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    • Vol. 1 - Preface and Introduction >
      • The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
      • The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus
      • The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
      • The Epistle Concerning the Martyrdom of Polycarp
      • The Epistles of Ignatius - Introduction >
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians
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        • The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp
      • The Ignatian Epistles (Syriac Version) >
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp (Syriac Version)
        • The Second Epistle Of Ignatius to the Ephesians (Syriac Version)
        • The Third Epistle of the Same St. Igantius (Syriac Version)
      • Introductory to the Spurious Epistles of Ignatius >
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Tarsians (Spurious)
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Antiochians (Spurious)
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to Hero, a Deacon of Antioch (Spurious)
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philippians (Spurious)
        • The Epistle of Maria the Proselyte to Ignatius (Spurious)
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to Mary at Nepalis, Near Zarbus (Spurious)
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to St. John the Apostle (Spurious)
        • A Second Epistle of Ignatius to St. John (Spurious)
        • The Epistle of Ignatius to the Virgin Mary (Spurious)
      • Introductory Note to the Martyrdom of Ignatius >
        • The Martyrdom of Ignatius
      • The Epistle of Barnabas
      • The Fragments of Papias
      • Introduction to the Writings of Justin Martyr >
        • The First Apology of Justin Martyr >
          • Epistle of Adrian in behalf of the Christians
          • Epistle of Antoninus to the common assembly of Asia
          • Epistle of Marcus Aurelius to the senate, in which he testifies that the Christians were the cause of his victory
        • The Second Apology of Justin for the Christians Addressed to the Roman Senate
        • Dialogue of Justin, Philosopher and Martyr, with Trypho, a Jew
        • The Discourse to the Greeks - Justin Martyr
        • Justin's Hortatory Address to the Greeks
        • Justin on the Sole Government of God
        • Fragments of the Lost Work of Justin on the Resurrection
        • Other Fragments from the Lost Writings of Justin
        • The Martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs Justin, Chariton, Charites, Pæon, and Liberianus, who Suffered at Rome
      • Introductory Note to Irenæus Against Heresies >
        • Against Heresies: Book 1 - Irenaeus
        • Against Heresies: Book 2 - Irenaeus
        • Against Heresies: Book 3 - Irenaeus
        • Against Heresies: Book 4 - Irenaeus
        • Against Heresies: Book 5 - Irenaeus
        • Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus
    • Vol. 2 - Fathers of the Second Century >
      • The Pastor of Hermas - Introduction >
        • The Pastor of Hermas: Book 1
        • The Pastor of Hermas: Book 2
        • The Pastor of Hermas: Book 3
      • Tatian the Assyrian's Address to the Greeks >
        • Fragments - Tatian the Assyrian
      • Theophilus of Antioch - Introduction >
        • Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus: Book 1
        • Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus: Book 2
        • Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus: Book 3
      • Athenagoras >
        • A Plea For the Christians By Athenagoras the Athenian: Philosopher and Christian
        • The Treatise of Athenagoras the Athenian, Philosopher and Christian, on the Resurrection of the Dead
      • Clement of Alexandria - Introductory Note >
        • Exhortation to the Heathen
        • The Instructor (Paedagogus) - Book 1
        • The Instructor (Paedagogus) - Book 2
        • The Instructor (Paedagogus) - Book 3
        • Elucidations - Clement of Alexandria
        • The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 1
        • Elucidations - Purpose of the Stromata
        • The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 2
        • Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 2
        • The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 3
        • The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 4
        • Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 4
        • The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 5
        • Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 5
        • The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 6
        • Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 6
        • The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 7
        • Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 7
        • The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 8
        • Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 8
        • Fragments of Clemens Alexandrinus
        • Clemens Alexandrinus on the Salvation of the Rich Man
        • Elucidations - Clemens Alexandrinus on the Salvation of the Rich Man
    • Vol. 3 - Tertullian >
      • Section 1 - Apologetic - Tertullian >
        • The Apology
        • On Idolatry
        • The Shows, or De Spectaculis
        • The Chaplet, or De Corona
        • To Scapula
        • Ad Nationes - Book 1
        • Ad Nationes - Book 2
        • A Fragment Concerning the Execrable Gods of the Heathen
        • An Answer to the Jews
        • The Soul's Testimony
        • A Treatise on the Soul
      • Section 2 - Anti-Marcion - Tertullian >
        • The Prescription Against Heretics
        • The Five Books Against Marcion - Book 1
        • The Five Books Against Marcion - Book 2
        • The Five Books Against Marcion - Book 3
        • The Five Books Against Marcion - Book 4
        • The Five Books Against Marcion - Book 5
        • Against Hermogenes - Containing an Argument Against His Opinion that Matter is Eternal
        • Against the Valentinians
        • On the Flesh of Christ
        • On the Resurrection of the Flesh
        • Against Praxeas
        • Scorpiace
        • Against all Heresies
      • Section 3 - Ethical - Tertullian >
        • On Repentance
        • On Baptism
        • On Prayer
        • Ad Martyras
        • Introductory Notice to the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas
        • The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas
        • Of Patience
    • Vol. 4 - Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Commodianus, Origen >
      • Tertullian >
        • On the Pallium
        • On the Apparel of Women
        • On the Veiling of Virgins
        • To His Wife
        • On Exhortation to Chastity
        • On Monogamy
        • On Modesty
        • On Fasting (In Opposition to the Psychics)
        • De Fuga in Persecutione
        • Appendix
      • Minucius Felix >
        • The Octavius of Minucius Felix
  • Books
    • John Henry Cardinal Newman >
      • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine by John Henry Cardinal Newman >
        • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 1: Doctrinal Developments Viewed in Themselves >
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 1, Chapter 1: On the Development of Ideas
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 1, Chapter 2: On the Antecedent Argument in Behalf of Developments in Christian Doctrine
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 1, Chapter 3: On the Historical Argument in Behalf of the Existing Developments
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 1, Chapter 4: Instances in Illustration
        • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2: Doctrinal Developments Viewed Relatively to Doctrinal Corruptions >
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2, Chapter 5: Genuine Developments Contrasted with Corruptions
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2, Chapter 6: Application of the Seven Notes to the Existing Developments of Christian Doctrine
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2, Chapter 7: Application of the Second Note of a True Development
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2, Chapter 8: Application of the Third Note of a True Development
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2, Chapter 9: Application of the Fourth Note of a True Development
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2, Chapter 10: Application of the Fifth Note of a True Development
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2, Chapter 11: Application of the Sixth Note of a True Development
          • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - Part 2, Chapter 12: Application of the Seventh Note of a True Development
      • Apologia Pro Vita Sua By John Henry Cardinal Newman >
        • Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Part 1: Mr. Kingsley's Method of Disputation
        • Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Part 2: True Mode of Meeting Mr. Kingsley
        • Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Part 3: History of My Religious Opinions
        • Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Part 4: History of My Religious Opinions--1833 - 1839
        • Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Part 5: History of My Religious Opinions--1839 - 1841
        • Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Part 6: History of My Religious Opinions--1841 - 1845
        • Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Part 7: General Answer to Mr. Kingsley
        • Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Appendix: Answer in Detail to Mr. Kingsley's Accusations
      • The Idea of a University Defined and Illustrated by John Henry Cardinal Newman >
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 1: Introductory
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 2: Theology A Branch Of Knowledge
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 3: Bearing Of Theology On Other Branches Of Knowledge
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 4: Bearing Of Other Branches Of Knowledge On Theology
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 5: Knowledge Its Own End
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 6: Knowledge Viewed In Relation To Learning
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 7: Knowledge Viewed In Relation To Professional Skill
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 8: Knowledge Viewed In Relation To Religion
        • The Idea of a University, Discourse 9: Duties Of The Church Towards Knowledge
        • University Subjects, Discussed in Occasional Lectures and Essays >
          • Lecture 1 - Christianity And Letters. A Lecture in the School of Philosophy and Letters
          • Lecture 2 - Literature. A Lecture in the School of Philosophy and Letters
          • Lecture 3 - English Catholic Literature
          • Lecture 4 - Elementary Studies
          • Lecture 5 - A Form Of Infidelity Of The Day
          • Lecture 6 - University Preaching
          • Lecture 7 - Christianity and Physical Science. A Lecture in the School of Medicine
          • Lecture 8 - Christianity And Scientific Investigation. A Lecture Written for the School of Science
          • Lecture 9 - Discipline Of Mind. An Address To The Evening Classes
          • Lecture 10 - Christianity And Medical Science. An Address to the Students Of Medicine
      • Loss and Gain: The Story of a Convert by John Henry Cardinal Newman >
        • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 1 >
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 2
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 3
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 4
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 5
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 6
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 7
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 8
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 9
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 10
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 11
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 12
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 13
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 14
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 15
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 16
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 17
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 18
        • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 1 >
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 2
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 3
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 4
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 5
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 6
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 7
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 8
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 9
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 10
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 11
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 12
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 13
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 14
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 15
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 16
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 17
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 18
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 19
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 20
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 21
        • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 1 >
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 2
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 3
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 4
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 5
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 6
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 7
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 8
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 9
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 10
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 11
    • Saint Augustine of Hippo >
      • The Confessions of Saint Augustine by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo >
        • Book 1 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 2 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 3 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 4 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 5 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 6 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 7 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 8 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 9 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 10 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 11 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 12 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 13 - Confessions by St. Augustine
    • G K Chesterton >
      • Heretics by G.K. Chesterton >
        • Heretics, Chapter 1: Introductory Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy
        • Heretics, Chapter 2: On the Negative Spirit
        • Heretics, Chapter 3: On Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Making the World Small
        • Heretics, Chapter 4: Mr. Bernard Shaw
        • Heretics, Chapter 5: Mr. H.G. Wells and the Giants
        • Heretics, Chapter 6: Christmas and the Aesthetes
        • Heretics, Chapter 7: Omar and the Sacred Vine
        • Heretics, Chapter 8: The Mildness of the Yellow Press
        • Heretics, Chapter 9: The Moods of Mr. George Moore
        • Heretics, Chapter 10: On Sandals and Simplicity
        • Heretics, Chapter 11: Science and the Savages
        • Heretics, Chapter 12: Paganism and Mr. Lowes Dickinson
        • Heretics, Chapter 13: Celts and Celtophiles
        • Heretics, Chapter 14: On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family
        • Heretics, Chapter 15: On Smart Novelists and the Smart Set
        • Heretics, Chapter 16: On Mr. McCabe and a Divine Frivolity
        • Heretics, Chapter 17: On the Wit of Whistler
        • Heretics, Chapter 18: The Fallacy of the Young Nation
        • Heretics, Chapter 19: Slum Novelists and the Slums
        • Heretics, Chapter 20: Concluding Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy
      • Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton >
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 1: Introduction in Defense of Everything Else
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 2: The Maniac
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 3: The Suicide of Thought
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 4: The Ethics of Elfland
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 5: The Flag of the World
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 6: The Paradoxes of Christianity
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 7: The Eternal Revolution
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 8: The Romance of Orthodoxy
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 9: Authority and the Adventurer
    • Saint Thomas Aquinas >
      • On Prayer and the Contemplative Life by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • On Prayer, Question LXXXI: Of the Virtue of Religion
        • On Prayer, Question LXXXII: Of Devotion
        • On Prayer, Question LXXXIII: Of Prayer
        • On Prayer, Question LXXII: Of the Prayers of the Saints who are in Heaven
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXIX: Of the Division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXX: Of the Contemplative Life
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXXI: Of the Active Life
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXXII: Of the Comparison between the Active and the Contemplative Life
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXXVI: On the Religious State
      • Summa Theologica Part 1 ("Prima Pars") by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • Summa Theologica (Questions 1 - 26)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Most Holy Trinity (Questions 27 - 43)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Creation (Questions 44 - 49)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Angels (Questions 50 - 64)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Work of the Six Days (Questions 65 - 74)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on Man (Questions 75 - 102)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Conservation and Government of Creatures (Questions 103 - 119)
      • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae") by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on the Last End (Questions 1 - 5)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Human Acts: Acts Peculiar to Man (Questions 6 - 21)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on the Passions (Questions 22 - 48)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Habits (Questions 49 - 54)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Habits in Particular (Questions 55 - 89): Good Habits, i.e., Virtues (Questions 55 - 70)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Habits in Particular (Questions 55 - 89): Evil Habits, i.e., Vices and Sin (Questions 71 - 89)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Law (Questions 90 - 108)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Grace (Questions 109 - 114)
      • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae") by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on the Theological Virtues (Questions 1 - 46)
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on the Cardinal Virtues (Questions 47 - 122)
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on Fortitude and Temperance (Questions 123 - 170)
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on Gratuitous Graces (Questions 171 - 182)
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on the States of Life (Questions 183 - 189)
      • Summa Theologica Third Part ("Tertia Pars") by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • Summa Theologica Third Part ("Tertia Pars"): Treatise on the Incarnation (Questions 1 - 59)
        • Summa Theologica Third Part ("Tertia Pars"): Treatise on the Sacraments (Questions 60 - 90)
    • The Baltimore Catechism >
      • The Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 1
      • The Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 2
      • The Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 3
      • The Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 4
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Loss and Gain
Part 2, Chapter 8


CHAPTER VIII.

Reding had for near two years put aside his doubts about the Articles; but it was like putting off the payment of a bill--a respite, not a deliverance. The two conversations which we have been recording, bringing him to issue on most important subjects first with one, then with another, of two intimate friends, who were bound by the Articles as well as he, uncomfortably reminded him of his debt to the University and Church; and the nearer approach of his examination and degree inflicted on him the thought that the time was coming when he must be prepared to discharge it.

One day, when he was strolling out with Carlton, toward the end of the Vacation, he had been led to speak of the number of religious opinions and parties in Oxford, which had so many bad effects, making so many talk, so many criticise, and not a few perhaps doubt about truth altogether. Then he said that, evil as it was in a place of education, yet he feared it was unavoidable, if Carlton's doctrine about parties were correct; for if there was a place where differences of religious opinions would show themselves, it would be in a university.

"I am far from denying it," said Carlton; "but all systems have their defects; no polity, no theology, no ritual is perfect. One only came directly and simply from Heaven, the Jewish; and even that was removed because of its unprofitableness. This is no derogation from the perfection of Divine Revelation, for it arises from the subject-matter on and through which it operates." There was a pause; then Carlton went on: "It is the fault of most young thinkers to be impatient, if they do not find perfection in everything; they are 'new brooms.'" Another pause; he went on again: "What form of religion is _less_ objectionable than ours? You _see_ the inconveniences of your own system, for you experience them; you have not felt, and cannot know, those of others."

Charles was still silent, and went on plucking and chewing leaves from the shrubs and bushes through which their path winded. At length he said, "_I_ should not like to say it to any one but you, Carlton, but, do you know, I was very uncomfortable about the Articles, going on for two years since; I really could not understand them, and their history makes matters worse. I put the subject from me altogether; but now that my examination and degree are coming on, I must take it up again."

"You must have been put into the Article-lecture early," said Carlton.

"Well, perhaps I was not up to the subject," answered Charles.

"I didn't mean that," said Carlton; "but as to the thing itself, my dear fellow, it happens every day, and especially to thoughtful people like yourself. It should not annoy you."

"But my fidget is," said Charles, "lest my difficulties should return, and I should not be able to remove them."

"You should take all these things calmly," said Carlton; "all things, as I have said, have their difficulties. If you wait till everything is as it should be or might be conceivably, you will do nothing, and will lose life. The moral and social world is not an open country; it is already marked and mapped out; it has its roads. You can't go across country; if you attempt a steeple-chase, you will break your neck for your pains. Forms of religion are facts; they have each their history. They existed before you were born, and will survive you. You must choose, you cannot make."

"I know," said Reding, "I can't make a religion, nor can I perhaps find one better than my own. I don't want to do so; but this is not my difficulty. Take your own image. I am jogging along my own old road, and lo, a high turnpike, fast locked; and my poor pony can't clear it. I don't complain; but there's the fact, or at least may be."

"The pony must," answered Carlton; "or if not, there must be some way about; else what is the good of a road? In religion all roads have their obstacles; one has a strong gate across it, another goes through a bog. Is no one to go on? Is religion to be at a deadlock? Is Christianity to die out? Where else will you go? Not surely to Methodism, or Plymouth-brotherism. As to the Romish Church, I suspect it has more difficulties than we have. You _must_ sacrifice your private judgment."

"All this is very good," answered Charles; "but what is very expedient still may be very impossible. The finest words about the necessity of getting home before nightfall will not enable my poor little pony to take the gate."

"Certainly not," said Carlton; "but if you had a command from a benevolent Prince, your own Sovereign and Benefactor, to go along the road steadily till evening, and he would meet you at the end of your journey, you would be quite sure that he who had appointed the end had also assigned the means. And, in the difficulty in question, you ought to look out for some mode of opening the gate, or some gap in the hedge, or some parallel cut, some way or other, which would enable you to turn the difficulty."

Charles said that somehow he did not like this mode of arguing; it seemed dangerous; he did not see whither it went, where it ended. Presently he said, abruptly, "Why do you think there are more difficulties in the Church of Rome?"

"Clearly there are," answered Carlton; "if the Articles are a crust, is not Pope Pius's Creed a bone?"

"I don't know Pope Pius's Creed," said Charles; "I know very little about the state of the case, certainly. What does it say?"

"Oh, it includes transubstantiation, purgatory, saint-worship, and the rest," said Carlton; "I suppose you could not quite subscribe these?"

"It depends," answered Charles slowly, "on this--on what authority they came to me." He stopped, and then went on: "Of course I could, if they came to me on the same authority as the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity comes. Now, the Articles come on no authority; they are the views of persons in the 16th century; and, again, it is not clear how far they are, or are not, modified by the unauthoritative views of the 19th. I am obliged, then, to exercise my own judgment; and I candidly declare to you, that my judgment is unequal to so great a task. At least, this is what troubles me, whenever the subject rises in my mind; for I have put it from me."

"Well, then," said Carlton, "take them on _faith_."

"You mean, I suppose," said Charles, "that I must consider our Church _infallible_."

Carlton felt the difficulty; he answered, "No, but you must act _as if_ it were infallible, from a sense of duty."

Charles smiled; then he looked grave; he stood still, and his eyes fell. "If I _am_ to make a Church infallible," he said, "if I _must_ give up private judgment, if I _must_ act on faith, there _is_ a Church which has a greater claim on us all than the Church of England."

"My dear Reding," said Carlton, with some emotion, "where did you get these notions?"

"I don't know," answered Charles; "somebody has said that they were in the air. I have talked to no one, except one or two arguments I had with different persons in my first year. I have driven the subject from me; but when I once begin, you see it will out."

They walked on awhile in silence. "Do you really mean to say," asked Carlton at length, "that it is so difficult to understand and receive the Articles? To me they are quite clear enough, and speak the language of common sense."

"Well, they seem to me," said Reding, "sometimes inconsistent with themselves, sometimes with the Prayer Book; so that I am suspicious of them; I don't know _what_ I am signing when I sign, yet I ought to sign _ex-animo_. A blind submission I could make; I cannot make a blind declaration."

"Give me some instances," said Carlton.

"For example," said Charles, "they distinctly receive the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith only, which the Prayer Book virtually opposes in every one of its Offices. They refer to the Homilies as authority, yet the Homilies speak of the books of the Apocrypha as inspired, which the Articles implicitly deny. The Articles about Ordination are in their spirit contrary to the Ordination Service. One Article on the Sacraments speaks the doctrine of Melancthon, another that of Calvin. One Article speaks of the Church's authority in controversies of faith, yet another makes Scripture the ultimate appeal. These are what occur to me at the moment."

"Surely, many of these are but verbal difficulties, at the very first glance," said Carlton, "and all may be surmounted with a little care."

"On the other hand, it has struck me," continued Charles, "that the Church of Rome is undeniably consistent in her formularies; this is the very charge some of our writers make upon her, that she is so systematic. It may be a hard, iron system, but it is consistent."

Carlton did not wish to interrupt him, thinking it best to hear his whole difficulty; so Charles proceeded: "When a system is consistent, at least it does not condemn itself. Consistency is not truth, but truth is consistency. Now, I am not a fit judge whether or not a certain system is true, but I may be quite a judge whether it is consistent with itself. When an oracle equivocates it carries with it its own condemnation. I almost think there is something in Scripture on this subject, comparing in this respect the pagan and the inspired prophecies. And this has struck me, too, that St. Paul gives this very account of a heretic, that he is 'condemned of himself,' bearing his own condemnation on his face. Moreover, I was once in the company of Freeborn (I don't know if you are acquainted with him) and others of the Evangelical party, and they showed plainly, if they were to be trusted, that Luther and Melancthon did not agree together on the prime point of justification by faith; a circumstance which had not come into the Article-lecture. Also I have read somewhere, or heard in some sermon, that the ancient heretics always were inconsistent, never could state plainly their meaning, much less agree together; and thus, whether they would or no, could not help giving to the simple a warning of their true character, as if by their rattle."

Charles stopped; presently he continued: "This too has struck me; that either there is no prophet of the truth on earth, or the Church of Rome is that prophet. That there is a prophet still, or apostle, or messenger, or teacher, or whatever he is to be called, seems evident by our believing in a visible Church. Now common sense tells us what a messenger from God must be; first, he must not contradict himself, as I have just been saying. Again, a prophet of God can allow of no rival, but denounces all who make a separate claim, as the prophets do in Scripture. Now, it is impossible to say whether our Church acknowledges or not Lutheranism in Germany, Calvinism in Switzerland, the Nestorian and Monophysite bodies in the East. Nor does it clearly tell us what view it takes of the Church of Rome. The only place where it recognizes its existence is in the Homilies, and there it speaks of it as Antichrist. Nor has the Greek Church any intelligible position in Anglican doctrine. On the other hand, the Church of Rome has this _prima facie_ mark of a prophet, that, like a prophet in Scripture, it admits no rival, and anathematizes all doctrine counter to its own. There's another thing: a prophet of God is of course at home with his message; he is not helpless and do-nothing in the midst of errors and in the war of opinions. He knows what has been given him to declare, how far it extends; he can act as an umpire; he is equal to emergencies. This again tells in favour of the Church of Rome. As age after age comes she is ever on the alert, questions every new comer, sounds the note of alarm, hews down strange doctrine, claims and locates and perfects what is new and true. The Church of Rome inspires me with confidence; I feel I can trust her. It is another thing whether she is true; I am not pretending now to decide that. But I do not feel the like trust in our own Church. I love her more than I trust her. She leaves me without faith. Now you see the state of my mind." He fetched a deep, sharp sigh, as if he had got a load off him.

"Well," said Carlton, when he had stopped, "this is all very pretty theory; whether it holds in matter of fact, is another question. We have been accustomed hitherto to think Chillingworth right, when he talks of popes against popes, councils against councils, and so on. Certainly you will not be allowed by Protestant controversialists to assume this perfect consistency in Romish doctrine. The truth is, you have read very little; and you judge of truth, not by facts, but by notions; I mean, you think it enough if a notion hangs together; though you disavow it, still, in matter of fact, consistency _is_ truth to you. Whether facts answer to theories you cannot tell, and you don't inquire. Now I am not well read in the subject, but I know enough to be sure that Romanists will have more work to prove their consistency than you anticipate. For instance, they appeal to the Fathers, yet put the Pope above them; they maintain the infallibility of the Church, and prove it by Scripture, and then they prove Scripture by the Church. They think a General Council infallible, _when_, but not _before_, the Pope has ratified it; Bellarmine, I think, gives a list of General Councils which have erred. And I never have been able to make out the Romish doctrine of Indulgences."

Charles thought over this; then he said, "Perhaps the case is as you say, that I ought to know the matter of fact more exactly before attempting to form a judgment on the subject; but, my dear Carlton, I protest to you, and you may think with what distress I say it, that if the Church of Rome is as ambiguous as our own Church, I shall be in the way to become a sceptic, on the very ground that I shall have no competent authority to tell me what to believe. The Ethiopian said, 'How can I know, unless some man do teach me?' and St. Paul says, 'Faith cometh by hearing.' If no one claims my faith, how can I exercise it? At least I shall run the risk of becoming a Latitudinarian; for if I go by Scripture only, certainly there is no creed given us in Scripture."

"Our business," said Carlton, "is to make the best of things, not the worst. Do keep this in mind; be on your guard against a strained and morbid view of things. Be cheerful, be natural, and all will be easy."

"You are always kind and considerate," said Charles; "but, after all--I wish I could make you see it--you have not a word to say by way of meeting my original difficulty of subscription. How am I to leap over the wall? It's nothing to the purpose that other communions have their walls also."

They now neared home, and concluded their walk in silence, each being fully occupied with the thoughts which the conversation had suggested.

NEXT:
Part 2, Chapter 9

SUBMENU

Loss and Gain: The Story of a Convert by John Henry Cardinal Newman

Part 1, Chapter 1

Part 1, Chapter 2

Part 1, Chapter 3

Part 1, Chapter 4

Part 1, Chapter 5

Part 1, Chapter 6

Part 1, Chapter 7

Part 1, Chapter 8

Part 1, Chapter 9

Part 1, Chapter 10

Part 1, Chapter 11

Part 1, Chapter 12

Part 1, Chapter 13

Part 1, Chapter 14

Part 1, Chapter 15

Part 1, Chapter 16

Part 1, Chapter 17

Part 1, Chapter 18

Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 1

Part 2, Chapter 2

Part 2, Chapter 3

Part 2, Chapter 4

Part 2, Chapter 5

Part 2, Chapter 6

Part 2, Chapter 7

Part 2, Chapter 8

Part 2, Chapter 9

Part 2, Chapter 10

Part 2, Chapter 11

Part 2, Chapter 12

Part 2, Chapter 13

Part 2, Chapter 14

Part 2, Chapter 15

Part 2, Chapter 16

Part 2, Chapter 17

Part 2, Chapter 18

Part 2, Chapter 19

Part 2, Chapter 20

Part 2, Chapter 21

Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 1

Part 3, Chapter 2

Part 3, Chapter 3

Part 3, Chapter 4

Part 3, Chapter 5

Part 3, Chapter 6

Part 3, Chapter 7

Part 3, Chapter 8

Part 3, Chapter 9

Part 3, Chapter 10

Part 3, Chapter 11

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        • University Subjects, Discussed in Occasional Lectures and Essays >
          • Lecture 1 - Christianity And Letters. A Lecture in the School of Philosophy and Letters
          • Lecture 2 - Literature. A Lecture in the School of Philosophy and Letters
          • Lecture 3 - English Catholic Literature
          • Lecture 4 - Elementary Studies
          • Lecture 5 - A Form Of Infidelity Of The Day
          • Lecture 6 - University Preaching
          • Lecture 7 - Christianity and Physical Science. A Lecture in the School of Medicine
          • Lecture 8 - Christianity And Scientific Investigation. A Lecture Written for the School of Science
          • Lecture 9 - Discipline Of Mind. An Address To The Evening Classes
          • Lecture 10 - Christianity And Medical Science. An Address to the Students Of Medicine
      • Loss and Gain: The Story of a Convert by John Henry Cardinal Newman >
        • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 1 >
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 2
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 3
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 4
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 5
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 6
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 7
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 8
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 9
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 10
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 11
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 12
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 13
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 14
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 15
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 16
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 17
          • Loss and Gain, Part 1, Chapter 18
        • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 1 >
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 2
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 3
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 4
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 5
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 6
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 7
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 8
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 9
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 10
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 11
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 12
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 13
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 14
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 15
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 16
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 17
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 18
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 19
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 20
          • Loss and Gain, Part 2, Chapter 21
        • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 1 >
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 2
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 3
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 4
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 5
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 6
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 7
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 8
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 9
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 10
          • Loss and Gain, Part 3, Chapter 11
    • Saint Augustine of Hippo >
      • The Confessions of Saint Augustine by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo >
        • Book 1 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 2 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 3 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 4 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 5 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 6 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 7 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 8 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 9 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 10 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 11 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 12 - Confessions by St. Augustine
        • Book 13 - Confessions by St. Augustine
    • G K Chesterton >
      • Heretics by G.K. Chesterton >
        • Heretics, Chapter 1: Introductory Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy
        • Heretics, Chapter 2: On the Negative Spirit
        • Heretics, Chapter 3: On Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Making the World Small
        • Heretics, Chapter 4: Mr. Bernard Shaw
        • Heretics, Chapter 5: Mr. H.G. Wells and the Giants
        • Heretics, Chapter 6: Christmas and the Aesthetes
        • Heretics, Chapter 7: Omar and the Sacred Vine
        • Heretics, Chapter 8: The Mildness of the Yellow Press
        • Heretics, Chapter 9: The Moods of Mr. George Moore
        • Heretics, Chapter 10: On Sandals and Simplicity
        • Heretics, Chapter 11: Science and the Savages
        • Heretics, Chapter 12: Paganism and Mr. Lowes Dickinson
        • Heretics, Chapter 13: Celts and Celtophiles
        • Heretics, Chapter 14: On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family
        • Heretics, Chapter 15: On Smart Novelists and the Smart Set
        • Heretics, Chapter 16: On Mr. McCabe and a Divine Frivolity
        • Heretics, Chapter 17: On the Wit of Whistler
        • Heretics, Chapter 18: The Fallacy of the Young Nation
        • Heretics, Chapter 19: Slum Novelists and the Slums
        • Heretics, Chapter 20: Concluding Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy
      • Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton >
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 1: Introduction in Defense of Everything Else
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 2: The Maniac
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 3: The Suicide of Thought
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 4: The Ethics of Elfland
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 5: The Flag of the World
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 6: The Paradoxes of Christianity
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 7: The Eternal Revolution
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 8: The Romance of Orthodoxy
        • Orthodoxy, Chapter 9: Authority and the Adventurer
    • Saint Thomas Aquinas >
      • On Prayer and the Contemplative Life by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • On Prayer, Question LXXXI: Of the Virtue of Religion
        • On Prayer, Question LXXXII: Of Devotion
        • On Prayer, Question LXXXIII: Of Prayer
        • On Prayer, Question LXXII: Of the Prayers of the Saints who are in Heaven
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXIX: Of the Division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXX: Of the Contemplative Life
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXXI: Of the Active Life
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXXII: Of the Comparison between the Active and the Contemplative Life
        • On Prayer, Question CLXXXVI: On the Religious State
      • Summa Theologica Part 1 ("Prima Pars") by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • Summa Theologica (Questions 1 - 26)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Most Holy Trinity (Questions 27 - 43)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Creation (Questions 44 - 49)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Angels (Questions 50 - 64)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Work of the Six Days (Questions 65 - 74)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on Man (Questions 75 - 102)
        • Summa Theologica: Treatise on the Conservation and Government of Creatures (Questions 103 - 119)
      • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae") by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on the Last End (Questions 1 - 5)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Human Acts: Acts Peculiar to Man (Questions 6 - 21)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on the Passions (Questions 22 - 48)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Habits (Questions 49 - 54)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Habits in Particular (Questions 55 - 89): Good Habits, i.e., Virtues (Questions 55 - 70)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Habits in Particular (Questions 55 - 89): Evil Habits, i.e., Vices and Sin (Questions 71 - 89)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Law (Questions 90 - 108)
        • Summa Theologica Part 1-2 ("Prima Secundae"): Treatise on Grace (Questions 109 - 114)
      • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae") by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on the Theological Virtues (Questions 1 - 46)
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on the Cardinal Virtues (Questions 47 - 122)
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on Fortitude and Temperance (Questions 123 - 170)
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on Gratuitous Graces (Questions 171 - 182)
        • Summa Theologica Part 2-2 ("Second Secundae"): Treatise on the States of Life (Questions 183 - 189)
      • Summa Theologica Third Part ("Tertia Pars") by St. Thomas Aquinas >
        • Summa Theologica Third Part ("Tertia Pars"): Treatise on the Incarnation (Questions 1 - 59)
        • Summa Theologica Third Part ("Tertia Pars"): Treatise on the Sacraments (Questions 60 - 90)
    • The Baltimore Catechism >
      • The Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 1
      • The Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 2
      • The Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 3
      • The Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 4
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