St. Paul's Characteristic Gift

My Fathers, my Brothers, one word more. Itmay seem as if I were going out of my way inthus addressing you; but I have some sort ofplea to urge in extenuation. When the EnglishCollege at Rome was set up by the solicitude of a{30}great Pontiff in the beginning of England's sorrows,and missionaries were trained there forconfessorship and martyrdom here, who was it thatsaluted the fair Saxon youths as they passed byhim in the streets of the great city, with thesalutation, "Salvete flores martyrum"? And when{5}the time came for each in turn to leave thatpeaceful home, and to go forth to the conflict, to whomdid they betake themselves before leaving Rome,to receive a blessing which might nerve them fortheir work? They went for a Saint's blessing;{10}they went to a calm old man, who had neverseen blood, except in penance; who had longedindeed to die for Christ, what time the great St.Francis opened the way to the far East, but whohad been fixed as if a sentinel in the holy city,{15}and walked up and down for fifty years on onebeat, while his brethren were in the battle. Oh!the fire of that heart, too great for its frailtenement, which tormented him to be kept at homewhen the whole Church was at war! and{20}therefore came those bright-haired strangers to him,ere they set out for the scene of their passion,that the full zeal and love pent up in that burningbreast might find a vent, and flow over, from himwho was kept at home, upon those who were to{25}face the foe. Therefore one by one, each in histurn, those youthful soldiers came to the old man;and one by one they persevered and gained thecrown and the palm,—all but one, who had notgone, and would not go, for the salutary blessing.{30}

My Fathers, my Brothers, that old man wasmy own St. Philip. Bear with me for his sake.If I have spoken too seriously, his sweet smileshall temper it. As he was with you threecenturies ago in Rome, when our Temple fell, sonow surely when it is rising, it is a pleasant token{5}that he should have even set out on his travels toyou; and that, as if remembering how heinterceded for you at home, and recognizing therelations he then formed with you, he should now bewishing to have a name among you, and to be{10}loved by you, and perchance to do you a service,here in your own land.

Ep. II. S. Paul ad Cor.,c.xii.v.9

Libenter igitur gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis, utinhabitet in me virtus Christi.

Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, thatthe power of Christ may dwell in me.

All the Saints, from the beginning of historyto the end, resemble each other in this, that theirexcellence is supernatural, their deeds heroic, their{15}merits extraordinary and prevailing. They allare choice patterns of the theological virtues;they all are blessed with a rare and special unionwith their Maker and Lord; they all lead lives ofpenance; and when they leave this world, they{20}are spared that torment, which the multitude ofholy souls are allotted, between earth and heaven,death and eternal glory. But, with all thesevarious tokens of their belonging to one and thesame celestial family, they may still be divided,{25}in their external aspect, into two classes.

There are those, on the one hand, who are so{5}absorbed in the Divine life, that they seem, evenwhile they are in the flesh, to have no part inearth or in human nature; but to think, speak,and act under views, affections, and motivessimply supernatural. If they love others, it is{10}simply because they love God, and because manis the object either of His compassion, or of Hispraise. If they rejoice, it is in what is unseen; ifthey feel interest, it is in what is unearthly; ifthey speak, it is almost with the voice of Angels;{15}if they eat or drink, it is almost of Angels' foodalone—for it is recorded in their histories, thatfor weeks they have fed on nothing else but thatHeavenly Bread which is the proper sustenanceof the soul. Such we may suppose to have been{20}St. John; such St. Mary Magdalen; such thehermits of the desert; such many of the holyVirgins whose lives belong to the science ofmystical theology.

On the other hand, there are those, and of the{25}highest order of sanctity too, as far as our eyescan see, in whom the supernatural combines withnature, instead of superseding it,—invigoratingit, elevating it, ennobling it; and who are notthe less men, because they are saints. They do{30}not put away their natural endowments, but usethem to the glory of the Giver; they do not actbeside them, but through them; they do noteclipse them by the brightness of Divine grace,but only transfigure them. They are versed inhuman knowledge; they are busy in human{5}society; they understand the human heart; theycan throw themselves into the minds of othermen; and all this in consequence of natural giftsand secular education. While they themselvesstand secure in the blessedness of purity and{10}peace, they can follow in imagination the tenthousand aberrations of pride, passion, andremorse. The world is to them a book, to whichthey are drawn for its own sake, which they readfluently, which interests them{15}naturally,—though, by the reason of the grace which dwellswithin them, they study it and hold conversewith it for the glory of God and the salvationof souls. Thus they have the thoughts, feelings,frames of mind, attractions, sympathies,{20}antipathies of other men, so far as these are notsinful, only they have these properties of humannature purified, sanctified, and exalted; and theyare only made more eloquent, more poetical, moreprofound, more intellectual, by reason of their{25}being more holy. In this latter class I mayperhaps without presumption place many of the earlyFathers, St. Chrysostom, St. Gregory Nazianzen,St. Athanasius, and above all, the great Saint ofthis day, St. Paul the Apostle.{30}

I think it a happy circumstance that, in thisChurch, placed, as it is, under the patronage ofthe great names of St. Peter and St. Paul, thespecial feast days of these two Apostles (for suchwe may account the 29th of June as regards St.Peter, and to-day as regards St. Paul) should, in{5}the first year of our assembling here, each havefallen on a Sunday. And now that we havearrived, through God's protecting Providence, atthe latter of these two days, the Conversion ofSt. Paul, I do not like to forego the opportunity,{10}with whatever misgivings as to my ability, ofoffering to you, my brethren, at least a fewremarks upon the wonderful work of God's creativegrace mercifully presented to our inspection inthe person of this great Apostle. Most unworthy{15}of him, I know, is the best that I can say; and eventhat best I cannot duly exhibit in the space oftime allowed me on an occasion such as this;but what is said out of devotion to him, and forthe Divine glory, will, I trust, have its use,{20}defective though it be, and be a plea for his favorablenotice of those who say it, and be graciouslyaccepted by his and our Lord and Master.

Now, since I have begun by contrasting St.Paul with St. John, and by implying that St.{25}John lived a life more simply supernatural thanSt. Paul, I may seem to you, my brethren, to bespeaking to St. Paul's disparagement; and youmay therefore ask me whether it is possible forany Saint on earth to have a more intimate{30}communion with the Divine Majesty than was grantedto St. Paul. You may remind me of his ownwords, "I live, now not I, but Christ liveth inme; and, that I now live in the flesh, I live in thefaith of the Son of God, who loved me, anddelivered Himself for me." And you may refer to{5}his most astonishing ecstasies and visions; aswhen he was rapt even to the third heaven, andheard sacred words, which it "is not granted toman to utter." You may say, he "no way cameshort" of St. John in his awful initiation into the{10}mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Certainlyyou may say so; nor am I imagining anythingcontrary to you. We indeed cannot compareSaints; but I agree with you, that St. Paul wasvisited by favors, equal, in our apprehensions, to{15}those which were granted to St. John. But then,on the other hand, neither was St. John behindSt. Paul in these tokens of Divine love. In truth,these tokens are some of those very things which,in a greater or less degree, belong to all Saints{20}whatever, as I said when I began; whereas myquestion just now is, not what are those points inwhich St. Paul agrees with all other Saints, butwhat is his distinguished mark, how we recognizehim from others, what there is special in him;{25}and I think his characteristic is this,—that, as Ihave said, in him the fullness of Divine gifts doesnot tend to destroy what is human in him, but tospiritualize and perfect it. According to his ownwords, used on another subject, but laying down,{30}as it were, the principle on which his own characterwas formed,—"We would not beun-clothed," he says, but "clothedupon, that whatis mortal may be swallowed up by life." In him,his human nature, his human affections, hishuman gifts, were possessed and glorified by a new{5}and heavenly life; they remained; he speaks ofthem in the text, and in his humility he callsthem his infirmity. He was not stripped ofnature, but clothed with grace and the power ofChrist, and therefore hegloriesin his infirmity.{10}This is the subject on which I wish to enlarge.

A heathen poet has said, Homo sum, humaninihil a me alienum puto. "I am a man; nothinghuman is without interest to me:" and thesentiment has been widely and deservedly praised.{15}Now this, in a fullness of meaning which a heathencould not understand, is, I conceive, thecharacteristic of this great Apostle. He is everspeaking, to use his own words, "human things," and"as a man," and "according to man," and{20}"foolishly"; that is, human nature, thecommon nature of the whole race of Adam, spoke inhim, acted in him, with an energetical presence,with a sort of bodily fullness, always under thesovereign command of Divine grace, but losing{25}none of its real freedom and power because ofits subordination. And the consequence is, that,having the nature of man so strong within him,he is able to enter into human nature, and tosympathize with it, with a gift peculiarly his own.{30}

Now the most startling instance of this is this,—that, though his life prior to his conversionseems to have been so conscientious and so pure,nevertheless he does not hesitate to associatehimself with the outcast heathen, and to speakas if he were one of them. St. Philip Neri, before{5}he communicated, used to say, "Lord, I protestbefore Thee that I am good for nothing but todo evil." At confession he used to say, "I havenever done one good action." He often said, "Iam past hope." To a penitent he said, "Be sure{10}of this, I am a man like my neighbors, andnothing more." Well, I mean, that somewhat in thisway, St. Paul felt all his neighbors, all the wholerace of Adam, to be existing in himself. Heknew himself to be possessed of a nature, he was{15}conscious of possessing a nature, which wascapable of running into all the multiplicity ofemotions, of devices, of purposes, and of sins,into which it had actually run in the wide worldand in the multitude of men; and in that sense{20}he bore the sins of all men, and associatedhimself with them, and spoke of them and himselfas one. He, I say, a strict Pharisee (as hedescribes himself), blameless according to legaljustice, conversing with all good conscience{25}before God, serving God from his forefathers with apure conscience, he nevertheless elsewhere speaksof himself as a profligate heathen outcast beforethe grace of God called him. He not only countshimself, as his birth made him, in the number of{30}"children of wrath," but he classes himself withthe heathen as "conversing in the desires of theflesh," "and fulfilling the will of the flesh." Andin another Epistle, he speaks of himself, at thetime he writes, as if "carnal, sold under sin";he speaks of "sin dwelling in him," and of his{5}"serving with the flesh the law of sin"; this, Isay, when he was an Apostle confirmed in grace.And in like manner he speaks of concupiscence asif it were sin; all because he vividly apprehended,in that nature of his which grace had sanctified,{10}what it was in its tendencies and results whendeprived of grace.

And thus I account for St. Paul's liking forheathen writers, or what we now call the classics,which is very remarkable. He, the Apostle of the{15}Gentiles, was learned in Greek letters, as Moses,the lawgiver of the Jews, his counterpart, waslearned in the wisdom of the Egyptians; and hedid not give up that learning when he had"learned Christ." I do not think I am{20}exaggerating in saying so, since he goes out of his way threetimes to quote passages from them; once,speaking to the heathen Athenians; another time, tohis converts at Corinth; and a third time, in aprivate Apostolic exhortation to his disciple St.{25}Titus. And it is the more remarkable, that oneof the writers whom he quotes seems to be awriter of comedies, which had no claim to be readfor any high morality which they contain. Nowhow shall we account for this? Did St. Paul{30}delight in what was licentious? God forbid; buthe had the feeling of a guardian-angel who seesevery sin of the rebellious being committed tohim, who gazes at him and weeps. With thisdifference, that he had a sympathy with sinners,which an Angel (be it reverently said) cannot{5}have. He was a true lover of souls. He lovedpoor human nature with a passionate love, andthe literature of the Greeks was only itsexpression; and he hung over it tenderly andmournfully, wishing for its regeneration and salvation.{10}

This is how I account for his familiarknowledge of the heathen poets. Some of the ancientFathers consider that the Greeks were under aspecial dispensation of Providence, preparatoryto the Gospel, though not directly from heaven{15}as the Jewish was. Now St. Paul seems, if I maysay it, to partake of this feeling; distinctly as heteaches that the heathen are in darkness, and insin, and under the power of the Evil One, he willnot allow that they are beyond the eye of Divine{20}Mercy. On the contrary, he speaks of God as"determining their times and the limits of theirhabitation," that is, going along with therevolutions of history and the migrations of races, "inorder that they should seek Him, if haply they{25}may feel after Him and find Him," since, hecontinues, "He is not far from every one of us."Again, when the Lycaonians would haveworshiped him, he at once places himself on theirlevel and reckons himself among them, and at{30}the same time speaks of God's love of them,heathens though they were. "Ye men," he cries,"why do ye these things? We also are mortals,men like unto you;" and he adds that God intimes past, though suffering all nations to walkin their own ways, "nevertheless left not Himself{5}without testimony, doing good from heaven,giving rains and fruitful seasons, filling our heartswith food and gladness." You see, he says, "ourhearts," not "your," as if he were one of thoseGentiles; and he dwells in a kindly human way{10}over the food, and the gladness which food causes,which the poor heathen were granted. Hence itis that he is the Apostle who especially insists onour all coming from one father, Adam; for hehad pleasure in thinking that all men were{15}brethren. "God hath made," he says, "allmankind of one"; "as in Adam all die, so in Christall shall be made alive." I will cite but onemore passage from the great Apostle on the samesubject, one in which he tenderly contemplates{20}the captivity, and the anguish, and the longing,and the deliverance of poor human nature. "Theexpectation of the creature," he says, that is, ofhuman nature, "waiteth for the manifestationof the sons of God. For the creature was made{25}subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason ofHim that made it subject, in hope; because itshall be delivered from the servitude ofcorruption into the liberty of the glory of the childrenof God. For we know that every creature{30}groaneth and travaileth in pain until now."

These are specimens of the tender affectionwhich the great heart of the Apostle had for allhis kind, the sons of Adam: but if he felt so muchfor all races spread over the earth, what did hefeel for his own nation! O what a special{5}mixture, bitter and sweet, of generous pride (if I mayso speak), but of piercing, overwhelming anguish,did the thought of the race of Israel inflict uponhim! the highest of nations and the lowest, hisown dear people, whose glories were before his{10}imagination and in his affection from hischildhood, who had the birthright and the promise,yet who, instead of making use of them, hadmadly thrown them away! Alas, alas, and hehimself had once been a partner in their madness,{15}and was only saved from his infatuation by themiraculous power of God! O dearest ones, Oglorious race, O miserably fallen! so great and soabject! This is his tone in speaking of the Jews,at once a Jeremias and a David; David in his{20}patriotic care for them, and Jeremias in hisplaintive and resigned denunciations.

Consider his words: "I speak the truth inChrist," he says; "I lie not, my consciencebearing me witness in the Holy Ghost; that I have{25}great sadness and continual sorrow in my heart."In spite of visions and ecstasies, in spite of hiswonderful election, in spite of his manifold gifts,in spite of the cares of his Apostolate and "thesolicitude for all the churches"—you would{30}think he had had enough otherwise both to grievehim and to gladden him—but no, this specialcontemplation remains ever before his mind and inhis heart. I mean, the state of his own poorpeople, who were in mad enmity against thepromised Saviour, who had for centuries after{5}centuries looked forward for the Hope of Israel,prepared the way for it, heralded it, suffered forit, cherished and protected it, yet, when it came,rejected it, and lost the fruit of their long patience."Who are Israelites," he says, mournfully{10}lingering over their past glories, "who are Israelites, towhom belongeth the adoption of children, andthe glory, and the testament, and the giving ofwealth, and the service of God, and the promises:whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ{15}according to the flesh, who is over all things, Godblessed forever. Amen."

What a hard thing it was for him to give themup! He pleaded for them, while they werepersecuting his Lord and himself. He reminded his{20}Lord that he himself had also been that Lord'spersecutor, and why not try them a little longer?"Lord," he said, "they know that I cast intoprison, and beat in every synagogue, them thatbelieved in Thee. And, when the blood of{25}Stephen, Thy witness, was shed, I stood by andconsented, and kept the garments of them thatkilled him." You see, his old frame of mind, thefeelings and notions under which he persecutedhis Lord, were ever distinctly before him, and he{30}realized them as if they were still his own. "Ibear them witness," he says, "that they have azeal of God, but not according to knowledge."O blind! blind! he seems to say; O that thereshould be so much of good in them, so much zeal,so much of religious purpose, so much of{5}steadfastness, such resolve like Josias, Mathathias, orMachabæus, to keep the whole law, and honorMoses and the Prophets, but all spoiled, allundone, by one fatal sin! And what is he promptedto do? Moses, on one occasion, desired to suffer{10}instead of his rebellious people: "Either forgivethem this trespass," he said, "or if Thou do not,strike me out of the book." And now, when theNew Law was in course of promulgation, and thechosen race was committing the same sin, its{15}great Apostle desired the same: "I wishedmyself," he says, speaking of the agony he hadpassed through, "I wished myself to be ananathema from Christ, for my brethren, who aremy kinsmen according to the flesh." And then,{20}when all was in vain, when they remainedobdurate, and the high decree of God took effect, stillhe would not, out of very affection for them, hewould not allow after all that they werereprobate. He comforted himself with the thought of{25}how many were the exceptions to so dismal asentence. "Hath God cast away His people?"he asks; "God forbid. For I also am an Israelite,of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.""All are not Israelites that are of Israel." And{30}he dwells upon his confident anticipation of theirrecovery in time to come. "They are enemies,"he says, writing to the Romans, "for your sakes;"that is, you have gained by their loss; "but theyare most dear for the sake of the fathers; for thegifts and the calling of God are without{5}repentance." "Blindness in part has happened toIsrael, until the fullness of the Gentiles shouldcome in; and so all Israel should be saved."

My Brethren, I have now explained to acertain extent what I meant when I spoke of St.{10}Paul's characteristic gift, as being a specialapprehension of human nature as a fact, and anintimate familiarity with it as an object ofcontinual contemplation and affection. He made ithis own to the very full, instead of annihilating{15}it; he sympathized with it, while he mortified itby penance, while he sanctified it by the gracegiven him. Though he had never been a heathen,though he was no longer a Jew, yet he was aheathen in capability, as I may say, and a Jew{20}in the history of the past. His vivid imaginationenabled him to throw himself into the state ofheathenism, with all those tendencies which laydormant in his human nature carried out, andits infirmities developed into sin. His wakeful{25}memory enabled him to recall those pastfeelings and ideas of a Jew, which in the case ofothers a miraculous conversion might haveobliterated; and thus, while he was a Saint inferiorto none, he was emphatically still a man, and to{30}his own apprehension still a sinner.

And this being so, do you not see, my brethren,how well fitted he was for the office of anEcumenical Doctor, and an Apostle, not of the Jewsonly, but of the Gentiles? The Almightysometimes works by miracle, but commonly He{5}prepares His instruments by methods of this world;and, as He draws souls to Him, "by the cords ofAdam," so does He select them for His useaccording to their natural powers. St. John, who layupon His breast, whose book was the sacred heart{10}of Jesus, and whose special philosophy was the"scientia sanctorum,"hewas not chosen to bethe Doctor of the Nations. St. Peter, taught inthe mysteries of the Creed, the Arbiter of doctrineand the Ruler of the faithful, he too was passed{15}over in this work. To him specially was it givento preach to the world, who knew the world; hesubdued the heart, who understood the heart. Itwas his sympathy that was his means of influence;it was his affectionateness which was his title and{20}instrument of empire. "I became to the Jews aJew," he says, "that I might gain the Jews; tothem that are under the Law, as if I were underthe Law, that I might gain them that were underthe Law. To those that were without the Law,{25}as if I were without the Law, that I might gainthem that were without the Law. To the weakI became weak, that I might gain the weak. Ibecame all things to all men, that I might saveall."{30}

And now, my brethren, my time is out, beforeI have well begun my subject. For how can Ibe said yet to have entered upon the greatApostle, when I have not yet touched upon hisChristian affections, and his bearing towards thechildren of God? As yet I have chiefly spoken{5}of his sympathy with human nature unassistedand unregenerate; not of that yearning of hisheart, as it showed itself in action under thegrace of the Redeemer. But perhaps it is mostsuitable on the feast of his Conversion, to stop{10}at that point at which the day leaves him; andperhaps too it will be permitted to me on a futureoccasion to attempt, if it be not presumption, tospeak of him again.

Meanwhile, may this glorious Apostle, this{15}sweetest of inspired writers, this most touchingand winning of teachers, may he do me somegood turn, who have ever felt a special devotiontowards him! May this great Saint, this man oflarge mind, of various sympathies, of affectionate{20}heart, have a kind thought for every one of ushere according to our respective needs! He hascarried his human thoughts and feelings withhim to his throne above; and, though he seesthe Infinite and Eternal Essence, he still{25}remembers well that troublous, restless ocean below, ofhopes and fears, of impulses and aspirations, ofefforts and failures, which is now what it waswhen he was here. Let us beg him to intercedefor us with the Majesty on high, that we too may{30}have some portion of that tenderness, compassion,mutual affection, love of brotherhood, abhorrenceof strife and division, in which he excelled. Letus beg him especially, as we are bound, to blessthe most reverend Prelate, under whosejurisdiction we here live, and whose feast day this is;{5}that the great name of Paul may be to him atower of strength and fount of consolation now,and in death, and in the day of account.

and in death, and in the day of account.

Introductory Note.The sketches of Saul and David are contained in the third volume ofParochial and Plain Sermons. These discourses were delivered at Oxford before Newman's conversion to the Catholic Church.

Saul.The first king of Israel reigned from 1091 to 1051B.C.He ruled conjointly with Samuel the prophet eighteen years, and alone, twenty-two years. Samuel had been judge of Israel twelve years when the discontented Jews demanded a king, and Saul was elected by lot.

13: 7.Manna.Miraculous food supplied to the Jews, wandering in the desert of Sin, after their exodus from Egypt. The taste of manna was that of flour mixed with honey.

13: 10.Moses.Deliverer, lawgiver, ruler, and prophet of Israel, 1447B.C.The author of thePentateuchis probably the greatest figure of the Old Law and the most perfect type of Christ.

14: 3.Gadara.Noted for the miracle of casting out demons, wrought there by our Lord. The inhabitants in fear besought Him to leave their coasts. Mark v. 17.

16: 24.David.The prophet and king famous as the royal psalmist. From his line sprang the Messias.

17: 4.The asses.Saul, searching for his father's asses, was met by Samuel and anointed king.

17: 14.The Ammonites and Moabites.Warlike heathen tribes probably descended from Lot. They dwelt near the Dead Sea; were very hostile to the Jews.

17: 15.The Jordan.Largest river of Palestine, especially consecrated by the baptism of Christ in its waters; is called the river of judgment. An air line from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is sixty miles, but so tortuous is the Jordan, its length is two hundred miles.

18: 12.Philistines(strangers). Gentiles beyond the Western Sea, frequently at war with the Hebrews. Samson, Saul, and David were famous for their victories over these powerful enemies.

19: 29.God's vicegerent.Representative as king. Before Saul the Jewish government was theocratic,i.e.directly from God.

20: 15.Solomon.Son and successor of David, called the wisest of men: built the temple; became exalted with pride; was punished for his sins: died probably unrepentant. A striking example of the vanity of human success unblessed by God.

20: 16.Religious principle.A fundamental truth upon which conduct is consistently built. A conviction of the intellect and hence distinguished from instinct, disposition, feeling, often the spring of men's actions.

21: 18.Shekel.A silver coin worth about fifty-seven cents.

22: 23.Sacrifice offered by Saul.Sacrilegious in Saul, as the right was limited to the priesthood of Aaron.

23: 11.Ark of God.A figure of the Christian Tabernacle; divinely ordained for the Mosaic worship; contained the covenant of God with His chosen people.

24: 13.Religion a utility.Inversion of Christ's command,—"Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and His justice and all these things shall be added untoyou." Matthew vi. 33.

25: 8.Joshua.Successor of Moses and leader of the Jews into the Promised Land.

27: 8.The uncircumcised.Term applied to all outside the Hebrew people. Circumcision, a figure of baptism, was the sign of covenant given by God to Abraham and his descendants.

28: 6.The Psalms.One hundred and fifty inspired hymns of praise, joy, thanksgiving, and repentance, composed chiefly by David. Humanly speaking, they form the most exquisite lyric poetry extant, and in their strong, majestic beauty are most suitable to the Divine Offices of the Church.

29: 3.Balaam.An Oriental prophet of Mesopotamia, 1500 B.C.Sent for by the Moabite king to curse the Israelites.

29: 11. (a)Judah.(b)Shiloh.(a) The fourth son of Jacob and Leah. (b) The Messias.

30: 14.Anointing of David.To signify that the kingship, like the priesthood, is a sacred office,allpower coming from God.

31: 6.Sacred songs.The inspired music of David was the means of restoring grace to the troubled spirit of Saul. Browning'sSaulpaints strikingly the character of the shepherd boy and of the distracted old king.

32: 1.Goliath of Gath.A type of the giant, Sin; also of Lucifer, overcome by the meek Christ, who is prefigured by David.

34: 6.The Apostle.St. Paul, who recounts to the Hebrews his sufferings for Christ.

36: 5.Joseph.Son of Jacob; governor of Egyptunder Pharaoh.

36: 16.From Moses.A fine distinction between the theocratic and the royal government of Israel.

38: 24.The king's son-in-law.Saul in envy married his daughter Michol to David "that she might prove a stumbling-block to him."

39: 4.David and Joseph.Note the consistent and forcible parallel.

43and44:The patriarchs.This passage illustrates the exquisite choice of words, the perfect finish of sentence, and the wonderful beauty of thought characteristic of Newman.

Introductory Note.These Essays on the Fathers are to be found inHistorical Sketches, Vol. III. They were written to illustrate the tone and mode of thought, the habits and manners of the early times of the Church.

Athens.Most of those who sought Attic wisdom were natures without control. "Basil and Gregory were spoiled for subtle, beautiful, luxurious Athens. They walked their straight and loving road to God, with the simplicity which alone could issue out of the intense purpose of their lives—the love and service of Christ their Lord."

45: 15.Hildebrand.St. Gregory VII, one of the greatest among the great Roman pontiffs. He combated the evils of the eleventh century, within and without the Church, and effected incalculable good, especially in the war of Investitures waged against Henry IV of Germany.

45: 17.City of God.The Church.

45: 18.Ambrose.Archbishop of Milan, noted for zeal in spreading the faith; remembered for his fearless

rebuke of the Emperor Theodosius.46: 30.Pontus.Part ofCappadocia in Asia Minor; founded by Alexander the Great.

47: 28.The contention.See Acts of the Apostles xv. 39.

49: 16.Armenian creed.Similar to that of the Greek Church.

55: 17.The Thesbite.Elias, who dwelt on Carmel, as did St. John the Baptist, in most rigorous penance.

55: 18.Carmel.A mountain on the coast of Palestine, noted in sacred history.

56: 7.Heretical creed.The Arians were followers of Arius of Alexandria, who boldly denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ. The heresy was condemned by the Council of Nice, 325A.D., but its baneful effects were widely felt for centuries.

56: 15.Apocalypse.Wonderful revelations made to St. John at Patmos concerning the Church, the final judgment, the future life.

57: 21.The Vandals.A barbarian race of Southern Germany, who in the fifth century ravaged Gaul, Spain, Italy, and Northern Africa.

59: 13.Montanists.A sect of the second century that believed in Montanus as a prophet, and in the near advent of Christ to judge the world.

60: 31. (a)The prophet.(b)Jeroboam.(a) Ahias. (b) The first king of Israel after the separation of the tribes; a man perverse and irreverent in his relations with God and subject.

59to70.The argument.The apology for flight in times of religious persecution, made by Athanasius, the great bishop of Alexandria, fourth century, and thecogent argument against it of Tertullian, a celebrated writer of the second century, show how circumstances, above all, Divine inspiration, justify opposite lines of action. St. Augustine's letter, written in his strong and luminous style, reconciles the two points of view.

71to74.The misery of irreligion.A profound analysis of the two classes of men without religion,—the one distorted, brutalized, and deadened; the other confused, wild, and hungering after what is to them indefinable, yet alone satisfying. Compare in its source, tenor, and effect the unhappiness of the "popular poet" Byron and that of Augustine.

76: 8.St. Monica.One of the greatest women of all times; a model of faith, constancy, and maternal love.

79: 23.Christianity a philosophy.Such it is accounted by many modern thinkers who, in spite of clear, full evidences of its divinity, affect to doubt or deny altogether the supernatural. These reduce the Gospels to a code of ethics, and regard Christ as merely a teacher of morality; the earnestness of Augustine would lead them by a short road to recognize and worship God in Jesus Christ.

84to90.The Introduction.The personal touch of these pages gives an insight into the tender, sensitive nature of Cardinal Newman. He was a man not only of intense and powerful intellect, but of delicate and affectionate heart. It is his gracious, winning appeal that renders him irresistible in influence.

90: 12.Chrysostom."Golden mouth," from his eloquence. He is counted among the great Patristic writers.

90: 21.Antipater.Son of Herod the Great; called by Josephus "a monster of iniquity." He was put todeath, 1B.C.90: 22.Fulvia.Wife of Marc Antony; noted for her cruelty and ambition.

92: 6. (a)Gallus.(b)Ovid.(a) Governor of Egypt under Augustus; accused of crime and oppression, and banished. (b) A celebrated Roman poet, author ofMetamorphoses; exiled by Augustus for some grave offense never revealed.

97: 12.The seasons.This apt and ingenious analogy is regarded as one of Newman's more beautiful passages.

100: 30.Chrysostom's discriminating affectionateness.The reason, probably, why he has so great a hold upon the heart of posterity—love begets love.

105: 8.Cucusus.In Caucasus, east of the Black Sea and north of Persia.

108: 19.Troas.In Northwest Asia Minor. Troad contains ancient Troy.

105to110.The letters of Chrysostom.The charm of his genius, the sweetness of his temper under suffering, and the unselfishness of his lofty soul appear in these simple lines written on the road or in the desert of his banishment.

Introductory Note.These sketches of Turkish history form the substance of lectures delivered in Liverpool, 1853. Special interest attached to them at the time, as England was about to undertake the defense of the Turks against Russia in the Crimean War. Selections from only three are here possible.

111: 7.The Tartars.Fierce, restless tribes originally inhabiting Manchuria and Mongolia.

112: 31. (a)Attila.(b)Zingis.(a) Leader of the Huns, who overran Southern Europe in the fifth century.He was defeated by Aëtius at Chalons, 451, and miraculously turned from Rome by Pope Leo the Great. (b) Zenghis Khan, a powerful Mongol chief whose hordes descended upon Eastern Europe in the thirteenth century.

114: 21.Timour.Known as Tamerlane, founder of a Mongol empire in Central Asia; victor over Bajazet at Angora, 1402A.D.

116: 20.Heraclius.Emperor of Greece in the seventh century; noted for his rescue of the true Cross from the Persians, with whom he waged long wars.

116: 26.That book.The Koran or bible of the Mahometans. It is a mixture of Judaism, Nestorianism, and Mahomet's own so-called "revelations."

120: 10.Monotheism ... mediation.Belief in one God, but denial of the Redemption of fallen man by Jesus Christ, the God-Man.

120: 26.Durbar.A levee held by a dignitary in British India; also the room of reception.

Saracens.Eastern Mahometans that crossed into Turkey, Northern Africa, and Spain. The Moors are a type.

122: 14.Sogdiana.Northeast of the river Oxus; included in modern Bokhara.

123: 6.White Huns.Ancient people living near the Oxus; calledwhitefrom their greater degree of civilization.

125: 23.Damascus.In Asiatic Turkey; thought to be the oldest city in the world.

126: 1.Harun al Raschid.Caliph of Bagdad; contemporaneous with Charlemagne in the eighth century.

127: 28.Ended its career.The power of the EuropeanTurks, virtually broken at Lepanto, 1571, has continued to decline, so that were it not for the jealousy of the Powers, Turkey would long since have been dismembered.

129: 24.Khorasan.North central province of Persia.

133: 25. (a)Seljuk.(b)Othman.(a) Grandfather of Togrul Beg, who founded a powerful dynasty in Central Asia. (b) Third successor of Mahomet; caliph in 644; noted for his extensive conquests and for having given his name to the Ottomans.

135: 20.Greek Emperor.Romanus Diogenes, defeated in 1071A.D.

144: 17. (a)Thornton.(b)Volney.(a) An English writer on political economy, belonging to the nineteenth century. (b) A distinguished French author. HisTravels in Egypt and Syriais a work of high reputation.

148: 12.Scythians.In ancient times the inhabitants of all North and Northeastern Europe and Asia.

149: 31.The Greek schism.Separation of the Greek Church from Rome. The schism was begun by the crafty, ambitious Photius in the ninth century, and consummated by Michael Cerularius in 1054.

154.Principle of superiority.A forcible proof that Christianity must be and is the religion of civilization. See Balmes on theCivilization of Europe.

Introductory Note.Newman's purpose in these Essays is to set forth by description and statement the nature, the work, and the peculiarities of a University; the aims with which it is established, the wants it may supply, the methods it adopts, its relation to otherinstitutions, and its general history. The illustrations of his idea of a University first appeared in theDublin University Gazette; later, in one volume,Office and Work of Universities. In the present form the author has exchanged the title toHistorical Sketches, but has retained the pleasantly conversational tone of the original, lest, as he says, he might become more exact and solid at the price of becoming less readable, in the judgment of a day which considers that "a great book is a great evil."

159: 14.A gentleman.Dr. Newman is unconsciously painting his own portrait in this passage.

161: 17.St. Irenæus.A Christian martyr of the second century. He was a Greek by birth, a pupil of St. Polycarp, and an eminent theologian of his day.

163: 19.Its associations.Universities are both the cause and the effect of great men; and these cherish their Alma with unlimited devotion. Read Gray'sEton, Lowell'sCommemoration Ode, etc., as illustrations of this point.

164: 14. (a)Saronic waves.(b)Piræus.(a) The Gulf of Ægina. (b) Commercial port of Athens.

164: 31.Obolus.A Greek coin worth about three cents. Paid by spirits to Charon for ferriage over the Styx, according to legend.

165: 23.Eleusinian mysteries.Secret rites of the goddess Ceres, celebrated at Eleusis.

166: 31.Philippi.Battle in which Antony defeated the conspirators that had slain Cæsar.

167: 9.Proæresius.Student of Athens, a native of Armenia, famous for his gigantic stature as well as for an astounding memory, displayed in the field of rhetoric.

170: 11.Gallipoli.In Turkey, at the entrance to the Dardanelles. It was the first conquest of the Turks in Europe, 1354A.D.

173: 3. (a)Acropolis.(b)Areopagus.(a) The citadel of Athens, ornamented by groups of statuary immortal in beauty. (b) The chief tribunal, held on a hill named for Ares or Mars.

173: 5.Parthenon.The official temple of Pallas, protectress of Athens; it is the work of Phidias, under Pericles.

173: 7.Polygnotus.A Greek painter, contemporaneous with Phidias. His work is in statuesque style, few colors, form and outline exquisite.

173: 13.Agora.The commercial and political market place, located near the Acropolis. It was designed by Cimon.

173: 14.Demosthenes.The most famous orator of Greece, if not of all times. He learned philosophy of Plato, oratory of Isocrates. HisPhilippicsare of world-wide note.

174: 6.Plato.The Divine, on whose infant lips the bees are said to have dropped their honey. He was the pupil of Socrates and the master of Aristotle; he founded the Academy, or the Platonic School of Philosophy, and wrote theRepublic. Plato was a man of vast intellect, high ideals, and exceptionally pure life.

175: 17.Aristotle.Called the Stagyrite from Stagerius, his birthplace. He was preceptor to Alexander the Great and founder of the Peripatetic School,i.e.of scholasticism. Aristotle undoubtedly possessed the most comprehensive, keen, and logical intellect of antiquity, and his influence on the philosophical thought of all succeeding ages is incalculable. His work in the field of physical science was also profound and extensive.

176: 26.The fourth century.The Golden Age of Athenian art, letters, civil and military prestige; it was the age that crowned Athens Queen of Mind.

177: 12.Epicurus.Founder of a school of materialism whose maxim was, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die." The Epicurean said, "indulge the passions," the Stoic, "crush them," the Peripatetic,—like the Christian of later times,—"control them." Imperial Athens, no less than other powers, fell when her sons ceased to follow the counsel of her wisest philosophers.—"Play the immortal."

183: 21.Paris, etc. The great Universities reached the zenith of excellence in the thirteenth century, the age of Pope Innocent III, St. Thomas, and Dante.

185: 10.Bec.Famous monastery founded by a poor Norman knight, Herluin. Bec drew the great Lanfranc and others to its school. Many are accustomed to regard the Renaissance as the fountain whence have issued all streams of art, literature, and science. It is only necessary to turn to any of the teeming university or monastic centers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to dispel this so common illusion.

186: 15.Abelard.Born in Brittany, 1079. He was a contentious, arrogant, but brilliant and fascinating rationalist. He triumphed over William of Champeaux, but was defeated in a theological contest by St. Bernard.

187: 29.Heresy of(a)Tertullian, (b)Sabellius. (a)Modified Montanism; belief in rigid asceticism, the Montanists being, according to their doctrine, "Pneumatics," the Catholics, "Psychics,"i.e.men of heaven, men of earth. (b) A heresy which attempted toexplainthe Trinity, and which denied the Personality of Jesus Christ.

188: 28.Scholastic philosophy.A constructive system founded by Aristotle, Christianized by Boethius, amplified by St. Anselm, Albert the Great, and others, perfected as a school, in its being harmonized with theology, by St. Thomas of Aquin. Love of subtilizing and of display, and barbarity of terminology, caused its decline after the thirteenth century. Political and religious strife also accelerated decadence, until the Council of Trent restored philosophy to its true position as queen of human sciences and handmaid of Religion. The chief feature of Christian scholastic philosophy is the harmonizing of natural and supernatural truth,i.e.the unifying of philosophy and theology, or the perfect conciliation of reason with faith—distinctionwithoutopposition.

192: 10.The Seven Arts.The Trivium and Quadrivium: Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric; Music, Arithmetic, Astronomy, and Geometry,—these seven comprising the Liberal Arts.

193: 19.John of Salisbury.Noted English scholar of the twelfth century. In disfavor with Henry II, because of his defense of St. Thomas á Becket.

195: 17.St. James iii. 17.

195: 23.St. James iii. 6.

196: 21.Samson and Solomon.Type of bodily and of spiritual strength—strength forfeited by folly. One of Newman's striking comparisons.

199: 18.Heu, vitam....Alas, I have wasted mylife by doing nothing thoroughly.

Introductory Note.This instructive Essay on poetry forms one of the series titledCritical and Historical Essays. Cardinal Newman's own gifts and tastes for music and poetry render his appreciation of these arts keen, delicate, and true.

200to203.Nature and office of poetry.A profound and beautiful definition of poetry and of the poetical mind.

203: 1. (a)Iliad.(c)Choëphoræ.(a) Epic of theFall of Troyby Homer. (b) A tragedy by Æschylus, so named from the chorus that bear offerings to the tomb of Agamemnon.

203: 26. (a)Empedocles.(b)Oppian.(a) A Sicilian; haughty, passionate; proclaimed himself a god; plunged into the crater of Mt. Etna. (b) A Greek poet of Cilicia; lived in the second century.

208: 15.The Divine vengeance.Does not the same criticism apply to Milton's Satan, a majestic spirit, punished beyond his due, and therefore worthy our admiration and pity? Compare Dante and Milton in their conception of Lucifer.

210: 17.Eloquence mistaken for poetry.A finely distinguished truth, which explains why much rhetoric, even declamation, passes in our day for poetry.

215: 16.Conditions of the poetical mind.Mark the line drawn between the sources of true poetry and the actual practices of the poet. Compare with the theory of Wordsworth, to find likenesses on this point.

Introductory Note.This and other typical addressesare comprised inDiscourses to Mixed Congregations.The unerring taste of Newman employs the grave, dignified style suited to the subject-matter, which, however, never loses the simplicity and charm we expect in him.

218: 28.The elements.Earth, air, fire, and water were believed primal elements by the ancients.

220: 27.This season.Lent, which commemorates the Sacred Passion of Christ.

221: 21.He seems to say: to the end. An illustration of Newman's sweet, impassioned eloquence. His sentences roll on like music of indefinable tenderness and beauty. What wonder if men "who came to scoff remained to pray," when the tones of that voice Matthew Arnold could not describe—for its singular sweetness—fell upon their listening souls?

Introductory Note.This discourse was written from notes of a sermon preached at Birmingham, on occasion of the installation of Dr. Ullathorne as first bishop of the see. Again it says to us, "I believe, therefore I have spoken."

222: 20. "Day to day." See Psalm xviii. 2.

222: 25.Impossibilities.Extrinsic impossibilities, that is, those things whose elements are not metaphysically opposed, one to another.

223: 1.He came.See St. Matthew xiv. 24, 27.

223: 24.That mystical ark.The Church, called the ark because prefigured by the Ark of Noe,—the House of Salvation.

224: 14.Christ in His ark."Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." St. Matthew xxviii. 20.

224: 17.A savage tribe.The Anglo-Saxons of Teutonic stock and sprung from the Aryan branch of thehuman family.226to228.It was a proud race ... hierarchical form.A passage of inimitable grace and simplicity. Note the sentence-structure, the repetition of "it" in the last sentence, and other features of the consummate master.

227: 4.Too fair to be heathen.On seeing some Angles in Rome, Pope Gregory exclaimed, "They should rather be called Angels than Angles."

228: 5.A brotherhood ... below.Where in the range of English prose is to be found form wedded to sense in a more surpassingly beautiful way? Neither music, nor painting, nor poetry, can have anything more exquisite to yield, it would seem.

Other numbers of this volume equally admirable areThe Second Spring,The Tree beside the Waters, andIntellect the Instrument of Religious Training.

Back to Index Next