St Vincent Seminary - Symposium Yearbook (Latrobe, PA)

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E 'E I E Elllllli Slllllli z E 5 5 n a 'llllllllillllf' 6 6 ' . . . . l ? . 'Ill . -mnmngur site 1 r jlll' lllllls Ill zant of the truth that much will be required of him to whom much has been given. With this ideal before his mind his days were passed in the fulfillment of his duties to God and his fellow- men. In respect to the latter he was always gracious and charit- able He was 1n every sense of the word the true gentleman He lived a life of sacrifice and love so akin to sainthood that often it seemed as if St Augustine had reappeared to walk the ways of men. His personality and powers grew with the passing of years and won, four years after his ordination in the Church of England, the curacy of St. Mary's. Here he became the moral and intellec- tual leader of this great center of learning. Here his powers as a 'preacher drew the young Oxonians to worship at his feet. Here, too, he spent himself in his work, so much so that it began to affect his health. He was badly in need of a rest. Hence, when Hurrel Froude, his bosom friend, likewise delicate in health, invited him to make a trip to southern Europe, he gladly accept- ed. There he found opportunity to renew his failing health in the doubly soothing atmosphere of European skies and affectionate friendship. Together these two tired souls cruised along the Mediterranean, seeking the fountains of health amidst the once resplendent glories of the ancient world. During this cruise, in the hours of loneliness and foreboding that frequently overcame him, he wrote some eighty-five verses, one of which has endeared 'itself to the hearts of all those who seek light amidst the en- circling gloom of this earthly pilgrimage. Early in 1833 he was back in England ready to begin those years of unimaginable sorrow that lay before him. He returned just in time to become involved in the scholarly Oxford Move- ment. This was an attempt upon the part of some of the in- tellectuals at Oxford to revive in the failing religious fervor of the Anglican Church that fiery ardor and hunger for the king- dom of God which characterized the primitive Church. Fervor zeal and the old enthusiasm had given way to a deadening com- placency. The great bulk of the clergy walked along the smooth path of least resistance enjoying an honorable prestige among their people by the few external functions they performed upon Sundays. For the rest they differed neither outwardly nor in- wardly from the great bulk of the laity to whom the Church was .a useful organization for the maintenance of Religion, as by law established But the awakening came at last. It was brought about by the famous Oxford Movement, a historical event so prodigious in .-l--- 'llllllllllllll' 7 7 7 ! ' H A mmunum , fi , umumuuu: s 5 - ,glllg , slllllla : z 2 f- .. .. - - 'illllllllllllli ' , V ' . , Q! ll62ll

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fe img . it f U'llllI alillll lm. g E f :- S : Ill Ill E E E '- A X ,Mg 3 ', rx '1 .15 Hllllllllml X ,fr 'l . , . . H . . wx- I 0 X, 9712 r Y . l ' ' A 4 . . . . . . . . . . , . . - 1 . . . 7 7 . . . . 5 ulllllllfllllu Q - E lla - . - 5 . - 2 Ili Ulllnllnlr e Human Side of Cardinal Newman GEORGE P HAUSSER A B HE name of Cardinal Newman IS well known to every student of history and literature. Those who study history know him as the great leader of the Oxford Movementg those who study literature, as a man of unsurpassing literary endowments. But significant and scholarly as are the works and the genius of the man, there are few, indeed, who are acquainted with his human side. Men know him in his great historical, religious, political and social actsg few know him as he lived his life away from the crowded highways of humanity in the solitary solemnity of his little cell. The latter is the objective of this essay. It proposes to give the human side of Cardinal Newman. Throughout his youth he was ever a solemn, serious little lad who found greater delight in intellectual pursuits than in the rough and ready sports of the day. His was an unusual intel- lectual avidity which grew with the passing of years and won for him at the end of his primary course, a scholarship at Oxford University. Upon his entrance to the University he seemed little different from the rest of his fellowmen, yet, he possessed unusually deep religious convictions and was endowed with unexcelled powers of mind. At a very early age he found consolation in the con- viction that there were two, and two only, supreme and lumin- ously self-evident beings in the world, himself and his Creator This IS one of the great principles of Newman's life, a principle the understanding of which is indispensable for any adequate appreciation of the noble sacrifices of the man. Across every page of the Apologia this conviction stands forth in bold characters without it Newman s life IS a commingling of inconsistencies. With the passing of years his religious fervor grew more in- tense and it induced him upon receiving his degree, to begin study for orders in the Anglican Church. Here his powers of mind won the universally coveted scholarship to Oriel College one of the highest honors attainable at the University. Conscious as Newman must have been of his gifts of mind, he was never proud nor did he glory, in their possession. He was fully cogni- Q lx If will :ii T. wr? t .1 I . ' Lf ' gmlnnutig Ear'- 5 llllg llla :nnnmuun 51 He was born at the very dawn of the nineteenth century.

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Elllf , , , 1 . f . . . . . . . . Ullllllllllllh I 3 Z 2 a - . glllllls ' 5 Nnuamnui ,YT Jlllllllllllfd : 2 ,N nu Ill , ,, 1, slllaf Q D i amunumu I-,4 Y 1 3 1 its effects that it need not be repeated here. Such a movement directed at the very foundation of the English system of religion so comprehensive in scope and so vital to the heart of every true Englishman could not long remain unnoticed. It sought an out- let for its expression in the Tracts for the Times. Newman became the principal author of these. They were published at irregular intervals and were distributed throughout England, but, for the mo't part they never penetrated beyond the ranks of the clergy. Indeed, many of the English people would never have heard of the Tracts were it not for that famous Tract Ninety which broke upon England one morning causing such consternation as even England scarcely ever beheld. Men thought that the foundation of their carefully wrought religious palladium.was being torn from under their feet. Like the tyrannical mob of old, clamoring for the death of the Saviour, England rose and demanded the perpetrator of this treacherous attack. lt was in such an hour of high national excitement that the man who had once been the moral and the intellectual leader of the greatest center of learn- ing in all England, fell. The very moment that English patriots learned that Newman was the author of this Tract, his life was no longer a matter of private interest. 'It became thereafter the property of England. Thus the man who had gloried in peaceful study within the four-walled cloister of his little room, was there- after dogged and disgraced, the object of public and private suspicion and hatred in every act he performed. ' He was ordered to withdraw his Tract. But this heuwould never do. He could never be persuaded to witness against truth. Throughout life he sought truth zealously, and, once he found it, no power upon earth could force him to relinquish it. He pre- ferred to sacrifice all things in life rather than ever to stand witness against the eternal truth. He preferred to incur the hatred and the animosity of all England, and even of the Oxford he loved so well rather than ever to retract the truth In the meantime England showed its displeasure. F rom every quarter came letters of denunciation. He was branded an agent of Rome. He was dogged and watched, hated and despised, in- sulted and spurned upon the streets. But through it all Newman held his peace. He kept up his studies, preached upon occasions and felt his way groplngly. As the months passed the necessity of resigning his post at St. lVIary's became a growing conviction. And thus came a day when the tall gaunt figure of Newman was no longer seen in the principal church at Oxford. Thus ceased that bell-like voice which so often rang through the church .mum m 5 11,9 F . ill Ili - i if alll.. 1llfO lllllllll 7 I Xl ll53ll 4 I n ill. alll: