New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-03-23
F. PUBLICATIONS.
NryyuAN,S EARLY LETTERS.

Nn,Iev In two volumes. WIN TWO roru"iS'
iomo nm. 43G461. L~Ongmans, Green "
Those volumes deal only with the lie OF New
-o, ,,hi,c no remained in the English Church'
that is nm 10 and including the year le4o' Inc
xooord embraces his youth and MS coliese A'e'
ord while the period covered lncluues '""V u
.ho Tractarian movement, and there ID co"Si"'''
,h,o correspondence having relation 10 thaU move
uent. its inner history is not much
nv the letters here published. 10 thoSc az
ouainted with the men who 1ormeu ",""
COLLEGE circle the chronicle must necessarily |"
noore interesting than such a record can pe " ''
average reader, in whose memory such d"
&c Ward. Bouden, hawkins. Motley, hepie' 1 U%S
md Froude awake dim "reminiscences no ~
Rut even the average reader can, ny caieiui ''u"'
- ,hoso volumes. succeed measurably in tracing
The course Of Newman meh'al "''iCP'
.horrb ca complex was his character and so ap-
parently contradictory were some Oh 'e
.tr;tino Of his changes. that it is by no means
so.. o. follow and stiIl more difficult to explain
,bo nrocesses through which he passed IN ar
sirirr NJ settled conclusions. Beginning win
. markcd Evangelical bias. he lowered, IN MS
,,outb on the borders Of ultra-Calvlnlsm' MS
Evancelicalism developed in him a strong peht ir
recommendation. and uncovered a tendency which
M douhf was always in his character, 10 seC sie"0
store upon ritual and outward Observance.
Az no grew older he. according TO his own
ncconnt beran TO entertain some misglVlhg uoou'
Tho trne status of the Anglican Church. buo Il
only effect of these half-doubts was 10 aiar" 10
conscience with regard to his own onlgatpons, Il
consequently he began to attack Rome win an
almost exaggerated energy. The Tractarlan move
mont. which was ostensibly directed 10 the reform
md revival of the English Church, opehco up
views and involved arguments. the most important
-aurar Tho controversies
,rhich broke ont over the real implications OF
.nnlicar doctrines and ritual led those who
;macined themselves to be historical Liberals into
orouino for the virtual unity of the two churches;
.,cb an ARGUMENT logical minds could eventually
mako nothing less than q vindication OF the elder
Church very curious and Significant feature
~ tho Tractarian movement, and closely con-
nected with Newman's subsequent career, IS 'e
rcactionary character which it was quick 10 answer
L. appeared at q time when the scieh'i"o :"
under which we still live was fairly opening
when the higher criticism was for the hrst Time
heino applied with boldness in Germany wheh
ninetecnth-century philosophy was conquerlhS d
firm foothold: when mcdiaevalism was receIV-
ing its formal and final dismissal into the realm
of the obsolete. At such a %juncture John Henry
Newman threw all his energies into the impossloe
task of reforging the Intellectual fetters of the
hll0UlC Ages, VIZ III boiho VIM"
upon the tendencies of his own time and cast IN
his LOT with the enemies Of all progress.
perbans too much stress has been laid by his
rr;tics upon the assumed incompatibility of his
intellectual force and his religious development.
IT, has been cited as wonderful that a man OF so
much mental force and virility should have re-
vcrtcd to q medieval type. But in fact the
Middle Ages themselves explain this seeming
marvel. for their annals abound with precisely
similar instances. The secret of the phenomenon
is not to be sought in individual peculiarities so
much as in the choice of intellectual and spiritual
standards. Let it he granted that the dogmas
upon which q religion rests are beyond question
and criticism, and every step which Newman TOOK
NAV he predicted. 1t is true that In the mental
attitude which commended this preliminary conceS-
sion to him there was evidence of a spirit allen TO
that of the nineteenth century. 1t is no less true
that TO a really logical mind Newman'5 early ana
self-confessed errors as to beliefs which he had re-
ceived as final should have suggested doubt as to
the fnality Of his later conclusions. A letter from
his father. printed in the first of these volumes,
warns him gravely against this very impulsivc
and prccipitate tendency, and he smiles 20 himself
at the idea that he can ever see cause for recon-
sidcring his convictions of the moment. Yet not
many years were to elapse before he should have
passed through more than one mental revolution :;
and each of these changes was TO carry him further
away from his initial beliefs. This was one Of
the consequences of rejecting Reason as a guide
and substituting Faith, and the case was made
more serious by the ease with which his intellect
furnished ingenious and plausible Qualifications for
every change in its turn.
II must he admitted that some individual traits
were also factors in the peculiar transformations
referred to. Newman, for example. possessed a
s...-I ,,o1;oo.o a,.s,,l Fy holiot IN +ha
supernatural. This crops out again and again in
his letters. While lying at quarantine near Malta
during his travels. he and several Of his con-
panions are disturbed at night by noises which
cannot be explained. and lie at once hints at super
natural causes. That he believed in witchcraft
and the power Of evil spirits, is indicated in other
passages. The miraculous elements in Christianity
were consequently never stumbling-block TO HIM.
On tie contrary, he regarded them as quite normal
and as atiording no ground for doubt. much less
for scepticis;n. His university life too, counted
for much in the moulding of his character. as this
correspondence clearly shows. Seldom if ever has
there been 50 spiritual an atmosphere as that
breathed by him and his special circle at Orlcl
But the prevailing tone was as much theological as
spiritual perhaps. ard the theology is much in
evidence in the letters. not only of Newman, but
of Froude, Pussy. Motley, Ward. and in fact mos
Of his correspondents. 1t took him a long time
10 discover te objective of his life voyage, bu'
these volumes make il clear enough that his feet
were set Romeward many years before lac took The
firal step in lsiJ, and that his affections, force Of
habit, and the very human reluctance 10 face thC
storm his going over was sure to arouse, de
layed the crisis considerably after he had become
ripe for tie change.
Toward the last. however, he became caution:
and restrained in expression, writing most freely
to his sister, Mrs. Motley, who revised him pro
foundly, although she could net follow nor sym
pathize with him in his change Of religion. II
understand Newman thoroughly il is not enOugl
10 read these early letters nor the fragmcntarS
autobiography. Both the "Apolcsia" and The
Grammar of Assent must he studied. and al