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714 T.H.'E'i LEADER. [Sat^tiidav,
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CATHOLIC UNION. CatJwlic Union: Essays t...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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History Of The Reigns Of Louis Xviii. An...
posed the greater pact of the working majority , of which the Doctrinaires formed a small Eueleus ; and the Doctrinaires , themselves accepted office , either in the university , the administration , or ths Council of State . In vain did several of them protest at different times against . the-acts of the Ministry ; in vain did they profess their independence ; they became sQ > eaveloped and compromised by the policy of M . i ) ecazes , that the same obloquy covered-both- Koyer CoUard , therefore , determined to retire from offioo . As head of the Education Board he was not always able to resist the demands of the clerical party , or to obtain tbat support of the Prime Minister against them which he desired . He foresaw the overthrow of the balanced system of administration ; and deemed it wise to withdraw hi time , not to be overwhelmed " and identified with its falL " Here is Mr . Crowe ' s cwn doctrinaire philosophy ; it is tlie best comfort mankind will find in his "book : —
" In politics , as in morals , and indeed in everytliing human , it is vain to look and wait for those solid and imperishable foundations , which defy tune and preclude change or decay . Great . and eves lasting edifices , with vast and magnificent cities , have been built on heaps of faggots and on piles of wood . So in politics and in morals : taking man , so imperfect , so ignorant , so brittle , empires and bodies politic and institutions may be built up and perfected of men , of man s faculties , and energies , and virtues , and vices , such as they are . Bat there are some who refuse to build on any foundation , but would build on nothing but granite . ; so there are some who in religion seek for demonstration of the unseen , who in ¦ ph ilosophy insist on some irrefragable ana primitive truth , and who do not consider politics
as stable , unless they have established some principle or found some basis which they consider immutable . Unfortunately nothing is immutable in . any part of the scene of life . A . 11 that such men can do therefore is , to pretend that the principle which they have found is immutable and immortal , and that it is impiety - to doubt and profanation to question it . Having thus raised a political dogma to the rank of a superstition , they think they have got ; a , solid fonudation for government . " One remarkable erceumstance has struck us in turning over these volumes . Few JEnglishmen . are such masters of French literature and French politics as Mar . Crowe- ; French society is perhaps more familiar to him than English . A & d yet -we have not noticed a single gallicism in all this -writing . We do not know whether that is a merit , but " it is acuriosity .
714 T.H.'E'I Leader. [Sat^Tiidav,
714 T . H . 'E ' i LEADER . [ Sat ^ tiidav ,
Catholic Union. Catjwlic Union: Essays T...
CATHOLIC UNION . CatJwlic Union : Essays towards a Church of the , Future as the Organisation , of Philanthropy . By F . W . Newman . . . John Chapman . It tvere well for mankind , and for the progress of free inquiry , if all its champions brought to their so lemn task the straightforward simplicity i mingled -with genuine tenderness and consideration for the feelings of others , ¦ which characterise the writings of M-r . Newman on religious subjects . There never-was a style in which personal egotism was so little apparent ; the most devout sectarian has not to shudder at finding subjects dear and sacred to him treated with levity and sarcasm : the toleration Mr . Newman contends for is genuine , and . in him is never " found wanting ; " and strong in the sincerity of this moderation and charity , lie utters his earnest convictions with an intrepid directness which gives peculiar force to his writings oti
these subjects , usually so conventionally and indirectly dealt with . This spirit of toleration—characteristic of all Mr . Newman ' s books—is especially so of the one before us , which is indeed , from beginning to end , a plea for toleration as the only basis of union . It asks , in the first place , what has made the establishment of a really Catholic Church hitherto hopeless ? and the anwer is too obvious—the impossible condition imposed upon all the members , of agreement upon theological truth . It asks , in the second place , how may it he possible to form such a Church ? and endeavours to show that it can only "be by the exercise of the widest toleration , or , to speak more properly , by obtaining a clear idea of the propositions to which it is reasonable to demand universal assent . What is the present state of opinion on
this subject among the body who restr ict to themselves the name of Church ? Many wise and good individuals , religious men in the deepest sense of tlie term , if religion imply a recognition of moral responsibility , do not believe in the doctrines of Christianity . They do not seek to persuade others , who think differently , they do not wish to deprive tlie Christian of a belief which brings him comfort , they contend only for the same right of free opinion ; they demand only not to bo forced to subscribe doctrines to which their reason refuses assent . The evidence which satisfies some minds , is not convincing , -we all know , to others of a different constitution , and on every other subject we are accustomed to admit the justice of this plea , but on this , the most important of all subjects , the Christian Churches , one and all .
practically deny it . They offer the choice between faithless assent or virtual excommunication ; these men , who have enquired earnestly , who have decided honestly , find themselves compelled to choose between the position of social Fariahs , or the depression and degradation of a life-long lie . Many have scarcely the choice—many , to whom truth is dear and prooious above all things , could only purchase the power to be true at a cost of wron <* and misery brought upan others , which they have neither the courage nor the right to inflict . The Christian Churches justify their conduct towards disaentientB by -wwrious articles of their compulsory creed " , they not only insist on the-rfwfy of belief ; making belief a voluntary act—winch is absurd : but they declare * hat the eternal lmppineess of man is dependent on this belief : in other words , that the just and merciful Creator whom they proclaim and ackiuDiwlcdge , will punish men for opinions . consequent on the constitution of miud wfaercewith Me has endowed them—which is worse than absurd : it is incredible and abhorrent . Yet it ie impossible to mit a , different
i-ntoipretaiUon upon the doctrines contained in the creed of St . Athanasius , and in the 8 th , 13 th , 17 th , and 18 th of the Articles of Religion . Wo have alluded to these tenets of the Christian creoJa , which appear to us so unjust and erroneous , not in any spirit of rancour or bitterness , but simply because thie doctrine of infallibility ia , as Mr . Newman says , the rock upon which all Churches have hitherto split ; indeed , such a system ia pbv » ou « ly ill-calculated to solve the great problem of Catholicity , as it at onco converts dissentients into antagonists . Hence , for eighteen centuries tlie Church has been fighting a losing game ; and the ovUh of internal dissension . and exitonded sectarianism have become so glaring , as to have in some moaauaje created their own remedy . Mr . Newman druwe a parallel between this movement , and the analogous process which takes place in the development of cHrttoont nationalities . 5 hn'l IatimCfl 9 f oon f i Oft ftI » d violence ) , every rudo nnd / strong people endoavoura to ox tend n £ i , X » to nolg »| bom : »; and ovory Huccoahful power bqgina to dronm of Univoratd Empire , wq wor ( i Empire probably oxcitod iu Chnvlonuvgiie , aa the word Church in tho I ' opou
and in many a Protestant prelate ^ a belief of his Tight to universal obedience . But the resistance of mnn , claiming equal rights with man , gradually teaehos nations that universal s * vny is impossible , and that eaehimtion must submit to co-ordination with others . Before this stage is reached , each is seeking the destruction and absorption of the rest ; no moral relationship of nationalities is conceded . Bat after each is convinced tiiat all have an equal right to existence , moral action between , them becomes possible and commences . " So too , as long as different churches aro under the delusion that they have , each of them , a divine right to command the obedience of tlie rest , they remain in implacable hostility , and no moral relations can exist . It is said that persons afflicted with monomania
are sometimes cured by mere juxtaposition , since each sees the error of the other in so vivid and ludicrous a light . Something ; of the kind has gone on among Protestants . Members of different churches seetfoit a claim which is made by all overall is self-destructive ^ tbat no church has aay divine guarantee of infallibility ; that therefore no ono has any power or ri ^ ht authoritatively to declare' the truth ; ' and that it is pride , misanthropy , and folly in a church to disown other churches , just as in a nation to disown oth « r nations , or a man other men . In short , thousands of us have learned , that though as a matter of convenience separate churches or sects must exist , yet-each sect ought to bo in friendly relations to every other , and moreover ought to desire that every other may perfect its best fruit , so that each may leatn . whatever another lias to teach /'
We agree with the author : thousands among us have arrived at these conclusions ; thousands there are , we hope and believe , who will echo the profession of faith contained in the following passage : — " But now recurs tho other question , —Are we to abandon as a dream the idea of Catholicity ? Kather , have we not laid a new foundation for tliat idea , from the day iu wbich we have begun to recognise , as in moral amity with us , other churches , having different tenets from ours ? Hereby we admit moral union in spite of ecclesiastical separation . Indeed , to deny the propriety of this is inhuman , and is almost unimaginable in those who have renounced the principle of persecution . If it is not right to treat a man as a felon , because he has what we think to be a false creed , we roust treat him as an innocent fellow-citizen ; in other words , we must be in moral relations with him . It is true , these relations need not be intimate . We cannot associate with many , nor . directly co-operate with many ; and we ¦ need to select our coadjutors . I do not expect or hope that men will follow the results , of their theories to the sacrifioe of their prejudices . Still , in- spite of reaction towards forms
and creeds , the winning principle of the Age seems to be this : The ft I ' oral is higher than the Ecclesiastical . We are learning that right creeds are but means of becoming better men ; and that goodness ( in the truest sense ) is the end proposed ; and we liave daily proof that persons who agree with us more minutely in , theological creed are l > y no means al ways so trustworthy in various virtues as others -who differ from us . The true union between man and man in the highest and closest human friendship turns on a leciprocal trust in one another ' s virtue ; and thousands are become so sick at heart at the pretensions of creeds , that they often ask , whether the union of good men , as suck , is for ever to be impossible . This question is nothing but the aspiring of tlie ' heart towards the true Church of the Future , — a union of those who look on that part of man , in which he is said to be like to God , as his best and noblest ; and who dedicate , themselves to the cultivation of this . Such a catholic union would have no religious creed whatever : and so far from bearing within it the sectarian principle of Protestantism , it would embrace Jews , Turks , Arabs , Hindoos , Chinese , —Christians , Theists , Pantheists , and Atheists , —whenever they were sincere , and personally
virtuous . They might retain their religious distinctions , like the ' Orders' in tlie Church of Rome : yet in the contact of friendliness the stronger element would attract and jfiuduallv overpower the weaker , exactly as we see in scientific truth . As tiie doctrine of Ptolemy was superseded by that of Copernicus , and Copernicus Was swallowed up in Newton , so will it be in regard to religions , when that misanthropic jind pernicious bigotry is tamed , which continues to disgrace the theory of Christianity and the practice of so many of "its professors . Those who believe their creed likely to win proselytes by closer contact , will rejoice in . the breaking down of the barriers by whicli at present every sect in its turn fortifies itself against the access of argument and evidence . One who is confident jn the truth of his own creed ought to be anxious that it may have friendly opportunity to diffuse its light ; and one who has weak convictions ought to i ' otl it absur . l to shut , out othor men ' s light . Only , let that chicanery and crookedness be excluded , whicli fanaticism and worldly interest propagate . Indeed , they will exclude themselves by their overweening pretensions . "
The question of Human Brotherhood , as Mr . Newman remarks , " takes us into the regions of Communism , and Politics , as departments of Morals . " For if the principles of brotherly unity and sympathy be truly grafted in a man ' s heart , he will not rest contented with speculating upon the wrongs of his fellow-creatures "in the abstract ; " and ¦ even the crudest and most unjust of socialist theories will make him thoughtful rather than indignant , looking upon such as they should be looked at , as the inarticulate % vy of unreasoning suffering , the evidence of social evil , to be deplored , and , if possible , remedied , not to be ignored and suppressed . Politicians have too long dealt only with the symptoms , leaving the disoaso itself uuattacked . Mr . N " ewuaan ' s views on this point are well-considered . Here are some very true observations on the subject of the dependence of a Church upon the State . That this union does sensibly paralyse the enemy of ecclesiastical reformers , is doubtless true ; but it is no lerfs true tlmt the
evil lies deeper , in , —we return to the point , —the Cliurchs' own constitution . " In no one instanco has the opiscopal bonch initiated efforts for moral reform in every instance ( as far aa I am aware , ) the minority has weighed heavily against reformers when they arose among tho kity . In short , tho ecclesiastical organs J 14 t . ru boen ko paralysed by their dependence on tho State , ns to retain energy for nothing except to resist any reform decisive enough to improve them . Protestantism has done much flood , by uufcttwin" tlio energies of individuals ; but the good is done oftener in spito of cliiu-ch-oraini . sntbri than by means of it . Tho laity and tho disinters , or tho luw church , work ; tho hi Kh church obstruct ;—until decorum bringa them overwhentho battle ia all but won .
, , Such considerations , and othora besides , load many of tho more enor ^ otic dissenters to lay great btresa on tho importance of separating Church and Stuto ; which they boliovo not only to be required by justice and by tho Christian religion ( i . c . by the rule of tho New IVstuim-nt , ) but also to bu important for giving energy to tlio oeclesiiistioal organs themselves 1 am not about to differ from this judgment ; intact , 1 fundamentally atnreo with it Tho serious mischief done to England by her Established Church ia , I think , forcibly a ' con by turnmcto tho United Sutes of America ; where all tho name religious Meets cxiat aa with ua ; where tlio Kpiuoopnliana arc not -only an loftily occlumimtioal na hero , but oven inoro uniformly ho . Nevertheless , they lny no claim to mguliito tho publlo education , and do not obstruct it . In consequence , in Now Enplane ! and Mew York u yevy cflkuout ttyuLain of i uawiuh ubuu milo \ ouior
v » a . I - ~~ " - r- "'" * " "t " »« » »»"* * n uj ; jmo sum piuta ol tlio Union Uut here , the Jfetabluhod Church linn long loot tho low mid roreronoa if throo-quartoii of M ° ) rV flI a "l ^ r f 0 ro ? - - tl ' luci , lt 0 tll , « y ° . 1 UBeB hop P ° lilicid P ° 8 itiu ' » « nA inlluwioo I ii *? , & fcttti 0 ^ ' (> ln dol " K lt m tho ollly w"y U 1 whieli the poonlo will accept it . Manifestly tUi 0 obstruction ia gratuitous , lt ia not noomfuutod by tho oread ' of tho Church tor tho American Jipisoopaliuns , with the suino wood , Wo no desire thun ( , o obatruot Tiio trueicHuuo ih , pi'tdo of station ; mu \ iiuunnuoh hh to mipumto tho Kpiaoopal Ohurelj from tho btate , nnd mako it oo . ordiimto wttli otlior bodira , would bring it into u like mini with thai . ot AmoriQii , it W (» uld oxooodinKly promote that groat cause , nutiwiml Hohoolinc . It would !^ : ^^; t ^ ^ - "" «— ^ »» I * - <*¦ ^ « bgA- *« oinn ah »^ hZ AKi ° ? ' ! 1 WBntOT 8 ? " " i ' "nU ^ P « 9 t s <) tno f ? ' - « "t mgoMomtion from . WpnnUinK ? ho iooit n ^ ^^ Y" Ol Al ^ Pifl ? imUX '? ' ! ' « lruu '' l '"' - U does not a ,, J , « r that ^ , ^ 3 f ° ? ia VWy , 'f ° , '" ? ™ I K « Ml i '""• y « l »»« . tlio Co « fireg . t | UiiHll « tfl th HKil , f ti a ! V " ° - "' f , K ? H lblbll 0 tl Church : ~ . f ,, r they are « m ollioiont on or moS r . f " ° U r ! i ° !'" ° " A ® l T Ol th ° AlU 0 lic «» o «« uiUh « i loai tho ,, lnl « u < . lm ,,, i «; oi wonU rclwmd of tho d « y . Ainong n lar ^ o part of tJio community there ia « u juiLivo on-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 29, 1854, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_29071854/page/18/
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