i viewed the controversy in which ,i was engaged1 ,england and ,rome had divided these notes or prerogatives between them3 the cause lay thus1 ,apostolicity versus ,catholicity4 ,however1 in thus stating the matter1 of course ,i do not wish it supposed that ,i allowed the note of ,catholicity really to belong to ,rome1 to the disparagement of the ,anglican ,church2 but ,i considered that the special point or plea of ,rome in the controversy was ,catholicity1 as the ,anglican plea was ,antiquity4 ,of course ,i contended that the ,roman idea of ,catholicity was not ancient and apostolic4 ,it was in my judgment at the utmost only natural1 becoming1 expedient1 that the whole of ,christendom should be united in one visible body2 while such a unity might1 on the other hand1 be nothing more than a mere heartless and political combination4 ,for myself1 ,i held with the ,anglican divines1 that1 in the ,primitive ,church1 there was a very real mutual independence between its separate parts1 though1 from a dictate of charity1 there was in fact a close union between them4 ,i considered that each ,see and ,diocese might be compared to a crystal1 and that each was similar to the rest1 and that the sum total of them all was only a collection of crystals4 ,the unity of the ,church lay1 not in its being a polity1 but in its being a family1 a race1 coming down by apostolical descent from its first founders and bishops4 ,and ,i considered this truth brought out1 beyond the possibility of dispute1 in the ,epistles of ,st4 ,ignatius1 in which the ,bishop is represented as the one supreme authority in the ,church1 that is1 in his own place1 with no one above him1 except as1 for the sake of ecclesiastical order and expedience1 arrangements had been made by which one was put over or under another4 ,so much for our own claim to ,catholicity1 which was so perversely appropriated by our opponents to themselves3--on the other hand1 as to our special strong point1 ,antiquity1 while1 of course1 by means of it1 we were able to condemn most emphatically the novel claim of ,rome to domineer over other ,churches1 which were in truth her equals1 further than that1 we thereby especially convicted her of the intolerable offence of having added to the ,faith4 ,this was the critical head of accusation urged against her by the ,anglican disputant2 and as he referred to ,st4 ,ignatius in proof that he himself was a true ,catholic1 in spite of being separated from ,rome1 so he triumphantly referred to the ,treatise of ,vincentius of ,lerins upon the ,quod semper1 quod ubique1 quod ab omnibus1 in proof that the controversialists of ,rome1 in spite of their possession of the ,catholic name1 were separated in their creed from the ,apostolical and primitive faith4 ,of course those controversialists had their own mode of answering him1 with which ,i am not concerned in this place2 here ,i am only concerned with the issue itself1 between the one party and the other--,antiquity versus ,catholicity4 ,now ,i will proceed to illustrate what ,i have been saying of the status of the controversy1 as it presented itself to my mind1 by extracts from my writings of the dates of #ahcf1 #ahdj1 and #ahda4 ,and ,i introduce them with a remark1 which especially applies to the paper1 from which ,i shall quote first1 of the date of #ahcf4 ,that paper appeared in the ,march and ,april numbers of the ,british ,magazine of that year1 and was entitled ,home ,thoughts ,abroad4 ,now it will be found1 that1 in the discussion which it contains1 as in various other writings of mine1 when ,i was in the ,anglican ,church1 the argument in behalf of ,rome is stated with considerable perspicuity and force4 ,and at the time my friends and supporters cried out1 ,how imprudent6 and1 both at the time1 and especially at a later date1 my enemies have cried out1 ,how insidious6 ,friends and foes virtually agreed in their criticism2 ,i had set out the cause which ,i was combating to the best advantage3 this was an offence2 it might be from imprudence1 it might be with a traitorous design4 ,it was from neither the one nor the other2 but for the following reasons4 ,first1 ,i had a great impatience1 whatever was the subject1 of not bringing out the whole of it1 as clearly as ,i could2 next ,i wished to be as fair to my adversaries as possible2 and thirdly ,i thought that there was a great deal of shallowness among our own friends1 and that they undervalued the strength of the argument in behalf of ,rome1 and that they ought to be roused to a more exact apprehension of the position of the controversy4 ,at a later date1 7#ahda17 when ,i really felt the force of the ,roman side of the question myself1 as a difficulty which had to be met1 ,i had a fourth reason for such frankness in argument1 and that was1 because a number of persons were unsettled far more than ,i was1 as to the ,catholicity of the ,anglican ,church4 ,it was quite plain that1 unless ,i was perfectly candid in stating what could be said against it1 there was no chance that any representations1 which ,i felt to be in its favour1 or at least to be adverse to ,rome1 would have had any success with the persons in question4 ,at all times ,i had a deep conviction1 to put the matter on the lowest ground1 that honesty was the best policy4 ,accordingly1 in ,july #ahda1 ,i expressed myself thus on the ,anglican difficulty3 ,this is an objection which we must honestly say is deeply felt by many people1 and not inconsiderable ones2 and the more it is openly avowed to be a difficulty1 the better2 for there is then the chance of its being acknowledged1 and in the course of time obviated1 as far as may be1 by those who have the power4 ,flagrant evils cure themselves by being flagrant2 and we are sanguine that the time is come when so great an evil as this is1 cannot stand its ground against the good feeling and common sense of religious persons4 ,it is the very strength of ,romanism against us2 and1 unless the proper persons take it into their serious consideration1 they may look for certain to undergo the loss1 as time goes on1 of some whom they would least like to be lost to our ,church4 ,the measure which ,i had especially in view in this passage1 was the project of a ,jerusalem ,bishopric1 which the then ,archbishop of ,canterbury was at that time concocting with ,m4 ,bunsen1 and of which ,i shall speak more in the sequel4 ,and now to return to the ,home ,thoughts ,abroad of the spring of #ahcf3-- ,the discussion contained in this composition runs in the form of a dialogue4 ,one of the disputants says3 ,you say to me that the ,church of ,rome is corrupt4 ,what then8 to cut off a limb is a strange way of saving it from the influence of some constitutional ailment4 ,indigestion may cause cramp in the extremities2 yet we spare our poor feet notwithstanding4 ,surely there is such a religious fact as the existence of a great ,catholic body1 union with which is a ,christian privilege and duty4 ,now1 we ,english are separate from it4 ,the other answers3 ,the present is an unsatisfactory1 miserable state of things1 yet ,i can grant no more4 ,the ,church is founded on a doctrine1--on the gospel of ,truth2 it is a means to an end4 ,perish the ,church1 7though1 blessed be the promise6 this cannot be17 yet let it perish rather than the ,truth should fail4 ,purity of faith is more precious to the ,christian than unity itself4 ,if ,rome has erred grievously in doctrine1 then it is a duty to separate even from ,rome4 ,his friend1 who takes the ,roman side of the argument1 refers to the image of the ,vine and its branches1 which is found1 ,i think1 in ,st4 ,cyprian1 as if a branch cut from the ,catholic ,vine must necessarily die4 ,also he quotes a passage from ,st4 ,augustine in controversy with the ,donatists to the same effect2 viz4 that1 as being separated from the body of the ,church1 they were ipso facto cut off from the heritage of ,christ4 ,and he quotes ,st4 ,cyril's argument drawn from the very title ,catholic1 which no body or communion of men has ever dared or been able to appropriate1 besides one4 ,he adds1 ,now ,i am only contending for the fact1 that the communion of ,rome constitutes the main body of the ,church ,catholic1 and that we are split off from it1 and in the condition of the ,donatists4 ,the other replies by denying the fact that the present ,roman communion is like ,st4 ,augustine's ,catholic ,church1 inasmuch as there must be taken into account the large ,anglican and ,greek communions4 ,presently he takes the offensive1 naming distinctly the points1 in which ,rome has departed from ,primitive ,christianity1 viz4 the practical idolatry1 the virtual worship of the ,virgin and ,saints1 which are the offence of the ,latin ,church1 and the degradation of moral truth and duty1 which follows from these4 ,and again3 ,we cannot join a ,church1 did we wish it ever so much1 which does not acknowledge our orders1 refuses us the ,cup1 demands our acquiescence in image-worship1 and excommunicates us1 if we do not receive it and all other decisions of the ,tridentine ,council4 ,his opponent answers these objections by referring to the doctrine of developments of gospel truth4 ,besides1 ,the ,anglican system itself is not found complete in those early centuries2 so that the ,anglican principle of ,antiquity is self-destructive4 ,when a man takes up this ,via ,media1 he is a mere doctrinaire2 he is like those1 who1 in some matter of business1 start up to suggest their own little crotchet1 and are ever measuring mountains with a pocket ruler1 or improving the planetary courses4 ,the ,via ,media has slept in libraries2 it is a substitute of infancy for manhood4 ,it is plain1 then1 that at the end of #ahce or beginning of #ahcf1 ,i had the whole state of the question before me1 on which1 to my mind1 the decision between the ,churches depended4 ,it is observable that the question of the position of the ,pope1 whether as the centre of unity1 or as the source of jurisdiction1 did not come into my thoughts at all2 nor did it1 ,i think ,i may say1 to the end4 ,i doubt whether ,i ever distinctly held any of his powers to be de jure divino1 while ,i was in the ,anglican ,church2--not that ,i saw any difficulty in the doctrine2 not that in connexion with the history of ,st4 ,leo1 of which ,i shall speak by and by1 the idea of his infallibility did not cross my mind1 for it did1--but after all1 in my view the controversy did not turn upon it2 it turned upon the ,faith and the ,church4 ,this was my issue of the controversy from the beginning to the end4 ,there was a contrariety of claims between the ,roman and ,anglican religions1 and the history of my conversion is simply the process of working it out to a solution4 ,in #ahch ,i illustrated it by the contrast presented to us between the ,madonna and ,child1 and a ,calvary4 ,the peculiarity of the ,anglican theology was this1--that it supposed the ,truth to be entirely objective and detached1 not 7as in the theology of ,rome7 lying hid in the bosom of the ,church as if one with her1 clinging to and 7as it were7 lost in her embrace1 but as being sole and unapproachable1 as on the ,cross or at the ,resurrection1 with the ,church close by1 but in the background4 ,as ,i viewed the controversy in #ahcf and #ahch1 so ,i viewed it in #ahdj and #ahda4 ,in the ,british ,critic of ,january #ahdj1 after gradually investigating how the matter lies between the ,churches by means of a dialogue1 ,i end thus3 ,it would seem1 that1 in the above discussion1 each disputant has a strong point3 our strong point is the argument from ,primitiveness1 that of ,romanists from ,universality4 ,it is a fact1 however it is to be accounted for1 that ,rome has added to the ,creed2 and it is a fact1 however we justify ourselves1 that we are estranged from the great body of ,christians over the world4 ,and each of these two facts is at first sight a grave difficulty in the respective systems to which they belong4 ,again1 ,while ,rome1 though not deferring to the ,fathers1 recognizes them1 and ,england1 not deferring to the large body of the ,church1 recognizes it1 both ,rome and ,england have a point to clear up4 ,and still more strongly1 in ,july1 #ahda3 ,if the ,note of schism1 on the one hand1 lies against ,england1 an antagonist disgrace lies upon ,rome1 the ,note of idolatry4 ,let us not be mistaken here2 we are neither accusing ,rome of idolatry nor ourselves of schism2 we think neither charge tenable2 but still the ,roman ,church practises what is so like idolatry1 and the ,english ,church makes much of what is so very like schism1 that without deciding what is the duty of a ,roman ,catholic towards the ,church of ,england in her present state1 we do seriously think that members of the ,english ,church have a providential direction given them1 how to comport themselves towards the ,church of ,rome1 while she is what she is4 ,one remark more about ,antiquity and the ,via ,media4 ,as time went on1 without doubting the strength of the ,anglican argument from ,antiquity1 ,i felt also that it was not merely our special plea1 but our only one4 ,also ,i felt that the ,via ,media1 which was to represent it1 was to be a sort of remodelled and adapted ,antiquity4 ,this ,i advanced both in ,home ,thoughts ,abroad and in the ,article of the ,british ,critic which ,i have analyzed above4 ,but this circumstance1 that after all we must use private judgment upon ,antiquity1 created a sort of distrust of my theory altogether1 which in the conclusion of my ,volume on the ,prophetical ,office 7#ahcf-g7 ,i express thus3 ,now that our discussions draw to a close1 the thought1 with which we entered on the subject1 is apt to recur1 when the excitement of the inquiry has subsided1 and weariness has succeeded1 that what has been said is but a dream1 the wanton exercise1 rather than the practical conclusions of the intellect4 ,and ,i conclude the paragraph by anticipating a line of thought into which ,i was1 in the event1 almost obliged to take refuge3 ,after all1 ,i say1 the ,church is ever invisible in its day1 and faith only apprehends it4 ,what was this1 but to give up the ,notes of a visible ,church altogether1 whether the ,catholic ,note or the ,apostolic8 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,long ,vacation of #ahci began early4 ,there had been a great many visitors to ,oxford from ,easter to ,commemoration2 and ,dr4 ,pusey's party had attracted attention1 more1 ,i think1 than in any former year4 ,i had put away from me the controversy with ,rome for more than two years4 ,in my ,parochial ,sermons the subject had at no time been introduced3 there had been nothing for two years1 either in my ,tracts or in the ,british ,critic1 of a polemical character4 ,i was returning1 for the ,vacation1 to the course of reading which ,i had many years before chosen as especially my own4 ,i have no reason to suppose that the thoughts of ,rome came across my mind at all4 ,about the middle of ,june ,i began to study and master the history of the ,monophysites4 ,i was absorbed in the doctrinal question4 ,this was from about ,june #acth to ,august #cjth4 ,it was during this course of reading that for the first time a doubt came upon me of the tenableness of ,anglicanism4 ,i recollect on the #cjth of ,july mentioning to a friend1 whom ,i had accidentally met1 how remarkable the history was2 but by the end of ,august ,i was seriously alarmed4 ,i have described in a former work1 how the history affected me4 ,my stronghold was ,antiquity2 now here1 in the middle of the fifth century1 ,i found1 as it seemed to me1 ,christendom of the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries reflected4 ,i saw my face in that mirror1 and ,i was a ,monophysite4 ,the ,church of the ,via ,media was in the position of the ,oriental communion1 ,rome was1 where she now is2 and the ,protestants were the ,eutychians4 ,of all passages of history1 since history has been1 who would have thought of going to the sayings and doings of old ,eutyches1 that delirus senex1 as 7,i think7 ,petavius calls him1 and to the enormities of the unprincipled ,dioscorus1 in order to be converted to ,rome6 ,now let it be simply understood that ,i am not writing controversially1 but with the one object of relating things as they happened to me in the course of my conversion4 ,with this view ,i will quote a passage from the account1 which ,i gave in #ahej1 of my reasonings and feelings in #ahci3 ,it was difficult to make out how the ,eutychians or ,monophysites were heretics1 unless ,protestants and ,anglicans were heretics also2 difficult to find arguments against the ,tridentine ,fathers1 which did not tell against the ,fathers of ,chalcedon2 difficult to condemn the ,popes of the sixteenth century1 without condemning the ,popes of the fifth4 ,the drama of religion1 and the combat of truth and error1 were ever one and the same4 ,the principles and proceedings of the ,church now1 were those of the ,church then2 the principles and proceedings of heretics then1 were those of ,protestants now4 ,i found it so1--almost fearfully2 there was an awful similitude1 more awful1 because so silent and unimpassioned1 between the dead records of the past and the feverish chronicle of the present4 ,the shadow of the fifth century was on the sixteenth4 ,it was like a spirit rising from the troubled waters of the old world1 with the shape and lineaments of the new4 ,the ,church then1 as now1 might be called peremptory and stern1 resolute1 overbearing1 and relentless2 and heretics were shifting1 changeable1 reserved1 and deceitful1 ever courting civil power1 and never agreeing together1 except by its aid2 and the civil power was ever aiming at comprehensions1 trying to put the invisible out of view1 and substituting expediency for faith4 ,what was the use of continuing the controversy1 or defending my position1 if1 after all1 ,i was forging arguments for ,arius or ,eutyches1 and turning devil's advocate against the much-enduring ,athanasius and the majestic ,leo8 ,be my soul with the ,saints6 and shall ,i lift up my hand against them8 ,sooner may my right hand forget her cunning1 and wither outright1 as his who once stretched it out against a prophet of ,god6 anathema to a whole tribe of ,cranmers1 ,ridleys1 ,latimers1 and ,jewels6 perish the names of ,bramhall1 ,ussher1 ,taylor1 ,stillingfleet1 and ,barrow from the face of the earth1 ere ,i should do ought but fall at their feet in love and in worship1 whose image was continually before my eyes1 and whose musical words were ever in my ears and on my tongue6 ,hardly had ,i brought my course of reading to a close1 when the ,dublin ,review of that same ,august was put into my hands1 by friends who were more favourable to the cause of ,rome than ,i was myself4 ,there was an article in it on the ,anglican ,claim by ,dr4 ,wiseman4 ,this was about the middle of ,september4 ,it was on the ,donatists1 with an application to ,anglicanism4 ,i read it1 and did not see much in it4 ,the ,donatist controversy was known to me for some years1 as has appeared already4 ,the case was not parallel to that of the ,anglican ,church4 ,st4 ,augustine in ,africa wrote against the ,donatists in ,africa4 ,they were a furious party who made a schism within the ,african ,church1 and not beyond its limits4 ,it was a case of ,altar against ,altar1 of two occupants of the same ,see1 as that between the ,non-jurors in ,england and the ,established ,church2 not the case of one ,church against another1 as of ,rome against the ,oriental ,monophysites4 ,but my friend1 an anxiously religious man1 now1 as then1 very dear to me1 a ,protestant still1 pointed out the palmary words of ,st4 ,augustine1 which were contained in one of the extracts made in the ,review1 and which had escaped my observation4 ,securus judicat orbis terrarum4 ,he repeated these words again and again1 and1 when he was gone1 they kept ringing in my ears4 ,securus judicat orbis terrarum2 they were words which went beyond the occasion of the ,donatists3 they applied to that of the ,monophysites4 ,they gave a cogency to the ,article1 which had escaped me at first4 ,they decided ecclesiastical questions on a simpler rule than that of ,antiquity2 nay1 ,st4 ,augustine was one of the prime oracles of ,antiquity2 here then ,antiquity was deciding against itself4 ,what a light was hereby thrown upon every controversy in the ,church6 not that1 for the moment1 the multitude may not falter in their judgment1--not that1 in the ,arian hurricane1 ,sees more than can be numbered did not bend before its fury1 and fall off from ,st4 ,athanasius1--not that the crowd of ,oriental ,bishops did not need to be sustained during the contest by the voice and the eye of ,st4 ,leo2 but that the deliberate judgment1 in which the whole ,church at length rests and acquiesces1 is an infallible prescription and a final sentence against such portions of it as protest and secede4 ,who can account for the impressions which are made on him8 ,for a mere sentence1 the words of ,st4 ,augustine1 struck me with a power which ,i never had felt from any words before4 ,to take a familiar instance1 they were like the ,turn again ,whittington of the chime2 or1 to take a more serious one1 they were like the ,tolle1 lege1--,tolle1 lege1 of the child1 which converted ,st4 ,augustine himself4 ,securus judicat orbis terrarum6 ,by those great words of the ancient ,father1 interpreting and summing up the long and varied course of ecclesiastical history1 the theory of the ,via ,media was absolutely pulverized4 ,i became excited at the view thus opened upon me4 ,i was just starting on a round of visits2 and ,i mentioned my state of mind to two most intimate friends3 ,i think to no others4 ,after a while1 ,i got calm1 and at length the vivid impression upon my imagination faded away4 ,what ,i thought about it on reflection1 ,i will attempt to describe presently4 ,i had to determine its logical value1 and its bearing upon my duty4 ,meanwhile1 so far as this was certain1--,i had seen the shadow of a hand upon the wall4 ,it was clear that ,i had a good deal to learn on the question of the ,churches1 and that perhaps some new light was coming upon me4 ,he who has seen a ghost1 cannot be as if he had never seen it4 ,the heavens had opened and closed again4 ,the thought for the moment had been1 ,the ,church of ,rome will be found right after all2 and then it had vanished4 ,my old convictions remained as before4 ,at this time1 ,i wrote my ,sermon on ,divine ,calls1 which ,i published in my volume of ,plain ,sermons4 ,it ends thus3-- ,o that we could take that simple view of things1 as to feel that the one thing which lies before us is to please ,god6 ,what gain is it to please the world1 to please the great1 nay even to please those whom we love1 compared with this8 ,what gain is it to be applauded1 admired1 courted1 followed1--compared with this one aim1 of not being disobedient to a heavenly vision8 ,what can this world offer comparable with that insight into spiritual things1 that keen faith1 that heavenly peace1 that high sanctity1 that everlasting righteousness1 that hope of glory1 which they have1 who in sincerity love and follow our ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,let us beg and pray ,him day by day to reveal ,himself to our souls more fully1 to quicken our senses1 to give us sight and hearing1 taste and touch of the world to come2 so to work within us1 that we may sincerely say1 ',thou shalt guide me with ,thy counsel1 and after that receive me with glory4 ,whom have ,i in heaven but ,thee8 and there is none upon earth that ,i desire in comparison of ,thee4 ,my flesh and my heart faileth1 but ,god is the strength of my heart1 and my portion for ever4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,now to trace the succession of thoughts1 and the conclusions1 and the consequent innovations on my previous belief1 and the general conduct1 to which ,i was led1 upon this sudden visitation4 ,and first1 ,i will say1 whatever comes of saying it1 for ,i leave inferences to others1 that for years ,i must have had something of an habitual notion1 though it was latent1 and had never led me to distrust my own convictions1 that my mind had not found its ultimate rest1 and that in some sense or other ,i was on journey4 ,during the same passage across the ,mediterranean in which ,i wrote ,lead kindly light1 ,i also wrote the verses1 which are found in the ,lyra under the head of ,providences1 beginning1 ,when ,i look back4 ,this was in #ahcc2 and1 since ,i have begun this narrative1 ,i have found a memorandum under the date of ,september #g1 #ahbi1 in which ,i speak of myself1 as now in my rooms in ,oriel ,college1 slowly advancing c4 and led on by ,god's hand blindly1 not knowing whither ,he is taking me4 ,but1 whatever this presentiment be worth1 it was no protection against the dismay and disgust1 which ,i felt1 in consequence of the dreadful misgiving1 of which ,i have been relating the history4 ,the one question was1 what was ,i to do8 ,i had to make up my mind for myself1 and others could not help me4 ,i determined to be guided1 not by my imagination1 but by my reason4 ,and this ,i said over and over again in the years which followed1 both in conversation and in private letters4 ,had it not been for this severe resolve1 ,i should have been a ,catholic sooner than ,i was4 ,moreover1 ,i felt on consideration a positive doubt1 on the other hand1 whether the suggestion did not come from below4 ,then ,i said to myself1 ,time alone can solve that question4 ,it was my business to go on as usual1 to obey those convictions to which ,i had so long surrendered myself1 which still had possession of me1 and on which my new thoughts had no direct bearing4 ,that new conception of things should only so far influence me1 as it had a logical claim to do so4 ,if it came from above1 it would come again2--so ,i trusted1--and with more definite outlines and greater cogency and consistency of proof4 ,i thought of ,samuel1 before he knew the word of the ,lord2 and therefore ,i went1 and lay down to sleep again4 ,this was my broad view of the matter1 and my prim facie conclusion4 ,however1 my new historical fact had already to a certain point a logical force4 ,down had come the ,via ,media as a definite theory or scheme1 under the blows of ,st4 ,leo4 ,my ,prophetical ,office had come to pieces2 not indeed as an argument against ,roman errors1 nor as against ,protestantism1 but as in behalf of ,england4 ,i had no longer a distinctive plea for ,anglicanism1 unless ,i would be a ,monophysite4 ,i had1 most painfully1 to fall back upon my three original points of belief1 which ,i have spoken so much of in a former passage1--the principle of dogma1 the sacramental system1 and anti-,romanism4 ,of these three1 the first two were better secured in ,rome than in the ,anglican ,church4 ,the ,apostolical ,succession1 the two prominent sacraments1 and the primitive ,creeds1 belonged1 indeed1 to the latter2 but there had been and was far less strictness on matters of dogma and ritual in the ,anglican system than in the ,roman3 in consequence1 my main argument for the ,anglican claims lay in the positive and special charges1 which ,i could bring against ,rome4 ,i had no positive ,anglican theory4 ,i was very nearly a pure ,protestant4 ,lutherans had a sort of theology1 so had ,calvinists2 ,i had none4 ,however1 this pure ,protestantism1 to which ,i was gradually left1 was really a practical principle4 ,it was a strong1 though it was only a negative ground1 and it still had great hold on me4 ,as a boy of fifteen1 ,i had so fully imbibed it1 that ,i had actually erased in my ,gradus ad ,parnassum1 such titles1 under the word ,papa1 as ,christi ,vicarius1 sacer interpres1 and sceptra gerens1 and substituted epithets so vile that ,i cannot bring myself to write them down here4 ,the effect of this early persuasion remained as1 what ,i have already called it1 a stain upon my imagination4 ,as regards my reason1 ,i began in #ahcc to form theories on the subject1 which tended to obliterate it2 yet by #ahch ,i had got no further than to consider ,antichrist1 as not the ,church of ,rome1 but the spirit of the old pagan city1 the fourth monster of ,daniel1 which was still alive1 and which had corrupted the ,church which was planted there4 ,soon after this indeed1 and before my attention was directed to the ,monophysite controversy1 ,i underwent a great change of opinion4 ,i saw that1 from the nature of the case1 the true ,vicar of ,christ must ever to the world seem like ,antichrist1 and be stigmatized as such1 because a resemblance must ever exist between an original and a forgery2 and thus the fact of such a calumny was almost one of the notes of the ,church4 ,but we cannot unmake ourselves or change our habits in a moment4 ,though my reason was convinced1 ,i did not throw off1 for some time after1--,i could not have thrown off1--the unreasoning prejudice and suspicion1 which ,i cherished about her at least by fits and starts1 in spite of this conviction of my reason4 ,i cannot prove this1 but ,i believe it to have been the case from what ,i recollect of myself4 ,nor was there any thing in the history of ,st4 ,leo and the ,monophysites to undo the firm belief ,i had in the existence of what ,i called the practical abuses and excesses of ,rome4 ,to her inconsistencies then1 to her ambition and intrigue1 to her sophistries 7as ,i considered them to be7 ,i now had recourse in my opposition to her1 both public and personal4 ,i did so by way of a relief4 ,i had a great and growing dislike1 after the summer of #ahci1 to speak against the ,roman ,church herself or her formal doctrines4 ,i was very averse to speaking against doctrines1 which might possibly turn out to be true1 though at the time ,i had no reason for thinking they were2 or against the ,church1 which had preserved them4 ,i began to have misgivings1 that1 strong as my own feelings had been against her1 yet in some things which ,i had said1 ,i had taken the statements of ,anglican divines for granted without weighing them for myself4 ,i said to a friend in #ahdj1 in a letter1 which ,i shall use presently1 ,i am troubled by doubts whether as it is1 ,i have not1 in what ,i have published1 spoken too strongly against ,rome1 though ,i think ,i did it in a kind of faith1 being determined to put myself into the ,english system1 and say all that our divines said1 whether ,i had fully weighed it or not4 ,i was sore about the great ,anglican divines1 as if they had taken me in1 and made me say strong things1 which facts did not justify4 ,yet ,i did still hold in substance all that ,i had said against the ,church of ,rome in my ,prophetical ,office4 ,i felt the force of the usual ,protestant objections against her2 ,i believed that we had the ,apostolical succession in the ,anglican ,church1 and the grace of the sacraments2 ,i was not sure that the difficulty of its isolation might not be overcome1 though ,i was far from sure that it could4 ,i did not see any clear proof that it had committed itself to any heresy1 or had taken part against the truth2 and ,i was not sure that it would not revive into full ,apostolic purity and strength1 and grow into union with ,rome herself 7,rome explaining her doctrines and guarding against their abuse71 that is1 if we were but patient and hopeful4 ,i began to wish for union between the ,anglican ,church and ,rome1 if1 and when1 it was possible2 and ,i did what ,i could to gain weekly prayers for that object4 ,the ground which ,i felt to be good against her was the moral ground3 ,i felt ,i could not be wrong in striking at her political and social line of action4 ,the alliance of a dogmatic religion with liberals1 high or low1 seemed to me a providential direction against moving towards ,rome1 and a better ,preservative against ,popery1 than the three volumes in folio1 in which1 ,i think1 that prophylactic is to be found4 ,however1 on occasions which demanded it1 ,i felt it a duty to give out plainly all that ,i thought1 though ,i did not like to do so4 ,one such instance occurred1 when ,i had to publish a ,letter about ,tract #ij4 ,in that ,letter1 ,i said1 ,instead of setting before the soul the ,holy ,trinity1 and heaven and hell1 the ,church of ,rome does seem to me1 as a popular system1 to preach the ,blessed ,virgin and the ,saints1 and purgatory4 ,on this occasion ,i recollect expressing to a friend the distress it gave me thus to speak2 but1 ,i said1 ,how can ,i help saying it1 if ,i think it8 and ,i do think it2 my ,bishop calls on me to say out what ,i think2 and that is the long and the short of it4 ,but ,i recollected ,hurrell ,froude's words to me1 almost his dying words1 ,i must enter another protest against your cursing and swearing4 ,what good can it do8 and ,i call it uncharitable to an excess4 ,how mistaken we may ourselves be1 on many points that are only gradually opening on us6 ,instead then of speaking of errors in doctrine1 ,i was driven1 by my state of mind1 to insist upon the political conduct1 the controversial bearing1 and the social methods and manifestations of ,rome4 ,and here ,i found a matter ready to my hand1 which affected me the more sensibly for the reason that it lay at our very doors4 ,i can hardly describe too strongly my feeling upon it4 ,i had an unspeakable aversion to the policy and acts of ,mr4 ,o',connell1 because1 as ,i thought1 he associated himself with men of all religions and no religion against the ,anglican ,church1 and advanced ,catholicism by violence and intrigue4 ,when then ,i found him taken up by the ,english ,catholics1 and1 as ,i supposed1 at ,rome1 ,i considered ,i had a fulfilment before my eyes how the ,court of ,rome played fast and loose1 and justified the serious charges which ,i had seen put down in books against it4 ,here we saw what ,rome was in action1 whatever she might be when quiescent4 ,her conduct was simply secular and political4 ,this feeling led me into the excess of being very rude to that zealous and most charitable man1 ,mr4 ,spencer1 when he came to ,oxford in ,january1 #ahdj1 to get ,anglicans to set about praying for ,unity4 ,i myself1 at that time1 or soon after1 drew up such prayers2 their desirableness was one of the first thoughts which came upon me after my shock2 but ,i was too much annoyed with the political action of the ,catholic body in these islands to wish to have any thing to do with them personally4 ,so glad in my heart was ,i to see him1 when he came to my rooms with ,mr4 ,palmer of ,magdalen1 that ,i could have laughed for joy2 ,i think ,i did laugh2 but ,i was very rude to him1 ,i would not meet him at dinner1 and that1 7though ,i did not say so17 because ,i considered him in loco apostat from the ,anglican ,church1 and ,i hereby beg his pardon for it4 ,i wrote afterwards with a view to apologize1 but ,i dare say he must have thought that ,i made the matter worse1 for these were my words to him3-- ,the news that you are praying for us is most touching1 and raises a variety of indescribable emotions4444 ,may their prayers return abundantly into their own bosoms4444 ,why then do ,i not meet you in a manner conformable with these first feelings8 ,for this single reason1 if ,i may say it1 that your acts are contrary to your words4 ,you invite us to a union of hearts1 at the same time that you are doing all you can1 not to restore1 not to reform1 not to re-unite1 but to destroy our ,church4 ,you go further than your principles require4 ,you are leagued with our enemies4 ',the voice is ,jacob's voice1 but the hands are the hands of ,esau4' ,this is what especially distresses us2 this is what we cannot understand2 how ,christians1 like yourselves1 with the clear view you have that a warfare is ever waging in the world between good and evil1 should1 in the present state of ,england1 ally yourselves with the side of evil against the side of good4444 ,of parties now in the country1 you cannot but allow1 that next to yourselves we are nearest to revealed truth4 ,we maintain great and holy principles2 we profess ,catholic doctrines4444 ,so near are we as a body to yourselves in modes of thinking1 as even to have been taunted with the nicknames which belong to you2 and1 on the other hand1 if there are professed infidels1 scoffers1 sceptics1 unprincipled men1 rebels1 they are found among our opponents4 ,and yet you take part with them against us4444 ,you consent to act hand in hand with these and others for our overthrow4 ,alas6 all this it is that impresses us irresistibly with the notion that you are a political1 not a religious party2 that in order to gain an end on which you set your hearts1--an open stage for yourselves in ,england1--you ally yourselves with those who hold nothing against those who hold something4 ,this is what distresses my own mind so greatly1 to speak of myself1 that1 with limitations which need not now be mentioned1 ,i cannot meet familiarly any leading persons of the ,roman ,communion1 and least of all when they come on a religious errand4 ,break off1 ,i would say1 with ,mr4 ,o',connell in ,ireland and the liberal party in ,england1 or come not to us with overtures for mutual prayer and religious sympathy4 ,and here came in another feeling1 of a personal nature1 which had little to do with the argument against ,rome1 except that1 in my prejudice1 ,i viewed what happened to myself in the light of my own ideas of the traditionary conduct of her advocates and instruments4 ,i was very stern in the case of any interference in our ,oxford matters on the part of charitable ,catholics1 and of any attempt to do me good personally4 ,there was nothing1 indeed1 at the time more likely to throw me back4 ,why do you meddle8 why cannot you let me alone8 ,you can do me no good2 you know nothing on earth about me2 you may actually do me harm2 ,i am in better hands than yours4 ,i know my own sincerity of purpose2 and ,i am determined upon taking my time4 ,since ,i have been a ,catholic1 people have sometimes accused me of backwardness in making converts2 and ,protestants have argued from it that ,i have no great eagerness to do so4 ,it would be against my nature to act otherwise than ,i do2 but besides1 it would be to forget the lessons which ,i gained in the experience of my own history in the past4 ,this is the account which ,i have to give of some savage and ungrateful words in the ,british ,critic of #ahdj against the controversialists of ,rome3 ,by their fruits ye shall know them4444 ,we see it attempting to gain converts among us by unreal representations of its doctrines1 plausible statements1 bold assertions1 appeals to the weaknesses of human nature1 to our fancies1 our eccentricities1 our fears1 our frivolities1 our false philosophies4 ,we see its agents1 smiling and nodding and ducking to attract attention1 as gipsies make up to truant boys1 holding out tales for the nursery1 and pretty pictures1 and gilt gingerbread1 and physic concealed in jam1 and sugar-plums for good children4 ,who can but feel shame when the religion of ,ximenes1 ,borromeo1 and ,pascal1 is so overlaid8 ,who can but feel sorrow1 when its devout and earnest defenders so mistake its genius and its capabilities8 ,we ,englishmen like manliness1 openness1 consistency1 truth4 ,rome will never gain on us1 till she learns these virtues1 and uses them2 and then she may gain us1 but it will be by ceasing to be what we now mean by ,rome1 by having a right1 not to 'have dominion over our faith1' but to gain and possess our affections in the bonds of the gospel4 ,till she ceases to be what she practically is1 a union is impossible between her and ,england2 but1 if she does reform1 7and who can presume to say that so large a part of ,christendom never can87 then it will be our ,church's duty at once to join in communion with the continental ,churches1 whatever politicians at home may say to it1 and whatever steps the civil power may take in consequence4 ,and though we may not live to see that day1 at least we are bound to pray for it2 we are bound to pray for our brethren that they and we may be led together into the pure light of the gospel1 and be one as we once were one4 ,it was most touching news to be told1 as we were lately1 that ,christians on the ,continent were praying together for the spiritual well-being of ,england4 ,may they gain light1 while they aim at unity1 and grow in faith while they manifest their love6 ,we too have our duties to them2 not of reviling1 not of slandering1 not of hating1 though political interests require it2 but the duty of loving brethren still more abundantly in spirit1 whose faces1 for our sins and their sins1 we are not allowed to see in the flesh4 ,no one ought to indulge in insinuations2 it certainly diminishes my right to complain of slanders uttered against myself1 when1 as in this passage1 ,i had already spoken in disparagement of the controversialists of that religious body1 to which ,i myself now belong4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have thus put together1 as well as ,i can1 what has to be said about my general state of mind from the autumn of #ahci to the summer of #ahda2 and1 having done so1 ,i go on to narrate how my new misgivings affected my conduct1 and my relations towards the ,anglican ,church4 ,when ,i got back to ,oxford in ,october1 #ahci1 after the visits which ,i had been paying1 it so happened1 there had been1 in my absence1 occurrences of an awkward character1 compromising me both with my ,bishop and also with the authorities of the ,university2 and this drew my attention at once to the state of the ,movement party there1 and made me very anxious for the future4 ,in the spring of the year1 as has been seen in the ,article analyzed above1 ,i had spoken of the excesses which were to be found among persons commonly included in it3--at that time ,i thought little of such an evil1 but the new views1 which had come on me during the ,long ,vacation1 on the one hand made me comprehend it1 and on the other took away my power of effectually meeting it4 ,a firm and powerful control was necessary to keep men straight2 ,i never had a strong wrist1 but at the very time1 when it was most needed1 the reins had broken in my hands4 ,with an anxious presentiment on my mind of the upshot of the whole inquiry1 which it was almost impossible for me to conceal from men who saw me day by day1 who heard my familiar conversation1 who came perhaps for the express purpose of pumping me1 and having a categorical yes or no to their questions1--how could ,i expect to say any thing about my actual1 positive1 present belief1 which would be sustaining or consoling to such persons as were haunted already by doubts of their own8 ,nay1 how could ,i1 with satisfaction to myself1 analyze my own mind1 and say what ,i held and what ,i did not hold8 or how could ,i say with what limitations1 shades of difference1 or degrees of belief1 ,i still held that body of ,anglican opinions which ,i had openly professed and taught8 how could ,i deny or assert this point or that1 without injustice to the new light1 in which the whole evidence for those old opinions presented itself to my mind8 ,however1 ,i had to do what ,i could1 and what was best1 under the circumstances2 ,i found a general talk on the subject of the ,article in the ,dublin ,review2 and1 if it had affected me1 it was not wonderful1 that it affected others also4 ,as to myself1 ,i felt no kind of certainty that the argument in it was conclusive4 ,taking it at the worst1 granting that the ,anglican ,church had not the ,note of ,catholicity2 yet there were many ,notes of the ,church4 ,some belonged to one age or place1 some to another4 ,bellarmine had reckoned ,temporal ,prosperity among the ,notes of the ,church2 but the ,roman ,church had not any great popularity1 wealth1 glory1 power1 or prospects1 in the nineteenth century4 ,it was not at all certain as yet1 even that we had not the ,note of ,catholicity2 but1 if not this1 we had others4 ,my first business then1 was to examine this question carefully1 and see1 whether a great deal could not be said after all for the ,anglican ,church1 in spite of its acknowledged short-comings4 ,this ,i did in an ,article on the ,catholicity of the ,english ,church1 which appeared in the ,british ,critic of ,january1 #ahdj4 ,as to my personal distress on the point1 ,i think it had gone by ,february #bast in that year1 for ,i wrote then to ,mr4 ,bowden about the important ,article in the ,dublin1 thus3 ,it made a great impression here ,oxford2 and1 ,i say what of course ,i would only say to such as yourself1 it made me for a while very uncomfortable in my own mind4 ,the great speciousness of his argument is one of the things which have made me despond so much1 that is1 as anticipating its effect upon others4 ,but1 secondly1 the great stumbling-block lay in the #ci ,articles4 ,it was urged that here was a positive ,note against ,anglicanism3--,anglicanism claimed to hold1 that the ,church of ,england was nothing else than a continuation in this country1 7as the ,church of ,rome might be in ,france or ,spain17 of that one ,church of which in old times ,athanasius and ,augustine were members4 ,but1 if so1 the doctrine must be the same2 the doctrine of the ,old ,church must live and speak in ,anglican formularies1 in the #ci ,articles4 ,did it8 ,yes1 it did2 that is what ,i maintained2 it did in substance1 in a true sense4 ,man had done his worst to disfigure1 to mutilate1 the old ,catholic ,truth2 but there it was1 in spite of them1 in the ,articles still4 ,it was there1--but this must be shown4 ,it was a matter of life and death to us to show it4 ,and ,i believed that it could be shown2 ,i considered that those grounds of justification1 which ,i gave above1 when ,i was speaking of ,tract #ij1 were sufficient for the purpose2 and therefore ,i set about showing it at once4 ,this was in ,march1 #ahdj1 when ,i went up to ,littlemore4 ,and1 as it was a matter of life and death with us1 all risks must be run to show it4 ,when the attempt was actually made1 ,i had got reconciled to the prospect of it1 and had no apprehensions as to the experiment2 but in #ahdj1 while my purpose was honest1 and my grounds of reason satisfactory1 ,i did nevertheless recognize that ,i was engaged in an experimentum crucis4 ,i have no doubt that then ,i acknowledged to myself that it would be a trial of the ,anglican ,church1 which it had never undergone before1--not that the ,catholic sense of the ,articles had not been held or at least suffered by their framers and promulgators1 not that it was not implied in the teaching of ,andrewes or ,beveridge1 but that it had never been publicly recognized1 while the interpretation of the day was ,protestant and exclusive4 ,i observe also1 that1 though my ,tract was an experiment1 it was1 as ,i said at the time1 no feeler2 the event showed this2 for1 when my principle was not granted1 ,i did not draw back1 but gave up4 ,i would not hold office in a ,church which would not allow my sense of the ,articles4 ,my tone was1 ,this is necessary for us1 and have it we must and will1 and1 if it tends to bring men to look less bitterly on the ,church of ,rome1 so much the better4 ,this then was the second work to which ,i set myself2 though when ,i got to ,littlemore1 other things interfered to prevent my accomplishing it at the moment4 ,i had in mind to remove all such obstacles as lay in the way of holding the ,apostolic and ,catholic character of the ,anglican teaching2 to assert the right of all who chose1 to say in the face of day1 ,our ,church teaches the ,primitive ,ancient faith4 ,i did not conceal this3 in ,tract #ij1 it is put forward as the first principle of all1 ,it is a duty which we owe both to the ,catholic ,church1 and to our own1 to take our reformed confessions in the most ,catholic sense they will admit3 we have no duties towards their framers4 ,and still more pointedly in my ,letter1 explanatory of the ,tract1 addressed to ,dr4 ,jelf1 ,i say3 ,the only peculiarity of the view ,i advocate1 if ,i must so call it1 is this--that whereas it is usual at this day to make the particular belief of their writers their true interpretation1 ,i would make the belief of the ,catholic ,church such4 ,that is1 as it is often said that infants are regenerated in ,baptism1 not on the faith of their parents1 but of the ,church1 so in like manner ,i would say that the ,articles are received1 not in the sense of their framers1 but 7as far as the wording will admit or any ambiguity requires it7 in the one ,catholic sense4 ,a third measure which ,i distinctly contemplated1 was the resignation of ,st4 ,mary's1 whatever became of the question of the #ci ,articles2 and as a first step ,i meditated a retirement to ,littlemore4 ,littlemore was an integral part of ,st4 ,mary's ,parish1 and between two and three miles distant from ,oxford4 ,i had built a ,church there several years before2 and ,i went there to pass the ,lent of #ahdj1 and gave myself up to teaching in the ,parish ,school1 and practising the choir4 ,at the same time1 ,i had in view a monastic house there4 ,i bought ten acres of ground and began planting2 but this great design was never carried out4 ,i mention it1 because it shows how little ,i had really the idea at that time of ever leaving the ,anglican ,church4 ,that ,i contemplated as early as #ahci the further step of giving up ,st4 ,mary's1 appears from a letter which ,i wrote in ,october1 #ahdj1 to ,mr4 ,keble1 the friend whom it was most natural for me to consult on such a point4 ,it ran as follows3-- ,for a year past a feeling has been growing on me that ,i ought to give up ,st4 ,mary's1 but ,i am no fit judge in the matter4 ,i cannot ascertain accurately my own impressions and convictions1 which are the basis of the difficulty1 and though you cannot of course do this for me1 yet you may help me generally1 and perhaps supersede the necessity of my going by them at all4 ,first1 it is certain that ,i do not know my ,oxford parishioners2 ,i am not conscious of influencing them1 and certainly ,i have no insight into their spiritual state4 ,i have no personal1 no pastoral acquaintance with them4 ,to very few have ,i any opportunity of saying a religious word4 ,whatever influence ,i exert on them is precisely that which ,i may be exerting on persons out of my parish4 ,in my excuse ,i am accustomed to say to myself that ,i am not adapted to get on with them1 while others are4 ,on the other hand1 ,i am conscious that by means of my position at ,st4 ,mary's1 ,i do exert a considerable influence on the ,university1 whether on ,under-graduates or ,graduates4 ,it seems1 then1 on the whole that ,i am using ,st4 ,mary's1 to the neglect of its direct duties1 for objects not belonging to it2 ,i am converting a parochial charge into a sort of ,university office4 ,i think ,i may say truly that ,i have begun scarcely any plan but for the sake of my parish1 but every one has turned1 independently of me1 into the direction of the ,university4 ,i began ,saints'-days ,services1 daily ,services1 and ,lectures in ,adam de ,brome's ,chapel1 for my parishioners2 but they have not come to them4 ,in consequence ,i dropped the last mentioned1 having1 while it lasted1 been naturally led to direct it to the instruction of those who did come1 instead of those who did not4 ,the ,weekly ,communion1 ,i believe1 ,i did begin for the sake of the ,university4 ,added to this the authorities of the ,university1 the appointed guardians of those who form great part of the attendants on my ,sermons1 have shown a dislike of my preaching4 ,one dissuades men from coming2--the late ,vice-,chancellor threatens to take his own children away from the ,church2 and the present1 having an opportunity last spring of preaching in my parish pulpit1 gets up and preaches against doctrine with which ,i am in good measure identified4 ,no plainer proof can be given of the feeling in these quarters1 than the absurd myth1 now a second time put forward1 'that ,vice-,chancellors cannot be got to take the office on account of ,puseyism4' ,but further than this1 ,i cannot disguise from myself that my preaching is not calculated to defend that system of religion which has been received for #cjj years1 and of which the ,heads of ,houses are the legitimate maintainers in this place4 ,they exclude me1 as far as may be1 from the ,university ,pulpit2 and1 though ,i never have preached strong doctrine in it1 they do so rightly1 so far as this1 that they understand that my sermons are calculated to undermine things established4 ,i cannot disguise from myself that they are4 ,no one will deny that most of my sermons are on moral subjects1 not doctrinal2 still ,i am leading my hearers to the ,primitive ,church1 if you will1 but not to the ,church of ,england4 ,now1 ought one to be disgusting the minds of young men with the received religion1 in the exercise of a sacred office1 yet without a commission1 and against the wish of their guides and governors8 ,but this is not all4 ,i fear ,i must allow that1 whether ,i will or no1 ,i am disposing them towards ,rome4 ,first1 because ,rome is the only representative of the ,primitive ,church besides ourselves2 in proportion then as they are loosened from the one1 they will go to the other4 ,next1 because many doctrines which ,i have held have far greater1 or their only scope1 in the ,roman system4 ,and1 moreover1 if1 as is not unlikely1 we have in process of time heretical ,bishops or teachers among us1 an evil which ipso facto infects the whole community to which they belong1 and if1 again 7what there are at this moment symptoms of71 there be a movement in the ,english ,roman ,catholics to break the alliance of ,o',connell and of ,exeter ,hall1 strong temptations will be placed in the way of individuals1 already imbued with a tone of thought congenial to ,rome1 to join her ,communion4 ,people tell me1 on the other hand1 that ,i am1 whether by sermons or otherwise1 exerting at ,st4 ,mary's a beneficial influence on our prospective clergy2 but what if ,i take to myself the credit of seeing further than they1 and of having in the course of the last year discovered that what they approve so much is very likely to end in ,romanism8 ,the arguments which ,i have published against ,romanism seem to myself as cogent as ever1 but men go by their sympathies1 not by argument2 and if ,i feel the force of this influence myself1 who bow to the arguments1 why may not others still more1 who never have in the same degree admitted the arguments8 ,nor can ,i counteract the danger by preaching or writing against ,rome4 ,i seem to myself almost to have shot my last arrow in the ,article on ,english ,catholicity4 ,it must be added1 that the very circumstance that ,i have committed myself against ,rome has the effect of setting to sleep people suspicious about me1 which is painful now that ,i begin to have suspicions about myself4 ,i mentioned my general difficulty to ,rogers a year since1 than whom ,i know no one of a more fine and accurate conscience1 and it was his spontaneous idea that ,i should give up ,st4 ,mary's1 if my feelings continued4 ,i mentioned it again to him lately1 and he did not reverse his opinion1 only expressed great reluctance to believe it must be so4 ,mr4 ,keble's judgment was in favour of my retaining my living2 at least for the present2 what weighed with me most was his saying1 ,you must consider1 whether your retiring either from the ,pastoral ,care only1 or from writing and printing and editing in the cause1 would not be a sort of scandalous thing1 unless it were done very warily4 ,it would be said1 ',you see he can go on no longer with the ,church of ,england1 except in mere ,lay ,communion2' or people might say you repented of the cause altogether4 ,till you see your way to mitigate1 if not remove this evil ,i certainly should advise you to stay4 ,i answered as follows3-- ,since you think ,i may go on1 it seems to follow that1 under the circumstances1 ,i ought to do so4 ,there are plenty of reasons for it1 directly it is allowed to be lawful4 ,the following considerations have much reconciled my feelings to your conclusion4 #a4 ,i do not think that we have yet made fair trial how much the ,english ,church will bear4 ,i know it is a hazardous experiment1--like proving cannon4 ,yet we must not take it for granted that the metal will burst in the operation4 ,it has borne at various times1 not to say at this time1 a great infusion of ,catholic truth without damage4 ,as to the result1 viz4 whether this process will not approximate the whole ,english ,church1 as a body1 to ,rome1 that is nothing to us4 ,for what we know1 it may be the providential means of uniting the whole ,church in one1 without fresh schismatizing or use of private judgment4 ,here ,i observe1 that1 what was contemplated was the bursting of the ,catholicity of the ,anglican ,church1 that is1 my subjective idea of that ,church4 ,its bursting would not hurt her with the world1 but would be a discovery that she was purely and essentially ,protestant1 and would be really the hoisting of the engineer with his own petar4 ,and this was the result4 ,i continue3-- #b4 ,say1 that ,i move sympathies for ,rome3 in the same sense does ,hooker1 ,taylor1 ,bull1 c4 ,their arguments may be against ,rome1 but the sympathies they raise must be towards ,rome1 so far as ,rome maintains truths which our ,church does not teach or enforce4 ,thus it is a question of degree between our divines and me4 ,i may1 if so be1 go further2 ,i may raise sympathies more2 but ,i am but urging minds in the same direction as they do4 ,i am doing just the very thing which all our doctors have ever been doing4 ,in short1 would not ,hooker1 if ,vicar of ,st4 ,mary's1 be in my difficulty8--,here it may be objected1 that ,hooker could preach against ,rome and ,i could not2 but ,i doubt whether he could have preached effectively against ,transubstantiation better than ,i1 though neither he nor ,i held that doctrine4 #c4 ,rationalism is the great evil of the day4 ,may not ,i consider my post at ,st4 ,mary's as a place of protest against it8 ,i am more certain that the ,protestant spirit1 which ,i oppose1 leads to infidelity1 than that which ,i recommend1 leads to ,rome4 ,who knows what the state of the ,university may be1 as regards ,divinity ,professors in a few years hence8 ,any how1 a great battle may be coming on1 of which ,milman's book is a sort of earnest4 ,the whole of our day may be a battle with this spirit4 ,may we not leave to another age its own evil1--to settle the question of ,romanism8 ,i may add that from this time ,i had a curate at ,st4 ,mary's1 who gradually took more and more of my work4 ,also1 this same year1 #ahdj1 ,i made arrangements for giving up the ,british ,critic1 in the following ,july1 which were carried into effect at that date4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such was about my state of mind1 on the publication of ,tract #ij in ,february #ahda4 ,i was indeed in prudence taking steps towards eventually withdrawing from ,st4 ,mary's1 and ,i was not confident about my permanent adhesion to the ,anglican creed2 but ,i was in no actual perplexity or trouble of mind4 ,nor did the immense commotion consequent upon the publication of the ,tract unsettle me again2 for ,i fancied ,i had weathered the storm1 as far as the ,bishops were concerned3 the ,tract had not been condemned3 that was the great point1 and ,i made much of it4 ,to illustrate my feelings during this trial1 ,i will make extracts from my letters addressed severally to ,mr4 ,bowden and another friend1 which have come into my possession4 #a4 ,march #ae4--,the ,heads1 ,i believe1 have just done a violent act3 they have said that my interpretation of the ,articles is an evasion4 ,do not think that this will pain me4 ,you see1 no doctrine is censured1 and my shoulders shall manage to bear the charge4 ,if you knew all1 or were here1 you would see that ,i have asserted a great principle1 and ,i ought to suffer for it3--that the ,articles are to be interpreted1 not according to the meaning of the writers1 but 7as far as the wording will admit7 according to the sense of the ,catholic ,church4 #b4 ,march #be4--;,i do trust ,i shall make no false step1 and hope my friends will pray for me to this effect4 ,if1 as you say1 a destiny hangs over us1 a single false step may ruin all4 ,i am very well and comfortable2 but we are not yet out of the wood4 #c4 ,april #a4--,the ,bishop sent me word on ,sunday to write a ,letter to him 'instanter4' ,so ,i wrote it on ,monday3 on ,tuesday it passed through the press3 on ,wednesday it was out3 and to-day ,thursday it is in ,london4 ,i trust that things are smoothing now2 and that we have made a great step is certain4 ,it is not right to boast1 till ,i am clear out of the wood1 i4e4 till ,i know how the ,letter is received in ,london4 ,you know1 ,i suppose1 that ,i am to stop the ,tracts2 but you will see in the ,letter1 though ,i speak quite what ,i feel1 yet ,i have managed to take out on my side my snubbing's worth4 ,and this makes me anxious how it will be received in ,london4 ,i have not had a misgiving for five minutes from the first3 but ,i do not like to boast1 lest some harm come4 #d4 ,april #d4--,your letter of this morning was an exceedingly great gratification to me2 and it is confirmed1 ,i am thankful to say1 by the opinion of others4 ,the ,bishop sent me a message that my ,letter had his unqualified approbation2 and since that1 he has sent me a note to the same effect1 only going more into detail4 ,it is most pleasant too to my feelings1 to have such a testimony to the substantial truth and importance of ,no4 #ij1 as ,i have had from so many of my friends1 from those who1 from their cautious turn of mind1 ,i was least sanguine about4 ,i have not had one misgiving myself about it throughout2 and ,i do trust that what has happened will be overruled to subserve the great cause we all have at heart4 #e4 ,may #i4--,the ,bishops are very desirous of hushing the matter up3 and ,i certainly have done my utmost to co-operate with them1 on the understanding that the ,tract is not to be withdrawn or condemned4 ,upon this occasion several ,catholics wrote to me2 ,i answered one of my correspondents in the same tone3-- ,april #h4--,you have no cause to be surprised at the discontinuance of the ,tracts4 ,we feel no misgivings about it whatever1 as if the cause of what we hold to be ,catholic truth would suffer thereby4 ,my letter to my ,bishop has1 ,i trust1 had the effect of bringing the preponderating authority of the ,church on our side4 ,no stopping of the ,tracts can1 humanly speaking1 stop the spread of the opinions which they have inculcated4 ,the ,tracts are not suppressed4 ,no doctrine or principle has been conceded by us1 or condemned by authority4 ,the ,bishop has but said that a certain ,tract is 'objectionable1' no reason being stated1 ,i have no intention whatever of yielding any one point which ,i hold on conviction2 and that the authorities of the ,church know full well4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the summer of #ahda1 ,i found myself at ,littlemore without any harass or anxiety on my mind4 ,i had determined to put aside all controversy1 and ,i set myself down to my translation of ,st4 ,athanasius2 but1 between ,july and ,november1 ,i received three blows which broke me4 #a4 ,i had got but a little way in my work1 when my trouble returned on me4 ,the ghost had come a second time4 ,in the ,arian ,history ,i found the very same phenomenon1 in a far bolder shape1 which ,i had found in the ,monophysite4 ,i had not observed it in #ahcb4 ,wonderful that this should come upon me6 ,i had not sought it out2 ,i was reading and writing in my own line of study1 far from the controversies of the day1 on what is called a metaphysical subject2 but ,i saw clearly1 that in the history of ,arianism1 the pure ,arians were the ,protestants1 the semi-,arians were the ,anglicans1 and that ,rome now was what it was then4 ,the truth lay1 not with the ,via ,media1 but with what was called the extreme party4 ,as ,i am not writing a work of controversy1 ,i need not enlarge upon the argument2 ,i have said something on the subject in a ,volume1 from which ,i have already quoted4 #b4 ,i was in the misery of this new unsettlement1 when a second blow came upon me4 ,the ,bishops one after another began to charge against me4 ,it was a formal1 determinate movement4 ,this was the real understanding2 that1 on which ,i had acted on the first appearance of ,tract #ij1 had come to nought4 ,i think the words1 which had then been used to me1 were1 that perhaps two or three of them might think it necessary to say something in their charges2 but by this time they had tided over the difficulty of the ,tract1 and there was no one to enforce the understanding4 ,they went on in this way1 directing charges at me1 for three whole years4 ,i recognized it as a condemnation2 it was the only one that was in their power4 ,at first ,i intended to protest2 but ,i gave up the thought in despair4 ,on ,october #agth1 ,i wrote thus to a friend3 ,i suppose it will be necessary in some shape or other to re-assert ,tract #ij2 else1 it will seem1 after these ,bishops' ,charges1 as if it were silenced1 which it has not been1 nor do ,i intend it should be4 ,i wish to keep quiet2 but if ,bishops speak1 ,i will speak too4 ,if the view were silenced1 ,i could not remain in the ,church1 nor could many others2 and therefore1 since it is not silenced1 ,i shall take care to show that it isn't4 ,a day or two after1 ,oct4 #bb1 a stranger wrote to me to say1 that the ,tracts for the ,times had made a young friend of his a ,catholic1 and to ask1 would ,i be so good as to convert him back2 ,i made answer3 ,if conversions to ,rome take place in consequence of the ,tracts for the ,times1 ,i do not impute blame to them1 but to those who1 instead of acknowledging such ,anglican principles of theology and ecclesiastical polity as they contain1 set themselves to oppose them4 ,whatever be the influence of the ,tracts1 great or small1 they may become just as powerful for ,rome1 if our ,church refuses them1 as they would be for our ,church if she accepted them4 ,if our rulers speak either against the ,tracts1 or not at all1 if any number of them1 not only do not favour1 but even do not suffer the principles contained in them1 it is plain that our members may easily be persuaded either to give up those principles1 or to give up the ,church4 ,if this state of things goes on1 ,i mournfully prophesy1 not one or two1 but many secessions to the ,church of ,rome4 ,two years afterwards1 looking back on what had passed1 ,i said1 ,there were no converts to ,rome1 till after the condemnation of ,no4 #ij4 #c4 ,as if all this were not enough1 there came the affair of the ,jerusalem ,bishopric2 and1 with a brief mention of it1 ,i shall conclude4 ,i think ,i am right in saying that it had been long a desire with the ,prussian ,court to introduce ,episcopacy into the new ,evangelical ,religion1 which was intended in that country to embrace both the ,lutheran and ,calvinistic bodies4 ,i almost think ,i heard of the project1 when ,i was at ,rome in #ahcc1 at the ,hotel of the ,prussian ,minister1 ,m4 ,bunsen1 who was most hospitable and kind1 as to other ,english visitors1 so also to my friends and myself4 ,the idea of ,episcopacy1 as the ,prussian king understood it1 was1 ,i suppose1 very different from that taught in the ,tractarian ,school3 but still1 ,i suppose also1 that the chief authors of that school would have gladly seen such a measure carried out in ,prussia1 had it been done without compromising those principles which were necessary to the being of a ,church4 ,about the time of the publication of ,tract #ij1 ,m4 ,bunsen and the then ,archbishop of ,canterbury were taking steps for its execution1 by appointing and consecrating a ,bishop for ,jerusalem4 ,jerusalem1 it would seem1 was considered a safe place for the experiment2 it was too far from ,prussia to awaken the susceptibilities of any party at home2 if the project failed1 it failed without harm to any one2 and1 if it succeeded1 it gave ,protestantism a status in the ,east1 which1 in association with the ,monophysite or ,jacobite and the ,nestorian bodies1 formed a political instrument for ,england1 parallel to that which ,russia had in the ,greek ,church1 and ,france in the ,latin4 ,accordingly1 in ,july #ahda1 full of the ,anglican difficulty on the question of ,catholicity1 ,i thus spoke of the ,jerusalem scheme in an ,article in the ,british ,critic3 ,when our thoughts turn to the ,east1 instead of recollecting that there are ,christian ,churches there1 we leave it to the ,russians to take care of the ,greeks1 and the ,french to take care of the ,romans1 and we content ourselves with erecting a ,protestant ,church at ,jerusalem1 or with helping the ,jews to rebuild their ,temple there1 or with becoming the august protectors of ,nestorians1 ,monophysites1 and all the heretics we can hear of1 or with forming a league with the ,mussulman against ,greeks and ,romans together4 ,i do not pretend1 so long after the time1 to give a full or exact account of this measure in detail4 ,i will but say that in the ,act of ,parliament1 under date of ,october #e1 #ahda1 7if the copy1 from which ,i quote1 contains the measure as it passed the ,houses17 provision is made for the consecration of ,british subjects1 or the subjects or citizens of any foreign state1 to be ,bishops in any foreign country1 whether such foreign subjects or citizens be or be not subjects or citizens of the country in which they are to act1 and 444 without requiring such of them as may be subjects or citizens of any foreign kingdom or state to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy1 and the oath of due obedience to the ,archbishop for the time being 444 also that such ,bishop or ,bishops1 so consecrated1 may exercise1 within such limits1 as may from time to time be assigned for that purpose in such foreign countries by her ,majesty1 spiritual jurisdiction over the ministers of ,british congregations of the ,united ,church of ,england and ,ireland1 and over such other ,protestant ,congregations1 as may be desirous of placing themselves under his or their authority4 ,now here1 at the very time that the ,anglican ,bishops were directing their censure upon me for avowing an approach to the ,catholic ,church not closer than ,i believed the ,anglican formularies would allow1 they were on the other hand1 fraternizing1 by their act or by their sufferance1 with ,protestant bodies1 and allowing them to put themselves under an ,anglican ,bishop1 without any renunciation of their errors or regard to their due reception of baptism and confirmation2 while there was great reason to suppose that the said ,bishop was intended to make converts from the orthodox ,greeks1 and the schismatical ,oriental bodies1 by means of the influence of ,england4 ,this was the third blow1 which finally shattered my faith in the ,anglican ,church4 ,that ,church was not only forbidding any sympathy or concurrence with the ,church of ,rome1 but it actually was courting an intercommunion with ,protestant ,prussia and the heresy of the ,orientals4 ,the ,anglican ,church might have the ,apostolical succession1 as had the ,monophysites2 but such acts as were in progress led me to the gravest suspicion1 not that it would soon cease to be a ,church1 but that1 since the #afth century1 it had never been a ,church all along4 ,on ,october #abth1 ,i thus wrote to ,mr4 ,bowden3--,we have not a single ,anglican in ,jerusalem2 so we are sending a ,bishop to make a communion1 not to govern our own people4 ,next1 the excuse is1 that there are converted ,anglican ,jews there who require a ,bishop2 ,i am told there are not half-a-dozen4 ,but for them the ,bishop is sent out1 and for them he is a ,bishop of the circumcision 7,i think he was a converted ,jew1 who boasted of his ,jewish descent71 against the ,epistle to the ,galatians pretty nearly4 ,thirdly1 for the sake of ,prussia1 he is to take under him all the foreign ,protestants who will come2 and the political advantages will be so great1 from the influence of ,england1 that there is no doubt they will come4 ,they are to sign the ,confession of ,augsburg1 and there is nothing to show that they hold the doctrine of ,baptismal ,regeneration4 ,as to myself1 ,i shall do nothing whatever publicly1 unless indeed it were to give my signature to a ,protest2 but ,i think it would be out of place in me to agitate1 having been in a way silenced2 but the ,archbishop is really doing most grave work1 of which we cannot see the end4 ,i did make a solemn ,protest1 and sent it to the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 and also sent it to my own ,bishop with the following letter3-- ,it seems as if ,i were never to write to your ,lordship1 without giving you pain1 and ,i know that my present subject does not specially concern your ,lordship2 yet1 after a great deal of anxious thought1 ,i lay before you the enclosed ,protest4 ,your ,lordship will observe that ,i am not asking for any notice of it1 unless you think that ,i ought to receive one4 ,i do this very serious act in obedience to my sense of duty4 ,if the ,english ,church is to enter on a new course1 and assume a new aspect1 it will be more pleasant to me hereafter to think1 that ,i did not suffer so grievous an event to happen1 without bearing witness against it4 ,may ,i be allowed to say1 that ,i augur nothing but evil1 if we in any respect prejudice our title to be a branch of the ,apostolic ,church8 ,that ,article of the ,creed1 ,i need hardly observe to your ,lordship1 is of such constraining power1 that1 if we will not claim it1 and use it for ourselves1 others will use it in their own behalf against us4 ,men who learn whether by means of documents or measures1 whether from the statements or the acts of persons in authority1 that our communion is not a branch of the ,one ,church1 ,i foresee with much grief1 will be tempted to look out for that ,church elsewhere4 ,it is to me a subject of great dismay1 that1 as far as the ,church has lately spoken out1 on the subject of the opinions which ,i and others hold1 those opinions are1 not merely not sanctioned 7for that ,i do not ask71 but not even suffered4 ,i earnestly hope that your ,lordship will excuse my freedom in thus speaking to you of some members of your ,most ,rev4 and ,right ,rev4 ,body4 ,with every feeling of reverent attachment to your ,lordship1 ,i am1 c4 ,,protest4 ,whereas the ,church of ,england has a claim on the allegiance of ,catholic believers only on the ground of her own claim to be considered a branch of the ,catholic ,church3 ,and whereas the recognition of heresy1 indirect as well as direct1 goes far to destroy such claim in the case of any religious body3 ,and whereas to admit maintainers of heresy to communion1 without formal renunciation of their errors1 goes far towards recognizing the same3 ,and whereas ,lutheranism and ,calvinism are heresies1 repugnant to ,scripture1 springing up three centuries since1 and anathematized by ,east as well as ,west3 ,and whereas it is reported that the ,most ,reverend ,primate and other ,right ,reverend ,rulers of our ,church have consecrated a ,bishop with a view to exercising spiritual jurisdiction over ,protestant1 that is1 ,lutheran and ,calvinist congregations in the ,east 7under the provisions of an ,act made in the last session of ,parliament to amend an ,act made in the #bfth year of the reign of his ,majesty ,king ,george the ,third1 intituled1 ',an ,act to empower the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 or the ,archbishop of ,york for the time being1 to consecrate to the office of ,bishop persons being subjects or citizens of countries out of his ,majesty's dominions'71 dispensing at the same time1 not in particular cases and accidentally1 but as if on principle and universally1 with any abjuration of error on the part of such congregations1 and with any reconciliation to the ,church on the part of the presiding ,bishop2 thereby giving some sort of formal recognition to the doctrines which such congregations maintain3 ,and whereas the dioceses in ,england are connected together by so close an intercommunion1 that what is done by authority in one1 immediately affects the rest3 ,on these grounds1 ,i in my place1 being a priest of the ,english ,church and ,vicar of ,st4 ,mary the ,virgin's1 ,oxford1 by way of relieving my conscience1 do hereby solemnly protest against the measure aforesaid1 and disown it1 as removing our ,church from her present ground and tending to her disorganization4 ,john ,henry ,newman4 ,november #aa1 #ahda4 99 99 99 99 99 ,looking back two years afterwards on the above-mentioned and other acts1 on the part of ,anglican ,ecclesiastical authorities1 ,i observed3 ,many a man might have held an abstract theory about the ,catholic ,church1 to which it was difficult to adjust the ,anglican1--might have admitted a suspicion1 or even painful doubts about the latter1--yet never have been impelled onwards1 had our ,rulers preserved the quiescence of former years2 but it is the corroboration of a present1 living1 and energetic heterodoxy1 that realizes and makes such doubts practical2 it has been the recent speeches and acts of authorities1 who had so long been tolerant of ,protestant error1 which has given to inquiry and to theory its force and its edge4 ,as to the project of a ,jerusalem ,bishopric1 ,i never heard of any good or harm it has ever done1 except what it has done for me2 which many think a great misfortune1 and ,i one of the greatest of mercies4 ,it brought me on to the beginning of the end4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,history ,,of ,,my ,,religious ,,opinions ,,from #ahda ,,to #ahde4 #a4 ,from the end of #ahda1 ,i was on my death-bed1 as regards my membership with the ,anglican ,church1 though at the time ,i became aware of it only by degrees4 ,i introduce what ,i have to say with this remark1 by way of accounting for the character of this remaining portion of my narrative4 ,a death-bed has scarcely a history2 it is a tedious decline1 with seasons of rallying and seasons of falling back2 and since the end is foreseen1 or what is called a matter of time1 it has little interest for the reader1 especially if he has a kind heart4 ,moreover1 it is a season when doors are closed and curtains drawn1 and when the sick man neither cares nor is able to record the stages of his malady4 ,i was in these circumstances1 except so far as ,i was not allowed to die in peace1--except so far as friends1 who had still a full right to come in upon me1 and the public world which had not1 have given a sort of history to those last four years4 ,but in consequence1 my narrative must be in great measure documentary1 as ,i cannot rely on my memory1 except for definite particulars1 positive or negative4 ,letters of mine to friends since dead have come into my hands2 others have been kindly lent me for the occasion2 and ,i have some drafts of others1 and some notes which ,i made1 though ,i have no strictly personal or continuous memoranda to consult1 and have unluckily mislaid some valuable papers4 ,and first as to my position in the view of duty2 it was this3--#a4 ,i had given up my place in the ,movement in my letter to the ,bishop of ,oxford in the spring of #ahda2 but #b4 ,i could not give up my duties towards the many and various minds who had more or less been brought into it by me2 #c4 ,i expected or intended gradually to fall back into ,lay ,communion2 #d4 ,i never contemplated leaving the ,church of ,england2 #e4 ,i could not hold office in its service1 if ,i were not allowed to hold the ,catholic sense of the ,articles2 #f4 ,i could not go to ,rome1 while she suffered honours to be paid to the ,blessed ,virgin and the ,saints which ,i thought in my conscience to be incompatible with the ,supreme1 ,incommunicable ,glory of the ,one ,infinite and ,eternal2 #g4 ,i desired a union with ,rome under conditions1 ,church with ,church2 #h4 ,i called ,littlemore my ,torres ,vedras1 and thought that some day we might advance again within the ,anglican ,church1 as we had been forced to retire2 #i4 ,i kept back all persons who were disposed to go to ,rome with all my might4 ,and ,i kept them back for three or four reasons2 #a4 because what ,i could not in conscience do myself1 ,i could not suffer them to do2 #b4 because ,i thought that in various cases they were acting under excitement2 #c4 because ,i had duties to my ,bishop and to the ,anglican ,church2 and #d1 in some cases1 because ,i had received from their ,anglican parents or superiors direct charge of them4 ,this was my view of my duty from the end of #ahda1 to my resignation of ,st4 ,mary's in the autumn of #ahdc4 ,and now ,i shall relate my view1 during that time1 of the state of the controversy between the ,churches4 99 99 99 99 99 ,as soon as ,i saw the hitch in the ,anglican argument1 during my course of reading in the summer of #ahci1 ,i began to look about1 as ,i have said1 for some ground which might supply a controversial basis for my need4 ,the difficulty in question had affected my view both of ,antiquity and ,catholicity2 for1 while the history of ,st4 ,leo showed me that the deliberate and eventual consent of the great body of the ,church ratified a doctrinal decision as a part of revealed truth1 it also showed that the rule of ,antiquity was not infringed1 though a doctrine had not been publicly recognized as so revealed1 till centuries after the time of the ,apostles4 ,thus1 whereas the ,creeds tell us that the ,church is ,one1 ,holy1 ,catholic1 and ,apostolic1 ,i could not prove that the ,anglican communion was an integral part of the ,one ,church1 on the ground of its teaching being ,apostolic or ,catholic1 without reasoning in favour of what are commonly called the ,roman corruptions2 and ,i could not defend our separation from ,rome and her faith without using arguments prejudicial to those great doctrines concerning our ,lord1 which are the very foundation of the ,christian religion4 ,the ,via ,media was an impossible idea2 it was what ,i had called standing on one leg2 and it was necessary1 if my old issue of the controversy was to be retained1 to go further either one way or the other4 ,accordingly1 ,i abandoned that old ground and took another4 ,i deliberately quitted the old ,anglican ground as untenable2 though ,i did not do so all at once1 but as ,i became more and more convinced of the state of the case4 ,the ,jerusalem ,bishopric was the ultimate condemnation of the old theory of the ,via ,media3--if its establishment did nothing else1 at least it demolished the sacredness of diocesan rights4 ,if ,england could be in ,palestine1 ,rome might be in ,england4 ,but its bearing upon the controversy1 as ,i have shown in the foregoing chapter1 was much more serious than this technical ground4 ,from that time the ,anglican ,church was1 in my mind1 either not a normal portion of that ,one ,church to which the promises were made1 or at least in an abnormal state2 and from that time ,i said boldly 7as ,i did in my ,protest1 and as indeed ,i had even intimated in my ,letter to the ,bishop of ,oxford71 that the ,church in which ,i found myself had no claim on me1 except on condition of its being a portion of the ,one ,catholic ,communion1 and that that condition must ever be borne in mind as a practical matter1 and had to be distinctly proved4 ,all this is not inconsistent with my saying above that1 at this time1 ,i had no thought of leaving the ,church of ,england2 because ,i felt some of my old objections against ,rome as strongly as ever4 ,i had no right1 ,i had no leave1 to act against my conscience4 ,that was a higher rule than any argument about the ,notes of the ,church4 ,under these circumstances ,i turned for protection to the ,note of ,sanctity1 with a view of showing that we had at least one of the necessary ,notes1 as fully as the ,church of ,rome2 or1 at least1 without entering into comparisons1 that we had it in such a sufficient sense as to reconcile us to our position1 and to supply full evidence1 and a clear direction1 on the point of practical duty4 ,we had the ,note of ,life1--not any sort of life1 not such only as can come of nature1 but a supernatural ,christian life1 which could only come directly from above4 ,thus1 in my ,article in the ,british ,critic1 to which ,i have so often referred1 in ,january1 #ahdj 7before the time of ,tract #ij71 ,i said of the ,anglican ,church that she has the note of possession1 the note of freedom from party titles1 the note of life1--a tough life and a vigorous2 she has ancient descent1 unbroken continuance1 agreement in doctrine with the ,ancient ,church4 ,presently ,i go on to speak of sanctity3 ,much as ,roman ,catholics may denounce us at present as schismatical1 they could not resist us if the ,anglican communion had but that one note of the ,church upon it1--sanctity4 ,the ,church of the day #dth century could not resist ,meletius2 his enemies were fairly overcome by him1 by his meekness and holiness1 which melted the most jealous of them4 ,and ,i continue1 ,we are almost content to say to ,romanists1 account us not yet as a branch of the ,catholic ,church1 though we be a branch1 till we are like a branch1 provided that when we do become like a branch1 then you consent to acknowledge us1 c4 ,and so ,i was led on in the ,article to that sharp attack on ,english ,catholics1 for their shortcomings as regards this ,note1 a good portion of which ,i have already quoted in another place4 ,it is there that ,i speak of the great scandal which ,i took at their political1 social1 and controversial bearing2 and this was a second reason why ,i fell back upon the ,note of ,sanctity1 because it took me away from the necessity of making any attack upon the doctrines of the ,roman ,church1 nay1 from the consideration of her popular beliefs1 and brought me upon a ground on which ,i felt ,i could not make a mistake2 for what is a higher guide for us in speculation and in practice1 than that conscience of right and wrong1 of truth and falsehood1 those sentiments of what is decorous1 consistent1 and noble1 which our ,creator has made a part of our original nature8 ,therefore ,i felt ,i could not be wrong in attacking what ,i fancied was a fact1--the unscrupulousness1 the deceit1 and the intriguing spirit of the agents and representatives of ,rome4 ,this reference to ,holiness as the true test of a ,church was steadily kept in view in what ,i wrote in connexion with ,tract #ij4 ,i say in its ,introduction1 ,the writer can never be party to forcing the opinions or projects of one school upon another2 religious changes should be the act of the whole body4 ,no good can come of a change which is not a development of feelings springing up freely and calmly within the bosom of the whole body itself2 every change in religion must be attended by deep repentance2 changes must be nurtured in mutual love2 we cannot agree without a supernatural influence2 we must come together to ,god to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves4 ,in my ,letter to the ,bishop ,i said1 ,i have set myself against suggestions for considering the differences between ourselves and the foreign ,churches with a view to their adjustment4 7,i meant in the way of negotiation1 conference1 agitation1 or the like47 ,our business is with ourselves1--to make ourselves more holy1 more self-denying1 more primitive1 more worthy of our high calling4 ,to be anxious for a composition of differences is to begin at the end4 ,political reconciliations are but outward and hollow1 and fallacious4 ,and till ,roman ,catholics renounce political efforts1 and manifest in their public measures the light of holiness and truth1 perpetual war is our only prospect4 ,according to this theory1 a religious body is part of the ,one ,catholic and ,apostolic ,church1 if it has the succession and the creed of the ,apostles1 with the note of holiness of life2 and there is much in such a view to approve itself to the direct common sense and practical habits of an ,englishman4 ,however1 with the events consequent upon ,tract #ij1 ,i sunk my theory to a lower level4 ,for what could be said in apology1 when the ,bishops and the people of my ,church1 not only did not suffer1 but actually rejected primitive ,catholic doctrine1 and tried to eject from their communion all who held it8 after the ,bishops' charges8 after the ,jerusalem abomination#h8 ,well1 this could be said2 still we were not nothing3 we could not be as if we never had been a ,church2 we were ,samaria4 ,this then was that lower level on which ,i placed myself1 and all who felt with me1 at the end of #ahda4 #h ,matt4 xxiv4 #ae4 ,to bring out this view was the purpose of ,four ,sermons preached at ,st4 ,mary's in ,december of that year4 ,hitherto ,i had not introduced the exciting topics of the day into the ,pulpit#i2 on this occasion ,i did4 ,i did so1 for the moment was urgent2 there was great unsettlement of mind among us1 in consequence of those same events which had unsettled me4 ,one special anxiety1 very obvious1 which was coming on me now1 was1 that what was one man's meat was another man's poison4 ,i had said even of ,tract #ij1 ,it was addressed to one set of persons1 and has been used and commented on by another2 still more was it true now1 that whatever ,i wrote for the service of those whom ,i knew to be in trouble of mind1 would become on the one hand matter of suspicion and slander in the mouths of my opponents1 and of distress and surprise to those on the other hand1 who had no difficulties of faith at all4 ,accordingly1 when ,i published these ,four ,sermons at the end of #ahdc1 ,i introduced them with a recommendation that none should read them who did not need them4 ,but in truth the virtual condemnation of ,tract #ij1 after that the whole difficulty seemed to have been weathered1 was an enormous disappointment and trial4 ,my ,protest also against the ,jerusalem ,bishopric was an unavoidable cause of excitement in the case of many2 but it calmed them too1 for the very fact of a ,protest was a relief to their impatience4 ,and so1 in like manner1 as regards the ,four ,sermons1 of which ,i speak1 though they acknowledged freely the great scandal which was involved in the recent episcopal doings1 yet at the same time they might be said to bestow upon the multiplied disorders and shortcomings of the ,anglican ,church a sort of place in the ,revealed ,dispensation1 and an intellectual position in the controversy1 and the dignity of a great principle1 for unsettled minds to take and use1--a principle which might teach them to recognize their own consistency1 and to be reconciled to themselves1 and which might absorb and dry up a multitude of their grudgings1 discontents1 misgivings1 and questionings1 and lead the way to humble1 thankful1 and tranquil thoughts2--and this was the effect which certainly it produced on myself4 #i ,vide ,note ,c4 ,sermon on ,wisdom and ,innocence4 ,the point of these ,sermons is1 that1 in spite of the rigid character of the ,jewish law1 the formal and literal force of its precepts1 and the manifest schism1 and worse than schism1 of the ,ten ,tribes1 yet in fact they were still recognized as a people by the ,divine ,mercy2 that the great prophets ,elias and ,eliseus were sent to them2 and not only so1 but were sent to preach to them and reclaim them1 without any intimation that they must be reconciled to the line of ,david and the ,aaronic priesthood1 or go up to ,jerusalem to worship4 ,they were not in the ,church1 yet they had the means of grace and the hope of acceptance with their ,maker4 ,the application of all this to the ,anglican ,church was immediate2--whether1 under the circumstances1 a man could assume or exercise ministerial functions1 or not1 might not clearly appear 7though it must be remembered that ,england had the ,apostolic ,priesthood1 whereas ,israel had no priesthood at all71 but so far was clear1 that there was no call at all for an ,anglican to leave his ,church for ,rome1 though he did not believe his own to be part of the ,one ,church3--and for this reason1 because it was a fact that the kingdom of ,israel was cut off from the ,temple2 and yet its subjects1 neither in a mass1 nor as individuals1 neither the multitudes on ,mount ,carmel1 nor the ,shunammite and her household1 had any command given them1 though miracles were displayed before them1 to break off from their own people1 and to submit themselves to ,judah#aj4 #aj ,as ,i am not writing controversially1 ,i will only here remark upon this argument1 that there is a great difference between a command1 which presupposes physical1 material1 and political conditions1 and one which is moral4 ,to go to ,jerusalem was a matter of the body1 not of the soul4 ,it is plain1 that a theory such as this1--whether the marks of a divine presence and life in the ,anglican ,church were sufficient to prove that she was actually within the covenant1 or only sufficient to prove that she was at least enjoying extraordinary and uncovenanted mercies1--not only lowered her level in a religious point of view1 but weakened her controversial basis4 ,its very novelty made it suspicious2 and there was no guarantee that the process of subsidence might not continue1 and that it might not end in a submersion4 ,indeed1 to many minds1 to say that ,england was wrong was even to say that ,rome was right2 and no ethical or casuistic reasoning whatever could overcome in their case the argument from prescription and authority4 ,to this objection1 as made to my new teaching1 ,i could only answer that ,i did not make my circumstances4 ,i fully acknowledged the force and effectiveness of the genuine ,anglican theory1 and that it was all but proof against the disputants of ,rome2 but still like ,achilles1 it had a vulnerable point1 and that ,st4 ,leo had found it out for me1 and that ,i could not help it2--that1 were it not for matter of fact1 the theory would be great indeed2 it would be irresistible1 if it were only true4 ,when ,i became a ,catholic1 the ,editor of the ,christian ,observer1 ,mr4 ,wilkes1 who had in former days accused me1 to my indignation1 of tending towards ,rome1 wrote to me to ask1 which of the two was now right1 he or ,i8 ,i answered him in a letter1 part of which ,i here insert1 as it will serve as a sort of leave-taking of the great theory1 which is so specious to look upon1 so difficult to prove1 and so hopeless to work4 ,nov4 #h1 #ahde4 ,i do not think1 at all more than ,i did1 that the ,anglican principles which ,i advocated at the date you mention1 lead men to the ,church of ,rome4 ,if ,i must specify what ,i mean by ',anglican principles1' ,i should say1 e4g4 taking ,antiquity1 not the existing ,church1 as the oracle of truth2 and holding that the ,apostolical ,succession is a sufficient guarantee of ,sacramental ,grace1 without union with the ,christian ,church throughout the world4 ,i think these still the firmest1 strongest ground against ,rome--that is1 if they can be held as truths or facts4 ,they have been held by many1 and are far more difficult to refute in the ,roman controversy1 than those of any other religious body4 ,for myself1 ,i found ,i could not hold them4 ,i left them4 ,from the time ,i began to suspect their unsoundness1 ,i ceased to put them forward4 ,when ,i was fairly sure of their unsoundness1 ,i gave up my ,living4 ,when ,i was fully confident that the ,church of ,rome was the only true ,church1 ,i joined her4 ,i have felt all along that ,bp4 ,bull's theology was the only theology on which the ,english ,church could stand4 ,i have felt1 that opposition to the ,church of ,rome was part of that theology2 and that he who could not protest against the ,church of ,rome was no true divine in the ,english ,church4 ,i have never said1 nor attempted to say1 that any one in office in the ,english ,church1 whether ,bishop or incumbent1 could be otherwise than in hostility to the ,church of ,rome4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,via ,media then disappeared for ever1 and a ,theory1 made expressly for the occasion1 took its place4 ,i was pleased with my new view4 ,i wrote to an intimate friend1 ,samuel ,f4 ,wood1 ,dec4 #ac1 #ahda3 ,i think you will give me the credit1 ,carissime1 of not undervaluing the strength of the feelings which draw one to ,rome1 and yet ,i am 7,i trust7 quite clear about my duty to remain where ,i am2 indeed1 much clearer than ,i was some time since4 ,if it is not presumptuous to say1 ,i have 444 a much more definite view of the promised inward ,presence of ,christ with us in the ,sacraments now that the outward notes of it are being removed4 ,and ,i am content to be with ,moses in the desert1 or with ,elijah excommunicated from the ,temple4 ,i say this1 putting things at the strongest4 ,however1 my friends of the moderate ,apostolical party1 who were my friends for the very reason of my having been so moderate and ,anglican myself in general tone in times past1 who had stood up for ,tract #ij partly from faith in me1 and certainly from generous and kind feeling1 and had thereby shared an obloquy which was none of theirs1 were naturally surprised and offended at a line of argument1 novel1 and1 as it appeared to them1 wanton1 which threw the whole controversy into confusion1 stultified my former principles1 and substituted1 as they would consider1 a sort of methodistic self-contemplation1 especially abhorrent both to my nature and to my past professions1 for the plain and honest tokens1 as they were commonly received1 of a divine mission in the ,anglican ,church4 ,they could not tell whither ,i was going2 and were still further annoyed when ,i persisted in viewing the condemnation of ,tract #ij by the public and the ,bishops as so grave a matter1 and when ,i threw about what they considered mysterious hints of eventualities1 and would not simply say1 ,an ,anglican ,i was born1 and an ,anglican ,i will die4 ,one of my familiar friends1 ,mr4 ,church1 who was in the country at ,christmas1 #ahda-b1 reported to me the feeling that prevailed about me2 and how ,i felt towards it will appear in the following letter of mine1 written in answer3-- ,oriel1 ,dec4 #bd1 #ahda4 ,carissime1 you cannot tell how sad your account of ,moberly has made me4 ,his view of the sinfulness of the decrees of ,trent is as much against union of ,churches as against individual conversions4 ,to tell the truth1 ,i never have examined those decrees with this object1 and have no view2 but that is very different from having a deliberate view against them4 ,could not he say which they are8 ,i suppose ,transubstantiation is one4 ,charles ,marriott1 though of course he would not like to have it repeated#aa1 does not scruple at that4 ,i have not my mind clear4 ,moberly must recollect that ,palmer of ,worcester thinks they all bear a ,catholic interpretation4 ,for myself1 this only ,i see1 that there is indefinitely more in the ,fathers against our own state of alienation from ,christendom than against the ,tridentine ,decrees4 ,the only thing ,i can think of1 that ,i can have said of a startling character1 is this1 that there were persons who1 if our ,church committed herself to heresy1 sooner than think that there was no ,church any where1 would believe the ,roman to be the ,church2 and therefore would on faith accept what they could not otherwise acquiesce in4 ,i suppose1 it would be no relief to him to insist upon the circumstance that there is no immediate danger4 ,individuals can never be answered for of course2 but ,i should think lightly of that man1 who1 for some act of the ,bishops1 should all at once leave the ,church4 ,now1 considering how the ,clergy really are improving1 considering that this row is even making them read the ,tracts1 is it not possible we may all be in a better state of mind seven years hence to consider these matters8 and may we not leave them meanwhile to the will of ,providence8 ,i cannot believe this work has been of man2 ,god has a right to ,his own work1 to do what ,he will with it4 ,may we not try to leave it in ,his hands1 and be content8 ,if you learn any thing about ,barter1 which leads you to think that ,i can relieve him by a letter1 let me know4 ,the truth is this1--our good friends do not read the ,fathers2 they assent to us from the common sense of the case3 then1 when the ,fathers1 and we1 say more than their common sense1 they are dreadfully shocked4 ,the ,bishop of ,london has rejected a man1 #a4 ,for holding any ,sacrifice in the ,eucharist4 #b4 ,the ,real ,presence4 #c4 ,that there is a grace in ,ordination#ab4 ,are we quite sure that the ,bishops will not be drawing up some stringent declarations of faith8 ,is this what ,moberly fears8 ,would the ,bishop of ,oxford accept them8 ,if so1 ,i should be driven into the ,refuge for the ,destitute ,littlemore4 ,but ,i promise ,moberly1 ,i would do my utmost to catch all dangerous persons and clap them into confinement there4 #aa ,as things stand now1 ,i do not think he would have objected to his opinion being generally known4 #ab ,i cannot prove this at this distance of time2 but ,i do not think it wrong to introduce here the passage containing it1 as ,i am imputing to the ,bishop nothing which the world would think disgraceful1 but1 on the contrary1 what a large religious body would approve4 ,christmas ,bay1 #ahda4 ,i have been dreaming of ,moberly all night4 ,should not he and the like see1 that it is unwise1 unfair1 and impatient to ask others1 ,what will you do under circumstances1 which have not1 which may never come8 ,why bring fear1 suspicion1 and disunion into the camp about things which are merely in posse8 ,natural1 and exceedingly kind as ,barter's and another friend's letters were1 ,i think they have done great harm4 ,i speak most sincerely when ,i say1 that there are things which ,i neither contemplate1 nor wish to contemplate2 but1 when ,i am asked about them ten times1 at length ,i begin to contemplate them4 ,he surely does not mean to say1 that nothing could separate a man from the ,english ,church1 e4g4 its avowing ,socinianism2 its holding the ,holy ,eucharist in a ,socinian sense4 ,yet1 he would say1 it was not right to contemplate such things4 ,again1 our case is diverging from that of ,ken's4 ,to say nothing of the last miserable century1 which has given us to start from a much lower level and with much less to spare than a ,churchman in the #agth century1 questions of doctrine are now coming in2 with him1 it was a question of discipline4 ,if such dreadful events were realized1 ,i cannot help thinking we should all be vastly more agreed than we think now4 ,indeed1 is it possible 7humanly speaking7 that those1 who have so much the same heart1 should widely differ8 ,but let this be considered1 as to alternatives4 ,what communion could we join8 ,could the ,scotch or ,american sanction the presence of its ,bishops and congregations in ,england1 without incurring the imputation of schism1 unless indeed 7and is that likely87 they denounced the ,english as heretical8 ,is not this a time of strange providences8 is it not our safest course1 without looking to consequences1 to do simply what we think right day by day8 shall we not be sure to go wrong1 if we attempt to trace by anticipation the course of divine ,providence8 ,has not all our misery1 as a ,church1 arisen from people being afraid to look difficulties in the face8 ,they have palliated acts1 when they should have denounced them4 ,there is that good fellow1 ,worcester ,palmer1 can whitewash the ,ecclesiastical ,commission and the ,jerusalem ,bishopric4 ,and what is the consequence8 that our ,church has1 through centuries1 ever been sinking lower and lower1 till good part of its pretensions and professions is a mere sham1 though it be a duty to make the best of what we have received4 ,yet1 though bound to make the best of other men's shams1 let us not incur any of our own4 ,the truest friends of our ,church are they1 who say boldly when her rulers are going wrong1 and the consequences2 and 7to speak catachrestically7 they are most likely to die in the ,church1 who are1 under these black circumstances1 most prepared to leave it4 ,and ,i will add1 that1 considering the traces of ,god's grace which surround us1 ,i am very sanguine1 or rather confident1 7if it is right so to speak17 that our prayers and our alms will come up as a memorial before ,god1 and that all this miserable confusion tends to good4 ,let us not then be anxious1 and anticipate differences in prospect1 when we agree in the present4 ,p4,s4 ,i think when friends i4e4 the extreme party get over their first unsettlement of mind and consequent vague apprehensions1 which the new attitude of the ,bishops1 and our feelings upon it1 have brought about1 they will get contented and satisfied4 ,they will see that they exaggerated things4444 ,of course it would have been wrong to anticipate what one's feelings would be under such a painful contingency as the ,bishops' charging as they have done1--so it seems to me nobody's fault4 ,nor is it wonderful that others moderate men are startled i4e4 at my ,protest1 c4 c42 yet they should recollect that the more implicit the reverence one pays to a ,bishop1 the more keen will be one's perception of heresy in him4 ,the cord is binding and compelling1 till it snaps4 ,men of reflection would have seen this1 if they had looked that way4 ,last spring1 a very high churchman talked to me of resisting my ,bishop1 of asking him for the ,canons under which he acted1 and so forth2 but those1 who have cultivated a loyal feeling towards their superiors1 are the most loving servants1 or the most zealous protestors4 ,if others became so too1 if the clergy of ,chester denounced the heresy of their diocesan1 they would be doing their duty1 and relieving themselves of the share which they otherwise have in any possible defection of their brethren4 ,st4 ,stephen's ,day1 ,december #bf4 ,how ,i fidget6 ,i now fear that the note ,i wrote yesterday only makes matters worse by disclosing too much4 ,this is always my great difficulty4 ,in the present state of excitement on both sides1 ,i think of leaving out altogether my reassertion of ,no4 #ij in my ,preface to ,volume #f of ,parochial ,sermons1 and merely saying1 ',as many false reports are at this time in circulation about him1 he hopes his well-wishers will take this ,volume as an indication of his real thoughts and feelings3 those who are not1 he leaves in ,god's hand to bring them to a better mind in ,his own time4' ,what do you say to the logic1 sentiment1 and propriety of this8 ,an old friend1 at a distance from ,oxford1 ,archdeacon ,robert ,i4 ,wilberforce1 must have said something to me at this time1 ,i do not know what1 which challenged a frank reply2 for ,i disclosed to him1 ,i do not know in what words1 my frightful suspicion1 hitherto only known to two persons1 viz4 his brother ,henry and ,mr4 ,frederic ,rogers1#ac that1 as regards my ,anglicanism1 perhaps ,i might break down in the event1--that perhaps we were both out of the ,church4 ,i think ,i recollect expressing my difficulty1 as derived from the ,arian and ,monophysite history1 in a form in which it would be most intelligible to him1 as being in fact an admission of ,bishop ,bull's2 viz4 that in the controversies of the early centuries the ,roman ,church was ever on the right side1 which was of course a prim facie argument in favour of ,rome and against ,anglicanism now4 ,he answered me thus1 under date of ,jan4 #bi1 #ahdb3 ,i don't think that ,i ever was so shocked by any communication1 which was ever made to me1 as by your letter of this morning4 ,it has quite unnerved me4444 ,i cannot but write to you1 though ,i am at a loss where to begin4444 ,i know of no act by which we have dissevered ourselves from the communion of the ,church ,universal4444 ,the more ,i study ,scripture1 the more am ,i impressed with the resemblance between the ,romish principle in the ,church and the ,babylon of ,st4 ,john4444 ,i am ready to grieve that ,i ever directed my thoughts to theology1 if it is indeed so uncertain1 as your doubts seem to indicate4 #ac ,now ,lord ,blachford4 ,while my old and true friends were thus in trouble about me1 ,i suppose they felt not only anxiety but pain1 to see that ,i was gradually surrendering myself to the influence of others1 who had not their own claims upon me1 younger men1 and of a cast of mind in no small degree uncongenial to my own4 ,a new school of thought was rising1 as is usual in doctrinal inquiries1 and was sweeping the original party of the ,movement aside1 and was taking its place4 ,the most prominent person in it1 was a man of elegant genius1 of classical mind1 of rare talent in literary composition3--,mr4 ,oakeley4 ,he was not far from my own age2 ,i had long known him1 though of late years he had not been in residence at ,oxford2 and quite lately1 he has been taking several signal occasions of renewing that kindness1 which he ever showed towards me when we were both in the ,anglican ,church4 ,his tone of mind was not unlike that which gave a character to the early ,movement2 he was almost a typical ,oxford man1 and1 as far as ,i recollect1 both in political and ecclesiastical views1 would have been of one spirit with the ,oriel party of #ahbf-ahcc4 ,but he had entered late into the ,movement2 he did not know its first years2 and1 beginning with a new start1 he was naturally thrown together with that body of eager1 acute1 resolute minds who had begun their ,catholic life about the same time as he1 who knew nothing about the ,via ,media1 but had heard much about ,rome4 ,this new party rapidly formed and increased1 in and out of ,oxford1 and1 as it so happened1 contemporaneously with that very summer1 when ,i received so serious a blow to my ecclesiastical views from the study of the ,monophysite controversy4 ,these men cut into the original ,movement at an angle1 fell across its line of thought1 and then set about turning that line in its own direction4 ,they were most of them keenly religious men1 with a true concern for their souls as the first matter of all1 with a great zeal for me1 but giving little certainty at the time as to which way they would ultimately turn4 ,some in the event have remained firm to ,anglicanism1 some have become ,catholics1 and some have found a refuge in ,liberalism4 ,nothing was clearer concerning them1 than that they needed to be kept in order2 and on me who had had so much to do with the making of them1 that duty was as clearly incumbent2 and it is equally clear1 from what ,i have already said1 that ,i was just the person1 above all others1 who could not undertake it4 ,there are no friends like old friends2 but of those old friends1 few could help me1 few could understand me1 many were annoyed with me1 some were angry1 because ,i was breaking up a compact party1 and some1 as a matter of conscience1 could not listen to me4 ,when ,i looked round for those whom ,i might consult in my difficulties1 ,i found the very hypothesis of those difficulties acting as a bar to their giving me their advice4 ,then ,i said1 bitterly1 ,you are throwing me on others1 whether ,i will or no4 ,yet still ,i had good and true friends around me of the old sort1 in and out of ,oxford too1 who were a great help to me4 ,but on the other hand1 though ,i neither was so fond 7with a few exceptions7 of the persons1 nor of the methods of thought1 which belonged to this new school1 as of the old set1 though ,i could not trust in their firmness of purpose1 for1 like a swarm of flies1 they might come and go1 and at length be divided and dissipated1 yet ,i had an intense sympathy in their object and in the direction in which their path lay1 in spite of my old friends1 in spite of my old life-long prejudices4 ,in spite of my ingrained fears of ,rome1 and the decision of my reason and conscience against her usages1 in spite of my affection for ,oxford and ,oriel1 yet ,i had a secret longing love of ,rome the ,mother of ,english ,christianity1 and ,i had a true devotion to the ,blessed ,virgin1 in whose ,college ,i lived1 whose ,altar ,i served1 and whose ,immaculate ,purity ,i had in one of my earliest printed ,sermons made much of4 ,and it was the consciousness of this bias in myself1 if it is so to be called1 which made me preach so earnestly against the danger of being swayed in religious inquiry by our sympathy rather than by our reason4 ,and moreover1 the members of this new school looked up to me1 as ,i have said1 and did me true kindnesses1 and really loved me1 and stood by me in trouble1 when others went away1 and for all this ,i was grateful2 nay1 many of them were in trouble themselves1 and in the same boat with me1 and that was a further cause of sympathy between us2 and hence it was1 when the new school came on in force1 and into collision with the old1 ,i had not the heart1 any more than the power1 to repel them2 ,i was in great perplexity1 and hardly knew where ,i stood2 ,i took their part2 and1 when ,i wanted to be in peace and silence1 ,i had to speak out1 and ,i incurred the charge of weakness from some men1 and of mysteriousness1 shuffling1 and underhand dealing from the majority4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now ,i will say here frankly1 that this sort of charge is a matter which ,i cannot properly meet1 because ,i cannot duly realize it4 ,i have never had any suspicion of my own honesty2 and1 when men say that ,i was dishonest1 ,i cannot grasp the accusation as a distinct conception1 such as it is possible to encounter4 ,if a man said to me1 ,on such a day and before such persons you said a thing was white1 when it was black1 ,i understand what is meant well enough1 and ,i can set myself to prove an alibi or to explain the mistake2 or if a man said to me1 ,you tried to gain me over to your party1 intending to take me with you to ,rome1 but you did not succeed1 ,i can give him the lie1 and lay down an assertion of my own as firm and as exact as his1 that not from the time that ,i was first unsettled1 did ,i ever attempt to gain any one over to myself or to my ,romanizing opinions1 and that it is only his own coxcombical fancy which has bred such a thought in him3 but my imagination is at a loss in presence of those vague charges1 which have commonly been brought against me1 charges1 which are made up of impressions1 and understandings1 and inferences1 and hearsay1 and surmises4 ,accordingly1 ,i shall not make the attempt1 for1 in doing so1 ,i should be dealing blows in the air2 what ,i shall attempt is to state what ,i know of myself and what ,i recollect1 and leave to others its application4 ,while ,i had confidence in the ,via ,media1 and thought that nothing could overset it1 ,i did not mind laying down large principles1 which ,i saw would go further than was commonly perceived4 ,i considered that to make the ,via ,media concrete and substantive1 it must be much more than it was in outline2 that the ,anglican ,church must have a ceremonial1 a ritual1 and a fulness of doctrine and devotion1 which it had not at present1 if it were to compete with the ,roman ,church with any prospect of success4 ,such additions would not remove it from its proper basis1 but would merely strengthen and beautify it3 such1 for instance1 would be confraternities1 particular devotions1 reverence for the ,blessed ,virgin1 prayers for the dead1 beautiful churches1 munificent offerings to them and in them1 monastic houses1 and many other observances and institutions1 which ,i used to say belonged to us as much as to ,rome1 though ,rome had appropriated them and boasted of them1 by reason of our having let them slip from us4 ,the principle1 on which all this turned1 is brought out in one of the ,letters ,i published on occasion of ,tract #ij4 ,the age is moving1 ,i said1 towards something2 and most unhappily the one religious communion among us1 which has of late years been practically in possession of this something1 is the ,church of ,rome4 ,she alone1 amid all the errors and evils of her practical system1 has given free scope to the feelings of awe1 mystery1 tenderness1 reverence1 devotedness1 and other feelings which may be especially called ,catholic4 ,the question then is1 whether we shall give them up to the ,roman ,church or claim them for ourselves4444 ,but if we do give them up1 we must give up the men who cherish them4 ,we must consent either to give up the men1 or to admit their principles4 ,with these feelings ,i frankly admit1 that1 while ,i was working simply for the sake of the ,anglican ,church1 ,i did not at all mind1 though ,i found myself laying down principles in its defence1 which went beyond that particular kind of defence which high-and-dry men thought perfection1 and even though ,i ended in framing a kind of defence1 which they might call a revolution1 while ,i thought it a restoration4 ,thus1 for illustration1 ,i might discourse upon the ,communion of ,saints in such a manner1 7though ,i do not recollect doing so17 as might lead the way towards devotion to the ,blessed ,virgin and the ,saints on the one hand1 and towards prayers for the dead on the other4 ,in a memorandum of the year #ahdd or #ahde1 ,i thus speak on this subject3 ,if the ,church be not defended on establishment grounds1 it must be upon principles1 which go far beyond their immediate object4 ,sometimes ,i saw these further results1 sometimes not4 ,though ,i saw them1 ,i sometimes did not say that ,i saw them3--so long as ,i thought they were inconsistent1 not with our ,church1 but only with the existing opinions1 ,i was not unwilling to insinuate truths into our ,church1 which ,i thought had a right to be there4 ,to so much ,i confess2 but ,i do not confess1 ,i simply deny that ,i ever said any thing which secretly bore against the ,church of ,england1 knowing it myself1 in order that others might unwarily accept it4 ,it was indeed one of my great difficulties and causes of reserve1 as time went on1 that ,i at length recognized in principles which ,i had honestly preached as if ,anglican1 conclusions favourable to the cause of ,rome4 ,of course ,i did not like to confess this2 and1 when interrogated1 was in consequence in perplexity4 ,the prime instance of this was the appeal to ,antiquity2 ,st4 ,leo had overset1 in my own judgment1 its force as the special argument for ,anglicanism2 yet ,i was committed to ,antiquity1 together with the whole ,anglican school2 what then was ,i to say1 when acute minds urged this or that application of it against the ,via ,media8 it was impossible that1 in such circumstances1 any answer could be given which was not unsatisfactory1 or any behaviour adopted which was not mysterious4 ,again1 sometimes in what ,i wrote ,i went just as far as ,i saw1 and could as little say more1 as ,i could see what is below the horizon2 and therefore1 when asked as to the consequences of what ,i had said1 ,i had no answer to give4 ,again1 sometimes when ,i was asked1 whether certain conclusions did not follow from a certain principle1 ,i might not be able to tell at the moment1 especially if the matter were complicated2 and for this reason1 if for no other1 because there is great difference between a conclusion in the abstract and a conclusion in the concrete1 and because a conclusion may be modified in fact by a conclusion from some opposite principle4 ,or it might so happen that my head got simply confused1 by the very strength of the logic which was administered to me1 and thus ,i gave my sanction to conclusions which really were not mine2 and when the report of those conclusions came round to me through others1 ,i had to unsay them4 ,and then again1 perhaps ,i did not like to see men scared or scandalized by unfeeling logical inferences1 which would not have troubled them to the day of their death1 had they not been forced to recognize them4 ,and then ,i felt altogether the force of the maxim of ,st4 ,ambrose1 ,non in dialectic complacuit ,deo salvum facere populum suum2--,i had a great dislike of paper logic4 ,for myself1 it was not logic that carried me on2 as well might one say that the quicksilver in the barometer changes the weather4 ,it is the concrete being that reasons2 pass a number of years1 and ,i find my mind in a new place2 how8 the whole man moves2 paper logic is but the record of it4 ,all the logic in the world would not have made me move faster towards ,rome than ,i did2 as well might you say that ,i have arrived at the end of my journey1 because ,i see the village church before me1 as venture to assert that the miles1 over which my soul had to pass before it got to ,rome1 could be annihilated1 even though ,i had been in possession of some far clearer view than ,i then had1 that ,rome was my ultimate destination4 ,great acts take time4 ,at least this is what ,i felt in my own case2 and therefore to come to me with methods of logic had in it the nature of a provocation1 and1 though ,i do not think ,i ever showed it1 made me somewhat indifferent how ,i met them1 and perhaps led me1 as a means of relieving my impatience1 to be mysterious or irrelevant1 or to give in because ,i could not meet them to my satisfaction4 ,and a greater trouble still than these logical mazes1 was the introduction of logic into every subject whatever1 so far1 that is1 as this was done4 ,before ,i was at ,oriel1 ,i recollect an acquaintance saying to me that the ,oriel ,common ,room stank of ,logic4 ,one is not at all pleased when poetry1 or eloquence1 or devotion1 is considered as if chiefly intended to feed syllogisms4 ,now1 in saying all this1 ,i am saying nothing against the deep piety and earnestness which were characteristics of this second phase of the ,movement1 in which ,i had taken so prominent a part4 ,what ,i have been observing is1 that this phase had a tendency to bewilder and to upset me2 and1 that1 instead of saying so1 as ,i ought to have done1 perhaps from a sort of laziness ,i gave answers at random1 which have led to my appearing close or inconsistent4 ,i have turned up two letters of this period1 which in a measure illustrate what ,i have been saying4 ,the first was written to the ,bishop of ,oxford on occasion of ,tract #ij3 ,march #bj1 #ahda4 ,no one can enter into my situation but myself4 ,i see a great many minds working in various directions and a variety of principles with multiplied bearings2 ,i act for the best4 ,i sincerely think that matters would not have gone better for the ,church1 had ,i never written4 ,and if ,i write ,i have a choice of difficulties4 ,it is easy for those who do not enter into those difficulties to say1 ',he ought to say this and not say that1' but things are wonderfully linked together1 and ,i cannot1 or rather ,i would not be dishonest4 ,when persons too interrogate me1 ,i am obliged in many cases to give an opinion1 or ,i seem to be underhand4 ,keeping silence looks like artifice4 ,and ,i do not like people to consult or respect me1 from thinking differently of my opinions from what ,i know them to be4 ,and again 7to use the proverb7 what is one man's food is another man's poison4 ,all these things make my situation very difficult4 ,but that collision must at some time ensue between members of the ,church of opposite sentiments1 ,i have long been aware4 ,the time and mode has been in the hand of ,providence2 ,i do not mean to exclude my own great imperfections in bringing it about2 yet ,i still feel obliged to think the ,tract necessary4 ,the second is taken from the notes of a letter which ,i sent to ,dr4 ,pusey in the next year3 ,october #af1 #ahdb4 ,as to my being entirely with ,ward1 ,i do not know the limits of my own opinions4 ,if ,ward says that this or that is a development from what ,i have said1 ,i cannot say ,yes or ,no4 ,it is plausible1 it may be true4 ,of course the fact that the ,roman ,church has so developed and maintained1 adds great weight to the antecedent plausibility4 ,i cannot assert that it is not true2 but ,i cannot1 with that keen perception which some people have1 appropriate it4 ,it is a nuisance to me to be forced beyond what ,i can fairly accept4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there was another source of the perplexity with which at this time ,i was encompassed1 and of the reserve and mysteriousness1 of which that perplexity gained for me the credit4 ,after ,tract #ij the ,protestant world would not let me alone2 they pursued me in the public journals to ,littlemore4 ,reports of all kinds were circulated about me4 ,imprimis1 why did ,i go up to ,littlemore at all8 ,for no good purpose certainly2 ,i dared not tell why4 ,why1 to be sure1 it was hard that ,i should be obliged to say to the ,editors of newspapers that ,i went up there to say my prayers2 it was hard to have to tell the world in confidence1 that ,i had a certain doubt about the ,anglican system1 and could not at that moment resolve it1 or say what would come of it2 it was hard to have to confess that ,i had thought of giving up my ,living a year or two before1 and that this was a first step to it4 ,it was hard to have to plead1 that1 for what ,i knew1 my doubts would vanish1 if the newspapers would be so good as to give me time and let me alone4 ,who would ever dream of making the world his confidant8 yet ,i was considered insidious1 sly1 dishonest1 if ,i would not open my heart to the tender mercies of the world4 ,but they persisted3 ,what was ,i doing at ,littlemore8 ,doing there6 have ,i not retreated from you8 have ,i not given up my position and my place8 am ,i alone1 of ,englishmen1 not to have the privilege to go where ,i will1 no questions asked8 am ,i alone to be followed about by jealous prying eyes1 which take note whether ,i go in at a back door or at the front1 and who the men are who happen to call on me in the afternoon8 ,cowards6 if ,i advanced one step1 you would run away2 it is not you that ,i fear3 ,di me terrent1 et ,jupiter hostis4 ,it is because the ,bishops still go on charging against me1 though ,i have quite given up3 it is that secret misgiving of heart which tells me that they do well1 for ,i have neither lot nor part with them3 this it is which weighs me down4 ,i cannot walk into or out of my house1 but curious eyes are upon me4 ,why will you not let me die in peace8 ,wounded brutes creep into some hole to die in1 and no one grudges it them4 ,let me alone1 ,i shall not trouble you long4 ,this was the keen feeling which pierced me1 and1 ,i think1 these are the very words in which ,i expressed it to myself4 ,i asked1 in the words of a great motto1 ,ubi lapsus8 quid feci8 ,one day when ,i entered my house1 ,i found a flight of ,under-graduates inside4 ,heads of ,houses1 as mounted patrols1 walked their horses round those poor cottages4 ,doctors of ,divinity dived into the hidden recesses of that private tenement uninvited1 and drew domestic conclusions from what they saw there4 ,i had thought that an ,englishman's house was his castle2 but the newspapers thought otherwise1 and at last the matter came before my good ,bishop4 ,i insert his letter1 and a portion of my reply to him3-- ,april #ab1 #ahdb4 ,so many of the charges against yourself and your friends which ,i have seen in the public journals have been1 within my own knowledge1 false and calumnious1 that ,i am not apt to pay much attention1 to what is asserted with respect to you in the newspapers4 ,in a newspaper however1 of ,april #i1 there appears a paragraph in which it is asserted1 as a matter of notoriety1 that a 'so-called ,anglo-,catholic ,monastery is in process of erection at ,littlemore1 and that the cells of dormitories1 the chapel1 the refectory1 the cloisters all may be seen advancing to perfection1 under the eye of a ,parish ,priest of the ,diocese of ,oxford4' ,now1 as ,i have understood that you really are possessed of some tenements at ,littlemore1--as it is generally believed that they are destined for the purposes of study and devotion1--and as much suspicion and jealousy are felt about the matter1 ,i am anxious to afford you an opportunity of making me an explanation on the subject4 ,i know you too well not to be aware that you are the last man living to attempt in my ,diocese a revival of the ,monastic orders 7in any thing approaching to the ,romanist sense of the term7 without previous communication with me1--or indeed that you should take upon yourself to originate any measure of importance without authority from the heads of the ,church1--and therefore ,i at once exonerate you from the accusation brought against you by the newspaper ,i have quoted1 but ,i feel it nevertheless a duty to my ,diocese and myself1 as well as to you1 to ask you to put it in my power to contradict what1 if uncontradicted1 would appear to imply a glaring invasion of all ecclesiastical discipline on your part1 or of inexcusable neglect and indifference to my duties on mine4 ,i wrote in answer as follows3-- ,april #ad1 #ahdb4 ,i am very much obliged by your ,lordship's kindness in allowing me to write to you on the subject of my house at ,littlemore2 at the same time ,i feel it hard both on your ,lordship and myself that the restlessness of the public mind should oblige you to require an explanation of me4 ,it is now a whole year that ,i have been the subject of incessant misrepresentation4 ,a year since ,i submitted entirely to your ,lordship's authority2 and1 with the intention of following out the particular act enjoined upon me1 ,i not only stopped the series of ,tracts1 on which ,i was engaged1 but withdrew from all public discussion of ,church matters of the day1 or what may be called ecclesiastical politics4 ,i turned myself at once to the preparation for the ,press of the translations of ,st4 ,athanasius to which ,i had long wished to devote myself1 and ,i intended and intend to employ myself in the like theological studies1 and in the concerns of my own parish and in practical works4 ,with the same view of personal improvement ,i was led more seriously to a design which had been long on my mind4 ,for many years1 at least thirteen1 ,i have wished to give myself to a life of greater religious regularity than ,i have hitherto led2 but it is very unpleasant to confess such a wish even to my ,bishop1 because it seems arrogant1 and because it is committing me to a profession which may come to nothing4 ,for what have ,i done that ,i am to be called to account by the world for my private actions1 in a way in which no one else is called8 ,why may ,i not have that liberty which all others are allowed8 ,i am often accused of being underhand and uncandid in respect to the intentions to which ,i have been alluding3 but no one likes his own good resolutions noised about1 both from mere common delicacy and from fear lest he should not be able to fulfil them4 ,i feel it very cruel1 though the parties in fault do not know what they are doing1 that very sacred matters between me and my conscience are made a matter of public talk4 ,may ,i take a case parallel though different8 suppose a person in prospect of marriage2 would he like the subject discussed in newspapers1 and parties1 circumstances1 c41 c41 publicly demanded of him1 at the penalty of being accused of craft and duplicity8 ,the resolution ,i speak of has been taken with reference to myself alone1 and has been contemplated quite independent of the co-operation of any other human being1 and without reference to success or failure other than personal1 and without regard to the blame or approbation of man4 ,and being a resolution of years1 and one to which ,i feel ,god has called me1 and in which ,i am violating no rule of the ,church any more than if ,i married1 ,i should have to answer for it1 if ,i did not pursue it1 as a good ,providence made openings for it4 ,in pursuing it then ,i am thinking of myself alone1 not aiming at any ecclesiastical or external effects4 ,at the same time of course it would be a great comfort to me to know that ,god had put it into the hearts of others to pursue their personal edification in the same way1 and unnatural not to wish to have the benefit of their presence and encouragement1 or not to think it a great infringement on the rights of conscience if such personal and private resolutions were interfered with4 ,your ,lordship will allow me to add my firm conviction that such religious resolutions are most necessary for keeping a certain class of minds firm in their allegiance to our ,church2 but still ,i can as truly say that my own reason for any thing ,i have done has been a personal one1 without which ,i should not have entered upon it1 and which ,i hope to pursue whether with or without the sympathies of others pursuing a similar course4444 ,as to my intentions1 ,i purpose to live there myself a good deal1 as ,i have a resident curate in ,oxford4 ,in doing this1 ,i believe ,i am consulting for the good of my parish1 as my population at ,littlemore is at least equal to that of ,st4 ,mary's in ,oxford1 and the whole of ,littlemore is double of it4 ,it has been very much neglected2 and in providing a parsonage-house at ,littlemore1 as this will be1 and will be called1 ,i conceive ,i am doing a very great benefit to my people4 ,at the same time it has appeared to me that a partial or temporary retirement from ,st4 ,mary's ,church might be expedient under the prevailing excitement4 ,as to the quotation from the newspaper1 which ,i have not seen1 your ,lordship will perceive from what ,i have said1 that no 'monastery is in process of erection2' there is no 'chapel2' no 'refectory'1 hardly a dining-room or parlour4 ,the 'cloisters' are my shed connecting the cottages4 ,i do not understand what 'cells of dormitories' means4 ,of course ,i can repeat your ,lordship's words that ',i am not attempting a revival of the ,monastic ,orders1 in any thing approaching to the ,romanist sense of the term1' or 'taking on myself to originate any measure of importance without authority from the ,heads of the ,church4' ,i am attempting nothing ecclesiastical1 but something personal and private1 and which can only be made public1 not private1 by newspapers and letter-writers1 in which sense the most sacred and conscientious resolves and acts may certainly be made the objects of an unmannerly and unfeeling curiosity4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one calumny there was which the ,bishop did not believe1 and of which of course he had no idea of speaking4 ,it was that ,i was actually in the service of the enemy4 ,i had forsooth been already received into the ,catholic ,church1 and was rearing at ,littlemore a nest of ,papists1 who1 like me1 were to take the ,anglican oaths which they disbelieved1 by virtue of a dispensation from ,rome1 and thus in due time were to bring over to that unprincipled ,church great numbers of the ,anglican ,clergy and ,laity4 ,bishops gave their countenance to this imputation against me4 ,the case was simply this3--as ,i made ,littlemore a place of retirement for myself1 so did ,i offer it to others4 ,there were young men in ,oxford1 whose testimonials for ,orders had been refused by their ,colleges2 there were young clergymen1 who had found themselves unable from conscience to go on with their duties1 and had thrown up their parochial engagements4 ,such men were already going straight to ,rome1 and ,i interposed2 ,i interposed for the reasons ,i have given in the beginning of this portion of my narrative4 ,i interposed from fidelity to my clerical engagements1 and from duty to my ,bishop2 and from the interest which ,i was bound to take in them1 and from belief that they were premature or excited4 ,their friends besought me to quiet them1 if ,i could4 ,some of them came to live with me at ,littlemore4 ,they were laymen1 or in the place of laymen4 ,i kept some of them back for several years from being received into the ,catholic ,church4 ,even when ,i had given up my living1 ,i was still bound by my duty to their parents or friends1 and ,i did not forget still to do what ,i could for them4 ,the immediate occasion of my resigning ,st4 ,mary's1 was the unexpected conversion of one of them4 ,after that1 ,i felt it was impossible to keep my post there1 for ,i had been unable to keep my word with my ,bishop4 ,the following letters refer1 more or less1 to these men1 whether they were actually with me at ,littlemore or not3-- #a4 ,march #f1 #ahdb4 ,church doctrines are a powerful weapon2 they were not sent into the world for nothing4 ,god's word does not return unto ,him void3 ,if ,i have said1 as ,i have1 that the doctrines of the ,tracts for the ,times would build up our ,church and destroy parties1 ,i meant1 if they were used1 not if they were denounced4 ,else1 they will be as powerful against us1 as they might be powerful for us4 ,if people who have a liking for another1 hear him called a ,roman ,catholic2 they will say1 ',then after all ,romanism is no such bad thing4' ,all these persons1 who are making the cry1 are fulfilling their own prophecy4 ,if all the world agree in telling a man1 he has no business in our ,church1 he will at length begin to think he has none4 ,how easy is it to persuade a man of any thing1 when numbers affirm it6 so great is the force of imagination4 ,did every one who met you in the streets look hard at you1 you would think you were somehow in fault4 ,i do not know any thing so irritating1 so unsettling1 especially in the case of young persons1 as1 when they are going on calmly and unconsciously1 obeying their ,church and following its divines1 7,i am speaking from facts17 as suddenly to their surprise to be conjured not to make a leap1 of which they have not a dream and from which they are far removed4 #b4 #ahdc or #ahdd4 ,i did not explain to you sufficiently the state of mind of those who were in danger4 ,i only spoke of those who were convinced that our ,church was external to the ,church ,catholic1 though they felt it unsafe to trust their own private convictions2 but there are two other states of mind2 #a4 that of those who are unconsciously near ,rome1 and whose despair about our ,church would at once develope into a state of conscious approximation1 or a quasi-resolution to go over2 #b4 those who feel they can with a safe conscience remain with us while they are allowed to testify in behalf of ,catholicism1 i4e4 as if by such acts they were putting our ,church1 or at least that portion of it in which they were included1 in the position of catechumens4 #c4 ,june #bj1 #ahdc4 ,i return the very pleasing letter you have permitted me to read4 ,what a sad thing it is1 that it should be a plain duty to restrain one's sympathies1 and to keep them from boiling over2 but ,i suppose it is a matter of common prudence4 ,things are very serious here2 but ,i should not like you to say so1 as it might do no good4 ,the ,authorities find1 that1 by the ,statutes1 they have more than military power2 and the general impression seems to be1 that they intend to exert it1 and put down ,catholicism at any risk4 ,i believe that by the ,statutes1 they can pretty nearly suspend a ,preacher1 as seditiosus or causing dissension1 without assigning their grounds in the particular case1 nay1 banish him1 or imprison him4 ,if so1 all holders of preferment in the ,university should make as quiet an exit as they can4 ,there is more exasperation on both sides at this moment1 as ,i am told1 than ever there was4 #d4 ,july #af1 #ahdc4 ,i assure you that ,i feel1 with only too much sympathy1 what you say4 ,you need not be told that the whole subject of our position is a subject of anxiety to others beside yourself4 ,it is no good attempting to offer advice1 when perhaps ,i might raise difficulties instead of removing them4 ,it seems to me quite a case1 in which you should1 as far as may be1 make up your mind for yourself4 ,come to ,littlemore by all means4 ,we shall all rejoice in your company2 and1 if quiet and retirement are able1 as they very likely will be1 to reconcile you to things as they are1 you shall have your fill of them4 ,how distressed poor ,henry ,wilberforce must be6 ,knowing how he values you1 ,i feel for him2 but1 alas6 he has his own position1 and every one else has his own1 and the misery is that no two of us have exactly the same4 ,it is very kind of you to be so frank and open with me1 as you are2 but this is a time which throws together persons who feel alike4 ,may ,i without taking a liberty sign myself1 yours affectionately1 c4 #e4 ,august #cj1 #ahdc4 ,a4 ,b4 has suddenly conformed to the ,church of ,rome4 ,he was away for three weeks4 ,i suppose ,i must say in my defence1 that he promised me distinctly to remain in our ,church three years1 before ,i received him here4 #f4 ,june #ag1 #ahde4 ,i am concerned to find you speak of me in a tone of distrust4 ,if you knew me ever so little1 instead of hearing of me from persons who do not know me at all1 you would think differently of me1 whatever you thought of my opinions4 ,two years since1 ,i got your son to tell you my intention of resigning ,st4 ,mary's1 before ,i made it public1 thinking you ought to know it4 ,when you expressed some painful feeling upon it1 ,i told him ,i could not consent to his remaining here1 painful as it would be to me to part with him1 without your written sanction4 ,and this you did me the favour to give4 ,i believe you will find that it has been merely a delicacy on your son's part1 which has delayed his speaking to you about me for two months past2 a delicacy1 lest he should say either too much or too little about me4 ,i have urged him several times to speak to you4 ,nothing can be done after your letter1 but to recommend him to go to ,a4 ,b4 7his home7 at once4 ,i am very sorry to part with him4 #g4 ,the following letter is addressed to ,cardinal ,wiseman1 then ,vicar ,apostolic1 who accused me of coldness in my conduct towards him3-- ,april #af1 #ahde4 ,i was at that time in charge of a ministerial office in the ,english ,church1 with persons entrusted to me1 and a ,bishop to obey2 how could ,i possibly write otherwise than ,i did without violating sacred obligations and betraying momentous interests which were upon me8 ,i felt that my immediate1 undeniable duty1 clear if any thing was clear1 was to fulfil that trust4 ,it might be right indeed to give it up1 that was another thing2 but it never could be right to hold it1 and to act as if ,i did not hold it4444 ,if you knew me1 you would acquit me1 ,i think1 of having ever felt towards your ,lordship in an unfriendly spirit1 or ever having had a shadow on my mind 7as far as ,i dare witness about myself7 of what might be called controversial rivalry or desire of getting the better1 or fear lest the world should think ,i had got the worse1 or irritation of any kind4 ,you are too kind indeed to imply this1 and yet your words lead me to say it4 ,and now in like manner1 pray believe1 though ,i cannot explain it to you1 that ,i am encompassed with responsibilities1 so great and so various1 as utterly to overcome me1 unless ,i have mercy from ,him1 who all through my life has sustained and guided me1 and to whom ,i can now submit myself1 though men of all parties are thinking evil of me4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such fidelity1 however1 was taken in malam partem by the high ,anglican authorities2 they thought it insidious4 ,i happen still to have a correspondence which took place in #ahdc1 in which the chief place is filled by one of the most eminent ,bishops of the day1 a theologian and reader of the ,fathers1 a moderate man1 who at one time was talked of as likely on a vacancy to succeed to the ,primacy4 ,a young clergyman in his diocese became a ,catholic2 the papers at once reported on authority from a very high quarter1 that1 after his reception1 the ,oxford men had been recommending him to retain his living4 ,i had reasons for thinking that the allusion was made to me1 and ,i authorized the ,editor of a ,paper1 who had inquired of me on the point1 to give it1 as far as ,i was concerned1 an unqualified contradiction2--when from a motive of delicacy he hesitated1 ,i added my direct and indignant contradiction4 ,whoever is the author of it1 ,i continued to the ,editor1 no correspondence or intercourse of any kind1 direct or indirect1 has passed between ,mr4 ,s4 and myself1 since his conforming to the ,church of ,rome1 except my formally and merely acknowledging the receipt of his letter1 in which he informed me of the fact1 without1 as far as ,i recollect1 my expressing any opinion upon it4 ,you may state this as broadly as ,i have set it down4 ,my denial was told to the ,bishop2 what took place upon it is given in a letter from which ,i copy4 ,my father showed the letter to the ,bishop1 who1 as he laid it down1 said1 ',ah1 those ,oxford men are not ingenuous4' ',how do you mean8' asked my father4 ',why1' said the ,bishop1 'they advised ,mr4 ,b4 ,s4 to retain his living after he turned ,catholic4 ,i know that to be a fact1 because ,a4 ,b4 told me so4' ,the ,bishop1 continues the letter1 who is perhaps the most influential man in reality on the bench1 evidently believes it to be the truth4 ,upon this ,dr4 ,pusey wrote in my behalf to the ,bishop2 and the ,bishop instantly beat a retreat4 ,i have the honour1 he says in the autograph which ,i transcribe1 to acknowledge the receipt of your note1 and to say in reply that it has not been stated by me1 7though such a statement has1 ,i believe1 appeared in some of the ,public ,prints17 that ,mr4 ,newman had advised ,mr4 ,b4 ,s4 to retain his living1 after he had forsaken our ,church4 ,but it has been stated to me1 that ,mr4 ,newman was in close correspondence with ,mr4 ,b4 ,s41 and1 being fully aware of his state of opinions and feelings1 yet advised him to continue in our communion4 ,allow me to add1 he says to ,dr4 ,pusey1 that neither your name1 nor that of ,mr4 ,keble1 was mentioned to me in connexion with that of ,mr4 ,b4 ,s4 ,i was not going to let the ,bishop off on this evasion1 so ,i wrote to him myself4 ,after quoting his ,letter to ,dr4 ,pusey1 ,i continued1 ,i beg to trouble your ,lordship with my own account of the two allegations close correspondence and fully aware1 c4 which are contained in your statement1 and which have led to your speaking of me in terms which ,i hope never to deserve4 #a4 ,since ,mr4 ,b4 ,s4 has been in your ,lordship's diocese1 ,i have seen him in ,common rooms or private parties in ,oxford two or three times1 when ,i never 7as far as ,i can recollect7 had any conversation with him4 ,during the same time ,i have1 to the best of my memory1 written to him three letters4 ,one was lately1 in acknowledgment of his informing me of his change of religion4 ,another was last summer1 when ,i asked him 7to no purpose7 to come and stay with me in this place4 ,the earliest of the three letters was written just a year since1 as far as ,i recollect1 and it certainly was on the subject of his joining the ,church of ,rome4 ,i wrote this letter at the earnest wish of a friend of his4 ,i cannot be sure that1 on his replying1 ,i did not send him a brief note in explanation of points in my letter which he had misapprehended4 ,i cannot recollect any other correspondence between us4 #b4 ,as to my knowledge of his opinions and feelings1 as far as ,i remember1 the only point of perplexity which ,i knew1 the only point which to this hour ,i know1 as pressing upon him1 was that of the ,pope's supremacy4 ,he professed to be searching ,antiquity whether the see of ,rome had formerly that relation to the whole ,church which ,roman ,catholics now assign to it4 ,my letter was directed to the point1 that it was his duty not to perplex himself with arguments on such a question1 444 and to put it altogether aside4444 ,it is hard that ,i am put upon my memory1 without knowing the details of the statement made against me1 considering the various correspondence in which ,i am from time to time unavoidably engaged4444 ,be assured1 my ,lord1 that there are very definite limits1 beyond which persons like me would never urge another to retain preferment in the ,english ,church1 nor would retain it themselves2 and that the censure which has been directed against them by so many of its ,rulers has a very grave bearing upon those limits4 ,the ,bishop replied in a civil letter1 and sent my own letter to his original informant1 who wrote to me the letter of a gentleman4 ,it seems that an anxious lady had said something or other which had been misinterpreted1 against her real meaning1 into the calumny which was circulated1 and so the report vanished into thin air4 ,i closed the correspondence with the following ,letter to the ,bishop3-- ,i hope your ,lordship will believe me when ,i say1 that statements about me1 equally incorrect with that which has come to your ,lordship's ears1 are from time to time reported to me as credited and repeated by the highest authorities in our ,church1 though it is very seldom that ,i have the opportunity of denying them4 ,i am obliged by your ,lordship's letter to ,dr4 ,pusey as giving me such an opportunity4 ,then ,i added1 with a purpose1 ,your ,lordship will observe that in my ,letter ,i had no occasion to proceed to the question1 whether a person holding ,roman ,catholic opinions can in honesty remain in our ,church4 ,lest then any misconception should arise from my silence1 ,i here take the liberty of adding1 that ,i see nothing wrong in such a person's continuing in communion with us1 provided he holds no preferment or office1 abstains from the management of ecclesiastical matters1 and is bound by no subscription or oath to our doctrines4 ,this was written on ,march #h1 #ahdc1 and was in anticipation of my own retirement into lay communion4 ,this again leads me to a remark3--for two years ,i was in lay communion1 not indeed being a ,catholic in my convictions1 but in a state of serious doubt1 and with the probable prospect of becoming some day1 what as yet ,i was not4 ,under these circumstances ,i thought the best thing ,i could do was to give up duty and to throw myself into lay communion1 remaining an ,anglican4 ,i could not go to ,rome1 while ,i thought what ,i did of the devotions she sanctioned to the ,blessed ,virgin and the ,saints4 ,i did not give up my fellowship1 for ,i could not be sure that my doubts would not be reduced or overcome1 however unlikely ,i might consider such an event4 ,but ,i gave up my living2 and1 for two years before my conversion1 ,i took no clerical duty4 ,my last ,sermon was in ,september1 #ahdc2 then ,i remained at ,littlemore in quiet for two years4 ,but it was made a subject of reproach to me at the time1 and is at this day1 that ,i did not leave the ,anglican ,church sooner4 ,to me this seems a wonderful charge2 why1 even had ,i been quite sure that ,rome was the true ,church1 the ,anglican ,bishops would have had no just subject of complaint against me1 provided ,i took no ,anglican oath1 no clerical duty1 no ecclesiastical administration4 ,do they force all men who go to their ,churches to believe in the #ci ,articles1 or to join in the ,athanasian ,creed8 ,however1 ,i was to have other measure dealt to me2 great authorities ruled it so2 and a great controversialist1 ,mr4 ,stanley ,faber1 thought it a shame that ,i did not leave the ,church of ,england as much as ten years sooner than ,i did4 ,he said this in print between the years #ahdg and #ahdi4 ,his nephew1 an ,anglican clergyman1 kindly wished to undeceive him on this point4 ,so1 in the latter year1 after some correspondence1 ,i wrote the following letter1 which will be of service to this narrative1 from its chronological notes3-- ,dec4 #f1 #ahdi4 ,your uncle says1 ',if he 7,mr4 ,n47 will declare1 sans phrase1 as the ,french say1 that ,i have laboured under an entire mistake1 and that he was not a concealed ,romanist during the ten years in question1' 7,i suppose1 the last ten years of my membership with the ,anglican ,church17 'or during any part of the time1 my controversial antipathy will be at an end1 and ,i will readily express to him that ,i am truly sorry that ,i have made such a mistake4' ,so candid an avowal is what ,i should have expected from a mind like your uncle's4 ,i am extremely glad he has brought it to this issue4 ,by a 'concealed ,romanist' ,i understand him to mean one1 who1 professing to belong to the ,church of ,england1 in his heart and will intends to benefit the ,church of ,rome1 at the expense of the ,church of ,england4 ,he cannot mean by the expression merely a person who in fact is benefiting the ,church of ,rome1 while he is intending to benefit the ,church of ,england1 for that is no discredit to him morally1 and he 7your uncle7 evidently means to impute blame4 ,in the sense in which ,i have explained the words1 ,i can simply and honestly say that ,i was not a concealed ,romanist during the whole1 or any part of1 the years in question4 ,for the first four years of the ten1 7up to ,michaelmas1 #ahci17 ,i honestly wished to benefit the ,church of ,england1 at the expense of the ,church of ,rome3 ,for the second four years ,i wished to benefit the ,church of ,england without prejudice to the ,church of ,rome3 ,at the beginning of the ninth year 7,michaelmas1 #ahdc7 ,i began to despair of the ,church of ,england1 and gave up all clerical duty2 and then1 what ,i wrote and did was influenced by a mere wish not to injure it1 and not by the wish to benefit it3 ,at the beginning of the tenth year ,i distinctly contemplated leaving it1 but ,i also distinctly told my friends that it was in my contemplation4 ,lastly1 during the last half of that tenth year ,i was engaged in writing a book 7,essay on ,development7 in favour of the ,roman ,church1 and indirectly against the ,english2 but even then1 till it was finished1 ,i had not absolutely intended to publish it1 wishing to reserve to myself the chance of changing my mind when the argumentative views which were actuating me had been distinctly brought out before me in writing4 ,i wish this statement1 which ,i make from memory1 and without consulting any document1 severely tested by my writings and doings1 as ,i am confident it will1 on the whole1 be borne out1 whatever real or apparent exceptions 7,i suspect none7 have to be allowed by me in detail4 ,your uncle is at liberty to make what use he pleases of this explanation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have now reached an important date in my narrative1 the year #ahdc2 but before proceeding to the matters which it contains1 ,i will insert portions of my letters from #ahda to #ahdc1 addressed to ,catholic acquaintances4 #a4 ,april #h1 #ahda 444 ,the unity of the ,church ,catholic is very near my heart1 only ,i do not see any prospect of it in our time2 and ,i despair of its being effected without great sacrifices on all hands4 ,as to resisting the ,bishop's will1 ,i observe that no point of doctrine or principle was in dispute1 but a course of action1 the publication of certain works4 ,i do not think you sufficiently understood our position4 ,i suppose you would obey the ,holy ,see in such a case2 now1 when we were separated from the ,pope1 his authority reverted to our ,diocesans4 ,our ,bishop is our ,pope4 ,it is our theory1 that each diocese is an integral ,church1 intercommunion being a duty1 7and the breach of it a sin17 but not essential to ,catholicity4 ,to have resisted my ,bishop1 would have been to place myself in an utterly false position1 which ,i never could have recovered4 ,depend upon it1 the strength of any party lies in its being true to its theory4 ,consistency is the life of a movement4 ,i have no misgivings whatever that the line ,i have taken can be other than a prosperous one3 that is1 in itself1 for of course ,providence may refuse to us its legitimate issues for our sins4 ,i am afraid1 that in one respect you may be disappointed4 ,it is my trust1 though ,i must not be too sanguine1 that we shall not have individual members of our communion going over to yours4 ,what one's duty would be under other circumstances1 what our duty would have been ten or twenty years ago1 ,i cannot say2 but ,i do think that there is less of private judgment in going with one's ,church1 than in leaving it4 ,i can earnestly desire a union between my ,church and yours4 ,i cannot listen to the thought of your being joined by individuals among us4 #b4 ,april #bf1 #ahda4 ,my only anxiety is lest your branch of the ,church should not meet us by those reforms which surely are necessary4 ,it never could be1 that so large a portion of ,christendom should have split off from the communion of ,rome1 and kept up a protest for #cjj years for nothing4 ,i think ,i never shall believe that so much piety and earnestness would be found among ,protestants1 if there were not some very grave errors on the side of ,rome4 ,to suppose the contrary is most unreal1 and violates all one's notions of moral probabilities4 ,all aberrations are founded on1 and have their life in1 some truth or other--and ,protestantism1 so widely spread and so long enduring1 must have in it1 and must be witness for1 a great truth or much truth4 ,that ,i am an advocate for ,protestantism1 you cannot suppose2--but ,i am forced into a ,via ,media1 short of ,rome1 as it is at present4 #c4 ,may #e1 #ahda4 ,while ,i most sincerely hold that there is in the ,roman ,church a traditionary system which is not necessarily connected with her essential formularies1 yet1 were ,i ever so much to change my mind on this point1 this would not tend to bring me from my present position1 providentially appointed in the ,english ,church4 ,that your communion was unassailable1 would not prove that mine was indefensible4 ,nor would it at all affect the sense in which ,i receive our ,articles2 they would still speak against certain definite errors1 though you had reformed them4 ,i say this lest any lurking suspicion should be left in the mind of your friends that persons who think with me are likely1 by the growth of their present views1 to find it imperative on them to pass over to your communion4 ,allow me to state strongly1 that if you have any such thoughts1 and proceed to act upon them1 your friends will be committing a fatal mistake4 ,we have 7,i trust7 the principle and temper of obedience too intimately wrought into us to allow of our separating ourselves from our ecclesiastical superiors because in many points we may sympathize with others4 ,we have too great a horror of the principle of private judgment to trust it in so immense a matter as that of changing from one communion to another4 ,we may be cast out of our communion1 or it may decree heresy to be truth1--you shall say whether such contingencies are likely2 but ,i do not see other conceivable causes of our leaving the ,church in which we were baptized4 ,for myself1 persons must be well acquainted with what ,i have written before they venture to say whether ,i have much changed my main opinions and cardinal views in the course of the last eight years4 ,that my sympathies have grown towards the religion of ,rome ,i do not deny2 that my reasons for shunning her communion have lessened or altered it would be difficult perhaps to prove4 ,and ,i wish to go by reason1 not by feeling4 #d4 ,june #ah1 #ahda4 ,you urge persons whose views agree with mine to commence a movement in behalf of a union between the ,churches4 ,now in the letters ,i have written1 ,i have uniformly said that ,i did not expect that union in our time1 and have discouraged the notion of all sudden proceedings with a view to it4 ,i must ask your leave to repeat on this occasion most distinctly1 that ,i cannot be party to any agitation1 but mean to remain quiet in my own place1 and to do all ,i can to make others take the same course4 ,this ,i conceive to be my simple duty2 but1 over and above this1 ,i will not set my teeth on edge with sour grapes4 ,i know it is quite within the range of possibilities that one or another of our people should go over to your communion2 however1 it would be a greater misfortune to you than grief to us4 ,if your friends wish to put a gulf between themselves and us1 let them make converts1 but not else4 ,some months ago1 ,i ventured to say that ,i felt it a painful duty to keep aloof from all ,roman ,catholics who came with the intention of opening negotiations for the union of the ,churches3 when you now urge us to petition our ,bishops for a union1 this1 ,i conceive1 is very like an act of negotiation4 #e4 ,i have the first sketch or draft of a letter1 which ,i wrote to a zealous ,catholic layman3 it runs as follows1 as far as ,i have preserved it1 but ,i think there were various changes and additions3--,september #ab1 #ahda4 ,it would rejoice all ,catholic minds among us1 more than words can say1 if you could persuade members of the ,church of ,rome to take the line in politics which you so earnestly advocate4 ,suspicion and distrust are the main causes at present of the separation between us1 and the nearest approaches in doctrine will but increase the hostility1 which1 alas1 our people feel towards yours1 while these causes continue4 ,depend upon it1 you must not rely upon our ,catholic tendencies till they are removed4 ,i am not speaking of myself1 or of any friends of mine2 but of our ,church generally4 ,whatever our personal feelings may be1 we shall but tend to raise and spread a rival ,church to yours in the four quarters of the world1 unless you do what none but you can do4 ,sympathies1 which would flow over to the ,church of ,rome1 as a matter of course1 did she admit them1 will but be developed in the consolidation of our own system1 if she continues to be the object of our suspicions and fears4 ,i wish1 of course ,i do1 that our own ,church may be built up and extended1 but still1 not at the cost of the ,church of ,rome1 not in opposition to it4 ,i am sure1 that1 while you suffer1 we suffer too from the separation2 but we cannot remove the obstacles2 it is with you to do so4 ,you do not fear us2 we fear you4 ,till we cease to fear you1 we cannot love you4 ,while you are in your present position1 the friends of ,catholic unity in our ,church are but fulfilling the prediction of those of your body who are averse to them1 viz4 that they will be merely strengthening a rival communion to yours4 ,many of you say that we are your greatest enemies2 we have said so ourselves3 so we are1 so we shall be1 as things stand at present4 ,we are keeping people from you1 by supplying their wants in our own ,church4 ,we are keeping persons from you3 do you wish us to keep them from you for a time or for ever8 ,it rests with you to determine4 ,i do not fear that you will succeed among us2 you will not supplant our ,church in the affections of the ,english nation2 only through the ,english ,church can you act upon the ,english nation4 ,i wish of course our ,church should be consolidated1 with and through and in your communion1 for its sake1 and your sake1 and for the sake of unity4 ,are you aware that the more serious thinkers among us are used1 as far as they dare form an opinion1 to regard the spirit of ,liberalism as the characteristic of the destined ,antichrist8 ,in vain does any one clear the ,church of ,rome from the badges of ,antichrist1 in which ,protestants would invest her1 if she deliberately takes up her position in the very quarter1 whither we have cast them1 when we took them off from her4 ,antichrist is described as the ,greek3 anomos1 as exalting himself above the yoke of religion and law4 ,the spirit of lawlessness came in with the ,reformation1 and ,liberalism is its offspring4 ,and now ,i fear ,i am going to pain you by telling you1 that you consider the approaches in doctrine on our part towards you1 closer than they really are4 ,i cannot help repeating what ,i have many times said in print1 that your services and devotions to ,st4 ,mary in matter of fact do most deeply pain me4 ,i am only stating it as a fact4 ,again1 ,i have nowhere said that ,i can accept the decrees of ,trent throughout1 nor implied it4 ,the doctrine of ,transubstantiation is a great difficulty with me1 as being1 as ,i think1 not primitive4 ,nor have ,i said that our ,articles in all respects admit of a ,roman interpretation2 the very word ',transubstantiation' is disowned in them4 ,thus1 you see1 it is not merely on grounds of expedience that we do not join you4 ,there are positive difficulties in the way of it4 ,and1 even if there were not1 we shall have no divine warrant for doing so1 while we think that the ,church of ,england is a branch of the true ,church1 and that intercommunion with the rest of ,christendom is necessary1 not for the life of a particular ,church1 but for its health only4 ,i have never disguised that there are actual circumstances in the ,church of ,rome1 which pain me much2 of the removal of these ,i see no chance1 while we join you one by one2 but if our ,church were prepared for a union1 she might make her terms2 she might gain the cup2 she might protest against the extreme honours paid to ,st4 ,mary2 she might make some explanation of the doctrine of ,transubstantiation4 ,i am not prepared to say that a reform in other branches of the ,roman ,church would be necessary for our uniting with them1 however desirable in itself1 so that we were allowed to make a reform in our own country4 ,we do not look towards ,rome as believing that its communion is infallible1 but that union is a duty4 #f4 ,the following letter was occasioned by the present made to me of a book by the friend to whom it is written2 more will be said on the subject of it presently3-- ,nov4 #bb1 #ahdb4 ,i only wish that your ,church were more known among us by such writings4 ,you will not interest us in her1 till we see her1 not in politics1 but in her true functions of exhorting1 teaching1 and guiding4 ,i wish there were a chance of making the leading men among you understand1 what ,i believe is no novel thought to yourself4 ,it is not by learned discussions1 or acute arguments1 or reports of miracles1 that the heart of ,england can be gained4 ,it is by men 'approving themselves1' like the ,apostle1 'ministers of ,christ4' ,as to your question1 whether the ,volume you have sent is not calculated to remove my apprehensions that another gospel is substituted for the true one in your practical instructions1 before ,i can answer it in any way1 ,i ought to know how far the ,sermons which it comprises are selected from a number1 or whether they are the whole1 or such as the whole1 which have been published of the author's4 ,i assure you1 or at least ,i trust1 that1 if it is ever clearly brought home to me that ,i have been wrong in what ,i have said on this subject1 my public avowal of that conviction will only be a question of time with me4 ,if1 however1 you saw our ,church as we see it1 you would easily understand that such a change of feeling1 did it take place1 would have no necessary tendency1 which you seem to expect1 to draw a person from the ,church of ,england to that of ,rome4 ,there is a divine life among us1 clearly manifested1 in spite of all our disorders1 which is as great a note of the ,church1 as any can be4 ,why should we seek our ,lord's presence elsewhere1 when ,he vouchsafes it to us where we are8 ,what call have we to change our communion8 ,roman ,catholics will find this to be the state of things in time to come1 whatever promise they may fancy there is of a large secession to their ,church4 ,this man or that may leave us1 but there will be no general movement4 ,there is1 indeed1 an incipient movement of our ,church towards yours1 and this your leading men are doing all they can to frustrate by their unwearied efforts at all risks to carry off individuals4 ,when will they know their position1 and embrace a larger and wiser policy8 #b4 ,the letter which ,i have last inserted1 is addressed to my dear friend1 ,dr4 ,russell1 the present ,president of ,maynooth4 ,he had1 perhaps1 more to do with my conversion than any one else4 ,he called upon me1 in passing through ,oxford in the summer of #ahda1 and ,i think ,i took him over some of the buildings of the ,university4 ,he called again another summer1 on his way from ,dublin to ,london4 ,i do not recollect that he said a word on the subject of religion on either occasion4 ,he sent me at different times several letters2 he was always gentle1 mild1 unobtrusive1 uncontroversial4 ,he let me alone4 ,he also gave me one or two books4 ,veron's ,rule of ,faith and some ,treatises of the ,wallenburghs was one2 a volume of ,st4 ,alfonso ,liguori's ,sermons was another2 and it is to those ,sermons that my letter to ,dr4 ,russell relates4 ,now it must be observed that the writings of ,st4 ,alfonso1 as ,i knew them by the extracts commonly made from them1 prejudiced me as much against the ,roman ,church as any thing else1 on account of what was called their ,mariolatry2 but there was nothing of the kind in this book4 ,i wrote to ask ,dr4 ,russell whether any thing had been left out in the translation2 he answered that there certainly were omissions in one ,sermon about the ,blessed ,virgin4 ,this omission1 in the case of a book intended for ,catholics1 at least showed that such passages as are found in the works of ,italian ,authors were not acceptable to every part of the ,catholic world4 ,such devotional manifestations in honour of our ,lady had been my great crux as regards ,catholicism2 ,i say frankly1 ,i do not fully enter into them now2 ,i trust ,i do not love her the less1 because ,i cannot enter into them4 ,they may be fully explained and defended2 but sentiment and taste do not run with logic3 they are suitable for ,italy1 but they are not suitable for ,england4 ,but1 over and above ,england1 my own case was special2 from a boy ,i had been led to consider that my ,maker and ,i1 ,his creature1 were the two beings1 luminously such1 in rerum natur4 ,i will not here speculate1 however1 about my own feelings4 ,only this ,i know full well now1 and did not know then1 that the ,catholic ,church allows no image of any sort1 material or immaterial1 no dogmatic symbol1 no rite1 no sacrament1 no ,saint1 not even the ,blessed ,virgin herself1 to come between the soul and its ,creator4 ,it is face to face1 solus cum solo1 in all matters between man and his ,god4 ,he alone creates2 ,he alone has redeemed2 before ,his awful eyes we go in death2 in the vision of ,him is our eternal beatitude4 #a4 ,solus cum solo3--,i recollect but indistinctly what ,i gained from the ,volume of which ,i have been speaking2 but it must have been something considerable4 ,at least ,i had got a key to a difficulty2 in these ,sermons1 7or rather heads of sermons1 as they seem to be1 taken down by a hearer17 there is much of what would be called legendary illustration2 but the substance of them is plain1 practical1 awful preaching upon the great truths of salvation4 ,what ,i can speak of with greater confidence is the effect produced on me a little later by studying the ,exercises of ,st4 ,ignatius4 ,for here again1 in a matter consisting in the purest and most direct acts of religion1--in the intercourse between ,god and the soul1 during a season of recollection1 of repentance1 of good resolution1 of inquiry into vocation1--the soul was sola cum solo2 there was no cloud interposed between the creature and the ,object of his faith and love4 ,the command practically enforced was1 ,my son1 give ,me thy heart4 ,the devotions then to ,angels and ,saints as little interfered with the incommunicable glory of the ,eternal1 as the love which we bear our friends and relations1 our tender human sympathies1 are inconsistent with that supreme homage of the heart to the ,unseen1 which really does but sanctify and exalt1 not jealously destroy1 what is of earth4 ,at a later date ,dr4 ,russell sent me a large bundle of penny or half-penny books of devotion1 of all sorts1 as they are found in the booksellers' shops at ,rome2 and1 on looking them over1 ,i was quite astonished to find how different they were from what ,i had fancied1 how little there was in them to which ,i could really object4 ,i have given an account of them in my ,essay on the ,development of ,doctrine4 ,dr4 ,russell sent me ,st4 ,alfonso's book at the end of #ahdb2 however1 it was still a long time before ,i got over my difficulty1 on the score of the devotions paid to the ,saints2 perhaps1 as ,i judge from a letter ,i have turned up1 it was some way into #ahdd before ,i could be said fully to have got over it4 #b4 ,i am not sure that ,i did not also at this time feel the force of another consideration4 ,the idea of the ,blessed ,virgin was as it were magnified in the ,church of ,rome1 as time went on1--but so were all the ,christian ideas2 as that of the ,blessed ,eucharist4 ,the whole scene of pale1 faint1 distant ,apostolic ,christianity is seen in ,rome1 as through a telescope or magnifier4 ,the harmony of the whole1 however1 is of course what it was4 ,it is unfair then to take one ,roman idea1 that of the ,blessed ,virgin1 out of what may be called its context4 #c4 ,thus ,i am brought to the principle of development of doctrine in the ,christian ,church1 to which ,i gave my mind at the end of #ahdb4 ,i had made mention of it in the passage1 which ,i quoted many pages back 7vide p4 #aaa71 in ,home ,thoughts ,abroad1 published in #ahcf2 and even at an earlier date ,i had introduced it into my ,history of the ,arians in #ahcb2 nor had ,i ever lost sight of it in my speculations4 ,and it is certainly recognized in the ,treatise of ,vincent of ,lerins1 which has so often been taken as the basis of ,anglicanism4 ,in #ahdc ,i began to consider it attentively2 ,i made it the subject of my last ,university ,sermon on ,february #b2 and the general view to which ,i came is stated thus in a letter to a friend of the date of ,july #ad1 #ahdd2--;it will be observed that1 now as before1 my issue is still ,creed versus ,church3-- ,the kind of considerations which weighs with me are such as the following3--#a4 ,i am far more certain 7according to the ,fathers7 that we are in a state of culpable separation1 than that developments do not exist under the ,gospel1 and that the ,roman developments are not the true ones4 #b4 ,i am far more certain1 that our 7modern7 doctrines are wrong1 than that the ,roman 7modern7 doctrines are wrong4 #c4 ,granting that the ,roman 7special7 doctrines are not found drawn out in the early ,church1 yet ,i think there is sufficient trace of them in it1 to recommend and prove them1 on the hypothesis of the ,church having a divine guidance1 though not sufficient to prove them by itself4 ,so that the question simply turns on the nature of the promise of the ,spirit1 made to the ,church4 #d4 ,the proof of the ,roman 7modern7 doctrine is as strong 7or stronger7 in ,antiquity1 as that of certain doctrines which both we and ,romans hold3 e4g4 there is more of evidence in ,antiquity for the necessity of ,unity1 than for the ,apostolical ,succession2 for the ,supremacy of the ,see of ,rome1 than for the ,presence in the ,eucharist2 for the practice of ,invocation1 than for certain books in the present ,canon of ,scripture1 c4 c4 #e4 ,the analogy of the ,old ,testament1 and also of the ,new1 leads to the acknowledgment of doctrinal developments4 #d4 ,and thus ,i was led on to a further consideration4 ,i saw that the principle of development not only accounted for certain facts1 but was in itself a remarkable philosophical phenomenon1 giving a character to the whole course of ,christian thought4 ,it was discernible from the first years of the ,catholic teaching up to the present day1 and gave to that teaching a unity and individuality4 ,it served as a sort of test1 which the ,anglican could not exhibit1 that modern ,rome was in truth ancient ,antioch1 ,alexandria1 and ,constantinople1 just as a mathematical curve has its own law and expression4 #e4 ,and thus again ,i was led on to examine more attentively what ,i doubt not was in my thoughts long before1 viz4 the concatenation of argument by which the mind ascends from its first to its final religious idea2 and ,i came to the conclusion that there was no medium1 in true philosophy1 between ,atheism and ,catholicity1 and that a perfectly consistent mind1 under those circumstances in which it finds itself here below1 must embrace either the one or the other4 ,and ,i hold this still3 ,i am a ,catholic by virtue of my believing in a ,god2 and if ,i am asked why ,i believe in a ,god1 ,i answer that it is because ,i believe in myself1 for ,i feel it impossible to believe in my own existence 7and of that fact ,i am quite sure7 without believing also in the existence of ,him1 who lives as a ,personal1 ,all-seeing1 ,all-judging ,being in my conscience4 ,now1 ,i dare say1 ,i have not expressed myself with philosophical correctness1 because ,i have not given myself to the study of what metaphysicians have said on the subject2 but ,i think ,i have a strong true meaning in what ,i say which will stand examination4 #f4 ,moreover1 ,i found a corroboration of the fact of the logical connexion of ,theism with ,catholicism in a consideration parallel to that which ,i had adopted on the subject of development of doctrine4 ,the fact of the operation from first to last of that principle of development in the truths of ,revelation1 is an argument in favour of the identity of ,roman and ,primitive ,christianity2 but as there is a law which acts upon the subject-matter of dogmatic theology1 so is there a law in the matter of religious faith4 ,in the first chapter of this ,narrative ,i spoke of certitude as the consequence1 divinely intended and enjoined upon us1 of the accumulative force of certain given reasons which1 taken one by one1 were only probabilities4 ,let it be recollected that ,i am historically relating my state of mind1 at the period of my life which ,i am surveying4 ,i am not speaking theologically1 nor have ,i any intention of going into controversy1 or of defending myself2 but speaking historically of what ,i held in #ahdc-d1 ,i say1 that ,i believed in a ,god on a ground of probability1 that ,i believed in ,christianity on a probability1 and that ,i believed in ,catholicism on a probability1 and that these three grounds of probability1 distinct from each other of course in subject matter1 were still all of them one and the same in nature of proof1 as being probabilities--probabilities of a special kind1 a cumulative1 a transcendent probability but still probability2 inasmuch as ,he who made us has so willed1 that in mathematics indeed we should arrive at certitude by rigid demonstration1 but in religious inquiry we should arrive at certitude by accumulated probabilities2--,he has willed1 ,i say1 that we should so act1 and1 as willing it1 ,he co-operates with us in our acting1 and thereby enables us to do that which ,he wills us to do1 and carries us on1 if our will does but co-operate with ,his1 to a certitude which rises higher than the logical force of our conclusions4 ,and thus ,i came to see clearly1 and to have a satisfaction in seeing1 that1 in being led on into the ,church of ,rome1 ,i was not proceeding on any secondary or isolated grounds of reason1 or by controversial points in detail1 but was protected and justified1 even in the use of those secondary or particular arguments1 by a great and broad principle4 ,but1 let it be observed1 that ,i am stating a matter of fact1 not defending it2 and if any ,catholic says in consequence that ,i have been converted in a wrong way1 ,i cannot help that now4 ,i have nothing more to say on the subject of the change in my religious opinions4 ,on the one hand ,i came gradually to see that the ,anglican ,church was formally in the wrong1 on the other that the ,church of ,rome was formally in the right2 then1 that no valid reasons could be assigned for continuing in the ,anglican1 and again that no valid objections could be taken to joining the ,roman4 ,then1 ,i had nothing more to learn2 what still remained for my conversion1 was1 not further change of opinion1 but to change opinion itself into the clearness and firmness of intellectual conviction4 ,now ,i proceed to detail the acts1 to which ,i committed myself during this last stage of my inquiry4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in #ahdc1 ,i took two very significant steps3--#a4 ,in ,february1 ,i made a formal ,retractation of all the hard things which ,i had said against the ,church of ,rome4 #b4 ,in ,september1 ,i resigned the ,living of ,st4 ,mary's1 ,littlemore included3--,i will speak of these two acts separately4 #a4 ,the words1 in which ,i made my ,retractation1 have given rise to much criticism4 ,after quoting a number of passages from my writings against the ,church of ,rome1 which ,i withdrew1 ,i ended thus3--,if you ask me how an individual could venture1 not simply to hold1 but to publish such views of a communion so ancient1 so wide-spreading1 so fruitful in ,saints1 ,i answer that ,i said to myself1 ',i am not speaking my own words1 ,i am but following almost a consensus of the divines of my own ,church4 ,they have ever used the strongest language against ,rome1 even the most able and learned of them4 ,i wish to throw myself into their system4 ,while ,i say what they say1 ,i am safe4 ,such views1 too1 are necessary for our position4' ,yet ,i have reason to fear still1 that such language is to be ascribed1 in no small measure1 to an impetuous temper1 a hope of approving myself to persons ,i respect1 and a wish to repel the charge of ,romanism4 ,these words have been1 and are1 again and again cited against me1 as if a confession that1 when in the ,anglican ,church1 ,i said things against ,rome which ,i did not really believe4 ,for myself1 ,i cannot understand how any impartial man can so take them2 and ,i have explained them in print several times4 ,i trust that by this time their plain meaning has been satisfactorily brought out by what ,i have said in former portions of this ,narrative2 still ,i have a word or two to say in addition to my former remarks upon them4 ,in the passage in question ,i apologize for saying out in controversy charges against the ,church of ,rome1 which withal ,i affirm that ,i fully believed at the time when ,i made them4 ,what is wonderful in such an apology8 ,there are surely many things a man may hold1 which at the same time he may feel that he has no right to say publicly1 and which it may annoy him that he has said publicly4 ,the law recognizes this principle4 ,in our own time1 men have been imprisoned and fined for saying true things of a bad king4 ,the maxim has been held1 that1 ,the greater the truth1 the greater is the libel4 ,and so as to the judgment of society1 a just indignation would be felt against a writer who brought forward wantonly the weaknesses of a great man1 though the whole world knew that they existed4 ,no one is at liberty to speak ill of another without a justifiable reason1 even though he knows he is speaking truth1 and the public knows it too4 ,therefore1 though ,i believed what ,i said against the ,roman ,church1 nevertheless ,i could not religiously speak it out1 unless ,i was really justified1 not only in believing ill1 but in speaking ill4 ,i did believe what ,i said on what ,i thought to be good reasons2 but had ,i also a just cause for saying out what ,i believed8 ,i thought ,i had1 and it was this1 viz4 that to say out what ,i believed was simply necessary in the controversy for self-defence4 ,it was impossible to let it alone3 the ,anglican position could not be satisfactorily maintained1 without assailing the ,roman4 ,in this1 as in most cases of conflict1 one party was right or the other1 not both2 and the best defence was to attack4 ,is not this almost a truism in the ,roman controversy8 ,is it not what every one says1 who speaks on the subject at all8 ,does any serious man abuse the ,church of ,rome1 for the sake of abusing her1 or because that abuse justifies his own religious position8 ,what is the meaning of the very word ,protestantism1 but that there is a call to speak out8 ,this then is what ,i said3 ,i know ,i spoke strongly against the ,church of ,rome2 but it was no mere abuse1 for ,i had a serious reason for doing so4 ,but1 not only did ,i think such language necessary for my ,church's religious position1 but ,i recollected that all the great ,anglican divines had thought so before me4 ,they had thought so1 and they had acted accordingly4 ,and therefore ,i observe in the passage in question1 with much propriety1 that ,i had not used strong language simply out of my own head1 but that in doing so ,i was following the track1 or rather reproducing the teaching1 of those who had preceded me4 ,i was pleading guilty to using violent language1 but ,i was pleading also that there were extenuating circumstances in the case4 ,we all know the story of the convict1 who on the scaffold bit off his mother's ear4 ,by doing so he did not deny the fact of his own crime1 for which he was to hang2 but he said that his mother's indulgence when he was a boy1 had a good deal to do with it4 ,in like manner ,i had made a charge1 and ,i had made it ex animo2 but ,i accused others of having1 by their own example1 led me into believing it and publishing it4 ,i was in a humour1 certainly1 to bite off their ears4 ,i will freely confess1 indeed ,i said it some pages back1 that ,i was angry with the ,anglican divines4 ,i thought they had taken me in2 ,i had read the ,fathers with their eyes2 ,i had sometimes trusted their quotations or their reasonings2 and from reliance on them1 ,i had used words or made statements1 which by right ,i ought rigidly to have examined myself4 ,i had thought myself safe1 while ,i had their warrant for what ,i said4 ,i had exercised more faith than criticism in the matter4 ,this did not imply any broad misstatements on my part1 arising from reliance on their authority1 but it implied carelessness in matters of detail4 ,and this of course was a fault4 ,but there was a far deeper reason for my saying what ,i said in this matter1 on which ,i have not hitherto touched2 and it was this3--,the most oppressive thought1 in the whole process of my change of opinion1 was the clear anticipation1 verified by the event1 that it would issue in the triumph of ,liberalism4 ,against the ,anti-dogmatic principle ,i had thrown my whole mind2 yet now ,i was doing more than any one else could do1 to promote it4 ,i was one of those who had kept it at bay in ,oxford for so many years2 and thus my very retirement was its triumph4 ,the men who had driven me from ,oxford were distinctly the ,liberals2 it was they who had opened the attack upon ,tract #ij1 and it was they who would gain a second benefit1 if ,i went on to abandon the ,anglican ,church4 ,but this was not all4 ,as ,i have already said1 there are but two alternatives1 the way to ,rome1 and the way to ,atheism3 ,anglicanism is the halfway house on the one side1 and ,liberalism is the halfway house on the other4 ,how many men were there1 as ,i knew full well1 who would not follow me now in my advance from ,anglicanism to ,rome1 but would at once leave ,anglicanism and me for the ,liberal camp4 ,it is not at all easy 7humanly speaking7 to wind up an ,englishman to a dogmatic level4 ,i had done so in good measure1 in the case both of young men and of laymen1 the ,anglican ,via ,media being the representative of dogma4 ,the dogmatic and the ,anglican principle were one1 as ,i had taught them2 but ,i was breaking the ,via ,media to pieces1 and would not dogmatic faith altogether be broken up1 in the minds of a great number1 by the demolition of the ,via ,media8 ,oh6 how unhappy this made me6 ,i heard once from an eye-witness the account of a poor sailor whose legs were shattered by a ball1 in the action off ,algiers in #ahaf1 and who was taken below for an operation4 ,the surgeon and the chaplain persuaded him to have a leg off2 it was done and the tourniquet applied to the wound4 ,then1 they broke it to him that he must have the other off too4 ,the poor fellow said1 ,you should have told me that1 gentlemen1 and deliberately unscrewed the instrument and bled to death4 ,would not that be the case with many friends of my own8 ,how could ,i ever hope to make them believe in a second theology1 when ,i had cheated them in the first8 ,with what face could ,i publish a new edition of a dogmatic creed1 and ask them to receive it as gospel8 ,would it not be plain to them that no certainty was to be found any where8 ,well1 in my defence ,i could but make a lame apology2 however1 it was the true one1 viz4 that ,i had not read the ,fathers cautiously enough2 that in such nice points1 as those which determine the angle of divergence between the two ,churches1 ,i had made considerable miscalculations4 ,but how came this about8 why1 the fact was1 unpleasant as it was to avow1 that ,i had leaned too much upon the assertions of ,ussher1 ,jeremy ,taylor1 or ,barrow1 and had been deceived by them4 ,valeat quantum1--it was all that could be said4 ,this then was a chief reason of that wording of the ,retractation1 which has given so much offence1 because the bitterness1 with which it was written1 was not understood2--and the following letter will illustrate it3-- ,april #c1 #ahdd4 ,i wish to remark on ,william's chief distress1 that my changing my opinion seemed to unsettle one's confidence in truth and falsehood as external things1 and led one to be suspicious of the new opinion as one became distrustful of the old4 ,now in what ,i shall say1 ,i am not going to speak in favour of my second thoughts in comparison of my first1 but against such scepticism and unsettlement about truth and falsehood generally1 the idea of which is very painful4 ,the case with me1 then1 was this1 and not surely an unnatural one3--as a matter of feeling and of duty ,i threw myself into the system which ,i found myself in4 ,i saw that the ,english ,church had a theological idea or theory as such1 and ,i took it up4 ,i read ,laud on ,tradition1 and thought it 7as ,i still think it7 very masterly4 ,the ,anglican ,theory was very distinctive4 ,i admired it and took it on faith4 ,it did not 7,i think7 occur to me to doubt it2 ,i saw that it was able1 and supported by learning1 and ,i felt it was a duty to maintain it4 ,further1 on looking into ,antiquity and reading the ,fathers1 ,i saw such portions of it as ,i examined1 fully confirmed 7e4g4 the supremacy of ,scripture74 ,there was only one question about which ,i had a doubt1 viz4 whether it would work1 for it has never been more than a paper system4444 ,so far from my change of opinion having any fair tendency to unsettle persons as to truth and falsehood viewed as objective realities1 it should be considered whether such change is not necessary1 if truth be a real objective thing1 and be made to confront a person who has been brought up in a system short of truth4 ,surely the continuance of a person1 who wishes to go right1 in a wrong system1 and not his giving it up1 would be that which militated against the objectiveness of ,truth1 leading1 as it would1 to the suspicion1 that one thing and another were equally pleasing to our ,maker1 where men were sincere4 ,nor surely is it a thing ,i need be sorry for1 that ,i defended the system in which ,i found myself1 and thus have had to unsay my words4 ,for is it not one's duty1 instead of beginning with criticism1 to throw oneself generously into that form of religion which is providentially put before one8 ,is it right1 or is it wrong1 to begin with private judgment8 ,may we not1 on the other hand1 look for a blessing through obedience even to an erroneous system1 and a guidance even by means of it out of it8 ,were those who were strict and conscientious in their ,judaism1 or those who were lukewarm and sceptical1 more likely to be led into ,christianity1 when ,christ came8 ,yet in proportion to their previous zeal1 would be their appearance of inconsistency4 ,certainly1 ,i have always contended that obedience even to an erring conscience was the way to gain light1 and that it mattered not where a man began1 so that he began on what came to hand1 and in faith2 and that any thing might become a divine method of ,truth2 that to the pure all things are pure1 and have a self-correcting virtue and a power of germinating4 ,and though ,i have no right at all to assume that this mercy is granted to me1 yet the fact1 that a person in my situation may have it granted to him1 seems to me to remove the perplexity which my change of opinion may occasion4 ,it may be said1--,i have said it to myself1--',why1 however1 did you publish8 had you waited quietly1 you would have changed your opinion without any of the misery1 which now is involved in the change1 of disappointing and distressing people4' ,i answer1 that things are so bound up together1 as to form a whole1 and one cannot tell what is or is not a condition of what4 ,i do not see how possibly ,i could have published the ,tracts1 or other works professing to defend our ,church1 without accompanying them with a strong protest or argument against ,rome4 ,the one obvious objection against the whole ,anglican line is1 that it is ,roman2 so that ,i really think there was no alternative between silence altogether1 and forming a theory and attacking the ,roman system4 #b4 ,and now1 in the next place1 as to my ,resignation of ,st4 ,mary's1 which was the second of the steps which ,i took in #ahdc4 ,the ostensible1 direct1 and sufficient reason for my doing so was the persevering attack of the ,bishops on ,tract #ij4 ,i alluded to it in the letter which ,i have inserted above1 addressed to one of the most influential among them4 ,a series of their ex cathedr judgments1 lasting through three years1 and including a notice of no little severity in a ,charge of my own ,bishop1 came as near to a condemnation of my ,tract1 and1 so far1 to a repudiation of the ancient ,catholic doctrine1 which was the scope of the ,tract1 as was possible in the ,church of ,england4 ,it was in order to shield the ,tract from such a condemnation1 that ,i had at the time of its publication in #ahda so simply put myself at the disposal of the higher powers in ,london4 ,at that time1 all that was distinctly contemplated in the way of censure1 was contained in the message which my ,bishop sent me1 that the ,tract was objectionable4 ,that ,i thought was the end of the matter4 ,i had refused to suppress it1 and they had yielded that point4 ,since ,i published the former portions of this ,narrative1 ,i have found what ,i wrote to ,dr4 ,pusey on ,march #bd1 while the matter was in progress4 ,the more ,i think of it1 ,i said1 the more reluctant ,i am to suppress ,tract #ij1 though of course ,i will do it if the ,bishop wishes it2 ,i cannot1 however1 deny that ,i shall feel it a severe act4 ,according to the notes which ,i took of the letters or messages which ,i sent to him on that and the following days1 ,i wrote successively1 ,my first feeling was to obey without a word2 ,i will obey still2 but my judgment has steadily risen against it ever since4 ,then in the ,postscript1 ,if ,i have done any good to the ,church1 ,i do ask the ,bishop this favour1 as my reward for it1 that he would not insist on a measure1 from which ,i think good will not come4 ,however1 ,i will submit to him4 ,afterwards1 ,i got stronger still and wrote3 ,i have almost come to the resolution1 if the ,bishop publicly intimates that ,i must suppress the ,tract1 or speaks strongly in his charge against it1 to suppress it indeed1 but to resign my living also4 ,i could not in conscience act otherwise4 ,you may show this in any quarter you please4 ,all my then hopes1 all my satisfaction at the apparent fulfilment of those hopes was at an end in #ahdc4 ,it is not wonderful then1 that in ,may of that year1 when two out of the three years were gone1 ,i wrote on the subject of my retiring from ,st4 ,mary's to the same friend1 whom ,i had consulted upon it in #ahdj4 ,but ,i did more now2 ,i told him my great unsettlement of mind on the question of the ,churches4 ,i will insert portions of two of my letters3-- ,may #d1 #ahdc4444 ,at present ,i fear1 as far as ,i can analyze my own convictions1 ,i consider the ,roman ,catholic ,communion to be the ,church of the ,apostles1 and that what grace is among us 7which1 through ,god's mercy1 is not little7 is extraordinary1 and from the overflowings of ,his dispensation4 ,i am very far more sure that ,england is in schism1 than that the ,roman additions to the ,primitive ,creed may not be developments1 arising out of a keen and vivid realizing of the ,divine ,depositum of ,faith4 ,you will now understand what gives edge to the ,bishops' ,charges1 without any undue sensitiveness on my part4 ,they distress me in two ways3--first1 as being in some sense protests and witnesses to my conscience against my own unfaithfulness to the ,english ,church1 and next1 as being samples of her teaching1 and tokens how very far she is from even aspiring to ,catholicity4 ,of course my being unfaithful to a trust is my great subject of dread1--as it has long been1 as you know4 ,when he wrote to make natural objections to my purpose1 such as the apprehension that the removal of clerical obligations might have the indirect effect of propelling me towards ,rome1 ,i answered3-- ,may #ah1 #ahdc4444 ,my office or charge at ,st4 ,mary's is not a mere state1 but a continual energy4 ,people assume and assert certain things of me in consequence4 ,with what sort of sincerity can ,i obey the ,bishop8 how am ,i to act in the frequent cases1 in which one way or another the ,church of ,rome comes into consideration8 ,i have to the utmost of my power tried to keep persons from ,rome1 and with some success2 but even a year and a half since1 my arguments1 though more efficacious with the persons ,i aimed at than any others could be1 were of a nature to infuse great suspicion of me into the minds of lookers-on4 ,by retaining ,st4 ,mary's1 ,i am an offence and a stumbling-block4 ,persons are keen-sighted enough to make out what ,i think on certain points1 and then they infer that such opinions are compatible with holding situations of trust in our ,church4 ,a number of younger men take the validity of their interpretation of the ,articles1 c4 from me on faith4 ,is not my present position a cruelty1 as well as a treachery towards the ,church8 ,i do not see how ,i can either preach or publish again1 while ,i hold ,st4 ,mary's2--but consider again the following difficulty in such a resolution1 which ,i must state at some length4 ,last ,long ,vacation the idea suggested itself to me of publishing the ,lives of the ,english ,saints2 and ,i had a conversation with a publisher upon it4 ,i thought it would be useful1 as employing the minds of men who were in danger of running wild1 bringing them from doctrine to history1 and from speculation to fact2--again1 as giving them an interest in the ,english soil1 and the ,english ,church1 and keeping them from seeking sympathy in ,rome1 as she is2 and further1 as tending to promote the spread of right views4 ,but1 within the last month1 it has come upon me1 that1 if the scheme goes on1 it will be a practical carrying out of ,no4 #ij1 from the character of the usages and opinions of ante-reformation times4 ,it is easy to say1 ',why will you do any thing8 why won't you keep quiet8 what business had you to think of any such plan at all8' ,but ,i cannot leave a number of poor fellows in the lurch4 ,i am bound to do my best for a great number of people both in ,oxford and elsewhere4 ,if ,i did not act1 others would find means to do so4 ,well1 the plan has been taken up with great eagerness and interest4 ,many men are setting to work4 ,i set down the names of men1 most of them engaged1 the rest half engaged and probable1 some actually writing4 ,about thirty names follow1 some of them at that time of the school of ,dr4 ,arnold1 others of ,dr4 ,pusey's1 some my personal friends and of my own standing1 others whom ,i hardly knew1 while of course the majority were of the party of the new ,movement4 ,i continue3-- ,the plan has gone so far1 that it would create surprise and talk1 were it now suddenly given over4 ,yet how is it compatible with my holding ,st4 ,mary's1 being what ,i am8 99 99 99 99 99 ,such was the object and the origin of the projected ,series of the ,english ,saints2 and1 since the publication was connected1 as has been seen1 with my resignation of ,st4 ,mary's1 ,i may be allowed to conclude what ,i have to say on the subject here1 though it may read like a digression4 ,as soon then as the first of the ,series got into print1 the whole project broke down4 ,i had already anticipated that some portions of the ,series would be written in a style inconsistent with the professions of a beneficed clergyman1 and therefore ,i had given up my ,living2 but men of great weight went further in their misgivings than ,i1 when they saw the ,life of ,st4 ,stephen ,harding1 and decided that it was of a character inconsistent even with its proceeding from an ,anglican publisher3 and so the scheme was given up at once4 ,after the two first numbers1 ,i retired from the ,editorship1 and those ,lives only were published in addition1 which were then already finished1 or in advanced preparation4 ,the following passages from what ,i or others wrote at the time will illustrate what ,i have been saying3-- ,in ,november1 #ahdd1 ,i wrote thus to the author of one of them3 ,i am not ,editor1 ,i have no direct control over the ,series4 ,it is ,t4's work2 he may admit what he pleases2 and exclude what he pleases4 ,i was to have been ,editor4 ,i did edit the two first numbers4 ,i was responsible for them1 in the way in which an ,editor is responsible4 ,had ,i continued ,editor1 ,i should have exercised a control over all4 ,i laid down in the ,preface that doctrinal subjects were1 if possible1 to be excluded4 ,but1 even then1 ,i also set down that no writer was to be held answerable for any of the ,lives but his own4 ,when ,i gave up the ,editorship1 ,i had various engagements with friends for separate ,lives remaining on my hands4 ,i should have liked to have broken from them all1 but there were some from which ,i could not break1 and ,i let them take their course4 ,some have come to nothing2 others like yours have gone on4 ,i have seen such1 either in ,,ms4 or ,proof4 ,as time goes on1 ,i shall have less and less to do with the ,series4 ,i think the engagement between you and me should come to an end4 ,i have any how abundant responsibility on me1 and too much4 ,i shall write to ,t4 that if he wants the advantage of your assistance1 he must write to you direct4 ,in accordance with this letter1 ,i had already advertised in ,january #ahdd1 ten months before it1 that other ,lives1 after ,st4 ,stephen ,harding1 would be published by their respective authors on their own responsibility4 ,this notice was repeated in ,february1 in the advertisement to the second number entitled ,the ,family of ,st4 ,richard1 though to this number1 for some reason which ,i cannot now recollect1 ,i also put my initials4 ,in the ,life of ,st4 ,augustine1 the author1 a man of nearly my own age1 says in like manner1 ,no one but himself is responsible for the way in which these materials have been used4 ,i have in ,,ms4 another advertisement to the same effect1 but ,i cannot tell whether it ever appeared in print4 ,i will add1 since the authors have been considered hot-headed fanatic young men1 whom ,i was in charge of1 and whom ,i suffered to do intemperate things1 that1 while the writer of ,st4 ,augustine was in #ahdd past forty1 the author of the proposed ,life of ,st4 ,boniface1 ,mr4 ,bowden1 was forty-six2 ,mr4 ,johnson1 who was to write ,st4 ,aldhelm1 forty-three2 and most of the others were on one side or other of thirty4 ,three1 ,i think1 were under twenty-five4 ,moreover1 of these writers some became ,catholics1 some remained ,anglicans1 and others have professed what are called free or liberal opinions#ad4 #ad ,vide ,note ,d1 ,lives of the ,english ,saints4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the immediate cause of the resignation of my ,living is stated in the following letter1 which ,i wrote to my ,bishop3-- ,august #bi1 #ahdc4 ,it is with much concern that ,i inform your ,lordship1 that ,mr4 ,a4 ,b41 who has been for the last year an inmate of my house here1 has just conformed to the ,church of ,rome4 ,as ,i have ever been desirous1 not only of faithfully discharging the trust1 which is involved in holding a living in your ,lordship's diocese1 but of approving myself to your ,lordship1 ,i will for your information state one or two circumstances connected with this unfortunate event4444 ,i received him on condition of his promising me1 which he distinctly did1 that he would remain quietly in our ,church for three years4 ,a year has passed since that time1 and1 though ,i saw nothing in him which promised that he would eventually be contented with his present position1 yet for the time his mind became as settled as one could wish1 and he frequently expressed his satisfaction at being under the promise which ,i had exacted of him4 ,i felt it impossible to remain any longer in the service of the ,anglican ,church1 when such a breach of trust1 however little ,i had to do with it1 would be laid at my door4 ,i wrote in a few days to a friend3 ,september #g1 #ahdc4 ,i this day ask the ,bishop leave to resign ,st4 ,mary's4 ,men whom you little think1 or at least whom ,i little thought1 are in almost a hopeless way4 ,really we may expect any thing4 ,i am going to publish a ,volume of ,sermons1 including those ,four against moving4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i resigned my living on ,september the #ahth4 ,i had not the means of doing it legally at ,oxford4 ,the late ,mr4 ,goldsmid was kind enough to aid me in resigning it in ,london4 ,i found no fault with the ,liberals2 they had beaten me in a fair field4 ,as to the act of the ,bishops1 ,i thought1 to borrow a ,scriptural image from ,walter ,scott1 that they had seethed the kid in his mother's milk4 ,i said to a friend3-- ,victrix causa diis placuit1 sed victa ,catoni4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and now ,i may be almost said to have brought to an end1 as far as is necessary for a sketch such as this is1 the history both of my changes of religious opinion and of the public acts which they involved4 ,i had one final advance of mind to accomplish1 and one final step to take4 ,that further advance of mind was to be able honestly to say that ,i was certain of the conclusions at which ,i had already arrived4 ,that further step1 imperative when such certitude was attained1 was my submission to the ,catholic ,church4 ,this submission did not take place till two full years after the resignation of my living in ,september #ahdc2 nor could ,i have made it at an earlier day1 without doubt and apprehension1 that is1 with any true conviction of mind or certitude4 ,in the interval1 of which it remains to speak1 viz4 between the autumns of #ahdc and #ahde1 ,i was in lay communion with the ,church of ,england1 attending its services as usual1 and abstaining altogether from intercourse with ,catholics1 from their places of worship1 and from those religious rites and usages1 such as the ,invocation of ,saints1 which are characteristics of their creed4 ,i did all this on principle2 for ,i never could understand how a man could be of two religions at once4 ,what ,i have to say about myself between these two autumns ,i shall almost confine to this one point1--the difficulty ,i was in1 as to the best mode of revealing the state of my mind to my friends and others1 and how ,i managed to reveal it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,up to ,january1 #ahdb1 ,i had not disclosed my state of unsettlement to more than three persons1 as has been mentioned above1 and as is repeated in the course of the letters which ,i am now about to give to the reader4 ,to two of them1 intimate and familiar companions1 in the ,autumn of #ahci3 to the third1 an old friend too1 whom ,i have also named above1 ,i suppose1 when ,i was in great distress of mind upon the affair of the ,jerusalem ,bishopric4 ,in ,may1 #ahdc1 ,i made it known1 as has been seen1 to the friend1 by whose advice ,i wished1 as far as possible1 to be guided4 ,to mention it on set purpose to any one1 unless indeed ,i was asking advice1 ,i should have felt to be a crime4 ,if there is any thing that was abhorrent to me1 it was the scattering doubts1 and unsettling consciences without necessity4 ,a strong presentiment that my existing opinions would ultimately give way1 and that the grounds of them were unsound1 was not a sufficient warrant for disclosing the state of my mind4 ,i had no guarantee yet1 that that presentiment would be realized4 ,supposing ,i were crossing ice1 which came right in my way1 which ,i had good reasons for considering sound1 and which ,i saw numbers before me crossing in safety1 and supposing a stranger from the bank1 in a voice of authority1 and in an earnest tone1 warned me that it was dangerous1 and then was silent1 ,i think ,i should be startled1 and should look about me anxiously1 but ,i think too that ,i should go on1 till ,i had better grounds for doubt2 and such was my state1 ,i believe1 till the end of #ahdb4 ,then again1 when my dissatisfaction became greater1 it was hard at first to determine the point of time1 when it was too strong to suppress with propriety4 ,certitude of course is a point1 but doubt is a progress2 ,i was not near certitude yet4 ,certitude is a reflex action2 it is to know that one knows4 ,of that ,i believe ,i was not possessed1 till close upon my reception into the ,catholic ,church4 ,again1 a practical1 effective doubt is a point too1 but who can easily ascertain it for himself8 ,who can determine when it is1 that the scales in the balance of opinion begin to turn1 and what was a greater probability in behalf of a belief becomes a positive doubt against it8 ,in considering this question in its bearing upon my conduct in #ahdc1 my own simple answer to my great difficulty had been1 ,do what your present state of opinion requires in the light of duty1 and let that doing tell3 speak by acts4 ,this ,i had done2 my first act of the year had been in ,february4 ,after three months' deliberation ,i had published my retractation of the violent charges which ,i had made against ,rome3 ,i could not be wrong in doing so much as this2 but ,i did no more at the time3 ,i did not retract my ,anglican teaching4 ,my second act had been in ,september in the same year2 after much sorrowful lingering and hesitation1 ,i had resigned my ,living4 ,i tried indeed1 before ,i did so1 to keep ,littlemore for myself1 even though it was still to remain an integral part of ,st4 ,mary's4 ,i had given to it a ,church and a sort of ,parsonage2 ,i had made it a ,parish1 and ,i loved it2 ,i thought in #ahdc that perhaps ,i need not forfeit my existing relations towards it4 ,i could indeed submit to become the curate at will of another1 but ,i hoped an arrangement was possible1 by which1 while ,i had the curacy1 ,i might have been my own master in serving it4 ,i had hoped an exception might have been made in my favour1 under the circumstances2 but ,i did not gain my request4 ,perhaps ,i was asking what was impracticable1 and it is well for me that it was so4 ,these had been my two acts of the year1 and ,i said1 ,i cannot be wrong in making them2 let that follow which must follow in the thoughts of the world about me1 when they see what ,i do4 ,and1 as time went on1 they fully answered my purpose4 ,what ,i felt it a simple duty to do1 did create a general suspicion about me1 without such responsibility as would be involved in my initiating any direct act for the sake of creating it4 ,then1 when friends wrote me on the subject1 ,i either did not deny or ,i confessed my state of mind1 according to the character and need of their letters4 ,sometimes in the case of intimate friends1 whom ,i should otherwise have been leaving in ignorance of what others knew on every side of them1 ,i invited the question4 ,and here comes in another point for explanation4 ,while ,i was fighting in ,oxford for the ,anglican ,church1 then indeed ,i was very glad to make converts1 and1 though ,i never broke away from that rule of my mind1 7as ,i may call it17 of which ,i have already spoken1 of finding disciples rather than seeking them1 yet1 that ,i made advances to others in a special way1 ,i have no doubt2 this came to an end1 however1 as soon as ,i fell into misgivings as to the true ground to be taken in the controversy4 ,for then1 when ,i gave up my place in the ,movement1 ,i ceased from any such proceedings3 and my utmost endeavour was to tranquillize such persons1 especially those who belonged to the new school1 as were unsettled in their religious views1 and1 as ,i judged1 hasty in their conclusions4 ,this went on till #ahdc2 but1 at that date1 as soon as ,i turned my face ,rome-ward1 ,i gave up1 as far as ever was possible1 the thought of in any respect and in any shape acting upon others4 ,then ,i myself was simply my own concern4 ,how could ,i in any sense direct others1 who had to be guided in so momentous a matter myself8 ,how could ,i be considered in a position1 even to say a word to them one way or the other8 ,how could ,i presume to unsettle them1 as ,i was unsettled1 when ,i had no means of bringing them out of such unsettlement8 ,and1 if they were unsettled already1 how could ,i point to them a place of refuge1 when ,i was not sure that ,i should choose it for myself8 ,my only line1 my only duty1 was to keep simply to my own case4 ,i recollected ,pascal's words1 ,je mourrai seul4 ,i deliberately put out of my thoughts all other works and claims1 and said nothing to any one1 unless ,i was obliged4 ,but this brought upon me a great trouble4 ,in the newspapers there were continual reports about my intentions2 ,i did not answer them2 presently strangers or friends wrote1 begging to be allowed to answer them2 and1 if ,i still kept to my resolution and said nothing1 then ,i was thought to be mysterious1 and a prejudice was excited against me4 ,but1 what was far worse1 there were a number of tender1 eager hearts1 of whom ,i knew nothing at all1 who were watching me1 wishing to think as ,i thought1 and to do as ,i did1 if they could but find it out2 who in consequence were distressed1 that1 in so solemn a matter1 they could not see what was coming1 and who heard reports about me this way or that1 on a first day and on a second2 and felt the weariness of waiting1 and the sickness of delayed hope1 and did not understand that ,i was as perplexed as they were1 and1 being of more sensitive complexion of mind than myself1 were made ill by the suspense4 ,and they too of course for the time thought me mysterious and inexplicable4 ,i ask their pardon as far as ,i was really unkind to them4 ,there was a gifted and deeply earnest lady1 who in a parabolical account of that time1 has described both my conduct as she felt it1 and her own feelings upon it4 ,in a singularly graphic1 amusing vision of pilgrims1 who were making their way across a bleak common in great discomfort1 and who were ever warned against1 yet continually nearing1 the king's highway on the right1 she says1 ,all my fears and disquiets were speedily renewed by seeing the most daring of our leaders1 7the same who had first forced his way through the palisade1 and in whose courage and sagacity we all put implicit trust17 suddenly stop short1 and declare that he would go on no further4 ,he did not1 however1 take the leap at once1 but quietly sat down on the top of the fence with his feet hanging towards the road1 as if he meant to take his time about it1 and let himself down easily4 ,i do not wonder at all that ,i thus seemed so unkind to a lady1 who at that time had never seen me4 ,we were both in trial in our different ways4 ,i am far from denying that ,i was acting selfishly both in her case and in that of others2 but it was a religious selfishness4 ,certainly to myself my own duty seemed clear4 ,they that are whole can heal others2 but in my case it was1 ,physician1 heal thyself4 ,my own soul was my first concern1 and it seemed an absurdity to my reason to be converted in partnership4 ,i wished to go to my ,lord by myself1 and in my own way1 or rather ,his way4 ,i had neither wish1 nor1 ,i may say1 thought of taking a number with me4 ,moreover1 it is but the truth to say1 that it had ever been an annoyance to me to seem to be the head of a party2 and that even from fastidiousness of mind1 ,i could not bear to find a thing done elsewhere1 simply or mainly because ,i did it myself1 and that1 from distrust of myself1 ,i shrank from the thought1 whenever it was brought home to me1 that ,i was influencing others4 ,but nothing of this could be known to the world4 ,the following three letters are written to a friend1 who had every claim upon me to be frank with him1 ,archdeacon ,manning3--it will be seen that ,i disclose the real state of my mind in proportion as he presses me4 #a4 ,october #ad1 #ahdc4 ,i would tell you in a few words why ,i have resigned ,st4 ,mary's1 as you seem to wish1 were it possible to do so4 ,but it is most difficult to bring out in brief1 or even in extenso1 any just view of my feelings and reasons4 ,the nearest approach ,i can give to a general account of them is to say1 that it has been caused by the general repudiation of the view1 contained in ,no4 #ij1 on the part of the ,church4 ,i could not stand against such an unanimous expression of opinion from the ,bishops1 supported1 as it has been1 by the concurrence1 or at least silence1 of all classes in the ,church1 lay and clerical4 ,if there ever was a case1 in which an individual teacher has been put aside and virtually put away by a community1 mine is one4 ,no decency has been observed in the attacks upon me from authority2 no protests have been offered against them4 ,it is felt1--,i am far from denying1 justly felt1--that ,i am a foreign material1 and cannot assimilate with the ,church of ,england4 ,even my own ,bishop has said that my mode of interpreting the ,articles makes them mean any thing or nothing4 ,when ,i heard this delivered1 ,i did not believe my ears4 ,i denied to others that it was said4444 ,out came the charge1 and the words could not be mistaken4 ,this astonished me the more1 because ,i published that ,letter to him1 7how unwillingly you know17 on the understanding that ,i was to deliver his judgment on ,no4 #ij instead of him4 ,a year elapses1 and a second and heavier judgment came forth4 ,i did not bargain for this1--nor did he1 but the tide was too strong for him4 ,i fear that ,i must confess1 that1 in proportion as ,i think the ,english ,church is showing herself intrinsically and radically alien from ,catholic principles1 so do ,i feel the difficulties of defending her claims to be a branch of the ,catholic ,church4 ,it seems a dream to call a communion ,catholic1 when one can neither appeal to any clear statement of ,catholic doctrine in its formularies1 nor interpret ambiguous formularies by the received and living ,catholic sense1 whether past or present4 ,men of ,catholic views are too truly but a party in our ,church4 ,i cannot deny that many other independent circumstances1 which it is not worth while entering into1 have led me to the same conclusion4 ,i do not say all this to every body1 as you may suppose2 but ,i do not like to make a secret of it to you4 #b4 ,oct4 #be1 #ahdc4 ,you have engaged in a dangerous correspondence2 ,i am deeply sorry for the pain ,i shall give you4 ,i must tell you then frankly1 7but ,i combat arguments which to me1 alas1 are shadows17 that it is not from disappointment1 irritation1 or impatience1 that ,i have1 whether rightly or wrongly1 resigned ,st4 ,mary's2 but because ,i think the ,church of ,rome the ,catholic ,church1 and ours not part of the ,catholic ,church1 because not in communion with ,rome2 and because ,i feel that ,i could not honestly be a teacher in it any longer4 ,this thought came to me last summer four years4444 ,i mentioned it to two friends in the autumn4444 ,it arose in the first instance from the ,monophysite and ,donatist controversies1 the former of which ,i was engaged with in the course of theological study to which ,i had given myself4 ,this was at a time when no ,bishop1 ,i believe1 had declared against us#ae1 and when all was progress and hope4 ,i do not think ,i have ever felt disappointment or impatience1 certainly not then2 for ,i never looked forward to the future1 nor do ,i realize it now4 ,my first effort was to write that article on the ,catholicity of the ,english ,church2 for two years it quieted me4 ,since the summer of #ahci ,i have written little or nothing on modern controversy4444 ,you know how unwillingly ,i wrote my letter to the ,bishop in which ,i committed myself again1 as the safest course under circumstances4 ,the article ,i speak of quieted me till the end of #ahda1 over the affair of ,no4 #ij1 when that wretched ,jerusalem ,bishopric 7no personal matter7 revived all my alarms4 ,they have increased up to this moment4 ,at that time ,i told my secret to another person in addition4 ,you see then that the various ecclesiastical and quasi-ecclesiastical acts1 which have taken place in the course of the last two years and a half1 are not the cause of my state of opinion1 but are keen stimulants and weighty confirmations of a conviction forced upon me1 while engaged in the course of duty1 viz4 that theological reading to which ,i had given myself4 ,and this last-mentioned circumstance is a fact1 which has never1 ,i think1 come before me till now that ,i write to you4 ,it is three years since1 on account of my state of opinion1 ,i urged the ,provost in vain to let ,st4 ,mary's be separated from ,littlemore2 thinking ,i might with a safe conscience serve the latter1 though ,i could not comfortably continue in so public a place as a ,university4 ,this was before ,no4 #ij4 ,finally1 ,i have acted under advice1 and that1 not of my own choosing1 but what came to me in the way of duty1 nor the advice of those only who agree with me1 but of near friends who differ from me4 ,i have nothing to reproach myself with1 as far as ,i see1 in the matter of impatience2 i4e4 practically or in conduct4 ,and ,i trust that ,he1 who has kept me in the slow course of change hitherto1 will keep me still from hasty acts1 or resolves with a doubtful conscience4 ,this ,i am sure of1 that such interposition as yours1 kind as it is1 only does what you would consider harm4 ,it makes me realize my own views to myself2 it makes me see their consistency2 it assures me of my own deliberateness2 it suggests to me the traces of a ,providential ,hand2 it takes away the pain of disclosures2 it relieves me of a heavy secret4 ,you may make what use of my letters you think right4 #ae ,i think ,sumner1 ,bishop of ,chester1 must have done so already4 #c4 ,my correspondent wrote to me once more1 and ,i replied thus3 ,october #ca1 #ahdc4 ,your letter has made my heart ache more1 and caused me more and deeper sighs than any ,i have had a long while1 though ,i assure you there is much on all sides of me to cause sighing and heartache4 ,on all sides3--,i am quite haunted by the one dreadful whisper repeated from so many quarters1 and causing the keenest distress to friends4 ,you know but a part of my present trial1 in knowing that ,i am unsettled myself4 ,since the beginning of this year ,i have been obliged to tell the state of my mind to some others2 but never1 ,i think1 without being in a way obliged1 as from friends writing to me as you did1 or guessing how matters stood4 ,no one in ,oxford knows it or here ,littlemore1 but one near friend whom ,i felt ,i could not help telling the other day4 ,but1 ,i suppose1 many more suspect it4 ,on receiving these letters1 my correspondent1 if ,i recollect rightly1 at once communicated the matter of them to ,dr4 ,pusey1 and this will enable me to describe1 as nearly as ,i can1 the way in which he first became aware of my changed state of opinion4 ,i had from the first a great difficulty in making ,dr4 ,pusey understand such differences of opinion as existed between himself and me4 ,when there was a proposal about the end of #ahch for a subscription for a ,cranmer ,memorial1 he wished us both to subscribe together to it4 ,i could not1 of course1 and wished him to subscribe by himself4 ,that he would not do2 he could not bear the thought of our appearing to the world in separate positions1 in a matter of importance4 ,and1 as time went on1 he would not take any hints1 which ,i gave him1 on the subject of my growing inclination to ,rome4 ,when ,i found him so determined1 ,i often had not the heart to go on4 ,and then ,i knew1 that1 from affection to me1 he so often took up and threw himself into what ,i said1 that ,i felt the great responsibility ,i should incur1 if ,i put things before him just as ,i might view them myself4 ,and1 not knowing him so well as ,i did afterwards1 ,i feared lest ,i should unsettle him4 ,and moreover1 ,i recollected well1 how prostrated he had been with illness in #ahcb1 and ,i used always to think that the start of the ,movement had given him a fresh life4 ,i fancied that his physical energies even depended on the presence of a vigorous hope and bright prospects for his imagination to feed upon2 so much so1 that when he was so unworthily treated by the authorities of the place in #ahdc1 ,i recollect writing to the late ,mr4 ,dodsworth to state my anxiety1 lest1 if his mind became dejected in consequence1 his health should suffer seriously also4 ,these were difficulties in my way2 and then again1 another difficulty was1 that1 as we were not together under the same roof1 we only saw each other at set times2 others indeed1 who were coming in or out of my rooms freely1 and according to the need of the moment1 knew all my thoughts easily2 but for him to know them well1 formal efforts were necessary4 ,a common friend of ours broke it all to him in #ahda1 as far as matters had gone at that time1 and showed him clearly the logical conclusions which must lie in propositions to which ,i had committed myself2 but somehow or other in a little while1 his mind fell back into its former happy state1 and he could not bring himself to believe that he and ,i should not go on pleasantly together to the end4 ,but that affectionate dream needs must have been broken at last2 and two years afterwards1 that friend to whom ,i wrote the letters which ,i have just now inserted1 set himself1 as ,i have said1 to break it4 ,upon that1 ,i too begged ,dr4 ,pusey to tell in private to any one he would1 that ,i thought in the event ,i should leave the ,church of ,england4 ,however1 he would not do so2 and at the end of #ahdd had almost relapsed into his former thoughts about me1 if ,i may judge from a letter of his which ,i have found4 ,nay1 at the ,commemoration of #ahde1 a few months before ,i left the ,anglican ,church1 ,i think he said about me to a friend1 ,i trust after all we shall keep him4 ,in that autumn of #ahdc1 at the time that ,i spoke to ,dr4 ,pusey1 ,i asked another friend also to communicate in confidence1 to whom he would1 the prospect which lay before me4 ,to another friend1 ,mr4 ,james ,hope1 now ,mr4 ,hope ,scott1 ,i gave the opportunity of knowing it1 if he would1 in the following ,postscript to a letter3-- ,while ,i write1 ,i will add a word about myself4 ,you may come near a person or two who1 owing to circumstances1 know more exactly my state of feeling than you do1 though they would not tell you4 ,now ,i do not like that you should not be aware of this1 though ,i see no reason why you should know what they happen to know4 ,your wishing it would be a reason4 ,i had a dear and old friend1 near his death2 ,i never told him my state of mind4 ,why should ,i unsettle that sweet calm tranquillity1 when ,i had nothing to offer him instead8 ,i could not say1 ,go to ,rome2 else ,i should have shown him the way4 ,yet ,i offered myself for his examination4 ,one day he led the way to my speaking out2 but1 rightly or wrongly1 ,i could not respond4 ,my reason was1 ,i have no certainty on the matter myself4 ,to say ',i think' is to tease and to distress1 not to persuade4 ,i wrote to him on ,michaelmas ,day1 #ahdc3 ,as you may suppose1 ,i have nothing to write to you about1 pleasant4 ,i could tell you some very painful things2 but it is best not to anticipate trouble1 which after all can but happen1 and1 for what one knows1 may be averted4 ,you are always so kind1 that sometimes1 when ,i part with you1 ,i am nearly moved to tears1 and it would be a relief to be so1 at your kindness and at my hardness4 ,i think no one ever had such kind friends as ,i have4 ,the next year1 ,january #bb1 ,i wrote to him3 ,pusey has quite enough on him1 and generously takes on himself more than enough1 for me to add burdens when ,i am not obliged2 particularly too1 when ,i am very conscious1 that there are burdens1 which ,i am or shall be obliged to lay upon him some time or other1 whether ,i will or no4 ,and on ,february #ba3 ,half-past ten4 ,i am just up1 having a bad cold2 the like has not happened to me 7except twice in ,january7 in my memory4 ,you may think you have been in my thoughts1 long before my rising4 ,of course you are so continually1 as you well know4 ,i could not come to see you2 ,i am not worthy of friends4 ,with my opinions1 to the full of which ,i dare not confess1 ,i feel like a guilty person with others1 though ,i trust ,i am not so4 ,people kindly think that ,i have much to bear externally1 disappointment1 slander1 c4 ,no1 ,i have nothing to bear1 but the anxiety which ,i feel for my friends' anxiety for me1 and their perplexity4 ,this is a better ,ash-,wednesday than birthday present2 his birthday was the same day as mine2 it was ,ash-,wednesday that year2 but ,i cannot help writing about what is uppermost4 ,and now1 my dear ,b41 all kindest and best wishes to you1 my oldest friend1 whom ,i must not speak more about1 and with reference to myself1 lest you should be angry4 ,it was not in his nature to have doubts3 he used to look at me with anxiety1 and wonder what had come over me4 ,on ,easter ,monday3 ,all that is good and gracious descend upon you and yours from the influences of this ,blessed ,season2 and it will be so1 7so be it67 for what is the life of you all1 as day passes after day1 but a simple endeavour to serve ,him1 from whom all blessing comes8 ,though we are separated in place1 yet this we have in common1 that you are living a calm and cheerful time1 and ,i am enjoying the thought of you4 ,it is your blessing to have a clear heaven1 and peace around1 according to the blessing pronounced on ,benjamin#af4 ,so it is1 my dear ,b41 and so may it ever be4 #af ,deut4 xxxiii4 #ab4 ,he was in simple good faith4 ,he died in ,september of the same year4 ,i had expected that his last illness would have brought light to my mind1 as to what ,i ought to do4 ,it brought none4 ,i made a note1 which runs thus3 ,i sobbed bitterly over his coffin1 to think that he left me still dark as to what the way of truth was1 and what ,i ought to do in order to please ,god and fulfil ,his will4 ,i think ,i wrote to ,charles ,marriott to say1 that at that moment1 with the thought of my friend before me1 my strong view in favour of ,rome remained just what it was4 ,on the other hand1 my firm belief that grace was to be found within the ,anglican ,church remained too#ag4 ,i wrote to another friend thus3-- #ag ,on this subject1 vide my ,third ,lecture on ,anglican ,difficulties1 also ,note ,e1 ,anglican ,church4 ,sept4 #af1 #ahdd4 ,i am full of wrong and miserable feelings1 which it is useless to detail1 so grudging and sullen1 when ,i should be thankful4 ,of course1 when one sees so blessed an end1 and that1 the termination of so blameless a life1 of one who really fed on our ordinances and got strength from them1 and sees the same continued in a whole family1 the little children finding quite a solace of their pain in the ,daily ,prayer1 it is impossible not to feel more at ease in our ,church1 as at least a sort of ,zoar1 a place of refuge and temporary rest1 because of the steepness of the way4 ,only1 may we be kept from unlawful security1 lest we have ,moab and ,ammon for our progeny1 the enemies of ,israel4 ,i could not continue in this state1 either in the light of duty or of reason4 ,my difficulty was this3 ,i had been deceived greatly once2 how could ,i be sure that ,i was not deceived a second time8 ,i thought myself right then2 how was ,i to be certain that ,i was right now8 ,how many years had ,i thought myself sure of what ,i now rejected8 how could ,i ever again have confidence in myself8 ,as in #ahdj ,i listened to the rising doubt in favour of ,rome1 now ,i listened to the waning doubt in favour of the ,anglican ,church4 ,to be certain is to know that one knows2 what inward test had ,i1 that ,i should not change again1 after that ,i had become a ,catholic8 ,i had still apprehension of this1 though ,i thought a time would come1 when it would depart4 ,however1 some limit ought to be put to these vague misgivings2 ,i must do my best and then leave it to a higher ,power to prosper it4 ,so1 at the end of #ahdd1 ,i came to the resolution of writing an ,essay on ,doctrinal ,development2 and then1 if1 at the end of it1 my convictions in favour of the ,roman ,church were not weaker1 of taking the necessary steps for admission into her fold4 ,by this time the state of my mind was generally known1 and ,i made no great secret of it4 ,i will illustrate it by letters of mine which have been put into my hands4 ,november #af1 #ahdd4 ,i am going through what must be gone through2 and my trust only is that every day of pain is so much taken from the necessary draught which must be exhausted4 ,there is no fear 7humanly speaking7 of my moving for a long time yet4 ,this has got out without my intending it2 but it is all well4 ,as far as ,i know myself1 my one great distress is the perplexity1 unsettlement1 alarm1 scepticism1 which ,i am causing to so many2 and the loss of kind feeling and good opinion on the part of so many1 known and unknown1 who have wished well to me4 ,and of these two sources of pain it is the former that is the constant1 urgent1 unmitigated one4 ,i had for days a literal ache all about my heart2 and from time to time all the complaints of the ,psalmist seemed to belong to me4 ,and as far as ,i know myself1 my one paramount reason for contemplating a change is my deep1 unvarying conviction that our ,church is in schism1 and that my salvation depends on my joining the ,church of ,rome4 ,i may use argumenta ad hominem to this person or that#ah2 but ,i am not conscious of resentment1 or disgust1 at any thing that has happened to me4 ,i have no visions whatever of hope1 no schemes of action1 in any other sphere more suited to me4 ,i have no existing sympathies with ,roman ,catholics2 ,i hardly ever1 even abroad1 was at one of their services2 ,i know none of them1 ,i do not like what ,i hear of them4 ,and then1 how much ,i am giving up in so many ways6 and to me sacrifices irreparable1 not only from my age1 when people hate changing1 but from my especial love of old associations and the pleasures of memory4 ,nor am ,i conscious of any feeling1 enthusiastic or heroic1 of pleasure in the sacrifice2 ,i have nothing to support me here4 ,what keeps me yet is what has kept me long2 a fear that ,i am under a delusion2 but the conviction remains firm under all circumstances1 in all frames of mind4 ,and this most serious feeling is growing on me2 viz4 that the reasons for which ,i believe as much as our system teaches1 must lead me to believe more1 and that not to believe more is to fall back into scepticism4 ,a thousand thanks for your most kind and consoling letter2 though ,i have not yet spoken of it1 it was a great gift4 #ah ,vide supr4 p4 #bai1 c4 ,letter of ,oct4 #ad1 #ahdc1 compared with that of ,oct4 #be4 ,shortly after ,i wrote to the same friend thus3 ,my intention is1 if nothing comes upon me1 which ,i cannot foresee1 to remain quietly in statu quo for a considerable time1 trusting that my friends will kindly remember me and my trial in their prayers4 ,and ,i should give up my fellowship some time before any thing further took place4 ,there was a lady1 now a nun of the ,visitation1 to whom at this time ,i wrote the following letters3-- #a4 ,november #g1 #ahdd4 ,i am still where ,i was2 ,i am not moving4 ,two things1 however1 seem plain1 that every one is prepared for such an event1 next1 that every one expects it of me4 ,few1 indeed1 who do not think it suitable1 fewer still1 who do not think it likely4 ,however1 ,i do not think it either suitable or likely4 ,i have very little reason to doubt about the issue of things1 but the when and the how are known to ,him1 from whom1 ,i trust1 both the course of things and the issue come4 ,the expression of opinion1 and the latent and habitual feeling about me1 which is on every side and among all parties1 has great force4 ,i insist upon it1 because ,i have a great dread of going by my own feelings1 lest they should mislead me4 ,by one's sense of duty one must go2 but external facts support one in doing so4 #b4 ,january #h1 #ahde4 ,what am ,i to say in answer to your letter8 ,i know perfectly well1 ,i ought to let you know more of my feelings and state of mind than you do know4 ,but how is that possible in a few words8 ,any thing ,i say must be abrupt2 nothing can ,i say which will not leave a bewildering feeling1 as needing so much to explain it1 and being isolated1 and 7as it were7 unlocated1 and not having any thing with it to show its bearings upon other parts of the subject4 ,at present1 my full belief is1 in accordance with your letter1 that1 if there is a move in our ,church1 very few persons indeed will be partners to it4 ,i doubt whether one or two at the most among residents at ,oxford4 ,and ,i don't know whether ,i can wish it4 ,the state of the ,roman ,catholics is at present so unsatisfactory4 ,this ,i am sure of1 that nothing but a simple1 direct call of duty is a warrant for any one leaving our ,church2 no preference of another ,church1 no delight in its services1 no hope of greater religious advancement in it1 no indignation1 no disgust1 at the persons and things1 among which we may find ourselves in the ,church of ,england4 ,the simple question is1 ,can ,i 7it is personal1 not whether another1 but can ,i7 be saved in the ,english ,church8 am ,i in safety1 were ,i to die to-night8 ,is it a mortal sin in me1 not joining another communion8 ,p4,s4 ,i hardly see my way to concur in attendance1 though occasional1 in the ,roman ,catholic chapel1 unless a man has made up his mind pretty well to join it eventually4 ,invocations are not required in the ,church of ,rome2 somehow1 ,i do not like using them except under the sanction of the ,church1 and this makes me unwilling to admit them in members of our ,church4 #c4 ,march #cj4 ,now ,i will tell you more than any one knows except two friends4 ,my own convictions are as strong as ,i suppose they can become3 only it is so difficult to know whether it is a call of reason or of conscience4 ,i cannot make out1 if ,i am impelled by what seems clear1 or by a sense of duty4 ,you can understand how painful this doubt is2 so ,i have waited1 hoping for light1 and using the words of the ,psalmist1 ',show some token upon me4' ,but ,i suppose ,i have no right to wait for ever for this4 ,then ,i am waiting1 because friends are most considerately bearing me in mind1 and asking guidance for me2 and1 ,i trust1 ,i should attend to any new feelings which came upon me1 should that be the effect of their kindness4 ,and then this waiting subserves the purpose of preparing men's minds4 ,i dread shocking1 unsettling people4 ,any how1 ,i can't avoid giving incalculable pain4 ,so1 if ,i had my will1 ,i should like to wait till the summer of #ahdf1 which would be a full seven years from the time that my convictions first began to fall on me4 ,but ,i don't think ,i shall last so long4 ,my present intention is to give up my ,fellowship in ,october1 and to publish some work or treatise between that and ,christmas4 ,i wish people to know why ,i am acting1 as well as what ,i am doing2 it takes off that vague and distressing surprise1 ',what can have made him8' #d4 ,june #a4 ,what you tell me of yourself makes it plain that it is your duty to remain quietly and patiently1 till you see more clearly where you are2 else you are leaping in the dark4 ,in the early part of this year1 if not before1 there was an idea afloat that my retirement from the ,anglican ,church was owing to my distress that ,i had been so thrust aside1 without any one's taking my part4 ,various measures were1 ,i believe1 talked of in consequence of this surmise4 ,coincidently with it appeared an exceedingly kind article about me in a ,quarterly1 in its ,april number4 ,the writer praised me in kind and beautiful language far above my deserts4 ,in the course of his remarks1 he said1 speaking of me as ,vicar of ,st4 ,mary's3 ,he had the future race of clergy hearing him4 ,did he value and feel tender about1 and cling to his position8444 ,not at all4444 ,no sacrifice to him perhaps1 he did not care about such things4 ,there was a censure implied1 however covertly1 in these words2 and it is alluded to in the following letter1 addressed to a very intimate friend3-- ,april #c1 #ahde4444 ,accept this apology1 my dear ,church1 and forgive me4 ,as ,i say so1 tears come into my eyes2--that arises from the accident of this time1 when ,i am giving up so much ,i love4 ,just now ,i have been overset by ,james ,mozley's article in the ,remembrancer2 yet really1 my dear ,church1 ,i have never for an instant had even the temptation of repenting my leaving ,oxford4 ,the feeling of repentance has not even come into my mind4 ,how could it8 ,how could ,i remain at ,st4 ,mary's a hypocrite8 how could ,i be answerable for souls1 7and life so uncertain17 with the convictions1 or at least persuasions1 which ,i had upon me8 ,it is indeed a responsibility to act as ,i am doing2 and ,i feel ,his hand heavy on me without intermission1 who is all ,wisdom and ,love1 so that my heart and mind are tired out1 just as the limbs might be from a load on one's back4 ,that sort of dull aching pain is mine2 but my responsibility really is nothing to what it would be1 to be answerable for souls1 for confiding loving souls1 in the ,english ,church1 with my convictions4 ,my love to ,marriott1 and save me the pain of sending him a line4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i am now close upon the date of my reception into the ,catholic ,church2 at the beginning of the year a letter had been addressed to me by a very dear friend1 now no more1 ,charles ,marriott4 ,i quote some sentences from it1 for the love which ,i bear him and the value that ,i set on his good word4 ,january #ae1 #ahde4 ,you know me well enough to be aware1 that ,i never see through any thing at first4 ,your letter to ,badeley casts a gloom over the future1 which you can understand1 if you have understood me1 as ,i believe you have4 ,but ,i may speak out at once1 of what ,i see and feel at once1 and doubt not that ,i shall ever feel3 that your whole conduct towards the ,church of ,england and towards us1 who have striven and are still striving to seek after ,god for ourselves1 and to revive true religion among others1 under her authority and guidance1 has been generous and considerate1 and1 were that word appropriate1 dutiful1 to a degree that ,i could scarcely have conceived possible1 more unsparing of self than ,i should have thought nature could sustain4 ,i have felt with pain every link that you have severed1 and ,i have asked no questions1 because ,i felt that you ought to measure the disclosure of your thoughts according to the occasion1 and the capacity of those to whom you spoke4 ,i write in haste1 in the midst of engagements engrossing in themselves1 but partly made tasteless1 partly embittered by what ,i have heard2 but ,i am willing to trust even you1 whom ,i love best on earth1 in ,god's ,hand1 in the earnest prayer that you may be so employed as is best for the ,holy ,catholic ,church4 ,in ,july1 a ,bishop thought it worth while to give out to the world that the adherents of ,mr4 ,newman are few in number4 ,a short time will now probably suffice to prove this fact4 ,it is well known that he is preparing for secession2 and1 when that event takes place1 it will be seen how few will go with him4 ,i had begun my ,essay on the ,development of ,doctrine in the beginning of #ahde1 and ,i was hard at it all through the year till ,october4 ,as ,i advanced1 my difficulties so cleared away that ,i ceased to speak of the ,roman ,catholics1 and boldly called them ,catholics4 ,before ,i got to the end1 ,i resolved to be received1 and the book remains in the state in which it was then1 unfinished4 ,one of my friends at ,littlemore had been received into the ,church on ,michaelmas ,day1 at the ,passionist ,house at ,aston1 near ,stone1 by ,father ,dominic1 the ,superior4 ,at the beginning of ,october the latter was passing through ,london to ,belgium2 and1 as ,i was in some perplexity what steps to take for being received myself1 ,i assented to the proposition made to me that the good priest should take ,littlemore in his way1 with a view to his doing for me the same charitable service as he had done to my friend4 ,on ,october the #hth ,i wrote to a number of friends the following letter3-- ,littlemore1 ,october #hth1 #ahde4 ,i am this night expecting ,father ,dominic1 the ,passionist1 who1 from his youth1 has been led to have distinct and direct thoughts1 first of the countries of the ,north1 then of ,england4 ,after thirty years' 7almost7 waiting1 he was without his own act sent here4 ,but he has had little to do with conversions4 ,i saw him here for a few minutes on ,st4 ,john ,baptist's day last year4 ,he is a simple1 holy man2 and withal gifted with remarkable powers4 ,he does not know of my intention2 but ,i mean to ask of him admission into the ,one ,fold of ,christ4444 ,i have so many letters to write1 that this must do for all who choose to ask about me4 ,with my best love to dear ,charles ,marriott1 who is over your head1 c41 c4 ,p4,s4 ,this will not go till all is over4 ,of course it requires no answer4 99 99 99 99 99 ,for a while after my reception1 ,i proposed to betake myself to some secular calling4 ,i wrote thus in answer to a very gracious letter of congratulation sent me by ,cardinal ,acton3-- ,nov4 #be1 #ahde4 ,i hope you will have anticipated1 before ,i express it1 the great gratification which ,i received from your ,eminence's letter4 ,that gratification1 however1 was tempered by the apprehension1 that kind and anxious well-wishers at a distance attach more importance to my step than really belongs to it4 ,to me indeed personally it is of course an inestimable gain2 but persons and things look great at a distance1 which are not so when seen close2 and1 did your ,eminence know me1 you would see that ,i was one1 about whom there has been far more talk for good and bad than he deserves1 and about whose movements far more expectation has been raised than the event will justify4 ,as ,i never1 ,i do trust1 aimed at any thing else than obedience to my own sense of right1 and have been magnified into the leader of a party without my wishing it or acting as such1 so now1 much as ,i may wish to the contrary1 and earnestly as ,i may labour 7as is my duty7 to minister in a humble way to the ,catholic ,church1 yet my powers will1 ,i fear1 disappoint the expectations of both my own friends1 and of those who pray for the peace of ,jerusalem4 ,if ,i might ask of your ,eminence a favour1 it is that you would kindly moderate those anticipations4 ,would it were in my power to do1 what ,i do not aspire to do6 ,at present certainly ,i cannot look forward to the future1 and1 though it would be a good work if ,i could persuade others to do as ,i have done1 yet it seems as if ,i had quite enough to do in thinking of myself4 ,soon1 ,dr4 ,wiseman1 in whose ,vicariate ,oxford lay1 called me to ,oscott2 and ,i went there with others2 afterwards he sent me to ,rome1 and finally placed me in ,birmingham4 ,i wrote to a friend3-- ,january #bj1 #ahdf4 ,you may think how lonely ,i am4 ',obliviscere populum tuum et domum patris tui1' has been in my ears for the last twelve hours4 ,i realize more that we are leaving ,littlemore1 and it is like going on the open sea4 ,i left ,oxford for good on ,monday1 ,february #bc1 #ahdf4 ,on the ,saturday and ,sunday before1 ,i was in my house at ,littlemore simply by myself1 as ,i had been for the first day or two when ,i had originally taken possession of it4 ,i slept on ,sunday night at my dear friend's1 ,mr4 ,johnson's1 at the ,observatory4 ,various friends came to see the last of me2 ,mr4 ,copeland1 ,mr4 ,church1 ,mr4 ,buckle1 ,mr4 ,pattison1 and ,mr4 ,lewis4 ,dr4 ,pusey too came up to take leave of me2 and ,i called on ,dr4 ,ogle1 one of my very oldest friends1 for he was my private ,tutor1 when ,i was an ,undergraduate4 ,in him ,i took leave of my first ,college1 ,trinity1 which was so dear to me1 and which held on its foundation so many who had been kind to me both when ,i was a boy1 and all through my ,oxford life4 ,trinity had never been unkind to me4 ,there used to be much snap-dragon growing on the walls opposite my freshman's rooms there1 and ,i had for years taken it as the emblem of my own perpetual residence even unto death in my ,university4 ,on the morning of the #bcrd ,i left the ,observatory4 ,i have never seen ,oxford since1 excepting its spires1 as they are seen from the railway#ai4 #ai ,at length ,i revisited ,oxford on ,february #bfth1 #ahgh1 after an absence of just #cb years4 ,vide ,additional ,note at the end of the volume4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,position ,,of ,,my ,,mind ,,since #ahde4 ,from the time that ,i became a ,catholic1 of course ,i have no further history of my religious opinions to narrate4 ,in saying this1 ,i do not mean to say that my mind has been idle1 or that ,i have given up thinking on theological subjects2 but that ,i have had no variations to record1 and have had no anxiety of heart whatever4 ,i have been in perfect peace and contentment2 ,i never have had one doubt4 ,i was not conscious to myself1 on my conversion1 of any change1 intellectual or moral1 wrought in my mind4 ,i was not conscious of firmer faith in the fundamental truths of ,revelation1 or of more self-command2 ,i had not more fervour2 but it was like coming into port after a rough sea2 and my happiness on that score remains to this day without interruption4 ,nor had ,i any trouble about receiving those additional articles1 which are not found in the ,anglican ,creed4 ,some of them ,i believed already1 but not any one of them was a trial to me4 ,i made a profession of them upon my reception with the greatest ease1 and ,i have the same ease in believing them now4 ,i am far of course from denying that every article of the ,christian ,creed1 whether as held by ,catholics or by ,protestants1 is beset with intellectual difficulties2 and it is simple fact1 that1 for myself1 ,i cannot answer those difficulties4 ,many persons are very sensitive of the difficulties of ,religion2 ,i am as sensitive of them as any one2 but ,i have never been able to see a connexion between apprehending those difficulties1 however keenly1 and multiplying them to any extent1 and on the other hand doubting the doctrines to which they are attached4 ,ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt1 as ,i understand the subject2 difficulty and doubt are incommensurate4 ,there of course may be difficulties in the evidence2 but ,i am speaking of difficulties intrinsic to the doctrines themselves1 or to their relations with each other4 ,a man may be annoyed that he cannot work out a mathematical problem1 of which the answer is or is not given to him1 without doubting that it admits of an answer1 or that a certain particular answer is the true one4 ,of all points of faith1 the being of a ,god is1 to my own apprehension1 encompassed with most difficulty1 and yet borne in upon our minds with most power4 ,people say that the doctrine of ,transubstantiation is difficult to believe2 ,i did not believe the doctrine till ,i was a ,catholic4 ,i had no difficulty in believing it1 as soon as ,i believed that the ,catholic ,roman ,church was the oracle of ,god1 and that she had declared this doctrine to be part of the original revelation4 ,it is difficult1 impossible1 to imagine1 ,i grant2--but how is it difficult to believe8 ,yet ,macaulay thought it so difficult to believe1 that he had need of a believer in it of talents as eminent as ,sir ,thomas ,more1 before he could bring himself to conceive that the ,catholics of an enlightened age could resist the overwhelming force of the argument against it4 ,sir ,thomas ,more1 he says1 is one of the choice specimens of wisdom and virtue2 and the doctrine of transubstantiation is a kind of proof charge4 ,a faith which stands that test1 will stand any test4 ,but for myself1 ,i cannot indeed prove it1 ,i cannot tell how it is2 but ,i say1 ,why should it not be8 ,what's to hinder it8 ,what do ,i know of substance or matter8 just as much as the greatest philosophers1 and that is nothing at all2--so much is this the case1 that there is a rising school of philosophy now1 which considers phenomena to constitute the whole of our knowledge in physics4 ,the ,catholic doctrine leaves phenomena alone4 ,it does not say that the phenomena go2 on the contrary1 it says that they remain2 nor does it say that the same phenomena are in several places at once4 ,it deals with what no one on earth knows any thing about1 the material substances themselves4 ,and1 in like manner1 of that majestic ,article of the ,anglican as well as of the ,catholic ,creed1--the doctrine of the ,trinity in ,unity4 ,what do ,i know of the ,essence of the ,divine ,being8 ,i know that my abstract idea of three is simply incompatible with my idea of one2 but when ,i come to the question of concrete fact1 ,i have no means of proving that there is not a sense in which one and three can equally be predicated of the ,incommunicable ,god4 ,but ,i am going to take upon myself the responsibility of more than the mere ,creed of the ,church2 as the parties accusing me are determined ,i shall do4 ,they say1 that now1 in that ,i am a ,catholic1 though ,i may not have offences of my own against honesty to answer for1 yet1 at least1 ,i am answerable for the offences of others1 of my co-religionists1 of my brother priests1 of the ,church herself4 ,i am quite willing to accept the responsibility2 and1 as ,i have been able1 as ,i trust1 by means of a few words1 to dissipate1 in the minds of all those who do not begin with disbelieving me1 the suspicion with which so many ,protestants start1 in forming their judgment of ,catholics1 viz4 that our ,creed is actually set up in inevitable superstition and hypocrisy1 as the original sin of ,catholicism2 so now ,i will proceed1 as before1 identifying myself with the ,church and vindicating it1--not of course denying the enormous mass of sin and error which exists of necessity in that world-wide multiform ,communion1--but going to the proof of this one point1 that its system is in no sense dishonest1 and that therefore the upholders and teachers of that system1 as such1 have a claim to be acquitted in their own persons of that odious imputation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,starting then with the being of a ,god1 7which1 as ,i have said1 is as certain to me as the certainty of my own existence1 though when ,i try to put the grounds of that certainty into logical shape ,i find a difficulty in doing so in mood and figure to my satisfaction17 ,i look out of myself into the world of men1 and there ,i see a sight which fills me with unspeakable distress4 ,the world seems simply to give the lie to that great truth1 of which my whole being is so full2 and the effect upon me is1 in consequence1 as a matter of necessity1 as confusing as if it denied that ,i am in existence myself4 ,if ,i looked into a mirror1 and did not see my face1 ,i should have the sort of feeling which actually comes upon me1 when ,i look into this living busy world1 and see no reflexion of its ,creator4 ,this is1 to me1 one of those great difficulties of this absolute primary truth1 to which ,i referred just now4 ,were it not for this voice1 speaking so clearly in my conscience and my heart1 ,i should be an atheist1 or a pantheist1 or a polytheist when ,i looked into the world4 ,i am speaking for myself only2 and ,i am far from denying the real force of the arguments in proof of a ,god1 drawn from the general facts of human society and the course of history1 but these do not warm me or enlighten me2 they do not take away the winter of my desolation1 or make the buds unfold and the leaves grow within me1 and my moral being rejoice4 ,the sight of the world is nothing else than the prophet's scroll1 full of lamentations1 and mourning1 and woe4 ,to consider the world in its length and breadth1 its various history1 the many races of man1 their starts1 their fortunes1 their mutual alienation1 their conflicts2 and then their ways1 habits1 governments1 forms of worship2 their enterprises1 their aimless courses1 their random achievements and acquirements1 the impotent conclusion of long-standing facts1 the tokens so faint and broken of a superintending design1 the blind evolution of what turn out to be great powers or truths1 the progress of things1 as if from unreasoning elements1 not towards final causes1 the greatness and littleness of man1 his far-reaching aims1 his short duration1 the curtain hung over his futurity1 the disappointments of life1 the defeat of good1 the success of evil1 physical pain1 mental anguish1 the prevalence and intensity of sin1 the pervading idolatries1 the corruptions1 the dreary hopeless irreligion1 that condition of the whole race1 so fearfully yet exactly described in the ,apostle's words1 having no hope and without ,god in the world1--all this is a vision to dizzy and appal2 and inflicts upon the mind the sense of a profound mystery1 which is absolutely beyond human solution4 ,what shall be said to this heart-piercing1 reason-bewildering fact8 ,i can only answer1 that either there is no ,creator1 or this living society of men is in a true sense discarded from ,his presence4 ,did ,i see a boy of good make and mind1 with the tokens on him of a refined nature1 cast upon the world without provision1 unable to say whence he came1 his birth-place or his family connexions1 ,i should conclude that there was some mystery connected with his history1 and that he was one1 of whom1 from one cause or other1 his parents were ashamed4 ,thus only should ,i be able to account for the contrast between the promise and the condition of his being4 ,and so ,i argue about the world2--if there be a ,god1 since there is a ,god1 the human race is implicated in some terrible aboriginal calamity4 ,it is out of joint with the purposes of its ,creator4 ,this is a fact1 a fact as true as the fact of its existence2 and thus the doctrine of what is theologically called original sin becomes to me almost as certain as that the world exists1 and as the existence of ,god4 ,and now1 supposing it were the blessed and loving will of the ,creator to interfere in this anarchical condition of things1 what are we to suppose would be the methods which might be necessarily or naturally involved in ,his purpose of mercy8 ,since the world is in so abnormal a state1 surely it would be no surprise to me1 if the interposition were of necessity equally extraordinary--or what is called miraculous4 ,but that subject does not directly come into the scope of my present remarks4 ,miracles as evidence1 involve a process of reason1 or an argument2 and of course ,i am thinking of some mode of interference which does not immediately run into argument4 ,i am rather asking what must be the face-to-face antagonist1 by which to withstand and baffle the fierce energy of passion and the all-corroding1 all-dissolving scepticism of the intellect in religious inquiries8 ,i have no intention at all of denying1 that truth is the real object of our reason1 and that1 if it does not attain to truth1 either the premiss or the process is in fault2 but ,i am not speaking here of right reason1 but of reason as it acts in fact and concretely in fallen man4 ,i know that even the unaided reason1 when correctly exercised1 leads to a belief in ,god1 in the immortality of the soul1 and in a future retribution2 but ,i am considering the faculty of reason actually and historically2 and in this point of view1 ,i do not think ,i am wrong in saying that its tendency is towards a simple unbelief in matters of religion4 ,no truth1 however sacred1 can stand against it1 in the long run2 and hence it is that in the pagan world1 when our ,lord came1 the last traces of the religious knowledge of former times were all but disappearing from those portions of the world in which the intellect had been active and had had a career4 ,and in these latter days1 in like manner1 outside the ,catholic ,church things are tending1--with far greater rapidity than in that old time from the circumstance of the age1--to atheism in one shape or other4 ,what a scene1 what a prospect1 does the whole of ,europe present at this day6 and not only ,europe1 but every government and every civilization through the world1 which is under the influence of the ,european mind6 ,especially1 for it most concerns us1 how sorrowful1 in the view of religion1 even taken in its most elementary1 most attenuated form1 is the spectacle presented to us by the educated intellect of ,england1 ,france1 and ,germany6 ,lovers of their country and of their race1 religious men1 external to the ,catholic ,church1 have attempted various expedients to arrest fierce wilful human nature in its onward course1 and to bring it into subjection4 ,the necessity of some form of religion for the interests of humanity1 has been generally acknowledged3 but where was the concrete representative of things invisible1 which would have the force and the toughness necessary to be a breakwater against the deluge8 ,three centuries ago the establishment of religion1 material1 legal1 and social1 was generally adopted as the best expedient for the purpose1 in those countries which separated from the ,catholic ,church2 and for a long time it was successful2 but now the crevices of those establishments are admitting the enemy4 ,thirty years ago1 education was relied upon3 ten years ago there was a hope that wars would cease for ever1 under the influence of commercial enterprise and the reign of the useful and fine arts2 but will any one venture to say that there is any thing any where on this earth1 which will afford a fulcrum for us1 whereby to keep the earth from moving onwards8 ,the judgment1 which experience passes whether on establishments or on education1 as a means of maintaining religious truth in this anarchical world1 must be extended even to ,scripture1 though ,scripture be divine4 ,experience proves surely that the ,bible does not answer a purpose for which it was never intended4 ,it may be accidentally the means of the conversion of individuals2 but a book1 after all1 cannot make a stand against the wild living intellect of man1 and in this day it begins to testify1 as regards its own structure and contents1 to the power of that universal solvent1 which is so successfully acting upon religious establishments4 ,supposing then it to be the ,will of the ,creator to interfere in human affairs1 and to make provisions for retaining in the world a knowledge of ,himself1 so definite and distinct as to be proof against the energy of human scepticism1 in such a case1--,i am far from saying that there was no other way1--but there is nothing to surprise the mind1 if ,he should think fit to introduce a power into the world1 invested with the prerogative of infallibility in religious matters4 ,such a provision would be a direct1 immediate1 active1 and prompt means of withstanding the difficulty2 it would be an instrument suited to the need2 and1 when ,i find that this is the very claim of the ,catholic ,church1 not only do ,i feel no difficulty in admitting the idea1 but there is a fitness in it1 which recommends it to my mind4 ,and thus ,i am brought to speak of the ,church's infallibility1 as a provision1 adapted by the mercy of the ,creator1 to preserve religion in the world1 and to restrain that freedom of thought1 which of course in itself is one of the greatest of our natural gifts1 and to rescue it from its own suicidal excesses4 ,and let it be observed that1 neither here nor in what follows1 shall ,i have occasion to speak directly of ,revelation in its subject-matter1 but in reference to the sanction which it gives to truths which may be known independently of it1--as it bears upon the defence of natural religion4 ,i say1 that a power1 possessed of infallibility in religious teaching1 is happily adapted to be a working instrument1 in the course of human affairs1 for smiting hard and throwing back the immense energy of the aggressive1 capricious1 untrustworthy intellect3--and in saying this1 as in the other things that ,i have to say1 it must still be recollected that ,i am all along bearing in mind my main purpose1 which is a defence of myself4 ,i am defending myself here from a plausible charge brought against ,catholics1 as will be seen better as ,i proceed4 ,the charge is this3--that ,i1 as a ,catholic1 not only make profession to hold doctrines which ,i cannot possibly believe in my heart1 but that ,i also believe in the existence of a power on earth1 which at its own will imposes upon men any new set of credenda1 when it pleases1 by a claim to infallibility2 in consequence1 that my own thoughts are not my own property2 that ,i cannot tell that to-morrow ,i may not have to give up what ,i hold to-day1 and that the necessary effect of such a condition of mind must be a degrading bondage1 or a bitter inward rebellion relieving itself in secret infidelity1 or the necessity of ignoring the whole subject of religion in a sort of disgust1 and of mechanically saying every thing that the ,church says1 and leaving to others the defence of it4 ,as then ,i have above spoken of the relation of my mind towards the ,catholic ,creed1 so now ,i shall speak of the attitude which it takes up in the view of the ,church's infallibility4 ,and first1 the initial doctrine of the infallible teacher must be an emphatic protest against the existing state of mankind4 ,man had rebelled against his ,maker4 ,it was this that caused the divine interposition3 and to proclaim it must be the first act of the divinely-accredited messenger4 ,the ,church must denounce rebellion as of all possible evils the greatest4 ,she must have no terms with it2 if she would be true to her ,master1 she must ban and anathematize it4 ,this is the meaning of a statement of mine which has furnished matter for one of those special accusations to which ,i am at present replying3 ,i have1 however1 no fault at all to confess in regard to it2 ,i have nothing to withdraw1 and in consequence ,i here deliberately repeat it4 ,i said1 ,the ,catholic ,church holds it better for the sun and moon to drop from heaven1 for the earth to fail1 and for all the many millions on it to die of starvation in extremest agony1 as far as temporal affliction goes1 than that one soul1 ,i will not say1 should be lost1 but should commit one single venial sin1 should tell one wilful untruth1 or should steal one poor farthing without excuse4 ,i think the principle here enunciated to be the mere preamble in the formal credentials of the ,catholic ,church1 as an ,act of ,parliament might begin with a ,whereas4 ,it is because of the intensity of the evil which has possession of mankind1 that a suitable antagonist has been provided against it2 and the initial act of that divinely-commissioned power is of course to deliver her challenge and to defy the enemy4 ,such a preamble then gives a meaning to her position in the world1 and an interpretation to her whole course of teaching and action4 ,in like manner she has ever put forth1 with most energetic distinctness1 those other great elementary truths1 which either are an explanation of her mission or give a character to her work4 ,she does not teach that human nature is irreclaimable1 else wherefore should she be sent8 not1 that it is to be shattered and reversed1 but to be extricated1 purified1 and restored2 not1 that it is a mere mass of hopeless evil1 but that it has the promise upon it of great things1 and even now1 in its present state of disorder and excess1 has a virtue and a praise proper to itself4 ,but in the next place she knows and she preaches that such a restoration1 as she aims at effecting in it1 must be brought about1 not simply through certain outward provisions of preaching and teaching1 even though they be her own1 but from an inward spiritual power or grace imparted directly from above1 and of which she is the channel4 ,she has it in charge to rescue human nature from its misery1 but not simply by restoring it on its own level1 but by lifting it up to a higher level than its own4 ,she recognizes in it real moral excellence though degraded1 but she cannot set it free from earth except by exalting it towards heaven4 ,it was for this end that a renovating grace was put into her hands2 and therefore from the nature of the gift1 as well as from the reasonableness of the case1 she goes on1 as a further point1 to insist1 that all true conversion must begin with the first springs of thought1 and to teach that each individual man must be in his own person one whole and perfect temple of ,god1 while he is also one of the living stones which build up a visible religious community4 ,and thus the distinctions between nature and grace1 and between outward and inward religion1 become two further articles in what ,i have called the preamble of her divine commission4 ,such truths as these she vigorously reiterates1 and pertinaciously inflicts upon mankind2 as to such she observes no half-measures1 no economical reserve1 no delicacy or prudence4 ,ye must be born again1 is the simple1 direct form of words which she uses after her ,divine ,master3 your whole nature must be re-born2 your passions1 and your affections1 and your aims1 and your conscience1 and your will1 must all be bathed in a new element1 and reconsecrated to your ,maker1--and1 the last not the least1 your intellect4 ,it was for repeating these points of her teaching in my own way1 that certain passages of one of my ,volumes have been brought into the general accusation which has been made against my religious opinions4 ,the writer has said that ,i was demented if ,i believed1 and unprincipled if ,i did not believe1 in my own statement1 that a lazy1 ragged1 filthy1 story-telling beggar-woman1 if chaste1 sober1 cheerful1 and religious1 had a prospect of heaven1 such as was absolutely closed to an accomplished statesman1 or lawyer1 or noble1 be he ever so just1 upright1 generous1 honourable1 and conscientious1 unless he had also some portion of the divine ,christian graces2--yet ,i should have thought myself defended from criticism by the words which our ,lord used to the chief priests1 ,the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of ,god before you4 ,and ,i was subjected again to the same alternative of imputations1 for having ventured to say that consent to an unchaste wish was indefinitely more heinous than any lie viewed apart from its causes1 its motives1 and its consequences3 though a lie1 viewed under the limitation of these conditions1 is a random utterance1 an almost outward act1 not directly from the heart1 however disgraceful and despicable it may be1 however prejudicial to the social contract1 however deserving of public reprobation2 whereas we have the express words of our ,lord to the doctrine that whoso looketh on a woman to lust after her1 hath committed adultery with her already in his heart4 ,on the strength of these texts1 ,i have surely as much right to believe in these doctrines which have caused so much surprise1 as to believe in original sin1 or that there is a supernatural revelation1 or that a ,divine ,person suffered1 or that punishment is eternal4 ,passing now from what ,i have called the preamble of that grant of power1 which is made to the ,church1 to that power itself1 ,infallibility1 ,i premise two brief remarks3--#a4 on the one hand1 ,i am not here determining any thing about the essential seat of that power1 because that is a question doctrinal1 not historical and practical2 #b4 nor1 on the other hand1 am ,i extending the direct subject-matter1 over which that power of ,infallibility has jurisdiction1 beyond religious opinion3--and now as to the power itself4 ,this power1 viewed in its fulness1 is as tremendous as the giant evil which has called for it4 ,it claims1 when brought into exercise but in the legitimate manner1 for otherwise of course it is but quiescent1 to know for certain the very meaning of every portion of that ,divine ,message in detail1 which was committed by our ,lord to ,his ,apostles4 ,it claims to know its own limits1 and to decide what it can determine absolutely and what it cannot4 ,it claims1 moreover1 to have a hold upon statements not directly religious1 so far as this1--to determine whether they indirectly relate to religion1 and1 according to its own definitive judgment1 to pronounce whether or not1 in a particular case1 they are simply consistent with revealed truth4 ,it claims to decide magisterially1 whether as within its own province or not1 that such and such statements are or are not prejudicial to the ,depositum of faith1 in their spirit or in their consequences1 and to allow them1 or condemn and forbid them1 accordingly4 ,it claims to impose silence at will on any matters1 or controversies1 of doctrine1 which on its own ipse dixit1 it pronounces to be dangerous1 or inexpedient1 or inopportune4 ,it claims that1 whatever may be the judgment of ,catholics upon such acts1 these acts should be received by them with those outward marks of reverence1 submission1 and loyalty1 which ,englishmen1 for instance1 pay to the presence of their sovereign1 without expressing any criticism on them on the ground that in their matter they are inexpedient1 or in their manner violent or harsh4 ,and lastly1 it claims to have the right of inflicting spiritual punishment1 of cutting off from the ordinary channels of the divine life1 and of simply excommunicating1 those who refuse to submit themselves to its formal declarations4 ,such is the infallibility lodged in the ,catholic ,church1 viewed in the concrete1 as clothed and surrounded by the appendages of its high sovereignty3 it is1 to repeat what ,i said above1 a supereminent prodigious power sent upon earth to encounter and master a giant evil4 ,and now1 having thus described it1 ,i profess my own absolute submission to its claim4 ,i believe the whole revealed dogma as taught by the ,apostles1 as committed by the ,apostles to the ,church2 and as declared by the ,church to me4 ,i receive it1 as it is infallibly interpreted by the authority to whom it is thus committed1 and 7implicitly7 as it shall be1 in like manner1 further interpreted by that same authority till the end of time4 ,i submit1 moreover1 to the universally received traditions of the ,church1 in which lies the matter of those new dogmatic definitions which are from time to time made1 and which in all times are the clothing and the illustration of the ,catholic dogma as already defined4 ,and ,i submit myself to those other decisions of the ,holy ,see1 theological or not1 through the organs which it has itself appointed1 which1 waiving the question of their infallibility1 on the lowest ground come to me with a claim to be accepted and obeyed4 ,also1 ,i consider that1 gradually and in the course of ages1 ,catholic inquiry has taken certain definite shapes1 and has thrown itself into the form of a science1 with a method and a phraseology of its own1 under the intellectual handling of great minds1 such as ,st4 ,athanasius1 ,st4 ,augustine1 and ,st4 ,thomas2 and ,i feel no temptation at all to break in pieces the great legacy of thought thus committed to us for these latter days4 ,all this being considered as the profession which ,i make ex animo1 as for myself1 so also on the part of the ,catholic body1 as far as ,i know it1 it will at first sight be said that the restless intellect of our common humanity is utterly weighed down1 to the repression of all independent effort and action whatever1 so that1 if this is to be the mode of bringing it into order1 it is brought into order only to be destroyed4 ,but this is far from the result1 far from what ,i conceive to be the intention of that high ,providence who has provided a great remedy for a great evil1--far from borne out by the history of the conflict between ,infallibility and ,reason in the past1 and the prospect of it in the future4 ,the energy of the human intellect does from opposition grow2 it thrives and is joyous1 with a tough elastic strength1 under the terrible blows of the divinely-fashioned weapon1 and is never so much itself as when it has lately been overthrown4 ,it is the custom with ,protestant writers to consider that1 whereas there are two great principles in action in the history of religion1 ,authority and ,private ,judgment1 they have all the ,private ,judgment to themselves1 and we have the full inheritance and the superincumbent oppression of ,authority4 ,but this is not so2 it is the vast ,catholic body itself1 and it only1 which affords an arena for both combatants in that awful1 never-dying duel4 ,it is necessary for the very life of religion1 viewed in its large operations and its history1 that the warfare should be incessantly carried on4 ,every exercise of ,infallibility is brought out into act by an intense and varied operation of the ,reason1 both as its ally and as its opponent1 and provokes again1 when it has done its work1 a re-action of ,reason against it2 and1 as in a civil polity the ,state exists and endures by means of the rivalry and collision1 the encroachments and defeats of its constituent parts1 so in like manner ,catholic ,christendom is no simple exhibition of religious absolutism1 but presents a continuous picture of ,authority and ,private ,judgment alternately advancing and retreating as the ebb and flow of the tide2--it is a vast assemblage of human beings with wilful intellects and wild passions1 brought together into one by the beauty and the ,majesty of a ,superhuman ,power1--into what may be called a large reformatory or training-school1 not as if into a hospital or into a prison1 not in order to be sent to bed1 not to be buried alive1 but 7if ,i may change my metaphor7 brought together as if into some moral factory1 for the melting1 refining1 and moulding1 by an incessant1 noisy process1 of the raw material of human nature1 so excellent1 so dangerous1 so capable of divine purposes4 ,st4 ,paul says in one place that his ,apostolical power is given him to edification1 and not to destruction4 ,there can be no better account of the ,infallibility of the ,church4 ,it is a supply for a need1 and it does not go beyond that need4 ,its object is1 and its effect also1 not to enfeeble the freedom or vigour of human thought in religious speculation1 but to resist and control its extravagance4 ,what have been its great works8 ,all of them in the distinct province of theology3--to put down ,arianism1 ,eutychianism1 ,pelagianism1 ,manichism1 ,lutheranism1 ,jansenism4 ,such is the broad result of its action in the past2--and now as to the securities which are given us that so it ever will act in time to come4 ,first1 ,infallibility cannot act outside of a definite circle of thought1 and it must in all its decisions1 or definitions1 as they are called1 profess to be keeping within it4 ,the great truths of the moral law1 of natural religion1 and of ,apostolical faith1 are both its boundary and its foundation4 ,it must not go beyond them1 and it must ever appeal to them4 ,both its subject-matter1 and its articles in that subject-matter1 are fixed4 ,and it must ever profess to be guided by ,scripture and by tradition4 ,it must refer to the particular ,apostolic truth which it is enforcing1 or 7what is called7 defining4 ,nothing1 then1 can be presented to me1 in time to come1 as part of the faith1 but what ,i ought already to have received1 and hitherto have been kept from receiving1 7if so17 merely because it has not been brought home to me4 ,nothing can be imposed upon me different in kind from what ,i hold already1--much less contrary to it4 ,the new truth which is promulgated1 if it is to be called new1 must be at least homogeneous1 cognate1 implicit1 viewed relatively to the old truth4 ,it must be what ,i may even have guessed1 or wished1 to be included in the ,apostolic revelation2 and at least it will be of such a character1 that my thoughts readily concur in it or coalesce with it1 as soon as ,i hear it4 ,perhaps ,i and others actually have always believed it1 and the only question which is now decided in my behalf1 is1 that ,i have henceforth the satisfaction of having to believe1 that ,i have only been holding all along what the ,apostles held before me4 ,let me take the doctrine which ,protestants consider our greatest difficulty1 that of the ,immaculate ,conception4 ,here ,i entreat the reader to recollect my main drift1 which is this4 ,i have no difficulty in receiving the doctrine2 and that1 because it so intimately harmonizes with that circle of recognized dogmatic truths1 into which it has been recently received2--but if ,i have no difficulty1 why may not another have no difficulty also8 why may not a hundred8 a thousand8 ,now ,i am sure that ,catholics in general have not any intellectual difficulty at all on the subject of the ,immaculate ,conception2 and that there is no reason why they should4 ,priests have no difficulty4 ,you tell me that they ought to have a difficulty2--but they have not4 ,be large-minded enough to believe1 that men may reason and feel very differently from yourselves2 how is it that men1 when left to themselves1 fall into such various forms of religion1 except that there are various types of mind among them1 very distinct from each other8 ,from my testimony then about myself1 if you believe it1 judge of others also who are ,catholics3 we do not find the difficulties which you do in the doctrines which we hold2 we have no intellectual difficulty in that doctrine in particular1 which you call a novelty of this day4 ,we priests need not be hypocrites1 though we be called upon to believe in the ,immaculate ,conception4 ,to that large class of minds1 who believe in ,christianity after our manner1--in the particular temper1 spirit1 and light1 7whatever word is used17 in which ,catholics believe it1--there is no burden at all in holding that the ,blessed ,virgin was conceived without original sin2 indeed1 it is a simple fact to say1 that ,catholics have not come to believe it because it is defined1 but that it was defined because they believed it4 ,so far from the definition in #ahed being a tyrannical infliction on the ,catholic world1 it was received every where on its promulgation with the greatest enthusiasm4 ,it was in consequence of the unanimous petition1 presented from all parts of the ,church to the ,holy ,see1 in behalf of an ex cathedr declaration that the doctrine was ,apostolic1 that it was declared so to be4 ,i never heard of one ,catholic having difficulties in receiving the doctrine1 whose faith on other grounds was not already suspicious4 ,of course there were grave and good men1 who were made anxious by the doubt whether it could be formally proved to be ,apostolical either by ,scripture or tradition1 and who accordingly1 though believing it themselves1 did not see how it could be defined by authority and imposed upon all ,catholics as a matter of faith2 but this is another matter4 ,the point in question is1 whether the doctrine is a burden4 ,i believe it to be none4 ,so far from it being so1 ,i sincerely think that ,st4 ,bernard and ,st4 ,thomas1 who scrupled at it in their day1 had they lived into this1 would have rejoiced to accept it for its own sake4 ,their difficulty1 as ,i view it1 consisted in matters of words1 ideas1 and arguments4 ,they thought the doctrine inconsistent with other doctrines2 and those who defended it in that age had not that precision in their view of it1 which has been attained by means of the long disputes of the centuries which followed4 ,and in this want of precision lay the difference of opinion1 and the controversy4 ,now the instance which ,i have been taking suggests another remark2 the number of those 7so called7 new doctrines will not oppress us1 if it takes eight centuries to promulgate even one of them4 ,such is about the length of time through which the preparation has been carried on for the definition of the ,immaculate ,conception4 ,this of course is an extraordinary case2 but it is difficult to say what is ordinary1 considering how few are the formal occasions on which the voice of ,infallibility has been solemnly lifted up4 ,it is to the ,pope in ,ecumenical ,council that we look1 as to the normal seat of ,infallibility3 now there have been only eighteen such ,councils since ,christianity was1--an average of one to a century1--and of these ,councils some passed no doctrinal decree at all1 others were employed on only one1 and many of them were concerned with only elementary points of the ,creed4 ,the ,council of ,trent embraced a large field of doctrine certainly2 but ,i should apply to its ,canons a remark contained in that ,university ,sermon of mine1 which has been so ignorantly criticized in the ,pamphlet which has been the occasion of this ,volume2--,i there have said that the various verses of the ,athanasian ,creed are only repetitions in various shapes of one and the same idea2 and in like manner1 the ,tridentine ,decrees are not isolated from each other1 but are occupied in bringing out in detail1 by a number of separate declarations1 as if into bodily form1 a few necessary truths4 ,i should make the same remark on the various theological censures1 promulgated by ,popes1 which the ,church has received1 and on their dogmatic decisions generally4 ,i own that at first sight those decisions seem from their number to be a greater burden on the faith of individuals than are the ,canons of ,councils2 still ,i do not believe that in matter of fact they are so at all1 and ,i give this reason for it3--it is not that a ,catholic1 layman or priest1 is indifferent to the subject1 or1 from a sort of recklessness1 will accept any thing that is placed before him1 or is willing1 like a lawyer1 to speak according to his brief1 but that in such condemnations the ,holy ,see is engaged1 for the most part1 in repudiating one or two great lines of error1 such as ,lutheranism or ,jansenism1 principally ethical not doctrinal1 which are divergent from the ,catholic mind1 and that it is but expressing what any good ,catholic1 of fair abilities1 though unlearned1 would say himself1 from common and sound sense1 if the matter could be put before him4 ,now ,i will go on in fairness to say what ,i think is the great trial to the ,reason1 when confronted with that august prerogative of the ,catholic ,church1 of which ,i have been speaking4 ,i enlarged just now upon the concrete shape and circumstances1 under which pure infallible authority presents itself to the ,catholic4 ,that authority has the prerogative of an indirect jurisdiction on subject-matters which lie beyond its own proper limits1 and it most reasonably has such a jurisdiction4 ,it could not act in its own province1 unless it had a right to act out of it4 ,it could not properly defend religious truth1 without claiming for that truth what may be called its pomoeria2 or1 to take another illustration1 without acting as we act1 as a nation1 in claiming as our own1 not only the land on which we live1 but what are called ,british waters4 ,the ,catholic ,church claims1 not only to judge infallibly on religious questions1 but to animadvert on opinions in secular matters which bear upon religion1 on matters of philosophy1 of science1 of literature1 of history1 and it demands our submission to her claim4 ,it claims to censure books1 to silence authors1 and to forbid discussions4 ,in this province1 taken as a whole1 it does not so much speak doctrinally1 as enforce measures of discipline4 ,it must of course be obeyed without a word1 and perhaps in process of time it will tacitly recede from its own injunctions4 ,in such cases the question of faith does not come in at all2 for what is matter of faith is true for all times1 and never can be unsaid4 ,nor does it at all follow1 because there is a gift of infallibility in the ,catholic ,church1 that therefore the parties who are in possession of it are in all their proceedings infallible4 ,o1 it is excellent1 says the poet1 to have a giant's strength1 but tyrannous1 to use it like a giant4 ,i think history supplies us with instances in the ,church1 where legitimate power has been harshly used4 ,to make such admission is no more than saying that the divine treasure1 in the words of the ,apostle1 is in earthen vessels2 nor does it follow that the substance of the acts of the ruling power is not right and expedient1 because its manner may have been faulty4 ,such high authorities act by means of instruments2 we know how such instruments claim for themselves the name of their principals1 who thus get the credit of faults which really are not theirs4 ,but granting all this to an extent greater than can with any show of reason be imputed to the ruling power in the ,church1 what difficulty is there in the fact of this want of prudence or moderation more than can be urged1 with far greater justice1 against ,protestant communities and institutions8 ,what is there in it to make us hypocrites1 if it has not that effect upon ,protestants8 ,we are called upon1 not to profess any thing1 but to submit and be silent1 as ,protestant ,churchmen have before now obeyed the royal command to abstain from certain theological questions4 ,such injunctions as ,i have been contemplating are laid merely upon our actions1 not upon our thoughts4 ,how1 for instance1 does it tend to make a man a hypocrite1 to be forbidden to publish a libel8 his thoughts are as free as before3 authoritative prohibitions may tease and irritate1 but they have no bearing whatever upon the exercise of reason4 ,so much at first sight2 but ,i will go on to say further1 that1 in spite of all that the most hostile critic may urge about the encroachments or severities of high ecclesiastics1 in times past1 in the use of their power1 ,i think that the event has shown after all1 that they were mainly in the right1 and that those whom they were hard upon were mainly in the wrong4 ,i love1 for instance1 the name of ,origen3 ,i will not listen to the notion that so great a soul was lost2 but ,i am quite sure that1 in the contest between his doctrine and followers and the ecclesiastical power1 his opponents were right1 and he was wrong4 ,yet who can speak with patience of his enemy and the enemy of ,st4 ,john ,chrysostom1 that ,theophilus1 bishop of ,alexandria8 who can admire or revere ,pope ,vigilius8 ,and here another consideration presents itself to my thoughts4 ,in reading ecclesiastical history1 when ,i was an ,anglican1 it used to be forcibly brought home to me1 how the initial error of what afterwards became heresy was the urging forward some truth against the prohibition of authority at an unseasonable time4 ,there is a time for every thing1 and many a man desires a reformation of an abuse1 or the fuller development of a doctrine1 or the adoption of a particular policy1 but forgets to ask himself whether the right time for it is come3 and1 knowing that there is no one who will be doing any thing towards its accomplishment in his own lifetime unless he does it himself1 he will not listen to the voice of authority1 and he spoils a good work in his own century1 in order that another man1 as yet unborn1 may not have the opportunity of bringing it happily to perfection in the next4 ,he may seem to the world to be nothing else than a bold champion for the truth and a martyr to free opinion1 when he is just one of those persons whom the competent authority ought to silence2 and1 though the case may not fall within that subject-matter in which that authority is infallible1 or the formal conditions of the exercise of that gift may be wanting1 it is clearly the duty of authority to act vigorously in the case4 ,yet its act will go down to posterity as an instance of a tyrannical interference with private judgment1 and of the silencing of a reformer1 and of a base love of corruption or error2 and it will show still less to advantage1 if the ruling power happens in its proceedings to evince any defect of prudence or consideration4 ,and all those who take the part of that ruling authority will be considered as time-servers1 or indifferent to the cause of uprightness and truth2 while1 on the other hand1 the said authority may be accidentally supported by a violent ultra party1 which exalts opinions into dogmas1 and has it principally at heart to destroy every school of thought but its own4 ,such a state of things may be provoking and discouraging at the time1 in the case of two classes of persons2 of moderate men who wish to make differences in religious opinion as little as they fairly can be made2 and of such as keenly perceive1 and are honestly eager to remedy1 existing evils1--evils1 of which divines in this or that foreign country know nothing at all1 and which even at home1 where they exist1 it is not every one who has the means of estimating4 ,this is a state of things both of past time and of the present4 ,we live in a wonderful age2 the enlargement of the circle of secular knowledge just now is simply a bewilderment1 and the more so1 because it has the promise of continuing1 and that with greater rapidity1 and more signal results4 ,now these discoveries1 certain or probable1 have in matter of fact an indirect bearing upon religious opinions1 and the question arises how are the respective claims of revelation and of natural science to be adjusted4 ,few minds in earnest can remain at ease without some sort of rational grounds for their religious belief2 to reconcile theory and fact is almost an instinct of the mind4 ,when then a flood of facts1 ascertained or suspected1 comes pouring in upon us1 with a multitude of others in prospect1 all believers in ,revelation1 be they ,catholic or not1 are roused to consider their bearing upon themselves1 both for the honour of ,god1 and from tenderness for those many souls who1 in consequence of the confident tone of the schools of secular knowledge1 are in danger of being led away into a bottomless liberalism of thought4 ,i am not going to criticize here that vast body of men1 in the mass1 who at this time would profess to be liberals in religion2 and who look towards the discoveries of the age1 certain or in progress1 as their informants1 direct or indirect1 as to what they shall think about the unseen and the future4 ,the ,liberalism which gives a colour to society now1 is very different from that character of thought which bore the name thirty or forty years ago4 ,now it is scarcely a party2 it is the educated lay world4 ,when ,i was young1 ,i knew the word first as giving name to a periodical1 set up by ,lord ,byron and others4 ,now1 as then1 ,i have no sympathy with the philosophy of ,byron4 ,afterwards1 ,liberalism was the badge of a theological school1 of a dry and repulsive character1 not very dangerous in itself1 though dangerous as opening the door to evils which it did not itself either anticipate or comprehend4 ,at present it is nothing else than that deep1 plausible scepticism1 of which ,i spoke above1 as being the development of human reason1 as practically exercised by the natural man4 ,the ,liberal religionists of this day are a very mixed body1 and therefore ,i am not intending to speak against them4 ,there may be1 and doubtless is1 in the hearts of some or many of them a real antipathy or anger against revealed truth1 which it is distressing to think of4 ,again1 in many men of science or literature there may be an animosity arising from almost a personal feeling2 it being a matter of party1 a point of honour1 the excitement of a game1 or a satisfaction to the soreness or annoyance occasioned by the acrimony or narrowness of apologists for religion1 to prove that ,christianity or that ,scripture is untrustworthy4 ,many scientific and literary men1 on the other hand1 go on1 ,i am confident1 in a straightforward impartial way1 in their own province and on their own line of thought1 without any disturbance from religious difficulties in themselves1 or any wish at all to give pain to others by the result of their investigations4 ,it would ill become me1 as if ,i were afraid of truth of any kind1 to blame those who pursue secular facts1 by means of the reason which ,god has given them1 to their logical conclusions3 or to be angry with science1 because religion is bound in duty to take cognizance of its teaching4 ,but putting these particular classes of men aside1 as having no special call on the sympathy of the ,catholic1 of course he does most deeply enter into the feelings of a fourth and large class of men1 in the educated portions of society1 of religious and sincere minds1 who are simply perplexed1--frightened or rendered desperate1 as the case may be1--by the utter confusion into which late discoveries or speculations have thrown their most elementary ideas of religion4 ,who does not feel for such men8 who can have one unkind thought of them8 ,i take up in their behalf ,st4 ,augustine's beautiful words1 ,illi in vos sviant1 c4 ,let them be fierce with you who have no experience of the difficulty with which error is discriminated from truth1 and the way of life is found amid the illusions of the world4 ,how many a ,catholic has in his thoughts followed such men1 many of them so good1 so true1 so noble6 how often has the wish risen in his heart that some one from among his own people should come forward as the champion of revealed truth against its opponents6 ,various persons1 ,catholic and ,protestant1 have asked me to do so myself2 but ,i had several strong difficulties in the way4 ,one of the greatest is this1 that at the moment it is so difficult to say precisely what it is that is to be encountered and overthrown4 ,i am far from denying that scientific knowledge is really growing1 but it is by fits and starts2 hypotheses rise and fall2 it is difficult to anticipate which of them will keep their ground1 and what the state of knowledge in relation to them will be from year to year4 ,in this condition of things1 it has seemed to me to be very undignified for a ,catholic to commit himself to the work of chasing what might turn out to be phantoms1 and1 in behalf of some special objections1 to be ingenious in devising a theory1 which1 before it was completed1 might have to give place to some theory newer still1 from the fact that those former objections had already come to nought under the uprising of others4 ,it seemed to be specially a time1 in which ,christians had a call to be patient1 in which they had no other way of helping those who were alarmed1 than that of exhorting them to have a little faith and fortitude1 and to beware1 as the poet says1 of dangerous steps4 ,this seemed so clear to me1 the more ,i thought of the matter1 as to make me surmise1 that1 if ,i attempted what had so little promise in it1 ,i should find that the highest ,catholic ,authority was against the attempt1 and that ,i should have spent my time and my thought1 in doing what either it would be imprudent to bring before the public at all1 or what1 did ,i do so1 would only complicate matters further which were already complicated1 without my interference1 more than enough4 ,and ,i interpret recent acts of that authority as fulfilling my expectation2 ,i interpret them as tying the hands of a controversialist1 such as ,i should be1 and teaching us that true wisdom1 which ,moses inculcated on his people1 when the ,egyptians were pursuing them1 ,fear ye not1 stand still2 the ,lord shall fight for you1 and ye shall hold your peace4 ,and so far from finding a difficulty in obeying in this case1 ,i have cause to be thankful and to rejoice to have so clear a direction in a matter of difficulty4 ,but if we would ascertain with correctness the real course of a principle1 we must look at it at a certain distance1 and as history represents it to us4 ,nothing carried on by human instruments1 but has its irregularities1 and affords ground for criticism1 when minutely scrutinized in matters of detail4 ,i have been speaking of that aspect of the action of an infallible authority1 which is most open to invidious criticism from those who view it from without2 ,i have tried to be fair1 in estimating what can be said to its disadvantage1 as witnessed at a particular time in the ,catholic ,church1 and now ,i wish its adversaries to be equally fair in their judgment upon its historical character4 ,can1 then1 the infallible authority1 with any show of reason1 be said in fact to have destroyed the energy of the ,catholic intellect8 ,let it be observed1 ,i have not here to speak of any conflict which ecclesiastical authority has had with science1 for this simple reason1 that conflict there has been none2 and that1 because the secular sciences1 as they now exist1 are a novelty in the world1 and there has been no time yet for a history of relations between theology and these new methods of knowledge1 and indeed the ,church may be said to have kept clear of them1 as is proved by the constantly cited case of ,galileo4 ,here exceptio probat regulam3 for it is the one stock argument4 ,again1 ,i have not to speak of any relations of the ,church to the new sciences1 because my simple question all along has been whether the assumption of infallibility by the proper authority is adapted to make me a hypocrite1 and till that authority passes decrees on pure physical subjects and calls on me to subscribe them1 7which it never will do1 because it has not the power17 it has no tendency to interfere by any of its acts with my private judgment on those points4 ,the simple question is1 whether authority has so acted upon the reason of individuals1 that they can have no opinion of their own1 and have but an alternative of slavish superstition or secret rebellion of heart2 and ,i think the whole history of theology puts an absolute negative upon such a supposition4 ,it is hardly necessary to argue out so plain a point4 ,it is individuals1 and not the ,holy ,see1 that have taken the initiative1 and given the lead to the ,catholic mind1 in theological inquiry4 ,indeed1 it is one of the reproaches urged against the ,roman ,church1 that it has originated nothing1 and has only served as a sort of remora or break in the development of doctrine4 ,and it is an objection which ,i really embrace as a truth2 for such ,i conceive to be the main purpose of its extraordinary gift4 ,it is said1 and truly1 that the ,church of ,rome possessed no great mind in the whole period of persecution4 ,afterwards for a long while1 it has not a single doctor to show2 ,st4 ,leo1 its first1 is the teacher of one point of doctrine2 ,st4 ,gregory1 who stands at the very extremity of the first age of the ,church1 has no place in dogma or philosophy4 ,the great luminary of the western world is1 as we know1 ,st4 ,augustine2 he1 no infallible teacher1 has formed the intellect of ,christian ,europe2 indeed to the ,african ,church generally we must look for the best early exposition of ,latin ideas4 ,moreover1 of the ,african divines1 the first in order of time1 and not the least influential1 is the strong-minded and heterodox ,tertullian4 ,nor is the ,eastern intellect1 as such1 without its share in the formation of the ,latin teaching4 ,the free thought of ,origen is visible in the writings of the ,western ,doctors1 ,hilary and ,ambrose2 and the independent mind of ,jerome has enriched his own vigorous commentaries on ,scripture1 from the stores of the scarcely orthodox ,eusebius4 ,heretical questionings have been transmuted by the living power of the ,church into salutary truths4 ,the case is the same as regards the ,ecumenical ,councils4 ,authority in its most imposing exhibition1 grave bishops1 laden with the traditions and rivalries of particular nations or places1 have been guided in their decisions by the commanding genius of individuals1 sometimes young and of inferior rank4 ,not that uninspired intellect overruled the super-human gift which was committed to the ,council1 which would be a self-contradictory assertion1 but that in that process of inquiry and deliberation1 which ended in an infallible enunciation1 individual reason was paramount4 ,thus ,malchion1 a mere presbyter1 was the instrument of the great ,council of ,antioch in the third century in meeting and refuting1 for the assembled ,fathers1 the heretical ,patriarch of that see4 ,parallel to this instance is the influence1 so well known1 of a young deacon1 ,st4 ,athanasius1 with the #cah ,fathers at ,nica4 ,in medival times we read of ,st4 ,anselm at ,bari1 as the champion of the ,council there held1 against the ,greeks4 ,at ,trent1 the writings of ,st4 ,bonaventura1 and1 what is more to the point1 the address of a ,priest and theologian1 ,salmeron1 had a critical effect on some of the definitions of dogma4 ,in some of those cases the influence might be partly moral1 but in others it was that of a discursive knowledge of ecclesiastical writers1 a scientific acquaintance with theology1 and a force of thought in the treatment of doctrine4 ,there are of course intellectual habits which theology does not tend to form1 as for instance the experimental1 and again the philosophical2 but that is because it is theology1 not because of the gift of infallibility4 ,but1 as far as this goes1 ,i think it could be shown that physical science on the other hand1 or again mathematical1 affords but an imperfect training for the intellect4 ,i do not see then how any objection about the narrowness of theology comes into our question1 which simply is1 whether the belief in an infallible authority destroys the independence of the mind2 and ,i consider that the whole history of the ,church1 and especially the history of the theological schools1 gives a negative to the accusation4 ,there never was a time when the intellect of the educated class was more active1 or rather more restless1 than in the middle ages4 ,and then again all through ,church history from the first1 how slow is authority in interfering6 ,perhaps a local teacher1 or a doctor in some local school1 hazards a proposition1 and a controversy ensues4 ,it smoulders or burns in one place1 no one interposing2 ,rome simply lets it alone4 ,then it comes before a ,bishop2 or some priest1 or some professor in some other seat of learning takes it up2 and then there is a second stage of it4 ,then it comes before a ,university1 and it may be condemned by the theological faculty4 ,so the controversy proceeds year after year1 and ,rome is still silent4 ,an appeal perhaps is next made to a seat of authority inferior to ,rome2 and then at last after a long while it comes before the supreme power4 ,meanwhile1 the question has been ventilated and turned over and over again1 and viewed on every side of it1 and authority is called upon to pronounce a decision1 which has already been arrived at by reason4 ,but even then1 perhaps the supreme authority hesitates to do so1 and nothing is determined on the point for years3 or so generally and vaguely1 that the whole controversy has to be gone through again1 before it is ultimately determined4 ,it is manifest how a mode of proceeding1 such as this1 tends not only to the liberty1 but to the courage1 of the individual theologian or controversialist4 ,many a man has ideas1 which he hopes are true1 and useful for his day1 but he is not confident about them1 and wishes to have them discussed1 ,he is willing1 or rather would be thankful1 to give them up1 if they can be proved to be erroneous or dangerous1 and by means of controversy he obtains his end4 ,he is answered1 and he yields2 or on the contrary he finds that he is considered safe4 ,he would not dare to do this1 if he knew an authority1 which was supreme and final1 was watching every word he said1 and made signs of assent or dissent to each sentence1 as he uttered it4 ,then indeed he would be fighting1 as the ,persian soldiers1 under the lash1 and the freedom of his intellect might truly be said to be beaten out of him4 ,but this has not been so3--,i do not mean to say that1 when controversies run high1 in schools or even in small portions of the ,church1 an interposition may not advisably take place2 and again1 questions may be of that urgent nature1 that an appeal must1 as a matter of duty1 be made at once to the highest authority in the ,church2 but if we look into the history of controversy1 we shall find1 ,i think1 the general run of things to be such as ,i have represented it4 ,zosimus treated ,pelagius and ,coelestius with extreme forbearance2 ,st4 ,gregory ,,vii4 was equally indulgent with ,berengarius3--by reason of the very power of the ,popes they have commonly been slow and moderate in their use of it4 ,and here again is a further shelter for the legitimate exercise of the reason3--the multitude of nations which are within the fold of the ,church will be found to have acted for its protection1 against any narrowness1 on the supposition of narrowness1 in the various authorities at ,rome1 with whom lies the practical decision of controverted questions4 ,how have the ,greek traditions been respected and provided for in the later ,ecumenical ,councils1 in spite of the countries that held them being in a state of schism6 ,there are important points of doctrine which have been 7humanly speaking7 exempted from the infallible sentence1 by the tenderness with which its instruments1 in framing it1 have treated the opinions of particular places4 ,then1 again1 such national influences have a providential effect in moderating the bias which the local influences of ,italy may exert upon the ,see of ,st4 ,peter4 ,it stands to reason that1 as the ,gallican ,church has in it a ,french element1 so ,rome must have in it an element of ,italy2 and it is no prejudice to the zeal and devotion with which we submit ourselves to the ,holy ,see to admit this plainly4 ,it seems to me1 as ,i have been saying1 that ,catholicity is not only one of the notes of the ,church1 but1 according to the divine purposes1 one of its securities4 ,i think it would be a very serious evil1 which ,divine ,mercy avert6 that the ,church should be contracted in ,europe within the range of particular nationalities4 ,it is a great idea to introduce ,latin civilization into ,america1 and to improve the ,catholics there by the energy of ,french devotedness2 but ,i trust that all ,european races will ever have a place in the ,church1 and assuredly ,i think that the loss of the ,english1 not to say the ,german element1 in its composition has been a most serious misfortune4 ,and certainly1 if there is one consideration more than another which should make us ,english grateful to ,pius the ,ninth1 it is that1 by giving us a ,church of our own1 he has prepared the way for our own habits of mind1 our own manner of reasoning1 our own tastes1 and our own virtues1 finding a place and thereby a sanctification1 in the ,catholic ,church4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is only one other subject1 which ,i think it necessary to introduce here1 as bearing upon the vague suspicions which are attached in this country to the ,catholic ,priesthood4 ,it is one of which my accusers have before now said much1--the charge of reserve and economy4 ,they found it in no slight degree on what ,i have said on the subject in my ,history of the ,arians1 and in a note upon one of my ,sermons in which ,i refer to it4 ,the principle of ,reserve is also advocated by an admirable writer in two numbers of the ,tracts for the ,times1 and of these ,i was the ,editor4 ,now1 as to the ,economy itself#bj1 it is founded upon the words of our ,lord1 ,cast not your pearls before swine2 and it was observed by the early ,christians more or less1 in their intercourse with the heathen populations among whom they lived4 ,in the midst of the abominable idolatries and impurities of that fearful time1 the ,rule of the ,economy was an imperative duty4 ,but that rule1 at least as ,i have explained and recommended it1 in anything that ,i have written1 did not go beyond 7#a7 the concealing the truth when we could do so without deceit1 7#b7 stating it only partially1 and 7#c7 representing it under the nearest form possible to a learner or inquirer1 when he could not possibly understand it exactly4 ,i conceive that to draw ,angels with wings is an instance of the third of these economical modes2 and to avoid the question1 ,do ,christians believe in a ,trinity8 by answering1 ,they believe in only one ,god1 would be an instance of the second4 ,as to the first1 it is hardly an ,economy1 but comes under what is called the ,disciplina ,arcani4 ,the second and third economical modes ,clement calls lying2 meaning that a partial truth is in some sense a lie1 as is also a representative truth4 ,and this1 ,i think1 is about the long and the short of the ground of the accusation which has been so violently urged against me1 as being a patron of the ,economy4 #bj ,vide ,note ,f1 ,the ,economy4 ,of late years ,i have come to think1 as ,i believe most writers do1 that ,clement meant more than ,i have said4 ,i used to think he used the word lie as an hyperbole1 but ,i now believe that he1 as other early ,fathers1 thought that1 under certain circumstances1 it was lawful to tell a lie4 ,this doctrine ,i never maintained1 though ,i used to think1 as ,i do now1 that the theory of the subject is surrounded with considerable difficulty2 and it is not strange that ,i should say so1 considering that great ,english writers declare without hesitation that in certain extreme cases1 as to save life1 honour1 or even property1 a lie is allowable4 ,and thus ,i am brought to the direct question of truth1 and of the truthfulness of ,catholic priests generally in their dealings with the world1 as bearing on the general question of their honesty1 and of their internal belief in their religious professions4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it would answer no purpose1 and it would be departing from the line of writing which ,i have been observing all along1 if ,i entered into any formal discussion on this question2 what ,i shall do here1 as ,i have done in the foregoing pages1 is to give my own testimony on the matter in question1 and there to leave it4 ,now first ,i will say1 that1 when ,i became a ,catholic1 nothing struck me more at once than the ,english out-spoken manner of the ,priests4 ,it was the same at ,oscott1 at ,old ,hall ,green1 at ,ushaw2 there was nothing of that smoothness1 or mannerism1 which is commonly imputed to them1 and they were more natural and unaffected than many an ,anglican clergyman4 ,the many years1 which have passed since1 have only confirmed my first impression4 ,i have ever found it in the priests of this ,diocese2 did ,i wish to point out a straightforward ,englishman1 ,i should instance the ,bishop1 who has1 to our great benefit1 for so many years presided over it4 ,and next1 ,i was struck1 when ,i had more opportunity of judging of the ,priests1 by the simple faith in the ,catholic ,creed and system1 of which they always gave evidence1 and which they never seemed to feel1 in any sense at all1 to be a burden4 ,and now that ,i have been in the ,church nineteen years1 ,i cannot recollect hearing of a single instance in ,england of an infidel priest4 ,of course there are men from time to time1 who leave the ,catholic ,church for another religion1 but ,i am speaking of cases1 when a man keeps a fair outside to the world and is a hollow hypocrite in his heart4 ,i wonder that the self-devotion of our priests does not strike a ,protestant in this point of view4 ,what do they gain by professing a ,creed1 in which1 if their enemies are to be credited1 they really do not believe8 ,what is their reward for committing themselves to a life of self-restraint and toil1 and perhaps to a premature and miserable death8 ,the ,irish fever cut off between ,liverpool and ,leeds thirty priests and more1 young men in the flower of their days1 old men who seemed entitled to some quiet time after their long toil4 ,there was a bishop cut off in the ,north2 but what had a man of his ecclesiastical rank to do with the drudgery and danger of sick calls1 except that ,christian faith and charity constrained him8 ,priests volunteered for the dangerous service4 ,it was the same with them on the first coming of the cholera1 that mysterious awe-inspiring infliction4 ,if they did not heartily believe in the ,creed of the ,church1 then ,i will say that the remark of the ,apostle had its fullest illustration3--,if in this life only we have hope in ,christ1 we are of all men most miserable4 ,what could support a set of hypocrites in the presence of a deadly disorder1 one of them following another in long order up the forlorn hope1 and one after another perishing8 ,and such1 ,i may say1 in its substance1 is every ,mission-,priest's life4 ,he is ever ready to sacrifice himself for his people4 ,night and day1 sick or well himself1 in all weathers1 off he is1 on the news of a sick call4 ,the fact of a parishioner dying without the ,sacraments through his fault is terrible to him2 why terrible1 if he has not a deep absolute faith1 which he acts upon with a free service8 ,protestants admire this1 when they see it2 but they do not seem to see as clearly1 that it excludes the very notion of hypocrisy4 ,sometimes1 when they reflect upon it1 it leads them to remark on the wonderful discipline of the ,catholic priesthood2 they say that no ,church has so well ordered a clergy1 and that in that respect it surpasses their own2 they wish they could have such exact discipline among themselves4 ,but is it an excellence which can be purchased8 is it a phenomenon which depends on nothing else than itself1 or is it an effect which has a cause8 ,you cannot buy devotion at a price4 ,it hath never been heard of in the land of ,chanaan1 neither hath it been seen in ,theman4 ,the children of ,agar1 the merchants of ,meran1 none of these have known its way4 ,what then is that wonderful charm1 which makes a thousand men act all in one way1 and infuses a prompt obedience to rule1 as if they were under some stern military compulsion8 ,how difficult to find an answer1 unless you will allow the obvious one1 that they believe intensely what they profess6 99 99 99 99 99 ,i cannot think what it can be1 in a day like this1 which keeps up the prejudice of this ,protestant country against us1 unless it be the vague charges which are drawn from our books of ,moral ,theology2 and with a short notice of the work in particular which by our accusers is especially thrown into our teeth1 ,i shall bring these observations to a close4 ,st4 ,alfonso ,liguori1 then1 it cannot be denied1 lays down that an equivocation1 7that is1 a play upon words1 in which one sense is taken by the speaker1 and another sense intended by him for the hearer17 is allowable1 if there is a just cause1 that is1 in an extraordinary case1 and may even be confirmed by an oath4 ,i shall give my opinion on this point as plainly as any ,protestant can wish2 and therefore ,i avow at once that in this department of morality1 much as ,i admire the high points of the ,italian character1 ,i like the ,english rule of conduct better2 but1 in saying so1 ,i am not1 as will shortly be seen1 saying any thing disrespectful to ,st4 ,alfonso1 who was a lover of truth1 and whose intercession ,i trust ,i shall not lose1 though1 on the matter under consideration1 ,i follow other guidance in preference to his4 ,now ,i make this remark first3--great ,english authors1 ,jeremy ,taylor1 ,milton1 ,paley1 ,johnson1 men of very different schools of thought1 distinctly say1 that under certain extraordinary circumstances it is allowable to tell a lie4 ,taylor says3 ,to tell a lie for charity1 to save a man's life1 the life of a friend1 of a husband1 of a prince1 of a useful and a public person1 hath not only been done at all times1 but commended by great and wise and good men4 ,who would not save his father's life1 at the charge of a harmless lie1 from persecutors or tyrants8 ,again1 ,milton says3 ,what man in his senses would deny1 that there are those whom we have the best grounds for considering that we ought to deceive1--as boys1 madmen1 the sick1 the intoxicated1 enemies1 men in error1 thieves8 ,i would ask1 by which of the commandments is a lie forbidden8 ,you will say1 by the ninth4 ,if then my lie does not injure my neighbour1 certainly it is not forbidden by this commandment4 ,paley says3 ,there are falsehoods1 which are not lies1 that is1 which are not criminal4 ,johnson3 ,the general rule is1 that truth should never be violated2 there must1 however1 be some exceptions4 ,if1 for instance1 a murderer should ask you which way a man is gone4 ,now1 ,i am not using these instances as an argumentum ad hominem2 but the purpose to which ,i put them is this3-- #a4 ,first1 ,i have set down the distinct statements of ,taylor1 ,milton1 ,paley1 and ,johnson3--now1 would any one give ever so little weight to these statements1 in forming a real estimate of the veracity of the writers1 if they now were alive8 ,were a man1 who is so fierce with ,st4 ,alfonso1 to meet ,paley or ,johnson to-morrow in society1 would he look upon him as a liar1 a knave1 as dishonest and untrustworthy8 ,i am sure he would not4 ,why then does he not deal out the same measure to ,catholic priests8 ,if a copy of ,scavini1 which speaks of equivocation as being in a just cause allowable1 be found in a student's room at ,oscott1 not ,scavini himself1 but even the unhappy student1 who has what a ,protestant calls a bad book in his possession1 is judged to be for life unworthy of credit4 ,are all ,protestant text-books1 which are used at the ,university1 immaculate8 ,is it necessary to take for gospel every word of ,aristotle's ,ethics1 or every assertion of ,hey or ,burnett on the ,articles8 ,are text-books the ultimate authority1 or rather are they not manuals in the hands of a lecturer1 and the groundwork of his remarks8 ,but1 again1 let us suppose1 not the case of a student1 or of a professor1 but of ,scavini himself1 or of ,st4 ,alfonso2 now here again ,i ask1 since you would not scruple in holding ,paley for an honest man1 in spite of his defence of lying1 why do you scruple at holding ,st4 ,alfonso honest8 ,i am perfectly sure that you would not scruple at ,paley personally2 you might not agree with him1 but you would not go further than to call him a bold thinker3 then why should ,st4 ,alfonso's person be odious to you1 as well as his doctrine8 ,now ,i wish to tell you why you are not afraid of ,paley2 because1 you would say1 when he advocated lying1 he was taking extreme or special cases4 ,you would have no fear of a man who you knew had shot a burglar dead in his own house1 because you know you are not a burglar3 so you would not think that ,paley had a habit of telling lies in society1 because in the case of a cruel alternative he thought it the lesser evil to tell a lie4 ,then why do you show such suspicion of a ,catholic theologian1 who speaks of certain extraordinary cases in which an equivocation in a penitent cannot be visited by his confessor as if it were a sin8 for this is the exact point of the question4 ,but again1 why does ,paley1 why does ,jeremy ,taylor1 when no practical matter is actually before him1 lay down a maxim about the lawfulness of lying1 which will startle most readers8 ,the reason is plain4 ,he is forming a theory of morals1 and he must treat every question in turn as it comes4 ,and this is just what ,st4 ,alfonso or ,scavini is doing4 ,you only try your hand yourself at a treatise on the rules of morality1 and you will see how difficult the work is4 ,what is the definition of a lie8 ,can you give a better than that it is a sin against justice1 as ,taylor and ,paley consider it8 but1 if so1 how can it be a sin at all1 if your neighbour is not injured8 ,if you do not like this definition1 take another2 and then1 by means of that1 perhaps you will be defending ,st4 ,alfonso's equivocation4 ,however1 this is what ,i insist upon2 that ,st4 ,alfonso1 as ,paley1 is considering the different portions of a large subject1 and he must1 on the subject of lying1 give his judgment1 though on that subject it is difficult to form any judgment which is satisfactory4 ,but further still3 you must not suppose that a philosopher or moralist uses in his own case the licence which his theory itself would allow him4 ,a man in his own person is guided by his own conscience2 but in drawing out a system of rules he is obliged to go by logic1 and follow the exact deduction of conclusion from conclusion1 and must be sure that the whole system is coherent and one4 ,you hear of even immoral or irreligious books being written by men of decent character2 there is a late writer who says that ,david ,hume's sceptical works are not at all the picture of the man4 ,a priest might write a treatise which was really lax on the subject of lying1 which might come under the condemnation of the ,holy ,see1 as some treatises on that score have already been condemned1 and yet in his own person be a rigorist4 ,and1 in fact1 it is notorious from ,st4 ,alfonso's ,life1 that he1 who has the repute of being so lax a moralist1 had one of the most scrupulous and anxious of consciences himself4 ,nay1 further than this1 he was originally in the ,law1 and on one occasion he was betrayed into the commission of what seemed like a deceit1 though it was an accident2 and that was the very occasion of his leaving the profession and embracing the religious life4 ,the account of this remarkable occurrence is told us in his ,life3-- ,notwithstanding he had carefully examined over and over the details of the process1 he was completely mistaken regarding the sense of one document1 which constituted the right of the adverse party4 ,the advocate of the ,grand ,duke perceived the mistake1 but he allowed ,alfonso to continue his eloquent address to the end without interruption2 as soon1 however1 as he had finished1 he rose1 and said with cutting coolness1 ',sir1 the case is not exactly what you suppose it to be2 if you will review the process1 and examine this paper attentively1 you will find there precisely the contrary of all you have advanced4' ',willingly1' replied ,alfonso1 without hesitating2 'the decision depends on this question--whether the fief were granted under the law of ,lombardy1 or under the ,french ,law4' ,the paper being examined1 it was found that the ,grand ,duke's advocate was in the right4 ',yes1' said ,alfonso1 holding the paper in his hand1 ',i am wrong1 ,i have been mistaken4' ,a discovery so unexpected1 and the fear of being accused of unfair dealing filled him with consternation1 and covered him with confusion1 so much so1 that every one saw his emotion4 ,it was in vain that the ,president ,caravita1 who loved him1 and knew his integrity1 tried to console him1 by telling him that such mistakes were not uncommon1 even among the first men at the bar4 ,alfonso would listen to nothing1 but1 overwhelmed with confusion1 his head sunk on his breast1 he said to himself1 ',world1 ,i know you now2 courts of law1 never shall you see me again6' ,and turning his back on the assembly1 he withdrew to his own house1 incessantly repeating to himself1 ',world1 ,i know you now4' ,what annoyed him most was1 that having studied and re-studied the process during a whole month1 without having discovered this important flaw1 he could not understand how it had escaped his observation4 ,and this is the man1 so easily scared at the very shadow of trickery1 who is so flippantly pronounced to be a patron of lying4 ,but1 in truth1 a ,catholic theologian has objects in view which men in general little compass2 he is not thinking of himself1 but of a multitude of souls1 sick souls1 sinful souls1 carried away by sin1 full of evil1 and he is trying with all his might to rescue them from their miserable state2 and1 in order to save them from more heinous sins1 he tries1 to the full extent that his conscience will allow him to go1 to shut his eyes to such sins1 as are1 though sins1 yet lighter in character or degree4 ,he knows perfectly well that1 if he is as strict as he would wish to be1 he shall be able to do nothing at all with the run of men2 so he is as indulgent with them as ever he can be4 ,let it not be for an instant supposed1 that ,i allow of the maxim of doing evil that good may come2 but1 keeping clear of this1 there is a way of winning men from greater sins by winking for the time at the less1 or at mere improprieties or faults2 and this is the key to the difficulty which ,catholic books of moral theology so often cause to the ,protestant4 ,they are intended for the ,confessor1 and ,protestants view them as intended for the ,preacher4 #b4 ,and ,i observe upon ,taylor1 ,milton1 and ,paley thus3 ,what would a ,protestant clergyman say to me1 if ,i accused him of teaching that a lie was allowable2 and if1 when he asked for my proof1 ,i said in reply that such was the doctrine of ,taylor and ,milton8 ,why1 he would sharply retort1 ,i am not bound by ,taylor or ,milton2 and if ,i went on urging that ,taylor was one of his authorities1 he would answer that ,taylor was a great writer1 but great writers were not therefore infallible4 ,this is pretty much the answer which ,i make1 when ,i am considered in this matter a disciple of ,st4 ,alfonso4 ,i plainly and positively state1 and without any reserve1 that ,i do not at all follow this holy and charitable man in this portion of his teaching4 ,there are various schools of opinion allowed in the ,church3 and on this point ,i follow others4 ,i follow ,cardinal ,gerdil1 and ,natalis ,alexander1 nay1 ,st4 ,augustine4 ,i will quote one passage from ,natalis ,alexander3--,they certainly lie1 who utter the words of an oath1 without the will to swear or bind themselves3 or who make use of mental reservations and equivocations in swearing1 since they signify by words what they have not in mind1 contrary to the end for which language was instituted1 viz4 as signs of ideas4 ,or they mean something else than the words signify in themselves and the common custom of speech4 ,and1 to take an instance3 ,i do not believe any priest in ,england would dream of saying1 ,my friend is not here2 meaning1 ,he is not in my pocket or under my shoe4 ,nor should any consideration make me say so myself4 ,i do not think ,st4 ,alfonso would in his own case have said so2 and he would have been as much shocked at ,taylor and ,paley1 as ,protestants are at him#ba4 #ba ,vide ,note ,g1 ,lying and ,equivocation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and now1 if ,protestants wish to know what our real teaching is1 as on other subjects1 so on that of lying1 let them look1 not at our books of casuistry1 but at our catechisms4 ,works on pathology do not give the best insight into the form and the harmony of the human frame2 and1 as it is with the body1 so is it with the mind4 ,the ,catechism of the ,council of ,trent was drawn up for the express purpose of providing preachers with subjects for their ,sermons2 and1 as my whole work has been a defence of myself1 ,i may here say that ,i rarely preach a ,sermon1 but ,i go to this beautiful and complete ,catechism to get both my matter and my doctrine4 ,there we find the following notices about the duty of ,veracity3-- ',thou shalt not bear false witness1' c43 let attention be drawn to two laws contained in this commandment3--the one1 forbidding false witness2 the other bidding1 that removing all pretence and deceits1 we should measure our words and deeds by simple truth1 as the ,apostle admonished the ,ephesians of that duty in these words3 ',doing truth in charity1 let us grow in ,him through all things4' ,to deceive by a lie in joke or for the sake of compliment1 though to no one there accrues loss or gain in consequence1 nevertheless is altogether unworthy3 for thus the ,apostle admonishes1 ',putting aside lying1 speak ye truth4' ,for therein is great danger of lapsing into frequent and more serious lying1 and from lies in joke men gain the habit of lying1 whence they gain the character of not being truthful4 ,and thence again1 in order to gain credence to their words1 they find it necessary to make a practice of swearing4 ,nothing is more necessary for us than truth of testimony1 in those things1 which we neither know ourselves1 nor can allowably be ignorant of1 on which point there is extant that maxim of ,st4 ,augustine's3 ,whoso conceals the truth1 and whoso puts forth a lie1 each is guilty2 the one because he is not willing to do a service1 the other because he has a wish to do a mischief4 ,it is lawful at times to be silent about the truth1 but out of a court of law2 for in court1 when a witness is interrogated by the judge according to law1 the truth is wholly to be brought out4 ,witnesses1 however1 must beware1 lest1 from over-confidence in their memory1 they affirm for certain1 what they have not verified4 ,in order that the faithful may with more good will avoid the sin of lying1 the ,parish ,priest shall set before them the extreme misery and turpitude of this wickedness4 ,for1 in holy writ1 the devil is called the father of a lie2 for1 in that he did not remain in ,truth1 he is a liar1 and the father of a lie4 ,he will add1 with the view of ridding men of so great a crime1 the evils which follow upon lying2 and1 whereas they are innumerable1 he will point out at least the sources and the general heads of these mischiefs and calamities1 viz4 #a4 ,how great is ,god's displeasure and how great ,his hatred of a man who is insincere and a liar4 #b4 ,what little security there is that a man who is specially hated by ,god may not be visited by the heaviest punishments4 #c4 ,what more unclean and foul1 as ,st4 ,james says1 than 444 that a fountain by the same jet should send out sweet water and bitter8 #d4 ,for that tongue1 which just now praised ,god1 next1 as far as in it lies1 dishonours ,him by lying4 #e4 ,in consequence1 liars are shut out from the possession of heavenly beatitude4 #f4 ,that too is the worst evil of lying1 that that disease of the mind is generally incurable4 ,moreover1 there is this harm too1 and one of vast extent1 and touching men generally1 that by insincerity and lying faith and truth are lost1 which are the firmest bonds of human society1 and1 when they are lost1 supreme confusion follows in life1 so that men seem in nothing to differ from devils4 ,lastly1 the ,parish ,priest will set those right who excuse their insincerity and allege the example of wise men1 who1 they say1 are used to lie for an occasion4 ,he will tell them1 what is most true1 that the wisdom of the flesh is death4 ,he will exhort his hearers to trust in ,god1 when they are in difficulties and straits1 nor to have recourse to the expedient of a lie4 ,they who throw the blame of their own lie on those who have already by a lie deceived them1 are to be taught that men must not revenge themselves1 nor make up for one evil by another4 ,there is much more in the ,catechism to the same effect1 and it is of universal obligation2 whereas the decision of a particular author in morals need not be accepted by any one4 99 99 99 99 99 ,to one other authority ,i appeal on this subject1 which commands from me attention of a special kind1 for it is the teaching of a ,father4 ,it will serve to bring my work to a conclusion4 ,st4 ,philip1 says the ,roman ,oratorian who wrote his ,life1 had a particular dislike of affectation both in himself and others1 in speaking1 in dressing1 or in any thing else4 ,he avoided all ceremony which savoured of worldly compliment1 and always showed himself a great stickler for ,christian simplicity in every thing2 so that1 when he had to deal with men of worldly prudence1 he did not very readily accommodate himself to them4 ,and he avoided1 as much as possible1 having any thing to do with two-faced persons1 who did not go simply and straightforwardly to work in their transactions4 ,as for liars1 he could not endure them1 and he was continually reminding his spiritual children1 to avoid them as they would a pestilence4 ,these are the principles on which ,i have acted before ,i was a ,catholic2 these are the principles which1 ,i trust1 will be my stay and guidance to the end4 ,i have closed this history of myself with ,st4 ,philip's name upon ,st4 ,philip's feast-day2 and1 having done so1 to whom can ,i more suitably offer it1 as a memorial of affection and gratitude1 than to ,st4 ,philip's sons1 my dearest brothers of this ,house1 the ,priests of the ,birmingham ,oratory1 ,ambrose ,st4 ,john1 ,henry ,austin ,mills1 ,henry ,bittleston1 ,edward ,caswall1 ,william ,paine ,neville1 and ,henry ,ignatius ,dudley ,ryder8 who have been so faithful to me2 who have been so sensitive of my needs2 who have been so indulgent to my failings2 who have carried me through so many trials2 who have grudged no sacrifice1 if ,i asked for it2 who have been so cheerful under discouragements of my causing2 who have done so many good works1 and let me have the credit of them2--with whom ,i have lived so long1 with whom ,i hope to die4 ,and to you especially1 dear ,ambrose ,st4 ,john2 whom ,god gave me1 when ,he took every one else away2 who are the link between my old life and my new2 who have now for twenty-one years been so devoted to me1 so patient1 so zealous1 so tender2 who have let me lean so hard upon you2 who have watched me so narrowly2 who have never thought of yourself1 if ,i was in question4 ,and in you ,i gather up and bear in memory those familiar affectionate companions and counsellors1 who in ,oxford were given to me1 one after another1 to be my daily solace and relief2 and all those others1 of great name and high example1 who were my thorough friends1 and showed me true attachment in times long past2 and also those many younger men1 whether ,i knew them or not1 who have never been disloyal to me by word or deed2 and of all these1 thus various in their relations to me1 those more especially who have since joined the ,catholic ,church4 ,and ,i earnestly pray for this whole company1 with a hope against hope1 that all of us1 who once were so united1 and so happy in our union1 may even now be brought at length1 by the ,power of the ,divine ,will1 into ,one ,fold and under ,one ,shepherd4 ,may #bf1 #ahfd4 ,in ,festo ,corp4 ,christ4 ,,notes4 ,,note ,a4 ,,on ,,page #ad4 ,,liberalism4 ,i have been asked to explain more fully what it is ,i mean by ,liberalism1 because merely to call it the ,anti-dogmatic ,principle is to tell very little about it4 ,an explanation is the more necessary1 because such good ,catholics and distinguished writers as ,count ,montalembert and ,father ,lacordaire use the word in a favorable sense1 and claim to be ,liberals themselves4 ,the only singularity1 says the former of the two in describing his friend1 was his ,liberalism4 ,by a phenomenon1 at that time unheard of1 this convert1 this seminarist1 this confessor of nuns1 was just as stubborn a liberal1 as in the days when he was a student and a barrister4--,life 7transl471 p4 #ai4 ,i do not believe that it is possible for me to differ in any important matter from two men whom ,i so highly admire4 ,in their general line of thought and conduct ,i enthusiastically concur1 and consider them to be before their age4 ,and it would be strange indeed if ,i did not read with a special interest1 in ,m4 de ,montalembert's beautiful volume1 of the unselfish aims1 the thwarted projects1 the unrequited toils1 the grand and tender resignation of ,lacordaire4 ,if ,i hesitate to adopt their language about ,liberalism1 ,i impute the necessity of such hesitation to some differences between us in the use of words or in the circumstances of country2 and thus ,i reconcile myself to remaining faithful to my own conception of it1 though ,i cannot have their voices to give force to mine4 ,speaking then in my own way1 ,i proceed to explain what ,i meant as a ,protestant by ,liberalism1 and to do so in connexion with the circumstances under which that system of opinion came before me at ,oxford4 ,if ,i might presume to contrast ,lacordaire and myself1 ,i should say1 that we had been both of us inconsistent2--he1 a ,catholic1 in calling himself a ,liberal2 ,i1 a ,protestant1 in being an ,anti-liberal2 and moreover1 that the cause of this inconsistency had been in both cases one and the same4 ,that is1 we were both of us such good conservatives1 as to take up with what we happened to find established in our respective countries1 at the time when we came into active life4 ,toryism was the creed of ,oxford2 he inherited1 and made the best of1 the ,french ,revolution4 ,when1 in the beginning of the present century1 not very long before my own time1 after many years of moral and intellectual declension1 the ,university of ,oxford woke up to a sense of its duties1 and began to reform itself1 the first instruments of this change1 to whose zeal and courage we all owe so much1 were naturally thrown together for mutual support1 against the numerous obstacles which lay in their path1 and soon stood out in relief from the body of residents1 who1 though many of them men of talent themselves1 cared little for the object which the others had at heart4 ,these ,reformers1 as they may be called1 were for some years members of scarcely more than three or four ,colleges2 and their own ,colleges1 as being under their direct influence1 of course had the benefit of those stricter views of discipline and teaching1 which they themselves were urging on the ,university4 ,they had1 in no long time1 enough of real progress in their several spheres of exertion1 and enough of reputation out of doors1 to warrant them in considering themselves the lite of the place2 and it is not wonderful if they were in consequence led to look down upon the majority of ,colleges1 which had not kept pace with the reform1 or which had been hostile to it4 ,and1 when those rivalries of one man with another arose1 whether personal or collegiate1 which befall literary and scientific societies1 such disturbances did but tend to raise in their eyes the value which they had already set upon academical distinction1 and increase their zeal in pursuing it4 ,thus was formed an intellectual circle or class in the ,university1--men1 who felt they had a career before them1 as soon as the pupils1 whom they were forming1 came into public life2 men1 whom non-residents1 whether country parsons or preachers of the ,low ,church1 on coming up from time to time to the old place1 would look at1 partly with admiration1 partly with suspicion1 as being an honour indeed to ,oxford1 but withal exposed to the temptation of ambitious views1 and to the spiritual evils signified in what is called the pride of reason4 ,nor was this imputation altogether unjust2 for1 as they were following out the proper idea of a ,university1 of course they suffered more or less from the moral malady incident to such a pursuit4 ,the very object of such great institutions lies in the cultivation of the mind and the spread of knowledge3 if this object1 as all human objects1 has its dangers at all times1 much more would these exist in the case of men1 who were engaged in a work of reformation1 and had the opportunity of measuring themselves1 not only with those who were their equals in intellect1 but with the many1 who were below them4 ,in this select circle or class of men1 in various ,colleges1 the direct instruments and the choice fruit of real ,university ,reform1 we see the rudiments of the ,liberal party4 ,whenever men are able to act at all1 there is the chance of extreme and intemperate action2 and therefore1 when there is exercise of mind1 there is the chance of wayward or mistaken exercise4 ,liberty of thought is in itself a good2 but it gives an opening to false liberty4 ,now by ,liberalism ,i mean false liberty of thought1 or the exercise of thought upon matters1 in which1 from the constitution of the human mind1 thought cannot be brought to any successful issue1 and therefore is out of place4 ,among such matters are first principles of whatever kind2 and of these the most sacred and momentous are especially to be reckoned the truths of ,revelation4 ,liberalism then is the mistake of subjecting to human judgment those revealed doctrines which are in their nature beyond and independent of it1 and of claiming to determine on intrinsic grounds the truth and value of propositions which rest for their reception simply on the external authority of the ,divine ,word4 ,now certainly the party of whom ,i have been speaking1 taken as a whole1 were of a character of mind out of which ,liberalism might easily grow up1 as in fact it did2 certainly they breathed around an influence which made men of religious seriousness shrink into themselves4 ,but1 while ,i say as much as this1 ,i have no intention whatever of implying that the talent of the ,university1 in the years before and after #ahbj1 was liberal in its theology1 in the sense in which the bulk of the educated classes through the country are liberal now4 ,i would not for the world be supposed to detract from the ,christian earnestness1 and the activity in religious works1 above the average of men1 of many of the persons in question4 ,they would have protested against their being supposed to place reason before faith1 or knowledge before devotion2 yet ,i do consider that they unconsciously encouraged and successfully introduced into ,oxford a licence of opinion which went far beyond them4 ,in their day they did little more than take credit to themselves for enlightened views1 largeness of mind1 liberality of sentiment1 without drawing the line between what was just and what was inadmissible in speculation1 and without seeing the tendency of their own principles2 and engrossing1 as they did1 the mental energy of the ,university1 they met for a time with no effectual hindrance to the spread of their influence1 except 7what indeed at the moment was most effectual1 but not of an intellectual character7 the thorough-going ,toryism and traditionary ,church-of-,england-ism of the great body of the ,colleges and ,convocation4 ,now and then a man of note appeared in the ,pulpit or ,lecture ,rooms of the ,university1 who was a worthy representative of the more religious and devout ,anglicans4 ,these belonged chiefly to the ,high-,church party2 for the party called ,evangelical never has been able to breathe freely in the atmosphere of ,oxford1 and at no time has been conspicuous1 as a party1 for talent or learning4 ,but of the old ,high ,churchmen several exerted some sort of ,anti-liberal influence in the place1 at least from time to time1 and that influence of an intellectual nature4 ,among these especially may be mentioned ,mr4 ,john ,miller1 of ,worcester ,college1 who preached the ,bampton ,lecture in the year #ahag4 ,but1 as far as ,i know1 he who turned the tide1 and brought the talent of the ,university round to the side of the old theology1 and against what was familiarly called march-of-mind1 was ,mr4 ,keble4 ,in and from ,keble the mental activity of ,oxford took that contrary direction which issued in what was called ,tractarianism4 ,keble was young in years1 when he became a ,university celebrity1 and younger in mind4 ,he had the purity and simplicity of a child4 ,he had few sympathies with the intellectual party1 who sincerely welcomed him as a brilliant specimen of young ,oxford4 ,he instinctively shut up before literary display1 and pomp and donnishness of manner1 faults which always will beset academical notabilities4 ,he did not respond to their advances4 ,his collision with them 7if it may be so called7 was thus described by ,hurrell ,froude in his own way4 ,poor ,keble6 he used gravely to say1 he was asked to join the aristocracy of talent1 but he soon found his level4 ,he went into the country1 but his instance serves to prove that men need not1 in the event1 lose that influence which is rightly theirs1 because they happen to be thwarted in the use of the channels natural and proper to its exercise4 ,he did not lose his place in the minds of men because he was out of their sight4 ,keble was a man who guided himself and formed his judgments1 not by processes of reason1 by inquiry or by argument1 but1 to use the word in a broad sense1 by authority4 ,conscience is an authority2 the ,bible is an authority2 such is the ,church2 such is ,antiquity2 such are the words of the wise2 such are hereditary lessons2 such are ethical truths2 such are historical memories2 such are legal saws and state maxims2 such are proverbs2 such are sentiments1 presages1 and prepossessions4 ,it seemed to me as if he ever felt happier1 when he could speak or act under some such primary or external sanction2 and could use argument mainly as a means of recommending or explaining what had claims on his reception prior to proof4 ,he even felt a tenderness1 ,i think1 in spite of ,bacon1 for the ,idols of the ,tribe and the ,den1 of the ,market and the ,theatre4 ,what he hated instinctively was heresy1 insubordination1 resistance to things established1 claims of independence1 disloyalty1 innovation1 a critical1 censorious spirit4 ,and such was the main principle of the school which in the course of years was formed around him2 nor is it easy to set limits to its influence in its day2 for multitudes of men1 who did not profess its teaching1 or accept its peculiar doctrines1 were willing nevertheless1 or found it to their purpose1 to act in company with it4 ,indeed for a time it was practically the champion and advocate of the political doctrines of the great clerical interest through the country1 who found in ,mr4 ,keble and his friends an intellectual1 as well as moral support to their cause1 which they looked for in vain elsewhere4 ,his weak point1 in their eyes1 was his consistency2 for he carried his love of authority and old times so far1 as to be more than gentle towards the ,catholic ,religion1 with which the ,toryism of ,oxford and of the ,church of ,england had no sympathy4 ,accordingly1 if my memory be correct1 he never could get himself to throw his heart into the opposition made to ,catholic ,emancipation1 strongly as he revolted from the politics and the instruments by means of which that ,emancipation was won4 ,i fancy he would have had no difficulty in accepting ,dr4 ,johnson's saying about the first ,whig2 and it grieved and offended him that the ,via prima salutis should be opened to the ,catholic body from the ,whig quarter4 ,in spite of his reverence for the ,old ,religion1 ,i conceive that on the whole he would rather have kept its professors beyond the pale of the ,constitution with the ,tories1 than admit them on the principles of the ,whigs4 ,moreover1 if the ,revolution of #afhh was too lax in principle for him and his friends1 much less1 as is very plain1 could they endure to subscribe to the revolutionary doctrines of #aggf and #aghi1 which they felt to be absolutely and entirely out of keeping with theological truth4 ,the ,old ,tory or ,conservative party in ,oxford had in it no principle or power of development1 and that from its very nature and constitution3 it was otherwise with the ,liberals4 ,they represented a new idea1 which was but gradually learning to recognize itself1 to ascertain its characteristics and external relations1 and to exert an influence upon the ,university4 ,the party grew1 all the time that ,i was in ,oxford1 even in numbers1 certainly in breadth and definiteness of doctrine1 and in power4 ,and1 what was a far higher consideration1 by the accession of ,dr4 ,arnold's pupils1 it was invested with an elevation of character which claimed the respect even of its opponents4 ,on the other hand1 in proportion as it became more earnest and less self-applauding1 it became more free-spoken2 and members of it might be found who1 from the mere circumstance of remaining firm to their original professions1 would in the judgment of the world1 as to their public acts1 seem to have left it for the ,conservative camp4 ,thus1 neither in its component parts nor in its policy1 was it the same in #ahcb1 #ahcf1 and #ahda1 as it was in #ahde4 ,these last remarks will serve to throw light upon a matter personal to myself1 which ,i have introduced into my ,narrative1 and to which my attention has been pointedly called1 now that my ,volume is coming to a second edition4 ,it has been strongly urged upon me to re-consider the following passages which occur in it3 ,the men who had driven me from ,oxford were distinctly the ,liberals1 it was they who had opened the attack upon ,tract #ij1 p4 #bjc1 and ,i found no fault with the ,liberals2 they had beaten me in a fair field1 p4 #bad4 ,i am very unwilling to seem ungracious1 or to cause pain in any quarter2 still ,i am sorry to say ,i cannot modify these statements4 ,it is surely a matter of historical fact that ,i left ,oxford upon the ,university proceedings of #ahda2 and in those proceedings1 whether we look to the ,heads of ,houses or the resident ,masters1 the leaders1 if intellect and influence make men such1 were members of the ,liberal party4 ,those who did not lead1 concurred or acquiesced in them1--,i may say1 felt a satisfaction4 ,i do not recollect any ,liberal who was on my side on that occasion4 ,excepting the ,liberal1 no other party1 as a party1 acted against me4 ,i am not complaining of them2 ,i deserved nothing else at their hands4 ,they could not undo in #ahde1 even had they wished it1 7and there is no proof they did17 what they had done in #ahda4 ,in #ahde1 when ,i had already given up the contest for four years1 and my part in it had passed into the hands of others1 then some of those who were prominent against me in #ahda1 feeling 7what they had not felt in #ahda7 the danger of driving a number of my followers to ,rome1 and joined by younger friends who had come into ,university importance since #ahda and felt kindly towards me1 adopted a course more consistent with their principles1 and proceeded to shield from the zeal of the ,hebdomadal ,board1 not me1 but1 professedly1 all parties through the country1--,tractarians1 ,evangelicals1 ,liberals in general1--who had to subscribe to the ,anglican formularies1 on the ground that those formularies1 rigidly taken1 were1 on some point or other1 a difficulty to all parties alike4 ,however1 besides the historical fact1 ,i can bear witness to my own feeling at the time1 and my feeling was this3--that those who in #ahda had considered it to be a duty to act against me1 had then done their worst4 ,what was it to me what they were now doing in opposition to the ,new ,test proposed by the ,hebdomadal ,board8 ,i owed them no thanks for their trouble4 ,i took no interest at all1 in ,february1 #ahde1 in the proceedings of the ,heads of ,houses and of the ,convocation4 ,i felt myself dead as regarded my relations to the ,anglican ,church4 ,my leaving it was all but a matter of time4 ,i believe ,i did not even thank my real friends1 the two ,proctors1 who in ,convocation stopped by their ,veto the condemnation of ,tract #ij2 nor did ,i make any acknowledgment to ,mr4 ,rogers1 nor to ,mr4 ,james ,mozley1 nor1 as ,i think1 to ,mr4 ,hussey1 for their pamphlets in my behalf4 ,my frame of mind is best described by the sentiment of the passage in ,horace1 which at the time ,i was fond of quoting1 as expressing my view of the relation that existed between the ,vice-,chancellor and myself4 ,pentheu1 ,rector ,thebarum1 quid me perferre patique ,indignum cogas8 ,adimam bona4 ,nempe pecus1 rem1 ,lectos1 argentum2 tollas licet4 ,in manicis et ,compedibus1 svo te sub custode tenebo4 7viz4 the #ci ,articles47 ,ipse ,deus1 simul atque volam1 me solvet4 ,opinor1 ,hoc sentit3 ,moriar4 ,mors ultima linea rerum est4 ,i conclude this notice of ,liberalism in ,oxford1 and the party which was antagonistic to it1 with some propositions in detail1 which1 as a member of the latter1 and together with the ,high ,church1 ,i earnestly denounced and abjured4 #a4 ,no religious tenet is important1 unless reason shows it to be so4 ,therefore1 e4g4 the doctrine of the ,athanasian ,creed is not to be insisted on1 unless it tends to convert the soul2 and the doctrine of the ,atonement is to be insisted on1 if it does convert the soul4 #b4 ,no one can believe what he does not understand4 ,therefore1 e4g4 there are no mysteries in true religion4 #c4 ,no theological doctrine is any thing more than an opinion which happens to be held by bodies of men4 ,therefore1 e4g4 no creed1 as such1 is necessary for salvation4 #d4 ,it is dishonest in a man to make an act of faith in what he has not had brought home to him by actual proof4 ,therefore1 e4g4 the mass of men ought not absolutely to believe in the divine authority of the ,bible4 #e4 ,it is immoral in a man to believe more than he can spontaneously receive as being congenial to his moral and mental nature4 ,therefore1 e4g4 a given individual is not bound to believe in eternal punishment4 #f4 ,no revealed doctrines or precepts may reasonably stand in the way of scientific conclusions4 ,therefore1 e4g4 ,political ,economy may reverse our ,lord's declarations about poverty and riches1 or a system of ,ethics may teach that the highest condition of body is ordinarily essential to the highest state of mind4 #g4 ,christianity is necessarily modified by the growth of civilization1 and the exigencies of times4 ,therefore1 e4g4 the ,catholic priesthood1 though necessary in the ,middle ,ages1 may be superseded now4 #h4 ,there is a system of religion more simply true than ,christianity as it has ever been received4 ,therefore1 e4g4 we may advance that ,christianity is the corn of wheat which has been dead for #ahjj years1 but at length will bear fruit2 and that ,mahometanism is the manly religion1 and existing ,christianity the womanish4 #i4 ,there is a right of ,private ,judgment3 that is1 there is no existing authority on earth competent to interfere with the liberty of individuals in reasoning and judging for themselves about the ,bible and its contents1 as they severally please4 ,therefore1 e4g4 religious establishments requiring subscription are ,anti-christian4 #aj4 ,there are rights of conscience such1 that every one may lawfully advance a claim to profess and teach what is false and wrong in matters1 religious1 social1 and moral1 provided that to his private conscience it seems absolutely true and right4 ,therefore1 e4g4 individuals have a right to preach and practise fornication and polygamy4 #aa4 ,there is no such thing as a national or state conscience4 ,therefore1 e4g4 no judgments can fall upon a sinful or infidel nation4 #ab4 ,the civil power has no positive duty1 in a normal state of things1 to maintain religious truth4 ,therefore1 e4g4 blasphemy and sabbath-breaking are not rightly punishable by law4 #ac4 ,utility and expedience are the measure of political duty4 ,therefore1 e4g4 no punishment may be enacted1 on the ground that ,god commands it3 e4g4 on the text1 ,whoso sheddeth man's blood1 by man shall his blood be shed4 #ad4 ,the ,civil ,power may dispose of ,church property without sacrilege4 ,therefore1 e4g4 ,henry ,,viii4 committed no sin in his spoliations4 #ae4 ,the ,civil ,power has the right of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and administration4 ,therefore1 e4g4 ,parliament may impose articles of faith on the ,church or suppress ,dioceses4 #af4 ,it is lawful to rise in arms against legitimate princes4 ,therefore1 e4g4 the ,puritans in the #agth century1 and the ,french in the #ahth1 were justifiable in their ,rebellion and ,revolution respectively4 #ag4 ,the people are the legitimate source of power4 ,therefore1 e4g4 ,universal ,suffrage is among the natural rights of man4 #ah4 ,virtue is the child of knowledge1 and vice of ignorance4 ,therefore1 e4g4 education1 periodical literature1 railroad travelling1 ventilation1 drainage1 and the arts of life1 when fully carried out1 serve to make a population moral and happy4 ,all of these propositions1 and many others too1 were familiar to me thirty years ago1 as in the number of the tenets of ,liberalism1 and1 while ,i gave into none of them except ,no4 #ab1 and perhaps ,no4 #aa1 and partly ,no4 #a1 before ,i began to publish1 so afterwards ,i wrote against most of them in some part or other of my ,anglican works4 ,if it is necessary to refer to a work1 not simply my own1 but of the ,tractarian school1 which contains a similar protest1 ,i should name the ,lyra ,apostolica4 ,this volume1 which by accident has been left unnoticed1 except incidentally1 in my ,narrative1 was collected together from the pages of the ,british ,magazine1 in which its contents originally appeared1 and published in a separate form1 immediately after ,hurrell ,froude's death in #ahcf4 ,its signatures1 ,greek3 a1 b1 g1 d1 e1 z1 denote respectively as authors1 ,mr4 ,bowden1 ,mr4 ,hurrell ,froude1 ,mr4 ,keble1 ,mr4 ,newman1 ,mr4 ,robert ,wilberforce1 and ,mr4 ,isaac ,williams4 ,there is one poem on ,liberalism1 beginning ,ye cannot halve the ,gospel of ,god's grace2 which bears out the account of ,liberalism as above given2 and another upon the ,age to come1 defining from its own point of view the position and prospects of ,liberalism4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i need hardly say that the above ,note is mainly historical4 ,how far the ,liberal party of #ahcj-dj really held the above eighteen ,theses1 which ,i attributed to them1 and how far and in what sense ,i should oppose those ,theses now1 could scarcely be explained without a separate ,dissertation4 ,,note ,b4 ,,on ,,page #bc4 ,,ecclesiastical ,,miracles4 ,the writer1 who gave occasion for the foregoing ,narrative1 was very severe with me for what ,i had said about ,miracles in the ,preface to the ,life of ,st4 ,walburga4 ,i observe therefore as follows3-- ,catholics believe that miracles happen in any age of the ,church1 though not for the same purposes1 in the same number1 or with the same evidence1 as in ,apostolic times4 ,the ,apostles wrought them in evidence of their divine mission2 and with this object they have been sometimes wrought by ,evangelists of countries since1 as even ,protestants allow4 ,hence we hear of them in the history of ,st4 ,gregory in ,pontus1 and ,st4 ,martin in ,gaul2 and in their case1 as in that of the ,apostles1 they were both numerous and clear4 ,as they are granted to ,evangelists1 so are they granted1 though in less measure and evidence1 to other holy men2 and as holy men are not found equally at all times and in all places1 therefore miracles are in some places and times more than in others4 ,and since1 generally1 they are granted to faith and prayer1 therefore in a country in which faith and prayer abound1 they will be more likely to occur1 than where and when faith and prayer are not2 so that their occurrence is irregular4 ,and further1 as faith and prayer obtain miracles1 so still more commonly do they gain from above the ordinary interventions of ,providence2 and1 as it is often very difficult to distinguish between a providence and a miracle1 and there will be more providences than miracles1 hence it will happen that many occurrences will be called miraculous1 which1 strictly speaking1 are not such1 that is1 not more than providential mercies1 or what are sometimes called grazie or favours4 ,persons1 who believe all this1 in accordance with ,catholic teaching1 as ,i did and do1 they1 on the report of a miracle1 will of necessity1 the necessity of good logic1 be led to say1 first1 ,it may be1 and secondly1 ,but ,i must have good evidence in order to believe it4 #a4 ,it may be1 because miracles take place in all ages2 it must be clearly proved1 because perhaps after all it may be only a providential mercy1 or an exaggeration1 or a mistake1 or an imposture4 ,well1 this is precisely what ,i had said1 which the writer1 who has given occasion to this ,volume1 considered so irrational4 ,i had said1 as he quotes me1 ,in this day1 and under our present circumstances1 we can only reply1 that there is no reason why they should not be4 ,surely this is good logic1 provided that miracles do occur in all ages2 and so again ,i am logical in saying1 ,there is nothing1 prim facie1 in the miraculous accounts in question1 to repel a properly taught or religiously disposed mind4 ,what is the matter with this statement8 ,my assailant does not pretend to say what the matter is1 and he cannot2 but he expresses a rude1 unmeaning astonishment4 ,accordingly1 in the passage which he quotes1 ,i observe1 ,miracles are the kind of facts proper to ecclesiastical history1 just as instances of sagacity or daring1 personal prowess1 or crime1 are the facts proper to secular history4 ,what is the harm of this8 #b4 ,but1 though a miracle be conceivable1 it has to be proved4 ,what has to be proved8 7#a47 ,that the event occurred as stated1 and is not a false report or an exaggeration4 7#b47 ,that it is clearly miraculous1 and not a mere providence or answer to prayer within the order of nature4 ,what is the fault of saying this8 ,the inquiry is parallel to that which is made about some extraordinary fact in secular history4 ,supposing ,i hear that ,king ,charles ,,ii4 died a ,catholic1 ,i am led to say3 ,it may be1 but what is your proof8 ,in my ,essay on ,miracles of the year #ahbf1 ,i proposed three questions about a professed miraculous occurrence3 #a4 is it antecedently probable8 #b4 is it in its nature certainly miraculous8 #c4 has it sufficient evidence8 ,to these three heads ,i had regard in my ,essay of #ahdb2 and under them ,i still wish to conduct the inquiry into the miracles of ,ecclesiastical ,history4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so much for general principles2 as to ,st4 ,walburga1 though ,i have no intention at all of denying that numerous miracles have been wrought by her intercession1 still1 neither the ,author of her ,life1 nor ,i1 the ,editor1 felt that we had grounds for binding ourselves to the belief of certain alleged miracles in particular4 ,i made1 however1 one exception2 it was the medicinal oil which flows from her relics4 ,now as to the verisimilitude1 the miraculousness1 and the fact1 of this medicinal oil4 #a4 ,the verisimilitude4 ,it is plain there is nothing extravagant in this report of her relics having a supernatural virtue2 and for this reason1 because there are such instances in ,scripture1 and ,scripture cannot be extravagant4 ,for instance1 a man was restored to life by touching the relics of the ,prophet ,eliseus4 ,the sacred text runs thus3--,and ,elisha died1 and they buried him4 ,and the bands of the ,moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year4 ,and it came to pass1 as they were burying a man1 that1 behold1 they spied a band of men2 and they cast the man into the sepulchre of ,elisha4 ,and1 when the man was let down1 and touched the bones of ,elisha1 he revived1 and stood upon his feet4 ,again1 in the case of an inanimate substance1 which had touched a living ,saint3 ,and ,god wrought special miracles by the hands of ,paul2 so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons1 and the diseases departed from them4 ,and again in the case of a pool3 ,an ,angel went down at a certain season into the pool1 and troubled the water2 whosoever then first1 after the troubling of the water1 stepped in1 was made whole of whatsoever disease he had4 #b ,kings #d ,kings xiii4 #bj1 #ba4 ,acts xix4 #aa1 #ab4 ,john v4 #d4 ,therefore there is nothing extravagant in the character of the miracle4 #b4 ,next1 the matter of fact3--is there an oil flowing from ,st4 ,walburga's tomb1 which is medicinal8 ,to this question ,i confined myself in my ,preface4 ,of the accounts of medieval miracles1 ,i said that there was no extravagance in their general character1 but ,i could not affirm that there was always evidence for them4 ,i could not simply accept them as facts1 but ,i could not reject them in their nature2--they might be true1 for they were not impossible2 but they were not proved to be true1 because there was not trustworthy testimony4 ,however1 as to ,st4 ,walburga1 ,i repeat1 ,i made one exception1 the fact of the medicinal oil1 since for that miracle there was distinct and successive testimony4 ,and then ,i went on to give a chain of witnesses4 ,it was my duty to state what those witnesses said in their very words2 so ,i gave the testimonies in full1 tracing them from the ,saint's death4 ,i said1 ,she is one of the principal ,saints of her age and country4 ,then ,i quoted ,basnage1 a ,protestant1 who says1 ,six writers are extant1 who have employed themselves in relating the deeds or miracles of ,walburga4 ,then ,i said that her renown was not the mere natural growth of ages1 but begins with the very century of the ,saint's death4 ,then ,i observed that only two miracles seem to have been distinctly reported of her as occurring in her lifetime2 and they were handed down apparently by tradition4 ,also1 that such miracles are said to have commenced about ,a4,d4 #ggg4 ,then ,i spoke of the medicinal oil as having testimony to it in #hic1 in #acjf1 after #adej1 in #afae1 and in #afbj4 ,also1 ,i said that ,mabillon seems not to have believed some of her miracles2 and that the earliest witness had got into trouble with his ,bishop4 ,and so ,i left the matter1 as a question to be decided by evidence1 not deciding any thing myself4 ,what was the harm of all this8 but my ,critic muddled it together in a most extraordinary manner1 and ,i am far from sure that he knew himself the definite categorical charge which he intended it to convey against me4 ,one of his remarks is1 ,what has become of the holy oil for the last #bdj years1 ,dr4 ,newman does not say1 p4 #be4 ,of course ,i did not1 because ,i did not know2 ,i gave the evidence as ,i found it2 he assumes that ,i had a point to prove1 and then asks why ,i did not make the evidence larger than it was4 ,i can tell him more about it now3 the oil still flows2 ,i have had some of it in my possession2 it is medicinal still4 ,this leads to the third head4 #c4 ,its miraculousness4 ,on this point1 since ,i have been in the ,catholic ,church1 ,i have found there is a difference of opinion4 ,some persons consider that the oil is the natural produce of the rock1 and has ever flowed from it2 others1 that by a divine gift it flows from the relics2 and others1 allowing that it now comes naturally from the rock1 are disposed to hold that it was in its origin miraculous1 as was the virtue of the pool of ,bethsaida4 ,this point must be settled of course before the virtue of the oil can be ascribed to the sanctity of ,st4 ,walburga2 for myself1 ,i neither have1 nor ever have had1 the means of going into the question2 but ,i will take the opportunity of its having come before me1 to make one or two remarks1 supplemental of what ,i have said on other occasions4 #a4 ,i frankly confess that the present advance of science tends to make it probable that various facts take place1 and have taken place1 in the order of nature1 which hitherto have been considered by ,catholics as simply supernatural4 #b4 ,though ,i readily make this admission1 it must not be supposed in consequence that ,i am disposed to grant at once1 that every event was natural in point of fact1 which might have taken place by the laws of nature2 for it is obvious1 no ,catholic can bind the ,almighty to act only in one and the same way1 or to the observance always of ,his own laws4 ,an event which is possible in the way of nature1 is certainly possible too to ,divine ,power without the sequence of natural cause and effect at all4 ,a conflagration1 to take a parallel1 may be the work of an incendiary1 or the result of a flash of lightning2 nor would a jury think it safe to find a man guilty of arson1 if a dangerous thunderstorm was raging at the very time when the fire broke out4 ,in like manner1 upon the hypothesis that a miraculous dispensation is in operation1 a recovery from diseases to which medical science is equal1 may nevertheless in matter of fact have taken place1 not by natural means1 but by a supernatural interposition4 ,that the ,lawgiver always acts through ,his own laws1 is an assumption1 of which ,i never saw proof4 ,in a given case1 then1 the possibility of assigning a human cause for an event does not ipso facto prove that it is not miraculous4 #c4 ,so far1 however1 is plain1 that1 till some experimentum crucis can be found1 such as to be decisive against the natural cause or the supernatural1 an occurrence of this kind will as little convince an unbeliever that there has been a divine interference in the case1 as it will drive the ,catholic to admit that there has been no interference at all4 #d4 ,still there is this gain accruing to the ,catholic cause from the larger views we now possess of the operation of natural causes1 viz4 that our opponents will not in future be so ready as hitherto1 to impute fraud and falsehood to our priests and their witnesses1 on the ground of their pretending or reporting things that are incredible4 ,our opponents have again and again accused us of false witness1 on account of statements which they now allow are either true1 or may have been true4 ,they account indeed for the strange facts very differently from us2 but still they allow that facts they were4 ,it is a great thing to have our characters cleared2 and we may reasonably hope that1 the next time our word is vouched for occurrences which appear to be miraculous1 our facts will be investigated1 not our testimony impugned4 #e4 ,even granting that certain occurrences1 which we have hitherto accounted miraculous1 have not absolutely a claim to be so considered1 nevertheless they constitute an argument still in behalf of ,revelation and the ,church4 ,providences1 or what are called grazie1 though they do not rise to the order of miracles1 yet1 if they occur again and again in connexion with the same persons1 institutions1 or doctrines1 may supply a cumulative evidence of the fact of a supernatural presence in the quarter in which they are found4 ,i have already alluded to this point in my ,essay on ,ecclesiastical ,miracles1 and ,i have a particular reason1 as will presently be seen1 for referring here to what ,i said in the course of it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in that ,essay1 after bringing its main argument to an end1 ,i append to it a review of the evidence for particular alleged miracles4 ,it does not strictly fall within the scope of the ,essay1 ,i observe1 to pronounce upon the truth or falsehood of this or that miraculous narrative1 as it occurs in ecclesiastical history2 but only to furnish such general considerations1 as may be useful in forming a decision in particular cases1 p4 cv4 ,however1 ,i thought it right to go farther and to set down the evidence for and against certain miracles as we meet with them1 ibid4 ,in discussing these miracles separately1 ,i make the following remarks1 to which ,i have just been referring4 ,after discussing the alleged miracle of the ,thundering ,legion1 ,i observe3--,nor does it concern us much to answer the objection1 that there is nothing strictly miraculous in such an occurrence1 because sudden thunderclouds after drought are not unfrequent2 for1 ,i would answer1 ,grant me such miracles ordinarily in the early ,church1 and ,i will ask no other2 grant that1 upon prayer1 benefits are vouchsafed1 deliverances are effected1 unhoped-for results obtained1 sicknesses cured1 tempests laid1 pestilences put to flight1 famines remedied1 judgments inflicted1 and there will be no need of analyzing the causes1 whether supernatural or natural1 to which they are to be referred4 ,they may1 or they may not1 in this or that case1 follow or surpass the laws of nature1 and they may do so plainly or doubtfully1 but the common sense of mankind will call them miraculous2 for by a miracle is popularly meant1 whatever be its formal definition1 an event which impresses upon the mind the immediate presence of the ,moral ,governor of the world4 ,he may sometimes act through nature1 sometimes beyond or against it2 but those who admit the fact of such interferences1 will have little difficulty in admitting also their strictly miraculous character1 if the circumstances of the case require it1 and those who deny miracles to the early ,church will be equally strenuous against allowing her the grace of such intimate influence 7if we may so speak7 upon the course of divine ,providence1 as is here in question1 even though it be not miraculous4--p4 cxxi4 ,and again1 speaking of the death of ,arius3 ,but after all1 was it a miracle8 for1 if not1 we are labouring at a proof of which nothing comes4 ,the more immediate answer to this question has already been suggested several times4 ,when a ,bishop with his flock prays night and day against a heretic1 and at length begs of ,god to take him away1 and when he is suddenly taken away1 almost at the moment of his triumph1 and that by a death awfully significant1 from its likeness to one recorded in ,scripture1 is it not trifling to ask whether such an occurrence comes up to the definition of a miracle8 ,the question is not whether it is formally a miracle1 but whether it is an event1 the like of which persons1 who deny that miracles continue1 will consent that the ,church should be considered still able to perform4 ,if they are willing to allow to the ,church such extraordinary protection1 it is for them to draw the line to the satisfaction of people in general1 between these and strictly miraculous events2 if1 on the other hand1 they deny their occurrence in the times of the ,church1 then there is sufficient reason for our appealing here to the history of ,arius in proof of the affirmative4--p4 clxxii4 ,these remarks1 thus made upon the ,thundering ,legion and the death of ,arius1 must be applied1 in consequence of investigations made since the date of my ,essay1 to the apparent miracle wrought in favour of the ,african confessors in the ,vandal persecution4 ,their tongues were cut out by the ,arian tyrant1 and yet they spoke as before4 ,in my ,essay ,i insisted on this fact as being strictly miraculous4 ,among other remarks 7referring to the instances adduced by ,middleton and others in disparagement of the miracle1 viz4 of a girl born without a tongue1 who yet talked as distinctly and easily1 as if she had enjoyed the full benefit of that organ1 and of a boy who lost his tongue at the age of eight or nine1 yet retained his speech1 whether perfectly or not17 ,i said1 ,does ,middleton mean to say1 that1 if certain of men lost their tongues at the command of a tyrant for the sake of their religion1 and then spoke as plainly as before1 nay if only one person was so mutilated and so gifted1 it would not be a miracle8--p4 ccx4 ,and ,i enlarged upon the minute details of the fact as reported to us by eye-witnesses and contemporaries4 ,out of the seven writers adduced1 six are contemporaries2 three1 if not four1 are eye-witnesses of the miracle4 ,one reports from an eye-witness1 and one testifies to a fervent record at the burial-place of the subjects of it4 ,all seven were living1 or had been staying1 at one or other of the two places which are mentioned as their abode4 ,one is a ,pope1 a second a ,catholic ,bishop1 a third a ,bishop of a schismatical party1 a fourth an emperor1 a fifth a soldier1 a politician1 and a suspected infidel1 a sixth a statesman and courtier1 a seventh a rhetorician and philosopher4 ',he cut out the tongues by the roots1' says ,victor1 ,bishop of ,vito2 ',i perceived the tongues entirely gone by the roots1' says neas2 'as low down as the throat1' says ,procopius2 'at the roots1' say ,justinian and ,st4 ,gregory2 'he spoke like an educated man1 without impediment1' says ,victor of ,vito2 'with articulateness1' says neas2 'better than before2' 'they talked without any impediment1' says ,procopius2 'speaking with perfect voice1' says ,marcellinus2 'they spoke perfectly1 even to the end1' says the second ,victor2 'the words were formed1 full1 and perfect1' says ,st4 ,gregory4--p4 ccviii4 ,however1 a few years ago an ,article appeared in ,notes and ,queries 7,no4 for ,may #bb1 #aheh71 in which various evidence was adduced to show that the tongue is not necessary for articulate speech4 #a4 ,col4 ,churchill1 in his ,lebanon1 speaking of the cruelties of ,djezzar ,pacha1 in extracting to the root the tongues of some ,emirs1 adds1 ,it is a curious fact1 however1 that the tongues grow again sufficiently for the purposes of speech4 #b4 ,sir ,john ,malcolm1 in his ,sketches of ,persia1 speaks of ,zb1 ,khan of ,khisht1 who was condemned to lose his tongue4 ,this mandate1 he says1 was imperfectly executed1 and the loss of half this member deprived him of speech4 ,being afterwards persuaded that its being cut close to the root would enable him to speak so as to be understood1 he submitted to the operation2 and the effect has been1 that his voice1 though indistinct and thick1 is yet intelligible to persons accustomed to converse with him4444 ,i am not an anatomist1 and ,i cannot therefore give a reason1 why a man1 who could not articulate with half a tongue1 should speak when he had none at all2 but the facts are as stated4 #c4 ,and ,sir ,john ,mc,neill says1 ,in answer to your inquiries about the powers of speech retained by persons who have had their tongues cut out1 ,i can state from personal observation1 that several persons whom ,i knew in ,persia1 who had been subjected to that punishment1 spoke so intelligibly as to be able to transact important business4444 ,the conviction in ,persia is universal1 that the power of speech is destroyed by merely cutting off the tip of the tongue2 and is to a useful extent restored by cutting off another portion as far back as a perpendicular section can be made of the portion that is free from attachment at the lower surface4444 ,i never had to meet with a person who had suffered this punishment1 who could not speak so as to be quite intelligible to his familiar associates4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i should not be honest1 if ,i professed to be simply converted1 by these testimonies1 to the belief that there was nothing miraculous in the case of the ,african confessors4 ,it is quite as fair to be sceptical on one side of the question as on the other2 and if ,gibbon is considered worthy of praise for his stubborn incredulity in receiving the evidence for this miracle1 ,i do not see why ,i am to be blamed1 if ,i wish to be quite sure of the full appositeness of the recent evidence which is brought to its disadvantage4 ,questions of fact cannot be disproved by analogies or presumptions2 the inquiry must be made into the particular case in all its parts1 as it comes before us4 ,meanwhile1 ,i fully allow that the points of evidence brought in disparagement of the miracle are prim facie of such cogency1 that1 till they are proved to be irrelevant1 ,catholics are prevented from appealing to it for controversial purposes4 ,,note ,c4 ,,on ,,page #aec4 ,,sermon ,,on ,,wisdom ,,and ,,innocence4 ,the professed basis of the charge of lying and equivocation made against me1 and1 in my person1 against the ,catholic clergy1 was1 as ,i have already noticed in the ,preface1 a certain ,sermon of mine on ,wisdom and ,innocence1 being the #bjth in a series of ,sermons on ,subjects of the ,day1 written1 preached1 and published while ,i was an ,anglican4 ,of this ,sermon my accuser spoke thus in his ,pamphlet3-- ,it is occupied entirely with the attitude of 'the world' to ',christians' and 'the ,church4' ,by the world appears to be signified1 especially1 the ,protestant public of these realms2 what ,dr4 ,newman means by ,christians1 and the ,church1 he has not left in doubt2 for in the preceding ,sermon he says3 ',but if the truth must be spoken1 what are the humble monk and the holy nun1 and other regulars1 as they are called1 but ,christians after the very pattern given us in ,scripture1 c4'4444 ,this is his definition of ,christians4 ,and in the ,sermon itself1 he sufficiently defines what he means by 'the ,church1' in two notes of her character1 which he shall give in his own words3 ',what1 for instance1 though we grant that sacramental confession and the celibacy of the clergy do tend to consolidate the body politic in the relation of rulers and subjects1 or1 in other words1 to aggrandize the priesthood8 for how can the ,church be one body without such relation8'--,pp4 #h1 #i4 ,he then proceeded to analyze and comment on it at great length1 and to criticize severely the method and tone of my ,sermons generally4 ,among other things1 he said3-- ,what1 then1 did the ,sermon mean8 ,why was it preached8 ,to insinuate that a ,church which had sacramental confession and a celibate clergy was the only true ,church8 ,or to insinuate that the admiring young gentlemen who listened to him stood to their fellow-countrymen in the relation of the early ,christians to the heathen ,romans8 ,or that ,queen ,victoria's ,government was to the ,church of ,england what ,nero's or ,dioclesian's was to the ,church of ,rome8 ,it may have been so4 ,i know that men used to suspect ,dr4 ,newman1--,i have been inclined to do so myself1--of writing a whole ,sermon1 not for the sake of the text or of the matter1 but for the sake of one single passing hint--one phrase1 one epithet1 one little barbed arrow1 which1 as he swept magnificently past on the stream of his calm eloquence1 seemingly unconscious of all presences1 save those unseen1 he delivered unheeded1 as with his finger-tip1 to the very heart of an initiated hearer1 never to be withdrawn again4 ,i do not blame him for that4 ,it is one of the highest triumphs of oratoric power1 and may be employed honestly and fairly by any person who has the skill to do it honestly and fairly2 but then1 ,why did he entitle his ,sermon ',wisdom and ,innocence8' ,what1 then1 could ,i think that ,dr4 ,newman meant8 ,i found a preacher bidding ,christians imitate1 to some undefined point1 the 'arts' of the basest of animals1 and of men1 and of the devil himself4 ,i found him1 by a strange perversion of ,scripture1 insinuating that ,st4 ,paul's conduct and manner were such as naturally to bring down on him the reputation of being a crafty deceiver4 ,i found him--horrible to say it--even hinting the same of one greater than ,st4 ,paul4 ,i found him denying or explaining away the existence of that ,priestcraft1 which is a notorious fact to every honest student of history1 and justifying 7as far as ,i can understand him7 that double dealing by which prelates1 in the middle age1 too often played off alternately the sovereign against the people1 and the people against the sovereign1 careless which was in the right1 so long as their own power gained by the move4 ,i found him actually using of such 7and1 as ,i thought1 of himself and his party likewise7 the words ',they yield outwardly2 to assent inwardly were to betray the faith4 ,yet they are called deceitful and double-dealing1 because they do as much as they can1 and not more than they may4' ,i found him telling ,christians that they will always seem 'artificial1' and 'wanting in openness and manliness2' that they will always be 'a mystery' to the world1 and that the world will always think them rogues2 and bidding them glory in what the world 7i4e4 the rest of their countrymen7 disown1 and say with ,mawworm1 ',i like to be despised4' ,now1 how was ,i to know that the preacher1 who had the reputation of being the most acute man of his generation1 and of having a specially intimate acquaintance with the weaknesses of the human heart1 was utterly blind to the broad meaning and the plain practical result of a ,sermon like this1 delivered before fanatic and hot-headed young men1 who hung upon his every word8 that he did not foresee that they would think that they obeyed him by becoming affected1 artificial1 sly1 shifty1 ready for concealments and equivocations8 c4 c4--,pp4 #ad-af4 ,my accuser asked in this passage what did the ,sermon mean1 and why was it preached4 ,i will here answer this question2 and with this view will speak1 first of the matter of the ,sermon1 then of its subject1 then of its circumstances4 #a4 ,it was one of the last six ,sermons which ,i wrote when ,i was an ,anglican4 ,it was one of the five ,sermons ,i preached in ,st4 ,mary's between ,christmas and ,easter1 #ahdc1 the year when ,i gave up my ,living4 ,the ,,ms4 of the ,sermon is destroyed2 but ,i believe1 and my memory too bears me out1 as far as it goes1 that the sentence in question about ,celibacy and ,confession1 of which this writer would make so much1 was not preached at all4 ,the ,volume1 in which this ,sermon is found1 was published after that ,i had given up ,st4 ,mary's1 when ,i had no call on me to restrain the expression of any thing which ,i might hold3 and ,i stated an important fact about it in the ,advertisement1 in these words3-- ,in preparing these ,sermons for publication1 a few words and sentences have in several places been added1 which will be found to express more of private or personal opinion1 than it was expedient to introduce into the instruction delivered in ,church to a parochial ,congregation4 ,such introduction1 however1 seems unobjectionable in the case of compositions1 which are detached from the sacred place and service to which they once belonged1 and submitted to the reason and judgment of the general reader4 ,this ,volume of ,sermons then cannot be criticized at all as preachments2 they are essays2 essays of a man who1 at the time of publishing them1 was not a preacher4 ,such passages1 as that in question1 are just the very ones which ,i added upon my publishing them2 and1 as ,i always was on my guard in the pulpit against saying any thing which looked towards ,rome1 ,i shall believe that ,i did not preach the obnoxious sentence till some one is found to testify that he heard it4 ,at the same time ,i cannot conceive why the mention of ,sacramental ,confession1 or of ,clerical ,celibacy1 had ,i made it1 was inconsistent with the position of an ,anglican ,clergyman4 ,for ,sacramental ,confession and ,absolution actually form a portion of the ,anglican ,visitation of the ,sick2 and though the #cbnd ,article says that ,bishops1 priests1 and deacons1 are not commanded by ,god's law either to vow the state of single life or to abstain from marriage1 and therefore it is lawful for them to marry1 this proposition ,i did not dream of denying1 nor is it inconsistent with ,st4 ,paul's doctrine1 which ,i held1 that it is good to abide even as he1 i4e4 in celibacy4 ,but ,i have more to say on this point4 ,this writer says1 ,i know that men used to suspect ,dr4 ,newman1--,i have been inclined to do so myself1--of writing a whole ,sermon1 not for the sake of the text or of the matter1 but for the sake of one simple passing hint1--one phrase1 one epithet4 ,now observe2 can there be a plainer testimony borne to the practical character of my ,sermons at ,st4 ,mary's than this gratuitous insinuation8 ,many a preacher of ,tractarian doctrine has been accused of not letting his parishioners alone1 and of teasing them with his private theological notions4 ,the same report was spread about me twenty years ago as this writer spreads now1 and the world believed that my ,sermons at ,st4 ,mary's were full of red-hot ,tractarianism4 ,then strangers came to hear me preach1 and were astonished at their own disappointment4 ,i recollect the wife of a great prelate from a distance coming to hear me1 and then expressing her surprise to find that ,i preached nothing but a plain humdrum ,sermon4 ,i recollect how1 when on the ,sunday before ,commemoration one year1 a number of strangers came to hear me1 and ,i preached in my usual way1 residents in ,oxford1 of high position1 were loud in their satisfaction that on a great occasion1 ,i had made a simple failure1 for after all there was nothing in the ,sermon to hear4 ,well1 but they were not going to let me off1 for all my common-sense view of duty4 ,accordingly they got up the charitable theory which this ,writer revives4 ,they said that there was a double purpose in those plain addresses of mine1 and that my ,sermons were never so artful as when they seemed common-place2 that there were sentences which redeemed their apparent simplicity and quietness4 ,so they watched during the delivery of a ,sermon1 which to them was too practical to be useful1 for the concealed point of it1 which they could at least imagine1 if they could not discover4 ,men used to suspect ,dr4 ,newman1 he says1 of writing a whole ,sermon1 not for the sake of the text or of the matter1 but for the sake of one single passing hint1 444 one phrase1 one epithet1 one little barbed arrow1 which1 as he swept magnificently past on the stream of his calm eloquence1 seemingly unconscious of all presences1 save those unseen1 he delivered unheeded1 c4 ,to all appearance1 he says1 ,i was unconscious of all presences4 ,he is not able to deny that the whole ,sermon had the appearance of being for the sake of the text and matter2 therefore he suggests that perhaps it wasn't4 99 99 99 99 99 #b4 ,and now as to the subject of the ,sermon4 ,the ,sermons of which the ,volume consists are such as are1 more or less1 exceptions to the rule which ,i ordinarily observed1 as to the subjects which ,i introduced into the pulpit of ,st4 ,mary's4 ,they are not purely ethical or doctrinal4 ,they were for the most part caused by circumstances of the day or of the moment1 and they belong to various years4 ,one was written in #ahcb1 two in #ahcf1 two in #ahch1 five in #ahdj1 five in #ahda1 four in #ahdb1 seven in #ahdc4 ,many of them are engaged on one subject1 viz4 in viewing the ,church in its relation to the world4 ,by the world was meant1 not simply those multitudes which were not in the ,church1 but the existing body of human society1 whether in the ,church or not1 whether ,catholics1 ,protestants1 ,greeks1 or ,mahometans1 theists or idolaters1 as being ruled by principles1 maxims1 and instincts of their own1 that is1 of an unregenerate nature1 whatever their supernatural privileges might be1 greater or less1 according to their form of religion4 ,this view of the relation of the ,church to the world as taken apart from questions of ecclesiastical politics1 as they may be called1 is often brought out in my ,sermons4 ,two occur to me at once2 ,no4 #c of my ,plain ,sermons1 which was written in #ahbi1 and ,no4 #ae of my ,third ,volume of ,parochial1 written in #ahce4 ,on the other hand1 by ,church ,i meant1--in common with all writers connected with the ,tract ,movement1 whatever their shades of opinion1 and with the whole body of ,english divines1 except those of the ,puritan or ,evangelical ,school1--the whole of ,christendom1 from the ,apostles' time till now1 whatever their later divisions into ,latin1 ,greek1 and ,anglican4 ,i have explained this view of the subject above at pp4 #fi-ga of this ,volume4 ,when then ,i speak1 in the particular ,sermon before us1 of the members1 or the rulers1 or the action of the ,church1 ,i mean neither the ,latin1 nor the ,greek1 nor the ,english1 taken by itself1 but of the whole ,church as one body3 of ,italy as one with ,england1 of the ,saxon or ,norman as one with the ,caroline ,church4 ,this was specially the one ,church1 and the points in which one branch or one period differed from another were not and could not be ,notes of the ,church1 because ,notes necessarily belong to the whole of the ,church every where and always4 ,this being my doctrine as to the relation of the ,church to the world1 ,i laid down in the ,sermon three principles concerning it1 and there left the matter4 ,the first is1 that ,divine ,wisdom had framed for its action laws1 which man1 if left to himself1 would have antecedently pronounced to be the worst possible for its success1 and which in all ages have been called by the world1 as they were in the ,apostles' days1 foolishness2 that man ever relies on physical and material force1 and on carnal inducements as ,mahomet with his sword and his houris1 or indeed almost as that theory of religion1 called1 since the ,sermon was written1 muscular ,christianity2 but that our ,lord1 on the contrary1 has substituted meekness for haughtiness1 passiveness for violence1 and innocence for craft3 and that the event has shown the high wisdom of such an economy1 for it has brought to light a set of natural laws1 unknown before1 by which the seeming paradox that weakness should be stronger than might1 and simplicity than worldly policy1 is readily explained4 ,secondly1 ,i said that men of the world1 judging by the event1 and not recognizing the secret causes of the success1 viz4 a higher order of natural laws1--natural1 though their source and action were supernatural1 7for the meek inherit the earth1 by means of a meekness which comes from above17--these men1 ,i say1 concluded1 that the success which they witnessed must arise from some evil secret which the world had not mastered1--by means of magic1 as they said in the first ages1 by cunning as they say now4 ,and accordingly they thought that the humility and inoffensiveness of ,christians1 or of ,churchmen1 was a mere pretence and blind to cover the real causes of that success1 which ,christians could explain and would not2 and that they were simply hypocrites4 ,thirdly1 ,i suggested that shrewd ecclesiastics1 who knew very well that there was neither magic nor craft in the matter1 and1 from their intimate acquaintance with what actually went on within the ,church1 discerned what were the real causes of its success1 were of course under the temptation of substituting reason for conscience1 and1 instead of simply obeying the command1 were led to do good that good might come1 that is1 to act in order to secure success1 and not from a motive of faith4 ,some1 ,i said1 did yield to the temptation more or less1 and their motives became mixed2 and in this way the world in a more subtle shape had got into the ,church2 and hence it had come to pass1 that1 looking at its history from first to last1 we could not possibly draw the line between good and evil there1 and say either that every thing was to be defended1 or certain things to be condemned4 ,i expressed the difficulty1 which ,i supposed to be inherent in the ,church1 in the following words4 ,i said1 ,priestcraft has ever been considered the badge1 and its imputation is a kind of ,note of the ,church3 and in part indeed truly1 because the presence of powerful enemies1 and the sense of their own weakness1 has sometimes tempted ,christians to the abuse1 instead of the use of ,christian wisdom1 to be wise without being harmless2 but partly1 nay1 for the most part1 not truly1 but slanderously1 and merely because the world called their wisdom craft1 when it was found to be a match for its own numbers and power4 ,such is the substance of the ,sermon3 and as to the main drift of it1 it was this2 that ,i was1 there and elsewhere1 scrutinizing the course of the ,church as a whole1 as if philosophically1 as an historical phenomenon1 and observing the laws on which it was conducted4 ,hence the ,sermon1 or ,essay as it more truly is1 is written in a dry and unimpassioned way3 it shows as little of human warmth of feeling as a ,sermon of ,bishop ,butler's4 ,yet1 under that calm exterior there was a deep and keen sensitiveness1 as ,i shall now proceed to show4 99 99 99 99 99 #c4 ,if ,i mistake not1 it was written with a secret thought about myself4 ,every one preaches according to his frame of mind1 at the time of preaching4 ,one heaviness especially oppressed me at that season1 which this ,writer1 twenty years afterwards1 has set himself with a good will to renew3 it arose from the sense of the base calumnies which were heaped upon me on all sides4 ,it is worth observing that this ,sermon is exactly contemporaneous with the report spread by a ,bishop 7vid4 supr4 p4 #aha71 that ,i had advised a clergyman converted to ,catholicism to retain his ,living4 ,this report was in circulation in ,february #ahdc1 and my ,sermon was preached on the #aith4 ,in the trouble of mind into which ,i was thrown by such calumnies as this1 ,i gained1 while ,i reviewed the history of the ,church1 at once an argument and a consolation4 ,my argument was this3 if ,i1 who knew my own innocence1 was so blackened by party prejudice1 perhaps those high rulers and those servants of the ,church1 in the many ages which intervened between the early ,nicene times and the present1 who were laden with such grievous accusations1 were innocent also2 and this reflection served to make me tender towards those great names of the past1 to whom weaknesses or crimes were imputed1 and reconciled me to difficulties in ecclesiastical proceedings1 which there were no means now of properly explaining4 ,and the sympathy thus excited for them1 re-acted on myself1 and ,i found comfort in being able to put myself under the shadow of those who had suffered as ,i was suffering1 and who seemed to promise me their recompense1 since ,i had a fellowship in their trial4 ,in a letter to my ,bishop at the time of ,tract #ij1 part of which ,i have quoted1 ,i said that ,i had ever tried to keep innocency2 and now two years had passed since then1 and men were louder and louder in heaping on me the very charges1 which this ,writer repeats out of my ,sermon1 of fraud and cunning1 craftiness and deceitfulness1 double-dealing1 priestcraft1 of being mysterious1 dark1 subtle1 designing1 when ,i was all the time conscious to myself1 in my degree1 and after my measure1 of sobriety1 self-restraint1 and control of word and feeling4 ,i had had experience how my past success had been imputed to secret management2 and how1 when ,i had shown surprise at that success1 that surprise again was imputed to deceit2 and how my honest heartfelt submission to authority had been called1 as it was called in a ,bishop's charge abroad1 mystic humility2 and how my silence was called an hypocrisy2 and my faithfulness to my clerical engagements a secret correspondence with the enemy4 ,and ,i found a way of destroying my sensitiveness about these things which jarred upon my sense of justice1 and otherwise would have been too much for me1 by the contemplation of a large law of the ,divine ,dispensation1 and felt myself more and more able to bear in my own person a present trial1 of which in my past writings ,i had expressed an anticipation4 ,for this feeling and thus speaking this ,writer compares me to ,mawworm4 ,i found him telling ,christians1 he says1 that they will always seem 'artificial1' and 'wanting in openness and manliness2' that they will always be 'a mystery' to the world2 and that the world will always think them rogues2 and bidding them glory in what the world 7that is1 the rest of their fellow-countrymen7 disown1 and say with ,mawworm1 ',i like to be despised4' ,now how was ,i to know that the preacher 444 was utterly blind to the broad meaning and the plain practical result of a ,sermon like this delivered before fanatic and hot-headed young men1 who hung upon his every word8--,fanatic and hot-headed young men1 who hung on my every word6 ,if he had undertaken to write a history1 and not a romance1 he would have easily found out1 as ,i have said above1 that from #ahda ,i had severed myself from the younger generation of ,oxford1 that ,dr4 ,pusey and ,i had then closed our theological meetings at his house1 that ,i had brought my own weekly evening parties to an end1 that ,i preached only by fits and starts at ,st4 ,mary's1 so that the attendance of young men was broken up1 that in those very weeks from ,christmas till over ,easter1 during which this ,sermon was preached1 ,i was but five times in the pulpit there4 ,he would have found1 that it was written at a time when ,i was shunned rather than sought1 when ,i had great sacrifices in anticipation1 when ,i was thinking much of myself2 that ,i was ruthlessly tearing myself away from my own followers1 and that1 in the musings of that ,sermon1 ,i was at the very utmost only delivering a testimony in my behalf for time to come1 not sowing my rhetoric broadcast for the chance of present sympathy4 ,again1 he says3 ,i found him actually using of such prelates1 7and1 as ,i thought1 of himself and his party likewise17 the words ',they yield outwardly2 to assent inwardly were to betray the faith4 ,yet they are called deceitful and double-dealing1 because they do as much as they can1 not more than they may4' ,this too is a proof of my duplicity6 ,let this writer1 in his dealings with some one else1 go just a little further than he has gone with me2 and let him get into a court of law for libel2 and let him be convicted2 and let him still fancy that his libel1 though a libel1 was true1 and let us then see whether he will not in such a case yield outwardly1 without assenting internally2 and then again whether we should please him1 if we called him deceitful and double-dealing1 because he did as much as he could1 not more than he ought to do4 ,but ,tract #ij will supply a real illustration of what ,i meant4 ,i yielded to the ,bishops in outward act1 viz4 in not defending the ,tract1 and in closing the ,series2 but1 not only did ,i not assent inwardly to any condemnation of it1 but ,i opposed myself to the proposition of a condemnation on the part of authority4 ,yet ,i was then by the public called deceitful and double-dealing1 as this ,writer calls me now1 because ,i did as much as ,i felt ,i could do1 and not more than ,i felt ,i could honestly do4 ,many were the publications of the day and the private letters1 which accused me of shuffling1 because ,i closed the ,series of ,tracts1 yet kept the ,tracts on sale1 as if ,i ought to comply not only with what my ,bishop asked1 but with what he did not ask1 and perhaps did not wish4 ,however1 such teaching1 according to this ,writer1 was likely to make young men suspect1 that truth was not a virtue for its own sake1 but only for the sake of the spread of ',catholic opinions1' and the 'salvation of their own souls2' and that cunning was the weapon which heaven had allowed to them to defend themselves against the persecuting ,protestant public4--p4 #af4 ,and now ,i draw attention to a further point4 ,he says1 ,how was ,i to know that the preacher 444 did not foresee1 that fanatic and hot-headed young men would think that they obeyed him1 by becoming affected1 artificial1 sly1 shifty1 ready for concealments and equivocations8 ,how should he know6 ,what6 ,i suppose that we are to think every man a knave till he is proved not to be such4 ,know6 had he no friend to tell him whether ,i was affected or artificial myself8 ,could he not have done better than impute equivocations to me1 at a time when ,i was in no sense answerable for the amphibologia of the ,roman casuists8 ,had he a single fact which belongs to me personally or by profession to couple my name with equivocation in #ahdc8 ,how should he know that ,i was not sly1 smooth1 artificial1 non-natural6 he should know by that common manly frankness1 by which we put confidence in others1 till they are proved to have forfeited it2 he should know it by my own words in that very ,sermon1 in which ,i say it is best to be natural1 and that reserve is at best but an unpleasant necessity4 ,for ,i say there expressly3-- ,i do not deny that there is something very engaging in a frank and unpretending manner2 some persons have it more than others2 in some persons it is a great grace4 ,but it must be recollected that ,i am speaking of times of persecution and oppression to ,christians1 such as the text foretells2 and then surely frankness will become nothing else than indignation at the oppressor1 and vehement speech1 if it is permitted4 ,accordingly1 as persons have deep feelings1 so they will find the necessity of self-control1 lest they should say what they ought not4 ,he sums up thus3 ,if ,dr4 ,newman would 444 persist 7as in this ,sermon7 in dealing with matters dark1 offensive1 doubtful1 sometimes actually forbidden1 at least according to the notions of the great majority of ,english ,churchmen2 if he would always do so in a tentative1 paltering way1 seldom or never letting the world know how much he believed1 how far he intended to go2 if1 in a word1 his method of teaching was a suspicious one1 what wonder if the minds of men were filled with suspicions of him8--p4 #ag4 ,now1 in the course of my ,narrative1 ,i have frankly admitted that ,i was tentative in such of my works as fairly allowed of the introduction into them of religious inquiry2 but he is speaking of my ,sermons2 where1 then1 is his proof that in my ,sermons ,i dealt in matters dark1 offensive1 doubtful1 actually forbidden8 ,he must show that ,i was tentative in my ,sermons2 and he has the range of eight volumes to gather evidence in4 ,as to the ninth1 my ,university ,sermons1 of course ,i was tentative in them2 but not because ,i would seldom or never let the world know how much ,i believed1 or how far ,i intended to go2 but because ,university ,sermons are commonly1 and allowably1 of the nature of disquisitions1 as preached before a learned body2 and because in deep subjects1 which had not been fully investigated1 ,i said as much as ,i believed1 and about as far as ,i saw ,i could go2 and a man cannot do more2 and ,i account no man to be a philosopher who attempts to do more4 ,,note ,d4 ,,on ,,page #bac4 ,,series ,,of ,,saints' ,,lives ,,of #ahdc-d4 ,i have here an opportunity of preserving1 what otherwise would be lost1 the ,catalogue of ,english ,saints which ,i formed1 as preparatory to the ,series of their ,lives which was begun in the above years4 ,it is but a first ,essay1 and has many obvious imperfections2 but it may be useful to others as a step towards a complete hagiography for ,england4 ,for instance ,st4 ,osberga is omitted2 ,i suppose because it was not easy to learn any thing about her4 ,boniface of ,canterbury is inserted1 though passed over by the ,bollandists on the ground of the absence of proof of a cultus having been paid to him4 ,the ,saints of ,cornwall were too numerous to be attempted4 ,among the men of note1 not ,saints1 ,king ,edward ,,ii4 is included from piety towards the founder of ,oriel ,college4 ,with these admissions ,i present my ,paper to the reader4 ,preparing for ,publication1 in ,periodical ,numbers1 in small #hvo1 ,the ,lives of the ,english ,saints1 ,edited by the ,rev4 ,john ,henry ,newman1 ,b4,d41 ,fellow of ,oriel ,college4 ,it is the compensation of the disorders and perplexities of these latter times of the ,church that we have the history of the foregoing4 ,we indeed of this day have been reserved to witness a disorganization of the ,city of ,god1 which it never entered into the minds of the early believers to imagine3 but we are witnesses also of its triumphs and of its luminaries through those many ages which have brought about the misfortunes which at present overshadow it4 ,if they were blessed who lived in primitive times1 and saw the fresh traces of their ,lord1 and heard the echoes of ,apostolic voices1 blessed too are we whose special portion it is to see that same ,lord revealed in ,his ,saints4 ,the wonders of ,his grace in the soul of man1 its creative power1 its inexhaustible resources1 its manifold operation1 all this we know1 as they knew it not4 ,they never heard the names of ,st4 ,gregory1 ,st4 ,bernard1 ,st4 ,francis1 and ,st4 ,louis4 ,in fixing our thoughts then1 as in an undertaking like the present1 on the ,history of the ,saints1 we are but availing ourselves of that solace and recompense of our peculiar trials which has been provided for our need by our ,gracious ,master4 ,and there are special reasons at this time for recurring to the ,saints of our own dear and glorious1 most favoured1 yet most erring and most unfortunate ,england4 ,such a recurrence may serve to make us love our country better1 and on truer grounds1 than heretofore2 to teach us to invest her territory1 her cities and villages1 her hills and springs1 with sacred associations2 to give us an insight into her present historical position in the course of the ,divine ,dispensation2 to instruct us in the capabilities of the ,english character2 and to open upon us the duties and the hopes to which that ,church is heir1 which was in former times the ,mother of ,st4 ,boniface and ,st4 ,ethelreda4 ,even a selection or specimens of the ,hagiology of our country may suffice for some of these high purposes2 and in so wide and rich a field of research it is almost presumptuous in one undertaking to aim at more than such a partial exhibition4 ,the list that follows1 though by no means so large as might have been drawn up1 exceeds the limits which the ,editor proposes to his hopes1 if not to his wishes2 but1 whether it is allowed him to accomplish a larger or smaller portion of it1 it will be his aim to complete such subjects or periods as he begins before bringing it to a close4 ,it is hardly necessary to observe that any list that is producible in this stage of the undertaking can but approximate to correctness and completeness in matters of detail1 and even in the names which are selected to compose it4 ,he has considered himself at liberty to include in the ,series such saints as have been born in ,england1 though they have lived and laboured out of it2 and such1 again1 as have been in any sufficient way connected with our country1 though born out of it2 for instance1 ,missionaries or ,preachers in it1 or spiritual or temporal rulers1 or founders of religious institutions or houses4 ,he has also included in the ,series a few eminent or holy persons1 who1 though not in the ,sacred ,catalogue1 are recommended to our religious memory by their fame1 learning1 or the benefits they have conferred on posterity4 ,these have been distinguished from the ,saints by printing their names in italics4 ,it is proposed to page all the longer ,lives separately2 the shorter will be thrown together in one4 ,they will be published in monthly issues of not more than #abh pages each2 and no regularity1 whether of date or of subject1 will be observed in the order of publication4 ,but they will be so numbered as to admit ultimately of a general chronological arrangement4 ,the separate writers are distinguished by letters subjoined to each ,life3 and it should be added1 to prevent misapprehension1 that1 since under the present circumstances of our ,church1 they are necessarily of various1 though not divergent1 doctrinal opinions1 no one is answerable for any composition but his own4 ,at the same time1 the work professing an historical and ethical character1 questions of theology will be1 as far as possible1 thrown into the back ground4 ,j4 ,h4 ,n4 ,littlemore1 ,sept4 #i1 #ahdc4 ,,calendar ,,of ,,english ,,saints4 ,,january4 #a ,elvan1 ,b4 and ,medwyne1 ,c4 #b ,martyrs of ,lichfield4 #c ,melorus1 ,m4 #d #e ,edward1 ,k4,c4 #f ,peter1 ,a4 #g ,cedd1 ,b4 #h ,pega1 ,v4 ,wulsin1 ,b4 #i ,adrian1 ,a4 ,bertwald1 ,archb4 #aj ,sethrida1 ,v4 #aa ,egwin1 ,b4 #ab ,benedict ,biscop1 ,a4 ,aelred1 ,a4 #ac ,kentigern1 ,b4 #ad ,beuno1 ,a4 #ae ,ceolulph1 ,k4 ,mo4 #af ,henry1 ,hermit4 ,fursey1 ,a4 #ag ,mildwida1 ,v4 #ah ,ulfrid or ,wolfrid1 ,m4 #ai ,wulstan1 ,b4 ,henry1 ,b4 #bj #ba #bb ,brithwold1 ,b4 #bc ,boisil1 ,a4 #bd ,cadoc1 ,a4 #be #bf ,theoritgida1 ,v4 #bg ,bathildis1 ,queen4 #bh #bi ,gildas1 ,a4 #cj #ca ,adamnan1 ,mo4 ,serapion1 ,m4 ,,february4 #a #b ,laurence1 ,archb4 #c ,wereburga1 ,v4 #d ,gilbert1 ,a4 ,liephard1 ,b4,m4 #e #f ,ina1 ,k4 ,mo4 #g ,augulus1 ,b4,m4 ,richard1 ,k4 #h ,elfleda1 ,a4 ,cuthman1 ,c4 #i ,theliau1 ,b4 #aj ,trumwin1 ,b4 #aa #ab ,ethelwold1 ,b4 of ,lindisfarne4 #ac ,cedmon1 ,mo41 ,ermenilda1 ,q4,a4 #ad #ae ,sigefride1 ,b4 #af ,finan1 ,b4 #ag #ah #ai #bj ,ulric1 ,h4 #ba #bb #bc ,milburga1 ,v4 #bd ,luidhard1 ,b4 ,ethelbert of ,kent1 #be ,walburga1 ,v4,a4 #bf #bg ,alnoth1 ,h4,m4 #bh ,oswald1 ,b4 #bi ,,march4 #a ,david1 ,archb4 ,swibert1 ,b4 #b ,chad1 ,b4 ,willeik1 ,c4 ,joavan1 ,b4 #c ,winwaloe1 ,a4 #d ,owin1 ,mo4 #e #f ,kineburga1 c41 and ,tibba1 ,,vv4 #g ,easterwin1 ,a4 ,william1 ,friar4 #h ,felix1 ,b4 #i ,bosa1 ,b4 #aj #aa #ab ,elphege1 ,b4 ,paul de ,leon1 ,b4,c4 #ac #ad ,robert1 ,h4 #ae ,eadgith1 ,a4 #af #ag ,withburga1 ,v4 #ah ,edward1 ,k4,m4 #ai ,alcmund1 ,m4 #bj ,cuthbert1 ,b4 ,herbert1 ,b4 #ba #bb #bc delwald1 ,h4 #bd ,hildelitha1 ,a4 #be ,alfwold of ,sherborne1 ,b4 and ,william1 ,m4 #bf #bg #bh #bi ,gundleus1 ,h4 #cj ,merwenna1 ,a4 #ca ,,april4 #a #b #c ,richard1 ,b4 #d #e #f #g #h #i ,frithstan1 ,b4 #aj #aa ,guthlake1 ,h4 #ab #ac ,caradoc1 ,h4 #ad ,richard of ,bury1 ,b4 #ae ,paternus1 ,b4 #af #ag ,stephen4 ,a4 #ah #ai ,elphege1 ,archb4 #bj ,adelbare1 ,m4 ,cedwalla1 ,k4 #ba ,anselm1 ,archb4 ,doctor4 #bb #bc ,george ,m4 #bd #be #bf #bg #bh #bi ,wilfrid ,,ii4 ,archb4 #cj ,erconwald1 ,b4 ,suibert1 ,b4 ,maud1 ,q4 ,,may4 #a ,asaph1 ,b4 ,ultan1 ,a4 ,brioe1 ,b4,c4 #b ,germanus1 ,m4 #c #d #e ,ethelred1 ,k4 ,mo4 #f ,eadbert1 ,a4 #g ,john1 ,archb4 of ,beverley4 #h #i #aj #aa ,fremund1 ,m4 #ab #ac #ad #ae #af ,simon ,stock1 ,h4 #ag #ah ,elgiva1 ,q4 #ai ,dunstan1 ,archb4 ,b4 ,alcuin1 ,a4 #bj ,ethelbert1 ,k4,m4 #ba ,godric1 ,h4 #bb ,winewald1 ,a4 ,berethun1 ,a4 ,henry1 ,k4 #bc #bd ,ethelburga1 ,q4 #be ,aldhelm1 ,b4 #bf ,augustine1 ,archb4 #bg ,bede1 ,d4 ,mo4 #bh ,lanfranc1 ,archb4 #bi #cj ,walston1 ,c4 #ca ,jurmin1 ,c4 ,,june4 #a ,wistan1 ,k4,m4 #b #c #d ,petroc1 ,a4 #e ,boniface1 ,archb4 ,m4 #f ,gudwall1 ,b4 #g ,robert1 ,a4 #h ,william1 ,archb4 #i #aj ,ivo1 ,b4 and ,ithamar1 ,b4 #aa #ab ,eskill1 ,b4,m4 #ac #ad ,elerius1 ,a4 #ae ,edburga1 ,v4 #af #ag ,botulph1 ,a4 ,john1 ,fr4 #ah #ai #bj ,idaberga1 ,v4 #ba ,egelmund1 ,a4 #bb ,alban1 and ,amphibolus1 ,,mm4 #bc ,ethelreda1 ,v4,a4 #bd ,bartholomew1 ,h4 #be ,adelbert1 ,c4 #bf #bg ,john1 ,c4 of ,moutier4 #bh #bi ,margaret1 ,countess of ,richmond4 #cj ,,july4 #a ,julius1 ,aaron1 ,,mm4 ,rumold1 ,b4 ,leonorus1 ,b4 #b ,oudoceus1 ,b4 ,swithun1 ,b4 #c ,gunthiern1 ,a4 #d ,odo1 ,archb4 #e ,modwenna1 ,v4,a4 #f ,sexburga1 ,a4 #g ,edelburga1 ,v4,a4 ,hedda1 ,b4 ,willibald1 ,b4 ,ercongota1 ,v4 #h ,grimbald1 and ,edgar1 ,k4 #i ,stephen ,langton1 ,archb4 #aj #aa #ab #ac ,mildreda1 ,v4,a4 #ad ,marchelm1 ,c4 ,boniface1 ,archb4 #ae ,deus-dedit1 ,archb4 ,plechelm1 ,b4 ,david1 ,a4 and ,editha of ,tamworth1 ,q4,v4 #af ,helier1 ,h4,m4 #ag ,kenelm1 ,k4,m4 #ah ,edburga and ,edgitha of ,aylesbury1 ,,vv4 ,frederic1 ,b4,m4 #ai #bj #ba #bb #bc #bd ,wulfud and ,ruffin1 ,,mm4 ,lewinna1 ,v4,m4 #be #bf #bg ,hugh1 ,m4 #bh ,sampson1 ,b4 #bi ,lupus1 ,b4 #cj ,tatwin1 ,archb4 and ,ermenigitha1 ,v4 #ca ,germanus1 ,b4 and ,neot1 ,h4 ,,august4 #a ,ethelwold1 ,b4 of ,winton4 #b ,etheldritha1 ,v4 #c ,walthen1 ,a4 #d #e ,oswald1 ,k4,m4 ,thomas1 ,mo4 ,m4 of ,dover4 #f #g #h ,colman1 ,b4 #i #aj #aa ,william of ,waynfleet1 ,b4 #ab #ac ,wigbert1 ,a4 ,walter1 ,a4 #ad ,werenfrid1 ,c4 #ae #af #ag #ah ,helen1 ,empress4 #ai #bj ,oswin1 ,k4,m4 #ba ,richard1 ,b4 of ,andria4 #bb ,sigfrid1 ,a4 #bc ,ebba1 ,v4,a4 #bd #be ,ebba1 ,v4,a4,m4 #bf ,bregwin1 ,archb4 ,bradwardine1 ,archb4 #bg ,sturmius1 ,a4 #bh #bi ,sebbus1 ,k4 #cj #ca ,eanswida1 ,v4,a4 ,aidan1 ,a4,b4 ,cuthburga1 ,q4,v4 ,,september4 #a #b ,william1 ,b4 of ,roschid4 ,william1 ,fr4 #c #d #e #f ,bega1 ,a4 #g ,alcmund1 ,a4 ,tilhbert1 ,a4 #h #i ,bertelin1 ,h4 ,wulfhilda or ,vulfridis1 ,a4 #aj ,otger1 ,c4 #aa ,robert ,kilwardby1 ,archb4 #ab #ac #ad ,richard ,fox1 ,b4 #ae #af ,ninian1 ,b4 ,edith1 daughter of ,edgar1 ,v4 #ag ,socrates and ,stephen1 ,,mm4 #ah #ai ,theodore1 ,archb4 #bj #ba ,hereswide1 ,q4 ,edward ,,ii4 ,k4 #bb #bc #bd #be ,ceolfrid1 ,a4 #bf #bg ,william of ,wykeham1 ,b4 #bh ,lioba1 ,v4,a4 #bi ,b4 ,richard of ,hampole1 ,h4 #cj ,honorius1 ,archb4 ,,october4 #a ,roger1 ,b4 #b ,thomas of ,hereford1 ,b4 #c ,ewalds 7two7 ,,mm4 #d #e ,walter ,stapleton1 ,b4 ,acca1 ,b4 #f ,ywy1 ,c4 #g ,ositha1 ,q4,v4,m4 #h ,ceneu1 ,v4 #i ,lina1 ,v4 and ,robert ,grostete1 ,b4 #aj ,paulinus1 ,archb4 ,john1 ,c4 of ,bridlington4 #aa ,edilburga1 ,v4,a4 #ab ,edwin1 ,k4 #ac #ad ,burchard1 ,b4 #ae ,tecla1 ,v4,a4 #af ,lullus1 ,archb4 #ag ,ethelred1 ,ethelbright1 ,,mm4 #ah ,walter de ,merton1 ,b4 #ai ,frideswide1 ,v4 and ,ethbin1 ,a4 #bj #ba ,ursula1 ,v4,m4 #bb ,mello1 ,b4,c4 #bc #bd ,magloire1 ,b4 #be ,john of ,salisbury1 ,b4 #bf ,eata1 ,b4 #bg ,witta1 ,b4 #bh ,b4 ,alfred4 #bi ,sigebert1 ,k4 ,elfreda1 ,a4 #cj #ca ,foillan1 ,b4,m4 ,,november4 #a #b #c ,wenefred1 ,v4,m4 ,rumwald1 ,c4 #d ,brinstan1 ,b4 ,clarus1 ,m4 #e ,cungar1 ,h4 #f ,iltut1 ,a4 and ,winoc1 ,a4 #g ,willebrord1 ,b4 #h ,willehad1 ,b4 ,tyssilio1 ,b4 #i #aj ,justus1 ,archb4 #aa #ab ,lebwin1 ,c4 #ac ,eadburga of ,menstrey1 ,a4 #ad ,dubricius1 ,b4,c4 #ae ,malo1 ,b4 #af ,edmund1 ,b4 #ag ,hilda1 ,a4 ,hugh1 ,b4 #ah #ai ,ermenburga1 ,q4 #bj ,edmund1 ,k4,m4 ,humbert1 ,b4,m4 #ba #bb ,paulinus1 ,a4 #bc ,daniel1 ,b4,c4 #bd #be #bf #bg #bh ,edwold1 ,m4 #bi #cj ,,december4 #a #b ,weede1 ,v4 #c ,birinus1 ,b4 ,lucius1 ,k4 and ,sola1 ,h4 #d ,osmund1 ,b4 #e ,christina1 ,v4 #f #g #h ,john ,peckham1 ,archb4 #i #aj #aa ,elfleda1 ,a4 #ab ,corentin1 ,b4,c4 #ac ,ethelburga1 ,q4 wife of ,edwin4 #ad #ae #af #ag #ah ,winebald1 ,a4 #ai #bj #ba ,eadburga1 ,v4,a4 #bb #bc #bd #be #bf ,tathai1 ,c4 #bg ,gerald1 ,a4,b4 #bh #bi ,thomas1 ,archb4 ,m4 #cj #ca ,n4,b4 ,st4 ,william1 ,austin-,friar1 ,ingulphus1 and ,peter of ,blois have not been introduced into the above ,calendar1 their days of death or festival not being as yet ascertained4 ,,chronological ,,arrangement4 ,,second ,,century4 #ahb ,dec4 #c4 ,lucius1 ,k4 of the ,british4 ,jan4 #a4 ,elvan1 ,b4 and ,medwyne1 ,c4 envoys from ,st4 ,lucius to ,rome4 ,,fourth ,,century4 #cjj ,oct4 #bb4 ,mello1 ,b4 ,c4 of ,rouen4 #cjc ,ap4 #bc4 ,george1 ,m4 under ,dioclesian4 ,patron of ,england4 ,june #bb4 ,alban and ,amphibalus1 ,,mm4 ,july #a4 ,julius and ,aaron1 ,,mm4 of ,caerleon4 #cjd ,jan4 #b4 ,martyrs of ,lichfield4 ,feb4 #g4 ,augulus1 ,b4,m4 of ,london4 #cbh ,aug4 #ah4 ,helen1 ,empress1 mother of ,constantine4 #chh ,sept4 #ag4 ,socrates and ,stephen1 ,m4,m4 perhaps in ,wales4 #daa ,jan4 #c4 ,melorus1 ,m4 in ,cornwall4 ,,fifth ,,century4 #dcb ,sept4 #af4 ,ninian1 ,b4 ,apostle of the ,southern ,picts4 #dbi ,july #ca4 ,germanus1 ,b4 ,c4 of ,auxerre4 ,july #bi4 ,lupus1 ,b4 ,c4 of ,troyes4 #ejb ,may #a4 ,brioc1 ,b4 ,c41 disciple of ,st4 ,germanus4 #dij ,oct4 #h4 ,ceneu1 or ,keyna1 ,v41 sister-in-law of ,gundleus4 #dib ,mar4 #bi4 ,gundleus1 ,hermit1 in ,wales4 ,july #c4 ,gunthiern1 ,a41 in ,brittany4 #dec ,oct4 #ba4 ,ursula1 ,v4,m4 near ,cologne4 bef4 #ejj ,dec4 #ab4 ,corentin1 ,b4,c4 of ,quimper4 ,,fifth ,,and ,,sixth ,,centuries4 ,welsh ,schools4 #ddd-ebb ,nov4 #ad4 ,dubricius1 ,b4,c41 first ,bishop of ,llandaff4 #ebj ,nov4 #bb4 ,paulinus1 ,a4 of ,whitland1 tutor of ,st4 ,david and ,st4 ,theliau4 #dde-edd ,mar4 #a4 ,david1 ,archb4 of ,menevia1 afterwards called from him4 abt4 #ejj ,dec4 #bf4 ,tathai1 ,c41 master of ,st4 ,cadoc4 #dhj ,jan4 #bd4 ,cadoc1 ,a41 son of ,st4 ,gundleus1 and nephew of ,st4 ,keyna4 abt4 #eac ,nov4 #f4 ,iltut1 ,a41 converted by ,st4 ,cadoc4 #ede ,nov4 #bc4 ,daniel1 ,b4,c41 first ,bishop of ,bangor4 aft4 #eei ,apr4 #ah4 ,paternus1 ,b4,a41 pupil of ,st4 ,iltut4 #egc ,mar4 #ab4 ,paul1 ,b4,c4 of ,leon1 pupil of ,st4 ,iltut4 ,mar4 #b4 ,ioavan1 ,b41 pupil of ,st4 ,paul4 #eii ,july #bh4 ,sampson1 ,b41 pupil of ,st4 ,iltut1 cousin of ,st4 ,paul de ,leon4 #efe ,nov4 #ae4 ,malo1 ,b41 cousin of ,st4 ,sampson4 #ege ,oct4 #bd4 ,magloire1 ,b41 cousin of ,st4 ,malo4 #ehc ,jan4 #bi4 ,gildas1 ,a41 pupil of ,st4 ,iltut4 ,july #a4 ,leonorus1 ,b41 pupil of ,st4 ,iltut4 #fjd ,feb4 #i4 ,theliau1 ,b4 of ,llandaff1 pupil of ,st4 ,dubricius4 #efj ,july #b4 ,oudoceus1 ,b41 nephew to ,st4 ,theliau4 #ejj-ehj ,oct4 #ai4 ,ethbin1 ,a41 pupil of ,st4 ,sampson4 #eaf-fja ,jan4 #ac4 ,kentigern1 ,b4 of ,glasgow1 founder of ,monastery of ,elwy4 ,,sixth ,,century4 #ebi ,mar4 #c4 ,winwaloe1 ,a41 in ,brittany4 #efd ,june #d4 ,petroc41 ,a41 in ,cornwall4 ,july #af4 ,helier1 ,hermit1 ,m41 in ,jersey4 ,june #bg4 ,john1 ,c4 of ,moutier1 in ,tours4 #eij ,may #a4 ,asaph1 ,b4 of ,elwy1 afterwards called after him4 abt4 #fjj ,june #f4 ,gudwall1 ,b4 of ,aleth in ,brittany4 ,nov4 #h4 ,tyssilio1 ,b4 of ,st4 ,asaph4 ,,seventh ,,century4 ,part ,i4 #fjj ,june #aj4 ,ivo1 or ,ivia1 ,b4 from ,persia4 #eif ,feb4 #bd4 ,luidhard1 ,b4 of ,senlis1 in ,france4 #faf ,feb4 #bd4 ,ethelbert1 ,k4 of ,kent4 #fjh ,may #bf4 ,augustine1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury1 ,apostle of ,england4 #fbd ,apr4 #bd4 ,mellitus1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury1 #fai ,feb4 #b4 ,laurence1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury1 ,companions of ,st4 #fjh ,jan4 #f4 ,peter1 ,a4 at ,canterbury1 ,augustine4 #fbg ,nov4 #aj4 ,justus1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury1 #fec ,sept4 #cj4 ,honorius1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury1 #ffb ,july #ae4 ,deus-dedit1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 ,,seventh ,,century4 ,part ,,ii4 #fdb ,oct4 #bi4 ,sigebert1 ,k4 of the ,east ,angles4 #fdf ,mar4 #h4 ,felix1 ,b4 of ,dunwich1 ,apostle of the ,east ,angles4 #fej ,jan4 #af4 ,fursey1 ,a41 preacher among the ,east ,angles4 #fhj ,may #a4 ,ultan1 ,a41 brother of ,st4 ,fursey4 #fee ,oct4 #ca4 ,foillan1 ,b4,m41 brother of ,st4 ,fursey1 preacher in the ,netherlands4 #fhj ,june #ag4 ,botulph1 ,a41 in ,lincolnshire or ,sussex4 #fga ,june #aj4 ,ithamar1 ,b4 of ,rochester4 #fej ,dec4 #c4 ,birinus1 ,b4 of ,dorchester4 #gje ,july #g4 ,hedda1 ,b4 of ,dorchester4 #gag ,jan4 #aa4 ,egwin1 ,b4 of ,worcester4 ,,seventh ,,century4 ,part ,,iii4 #fij ,sept4 #ai4 ,theodore1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #gji ,jan4 #i4 ,adrian1 ,a4 in ,canterbury4 #gji ,may #be4 ,aldhelm1 ,b4 of ,sherborne1 pupil of ,st4 ,adrian4 ,,seventh ,,century4 ,part ,,iv4 #fcj ,nov4 #c4 ,winefred1 ,v4,m4 in ,wales4 #fdb ,feb4 #d4 ,liephard1 ,m4,b41 slain near ,cambray4 #ffj ,jan4 #ad4 ,beuno1 ,a41 kinsman of ,st4 ,cadocus and ,st4 ,kentigern4 #fgc ,oct4 #g4 ,osgitha1 ,q4,v4,m41 in ,east ,anglia during a ,danish inroad4 #fcj ,june #ad4 ,elerius1 ,a4 in ,wales4 #fhj ,jan4 #bg4 ,bathildis1 ,q41 wife of ,clovis ,,ii41 king of ,france4 #fhg ,july #bd4 ,lewinna1 ,v4,m41 put to death by the ,saxons4 #gjj ,july #ah4 ,edberga and ,edgitha1 ,,vv4 of ,aylesbury4 ,,seventh ,,century4 ,part ,v4 #fdd ,oct4 #aj4 ,paulinus1 ,archb4 of ,york1 companion of ,st4 ,augustine4 #fcc ,oct4 #ab4 ,edwin1 ,k4 of ,northumberland4 ,dec4 #ac4 ,ethelburga1 ,q41 wife to ,st4 ,edwin4 #fdb ,aug4 #e4 ,oswald1 ,k4,m41 ,st4 ,edwin's nephew4 #fea ,aug4 #bj4 ,oswin1 ,k4,m41 cousin to ,st4 ,oswald4 #fhc ,aug4 #bc4 ,ebba1 ,v4,a4 of ,coldingham1 half-sister to ,st4 ,oswin4 #fhi ,jan4 #ca4 ,adamnan1 ,mo4 of ,coldingham4 ,,seventh ,,century4 ,part ,,vi4--,whitby4 #fej ,sept4 #f4 ,bega1 ,v4,a41 foundress of ,st4 ,bee's1 called after her4 #fha ,nov4 #ag4 ,hilda1 ,a4 of ,whitby1 daughter of ,st4 ,edwin's nephew4 #gaf ,dec4 #aa4 ,elfleda1 ,a4 of ,whitby1 daughter of ,st4 ,oswin4 #fhj ,feb4 #ab4 ,cedmon1 ,mo4 of ,whitby4 ,,seventh ,,and ,,eighth ,,centuries4 ,part ,i4 ,sept4 #ba4 ,hereswida1 ,q41 sister of ,hilda1 wife of ,annas1 who succeeded ,egric1 ,sigebert's cousin4 #fed ,jan4 #aj4 ,sethrida1 ,v4,a4 of ,faremoutier1 ,st4 ,hereswida's daughter by a former marriage4 #fic ,apr4 #cj4 ,erconwald1 ,a4,b41 son of ,annas and ,st4 ,hereswida1 ,bishop of ,london1 ,abbot of ,chertsey1 founder of ,barking4 #fgg ,aug4 #bi4 ,sebbus1 ,k41 converted by ,st4 ,erconwald4 ,may #ca4 ,jurmin1 ,c41 son of ,annas and ,st4 ,hereswida4 #fej ,july #g4 ,edelburga1 ,v4,a4 of ,faremoutier1 natural daughter of ,annas4 #fgi ,june #bc4 ,ethelreda1 ,etheldreda1 ,etheltrudis1 or ,awdry1 ,v4,a41 daughter of ,annas and ,st4 ,hereswida4 ,mar4 #ag4 ,withburga1 ,v41 daughter of ,annas and ,st4 ,hereswida4 #fii ,july #f4 ,sexburga1 ,a41 daughter of ,annas and ,st4 ,hereswida4 #ffj ,july #g4 ,ercongota1 or ,ertongata1 ,v4,a4 of ,faremoutier1 daughter of ,st4 ,sexburga4 #fii ,feb4 #ac4 ,ermenilda1 ,q4,a41 daughter of ,st4 ,sexburga1 wife of ,wulfere4 aft4 #fge ,feb4 #c4 ,wereburga1 ,v41 daughter of ,st4 ,ermenilda and ,wulfere1 patron of ,chester4 abt4 #fhj ,feb4 #bg4 ,alnoth1 ,h4,m41 bailiff to ,st4 ,wereburga4 #fdj ,aug4 #ca4 ,eanswida1 ,v4,a41 sister-in-law of ,st4 ,sexburga1 granddaughter to ,st4 ,ethelbert4 #ffh ,oct4 #ag4 ,ethelred and ,ethelbright1 ,,mm41 nephews of ,st4 ,eanswida4 ,july #cj4 ,ermenigitha1 ,v41 niece of ,st4 ,eanswida4 #fgf ,oct4 #aa4 ,edilberga1 ,v4,a4 of ,barking1 daughter of ,annas and ,st4 ,hereswida4 #fgh ,jan4 #bf4 ,theoritgida1 ,v41 nun of ,barking4 aft4 #gac ,aug4 #ca4 ,cuthberga1 ,q4,v41 of ,barking1 sister of ,st4 ,ina4 #gjj ,mar4 #bd4 ,hildelitha1 ,a4 of ,barking4 #gbh ,feb4 #f4 ,ina1 ,k4 ,mo4 of the ,west ,saxons4 #gdj ,may #bd4 ,ethelburga1 ,q41 wife of ,st4 ,ina1 nun at ,barking4 ,,seventh ,,and ,,eighth ,,centuries4 ,part ,,ii4 #feb ,june #bj4 ,idaburga1 ,v4 #fif ,mar4 #f4 ,kineburga1 ,q4,a4 #gja---- ,kinneswitha1 ,v4 ,daughters of ,king ,penda4 ---- ,chidestre1 ,v4 #fib ,dec4 #b4 ,weeda1 ,v4,a4 #fif ,mar4 #f4 ,tibba1 ,v41 their kinswoman4 ,nov4 #c4 ,rumwald1 ,c41 grandson of ,penda4 #fhj ,nov4 #ai4 ,ermenburga1 ,q41 mother to the three following4 ,feb4 #bc4 ,milburga1 ,v4,a4 of ,wenlock1 ,grand-daughters of ,july #ac4 ,mildreda1 ,v4,a4 of ,menstrey1 ,penda4 #fgf ,jan4 #ag4 ,milwida1 or ,milgitha1 ,v4 #gej ,nov4 #ac4 ,eadburga1 ,a4 of ,menstrey4 ,,seventh ,,and ,,eighth ,,centuries4 ,part ,,iii4 #fgj ,july #bd4 ,wulfad and ,ruffin1 ,,mm41 sons of ,wulfere1 ,penda's son1 and of ,st4 ,erminilda4 #fgb ,mar4 #b4 ,chad1 ,b4 of ,lichfield4 #ffd ,jan4 #g4 ,cedd1 ,b4 of ,london4 #fhh ,mar4 #d4 ,owin1 ,mo4 of ,lichfield4 #fhi ,apr4 #bj4 ,cedwalla1 ,k4 of ,west ,saxons4 #fij-gbe ,nov4 #e4 ,cungar1 ,h4 in ,somersetshire4 #gjj ,feb4 #aj4 ,trumwin1 ,b4 of the ,picts4 #gje ,mar4 #i4 ,bosa1 ,archb4 of ,york4 #gji ,apr4 #bd4 ,wilfrid1 ,archb4 of ,york4 #gba ,may #g4 ,john of ,beverley1 ,archb4 of ,york4 #gdc ,apr4 #bi4 ,wilfrid ,,ii41 ,archb4 of ,york4 #gcc ,may #bb4 ,berethun1 ,a4 of ,deirwood1 disciple of ,st4 ,john of ,beverley4 #gea ,may #bb4 ,winewald1 ,a4 of ,deirwood4 ,,seventh ,,and ,,eighth ,,centuries4 ,part ,,iv4--,missions4 #gbi ,apr4 #bd4 ,egbert1 ,c41 master to ,willebrord4 #fic ,oct4 #c4 ,ewalds 7two71 ,,mm4 in ,westphalia4 #fij-gcf ,nov4 #g4 ,willebrord1 ,b4 of ,utrecht1 ,apostle of ,friesland4 #gag ,mar4 #a4 ,swibert1 ,b41 ,apostle of ,westphalia4 #gbg ,mar4 #b4 ,willeik1 ,c41 successor to ,st4 ,swibert4 #gje ,june #be4 ,adelbert1 ,c41 grandson of ,st4 ,oswald1 preacher in ,holland4 #gje ,aug4 #ad4 ,werenfrid1 ,c41 preacher in ,friesland4 #gbj ,june #ba4 ,engelmund1 ,a41 preacher in ,holland4 #gcj ,sept4 #aj4 ,otger1 ,c4 in ,low ,countries4 #gcb ,july #ae4 ,plechelm1 ,b41 preacher in ,guelderland4 #gej ,may #b4 ,germanus1 ,b4,m4 in the ,netherlands4 #gfj ,nov4 #ab1 ,lebwin1 ,c4 in ,overyssel1 in ,holland4 #gfj ,july #ad4 ,marchelm1 ,c41 companion of ,st4 ,lebwin1 in ,holland4 #fig-gee ,june #e4 ,boniface1 ,archb41 ,m4 of ,mentz1 ,apostle of ,germany4 #gab ,feb4 #g4 ,richard1 ,k4 of the ,west ,saxons4 #gjd-gij ,july #g4 ,willibald1 ,b4 of ,aichstadt1 in ,franconia1 #gcj-gfj ,dec4 #ah4 ,winebald1 ,a4 of ,heidenheim1 ,children of in ,suabia1 ,st4 ,richard4 #ggi ,feb4 #be4 ,walburga1 ,v4,a4 of ,heidenheim1 aft4 #gee ,sept4 #bh4 ,lioba1 ,v4,a4 of ,bischorsheim1 #gej ,oct4 #ae4 ,tecla1 ,v4,a4 of ,kitzingen1 in ,franconia1 ,companions of ,st4 #ghh ,oct4 #af4 ,lullus1 ,archb4 of ,mentz1 ,boniface4 abt4 #gdg ,aug4 #ac4 ,wigbert1 ,a4 of ,fritzlar and ,ortdorf1 in ,germany1 #gee ,apr4 #bj4 ,adelhare1 ,b4,m4 of ,erford1 in ,franconia1 #ghj ,aug4 #bg4 ,sturmius1 ,a4 of ,fulda1 #ghf ,oct4 #bg4 ,witta1 or ,albuinus1 ,b4 of ,buraberg1 in ,germany1 #gia ,nov4 #h4 ,willehad1 ,b4 of ,bremen1 and ,apostle of ,saxony1 ,companions #gia ,oct4 #ad4 ,burchard1 ,b4 of ,wurtzburg1 in ,franconia1 of ,st4 #gij ,dec #c4 ,sola1 ,h41 near ,aichstadt1 in ,franconia1 ,boniface4 #gge ,july #a4 ,rumold1 ,b41 ,patron of ,mechlin4 #hjg ,apr4 #cj4 ,suibert1 ,b4 of ,verden in ,westphalia4 ,,seventh ,,and ,,eighth ,,centuries4 ,part ,v4--,lindisfarne and ,hexham4 #fgj ,jan4 #bc4 ,boisil1 ,a4 of ,melros1 in ,scotland4 #fea ,aug4 #ca4 ,aidan1 ,a4,b4 of ,lindisfarne4 #ffd ,feb4 #af4 ,finan1 ,b4 of ,lindisfarne4 #fgf ,aug4 #h4 ,colman1 ,b4 of ,lindisfarne4 #fhe ,oct4 #bf4 ,eata1 ,b4 of ,hexham4 #fhg ,mar4 #bj4 ,cuthbert1 ,b4 of ,lindisfarne4 ,oct4 #f4 ,ywy1 ,c4 disciple of ,st4 ,cuthbert4 #fij ,mar4 #bj4 ,herbert1 ,h4 disciple of ,st4 ,cuthbert4 #fih ,may #f4 ,eadbert1 ,b4 of ,lindisfarne4 #gjj ,mar4 #bc4 delwald1 ,h4 successor of ,st4 ,cuthbert1 in his hermitage4 #gdj ,feb4 #ab4 ,ethelwold1 ,b4 of ,lindisfarne4 #gdj ,nov4 #bj4 ,acca1 ,b4 of ,hexham4 #gfd ,jan4 #ae4 ,ceolulph1 ,k4 ,mo4 of ,lindisfarne4 #gef ,mar4 #f4 ,balther1 ,h at ,lindisfarne4 ,bilfrid1 ,h4 ,goldsmith at ,lindisfarne4 #gha ,sept4 #g4 ,alchmund1 ,b4 of ,hexham4 #ghi ,sept4 #g4 ,tilhbert1 ,b4 of ,hexham4 ,,seventh ,,and ,,eighth ,,centuries4 ,part ,,vi4--,wearmouth and ,yarrow4 #gjc ,jan4 #ab4 ,benedict ,biscop1 ,a4 of ,wearmouth4 #fhe ,mar4 #g4 ,easterwin1 ,a4 of ,wearmouth4 #fhi ,aug4 #bb4 ,sigfrid1 ,a4 of ,wearmouth4 #gaf ,sept4 #be4 ,ceofrid1 ,a4 of ,yarrow4 #gcd ,may #bg4 ,bede1 ,doctor1 ,mo4 of ,yarrow4 #hjd ,may #ai4 ,b4 ,alcuin1 ,a4 in ,france4 ,,eighth ,,century4 #gaj ,may #e4 ,ethelred1 ,k4 ,mo4 ,king of ,mercia1 ,monk of ,bardney4 #gai ,jan4 #h4 ,pega1 ,v41 sister of ,st4 ,guthlake4 #gad ,april #aa4 ,guthlake1 ,h4 of ,croyland4 #gag ,nov4 #f4 ,winoc1 ,a4 in ,brittany4 #gcj ,jan4 #i4 ,bertwald1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #gcb ,dec4 #bg4 ,gerald1 ,a4,b4 in ,mayo4 #gcd ,july #cj4 ,tatwin1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #gej ,oct4 #ai4 ,frideswide1 ,v4 patron of ,oxford4 #gfb ,aug4 #bf4 ,bregwin1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #gjj-hjj ,feb4 #h4 ,cuthman1 ,c4 of ,stening in ,sussex4 bef4 #hjj ,sept4 #i4 ,bertelin1 ,h4 patron of ,stafford4 ,,eighth ,,and ,,ninth ,,centuries4 #gic ,may #bj4 ,ethelbert1 ,k4,m4 of the ,east ,angles4 #hcd ,aug4 #b4 ,etheldritha1 or ,alfreda1 ,v41 daughter of ,offa1 king of ,mercia1 nun at ,croyland4 #hai ,july #ag4 ,kenelm1 ,k4,m4 of ,mercia4 #hdi ,june #a4 ,wistan1 ,k4,m4 of ,mercia4 #hch ,july #ah4 ,frederic1 ,archb4 ,m4 of ,utrecht4 #hid ,nov4 #d4 ,clarus1 ,m4 in ,normandy4 ,,ninth ,,century4 ,part ,i4--,danish ,slaughters1 c4 #hai ,mar4 #ai4 ,alcmund1 ,m41 son of ,eldred1 king of ,northumbria1 ,patron of ,derby4 #hgj ,nov4 #bj4 ,edmund1 ,k4,m4 of the ,east ,angles4 #hfb ,may #aa4 ,fremund1 ,h4 ,m4 nobleman of ,east ,anglia4 #hgj ,nov4 #bj4 ,humbert1 ,b4,m4 of ,elmon in ,east ,anglia4 #hfg ,aug4 #be4 ,ebba1 ,v4,a4,m4 of ,coldingham4 ,,ninth ,,century4 ,part ,,ii4 #hfb ,july #b4 ,swithun1 ,b4 of ,winton4 #hgj ,july #e4 ,modwenna1 ,v4,a4 of ,pollesworth in ,warwickshire4 ,oct4 #i4 ,lina1 ,v4 nun at ,pollesworth4 #hga ,mar4 #ae4 ,eadgith1 ,v4,a4 of ,pollesworth1 sister of ,king ,ethelwolf4 #ijj ,dec4 #ba4 ,eadburga1 ,v4,a4 of ,winton1 daughter of ,king ,ethelwolf4 #hhj ,nov4 #bh4 ,edwold1 ,h41 brother of ,st4 ,edmund4 ,,ninth ,,and ,,tenth ,,centuries4 #hhc ,july #ca4 ,neot1 ,h4 in ,cornwall4 #ijc ,july #h4 ,grimbald1 ,a4 at ,winton4 #ijj ,oct4 #bh4 ,b4 ,alfred1 ,k4 #ibi ,april #i4 ,frithstan1 ,b4 of ,winton4 #icd ,nov4 #d4 ,brinstan1 ,b4 of ,winton4 ,,tenth ,,century4 ,part ,i4 #ifj ,june #ae4 ,edburga1 ,v41 nun at ,winton1 granddaughter of ,alfred4 #ibf ,july #ae4 ,editha1 ,q4,v41 nun of ,tamworth1 sister to ,edburga4 #iba ,may #ah4 ,algyfa1 or ,elgiva1 ,q41 mother of ,edgar4 #ige ,july #h4 ,edgar1 ,k4 #igh ,mar4 #ah4 ,edward1 ,k4,m4 at ,corfe ,castle4 #ihd ,sept4 #af4 ,edith1 ,v41 daughter of ,st4 ,edgar and ,st4 ,wulfhilda4 #iij ,sept4 #i4 ,wulfhilda1 or ,vulfrida1 ,a4 of ,wilton4 #ihj ,mar4 #cj4 ,merwenna1 ,v4,a4 of ,romsey4 #iij ,oct4 #bi4 ,elfreda1 ,a4 of ,romsey4 #ajaf ,dec4 #e4 ,christina of ,romsey1 ,v41 sister of ,st4 ,margaret of ,scotland4 ,,tenth ,,century4 ,part ,,ii4 #ifa ,july #d4 ,odo1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury1 ,benedictine ,monk4 #ifj-iib ,feb4 #bh4 ,oswald1 ,archb4 of ,york1 ,b4 of ,worcester1 nephew to ,st4 ,odo4 #iea-ajab ,mar4 #ab4 ,elphege the ,bald1 ,b4 of ,winton4 #ihh ,may #ai4 ,dunstan1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #igc ,jan4 #h4 ,wulsin1 ,b4 of ,sherbourne4 #ihd ,aug4 #a4 ,ethelwold1 ,b4 of ,winton4 #ajae ,jan4 #bb4 ,brithwold1 ,b4 of ,winton4 ,,tenth ,,and ,,eleventh ,,centuries4 ,missions4 #iej ,feb4 #ae4 ,sigfride1 ,b41 apostle of ,sweden4 #ajaf ,june #ab4 ,eskill1 ,b4,m4 in ,sweden1 kinsman of ,st4 ,sigfride4 #ajbh ,jan4 #ah4 ,wolfred1 ,m4 in ,sweden4 #ajej ,july #ae4 ,david1 ,a41 ,cluniac in ,sweden4 ,,eleventh ,,century4 #ajab ,april #ai4 ,elphege1 ,m4 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #ajaf ,may #cj4 ,walston1 ,c4 near ,norwich4 #ajec ,mar4 #ca4 ,alfwold1 ,b4 of ,sherborne4 #ajfg ,sept4 #b4 ,william1 ,b4 of ,roschid in ,denmark4 #ajff ,jan4 #e4 ,edward1 ,k4,c4 #ajii ,dec4 #d4 ,osmund1 ,b4 of ,salisbury4 ,,eleventh ,,and ,,twelfth ,,centuries4 #ajie ,jan4 #ai4 ,wulstan1 ,b4 of ,worcester4 #ajhi ,may #bh4 ,lanfranc1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #aaji ,apr4 #ba4 ,anselm1 ,doctor1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #aagj ,dec4 #bi4 ,thomas1 ,archb4 ,m4 of ,canterbury4 #abjj ,nov4 #ag4 ,hugh1 ,b4 of ,lincoln1 ,carthusian ,monk4 ,,twelfth ,,century4 ,part ,i4 #aaji ,ingulphus1 ,a4 of ,croyland4 #aaag ,apr4 #cj4 ,b4 ,maud1 ,q4 ,wife of ,henry ,i4 #aabd ,apr4 #ac4 ,caradoc1 ,h4 in ,south ,wales4 #aabg ,jan4 #af4 ,henry1 ,h4 in ,northumberland4 #aadd ,mar4 #be4 ,william1 ,m4 of ,norwich4 #aaea ,jan4 #ai4 ,henry1 ,m4,b4 of ,upsal4 #aaej ,aug4 #ac4 ,walter1 ,a4 of ,fontenelle1 in ,france4 #aaed ,june #h4 ,william1 ,archb4 of ,york4 #aagj ,may #ba4 ,godric1 ,h4 in ,durham4 #aahj ,oct4 #be4 ,john of ,salisbury1 ,b4 of ,chartres4 #aahb ,june #bd4 ,bartholomew1 ,c41 monk at ,durham4 #aahi ,feb4 #d4 ,gilbert1 ,a4 of ,sempringham4 #aaij ,aug4 #ba4 ,richard1 ,b4 of ,andria4 #abjj ,peter de ,blois1 ,archd4 of ,bath4 ,,twelfth ,,century4 ,part ,,ii4--,cistertian ,order4 #aacd ,apr4 #ag4 ,stephen1 ,a4 of ,citeaux4 #aaci ,june #g4 ,robert1 ,a4 of ,newminster in ,northumberland4 #aaed ,feb4 #bj4 ,ulric1 ,h4 in ,dorsetshire4 #aafj ,aug4 #c4 ,walthen1 ,a4 of ,melrose4 #aaff ,jan4 #ab4 ,aelred1 ,a4 of ,rieval4 ,,thirteenth ,,century4 ,part ,i4 #abbh ,july #i4 ,stephen ,langton1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #abdb ,nov4 #af4 ,edmund1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #abec ,apr4 #c4 ,richard1 ,b4 of ,chichester4 #abhb ,oct4 #b4 ,thomas1 ,b4 of ,hereford4 #abid ,dec4 #c4 ,john ,peckham1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 ,,thirteenth ,,century4 ,part ,,ii4--,orders of ,friars4 #abag ,june #ag4 ,john1 ,fr41 ,trinitarian4 #abcb ,mar4 #g4 ,william1 ,fr41 ,franciscan4 #abdj ,jan4 #ca4 ,serapion1 ,fr41 ,m41 ,redemptionist4 #abfe ,may #af4 ,simon ,stock1 ,h41 ,general of the ,carmelites4 #abgi ,sept4 #aa4 ,robert ,kilwardby1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury1 ,fr4 ,dominican4 ,,thirteenth ,,century4 ,part ,,iii4 #abci ,mar4 #ad4 ,robert ,h4 at ,knaresboro4 #abda ,oct4 #a4 ,roger1 ,b4 of ,london4 #abee ,july #bg4 ,hugh1 ,m4 of ,lincoln4 #abie ,aug4 #e4 ,thomas1 ,mo41 ,m4 of ,dover4 #abed ,oct4 #i4 ,robert ,grossteste1 ,b4 of ,lincoln4 #abgj ,july #ad4 ,boniface1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury4 #abgh ,oct4 #ah4 ,walter de ,merton1 ,b4 of ,rochester4 ,,fourteenth ,,century4 #acbf ,oct4 #e4 ,stapleton1 ,b4 of ,exeter4 #acbg ,sept4 #ba4 ,edward ,k4 #acdi ,sept4 #bi4 ,b4 ,richard1 ,h4 of ,hampole4 #acde ,apr4 #ad4 ,richard of ,bury1 ,b4 of ,lincoln4 #acdi ,aug4 #bf4 ,bradwardine1 ,archb4 of ,canterbury1 the ,doctor ,profundus4 #aceh ,sept4 #b4 ,willam1 ,fr41 ,servite4 #acgi ,oct4 #aj4 ,john1 ,c4 of ,bridlington4 #acbd-adjd ,sept4 #bg4 ,william of ,wykeham1 ,b4 of ,winton4 #adjj ,william1 ,fr4 ,austin4 ,,fifteenth ,,century4 #adga ,may #bb4 ,henry1 ,k4 of ,england4 #adhf ,aug4 #aa4 ,william of ,wanefleet1 ,b4 of ,winton4 #aeji ,june #bi4 ,margaret1 ,countess of ,richmond4 #aebh ,sept4 #ad4 ,richard ,fox1 ,b4 of ,winton4 ,,note ,e4 ,,on ,,page #bbg4 ,,the ,,anglican ,,church4 ,i have been bringing out my mind in this ,volume on every subject which has come before me2 and therefore ,i am bound to state plainly what ,i feel and have felt1 since ,i was a ,catholic1 about the ,anglican ,church4 ,i said1 in a former page1 that1 on my conversion1 ,i was not conscious of any change in me of thought or feeling1 as regards matters of doctrine2 this1 however1 was not the case as regards some matters of fact1 and1 unwilling as ,i am to give offence to religious ,anglicans1 ,i am bound to confess that ,i felt a great change in my view of the ,church of ,england4 ,i cannot tell how soon there came on me1--but very soon1--an extreme astonishment that ,i had ever imagined it to be a portion of the ,catholic ,church4 ,for the first time1 ,i looked at it from without1 and 7as ,i should myself say7 saw it as it was4 ,forthwith ,i could not get myself to see in it any thing else1 than what ,i had so long fearfully suspected1 from as far back as #ahcf1--;a mere national institution4 ,as if my eyes were suddenly opened1 so ,i saw it--spontaneously1 apart from any definite act of reason or any argument2 and so ,i have seen it ever since4 ,i suppose1 the main cause of this lay in the contrast which was presented to me by the ,catholic ,church4 ,then ,i recognized at once a reality which was quite a new thing with me4 ,then ,i was sensible that ,i was not making for myself a ,church by an effort of thought2 ,i needed not to make an act of faith in her2 ,i had not painfully to force myself into a position1 but my mind fell back upon itself in relaxation and in peace1 and ,i gazed at her almost passively as a great objective fact4 ,i looked at her2--at her rites1 her ceremonial1 and her precepts2 and ,i said1 ,this is a religion2 and then1 when ,i looked back upon the poor ,anglican ,church1 for which ,i had laboured so hard1 and upon all that appertained to it1 and thought of our various attempts to dress it up doctrinally and esthetically1 it seemed to me to be the veriest of nonentities4 ,vanity of vanities1 all is vanity6 ,how can ,i make a record of what passed within me1 without seeming to be satirical8 ,but ,i speak plain1 serious words4 ,as people call me credulous for acknowledging ,catholic claims1 so they call me satirical for disowning ,anglican pretensions2 to them it is credulity1 to them it is satire2 but it is not so in me4 ,what they think exaggeration1 ,i think truth4 ,i am not speaking of the ,anglican ,church with any disdain1 though to them ,i seem contemptuous4 ,to them of course it is ,aut ,csar aut nullus1 but not to me4 ,it may be a great creation1 though it be not divine1 and this is how ,i judge of it4 ,men1 who abjure the divine right of kings1 would be very indignant1 if on that account they were considered disloyal4 ,and so ,i recognize in the ,anglican ,church a time-honoured institution1 of noble historical memories1 a monument of ancient wisdom1 a momentous arm of political strength1 a great national organ1 a source of vast popular advantage1 and1 to a certain point1 a witness and teacher of religious truth4 ,i do not think that1 if what ,i have written about it since ,i have been a ,catholic1 be equitably considered as a whole1 ,i shall be found to have taken any other view than this2 but that it is something sacred1 that it is an oracle of revealed doctrine1 that it can claim a share in ,st4 ,ignatius or ,st4 ,cyprian1 that it can take the rank1 contest the teaching1 and stop the path of the ,church of ,st4 ,peter1 that it can call itself the ,bride of the ,lamb1 this is the view of it which simply disappeared from my mind on my conversion1 and which it would be almost a miracle to reproduce4 ,i went by1 and lo6 it was gone2 ,i sought it1 but its place could no where be found1 and nothing can bring it back to me4 ,and1 as to its possession of an episcopal succession from the time of the ,apostles1 well1 it may have it1 and1 if the ,holy ,see ever so decide1 ,i will believe it1 as being the decision of a higher judgment than my own2 but1 for myself1 ,i must have ,st4 ,philip's gift1 who saw the sacerdotal character on the forehead of a gaily-attired youngster1 before ,i can by my own wit acquiesce in it1 for antiquarian arguments are altogether unequal to the urgency of visible facts4 ,why is it that ,i must pain dear friends by saying so1 and kindle a sort of resentment against me in the kindest of hearts8 but ,i must1 though to do it be not only a grief to me1 but most impolitic at the moment4 ,any how1 this is my mind2 and1 if to have it1 if to have betrayed it1 before now1 involuntarily by my words or my deeds1 if on a fitting occasion1 as now1 to have avowed it1 if all this be a proof of the justice of the charge brought against me by my accuser of having turned round upon my ,mother-,church with contumely and slander1 in this sense1 but in no other sense1 do ,i plead guilty to it without a word in extenuation4 ,in no other sense surely2 the ,church of ,england has been the instrument of ,providence in conferring great benefits on me2--had ,i been born in ,dissent1 perhaps ,i should never have been baptized2 had ,i been born an ,english ,presbyterian1 perhaps ,i should never have known our ,lord's divinity2 had ,i not come to ,oxford1 perhaps ,i never should have heard of the visible ,church1 or of ,tradition1 or other ,catholic doctrines4 ,and as ,i have received so much good from the ,anglican ,establishment itself1 can ,i have the heart or rather the want of charity1 considering that it does for so many others1 what it has done for me1 to wish to see it overthrown8 ,i have no such wish while it is what it is1 and while we are so small a body4 ,not for its own sake1 but for the sake of the many congregations to which it ministers1 ,i will do nothing against it4 ,while ,catholics are so weak in ,england1 it is doing our work2 and1 though it does us harm in a measure1 at present the balance is in our favour4 ,what our duty would be at another time and in other circumstances1 supposing1 for instance1 the ,establishment lost its dogmatic faith1 or at least did not preach it1 is another matter altogether4 ,in secular history we read of hostile nations having long truces1 and renewing them from time to time1 and that seems to be the position which the ,catholic ,church may fairly take up at present in relation to the ,anglican ,establishment4 ,doubtless the ,national ,church has hitherto been a serviceable breakwater against doctrinal errors1 more fundamental than its own4 ,how long this will last in the years now before us1 it is impossible to say1 for the ,nation drags down its ,church to its own level2 but still the ,national ,church has the same sort of influence over the ,nation that a periodical has upon the party which it represents1 and my own idea of a ,catholic's fitting attitude towards the ,national ,church in this its supreme hour1 is that of assisting and sustaining it1 if it be in our power1 in the interest of dogmatic truth4 ,i should wish to avoid every thing 7except indeed under the direct call of duty1 and this is a material exception17 which went to weaken its hold upon the public mind1 or to unsettle its establishment1 or to embarrass and lessen its maintenance of those great ,christian and ,catholic principles and doctrines which it has up to this time successfully preached4 ,,note ,f4 ,,on ,,page #bfi4 ,,the ,,economy4 ,for the ,economy1 considered as a rule of practice1 ,i shall refer to what ,i wrote upon it in #ahcj-cb1 in my ,history of the ,arians4 ,i have shown above1 pp4 #bf1 #bg1 that the doctrine in question had in the early ,church a large signification1 when applied to the divine ordinances3 it also had a definite application to the duties of ,christians1 whether clergy or laity1 in preaching1 in instructing or catechizing1 or in ordinary intercourse with the world around them2 and in this aspect ,i have here to consider it4 ,as ,almighty ,god did not all at once introduce the ,gospel to the world1 and thereby gradually prepared men for its profitable reception1 so1 according to the doctrine of the early ,church1 it was a duty1 for the sake of the heathen among whom they lived1 to observe a great reserve and caution in communicating to them the knowledge of the whole counsel of ,god4 ,this cautious dispensation of the truth1 after the manner of a discreet and vigilant steward1 is denoted by the word economy4 ,it is a mode of acting which comes under the head of ,prudence1 one of the four ,cardinal ,virtues4 ,the principle of the ,economy is this2 that out of various courses1 in religious conduct or statement1 all and each allowable antecedently and in themselves1 that ought to be taken which is most expedient and most suitable at the time for the object in hand4 ,instances of its application and exercise in ,scripture are such as the following3--#a4 ,divine ,providence did but gradually impart to the world in general1 and to the ,jews in particular1 the knowledge of ,his will3--,he is said to have winked at the times of ignorance among the heathen2 and ,he suffered in the ,jews divorce because of the hardness of their hearts4 #b4 ,he has allowed ,himself to be represented as having eyes1 ears1 and hands1 as having wrath1 jealousy1 grief1 and repentance4 #c4 ,in like manner1 our ,lord spoke harshly to the ,syro-,phoenician woman1 whose daughter ,he was about to heal1 and made as if ,he would go further1 when the two disciples had come to their journey's end4 #d4 ,thus too ,joseph made himself strange to his brethren1 and ,elisha kept silence on request of ,naaman to bow in the house of ,rimmon4 #e4 ,thus ,st4 ,paul circumcised ,timothy1 while he cried out ,circumcision availeth not4 ,it may be said that this principle1 true in itself1 yet is dangerous1 because it admits of an easy abuse1 and carries men away into what becomes insincerity and cunning4 ,this is undeniable2 to do evil that good may come1 to consider that the means1 whatever they are1 justify the end1 to sacrifice truth to expedience1 unscrupulousness1 recklessness1 are grave offences4 ,these are abuses of the ,economy4 ,but to call them economical is to give a fine name to what occurs every day1 independent of any knowledge of the doctrine of the ,economy4 ,it is the abuse of a rule which nature suggests to every one4 ,every one looks out for the mollia tempora fandi1 and for mollia verba too4 ,having thus explained what is meant by the ,economy as a rule of social intercourse between men of different religious1 or1 again1 political1 or social views1 next ,i will go on to state what ,i said in the ,arians4 ,i say in that ,volume first1 that our ,lord has given us the principle in ,his own words1--,cast not your pearls before swine2 and that ,he exemplified it in ,his teaching by parables2 that ,st4 ,paul expressly distinguishes between the milk which is necessary to one set of men1 and the strong meat which is allowed to others1 and that1 in two ,epistles4 ,i say1 that the ,apostles in the ,acts observe the same rule in their speeches1 for it is a fact1 that they do not preach the high doctrines of ,christianity1 but only ,jesus and the ,resurrection or repentance and faith4 ,i also say1 that this is the very reason that the ,fathers assign for the silence of various writers in the first centuries on the subject of our ,lord's divinity4 ,i also speak of the catechetical system practised in the early ,church1 and the disciplina arcani as regards the doctrine of the ,holy ,trinity1 to which ,bingham bears witness2 also of the defence of this rule by ,basil1 ,cyril of ,jerusalem1 ,chrysostom1 and ,theodoret4 ,but next the question may be asked1 whether ,i have said any thing in my ,volume to guard the doctrine1 thus laid down1 from the abuse to which it is obviously exposed3 and my answer is easy4 ,of course1 had ,i had any idea that ,i should have been exposed to such hostile misrepresentations1 as it has been my lot to undergo on the subject1 ,i should have made more direct avowals than ,i have done of my sense of the gravity and the danger of that abuse4 ,since ,i could not foresee when ,i wrote1 that ,i should have been wantonly slandered1 ,i only wonder that ,i have anticipated the charge as fully as will be seen in the following extracts4 ,for instance1 speaking of the ,disciplina ,arcani1 ,i say3--7#a7 ,the elementary information given to the heathen or catechumen was in no sense undone by the subsequent secret teaching1 which was in fact but the filling up of a bare but correct outline1 p4 #eh1 and ,i contrast this with the conduct of the ,manichans who represented the initiatory discipline as founded on a fiction or hypothesis1 which was to be forgotten by the learner as he made progress in the real doctrine of the ,gospel4 7#b7 ,as to allegorizing1 ,i say that the ,alexandrians erred1 whenever and as far as they proceeded to obscure the primary meaning of ,scripture1 and to weaken the force of historical facts and express declarations1 p4 #fi4 7#c7 ,and that they were more open to censure1 when1 on being urged by objections to various passages in the history of the ,old ,testament1 as derogatory to the divine perfections or to the ,jewish ,saints1 they had recourse to an allegorical explanation by way of answer1 p4 #ga4 7#d7 ,i add1 ,it is impossible to defend such a procedure1 which seems to imply a want of faith in those who had recourse to it2 for ,god has given us rules of right and wrong1 ibid4 7#e7 ,again1 ,i say1--,the abuse of the ,economy in the hands of unscrupulous reasoners1 is obvious4 ,even the honest controversialist or teacher will find it very difficult to represent1 without misrepresenting1 what it is yet his duty to present to his hearers with caution or reserve4 ,here the obvious rule to guide our practice is1 to be careful ever to maintain substantial truth in our use of the economical method1 pp4 #gi1 #hj4 7#f7 ,and so far from concurring at all hazards with ,justin1 ,gregory1 or ,athanasius1 ,i say1 ,it is plain they were justified or not in their ,economy1 according as they did or did not practically mislead their opponents1 p4 #hj4 7#g7 ,i proceed1 ,it is so difficult to hit the mark in these perplexing cases1 that it is not wonderful1 should these or other ,fathers have failed at times1 and said more or less than was proper1 ibid4 ,the ,principle of the ,economy is familiarly acted on among us every day4 ,when we would persuade others1 we do not begin by treading on their toes4 ,men would be thought rude who introduced their own religious notions into mixed society1 and were devotional in a drawing-room4 ,have we never thought lawyers tiresome who did not observe this polite rule1 who came down for the assizes and talked law all through dinner8 ,does the same argument tell in the ,house of ,commons1 on the hustings1 and at ,exeter ,hall8 ,is an educated gentleman never worsted at an election by the tone and arguments of some clever fellow1 who1 whatever his shortcomings in other respects1 understands the common people8 99 99 99 99 99 ,as to the ,catholic ,religion in ,england at the present day1 this only will ,i observe1--that the truest expedience is to answer right out1 when you are asked2 that the wisest economy is to have no management2 that the best prudence is not to be a coward2 that the most damaging folly is to be found out shuffling2 and that the first of virtues is to tell truth1 and shame the devil4 ,,note ,g4 ,,on ,,page #bgi4 ,,lying ,,and ,,equivocation4 ,almost all authors1 ,catholic and ,protestant1 admit1 that when a just cause is present1 there is some kind or other of verbal misleading1 which is not sin4 ,even silence is in certain cases virtually such a misleading1 according to the ,proverb1 ,silence gives consent4 ,again1 silence is absolutely forbidden to a ,catholic1 as a mortal sin1 under certain circumstances1 e4g4 to keep silence1 when it is a duty to make a profession of faith4 ,another mode of verbal misleading1 and the most direct1 is actually saying the thing that is not2 and it is defended on the principle that such words are not a lie1 when there is a justa causa1 as killing is not murder in the case of an executioner4 ,another ground of certain authors for saying that an untruth is not a lie where there is a just cause1 is1 that veracity is a kind of justice1 and therefore1 when we have no duty of justice to tell truth to another1 it is no sin not to do so4 ,hence we may say the thing that is not1 to children1 to madmen1 to men who ask impertinent questions1 to those whom we hope to benefit by misleading4 ,another ground1 taken in defending certain untruths1 ex just caus1 as if not lies1 is1 that veracity is for the sake of society1 and that1 if in no case whatever we might lawfully mislead others1 we should actually be doing society great harm4 ,another mode of verbal misleading is equivocation or a play upon words2 and it is defended on the theory that to lie is to use words in a sense which they will not bear4 ,but an equivocator uses them in a received sense1 though there is another received sense1 and therefore1 according to this definition1 he does not lie4 ,others say that all equivocations are1 after all1 a kind of lying1--faint lies or awkward lies1 but still lies2 and some of these disputants infer1 that therefore we must not equivocate1 and others that equivocation is but a half-measure1 and that it is better to say at once that in certain cases untruths are not lies4 ,others will try to distinguish between evasions and equivocations2 but though there are evasions which are clearly not equivocations1 yet it is very difficult scientifically to draw the line between the one and the other4 ,to these must be added the unscientific way of dealing with lies3--viz4 that on a great or cruel occasion a man cannot help telling a lie1 and he would not be a man1 did he not tell it1 but still it is very wrong1 and he ought not to do it1 and he must trust that the sin will be forgiven him1 though he goes about to commit it ever so deliberately1 and is sure to commit it again under similar circumstances4 ,it is a necessary frailty1 and had better not be thought about before it is incurred1 and not thought of again1 after it is well over4 ,this view cannot for a moment be defended1 but1 ,i suppose1 it is very common4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i think the historical course of thought upon the matter has been this3 the ,greek ,fathers thought that1 when there was a justa causa1 an untruth need not be a lie4 ,st4 ,augustine took another view1 though with great misgiving2 and1 whether he is rightly interpreted or not1 is the doctor of the great and common view that all untruths are lies1 and that there can be no just cause of untruth4 ,in these later times1 this doctrine has been found difficult to work1 and it has been largely taught that1 though all untruths are lies1 yet that certain equivocations1 when there is a just cause1 are not untruths4 ,further1 there have been and all along through these later ages1 other schools1 running parallel with the above mentioned1 one of which says that equivocations1 c4 after all are lies1 and another which says that there are untruths which are not lies4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and now as to the just cause1 which is the condition1 sine qu non4 ,the ,greek ,fathers make it such as these1 self-defence1 charity1 zeal for ,god's honour1 and the like4 ,st4 ,augustine seems to deal with the same just causes as the ,greek ,fathers1 even though he does not allow of their availableness as depriving untruths1 spoken on such occasions1 of their sinfulness4 ,he mentions defence of life and of honour1 and the safe custody of a secret4 ,also the great ,anglican writers1 who have followed the ,greek ,fathers1 in defending untruths when there is the just cause1 consider that just cause to be such as the preservation of life and property1 defence of law1 the good of others4 ,moreover1 their moral rights1 e4g4 defence against the inquisitive1 c4 ,st4 ,alfonso1 ,i consider1 would take the same view of the justa causa as the ,anglican divines2 he speaks of it as quicunque finis honestus1 ad servanda bona spiritui vel corpori utilia2 which is very much the view which they take of it1 judging by the instances which they give4 ,in all cases1 however1 and as contemplated by all authors1 ,clement of ,alexandria1 or ,milton1 or ,st4 ,alfonso1 such a causa is1 in fact1 extreme1 rare1 great1 or at least special4 ,thus the writer in the ,mlanges ,thologiques 7,lige1 #aheb-c1 p4 #dec7 quotes ,lessius3 ,si absque justa causa fiat1 est abusio orationis contra virtutem veritatis1 et civilem consuetudinem1 etsi proprie non sit mendacium4 ,that is1 the virtue of truth1 and the civil custom1 are the measure of the just cause4 ,and so ,voit1 ,if a man has used a reservation 7restrictione non pur mentali7 without a grave cause1 he has sinned gravely4 ,and so the author himself1 from whom ,i quote1 and who defends the ,patristic and ,anglican doctrine that there are untruths which are not lies1 says1 ,under the name of mental reservation theologians authorize many lies1 when there is for them a grave reason and proportionate1 i4e4 to their character4--p4 #dei4 ,and so ,st4 ,alfonso1 in another ,treatise1 quotes ,st4 ,thomas to the effect1 that if from one cause two immediate effects follow1 and1 if the good effect of that cause is equal in value to the bad effect 7bonus quivalet malo71 then nothing hinders the speaker's intending the good and only permitting the evil4 ,from which it will follow that1 since the evil to society from lying is very great1 the just cause which is to make it allowable1 must be very great also4 ,and so ,kenrick3 ,it is confessed by all ,catholics that1 in the common intercourse of life1 all ambiguity of language is to be avoided2 but it is debated whether such ambiguity is ever lawful4 ,most theologians answer in the affirmative1 supposing a grave cause urges1 and the true mind of the speaker can be collected from the adjuncts1 though in fact it be not collected4 ,however1 there are cases1 ,i have already said1 of another kind1 in which ,anglican authors would think a lie allowable2 such as when a question is impertinent4 ,of such a case ,walter ,scott1 if ,i mistake not1 supplied a very distinct example1 in his denying so long the authorship of his novels4 ,what ,i have been saying shows what different schools of opinion there are in the ,church in the treatment of this difficult doctrine2 and1 by consequence1 that a given individual1 such as ,i am1 cannot agree with all of them1 and has a full right to follow which of them he will4 ,the freedom of the ,schools1 indeed1 is one of those rights of reason1 which the ,church is too wise really to interfere with4 ,and this applies not to moral questions only1 but to dogmatic also4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is supposed by ,protestants that1 because ,st4 ,alfonso's writings have had such high commendation bestowed upon them by authority1 therefore they have been invested with a quasi-infallibility4 ,this has arisen in good measure from ,protestants not knowing the force of theological terms4 ,the words to which they refer are the authoritative decision that nothing in his works has been found worthy of censure1 censur dignum2 but this does not lead to the conclusions which have been drawn from it4 ,those words occur in a legal document1 and cannot be interpreted except in a legal sense4 ,in the first place1 the sentence is negative2 nothing in ,st4 ,alfonso's writings is positively approved2 and1 secondly1 it is not said that there are no faults in what he has written1 but nothing which comes under the ecclesiastical censura1 which is something very definite4 ,to take and interpret them1 in the way commonly adopted in ,england1 is the same mistake1 as if one were to take the word ,apologia in the ,english sense of apology1 or ,infant in law to mean a little child4 #a4 ,now first as to the meaning of the above form of words viewed as a proposition4 ,when a question on the subject was asked of the fitting authorities at ,rome by the ,archbishop of ,besanon1 the answer returned to him contained this condition1 viz4 that those words were to be interpreted1 with due regard to the mind of the ,holy ,see concerning the approbation of writings of the servants of ,god1 ad effectum ,canonizationis4 ,this is intended to prevent any ,catholic taking the words about ,st4 ,alfonso's works in too large a sense4 ,before a ,saint is canonized1 his works are examined1 and a judgment pronounced upon them4 ,pope ,benedict ,,xiv4 says1 ,the end or scope of this judgment is1 that it may appear1 whether the doctrine of the servant of ,god1 which he has brought out in his writings1 is free from any soever theological censure4 ,and he remarks in addition1 ,it never can be said that the doctrine of a servant of ,god is approved by the ,holy ,see1 but at most it can only be said that it is not disapproved 7non reprobatam7 in case that the ,revisers had reported that there is nothing found by them in his works1 which is adverse to the decrees of ,urban ,,viii41 and that the judgment of the ,revisers has been approved by the sacred ,congregation1 and confirmed by the ,supreme ,pontiff4 ,the ,decree of ,urban ,,viii4 here referred to is1 ,let works be examined1 whether they contain errors against faith or good morals 7bonos mores71 or any new doctrine1 or a doctrine foreign and alien to the common sense and custom of the ,church4 ,the author from whom ,i quote this 7,m4 ,vandenbroeck1 of the diocese of ,malines7 observes1 ,it is therefore clear1 that the approbation of the works of the ,holy ,bishop touches not the truth of every proposition1 adds nothing to them1 nor even gives them by consequence a degree of intrinsic probability4 ,he adds that it gives ,st4 ,alfonso's theology an extrinsic probability1 from the fact that1 in the judgment of the ,holy ,see1 no proposition deserves to receive a censure2 but that that probability will cease nevertheless in a particular case1 for any one who should be convinced1 whether by evident arguments1 or by a decree of the ,holy ,see1 or otherwise1 that the doctrine of the ,saint deviates from the truth4 ,he adds1 ,from the fact that the approbation of the works of ,st4 ,alfonso does not decide the truth of each proposition1 it follows1 as ,benedict ,,xiv4 has remarked1 that we may combat the doctrine which they contain2 only1 since a canonized saint is in question1 who is honoured by a solemn culte in the ,church1 we ought not to speak except with respect1 nor to attack his opinions except with temper and modesty4 #b4 ,then1 as to the meaning of the word censura3 ,benedict ,,xiv4 enumerates a number of ,notes which come under that name2 he says1 ,out of propositions which are to be noted with theological censure1 some are heretical1 some erroneous1 some close upon error1 some savouring of heresy1 and so on2 and each of these terms has its own definite meaning4 ,thus by erroneous is meant1 according to ,viva1 a proposition which is not immediately opposed to a revealed proposition1 but only to a theological conclusion drawn from premisses which are de fide2 savouring of heresy is a proposition1 which is opposed to a theological conclusion not evidently drawn from premisses which are de fide1 but most probably and according to the common mode of theologizing2--and so with the rest4 ,therefore when it was said by the ,revisers of ,st4 ,alfonso's works that they were not worthy of censure1 it was only meant that they did not fall under these particular ,notes4 ,but the answer from ,rome to the ,archbishop of ,besanon went further than this2 it actually took pains to declare that any one who pleased might follow other theologians instead of ,st4 ,alfonso4 ,after saying that no ,priest was to be interfered with who followed ,st4 ,alfonso in the ,confessional1 it added1 ,this is said1 however1 without on that account judging that they are reprehended who follow opinions handed down by other approved authors4 ,and this too ,i will observe1--that ,st4 ,alfonso made many changes of opinion himself in the course of his writings2 and it could not for an instant be supposed that we were bound to every one of his opinions1 when he did not feel himself bound to them in his own person4 ,and1 what is more to the purpose still1 there are opinions1 or some opinion1 of his which actually have been proscribed by the ,church since1 and cannot now be put forward or used4 ,i do not pretend to be a well-read theologian myself1 but ,i say this on the authority of a theological professor of ,breda1 quoted in the ,mlanges ,thol4 for #ahej-a4 ,he says3 ,it may happen1 that1 in the course of time1 errors may be found in the works of ,st4 ,alfonso and be proscribed by the ,church1 a thing which in fact has already occurred4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in not ranging myself then with those who consider that it is justifiable to use words in a double sense1 that is1 to equivocate1 ,i put myself under the protection of such authors as ,cardinal ,gerdil1 ,natalis ,alexander1 ,contenson1 ,concina1 and others4 ,under the protection of these authorities1 ,i say as follows3-- ,casuistry is a noble science1 but it is one to which ,i am led1 neither by my abilities nor my turn of mind4 ,independently1 then1 of the difficulties of the subject1 and the necessity1 before forming an opinion1 of knowing more of the arguments of theologians upon it than ,i do1 ,i am very unwilling to say a word here on the subject of ,lying and ,equivocation4 ,but ,i consider myself bound to speak2 and therefore1 in this strait1 ,i can do nothing better1 even for my own relief1 than submit myself1 and what ,i shall say1 to the judgment of the ,church1 and to the consent1 so far as in this matter there be a consent1 of the ,schola ,theologorum4 ,now in the case of one of those special and rare exigencies or emergencies1 which constitute the justa causa of dissembling or misleading1 whether it be extreme as the defence of life1 or a duty as the custody of a secret1 or of a personal nature as to repel an impertinent inquirer1 or a matter too trivial to provoke question1 as in dealing with children or madmen1 there seem to be four courses3-- #a4 ,to say the thing that is not4 ,here ,i draw the reader's attention to the words material and formal4 ,thou shalt not kill2 murder is the formal transgression of this commandment1 but accidental homicide is the material transgression4 ,the matter of the act is the same in both cases2 but in the homicide1 there is nothing more than the act1 whereas in murder there must be the intention1 c41 which constitutes the formal sin4 ,so1 again1 an executioner commits the material act1 but not that formal killing which is a breach of the commandment4 ,so a man1 who1 simply to save himself from starving1 takes a loaf which is not his own1 commits only the material1 not the formal act of stealing1 that is1 he does not commit a sin4 ,and so a baptized ,christian1 external to the ,church1 who is in invincible ignorance1 is a material heretic1 and not a formal4 ,and in like manner1 if to say the thing which is not be in special cases lawful1 it may be called a material lie4 ,the first mode then which has been suggested of meeting those special cases1 in which to mislead by words has a sufficient occasion1 or has a just cause1 is by a material lie4 ,the second mode is by an quivocatio1 which is not equivalent to the ,english word equivocation1 but means sometimes a play on words1 sometimes an evasion3 we must take these two modes of misleading separately4 #b4 ,a play upon words4 ,st4 ,alfonso certainly says that a play upon words is allowable2 and1 speaking under correction1 ,i should say that he does so on the ground that lying is not a sin against justice1 that is1 against our neighbour1 but a sin against ,god4 ,god has made words the signs of ideas1 and therefore if a word denotes two ideas1 we are at liberty to use it in either of its senses3 but ,i think ,i must be incorrect in some respect in supposing that the ,saint does not recognize a lie as an injustice1 because the ,catechism of the ,council1 as ,i have quoted it at p4 #bha1 says1 ,vanitate et mendacio fides ac veritas tolluntur1 arctissima vincula societatis human2 quibus sublatis1 sequitur summa vit confusio1 ut homines nihil a dmonibus differre videantur4 #c4 ,evasion2--when1 for instance1 the speaker diverts the attention of the hearer to another subject2 suggests an irrelevant fact or makes a remark1 which confuses him and gives him something to think about2 throws dust into his eyes2 states some truth1 from which he is quite sure his hearer will draw an illogical and untrue conclusion1 and the like4 ,the greatest school of evasion1 ,i speak seriously1 is the ,house of ,commons2 and necessarily so1 from the nature of the case4 ,and the hustings is another4 ,an instance is supplied in the history of ,st4 ,athanasius3 he was in a boat on the ,nile1 flying persecution2 and he found himself pursued4 ,on this he ordered his men to turn his boat round1 and ran right to meet the satellites of ,julian4 ,they asked him1 ,have you seen ,athanasius8 and he told his followers to answer1 ,yes1 he is close to you4 ,they went on their course as if they were sure to come up to him1 while he ran back into ,alexandria1 and there lay hid till the end of the persecution4 ,i gave another instance above1 in reference to a doctrine of religion4 ,the early ,christians did their best to conceal their ,creed on account of the misconceptions of the heathen about it4 ,were the question asked of them1 ,do you worship a ,trinity8 and did they answer1 ,we worship one ,god1 and none else2 the inquirer might1 or would1 infer that they did not acknowledge the ,trinity of ,divine ,persons4 ,it is very difficult to draw the line between these evasions and what are commonly called in ,english equivocations2 and of this difficulty1 again1 ,i think1 the scenes in the ,house of ,commons supply us with illustrations4 #d4 ,the fourth method is silence4 ,for instance1 not giving the whole truth in a court of law4 ,if ,st4 ,alban1 after dressing himself in the ,priest's clothes1 and being taken before the persecutor1 had been able to pass off for his friend1 and so gone to martyrdom without being discovered2 and had he in the course of examination answered all questions truly1 but not given the whole truth1 the most important truth1 that he was the wrong person1 he would have come very near to telling a lie1 for a half-truth is often a falsehood4 ,and his defence must have been the justa causa1 viz4 either that he might in charity or for religion's sake save a priest1 or again that the judge had no right to interrogate him on the subject4 ,now1 of these four modes of misleading others by the tongue1 when there is a justa causa 7supposing there can be such71--7#a7 a material lie1 that is1 an untruth which is not a lie1 7#b7 an equivocation1 7#c7 an evasion1 and 7#d7 silence1--,first1 ,i have no difficulty whatever in recognizing as allowable the method of silence4 ,secondly1 ,but1 if ,i allow of silence1 why not of the method of material lying1 since half of a truth is often a lie8 ,and1 again1 if all killing be not murder1 nor all taking from another stealing1 why must all untruths be lies8 ,now ,i will say freely that ,i think it difficult to answer this question1 whether it be urged by ,st4 ,clement or by ,milton2 at the same time1 ,i never have acted1 and ,i think1 when it came to the point1 ,i never should act upon such a theory myself1 except in one case1 stated below4 ,this ,i say for the benefit of those who speak hardly of ,catholic theologians1 on the ground that they admit text-books which allow of equivocation4 ,they are asked1 how can we trust you1 when such are your views8 but such views1 as ,i already have said1 need not have any thing to do with their own practice1 merely from the circumstance that they are contained in their text-books4 ,a theologian draws out a system2 he does it partly as a scientific speculation3 but much more for the sake of others4 ,he is lax for the sake of others1 not of himself4 ,his own standard of action is much higher than that which he imposes upon men in general4 ,one special reason why religious men1 after drawing out a theory1 are unwilling to act upon it themselves1 is this3 that they practically acknowledge a broad distinction between their reason and their conscience2 and that they feel the latter to be the safer guide1 though the former may be the clearer1 nay even though it be the truer4 ,they would rather be in error with the sanction of their conscience1 than be right with the mere judgment of their reason4 ,and again here is this more tangible difficulty in the case of exceptions to the rule of ,veracity1 that so very little external help is given us in drawing the line1 as to when untruths are allowable and when not2 whereas that sort of killing which is not murder1 is most definitely marked off by legal enactments1 so that it cannot possibly be mistaken for such killing as is murder4 ,on the other hand the cases of exemption from the rule of ,veracity are left to the private judgment of the individual1 and he may easily be led on from acts which are allowable to acts which are not4 ,now this remark does not apply to such acts as are related in ,scripture1 as being done by a particular inspiration1 for in such cases there is a command4 ,if ,i had my own way1 ,i would oblige society1 that is1 its great men1 its lawyers1 its divines1 its literature1 publicly to acknowledge as such1 those instances of untruth which are not lies1 as for instance untruths in war2 and then there could be no perplexity to the individual ,catholic1 for he would not be taking the law into his own hands4 ,thirdly1 as to playing upon words1 or equivocation1 ,i suppose it is from the ,english habit1 but1 without meaning any disrespect to a great ,saint1 or wishing to set myself up1 or taking my conscience for more than it is worth1 ,i can only say as a fact1 that ,i admit it as little as the rest of my countrymen3 and1 without any reference to the right and the wrong of the matter1 of this ,i am sure1 that1 if there is one thing more than another which prejudices ,englishmen against the ,catholic ,church1 it is the doctrine of great authorities on the subject of equivocation4 ,for myself1 ,i can fancy myself thinking it was allowable in extreme cases for me to lie1 but never to equivocate4 ,luther said1 ,pecca fortiter4 ,i anathematize his formal sentiment1 but there is a truth in it1 when spoken of material acts4 ,fourthly1 ,i think evasion1 as ,i have described it1 to be perfectly allowable2 indeed1 ,i do not know1 who does not use it1 under circumstances2 but that a good deal of moral danger is attached to its use2 and that1 the cleverer a man is1 the more likely he is to pass the line of ,christian duty4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but it may be said1 that such decisions do not meet the particular difficulties for which provision is required2 let us then take some instances4 #a4 ,i do not think it right to tell lies to children1 even on this account1 that they are sharper than we think them1 and will soon find out what we are doing2 and our example will be a very bad training for them4 ,and so of equivocation3 it is easy of imitation1 and we ourselves shall be sure to get the worst of it in the end4 #b4 ,if an early ,father defends the patriarch ,jacob in his mode of gaining his father's blessing1 on the ground that the blessing was divinely pledged to him already1 that it was his1 and that his father and brother were acting at once against his own rights and the divine will1 it does not follow from this that such conduct is a pattern to us1 who have no supernatural means of determining when an untruth becomes a material1 and not a formal lie4 ,it seems to me very dangerous1 be it ever allowable or not1 to lie or equivocate in order to preserve some great temporal or spiritual benefit2 nor does ,st4 ,alfonso here say any thing to the contrary1 for he is not discussing the question of danger or expedience4 #c4 ,as to ,johnson's case of a murderer asking you which way a man had gone1 ,i should have anticipated that1 had such a difficulty happened to him1 his first act would have been to knock the man down1 and to call out for the police2 and next1 if he was worsted in the conflict1 he would not have given the ruffian the information he asked1 at whatever risk to himself4 ,i think he would have let himself be killed first4 ,i do not think that he would have told a lie4 #d4 ,a secret is a more difficult case4 ,supposing something has been confided to me in the strictest secrecy1 which could not be revealed without great disadvantage to another1 what am ,i to do8 ,if ,i am a lawyer1 ,i am protected by my profession4 ,i have a right to treat with extreme indignation any question which trenches on the inviolability of my position2 but1 supposing ,i was driven up into a corner1 ,i think ,i should have a right to say an untruth1 or that1 under such circumstances1 a lie would be material1 but it is almost an impossible case1 for the law would defend me4 ,in like manner1 as a priest1 ,i should think it lawful to speak as if ,i knew nothing of what passed in confession4 ,and ,i think in these cases1 ,i do in fact possess that guarantee1 that ,i am not going by private judgment1 which just now ,i demanded2 for society would bear me out1 whether as a lawyer or as a priest1 in holding that ,i had a duty to my client or penitent1 such1 that an untruth in the matter was not a lie4 ,a common type of this permissible denial1 be it material lie or evasion1 is at the moment supplied to me3--an artist asked a ,prime ,minister1 who was sitting to him1 ,what news1 my ,lord1 from ,france8 ,he answered1 ,i do not know2 ,i have not read the ,papers4 #e4 ,a more difficult question is1 when to accept confidence has not been a duty4 ,supposing a man wishes to keep the secret that he is the author of a book1 and he is plainly asked on the subject4 ,here ,i should ask the previous question1 whether any one has a right to publish what he dare not avow4 ,it requires to have traced the bearings and results of such a principle1 before being sure of it2 but certainly1 for myself1 ,i am no friend of strictly anonymous writing4 ,next1 supposing another has confided to you the secret of his authorship3--there are persons who would have no scruple at all in giving a denial to impertinent questions asked them on the subject4 ,i have heard a great man in his day at ,oxford1 warmly contend1 as if he could not enter into any other view of the matter1 that1 if he had been trusted by a friend with the secret of his being author of a certain book1 and he were asked by a third person1 if his friend was not 7as he really was7 the author of it1 he ought1 without any scruple and distinctly1 to answer that he did not know4 ,he had an existing duty towards the author2 he had none towards his inquirer4 ,the author had a claim on him2 an impertinent questioner had none at all4 ,but here again ,i desiderate some leave1 recognized by society1 as in the case of the formulas ,not at home1 and ,not guilty1 in order to give me the right of saying what is a material untruth4 ,and moreover1 ,i should here also ask the previous question1 ,have ,i any right to accept such a confidence8 have ,i any right to make such a promise8 and1 if it be an unlawful promise1 is it binding when it cannot be kept without a lie8 ,i am not attempting to solve these difficult questions1 but they have to be carefully examined4 ,and now ,i have said more than ,i had intended on a question of casuistry4 ,,supplemental ,,matter4 ,i4 ,,letters ,,and ,,papers ,,of ,,the ,,author ,,used ,,in ,,the ,,course ,,of ,,this ,,work4 ,,page ,february #aa1 #ahaa #c ,october #bf1 #ahbc #b ,september #g1 #ahbi #aai ,july #bj1 #ahcd #da ,november #bh1 #eg ,august #ah1 #ahcg #bi ,february #aa1 #ahdj #abd #ba1 #abi ,october #bi787 #acb ,november #ace ,march #ae1 #ahda #acg #bj1 #agj #bd1 #bjh #be1 #acg ,april #a1 #acg #d1 #ach #h1 #ach #h1 #ahg #bf1 #ahh ,may #e1 #ahh #i1 #ach ,june #ah1 #ahi ,september #ab1 #ahda #aij ,october #ab1 #adc #ag1 #adj #bb1 #adj ,november #aa1 #ade #ad1 #add ,december #ac1 #aef #bd1 #aeg #be1 #aei #bf1 #afb ,march #f1 #ahdb #agg ,april #ad1 #agc ,october #af1 #aga ,november #bb1 #aic ,feb4 #be1 #bh1 #ahdc #aha ,march #c1 #ahb #h1 #ahd ,may #d1 #bjh #ah1 #bji ,june #bj1 #agh ,july #af1 #agi ,august #bi1 #bac ,august #cj1 #ahdc #agi ,september #g1 #bac #bi1 #bbe ,october #ad1 #bai #be1 #bba #ca1 #bbc ,november #ac1 #adj #ahdc or #ahdd #agh ,january #bb1 #ahdd #bbf ,february #ba1 #bbf ,april #c1 #bje #h1 #bbf ,july #ad1 #aig ,september #af1 #bbg ,november #g1 #bcj #baa ,november #af1 #ahdd #bbh #bd1 #bbi #ahdd 787 #bbe #ahdd or #ahde #afg ,january #h1 #ahde #bcj ,march #cj1 #bca ,april #c1 #bcb #af1 #ahj ,june #a1 #bcb #ag1 #ahj ,october #h1 #bcd ,november #h1 #aee #be1 #bce ,january #bj1 #ahdf #bcf ,december #f1 #ahdi #ahe ,,ii4 ,,cardinal ,,newman',s ,,works4 ,n4,b4--,this ,list1 originally made in #ahfe1 is now corrected up to #ahij4 #a4 ,,sermons4 ,,vols4 #a-h4 ,parochial and ,plain ,sermons4 7,longmans47 #i4 ,sermons on ,subjects of the ,day4 7,longmans47 #aj4 ,university ,sermons4 7,longmans47 #aa4 ,sermons to ,mixed ,congregations4 7,burns and ,oates47 #ab4 ,occasional ,sermons4 7,burns and ,oates47 #b4 ,,treatises4 #ac4 ,on the ,doctrine of ,justification4 7,longmans47 #ad4 ,on the ,development of ,christian ,doctrine4 7,longmans47 #ae4 ,on the ,idea of a ,university4 7,longmans47 #af4 ,an ,essay in ,aid of a ,grammar of ,assent4 7,longmans47 #c4 ,,essays4 #ag4 ,two ,essays on ,miracles4 #a4 ,of ,scripture4 #b4 ,of ,ecclesiastical ,history4 7,longmans47 #ah4 ,discussions and ,arguments4 #a4 ,how to accomplish it4 #b4 ,the ,antichrist of the ,fathers4 #c4 ,scripture and the ,creed4 #d4 ,tamworth ,reading-,room4 #e4 ,who's to blame8 #f4 ,an ,argument for ,christianity4 7,longmans47 #ai1 #bj4 ,essays ,critical and ,historical4 #b vols4 #a4 ,poetry4 #b4 ,rationalism4 #c4 ,apostolical ,tradition4 #d4 ,de la ,mennais4 #e4 ,palmer on ,faith and ,unity4 #f4 ,st4 ,ignatius4 #g4 ,prospects of the ,anglican ,church4 #h4 ,the ,anglo-,american ,church4 #i4 ,countess of ,huntingdon4 #aj4 ,catholicity of the ,anglican ,church4 #aa4 ,the ,antichrist of ,protestants4 #ab4 ,milman's ,christianity4 #ac4 ,reformation of the ,eleventh ,century4 #ad4 ,private ,judgment4 #ae4 ,davison4 #af4 ,keble4 7,longmans47 #d4 ,,historical4 #ba-bc4 ,historical ,sketches4 #c vols4 #a4 ,the ,turks4 #b4 ,cicero4 #c4 ,apollonius4 #d4 ,primitive ,christianity4 #e4 ,church of the ,fathers4 #f4 ,st4 ,chrysostom4 #g4 ,theodoret4 #h4 ,st4 ,benedict4 #i4 ,benedictine ,schools4 #aj4 ,universities4 #aa4 ,northmen and ,normans4 #ab4 ,medieval ,oxford4 #ac4 ,convocation of ,canterbury4 7,longmans47 #e4 ,,theological4 #bd4 ,the ,arians of the ,fourth ,century4 7,longmans47 #be1 #bf4 ,annotated ,translation of ,athanasius4 #b vols4 7,longmans47 #bg4 ,tracts4 #a4 ,dissertatiuncul4 #b4 ,on the ,text of the ,seven ,epistles of ,st4 ,ignatius4 #c4 ,doctrinal ,causes of ,arianism4 #d4 ,apollinarianism4 #e4 ,st4 ,cyril's ,formula4 #f4 ,ordo de ,tempore4 #g4 ,douay ,version of ,scripture4 7,burns and ,oates47 #f4 ,,polemical4 #bh1 #bi4 ,the ,via ,media of the ,anglican ,church4 #b vols4 with ,notes4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,prophetical ,office of the ,church4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,occasional ,letters and ,tracts4 7,longmans47 #cj1 #ca4 ,certain ,difficulties felt by ,anglicans in ,catholic ,teaching ,considered4 #b vols4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,twelve ,lectures4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,letters to ,dr4 ,pusey concerning the ,bl4 ,virgin1 and to the ,duke of ,norfolk in ,defence of the ,pope and ,council4 7,longmans47 #cb4 ,present ,position of ,catholics in ,england4 7,longmans47 #cc4 ,apologia pro ,vita ,sua4 7,longmans47 #g4 ,,literary4 #cd4 ,verses on ,various ,occasions4 7,longmans47 #ce4 ,loss and ,gain4 7,burns and ,oates47 #cf4 ,callista4 7,longmans47 #cg4 ,the ,dream of ,gerontius4 7,longmans47 ,it is scarcely necessary to say that the ,author submits all that he has written to the judgment of the ,church1 whose gift and prerogative it is to determine what is true and what is false in religious teaching4 ,,iii4 ,,letter ,,of ,,approbation ,,and ,,encouragement ,,from ,,the ,,bishop ,,of ,,the ,,diocese ,,of ,,birmingham1 ,,dr4 ,,ullathorne4 ,bishop's ,house1 ,june #b1 #ahfd4 ,my dear ,dr4 ,newman1-- ,it was with warm gratification that1 after the close of the ,synod yesterday1 ,i listened to the ,address presented to you by the clergy of the diocese1 and to your impressive reply4 ,but ,i should have been little satisfied with the part of the silent listener1 except on the understanding with myself that ,i also might afterwards express to you my own sentiments in my own way4 ,we have now been personally acquainted1 and much more than acquainted1 for nineteen years1 during more than sixteen of which we have stood in special relation of duty towards each other4 ,this has been one of the singular blessings which ,god has given me amongst the cares of the ,episcopal office4 ,what my feelings of respect1 of confidence1 and of affection have been towards you1 you know well1 nor should ,i think of expressing them in words4 ,but there is one thing that has struck me in this day of explanations1 which you could not1 and would not1 be disposed to do1 and which no one could do so properly or so authentically as ,i could1 and which it seems to me is not altogether uncalled for1 if every kind of erroneous impression that some persons have entertained with no better evidence than conjecture is to be removed4 ,it is difficult to comprehend how1 in the face of facts1 the notion should ever have arisen that during your ,catholic life1 you have been more occupied with your own thoughts than with the service of religion and the work of the ,church4 ,if we take no other work into consideration beyond the written productions which your ,catholic pen has given to the world1 they are enough for the life's labour of another4 ,there are the ,lectures on ,anglican ,difficulties1 the ,lectures on ,catholicism in ,england1 the great work on the ,scope and ,end of ,university ,education1 that on the ,office and ,work of ,universities1 the ,lectures and ,essays on ,university ,subjects1 and the two ,volumes of ,sermons2 not to speak of your contributions to the ,atlantis1 which you founded1 and to other periodicals2 then there are those beautiful offerings to ,catholic literature1 the ,lectures on the ,turks1 ,loss and ,gain1 and ,callista1 and though last1 not least1 the ,apologia1 which is destined to put many idle rumours to rest1 and many unprofitable surmises2 and yet all these productions represent but a portion of your labour1 and that in the second half of your period of public life4 ,these works have been written in the midst of labour and cares of another kind1 and of which the world knows very little4 ,i will specify four of these undertakings1 each of a distinct character1 and any one of which would have made a reputation for untiring energy in the practical order4 ,the first of these undertakings was the establishment of the congregation of the ,oratory of ,st4 ,philip ,neri--that great ornament and accession to the force of ,english ,catholicity4 ,both the ,london and the ,birmingham ,oratory must look to you as their founder and as the originator of their characteristic excellences2 whilst that of ,birmingham has never known any other presidency4 ,no sooner was this work fairly on foot than you were called by the highest authority to commence another1 and one of yet greater magnitude and difficulty1 the founding of a ,university in ,ireland4 ,after the ,universities had been lost to the ,catholics of these kingdoms for three centuries1 every thing had to be begun from the beginning3 the idea of such an institution to be inculcated1 the plan to be formed that would work1 the resources to be gathered1 and the staff of superiors and professors to be brought together4 ,your name was then the chief point of attraction which brought these elements together4 ,you alone know what difficulties you had to conciliate and what to surmount1 before the work reached that state of consistency and promise1 which enabled you to return to those responsibilities in ,england which you had never laid aside or suspended4 ,and here1 excuse me if ,i give expression to a fancy which passed through my mind4 ,i was lately reading a poem1 not long published1 from the ,,mss4 ,de ,rerum ,natura1 by ,neckham1 the foster-brother of ,richard the ,lion-hearted4 ,he quotes an old prophecy1 attributed to ,merlin1 and with a sort of wonder1 as if recollecting that ,england owed so much of its literary learning to that country2 and the prophecy says that after long years ,oxford will pass into ,ireland--',vada boum suo tempore transibunt in ,hiberniam4' ,when ,i read this1 ,i could not but indulge the pleasant fancy that in the days when the ,dublin ,university shall arise in material splendour1 an allusion to this prophecy might form a poetic element in the inscription on the pedestal of the statue which commemorates its first ,rector4 ,the original plan of an ,oratory did not contemplate any parochial work1 but you could not contemplate so many souls in want of pastors without being prompt and ready at the beck of authority to strain all your efforts in coming to their help4 ,and this brings me to the third and the most continuous of those labours to which ,i have alluded4 ,the mission in ,alcester ,street1 its church and schools1 were the first work of the ,birmingham ,oratory4 ,after several years of close and hard work1 and a considerable call upon the private resources of the ,fathers who had established this congregation1 it was delivered over to other hands1 and the ,fathers removed to the district of ,edgbaston1 where up to that time nothing ,catholic had appeared4 ,then arose under your direction the large convent of the ,oratory1 the church expanded by degrees into its present capaciousness1 a numerous congregation has gathered and grown in it2 poor schools and other pious institutions have grown up in connexion with it1 and1 moreover1 equally at your expense and that of your brethren1 and1 as ,i have reason to know1 at much inconvenience1 the ,oratory has relieved the other clergy of ,birmingham all this while by constantly doing the duty in the poor-house and gaol of ,birmingham4 ,more recently still1 the mission and the poor school at ,smethwick owe their existence to the ,oratory4 ,and all this while the founder and father of these religious works has added to his other solicitudes the toil of frequent preaching1 of attendance in the confessional1 and other parochial duties4 ,i have read on this day of its publication the seventh part of the ,apologia1 and the touching allusion in it to the devotedness of the ,catholic clergy to the poor in seasons of pestilence reminds me that when the cholera raged so dreadfully at ,bilston1 and the two priests of the town were no longer equal to the number of cases to which they were hurried day and night1 ,i asked you to lend me two fathers to supply the place of other priests whom ,i wished to send as a further aid4 ,but you and ,father ,st4 ,john preferred to take the place of danger which ,i had destined for others1 and remained at ,bilston till the worst was over4 ,the fourth work which ,i would notice is one more widely known4 ,i refer to the school for the education of the higher classes1 which at the solicitation of many friends you have founded and attached to the ,oratory4 ,surely after reading this bare enumeration of work done1 no man will venture to say that ,dr4 ,newman is leading a comparatively inactive life in the service of the ,church4 ,to spare1 my dear ,dr4 ,newman1 any further pressure on those feelings with which ,i have already taken so large a liberty1 ,i will only add one word more for my own satisfaction4 ,during our long intercourse there is only one subject on which1 after the first experience1 ,i have measured my words with some caution1 and that has been where questions bearing on ecclesiastical duty have arisen4 ,i found some little caution necessary1 because you were always so prompt and ready to go even beyond the slightest intimation of my wish or desires4 ,that ,god may bless you with health1 life1 and all the spiritual good which you desire1 you and your brethren of the ,oratory1 is the earnest prayer now and often of1 ,my dear ,dr4 ,newman1 ,your affectionate friend and faithful servant in ,christ1 ,w4 ,b4 ,,ullathorne4 ,,iv4 ,,letters ,,of ,,approbation ,,and ,,encouragement ,,from ,,clergy ,,and ,,laity4 ,it requires some words of explanation why ,i allow myself to sound my own praises so loudly1 as ,i am doing by adding to my ,volume the following ,letters1 written to me last year by large bodies of my ,catholic brethren1 ,priests1 and ,laymen1 in the course or on the conclusion of the publication of my ,apologia4 ,i have two reasons for doing so4 #a4 ,it seems hardly respectful to them1 and hardly fair to myself1 to practise self-denial in a matter1 which after all belongs to others as well as to me4 ,bodies of men become authorities by the fact of being bodies1 over and above the personal claims of the individuals who constitute them4 ,to have received such unusual ,testimonials in my favour1 as ,i have to produce1 and then to have let both those ,testimonials and the generous feelings which dictated them be wasted1 and come to nought1 would have been a rudeness of which ,i could not bear to be guilty4 ,far be it from me to show such ingratitude to those who were especially friends in need4 ,i am too proud of their approbation not to publish it to the world4 #b4 ,but ,i have a further reason4 ,the belief obtains extensively in the country at large1 that ,catholics1 and especially the ,priesthood1 disavow the mode and form1 in which ,i am accustomed to teach the ,catholic faith1 as if they were not generally recognized1 but something special and peculiar to myself2 as if1 whether for the purposes of controversy1 or from the traditions of an earlier period of my life1 ,i did not exhibit ,catholicism pure and simple1 as the bulk of its professors manifest it4 ,such testimonials1 then1 as now follow1 from as many as #eeh priests1 that is1 not far from half of the clergy of ,england1 secular and religious1 from the ,bishop and clergy of a diocese at the ,antipodes1 and from so great and authoritative a body as the ,german ,congress assembled last year at ,wurzburg1 scatter to the winds a suspicion1 which it is not less painful1 ,i am persuaded1 to numbers of those ,protestants who entertain it1 than it is injurious to me who have to bear it4 ,i4 ,,the ,,diocese ,,of ,,westminster4 ,the following ,address was signed by #aaj of the ,westminster clergy1 including all the ,canons1 the ,vicars ,general1 a great number of secular priests1 and five ,doctors in theology2 ,fathers of the ,society of ,jesus1 ,fathers of the ,order of ,st4 ,dominic1 of ,st4 ,francis1 of the ,oratory1 of the ,passion1 of ,charity1 ,oblates of ,st4 ,charles1 and ,marists4 ,london1 ,march #ae1 #ahfd4 ,very ,reverend and ,dear ,sir1 ,we1 the undersigned ,priests of the ,diocese of ,westminster1 tender to you our respectful thanks for the service you have done to religion1 as well as to the interests of literary morality1 by your ,reply to the calumnies of a popular writer of the day4 ,we cannot but regard it as a matter of congratulation that your assailant should have associated the cause of the ,catholic ,priesthood with the name of one so well fitted to represent its dignity1 and to defend its honour1 as yourself4 ,we recognize in this latest effort of your literary power one further claim1 besides the many you have already established1 to the gratitude and veneration of ,catholics1 and trust that the reception which it has met with on all sides may be the omen of new successes which you are destined to achieve in the vindication of the teaching and principles of the ,church4 ,we are1 ,very ,reverend and ,dear ,sir1 ,your faithful and affectionate ,servants in ,christ4 7,the ,subscriptions follow47 ,to the ,very ,rev4 ,john ,henry ,newman1 ,d4,d4 ,,ii4--,,the ,,academia ,,of ,,catholic ,,religion4 ,london1 ,april #ai1 #ahfd4 ,very ,rev4 and ,dear ,sir1 ,the ,academia of ,catholic ,religion1 at their meeting held to-day1 under the ,presidency of the ,cardinal ,archbishop1 have instructed us to write to you in their behalf4 ,as they have learned1 with great satisfaction1 that it is your intention to publish a defence of ,catholic ,veracity1 which has been assailed in your person1 they are precluded from asking you that that defence might be made by word of mouth1 and in ,london1 as they would otherwise have done4 ,composed1 as the ,academia is1 mainly of ,laymen1 they feel that it is not out of their province to express their indignation that your opponent should have chosen1 while praising the ,catholic ,laity1 to do so at the expense of the ,clergy1 between whom and themselves1 in this as in all other matters1 there exists a perfect identity of principle and practice4 ,it is because1 in such a matter1 your cause is the cause of all ,catholics1 that we congratulate ourselves on the rashness of the opponent that has thrown the defence of that cause into your hands4 ,we remain1 ,very ,reverend and ,dear ,sir1 ,your very faithful ,servants1 ,,james ,,laird ,,patterson1 ,,edw4 ,,lucas1 ,secretaries4 ,to the ,very ,rev4 ,john ,henry ,newman1 ,d4,d41 ,provost of the ,birmingham ,oratory4 ,the above was moved at the meeting by ,lord ,petre1 and seconded by the ,hon4 ,charles ,langdale4 ,,iii4--,,the ,,diocese ,,of ,,birmingham4 ,in this ,diocese there were in #ahfd1 according to the ,directory of the year1 #acf ,priests4 ,june #a1 #ahfd4 ,very ,reverend and ,dear ,sir1 ,in availing ourselves of your presence at the ,diocesan ,synod to offer you our hearty thanks for your recent vindication of the honour of the ,catholic ,priesthood1 ,we1 the ,provost and ,chapter of the ,cathedral1 and the ,clergy1 ,secular and ,regular1 of the ,diocese of ,birmingham1 cannot forego the assertion of a special right1 as your neighbours and colleagues1 to express our veneration and affection for one whose fidelity to the dictates of conscience1 in the use of the highest intellectual gifts1 has won even from opponents unbounded admiration and respect4 ,to most of us you are personally known4 ,of some1 indeed1 you were1 in years long past1 the trusted guide1 to whom they owe more than can be expressed in words2 and all are conscious that the ingenuous fulness of your answer to a false and unprovoked accusation1 has intensified their interest in the labours and trials of your life4 ,while1 then1 we resent the indignity to which you have been exposed1 and lament the pain and annoyance which the manifestation of yourself must have cost you1 we cannot but rejoice that1 in the fulfilment of a duty1 you have allowed neither the unworthiness of your assailant to shield him from rebuke1 nor the sacredness of your inmost motives to deprive that rebuke of the only form which could at once complete his discomfiture1 free your own name from the obloquy which prejudice had cast upon it1 and afford invaluable aid to honest seekers after ,truth4 ,great as is the work which you have already done1 ,very ,reverend ,sir1 permit us to express a hope that a greater yet remains for you to accomplish4 ,in an age and in a country in which the very foundations of religious faith are exposed to assault1 we rejoice in numbering among our brethren one so well qualified by learning and experience to defend that priceless deposit of ,truth1 in obtaining which you have counted as gain the loss of all things most dear and precious4 ,and we esteem ourselves happy in being able to offer you that support and encouragement which the assurance of our unfeigned admiration and regard may be able to give you under your present trials and future labours4 ,that you may long have strength to labour for the ,church of ,god and the glory of ,his ,holy ,name is1 ,very ,reverend and ,dear ,sir1 our heartfelt and united prayer4 7,the ,subscriptions follow47 ,to the ,very ,rev4 ,john ,henry ,newman1 ,d4,d4 ,,iv4--,,the ,,diocese ,,of ,,beverley4 ,the following ,address1 as is stated in the first paragraph1 comes from more than #gj ,priests3-- ,hull1 ,may #i1 #ahfd4 ,very ,rev4 and ,dear ,dr4 ,newman1 ,at a recent meeting of the clergy of the ,diocese of ,beverley1 held in ,york1 at which upwards of seventy priests were present1 special attention was called to your correspondence with a popular writer2 and such was the enthusiasm with which your name was received--such was the admiration expressed of the dignity with which you had asserted the claims of the ,catholic ,priesthood in ,england to be treated with becoming courtesy and respect--and such was the strong and all-pervading sense of the invaluable service which you had thus rendered1 not only to faith and morals1 but to good manners so far as regarded religious controversy in this country1 that ,i was requested1 as ,chairman1 to become the voice of the meeting1 and to express to you as strongly and as earnestly as ,i could1 how heartily the whole of the clergy of this diocese desire to thank you for services to religion as well-timed as they are in themselves above and beyond all commendation1 services which the ,catholics of ,england will never cease to hold in most grateful remembrance4 ,god1 in ,his infinite wisdom and great mercy1 has raised you up to stand prominently forth in the glorious work of re-establishing in this country the holy faith which in good old times shed such lustre upon it4 ,we all lament that1 in the order of nature1 you have so few years before you in which to fight against false teaching that good fight in which you have been so victoriously engaged of late4 ,but our prayers are that you may long be spared1 and may possess to the last all your vigour1 and all that zeal for the advancement of our holy faith1 which imparts such a charm to the productions of your pen4 ,i esteem it a great honour and a great privilege to have been deputed1 as the representative of the clergy of the ,diocese of ,beverley1 to tender you the fullest expression of our most grateful thanks1 and the assurance of our prayers for your health and eternal happiness4 ,i am1 ,very ,rev4 and ,dear ,sir1 ,with sentiments of profound respect1 ,yours most faithfully in ,christ1 ,m4 ,,trappes4 ,the ,very ,rev4 ,dr4 ,newman4 ,v4 ,,and ,,vi4--,,the ,,dioceses ,,of ,,liverpool ,,and ,,salford4 ,the ,secular ,clergy of ,liverpool amounted in #ahfd to #ajc1 and of ,salford to #gf4 ,preston1 ,july #bg1 #ahfd4 ,very ,rev4 and ,dear ,sir1 ,it may seem1 perhaps1 that the ,clergy of ,lancashire have been slow to address you2 but it would be incorrect to suppose that they have been indifferent spectators of the conflict in which you have been recently engaged4 ,this is the first opportunity that has presented itself1 and they gladly avail themselves of their annual meeting in ,preston to tender to you the united expression of their heartfelt sympathy and gratitude4 ,the atrocious imputation1 out of which the late controversy arose1 was felt as a personal affront by them1 one and all1 conscious as they were1 that it was mainly owing to your position as a distinguished ,catholic ecclesiastic1 that the charge was connected with your name4 ,while they regret the pain you must needs have suffered1 they cannot help rejoicing that it has afforded you an opportunity of rendering a new and most important service to their holy religion4 ,writers1 who are not overscrupulous about the truth themselves1 have long used the charge of untruthfulness as an ever ready weapon against the ,catholic ,clergy4 ,partly from the frequent repetition of this charge1 partly from a consciousness that1 instead of undervaluing the truth1 they have ever prized it above every earthly treasure1 partly1 too1 from the difficulty of obtaining a hearing in their own defence1 they have generally passed it by in silence4 ,they thank you for coming forward as their champion3 your own character required no vindication4 ,it was their battle more than your own that you fought4 ,they know and feel how much pain it has caused you to bring so prominently forward your own life and motives1 but they now congratulate you on the completeness of your triumph1 as admitted alike by friend and enemy4 ,in addition to answering the original accusation1 you have placed them under a new obligation1 by giving to all1 who read the ,english language1 a work which1 for literary ability and the lucid exposition of many difficult and abstruse points1 forms an invaluable contribution to our literature4 ,they fervently pray that ,god may give you health and length of days1 and1 if it please ,him1 some other cause in which to use for ,his glory the great powers bestowed upon you4 ,signed on behalf of the ,meeting1 ,,thos4 ,,provost ,,cookson4 ,the ,very ,rev4 ,j4 ,h4 ,newman4 ,,vii4--,,the ,,diocese ,,of ,,hexham4 ,the ,secular ,priests on ,mission in #ahfd in this ,diocese were #fd4 ,durham1 ,sept4 #bb1 #ahfd4 ,my ,dear ,dr4 ,newman1 ,at the annual meeting of the ,clergy of the ,diocese of ,hexham and ,newcastle1 held a few days ago at ,newcastle-upon-,tyne1 ,i was commissioned by them to express to you their sincere sympathy1 on account of the slanderous accusations1 to which you have been so unjustly exposed4 ,we are fully aware that these foul calumnies were intended to injure the character of the whole body of the ,catholic ,clergy1 and that your distinguished name was singled out1 in order that they might be more effectually propagated4 ,it is well that these poisonous shafts were thus aimed1 as no one could more triumphantly repel them4 ,the ',apologia pro ,vit su' will1 if possible1 render still more illustrious the name of its gifted author1 and be a lasting monument of the victory of truth1 and the signal overthrow of an arrogant and reckless assailant4 ,it may appear late for us now to ask to join in your triumph1 but as the ,annual ,meeting of the ,northern ,clergy does not take place till this time1 it is the first occasion offered us to present our united congratulations1 and to declare to you1 that by none of your brethren are you more esteemed and venerated1 than by the ,clergy of the ,diocese of ,hexham and ,newcastle4 ,wishing that ,almighty ,god may prolong your life many more years for the defence of our holy religion and the honour of your brethren1 ,i am1 dear ,dr4 ,newman1 ,yours sincerely in ,jesus ,christ1 ,,ralph ,,provost ,,platt1 ,v4 ,g4 ,the ,very ,rev4 ,j4 ,h4 ,newman4 ,,viii4--,,the ,,congress ,,of ,w,,rzburg4 ,september #ae1 #ahfd4 ,sir1 ,the undersigned1 ,president of the ,catholic ,congress of ,germany assembled in ,wrzburg1 has been commissioned to express to you1 ,very ,rev4 and ,dear ,sir1 its deep-felt gratitude for your late able defence of the ,catholic ,clergy1 not only of ,england1 but of the whole world1 against the attacks of its enemies4 ,the ,catholics of ,germany unite with the ,catholics of ,england in testifying to you their profound admiration and sympathy1 and pray that the ,almighty may long preserve your valuable life4 ,the above ,resolution was voted by the ,congress with acclamation4 ,accept1 very ,rev4 and ,dear ,sir1 the expression of the high consideration with which ,i am ,your most obedient servant1 7,signed7 ,,ernest ,,baron ,,moij ,,de ,,sons4 ,the ,very ,rev4 ,j4 ,h4 ,newman4 ,,ix4--,,the ,,diocese ,,of ,,hobart ,,town4 ,hobart ,town1 ,tasmania1 ,november #bb1 #ahfd4 ,very ,rev4 and ,dear ,sir1 ,by the last month's post we at length received your admirable book1 entitled1 ',apologia pro ,vit su1' and the pamphlet1 ',what then does ,dr4 ,newman mean8' ,by this month's mail1 we wish to express our heartfelt gratification and delight for being possessed of a work so triumphant in maintaining truth1 and so overwhelming in confounding arrogance and error1 as the ',apologia4' ,no doubt1 your adversary1 resting on the deep-seated prejudice of our fellow-countrymen in the ,united ,kingdom1 calculated upon establishing his own fame as a keen-sighted polemic1 as a shrewd and truth-loving man1 upon the fallen reputation of one1 who1 as he would demonstrate1--yes1 that he would1--set little or no value on truth1 and who1 therefore1 would deservedly sink into obscurity1 henceforward rejected and despised6 ,aman of old erected a gibbet at the gate of the city1 on which an unsuspecting and an unoffending man1 one marked as a victim1 was to be exposed to the gaze and derision of the people1 in order that his own dignity and fame might be exalted2 but a divine ,providence ordained otherwise4 ,the history of the judgment that fell upon ,aman1 has been recorded in ,holy ,writ1 it is to be presumed1 as a warning to vain and unscrupulous men1 even in our days4 ,there can be no doubt1 a moral gibbet1 full 'fifty cubits high1' had been prepared some time1 on which you were to be exposed1 for the pity at least1 if not for the scorn and derision of so many1 who had loved and venerated you through life6 ,but the effort made in the forty-eight pages of the redoubtable pamphlet1 ',what then does ,dr4 ,newman ,mean8'--the production of a bold1 unscrupulous man1 with a coarse mind1 and regardless of inflicting pain on the feelings of another1 has failed1--marvellously failed1--and he himself is now exhibited not only in our fatherland1 but even at the ,antipodes1 in fact wherever the ,english language is spoken or read1 as a shallow pretender1 one quite incompetent to treat of matters of such undying interest as those he presumed to interfere with4 ,we fervently pray the ,almighty1 that you may be spared to ,his ,church for many years to come1--that to ,him alone the glory of this noble work may be given1--and to you the reward in eternal bliss6 ,and from this distant land we beg to convey to you1 ,very ,rev4 and ,dear ,sir1 the sentiments of our affectionate respect1 and deep veneration4 7,the ,subscriptions follow1 of the ,bishop ,vicar-,general and eighteen ,clergy47 ,the ,very ,rev4 ,dr4 ,newman1 c4 c4 c4 ,,additional ,,notes4 ,,note ,,on ,,page #ab4 ,,correspondence ,,with ,,archbishop ,,whately ,,in #ahcd4 ,on application of the ,editor of ,dr4 ,whately's ,correspondence1 the following four letters were sent to her for publication3 they are here given entire4 ,it will be observed that they are of the same date as my letter to ,dr4 ,hampden at p4 #eg4 #a4 ,dublin1 ,october #be1 #ahcd4 ,my dear ,newman1 ,a most shocking report concerning you has reached me1 which indeed carries such an improbability on the face of it that you may perhaps wonder at my giving it a thought2 and at first ,i did not1 but finding it repeated from different quarters1 it seems to me worth contradicting for the sake of your character4 ,some ,oxford undergraduates1 ,i find1 openly report that when ,i was at ,oriel last spring you absented yourself from chapel on purpose to avoid receiving the ,communion along with me2 and that you yourself declared this to be the case4 ,i would not notice every idle rumour2 but this has been so confidently and so long asserted that it would be a satisfaction to me to be able to declare its falsity as a fact1 from your authority4 ,i did indeed at once declare my utter unbelief2 but then this has only the weight of my opinion2 though an opinion resting ,i think on no insufficient grounds4 ,i did not profess to rest my disbelief on our long1 intimate1 and confidential friendship1 which would make it your right and your duty--if ,i did any thing to offend you or any thing you might think materially wrong--to remonstrate with me2--but on your general character2 which ,i was persuaded would have made you incapable1 even had no such close connexion existed between us1 of conduct so unchristian and inhuman4 ,but1 as ,i said1 ,i should like for your sake to be able to contradict the report from your own authority4 ,ever yours very truly1 ,r4 ,,whately4 #b4 ,oriel ,college1 ,october #bh1 #ahcd4 ,my dear ,lord1 ,my absence from the ,sacrament in the ,college ,chapel on the ,sunday you were in ,oxford1 was occasioned solely and altogether by my having it on that day in ,st4 ,mary's2 and ,i am pretty sure1 if ,i may trust my memory1 that ,i did not even know of your ,grace's presence there1 till after the ,service4 ,most certainly such knowledge would not have affected my attendance4 ,i need not say1 this being the case1 that the report of my having made any statement on the subject is quite unfounded2 indeed1 your letter of this morning is the first information ,i have had in any shape of the existence of the report4 ,i am happy in being thus able to afford an explanation as satisfactory to you1 as the kind feelings which you have ever entertained towards me could desire2--yet1 on honest reflection1 ,i cannot conceal from myself1 that it was generally a relief to me1 to see so little of your ,grace1 when you were at ,oxford3 and it is a greater relief now to have an opportunity of saying so to yourself4 ,i have ever wished to observe the rule1 never to make a public charge against another behind his back1 and1 though in the course of conversation and the urgency of accidental occurrences it is sometimes difficult to keep to it1 yet ,i trust ,i have not broken it1 especially in your own case3 i4e4 though my most intimate friends know how deeply ,i deplore the line of ecclesiastical policy adopted under your archiepiscopal sanction1 and though in society ,i may have clearly shown that ,i have an opinion one way rather than the other1 yet ,i have never in my intention1 never 7as ,i believe7 at all1 spoken of your ,grace in a serious way before strangers2--indeed mixing very little in general society1 and not overapt to open myself in it1 ,i have had little temptation to do so4 ,least of all should ,i so forget myself as to take undergraduates into my confidence in such a matter4 ,i wish ,i could convey to your ,grace the mixed and very painful feelings1 which the late history of the ,irish ,church has raised in me3--the union of her members with men of heterodox views1 and the extinction 7without ecclesiastical sanction7 of half her ,candlesticks1 the witnesses and guarantees of the ,truth and trustees of the ,covenant4 ,i willingly own that both in my secret judgment and my mode of speaking concerning you to my friends1 ,i have had great alternations and changes of feeling1--defending1 then blaming your policy1 next praising your own self and protesting against your measures1 according as the affectionate remembrances which ,i had of you rose against my utter aversion of the secular and unbelieving policy in which ,i considered the ,irish ,church to be implicated4 ,i trust ,i shall never be forgetful of the kindness you uniformly showed me during your residence in ,oxford3 and anxiously hope that no duty to ,christ and ,his ,church may ever interfere with the expression of my sense of it4 ,however1 on the present opportunity1 ,i am conscious to myself1 that ,i am acting according to the dictates both of duty and gratitude1 if ,i beg your leave to state my persuasion1 that the perilous measures in which your ,grace has acquiesced are but the legitimate offspring of those principles1 difficult to describe in few words1 with which your reputation is especially associated2 principles which bear upon the very fundamentals of all argument and investigation1 and affect almost every doctrine and every maxim by which our faith or our conduct is to be guided4 ,i can feel no reluctance to confess1 that1 when ,i first was noticed by your ,grace1 gratitude to you and admiration of your powers wrought upon me2 and1 had not something from within resisted1 ,i should certainly have adopted views on religious and social duty1 which seem to my present judgment to be based in the pride of reason and to tend towards infidelity1 and which in your own case nothing but your ,grace's high religious temper and the unclouded faith of early piety has been able to withstand4 ,i am quite confident1 that1 however you may regard this judgment1 you will give me credit1 not only for honesty1 but for a deeper feeling in thus laying it before you4 ,may ,i be suffered to add1 that your name is ever mentioned in my prayers1 and to subscribe myself ,your ,grace's very sincere friend and servant1 ,j4 ,h4 ,,newman4 #c4 ,dublin1 ,november #c1 #ahcd4 ,my dear ,newman1 ,i cannot forbear writing again to express the great satisfaction ,i feel in the course ,i adopted2 which has1 eventually1 enabled me to contradict a report which was more prevalent and more confidently upheld than ,i could have thought possible3 and which1 while it was perhaps likely to hurt my character with some persons1 was injurious to yours in the eyes of the best men4 ,for what idea must any one have had of religion--or at least of your religion--who was led to think there was any truth in the imputation to you of such uncharitable arrogance6 ,but it is a rule with me1 not to cherish1 even on the strongest assertions1 any belief or even suspicion1 to the prejudice of any one whom ,i have any reason to think well of1 till ,i have carefully inquired1 and dispassionately heard both sides4 ,and ,i think if others were to adopt the same rule1 ,i should not myself be quite so much abused as ,i have been4 ,i am well aware indeed that one cannot expect all1 even good men1 to think alike on every point1 even after they shall have heard both sides2 and that we may expect many to judge1 after all1 very harshly of those who do differ from them3 for1 ,god help us6 what will become of men if they receive no more mercy than they show to each other6 ,but at least1 if the rule were observed1 men would not condemn a brother on mere vague popular rumour1 about principles 7as in my case7 'difficult to describe in few words1' and with which his 'reputation is associated4' ,my own reputation ,i know is associated1 to a very great degree1 with what are in fact calumnious imputations1 originated in exaggerated1 distorted1 or absolutely false statements1 for which even those who circulate them1 do not1 for the most part1 pretend to have any ground except popular rumour3 like the ,jews at ,rome2 'as for this way1 we know that it is every where spoken against4' ,for ,i have ascertained that a very large proportion of those who join in the outcry against my works1 confess1 or even boast1 that they have never read them4 ,and in respect of the measure you advert to--the ,church ,temporalities ,act--7which of course ,i shall not now discuss71 it is curious to see how many of those who load me with censure for acquiescing in it1 receive with open arms1 and laud to the skies1 the ,primate2 who was consulted on the measure--as was natural1 considering his knowledge of ,irish affairs1 and his influence--long before me2 and gave his consent to it2 differing from ,ministers only on a point of detail1 whether the revenues of six ,sees1 or of ten1 should be alienated4 ,of course1 every one is bound ultimately to decide according to his own judgment2 nor do ,i mean to shelter myself under his example3 but only to point out what strange notions of justice those have1 who acquit with applause the leader1 and condemn the follower in the same individual transaction4 ,far be it from any servant of our ,master1 to feel surprise or anger at being thus treated2 it is only an admonition to me to avoid treating others in a similar manner2 and not to 'judge another's servant1' at least without a fair hearing4 ,you do me no more than justice1 in feeling confident that ,i shall give you credit both for 'honesty and for a deeper feeling' in freely laying your opinions before me3 and besides this1 you might have been no less confident1 from your own experience1 that1 long since--whenever it was that you changed your judgment respecting me--if you had freely and calmly remonstrated with me on any point where you thought me going wrong1 ,i should have listened to you with that readiness and candour and deference1 which as you well know1 ,i always showed1 in the times when 'we took sweet counsel together1 and walked in the house of ,god as friends2'--when we consulted together about so many practical measures1 and about almost all the principal points in my publications4 ,i happen to have before me a letter from you just eight years ago1 in which1 after saying that 'there are few things you wish more sincerely than to be known as a friend of mine1' and attributing to me1 in the warmest and most flattering terms1 a much greater share in the forming of your mind than ,i could presume to claim1 you bear a testimony1 in which ,i do most heartily concur1 to the freedom at least of our intercourse1 and the readiness and respect with which you were listened to4 ,your words are3 ',much as ,i owe to ,oriel in the way of mental improvement1 to none1 as ,i think1 do ,i owe so much as to yourself4 ,i know who it was first gave me heart to look about me after my election1 and taught me to think correctly1 and--strange office for an instructor--to rely upon myself4 ,nor can ,i forget that it has been at your kind suggestion1 that ,i have since been led to employ myself in the consideration of several subjects1 which ,i cannot doubt have been very beneficial to my mind4' ,if in all this ,i was erroneous1--if ,i have misled you1 or any one else1 into 'the pride of reason1' or any other kind of pride1--or if ,i have entertained1 or led others into1 any wrong opinions1 ,i can only say ,i sincerely regret it4 ,and again ,i rejoice if ,i have been the means of contributing to form in any one that 'high religious temper and unclouded faith' of which ,i not only believe1 with you1 that they are able to withstand tendencies towards infidelity1 but also1 that without them1 no correctness of abstract opinions is worth much4 ,but what ,i meant to point out1 is1 that there was plainly nothing to preclude you from offering friendly admonition 7when your view of my principles changed71 with a full confidence of being at least patiently and kindly listened to4 ,i for my part could not bring myself to find relief in escaping the society of an old friend1--with whom ,i had been accustomed to frank discussion1--on account of my differing from him as to certain principles1 whether through a change of his views1 or 7much more7 of my own1--till at least ,i had made full trial of private and affectionate remonstrance and free discussion4 ,even a 'man that is a heretic1' we are told1 even a ruler of a ,church is not to reject1 till after repeated admonitions4 ,but though your regard for me does not show itself such as ,i think mine would have been under similar circumstances1 ,i will not therefore reject what remains of it4 ,let us pray for each other that it may please ,god to enlighten whichever of us is1 on any point1 in error1 and recall him to the truth2 and that at any rate we may hold fast that charity1 without which all knowledge1 and all faith1 that could remove mountains1 will profit us nothing4 ,i fear you will read with a jaundiced eye1--if you venture to read it at all--any publication of mine2 but 'for auld lang syne' ,i take advantage of a frank to enclose you my last two addresses to my clergy4 ,very sincerely yours1 ,,rd4 ,,whately4 #d4 ,oriel1 ,november #aa1 #ahcd4 ,my dear ,lord1 ,the remarks contained in your last letter do not come upon me by surprise1 and ,i can only wish that ,i may be as able to explain myself to you1 as ,i do with a clear and honest conscience to myself4 ,your ,grace will observe that the letter of mine from which you make an extract1 was written when ,i was in habits of intimacy with you1 in which ,i have not been of late years4 ,it does not at all follow1 because ,i could then speak freely to you1 that ,i might at another time4 ,opportunity is the chief thing in such an office as delivering to a superior an opinion about himself4 ,though ,i never concealed my opinion from you1 ,i have never been forward4 ,i have spoken when place and time admitted1 when my opinion was asked1 when ,i was called to your side and was made your counsellor4 ,no such favourable circumstances have befallen me of late years1--if ,i must now state in explanation what in truth has never occurred to me in this fulness1 till now ,i am called to reflect upon my own conduct and to account for an apparent omission4 ,i have spoken the first opportunity you have given me2 and ,i am persuaded good very seldom comes of volunteering a remonstrance4 ,again1 ,i cannot doubt for an instant that you have long been aware in a measure that my opinions differed from your ,grace's4 ,you knew it when at ,oxford1 for you often found me differing from you4 ,you must have felt it1 at the time you left ,oxford for ,dublin4 ,you must have known it from hearsay in consequence of the book ,i have published4 ,what indeed can account for my want of opportunities to speak to you freely my mind1 but the feeling on your part1 7which1 if existing1 is nothing but a fair reason17 that my views are different from yours8 ,and that difference is certainly of no recent date4 ,i tacitly allude to it in the very letter you quote--in which1 ,i recollect well that the words 'strange office for an instructor1--to rely upon myself1' were intended to convey to you that1 much as ,i valued 7and still value7 your great kindness and the advantage of your countenance to me at that time1 yet even then ,i did not fall in with the line of opinions which you had adopted4 ,in them ,i never acquiesced4 ,doubtless ,i may have used at times sentiments and expressions1 which ,i should not now use2 but ,i believe these had no root in my mind1 and as such they were mere idle words which ,i ought ever to be ashamed of1 because they were idle4 ,but the opinions to which ,i especially alluded in my former letter as associated by the world with your ,grace's name under the title of ',liberal1' 7but not1 as you suppose1 received by me on the world's authority17 are those which may be briefly described as the ,anti-superstition notions2 and to these ,i do not recollect ever assenting4 ,connected with these ,i would instance the undervaluing of ,antiquity1 and resting on one's own reasonings1 judgments1 definitions1 c41 rather than authority and precedent2 and ,i think ,i gave very little in to this2--for a very short time too 7if at all71 in to the notion that the ,state1 as such1 had nothing to do with religion4 ,on the other hand1 whatever ,i held then deliberately1 ,i believe ,i hold now2 though perhaps ,i may not consider them as points of such prominent importance1 or with precisely the same bearing as ,i did then3--as the abolition of the ,jewish ,sabbath1 the unscripturalness of the doctrine of imputed righteousness 7i4e4 our ,lord's active obedience7--the mistakes of the so-called ,evangelical system1 the independence of the ,church2 the genius of the ,gospel as a ,law of ,liberty1 and the impropriety of forming geological theories from ,scripture4 ,of course every one changes in opinion between twenty and thirty2 doubtless1 ,i have changed2 yet ,i am not conscious that ,i have so much changed1 as made up my mind on points on which ,i had no opinion4 ,e4g4 ,i had no opinion about the ,catholic ,question till #ahbi4 ,no one can truly say ,i was ever for the ,catholics2 but ,i was not against them4 ,in fact ,i did not enter into the state of the question at all4 ,then as to my change of judgment as to the character of your ,grace's opinions1 it is natural that1 when two persons pursue different lines from the same point1 they should not discover their divergence for a long while2 especially if there be any kind feeling in the one towards the other4 ,it was not for a very long time that ,i discovered that your opinions were 7as ,i now think them7 but part of intellectual views1 so different from your own inward mind and character1 so peculiar in themselves1 and 7if you will let me add7 so dangerous4 ,for a long time ,i thought them to be but different2 for a longer1 to be but in parts dangerous2 but their full character in this respect came on me almost on a sudden4 ,i heard at ,naples the project of destroying the ,irish ,sees1 and at first indignantly rejected the notion1 which some one suggested1 that your ,grace had acquiesced in it4 ,i thought ,i recollected correctly your ,grace's opinion of the inherent rights of the ,christian ,church1 and ,i thought you never would allow men of this world so to insult it4 ,when ,i returned to ,england1 all was over4 ,i was silent on the same principle that you are silent about it in your letter2 that it was not the time for speaking2 and ,i only felt1 what ,i hinted at when ,i wrote last1 a bitter grief1 which prompted me1 when the act was irretrievable1 to hide myself from you4 ,however1 ,i have spoken1 with whatever pain to myself1 the first opportunity you have given me4 ,i might appeal to my conscience without fear in proof of the delight it would give me at this time to associate my name with yours1 and to stand forward as your friend and defender1 however humble4 ,i should hope you know me enough to be sure1 that1 however great my faults are1 ,i have no fear of man such as to restrain me1 if ,i could feel ,i had a call that way4 ,but may ,god help me1 as ,i will ever strive to fulfil my first duty1 the defence of ,his ,church1 and of the doctrine of the old ,fathers1 in opposition to all the innovations and profanities which are rising round us4 ,my dear ,lord1 ,ever yours most sincerely and gratefully1 ,j4 ,h4 ,,newman4 ,p4,s4 ,i feel much obliged by your kindness in sending me your ,addresses to your clergy1 which ,i value highly for your ,grace's sake4 ,,note ,,on ,,page #ij4 ,,extract ,,of ,a ,,letter ,,prom ,,the ,,rev4 ,e4 ,,smedley1 ,,editor ,,of ,,the ,,encyclop,,dia ,,metropolitana4 ,when ,i urged on one occasion an understanding ,i had had with the publishers of the ,encyclopdia1 he answered1 ,june #e1 #ahbh1 ,i greatly dislike the word 'understanding1' which is always misunderstood1 and which occasions more mischief than any other in our language1 unless it be its cousin-german 'delicacy4' ,,note ,,on ,,page #ahe4 ,,extract ,,of ,a ,,letter ,,of ,,the ,,late ,,rev4 ,,francis ,a4 ,,faber1 ,,of ,,saunderton4 ,a letter of ,mr4 ,f4 ,faber's to a friend has just now 7,march1 #ahgh7 come into my hands1 in which he says1 ,i have had a long correspondence with ,newman on the subject of my uncle's saying he was 'a concealed ,roman ,catholic' long before he left us4 ,it ends in my uncle making an amende4 ,,note ,,on ,,pages #aid-aif4 ,i have said above1 ,dr4 ,russell had1 perhaps1 more to do with my conversion than any one else4 ,he called on me in passing through ,oxford in the summer of #ahdc2 and ,i think ,i took him over some of the buildings of the ,university4 ,he called again another summer1 on his way from ,dublin to ,london4 ,i do not recollect that he said a word on the subject of religion on either occasion4 ,he sent me at different times several letters4444 ,he also gave me one or two books2 ,veron's ,rule of ,faith and some ,treatises of the ,wallenburghs was one2 a volume of ,st4 ,alfonso ,liguori's sermons was another4444 ,at a later date ,dr4 ,russell sent me a large bundle of penny or halfpenny books of devotion1 c4 ,on this passage ,i observe first that he told me1 on one occasion of my seeing him since the publication of the ,apologia1 that ,i was so far in error1 that he had called on me at ,oxford once only1 not twice4 ,he was quite positive on the point2 it was when he was1 ,i believe1 on his way to ,rome to escape a bishopric4 ,secondly1 my own mistake has led to some vagueness or inaccuracy in the statements made by others4 ,in a friendly notice of ,dr4 ,russell upon his death1 it is said1 in the ,times3-- ,personally he was unknown to the leaders of the movement1 but his reputation stood high in ,oxford4 ,he was often applied to for information and suggestion on the points arising in the ,tractarian controversy4 ,through a formal call made by him on ,dr4 ,newman a correspondence arose1 which resulted in the final determination of the latter to join the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,on this ,i remark--7#a7 that in #ahda-e1 ,dr4 ,russell was not well known in ,oxford1 and it cannot be said that then his reputation stood high there2 7#b7 that he never was applied to for information by any one of us1 as far as my knowledge goes2 and 7#c7 that his call on me in #ahda7c87 was in no sense formal2 ,i had not expected it2 ,i think he introduced himself1 though he may have had a letter from ,dr4 ,wiseman2 and no correspondence arose in consequence4 ,he may perhaps have sent me three letters1 independent of each other1 in five years2 and1 as far as ,i know1 he was unaware of his part in my conversion1 till he saw my notice of it in the ,apologia4 ,,note ,,on ,,page #bcb4 ,,extract ,,of ,a ,,letter ,,from ,,the ,,rev4 ,,john ,,keble ,,to ,,the ,,author4 ,nov4 #ah1 #ahdd4--;,i hope ,i shall not annoy you if ,i copy out for you part of a letter which ,i had the other day from ,judge ,coleridge3-- ',i was struck with part of a letter from ,a4 ,b41 expressing a wish that ,newman should know how warmly he was loved1 honoured1 and sympathized with by large numbers of ,churchmen1 so that he might not feel solitary1 or1 as it were1 cast out4 ,what think you of a private address1 carefully guarded against the appearance of making him the head of a party1 but only assuring him of gratitude1 veneration1 and love8' c41 c4 ,i thought ,i would just let you understand how such a person as ,coleridge feels4 ,,note ,,on ,,page #bcg4 ,,extract ,,from ,,the ,,times ,,newspaper ,,on ,,the ,,author',s ,,visit ,,to ,,oxford ,,in ,,february1 #ahgh4 ,the ,very ,rev4 ,dr4 ,newman has this week revisited ,oxford for the first time since #ahde4 ,he has been staying with the ,rev4 ,s4 ,wayte1 ,president of ,trinity ,college1 of which society ,dr4 ,newman was formerly a scholar1 and has recently been elected an ,honorary ,fellow4 ,on ,tuesday evening ,dr4 ,newman met a number of old friends at dinner at the ,president's lodgings1 and on the following day he paid a long visit to ,dr4 ,pusey at ,christ ,church4 ,he also spent a considerable time at ,keble ,college1 in which he was greatly interested4 ,in the evening ,dr4 ,newman dined in ,trinity ,college ,hall at the high table1 attired in his academical dress1 and the scholars were invited to meet him afterwards4 ,he returned to ,birmingham on ,thursday morning4 ,,note ,,on ,,page #cjb4 ,,the ,,medicinal ,,oil ,,of ,,st4 ,,walburga4 ,i have received the following on the subject of the oil of ,st4 ,walburga from a ,german friend1 the ,rev4 ,corbinian ,wandinger1 which is a serviceable addition to what is said upon it in ,note ,b4 ,he says3-- ,in your ',apologia1' #bnd ,edition1 p4 #cjb1 you say you neither have1 nor ever have had1 the means of going into the question of the miraculousness of the oil of ,st4 ,walburga4 ,by good chance1 there has arisen a contest not long ago between two papers1 a catholic and a free-thinking one1 about this very question1 from which ,i collected materials4 ,afterwards ,i asked ,professor ,suttner1 of ,eichstdt1 if the defender of the miraculousness might be fully and in every point trusted1 and ,i was answered he might1 since he was nobody else but the parson of ,st4 ,walburga1 ,rev4 ,mr4 ,brudlacher4 ,you know all the older literature of the oil of ,st4 ,walburga1 therefore ,i restrict myself to statements of a later date than #afbe4 ,first of the attempts to explain the oil as a natural produce of the rock4 ,some thought of ordinary rock-oil4 ,but the slightest experiment proves that origin1 properties1 and effect of the oil of ,st4 ,walburga and petroleum have nothing common with each other4 ,others thought of a salt-rock1 and of solution of the salt particles4 ,but the marble slab from which the oil drops is of ,jura-chalk1 and in the whole ,jura is not a single particle of salt to be found1 and the liquor itself does not in the least savour of salt2 besides that1 if this were the case1 the stone must have crumbled into pieces long since1 whilst it is quite massive still4 ,others thought of humour in the air1 or the so-called sweating of the stones4 ,but why does the slab which bears the holy relics alone sweat8 and1 why do all others beside1 above1 beneath it1 in and out of the altar-cave1 though being of the same nature1 remain perfectly dry8 ,why should it sweat1 the whole church being so dry that not a single humid spot of a hand's breadth is visible8 ,why does this slab not sweat except within a certain period1 that is from ,october #ab1 the anniversary of depositing1 to ,february #be1 the day of the death of ,st4 ,walburga8 ,and why does it remain dry at every other time1 even at the most humid temperature of the air possible1 and in the wettest years1 for instance1 #ahff8 ,besides1 what other stone1 and be it in the deepest cave1 will sweat during four or five months a quantity of liquor from six to ten ,mass 7a ,mass #ajg ,french ,litres78 ,if these naturalists are asked all this1 then they1 too1 are at the end of their wits4 ,to this point ,i add two facts which may be proved beyond any doubt2 the one by unquestionable historical records1 the other by still living eye-witnesses4 ,when under ,bishop ,friedrich von ,parsberg the interdict was inflicted on the city of ,eichstdt1 during all the year #abci not a single drop of liquor became visible on the coffin-plate of ,st4 ,walburga4 ,the contrary fact was stated on ,june #g1 #ahce4 ,the cave was opened on this day by chance1 passengers longing to see it4 ,to their astonishment they found the stone so profusely dropping with oil1 that the golden vase fixed underneath was full to the brim1 whereas at this season never had been observed there any fluid4 ,some weeks later arrived the long-wished-for royal decree which sanctioned the reopening of the convent of ,st4 ,walburga2 it was signed on that very #gth of ,june1 #ahce1 by his ,majesty ,king ,louis ,i4 ,moreover1 let one try to gather water which is dropping from sweating stone1 or glass1 or metal1 and let him see if it will be pure and limpid1 or rather muddy1 filthy1 and cloudy4 ,the oil of ,st4 ,walburga on the contrary1 is and remains so limpid and crystal1 that a bottle1 which had been filled and officially sealed at the reopening of the cave after the ,swedish invasion1 #afde1 preserves to this day the oil so very clear and clean as if it had been filled yesterday2 an occurrence never to be observed even on the purest spring-water1 according to the testimony of the royal circuit-physician 7,k4 ,bezirksarzt74 ,to this testimony of a naturalist may be added that of a much higher authority4 ,the renowned naturalist1 ,von ,oken1 surely an unquestionable expert1 came one day1 while he was ,professor in the ,university of ,munich1 to ,eichstdt on the special purpose to investigate this extraordinary phenomenon4 ,the cave was opened to him1 he received every information he wished for1 and having seen and examined everything1 he pronounced publicly without any reluctance that he could not explain the matter in a natural way4 ,he took of the liquor to ,munich in order to subject it to a chemical analysis1 and declared then by writing the result of his researches to be that he could take it neither for natural water1 nor oil1 and that1 in general1 he was not able to explain the phenomenon as being in accordance with the laws of nature4 ,let me add the testimony of a historical authority4 ,mr4 ,sax1 counsellor of the government 7,k4 ,regierungsrath71 in his history of the diocese and city of ,eichstdt1 after he has spoken of the origin1 the properties1 and the effect of the oil of ,st4 ,walburga1 concludes that 'they are of such a singular kind1 that they not only exceed far the province of extraordinary nature-phenomena1 but that they1 in spite of the constant discrediting and slandering by bullying free-thinkers1 preserved the great confidence of the catholic people even in far distant countries4' ,now of the miracles4 ,there are related by the people many thousands1 but1 of course1 few of them are attested4 ,in the ,pastoral paper of ,eichstdt1 #aheg1 page #bjg1 ,i read that ,anton ,ernest1 ,bishop of ,brnn1 in ,moravia1 announces1 under ,nov4 #a1 #aheg1 to the ,bishop of ,eichstdt1 the recovery of a girl in the establishment of the sisters of charity from blindness1 and sends1 in order to attest the fact1 the following document1 which ,i am to translate literally3-- ',in the name of the indivisible ,trinity4 ,we1 ,anton ,ernest1 by ,god's and the ,holy ,see's grace1 ,bishop of ,brnn4 ,after we had received1 first by the curate of the establishment of the ,daughters of ,christian ,charity in this place1 and then also from other quarters1 the notice that a girl in the aforesaid establishment had regained the use of her eyes miraculously in the very moment when she had a vial1 containing oil of ,st4 ,walburga1 offered to her1 brought to her mouth and kissed1 we thought it to be our duty to research scrupulously into the fact1 and to put it beyond all doubt in the way of a special commission1 by hearing of witnesses and a trial at the place of the fact1 if there be truth1 and how much of it1 in the supposed miraculous healing4 ',about the report of this commission and the adjoined testimony of the physician1 we have then1 as prescribes the ,holy ,council of ,trent 7,sess4 #be71 collected the judgments of our theologians and other pious men2 and as these all were quite in accordance1 and the fact itself with all its circumstances lay before us quite clear and open1 we have1 after invocation of assistance of the ,holy ,ghost1 pronounced1 judged1 and decided as follows3-- ',the instantaneous removal of the most pertinacious eyelid-cramp 7,augenlied krampf71 which ,matilda ,makara during many months had hindered in the use of her eyes and kept in blindness1 and the simultaneous recurrence of the full eye-sight1 phlogistic appearances still remaining in the eyes1 which occurred when ,matilda ,makara on ,nov4 #g1 #ahef1 had a vial with the oil of ,st4 ,walburga brought1 full of confidence1 to her mouth and kissed1 must be acknowledged to be a fact which1 besides the order of nature1 has been effected by ,god's grace1 and is therefore a miracle4 ',and that the memory of this ,divine favour may be preserved1 that to ,god eternal thanks may be given1 the confidence of the faithful may be incited and nourished1 this devotion to the great wonder-worker ,st4 ,walburga may be promoted1 we order that this aforegoing decision shall be affixed in the chapel of the ,daughters of ,christian ,charity in this place1 that it shall be preserved for all times to come1 and that the #gth ,nov4 shall be celebrated as a holiday every year in this aforesaid establishment4 ',given in our ,episcopal ,residence at ,brnn1 ',nov4 #a1 #aheg1 '7,l4 ,s47 ,anton ,ernest1 ,bishop4' ,a second record about ,st4 ,walburga ,i find in the ,eichstdt ,pastoral paper1 #aheh1 page #aib1 from which ,i take the following3 ',the ,superioress of the ,convent of ,st4 ,walburga had received in summer #aheh the notice of a miraculous cure written by the ,superioress of the ,convent of ,st4 ,leonard-sur-,mer1 ,sussex4 ,at request for an authenticated report1 ,john ,bamber1 chaplain of the ,convent of the ,holy ,infant at ,st4 ,leonard-sur-,mer1 wrote about the following3 ,sister ,walburga had been ill fifteen months1 of which five bedridden4 ,the physician pronounced the malady to be incurable4 ,large exterior tumour1 frequent 7thrice or four times a day7 vomitings were caused by the diseased pylorus4 ,the matter was hopeless1 when the ,superioress on ,april #bg thought of using the oil of ,st4 ,walburga4 ,the chaplain brought it on the tongue of the sick sister1 and in the same moment she had a burning feeling which seemed to her to descend1 and to affect especially the sick part4 ,in a few minutes the inner smart ceased1 the tumour fell off1 she felt recovered4 ,next morning she rose1 assisted at the holy mass1 communicated1 ate with good appetite4 ,she was quite recovered1 but somewhat feeble1 as people always are after a great disease4 ,the physician1 a ,protestant1 abode by his opinion the malady to be incurable1 acknowledged1 however1 the healing4 ,his words were3 ',i believe the healing to be effected by the oil of ,st4 ,walburga1 but how1 ,i don't know4' ,as a ,protestant he refused to give testimony that the operation of the oil had been miraculous4' ,the report is authenticated by ,thomas1 ,bishop of ,southwark4 ,freising1 ,bayern1 ,september #ac1 #ahgc4 ,,note ,,on ,,page #cbc4 ,,boniface ,,of ,,canterbury4 ,when ,i made the above reference in #ahfe to ,boniface of ,canterbury1 ,i was sure ,i had seen among my books some recent authoritative declaration on the subject of his cultus in opposition to the ,bollandists2 but ,i did not know where to look for it4 ,i have now found in our ,library 7,concess4 ,offic4 t4 #b7 what was in my mind4 ,it consists of five documents proceeding from the ,sacred ,congregation of ,rites1 with the following title3-- ,emo ac ,revmo ,domino ,card4 ,lambruschini ,relatore1 ,taurinen4 ,approbationis cults ab immemorabili tempore prstiti ,b4 ,bonifacio ,subaudi ,archiepiscopi ,cantuarien4 ,instante serenissimo ,rege ,sardini ,carolo ,alberto4 ,rom1 #ahch4 ,also ,dr4 ,grant1 ,bishop of ,southwark1 has kindly supplied me with the following extract from the ,correspondance de ,rome1 #bd ,november1 #ahea1 adding ,st4 ,boniface of ,canterbury or of ,savoy was beatified quipollenter by ,gregory ,,xvi43-- ,le ,b4 ,boniface de ,savoie1 xi de ce nome1 petit-fils d',humbert iii1 ,archevque de ,cantorbry4 ,confirmation de son culte1 galement la demande du ,roi ,charles ,albert1 #g ,sept4 #ahch4 ,d'abord moine parmi les ,chartreux1 puis ,archevque de ,cantorbry1 consacr par ,innocent ,,iv4 au ,concile ,gnral de ,lyons2 il occupa le sige #be ans4 ,mort en #abgj pendant un voyage en ,savoie4 ,son corps port ,haucatacombe2 concours des populations2 miracles2 son corps retrouv intact trois sicles aprs sa mort4 ,son nom dans les livres liturgiques4 ,sa fte clbre sans aucune interruption4 ,sur la relation de ,card4 ,lambruschini1 la ,s4 ,c4 des ,rites le #a ,sept4 #ahch1 dcida qu'il constait de cas exceptionnel aux dcrets d',urbain ,,viii4 p4 #daj4