Pamphlets on the Eirenicon [pp. 217-231]

Pamphdets on the Eirenicon.
cy, looking on his own times as a
philosophical historian of the church
may look at them by-and-bye, and
point out what may be accidental,
transient, local, in the features of the
religion of the present day. No one
can be less inclined to exaggerate,
for instance, the differences between
English and Italian devotion; and
we have seldom felt ourselves in a
more Italian atmosphere, out of Italy,
than in the oratory at Edgbaston.
But he is not afraid of giving full
weight to national differences of character, nor of avowing himself a hearty
Englishman. In the same way, with.
out going into the question of fact as
to alleged extravagances-which, after all, is of no real cogency in the
argument-he is ready to admit that
there may be such, and puts forward a
simple common-sense argument to
show that such may be expected in
the living working of energetic ideas
generally, and especially of such ideas
in matters of religion, which acts on
the affections. This is the true philosophical answer; and it by no means
excludes other answers that might be
given to particular charges, which
might be proved to be false inll fact, or
to apply to matters so grave as that
the church would never be allowed to
permit the alleged corruption.
Dr. Newman never shrinks from
allowing the full force of any principle that he has laid down. Thus, he
has distinguished between faith as to
our Blessed Lady's position in the
kingdom of her Son and the devotion
to her founded upon that faith. The
faith may have been from the beginning, and actually was so, as he proves
fromn the early fathers; but the full
devotion may not all at once have
been developed; or again, it may
have been checked in particular countries at a particular time, and so
make no show in the writings of some
fathers of that age, in consequence of
the baneful influence of a prevalent
heresy which cut at the faith itself.
This, which is really almost self-evident, enables him not only to explain
the passages in St. Chrysostom and
St. Basil which are sometimes objected to, but to grant that there are
no certain traces of devotion, strictly
so called, to our Blessed Lady in the
writings of others beside these. There
need not be, according to his principles. It must be remembered that
all these statements admit of great development and - explanation; they
are germs of thought, and are
only put forward most concisely in
Dr. Newman's present letter. It is
more to our present purpose to observe how ready he is to look through
the cloud of charges, great and small,
which Dr. Pusey has blown in the
face of Catholics, and to discern in
the book of his old friend a new and
important turning-point in the Anglican controversy. He thinks that the
indignation of Catholics has led them
in consequence to misconceive Dr.
Pusey, so as not, it would seem, to
give him credit for really pacific intentions. We think that no one has denied-what, indeed, it does not become a critic to question-the reality
of a purpose distinctly avowed; but
at the same time we must repeat that
it has never been denied by Dr. Pusey, nor do we think it ever can be
denied, that the book was written
with a clear and distinct intention so
to represent Catholicism as to deter
people from submitting to it except
on certain terms pointed out by the
author. Possibly Dr. Newman only
means that Catholics have been more
alienated by Dr. Pusey's most unhandsome attack than attracted by his
professions of friendship; and certainly never was a friendly expostulation, never was an earnest rcqu,st
for explanation on certain points
which appear to be difficulties in the
way of a much-desired union, proposed in a way less calculated to conciliate. Dr. Newman, therefore, neither
wonders nor complains at the strong
feeling with which the "Eirenicon"
has been received; but he looks beyond the present moment, and, recalling the former phases of opinion as to
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