ADDRESS
AND TESTIMONIAL FROM
AUSTRALIA
{275} When the cheering after the Cardinal's few
words of thanks given above had ceased, His Grace the President rose
and said: "I have yet one more duty to perform today, my Lords
and Gentlemen, and that is to hand to Cardinal Newman a present from
the Catholics of Australia which they have requested me to present to
His Eminence. (Cheers.) I think this is especially a fitting occasion
to discharge this duty, and, so to speak, to bring the Catholics of
England and the Colonies together; for when the Holy Father conferred
the dignity of Cardinal on Doctor Newman, he struck a note which was
echoed not only throughout Great Britain and Ireland, but throughout
the Colonies as well, and everywhere where the English language is
spoken. This is the first time a present of the sort has come from the
Catholics of Australia; and although I received it some months ago, I
thought it well for this reason to keep it until a suitable public
occasion, such as this seems pre-eminently to be, should occur, on
which to present it to His Eminence. Let me say further, that the
movement in connection with this presentation has not been confined to
Sydney or New South Wales, or to any particular class. It was a
spontaneous movement, participated in by all classes throughout the
island, and in many instances the mite of the poor was willingly given
towards it, as is shown in a letter received by me from Mr. Archer of
Sydney." (Loud cheers.) {276}
Letter from Mr. W. H. Archer of Sydney, to
His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, Hereditary Earl Marshal of England,
etc., etc.
DOUBLE BAY, SYDNEY,
September 8, 1879.
MY LORD DUKE,
I have the honour to address your Grace under the following
circumstances:—When the news came to Australia that the dignity of
Cardinal had been offered to the Very Rev. John Henry Newman, there
ran a thrill of joy through Catholic hearts. That dignity was
recognised as a fitting reward for his life-long battle for Truth, and
it was looked upon as an unmistakable testimony by the highest
authority on earth to the genius, the learning, and the sanctity of
this son of St. Philip.
Soon, however, fears arose that the illustrious Oratorian, in his
sensitive humility, would succeed in his efforts to escape from the
splendour and the burden of the Purple; but when it was at last
authoritatively made known that he was indeed to be a Cardinal, there
was not only hearty satisfaction but a deep sense of relief.
Concurrently with these tidings came an account of your Grace's
efforts in the mother country to testify in some way to the general
joy in this gracious elevation; and one amongst us, well aware that
there are Catholics in Australia who in their affection and admiration
for John Henry Newman cannot be surpassed, wrote to a few of them to
the effect that some effort, however modest it might be, should be
made to show that our hearts beat in unison with yours, and that our
voices could harmoniously join in {277} the general acclaim. This took
place in May last, within the Octave of St. Philip Neri, and the
result was a rapid and signal success.
The first response received was from a gentleman who is Australian
born, and is also one of the most eminent of our public men, the
Honourable William Bede Dailey, and to him our speedy success was
chiefly due.
.
. .
. .
. .
Catholics only were present at our deliberations; but this did not
prevent practical sympathy and support from others, and among them one
who is entitled to our grateful mention, the Reverend Dr. Charles
Badham, of the University of Sydney, who wrote for us the Latin
inscription, which appears on the centre of the salver.
The movement was intended to be a lay one; and so it was in the
main; but in fact, all sections of Society more or less contributed.
It was carefully made known from the outset that no sum however small
would be refused. The consequence was that shillings and even pence
flowed in from all parts of the country. Many of these modest
contributions came not only from poor people in scattered townships,
but from struggling selectors, wood-splitters, fishermen, from folk
that toil in the remote bush, in wild woods, and on lonely coasts
remote from the capital.
The universality of the offering was indeed so remarkable that His
Grace the Archbishop of Sydney deemed it of significance enough to
record in a pastoral. His Grace said: "Has not the venerable name
of John Henry Newman acted as a spell upon them? and are they not
doing for him what they have proposed to do for no other, on his being
made a Cardinal? Without a word or a sign from the Archbishop, of
their own spontaneous {278} impulse, they have united in an unanimity
very unusual, from the highest leaders to the most unknown amongst
them, to do him honour. Their love of him, their profound reverence
and admiration will be recorded in the lasting and grateful form,
loving words, and golden plate, engraved and embossed with many
memories dear to him."
There is a natural anxiety that no time be lost in forwarding the
Testimonial, just finished, to its destination; and I have been asked
to solicit your Grace's kind offices so far as to present to Cardinal
Newman both the Salver, made of Australian gold, and the Address which
accompanies it, in the name and on behalf of the subscribing Catholics
in Australia.
We look up to you, my Lord Duke, as the legitimate representative
of the Catholic Laity of the British Empire, and therefore feel
confident that your Grace will honour us by cordially acceding to our
request.
I have the honour to be,
My Lord Duke,
Yours ever respectfully and sincerely,
W. H. ARCHER
After this letter his Grace read the Address and then presented it
and the Salver to His Eminence.
The Address from Australia
TO HIS EMINENCE
CARDINAL NEWMAN:
We are authorised on behalf of the members of the Roman Catholic
Church in this country to tender to you our hearty and respectful
congratulations upon your elevation to the sacred office to {279}
which it has pleased our Holy Father to call you; and at the same time
to ask your acceptance of this memorial of an event of such deep and
universal interest in the history of the Church, of our own admiration
of your intellect and character, and of our gratitude for your
distinguished services to religion. The members of our faith in this
distant land desire to have some share, however humble, in the
gratifying labour imposed upon all Catholics of witnessing to the
world the value of your work. Advantage has been taken of the solemn
occasion which now presents itself to openly express those profound
sentiments of admiration and sympathy which have lain in our hearts so
long; and which, but for the crowning honour of your illustrious life,
would still have remained unsaid.
Here, as in every part of the world where our language is spoken,
your high place in our national literature and in our national life is
clearly recognised, and though it has been the privilege of but few
amongst us to look upon you, it has not been denied to many of us to
hold with your genius that silent and refining intercourse which the
humblest and most distant can enjoy with the rarest and most gifted of
human intelligences.
To us it is no small thing that an opportunity has arisen which
seems to pardon our intrusion upon the sacred privacy of your life,
and at the same {280} time to afford to us the long-sought-for
gratification of publicly testifying our reverence for your life, our
admiration of your intellect, and our gratitude for your services to
mankind.
The inscription upon the salver:—
IOHANNI HENRICO NEWMAN
Qui omnia,
Quę a Deo acceperat,
Singulare ingenium miram subtilitatem
Inventionem in paucis felicem
Doctrinam quam nihil effugiebat
Quod ad humanam vitam pertineret,
Ad veritatis cognitionem et ad fratrum
Salutem sibi concessa ratus, spreta volgari
Facundia, Divinae caritatis lampada
Tanquam unicę ducis et magistrę secutus
Adeo alte in hominum mentes descendit
Ut multos opinionum fallaciis obcęcatos
Et per incertas vias anxie trepidantes in luce
Et tranquillitate civilatis Dei collocaverit;
Pro tantis meritis et ob Principatus in Ecclesia
Dignitatem a Summo Pontifice
Plaudente orbe terrarum collatam
Fideles Sydneienses,
Ut sua quoque civitas
Communi gaudio intersit
Simul et gratias agunt
Et gratulantur.
T O JOHN
HENRY NEWMAN,
who, regarding all things which he had received from God (singular
genius, wondrous subtlety of intellect, rare felicity of imagination,
learning which nothing that was of human interest could escape), as
having been bestowed upon him for the attainment of a knowledge of the
truth and for the salvation of his fellow-creatures, and who,
following the light of Divine Love as the only leader and teacher,
entered so deeply into the hearts of men, that many blinded by the
deceits of prejudice and anxiously hurrying through uncertain paths,
were led by him into the light and tranquillity of the City of God.
For such labours, and as a memorial of the princely dignity conferred
upon him by the Sovereign Pontiff, with the universal approval of
mankind, the Catholics of Sydney, in order that their city may have a
share in the common joy, express their gratitude and offer their
congratulations. {281}
Reply to the Address from Australia
It has been a great and most welcome surprise to me to find that I,
dwelling in England, should have succeeded in gaining friends at the
other end of the earth, friends so many and so warm, friends whom I
seem to myself to have done so little to deserve, yet who have been so
resolute in making known both their warmth and their numbers to the
world at large. Besides the Address which high and low have with such
wonderful unanimity joined in sending to me, they have made me a
beautiful, costly, and singularly artistic present, which speaks of
their country by virtue of the rich indigenous material of which it
consists, and of their own kind hearts in the flattering and touching
words which are engraven upon it. And that these words might be the
more grateful to me, the donors have been at pains to gain in the
choice of them the aid of a well-known and highly-distinguished
scholar, who had known me years ago, when he was an inhabitant of the
great Metropolitan centre in which my lot is cast. I must make a
further remark. It is well known that, in {282} conferring on me my
high dignity, the Sovereign Pontiff in consideration of my age and
delicate health suspended in my case the ordinary rule, and
condescended to allow me, by a rare privilege, though a Cardinal of
the Holy Roman Church, to remain in my own country—nay, in my place
in the Oratory. This being so, I notice it as a happy coincidence
that, as if in anticipation of his Holiness's indulgence to me, his
Australian children have engraven on their gift, with a true instinct
of what would please me as regards it, and as if looking on to the
time when others must be owners of it, not only my own name, but the
names of those Fathers whom, by search into one of my publications,
they found to have been for so many years my intimate friends and
brothers in the Oratory at Birmingham. There was just one other act of
kindness open to them, and they have not let it slip. When the time
came for my receiving their gift, they did not choose that it should
be presented to me by the mere mechanical appliance of the steam
vessel and the railroad van, but it is now placed in my hands by a
great person, by one whom I have been allowed to {283} know, love, and
take interest in, even from his childhood, whom the Catholics of
England recognise as their hereditary chief, and whose participation
in this act of grace associates in my honour the fresh life and bright
future of Colonial England with the grand memories of the past and the
romance of its medięval period.
At the request of the Duke of Norfolk Cardinal Newman then gave his
blessing to the audience, which soon after separated.
NOTICES FROM
THE SYDNEY FREEMAN
AND LETTERS RELATING
TO THE TESTIMONIAL
FROM AUSTRALIA
SYDNEY, July 19, 1879.
An influential meeting of Catholics was held at St.
Mary's Committee Rooms, Sydney, on Friday evening last. Owing to the
sudden death of the lamented Mr. Edward Butler, certain preliminary
arrangements had been somewhat interfered with, and many of the
circulars had been issued but a few hours previously. There was,
notwithstanding, a numerous and enthusiastic assemblage. We observed
the Hon. William Bede Dailey, Q.C., M.L.C.; Mr. P. A. Jennings, C.M.G.,
K.C.P.; Messrs. W. W. Tarleton, barrister-at-law; T. Butler; C. Heydon,
barrister-at-law; W. H. Archer, K.S.G.; 3. Watkins, barrister-at-law;
F. M'Carthy, M.A.; J. G. O'Ryan, barrister-at-law; C. S. Coveny; J. J.
Moore, J.P.; T. O'Neil; R. Butcher; F. S. M'Dermott; W. C. Browne,
M.L.A.; T. M. Slattery, J.P.; E. F. Flanagan; P. O'Dowd; J. J. Spruson;
J. G. M'Hale; J. T. Toohey; J. Brady; P. Hogan, J.P.; T. Dalton, J.P.;
T. O'Neill, jun.; D. {284} O'Conner, M.L.A.; J.
P. Garven and E. Hollingdale.
Apologies for non-attendance and expressions of warm sympathy were
received from Mr. Joseph Leary, M.L.A.; Mr. Lynch, M.L.A.; Mr. Henry
Austin; Mr. E. G. Ellis; Mr. W. W. Wardell; Mr. W. A. Duncan; Mr. E.
J. Rubie; and several other gentlemen. His Honour Mr. Justice Faucett
also joined in hearty approval.
Mr. Butler moved, and it was seconded by Mr. W. H. Archer, that Mr.
Dailey take the chair.
Mr. Dailey rose and said:—
Gentlemen,—In introducing the subject of our meeting, I find it
impossible to avoid saying one or two words of one who on last Sunday
afternoon, only a few hours before his untimely death, spoke to me of
this movement in language of entire approval and sympathy. He then
entertained the hope that the state of his health would have permitted
him to be here with us tonight; and gladly undertook to co-operate
with me and with you (and with Mr. Archer, to whom the suggestion of
the movement is due) in bringing this matter to a successful issue ...
Then speaking of Dr. Newman, the chairman went on to say: And now
when his life is drawing rapidly to a close, and the Head of the
Church desires to honour him, let us make haste, gentlemen, to take
our place in a movement so full of historical significance and which
will be on all sides regarded with so much interest ... With these few
observations I leave the matter in the hands of the gentlemen present,
feeling assured that the response to our invitation to the Catholics
of New South Wales will not be unworthy of the nobleness of our
object.
Mr. Archer moved that practical effect should be at once given to
the movement by appointing—then and there—a working Committee,
with power to add to their number, and that Mr. Dalley be its
President until the object for which they met should be accomplished.
(Cheers.) This was carried unanimously ...
The meeting then resolved itself into Committee, {285} and
it was arranged that another meeting should take place on Tuesday the
17th instant in order to continue the organisation of the movement.
The Committee of the Memorial Fund, in honour of Cardinal Newman,
held its second meeting on Tuesday the 17th instant, at the Committee
Rooms, St. Mary's, Sydney. It was resolved, at the suggestion of the
chairman, Mr. Dalley, that a salver and goblet of pure Australian gold
and of Australian workmanship, with a suitable Latin inscription, be
the form of the gift memorial. It was also determined that in order to
secure the co-operation of every well-wisher to the illustrious
Cardinal the smallest subscription would be received. The Committee
appointed the week previously was increased by the addition of the
following gentlemen: His Honour Mr. Justice Faucett, and Messrs. H.
Fitzpatrick, M.P., T. C. Makinson, E. G. Ellis, W. A. Duncan
(Collector of Customs), M. Makinson, J. G. O'Connor, James Toohey, Dr.
Clune, W. E. Plunkett, E. J. Rubie, and T. O'Mara, barrister-at-law.
The meeting then adjourned to Tuesday, 24th instant, Mr. Dalley
promising, in the meantime, to get designs ready to lay before the
Committee at the next meeting.
From Cardinal Newman to the Honourable Bede
Dalley
THE ORATORY, August
17, 1879.
MY DEAR SIR,
The newspaper has come to me with a notice of the honour you and your
friends have done me by your public meeting on my behalf, and of the
additional great goodness of your proposing, by a splendid gift, to
record for present and future time your warmth of feeling for me and
your favourable view of my services to the Catholic cause.
Highly gratified shall I be by your extraordinary generosity, and
it will abide in the Oratory after me, to be preserved with care, and
shown {286} with pride, as a memorial both of your good opinion of its
founder and of his good fortune.
I have not omitted to say Mass for your friend [Mr. Edward Butler,
mentioned above] whom you have so unexpectedly lost, and who was
intending so zealously to co-operate with you in my favour.
Offering you all my best thanks for your surprising kindness
towards me,
I am, my dear Sir,
Sincerely yours,
JOHN H. CARDINAL NEWMAN.
From Dr. Vaughan, Archbishop of Sydney to
Cardinal Newman
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA,
August 29, 1879.
MY DEAR LORD
CARDINAL,
By the time your Eminence receives this letter the sound of many
voices of congratulation will have passed away; and now, others having
finished, I think I may send your Eminence my most respectful and
affectionate expressions of joy and delight at what the Holy Father
has done for you, and in you for the whole English-speaking Catholic
world.
The Catholic people of this Archdiocese, though nearly all Irish or
descended front the Irish race, having been brought up under a
thoroughly English Archbishop, Dr. Polding, my dear predecessor, have
more of the English tone of thought in them than those in other
Colonies. Anyhow, they have been manifesting their Catholic spirit,
and their deep veneration and love for your Eminence's person, by
spontaneously uniting to show their deep appreciation of all you have
done for the Catholic body. This token of respect, consisting of a
golden Salver, will in due course be presented to your Eminence.
I refer to this act of our Catholic people in order, principally,
to tell you that the two most active movers in the matter were Mr. W.
Bede Dalley [Hon. William Bede Dalley, Q.C., M.L.C.], {287} one of our
leading public men, a Catholic; and Mr. W. H. Archer, who has the
pleasure of knowing your Eminence, and who really gave the movement
its first start. I mention these two names, in case, in your thanking
the Catholics for what they have done, you should think fit to make
some passing reference to their names.
There is one other point: and it is this. We are now in the midst
of a great educational fight. The Bishops have lately issued a joint
Pastoral Letter condemning Public Schools, and urging Catholics to
give their children a thorough Catholic education. We have found that
these State Schools are hot-beds of indifferentism and infidelity: and
unless a bold stand were made, the Church eventually would suffer
terrible injury. I send your Eminence three Pastoral Letters which I
have written; and in the second you will see that I have taken some
liberties (which I beg your pardon for) with your Eminence's name. If
in your reply to the Catholic laity you could say a word about their
being thorough in their Catholicity, and becoming
"Champions" against the great apostasy, it would be a great
help to our cause. They want courage; and you, by your words, could
give it them.
Hoping your Eminence will forgive me for breaking in upon you in
this way, and begging your blessing to comfort and sustain me so far
from home,
I am, ever,
Your most affectionate and respectful servant in Christ,
@ ROGER BEDE
VAUGHAN,
Archbishop of Sydney.
From Cardinal Newman to Dr. Vaughan,
Archbishop of Sydney
THE ORATORY, Nov.
16, 1879.
MY DEAR LORD
ARCHBISHOP,
It is an extreme satisfaction and pleasure to me to receive so warm a
letter of congratulation from your Grace. It puts the crown on the
honour paid me by the public meeting at {288} Sydney, and by the
costly token which the gentlemen, who there assembled, are sending me
of their affectionate regard. Mr. Dalley, whom you mention, was, I
know, one of the foremost of my friends on that occasion, and I
addressed a letter of thanks to him at once. I am happy to hear that
his seconder, Mr. Archer, is the friend, who had already shown his
kindness to me in another part of Australia. Also, it is a great
gratification to me to find that a gentleman, who had here the highest
name for classical scholarship, Dr. Badham, has so affectionately
shown his friendly recollection of me in a more than kind inscription.
Also, I feel it a great honour on the part of your Grace, that you
have made use, in the Pastorals, which you have had the goodness to
send me, of what I had occasion to say at Rome last May on the subject
of the special religious evil of the day. It pleased me to find that
you could make it serviceable in the anxious conflict in which you are
at this time engaged in defence of Christian education. It is indeed
the gravest of questions whether our people are to commence life with
or without adequate instruction in those all-important truths which
ought to colour all thought and to direct all action;—whether they
are or are not to accept this visible world for their god and their
all, its teaching as their only truth, and its prizes as their highest
aims;—for, if they do not gain, when young, that sacred knowledge
which comes to us from Revelation, when will they acquire it? We here
are in the same or, rather, worse peril than you can be.
I am, my dear Lord Archbishop,
Your faithful servant in Christ,
JOHN H. CARD. NEWMAN.
PS.—I wrote the above on receipt of your Graces letter, but have
kept it, till I could say that the magnificent present had arrived. I
am very grateful also for the Address which accompanies it. I suppose
I ought to delay my formal acknowledgment of it till the Duke publicly
makes over the salver to me, which will be when London fills. J. H.
Card. Newman. {289}
From the Duke of Norfolk to Cardinal Newman
NORFOLK HOUSE, ST.
JAMES'S SQUARE, S.W.
November 10, 1879.
MY DEAR LORD
CARDINAL,
I am sending to you a Salver of Australian gold and an Address from
the Catholics of Australia.
I enclose you the papers I have received about them.
I have written to Mr. Archer to say that I am sending the Salver
and Address at once, but that I would suggest to you that a present of
such beauty and public interest ought to be publicly presented to you,
and that I should hope to do so during your expected visit to London
in the Spring.
Believe me,
Your very faithful servant,
NORFOLK.
H IS EMINENCE
CARDINAL NEWMAN.
From Cardinal Newman to Sir Wm. Archer,
Sydney, New South Wales
THE ORATORY, BIRMINGHAM,
June 30, 1880.
DEAR SIR WILLIAM
ARCHER,
You will soon receive the account of the ceremony, which formally
placed in my hands your most beautiful Salver. The Duke of Norfolk
presented it to me as the representative of the donors. It was handed
round and much admired. And then I replied in some words of
acknowledgment, which were of course poor words in comparison of the
great pleasure and deep gratitude which I felt at so great an honour.
It is indeed a singular consolation in my old age to be so
affectionately attended and carried on to that end which cannot be far
distant, and I pray God to reward my kind and sympathising friends a
hundred-fold. {290} You are one of the most prominent of them, and I
wish (as you thought at one time it was possible yourself), that there
was a prospect of my being able to thank you in person.
I hope you will all be pleased with what took place in London in
May. I rely on you to tell me if I have to do anything to show my
recognition of the generous interest which you feel and have felt for
me. I am not a rich man, but can I make a donation to any Catholic
charity or institution?
With my best and very grateful respects to all my Australian
friends,
I am, my dear Sir William,
Sincerely yours,
JOHN H. CARD. NEWMAN.
Mr. W. H. Archer had lately received the honour of knighthood. This
letter, addressed to Sir Wm. Archer, was stamped Birmingham, July 2,
1880, Sydney, September 1, 1880, and "Returned unowned,"
July 29, 1881.
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CARDINAL
NEWMAN AT ST.
BERNARD'S, OLTON, THE
SEMINARY OF THE
DIOCESE OF BIRMINGHAM
June 21, 1880.
[This sermon took the place of a formal reply to the
address from the students presented on Holy Saturday, Ap. 12, 1879,
pp. 53-55. The Seminary has since been transferred to St. Mary's,
Oscott.]
It is written in the second chapter of St. Paul's second epistle to
St. Timothy: "Thou therefore my son, be strong in the grace which
is in Christ Jesus. And the things which thou hast heard from me
before many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be
fit to teach others also. Labour as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No
man, being a soldier to God, entangleth himself with worldly business,
that he may please Him to Whom he hath engaged himself. For he also
that striveth for the mastery is not crowned, except he strive
lawfully."
My dear brethren, I wish I were quite the person to speak upon the
subject on which I {291} am drawn to say a few words. I say, I wish I
were the person, because I have not that experience of seminaries,
which alone could enable one to do so properly and perfectly. And yet
I do wish to say a few words; and if they are in any respect not
appropriate, I must be pardoned, if I do my best; and they will not be
many words. I should like, if I could, to bring out what I conceive to
be some of the moral advantages of a Seminary such as this. Of course
the obvious, and what seems the first object of such seminaries, is
that those who go forth to fight the battles of God and to be good
soldiers of Jesus Christ, may be prepared to teach; for teaching is
that office which comes first in the idea of a minister of God, and of
the Apostles of God, and of the successors of the Apostles; and
without a knowledge of theology, we cannot teach. Teaching therefore—theological
teaching—may be said to be the obvious, the first, the primā
facie idea of a Seminary. But still I conceive that the moral
advantages are not less to be estimated, and that, too, for the sake
of the object which we all have in teaching and knowing theology,
viz., for the sake of impressing, what we have to impress, the faith
and discipline of the Holy Church upon our people. Of course nothing
can be said strong enough as to the advantage of having it set forth
by those who are properly prepared to do so.
Now, there are a great many advantages in a seminary such as this,
and though I dare say I may not name those which are most obvious and
which are the most important, yet I will mention some of those which
strike me.
And first, to take a large sense of the word, a seminary is a place
of discipline. We all need discipline. We want discipline even for
this world. And we know that this idea is felt so strongly even by
those who are not Catholics, that the experience and discipline of
schools are considered necessary for getting on in the world. We know
what great advantage accrues to our own country from its peculiar
scholastic system; and how foreign nations are looking to try, if they
can, to transplant our own rules and principles and practices, which
so succeed among us in England. {292} Now of course, speaking of
schools, the bringing together of a number of boys is only in itself a
misery and a deceit, if it is nothing more than to prepare them for
this world. We are all born sons of Adam, and we know that evil bursts
forth of itself, when any number of persons come together, and we call
such a number of persons "the world". For that is the real
idea of the world. It is the natural impulse and principle of our
heart, exemplified in the fact that persons are brought together, and
enabled to hold converse with each other, and therefore to form a
rule, a moral rule, not the right rule, but still an ethical rule,
holding up a sort of principle for admiration. And therefore those
great schools, those merely secular schools, to which I have alluded,
have such great evils attending them, that it is difficult to
pronounce an opinion upon them; and all one can say about them is,
perhaps, that things would not be better, in the absence of a deep
religious principle, if the boys, who went there, remained at home. It
has been so; I do not know what it is now. I know, however, that many
of the serious men who have had the care of them, have felt the evil
so much, and the necessity of a remedy for it, that in some places
they are trying to introduce a sort of rule of confession, though it
has been very much opposed by the parents. And therefore I say that we
all, being children of Adam, have evil in us, and unless we look very
carefully to ourselves, that evil will spring up though we are
Catholics, and it is necessary for Catholics too, those who have the
management of schools, to have their eyes open. But, apart from that
aspect of it—the evil side of it—there is a great advantage in the
mere fact of a number of young people being brought together. And in a
Seminary there are great advantages that overcome the evil, and
therefore we may look upon it only on its good side. It is truly good
because it has great safeguards, not only the safeguards of the
Catholic religion, but the safeguards of the personal piety of those
young people who come and devote themselves to God, in the flower and
spring-tide of their life. They give up their social comfort, they
give up themselves and all they are to the glory of God {293} and His
service, and that will of course be seen by God, and blest by God from
whom it comes. Of course this is a great safeguard.
Another advantage is the collision of mind with mind. Let us be
ever so well inclined, ever so good and holy, and acting ever so well
with a view to pleasing God, and with a rule of life such as we ought
to have, still there is a great deal to do in the way of disciplining
our hearts, which we only gain by being brought together. Every one
likes his own way; and of course it becomes an impossibility for every
one to have his own way where there are many to be consulted. And
therefore that very collision of mind with mind is a great advantage;
and although it brings a soul into a certain degree of temptation,
still, that temptation turns to good from its being wrestled with and
overcome.
Again, every one likes to see his own opinions prevail; and
generally speaking, there is at least great danger to those who live
quite by themselves of having opinions and views of their own which
are narrow and fixed. These they will probably unlearn altogether, or
they will cease from the stress they lay upon them, or their
positiveness in holding them, if they come among others; and that is a
great advantage.
And as with the mind, so also with the heart. We all have our own
tastes, and our likes and dislikes with respect to persons, and when a
number come together all are not equally congenial to us. But mere
likes and dislikes are overcome by this contact with others, and we
learn to look at things in a higher light, to look on every soul as
being a child of God, and an object, as a matter of duty, of our love.
I cannot go over all that might be said upon the subject, but that is
the primary, the great advantage of any school or Seminary, that it
brings minds together, and brings them into collision, and rubs off
all angularity and the like—at least, that is the tendency.
And then again I have not said anything yet of obedience to
superiors. There again is a great field of Christian virtue, on which
I could say much—for instance, of my own dear father, St. Philip
Neri—how exceedingly he tried his own people in this respect, merely
{294} on principle, to prove their obedience whether in great matters
or little, though more especially in little. And this cultivation of
the spirit of obedience must obviously be brought forward in speaking
of the advantages of a Seminary; and I do not think it can be
exaggerated.
Then again, to look to the future. When a priest in after life
comes to look back to his place of Christian and clerical education,
he looks back to it with great love and affection, and it becomes to
him as a centre for his thoughts and affection to fall back upon all
through his life. We see that in secular schools. We know in Catholic
schools—not to go beyond these—how the affections, and the
different memories, and the old friendships continue, and how great an
advantage it is on our going into the world to find friends there,
those whom we have known when young, those whom we understand and who
understand us. You know the time it takes you to make friends. There
are even those whom we have not particularly liked at the time, yet
years afterwards all that softens down. Much might be said on this
subject, and it might almost make a sermon by itself; I had more to
say on the point but I do not recollect what. I have said enough to
open a large field of thought.
And then I think there is a great point which can only be gained by
belonging to a body, I don't mean an advantage in theology strictly,
but I mean in that settled fundamental principle of viewing things
morally and religiously which we get by habitual contact with others
who are of the same religious profession as ourselves. Men of the
world who know little about religion—I mean Protestants—do not
know what they do believe and what they don't, or if they do, they do
not understand whether it is important or not. But with a Catholic,
not only is everything, whether of greater or less importance, mapped
out, but everything is almost a part of his mind, and that is a great
gain which those have whom Almighty God in His mercy has brought into
His Church from the beginning. And this applies more particularly to
the inmates of a Seminary; their minds are framed in a particular way,
and the whole {295} plan both of Faith and Knowledge becomes part of
themselves. On this I think that a great deal might be said.
And now I am coming to a further point, and I think I can show what
I have in my mind by referring to an instance in illustration of it.
There was a poor wanderer, one not of the Church, who when God was
good to her said, "Thou art the God that seest me". This was
Agar, when she ran away from her mistress. She seemed to have no
friend in the world; she was in despair; and when the angel of God
appeared to her and said, "Whence comest thou, and whither goest
thou?" she was so overcome with the thought that in her own
misery there was One who had His eyes upon her, and whose providence
extended over her, that "she called the name of the Lord that
spoke unto her, 'Thou the God who hast seen me'"; and "she
called the well" by which she sat—a well being then a most
important mercy in that country which we cannot estimate now—"the
well of Him that liveth and seeth me". Now, it is especially
important for all of us to know that we are in the presence of God,
and to live in His presence; and this is an obligation over and above
those great religious principles, those moral advantages, those
safeguards for our faith and conduct that I have been speaking of. It
is not easy to say how far this is a mercy which is generally given or
gained. I suppose that to the minds of people who live in the world—I
mean without religion—the thought that God sees them is a thing
quite out of their comprehension. They are haunted, possessed with the
things that are, the things that come before them, with their worldly
aims, their worldly duties day by day; but the notion of living in the
presence of an Unseen Being does not come home to them. And of course
everything would go right, through God's mercy, if a man had got that
simple gift, that great grace. In the lesson for today, St. Aloysius,
you recollect, when his medical men or his superior told him in his
illness not to think at all, replied, that the thought of the presence
of God pursued him; he could not get rid of it. There you find what it
was in the case of a {296} saint; well, it is what all holy people
feel in a degree. And there is a case which bears on this, and it is
mentioned in a very beautiful way in the life of that holy woman,
Mother Margaret Hallahan. I think the way she puts it—but I may be
wrong—is that she would have to answer for a great deal, she had
always sinned against light, she said, because she was never out of
the presence of God. She had the thought of God always before her ...
I should suppose that is what St. Paul means when he says, "Pray
without ceasing"; it is having the presence of Almighty God
specially before us, and that may be considered to be one especial
mercy and gift of a Seminary—that you are living in the presence of
God, and therefore must believe in the deep interest of our Lord and
Saviour in you; and that the mind, through God's mercy, cannot be hurt
or damaged without great fault and miserable neglect of one's self;
and that in spite of the great field of temptation into which any
priest goes when he enters into the world, there is around him an
armour to put on. You know how very much St. Paul speaks of the armour
which we are to put on. Well, that is what I say is one work of a
Seminary, to put on you "the armour of God, that you may be able
to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers,
against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits
of wickedness in the high places; therefore take unto you the armour
of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand
in all things perfect. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breast-plate of justice, and your feet
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in all things taking
the shield of faith wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the
fiery darts of the most wicked one; and take unto you the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of
God)." And so he goes on, more than I can read.
So the feeling of the presence of God is, more than anything else,
what we must long for and pray for; and all the advantages which a
seminary gives flow into that channel, into {297} that object, for it
includes Faith, Hope, and Charity, according to our measure.
I must not be long, but there are one or two things I will say a
word or two upon.
As to theology itself. Besides the direct importance of the subject
(I am not speaking now of theology as such, but study of theology as
being our duty, our profession, in a certain sense our occupation in
the service of God), I think theology has a great indirect advantage
in this way. When a priest goes into the world he is generally so much
taken up with work that he has no time for anything else. And that is
a reason why now he should be taking advantage of those years which he
has in the Seminary, where the time may be spent profitably, theology
thoroughly soaking into the mind, so that it is a resource to turn to.
Well, I say he must have a certain acquaintance—a certain degree and
measure of theology for the duty of priest. And he may have times, or
occasions—although very few priests have time for anything else but
work; it would be better possibly if they had,—but still there are
times when from not being strong, or other causes, priests may have
time on their hands. Now, there is nothing more dangerous than leisure—I
mean leisure of the mind. We have got very crafty, very subtle, very
powerful enemies. We have enemies within us, and enemies without us.
St. Paul says a spirit of evil surrounds us. We have the great
enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil; and it is a great thing
to have imbibed a love of theology, something which we can take up and
feel interested in, if at any time we don't know exactly what to do. I
will not say more upon that, though much might be said upon it, but it
requires more experience than I can have to speak worthily on such a
subject, for it is a great one.
And that leads me (and it is the last remark I shall make) to
notice the objection that theology leads to a very narrow sort of
education; that it is much better, as is the case with the churches
around us that are not Catholic churches, to have knowledge of the
world; that it is a good thing for those who are going into a
religious life, into a pastoral life, into a ministerial life, to have
mixed with the world; to gain more knowledge {298} of the world; and
that this is a good thing for religion, since it of course brings a
certain influence to bear upon the laity, and so on. But without
noticing the objection in itself, whether it is a good objection
against seminaries, I say, it seems, as contrasted with what may be
called a liberal education, that a professional education is narrow.
There is an objection made to much of the educational science and
systems of the present day, that everything which strengthens and
enlightens the mind, and that beautifies and refines the mind, is not
attended to in the professional education; and that those who have
only a professional education are narrow. In one word, that they can
hardly be said to have those general feelings which those have who
have the advantage of a liberal education. And again, that they are
not fit to cope with them in point of religious controversy; they don't
know anything about religious controversy: they don't know anything
about the people they have to address. That is all true; I am not
denying that, but still I would say one word on that point. I do not
see why theology should not so far open their mind as to lead
afterwards, at fitting opportunities, to priests getting that
knowledge of controversy, and of history, and so on, which they have
not in the Seminary. It is an addition; we cannot do everything at
once; we begin with the most important and go on to the other; and
therefore in the proper time and proper place, the study of
controversy and kindred subjects, and the secular knowledge which is
necessary for it, such as history and the like, may become very
opportune and a great boon; but still, I think that one must recollect
that there is a power, an innate power, blest by Almighty God, in a
straightforward, well-educated priest, though he knows nothing of the
world, and is likely to make mistakes in the world. Take the case,
which is a typical one, of that Curé in the south of France, the
Curé d'Ars, who made such a great impression on so very many people
from every quarter, and see what effect he had upon them; I say that
straightforward, open-hearted devotion to Almighty God, that simple
thinking of our duty towards Him, and the loving of Him: these
overcome the soul; and I really {299} think that many persons, not to
say most persons, are converted by the simplicity of a Catholic, and
especially a Catholic priest; and that by straightforward going about
his duty, and by honestly speaking out what the Church teaches, he
does more good, except in particular cases, than if he were ever so
good a controversialist. I will not say more, than that if he attempt
controversy at all, it should be with the feeling of a zealous
controversialist. I am not denying of course the great advantage of a
knowledge about people, a knowledge of their arguments and the harm
that is done by imprudently ventilating a subject when one is not
perfectly informed upon it. Bad arguments do a great deal of harm, but
a holy life is a source of good to all who come near it. "Let
your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father who is in heaven."
May we all enter more into the responsibilities put upon us! How
much we can do for God, and how much He will enable us to do if we put
our simple trust in Him!
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From the Catholic Young
Men's National Union, United States, America
RICHMOND, VA., U.S.,
May 28, 1880.
MAY IT PLEASE
YOUR EMINENCE,
Whereas—The principal object of the Catholic Young Men's
National Union is the promotion of the interest of Religion, the
preservation of sound morals, and the diffusion of true science and
useful knowledge,
And whereas—Among the chief promoters of these beneficent
purposes in modern times, the distinguished English Oratorian, Dr.
Newman, occupies a foremost place, as well on account of his {300}
profound learning, scholarship, and constant literary labours for the
maintenance, defence, and furtherance of the truth, as because of his
great virtues and blameless life, in which he has exemplified the
beauty and symmetry which characterise the Christian man, and make him
attractive even to the hostile world,
And whereas—Since our last national meeting our Holy Father,
Leo XIII., has deigned to crown with the sublime dignity of Cardinal
the illustrious Dr. Newman,
Be it resolved—That we recognise in this gracious act of our
Holy Father the best and most convincing proof that our Mother, the
Church, is today what she has ever been, the Mother of Christian
civilisation, the patroness and rewarder of knowledge and virtue:
Be it resolved—That the universal acclaim, with which the
elevation of Dr. Newman has been received throughout the world, is an
evidence of the power of truth, the influence of self-sacrifice and
virtue among men:
Be it resolved—That the Catholic Young Men's National Union
of the United States, in Convention assembled, offer to his Eminence
Cardinal Newman their most heartfelt congratulations on his elevation
to the sublime dignity of Prince of the Church, and wish him still
many years of life of honour to himself and usefulness to the world.
Be it resolved—That the National Secretary {301} send to
Cardinal Newman a copy of these preambles and resolutions.
(A true copy.) JUAN A. PIZZINI,
National Secretary.
To the Catholic Young Men's National Union, United States of
America
[From The Richmond Catholic Visitor, U.S.]
THE ORATORY, BIRMINGHAM,
August, 1880.
MY DEAR FRIENDS,
I wish I knew how duly to express my sense of the great honour that
you have done me by the judgment you have passed upon my life and
writings, and by the congratulations with which you have accompanied
it.
But there are acts of kindness so special that to attempt to
acknowledge them worthily is almost to be unworthy of them.
Such it has been my happiness to receive from various quarters on
the great occasion which has given me yours; and each of them has had
its distinctive claim upon my grateful and lasting remembrance.
For yourselves, it has touched me especially, and made me very
proud, that, severed as I am from you in place, in nation, and in age,
you {302} should have greeted me with that genuine personal interest,
and that warm sympathy, which is the best privilege enjoyed by an old
and familiar friend.
Nor is it a private gratification only which I derive from your
Address. A Cardinal has of all things nearest to his heart the
well-being of Holy Church, and how can I have a greater consolation
and encouragement in my last years, than in your persons to be
reminded, by the distance between us, of her expanse of territory—by
your zeal in her behalf, of her life and strength—and by your youth,
of the promise of her future.
May her glorious future and the career of every one of you be bound
together by an indissoluble tie, to the prosperity and peace of both
Mother and children!
I am,
Your faithful servant and friend,
JOHN H. CARDINAL NEWMAN.
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PRESENTATION
TO CARDINAL NEWMAN
OF HIS PORTRAIT
BY THE CONGREGATION
OF THE CHURCH
OF THE ORATORY
AT BIRMINGHAM
June 19, 1881.
Cardinal Newman was presented on Sunday, June 19, with
his portrait, subscribed for by members of the congregation. As far
{303} back as 1878, they had intended to make him an
offering of some kind on his entering his 80th year, and the ultimate
decision was that it should be his portrait by Mr. W. W. Ouless, A.R.A.
The work was commenced in October, 1878, but was left incomplete until
nearly the same month in the following year. It is a half-length
portrait of his Eminence in the collar and dress of the Oratory, with
a Cardinal's small red cap on his head. A second portrait, for Oriel
College, Oxford, has also been painted by Mr. Ouless, but the one is
not a copy of the other. It is a curious fact, that the requests from
Oriel College, and from the members of the Oratory congregation to
allow his portrait to be painted were made on the same morning, and
almost at the same hour.
The presentation was subscribed to by almost every one who, from
attending the services at the Oratory, might be considered a member of
the congregation. The ceremony took place in the school-room before a
large assembly of the parishioners.
Mr. WILLSON presented the portrait on behalf of the congregation,
and read the Address.
The Address
June 19, 1881.
MAY IT PLEASE
YOUR EMINENCE,
We, who either are now or have been in times past members of the
congregation of the Church of the Oratory, come to you as children to
their father asking you to accept at our hands a token of the great
reverence and affection with which we regard you, and of the fulness
of our gratitude for the patient care with which you have for so {304}
many years ministered to us as our pastor.
We feel grateful to you for having acceded to our request made more
than three years ago, that our offering should take the form of a
portrait of yourself by an artist worthy of his task, and for the
kindness with which you have made the sacrifice of time and personal
convenience that request involved. In accordance with the wish you
then graciously expressed, every member of the congregation, however
humble, has had the opportunity and privilege of joining in this
filial offering.
When we waited on you to ask your permission thus to express our
feelings, we could not foresee that our Holy Father would so soon
confer on you such high honour and dignity. We have already expressed
to your Eminence the joy and gratitude with which in common with all
Catholics we hailed your long and well-merited elevation; but while we
feel proud that our portrait records your high position as a Prince of
Holy Church, we had thought of you only as our beloved pastor and
father in Christ.
And now we, the men women and children of the congregation to which
you have so long ministered, ask you to accept our humble gift with
your wonted benignity. We offer it with glad hearts, and we trust that
it may be not only valued by the present family of your sons {305} in
St. Philip, but remain as an heirloom of the house, a memorial to many
distant generations of their successors, of their great Founder and
first Father.
Humbly beseeching your blessing we pray most earnestly that
Almighty God may spare your Eminence yet many years to be the guide
and comfort of your loving children of this congregation, as well as a
light and defence to the Universal Church.
Signed on behalf of the congregation by
JAMES BOURNE, Chairman
JAMES GEARY Secretary
W. B. WILLSON, Treasurer
of the Portrait Committee.
Cardinal Newman's Reply to the Congregation of the Church of the
Oratory, Birmingham, on their Presentation of his Portrait painted by
W. W. Ouless, A.R.A.
SUNDAY, June 19, 1881.
MY DEAR CHILDREN,
I wish I could return an answer worthy of your acceptable present, and
of the affectionate words with which you have accompanied it.
It is indeed most acceptable to me, and a very thoughtful kindness,
that you should have proposed to provide a memorial of me for time to
come, and a memorial so specially personal, which years hence will
bring back {306} vividly the remembrance of the past to those who have
known me, and will carry on into the future a tradition of what I was
like to the many who never saw me.
It is a second kindness that you should wish to leave it as an
heirloom to this house; for, by doing so, you associate my brothers,
the Fathers of this Oratory, in your loving thoughts of me, and
thereby recognise what is so true, so ever present to my mind, that
you never would have had cause to show affection towards me but for
the zealous co-operation of dear friends, living and dead, in those
acts and works of which I get the credit.
It is a third kindness that, in carrying out your purpose towards
me, you have had recourse to a man of widely acknowledged genius,
whose work, now finished, is generally pronounced to be worthy of his
reputation, and is found by competent judges to claim more and more
admiration, as a work of art, the more carefully it is studied.
Nor must I omit a fourth gratification which your Address suggests
to me. When friends and well-wishers in years past have paid me the
like compliment, I have asked myself {307} what I had done to merit
it? But now the Sovereign Pontiff has singled me out for his highest
mark of favour, and thus, while you in 1878 may be considered to have
been only anticipating, by the honour you proposed to me, the coming
to me of his act of grace, so now in 1881, I can for the same reason
receive it of you without the appearance or the fear of arrogance or
presumption.
You ask for my blessing, and I bless you with all my heart, as I
desire to be blessed myself. Each one of us has his own individuality,
his separate history, his antecedents and his future, his duties, his
responsibilities, his solemn trial, and his eternity. May God's grace,
His love, His peace rest on all of you, united as you are in the
Oratory of St. Philip, on old and young, on confessors and penitents,
on teachers and taught, on living and dead. Apart from that grace,
that love, that peace, nothing is stable, all things have an end; but
the earth will last its time, and while the earth lasts, Holy Church
will last, and while the Church lasts, may the Oratory of Birmingham
last also, amid the fortunes of many generations one and {308} the
same, faithful to St. Philip, strong in the protection of our Lady and
all Saints, not losing as time goes on its sympathy with its first
fathers, whatever may be the burden and interests of its own day, as
we in turn now stretch forth our hands with love and with awe towards
those, our unborn successors, whom on earth we shall never know.
JOHN H. CARD. NEWMAN.
SUNDAY, June
19, 1881.
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Appendix
I.
Cardinal Nina to Dr. Newman.
Official Offer of the Cardinalate.
REVERENDISSIMO PADRE,
Il S. Padre altamente apprezzando l'ingegno, la dottrina, che
distinguono la P. V. Rma, la pietą e lo zelo da Lei addimostrato nell'
esercizio del S. ministero, la devozione ed attaccamento filiale alla
S. Sede Apostolica ed i segnalati servigi, che da lunghi anni stą
rendendo alla religione, ha divisato di darle una publica e solenne
prova di stima e benevolenza. É perciņ che nel prossimo Consistoro,
di cui Le verrą a suo tempo notificato il giorno preciso, si degnerą
di elevarla agil onori della S. Porpora.
Nel porgerle questa licta notizia per opportuna e riservata sua
norma non posso a meno di congratularmi colla P. vostra vedendone in
un modo cosi splendido rimunerati i meriti dall' augusto Capo della
Chiesa, e mi gode l'animo di poterla avere ben presto a Collega, nel
S. Senato, di cui Ella senza meno sarą uno dei pił belli Ornamenti.
Gradisca, ne la prego, questi miei sentimenti ed insieme le
proteste della mia particolare osservanza onde mi dichiaro.
Della Paternitą Vostra Reverendissima,
Servitore vero,
L. CARD. NINA.
Dal Vaticano, il Marzo 15, 1879.
II.
Dr. Newman to Pope Leo XIII.
Non oblitus sum, Pater Optime, vel Tui vel acceptissimarum tuarum
literarum, {310} sed fui jam per duos menses tanquam in gurgite et
vortice quodam laborum epistolarium, nec etiamnunc ad littus appuli.
Quare ignosce mihi amanter quod non citius Tibi responsum miserim, et
depone culpam illam non desidię vel negligentię, sed necessitati.
Spero me aditurum esse Romam brevi cum tu bonus vivā voce mihi
veniam de hāc re dabis.
III.
Dr. Newman to Dr. Ullathorne, Bishop of Birmingham
REVERENDISSIMO DNO
GULIELMO BERNARDO
EPO BIRMINGHAMIENSI.
Feb. die 2, In festo Purif B.M.V., 1879.
PATER MI REVERENDISSIME,
Ne me judicent Sanctitas Sua et Eminentissimus Cardinalis Nina quasi
rudem prorsus et excordem hominem, qui non possit tangi vel laudatione
Superiorum, vel sensu gratitudinis vel dignitatum splendore, cłm tibi
Revmo Epo meo, qui me noveris, dico planč supra
captum meum esse illum honorem, quem admirabili bonitate sub
Sanctissimus mediocritati meę deferre sibi proposuit,—honorem vere
eximium et sui generis, quo ipse Pontifex nullum in manibus habet
ampliorem.
Nam ego sanč, vetulus et pusilli animi, jam per triginta annos
"in nidulo meo" hujus dilectissimi Oratorii vixi securus et
felix; itaque obsecro Sanctitatem suam ne me divellat ą S. Philippo,
Patre et Patrono meo.
Per amorem et reverentiam, quā Summus Pontifex unusquisque, unus
post alterum, tenet et amplectitur S. Philippum meum, oro et obtestor,
ut, miseratus mentis infirmitates meas, valetudinem non satis firmam,
annos {311} prope octoginta, vitę adhuc ą juventute privatum cursum,
linguarum inscientiam, in negotiis gerendis imperitiam, me sinat Sua
Sanctitas mori, ubi tam longo tempore vixi.
Dum scio in intimo corde meo, quod nunc et exinde sciam,
Sanctitatem Suam benč de me sentire, quid desiderem amplius?
Amplitudinis Tuę,
Reverendissime Pater,
Observantissimus,
JOHN H. NEWMAN.
DATUM BIRMINGHAM,
Feb. die 2,
In Festo Purificationis, 1879.
IV.
THE ORATORY, BIRMINGHAM,
(Translation.)
February 2, Feast of the Purification, 1879.
MY RIGHT REV.
FATHER,
I trust that his Holiness, and the most Eminent Cardinal Nina will not
think me a thoroughly discourteous, and unfeeling man, who is not
touched by the commendation of Superiors, or a sense of gratitude, or
the splendour of dignity, when I say to you, my Bishop, who know me so
well, that I regard as altogether above me the great honour which the
Holy Father proposes with wonderful kindness to confer on one so
insignificant, an honour quite transcendent and unparalleled, than
which his Holiness has none greater to bestow.
For I am, indeed, old and distrustful of myself; I have lived now
thirty years in nidulo meo in my much loved Oratory, sheltered
and happy, and would therefore entreat his Holiness not to take me
from St. Philip, my Father and Patron.
By the love and reverence with which a long succession of Popes
have regarded and trusted St. Philip, I pray and entreat his {312}
Holiness in compassion of my diffidence of mind, in consideration of
my feeble health, my nearly eighty years, the retired course of my
life from my youth, my ignorance of foreign languages, and my lack of
experience in business, to let me die where I have so long lived.
Since I know now and henceforth that his Holiness thinks kindly of me,
what more can I desire?
Right Rev. Father,
Your most devoted
JOHN H. NEWMAN.
V.
There were other disappointments very different from those of which
he wrote to Dr. Ullathorne (note Prefatory Notice, xviii.):—He
felt deeply what he had heard and knew of Dr. Döllinger, and it was
his intention to have returned home by way of Germany, for the
opportunity he might thus have of personal communication with him.
They were acquainted personally, for they had met twice or thrice,
and, occasionally, correspondence had passed between them; moreover,
at the suggestion of Cardinal Wiseman, who was intimate with Dr.
Döllinger, he had endeavoured to draw the latter to take part in the
new University in Dublin, but this could not be brought about; and
now, at this time, in his own new position, it was due, the Cardinal
said, from himself to Dr. Döllinger, not to pass through the
Continent without going to him. He was very intent upon this, {313}
and apparently, he connected his object mentally with the solemn
Ceremonial of his Creation as giving him authority, and power, and
liberty to speak, such as he had not had before. It was, however, a
subject too grave for many words: his firm and emphatic utterance of
the few that he used fully afforded a reading of his mind in their
stead. Again, before leaving Rome, his almost silent acquiescence in
the decision of his physician, that the cold and laborious route home
which he was intending could not in conscience be allowed, was very
expressive of his solemn and calm resignation of his purpose to the
overruling of the will of God. Nevertheless, he would have been very
glad indeed to have carried out this intention as a first use of his
Cardinalate in the service of God.
This intention had been made while on the journey to Rome, and it
was very strongly urged upon Dr. Aitken to permit it; but, after
careful consideration, the latter could only say, that to bring the
Cardinal home at all, was almost beyond his hope.
To his great disappointment also, illness had deprived the Cardinal
of all but a superficial acquaintance with his brethren in the Sacred
College; nevertheless, there were some of these, and also other
persons of high position, who had attracted him very much, and he had
been struck by the courtesy shown to him and the {314} unreservedness
in conversation with him generally. He determined, therefore, to make
up for his loss by returning to Rome for a time, as soon as the
reestablishment of his health would allow it, looking forward for
instance to talking with some who had not followed him in all his
writings, and to becoming conversant with many matters of interest and
importance. Moreover, and above all things, he desired to open his
mind fully to the Holy Father on those educational subjects which had
occupied him so much, and concerning which his knowledge and
experience were exceptional.
The earliest days of the approaching March (1880) had been fixed by
him for his departure, but disappointment again overtook him; an
accident which fractured two of his ribs confined him to his home, and
opportunity thus lost never returned. Each successive year left its
deeper mark of age upon him, one thing and another made the prospect
of his going to Rome more and more distant, till it became
contemplated only in case of some emergency incidental to his position
as Cardinal calling him thither; or, should the Holy Father's position
become perilous, as at one time seemed not unlikely, then, he, as
would beseem a Cardinal, would be at his side.
For it must not be thought that because he was exempted from the
ordinary duties of the Cardinalate, he held a merely {315} honorary
distinction. In the event, for example, of a Conclave, no privilege
would have freed him from being present and taking his part in it;
and, in fact, with his habitual forethought for responsibilities, he
drew clearly before him the course he would take in such an
occurrence, determining to safeguard his own necessarily limited
knowledge of persons, by claiming the guidance of Cardinal Pecci, as
being the brother of the Pope who had been so good to him. Having
resolved upon this he put aside further thought of the subject; its
necessary consideration, however, brought home to him, very solemnly,
the greatness of what the Pope had done for him.
But there was more than this; for in taking thought at this time of
what the Pope had done for him, this came to his mind, viz., that he
had been placed in the position of a Pope in potentiā, a
possible Pope. And should that become a reality what ought he to do?
Speaking in a matter-of-fact manner, but with grave seriousness, he
went on to say that his time would necessarily be too brief for him to
do anything himself, "but this I could do," he said,
"appoint and organise commissions on various subjects, and thus
advance work for another to take up if he willed. That would be the
work for me to do. It would have to begin at once, without any
delay." Having said that, then with the {316} briskness and
relief as of one now seeing and knowing his way, he made mention of a
Pope elected at ninety-three and dying at ninety-six, who had done a
great work at that age and in that short time. This subject was then
as the other put aside. They occurred at the same time, and are both
too characteristic of the Cardinal for the omission of either, though
the omission of the latter has been suggested for reasons which are
easy to see. The latter is very characteristic of his most solemn
devotion to the Holy Ghost, especially in such matters as a General
Council, and the Conclave for the election of a Pope. He had made his
estimate of what the Pope had done for him, and he said of it,
"Man could not do more".
But the question may be asked—how could the Cardinal have carried
out his intentions under the difficulty that he felt in conversing,
except in English? Now, as he has sometimes spoken of this
disadvantage, and he does so in strong terms in his letter to Bishop
Ullathorne of February 2, some lines shall be given to the subject.
The isolated position of England in his schoolboy days, and his own
occupations later on, had cut him off from the facilities of acquiring
that command of modern languages which he envied in others; but it may
be assumed that in no case would modern languages have become his forte.
{317}
His difficulty, however, was more imaginary than real. He was not
unacquainted with German, for, on Dr. Pusey urging him to it, and
while still young, he had applied himself to the study of that
language; but after a time he abandoned it by way of protest against
the too great weight, as he thought it, given by his friend to the
opinion of Germans in particular, on those subjects which most
interested both of them. He had the usual literary knowledge of French
and Italian, and he was particularly fond of the latter, but in
neither was he so at home as to be able to use them with satisfaction
to himself for conversation or argument. Even Latin failed him here,
although, from his early years he had, for mere pleasure used it in
familiar conversation. At school, for instance, where, according to
his own vivacious description, he was drawn with others to this use of
it by the excitement of taking part in the performance of Latin plays.
And, in his undergraduate days, it was again developed by the strict
rule he and another made for themselves of Latin conversation at the
breakfast which they usually had together. Later in life this fluency
was gradually very much lost. Bad Latin annoyed him, and difficult
Latin was repugnant to him as being contrary to his notion of the
simplicity of style due to Latin; his own study, too, of the great
controversies in the early history {318} of the Church, had made him
very exact and critical, in fact, an expert, as to the precise value
and meaning of words and the true use of expressions, at different
epochs, in Latin and Greek. All this led to a diffidence and a nervous
fear of himself in these respects, which, by impeding his utterance,
greatly increased the difficulty. Nevertheless, he considered that at
any time he needed only some few days of conversation in quiet
intercourse to become at his ease whether in Latin or Italian; the
same may be said of French. He did not anticipate a recurrence of his
difficulty at this time; he said very distinctly that he did not.
To the Cardinal himself, it was from first to last a mystery that
the Holy Father had thought of him for this dignity, considering the
retirement of his life and the fact that his books were written in
English. Already he had reached that great age when services to others
are no longer to be counted upon and, in his past, in his sacerdotal
years, what, unless it were his school at Edgbaston, had he to show as
done by him? Nevertheless, the highest authority in the Church had now
set the seal of approbation upon him; the clouds of past years had
cleared away, and he could turn towards the grave bearing the most
distinguished mark of merit that Holy Church can give. With what
gratitude and religious {319} joy he received this honour, with what
kindness and modesty he rebuked almost severely (as he in truth once
or twice intended) the too high estimate of himself shown in some of
the congratulatory addresses,—all this will be found in the
accompanying collection of addresses and his replies to them.*
* To a letter from Birmingham, March 28, 1879, with respect to
general congratulations, he writes to Lord Blachford: "I am
overwhelmed and wearied out with answering letters so joyful and
affectionate that I should be as hard as a stone, and as cruel as an
hyena, and as ungrateful as a wild cat, if I did not welcome them; but
they try me much ... P.S.—Sometimes I have been at my desk from 9 A.M.
10 P.M. with hardly any stop."
VI.
THE ORATORY,
May 28, 1880.
MY DEAR BLACHFORD,
Thank you for your very affectionate letter just received. Of course
all that has happened for a year past and more, has been
overpoweringly gratifying but equally, or still more surprising as if
it was not I. Both feelings together, pleasure and astonishment, make
it a trial to my head and heart, and comes a third thought—Is it
possible there won't be a reaction or contrecoup of some kind?
and I think of Polycrates.
What has touched me most has been the strange tokens of affection
and interest in me where I suspected or deserved none … most
grateful to me but most confounding, is L—'s which you report,
especially as I, who had never seen him before, unkindly thought him
so cold and stiff. I was very much amused at the humour of his remark
{320} about me, because he did not seem to have humour in him.
I should have answered your former letters had I known where to
direct to you. Your sketch of S. Giorgio was capital and I thank you
for it. But I have no parishioners, the bad boys were Victor Emmanuel's!
I have a night school worked by the Canons, of which the Provost or
Dean, who was a most respectable man, has been promoted since I left
Rome, and I don't know his successor. I made his acquaintance when I
was in bed but never was well enough to visit St. George. The
Government has stopped the one Mass at S. Giorgio, except on two days
in the year.
After all, the most wonderful thing in the whole matter is the Pope's
knowing me—he does not know English—he lived in retirement at
Perugia. Yet he not only from the first took a definite and strong
view of me, so that I cannot repeat all he has said, but now hardly
does an English Catholic come to him, but he begins speaking of me.
Well, I trust I shall ever be prepared for evil as well as good
report. All kind remembrances to Lady Blachford if she is with you. I
hope you are well.
Yours affectionately,
JOHN H. CARD. NEWMAN.
In this letter to Lord Blachford the Cardinal had especially in
mind the two visits from which he had but a few days returned. The
first in London at Norfolk House; the other at Oxford, where he was
the guest of the President and Fellows of Trinity College. On these
occasions the variety and number of those {321} who presented
themselves to him, and the warm welcome he received, were wonderful.
In London, while still the guest of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk,
the Fathers of the Oratory threw open the large rooms of the Oratory,
and there the clergy of the diocese, almost without exception, availed
themselves of the opportunity to pay their respects to him. His
reception at Oxford had much of the character of a welcome back as to
his own domain. With that welcome the Visite di Calore may be
said to have been brought to an end.
THE END.
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INDEX
TO PRINCIPAL REFERENCES
{323} ACADEMIA, 185.
Allies, T. W., 87, 198.
Altar Society, 114.
Archer, Sir W. H., 275-6, 289-90.
Australia, 275.
BAYSWATER, 39.
Beaumont, 6.
Benedictine (Engl.) Cong., 4, 18, 28, 31, 203, 208.
Berulle, Cardinal de, xiii.
Birmingham, 9, 58, 91, 102, 114, 119, 124, 129, 131, 151, 164, 168,
205, 213, 235.
Bowden (Cong. Orat.), Fr. S., 260.
Brighton, 101.
Butler, Bishop, 247, 256.
C.U.I. CUI BONO Club,
144.
Capecelatro (Card.), Cong. Orat., xi., 14, 16, 256.
Catholic Union, 76, 79, 84, 262.
Catholic Poor School Committee, 179.
Catholic Young Men's National Union, 299.
Catholic Young Men's Society, 151.
Clifton, 116.
Commons, House of, 47.
Cork, 198, 200.
Cullen, Cardinal, 233.
DALLEY, Hon. B., 284-5.
Delany, Bishop, 198, 201.
Döllinger, Dr., 312.
Douai, 30.
Downside, 4.
Dublin, 144, 244.
EAGLESIM (Cong. Orat.), Fr. P., xvii.
Emly, Lord, 81, 83, 245.
English Catholics, 169.
English Hierarchy, 88.
GLASGOW, 19. {324}
HEREFORD, 203.
Hexham and Newcastle, 37.
Howard, Cardinal, 61.
IRISH Catholics, 169, 249.
Irish Cath. University, 229.
Irish College, Paris, 108.
Irish Members, 47.
JESUS, Society of, 1, 6, 11, 19, 21, 23, 74.
KEOGH (Cong. Orat.), Fr., 32-3.
Kerr, Mme. H., 56-7.
LANCASHIRE Clergy, 141.
League of the Cross, 160.
Leo XIII., Pope, xi., xviii., xxi., 1, 80, etc.
Limerick, 247.
Liverpool, 21, 94, 194.
MACMULLEN, Canon, 272.
Malvern, 18.
McNamara, Rev. T., 108.
Manchester, 138.
Manning, Cardinal, xvi., 88, 187.
NAPLES, 13, 16.
Neville (Cong. Orat.), Fr. W., vii., viii., xi., xvii.
Nina, Cardinal. xix., 80, 309.
Norfolk, Duke of, xvii., 76, 81, 85, 174, 192, 203-4, 289.
Nottingham, 106.
OBLATES OF ST.
CHARLES, 40.
O'Brien, Dr., 151, 158.
O'Hagan, Lord, 178, 252.
Olton, 53, 290.
Oratory, London, 32, 256, 321.
Oratory School, 119, 124, 129, 131, 205, 318.
Oscott, 110, 224.
Ouless, W. W., R.A., 303.
Oxford, 43, 99, 320.
PARIS, 109.
Pecci, Cardinal, xi., xiv.
Percival (Bishop), 44.
Pius IX., Pope, xii., 127, 171, 242-3.
Pope (Cong. Orat.), Fr., xvi.-vii., 256.
Preachers, Order of, 45.
Purbrick, S.J., Fr., 23.
Pusey, Dr., 317. {325}
RIPON, Marquis of, 78, 179.
Robinson, O.S.C., Fr., 39.
Roehampton, 56.
Rome, 57, 61, 71.
Rossi, Commendatore de, xiv.
ST. BEDE SOCIETY,
91.
St. Beuno's, 1.
St. George's Club, 191.
St. John (Cong. Orat.), Fr., 115.
Salford, 134.
Sconce, Mrs., xvii.
Scotch Catholics, 169.
Scotch Hierarchy, 52.
Southwark, 112.
Stonyhurst, 23.
Sydney, 283.
Sydney Freeman, 283.
TIMES, 1.
ULLATHORNE, (Archbishop), xv., 216.
Urban VIII., Pope, xiii.
VAUGHAN, Archbishop, 286.
WELD, S.J., Fr., 74.
Westminster, 34, 111.
Wiseman, Cardinal, 221, 312.
Woodchester, 45.
Woodlock, Bishop, 232.
YOUNG MEN'S SOCIETIES,
151.
N.B.—In the case of writers of letters, their names are inserted
above only when they forward addresses, or do not, in their own
communications, represent communities.
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