LORD ACTON AND HIS CIRCLE EDITED BY ABBOT GASQUET BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 1891 5901 Cornell University Library DA 565.A18A25 Lord Acton and his circle. 3 1924 028 290 892 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028290892 LORD ACTON &' HIS CIRCLE '■///rr. ^^r'/v/ .__ VcV^fj/L. LORD 4CTON AND HIS CIRCLE Edited by ABBOT GASQUET O.S.B. LONGMANS, GREEN & CO. 91 Gf 93 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK 1906 m, T THE CONTENTS Lord Adlon and his Circle Piges ix-ixxxviij Letters of Lord Ad:on 1 . Lord Adlon associated with Mr Richard Simpson in the management of the Rambler — Not to be the organ of any one school of thought — The true notion of a Christian State — Reviewing Page i 2. Afton's attitude towards "converts" — Manning and Hope — Need of say- ing new and startling things — Foreign politics and English journals Page 8 3. Buckle's History of Civilization — Newman and the %ambler Page 11 4. Wiseman's Last Four Topes — Rambler article a special gratification to the Cardinal — Buckle's History superficial Page 1 2 5. Meeting of writers at Aldenham — Buckle to be "thoroughly shown up " — Dalgairns' pamphlet on Mystics Page 1 4 6. Desires a series of critical articles — Some subjefts suggested Page 15 7. A journey to Paris — Buckle and the Quarterly — A French translation of Dbllinger — Simpson's paper on Brownson — Gladstone on Homer — Mey- nell and his Bishop — Origen against Celsus Page 17 8. Simpson's article on Buckle — English philosophic systems — Carlyle — The Simancas papers about Mary Stuart Page 20 9. Donoso Cortes — Theology not a stationary science — New materials for the life of St Charles Borromeo — Healy Thompson's life of the saint Tage 23 10. Dr Maguire on the Analecta — Merits of Jaffe's great work Page 26 1 1 . Danger of dislike of prayer — A warning against intelledtual contempt of fellow-Catholics — Dellinger's commonsense exposition of doctrine Page 29 12. Adlon's paper on "Buckle" — Proposed union of the Dublin with the Rambler — The Atlantis Page 30 13. The editing and publishing of the Dublin Review — Rambler and Dublin to run together — Dollinger's visit to England "Page 32 14. More negotiations for the Dublin — rDutch pamphlets at the Hague — A passage "likely to offend" Page 33 15. D5llinger in London — St Augustine — Simpson on Original Sin Tage 34 16. Eckstein's paper on Guizot—" Combe's Phrenology" and "William Harrington" — Carlyle's Frederick II of Prussia Tage 36 1 7. Dsllinger on " The Paternity of Jansenism " — State of theological studies in England — Newman's approval Page 37 18. Union of the Dublin and the Rambler still discussed — Proposal that New- man shall have the diredlion — Simpson's letter to the Cardinal Tage 38 19. Montalembert — Simpson's philosophy — A review of Carlyle Tage ^o 20. Montalembert's condemnation — Simpson on Whewell — Plan of uniting with the 'Dublin abandoned — Proposed " quartering " of the Mlantis Page 42 J Letters of Lord Adlon 2 1 . "Political Thoughts on the Church" — An article written in a hurry Pageifl 22. Notes on Barrillon's embassy, 1596 — A6ton on "The Catholic Press" — Interviews with Wiseman and Newman — Newman's advice to avoid theological topics — His opinion as to Simpson's articles Page 45 23. A remarkable letter from Newman — Christianity and the separation of the political and religious orders — Concordats in the history of the Church — Newman's broad idea of the meaning of theology Page 48 24. Simpson's critique on Martineau — ^The Bible of Sixtus V correfted by Bellarmine — Simpson, Marshall and the Saturday Revteiu Page 5 1 25. Aristotle on the supremacy of the law — Difficulties of controversy — Simpson's note upon Bright Page 53 26. Newman's design for the Atlantis — The German method of critical study — Newman's essay on St Cyril — Science valueless unless pursued without regard to consequences Page 54 27. Simpson on architedlure — Gothic art a part of the Christian revival — Periodical literature not consistent with Acton's studies Page 57 28. Philosophers to criticize — The task of raising the level of thought — ^The only Catholic capable of condufting the Rambler Page 59 29. Montalembert's delight in the Rambler — Baron Eckstein — Lamennais and the Cardinalate — Dsllinger pleased with progress in England Page 6 1 30. Newman as editor — Bishop Ullathorne's encouragement — Dollinger and the Rambler — Want of spirituality an obvious deficiency Page 62 3 1 . Notes for Eckstein's article on Lamennais — Dollinger's Notes on Papal denunciations of Secret Societies — A note on Eckstein Page 64 32. A French attempt to secure the press — The censorship — Dissolution — Lord Granville wishes Adlon to stand for Parliament Page 66 33. Simpson and the Correspondant — Campion — Secret Societies Page 68 34. Eckstein's "Lamennais" — Newman in great spirits about the 'Rambler Page 69 35. "Toleration" — A book by Thomassin — The historical aspeft Page 72 36. F. de Buck in the "Rambler — ^Articles from abroad to be rewritten Page 73 37. Simpson's translation of Eckstein — Newman advises the secularization of the 3^OT^/i?r — Criticism of Simpson's paper on "Whewell" — Newman's "episcopic work" for the gambler Page 74 3 8 . Father de Buck — Newman's "Ancient Saints" ^ "Northern Isles" Page 7 5 39. Austrian affairs Page 77 40. Newman's defence of Napoleon — Difficulty of the Roman Government after French occupation — The Pope and his Chamber Page 79 41. Newman advises acceptance of an article by Arnold on Mill's "Liberty" — St Augustine on "Toleration" — Afton's lost faith in Gladstone — New- man's infatuation about Napoleon Page 80 42. Simpson's letter on the composition of the Catholic body — Morris' Life of St Thomas Page 8 3 43. Newman's "Northern Isles" — An Austrian article — Visits to a military hospital — Protestants in Austria — A "Lingard Society" Page 84 The Contents 44. Newman's article on the Bonapartes — Projefts for improving reviews of books — The Catholic University for Ireland Page 87 45- Lighter articles for the gambler — Some ideas on "Bores" Page 104 46. A Venetian report on England — Signed correspondence — Was Charles I a Catholic? — Importance of not giving offence Page 108 47. The Code Napoleon — "The Political System of the Popes" Page 113 48. Afton's views as to "Temporal Power" — Dr Northcote — Newman's approval and criticism Page 1 1 5 49. Newman's feeling about the gambler — The danger of theology — Aden's Parliamentary duties Page 1 1 6 -50. "Catholic Affairs"— The IVeeily %^V/^r— Simpson's "Theory of Party" — Gladstone compared with Russell and Palmerston Page 1 19 51. Thanks from Bishop Ullathorne Page 122 52. Reform a normal growth — "The Philosopher's Stone" Page 123 5 3 . Newman's opinion of Arnold — Lacordaire's ignorance of history — Napo- leon III and the Roman question — A motto for the 'Rambler Page 1 26 54. Newman and Oxenham — Alleged phials from the Catacombs Page 1 28 55. De Vere's congratulations — Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible — Political science and theology Page 129 56. Prisons and workhouses — Cardinal Wiseman dying Page 130 57. Books must be criticized on their merits — Robertson as a Church histo- rian — Morris' Life of St Thomas — "The Philosopher's Stone" Pa^ 131 58. Dr Northcote's article on the Catacombs — The Lords and the Com- mons — Is aristocracy an element of progress in a State ? Page 134 59. The House of Lords not representative — The uses of nobility in a State — A Saturday Reviewer on Dalton's Ximenes Page 135 60. The Rambler and the Register — Newman on the "foreign Toryism" of the Rambler — Gladstone and Palmerston Page 136 6 1 . Adlon is sick of men who are afraid of a scandal — Metaphysical specula- tion in the Rambler — A question to Lord John Russell Page 138 62. Lord Lyons' dispatches on the Papal States — The true cause of disaffec- tion — Papal concessions — Garibaldi's decree against priests — Revolution the great enemy of reform — Antonelli's foolish wishes Page 140 63. Mr Wetherell's zeal — Letters from Oakeleyand Newman on education in Seminaries Page 143 64. A clerical policy — All classes should have represen tation — Guizot Page 144 65. Newman and the Catacombs Ampullae — Father de Buck on "Rites" — Some Irish articles — The Catholic Charities Bill — Praise of the Rambler Page 146 66. Lord Lyons — Views on the Roman question Page 147 67. Newman's " Ancient Saints " — Newman on the irresponsibility of editors Page 148 68. Oxenham's dealing with Newman — Dollinger — Materials for a modern history of the Popes — Montalembert's Monks of the West Page 149 Letters of Lord Adion 69. W. G. Ward — The Pope leaving Rome — Dallinger's opinion — Peter's Pence — Need for a Catholic Record Society Page 152 70. Afton's article on Bellinger Page 156 71. The Reconstitution of Austria-Hungary — The Concordat Page 158 72. The Education Question — Newman and Oxenham Page 161 7 3 . Approval of the Rambler — Criticisms on Simpson's " Campion " Page 162 74.. Campion's writings — Newman's view of the Council of Trent — W. G. Ward — Educational topics — Secrecy and degeneracy — ^The education of the clergy — ^The example of France — Is the bulk of literature dange- rous? "Page 165 75. More letters on the education question — Review of Ward Page 170 76. Newman on the 'R^mbkr — The Roman question acute Page 172 77. Giesler — The immunities of the clergy — Gregory VII and the Church's supremacy — Innocent III and Papal omnipotence "Page 173 78. Growth of papal power — The Guelphs and Ghibellines "Page 176 79. "The Political Causes of the American Revolution" "Page 181 80. The "deposing power" — Campion's Life — True meaning of "Galil- ean " — The safe conduft of Huss — The conversion of Bohemia Tage 183 81. Gladstone's "Budget" — Dallinger's public lefture on the Roman ques- tion — Medieval colouring in John of Salisbury Page 187 82. Newman's views on the Roman question — A pamphlet by Passaglia — A party at Gladstone's Tage l%% 83. Simpson's "Reason and Faith" Tage li^ 84. Simpson and his critics — The political power of the Popes — Newman's letter on the Council of Trent — A review of Dr Doyle's life Tage 189 85. Cardinal Wiseman at Thorndon — Newman's annoyance at Simpson's "habit of pea-shooting" — In principle agrees with the %flmbler Tage 191 86. The aftion of moral and physical sciences on religion — The battle of the Church to be fought with the weapons of the age — Natural science and religion — Newman — ^Dollinger and the Temporal Power Tage 192 87. Dallinger's book will make "each particular hair stand on end " — Mate- rials for the gambler — Montalembert's 3^onksofthe West — The incapacity of Parliament to deal with India Page 198 88. Scheme of amalgamation under Newman — The %ambler as a damnosa heredttas — The gambler likely to be soon in the wars Page 200 89. The new publishers for the Rambler — "The lay-Catholic organ" — Montalembert's speeches and pamphlets reviewed Page 203 90. Newman wishes the Rambler to end — Antonelli and the Index — Discussion of" all questions not decided by authority" Page 206 92. Manning on Papal sovereignty — Origin of Papal Temporal Power — The Papacy not national — Some Temporal sovereignty necessary for the Pope's freedom — Early Popes on the nature of their power Page 2 1 1 93. Possibility ofthe Pope having to go into exile — Dallinger's book Page 215 94. Adlon's Review of Dellinger Page 2 1 8 95- De Tocqueville — Compared with other Frenchmen and with Burke iv Page 219 The Contents 96. Future of the Church in America — Newman and iht Rambler Page 220 97. The Church wants freedom for corporations — The medieval theory — In politics the Church need not seek her own ends Page 22 1 98. Natural sciences and religion Page 223 99. Difficulty of writing short literary notices Page 22 /\. 100. Tocqueville's pifture of America — The funftion of the historian — Liberty an acquisition not a gift — The restoration of the Pope "Page 226 1 01 . Liberty — Growth of the idea in Europe — The Crusades — The State in Roman law — The Church against feudal absolutism "Page 230 102. The funftion of the State — Ultramontanism — Distindlion between States and Corporations — The Catholic "Academy" "Page 234 103. Difference between dodlrine and discipline — The claims of the Church are founded on her institutions, not on her history "Page 236 104. Newman's ill health — The merits of Dickens Tage 237 105. Montalembert on Dellinger — Sudden death of Eckstein Tage 2jg 106. Oxenham as a disputant — Accents in Latin — Analysis of DOllinger — Novels and Literature — The religion of the novelist "Page 240 107. Morality of persecution — Guerra's work on Papal constitutions — An apology for the Reign of Terror — Goldwin Smith's errors Tage 243 108. Goldwin Smith's "Irish History" — Dsllinger's treatment of positive Protestantism — St Vincent de Paul — Indiscriminate alms "Page 245 109. Archbishop Laud's failure — ^The lesson of the Revolution — How Papal power was preserved in the Middle Ages — The Temporal power and the balance of power "Page 247 no. Cardinal Wiseman — Newman wishes St John to write "Page 251 111. Limitations to the power of the State — Administration of Church property — Liberty and law — Difficulty as to Religion governing a State — The domain of Conscience and of the State "Page 253 112. Gratry's opinion of Dellinger's book — Lacordaire's views "Page 2 ^J 113. Principles of voluntary poverty — Benediftines and Franciscans — Effeft of living on alms in Spain "Page 258 114. Some Stuart papers — A MS. life of Mary Stuart "Page 2 ^<) 115. Parliament — Tories opposed to Disraeli but hate Gladstone — Party disorganization — Stansfeld's manner — Bright's bitterness Page 261 1 1 6. A Conservative reaftion — An aristocratic element of reaflion in foreign affairs — Palmerston's strong feeling against Austria — Attitude of Catholics to Italian question — Why Palmerston is tolerated Page 262 117. Dellinger on Simpson's "Campion" — The question of the reception of Charles 11 into the Church Page 266 118. Proposed change of the Rambler to a quarterly Page 267 119. History of the negotiations for an amalgamation of the Rambler and Dublin ^eyiew — Newman's arbitration refused Page 267 izo. Suggestions as to 'Rambler writers and subjedls Page 269 121. Afton suggests a line of reply to Bishop Grant Page 270 122. Father Bolto's Stuart Papers Page 2-jz V Letters of Lord Adon 123. Amalgamation with the Dublin again discussed — Dr Russell and Canon Macmullen consent to aft as advisers — Afton's terms Paff 273 124. The conversion of Charles II — The negotiations with the T)ublin — Editorial limitations — "Communicated" articles Page 275 125. A German Protestant's contributions — The Dublin Page 277 126. The English and Spanish systems of colonization — Bacon's view of plantations — Discussions with Oxenham Page 278 1 27. Brewer likely to be a troublesome contributor — The "Lingard Society" — Negotiations for Vatican Archives — Books to review Page 281 128. Further researches into the history of the Stuarts — Simpson's Life of Campion — ^The Life of Milner Page 282 1 29. Proposed successor to the Rambler — Contributions by Morris, Capes and Paley — "Elements of Conservative Reaftion" Page 283 130. Some other contributors — A writer on Biblical science Page 285 131. J. B. Morris on the Gospels — Darnell as an historical writer Page 287 132. Suggests " Wolsey" as the subjeft of an article by Brewer — The con- tents of the Home and Foreign — Milman is staggered Page 288 133. The decay of Brownson Page z%<) 1 34. Bishop Ullathorne attacks the methods of the %amhler and the Home and Foreign — Newman counsels submission — Afton's own course Page 289 135. Parochial relief of the poor — The difference between charity and relief — The evils of relief by means of public works Page 290 136. Cardinal Wiseman — Patience and " a duck's back " Page 2<)Z 1 37. Afton's desire " to be left alone " — " Shropshire " Page 293 138. The contents of " our model number " Page z^^ 139. Afton criticizes Simpson's reply to attacks Page 295 1 40. Simpson's " Three Generations " — Kinglake's " splendid, mischievous performance " Page 297 141. A proposed article on " Ultramontanism " — Renouf on " Orientalism " Page 298 142. A gift to the Bollandists — Suarez and Christian politics — Manning's Radicalism Page 299 143. Proposed article on the Catacombs — Pitra's elevation to the Cardina- late — Spurious Afts of martyrs — Kinglake's Crimea Page 300 144. Afton proposes an article on "Epigrams" — Conversion of Lady Her- bert of Lea Page 10 1 145. A restored Poland Pagf 302 146. FiepmtionforthtHomeandForeign — Bishop Brown's opinion Page 304 147. The Bishop converted to the value of the Home and Foreign — Eulogy in Cardinal CuUen's organ Page 305 148. Writers for the Review — M. Block named — Simpson's projefted article on Shakespeare — ^The Sonnets — Thackeray as a critic, etc. Page 309 149. Shakespeare's Sonnets — Balzac, Thackeray and Trollope Page j^xz 150. '^3lQ0v!% Philosophy of Sha\espeare — Thackeray Page '^x^ 151. Thedoftrinesofthe Ho«««»i/for«^ — Newman's sympathy Page ^1^ The Contents 152. Frohschammer's errors — His heresy on development Page t, 16 153. Condemnation of the "foremost principle" of the Home and Foreign — Adlon's wish to close its career at once Page 3 1 7 1 54. A declaration of policy — Adlon hopes that his literary partnership with Simpson is not at an end Page 3 1 8 155. Preparations for the Chronicle — Adon's advice — How to secure the best writers — His high opinion of Father Stevenson Page 3 2 1 156. Foreign subscribers — Suggestions as to reviewers — Rawson Gardiner and Bryce Page 327 157. Visit with Gladstone to Monte Cassino — Education and the raising of the masses — ^The resisting power of the Papal army Page 329 158. Attempted arrangement between Italy and Rome — Why the Duke of Argyll will not see the Pope — Disraeli's Reform Bill Page 330 159. The appearance of the Qhronick — Mode of elefting a Pope Page 333 1 60. Rome and the Westminster Gazette — Passaglia's reported retraftation — Difficulty of financial arrangement between Church and State Page 335 161. The question of toleration in Rome — Some Roman prisons Page 335 162. Dangerous state of Italy — Catholics to stand aloof from the eleftions — Red Republicans and the blood of the priests Page 340 163. Question of Lord Granville's premiership — Gladstone willing to serve under him — Some biographical works — Dutch aifairs Page 342 164. Importance of getting able writers for the Chronicle Page 343 165. Afton congratulates Wetherell upon the Chronicle — Some of the articles want "fun" — Alleged anti-Prussian tendency of the Catholic clergy — Father Stevenson and the Venetian archives Page 345 166. The first number of the Chronicle — Revolutionary proclamations in Rome Pagf 347 167. Writers and subjefts for the North British Rff^iew Page 350 168. Possible writers for the North British — The old writers Page 352 169. Afton's article on the Massacre of St Bartholomew — A book on the Council — Gladstone offers Afton a peerage P^^ge 355 170. Simpson's illness — Alton's tribute to Simpson Page 357 171. Gladstone's 'Oaticanism pamphlet — Afton argues against its publication Page 358 172. The Vatican decrees — Archbishop Manning's correspondence with Adlon — Meaning of the word submission Page 359 '173. Manning's further questions — Afton's own bishop Page 362 174. The Vatican decrees — Afton's real position Page 363 '175. Adlon and his Bishop — Adlon's real .attitude P^ge 36^ 1 76. Gladstone's appeal not to be met by denial — The Vatican Council capable of "a Catholic explanation" — Gladstone's attack not on the Coun- cil, but on Ultramontanism — Afton's orthodoxy Page 366 177. Afton has not attacked or rejefted the Council Page 368 '178. Afton's letter and his reception of the "definition" Page 370 Conclusion Poge 371 vij LORD ACTON AND HIS CIRCLE THE letters of the late Lord Acton here pub- lished are for the most part on literary sub- jects. They were commenced when he was only twenty-four years of age; and in more ways than one, according to the opinion of many, they show us the real Acton, as he was in the period of his greatest literary activity. In them may be seen his vast read- ing, his great industry, his marvellous memory and his acquaintance with writers in every country of Europe and with books of every kind on almost every subject. The letters themselves were mostly written in connexion with certain literary undertakings, which occupied some of the busiest years of his early life, from 1858 to 1871. In the former year he became part- proprietor of an existing Catholic magazine called the Rambler, the sub-editor of which was one of the most brilliant of the Oxford Converts of 1845, Mr Richard Simpson. Under the new management Simpson was appointed editor, and in this way a lasting friendship was formed between him and Sir John Acton. They ■ became united in an association in literary matters, which continued for many years, and the nature of which is plainly indicated in the letters here given to the public. 1/ ix B Lord Adlon and his Circle The greater part of these communications were made by Acton to Simpson during a period of six years from 1858 to 1864, and they relate to the conduct and work oi the Rambler diud of the quarterly into which it deve- loped, the Home and Foreign Review. The letters of the period from 1867 to 1871 were mostly addressed to Mr T. F. Wetherell in connexion with a weekly paper, the Chronicle, of which he was editor, and in which Acton took great interest. To this he contri- buted a good deal of literary matter, although it had a briefcareerofonly ten months. In 1869 Mr Wetherell was asked to edit the North British Review, and in this he was supported by Sir John Acton and the same band of brilliant writers who had been connected with the Home and Foreign Review and the Chronicle. In order to understand the purpose of the letters in this volume it is necessary to say something about each of these four literary ventures. The greater part of the letters were given to me by Mr William Simp- son, the nephew of the recipient, Mr Richard Simp- son; the rest were entrusted to me by Mr Wetherell, to whom they were written. In the beginning of 1848 the first number of the Rambler was published. Singular misapprehension seems to exist, even in well-informed quarters, in re- gard to the persons responsible for it in the various stages of its course. Quite recently an attempt* has * In an article by Father Pollen, "An Error in Simpson's Campion," we read: "He [Mr Simpson] was received into the Church in 1845. A couple of years later he became editor of the Rambler, a. noted Catholic magazine of those days. There are always risks when a very recent convert, however sincere, begins to instruct his fellow-Catholics from an editorial chair. In 1848 many subtle quebtions concerning the position of Catholicism to X Lord Adon and his Circle been made to explain the psychology of its attitude towards authority by the statement that Mr Richard Simpson took up the post of editor very shortly after his conversion to the Catholic faith in 1845. Such misapprehensions may easily lead to an entire mis- understanding of the inner history of English Catho- licity of the last century in its most critical period.* It will be useful therefore first to state the facts. The Rambler was first started as a weekly journal in January, 1848, by John Moore Capes, who was its proprietor for the first ten years of its existence. Dur- ing most of that time he was its editor and contributed extensively to its pages. It is only just to the memory of this distinguished convert that his connexion with the magazine should be recorded at some length, as his part in the undertaking seems to have been strangely overlooked. Mr Capes was born in 181 2, and, having passed through Westminster School, he graduated at Balliol College, Oxford. In course of time he became incumbent of St John's, Bridgewater, where his close connexion with Dr Northcote, which subsequently continued in regard to the management of the Rambler, first began. Mr Capes was mainly Liberalism were being disputed, and Mr Simpson, still a very young man, while treating these subjects, gradually lost touch with Cardinal Wiseman and the English Bishops." * Mr Herbert Paul (Letters of Lord Acton to Mary Gladstone, Introd. XXVll) says: "The editor of the Rambler was the greatest of converts, John Henry Newman. In 1859 ^" article of Newman's on consulting the laity in matters of doctrine was condemned by authority of Rome, and Newman withdrew from the editorial cliair. He was succeeded by Sir John Acton, and no better choice could have been made. He edited the Rambler till 1862, when it became merged in the Home and Foreign Review." It will be seen subsequently that every statement here made is inaccurate or alto- gether wrong. Lord A6ton and his Circle instrumental in building a new church at St John's and in bringing about a marked religious "revival" in the parish. In 1845 he threw up his living to enter the Catholic Church. After his conversion he became for a time a tutor at Prior Park, near Bath, and whilst there, in 1846, he conceived the idea of starting the Rambler, and at once wrote to Father Newman for his advice. In reply Newman wrote the following letters : "Maryvale, July 13, 1846. "I have just returned from London, and find your letter. To save the post I write you a short answer to your inquiry. "Such a magazine as you propose is very much wanted, and for many reasons Prior Park is the place for it. Your having a press is a sufficient reason, and there are others too. " Nothing could please me more, and I am sure all of us, than to do what we could in the way of assistance, but I have one or two difficulties. One, which is not a great one, is that Mr Keon* has most kindly and earnestly pressed me to write for Dolmavis Magazine. I have declined on the ground that I have never writ- ten in a literary publication, and certainly the tone and style is not such as I should like to take part in. This would be no reason against assisting you in a religious magazine, if it really were professedly religious, or at least, critical, philosophical, etc. I mean^raw. Another * Miles Gerald Keon, born in Tipperary 1821, died in Bermuda 1875. He was educated at Stonyhurst College, and became a distinguished journalist and a correspondent to some of the chief London newspapers. In April, 1846, he became for a few months editor of Dolman's Magazine. xij Lord Ad:on and his Circle reason, not a very strong one either, is that I should like Dr Wiseman to give his formal approval of the project before I promised to assist, i.e., before I could be reckoned upon, or become more than an occasional contributor. " Ever yours affectionately, "JOHN H. NEWMAN." The following day a second letter from Newman put the difficulties of starting such a magazine as Capes proposed very clearly before him. "St Mary Vale, Perry Bar, July 14, '46. " There will be difficulties in your way which it is well to be prepared for. One will be the anxiety arising from the work being written by converts only or principally. And it will seem to be setting up against Mr Keon, who is a Catholic. Mr Keon's talents and zeal command one's respect, and he has been very friendly to myself personally; yet I do not think he can conduct a periodical; he is too young (in Aristotle's sense). I wish you could make some ar- rangement with him, yet do not see how; for when you cast off editor and publishers a very poor identity would remain between his magazine and yours, sup- posing a coalition were possible. Yet I think this a difficulty, and without meaning to say that Catho- lics take up Mr Keon's publications, yet it will be one of your collisions with old Catholics. "But you will say : We shall not write so much for them as for Anglicans. Then another difficulty comes, on which I dwelt in conversation with Mr Thompson. xiij Lord Adlon and his Circle How will you get Anglicans to buy your magazine ? I mean, how will you enable them to get it ? They go to the publisher and ask for the Prior Park Gazette or the Downside Magazine, and they are quietly told there is no such a publication, or it has stopped, or it is out of print, or that it is not pubHshed in London ; or at any rate they have to send to town for the num- ber which they wish to buy as a specimen. Only one copy is sent for, and the second person who goes has to go through the same process. The bookseller in Birmingham had never heard of the Christian Remem- brancer, and could be made only with difficulty to get it. If at last it is ordered, there is a mistake. The first month it comes, then it stops. The difficulty arises in, great measure from country shops corre- sponding with but one London publisher, who is care- less about all books but his own publications. We found this difficulty almost fatal to the Tracts for the Times for a while, and overcame it only in the course of years. "At this moment there is no Oxford shop where publications such as Thompson's and Northcote's can be seen. And I do not see well how this is to be ob- viated. Parker found his only effectual way of selling his best books was employing a traveller or bagman to go about the country with them. Toovey is the most natural medium of a plan such as yours, but as far as I can make out, he is indifferent to publishing altogether. "The only other remark it strikes me to make is that a magazine, particularly if monthly, takes a great deal of time." XIV Lord Adon and his Circle For some reason or other, possibly because of the difficulties urged in the foregoing letters, the pro- ject was abandoned for a time, and it was not till January i, 1848, that the first weekly number of the Rambler saw the light. In this form, however, it con- tinued only until August 26 of the same year, when the editor announced that " in order to carry on the journal with increased vigour and efficiency" it would henceforth be published in monthly numbers. It was obviously impossible that a magazine conducted as the Rambler was from the first, with straightforward honesty of purpose, and with the motto In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, et in omnibus charitas, could long escape the censure of those who differed from it either in principle or on the expediency of discussing delicate questions in public. An article by Capes in De- cember, 1848, on " Catholic and Protestant Collegiate Education " was received with strong expressions of dissent in many quarters. To these criticisms Capes replied in a remarkably able article on "The Duties of Journalists " in the January number, in which he explains how important a matter it is that Catholics should not burke discussion on unpleasant matters, merely because they are unpleasant. In his original paper his object he says was twofold: "It was first, to draw attention to the fact (assuming such to be the fact) that our secular education is, on the whole, inferior to the education which Protestants receive, and secondly, to account for it, by pointing out the almost overwhelming difficulties which have embar- rassed the labours of those who have had the charge of the education of our youth." What are the patent XV Lord Adon and his Circle facts? the writer asks. Education must be judged by the hterature it produces. " What then is our hterary and intellectual condi- tion at the present moment? Can we claim a high place in English literature? Can we claim any place at all? Is there such a thing as a Catholic English literature in existence, from the profoundest theology down to the most trifling school-books?" Mr Capes then went on to deprecate any conceal- ment, even were such concealment possible. "If we are worse than Protestants, in all honesty and manly courage let us avow it, and claim for ourselves the undeniable admission that it is through the tyranny and spoliation of an anti-Catholic government that we have been robbed of all our ancient means of instruc- tion."* On the publication of the number containing the above-named article Capes received from Newman a letter on the subject: "Your new number is a very good one, and the sale ought to increase, as it does. The defence of the 'scandalous' paper on 'Catholic Education' is very much to the purpose, and I should trust would soothe people; but I don't think you can quite get over it. You will be sure to have done good by mooting the subject; and all Catholics ought, as many will, be obliged to you ; but still you cannot get over the whole difficulty, because your original article had the tone of a hostile attack, instead of a double dose of butter to introduce an unpleasant subject. However, never mind; the Rambler is doing a great deal of good, and *Rainbler, ill, pp. 326-327. xvj Lord Ad:on and his Circle we cannot do good without giving offence and incur- ring criticism. " It has struck me that not enough is made, in com- paring systems of education, of the test which enables a man to write best. Now, the desultory education of Catholic colleges — which is the same which Davison and Copleston opposed against the Edinburgh forty years since — has no teaching, I think, to make men write well; that is, it furnishes the mind neither with the fullness of thought nor the power of composition which is necessary for good writing. If this is the case, it is beside the mark to compare the two systems, as Oakeley does,*as one being the ' more extended ' and the other 'the more exact' or 'thorough' : the question is, which makes the mind the more effective? This is a safe and apposite utilitarian argument. How few Catholics can compose ! " In the February number of the Rambler Dr W. G. Ward summed up the controversy on Catholic educa- tion by a long signed article. It contains much that is of extreme and, indeed, of more than passing interest, and for many reasons the whole of this controversy would repay the reading at the present day. Newman's re- mark upon Ward's letter was that "it is very 'capitu- lous,' but I suspect it will be a shot over Dr Ulla- thorne's head and other old Catholics." For some time at Mr Capes's request Dr New- man kept an eye on the theological matter printed in the Rambler, although he disclaimed any responsi- bility and made it quite clear that in this he was only acting as a friend. He also readily replied to Mr Capes * In a letter printed in the same number of the Rambler, January, 1849. xvij Lord Adlon and his Circle in any difficulty that had been raised in the course of his editorial work. The inherent interest of these letters is naturally great, and it is difficult to refrain from quoting from one such luminous exposition of a point proposed to him in December, 1849. The question was as to the nature of the proofs of Christianity. " Such a subject," he writes, " requires very delicate treatment. Your Italian divines, whom I sincerely wish to follow in dogmatics, are not in my mind the best of polemics. Now the proof of Chris- tianity is just the point on which polemics and dog- matics meet as on common ground. It is the province of both, and I cannot altogether stand the Italian treatment of it; unless I mistake their words, and they mine, they know nothing at all of heretics as realities. They live at best in Rome, in a place whose boast is that it has never given birth to heresy; and they think proofs ought to be convincing which in fact are not. Hence they are accustomed to speak of the argument for Catholicity as a 'demonstration'; and to see no force in objection to it, and to admit no perplexity of intellect which is not directly and immediately wilful. This at least is their position in fact, even if I overstate their theory. They have not a dream what England is, and what is the power of fascination which the Anglican Church (e.g.) exerts in the case of many minds. F. Passaglia understood it a little better when he got to Westminster Abbey, and declared the chanting to be a great 'scandalo,' that is, of course, that its attraction would keep people from joining the Church; and I suspect he was cowed by the vision of Oxford. At present they will not abide in Italy xviij Lord A6lon and his Circle the use oi terms which — if not the ideas also con- tained in them — are received with us; e.g., when you in your papers on 'Four Years' Experience' speak of the argument for Catholicity being the 'great pro- bability' (do you not?), you say what would scanda- lize an Italian and would be put down to my school. At least one Jesuit attacked me as a probabilist in doctrine, though I am not conscious of dreaming of being one; but I don't feel clear that I should not offend those whom I wish to be on good terms with." It was not only in regard to these more serious sub- jects that Newman gave his advice and his encourage- ment to Mr Capes in the early days of the Rambler. For example, after looking through the number for April, 1850, he says that he "thinks the Rambler is cleverer each number." He has been specially inter- ested in looking over the proofs of a paper on " Southey's Life and Correspondence," although he does not quite agree with the criticism of Southey's poems. " Thalaba," he adds, "has ever been to my feelings the most sublime of English poems — (I don't know Spenser) — I mean morally sublime. The versifi- cation of Thalaba is most melodious too — many per- sons will not observe they are reading blank verse. I heard of him first (which proves nothing) when the Rejected Addresses came out in the winter of 18 12-13. Then I read Kehama, and got it well-nigh by heart. Of course, a boy may easily confuse his first knowledge with the post-popularity of an author. I can't help thinking that Southey's poems were not read at once like Scott's. I recollect hearing Scott's Lay of the Last Mmstrel resid out as early, I suppose, as 1809." xix Lord Adon and his Circle In 1856 Mr Capes had some thought about turning the Rambler into a quarterly review, and the rumour of difficulties which involved the Dublin for the second time brought the idea of a possible amalgamation to the front. Newman on this matter wrote from Dublin on March 31 as follows: "You know I have always preferred a quarterly to a more frequent periodical, and so far I should like you to make the change. Yet is not at this moment the Rambler doing better than the Dublin? Did you think of the Dublin, I should stipulate, were I you, for the most perfect autocracy in conducting it, for it is commonly said that there is some secret influence, some say Richardson himself, which is able to half edit it without the editor. "Next I never would undertake it without being able to pay the writers well. You never will get on otherwise. The Times and Quarterly make it a simple matter of business, so do all well-conducted publica- tions. You have no hold on persons unless there is a commercial bargain. You know this well enough — I knew it in the Critic. Again, not only persons won't be bound, and promise to write without writing, but they have to make a livelihood, and time is money. . . We had a good deal of talk about the Dublin for the University, and I suppose we should be disposed to take and edit it, if we had money for writing; but there is the rub, and I expect will be with you." XX Lord Afton and his Circle During a period of two years, from 1852 to 1854, the Rambler was edited by Capes's lifelong friend, Dr Northcote, who had from the first contributed many valuable papers to the magazine. InOctober, i854,how- ever, the latter resigned his post as editor; and in view of the retirement Capes, who was still the pro- prietor and indeed principal contributor, wrote to Mr Richard Simpson on April 20, 1854, to ask him to be- come his assistant editor. This offer was, however, de- clined on the ground that, having undertaken to teach a pupil, his time was more than fully occupied. In re- sponse, however, to another letter, Simpson undertook to write " a sheet and a half for each number of the Rambler, partly short notices, partly reviews"; but a letter from Capes, dated June i, 1854, makes it clear that this was done as a simple contributor, and that Simpson had no part in, or responsibility for, the conduct of the magazine. It was not until September, 1856, that he was induced to accept the post of sub- editor under Capes, and, upon the latter's retirement and disposal of his interest in the concern, Simpson became editor in 1858. The further fortunes of the editorship may be summed up in the following memo- randum in Simpson's own hand: "Taken out of R. Simpson's hands by Wiseman, UUathorne and Grant;* undertaken by Newman as a bi-monthly. May and July. Relinquished by Newman at the request of UUathorne, and restored to us in September. The owners [were] Acton, Simpson, Capes ;t the editors were Acton and Wetherell with Simpson, and they remained so until the publication of the Rambler ceased in 1862." Cardi- ♦ This was in 1839. t Frederick Capes, xxj Lord Adon and his Circle n^ Newman was thus responsible for only two num- bers; he had nothing to do with the conduct of the Home and Foreign Review, the name under which the Rambler was continued. Still, though Newman had direct control over the Rambler ior a very brief time, his indirect influence over writers and contributions was very considerable at all times. Some of this appears in the letters here printed; and with the general literary movement his sympathy cannot be doubted. In a very special way he desired to see a cultivated Catholic laity able to make use of the advantages of education in defence of their religion and to give an account of the faith that was in them. As early as 185 1 he writes: "What I desiderate in Catholics is the gift of bring- ing [out] what they are, what their religion is. . . I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputa- tious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, and who know enough of history to defend it. I want an intel- ligent, well-instructed laity. . . I wish you to enlarge your knowledge, to cultivate your reason, to get an insight into the relation of truth to truth, to learn to view things as they are, to understand how faith and reason stand to each other, what are the bases of Catho- licism, and where lie the main inconsistencies and absurdities of the Protestant theory. . . In all times the laity have been the measure of Catholicism."* It was to further these views that Cardinal Newman * Lectures on the Position of Catholics in England. xxij Lord Adton and his Circle undertook to be the first president of the CathoHc Uni- versity of Dubhn, and for this that he sympathised so much with the general programme of the Rambler. It would, however, be quite wrong to attribute either to Newman's influence, or to his encouragement, direct or indirect, the strained relations with the ecclesiasti- cal authorities which were making themselves evident even before the retirement of Mr Capes from the con- duct of the magazine. Newman, as his letters show, was always anxious that every endeavour should be made to work loyally with Cardinal Wiseman and the bishops generally, and he frequently counselled the avoidance of subjects liable to be misunderstood, espe- cially upon theological or quasi-theological matters. The following letter to Capes, written when the pub- lication of Mr Simpson's article on "Original Sin" in May, 1856, had involved the Rambler in difficulties with the authorities, will show clearly Dr Newman's attitude in this respect : "Dublin, January ig, 1857. " I am such a slave now to my business here — the term for which, I rejoice to say, is rapidly coming — that I know nothing of the course of things. Sud- denly I find that there is a great split between old Catholics and converts, and I see in the Register that the Dublin is writing against the Rambler. Also I see that you have not been the editor of the latter, and now are. I am truly glad to find that you have not been responsible for that article on 'Original Sin,' etc., which seemed to me flat against the Schola theo- logorum and very unjustifiable; but whether you were or not, I have too grateful a recollection of the ser- xxiij Lord A6ton and his Circle vices of the Rambler to the Catholic cause not to be much grieved that the Dublin should be writing against it. And I must say that, whoever wrote the article, what I saw of it in the Register did not prepossess me in its favour. " I am opposed to laymen writing theology, on the same principle that I am against amateur doctors, and still more lawyers — not because they are laymen, but because they are airoSiBaKroi. For this reason I am dis- gusted with Brownson. I don't exclude myself. I have not written on dogmatics or asceticism since I have been a Catholic, and I suppose never shall, because I gave up private judgement when I became one. His- tory and controversy are quite large enough slices of the theological province for a magazine. At least, this is my opinion. Excuse this freedom; my one reason for writing is that I don't like the Rambler to be abused, much less by a dreary publication like the Dublin, which wakes up to growl or to lecture, and then goes to sleep again." As to Newman's real appreciation of the value of the work done for Catholicity by Mr Capes in found- ing and conducting the Rambler, there can be no doubt. The following words from a letter written to him when the rumour was about that he was retiring from the editorship in 1858 make this quite clear: "I think," writes Newman, "that the Catholic body in this country owes you much gratitude from the animus and object of your undertaking, the devo- tion you have shown to it for so long a time, and the various important benefits it has done us. But it is well for us, my dear Capes, that we do not look out xxiv Lord Adon and his Circle for any reward for what we do in this world, for whe- ther we do or not, we are sure not to get it; for what we do imperfectly or wrongly affects the public ten times more than what we do well, even though the good may be ten times as much as the amiss. But this is God's merciful dispensation to oblige us to look up to Him and lay up treasures above, whether we will or no." The Hne that the Rambler took from the first was novel. It proclaimed its "entire and resolute indepen- dence" of all powerful interests, public parties, or knots of private friends, although, as far as it is now possible to determine, it maintained this attitude rather by ignoring the divisions that existed among Catholics than by criticising them all in any indepen- dent way. But this probably was a necessity of its position. On any other terms it might have been im- possible to establish the periodical at all. Besides, the small knot of converts to whom it owed its origin could scarcely have had any very definite convic- tions on the merits or very true ideas of the history of the various existing parties, and were themselves too independent of each other, too inconsistent and imma- ture in Catholic thought and knowledge to be capable of forming a party of their own. The converts were at this time a body both nume- rically large and intellectually powerful. They formed undoubtedly an element most beneficial to the Eng- lish Catholics generally. It is hardly too much to cha- racterise them as a leaven, which through the Tracta- rian movement God's providence had placed in the midst of our body at a time when it most needed it. XXV Lord Adon and his Circle But no one who has studied the literature of this period could call them a "party" within the Church. "The convert influence," says the Rambler, "has not been exercised apart, but has expended its strength rather in lending energy to the rising ideas of the time than in forming the nucleus for a new and dis- tinct phase of Catholic opinion." Cardinal Wiseman allows this even in the very article which he wrote against the Rambler in 1857 on the ground of its striv- ing to set up a convert party against the old Catho- lics — a charge which, on calmly reviewing the con- troversy after well-nigh half a century, seems to have arisen from the misconstruction of certain phrases in a somewhat unwise and petulant article of the maga- zine.* Wiseman, in his reply, says that " the intellec- tual separation of a knot of able persons is at once the creation of a party upon the very worst ground, that of a distinction of old and new Catholics."! This attempt he deprecates, because rightly he does not admit the existence of the two parties; J and at the same time he allows that the Rambler, if it ever tried, had never the least success in forming a party. After comparing, with what sounds like the disappointment of an editor, the popularity of the Rambler with that of the Dublin Review, he shows how the former with its superior circulation has "never exercised any prac- tical influence nor led public opinion amongst us." This is because "its writers do not attempt to throw them- *The article in question was "The Rising Generation: our Poor Schools." It gfave great oflfence to Cardinal Wiseman, and it has, I believe, generally been attributed to Simpson or to his influence. There is no harm now in saying that the article was written by the late Provost Wenham. i DjMin Review, vol. XLi, p. 450. J Ibid. p. 453. xxvj Lord AAon and his Circle selves into the true position of Catholics. They stand aloof, and do not share the real burden of Catholic labour. They lecture admirably; find imperfections in what is done; give excellent theoretical instruction on our duties as Catholics. But they address us rather as a speaker does from the hustings from without and above the crowd addressed."* Any such attitude of independent criticism was condemned by the Cardinal as one of the displays of party spirit which the autho- rities of the Church could not safely endure and which must be put down at any cost. As early as 1848 in his Words of Peace and Justice , a pamphlet published in support of the Government project of entering into diplomatic relations with Rome, Wiseman incidentally sketched what he conceived to be the respective spheres of action of laity and clergy. To the laity he assigned the world of politics, legislation and administration, the part of commerce, the army and navy, "every profession which enriches or enno- bles, every pursuit which gives fame and honour, by research in science, or genius in art, or popularity in literature," courts, exchanges, public halls and private firesides. To the clergy he reserves only one thing — the Church of God; and not only its internal government and guidance, but its external protection and defence. "The Church," he adds, "does indeed often want your zealous co-operation, your social influence, your learn- ed or ready pen, your skilful pencil, your brilliant ta- lents, your weighty name, your abundant means. But the direction, the rule belongs to us. We will call you forth when the Church of God wants your aid; we will * Ibid. p. 450. xxvij Lord Adon and his Circle always gladly see you working with us, but we cannot permit you to lead where religious interests are con- cerned."* This much it seems necessary to quote from a now forgotten pamphlet, in order to explain the subsequent attitude of the ecclesiastical authorities to the Rambler spirit in general and to certain of its writers in par- ticular. For it would seem to follow from the above declaration of policy that the only ecclesiastical sub- jects on which the laity were to speak, except accord- ing to the mot d'ordre of ecclesiastical authority, were questions of taste and dilettantism, obsolete controver- sies f or matters of no particular present interest or importance. At least this was the interpretation which was, and with increasing emphasis, put upon his pro- nouncement during the years of Cardinal Wiseman's administration. That Newman thought very highly of the work that Mr Capes was doing for Catholics in the Rambler cannot be doubted. The following letter would be sufficient to prove this, were proof necessary. It is also interesting as suggesting to Capes a scheme of lecturing on Catholic matters of interest, which was subsequently tried with only partial success, owing apparently to a misunderstanding as to the intentions of the lecturers. ^^ Birmingham, February 21, 185 1. "I am very sorry to hear of your indisposition. You must get well for the good of the Church. Those who have a view, have indefinite power over those ' PP- 15. i6- t Cf. Dublin Review, vol. XLI, pp. 442-43. xxviij Lord A<9:on and his Circle who have none. You say too that there is good materials among the younger men of all classes. I dare say it may be in the event advisable for our bishops to do nothing, but for that reason, if for no other, the laity should stir. I like the article on 'How shall we Meet the Protestant Aggression?'* though when I like a thing I always fear it is imprudent and violent. " I do think you should get a set of fellows who will devote themselves to the cause of the Church. Let it be their recreation, as geology or ecclesiology might be, which is their work. Would the ' committee for supplying members with information' furnish such? Men do with a special gusto what they do themselves — it is an outlet to private judgement. I do wish you could do it, it is a great object. Cannot you have some half-dozen or more? It should be quite voluntary and informal at first, only with the secret sanction of the Cardinal and Dr tJllathorne. If you do anything in getting them to approve it, command me. "Ward I suppose would not walk with other men or lead them. Is there no Old Catholic of sufficient cali- bre to begin? I would throw over all but energetic men. This you could not do if the Bishops' names were openly given to it, for they would offend re- spectable or noble nobodies if they did not include them, but if it were voluntary, the choice would be your own. "Why should not half a dozen meet and consecrate their purpose by a religious act? their object being to stir up their brethren to the duty of maintaining and * Printed in the Rambler, February, 1851, pp. 249 sqq. XXIX Lord AAon and his Circle impressing on the people of England the spiritual independence of the Church, as a kingdom not of this world? Or take a larger subject, not to the exclusion ot this, viz : of bringing before the laity the position of the Church in England and method of defending it (which last clause brings in your lectures and all con- troversial matter whatever). "If you could get two or three good speakers, you could have public meetings in the principal towns. I know this could not be done without a vast deal of spirit, but surely you might find some young men who would carry it out. We were about thirty in age when we began the Tracts; have you none of that age? Only they must not speak treason. In particular localities you might get great assistance from a meet- ing; e.g., I suppose I could get H. Wilberforce to speak here, if there was a meeting. The Oratory ought to have nothing to do with politics, and I would not do any very ecclesiastical subject; but Father Gordon and I would, I dare say, do something, if a sort of club was formed here, though we would not with our engage- ments dream of managing it. "Supposing meetings were once a month, consist- ing of a paper read, etc. The lecturer might be supplied from London or elsewhere, if he could not be found on the spot. " How many good lecturers and speakers could you collect up and down the country? Northcote, Thomp- son, yourself, Simpson, etc., etc. The thing would be to keep it from being ecclesiastical, in which case it would fall under the priest of the place, who, if dull, would ruin the whole, and yet with ecclesiastical autho- XXX Lord Adon and his Circle rity. The Cardinal surely would take up this idea (if practical). The first qualification of a member should be energy. If you got six men in London, six in Liver- pool, etc., might you not do it? If you could get six men of talent, they at least must be willing simply to put themselves under those who had talent, i.e., for London or elsewhere." It was in the year 1848 — the year when Cardinal Wiseman published his declaration as to the functions of the laity — that the Rambler saw the light. The first controversy in which it engaged was on " Rood- screens"; it opposed them in the interest of the modern spirit of the Church and of the new popular devo- tions. For years its pages were filled with articles in this spirit; it printed series of essays on devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, on celebrated sanctuaries of the Madonna and on the pilgrimage to La Salette. It was lavish in its admiration of Father Faber's Hymn- ology, St Alfonso Liguori's Glories of Mary and the Oratorian Lives of Modern Saints. The definition of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 led to some letters in the Rambler in July, 1855, and in May and July, 1856, on Original Sin and the destiny of the unregenerate. At the end of the last- named number there is a statement that the Cardinal- Archbishop had commissioned a certain number of theologians to examine the doctrines put forward in the letter of May, and a declaration on the part of the writer of his submission to whatever censure might be the result. The number for September, 1856, however, contains the notice that the writer of the letter, feeling xxxj Lord A(9:on and his Circle with regret that there are certain statements which appear to require a revision, withdraws from the discus- sion of the question, and that His Eminence thereupon does not consider it necessary to proceed with the examination. What these "certain statements" may be readers are not informed; they may be fundamental positions, they may be only illustrations. But they would seem not to be the former, for in spite of the notice just quoted the whole theory of the letters is editorially and somewhat vehemently reasserted in the May number for 1858.* To understand the difficult position created by the general trend of the Rambler it is almost necessary to refer as briefly as possible to what may be called the long duel between it and the Cardinal. In October, 1856 — that is in the next number after the Ramblerhdid withdrawn the discussion on "Original Sin" to which reference has just been made — there appeared among the short notices a petulant article, clearly directed against the Cardinal personally, complaining of the necessity of observing silence and of being warned off the discussion of serious topics. The line of argument required of it, it says, is one that, whilst showing up the enemies of the faith as both absurd and wicked, endea- vours to make out by a set of garbled quotations how all the sciences of the nineteenth century are demon- strating the truth of the ultramontane views of politics, history and scientific truth. The notice was made even more pointed by part of it being a parody of a sentence from an article, very probably by the Cardinal, in the Dublin Review; and the Cardinal lost no time in reply- *P- 345- xxxij Lord Adton and his Circle ing to it. In the Dublin for January, 1857, an article appeared on "The Present Catholic Dangers," in which the Rambler was treated with a considerable amount of mock irony, and a scarcely fair use was made of an expression to fix upon it the charge of trying to divide Catholics into parties. This article was replied to in a very feeble manner in the Rambler for February. Instead of treating it as the work of a mere reviewer, the writer of the reply insisted upon seeing in it, no doubt correctly, the hand of the Cardinal, and declared himself precluded on account of the dignity of the writer from answering the strictures passed upon it. In the next number, how- ever, an article appeared with the title, "Literary Cookery," which is the real reply to the Dublin. "We don't want," says the writer, "to prove Protestants rogues, so much as to force them to see that we Catho- lics are neither cowards nor tricksters, but possess our full share of courage and truth-telling. . ."* "We have to encounter the belief that we are not only crafty and false, but actually afraid of the truth's being known. This belief has to be vanquished, not by an angry denial of its justice, not by taunts, not by brag- gadocio, but by proving our courage by our acts. It is useless to proclaim that history and science are in harmony with our religion, unless we show that we think so by being ourselves foremost in telling the whole truth about the Church and about her enemies."t Though the writer of the article abstains from any personal allusions to the Cardinal, and even goes out of his way to recommend a new and revised edition * Rambler, March 1857, P- 166. t p. 168. xxxiij Lord Afton and his Circle of the lectures on Science and Revealed Religion, it is impossible not to see under the ridicule which he throws on the mosaic geology of M. Nicolas and the authors whom he quotes, a reference to those very lectures, which are largely quoted by His Eminence, and for the very error for which he is ridiculed. For a time matters rested here. In May, 1857, the Rambler published a letter about the " Controversy on the Poor School Grant," against the known tendencies of the episcopal portion of the Poor School Committee, and in spite of the Cardinal's declaration in the Dublin Review of January, 1857, that education was one of those questions on which the spirit of party might be excited and which was therefore not a matter for free discussion by the laity.* Nevertheless the Rambler continued at intervals to discuss the question through- out 1857 and 1858, till, early in 1859, it was obliged, in consequence of episcopal pressure brought to bear upon the proprietors through Cardinal Newman, to come to a sudden halt and to begin afresh in new hands. In September, 1857, the i?awZ»/^r published another article on "Converts and Old Catholics," in which it thus adverted to the controversies it was engaged in: "We have been occasionally found fault with in public — and of course what is made pubhc indicates the private opinion of at least one real person — for stepping out of our province and criticizing when we have no right to interfere. In the cases referred to we have generally been prompted to the course we have adopted by the very authorities on whose exclu- * P- 445- xxxiv Lord Adton and his Circle sive rights we have been supposed to encroach. The freedom of remark which we have adopted as a matter of principle has found its chief opponents among con- verts and its warmest supporters among old Catholics. And though, now and then, some person considers that we are going too far, the general body of Catho- lics, both clerical and lay, have too much good sense to be permanently offended because something is now and then written which they do not approve or for which there may be motives which do not appear on the surface."* From this time there was a pause in the contro- versy till the publication of Cardinal Wiseman's Last Four Popes in March, 1858, which was reviewed in the Rambler for April. Out of this article arose a contro- versy on the alleged cardinalate of Lingard, and the Cardinal thought it necessary to answer Canon Tier- ney's letter in the Rambler for June, 1858, in a special letter addressed to his priests. In the August number t there was a sentence, "Because St Augustine was the greatest doctor of the West, we need not conceal the fact that he was also the father of Jansenism.'' This bold expression gave great offence, which was not lessened by an elaborate defence of its truth in the December number from the pen, it was understood, of Dr Dollinger. This defence was attacked in pam- phlets and letters to the Catholic newspapers. In 1859 the Rambler again entered upon the educa- tional controversy, and in February it replied to criti- cisms in the Tablet. To this matter it will be necessary to return later, and here it need only be noted that the * Rambler, xx, p. 226. t P- i35- XXXV Lord A<9:oii and his Circle controversy led to a cessation of the monthly form of the magazine; the publication was suspended for three months, and it then appeared in May, 1859, as a bi- monthly periodical, under the management of Newman. In 1 86 1 the Rambler admitted a letter by Mr H. N. Oxenham, signed X. Y.Z., on the subject of secon- dary education given in Catholic colleges. A lengthy correspondence ensued, in which Canon Oakeley and Dr Ward took part. It is in some respects worth reading still, but at the time the publication of the original letter was strongly resented. What was meant as suggestion for improvement, or at most for helpful criticism, was taken as only ill-natured reflec- tions upon the existing state of things, and here also bad blood was generated, although there were persons of influence and standing among the older clergy who warmly approved of Mr Oxenham's endeavour to call attention to what was amiss. Even the late Dr W. G. Ward, although entirely opposed to what he supposed to be the Ramblers position in the controversy on other grounds, wrote to Mr Simpson at the time as follows : "Amidst the differences which 1 recognize between the Rambler and myself (specially, if you will allow me to say so, between your contributions to it and myself) I am extremely grateful to you and it for many things. First, you have been bold enough to face much obloquy in refusing to ' bow the knee to Baal,' to join in the most disgusting chorus of self- laudation, which is the present fashion. I cannot in- deed think your 'croaking' at all up to mark; but it is refreshing to hear the 'croaking' at all Secondly, xxxvj Lord A6ton and his Circle I think the Rambler has been the only publication which has shown the most distant perception as to the immense intellectual work incumbent on us, in both theology and philosophy. Even your contribu- tions on 'Original Sin' — though I doubt if they con- tained two consecutive sentences in which I could concur — yet did this most important service (in my humble opinion) : that they opened the way into a new ground which it is absolutely essential that we Catho- lics should occupy. Thirdly, I very much wish to have some talk with you on matters philosophical. I am most deeply convinced that the whole philosophical fabric which occupies our colleges is rotten from the roof to the floor (or rather from the floor to the roof). Nay, no one who has not been mixed up practically in a seminary would imagine to how great an extent it intellectually debauches the students' minds. At least we agree that all these questions are most momentously important." Varied as were the subjects dealt with in the yearly volumes of the Rambler, the ready appeal to the mo- dern spirit involved ideas which every now and then found expression and showed unmistakably that the writers proceeded on principles and grounds which would equally serve for the foundation of contradic- tory judgements with a little more knowledge and a little longer experience. Its protestations of indepen- dence have already been quoted. In an early volume we find the editor claiming for all Catholics "that unbiassed liberty of following after truth at all costs, which is the inalienable privilege and the bounden duty of every creature endowed with the great gift of xxxvij Lord Adlon and his Circle reason."* One feature, which maybe traced throughout its career, is a disposition to exult over the diversity of CathoHc thought on all things beyond matters of faith and to deny any necessary subordination of the laity to the clergy in their opinions on matters of gene- ral interest. It even glories in this attitude, which it holds to be essential for the mental development and progress of the Catholic mind. We shall always differ, it proclaims, as long as we are good for anything. Indeed, even while the feelings of the conductors were engaged on the side of the then modern devo- tional system of Rome, the Rambler every now and then exhibited a tendency to pare down speculative doctrines as pious opinions. In 1850, for example, it seemed to limit the rights of the Church in the inter- pretation of Scripture, and asserted a duration of the world which, although it would probably have passed quite unnoticed in these days, must then have ap- peared scandalous to Mosaic geologists.f Occasion even was taken of the definition of the Immaculate Conception as a dogma of the Church to inquire what were the scantiest possible views of Original sin and eternal punishment compatible with the defined doctrines of the Church. For these and other reasons upon which it is unne- cessary to enter the Rambler certainly succeeded in making itself an object of anxiety to the ecclesiastical authorities. This is not wonderful when it is remem- bered that its policy was very different, if not in some ways contrary, to that laid down some years before by Cardinal Wiseman for the conductors of a lay review. • Vol. IV, p. 163. t Vol. VI, p. 197 seq. ; and in 1855, vol. xvi, p. 25. xxxviij Lord Adon and his Circle In another matter also "its spirit" gave great offence, and under the circumstances most naturally. The year 1845 saw the first of that great flood of con- versions to Rome which was only stayed by the agita- tion of the " Papal Aggression." With it the first decade of the Dublin Review came to an end. When it closed, the Review in summing up its past career said that its controversial period was over ; that a new epoch had come in its history ; and that it saw opening before it fields for labours more agreeable, more varied, and no less interesting to its readers.* What these proved to be it is beyond the present inquiry to determine. In one point, however, it is necessary to remark that the Dublin and the Rambler wei'e conducted upon lines wholly divergent. In historical matters the policy of the Dublin appears to have been to avoid, as far as possible, facing unpleasant facts in the past and to explain away, if it could not directly deny, the existence of "blots" in the ecclesiastical annals of the older centuries. The Rambler, on the other hand, held the view that the Church had nothing to lose and much to gain by meeting facts as they were. And acting up to this it did not hesitate to discuss the conduct of the Popes of the Renaissance and the characters of canonised saints, etc., with entire freedom, on the ground that no supreme office nor assured sanctity was an a priori proof of impeccability, and that it should not shield the one class or the other from legitimate criticism. It taunted all those who would attempt, for example, the rehabilitation of " bad popes," and would desire that all should shut their eyes to the unpleasant facts of 'Dec. 1845, p. 545. xxxix Lord Ad:on and his Circle Church history, as being plain "whitewashers." It placed them upon the same historical level as Mr James Anthony Froude, who was then attempting his rehabilitation of H enry VIII. They even insinuated that such writers were acting on the very same prin- ciple as Froude was, namely, "that a good work proves a good workman." The Rambler thus came into dis- tinct opposition to the Dublin Review, not only in point of circulation among the small body of Catholics, but likewise on principles of conduct. It has been necessary to speak somewhat at length about the Rambler and the views of those that sup- ported it in order to understand the origin of the diffi- culties which beset its conduct, and which were already in existence when the first letters printed in this vo- lume were written. It is impossible to deny that in many ways, rather perhaps by the irritating tone in which delicate matters were spoken of than by much that was actually said, the Rambler gave cause to the English ecclesiastical authorities to regard it as an enfant terrible. Looking back after half a century it is possible to see that many of the opinions which, when expressed by the Rambler, called forth the strong con- demnation of many Catholics in the public journals, and in some instances remonstrances and threats from the authorities, would pass to-day without remark. Times have changed, and we with them ; and many of the strong things that were then said and many of the aspirations that were then uttered, say upon the thorny subject of higher Catholic education, have been settled. So, too, on the theological points raised in certain articles written by Mr Richard Simpson in the Rambler, xl Lord Adton and his Circle the loud protests of certain theologians at the time seem half to discredit his true Catholicity. Yet it is not uninteresting now to know that in reality his opinions were shared by many ecclesiastics of weight, who did not care to come out into the open, and left upon him the brunt of the battle. On a calm review of all the circumstances it seems as if, in regard to the controversy about the Rambler, as in so many cases, the whole might have been avoided with just a little better understanding on both sides. But here precisely was the difficulty : the parties never did and never could look at the matters from each other's standpoint, and in great measure this arose from the nature of things. Though the Rambler cannot be said to be the representative of the convert element, yet the ideas it propagated came into the Catholic body with and through the converts; and converts with lapse of time had come to discover the real state of things in the body they had joined, and were perhaps at times piqued or irritated at the policy of couleur de rose which had been adopted almost offi- cially. They were impatient at what they considered the need of education and the want of spirit which they saw in the English Catholic body. No doubt to a great extent they were right : for half a century and more the Catholics of England had been deprived by the French Revolution of even that measure of higher education which during three centuries of penal law they had found at Douai and at the other universities of France. Thrown back upon themselves, they had done what was possible under the circumstances to carry on the Douai traditions of clerical training; but the xlj D Lord A£ton and his Circle lack of the incentive of public competition was suffi- cient to cause them in time to fall behind in the race, and their isolation made them perhaps too contented with the existing state of things. In one sense it was their glory and their misfortune, not their shame, for it was part of the penalty they paid for fidelity to the faith. Converts coming fresh from the universities were unprepared for this; and the two parties seemed for a time at least incapable of understanding each other: the one did not realise its shortcomings, the other failed to make the necessary allowances for defects that were not the fault of those in whom they existed. But there were matters of form that accentuated the differences arising from divergencies of view; this cause for aggravation dates from the quite early days of the Rambler. It was known that some of the most irritating articles were written by converts who, it was (rightly or wrongly) felt, were assuming a tone of supe- riority, whilst certainly, however zealous in their de- signs or however good their intention, they were only neophytes. On the other hand, these new comers were genuinely unprepared for the strength of language and vituperation which was adopted by their fellow Catho- lics in their regard. One of them writing in 1849 says that, "compared with other classes and religious bodies, Catholics attack one another with a virulence, an un- charitableness, a reckless imputation of motives and an ungentlemanly coarseness of language, which can be paralleled in no other society professing to be guided by religious principles and to be restrained by the laws of common propriety." * And twenty years * Rambler, August, 1849, vol. iv, p. 231. xHj Lord Adon and his Circle later the Saturday Review called attention to this peculiar characteristic of Catholic internal contro- versy. "The curious in polemics," the writer says, " will be well rewarded for his trouble if he will turn over the pages of Roman Catholic newspapers, re- views and magazines of the last fifteen or twenty years. It is clear from the extraordinary freedom with which names and persons are handled, and from the eagerness of bishops and dignitaries to enter into the lists, that an amount of pugnacity exists among Roman Catholics, which by no means finds a [sufficient] vent in onslaughts on Protestantism." * One natural tendency of this style of polemics was to strain to the snapping point the relations between the men of the Rambler school and the authorities of the Catholic Church in England. Unfortunately the former did not always realise the importance of subordination in doubtful and difficult matters to those in whose hands the ecclesiastical government ultimately rested, or the imperative need, for the sake of peace and the welfare of the Church, whose inte- rests after all they had really and only at heart, to avoid topics calculated to give offence or cause mis- understanding. This in the eyes of many seemed in practice to bring with it intellectual stagnation, or indeed to render impossible the treatment of any subject of real intellectual interest. Above all, in spite of the insistence of Newman that all theological ques- tions should be avoided, some of the writers, and notably Simpson,t to whom most of the letters in this • Saturday Review, August i6, 1862. t Simpson's attitude will be best understood from a letter written to his real friend, Bishop Grant, of Soulhwark. In 1862, when the conversion of xliij Lord Adion and his Circle volume were addressed, could not refrain sometimes at least from entering upon the domain of theology. This brilliant writer, in many ways undoubtedly one of the ablest of the converts, has thus appeared to many an enigma, to some in past days a scandal, and he is still not infrequently treated as a scapegoat. No one who really knew him, or has been through his papers and letters, could doubt that in reality he was a true and fervent Catholic. He was daily at holy Mass, and he constantly frequented the sacraments. Whilst some even highly-placed ecclesiastics shrugged their shoul- ders at La Salette, Simpson simply believed in the apparition. He was exceptionally charitable to those in need. Whenever any one, no matter who it might be, was in trouble, he was as concerned and as anxious to help as if it had been his nearest and dearest friend. In numberless ways he gave practical proof that he truly loved his neighbour as himself. He was mis- understood by many ; but it is impossible not to confess the Rambler into the quarterly Home and Foreign Review had been settled, he wrote to the bishop: " You will be very glad to hear that some lime ago the We of the Rambler had determined on ' converting ' it — not perhaps as will satisfy Coffin, but with a conversion that I hope will b« enough to do away with the weightiest objections that have been made against us. When we publish our first quarterly number in July, you will see that a considerable change has taken place in the editorial department; and if free discussion takes place in the communicated department, it will not be our fault if only one school of opinion is represented. As to your advice about not touching on theological matters, it is the same as Dr Newman has urged upon me before and again lately, and it is advice that I try to observe. But all my studies have been on subjects that have some slight relation to theology — politics, metaphysics and physical science — and it is very difficult, all but impossible, for me to keep off the tabooed territory; and the more I try, the more I fail. I thought I was progressing that way; and lo, Wenham and Allies are disgusted with me for ignoring the supernatural, and Marshall (if he is [im);pudens) accuses me of infidelity. See what I get by keeping out of theology." xliv Lord Adton and his Circle that the misunderstanding was mainly the result of his own methods. His transparent sincerity, his ready forgiveness of injuries, and his freedom from all ani- mosity against those who bullied and slandered him, seem worthy of notice here. He was a man endowed with fair health and with an exceptional share of the good temper that arises from this; in fact there remained in him a strain of almost boyish fun and love of mischief As Acton wrote to him in April, 1859 (Lett, xxxiv): "If Dollinger were certain that the effervescence of your conversa- tion would not communicate itself to your ink, he would consider that nobody can give as just informa- tion and as discriminating judgements as you can on things religious and secular in England." He had the gift — the fatal gift it may be called in the circumstances — of catching the comical side of serious matters, which made him not always a respecter of persons in authority, accustomed to look for reverence and obe- dience. His general robustness of temperament made him not averse to the disturbance arising from dis- pute, whilst, when he was seriously engaged in a contest, his brilliant intellectual endowments and mental acumen, brought by the urgency of the crisis to bear seriously on the subject in discussion, ren- dered him eminently displeasing as a professed anta- gonist. By nature he loved to "tease," but certainly not to hurt; and some ecclesiastics, especially some dignified ecclesiastics, seemed to possess a special power of evoking in him this peculiar spirit. But it is to be added that these efforts were often confined to manuscript, and were reserved for the delectation of xlv Lord A£ton and his Circle his friends, and found their way into print less often than has sometimes been supposed. Still, in a small and narrow society, like that of the English Catholics of the middle of the last century, everything — even what was " private " — easily and quickly became public property, and much was put down to Simp- son's account for which he was not rightly responsible. Simpson on more than one occasion tried to put matters right with the authorities. In 1858, for example. Cardinal Wiseman misunderstood the action of the Rambler in printing a letter from Canon Tierney against himself, in regard to the question of Lingard's "Cardinal's Hat." The expression, "we willingly print," appended by the editor to the letter, gave Wiseman the impression that the Rambler ^dA against him, whereas as a fact the conductors of the maga- zine were with him in his contention. Mr Simpson, as editor, wrote to endeavour to put matters right, and after explaining the facts, he goes on to say: " I regret very much indeed that the idea should have got abroad that the Rambler is conducted in a spirit of personal opposition to your Eminence, and that persons should busy themselves in picking out sentences from nearly every number, which they dis- tort and interpret after their sinister fashion to widen a breach that unfortunately exists. I protest to your Eminence, as I have had occasion to protest to others who have reported these interpretations, that they were not intended, and that any impertinent reference to your Eminence was far removed from the ideas both of the writers and of the editor. " The Rambler has been independent from the first, xlvj Lord Adon and his Circle and it will remain so. But the proprietors do not consider that independence means personal opposi- tion to you. They know that you are the head and representative in England of the religion which they defend and profess, and that any systematic opposi- tion to you, so far from being real independence, would be only a slavery to passion and to an un- Catholic idea. "The Rambler only claims the liberty of saying what it thinks of measures and men, so far as its thoughts are not inconsistent with faith and disci- pline, and looks to authority to protect it in its rights against ignorance and dogmatic tyranny, which are continually on the watch to fix the brand of heresy or suspicion on things which would never have been published unless they had been previously sanctioned, or at least pronounced to be within the limits of ortho- doxy, by sufficient theologians." As one of Simpson's correspondents, who knew him well and had personal experience, writes to him in 1858: " I think people's notions of you are most un- just. I fancy I have always had the credit of being more prudent, etc., than you, while really I have meant what people would have disliked much more than you have meant." It was to Mr Simpson, however, that the " wrong-headedness " of the Rambler was at the time very generally ascribed, and during his lifetime he never attempted to shift from his shoulders the responsibility for certain writings with which he was credited, and which are still supposed to be his.* * M. I'Abbe Dimnet in La Pens^e Catholique dans V Angleterre Con- temporaine, 1906, p. 65, writes: " Ces 6crivains, presque tous anglicans xlvij Lord Ad:on and his Circle A remarkable letter, written by Dr W. G. Ward in February, 1859, to Simpson, shows that, in part at least, the latter had the deep sympathy of some who were generally opposed to him. He writes: " I never expected to hear without lively pleasure of the Ram- bler being brought to an end, but certainly our eminent and Right Rev. Fathers have managed to do the thing in a way which effectually prevents any such feeling. I think there is hardly a convert in England who does not cordially sympathize with the articles on the Royal Commission. It is indeed remarkable from my point of view that they [the bishops] allowed every kind of questionable statement on matters of doc- trine, and then come to issue on a mere matter of political prudence. The Church's doctrine may be as- sailed, but not our judgement on a difficult practical matter. " Will it not be worth while for you to be extremely careful as to the comments you may make in public on this strange procedure? Will not two advantages be gained by such care and self-restraint? "First: and chiefly, that the designs for your own sanctification (which God must have in sending you such a trial) will be really allowed their accomplish- ment. "Secondly: that the cause itself for which you are rightly anxious will be very much the gainer. The convertis, avaient pris vis-4-vis des anciens Catholiques un ton de supe- riority d^daigneuse, et I'un d'eux, M. Simpson, ne craignait pas de faire a I'occasion la satire du cardinal lui-meme. . . C'est alors que Wiseman prit, dans la Dublin Review, la defense des anciens Catholiques amerement et syst6matiquement insult6s." I have already pointed out that Simpson was not the author of the article referred to, but the late Provost Wenham. xlviij Lord A£i:on and his Circle right of a Catholic layman's independent thought is so important an object of struggle that it seems ten thousand pities if its advocate makes any obvious moral mistake." The reference in the above letter to the " Royal Com- mission" and the sympathy conveyed by Ward to Simpson in regard to the articles in the Rambler upon it, require some explanation, especially as the misunderstanding created by the lattercaused a change in the editorship of the magazine. Early in the session of 1858 Parliament consented to the appointment of a Royal Commission which was to review the whole system of the education of the poor in England. At the time any communication between the Govern- ment and the Catholic Church in this country for seve- ral reasons was difficult to be conducted by the bishops in person; the law did not recognise them, and made the assumption of their titles penal. Nowthoughthe law was never seriously intended, or was intended solely to strengthen the hands of an unscrupulous party leader by an appeal to the social prejudices of a vast class of Englishmen, it was not possible for the Government to open communications with the very persons whom they had put under a ban. It was found most convenient, therefore, to appoint a committee consisting partly of clergymen, partly of the most in- fluential Catholic laymen, with a lay chairman, to be the organ of communication between the bishops and the Government, and to represent the secular interests that must always be combined with so mixed a sub- ject as education. Among the duties of the Catholic Poor School xlix Lord A(9:on and his Circle Committee not the least was that of watching all the relations between the Government and Catholics in matters of education. Its functions in this regard were deputed to a sub-committee the members of which, in some unexplained way, failed to notice the appoint- ment of the Royal Commission, or to comprehend its nature when at last they awoke to the fact of its exis- tence. They saw only a breach of faith on the part of the Gover,ment and an insidious attempt to force upon Ca- tholics Protestant inspectors and the religious exami- nation of Catholic children by Protestants. The bishops took alarm : they first demanded that the Commission, which had been appointed by the Queen and had already matured its plans, should be dissolved and re- constructed with the addition of the chairman of the Catholic Poor School Committee. When this was re- fused, they asked that a Catholic sub-commissioner might be appointed: this also was refused. Where- upon, without anymore consideration of possibilities. Catholics were directed not to have any further com- munication whatever with the Commission or the Government. When this action became known, it caused dismay among the laity generally, and it was at this time that the two articles appeared in the Rambler for January and February, 1859. They were written by Mr S. N. Stokes, who had been the first secretary of the Poor School Committee, and the one man to whom its organisation was due, and who at this time was the Catholic School Inspector, and might be supposed to know what he was writing about. The articles gave great offence, as appearing 1 Lord A don and his Circle to trench upon the episcopal prerogatives. Publicity and discussion were deprecated, and the Rambler was, in the words of Mr Simpson quoted above, " taken out of [my] hands by Wiseman, Ullathorne and Grant." A letter contributed by Father Formby to the Register newspaper attributes its " collapse " to its articles on the Commission, whilst Cardinal Wiseman's Lenten Pastoral clearly indicates the Rambler when he speaks of "the enemy choosing [education] for the field in which to sow the tares of division amongst Catholics," and deplores that " any one should endea- vour to lead you astray from the simple path of right and dutiful feeling on a matter so obviously belonging to ecclesiastical authority." When the news that the Rambler was to be con- tinued became public, Dr Ward wrote to Simpson : "Who is to be the new editor? I hope you won't think me insensible as to the extremity of injustice with which you have been visited, because on your statement it is very extreme. I cannot help fancying the possibility of some misconception in the latter point : i.e., the breach of covenant [in the publication of pastorals]. Do you mean they are still going to issue a joint pastoral against the defunct Rambler?. . . Things seem to me tending to a kind of union of converts against ecclesiastical authorities. I think, e.g., New- man and Faber will be brought far more together if this sort of thing goes on." And two days later, on March 3, 1859, when Simpson had informed him that Newman was going to issue the Rambler as a bi- monthly, Ward writes : " I shall be most deeply inte- ij Lord Ad:on and his Circle rested to see how J. H. N. develops himself in the R. God grant all may turn to good : it looks bad enough as to our governors." Newman's editorship lasted a very short time. In point of fact he never intended that it should be any- thing more than a temporary expedient to get over the existing difficulty. He subsequently declared that he had made up his mind in May, 1859, to retire from the post of editor on the publication of the July num- ber.* In a letter to Mr Wetherell, written on July 17, 1859, he writes: " I undertook the charge in order to set it off, and intended and bargained that my con- tinuing it should depend on a variety of circumstances. I very soon found it was impossible, and other circum- stances co-operated; and the first number had not been out many weeks when I told the proprietors that the July number would be my last." Thus two numbers only came to be edited from Birmingham. In the second, the July issue, the future Cardinal's article, "On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine," caused surprise and, in some quarters, consterna- tion; it was even denounced to the Holy See, by Bishop Brown of Newport, as dangerous doctrine. Consultation with Bishop Ullathorne hastened the fulfilment of Newman's previous resolution not to edit another number. The Rambler was handed back to its proprietors, and with Newman's approval and encouragement Mr Wetherell, who had had no relations with the magazine prior to Newman's editorship, became joint editor with Sir John Acton, whilst Simpson, as * Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, 11, p. 336. Lord Adlon and his Circle he himself put it, occupied the place of " an excep- tionally privileged contributor." In writing to en- courage Wetherell to accept the post, Newman tells him that "to take trouble about it would be simply an act of merit, as proceeding from a wish to serve the Catholic cause in England," and he adds : " I think you will find yourself able to give your con- fidence to Sir John Acton, the editor. I am sure he wishes to keep clear of what is likely to give offence to Catholics, and has no wish to make the Rambler the organ of a party." Then, after saying that he hopes that the editors have been able to gather round them a distinguished band of writers, Newman adds that he rejoices to understand that the subjects to be treated in the magazine "are to be mainly political and literary — and religion will not be introduced ex- cept in such occasional articles and with that external treatment which characterizes the Quarterly Review"; and he concludes by declaring that in his opinion " it seemed a great point, if possible, to raise the standard of our Catholic literature. Nor do I see a better way of doing it than by a well-conducted periodical." It has been pointed out that when Newman retired from the editorship of the Rambler, after his very brief rule, Acton undertook the editorship with Mr Wetherell as his colleague. Simpson stood aside in theory; but in practice, owing to Acton's occupations and rather frequent absences from England and Mr Wetherell's disablement from time to time by pres- sure of official work at the War Office, he, as part- proprietor of the magazine and in the position of an " exceptionally privileged contributor," occupied the Uij Lord AAon and his Circle post of locum tenens for the unavailable editor. The letters here printed show that he was consulted upon all literary matters, and wrote almost what he liked, although he afterwards complained of being sometimes left out in the practical working of the magazine under the new conditions. "I got down to lighten the coach," he writes to Acton, " and it has driven on, leaving me behind and not quite knowing where I am." Newman continued to take a considerable interest in the fortunes of the magazine after his retirement. He promised to contribute to its columns, and he did so, but not to the extent that the conductors had been led to suppose, or at least had hoped.* He excused himself on the plea of overwork and poor health, but said that apart from that he could not continue to write in the Rambler, if other priests did not. He had made this a condition with Acton, and had specially named the Bollandist de Buck, Gratry and the Abb6 Maret,ofwhom the first-named only was ever an actual contributor. Moreover, as he writes on November 13, 1859, a page of the last i?aw^/er had pained him"a good deal." "On page 14," he writes, "a comment or inter- pretation is made in two notes on the synodal letter with a 'venture to suggest' and a 'presume.' This seems to me highly indecorous. Putting altogether aside the style of it, the mere fact of interpreting a synodal letter in a magazine, when the bishops are alive, present * The position of Newman in regard to the Rambler was not very clear. On July 22, 1859, he wrote to Simpsom : "The printer has written to me that the proofs of the Rambler have been sent me by your direction. I do not feel I can accept your kind wish about them, and have thought best not to read a line of them " {Life of Cardinal Mcfnning, ii, 336), Uv Lord Adon and his Circle and in an authoritative place, to r-ecur to, and to ask, as to their meaning, seems to me a great mistake."* Apart from this instance of what Newman consi- dered bad form and an unjustifiable slight put upon the ecclesiastical authorities, he thought the number of the magazine excellent. " I am very much pleased with it," he writes. "It contains a great variety of subjects, a great deal of thought and much careful composition. It is so good a number that I think it must make its way." As time went on, the opinion of Dr Newman as to the wrong-headedness of the line taken by the Rambler became even more definite. In 1861 he wrote to Mr Wetherell again excusing himself for standing aloof from a literary effort in which he much sympathised, and said that his health would not allow him to do so even "though I saw my way ever so clearly to approve of the steps which the proprietors of the Rambler have taken of late; but, to tell the truth, I have not been able to follow them for several months. . . I think they are in a false position; but as this is a matter which concerns them specially, I do not say more about it here." The magazine continued as a bi-monthly till 1862, when after the April number it was determined to transform it into a quarterly review The advice of Dr Newman was sought before any final decision was arrived at, but he replied on March 21, 1862, to * It was at this time that a communication appeared in the Weekly Regi- ster (November i6, 1859) denying that Dr Newman had any "part in con- ducting or superintending that able periodical." This was sent to the paper in consequence of a previous reference to Newman " as editor of the Hum- bler," etc. Iv Lord Afton and his Circle Mr Wetherell as follows: "I do not find myself in a position to be of any use in advising you and Sir John Acton on any question connected with the Rambler. The truth is, I have already expressed the conclusion to which I have come that, in spite of the great talent with which it is conducted, it lies under conditions which, as it seems to me, render the prospect of its usefulness hopeless. Not to state any other condition, I think its name has by this time such associations that the public mind cannot be fair to it. Let it change its external appearance or its constituent parts ever so much, its name gives it an identity."* The determination to change the form of the maga- zine was ultimately arrived at in view of the fact that the tone of the articles published in it on the Temporal Power of the Pope was much disliked in Rome and by the authorities in England. The principles which actuated Simpson during the years of his editorship and subsequently may perhaps be best understood from a letter written by him on the Rambler question to his bishop, Dr Grant of Southwark, on April 23, 1862, when the conversion of the magazine into the Home and Foreign Review had already been deter- mined upon. He says: "I wish simply to try and show what were my intentions, and what are and have been my reasons for writing as I do. * For previous communications about the magazine, see letters in Life of Cardinal Manning, ll, pp. 332-338. To Acton, Newman wrote on June 20, i860: "I am exceedingly desirous of the success of the Rambler, and to contribute to it as much as I can ; but I cannot undertake to be theological censor, nor can I give my name to it, unless it had a responsible editor and the countenance of such theologians as I have mentioned above." Ivj Lord A6ton and his Circle "Brought up as I was, I have no other resource but Hterature, and being a CathoHc I cannot help writing as a Cathohc — in matters defined, taking the one side defined; in doubtful matters, choosing my side accor- ding to my convictions, and trying to recommend my opinion to others. I am convinced that in what I have ever written I have not gainsaid any definition of the Church, nor gone beyond the liberty permitted to all Catholics in doubtful points. If I have, I retract it and will retract it. And I am convinced also that, in spite of many blunders and follies, the general line I have taken is one that is supremely necessary for the course of truth. "I have written in a journal which deals necessarily with public topics, and cannot handle the private spiritual concerns of individuals, and so cannot lead men to contrition and penance — a journal which is not theological, and so cannot deal directly with matters of faith. It is only left to me to try and take the side of faith by defending the truth, and by proving that a man may be sincerely Catholic and may defend his religion without suppressio veri and suggestio falsi, and to try and take the side of charity by an objec- tive and dispassionate way of writing, which does not attack the person, but only discusses the opinion. . . " I am certain that the cessation of the Rambler, or its change,* would do great harm to the Catholic cause in England. I know, for I have experienced the thing, that the great prejudice against the Church among educated Englishmen is not a religious one against her dogmas, but an ethical and political one; they *i.e., change in principles or spirit. Ivij E Lord Adon and his Circle think that no Cathohc can be truthful, honest or free, and that if he tries to be so pubhcly he is at once sub- ject to persecution. The existence of the Rambler is more or less a reply to this prejudice; and we bear all that is said and done against us in silence rather than make any public complaint about the dirty ways in which different parties have, at different times, tried to crush us, in order not to create any scandal." Perhaps in the earlier days of his connexion with the Rambler Simpson saw less clearly than some of his friends the direct conflict of underlying principles involved in the current disputes. But when once he had realised this fully, he withdrew from the treatment of specifically Catholic subjects and collaboration in Ca- tholic periodicals altogether, and acted upon the view (as he wrote in January, 1875) that "our only way of speaking to the nation was in the midst of controver- sies like this in papers like the Times'.' The Home and Foreign Review, a quarterly, first appeared in July, 1862, with Acton as editor. In the prospectus the scope of the venture in succession to the Rambler is thus explained : " It will abstain from direct theological discussion as far as external circumstances will allow; and in dealing with those mixed questions into which theo- logy indirectly enters, its aim will be to combine devo- tion to the Church with discrimination and candour in the treatment of her opponents; to reconcile free- dom of inquiry with implicit faith; and to discounte- nance what is untenable and unreal without forget- ting the tenderness due to the weak, or the reverence Iviij Lord Adton and his Circle rightly claimed for what is sacred. Submitting without reserve to infallible authority, it will encourage a habit of manly investigation on subjects of scientific inte- rest." These sentences were taken, almost verbatim, from Newman's prospectus for the hi-monih\y Rambler; and the programme was practically that of the Rambler, as explained in several of the articles published in that magazine at various times. The need of some such studies and the principle upon which they were un- dertaken were, for example, thus stated in 1861: " In intellectual encounters the Church and the world must always use the same weapons; they must argue upon the common principles of reason, and assume the same universally accepted truths. In her battle with successive schools of philosophy she has ever fought with their arms."* The principle appears sound and simple enough; but the difficulty lies in the practical application; and especially in the concrete case of historical investiga- tion and criticism. Already in 1857 the Rambler had uttered the word of warning: "A prophet if he wishes his predictions of the future to be credited, should be careful not to show ignorance of the present and the past; for if he talks nonsense about subjects that we know, how shall we believe him when he talks about that which we understand not?"t In 1861 the Rambler came to state the concrete case; the difficulty which was actually beginning to press at the time. "It is slovenly logic," it said, " to argue that because Suarez, * Rambler, new (third) series, V, p. 339, 1861. t Rambler, new series, viii, p. 150. lix Lord ASion and his Circle Petavius or k Lapide were good divines they were also competent authorities in physical science. If stu- dents in theology are forced to suck in the theories which ages of ignorance have foisted on Moses, when they have to work as clergymen they will have to ex- perience in their own persons the wayinwhich Church and Scripture have been exposed to the contempt of intelhgent infidels, who, after hearing divines teach- ing physical falsehoods as Bible truths, have mocked at the same men when they claimed credence for Bibli- cal faith and morals; for most people have at least Biblical knowledge enough to be aware that those who are found unfaithful in what men can see are not to be believed when they speak of heavenly things that men cannot see."* But it was felt that really it was on the subject of history which touched ordinary living men at so many susceptible points that the battle between the two schools among Catholics in England as elsewhere would have to be fought out. It was felt by the conduc- tors of the Rambler all the more keenly inasmuch as they perceived that the divisions then existent in the small body of English Catholics were largely due to misconceptions as to the history of their own past. An article on " The Catholic Press," in the number for February, 1859, explains the case exactly. It is, indeed, proper to give some extracts from it, as it reads in some respects almost like a programme of the Home and Foreign Review a few years later. " Where our knowledge of events," it says, " is not obscured by time, it is often quite as much distorted * Rambler, third series, V, p. 330. Ix Lord A^ton and his Circle by partiality. . . . If [our history] were mo re thoroughly cleared up — the earlier period from the mists of igno- rance, the later from the mists of prejudice — it would then be possible to appeal to the experience of Eng- lish Catholics as a lesson for their present guidance." But we want to know not merely the " the noble and consoling history of the persecutions " but also the less edifying " story of our gradual emancipation." But looking round the writer found that, apart from the great work of Lingard, "if we except certain very elaborate essays in the Atlantis, there is hardly any- thing serious or durable in the productions of the Ca- tholic literature of the day. Entertaining books abound; we have history made edifying, science religious, and religion exceedingly attractive." "But a popular litera- ture cannot stand alone; it must be fed from the overflowings from more serious books. It is incapable of progress or improvement, and, if cultivated to the exclusion of more substantial things, must inevitably degenerate. By itself it . . . promotes a superficial self- ' contented way of looking at all things, of despising difficulties, and overlooking the force of objections. It nourishes the delusion that we have only to communi- cate truths, not to discover them; that our knowledge needs no increase except in the number of those who participate in it. . . The consequence is that we have not a half a dozen books which will bear critical exami- nation, or which we are not ashamed of before Protes- tants and foreigners."* With the words " critical examination " the writer puts his finger on the chief weakness of literary effort ' P- 75- Ixj Lord A£lon and his Circle among English Catholics in the 'fifties ; even the "best" writers were only too easily content with what looked well; and a "critical examination" was only too likely to prove a severe trial for some whose repute stood highest. "The great object of our literary efforts," the writer continued, " ought to be to break down the Protestant tradition";* but he was conscious that in the measure in which this was effectively performed some other cherished traditions or illusions would have to go along with it. "We need a guide, an example and an authority in literature; and this would be the great purpose which a Review could accomplish. The lite- rary inferiority of Catholics is due to the absence of the will, not of the power to excel. . .The contempt and indifference with which knowledge is often regarded soon engender aversion and dread, f "There are many venerable people who still refuse to travel by steam ; and there are many who cannot reconcile themselves to the aUiance of the Church with that secular science which they have accus- tomed themselves to consider her foe. "The necessity of waging this double contest, at once with those who are of little faith and with those who have none at all — with those who for the sake of religion fear science, and with the followers of science who despise religion — is the fruitful cause of so much scandal and vexation in the Church. In reali- ty this pretence of antagonism is on neither side sincere. Solicitude for religion is merely a pretext for opposition to the free course of scientific research, *p. 76. tP-83, Ixij Lord Adon and his Circle which threatens, not the authority of the Church, but the precarious influence of individuals. The growth of knowledge cannot in the long run be detrimental to religion; but it renders impossible the usurpation of authority by teachers who defend their own false opinions under pretence of defending the faith which they dishonour by their artifices.* "Instead of acknowledging that the old conflict of doctrine must be decided by the sword of science, and that the urgency of the case requires them to mend their slovenly ways, they content themselves with denouncing those who, by refusing to share in their dishonest practices, make it the more conspicuous and the more unavailing. They impute to others the evils they themselves have caused, and do not see that the progress of error and unbelief is their own work. Partly afraid of the truth, and partly ashamed of it, they want to shelter their own ignorance by preser- ving that of others. But rehgion is not served by deny- ing facts, or by denouncing those who proclaim them. A fire is not put out by a policeman's whistle, nor a thief taken by the cry of 'Stop thief!' Truth is not the exclusive possession of the ignorant; the sun does not shine only for the blind. Authority can only condemn error; its vitality is not destroyed until it is refuted.f "The one thing needful at the present day, when science has made such progress, and has so much perfected its methods as to be far more powerful, whether for friendship or enmity, than ever before in the history of the Church, is to accept it as her neces- sary and trusty ally. . . Nothing else can save religion •p. 84. tp. 8s, "^ Ixiij Lord AAon and his Circle from the twin dangers of unbelief and superstition. Nihil Veritas erubescit nisi solummodo abscondi — 'Truth is only ashamed of concealment.'"* Writing to the American Catholic philosopher Brownson, after the issue of the first number of the Home and Foreign, Mr Simpson throws some not uninteresting sidelights upon the designs of the con- ductors of this new venture. He says: "We have no easier task here in England than you have in America. Our old families, the Catholic aris- tocracy, where they cultivate literature, have been so long accustomed to go to the general English litera- ture that they never think of looking for distinctively Catholic books or periodicals except as furniture for their oratories or chapels, and only extend a patron- age half contemptuous, half eleemosynary to the efforts of those who would get up a Catholic literature. We are consequently left to the patronage of the lower orders, who are satisfied with a periodical literature of which almost any other religious body would have reason to be ashamed. Our novels are controversial or sentimental, sermons decanted into trashy stories; our social science consists in the depreciation of the intellectual and moral condition of our religious anta- gonists, and our policy of denunciation of parties is not in proportion to their anti-Catholic principles but to their supposed hostility to measures or combinations which are thought to be conducive to the present interests of the Church. To this democracy we have made ourselves sufficiently obnoxious in our existence as the Rambler, without altogether conquering the • p. 86. Ixiv Lord Adion and his Circle profound indifference of the educated persons who would agree with us if they would read us. These two facts have led us more and more to diminish the reli- gious speciality of the Rambler and to bring it into even closer approximation to our old reviews the Quarterly and the Edinburgh. It professes to compete with them on their own ground, and even in some points to surpass them. You will see that the articles on foreign politics ('Nationality' and the ' Gotha Party ') are written by experts. It is chiefly for this foreign department that we wish to secure your in- valuable assistance. No man can give so philosophical a view of American politics and history, expressed in so brilliant a style, as you." The first number of the Review appeared in July, 1 862, and it ceased in April, 1864; eight quarterly parts in all were published. Each number was divided into three parts : the articles, the notices of books under the title of "Contemporary Literature," and "Current Events." In regards to the articles in the Home and Foreign one of the most striking features is that they were mostly contributed by Catholic laymen. The list of those who were associated in the work of the new Review includes the names of Sir P. le Page Renouf, Lord Emly, Judge John O'Hagan, Professor Paley, Sullivan (of the Catholic University, Dublin), Thomas Arnold, Chester Waters, S. N. Stokes, T. F. Wethe- rell, J. M. Capes, Florence McCarthy, Stevenson, Riley and Edmund Dease, besides, of course, Lord Acton and Simpson. Conjointly these two last pro- duced what in many ways was perhaps the most remarkable article in the whole eight numbers. This ixv Lord A(fton and his Circle was the paper entitled "Ultramontanism"; it was then a subject little understood historically, and the article may very well be read with profit still. But it was the second half of each number — the " Notices of Books " — which gives the Home and Foreign Review a special place in the history of Eng- lish periodical literature. It is true that the Saturday Review gave its monthly survey of "French" and " German Literature," but these were articles of the type of the more modern professional "reviewer," able of course (as Mark Pattison says in another con- nexion) to write a quantum on any subject with the least possible amount of knowledge of the subject that can colourably suffice. The notices in the Home and Foreign were the intermediate stage between the "reviews" now common and the "reviews" of the older style written in what may be called "the grand manner"; that is to say, the review style of the Quar- terly reviewer when a review of a book meant an article, often written by a man who knew as much — sometimes more — of the subject than the writer of the book itself The notices of books in the Home and Foreign differ from notices of this kind, since they are and pro- fess to be reviews only in the modern sense; but they are differentiated from the modern "review " inasmuch as they were written by men perfectly competent to appreciate the book "noticed." It was judged by the writer of the notice from personal and independent acquired knowledge of the subject matter for its own sake; by men abreast, not only with the latest literature of the subject, but — what was a mark of singularity in England in those days — with the latest Ixvj Lord Adon and his Circle "improvements" in the methods of criticism. The let- ters published in this volume are sufficient evidence of the care taken to secure the best possible results in this department of the Review. To many, even at the present day, it would probably be a revelation to turn over the pages of the " Contemporary Literature " section in this now almost forgotten i^ew'^zy. Here, for instance, is a quotation from the preface of one book noticed. " I have often thought of writing a history of one of our early rulers," says the author, G. Waitz, " based entirely on the words and testimonies of our ancient, i.e., medieval historians, with references, etc., all quite in the learned way in which not a single statement should be true"; and he then goes on to explain the rationale of his own procedure, the mo- dern critical method in treatment of texts and histori- cal work which would stand to-day as then as a state- ment of the best work done in the domain of history. Nowhere else in England at this time was to be found such evidence of true and sound literary scholarship as in the pages of the Review; and the interest of the movement lies in the fact that the men who saw all these things, who were alive to them, who looked fairly and squarely at problems which seemed to menace the very foundations of religion, who perceived ahead the difficulties that threatened the faith, yet tried not to obscure them, pooh-pooh them, dismiss them with soft-sounding words, or turn from them in fright, were Roman Catholics. What makes the Home and Foreign Review phenomenal is that at that time, now more than forty years ago, it was more solid in the knowledge of German methods and ideas Ixvij Lord Adion and his Circle on all matters than even the Westminster Review, and that it was more up to the very latest date in all this than any other periodical then published in England. How this was so may be in part understood by the present Acton letters. From the first Newman, anxious for the success of the Review, had his fears that the Rambler spirit would be found to taint the new undertaking, and that in spite of every good resolution to avoid the discussion of dangerous theological subjects in its pages, some- how or other this fertile source of difficulty and mis- understanding would continue to crop up. When consulted as to the proposed conversion of the Ram- bler into the quarterly Home and Foreign Review he had declined to advise. But he was favourable to the proposed change ; and upon the appearance of the first number of the Home and Foreign he wrote to Mr Wetherell, one of the editors, expressing his amazement at "the resources, vigour and industry" which were conspicuous in the new Review. He wished it every success from his heart, and " among these successes, for which I wish and pray, and for which I have before now said Mass, of course the fore- most is, that, by its soundness and prudence in treat- ing matters quasi-religious and cognate to religion, it may obtain the approbation and confidence of our bishops." The second number of the Review was published in October, and almost immediately Newman wrote the following letter to Mr Wetherell : Ixviij Lord Ad:on and his Circle " October 6, 1862. " The Home and Foreign has been sent me here [Deal], and I have read the article on the Cardinal's reply with great interest. I shall be very anxious to hear what is thought of it, and perhaps you will have the kindness to bear to hear what / think of it. I say this, knowing how easy it is to criticize anything, and feeling you have an abundance of kind friends to favour you with their remarks and advice. "Every one, I think, must be struck with the excel- lence of its tone. It is both generous and candid: gene- rous towards the Cardinal, and candid, manly, modest and moderate as regards the Rambler. It is clear, more- over, in the exposition of its own principles, and in explaining the Ramblers position in the Catholic com- munity. And it is well-written. "These are great excellences. As far as it goes, it must do good, and perhaps it could not go further than it does. It may be that to have attempted more would have been to effect less ; or at least to lose one way what was gained in another. " I am disposed to except from these remarks the wording of the paragraph, pp. 514, 515, beginning ' Learning, etc' I fear it will be read thus: 'Among the writers of this eminent but short-sighted school, of course, we reckon our illustrious Cardinal. Without derogating from the great merits which we have as- cribed to him, we take this opportunity of insinuating that, in his controversial writings, he has never been more than a ' brilliant rhetorician.' His knowledge is that of a 'dilettante.' He has attempted too 'wide' a range, and in consequence is always ' superficial' Ixix Lord A6ton and his Circle No ' single writer,' be he who he may, could possi- bly write on 'Scripture, history and physical science,' as he has done in his Roman lectures, with more than a ' shallow versatility,' etc., etc. I heartily trust no one else will so interpret this paragraph; but I do not think it unlikely. If so, you must be prepared with your answer. "If I go on to mention what seem to me the defi- ciencies of the article, it is because it may be useful to you to know the impression it made on a 'Lector revera Benevolus.' "I wish it had more definiteness and more warmth; definiteness to satisfy and warmth to win. "i. What I specially mean by 'definiteness' is a direct answering to the charges brought against the conductors of the Rambler. The Cardinal, e.g., says that 'the journal has shown an absence of all reserve and reverence in its treatment of persons and things deemed sacred.' Are 'sacred persons,' e.g., saints, one of what the article calls 'principles' of religion, or 'interests'? Again: 'It has grazed even the very edges of the most perilous abysses of error.' What answer to this is it to say that the conductors of the Rambler have ever felt it their duty to keep to truth of principle in matters of science and to right in the principles of government? And so on. "People are likely to say that the article has not met the formal imputations of the Cardinal. "2. What I mean by want of 'warmth' is this: that theologians and ascetic writers tell us that the per- fection of a Christian lies in never pleading his own Ixx Lord A6lon and his Circle excuse, except when accused of error of faith, for such error is dishonourable to God. "Now the Cardinal has accused the Rambler of treachery to the cause of truth. I think it the duty of one who has occasion to notice this charge made against him to be indignant. To write this, with due respect to the accuser, of course requires skill, but it admits of being ddne, and has not been done. "I fear this will leave an (unjust) impression on ill- natured readers that the writer of the article did not care much about the Cardinal's charges, and is not too much in earnest. "These two defects will prevent the article, good as it is, from destroying suspicion. Perhaps you will say that suspicion cannot be destroyed." A few days later Newman wrote to Thomas Arnold about another article in the same number. "Oct. II, 1862. " Of course you have at least cast your eyes over the new number of the Home and Foreign. I am so put out with one article in it that I cannot talk of the others. "As to the article, the 'Apology,' I wrote a letter to Wetherell on it, but I did not send it,* thinking he had plague enough. But this fresh article seems to me so objectionable as to make both apology itself and criti- cism upon it nugatory. Why will they go to theology? " It is the article on DoUinger's work ; and a theologi- cal discussion is lugged in, without any occasion, on the first chapter of Genesis. * No doubt the one here printed, which was sent after all. Ixxj Lord ASion and his Circle "Alas ! why will not reviewers let that chapter alone? It is not contemporary literature: the Review is not a retrospective one. A grave ex-professo comment in- deed, a learned, argumentative discussion upon it, this will always be worth reading; but this can hardly find place in a review. There is too much foundation work necessary, too much detail work, too much laying of bricks, of measurements, of levellings, of hewing, of joining, of plastering, in such a task to allow of its finding a place in popular literature. But let it be pos- sible : still, the article in question does not attempt such a process. If I must describe it, I would call it a specu- lation edged with an insinuation, or an insinuation hoisted on a speculation. "We are bound to interpret all Scripture by the unanimous consent of the Fathers; again, we have certain traditionary or popular ideas, true or mistaken, about the right interpretation of this chapter in particu- lar. Is a reviewer justified in coming out with an in- terpretation, certainly not the popular one, nor pro- fessing to be patristical, nor claiming to be that of the author reviewed, nor appealing to any author or authors whatever, nor based on any careful body of proof, and making for itself a probable case, but consisting of a multitude of categorical assertions, hazy in their drift, and of a conclusion, not asserted, but insinuated? For myself, I am not scandalized at such 'views,' as I should call them, but incredulus odi. You will think my remarks, enclosed, [to Wetherell] fierce, but I have a lifelong disgust at speculations, as opposed to carefully argued theories or doctrines ; but in the case of readers in general, I think the mildest criticism will Ixxij Lord Adon and his Circle be, 'What is it all about?' with an uncomfortable sus- picion as to its intended meaning. " Of course this is but my opinion ; it will be a great relief to me to find myself mistaken." Later on again, on Mr Wetherell writing to explain matters as they seemed to him, Newman replied: "Nov. 8, 1862. " You must bear with me, if I express my feeling that, in your letter of yesterday, you take the article on the translation of Dollinger too easily. I don't care at all whether it has or has not attracted general atten- tion, because I think it is in itself bad. Had I read it first, I never should have been so delicate about the wording, and the sending to you, of my remarks on your article on the Cardinal. It seems to me to renew the worst faults of the Rambler; and, as far as one article goes, justifies enemies in saying that the Home and Foreign is, what its original prospectus seemed to promise, nothing else than the Rambler under a new name. "The article in question (i) is a theological article; (2) is one of those off-hand ipse dixit theorizings on a theological subject, which are now so common in Protestant reviews; (3) it simply goes out of its way to commit this grave offence ; (4) it insinuates its conclu- sions when it ought either to keep silence or to speak out. "I agree with you that an editor is not bound to any deep acquaintance with the subject of a particular article ; but surely he is severely bound that its spirit, tone and effect should be good. For myself I can only Ixxiij F Lord Adon and his Circle say, that if this article is to be a sample of the Home and Foreign, I hope the Review and I may henceforth be 'better strangers.' "Since I made my remarks on it, which Sir John Acton received from Arnold, our Bishop's letter has appeared. I have written to Sir John upon the sub- ject of it. " It is a very different letter from the Cardinal's ; but, little as I liked his attack upon the Home and Foreign, you will find, on looking at my last letter a second time, that I by no means gave an unqualified appro- bation to your reply to it." In April, 1864, the directors of the Home and For- eign Review put an end to its existence. Strange mis- conceptions have existed as to the termination of what all must consider as at least one of the most brilliant literary Reviews of the last century. Most people appa- rently are under the impression that it was condemned by the authorities at Rome at the instance of the Eng- lish ecclesiastics, and ceased in virtue of obedience to that pronouncement.* The facts are put forth clearly and calmly by Lord Acton at the close of an article in the last number, entitled "Conflicts with Rome." In this paper he stated the history of the fall of Lamen- nais and the then recent condemnation of Frohscham- mer, and then went on to discuss a Brief of Pope Pius IX issued on December 21, 1863, relative to the Munich Congress of that year. "Besides the censure of the doctrines of Frohschammer and the * Mr Herbert Paul in his History of Modern England, ll, 384, note, says: "Pius IX caused the Home and Foreign Review to be suppressed." Ixxiv Lord Adon and his Circle approbation given to the acts of the Munich Congress, the Brief," he says, " contains passages of deeper and more general import, not directly touching the action of the German divines, but having an important bear- ing on the position of this Review!' Then after pointing out that any disposition to find fault with scholastic theology was blamed by the Brief, Lord Acton continues : " Catholic writers are not bound only by those decisions of the infallible Church which regard articles of faith ; they must also submit to the theological decisions of the Roman Congregations and the opinions that are commonly received in the schools. And it is wrong, though not heretical, to reject these decisions or opinions."* "No Catholic can contemplate without alarm the evil that would be caused by a Catholic journal per- sistently labouring to thwart the published will of the Holy See. The conductors of the Review refuse to take upon themselves the responsibility of such a position. And if it were accepted, the Review would represent no section of Catholics." They consequently deter- mined to print the text of the Papal Brief upon which they felt compelled to act, and to discontinue the Review with the number then published. Mr Wetherell, writing to the Pilot, July 19, 1902, thus states the facts in regard to the cessation of the Review: "In December, 1863, Pius IX addressed a Brief to the Archbishop of Munich on the subject of the Munich Congress of the previous September. No part of the Brief appHed distinctly to the Home and Foreign Review; and the letter of it could be interpreted in a "p. 683. Ixxv Lord Adlon and his Circle sense consistent with the habitual language of the Re- view. Formally, therefore, we were not under any obligation to take note of it at all. But we considered it more respectful to the Holy See, more serviceable to the principles of the Review, and more accordant with the spirit in which it had been conducted to re- cognize openly the existence of the Brief and to inter- pret the words of the Pope as they were really meant. The Brief expressed with unusual emphasis the adverse opinion of Rome on certain principles for the support of which the Review existed. As we were not prepared to surrender these principles, it was evident that the continuance of the Review would result, sooner or later, in a direct conflict with Rome. Such a conflict, however it might end, must necessarily weaken the position of authority and wound the peace of the Church; and we had to consider whether our prin- ciples could derive from it any advantage sufficient to counterbalance those grave evils. Our conclusion and the grounds of it were stated by Lord Acton in an article on ' Conflicts with Rome ' in the final num- ber of the Review, April, 1864. He wrote the main body of the article on behalf of himself and his col- leagues, and the three last paragraphs of it in his own particular character of proprietor of the Review!' Before leaving this subject it is due to the memory of Sir P. le Page Renouf to say a word as to the pecu- liar relations he had in the conduct of the Review. From its beginning he was one of its regular and most im- portant contributors, and had always been consulted on matters connected with oriental and early Christian literature. He contributed articles on "The Earliest Ixxvj Lord Acfton and his Circle Epochs of Authentic Chronology," "Orientalism and Early Christianity," and on "Dr Smith's Dictionary of the Bible," as well as many important reviews of books. In 1863 he became additional editor of the Home and Foreign with Mr Wetherell, but shortly afterwards he was appointed to be an Inspector of Schools, and the work of this Government office dis- abled him for editorial work, though he remained a constant contributor until \he. Review ceased in 1864. Finally, in regard to the Home and Foreign Review it may be of interest to recall the verdict passed upon it by that master critic, Mathew Arnold, in his essay on "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time." Of this Review he says : " Perhaps in no organ of criti- cism in this country was there so much knowledge, so much play of mind." Three years later, in 1867, Mr Wetherell proposed another venture, in which Acton, Simpson, Renouf and almost all the contributors of the Home and Foreign Review, as well as many other writers, took part. This time it took the form of a high-class weekly jour- nal, which after considerable discussion it was agreed to call the Chronicle, for which the] present Right Hon. Sir Roland Blennerhasset found the necessary capital. Before its appearance in the spring of 1867, the fact transpired, and the Pall Mall Gazette an- nounced the forthcoming paper as a "Roman Catholic organ." This was not in any sense true, as it had been specially determined that it should be the organ of no religious party, and many of the writers had joined on that condition. The editor was Mr Wetherell, but the sub-editor, Mr Lathbury, was a member of the Ixxvij Lord A6ton and his Circle Established Church, and among the writers many were non-CathoHcs. The circumstances which had caused the cessation of the Home and Foreign were obviously equally valid against the establishment of another scientific periodical claiming to represent Catholicism. The intention of the promoters and those who were acting with him was that the Chronicle should be a secular, not a religious, paper. A memorandum written at the time by Mr Wetherell as editor states its posi- tion clearly: "Of course, it will have a religion, but as the Saturday Review has ; and its religion will be Catho- lic. The fact that it is Catholic may still strike outsiders as one of its features; but it does not so present itself to us. We are not founding a representative Catholic or- gan; we are not trying to propagate Catholicism, though we may have our own conviction as to the ultimate consequences of following a scientific method. We are merely pursuing, in company with a large number of Protestants, independent investigations in politics, literature, natural science, art, etc. We assume the whole Catholic dogma to be true, just as the Satur- day Review assumes some of it to be true and some untrue. But we are not going to discuss it any more than the Saturday Review does. And we think we have as good a right to carry on a secular paper from our point of view as Protestants have from theirs. " The distinctive points of the paper, as we conceive them, are these: (i) That it will have singularly good information on foreign affairs, being in immediate re- lations with those who are behind the scenes in politics in the most important countries of Europe. (2) That its politics will be frankly and continuously liberal; that Ixxviij Lord A6ton and his Circle it will give as hearty a support as is compatible with complete independence of judgment and action to the Liberal party in Parliament ; and that within the Libe- ral party itself it will go for the Gladstone rather than the Lowe, or Bright, or Palmerston ideas. (3) That it will have singularly good information about the state of feeling amongst the different sections of Irishmen, of which scarcely anything is really known in this country, and that it will devote great attention to Irish questions. (4) That it will be cosmopolitan in its review of the literature of the day. (5) That it will be written by men who only write on the subjects which they have specially studied; not by clever fellows who are indifferent what subject they take up, and know nothing thoroughly. (6) That it will be perfectly impar- tial in all its criticisms, caring more at all times for the accuracy of its facts and the soundness of its reasoning than for any 'cause' whatever." It is only necessary to add that this ambitious pro- gramme was faithfully carried out during the brief existence of the paper. It lasted unfortunately only ten months, but in that period it produced much that de- serves even now to be read for the critical principles enunciated and as a model of the scientific methods which ought to be followed in all investigations. The letters published in this volume for 1867 were written by Lord Acton to the editor, Mr Wetherell, and will afford abundant evidence of the care taken to obtain the best information possible on foreign affairs. The letters written by Lord Acton from Rome are of ex- ceptional interest, and although much of what is con- tained in them was used at the time in the columns Ixxix Lord Adon and his Circle of the Chronicle, a great deal has never seen the Hght, and even what found its way into print is now buried in a newspaper, the existence of which is now well- nigh forgotten. The life of the brilliant Chronicle was brief, and on receiving the news of its impending cessation Mr Gladstone wrote to Mr Wetherell on February 5, 1868: " I am truly concerned to receive the intelligence you send me, but I am not so much surprised as sorry. I have been indeed astonished at the amount whether of talent, of learning, or of tact exhibited in the Chro- nicle, and I am not surprised that those who have to build and lack materials of their own should supply themselves from your stores, as the Roman nobles did from the walls of the Coliseum. But a strain such as the Chronicle was in its political and still more in its non-political articles could hardly, I have often feared, be reached by the mass of readers. Had you allowed yourself the licence of gossip, of scandal and even of calumny which some journals employ, your merits might have been endured for the sake of your vices. But this you did not do. Your religious ground, too, while objectively broad was subjectively narrow. I mean that few in these days would thoroughly appreciate it." In 1869 the conduct of the North British Review was placed in the hands of Mr Wetherell. This quarter- ly had been established twenty-five years previously, during the Scottish Kirk disputes, and was the secular organ of the Free Kirk party. During the 'fifties it had been a vigorous rival of the Edinburgh or Quarterly, Ixxx Lord Adon and his Circle but had declined in the following decade. In the sum- mer of 1869, at the suggestion of Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff, its owners and proprietors approached Mr Wetherell, who undertook, as far as possible, to gather round him once more the band of writers who had been associated with him in the Home and Foreign and the Chronicle. He had no difficulty in securing their adhesion to the new scheme. Acton and Simp- son threw themselves into it with all their literary energy, and Acton scoured Europe to obtain the ser- vices of the most capable men in every country to write on the special subjects they had made their own. With the July number, which was the last under the old editorship, a prospectus was issued, written by Mr Wetherell, and designed apparently to prepare subscribers for the revolutionary completeness of the impending change and at the same time to allay the misgivings of the Kirk. In the first number which ap- peared under Mr Wetherell's editorship, in October, 1869, Acton contributed two articles, one on "The Massacre of St Bartholomew" and the other on "The Pope and the Council." Duringthebrief career of this quarterly review, which finished with the January number of 1871, when Mr Wetherell's breakdown in health brought the enterprise to a close, Acton wrote two more lengthy articles, and contributed to the section entitled "Contemporary Literature," which was identical in character with the corresponding section in the Home and Foreign and the Chronicle, over a hundred carefully considered reviews of books in English, German, French and Italian. Owing to ill-health and the pressure of starting the Ixxxj Lord Ad:oii and his Circle Review, Mr Wetherell has been unable to keep New- man well informed about the negotiations. On the appearance of the first number he sent Newman a copy and received the following few words in return : "November T, 1869. "Thank you for the copy of your Review. It is ex- ceedingly able and careful, and the articles on 'Glad- stone,' 'Saint Bartholomew' and 'Logic' are espe- cially good. It has, to me, only one fault, but a serious one. " I don't want a review to be religious, or even to profess Catholicity; but did not I know the quarter whence it came, I should think it written by liberal Scotchmen, religious in a way, who looked at the Church as a fiction of past time." A year later, when he had come to know more of the Review and its circumstances, as a postscript to a letter on another matter Newman says: "The North British is wonderful in point of matter and conscien- tious hard work. I wish, for its influence, it had some leaven of lighter stuff." It has been almost necessary to write at some length aboutthe fourliteraryundertakings in which Acton was concerned in order to appreciate the letters contained in this volume, the great part of which have to do with these enterprises. We may now briefly consider the letters themselves and note one or two points which seem to stand out prominently in them. Most of the letters here printed relate to the con- duct of the Rambler, of which, as already pointed out, Acton became part proprietor and joint-editor in 1858. Ixxxij Lord Adon and his Circle It is impossible to turn over these communications with Simpson without being impressed, not only with the extent of Acton's reading at the age of four-and- twenty, when most people are but beginning their studies, but even more by the care taken in his edito- rial capacity to obtain the best possible information on literary and political subjects, and to make the Rambler all that in his opinion such a magazine should be. It was not his design to make it the organ of any party, nor merely to "reproduce the ideas" of others; but his desire was to find in all countries of Europe " men who think for themselves and are not slaves to tradition and authority " (p. i) to write with knowledge on the subjects which they have made their own. During the whole of his connection both with the Rambler and with the other literary ventures that fol- lowed it, Acton showed himself to be in touch with all the foremost writers and workers both in England and in the various countries of Europe. When the notion of establishing the Chronicle was being mooted by Mr Wetherell, Acton threw himself into the work of preparation. He wrote, whilst on a journey to Rome and consequently out of the abundance of his know- ledge, long lists of the chief continental writers who might be invited to co-operate. These are compiled with a wealth of biographical and bibliographical de- tail which shows in what these writers were to be con- sidered as first-hand authorities, and why they should be induced to help in the new venture. The lists them- selves prove Acton's intimate acquaintance with all that was best in the way of learning and talent in Europe. Unfortunately, for reasons of space, it has Ixxxiij Lord Adon and his Circle been found impossible, at the last moment, to include in this volume these lists, which had been placed at my disposal by Mr Wetherell. One of the objects Acton had in view in throwing himself so thoroughly into the work of the Rambler was to further what he called "the political education" of Catholics. In his first letter to Simpson he sketched out a series of articles by which this might be accom- plished (pp. 4, 5); but, unfortunately, the entire scheme ot the articles was never carried out. In order to re- view important works more thoroughly Acton devised a plan of "associated criticism," in which the work was to be considered by three or four readers, who then compared their impressions and conclusions be- fore the final criticism was written by one of them. This plan was first tried by the writers in the Rambler in the case of Buckle's History of Civilization, the first volume of which was published in March, 1858. Acton's somewhat severe opinion of this work may be seen in Letters IV and V, and the results of the "associa- tion" in reviewing in two articles in the Rambler, the first by Simpson in July, 1858, and the second by Acton in the August number. To many people some of the most interesting of the letters here printed will be those that deal, in one way or another, with the question of education. Letter XXVI, for example, contains much that is of interest even after this lapse of time. In it Acton expounds what " science " and scientific methods of study add to the value even of theology. He had drawn out something of this view in an article in the Rambler of January, 1859, as he considered it almost an "un- Ixxxiv Lord Adon and his Circle known idea amongst us in England." He ends this letter by a declaration (p. 57): "I think our studies ought to be all but purposeless. They want to be pur- sued with chastity like mathematics. This, at least, is my profession of faith." One feature in these letters, which will probably seem strange to those who have been accustomed to see illustrated in Acton a spirit of aggression against ecclesiastical authority, is the manifestation of his de- sire to avoid quarrels and to soften any expressions likely to give offence. He even wished to abstain alto- gether from the publication of letters and articles likely to be misunderstood by the ecclesiastical autho- rities, and he agreed with Newman as to the necessity of avoiding theological subjects. Writing to Simpson in August, 1859 (Letter XLH), he speaks of a "pro- posed letter on the composition of the Catholic body," and urges that it should be "gently done," and in several places in these letters this same spirit is clearly manifested. Throughout this series of letters Acton ever shows himself the true scholar in his readiness to help others in their studies to the full extent of his powers. For this he would take any necessary trouble, and con- stant offers are made by him to lend the books that were needed for the study of some particular sub- ject; and for this end packets of volumes are fre- quently spoken of as having been dispatched from Aldenham- Moreover, in reply to questions addressed to him, he was always prepared to take up his pen, to criticize, to give reasons, to suggest additions, and to amend, sometimes to a great extent, and in a way Ixxxv Lord Ad;on and his Circle that, allowing for his great knowledge of sources, must have cost him much time and labour. In two of the letters here printed — Letters XLV and LVII — he suggests to Simpson the need of having lighter articles, and, asking him to write them, proposes not merely the titles — "A Plea for Bores" and "The Philosopher's Stone" — but sketches an idea of the treatment and furnishes some considerable number of illustrations. These ideas were worked up by Simp- son into the form in which they appear in the pages of the magazine. Besides the literary side of the Rambler, Home and Foreign, etc., in which Acton was perhaps chiefly in- terested, he took no less care that the best information might be obtained for the political department. Whilst abroad, he devoted much of his time to studying the trend of European politics, and the letters he sent back to England are full of first-hand information. Although much of this was utilized at the time in the magazines and reviews, it is interesting to read once more the impressions made upon so acute an observer of the events which were happening in Aus- tria, Germany and Italy fifty years ago, and to see how he obtained his information. In this regard, his views about "Austria and Prussia" and the then pos- sible "confederation of German States" (pp. 93-103) may be read with advantage by all who desire to understand the history of those countries. The two letters represent the opinions current at the time. The "Roman Question," raised in i860, is treated of in several of the letters, not only because of the urgency of the case at the time, but in regard to the works of Ixxxvj Lord Adion and his Circle Bollinger and Dr Manning, which both appeared at this period, and which were reviewed in the pages of the Rambler. Acton's "proposed solution of the Ro- man question" (pp. 154-5) took for granted that it was practically certain that the Pope would have to leave Rome for good, and that, being obliged to seek a refuge in some other country, he might probably iind a fitting position in Bavaria (p. 153). In this, as in many of the forecasts of the possible issue of events made at the time, Acton was, of course, wrong; but this does not diminish the interest which the repre- sentation of the events possesses for the student of contemporary history. At the end of this volume, a few letters not be- longing to the periods of Acton's literary undertak- ings are printed, as they possess much intrinsic in- terest. It has generally been supposed that both Simpson and Acton were in some way concerned with Mr Gladstone's attack on the Vatican Decrees in 1874. The writer of Simpson's biographical notice in the Dictionary of National Biography, for example, says: "When Mr Gladstone was writing his treatise on 'Vaticanism,' Simpson was constantly at his side, and the curious learning of that famous pamphlet is thus largely accounted for." The letter from Acton to Simpson, dated November 4, 1874, here printed, proves that Acton at least, and almost certainly Simpson, had no notion that Gladstone had any such pamphlet in preparation. So far from helping in this, Acton declares that he did everything in his power to prevent the publication, but found Gladstone deaf "to all political, spiritual and other obvious arguments against it." Ixxxvij Lord A(9:on and his Circle Amongst these letters will also be found several dealing with Acton's own attitude towards the Vatican Decrees and the Council generally. It would seem from them that whatever position he had taken in regard to the question of Papal Infallibility before the promulgation of the dogma, after the decision he accepted the Council and its decrees as he did those of every other Council. The reply made to Archbishop Manning by Acton, which was drafted for him by Simpson, seems to answer for both of them. It remains only to record my thanks to those who have enabled me to publish these papers. In the first place I am indebted to my old friend, Mr William Simpson, for having placed his uncle's papers at my disposition, and to Lord Acton, for having consented so readily to the publication of his father's letters. Then I am greatly indebted to Mr Wetherell not only for letting me have the Acton letters in his pos- session, and the Newman letters addressed to him, to choose from, but for reading and criticizing my Intro- duction, and giving me information about the literary enterprises with which he was so closely concerned. To Miss F. M. Capes I owe permission to print the letters addressed to her father, which are to be found in this Introduction; and, lastly, I am much indebted to the Superior and Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory for leave to print all the Newman letters which are here published for the first time. Ixxxviij LETTERS OF JOHN E^ALBERG ACTON 1ST BARON 1858 Letter I Lord Acton becomes associated with Mr Richard Simpson in the management of the Rambler — His desire that it should not be the organ of any one party or school of thought — The activity of Catholic theologians in Germany — Need of educating Eng- lish Catholics as to the true notion of a Christian State — Proposed scries of articles by which this may be done — His desire to review works carefiiUy February 16, 1858. I will, please God, admit into the political department [of the Ramb/er] no writings of men who are the devoted followers of any single school, least of all the followers of a writer so dazzling, but so little to be trusted and less to be imitated, as Count de Maistre, for whom indeed I have the deepest respe<5l ; but it is no good reproducing ideas, and I will try to find men who think for themselves and are not slaves to tradition and authority. This leads me to speak of the new shareholder. I presume you will not allow diredt influence to anybody but Meynell* and our- selves, now that Ward f is not a fourth. Unanimity and * The Rev. Charles Meynell, D.D., born in 1 843 ; educated at Sedgley Park, Oscott and Rome; professor of Philosophy at Oscott 1856-7 ; died at Caverswall, Staffordshire, May 3, 1882. t William George Ward, the distinguished Oxford convert ; born March zi, 1812 ; died July 6, 1882. I Letters of Lord Acton compactness will add to the effect and influence of our writings more than anything else, and I think that we three would get on famously together. An increase of numbers would, I fear, introduce a con- siderable risk of disagreement or at least a certain in- definiteness and vagueness of opinion which would be ruinous. As to Ward's refusal, provided he continues to wish us well, I regret it only because I fear it will prevent the increase in the size of the Rambler which you proposed. I strongly doubt whether the scholastic formal theology of Ward and others, pace Dr Todd,* is what is wanted in our time. In the only country where there is great intellectual activity joined to great learning, in Germany, Catholic theology has taken a different line and with wonderful fruit. The adversaries of religion in England are the disciples of its adversaries in Germany, and I conceive that Catholic divines here cannot do better than follow the example of those who have so successfully combated every form of error in the country where the van is of the great fight. I am not disposed to accept the paradox about the necessity of ignorance in England, and I think any man so much inclined to despair and give up the con- test is better out of the Rambler. But he [Ward] is a good fellow, and might still be made to render good service. You see that I speak with the confidence and open- ness of an old friend. The confidence you have placed in me makes it incumbent upon me to tell you my * Rev. William Gowan Todd was born in 1829, took his degree of doctor in theology in Rome, and was the author of several books. In the later years of his life he founded and managed St Mary's Orphanage, Black- heath, where he died on July 24, 1877. He joins the "Rambler" thoughts about the Rambler, and the manner in which I purpose to carry out what you have entrusted to me. I have thought and read a good deal upon political subjects, and have read a great lot of the famous writers, to try to find out a clear view which I could rely on in public life. I will endeavour to turn these studies to account and to pursue them farther in the service of our common undertaking, (i) Now the first point about it is that I am very far from agreeing with any of the more famous Catholic writers, or with any of the political parties in England. But I think that there is a philosophy of politics to be derived from Catholicism on the one hand and from the prin- ciples of our constitution on the other — a system as remote from the absolutism of one set of Catholics as from the doctrinaire constitutionalism of another [the Correspondant* etc.l I conceive it possible to appeal at once to the example and interest of the Church and to the true notion of the English constitution. I am not on this account an admirer either of all Catholic governments or of all constitutional governments, but I think that the true notion of a Christian State, and the true latent notion of the constitution coincide and complete each other. In this way it is possible to obtain a singular repose and confidence in judging * The Correspondant was founded in France in 1829, as a bi-weekly- journal. The words of Canning, " Civil and religious liberty for the whole world," were adopted as the motto. After many vicissitudes as a journal, it was enlarged and adopted as Montalembert's organ in 1853. His influence gathered round him some of the most celebrated writers of the time, includ- ing such men as Mgr Dupanloup, MM. Foisset, Albert de Broglie, de Falloux, etc. Montalembert's programme was to advocate the union of Catholicism with liberty rightly understood. Letters of Lord Acton political events and men both at home and abroad. And in this way the Catholic elements of the consti- tution may be restored to their proper importance, and the Catholic body may legitimately recover their proper influence in the State. I have no time here, but this is the brief sketch of a theory I should like to carry out, establish and apply in a series of articles. I think that we are no longer bound to conduct our- selves with a view to momentary expediency, and that we need no longer humiliate ourselves and eat dirt to obtain the support of the Liberal or Radical party. We have got about as much as we shall get from them, and it would be well to see whether this alliance is a safe one. Those Catholics who prefer independence generally stick up for one or two things, and go into factious opposition when they do not obtain .them. I would have a complete body of principles for the con- duct of English Catholics in political affairs, and if I live and do well, I will gradually unfold them. The Catholics want political education. I would try to get up a few such essays as the following : Edmund Burke as a teacher for Catholics. In the writings of his last years (1792- 1797) whatever was Protestant or partial or revolutionary of 1688 in his political views dis- appeared, and what remained was a purely Catholic view of political principles and of history. I have much to say about this that nobody has ever said. The best being all in some fragments of speeches and letters ; but in a general way you will find what I mean, so far as profane politics are concerned, in the appeal from the new to the old Whigs. (2 ) Whom do we thank for emancipation ? Neither the Irish Catholics nor the 4 Policy of the "Rambler" Whigs. I have much to say about this, to set us right with respect to an important moment of our history. (3) Contrast of foreign constitutions with our own, showing that there is properly no connexion and no reason why we should like or admire them (as English- men). I have picked up much on my travels that throws light on this important matter. (4) Liberalism and liberality — how the two don't go together. (5) Political influence of the Church with a good deal of historical illustration, and a result which will satisfy no party, and will astonish our old-fashioned friends. Catholics as well as Protestants. (6) Protestantism as a political principle. These two articles ought to be in successive numbers. A famous German statesman has written an eloquent pamphlet on the Protestant side of this question, which has not been demolished. (7) Career of O'Connell — not till I feel a little more confidence in myself. (8) Catholic Patriotism. (9) Civili- zation : what ? (10) A series of notices of the great Catholic political writers of the continent ; judge- ment of them and a few striking extracts (Maistre, Schlegel, Haller, Miiller, Bonald, Gorres, Montalem- bert). I might, if it was wished, extend these notices to the greater Protestant writers since the Revolution. (11) Then I have a great deal to say about Austria ; her character as a State and her position towards the Church. (12) If I have time I should like to give a view of parties and shades of opinions from reviews and other organs, both in England and abroad. I have so many friends in almost all countries that I will try to put myself into correspondence with some who will give me good materials for articles on foreign politics, 5 Letters of Lord Acton a subject I ought to treat carefully and elaborately from having been so much abroad. I should like to prepare several of these subjects for the first number after midsummer, in order that my doctrines may at once be clear both to the public and to the other contributors. I hope I can safely promise you that I will never write of unworthy conciliation or of virulent controversy. I should like, especially at first, until my line and tendency is better known, to avoid disputes. My ideas, however, are so little popular just now that disputes will arise soon enough, and it will be important to conduct them with forbearance and dignity. The list I have given is to be considered of course only a vague indication of the character of my designs and wishes. I told you that my studies have been chiefly in history, and this is of great use to me in political matters, but I have materials ready on so many points of foreign, partly mediaeval history, that if I can make them interesting I would sometimes send you a con- tribution to your own department. This will depend on whether you think such things can be made inte- resting to the Rambler public. I will also do my part of the short notices and reviews, particularly of German literature, and as there are not many up to it, I would here go beyond my proper limits, if you like. All this depends on your experience of what is conducive to the advantage of the review. I hope you will send me a word at once to say whether in a general way such a line as I have hinted at would do. I shall go and sit again for a few weeks at the feet of DoUinger, and will write nothing that 6 Policy of the "Rambler" I am not sure he would approve, or that I should not be able to stand by if I come into public life. I greatly doubt whether you would do well to publish our names. This can soon be given to understand, and there would be no secret about it. You might have all the advantages you wish in this way, and I suspect it would be better, but I do not say this because I dislike my own name appearing, with which, on the contrary, you may do what you like. Do you think it very necessary to give the review a strong theological character, beyond Meynell's phi- losophy and our common custom of taking the religious view of questions? If so, would it not be well to get a neat historical essay from Dalgairns,* and perhaps a review of biblical learning from Father St Johnf at Birmingham? I hope Capes will sometimes write for my questions, and that he will not care if I am not so strong against Napoleon as he is. A subject I forgot to mention above is this: I find a singular resemblance on many points between Russia and the United States, and could make something of an article showing the analogy between them and their equal incompatibility with good government and the true principles both cf liberty and authority. * Rev. John Dobree Dalgairns, M.A., born October zi, 1818; received into the Church at the same time as Newman in 1845; became an Oratorian and was for some years at Edgbaston. He succeeded Fr Faber as Superior of the Brompton Oratory, and died April 7, 1876; author of The Holy Com- munion, its "Philosophy, Theology and Practice (1861), The Demotion to the Sacred Heart (1853), and other important works and prefaces to the works of others. t Rev. Ambrose St John, born June 29, 1 8 1 5 ; educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford; received into the Church in 1845; became an Oratorian, and was for ten years headmaster of the school at Edgbaston; died May 24, 1875. 7 Letters of Lord Acton I have allowed my letter to grow beyond all reason- able compass without having said half the things there were to say. At least I hope you will understand the temper in which I am anxious to conduct the political department of the RamMer. I am glad that I have plenty of time before me to get up the subjects I don't under- stand at all and to go deeper into those I have studied. Letter II Lord Acton expresses his disbelief in councils of management for the Rambler — Does not find himself in harmony of thought with "converts" — Manning and Hope are the only ones he is likely to agree with — Need of saying new and startling things if Eng- lish Catholics are to be politically educated — Foreign politics should be done well — This department neglected by English journals Aldenham Park, Sunday [February 28, 1858]. As to the proposed council or councils, it seems to me that it is a harmless but then not a very useful plan. . . I never converse with any even of the best and cleverest converts, Dalgairns, Morris,* MacMullen,t * John Brande Morris, born in 1812; graduated at Balliol College, Oxford, in 1834. For some years he was assistant to Dr Pusey in the Hebrew Professorship and was lecturer in Syriac. He was received into the Church in 1846, was ordained priest at Oscott in 1848 and died at Hammersmith in 1880. t Canon MacMuIlen, born in 18 14; died Oct. 28, 1895. In early life he secured a scholarship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and as an Angli- can ministered to the poor at Leeds. When received into the Catholic Church he repaired to Rome and was there admitted to the priesthood; in 1853 appointed to assist at St Mary's, Moorfields, and three years later Rector of the Catholic Church, Chelsea, where he remained until failing eyesight com- pelled him to resign his cure in 1880. 8 Management of the " Rambler" Oakeley,* Allies,! Marshall,| Wilberforce,§ etc., etc., etc., without finding them stating what I hold to be most false. It is just the mistakes of these, our best men, that it will be best worth while to discuss. I cannot look for sympathy with my ideas in any considerable number of men. Hope|| and Manning are the only ones that I feel likely on most occasions to agree with. There is so much that is utterly new and unexpected even to our wisest friends to be said, argued and illus- trated in the process of politically educating the Catholic body in England, that any increase of numbers at first is sure to dilute our sayings and diminish our strength. I hold this to be the case too in other than political questions. As to anybody acquainted with German learning and modes of thought the philosophy and theology borrowed from France do not inspire much respect. But these are not my line, so I will say * Rev. Frederick Oakeley, born 1802; M.A. of Balliol College, Oxford; prebendary of Lichfield 1 830; received into the CatholicChurch 1845; canon of the diocese of Westminster 1852; died 1880. tThomas W. Allies died June 17, 1903, aged 90; was one of the early Oxford converts. In 1829 he won the Newcastle scholarship at Eton, and subsequently became examining chaplain to Bishop Bloomfield and rector of Launton near Bicester; was received into the Church in 1850; was author of many valuable historical works on the history of the Church. For many years he held the post of secretary to the Catholic Poor School Committee. X Probably Thomas William Marshall, LL.D., born in 1 8 1 8 ; received into the Catholic Church in 1 845 ; first inspector of Catholic Schools in 1 8 5 3 ; author of Tie History of Christian Missions, etc.; died Dec. 14, 1877. § Henry William Wilberforce, born 1807; B.A. Oriel College, Oxford, 1830; M.A. 1833; Vicar of East Farleigh from 1843 to 1850, when he was received into the Catholic Church; was proprietor and editor of The Catholic Standard, better known by its later title of The Weekly Re^ster, 1854-63; died 1863. II James Robert Hope-Scott, born 181 2; fellow of Merton 1833; D.C.L. 1 843 ; w^s received into the Church with Manning in 1 8 5 1 ; assumed the name of Scott in 1853 on his marriage with the possessor of Abbotsford; died 1873. 9 Letters of Lord Acton no more about them. Your plan of two councils seems almost superfluous, inasmuch as Stokes* and any other friends and wellwishers can be consulted pri- vately as much as is needed; and the more prominence we give to the council system, the more it will expect to influence us, and it will be an instrument in the hands of Burns or anybody for the purpose of control- ling the editors. Let us have such a council founded on nothing but the good wishes of its members to- wards the Rambler, and on our invitation, numerous enough nominally to include both councils as you propose them, and then the absent ones could appear whenever they had an opportunity, being in London for Poor Schools or otherwise. If you at once established yourself as the controller of the council and take the initiative in all discussions, no harm can be done. I do not see why Stokes as well as Manning, indeed every- body who is distinguished for position and talent and at the same time a friend of the Rambler, should not be nominally on the council. I think we might make considerable use of corres- pondence to get at all variety of views and opinions. I would even recommend that we should offer to insert refutations and remonstrances, at least in the shape of * S. Nasmyth Stokes died in the seventy-first year of his age, August I , 1 89 1 ; was a distinguished scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. After his re- ception into the Catholic Church from a very early date he wras connected with the Catholic Poor School Committee, and became in time chief Catholic Inspector of Schools. In this capacity he was largely instrumental in the establishment of the great Liverpool Training College for Elementary Teachers. He had a very ready pen, which was always at the service of the Catholic cause in education. In early life at Cambridge he, with Mr Beres- ford-Hope and Mr F. A. Paley, was the founder of the " Cambridge Camden Society." 10 Work of the " Rambler" letters, or even as articles. It is better that such discus- sions should be carried on on our own ground than that they should make themselves an organ elsewhere for the purpose of blackguarding us. It has occurred to me that I might receive payment for my contributions on the understanding that I would use the money for the pur- pose of obtaining contributions from abroad (from some distinguished political writers whom I have in my eye), which might be worked up into articles on Austria, Italy, France, Russia, etc., a department I should like to do well. 1 . No English journal does foreign questions well, 2. No English journal keeps a judicial position aloof from all parties. 3. No English journal, in my opinion, represents the true constitutional doctrine. 4. And none, I think, maintains the true Catholic view of public affairs. Cannot we try to occupy some of these vacancies ? Letter III Review of Buckle's History of Civilization to be prepared — Proposed joint examination of the book and comparison of ideas for re- viewing important works — Newman and the Rambler Aldenham, Friday [Marc A 26]. Allies is writing a review of Buckle for the Atlantis,* that's why we can get nothing out of him. * The Atlantis, " a register of literature and science," was started by Cardinal Newman as the organ of the Catholic University of Ireland, and was supposed to be " conducted by members " of that university. It began II Letters of Lord Acton It will appear on the first of July. Would it not be a good plan to have one in the Rambler on the same day ? I think we might get up a better one than AUies's, especially if we try the dodge we were proposing the other night at the Cardinal's. If three or four people read the book — you and I and Doyle and anybody else you can think of — we might exchange our observa- tions and queries at once, and then each one should put down his remarks and discoveries and send them to whoever writes the article. This seems a capital opportunity for trying the association plan in the Rambler. How say you, and cannot five rather than four persons be made to join in it ? I have had a long and very satisfactory talk with Newman on matters connected with the Rambler. He hopes before long to make the Atlantis a quarterly. Will not that diminish our chance of being able to set up as a quarterly ? Letter IV Wiseman's Four Last Topes — Rambler article a special gratification to the Cardinal — Buckle's History superficial and can be easily criticized Aldenham, Tuesday [March 30, 1858]. In spite of Capes's good-natured criticism my paper is utterly worthless, as everything I write with- out rewriting it two or three times, and this I had no time for. What he says about the Cardinal and in 1858 and lasted till 1870, although it was suspended during the years 1864, 1865. 12 Buckle's " History of Civilization " Baines * is quite new to me, and very important, as it will render your article f a cause of special gratification to H. E. I am a little afraid of foolish correspondents of the Register writing about "transparent irony." Any foolish attack of that kind would, however, give an opportunity for a very indignant and triumphant reply. I got through Buckle | last night. Setting aside the theory, the learning of the book is utterly superficial and obsolete. He is altogether a mere humbug and a very bad arguer. He has taken great pains to say things that have been said much better before in books he has not read. He has no knowledge of the classics and still less of theological literature. We can expose him com- pletely. I find I was mistaken as to the importance he gives to physical phenomena. I am afraid Allies looks at the book with awe, and will treat it with respect. Had we better bring out our review before his or at the same time with it ? I am revising the proofs of a new book§ of Morris ! Eheu! * Peter Augustine Baines, O.S.B., Bishop of Siga, and Vicar Apostolic of the Western district: born 1787; died 1843. Was connected with Prior Park, the foundation of which involved him in great financial difficulties. Cardinal Wiseman had said in his book that he "was destined in the mind of Leo XII to be the first English cardinal." t This article on Cardinal Wiseman's Recollections of the Four Last Topes, which was published at this time, appeared in the April number of the %ambler under the title " Sunny Memories of Rome." X The History of Civilization, the first volume of which was published at this time. § This was no doubt Talectha Koomee : or. The Gospel Prophecy of Our Lady^ s Assumption ; a drama in four acts. London, 1858. 8vo, in verse. 13 Letters of Lord Acton Letter V Meeting of writers at Aldenham — Buckle can be " thoroughly shown up " — Dalgairns' pamphlet on Mystics Aldenham, Easter [Sunday, April \, 1858]. I shall expect you on Tuesday. As you pass that way, I hope you will bring Capes with you. I do not write to propose it to him, because you say you may see him at Worcester, so I fear a letter to Wood- chester would not reach him in time. Therefore pray invite and induce him to come, and explain why I do not write to him and entrust the matter to your keep- ing. But don't let him waste time packing his bag, but bring him on Tuesday. Your rooms are ready, and Formby shall this night air them. We can have a very satisfactory and private talk on all possible matters, especially as Badeley* is not coming. My disgust in reading Buckle was balanced by the conviction that he can be thoroughly shown up, and convicted of having uttered nothing that is either new or true. You need only read the first part of the volume — but we can discuss it at leisure in a few days. Dal- gairns has sent me his Mystics f in the shape of a pam- phlet, which brings them under our cognizance, and * Edward Badeley, Q.C., F.S.A., a distinguished ecclesiastical counsel; became a Catholic in 1852; died 1868. Cardinal Newman dedicates his volume of poems to him, and refers to him in the Apoh^a. Badeley was one pf Newman's counsel in the Achilli case. t The German Mystics of the Fourteenth Century . London: 1858. 8vo. Re- printed from the T>ublin 'S/^iew, H Subjects for Critical Articles I am much tempted to notice one or two blunders he has fallen into. Letter VI Desires a series of critical articles like Simpson's on Buckle — Suggests subjects for these: Lamennais, Lacordaire, Gioberti, Vico, etc. — Has his articles on Buckle and Guizot ready Aldenham \End of May, 1858]. If I was you, I would undertake this [style of paper] as a regular series and refer at the beginning of the next paper of the kind to that on Buckle as the be- ginning of these analyses. Who will do among Catholics the same thing ? There have been in our time varieties enough of opinion and doctrine amongst us, represented by able men, and pointing out many dangers to which we are exposed and which we don't always escape. There would be Lamennais, a very suggestive and prophetic figure, admirably done by the infidel Renan in the Revue des "Deux Mondes of last September. Then the theory of the old French Catholics before the schism of 1 848, best represented by Lacordaire, whom it is pleasant to read. After which the two new schools and the remains of Gallican and Jansenist ideas still to be found. In Italy Gioberti,* whose posthumous works are the best Italian writings since Vico,t but so full of wickedness * Vincenzo Gioberti, an Italian writer; born at Turin in 1801; died at Paris, 1852 ; ordained priest in 1825 ; taught philosophy in the public school at Brussels ; his works upheld the teaching of St Thomas Aquinas against Kant and Cousin. In 1 848 he was recalled to Italy by national ac- clamation, and became Prime Minister of Sardinia. He soon despaired for Italy, and returned to Paris. t Giovanni Battista Vico, an Italian philosopher, born at Naples in 1688; died 1744. The great worlc of Vico is the Trincipi di una Scienza 15 Letters of Lord Acton that I dare not write a notice of them; but his earlier character was well sketched by Brownson * and Rosmini,whomBunbury knows well; finally the Civilta Cattolica, that is to say Taparelli, a clever, narrow, half- educated fellow, who has collected all his best things in four volumes. Besides which Balmesf is a curious appearance, and Brownson still more curious and a very remarkable sign of the times, worthy of dissection — a good subject. Add to which our dear friend Ventura, J of whose compliments to me I was ignorant ; — etc., etc. All this would lead us to the cave of iEolus, and explain whence the winds come that blow at Bromp- ton and York Place, in Maynooth and at Birming- ham, etc., etc. Do not regret the non-appearance of your paper on the Catholics. § It will give an eclat of a certain kind Nu(fVa. He is said to have " studied Plato most ofall," and to have striven " to form his style upon that of Cicero and [to] have loved the sad wisdom of Dante." * Orestes Augustus Brownson, born 1803 ; a distinguished speaker and philosophical writer ; became a Catholic in 1854 ; conducted for many years the Brofinson Quarterly 'R^vievt ; he was offered a chair in the Catholic University of Dublin, but preferred to remain in America ; died April 1 7, 1876. t James Lucian Balmez, born in Catalonia in Spain, 1 8 10; died 1848 ; a theological and philosophical writer. His most important work is Tro- testantism and Catholicism compared in their Effects on the Ci'Hili'Z.ation of Europe. X G. Joachim Ventura de Raulica, a celebrated orator and religious writer; born at Palermo in 1792; died at Versailles, August 2, 1861. In 1824 he became General of the Thea tines; was in Rome during the difficult times which preceded and followed the accession of Pope Pius IX; held strong views as to the conciliation of religion and liberalism, and had to seek a refuge in Paris in 1849; was the author of many works, the most celebrated of which was perhaps the De Modo Philosophandi (1828), which was severely criticized by Lamennais in VA'venir. § " The Influence of Catholics in England," which appeared later in the %ambler,'iu)y, 1858. 16 DoUinger; Brownson to the July number besides that on Buckle,* My dis- agreement with Capes's politics, who wrote to ask me whether he might write the article, is of no conse- quence, and we will not say a word about it. I'll write a paper on the same subject next winter. I have Buckle and Guizot ready for August. Do write several short notices of at least half a page each. I shall have some too on several new books. The little compliment to Montalembert in the notice of Villemain f was neces- sary after the indirect remarks in that on Felix. | This week I suppose we shall have Allies on Buckle in the Atlantis. I hope you come home richly laden with Lutetian spoil. I am afraid my dicta on Philip cannot claim to be very magistral. Who wrote on Laforet in June ? Letter VII A journey to Paris — Will look out passages for Simpson — Joint article on Buckle by five people is said to be preparing for the Quarterly — French translation of Dollinger is very bad — Criticizes Simpson's paper on Brownson — Gladstone's book on Homer has appeared — Meynell of Oscott has had a difficulty w^ith his bishop about wrriting for the Rambler — Advises Simpson to read Origen against Celsus Aldenham^ Thursday \J 'June\. I sought you in vain last Saturday all over Paris from the Rue des Postes to the Hotel Bedford. * Simpson's article on the History of Civilization called " Mr Buckle's Thesis and Method" appeared in the same number pp. 27-42. t This was in a notice of La Tribune {Moderne, by M. Villemain, which Acton contributed to thenumber of the ^a»z^/^r for August, 1858, pp.40-42. X Le Progris par le Christianisme: Conferences de Notre Dame de Paris, par le R. P. F61ix, noticed by Acton in the July %ambler, pp. 70-72. 17 Letters of Lord Acton I came on to England on Saturday night, and have already possessed myself of your papers and seen Burns, Allies and Meynell. I will get the passages ready which you want for Buckle. Where are they and your MS. to go ? and when are you coming back to England .? Pray let me know exactly what you want me to do for July. I shall have a notice on Russell's Mezzofanti * ready and on some other books. Do you want a second article on Buckle or one longish article .? I will if you like do my best to demolish his learned reputation without reference to religion or philosophy. Five people are working at an article upon him for the July Quarterly, and he is waiting for this to appear before he answers all his critics, as I am told, contemptuously. Be sure and take notes at Paris of new French books fit for our notices. I have seen some sheets of the French translation of DoUinger, which is very bad, but it will hardly be out in time for a July notice. Your excellent paper on Brownsonf seemed to me incomplete as a critique of him from the omission of his last chapter, "Conclusion," in which, as he does not speak of himself but of all other things, he seems to me to appear in a much more characteristic light than any- where else. I too hear that Todd is cross, but I am comforted when I think of his very dismal article, | in which he selects two questions as samples of Catholic politics, about which I am sorry to say I disagree with him completely. July I understand will have a paper * This notice on The Life of Cardinal (Mezzofanti by C. W. Russell, D.D., of Maynooth, appeared in the July number of the Magazine, pp. 61-63. + Named "Dr Brownson's Experiences" in the May Rambler, pp. 337- 346. . X " The Mission of the Laity " in the May Rambler. 18 Bishop Ullathorne and the " Rambler" from each of the Capeses,* you on Buckle, your other paper t and, I suppose, one on the times of persecution. I conclude therefore that I may confine myself to short notices | and that if you and Capes do a few we shall have enough to make that department almost a new feature. I am anxious to find time for a paper I have promised to the January Atlantis, and if I do not write it now I expeft I shall be too busy with the '^B^mbler later in the year. Gladstone's book § tempts me sorely to review it, but I am afraid it is hardly a suitable subject for our public. Meynell, I suppose, has told you of his difficulty with his bishop about the Rambler. The same thing might recur, and it might be prudent for us to be independent of the regard which Meynell is obliged to have for his ecclesiastical position. Neither he nor Ullathorne, I find, understood the drift of the observations on Baines, so I suppose they were much less generally seen through than we supposed. I think you should follow up the dispute in the W\eekly\ R\egister\ about your Westbury, story. It seemed a happy diversion and made you appear a martyr to the zeal with which you stuck up for the dicta of the Car- * J. M. Capes and his brother Frederick. The former, John More Capes, the founder of the ^aiW^/i?r, was born 1812; died 1889; became a Catholic in 1845 when incumbent of St John's, Brldgewater. His connex- ion with the Rambler is spoken of in the Introduction. The latter, Frederick Capes, was born Jan. i, 18 16, and died August I, 1888; educated at King's College, London, and practised for some years as a Proctor at Doctor's Commons; became a Catholic in 1846, and was for many years a neighbour and very intimate friend of Simpson's. t " Influence of Catholics." X Acton contributed ten pages of short notices to this number. § i.e. Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, which was published this year. A short notice appeared in the June Rambler, p. 423. 19 Letters of Lord Acton dinal. . . Do not let any one review Guizot's Memoirs; I will get it done capitally in a month or two, I will write as soon as I have read your MS., but I found a new volume of Origen here, and sat up last night reading him against Celsus. If you have not read it, it is delightful. Letter VIII Simpson's article on Buckle is excellent — Urges him to write a series upon English philosophic systems — Carljrle the " most original and striking figure in our literary world " — Many of the Simancas papers about Mary Stuart in Paris library — Amherst, just made bishop, is as good a friend to the Rambler as MacMullen \Aldenham, Sunday, June 6, 1858]. I received this morning your extract and no- tice about Queen Elizabeth,* and at the same time a very short political article from Capes,t who pro- mises also a short review. We are threatened with a theological paper from Maguire, \ and shall greatly need some levity frohi Capes junior.§ Your paper on Buckle is excellent, and I should do harm by prepar- ing nonsense of my own. Nothing has been written upon his book nearly so good as your paper. I wish * A short paper called " Queen Elizabeth in Love," which appeared in the July Rambler. tThe article was entitled "The Deadlock in Politics," and appeared in the Rambler for July 1858, pp. i-i i. X John Maguire, D.D., born in the last decade of the eighteenth cen- tury; died Oct. 7, 1865; had a great reputation as a theologian; was Vice- President of Old Hall, 1836-8, and became Canon Theologian of the Westminster Chapter. § J. M. Capes, however, contributed a second article called " Hogg on Shelley." 20 Projected Papers on Philosophic Systems you would follow up this style of writing. There are half a dozen systems prevailing in the country, one worse than the other, and if each of them received such elucidatory treatment as you have bestowed upon this Positivist, the result would be a complete diagnosis of the state of English intellect. The utilitarian school has much sympathy with the regular Positivists, though distinct from them, and both Macaulay's and Father Roger's refutation are forgotten and unsatis- factory. J. S. Mill would afford a capital representa- tive of this class. Then there would be the "Apostles of the Flesh," "the muscular Christians," more popular in their action, but with a kind of speculative foun- dation — Kingsley, Maurice, etc. And if you divest yourself of some of your sympathy for Carlyle, you might handle well that most original and striking figure in our literary world. If you would pursue this idea, to which I am led by your most felicitous de- molition of Buckle, it would make our own course clear, and would do us no little service. If Proudhon's book* is illogical, I marvel, for that is not his defe6t, and though I doubt not it is blasphemous and detes- table, yet he is by no means intellectually despicable. Many of the Simancas papers are in Paris, where Mignet used them. Lenormant, of the Correspondant, can tell you all about them ; he is to be found at the Imperial Library. But Mignet discovered with all his opportunities so little that is new about Mary Stuart that I dare say they are defective for that period. * Pierre Joseph Proudhon. It is difficult to say what special book of this prolific writer is meant: possibly La Justice poursutte par VEglise, which appeared this year. 21 Letters of Lord Acton Capes's politics, I suppose, will begin the July number. Then Buckle ; a notice of a foolish old French bishop in Latin* is to fill the last page, Capes insisting. For my part, if the devil drives, I must needs do what you wish by way of introducing your Buckle — at least it depends a little on inspiration. I will take care to say a few startling things in the short notices. Can't you send one or two, written by way of relaxation during the heat ? As to the editorship, I beg to refer you to a very good saying of Pope Zachary to Pepin the Short, which, if you seek, you shall find in Baronius. I find I was mistaken in supposing Burns had bought Capes's shares. As he is not a proprietor, he need not be attended to. Meynell has submitted to me his letter to his bishop representing the coming Rambler as a miracle of prudence and decency. If he answers civilly, it will be good for us altogether. Amherst's mitref is almost as good as if MacMuUen had had it, for I had written to him just before about the Rambler, and he said that only his dullness of pen prevented him from helping us. If I do my part of Buckle for August, with a few short notices, it will be all I can do till November, for I shall be much distracted for a couple of months in the summer. I am almost afraid of John Arundell, J but I will write to him for a contribution. Have you not made Veuillot's§ acquaintance? You pass by his door * Caulet, Bishop of Pamiers; Rambler, July, 1858, p. 72. t Francis K. Amherst was consecrated Bishop of Northampton July 4, 1858, a few weeks after this letter. X Now Lord Arundell of Wardour. § Louis Veuillot, a French author and journalist, was born in 1 813. He was first secretary to Marshall Bugeaud, and afterwards to the statesman Guizot. In 1848 he became editor of the Paris journal, L'Unwers,m which 22 The July "Rambler" daily — 44, Rue du Bac — and Bonnetty is to be found hard by — 10, Rue de Babylon. You will have your revenge upon me in the July number for the firebrand imprudence of my short notices. Letter IX The July Rambler — Inquiries about the works of Donoso Cortes — Theology not a stationary science — New materials exist for the life of St Charles Borromeo — Mr Healy Thompson's life of the saint not up to the mark Aldenham [June 11, 1858]. Capes, in consequence of a letter from you, wrote yesterday to propose to make up the July number and edit it in your absence. To whom I, touched with an untimely desire to go to Paris for a week, forwarded incontinent what MSS. I had. I conceive that politics had a traditional claim to open the number, and sent Capes's paper,* not a good one by any means, first; moreover, I had no introduction ready to the Buckle, which Capes will prefix briefly. But the matter of Queteletjt and the termination introductory to Buckle No. 2, 1 did subjoin. It will, I assure you, be a capital number, inasmuch as I have written nothing but a few notices which Capes will probably see cause to omit. he had many controversies with Dupanloup, Gratry, etc. His uncompro- mising attitude in favour of the Church and against Napoleon III led to the suppression of the journal from i860 to 1867. * J. M. Capes's paper was called "The Deadlock in Politics," and is printed as the first article in the Rambkr, July, 1858. t A short passage on the value of M. Quetelet's authority, as quoted by Buckle, contributed to Simpson's article on " Mr Buckle's Thesis and Method," Tumbler, July 1858, pp. 36, 37. 23 Letters of Lord Acton I should have spoiled your Buckle by any introduction of my own, and was extremely unwilling to write it, and I almost think it would be wasting good theory to use it merely as a set-off against him, who is with- out that very sufficiently shown up. I am glad your article comes out at the same time as those in the Atlantis and Quarterly. I am delighted that you accept the idea of pursuing the critique of our chief unchris- tian philosophers and that you add Proudhon to them. Have you read Donoso Cortes's* reply to his former work ? If you see Veuillot, I wish you would refresh his memory about an edition of Donoso's writings, which he was preparing. If you want to gratify him very much, you might ask whether he is going on with the publication of his own collected essays. I find a very good paper against the Benthamites in the works of a very accomplished American, Legare,t which I daresay you will be glad to see when you tackle Mill junior. Meynell thirsts for the demolition of Kant, which he proposes to himself — which is akin to the wish that Judas may be hanged. He has made all things straight with his bishop, and piously hopes that we shall not get him into a scrape. There is a good new book on St Thomas by Jour- dain,| which I have been recommending to him. He is a very clever fellow. I wish he was not so mad and knew more. Maguire, wrote Capes, was to have done * Juan F. M. M. Donoso Cortes, Marquis de Valdegamas. Dephhes et corr. polit., 1848-53; a fervent Catholic, after having been a freethinker; came to Paris as Ambassador for Spain in 1 8 5 1 ; became the firm friend of Montalembert, who deeply deplored his death, April, 1853. t HughSinton Legar6, born in Charleston, i789;diedat Boston, 1843. He was an eminent politician and successful lawyer, as well as a brilliant writer. X Charles Jourdain, La Thihsophie de S. Thomas 4'yijuin. 2 vols, 8 vo. 1858. 24 Theology not Stationary something on Church History. Your words are golden as to the line we are to take on theology. Above all we ought to bear in mind that theology is not a stationary science, so that a man who says nothing that has not been said before does not march with his age. Nevertheless this philosophical view will be offensive to many. . . . Capes has taken Comte's Qatechism of Positileism to write about it for August. Meynell is watching for the appearance of Hamilton's Lectures to review them; and I, of Dyer's Modern History for the same purpose. The June Rambler had a theological article, with one or two mistakes in it, on Laforet, by whom I know not. * There is no antithesis to DoUinger or the German divines, as in the case of Bossuet and the Romans, for certain reasons which we might dis- cuss. Faber and Morris,if any, would be near the mark. Lots of new materials have been published for the life of St Charles, so that I fear Thompson's bookf is not quite up to the mark, despite your favourable notice. I sent your paper on the Catholics f to Potts; it seems to me greatly improved and likely to be effective. Don't tell Veuillot that he will be complimented in the next Rambler, for there is an allusion to him not exactly in that strain. Meynell has done it. * The article on " Laforet " was written by the Rev. Mr Bonus. t The Life of St Charles 'Borromeo, by E. Healy Thompson, was reviewed by Simpson in the Rambler, June, 1858, p. 424. Mr Healy Thompson, a Cambridge Scholar, was ordained in the Established Church; became a Ca- tholic in 1846; died at Cheltenham, 189 1, where he had for twenty-three years devoted himself to literature. X " The Influence of Catholics in England " above referred to. 25 Letters of Lord Acton Letter X Dr Maguire's critique of the Analecta — Merits of Jaffa's great work and its value for history — His design not hostile to the Catholic Church, though he and his publisher are Jews — Vast collections of documents in the Papal Regesta — The work not intended to be theological — The exposure of Margotti's pamphlet Aldenham, June 30, 1858. I received Dr Maguire's paper* this morn- ing and lost no time in reading it. As a critique of the Analecta and their way of doing business, it is ex- cellent, and I can only complain that it is not severe in censure. That journal does no end of harm and is conducted in the worst and lowest spirit which ortho- dox and virtuous men are capable of. It is highly necessary that a firm protest should be made against a paper that exercises such imperious authority. But the rest of the article, so far as it touches Jaffe, is less complete and requires a little modification before it can appear. Dr. M. is a theologian and has overlooked the fact (as the Roman critic has done also) that the bookt is written merely for the use of historians. JafFe is well known as a diligent rather than able historical writer, and has published two useful works on the history of the empire in the twelfth century. The plan of his present work was suggested by the Regesta " " German Jews and French Reviewers," printed in the Rambler for August, 1858, pp. 101-120. t %e_gesta pontijicum %otnanorum ab cond. Eccl. ad an. 1198 (185 i). 26 Jaffe's " Regesta " Imperii of Bohmer, the most learned and accurate of all historians, who has given an exact chronological abstract of all papers emanating from the emperors in the 9th- 13 th centuries, accompanying the docu- mentary notices with exhaustive references to the historians, so that his work is as good as a complete history of the times. He also gives very full and in- structive prefaces. JafFe on a longer field confines him- self to the mere facts and words of the documents. Had his design been hostile, he could have fulfilled it much better by following more closely his model, and giving such malicious extracts from the historians as he could easily have found in Greseler. The fury of the Roman critic is very easily explained by an enemy, by the fact that JafFe as well as his publisher is a Jew and that the appearance of such a work by a young Jewish physician of Berlin is a most bitter censure on those who sit at the fountain-head of ecclesiastical learning and have done so little to extend it. For the same reason I think it hardly just to say that it " would be an easy undertaking " to continue the work, seeing that 2,016 volumes of Pontifical Re- gesta are in the Vatican, for JafFe may make pretty sure that he will not be allowed to use them. He is at work, however, on the continuation, and has been for the last eight years. The interest and importance of his book would be better described as historical, I think Dr M. dwells too much on the theological value of it. As there is a short list of the most important ec- clesiastical publications of Protestant Germany, it ought to be made complete. The additions of Oehler's Tertul- 27 Letters of Lord Acton lian^ and Otto's Justin and the Apologists'^ would make it so. If Dr Maguire is the author of the June paper on Laforet, pray tell him that Generationism as held by Klee has been recently condemned at Rome in the work of Frohschammer, a professor at Munich. I rejoice at your exposure of Margotti. | I would, if I were you, say a word of respeft for those who are somehow fighting the battle of religion in Piedmont, for though they may be, like this good man, slaves of the Univers, yet it is a contest in which we must greatly sympathize with the Catholic party, who have to go thr6ugh real trouble for Catholicity. At least I would do this from motives of prudence in order not to give a fair opening to imputations of want of sympathy . . . I received the Atlantis this morning ; Arnold's Alcibiades and O'Hagan's Joan of Arc are open to criticism. Shall we not notice it in August ? * Two editions of Tertullian's Opera were published by F. Oehler: ed. major, 3 vols, Leipsig, 1853, and ed. minor in 1854. t Carl T. Johann v. Otto, Corpus Apologetarum. Christ. Stec. Secundi, 1851-81. X An article by Simpson entitled " Italian Statistics " in the Rambler for August, 1858, on a pamphlet called Roma e Londra confrontt, by Giacomo Margotti. Simpson also contributed the first article, called " France," to this number. 28 DoUinger Letter XI Danger of contempt of the ascetical and dislike of prayer — Intellec- tual contempt of fellow-Catholics to be guarded against — DsUinger's common-sense exposition of doctrine Aldenham, July 2, 1858. 's letter explains in a way I was hardly pre- pared for the anomalies which it was impossible not to observe in his life and conversation. I did not hear his prophecy to you about original sin, but it says much for his own want of trust. What struck me most was his contempt for everything ascetical, and his dis- like for prayer under the guise of weak health. Intel- lectual contempt for fellow-Catholics has brought many men, within my knowledge, to nearly the same pass. The difficulty with him is increased by his im- pulsive character and by his impatience of laborious study. I fear that everything which gives him annoy- ance or discomfort will confirm his present disposition, so I vote that we in particular should be very careful in our communications with him. . . He wrote to me some time ago to know when DoUinger was coming over, and to make sure of meeting him. Now I un- derstand the cause of this eagerness, it strikes me as a very fortunate thing. DoUinger has a great liking for him; and his cool matter-of-fa6t, common-sense exposi- tion of do(5lrine would I think be peculiarly suitable to 's state of mind. 29 Letters of Lord Acton Letter XII Acton's paper on " Buckle " is keeping him up all night — Negocia- tions in regard to the Dublin Review — The advantages of the proposed union with the Rambler — The circulation of the Atlantis Aldenham, July 1 1 , [1858]. Buckle is keeping me up all night.* We shall have too many relpiews with " Guizot," there- fore your paper on France will be highly opportune. Buckle will be miserably done, and I will never review a bad book again. Your French article f is very original, and much to the present purpose. I have only marked one or two things. For instance, Talley- rand won't do as the representative of official bour- geoisie, and your witty Abbe Simon was an infidel deputy. Manning and not MacMullen is clearly right. I had no copy of the circular sent to me, and the Cardinal, I have no doubt, would have written to me with unction, if he had thought of my taking the matter up. I am glad you look forward to a double shot next January. I cannot make out what Burns wants, but the two could be kept perfectly distinct. Politics are much better in a monthly garb than a quarterly, and the short notices ought, I think, to be confined to the Rambler. We might get up the * This article on "Mr Buckle's Philosophy of History" appeared in the Rambler for August, 1858, pp. 88-104. t Entitled " France," and appearing in the same number, pp. 73-88. 30 The " Dublin Review " novel department with greater care, and everybody looks to the Rambler for your " Old English Catholics." All this would exclusively belong to our monthly. As to the difficulty with regard to the Atlantis Newman writes to me this morning: "To make the chance of mutual interference still less, I wrote on receipt of your letter to a friend in Dublin to express what I had on other grounds felt, namely the desirable- ness of the ^Atlantis contracting its range of subjects, and of even confiningitself to scientific." Of course he must be rebuked for this, but it shows his mind towards the plan, and starts also, in my mind, the question how far the 'Dublin might safely become a receptacle, as Manning says, for regular treatises. The combination with the Rambler would, I imagine, give it a rather more serious character. As to Burns, I do not think he is inclined to do anything bold. He talks of everybody being ready for sacrifices at first, etc., whereas a regular payment to contributors is the first thing to look to in trying to revive the Dublin. Unless he shows some enterprise, I expect it will be no go. I see the Tablet has col- lapsed at the same time as the Dublin. If we take the Dublin, could you not get up an elaborate article founded on some considerable inedita, and then print the article separately with the documents appended.? It would be a good advertisement. I would do the same on some questions of modern continental history, about which I have important unpublished matter. Moreover, the present occasion seems a likely one to break down Newman's rule about not writing for reviews. I expect we could get something out of him. 31 Letters of Lord Acton They print (? sell) i,ooo copies of the Atlantis. I did not know that copying could be done so cheap in Belgium as I find it can by your article. I will have lots of things copied for me out of the library of Burgundy, where there are rare treasures for modern history. P.S. — Pray look at the article on Buckle in the Quarterly, which I've not seen, and be ready to make any correction which that may suggest to my detestable article. Letter XIII Question as to the editing of the Dublin ^vietv — Burns to take it over from Richardson — 'Rambler and 'Dublin to run together as necessary one to the other — Dollinger is coming over to England Aldenham, July 23, 1858. I wrote to Russell at Ushaw privately, say- ing that if no better plan was devised etc. he might tell the Cardinal that I should be ready to carry on the 'Dublin Review, provided Burns got it out of Richardson's hands. They have accepted eagerly, and say I have relieved them from a great fix, and are quite of the mind that Burns would do better than Richardson. They also promise to support it as much as possible. They think it might be slightly modified so as to receive the Rambler into it, I daresay they thought they had me there, but I have explained to Russell as clear as day how the Dublin could not exist without the Rambler, how they are necessary to each other, how they will agree and make harmony like the music of the spheres, etc., etc. I have also by this 32 The "Dublin Review" day's post told Burns of it, and spirited him up to the thing, laying down the conditions. There it rests, therefore, at this present. . . DoUinger's coming will be no small help, over and against the honorabilities. The point now is how Burns will come round Rich- ardson, and whether he will accept my conditions. One of them is that there should be no short notices in the 'Dublin. Letter XIV Negotiations for the 'Dublin still going on — Begs Simpson to come to Aldenham and induce Manning and MacMuUen to do so also — Is working hard at Dutch pamphlets at the Hague — Dsllinger thought a passage in the last 'B^mbler " likely to offend " The Hague, Wednesday, August 25, 1858. I have only just learnt by letters which I found at Brussels that the Cardinal has broken off the nego- tiation about the "Dublin Review. We should have got up a better January number than I expect they will. Bagshawe does not write as if the Cardinal was san- guine. Be sure to come to Aldenham on the Monday, and bring MacMuUen with you, and encourage Man- ning to come, if you see him — he was not sure. I am up to my chin in Dutch pamphlets of the time of the Duke of Alba; but I shall be in London by the end of next week. DoUinger went to Munich, from the mountains where he was staying, for a day or two, on purpose to look up passages on the ques- tions started by Capes's paper. I had written to Ward to engage him for the Dublin, and got a foolish, iZ 3 Letters of Lord Acton friendly contradictory denial in reply, in which he complains only of my saying that Petavius and Bossuet were great divines, and concludes therefrom that our views are so different we could not agree. . . I hope to be industrious during the winter. I am afraid that I have only some short notices for October. Did our August number offend others besides Ward.? By an odd coincidence DoUinger one day cited your July saying* about papal robbery as likely to offend, though he thinks it perfectly true. Faber made through Morris an ingenious and paternally solicitous attempt to get the censorship of our 'Dublin for Dalgairns ! Letter XV DoUinger in London — The passage about St Augustine which gave offence is approved by DsUinger — Does not approve of what Simpson wrote about it under "Correspondence" — DsUinger wishes to see the paper S. had written on Original Sin 1 6 'Bruton Street, Thursday, September, 1858. DoUinger, who is here, is fattening with laughter at our divines in the Augustinian dispute. I should have let Maguire, whom I met to-day, know that I was the author of the offensive passage,t only I thought he knew it probably already — and more- over I think it must not be allowed to drop. I could not subscribe to what you have written under "corre- * In the article "The Influence of Catholics in England," p. 17. t The passage in question is to be found in an article on " Bossuet " in the Rambler for June, 1858: "That he (Bossuet) held the Port-Royalist doctrine on the subject of divine grace is incontestable. He considered him- self, rightly or wrongly, a thorough Augustinian." 34 St Augustine and Jansenism spondence,"* and propose to show why I do not deli- berately hold that errors condemned by the Church are to be found in the works of the Doctor Gratis. I think it is worth following up, in order that men may learn that we do not choose even our illustrations without deliberation, and are ready to justify every- thing we write. There could be no better opportunity than this, as it will at the same time help to break down that narrow and invincible ignorance with which our writings are judged. This must be done, not in my name, but in the name of the Rambler, and the only difficulty will be to avoid contradifting what was said in the last number. S^ sure and be at Aldenham on Monday for dinner. DoUinger has never read the paper on Original Sin,+ and I am not sure I have that number. I think him strongly inclined to agree with you, so perhaps you will think it worth while to bring it down. Do not let Meynell write Xoyoc without an accent. Owen's auto- biographyl will give matter for a new article in your misbelieving series, * "A correspondent has, with great kindness, warned us that umbrage has been taken at a sentence referring to St Augustine in our last number, and has told us that inferences have been drawn from it injurious to our reputa- tion for orthodoxy. In order to remove all ground from such suspicions, we protest that we never intended to identify any errors which the Church has proscribed with the teaching of ' the greatest doctor of the West,' when properly understood ; and we most sincerely hold and profess whatever the Holy See has propounded, and condemn what it has condemned on the questions of grace, free-will and justification. With respect to the terms we used, we venture to remind our readers that we might call Plato the father of scepticism, without identifying sceptical errors with the real teaching of the father of philosophy." — Rambler, August, 1859, p. 216. t This refers to the article which appeared in the Rambler for May, 1856, entitled " On Original Sin." X This was probably the Life by Himself oi Robert Owen, "the Socialist," which appeared this year, in which also the author died. 35 Letfers of Lord Acton Letter XVI Has translated the Baron Eckstein's paper on Guizot — Approves of Simpson's two papers on Combe's " Phrenology " and the martyr " William Harrington " — Carlyle's Frederick II of Prussia is of little real value 1 6 'Bruton Street, 'Thursday [October, 1858. J I have finished Eckstein* as well as I could, nearly literally. I do not see why your phrenological paper t should be in any way altered, for I read it with great pleasure and contentment. You do not give the date of Harrington's! letter, and, saying he was taken in 1593, refer his letter to documents of 1592. Both are interesting lives and have more than usual indivi- duality. Oakeley wrote yesterday for an exposition of my proposal, which I went and gave him. We seemed to agree on most points, and he talks of advising the Cardinal to come to terms with me. Carlyle's book§ is of little real value, and more affected than anything yet written in prose. The Professor is in better spirits as our departure approaches. * The Baron Eckstein was the author of the two articles on Guizot in the October and November numbers of this year. Also he wrote subsequently on de Lamennais in May, 1859, and attached to that article is a note on Eckstein's life, contributed by Acton. t"Mr George Combe and his Phrenology," which was printed in the November number, pp. 373-388. I "William Harrington," ibid., pp. 399-407. § History of Frederick II of Trussia, called Frederick the Great, reviewed by Acton in the Rambler, December, 1858, p. 429. 36 Theological Studies in England Letter XVII Sends half of Dollinger's paper on " The Paternity of Jansenism " — No one in the present state of theological studies in England will be interested in it — Newman approved of the original statement. Monday, Nolpember 15, 1858. Here is half of Dollinger's precious letter.* The rest to-morrow. Do see that the phraseology will do. Don't forget to prefix a short note— that we are happy to enrich our pages with the following letter which we have received from a divine equally well known in England and abroad — not for the purpose of reconciling people to our expression, for that we cannot hope for until theological matters are better and more generally understood in this country,t but for the sake of such a specimen of learning, etc., and because we could not allow the accusation made against us to affect or delude those who bear us no ill will. I am sure you will do it much better than I can suggest. I don't know whether we can add that it is some consolation * On "The Paternity of Jansenism" in the Rambler iot December, 1858, pp. 361-373. t Writing to Simpson on February 1 5 of this year, Dr Ward made use of almost the same expressions as to the state of theological learning: "I most fully agree with you, not only (as of course I do) in the extreme interest of theology, but also in your criticism that it needs entire reconstruction to meet the exigencies of the day. For a really competent theologian, it seems to me no less requisite that he shall have a general knowledge of the present state of mental and physical science, than that he shall know the loci theolo- gici themselves. I always tell my pupils here (St Edmund's, Old Hall) that, as far as I can see, at the present time the Catholic world to the Protestant world is in much the same relation as barbarians to civilized men." 37 Letters of Lord Acton for those who have at heart the reputation of English theology to know that not a single divine whose opinion deserved attention mistook or disliked the passage, in- asmuch as Newman thoroughly approved of it, and was the only person in England who did. Faber was very wrathful, and Morris is miserable about it, I feel almost certain that not a convert will be made by DoUingcr's admirable paper. Letter XVIII The question of uniting the Dublin and the l^ambler still under dis- cussion — Proposes that Newman shall have the direction — Simpson's letter to the Cardinal as to the review of his Last Four Topes is approved — He is preparing his article on Montalembert Aldenham Par\, Tuesday, November i6, 1858. The longer your metaphysics are the better, it strikes me. My notion of a quarterly is that there ought not to be too many articles or too short ones. A good article is better long than so short as to make room for a less good one; twenty-five to fifty pages seem to me the limits. Abundance of short notices would allow the articles themselves to be less reviews and more of dissertations. The possible Dublin is, however, a very problematical thing. Oakeley writes that it is still sub judice, between Thompson and Ward, and that at a meeting in a few days an alternathe (as I read it) will be drawn up, and then I am to hear further from him. The plan I was so good as to propose, that " Newman should have a theological control, but no positive share in the direc- 38 The "Dublin Review" tion " did not appear satisfactory to all parties. Perhaps they thought this formula ingenious. I shall put them into a fix by saying I should be glad to give Newman as much share in the direction as he would take. " Montalembert " * will perhaps fill about four or five pages. Pray get the note N t corrected. DoUinger sent me a bit of it w^hich was wanting to-day. | Your letter to the Cardinal § is in tone and sub- * " The Count de Montalembert," by Acton, in the Rambler for December, 1858, pp. 421-428. He also contributed the short notice of "Carlyle." t A note on the article, " The Count de Montalembert," which referred to the condemnation of the Count, the news of which had reached England after the article had been in type. See in TS^mbler, ibid., p. 432. X Mr Simpson's share in the December number of the 'S^mbler was extraordinary: (l) "The Phrenology of Cornbe"; (2) "Belgium"; (3) «B. Harrington, Martyr"; (4) "Mansel"; (5) " Ursula "—that is five articles, besides other things. § Mr Simpson's letter here referred to was sent to Cardinal Wiseman on November 20, 1858. He says : "I gather from a note that Sir John Acton has written to me that your Eminence is under the impression that the %ambler endorses Tierney's view of Dr Lingard's cardinalate. This impres- sion is so contrary to that which I intended to convey that I feel it neces- sary to write an explanation of my real meaning. I regret very much that the idea should have got abroad that the %am.bler is conducted in a spirit of personal opposition to your Eminence, and that persons should busy them- selves in picking out sentences from nearly every number which they distort and interpret after their sinister fashion to widen a breach which unfortu- nately exists. I protest to your Eminence, as I have had occasion to protest to others, that they were not intended, and that any impertinent reference to your Eminence was far removed from the ideas both of the writers and of the editor. . ." By return of post Cardinal Wiseman wrote thanking Simpson for his letter and the kindly expressions contained in it, and accepting them in their fullest meaning. The gambler in April this year had reviewed the Cardinal's 'Recollec- tions of the Last Four Topes, and had noticed the passage in which he spoke of Lammenais' having been destined by Pope Leo XII for a place in the College of Cardinals. Canon Tierney attacked this view, and desired to substitute the name of Dr Lingard. Cardinal Wiseman replied to the Canon's arguments in a pamphlet letter addressed to the Chapter of Westminster. In acknowledging this pamphlet, Simpson told the Cardinal : "(i) That your reply has convinced us that there was no ground for looking on 39 Letters of Lord Acton stance exactly corresponding to mine, and I think the step a good one. So long as we do not say anything, unscrupulous accusers, saying falsehoods, will naturally be believed, and as I told the Cardinal, no amount of caution in editing and writing can remove existing impressions or alter the light in which each number is looked upon. I like the boldness with which you protest that no impertinent reference to His Eminence is ever intended.- The Wilkses are newspaper writers, and I should not think able to write on the three archbishops with- out a present practical object. As to Crewe, it might be worth while to point out that the Albigenses gave the Catholics no choice; they were the aggressors, and being weaker were exterminated; and that their tenets were dangerous not as religious only, but as social; the State — every State — was as much menaced by them as the Church. It was not a purely religious war. Letter XIX Asks Simpson to pass a critical eye on his article on Montalembert and to correct anything — Simpson's philosophy has been attri- buted to Acton — Has reviewed Carlyle for the next 1{amb/er Aldenham Far\, Sunday, Noloember, 1858. Pray read with a critical eye and pen what I have written.* I have no misgivings as to the truth, but I am not so sure of the wisdom of it. It seemed Lingard as cardinal ; (2) that the correct version of the allocution given by you puts a new face on the matter; (3) that it was very unlikely that both Lingard and Lamennais should have been appointed." * i.e., in the article on Montalembert as above. 40 Montalembert ungracious to take this opportunity to go more into the errors of Montalembert's earlier career. Indeed I am afraid I have done it too much as it is. I could not omit the question about Spain, without omitting the point of censure altogether, and it was a passage I was very much provoked with.* Correct everything you can except the punctuation of the last sentence. Can you think of any conceit by way of title? Of course there is another side of political doctrine, which '*I have not touched on here except in mentioning the Concordat With Austria, I shall have, however, occasion to dwell on that afterwards. Do read Fitzgerald's letter in the Tablet. I have sent it to Montalembert, who does not read the Tablet. It is no use for us to go disputing with other English or Irish Catholics on general political principles. I think such controversies would be endless and hopeless. If my quotations are hackneyed, pray expunge them, ditto if Barabbasf is profane. I do not know enough about the persecution of the editor of the Catholic review in Bavaria to say more about it, but it seemed unjust to overlook it. I do not attach so much importance to the imper- tinence of our note, but it will do very well as it stands. If your philosophy is attributed to me, I shall revenge myself by writing a piece of metaphysics. You see I have fattened Carlyle,| having read him. He will bear much shortening. * See in the article ut sup. p. 426. t Ibid. p. 428. t In the short notice of him in the December gambler, 1858. 41 Letters of Lord Acton Letter XX Montalembert's condemnation by the State necessitates a note — The note appears in the %ambkr and was written by Acton — He is taking a paper of Simpson on Whewell, to Newman — All ex- pectation of uniting with the 'Dublin is over — He will sound Newman about " quartering " the Atlantis Aldenham Par^, Friday, November 26, 1858. Montalembert's condemnation is rather awk- ward for our article. A few changes, as "late" for "present" prosecution, and a change in one passage in the last page but one would suit the article to present circumstances. But I am inclined to think it would be wiser to add a note saying it was in type before the news came, and adding perhaps a compliment. May I leave this to you? One might add that the Catholic view of the matter, which the French Church might be expected to take, is that expressed in the words of St Ambrose (Ep. 40-2) : " Neque imperiale est liberta- tem dicendi denegare, neque sacerdotale, quod sentias non dicere. . . . Siquidem hoc interest inter bonos et malos principes, quod boni libertatem amant, servitutem improbi. Nihil etiam in sacerdote tam periculosum apud Deum, tam turpe apud homines, quam quod sentiat non libere denuntiare."* It would be presumptuous in me to venture an opinion as to the validity of your metaphysical article. I have put the allusion to the German criticism on * Migne, Tatrol. Lat. xvi, col. lioi, quoted in the note, p. 4.32 of the December Rambler. 42 Political Thoughts on the Church Whewell in an authentic shape, which you will be able to correct in the proof. I shall be at Birmingham on Monday, being due in Worcestershire to-morrow, and will take the paper with me to give to Newman. If you object, send me a line to the Queen's Hotel, Bir- mingham. I have lost all expectation, and I confess all desire, of having the Dublin Review. I will talk to Newman about quartering the Atlantis. Letter XXI Forwards a portion of his article on "Political Thoughts on the Church " — Is much dissatisfied with it — It has been written between midnight and bedtime — Cannot finish it as he hoped — Begs S. to look to the quotations — Is quite incapable of writing in a hurry Aldenham, Thursday, "December i6, 1858. The bottled wisdom you spoke of has come out in the shape of ditch water. This is about half — the rest to-morrow.* It has been almost entirely written in the last week, during the interval between midnight and bedtime, and is, I am afraid, grievously confused. I wish you would keep your " Martineau " to relieve the dullness of this affair, f If you can get any one to correct it, do. I wish I had succeeded in showing the truths as clearly as I see them. Friday, December ly. I have been swelling out my foolishness beyond measure in order that there might be matter at least * This was the MS. of an article which appeared in the 'Rambler for January, 1859, on "Political Thoughts on the Church," pp. 30-49. t Simpson's " Martineau's Studies " appeared in the February number. 43 Letters of Lord Acton to occupy space, so that I have not got the end quite done yet. Sunday intervenes, so it cannot arrive till Monday morning, about two or three pages more. I have put in lots of quotations because of the address of some of the views. You can at any rate strike out those that seem irrelevant or put the Latin into notes. You know how incapable I am of writing in a hurry. 44 i859 Letter XXII Suggests the printing of a paper on Barrillon's Embassy, 1596, and sends notes — Acton's own article on " The Cathohc Press " will be twelve pages — Has seen the Cardinal, and had a long talk with Newm&n — The latter's interest in the 'Rambler and his advice to avoid theological topics — Newman's opinion as to Simpson's articles Aldenham, New Tears "Day, 1859. The paper relating to Barrillon's embassy has not been printed and deserves to be,* I have appended a few frivolous notes, at your discretion. Thuanusf relates that Burghley wished to introduce conditions favourable to the Huguenots, to which Barrillon, him- self a Huguenot, though a very loose one, would not consent. I suppose he thought he ought to accept as few conditions as possible. The four passages at the end, from the affaires etrangeres, are printed in Memoires de Bellielere et de Siller i, 1696, and can be quoted therefrom. I have ventured on one or two suggestions in the text of the other paper. | The allusion to the dispute between Hadrian and Frederic on the word "benefi- cium " is happy and quite historical. There is no need for your caution, for it is perfectly true. Both papers are * Printed in the article called " Foreign Protestant View of England in 1596" in the %ambkr, February, 1859, pp. 137-146. t Jacques Auguste de Thou or Thuanus ; Historiarum sui temp. (1553-1617). t " Bureaucracy," by Simpson, printed in February, 1859. 45 Letters of Lord Acton of the same date, for the first year of Gregory XV is 1 62 1. Are you quite sure you are right (p. 2 of the extract) in translating " tirannaggiata " "usurped"? Tyrannus means, in mediaeval Latin, a prince whom, for de jure or de facto wrongs, it is advisable to smite under the fifth rib. I do not know whether it has quite the same comprehensive meaning in the Italian participle. My article will be, I suppose, twelve full pages,* together with a few short notices. I will not promise one on Gregory VII, though the notice in the Tablet was by Formby. It strikes me that Capes means the ipse dixit of a saint like St Austin, not of a pope.f As to his proposed letter, the title J would be capital, but is there anything tangible to write upon ? At any rate it had better be referred to Newman. Where is that scripture he seems to allude to — "Nunquid indiget Dominus vestro mendacio?"§ I should like to quote it, but I daren't quote when I do not know the place, etc. Stokes is excellent. I saw the Cardinal, who said nothing of interest, and spoke to me just like anybody else. But he was altogether low. Stonor, on seeing me, exclaimed : "Hallo! what's brought you up here to London? Janse- nius ?" I made Wallis' acquaintance, who, at first talk- ing, pleased me much. The only notability was a Parsee, Jeejeebhoy, from Bombay, not the famous *"The Cathblic Press," printed in February, 1859, PP- 73-9°- t In an article called " Caesarism, Diabolism and Christianity " in the same number. X The letter signed « C " on " Caesarism, Diabolism and Education" was printed in the February number, 1859, PP- 126-137. §Job xiii, 7. Newman and "The Rambler" merchant of that name, who came out of a legitimate curiosity to see a live cardinal, but was commonly taken for Mgr Persico, and treated accordingly, I had a three hours' talk with the venerable Newman, who came out at last with his real sentiments to an extent which startled me with respect both to things and persons, as Ward, Dalgairns, etc., etc.; natural inclina- tion of men in power to tyrannize; ignorance and presumption of would-be theologians. I did not think he would ever cast aside his diplomacy and button- ment so entirely, and was quite surprised at the intense interest he betrayed in the Rambler. He was quite miserable when I told him the news and moaned for a long time, rocking himself backwards and forwards over the fire, like an old woman with a toothache. He thinks the move provoked both by the hope of breaking down the R. and by jealousy of DoUinger. He asked whether we suspected any one, and at last inclined to the notion that the source is in Brompton. He has no present advice, being ignorant of the course of such affairs in Rome, except that we should declare, if you can make up your mind to do so, that we do not treat theology in our pages. He thinks such a declaration would go a great way. If you wish, it can be done at the end of my paper, when I come to speak of our position and aims, subject, as the whole article will more particularly be, to your correction. He wants us to have rather more levity and profane- ness, less theology and learning. A good story, he thinks, would turn away wrath, and he enjoys par- ticularly your friendly encounters with Bentham,* * The article on "Bentham," by Simpson, appeared in October, 1858. 47 Letters of Lord Acton Combe,* Buckle f and the like. On the other hand, he wants our more ponderous efforts to be devoted to the iAtlantis, which he would be ready to quarter, Longmans urging him thereto and Sullivan promising 400 subscribers in Ireland. There are some difficulties in the way, but I think we can promise him contribu- tions with willingness. He has an unhappy way of printing scientific articles separately with other pagings, but to include all articles that treat their subject, whatever it may be, scientifically, under the head of science. I have promised him a letter attack- ing this plan, and he promised to send me the results of further reflection on the course to be pursued by us. He is most entirely friendly, and considered the Rambler invaluable, to be kept, according to Madame Swetchine's answer to the "vers Latin, Quis custodiet custodes ?" for the authorities. Letter XXIII Forwards a remarkable letter from Newman containing suggestions for the conduct of gambler — The separation of the political and re- ligious orders effected by Christianity — The meaning of a Con- cordat and the late introduction of compromises in the history of Church — Newman's broad idea of the meaning of theology Aldenham, January 4, 1859 I send you Newman's very remarkable letter. Although his recommendation that the Rambler should be at the same time instructive, clever and amusing eliminates me from the list of contributors, I believe * Mr George Combe and his Phrenology," in December, pp. 373-388. t " Mr Buckle's Thesis and Method," in July, 1858, pp. 27-42. 48 Newman's Sympathy his advice the best, though I do not feel sanguine about the effect which our announcement of not treating theology will have. People are quite as sen- sitive about other things as about theology. By all means do Martineau. * Formby has got no light about Bureaucracy. If you set to work on the subject,! I will send you a note or two, being familiar with the acting of the system. Capes's letter | contains a great deal that confirms what I meant to say in my article and that strikes me as true and to the purpose. St Augustine was not the only one he would call a Manichee. Gerson says (opp, ii, 253) "Civile dominium, seu politicum, est dominium peccati occasione introdudtum," and Dante calls it " remedium contra infirmitatem peccati." But it will not do to press the analogy with Manicheism too far — only as one speaks of prostitution among public men. It is quite wrong, but not heretical, to give the State a sinful origin, like war. Is it right (p. 5) to include domestic in civil society ? I imagine the Fourth Commandment and the Sacrament of Matrimony give it a place in the religious department. Then in p. 8 it must be obsierved that there could be no conflict be- tween political and religious obligations before Chris- tianity separated the two orders. The Fathers did not fully understand the political consequences of Chris- tianity which it was the business of the middle ages to evolve. Calvinism, as Capes says truly, afterwards mixed up the religious and political order, overlooking * An article on "Martineau's 'Studies of Christianity'" appeared in Feb- ruary, 1859, pp. 90-104. tThe result appears in the same number, pp. 1 13-126. t The letter "Cjesarism," etc., above noticed, in the same number, p. 1 26. 49 4 Letters of Lord Acton the political, as Machiavelli did by overlooking the spiritual, one led astray by the Jews, the other by the Gentiles. At pp. 13-14 a quotation from Burke occurred to me (Works, i, 404: writing to a Catholic) : " In your situation I would be so far a friend to the court, as not to give occasion to every friend of the constitution to become an enemy to me and my cause." Is it true that time (p. 17) is a portion of eternity ? As to the Concordat (pp. 21-22) what he says will, I think, hardly stand fire. The idea of compromise is of modern growth, but so is the Concordat altogether. It is a consequence of the obscuration in the minds of men — statesmen especially — of Capes's very true and just notion that the Church and the State have the same origin and the same ultimate objects. When this was understood, there were no Concordats. There was none for instance with Charlemagne, at the revival of the Empire, or with Otho. The first thing we call by that name is the Callixtine Concordat of 1 1 22, but the name does not belong to it, and was unheard of at the time. It is first used early in the fifteenth century, when the old harmony was dissolved and real com- promises needed and made, when the States no longer agreed with the principles of the Church, the pope tried to bind them by compact and agreement, pur- chased by some sacrifice on his part and therefore the more sacred, to a certain line of conduct which they would no longer follow from principle. Newman does not take the term "theology" so strictly as you seem to understand it. For instance, he would not allow his article on St Cyril to be theology. Then he thinks more of the effect on others, of the 50 The " Rambler" and Theology occasion which it gives to complain of imprudence on the part of laymen, than of the real danger of it. Such articles as this on Martineau, which I have not had time to read because of Morris's sermon, but will read to-morrow, particularly suit his taste. I have told him (i) that our theology was not all done by laymen; (2) that history and politics startle good people just as much as heresy. Altogether his view would be satis- fied if there was less Latin in my articles and if we avoid ex professo theological articles with theological titles to them, and affirm that we do not profess to teach theology. I suppose 'Blackwood nearly the model he has in his eye. I propose to come it strong (and long, I hope not wrong) in the paper on literary pros- pects, on the cache-cache system Capes attacks.* An article and a letter in the same number agreeing thor- oughly on the point will play into each others' hands. Letter XXIV Approves of Simpson's critique on Martineau — A rare tract on the life of Bellarmine — The blunders in the Bible of Sixtus V corrected by Bellarmine — Simpson and the Saturday 1{eview agree in one point in criticism of Marshall Aldenham, January 9, 1859. Your critique of Martineau f is as good and powerful as usual. In treating of the position of laymen in the development of religious knowledge, will it not be important to speak always as replying to Martineau ? * " The Catholic Press," printed as the first article in February, t Noted in the previout letter. 51 Letters of Lord Acton The addition at 1 8b is capital, and the other passage seems quite irreproachable. The passage is from Vita Venerabilis Card. Rob. Bellarmini, S.J., quam ipsemet scripsit, p. 31.* It is a book extraordinarily rare. No bio- or biblio-graphical writer that I have seen knows of it, and the same is probably the case with our readers. It was printed, perhaps privately, at the time when his beatification was discussed. I possess it bound up with the opinions of several eminent car- dinals upon his claims. I propose to quote another passage in my article, which will also, I think, be to the purpose. He relates how Sixtus V put him on the Index, and describes how good-natured he was, in pre- venting his (Pope Sixtus') Bible from appearing with such gross blunders as it contained, and correcting it himself before it was published. I thought of finishing with this quotation unless you think I had better not. Will it do to quote the page of the same rare book in two different articlespf Or shall we leave them in one case to find the passage themselves? By the bye the life is in the third person, and he calls himself " N." Bentley's new quarterly is, I suppose, to be edited by Hughes [Tom Brown] and Watson, the writer of French articles for the Saturday. If it is so, we must keep an eye upon it, as Watson is a man to be got at by judicious treatment. He says he would be a Catholic, if he could be one of the school of Bossuet,but that now we have changed into quite a different set. If he ever * This passage, p. loo of the article, contained Bellarmine's account of the way he told Pope Clement VIII that he was not a trained theologian. It was suggested for insertion by Acton in a previous letter. t The passage appears in Acton's article " The Catholic Press " in the gambler, February, 1859, p. 89. 52 Aristotle on Law utters such a sentiment, we could down him with a very interesting dissertation on old and new Catho- licism. I imagine it must have riled Marshall to find you coinciding in one point of criticism with the Saturday, which review by the way makes an un- usual blunder this time, talking of the fair of Beau- caire interesting the Normans, as that of Leipzig the Germans, whereas Beaucaire is in Provence. Letter XXV Aristotle's teaching as to the supremacy of the law — The difficulty of keeping up in a monthly magazine a controversy with a weekly — Simpson's note upon Bright is delightful — Correction of a saying of the XII Tables Aldenham, January 13, 1859. When Aristotle says that where the law is not supreme there is no vokirua, he contrasts law with personal or collective will — o-wov /nn vo^ot, not owov nv vofioi apy^. You do him no injustice, but this passage is not quite fairly quoted and might be objected to. What im- mediately follows is excellent* — the contrast is between the ancient modern and the mediaeval state. A learned bureaucratic writer declares the Teutonic race incap- able of forming a real state. ... I have said in the article I am just going to send you much to the same effect as yours, p. 16. There would be an admirable harmony in the whole number if you will print both this and Martineau. I see it is too much for your pugnacity to allow blows to be administered impune * In Simpson's article, " Bureaucracy," p. 115, 53 Letters of Lord Acton to us. Yet I think, with reference to the end of your article against the Tablet,^ that it is very hard to carry on controversy with weekly papers ; and where a dispute cannot be carried through thoroughly and decisively, it seems better to disdain engaging in it. They are sure to attack us every time, and it is hard to be always replying to them. Presently we shall be able to represent ourselves as mild simple people, the objects of constant, violent and unprovoked attack. Your note on Bright f is delightful. The XII Tables said, "Salus populi suprema lex," instead of "Jus cujusque suprema lex." | Letter XXVI Newman's design for the Atlantis — The German method of critical study — The quality which makes a book an advance — New- man's essay on St Cyril a real bit of theology above most other modern treatises — It established a minute point, but was an advance — Science valueless unless pursued without regard to consequences Aldenham, January 19, 1859. .... I do not imagine that any change in the Dublin will have any effect on Newman's design, if it can be carried out in spite of other difficulties. He sees so many obstacles that he is a long time deciding upon a plan which he in general approves of. He * The article called " The Royal Commission and the Tablet'" in the same February number, pp. 1 1 3-126, vifas attributed to Simpson, but in reality was written by Mr Stokes, as also was the article in the January number, called " The Royal Commission on Education." t A note appended to Simpson's article on "Bureaucracy," p. 125. tp. 115. 54 Scholarship and Theology seems to have no confidence in the support the Uni- versity is likely to continue to the Atlantis — I mean pecuniary support. ... As to the obnoxious formula which you attribute to me, I do not generally use it before people who are not likely to kdmit it, least of all, therefore, to . But it was necessary to intimate as delicately as I could that I did not think he knew much about it. So I said something to this effect : " I daresay there are not three people in England who approved of the passage,* but I am not aware that the number of those is greater who have studied both St Augustine and the works of the Jansenists in the original sources, and who have not derived their notions from mere compendia, whose opinion, there- fore, deserves the smallest consideration." . . . Dal- gairns said that all Germans struck him as having something wrong about them. So I told him in my answer that "I hoped his bad opinion would not pre- vent him from studying them, which would probably diminish the severity of his judgement, and would materially add to its weight.". . . . On reading your note again I am provoked to a further explanation of the phenomenon that I pay no attention to Faber, whom you call a forward theo- logian, and for whose talents we have so much respect. The Germans have a word, Quellenmdssig=ex ipsissimis fontibus, and another, Wissenschaftlich^eit, which is nearly equivalent to the Platonic kmarvfi-n as opposed to aiaOriaig, Bo^a, fivvfin, ctc. When a book of theology, history or any other science is destitute of these * The passage about St Augustine, which had given offence to many the previous year. 55 Letters of Lord Acton essential qualities, it belongs to a wholly different category, and, however meritorious it is in its proper sphere, is not treated or spoken of seriously. I might have Gibbon or Grote by heart, I should yet have no real, original, scientific knowledge of Roman or Grecian history, though I might make a great show of it and eclipse a better scholar. So in theology I might know profoundly all the books written by divines since the Council of Trent, but I should be no theo- logian unless I studied painfully, and in the sources, the genesis and growth of the doctrines of the Church. A theologian cannot choose between the Fathers, the scholastic writers or the modern schools, any more than a historian can choose whether he will read Livy or Polybius to write his history of the Punic war. Now, I went through a three years' course of this kind of study of theology, so that, although I did not exhaust any subject, and am, therefore, no authority on any question, yet I know very well the method on which it is necessary to proceed, and can at once detect a writer who, even with immense reading of theologians, is but a dilettante in theology. That's why I said Newman's essay on St Cyril, which on a minute point was original and progressive, was a bit of theology, which all the works of Faber, Morris, Ward and Dalgairns will never be. They have all got a regia via which leads them astray, and for scientific purposes all their labour is wasted. It is the absence of scientific method and of original learning in nearly all even of our best writers that makes it impossible for me to be really interested in their writings. Liter- ally, to my judgment, they are to be classed with 56 Scholarship and Theology Formby's 'Bible History rather than with Newman's Essay, or Mohler's Symbolik, and this no talent can redeem. Altogether this is almost an unknown idea amongst us in England. It is what I attempted to urge in my last paper.* Everything else has only a momen- tary, passing importance ; it is like skirmishing and sharpshooting in a battle, " tant que la garde n'a pas donne" as Napoleon said. a.y(jjviiT/j.a kg to ■7rapayjpy)fi.a is the motto of almost all our literature ; and that is why, as I say, no progress can be made. Science is valueless unless pursued without regard to consequences or to application — only what the Germans call a subjectiipe safeguard is required. I did not go farther into this in the article, partly because it was already too long, and partly because I did not think you would agree with it. You want things to be brought to bear, to have an effect. I think our studies ought to be all but purposeless. They want to be pursued with chastity, like mathematics. This, at least, is my profession of faith. Letter XXVII Simpson's paper on architecture is excellent — For the technical know- ledge Acton has the " admiration of ignorance " — Considers Gothic art a part of the Christian revival by w^hich it is distin- guished from the pagan revival of the fifteenth century — Thinks periodical literature not consistent with his studies Aldenham, Monday [February i, 1859]. I had not time to write before I left London to tell you that your paper on architecturef seems to * "Political Thoughts on the Church," January, 1859. t " The Development of Gothic Architecture," printed in the Rambler for May, 1859. 57 Letters of Lord Acton me excellent, and particularly remarkable for technical knowledge, for which I have the vacant admiration of ignorance. My own notions are derived from the study of history more than of art, and are as narrow as in politics. I believe that Gothic art declined in an age which was fatal to other productions characteristic of the middle ages, and especially to those ideas of which art is the instrument and symbol, and that it was for- gotten as completely as medieval history, law, poetry etc., during the ages in which the pagan revival pre- vailed. Steffens, an excellent German, said well that Cologne Cathedral was a discovery of the nineteenth century as Pompeii had been of the eighteenth. I can only consider Gothic art as a part of the mediaeval revival which distinguishes our age and seems to me as important as the revival of pagan learning in the fifteenth century. It is the culminating point of my reactionary and contracted opinions that a Grecian building, especially a church, seems to me as great an anachronism now as an invocation of Apollo and the muses in a poem. Quid plura? I have condemned myself. I am sure you have confessed to yourself that periodical writing is in truth inconsistent with the sort of studies I have pursued and with my slow and pacific habits of thought. I once imagined it would help to overcome my natural aversion to rapid and spider-like production. As to the use I might other- wise be to you I deceived myself from my ignorance of the real character of our public. In this respect no harm is done by my disappearance. As to contributions you would have been obliged to find others to make 58 Philosophers to Criticize up for my deficiencies, and as it is I will do what I can. I am very anxious to hear from you that you are on reflection less discouraged than you professed yourself when I told you of my impending banishment, and that you see your way to proper and efficient assis- tants. Tell me before Friday what books I can send or bring from Aldenham. I need not quote Horace to you, I am sure: Caelum non animum mutant^ etc. Letter XXVIII Suggests some philosophers for Simpson to criticise — Their joint labour to cease for a while as he has to go abroad — The task of raising the level of thought is suflScient for a lifetime — Simpson the only Catholic capable of conducting a review like what " the %ambler strives to be " Aldenham [February 4, 1859]. I bring Bentham, Todd, Raymundus. The latter reminds me of S. Augustine de 'Trinitate, in which I observe some speculative questions are dis- cussed identical with those in your paper, which I gave to Newman. Proudhon will afford matter for a very interesting article. The chief American is Theodore Parker, of whom I have not read anything, and I be- lieve he is fed from Germany. But a man after your own heart is John Stuart Mill. You would handle him capitally. Of Carlyle the most important things in good and evil are I think in Past and Present ; French Relpolution and Latter Day Pamphlets. Renan's Ftudes sur le Christianisme, which I only know by report, would 59 Letters of Lord Acton be another excellent opportunity. He also stands on the shoulders of Germans, especially Strauss, Sir W. Hamilton is to appear this month. Shall you not fore- stall Meynell in dealing with him? Now you have done so many of these men, you could with effect take an opportunity of referring to the series and announcing its continuation. Whilst I regret the interruption of our joint labour at least as much as you can, because I have derived more enjoyment and far greater benefit from it, I re- joice to think that it is only temporary and that it is brought about solely by external causes. The task of raising the level of thought and learning amongst us is arduous enough to employ us for all our lives. It is one in which approbation and popularity are no test of success, and in which success is necessarily slow ; it is one too in which it is worth while to lose nothing by one's own fault.* You are the only English Catholic possessing the positive qualifications for conducting such a review as the Rambler strives to be. You only want a couple of dull fellows to take my place as advocate of the devil and to carp at everything you write. As for politics I leave you as my legacy the request that you will read Burke's speeches from 1790 to 1795. They are the law and the prophets. * Dr Ward wrote in much this way to Simpson: " I think the %ambler has been the only publication which has shown the most distant perception as to the immense intellectual work incumbent on us in both theology and philosophy." 60 Montalembert and the " Rambler" Letter XXIX Montalembert is full of the gambler and likens it to the Qorrespondant — Baron Eckstein will write a paper on Lamennais — Innocent XI wanted to make Arnauld a Cardinal, which is what the Pope wished to do for Lamennais according to Wiseman — Dsllinger is pleased with progress in England Munich, Sunday [February 13, 1859]. I found Montalembert full of the Rambler, especially the " bureaucratic article," * and highly re- commending it to Cochin, who was there, as the English Correspondant. I gave him Moore's pamphlet and asked him to reply in the Rambler, which before Moore he did not undertake to do. He is anxious to to be more en rapport With, us, deeming our cause nearly identical with his own, and asked a great deal after you. Eckstein will send you before the end of this month a paper in French on Lamennais,t and another on imperial politics. He hopes you will not care about inaccuracies of style and that you will improve it as much as you can in a free translation. In the volume, De vita et rebus gestis ven. servi Dei Innocentii XI Commentarius, Roms, 1776, is related how Innocent wanted to make Arnauld a cardinal. Can you not use this in your article, by way of justi- fying our Cardinal, who has not insulted the wisdom of the Holy See by believing in the intended elevation of Lamennais, since the same dignity was designed for * Simpson's article in February, 1859. t "Lamennais," printed in the Rambler for May, 1859, pp. 49-70. 61 Letters of Lord Acton the great Jansenist who had dedicated the second volume of his work de la Perpetuite, etc., to Innocent ? I have extracted these passages from the above work. You will be able to make something of them, with a skilful hand, if you do not too openly disclose the pur- pose of the quotations. It is the first book I have opened since I arrived. I have taken up my old rooms at the Professor's, who rejoices greatly at what is going on in our island. I shall presently set to work on Austria, to explain the present condition and character of the Empire, since the revolution and Concordat: the rumours of war will add some present interest to the subject. I hear they can raise in a few weeks 800,000 men and have 50,000 ready at Vienna to send in four days to Milan. I encouraged Darnell to go to see you at Clapham. Letter XXX Will agree in anything Simpson settles as to Newman's editing the 1(ambler — Bishop Ullathorne actively encourages the plan — DoUinger thinks the disappearance of the 'S^mhler would be an irreparable loss — Even with Newman as a contributor there would be a great gain — Want of spirituality is one of the most obvious deficiencies Munich, March 8, 1859. .... I am sure you did not doubt of my agreement with whatever you and Newman decided upon doing in order to meet the troubles which beset the Rambler. ... I cannot give up all hope that Newman will be open to remonstrance. For the arrangement you mentioned at first (i.e., that Newman was to be editor) seemed to me full of 62 Newman to edit the " Rambler" promise. This ought to weigh with Newman, that Bishop UUathorne, his own bishop, actively encour- ages the plan. . . . Otherwise ruin threatens our whole press, seeing the failure of all attempts at reviving the Dublin and Newman's difficulty in quartering the Atlantis. . . . The abandonment of the first project would be a great misfortune now that the Rambler has lost its monthly continuity. At any rate I hope you will not give it up. The Professor, too, charges me to say that he would consider the disappearance of the Rambler an irreparable loss. . . . At the worst, will not Newman even write for it ? His contributions might do nearly as much as his ostensible editorship. . . I read your first letter to the Professor, who promised to give us a help if any subject should occur which would suit him to write upon. . . . The bi-monthly plan by enlarging the space facilitates the competition with the failing "Dublin. ... It was only from want of space that I did not use in the article on " The Catholic Press " an argument as this: The want of spirituality is one of the most obvious deficiencies which we must try and remedy.* But if pursued only by ascetic means, it will substitute a great danger for the deficiency removed, etc., and on this account severe and scientific study becomes more than ever necessary. * In several letters Dr Ward urged this same view on Simpson. 63 Letters of Lord Acton Letter XXXI Sends notes for Eckstein's article on Lamennais — Dsllinger has put together what is known about papal denunciations of secret societies for Simpson — The news that Newman has consented to be editor is good — Sends material for a biographical note on Eckstein Munich, April i, 1859. I have been hard at work preparing the notes I send you; as I could not help collecting by the way a good deal of matter besides, I have been longer at it than I expected I should be. I send them as they are written, on the understanding that you will adapt them to the purpose for which they were wanted, that you will select, translate, etc., as may prove necessary.* Some dates I have not been able to fix, as Lamennais' first article for the Drapeau 'Blanc and his visit to Guernsey, of which I find no account anywhere. Newman will want superintending in the matter of foreign tongues. I send you also what I hope will be a satisfactory explanation of the denunciation of secret societies, which the Professor wrote with great alacrity. Your letter is really a message of good news, and you will be rewarded for your forbearance.f ... I have collected such quantities of materials about Austria that I do not know what to do with them. I will * These notes of Acton on de Lamennais appeared as additions to Eckstein's article in the Rambler for May, 1859. t i.e., Simpson's ready consent, although»one of the proprietors of the l^ambler, to make way for a new start under Newman. 64 Baron Eckstein work hard and send my paper by the middle of the month. I am curious to see what Newman will make of the provision for the March [sic] number. Newman's details seem to me very good, and at any rate they show the interest and determination with which he sets to work upon it. I have been writing all day, but will write to you more sensibly when Austria is done; also to Montalembert. As there are so many notes to his article, should you think it well to devote one, say at the beginning, to Eckstein himself?* The writer himself played a conspicuous part in the events which he describes. Of Danish origin, he was disgusted with the empty rationalism of the Lutherans, and came to Rome in 1807, where the spectacle of the treatment which the Pope received from the French decided his conversion. In the Memoires of Guizot we find him in 18 1 5 Commissary-General of the King of the Netherlands in Ghent. After the second Restoration he settled at Paris and became one of the foremost political writers of the Restoration. After he had con- ducted the "Drapeau 'Blanc for some years he founded a literary review, L^ Catholique, 182 6- 1829, of which sixteen volumes appeared. In this review, written almost entirely by himself, though in a language of which he was never so perfect a master as of German, he advocated the alliance of science and religion far more effectually than de Maistre, for he exhibited a vast range of knowledge, including even Indian * The suggestion was carried out, and the information contained in this letter as to the Baron Eckstein was embodied in a note prefixed to his article on de Lamennais in the %ambkr for May, 1859, p. 49. He is there de- scribed as the author of the articles on M. Guizot in the October and November numbers. 65 5 Letters of Lord Acton learning. As a political writer he is better known in Germany than in France as the correspondent for above thirty years of the Allgemeine Zeitung, the first of German newspapers. Can you out of these materials make a slightly complimentary but a modest" note on Eckstein, if you think it necessary ? The real reason why he never obtained in France so high a reputation as de Maistre or Bonald was that he cannot write French well. I believe in the days of the Catholique h.c got Philarete Charles to translate his essays out of Ecksteinese into French. What has become of the Atlantis ? Letter XXXII A correction of a note on Eckstein's article — Attempt made by the French minister, Vill^le, to secure the press — The introduction of the censorship of the press — Whilst writing has heard of the dissolution — Lord Granville wishes him to stand for Parliament Munich, April 5, 1859. I have a correction to send of my note on one of the most important questions relating to Eckstein's article. Chateaubriand was dismissed on June 6, 1824. The editor of the Journal des Debats took his part, and, says Guizot [Memoires, I, 208), asked Villele to give Chateaubriand the Roman embassy. This was refused, and Bertin declared that he would go into opposition with his paper, for which the ablest wri- ters, among others Chateaubriand and Fierce, wrote; 66 ^ The French Government and the Journals " Les Debats ont deja renverse les ministeres Decazes et Richelieu, ils sauront bien aussi renverser le ministere Villele." This menace was fulfilled four years later, and so was the prophecy contained in Villele's answer: " Vouz avez renverse les premiers en faisant du royal- isme ; pour renverser le mien il vous faudra faire de la revolution." Against this formidable enemy Villele tried to make sure of the rest of the press that summer. The attempt to ruin hostile papers by vexatious legislation failed with the Courrier Frangais. Then he tried to buy them up. This was done with the religious and loyal papers, the Gazette de France, Drapeau 'Blanc, Oriflamme, Journal de Farts. Also the Foudre and the Tablettes Universelles, in which Thiers and Mignet were contributors. This made a sensation, and a similar attempt with the Quotidienne failed. It was then, August 15, 1824, that a censorship of the periodical press was introduced, which, as Louis XVIII difed September 16, was re- scinded at the accession of Charles. I presume that this measure of Villele led to Eckstein's retirement from the Drapeau Blanc, for he started the Catholiqv.e shortly after. Whilst writing this I have heard of the dissolution, and Lord Granville wants me to come and try my chance in Ireland. I fear I shall be obliged to try it, " pour acquit de conscience," and because an election is cheaper than being sheriff, but I do not feel san- guine. It would be very pleasant to see you again, but I am distressed about Austria, which I have not finished, as I spent a vast deal of time in collecting more material than I can work up in a hurry. I have 67 Letters of Lord Acton only done about six pages on the Josephine system, and hope to send ofF the rest on Monday. Letter XXXIII Urges Simpson to accept Montalembert's offer to write for the Corre- spondant — Is writing to Professor Hofler, of Prague, about Cam- pion — Modern rescripts have no importance for researches on secret societies — Sends a list of 3uch censures Aldenham, Wednesday, April 20, 1859, I have just received from Ireland your Munich letter. Montalembert is always rhetorical in his pri- vate letters, as Macaulay is always antithetical even in conversation. But his proposal is quite sincere. He has always tried to get competent writers in dif- ferent countries, and from Germany he receives very valuable letters from Reichensperger, the leading Catholic statesman of Prussia. Your correspondence would be really valuable to them and to us, and you yourself, writing for an unaccustomed audience, would get a new light on many subjects. Only do not let it be merely an opening for ill humour and satire. You would spoil a good chance. I suppose it is from a misgiving of this kind that McMuUen dissuades you. If I was you I would write, but with great self-con- trol, and taking great care not to allow it to be known in England. I am quite sure that the secrecy of the thing would be a great security. It must be remem- bered that the Qorrespondant themselves are not imma- culate in their view or perfect in their knowledge, especially of Catholic England. The weight of the 68 Papal Censures of Secret Societies observations you will make in their recoil depends mainly upon the author remaining unknown. Con- sider this, I pray you, and that six confidants are equivalent to publicity at Charing Cross. I will write straightway to Prague, to my friend Hofler, professor of history, about Campion. I do not see what consequence modern rescripts can have for your researches on secret societies, or how Newman can expect to find a law about them distinct from the Bulls in which they have been condemned. What he expects to find in the Codex Theodosianus I cannot divine. I find a list of all the censures starting from Clement XII, April i8, 1738. Benedict XIV, March 18, 1751. Pius VII, Sept. 13, 1 82 1 (Carbonari). Leo XII, March 15, 1826 (Freemasons again). Gregory XVI, Aug. 15, 1832 (in cond. Lamennais). All these start from Clement XII. Letter XXXIV Is pleased with the literary garb in which Simpson has clothed Eck- stein's " Lamennais " — Newman's projects as editor — He dis- claims theology and does not approve of your writing for the Correspondant — In spite of his opinion I still think you should — Newman not well, but in great spirits about the Rambler The Oratory [Birmingham], Thursday night [April 21, 1859]. I have read so much of Lamennais as is con- tained on the same sheet as my annotations,* and cer- * The Baron Eckstein's article on de Lamennais in the Rambler for May, 1859, was accompanied by seven pages of "Historical Annotations" by Acton, pp. 70-77. 69 Letters of Lord Acton tainly Eckstein has never appeared to greater advan- tage than in the garb which you have bestowed upon him. I was horrified at finding my notes rendered conspicuously by large type. I was in time to make some corrections, but when I represented to Newman that the quotation about the bad pastorals of the French bishops * had been sent only for your private amusement, and maliciously forwarded by you, he insisted upon retainirig it. Now I am proved to be rtlore prudent than the serpent, I shall go about with a good conscience. I hear of a first part of the paper on Ireland, your Secret Societies (he is not quite com- fortable about a reference to St Leo), and an article of his, editorial as it appears, on the Education ques- tion, but of this he has said no word to me. Besides which, Eckstein and your Gothic art, and a very elabo- rate summary of events. He looks to give great fulness and completeness to this portion. I am to send him Austria and short notices for July, when also he means to review Gillow, whom, as adapted to this peniten- tial season, I read this evening. He disclaims theology, however, but took great pains to explain to me why he means to avoid criticisms of devotional books, a branch of literature in which you delight, and I looked as if I did not at all know whose books he meant. Strong in my consciousness of eminent prudence, I persist in thinking, in spite of Newman, that the open- ing in the Qorrespondant is not to be thrown away. There is so much to be done that I do really hope you will confute the criticisms and dissolve the doubts and objections of your friends, by doing earnestly and * See p. 73. 70 Newman Editing the "Rambler" carefully what if well done will be of no small service and of no little influence on public opinion abroad. I feel quite sure that Dbllinger, who, not recognizing your hand, forwarded your letter unopened, will be of the same mind. I am certain that if he was assured that the effervescence of your conversation would not communicate itself to your ink, he would consider that nobody can give as just information and as dis- criminating judgements as you on things religious and secular in England. Such a league as Montalembert proposes would be of no small power. Newman is not well, and his hand is getting so stiff that they are looking out for an amanuensis ; but the change at his age will be very severe. I gather that he is in great spirits at having the Rambler, although he bitterly complains of his old age, and of the time he is going to devote to it. But he throws himself into it vigorously, and has large plans. . . . The Oratory has a more prosperous appearance than I have observed before. The school is beginning with great hopes in- deed, but in a small way to start with. Caswall, the poet, as also the politician of the house, is full of the eloquence of Bright; but Newman talks of plumping for his friend Acland. He is just bringing out an ex- cellent volume of his discourses and essays at the University.* In the one on medicine is a comparison of the warnings of conscience with the reflected scenes in the water in the finest style. I have only read that and one other yet. "Lectures and Essays on University Subjects, published this year, 1859. 71 Letters of Lord Acton Letter XXXV Difficulty of treating the subject of " Toleration " — Recommends a book by Thomassin on the subject — Contemplates writing an article himself on its historical aspect London, Friday [June 17, 1859]. I am off to Aldenham to-morrow for a week or ten days. Let me know there what books you want. With regard to " Toleration," it will be difficult to treat theoretically without the fear of examples before your eyes. But there is a learned book by Thomassin in three volumes which I think I have got, containing the history and edicts of tolerance and persecution. But if you will do it philosophically and after your own fashion, I will try to follow up some day with a sketch of the history of Toleration. The reason why Plunket will not do as a perfect instance of political toleration is his violence on the Veto question. You will find a very angry speech of his against the Catho- lics on that occasion. Eckstein will want you to read him through again, for some matters of orthography of names and other hastiness. Do you think that his way of putting abrupt questions by way of transition and prelude to some episode, as: "What then is the Italian ? " might be circumvented ? I gave Wilberforce yesterday the materials from the Blue Book, with some notes out of which he has made an article. I have written something on Des- 72 The Rewriting of Foreign Articles champs, but it is not gone yet,* for I wanted to write to Newman at the same time, and have been too busy. I had an interesting conversation with the Count de Paris yesterday, who is so amiable and sensible as far as I can see. Monsell has seized eagerly the suggestion about the fF[eek/y] R[egtster]. Letter XXXVI Desires to obtain F. de Buck's name as a writer to the 'Rambler — Articles from abroad must be rewritten 1 6, Bruton Street, Tuesday [June 28, 1859]. There is nothing to add that I can conceive to your letter to F. de Buck.f I see you do not think it possible to obtain the use of his name in the same way as we shall have Newman's. But any contribution, as a note or anything, signed by him would be invalu- able. I cannot help thinking that with the articles we receive from abroad a mere translation won't do, but we must rewrite them in English. This is clearly the case with German papers, and I think Eckstein's last paper will, if you revise it again, lose some of its peculiarities. Newman says nothing is fit to be printed that has not been written twice over. * In a subsequent letter Acton says: " Newman writes me word that the next Rambler is overcrowded with matter, and he cannot find room for the review of Deschamps which I sent him." t One of the most learned of the BoUandist Fathers and constantly cor- responding with Simpson. 73 Letters of Lord Acton Letter XXXVII Is delighted with Simpson's translation of Eckstein's paper — Newman strongly advises the secularization of the gambler — His criticism on Simpson's paper on " Whewell " — Acton's wish to find out what " episcopic work " Newman will do for the %ambler 'Bruton Street, Thursday \_after July 13, 1859]. I have read your elaborate translation through with care and delight.* It will be a good beginning to our next number. I have attempted a few correc- tions. If you glance through it once again you will not find much to do. Newman strongly advises secularization, and says he would have secularized the next number himself. He will not go on with "Ancient Saints,"t and only half promises more of Ireland for next number. | Your voice from the tomb is truly very sonorous. If, as I hope, you are sitting down to hard work with Mill, you may like a hint of Newman's on your Whewell. " In that clever metaphysical paper, which you let me see, he seemed to me to begin with assumptions which he would not expect an opponent to grant him." I send this because Mill seems singularly well suited to give you a triumph worth gaining. I had gotten so far when I received your note and inclosures. I will send on F. de Buck's letter to New- * " The Political System of the Bonapartes," printed in the Rambler for September, 1859, pp. 298-332. Written by Eckstein. t No. I printed in the May Rambler, pp. 90-98. t"The Mission of the Isles of the North," in same number, pp. 1-22, and continued in the July number, pp. 170-186. 74 Question of an Editor man in order to try him, and make sure of the epi- scopic work he will do for us. I fully agree with what you say of Newman's politics. The difficulty will be to introduce a new line on this point and on foreign affairs in a way that is not abrupt and uncivil to New- man. As he recommends your paper on " Parties,"* there can be no objection to making that, by a slight revision of the passages on Catholics, the opening of the breach on this question. A month or two's watching of continental affairs will make the operation on that side more easy. Can we not have a nominal friend occupying that office [of editor] as a sinecure ? You don't mind the work, and I think we had better keep all monies for other people's hands. As to the name, mine is not yet grateful either. Our security must lie in our own reso- lute prudence and in looking far enough ahead to over- look some of the obstructions nearer at hand that threaten to impede our vision. Letter XXXVIII Father de Buck's name can be used — Newman's continuation of his " Ancient Saints " — Newman is not well, but hopes to send some reviews besides the " Northern Isles " — Probable contents of the September number 'Bruton Street, Tuesday \yuly? 1859]. Father de Buck's letter will be very satisfactory for September, as we can make use of his name to any extent. * " The Theory of Party," printed in the Rambler, September 1859. 75 Letters of Lord Acton I wrote to Newman that he ought to give us two con- tinuations for September — " Ancient Saints," * because there ought not to be an interval of four months between continuations, and the "Isles of the North," because having appeared in two consecutive numbers there ought not to be an interruption now. I told him that this request was founded on external reasons, inde- pendent of the internal value of those articles, . . . 1 had a long theological talk with Lord Shaftesbury yesterday. We are very good friends. London^ August lo, 1859. .... To-day Newman writes that he is not well, and cannot send us anything for the next number. He had promised a few reviews, besides the " Northern Isles." We run, therefore, rather short. I have given all my time to the current events, and have had so very little time, with morning sittings in Parliament — there were three or four days a week in which I could not write even a letter with comfort — that I have not done much for Austria. How, then, do we stand ? Eckstein, 44 pp. ; Current Events, say, with your help, 3o;t Rosmini, 17 — in all, 91 pp. Now, as to corres- pondence, we have only Father de Buck's letter, unless you wish your other two to appear, which will only excite anger. As to reviews, you have some. I can do a little French book. Then Maguire has been bother- ing me about his second edition of Rome, I suppose for a review. Did you review the first edition ? I read * Newman's "Ancient Saints" was continued in November, pp. 41-62; in July and in September, i860. t Acton contributed the thirty-six pages of " Contemporary Events " to this number. 76 The September " Rambler" the second, and sent him my criticisms, which he accepted very amiably. I could make a page about Rome^ saying little of the book, if necessary. Then I can look up Deschamps again. . . . Will you look through " Parties" ? If you have nothing else ready, we might put in Lingard and Lamennais, but not unal- tered. Best would be if you have or could do a goodish article besides.* Only in case of utmost need, in case, that is, you have done nothing for the last two months, I could make up a short article on Old Austria under Joseph II and Metternich. . . . Letter XXXIX Has several pieces of information as to Austrian affairs from Lord Claremont, who was military attach^ during the war — Begs that these extra facts be included in his " Contemporary Events " Frognal, Footscray, S.E., Thursday, eAug. i8, 1859. I met Claremont here, the English military attache at the French headquarters in the Italian war, who told me several things that will complete our account of the peace, if you can work them in. My numbers of the forces were from the Austrian official paper for theirs and from the Patrie for the allies. They may remain, but we should add the eye-witnesses compute the French force engaged at 1 1 0,000, the Sardinian at 40,000, and the Austrians at 133,000. But the Austrians left the bulk of their cavalry, 1 0,000 strong under Zedwitz, at Goito all day. * Simpson did this and contributed the article " Captive Keepsake." 77 Letters of Lord Acton Fleury sent to Verona unexpectedly on the evening of the 6th with direct proposals for an armistice. The French expected an attack next morning, and turned out at three in the morning of the 7th. Fleury had found F. Joseph in bed. He got up and said he would give an answer next morning. Meantime he tele- graphed to Berlin, as I have mentioned, and as they refused to answer positively he agreed to the armistice next morning, and Fleury brought the news to Napoleon about ten on the morning of the 7th. On the 8th it was signed between Vaillant and Hess. On the 9th came Cavour, and the Emperor wrote to F. Joseph proposing peace, as I have said. Prince Alexander of Hesse came on Sunday, the loth, to manage the interview. Even then nobody in the French army thought of peace. At the interview at Villafranca Napoleon, after some ceremony, entered the house first, saying, " Vous etes chez vous," thereby giv- ing the officers present a hint about the fate of Venetia. On the evening of the i ith Prince Napoleon brought the preliminaries to Verona and got them signed. Then he had to take them to Victor Emmanuel at Monza, who disputed a long time, and signed in great disgust. Prince Napoleon being eager for peace. Can you get these facts into our account ?* * Simpson included these facts in his "Contemporary Events" — " Con- cluding Events of the War," Rambler, September, 1859, pp. 409-411. 78 French Occupation of Rome Letter XL Newman has several short notices and a letter in defence of Napoleon — Difficulty of Roman Government since French occupation — Impossible for the Pope to recognize the right of his Chamber to refuse supplies Saturday \Aug. 20, 1859]. Newman says that he has sent several short notices and a letter in defence of Napoleon* to the printers, with directions not to print until we tell them to do so, I write to them to get them printed. Dolus, I know, latet in generalibus. The Roman system since the French occupation and reforms is no longer what it used and ought to be. This is their great difficulty, the discrepancy between their natural and their traditional policy and that which was imposed upon them after the Revolution. One can- not briefly explain the details of this. The absence of conscription is a remnant of the old system. Forced military service is, I should say, entirely incompatible with what I call the Catholic notion of the State. Yet that is the great source of trouble and contempt to the Roman government at the present day, that they have no soldiers of their own. But if we go, as you suggest, into detail, we shall find many things which date from the Napoleonic period, and apparently contradict my theory. All the plans of improvement are on the modern system and can only make the dis- crepancy greater. England for instance would have a * This letter, headed " Napoleonism not impious," appeared in the Rambler for September, 1859, signed, "J. O." 79 Letters of Lord Acton constitution after our model. Well, it is impossible for the Pope to recognize the right of his Chamber to refuse supplies. To bring the general principles more home to the facts, an entirely new inquiry would be wanted equivalent to a review of About. I have sent back your two articles. Newman says he has not had time to write to Wetherell. Letter XLI Hopes Simpson has corrected his " Contemporary Events " and has struck out anything unjust to Gladstone — Newman advises acceptance of an article by Arnold on Mill's " Liberty" — Sends a review of a book he read in the train going to Aldenham — Some passages from St Augustine on "Toleration" — Has lost faith in Gladstone — Newman is infatuated with Napoleon Aldenham^ 'Tuesday {Aug. 23, 1859]. I hope you have been at the pains of cor- recting what was corrigible in the last batch of papers I sent you,* and especially that you have not allowed anything unjust to Gladstone to pass. If you keep his speeches carefully in your eye, and remember the manner in which the people who knew him and liked him best — Hope, Manning, Badeley — speak of him now, you will understand the wrathfulness of my criticism. Yesterday's and to-day's papers give great news from Modena, Florence and Vienna. Have you been in time to insert it at the right places ? Newman wants a proof of his contribution. I can *The papers to be worked up for the section on "Contemporary Events " for the 1(ambkr. 80 St Augustine on Toleration send him mine. He particularly wishes that the letter should not be known to be his, and perhaps made it look ill-tempered on purpose. Arnold offered him a short review of Mill's Liberty so long ago as June, and he writes to advise that we should get him to write for us. I am afraid the Emperor of Austria has done a foolish thing. [Aug. 24, '59.] I send you a notice of a book I read in the train coming down.* Although it is a German book, I have nothing else ready for review. I will get up in course of time something about Rome. It is wonder- ful how the mind expands and the memory fishes up all sorts of forgotten things when one gets among familiar books. So pray let me have the Roman ques- tion ; if printed, so much the more convenient. I cannot find the passage I was thinking of in St Augustine about Toleration. But this may be of some use: "Si superbia non esset, non essent hasretici: hi autem, si non essent, multo pigrius Veritas quasre- retur " {De Vera Religione, c. xxv) . " Utamur hsreticis, non ut eorum approbemus errores, sed ut Catholicam disciplinam adversus eorum insidias asserentes, vigilantiores et cautiores simus, etiamsi eos ad salutem revocare non possumus." [De Vera Rel. cap. viii.) Newman writes privately in defence of Napoleon, to whom I have sent answer. He wants the author- ship of his letter, as I think I told you, kept secret. * Schmidt 'W^menisViGeschkhte der Franz,Ssischen Literatur, 1859. Printed in %ambler, November, 1859, pp. 104-107. 81 6 Letters of Lord Acton I have marked the order of articles on foreign affairs on the copy I have returned, and I have sent New^man his part of the number to correct. . . I hope when I come back from Germany to have several longish articles done in November, December and January for winter and spring Rambler, if I can get three months of peace and retirement. I think, therefore, there would be no harm in getting a few odd contributors for the next numbers from people whose names will help with Longman. I am buying no books, so that I can afford to invest ^^30 or ^40 in the attempt. I have not lost all hope in Gladstone, but all faith and most of my charity. I have softened one expres- sion. Newman is infatuated about Napoleon. He knows no good of him and will not believe any harm. It is absurd to say what he does in the last sentence of his printed letter. He seems to go entirely by the analogy with Constantine, for whom indeed nobody has a good word, but of whom Newman has a worse opinion than I was prepared for. 82 Articles for the " Rambler " Letter XLII Preparations for the November Rambler — F. de Buck's antiquarian paper — Hopes Simpson's letter on the composition of the Catho- lic body will be carefully and " gently " done — Canon John Morris's Life of St Thomas should be reviewed Aldenham, Sunday [Aug. 28, 1859]. I will try and find out what Newman will do for November. Northcote promises to review Palmer,* and writes a very kind letter. I have asked Arnold for Mill's Liberty \ and O'Hagan for a paper on Irish affairs, and have no answer yet. Add to this your essay on Toleration \ and a bit of martyrdom, § and a paper from Wetherell, whose essay on the war || I have read since Newman attacked it, and fully agree with. The correspondence will include F- de Buck's anti- quarian paper,^ F. Weld on the Colonies, if you can get it, and your proposed letter on the composition of the Catholic body, which if carefully done, of which I am sure, and especially if gently done, of which let * Dr Northcote wrote his review of Palmer in an article called " The Symbolism of the Catacombs," in the Rambler for November, 1859, pp. 1-17. t The article appeared in November, pp. 62-73. JThe article on "Toleration" was withdrawn in deference to Newman's judgement. He thought it needed revision, and desired that his " St Chrysos- tom " should not appear if this revision was not carried out. As to the need of such revision he adds: " I ask of other writers only what I practise myself, for everything I write is revised by one or two priests." § Probably the letter, " The Cultus of the English Martyrs." II "Thoughts on the Causes of the present War," in the Rambler for July, 1859, pp. 186-198. fl " External Devotion to Holy Men." 83 Letters of Lord Acton us say we feel equally sure, is a capital thought. Don't forget the converts in your enumeration, whom you omit in your letter. The Hungarian Diet had a maxim: " Vota sunt ponderanda, non numeranda." It is a great question of tactics whether an attack ought to be anticipated or left to smite the air. The Austrian invasion of Piedmont is not in favour of the first method. . . Shall we have anything from de Buck on Anglican Orders ? If only a review of Williams in a long-short notice. Morris's St Thomas* must in all fairness be reviewed. Shall we ask Allies, or does anybody occur to you ? By what masterpiece of a perverse ingenuity do you mean to introduce uneasy topics into your paper on Toleration ? It would perchance check the perilous ardour of your pen if I brought fourteen moderate quartos on the subject to London. Letter XLIII Newman hopes to finish " The Isles " for November — Northcote has promised a review — He himself has much material for an Austrian article — Has been going every day for three weeks to a military hospital and getting information from the soldiers — Settlement of the Protestant question in Austria — Proposal as to the forma- tion of a " Lingard Society " Carlsbad, September 30 [1859]. .... I cannot tell for some time when I am likely to get away from Carlsbad. At any rate I must * Lift and (Martyrdom of St Thomas Bec\et, which appeared this year, by Canon, better known in after years as the distinguished Jesuit Father, John Morris. S4 The State of Austria have a week with Dollinger, whom I have not yet seen, and I hope to be home before the 25th. Too late, however, to do any revision, unless for the name of the thing and the goodness of conscience you think it worth while to send me anything in type. Newman writes to me that he hopes to finish the Isles, but is not sure. Northcote * has promised a review of Palmer, Arnold one of Mill,t and O'Hagan an Irish article I have been to Vienna and Prague, and have seen great men, and have got much matter for my Austrian article and much I might have used for the last "Foreign Affairs." Since I came here I have also had a long talk with Count Buol. For three weeks I went every day to a hospital for wounded soldiers and heard a good deal, but I do not know whether I have anything that we can use, for 1 have read no newspapers. The dissatis- faction in Austria is enormous, the emperor discredited, the aristocratic generals in great hatred and contempt and unable to shew themselves at a cafe with other officers. Benedake, as the only successful general, and as a bourgeois, is boundlessly popular with the army. Not only is the army angry at having been led to defeat by incapable chiefs, but both army and people at the neglect of the comfort of the private soldiers in con- sequence of mismanagement and want of funds. This riles the common people fearfully. The army starved * To Northcote at this time Acton wrote about his promised review, and added a word about his ideals in trying to continue the Rambler: "It is quite true that my new occupations make it hard work to carry on the 'Rambler, but when Newman gave it up it was inevitable that I should make the attempt. My principle is: peace among Catholics; for Protestants of good will a golden bridge; polemics to be directed chiefly against freethinkers." t It is this article which Mr Herbert Paul calls Acton's "first contribu- tion " to the %ambler! 85 Letters of Lord Acton in Italy, and the discipline was rigorously enforced on men dying of hunger and of thirst, which their officers would not allow them to slake. Then the wounded complain bitterly of the butcherly treatment in the great military hospitals. To a people accustomed to the thought of a "paternal" government all these suffer- ings are a source of extreme animosity. Politically the most remarkable facts are the inaction of Austria in Italy, where she seems now tolerably agreed with France, and the settlement of the Protestant question by the new ministry. The statute, of which you have seen and will, I suppose, give the chief provisions, is perfectly liberal and sensible. It has long been drawn up, and it is not Bach's fault that it was not soon pub- lished, so that his successor Goluchouski is decking himself with the feathers of the other. The Protestants had no real grievances, and this decree only secures to them the enjoyment of rights they, for the most part, practically possessed. They do not, therefore, exhibit any great delight, and there is no great practical change. But the row about Protestant oppression is silenced, and the cry against the Concordat is weakened. For this statute is conceived in the same spirit, drawn up oh the same principle, and in fact completes the work of the Concordat. The Catholics have most cause to rejoice at it, for it concedes to the Protestants privi- leges, very harmless in themselves, but far greater than were granted to the Church. No Catholic teacher, for instance, can be appointed in a Protestant school. It was impossible to obtain a corresponding right for Catholic schools. This passage has indeed, amusingly enough been complained of on the plea that the 86 Proposed " Lingard Society " Catholics might now demand the same thing, though it was refused in the Concordat. The Austrians are resolved not to interfere in Italy, and by refusing to recognize the new settlements, to reserve to themselves the power of upsetting it all when an opportunity offers. China will give you an easy chapter. Eckstein writes full of admiration for your letters in the Qorrespondant. Shall we not begin again this winter to think of the Lingard Society? I have been putting together my notions and plans for carrying it out. Will you do the same and make a note of every ^o^, library 2inA family we may hope for materials from, besides those we can convoke as members, and the best practical way of obtaining subscribers. Letter XLIV The November Rambler shows that promises are sometimes delusive — Newman perhaps does not mean to send any more, but he had better be, written to — The article on the Bonapartes has been praised — Projects for improving the reviews of books — Question of getting Longman as publisher — Three long postscripts upon Austrian and Prussian affairs, the state of parties, possible lines of settlement — Acton's opinion about the Catholic University for Ireland Carlsbad, October 7, 1859. I was delighted to receive your letter with so much good news. As to the November Rambler I must observe that promises are sometimes delusive, and that Newman's in particular are not to be trusted. His letter to me, half promising the end of the " Isles," was dated 87 Letters of Lord Acton September 6, long before he sent the "Ancient Saints," so that perhaps he means to send no more. I refreshed him with a reminder yesterday, but I am too far off to keep up the correspondence. Unless then O'Hagan and Arnold,* whom I requested to send their articles to Burns, have done so by the time this reaches you, Wetherellf or you had better write to Newman, as well as to the others, to know for certain. Letters will find them, 6 Harcourt Street, Dublin. At any rate, let us have the "Forms of Intuition" No. i,| this time. Passing from the next Rambler to the last, I am glad the treatment of Gladstone appears colourless.§ Our difference on important political questions with the midsummer Newman obliges us to be a little reserved at first. To make up for Father de Buck's criticism on Eckstein, Reichensperger, the Catholic leader in the Prussian Chamber, writes: "The article on the Bonapartes seems to me to betray a pen of the first order. May I be allowed to ask the name of the author?" Wallis has missed the point apparently of your essay " on Parties." A man may, without prejudice to his reputation for wisdom, dispute some of the opinions, but only a fool can overlook the ingenuity and felicity of the analysis of Toryism as a social not a political system. Reichensperger, above-praised, says he read it with great interest and agrees with the substance * His article on " Mill " appeared in this number. + Mr T. F. Wetherell, who had been induced by Newman to assist the %ainbler, became sub-editor of the magazine at this time, with Acton as editor, and Simpson in the position, as he called it, " of a specially privi- leged contributor " and locum tenens of Acton. X " Forms of Intuition " by Simpson appeared in the November number, 1859, pp. 18-41. § In the "Contemporary Events — Home Affairs." 88 Proposed Method of Reviewing of it, but says it is a question of practice, not of theory, and that no theory will suit both Prussia and England. Though this is simple enough, yet as he is a very able man, and as the Prussian Catholics certainly succeed better than we do in a very similar enterprise, I have begged him to put into a letter for the Rambler any observation your article may suggest to him. As to the future Rambler, I shall not be back in time to make notes of the events of the month. But if you will help me in that, I will follow up on my return home, and will undertake the continuation of that irksome task. I am ready to do it not because my historical studies will make me do it well, but be- cause doing it will help me to understand history generally. But it ought to be agreed between us that if there is any subject to be treated in the " Chronicle " which you or Wetherell happen to be particularly conversant with, you shall both make notes on such subjects that may be worked into the text. I am very glad you both agree with me about the impor- tance of the literary notices. I have an idea which I communicated yesterday to Newman, that without excluding odd notices of various kinds, it might be a good plan to group together several books on one branch of literature in each number. I could do in this way ten pages of medieval history for January, and I could get, say, a set of notices of books on biblical learning, etc., for March, and so forth. This plan would, I conceive, serve to concentrate the interest of the short notices in each number, and, with proper assistance, would not be extremely difficult. This is the way, too, in which I could best bring my German studies and 89 Letters of Lord Acton correspondence to bear. I am beginning also to see quite clearly into the millstone of Austrian politics at the present change. I hope to have for January an article ready the tendency of which, as well as other things, your cool report of the Austrian princess will serve to explain. I hope, besides, to get one or two articles done before parliament meets, so as to have nothing but current events and literature on my hands during the session. I have had letters from Prague since my arrival here, in which Hofler, who, I think I told you, is one of the best German historians, offers essays on the history of the middle ages, naming subjects of the widest interest and importance. Another very con- siderable writer, Lowe, the same who discussed in a Vienna journal your essays on Shakespeare, proposes one or two papers on the English philosophers, I pre- sume of the period between Bacon and Berkeley. I have asked for more exact information, and have accepted also. . . . After receiving your letter this afternoon I resolved to speak to Lord Granville about Longman. He promised at once to do what he could to facilitate matters, and said he would have Longman to dinner when we get home, if I liked, so we must bide our time and get Newman to write to Longman at the right moment, . . What you say about pub- lishing your philosophical work a propos of the dicta of the Oscott bishops is well worthy of consideration, and meets half way something that has often occurred to me lately. It is not enough that the Rambler should recover its good name in the world separate from you. You ought to take the same opportunity of rehabili- tating yourself independently of the Rambler, You 90 Projected Volume on Metaphysics ought not to be known simply as Simpson of the Rambler, but as the author of such and such a book. Campion, if you could have finished him this winter, would have appeared to me the very thing. But the same will be done with your treatise of metaphysics. Mansel's remarkable success prove^s that a well-written book of this kind is not overlooked because merely of the subject. If it is not too long, if it is clear and helped with those pointed illustrations which come so readily to your pen, published by Longman, it will, in all like- lihood, (materially) succeed. Still more, as you must seek a Protestant public, if it takes its place in exist- ing discussions and controversies, if it hangs by stick- ing one peg into Whewell, another into Mill, another into Hamilton, Mansel, etc. On the other hand it will be an advantage to you among Catholics that you can start from the recent utterance of the bishops and act as the pioneer amongst us in the great controversy which your essays have already engaged in and of which people are beginning to see the importance. I say all this frankly, believing your book to be written and that the getting it ready will not impede you in writing articles. Whilst I write, it occurs to me that if you confine your book to the cosmogony, there is not room for much that I have said. But then the interest of the subject is never dying, and my opinion is still the same. I would only impress upon you that you ought to do Mill for January. It is a capital sub- ject for Longman, and it ought to be the least religious number of all. I suppose, in "Current events," you will give extracts from the Pastoral and sing a chorus to the passage you speak of. You ought sometimes to write 91 Letters of Lord Acton an article or a review for the Wee\ly. It would serve our purpose to sound an occasional echo in its pages. I have no room left to speak about the German con- federation, and the projects of reform, but will, if I can, without delay. I read hardly any newspapers but loads of Austrian pamphlets. I hope you have made some blunder about the catacombs. I met de Rossi, the underground archaeo- logist par excellence^ at Vienna, and renewed an old Roman acquaintance with him. He said Northcote had made some mistakes,* so I will send him the November '^^ambler and ask him to send us a critique or correction of errors, by which means we shall have him among our contributors. I have also written to Gratry for something which will give us the use of his name. The prospects of Longmanian advertise- ments and other advantages in the trade, joined to your account of our affairs and of your good under- standing with Wetherell, is highly exhilarating. As soon as Palmer's book on Egypt appears, we must send it to Renouf. I P.S. — There ought to be a chapter in " Current Events " on the Established Church, of a page or two. Will you undertake it for the January number ? Only a convert can do that sort of thing, and if well done would keep our friends of the Union, etc., on the look out. Pray consider whether it would not be well to have certain constant chapters in " Current Events," * No doubt in his article that appeared in November, " The Symbo- lism of the Catacombs." 9.2 Austria and the Pope as Catholic Affairs; Established Church; Parliament; Ireland, etc.; also whether any device can be better than Seu vetus est verum diligo, she novum. It is important to observe who are the friends and who are the enemies of Austria, This is the cha- racteristic lesson of the late war and the most telling fact concerning the internal government of Austria. In Germany the people were almost entirely with her, the governments, when not carried away by popular feeling, generally against her. F/ench impe- rialism has a great fascination for many of those small princes, and its influence has led them more than once to acts and wishes incompatible with the liberal institutions which subsist with more or less success all over Germany. Austria, it is often said, has lost friends by the Concordat. There is considerable truth in this. The old Austrian government before 1848 was the most unpopular throughout Germany, the very bug- bear of liberal politicians and of the press. But the courts regarded it as their bulwark and their security. Every prince sought in it the safeguard of his power. Metternich was the Protector of the confederation which he had created as much as Napoleon was the Protector of the confederation of the Rhine. The mild absolutism and good-natured tyranny of the Emperor Francis was the ideal of many weak and timid sovereigns. Austria was the model of a monarchy, whilst France was a Republic scarcely disguised for decency's sake in the trappings of kingly government. But now it is no longer so. Austria has sacrificed in the Concordat the great and most indispensable ele- ment of despotism. The prince who does not command 93 Letters of Lord Acton the souls of his subjects has according to modern notions a very precarious authority over their bodies. It is Austria that is now the mongrel, half absolute, half free. It has surrendered to the most formidable and insinuating enemy; it has admitted a State within a State. Did not Dr Busby walk before the king when he visited his school for fear the boys should imagine that there was a greater personage in the world than the schoolmaster ? And now that Francis Joseph has publicly acknowledged the rights of the Pope in matters hitherto belonging to the State, will not his subjects ask themselves whether perchance in other respects, too, the State has not hitherto overstepped the limits of its just authority ? No State is safe from the influence of so pernicious an example. Even the old and world-wise Protestant King of Wurtemberg has been forced into similar concessions, and the Grand Duke of Baden has given way to the Archbishop of Freiburg as if he were a medieval prince living in dread of excommunication and the fear of God ! There are many who make these speeches, and these are the enemies Austria has made by the Concordat. But that State, which was so long the object of abhorrence to the Germans as it is to the Italians now, has had with it during the late war not only the sympathy but the enthusiasm of the German people. Even the great majority of the Prussian Press had in spite of the Government turned by the beginning of April to the side of Austria. The two ablest political writers among the German democrats of 1848 were Gustav Diezel and Julius Frobel. Diezel suffered a long imprisonment in Wurtemberg. Before his death last year he had written 94 Austria and Prussia the most powerful and eloquent pamphlet in favour of Austria and in favour of the Concordat. One of these has been translated into English. Frobel, after being condemned to death at Vienna, has enjoyed the incalculable advantage of several years' residence in the United States, a homoeopathic cure for demo- cracy. His recent pamphlet on the peace of Villa Franca is the ablest apology of Austria that has ap- peared. The failure of the Austrian arms has caused her to lose ground in Germany. But Prussia has lost more by unskilful diplomacy than Austria by her unsuccessful warfare. The Gotha party — that which labours for the Prussification of all Germany out of Austria — succeeded indeed in depriving Austria of the support of Germany, but has injured still more its own credit by its success. So long as Austria remains a great power, she can prevent Prussia from absorbing the rest of Germany. Even if Austria was as much weakened as in 1848, the smaller states would find a protector against Prussian ambition. On the other hand, no Austrian statesman has ever entertained for the emperor the ambitious designs of Prussia. A division of Germany between them is impossible, because they would never agree, and because it would be in the interest of the rest of Europe, as well as of the lesser States, to prevent it. Yet that the present constitution of the Diet is untenable is beyond a doubt. Nor is it doubtful that France and Russia are interested in pre- serving it, because it makes Germany powerless in Europe. In their attempts at reform, the patriots of Germany have to overcome the opposition of powerful enemies 95 Letters of Lord Acton and their own divisions. It is extremely questionable whether any effectual change will be adopted. The following plan has been proposed. The lesser States, in order to be, de facto as well as de jure, severally equal in right to Austria and Prussia, must be collectively equal in power. There are in Germany materials for three great Powers instead of two as at present. The lesser States have a common character, similar institu- tions and common interests against the two great Powers; therefore every motive to unite together in a separate confederation. The federal government would not affect the home government of each State of the union more than at present is the case ; the army would be a federal army, and the diplomatic relations would be conducted in the name of the union as a whole. The several States would surrender their separate armies and their separate relations with foreign States. This union would then join as a third member in another union of the three great German Powers. By such an arrangement as this the jealousy between Austria and Prussia would be removed, the confedera- tion would lose that simply defensive and consequently impotent character attributed to it by Prince Gutcha- koff and Count Walewski, and the strongest barrier would be set to French and Russian aggression. II Dear Simpson, I did not finish these scratchings in time for post yesterday. I do not know whether they are intelligible, or can be worked into your account of German affairs. At any rate, they cannot stand in any degree as they are. In using these stones you must not 96 Confederation of German States leave one on the other. I do not believe anything will be really done. If Austria had been victorious, it might have been possible, but with overweening neighbours right and left, I see little chance. I have not considered how the plan of a narrower confederation would affect religion. As far as I now see, not at all. I have no books of reference, but if you have anything authentic to refer to, you ought to add that the diplomatic agents of this union would speak in the name of so many millions of people, and would be backed by an army of so many hundred thousand men. I suppose the population of Germany, barring Prussia and Austria, is something like 1 5,000,000, and the army near 300,000; but you must not say this without book. If you can find in a Gazetteer or anything the federal contingent of the several smaller States, you can com- pute their possible force in this way: Bavaria had this summer above 100,000 men under arms. If the federal contingent of Bavaria is 50,000 — I think it is some- thing like it — you may double that of all the States to find their real amount of military force. As to the Irish bishops and their dodge, I cannot help thinking the position very difficult. They say: Separate altogether. The Whigs say: Mix both in na- tional schools and godless colleges. Now mixed, or rather neutral, educatjon for children is not so detest- able in principle as in universities. The principle is not the same. The national schools may be improved, the books changed: the whole thing conducted y^/r/)'; then the absence of the cross, etc., will not be a reason to throw it over. But in higher studies the Whig principle is detestable on grounds, not of religion only, 97 7 Letters of Lord Acton Protestant or Catholic, but of science too. I can neither entirely oppose the bishops, nor entirely agree with them. What I want is not the destruction of the god- less colleges, still less that they be converted and live, but that the [Catholic] university should have fair play and a chance of choking them. Ill Dear Simpson, here you have a third postscript. I find that the population of the smaller German states, bar- ring Austria and Prussia, is 18,000,000, and the army it could set on foot at the rate of the Bavarian, which is above 100,000 to 4,500,000, would be 400,000 men. The whole population of Prussia is 1 5, 500,000, of which 12,000,000 are German; of Austria, 38,000,000 or 39,000,000, of which 8,000,000 are German. I don't know whether I can make the federal question clearer. The weakness of the present confederation is not in the small states, but in the presence of great powers in it. Both Prussia and Austria have possessions not in the confederation; both have interests distinct from it. They cannot therefore devote themselves to a purely German policy, and the purely German in- terests of the remaining members of the Diet cannot prevail at Frankfort. This is what the late war teaches: The German patriots were for Austria, not for her sake, but for their own. They wished to represent all Germany as united, so that an attack on one German State would be resented by all. By this they have more to gain than Austria. The help of Austria is worth more to Germany than the help of Germany to Austria. If Prussia is attacked, all the confederation is indeed 98 Possible German Confederation bound to defend her. Austria must give her federal contingent of 95,000 men. This she will do, but cer- tainly no more; whereas if it had been established that the integrity of her whole power — not only her federal territory — was the common cause of all Germany, she too would have thrown her whole weight into the scale, in case of an invasion of Rhenish Prussia — that is, not 95,000, but 400,000 men. The Confederation has never gone to war since it was formed. This was the first occasion, and now one of its members declared that, as a great Power, a member of the Pentarchy, it could not allow itself to be controlled by the majority in the Diet ; that is, that it refused to obey the laws of the Confederation. This was not unnatural, and proves, not the wickedness of Prussia, but the defect of the whole institution. But what was wrong in the Prussian policy was the attempt to use the troubles of Austria to establish her own dictatorship in Germany, and the way in which they sought popularity by lec- turing Austria upon her bad government, whilst admitting her right, forgetful of Seneca, who says: Primum esse, turn philosophare. In a word, the interests of Germany were sacrificed to those of the great States that belong to Germany. The object of reform is clearly enough indicated by this: to get rid of this dependence on the interests and policy of the two great members of the Confederation. If these great powers disagree, all Germany is the victim of their dissension; if they agree, all Germany must follow their behest. Reform signifies therefore emancipation. Now in 1 848 two projects principally divided the patriots who tried to use the favourable moment when 99 Letters of Lord Acton all things were in a state of change and transition to improve the constitution of Germany. One was called the Grossdeutsche, or greater German party, because they understood Germany to include Austria. It only obtained the character of a plan for change and reform when it understood all Austrian territories to belong to the Confederation. This would be equivalent to putting Germany, with its 34,000,000, into the pocket of Austria, with (then) 40,000,000 of inhabi- tants, and this was not the plan even of the Austrians (though mooted at one time feebly by Schwarzenberg — always condemned and ridiculed on Austrian grounds by Metternich). The other, Kleindeutsche, little Ger- man party, commonly called the party of Gotha, openly and consciously arrived at the unity of Germany under the Prussian crown by the total exclusion of Austria. This was then a deiinite and vigorous plan encouraged at one time by the Prussian Government, the ideal too of the mass of German Liberals. This party voted at Frankfort the imperial crown to the King of Prussia, and were laughed at for their pains. There was some- thing in it, because (i) it gave unity to Germany, though at the price of the Austrian portions of the union; (2) it gave more than double power to Prussia, which can hold up its head among the five great Powers only by taking the lead of Germany; (3) it was a great victory of Protestantism; (4) it was a great creative act of the revolution, which party said, first united anyhow, then democratic, a single revolution, victory of the barricades in a single town would suffice to revolutionize all Germany when united, like France; but when they are many States there must be many 100 Unity of Germany under Prussia revolutions, none of them certain to succeed. The last element is the strongest in the Gothaism of the present day. Carl Vogt,the most ungodly demagogue of 1 848, is its loudest champion. In all other ways it has lost ground greatly, ut mpra diet., since Prussia's unpatrio- tic conduct during the Italian war. This plan has more against it in the eyes of most men than there is to recommend it in the eyes of a few. (i) It is quite im- practicable, because Austria will refuse, because the small States will refuse to be gobbled up, because nei- ther France nor Russia will tolerate such an increase of Prussian territory; (2) it weakens and impoverishes Germany, by separating from it many rich territories belonging to it, and by casting off that Power which upholds the dominion of the German race over other inferior races. The first plan makes a Germany of 74,000,000 souls, the last a Germany of 34,000,000, and adds Austria to her enemies. This party was always foolish (though the mass of literary men in Germany belonged to it, Ranke and his school, etc.), and is now weak as well as foolish. We have then these possibilities : 1. A league in which Austria and Prussia joined by virtue of their German provinces. This is now the fact, and this all wish to change, because the Diet is only the scene in which Austria and Prussia contend for the supremacy, and the little States are isolated, and not able to act for themselves or to influence the others. 2. A league to which all Austria should belong, the plan of Schwarzenberg and of some of the Gross- deutsche party. If really carried out it would nullify Prussia and Austricize all Germany. lOI Letters of Lord Acton 3. A league from which Austria should be wholly excluded, the Kleindeutsch, or Gotha project, popular still in Prussia, promoted now chiefly by the lowest demagogues for revolutionary purposes. It would lead to the Prussification, Protestantizing (by removing the Austrian balance of religion) and revolutionizing of Germany. 4. A league from which both Austria and Prussia are excluded, of the lesser States among themselves, which should again join as a collective unit, in a league with the two other great Powers, itself a great Power (intellectually and martially — universities and 400,000 men and all the great federal fortresses). The more I think and write about it, the more this seems to me plausible. The Catholics in this union would be about in the same proportion as in Prussia, where they hold their own perfectly, that is, I imagine, about a third, five to seven million. Parity would be enforced in all States of the league, and by this the Church would gain, because there are little States where priests are not tolerated. The petty, malignant ill-treatment of the Church that occurs in odd corners, would become im- possible by the extension of the scene, by an increased central authority, by a closer union with Catholic dis- tricts. I am pursuing this idea with great pleasure and eager- ness, not because I expect it to succeed, but to make sure that we are not advocating anything very absurd. I do not think it absurd, but pray consider it before you speak of it. I would not really advocate it or recommend it in the Rambler, but show up the bad present state, the hopelessness of the two great projects of 1 848, and 102 Advantages of German Confederation then mention this as the progress which the movement of reform has made, showing its advantages. All other plans besides these four are simply revolutionary. It is clear that with this arrangement Germany would have gone to war this summer in spite of Prussia, and that Lombardy would have been saved (as it wou/dha.ve been if Austria had no hopes from Germany, and had not kept an army of 130,000 men ready to march to the Rhine) . On the other hand, if Prussia is in difficul- ties it would be a sure ally, and would neutralize the jealousy between Prussia and Austria. It is useless to give details of a plan of which the completion is so remote that an indistinct outline is all that can be dis- cerned. Evidently there must be a college representing the union of Austria, Prussia and Germany, consisting perhaps of three princes, an archduke, a zoUern and a German sovereign. These would change in so many years, and the triunion representing Germany in that triumvirate would also before the time, say, one, two, or three or so years, be president of the new Germanic confederation. Perhaps the four kings, Bavaria, Saxony, Wiirtemberg, Hanover, might take this office in turn. They would have a responsible federal ministry, and a federal parliament, with two chambers, one represent- ing the confederate States, one the nation (as in America, which with Switzerland offisrs many points of analogy). The first chamber would be appointed by the several governments: the house of representatives would be elected by the parliaments of the several States (in all, of course, Prussia and Austria excluded). As I said, I do not think this likely to be soon carried out, but I think that every thing that improved the present state of things 103 Letters of Lord Acton facilitates and leads to an ultimate settlement something like this. I am afraid my letter is very confused and unintel- ligible. It has been written at intervals since last evening, and my ideas have only cleared up as I w^ent along. On revision I see no mistake to correct. I am not sure of the number of German universities, or of the king under whom Busby flogged. Be sure if you use this at all to leave not a stone upon a stone. Letter XLV A word more on German affairs — A book to be consulted as to the story of King Lucius — Thinks that there should be sometimes a lighter article in the Rambler — Suggests to Simpson to write an article on " Bores " in the style of Charles Lamb, and gives some ideas on the subject Carlsbad, October 13, 1859. A great deal more occurs to me that would serve to throw light on the question of feudal reform in Ger- many, but it is too late, I suppose, to say much, a,nd I have sent already more than you are likely to use. The Governments of the lesser States mostly desire a stronger central power than now resides in the Diet. For this purpose they must surrender some of the rights of sovereignty. This they cannot do to an authority which will be shared by others, by powers whose in- terests are not identical with their own. The union of the lesser States would differ from Prussia and Austria not only because it would include no great Power, but 104 Need of Lighter Articles because it would be exclusively German. This would be the great element of unity. I have found the title of the book I could not re- member about King Lucius, which it would be worth while to insert in the note to F. de Buck's letter.* Perhaps it might stand something like this: "We should be glad to see the question of King Lucius fully discussed by our learned correspondent. He must be aware of the grave reasons there are for doubting the story altogether. It would be especially interesting to have the matter treated with reference to Scholl: De ecclesiastics ^ritonum, Scotorumque historicefontibus, Berol. 1850." I hope you have got some or all of the promised ar- ticles. It would be unpardonable of Newman not to con- tinue the " Isles" after an interruption of four months. As our ambition rises, our weight, I presume, will increase. It will be a great advantage if, like some of the quarterlies, which keep a jester, like kings of old, we separate our wit from our wisdom, and putting the former into a place by itself, avoid the danger of mak- ing a connexion in our serious articles. Your pen, as the French have it, deborde quelquefois, as you very well know. Why should there not be a special limbo for facetisB too good to be altogether omitted and yet unfit for appearance in the midst of graver things? I do not mean that we ought to alter anything in our mode of treating serious subjects, but that there should be moreover an occasional article, promoting no very profound truths, but relieving the gravity of the rest. * " The Cultus of the English Martyrs," which appeared in the Novem- ber %ambler. 105 Letters of Lord Acton You see, in the matter of excessive gravity my own conscience is not at ease, and as you have been kindly accumulating upon my dilatory and parliamentary hands the office of annalist and of literary critic, I beg in return to suggest a special addition to your functions. Can you not get a rise out of Lamb for January? There- by allow^ me to communicate a fruitful thought. Why not in the course of the article express surprise and regret that Lamb never wrote the natural history of bores,* as he has of poor relatives, of swine, etc., and then proceed to give the physiology of the Bore after his fashion, with your own ideas? Having impregnated yourself with his style, you would improve upon him in substance, and you might say a thing or two that would relieve your mind at the expense of your neigh- bour. Alfred Smith and others indeed have copied C. L. somewhat in the natural history of the " Gent," " the Flirt," etc., but I don't think they have done the "Bore." In Loss and Gain (p. lo, I think,) there are some good things about it. But there is neither the word, nor its equivalent, nor the idea in Germany, and, contrary to the usual rule in language, that is a great sign that the thingvaxxsX be very common. Is there no Greek for a bore ? It is not a classical idea. Socrates I take to have been a bore in the eyes of many whom he cross-questioned in the market-place. It belongs to a particular stage of civilization. People with very few ideas do not, I believe, find time pass slowly and are not bored by waiting ; even so with beasts. A sense of boredom is a product of luxury, like the gout, and a real epicurean tries to escape * Simpson took the suggestion, and an article called "A Plea for Bores," appeared in the Rambler for January, i860. 106 Suggested Article on "The Bore" both, not by avoiding bores only but by avoiding the sense of being bored. The Americans again do not understand what a bore is — another sign of its belong- ing to civilization. Their speeches are endless and pedantic, their conversation pompous and extravagant, their questions impertinent and importunate. Sidney Smith met Daniel Webster at dinner at Lord Ashbur- ton's and found that he held forth greatly. On going away his criticism was: Too slow for our market. I hate the French, but they are seldom bores. The idea of /V«««/ plays a greater part than rennuyeux. A French- man is empty and therefore gets sick of his own com- pany, but he can make play with a neighbour, whoever he be, as he can make food out of nettles with a little salt and pepper. But then a Frenchman is good- humoured, and that requires a vent but sours by inac- tion, and he is vain and wants food for his vanity. Can you, in a pleasant mood, adopt the notion ? It would not be a bad dodge to give it, as a quotation from Lamb, of a passage not sufficiently known and applauded. Is a bore sensitive of bores, and does he see a mote in his neighbour's eye when he has a beam in his own ? Talkative old men will listen to talkative old men whom we should go to sleep at hearing. I almost think that the next calamity to that of being a bore, is a facility for being bored, and thinking people bores. After speaking so much of bores I can hardly say I am truly yours. . . 107 Letters of Lord Acton Letter XLVI Is leaving for home — A Venetian report on England probably unpub- lished — Prospects of the January number of the Rambler — Question of signing correspondence discussed — Scheme for getting regular foreign letters — Statement that Charles I was a Catholic — The importance of avoiding anything likely to displease in the Rambler Carlsbad, Saturday [October? 1859]. It is late in the evening and we go away to- morrow, therefore I answer your letter first of all with- out knowing whether I shall have time to-night to finish a couple of pages on Anderdon's Sea/ of Con- fession, which interested me because of St John Nepomucene, whose history I happen to know better than Anderdon, whose research has not extended beyond the Breviary. We travel slowly, and shall not be at Frankfort till Wednesday, at Cologne perhaps on Friday. There, or at Ghent, I may find whatever you send by return of post. My mother is still too ill for me to leave her, and we take the Carlsbad doctor with us. Be sure not to give Newman an opportunity of saying that the Rambler is apt to run riot if I am not at hand to urge timid counsels. As to "Current Events" (I vote we so call them in January, though they are contemporary now), you increase your trouble by analysing documents instead of quoting; on the other hand, a document must be quoted entire if it is to be referred to, and I am guilty of excessive quotation, twenty-five columns, 108 Prospects of the January " Rambler" I think., and Newman twenty in Jiuly. There were good things in your article on the three Cardinals, which I regretted should be lost. I hope you will save them if you yield on other points to Newman's adverse judgements. There is a published Venetian report of about the date you mention. I do not remember it exactly nor the writer's name. Don't publish if you are not sure. Those reports are often extant in many more or less correct copies. The originals are all at Venice ; ' copies were kept in families of ambassadors, others were made for men going on Embassies. Thus they get multiplied. Ranke's peculiar knowledge and views of modern history are derived mostly from a set of those at Berlin. The cold-blooded acuteness of those Venetians singularly suits and attracts and often mis- leads him. But if you have reasons for believing it unpublished, print it by all means, as it is certainly curious. January seems to prosper. I suppose I shall have Austria, current events and literary notices ; O'Hagan, Wetherell, Intuition number two ; Hofler's historical article, barring Eckstein, Newman and other chances; as to " Current Events," I must pray you or W^etherell to make cuttings for me for a week or two. If my mother is better when I get home, I must go to Munich for a week. I have not seen DoUinger, and he is clamorous. Only a few extracts and a few notes for the order and connexion of things. With the help of the weeklies and of the German papers I can make up the rest. Then, I pray you, undertake the established Church as your peculiar chapter, including the revivals, dis- senters' movements, if any, etc. Wetherell will do a 109 Letters of Lord Acton chapter of a page on the defences of the country. Does Marshall, Stokes, Allies or anybody know all about the educational legislation of the Emperor of the French ? It is very curious and characteristic of the whole system, and would afford materials for a very interest- ing article. Is no friend of yours living in France who has occasion to follow all this? Giunchi is professor at Old Hall — S.T.P., indeed, and wanted to write against our Jansenism, on which occasion I induced you to join in snubbing him, and have regretted it ever since. Clearly correspondence cannot always be anonymous if it is admitted to such an extent as it now is. If anybody has to set us right about a mis- take as to himself, for instance, his letter could not be put in the third person. Newman wanted communi- cated articles to be anonymous, but he put Eckstein's name and title in full. For the same reason, because of the eclat of a distinguished name, similar excep- tions ought to be made in the correspondence. But this reason cannot be made the rule, and we must find some other. May foreigners, for instance, sign in full ? It is not so absurd a rule as it looks. No foreigner will write whose name has not some eminence, and with Englishmen we can seldom gain anything by printing the name which we cannot get by whispering it, or by obvious initials. If you have doubts, one may put a note about the distinguished correspondent, a country- man of Rosmini, speaking in a matter with which he is peculiarly conversant, etc., and any other compli- ment you like. He is an Italian, sensitive therefore, and therefore " butterable." As he is very probably right, let us treat him with all respect. But the real 110 Proposed Foreign Correspondents authority about Rosmini is to be found at the Rag in the person of that dashing dragoon, Bunbury. He went and sat ever so long at his feet on the Lago Maggiore. At any rate I do not think a formal division, i and ii, of anon, and signed letters wrould be advisable. By the same token I hope you will get a letter from Hecker. It is well worthy of consideration whether we should not have such a correspondence from foreign parts as you and Reichensperger carry on in the Gorrespondant. We could get letters from France — Eckstein, perhaps Montalembert, etc. — from Germany, Prussia, Vienna, from very competent hands. Could we manage an occasional good letter from Belgium, where you have more friends than I; from Italy, America, etc.? it would be a new feature not without merit. If this is done, we must see and get an inaugural communica- tion or two for January. Consider this, I pray you, and whether so much organization will not overwork us, and whether this sort of correspondence may not occupy a part of the space and prominence destined by Newman for starting new questions. I am too far to correspond with him on the subject in time, but if we reprint his advertisement I conceive this is the point to be modified. We must also in so doing con- sider whether his prospectus will stand fire if we get hold of Longman, and, if not, whether it is well to bring it forward again now. I speak doubtfully only because the prospectus in question is not before me either in the body or in the spirit, not because I re- member anything which would be really a difficulty. But that very passage about the utility of the corre- sponding department for the solution of doubts and Letters of Lord Acton difficulties did give alarm to bishops and divines. Per- haps, therefore, we might make capital by a judicious alteration of that passage, of course with Newman's full consent. I cannot ask for it because I have not the passage to be modified, nor therefore the means of doing it. If you and Wetherell agree with what I have suggested, you can easily make the arrange- ment with Newman. In Stapleton's Life of Canning there is a curious statement about a declaration by Charles I that he was a Catholic, purporting to have been copied at Rome, about which Canning questions the king. Do you know what it is, whether it is known, or whether it is worth writing to Theiner about ? If you print a modified article on Lingard, etc., I hope you will take care that it shall not stand in the way of any advances of civility the Cardinal may be inclined to make to you. It is important that this November number, being the last of the year and of the volume, should not frighten away subscribers. If we carry a good body of subscribers into Longman's hands, then I think the Rambler is safe, and we may look for- ward to a prosperous undertaking. I read in the Times the rifle lecture, and mean to get one of my friend Whitworth's rifles. It will be good exercise during the winter, especially as W. is to have a practising ground on Lord Granville's farm near Hendon. 112 The Political System of the Popes Letter XLVII Wants Capes to write an article on the Code Napoleon — The politics of his own article on the Political System of the Popes are anti- quated — Danger to the Church of making too much of the Temporal power 'Bruton Street^ Tuesday night or rather Wednesday morning [Dec. 7, 1859]. I should be extremely glad if Capes would do his letter on the Code Napoleon, I must suppose some knowledge of it which I cannot give in my article. Since I came home to-night I have refreshed my mind by reading over again Napoleon III et Vltalie. It is really feeble in thought and execution and exhibits no power of will. I am afraid the politics of my article* are very old- fashioned. I have never come out so antiquatedly con- servative, so Burkian, as here. I do not know whether you will agree with me. We must have firm ground under our feet. I remember you once said, alluding to my Austricism, that it won't do to stick to a sinking ship. I am afraid I am a partisan of sinking ships, and I know none more ostensibly sinking just now than St Peter's. Why do we care for the Temporal power .? The reli- gious argument will not bear examination. It will raise up more enemies than friends.f We cannot absolutely * Probably " The Political System of the Popes," which appeared in January, i860. t A letter on " The Temporal Power " was written by Acton in the same number, pp. 230-232. 113 8 Letters of Lord Acton identify an accident with the essence of the Church, and if all at once the Temporal power goes, one would look foolish. I don't think it will go yet, but if it does the injury to the Church will be great indeed, but the destruction of the States will be complete. Ergo I put the defence on the same grounds as the attack, both on religion and policy. I should defend the Temporal [power] both for the sake of the Church and of the States. But who has political instruction enough to comprehend this? I had no doubt the writer was Jack Morris, and wrote to congratulate him; but I did not discover that he attributed the letter* to me, as he does the " Theory of Parties," which I like extremely, and as it has been so much attacked, I have an excuse for not denying that I wrote it. * A letter called " Catholic Policy and the Temporal Power " in the previous number. 114 i86o Letter XLVIII Difficultyabout Acton's viewsas to "Temporal power" — DrNorthcote at Oscott — Newman much out of spirits — He approves Simp- son's article on " The Forms of Intuition," but is convinced the Rambler would be ruined if the article on " Toleration " was to appear Aldenham, Friday ]J 'January, i860]. Wetherell writes to say that he must give up his connexion with the Rambler because of some things I wrote in the last number. . .* On Wednesday I was at Birmingham, Oscott and Edgbaston. They have tried to bone me for a great papal meeting in the Town Hall; but I saw neither the Bishop nor the resolutions. Northcote will write a letter promising an article, and will revise Conroy's article. f He is very popular, and is engrossing power without as yet encountering * Up to this time Mr Wetherell, having been engaged in War Office work for from twelve to sixteen hours daily for many months, had not seen much of Acton, and did not well understand his position about the Pope's Temporal power. In consequence of this, and of the obscurity of what he wrote in the January number, he understood him to be supporting the Temporal power to a degree to which he was not prepared to go with him. Wetherell consequently thought it best, as his official work left him no time for dis- cussion, to withdraw from editorial responsibility. Explanations followed at once; and as it turned out that Acton had not meant what he was thought to have done, and that Acton and Wetherell were in substantial agreement on the subject, the latter withdrew his resignation. t"The Church in the Ancient Symbols," which appeared March, i860. 115 Letters of Lord Acton opposition. He finds, however, the reality worse than my description. I never saw Newman so much out of spirits, so dis- tributively angry. He likes the last Rambler. Other things greally trouble him, some of which he would not tell me and some he wished me not to repeat. Personally he was as usual extremely kind. He has no quarrel with "Intuition,"* but is convinced that we should be ruined if our "Toleration" were to appear. Letter XLIX Newman's feeling about the Rambler — He is most anxious that it should continue — Thinks it is calculated to do much good, and nobody as much as Simpson — The danger de facto is theology, which we must avoid — Newman's desire that theological sub- jects should be avoided in the Rambler — Every occasion of fresh complaints against the magazine to be avoided — Acton himself cannot do so much work for the Rambler now he is in Parliament Aldenham, Sunday [February ii, i860]. Newman's wrath is not directed against you or me. I am not sure that we understand exactly in the same way his feeling about the Rambler. He is ex- tremely desirous that it should continue as it is, either two- or three-monthly, and if possible in Longman's hands, and rejoiced greatly, perhaps immoderately con- sidering the facts, at the report on our circulation which he has obtained from Burns. He is deeply con- vinced that it can be an instrument to accomplish much good and that nobody can do so much towards it as yourself. On this account he deplores whatever * Simpson's articles on "The Forms of Intuition " in November, 1859, and January, i860. 116 Newman's Advice as to the " Rambler" impedes the attainment of this result, and in particular whatever diminishes your authority. Whatever ap- proaches theology seems to him to produce this dan- ger ipso facto, not from the badness of our theology, but because of the offence to pious ears. Our only security therefore, and the only means of inspiring confidence, is to avoid all such questions. He persists in thinking the article on "Toleration" theological, not in the subject but in the treatment. For us all this is a question of prudence. He him- self regards it as such, not as a question of principle. I have never heard him speak openly on affairs as in the bitterness of his spirit he spoke during the half- hour I was with him, and his language was — more vehement indeed — but in substance the same that I have been hearing and imbibing any time these nine years from DoUinger. He agrees with us in principle, and the question is whether we disagree with him in policy. I do not think it is a personal question, and you seem to me to do him injustice in speaking of his treatment of us. As things are it is impossible for me to ask him to write or to take any ostensible part in the Rambler, and we must weigh his opinions in our own scales. It seems absurd for me to take the prudent line, considering my insufficiently disguised contempt for every unscientific method of treating literary and political and ecclesiastical matters, but I have learnt from experience the uselessness of addressing people in a tone they do not understand and supposing know- ledge which does not exist. A letter of Dalgairns and our conversation with that obscurantist Ward are por- 117 Letters of Lord Acton tentously instructive in this respect. It is difficult to accommodate oneself to a state of mind one can hardly understand, but I fully recognize the fact of its exis- tence and the wisdom of acting accordingly. If you agree with me in this, you have no objection to make to the only thing Newman wants us to do, to eschew absolutely the treatment of theological ques- tions and the theological treatment of questions. The alternative is to fight, as Capes thinks you ought to have done last spring when I was abroad. Now New- man attempted to fight in defence of the laity,* and the consequence was that he was silenced, and that the circulation did not materially improve. Now since we have taken the Rambler back again, we have made no particular new enemies and have gained some friends. Can we not go on and prosper in this way ? As to our ostracism, we ought, I conceive, to con- sider it simply as a matter of interest. The most im- portant thing is to avoid giving any occasion for com- plaint or apprehension. It is not, I imagine, to please Newman that you are in retirement, but for the in- terests of the review. Do you believe that things are changed in this respect since last July ? Compared with this it is quite a secondary consideration whether the secession of Newman and Wetherell abolishes the understanding on which we undertook to carry on the Rambler. But a more important matter is my growing incompetency to accomplish even my pre- sent part in the work. I have lost the blessing of solitude which I possessed at first. I must attempt to * In his article, " Of Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine," in the %ambler, July 1859, pp. 198-230. Acton's Parliamentary Occupations justify my election into Parliament, and committees have marked me already for their own. It is necessary for the Rambler and for my peace of mind that I should not be always an indispensable element in the conduct of the review. With the best will in the world, and the greatest disinclination to go to bed before four o'clock, I cannot go on without the comfortable assurance that in an emergency which may disable me for a time, a number can be brought out without overworking you. Independently therefore of the more familiar reasons, it is, I assure you, vitally im- portant to get some other associate, and I will advance ten guineas a number, for the next three numbers, let us say, if you can get a man who will do two or three sheets a number for the money. Letter L Acknowledges Simpson's contribution to the next Rambler on " Ca- tholic Affairs," which he correfts — Other papers have come to hand — Proposals as to assisting the Weekly 'Register by articles — Simpson's article on "The Theory of Party" much appreciated — Gladstone's political ability as against that of Lord John Russell and Palmerston 1 6 Bruton Street^ Tuesday night, Feb. 21. I send you Newman's letter, which I defer answering till you return it, after answering him your- self. Many thanks for " Catholic Affairs,"* which will save me much trouble, and which I have ventured to deprive of what might appear polemical, as our narra- tive ought, I conceive, to be as objective as possible. * Printed in the March %ambler, pp. 399-401. 119 Letters of Lord Acton A certain sweep was proud of having been spoken to by a lord, who said, " D you, get out of my way." I have taken away from Mr Henessey and Mr Macmahon the opportunity of rejoicing at their appearance under similar circumstances in our pages. Bishop UUathorne's speech was so full of inaccuracies, being at the same time entirely founded on the book I gave him, that I have taken leave to say so in a complimentary way, as a sort of set-off against your criticism.* Brownson's son goes to Paris to-morrow to become a Jesuit, after bestowing a good deal of his presence on me for a day or two. He thinks his father is very favourably disposed to us, and will like to send us letters. O'Hagan's article f arrived, and seems to me fully excellent. I put it No. i. He wishes the authorship kept secret. I have got no proof but Conroy, which came to-day. | I have gone through it, and send it with this for your further corrections. De Buck's letter is very welcome, though clearly not meant for publication straightway. I'll ask Ffoulkes for his MS., but without any promise, for I know Badeley has trans- lated some hymns literally, and I should like to com- pare them. I had a long conversation to-day with Macaulay, who is the Weekly 'Agister. He says he wants it to be our organ (O'Ferrall's, Monsell's and myself), and to declare its political as well as its religious principles definitely. He wishes therefore to have our regular advice and directions. He says it is * Ibid. p. 400. t "The Hopes of Ireland," printed in the %ambler for March, i860, pp. 281-291. X The article on " The Church in the Ancient Symbols," in the same number. 120 The "Weekly Register " paying very well; that he is going to push the con- nexion in Ireland, where he is helped by the new Solicitor General ; that he wants me to find him writers. Let us try to get it up in Wilberforce's absence and in his despite. I will do certainly what I can with such a willing vessel, and you will lend, I hope, an occasional helping hand. I have stipulated for absence of controversy among Catholics, such as attacks on the Tablet, and other washing of dirty linen in public; breadth of political opinions, to be not founded on attachment to persons, but to prin- ciples, without therefore eternal quarrels with Lord John, etc. I have spoken to Monsell, and I think we are bound to make an attempt. I ought to say that you must have no misgivings about political writing, for the essay on " Party "* has had a great success in Ireland. Lord Granville has had letters from distant friends requesting him to forward congenial papers, etc., to the distinguished author, supposing him to be myself, and in various quarters I hear of the great impression that it made. If you will write an occa- sional leader, and let them have it through my hands at first, I will try to get as much from Stokes, O'Hagan and perhaps Ffoulkes. I really hope you can make up your mind to this; it is a means of power not to be lost. Macaulay is not a bad specimen of an Irishman, and seems to be blessed with several candid friends, whose remarks make an impression on him. The Weekly Register may become a useful auxi- liary in our work. To-morrow I eat orthodox fish with the FuUertons * The article by Simpson in the September 'Rambler. 121 Letters of Lord Acton at two o'clock to make acquaintance with Feilding, from whom I shall hear more facts of the Birmingham meet- ing, though perhaps not more truth than from New- man, whose letter on that occasion was remarkably diplomatic. The enormous disproportion of ability between Lord John and Palma Vecchio * on one side, and Gladstone on the other, in these debates, will make it very difficult for them to prevent him from superseding them if he likes and plays his cards as well out of the Hovise as in it. Letter LI Arrangements for the articles in the Rambler for May — Bishop UUa- thorne has sent his thanks for corre£lion of mistakes in his Bir- mingham speech 9 1(oyal Crescent, Brighton, Tuesday, March 6. I am very glad you promise a second article on Deschamps for this week, and hope there will be plenty of self-assertion in it, so as not to seem depen- dent for your wisdom on the author. Are you working at " Reform" ? f If anything can be made of Eckstein,| we are well provided for next number, as Arnold pro- mises an article, already nearly finished, on the " Uni- versity,"§ besides his long paper on " Scott," || of which we can put in as much or as little as we like. So there * i.e., Lord Palmerston. t The article was printed in the 'gambler. May, i860, pp. 1 1-26. X This appeared in same number, pp. 68-83, under the title of " The Church and Science: I, The Exact Sciences." § "The Catholic University of Ireland," in the same, pp. i-io. II " Sir Walter Scott," printed in same number, pp. 39-67. 122 Articles for the May " Rambler" is: "Reform," Eckstein, Hofler on the "Roman States- system,"* Arnold on the "University" — all candidates for the first half; Conroy,t Arnold on "Scott," Mey- nell I for the second. P.S. — I wrote to UUathorne pointing out eight mistakes in his speech, and got a very friendly and handsome letter of thanks, saying that my corrections came in time for the expensive edition, being the only one Protestants are likely to see. Letter LI I Simpson's portentous power of work — Articles for the next Rambler — Reform a normal growth in the State — Suggestions for a light article — Sketch for a paper on " The Philosopher's Stone," after- wards filled in by Simpson Brighton, Friday, March 9. You are a power and portent of labour and activity. I will do all I can in a supplementary way to help in foreign affairs, and I am very grateful for the load of trouble you shift from my shoulders to your own. For " Foreign Affairs " Rechberg's recent State- papers § will require analysing. If war breaks out in Italy, the matter will be easily found. I am very glad to hear of Owen's book,|| which by * " The Political System of the Popes," II, in the same, pp. 27-39. The greater part of this article, as well as of the previous one printed in January, was the work of A6lon. t "The Church in the Ancient Symbols," n, pp. 106-1 13. X "The Limits of our Thought," in the same, pp. 83-106. § This was done pp. 130-144 of the May gambler. II Owen's Palaontology : or, a Systematic Summary of Extinct Animals and their Geological 'Relations, was reviewed in the 'Rambler, May i860, pp. 127-128, 123 Letters of Lord Acton all means review. I have written abroad for corre- spondence. Arnold's " Scott" will, I suppose, be lightish reading, of which we may give as much as we like. His paper on the " University " (/ro domd) was intended for the Freeman, which refused it, and then for a pamphlet. But he is inclined to take advantage of my mistake, and send it to us.* I suppose he wishes the authorship to be concealed, and I said that if there was nothing which would look like spitefulness on the part of Newman or his friends, it should be edi- torial. It is to be only seven or eight pages. If you write on " Reform " for the Weekly Register, I suppose they will be obliged to see that you don't contradict what they have already said. With this condition it would be very good, and Monsell was so eager that you should be induced to write for it that he has no right to complain. For my part I am bound only by my vague utterance on reform in my election address. I cannot conceive a State in which reform should not be a normal condition of progress, that is, of existence. Growth need not be change; properly speaking, nothing is so fixed as the Church in some ways, and in others so developing. As to facts, I possess few. But read, I pray you, at least before rr finishing your article, Mackintosh's article in the ; \ Edinbro\ and his speech on reform in his works; J \ Bagehot's article,t reprinted from the National '^ipieVp; , , Mill's essay on reform, and Austen's essay. I am too stupid and confused to have any illumina- * It appeared as the first article in May. t Walter Bagehot's Essays on Parliamentary Reform, printed in 1 883, contained this article from the 'National. 124 Acton suggests a Theme to Simpson tion about liars at this moment. If you cannot be light otherwise, read some light book and review it, if you have time. W. Holmes, The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, Strahan and Co., a cleverish American, might give you some opening. I have sometimes thought a very amusing thing might be written, called "The Philosopher's Stone,"* showing how often practical results have been got by seekers of the unfindable, and how men have shot at crows and hit pigeons. Astrology the cradle of astro- nomy, alchemy of chemistry — how an opinion must be made absurd before it can be popular or pursued with success, every truth requires alloy — how the Reformation produced the reforming Council which people had looked for for i oo years without success before. Columbus sought the East Indies, and found the West. How this is providential, because men would not go so zealously after prosaic ends. Distinguish this truth from " crying for the moon," as O'Connell and Repeal, etc. Every period of history, every great in- vention, would give instances of " this sea-king who never existed." If you will pursue this and work it out, I think I can give you examples. * This idea was worked out by Simpson in the %ambkr for July, i860, as an article, called "The Philosopher's Stone," pp. 223-233. Letters of Lord Acton Letter LI 1 1 Simpson's article on Napoleon — Newman's opinion of Arnold — La- cordaire is ignorant of history — Napoleon III and the Roman question — A motto for the cover of the Rambler Paris, Friday [March 23, i860]. The extracts from the Bonapartes are very remarkable. I hope you will work as many of them into a chapter of current events as possible.* All the first Napoleon says of religion gives a very low notion of his capacity. Many irreligious men have under- stood it practically much better than he. Bonald says, near the beginning of his T'ensees, a book from which you might take several good notes: "Napoleon don- nait des tableaux aux eglises, des revenus aux eveques, des pensions aux marguilliers — il appelait cela reta- blir la religion" — or something like this. It might be quoted in illustration of the quotations. I cannot find Beauterne. If he is at Munich, I will send you extracts. The passages about the preachers might give the canvas of an amusing little article, if there is nothing else. I find Newman is very fond of Arnold, and expects that one day he will settle at Edgbaston. If I have time, I will send you at least notes for a short notice of Morris' Becket from Munich and any- thing else that occurs to me. Reichensperger promises a letter f on Roman Catho- *Mr Simpson contributed an article on "The Ecclesiastical Policy of Louis Napoleon," containing this collection of extracts, to the May Rambler, pp. 1 15-19. t This Catholic statesman had already had a long letter in the T^ambler for January, i860, pp. 237-243, urging that "the union of Catholics in 126 Napoleon III and the Roman Question lie politics, though hardly for next time, and it must be rewritten and not signed by him, as he will have to omit his own exploits. Perhaps I shall manage to send you a letter from Germany for correspondence. Gratry tells me that Lacordaire is unsettled. He is grossly ignorant of history ; remember that if you review him or build on him. I cannot sufficiently repeat that Bagehot wrote an article on Reform in the National last year, and pub- lished it separately. I would observe on the Roman question, etc., that the crime of the Emperor is not so great, that he is not worse than the generality of the people through whom he is powerful, etc., as you say in the Register. But whereas Napoleon I, in his incapacity of under- standing the real significancy of religion, saw the Church at her very lowest ebb, this man lives in a period of revival and ought to know better. Will you call contemporary events current events, and put the motto on the title page of Vol. II and on the cover of each number of Vol. Ill — Seu leetus iDerum sit, diligo, sive nolpum?"^ things non-essential" to religion was a mistaken policy, and that in those matters pertaining to politics combination should be left to "the free, com- bined eiforts of all educated men." The letter was suggested by Mr Simp- son's article on "The Theory of Party." *This motto was afterwards printed on the cover, etc., of the Rambler. 127 Letters of Lord Acton Letter LIV Newman approves the Russian letter and sends one of his own against X.Y.Z. — Northcote and de Buck on the analysis of the Cata- comb phials of blood — Contents of the July Rambler Thursday [? April, i860]. Newman fully and I think highly approves of the Russian letter, so the printers have it. Also a letter from Newman, of which the authorship is secret, against X.Y.Z. * A clever and amusing but unjust per- formance. I have already written to Northcote, ignorant of his opposition, saying that I earnestly hoped he would not object to the publication of your analysis. If de Buck is not quite positive, we must insist with Northcote, because it is a mere statement of facts and observations not an argument, and to suppress it on religious grounds contradicts all sense of morality and reverence of truth. We stand about thus: Ninety-four pages, to which add Russia eleven pages, Newman two, Oakeley six, leaving thirty-one pages for current events, literary notices and your analysis. As to my article (National Defence) I only guess that it will be twelve pages. * Mr H. N. Oxenham wrote to the %ambler under the signature X.Y.Z. 128 Contributions to the July "Rambler" Letter LV Contributions to the July 'Rambler — De Vere's congratulations on the magazine — Smith's Dictionary of the Bible must be reviewed — Political science must be consistent with theology House of Commons, Monday \yune, i860]. I went ofF to Aldenham on Saturday. I am sorry I missed you on Friday evening; I should have suggested some modification of the beginning of your lapidary article; the first page or two, I think, would be thought rather heavy. Pray what have we besides this and your martyr ? Will Eckstein be safe and worth putting in ? Mrs Bastard offers a paper on Kingsley of which the summary is clear enough. De Vere congratulates us upon our improvement since Newman, but can do nothing now. I have received nothing yet from Gratry, but am almost sure I shall. I hope to manage several short notices, besides as much chronicle as you like. I have received Dalton's stupid translation of Hefele's Ximenes, * Mifh.ich. claims some short notice. I dare say you will like to have the book. There is a Biblical Dictionary, edited by Dr Smith, of which I heard a great deal at Arthur Stanley's. I have asked Jack Morris for a review, and will get St John to correct it, and you will touch up both, but not for July. Can you write or get anything on some burning topic, and letters from De Buck ? Thesis: Political science must be consistent with * An article on this appeared in the Rambler for July, 1 860, pp. 1 58-1 70, written by Acton. 129 9 Letters of Lord AAon theology because of its moral foundation. It cannot yield like medical precepts, etc., to a higher law. Can you explain why this is so, if you believe it, as I do ? I understand by political science the development of the maxim suum cuique in the relation of the State with other States, corporations and individuals. I find every one saying that the interests of religion must over- ride the precepts of politics, which seems to me a con- tradiction. On looking at Dalton I think he will give an oppor- tunity for a short article on Spain, if I can manage it without books. Letter LVI An offer of an article on prisons and workhouses — In view of parlia- mentary action on this matter the l^ambler should help, as it is a matter " of several thousand souls a year " — Cardinal Wiseman is dying ' House of Commons, Friday \yune 29, i860]. Ryley has written to me about prisons and workhouses, urging me to write an article on the sub- ject as I should do it so well, and adding : " I would offer my services, but I am too rough and too diffuse for your classical, etc., etc., pages." I have written at once to encourage him to send us an article on the subject for September,* and did not consult you about it only to save time, that he might not suppose that I had hesitated at all. I hope you will agree with me. If there is to be * It appeared in September, i860, as "The Prison Discipline Act." 130 Principles for reviewing Books parliamentary action about it, we ought to help, and I suppose I shall have to speak on one subject or the other. You know that it is no petty grievance, but a matter of several thousand souls a year. We can sub- mit the article to MacMuUen. For my part I think there are as many external as internal reasons for ac- cepting. P.S. — It's all up with the Cardinal. Manning writes me that his resignation is admirable. Letter LVII Books, if reviewed at all, must be criticized on their merits — Robertson asked for a review — Wallis will notice it — Since Hardwick, Robertson is the best Church historian — Suggested additions to the review of Morris' Life of St Thomas — Plan of an article called " The Philosopher's Stone," with illustrations House of Commons, Monday night [June, i860.] ... If books are to be noticed at all, it must be done uprightly on their merits and with even scales. I sat down with the best resolution of speaking favour- ably of Robertson, who had begged for a notice, but I found so little good to say that I am afraid he will hardly be grateful and that we have not much assisted the sale of his book. However, I urged Wallis to notice it, who has an easier conscience, or a more shifting standard, and he said Ipng ago that he was doing it. Robertson is clearly the best Church historian in England now that Hardwick is dead. It is necessary to save our good name about Morris' book to allude to the fact that an elaborate German '31 Letters of Lord A don life of St Thomas was published in 1 843 by Buss of Freiburg, who has done it well enough. His book is fuller and more historical than either of the others. Then it must be noticed that the historical poem used and quoted from MS. by Morris has been since pub- lished. This obiter, to shew we are up to the events of the day. . . . The "Philosopher's Stone"* must be con- sidered as ends not as means. Many instances to be given. Elixir sought in medicine led to many disco- veries (I hope and believe). Was it not a man called Crosse in Devonshire who gave the impulse to the electric telegraph by trying to get life out of corrup- tion ? Then how necessary it is for people to have an ideal object which excites their energies beyond any material thing, though the ideal is never realized — luckily perhaps in general. Dismal is the state of nations like China, that is spurred on by no wish to realize an ideal. Then Mrs C. Hall has a pleasant Irish tale, where an old Irishman is represented "watching for the time, waiting for a good time coming, in perfect indolence and placid expectancy." Is the notion of their impossible ideals got from a reminiscence of the primitive state and the original design of human life.? — connexion with the millen- nium. Neatly introduce the star of the three wise men, who followed it expecting to find a King, but recog- nized at once what they really found. Happy those who imitate them. Ideals in politics are never realized, but the pursuit of them determines history. Such was papal diplomacy *The article which appeared in the Rambler, July, i860. 132 The Philosopher's Stone in the Middle Ages; the balance of power, all the at- tempts at universal empire which have broken down, but have carried things, ideas, institutions to places, like birds carry seeds where they were wanted by God's design — Persians, Alexander, Romans, Napoleon. Also political principles as a panacea — LIBERTY, natio- nality, equality, unity of weight and measure and language, socialism. Other similar Utopias — Plato, Hesperides. Geographical ideals discovered all over the world — Cathay; Eldorado; Spaniards go to America expecting to get gold, else those countries would never have got a Catholic civilization. Nations have had a star before them which they have followed in their migrations and which brought them to their allotted place, for all historically great nations conquered their homes. With the Teutonic race (and Aryan?) this was most the case. They had some mythological reason for going to Nor- thern Europe, and then a similar impulse drove them South. Note Gray's lines on the southward course of Northern nations — Birds of passage: Where do they go to, and what ideal do they seek? What the Jews have before them! All this is very crude and vain. It came into my head in the train coming up this evening. If I could think more seriously about it, or examine my memory, I would suggest other topics. I do not know whether all this will open a vein. 133 Letters of Lord AAon Letter LVIII Dr Northcote's article on the Catacombs — The difference between the Lords and the Comnnons — Is aristocracy an element of pro- gress in a State ? — Haulleville's articles in the Correspondant House of Commons, Thursday \_yune? i860]. I am glad Northcote has been faithful to his promises.* I have a letter on Austrian affairs m time. What is Morris' letter you speak of? How in the world shall you reform the House of Lords ! f The House of Commons is a representative body, and must change with the body it represents. It is essentially movable and growing, and adapting itself to altered circumstances. But the aristocracy does not represent, and has no real right to change, as its elements are constant. Whether or no aristocracy is an element of progress or of stability, properly, seems to me highly to be questioned. On all which there is much to be said; and I think I could return your MS. with some notes, if you deal with this side of the question. I have had another letter from Haulleville, which seemed extremely sensible. I see also that he is a good scholar, from his articles in the Correspondant on Ger- man matters. He has also written a good book on Medieval Lombardy. He takes just our view of affairs in his letter, and criticizes Montalembert just as we should. * Dr Northcote in the Rambler for January, 1 860, had written an article, " On the Signs of Martyrdom in the Catacombs," which led to a consider- able discussion. He contributed a second article on the same subject to the number for July, pp. 203-223. t This refers probably to the article which appeared in the July number on " The House of Lords." 134 Dalton's "Ximenes" Letter LIX The House of Lords not representative — The uses of nobility in a State — A Saturday Reviewer on Dalton's Ximenes 1 6 "Bruton Street, Monday [June? i860]. The only direction is that you really go too far at last in treating the Lords* as representatives. Lord Shelburne once said so in the Lords to Burke's indignation. Pray read in Burke's works the motion for an address on the speech from the throne. He says good things of aristocracy in the "Thoughts on the Pre- sent Discontents." If I was you, I would finish with a flourish about the uses of nobility in a State, its natural alliance with the priesthood, etc. But I should be afraid of making it a too practical proposal, or speaking as if you expected it could be realized. Arnold suggests that the Rambler should be pushed in Ireland, and thinks a good deal more might be done. I was writing the most good-natured part of my article when I read the Saturday on Dalton. There is no concealing the fact that he is a great goose and has spoilt a good book. But the blunders of the flippant reviewer are so grand that I have asked Wallis to write himself a letter defending Dalton by showing up his reviewer, the only possible defence. * In his article on " The House of Lords." 135 Letters of Lord Adlon Letter LX The Rambler should treat theory, the Register the practical applica- tion — The Register is the liberal organ, and the general Catholic public share most of its views — Newman speaks of the " foreign toryism " of the Rambler — Gladstone and Palmerston have been contradicting each other — Articles for the next number 1 6, Bruton Street, Saturday [yune, i860]. There is this much reason in what Hodges says that a weekly is not supposed to give general disqui- sitions not bearing on a particular event or question of practical policy. At the same time it was most proper to inaugurate a new regime with a general statement of views, and your article possessed the peculiar merits of a newspaper leader in the highest degree. Generally I think we ought to keep theory for the Rambler, and the practical application for the Register. Among other reasons for this: The Register is the liberal organ, definitely, and must keep its distance most clearly from the Tablet. Their rivalry will drive them as far apart as may be in their opposite lines. Macaulay is visibly an Irish liberal, and the general Catholic public is not very far from sharing most of his views. This will inevitably assert itself in the paper. Then Galitzin is a Russian prince and a Catholic of the Society of Falloux, Correspondant and Co., that is to say, in all probability a decided liberal, hating Austria next to Russia and Russia next to the devil. It is im- possible to expert these elements to combine with what John Henry calls the foreign toryism of the Rambler. The dreary commonplaces of the enclosed 136 Disraeli and Gladstone article do not regard you, as they relate to home topics only. I failed to get young Throckmorton into the House on Thursday, but never heard of your being there. There was much poor speaking, but a triumphant per- formance by Disraeli, and yesterday a sound speech by Horsman, containing more things true than new. I cannot imagine Gladstone remaining in the Government. He and Palma Vecchio* have been con- tradicting each other all through. I have been a good deal with him this week and have given him a paper on Mythology, which he asked me to write in support of his hobby about revelation preserved in it. So far we have for the next number "Martyr," 29 pp.;t Arnold, end of niggers;! Mrs Bastard on " Kings- ley ;§ Riley on " Workhouses ;|| Eckstein, whom I have asked to write on Church and States; half a promise from Newman; ^ a promise from Wetherell; the "Philosophy" you have got;** another I will send you to look at; half a promise from Aubrey de Vere; de Buck on Russia ; an Austrian letter I have already. I will find out how many volumes have appeared of * Lord Palmerston. t " The Life and Martyrdom of Mr Richard White, Schoolmaster," in the July Rambler. X " The Negro Race and its Destiny," by Thomas Arnold, in the same number, pp. 170-189. §The article on " Mr Kingsley " appeared only in the November number, pp. 66-80. II This also only appeared in November, called " The Poor-Law Amend- ment Act," pp. 28-54. IT It was kept by the continuation of " The Ancient Saints," No. Ill, July %ambler,^^. 189-203. ** Simpson's article suggested by Acton, "The Philosopher's Stone," in same, pp. 223-233. 137 Letters of Lord Adlon Montalembert's collected writings and send them to you if you would like to analyse the system of ideas that appears and varies in them. A vigorous analysis of his systems would be highly opportune. I could give some notes if you would do it as you did Bentham, etc. And would you undertake Veuillot's new collected volumes in November? The TJnhers ideas are a greater power in the Church than the Correspondanfs. Pray reflect favourably hereon. Letter LXI Simpson's article on the " Philosopher's Stone " — He is sick of men who are afraid of a scandal — The articles, etc., for the July num- ber — Suggestion that Simpson should become correspondent to the Universel as well as to the Correspondant — Metaphysical speculation of doubtful usefulness in the Rambler — A mistaken statement as to a question to Lord John in the House Saturday, \yunef i860]. I send the "Philosopher's Stone"* to the printers with a note or two appended. Why did you not introduce Saul, who went out to look for his father's she-asses and found a kingdom? I am sick of the men who are afraid of a scandal. I do not know what you have written to Northcote, so I cannot write to him, but he must come to the very opposite conclusion from that of his letter, as it is now impossible to stop short, and the truth must be known. What have we? "Philosopher's Stone,"* 10 pp., "Martyr,"t 2 5 pp., "Cardinal Ximenes and the Inquisi- • Simpson's article written at Acton's suggestion appeared in the July number, i860, pp. 223-233. t "The Life and Martyrdom of Mr Richard White," ibid. p. 233. 138 A Mistaken Statement tion,"* I o or 12 pp. — about sixty pages. I will prolong the "Current Events" to 35 pp., and we may get ten pages of short notices, allowing for one or two of yours. Perhaps you will have a Belgian letter, besides Oxen- ham's. I send you a letter received this morning from HauUeville, editor of the Unhersel, of whom Reichens- perger formerly and now again speaks most highly. Will you undertake this regular correspondence.? By cultivating the Unhersel and the Correspondant at the same time you could do a great deal to keep ideas straight about our affairs. I do not answer him till I hear from you. Do you agree with me that actual metaphysical speculation is of doubtful usefulness in the Ramblerf I believe very few people read it, and that reviews of philosophical books or papers on the history of philo- sophy would serve our purpose better for the future. The report of what I said to Lord John was so in- accurate that I have made Hodges put a correct one into to-day's Register, for the topic was so ticklish I could not afford to be misrepresented. Hodges answered that he could not trust himself to write a leader on so important a topic and hoped I would help him, so I sent him notes, which appears as an article, mingled with a few of the commonplaces of our weekly friend, so that I mean to conceal and can truthfully deny that I wrote it. The fun was that Bowyer, expecting something in his line, began cheer- ing aloud at first, but pulled a very long face before I had done, and then got up to say that he respected my motives, but protested against the Government •Acton's article, ibid. p. 158. 139 Letters of Lord Adton papers being considered of any weight at all. So I have hinted in the Register at the real meaning and aim of my question. I have no doubt w^e shall have some papers equally authentic and unfavourable. I expect Dupanloup's book on Rome almost daily. I wish you would review it when it comes, and espe- cially explain how much more no popery there is in the country than in the high places. Letter LXII Simpson's contributions to the Register — Lord Lyons' dispatches on the Papal States — The opposition to clerical government is the cause of disaffection, not against real wrongs — Papal government ready to make concessions — Garibaldi's decree against priests and in favour of confiscation of their property does not tally with free- dom — Revolution the great enemy of reform — Antonelli's foolish wishes House of Commons, Monday night \_July 9, i860]. The " Week " is capital.* Do go on and write with spirit. Hodge could hardly help putting your article where it did not belong, as he had no foreign article. I send you notes, which may help for a Roman article for this week, on Lyons' papers, f I got them and read them to-day. They are a running commen- tary on some of my articles, confirming, thank God, all I said. Monsell, Maguire, etc., are greatly disturbed by them. I think Lyons honest; Monsell doubts it from something he once told him, so it is best not to say so. I have sent for a copy to send you and will * This refers to the work Mr Simpson was at this time doing in the Weekly Register. \ Mr, afterwards Lord, Lyons made the most valuable contribution to the understanding of the Roman question by a series of dispatches describing the condition of the Papal States between 1854 and 1857. 140 Lord Lyons on the Papal States transfer my marks to it, which may save you time and give you materials to confirm these notes, which I have just written without having the papers before me. But don't speak decisively on the character or future of the Roman Government. I have just seen Macaulay, who is delighted beyond all measure at your first article. The one he sent you was by Stokes. Irish education threatens to be my maiden speech. [Notes enclosed in the above Letter] . Lyons repeatedly recognises the good will of the Roman Government to make reforms, and also the de- termination of the people, of the discontented part of it, not to accept them. The opposition is not to definite grievances but to the Government altogether, not be- cause it is bad, but because it is clerical, and therefore not suited to the spirit of the times. Therefore the disaffection in the Papal States is, like that in Tuscany against the Grand Duke, not like the Sicilian move- ment, a protest against real, distinct wrongs. The Grand Duke attacked because he was an Austrian, the Pope because he is a priest. The readiness to concede very much on the one side, the resolution to be satisfied with nothing on the other, is the most striking result of these papers. No- thing can be conceived more criminal than the unwil- lingness to see reforms made which Lyons perceives among the malecontents, lest they should consolidate the Government. Secularization will satisfy nobody, yet it is the great remedy dwelt upon by Lyons, because it is only a means, not an end. It is the means by which the 141 Letters of Lord AAon opposition hope to get power to alter all things accord- ing to their own particular designs. These are eminently hostile to the Catholic system and not less to English ideas of liberty. See what Lyons enumerates as the peculiarities of Code Napo- leon. In fact, Italian liberalism for the most part is not far removed from the system which finds its most natural expression and development in French Impe- rialism. Conscription, for instance, he himself says, is advocated by the liberal party, as it has been imposed on the Italians by Garibaldi, though it was one of their great liberties under Naples. Now conscription is not tolerated by a people that understands and loves freedom. Then confiscation of Church property — he gives as one of the happy results hoped for — also destruction of nobility by abolishing entail, etc. Garibaldi's decrees against priests and confiscation of their property do not tally with that freedom which consists, as Fox says, " in the safe and sacred enjoyment of a man's property secured by laws defined and certain." Lyons sets up a memorial to the infamy of Italian liberals, which they do not all of them deserve. But the first aspirations of the moderate and conservative among them, like the Marchese Carlo Berilacqua of Bologna, whom Lyons often mentions with praise, are baffled by their unscrupulous allies, who strive to make things worse under the present system in order that they may become better only by the supremacy of their own system. Revolution is the great enemy of reform: it makes a wise and just reform impossible. Antonelli constantly speaks of a wish to reform in detail. There is little chance of this being possible. It 142 The Roman Question would excite more ill will among the adversaries of the Holy See than all the abuses. A people thirsting for the Piedmontese system can certainly not be con- ciliated by really good government. See how little wisdom when in one year tariff was heightened and receipts, of course, fell — a year or two later tariff lowered and receipts naturally rose. What an empirical, foolish system ! See again Antonelli's wish for conscription and other foolish notions. Letter LXIII Mr Wetherell's zeal in the work of the Rambler — The articles for the September number — A letter from Oakeley and another from Newman on education in seminaries — Newman's approval of the change in the Register 1 6, Bruton Street, Tuesday \July ?, i860]. I am overjoyed at the zeal with which Wethe- rell sets to work. He had told me of Newman's answer, and is alarmed at de Buck's letter, warned by New- man's, and wants some precaution taken about it. I will send it to Newman with a letter of hearty thanks. I am just off to Robson's, the printer, to see what he has sent and to take the end of Ryley's article,* which is very much to the purpose and totally without per- sonalities or declamation. I take also Oakeley's letter on X. Y. Z.f The Jesuits, whom I reminded yesterday, promise another. Newman also threatens one, J and the Vienna letter § will go to print to-morrow — so that we shall have five letters from correspondents. * On "The Prison Discipline Act," in Rambler, September, i860, t A letter on "Collegiate Education," in same number, pp. 401-408. t Newman wrote over the signature "H. O." on "Seminaries of the Church" in the same number of the review, pp. 398-401. § A letter on "The Russian Church," ibid. pp. 388-398. 143 Letters of Lord Ad:on I have just sent you more blue books on Syria than you bargained for. Pray let me know whether you are seriously dealing with Dupanloup, besides spiritua- lism. Monsell and O'Ferrall have just been to Birming- ham. Newman, knowing nothing about the new arrangement, burst forth in praise of the new Weekly, * and was told how it happened to be better. In particu- lar he was delighted with your last article. I have just been to the printers. They have got White,t Newman's "Ancient Saints," || and Ryley's " Discipline " § — three articles; also one letter "from correspondents." Letter LXIV F. de Buck's politics are dangerous — A clerical policy may do for Bel- gium but not for England — The statesman Dedecker — ^All classes should have representation — Guizot excluded the upper classes in France Saturday \yuly^ i860]. I begin by answering your letter before I read your article. You touch with the finger the point where we do not agree politically with F. de Buck. The tiers parti he complains of is not very different from that which the 'Rambler represents here, and is quite obvi- ously the policy for a country like Belgium, where Catholicism and anti-Christianism are bound up in one bundle. A clerical policy (Mgr Malou and the Lou- * The Weekly Re^ster, for which Mr Simpson and others were now writing. t "The Life and Martyrdom of Mr White," by Simpson, which appeared in the Rambler, September, i860, pp. 366-388. JNo. IV, pp. 338-357- § "The Prison Discipline Ad." 144 An Ideal Statesman vain professors) would ruin Church and State if it pre- vailed there. And if I understand it rightly, it is due to the obstinacy of that party, dependent on the Univers, that a Catholic ministry has become an im- possibility. The representative among Belgian public men of this syncreticism, Dedecker, is almost my ideal of a statesman. I don't mean in action, for I don't know^ enough about it, but in his theory, which if you care to know you will find in thirty quartos of the Brussels Hansard, which I have just received. An enemy said of Dedecker that he is a double-barrelled gun, one barrel to shoot at his enemies, the other at his friends. Ramii/er, tout pur. I decidedly like your article, and am curious about the conclusion. I am afraid the view might easily be carried to excess. The upper classes, though the peers have no vote, ought to be represented in the Commons, just as the interests of the poorer classes that have no vote. Classes ought not to be excluded, as Guizot and his friends excluded them in France. This seems to me the merit of the Bill, that it will admit a portion of the working classes to the franchise, so that no com- mon interest will be wholly excluded. It is very dan- gerous to draw the line of separation between the elements of the two Houses too strongly and clearly. The antagonism must be broken by the admission of an element of each in the other. In a note to page 3 you speak of Gentz as a Prussian statesman in 1839. He was a Prussian, but not a Prussian statesman, for he went early into Austrian service, and he was neither a Prussian nor an Austrian in 1839, but a dead man ever since '32 or '33. 145 10 Letters of Lord Adton Letter LXV Newman advises that the report on the Examination of the Catacombs Ampullae be not published — Father de Buck on " Rites " — Some Irish articles promised — The Catholic Charities Bill — The Kreuzzeitung^ s praise of the Rambler Aldenham, Monday \July? i860]. I read to Jack Morris part of the article about droll Druse, and he immediately exclaimed, "Simp- son ! " I begged for silence. Newman does not advise the publication of the account of the examination,* as he thinks it does not prove much. Northcote writes that he looks forward to publication when there are more instances. Newman says he will have no time for the last two numbers. Could you not induce F. de Buck to make his "Rites" into a communicated article next time? We want a learned article, and it will be be yond the limits of a letter. [Monselljf promises an Irish article with the agreement that it is to be rejected if unfit, or corrected if defective. The Solicitor General | has almost promised to undertake the series I proposed of historical articles on Ireland since Emancipation. He is to discuss the matter with his namesake the pro- fessor. I have asked Badeley for a short communication, editorial if possible, on the Catholic Charities Bill, which * The examination made of certain ampullae said to contain the blood of martyrs found in the Catacombs by de Rossi. The opinion that they were certain signs of martyrdom was challenged by the Bollandist Father de Buck, who suggested that a microscopic examination of the deposit would settle the question. t Afterwards Lord Emly. % Thomas O'Hagan, afterwards first Baron O'Hagan and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. 146 The Temporal Power Bowyer got into such a scrape about. I brought Badeley down, but too late, although the Government said if they had known his points in time they would have accepted all we proposed. There will also be an article in bad English, finish- ing the medieval pages, from Hofler. Aubrey de Vere offers poetry. Unless you think better of his poetry than his prose, I shall insist on the latter. N.B. — The famous Protestant Prussian paper, the J^euzzekung, gives a very favourable notice of the Rambler, selecting the article on Scott* for particular praise. Letter LXVI Simpson's article on Lord Lyons — His views on the Roman question not so pronounced as Antonelli's — The Temporal Government has no future Wednesday night \July 12, i860]. I am very glad you have managed to make an article on Lyons,t now Lord Lyons, at Washington. They say his confidential conversation differs from his correspondence, which appears inspired by the English Government in the background. But I firmly believe that all he says is true. Antonelli says things worse than any he says, so I have no reason to misdoubt him. As to the Pope making all men equal before the law, etc., it is surely equivalent to doing away with the Temporal Power altogether, which has no sojourn in a *This article by Arnold appeared in the May number, i860. t This appeared in the Rambler, November, 1 860, in an article called "Tht Roman Question," a discussion of Bishop Dupanloup's recently published Papal Sovereifftiy, translated from the French. 147 Letters of Lord Adon world so altered. The inquiry seems to me nearly superfluous, as I cannot believe that the Temporal Government has any future before it. Your style is attracting great attention in the Weekly Register. Letter LXVII The articles for the September Rambler — A letter of Newman and his article on " Ancient Saints," No. IV — A6lon thinks the work good "and Newman exquisite " — Newman on the declara- tion of irresponsibility of editors for communicated articles as well as correspondence Wednesday night [August 22, i86o]. As I must leave town with Lord Granville on Friday, I shall not be able to revise my article, which will be greatly needed. I pray you therefore, compas- sionately take it in hand. I added something to your "Tyrolese" and to your " Syria."* Can you get a page or two of short notices in case of need? We stand: Prisons, 17 pages ;t Negroes,.:.5 P^g^s;| Ancient Saints, I9;§ Spirit Rapping, II 8^ pages; White, 23.^ Add Russia,** 9^ pages; Newman, 2^;tt Oakeley, 7J;I| Notices, 4; Events, 18. I send the Austrian letter, 3 pages. I shall * In the " Current Events " of the September number. t Riley's article "The Prison Discipline Act" in same, pp. 300-317. t Thomas Arnold's " The Negro Race and its Destiny," in same, pp. 3 1 7- 338- § Newman's "Ancient Saints," IV, in same, pp. 338-357. II "The Spirit-Rappers," by Simpson, in same, pp. 357-366. fl " The Life and Martyrdom of Mr Richard White," by Simpson, in same, pp. 366-388. ** "The Russian Church," in same, pp. 388-398. tt The letter signed "H. O." on "Seminaries of the Church," pp. 398-401. Xt The letter signed " F" on "Collegiate Education," pp. 401-408. 148 Newman and Communicated Articles write on Education in Ireland,* 2 pages, and this leaves 1 2 pages for my Defences,! of which I have written 7. I am obliged to cut off many pages of Riley. The rest I think is good, and Newman is exquisite. Friday. I am just off. Newman writes that he thinks a declaration of irresponsibility should include commu- nicated articles as well as correspondence, now that his original notice is omitted. Will you write it ? I have withdrawn the one you prefixed to correspondence to make way for the other. Pray bestow some shape on my phantasy on "Volunteers."! It was written in one day and has no end. I am afraid you will think I have poured a good deal of water into your wine in "Tyrol" and "Syria." Letter LXVIII Simpson's treatment of the " Roman Question " is excellent — Oxen- ham's dealing with Newman " is exquisite " — Preparations for the next number — He will contribute a longish notice of Bol- linger's new book — Has got materials for a modern history of the Popes — Who will write on Montalembert's Monks of the West ? Munich \No')>ember 28, i860]. I have been cut off all this time from all English news, and immersed in much private trouble, and I knew nothing of what was going on until this evening * In "Current Events," in same, pp. 418-419. tThe first article in the September number, called "National Defence." X This was the article on " National Defence." 149 Letters of Lord Adton the November Rambler came into my hands. I was sorely distressed at first on seeing that the men I had reckoned upon had failed you, but on reading the arti- cles I saw that was no loss, and my conscience was greatly comforted. You have very courageously boarded the Roman question,* with only too much tenderness for Dupanloup, and I am afraid too many loose remi- niscences of our conversations. X.Y.Z. is really a treasure of knowledge, temper and sense. I hope we shall get him to write often in the article department. His treat- ment of Newman is exquisite,t quoting him against himself so often that I cannot believe he does not know who H.O. is; but I fear Newman would be alarmed if his secret is divulged. "Our most noble selves" seems to me too elegant and neither pointed enough nor allusive enough for you. I It is a very good letter in every way, and cannot offend any body but the miserable nameless scribe. Meyer's Austrian letter § comes late in the day, as it takes no notice of very important recent events. How do you stand for the next number? There ought to be a Hofler at Burns, and Monsell wrote to me that he was at work on Syria. Will you write to inquire ? Address, Tervoe, Limerick. I have a letter of Morris's on colleges. I do not know what has been said in the papers and whether it is out of date. The beginning at * "The Roman Question," by Simpson, was the first article in the number for November, pp. 1-28. t Mr Oxenham, as X.Y.Z., replies on the Education Question, pp. loo- 1 17. J The letter was by Simpson on the danger of Catholics becoming a mutual admiration society. — Ibid. pp. 117-120. § A letter on "The Austrian Empire" was printed from L. yon Meyer in this number, pp. 121-124. 150 George Eliot's Novels any rate must be altered. He has left Aldenham. If there are attacks in the weeklies on X.Y.Z., it is cer- tainly better not to notice them, at least by name. I have found a letter here from Wilberforce, who is full of your praises and says that you get on admirably together — greatly commending your article on the Austrian constitution, which I look forward to when I get home. If you write by return of post, I shall get your letter here. DoUinger's book * has been out some weeks, and I can give you a longish notice of it — say 25 to 30 pages; otherwise I have not done much. I only came here a week or two ago, having been in Austria several weeks, in Switzerland, at Geneva and at Freiburg in Baden, where I made propaganda for the Rambler. Early in December I must be on the Rhine, and I shall be detained at Paris. Pray let me know therefore what I am to do for you. I thought I recognized Wetherell's measured head in home affairs and of course in Eliot's novels,t which I have never made up my mind to read. I have heard nothing of Monsell since September, when he asked for books on Syria, of which I sent him a long list. If you write to him, will you ask whether he can- not get anything out of the Solicitor General ? By the by Oxenham knows not what he says about forms of government in the Church. Your history is not always sound. Sebastian not Emmanuel was killed in Africa, and Granvelle was gone before Alba came, but what you say on clerics in times of revolution is none the worse for that. * Christenthum und Kirche in der Zeit der Grilrtdle^ng. t The article on George Eliot's novels was really written by Oxenham, not by Wetherell. 151 Letters of Lord Adton I look forward with horror to the beginning of the session and the sohcitude of London and work in com- mittees. I have got together materials on the modern history of the Popes and would give anythingfor a quiet half year among my books at Aldenham. Will nobody write a serious article on Montalembert's Monks ? It might be proposed to Arnold. Will you sometimes think, when you have nothing else to do, and talk with MacMuUen about gaols and poorhouses ? I shall want your counsel in the matter. Letter LXIX Is at work on DoUinger's book for the January Rambler — Ward should be contented to be recognised by his three initial letters — We should be prepared to see the Pope leave Rome — It would do great good if he were to go to Germany — DoUinger's opinion — The support of the Pope — Peter's Pence, etc. — Inclines to a system of Papal domains — Urges Simpson to write some books — A society for the publication of materials for Catholic history in England most necessary Munich, 6 December [i860]. Many thanks for your letter just received and for so much news. In several respects good news, I think. I have set to work on DoUinger,* but I shall be lengthy, grave and dull, near thirty pages I ex- pect. I am afraid the Hofler and the X.Y.Z. contro- versy will not be enough to relieve my dullness. Ward has got three names, so without any classical joke I should think he would be at once recognized as a man of three (initial) letters. I don't think he has any right to protest or to insist that we should suspend * For an article in the %ambler of January, 1861. 152 The Pope will probably leave Rome in his favour a rule to which everybody submits. Reichensperger's was a peculiar case, by no means establishing a precedent. Besides the weeklies can be instructed at once to name him as the distinguished or learned writer. Pray do not print Jack Morris without some corrections. I think the matter is grave enough to be pursued, and it brings so many fishes floundering into our net. You should have seen the Professor's countenance when I told him that H.O. was Newman. How has he got into such favour with Oakeley ? ... In the midst of so much ponderosity the Maori war or the " Remonstrance"* or both would be singularly timely. As to Peter's Pence I do not suppose Wetherell seriously believes in it. We must certainly be prepared to see the Pope leave Rome and take refuge in Spain or Germany. If in Germany (at Wiirzberg, where there is a splendid palace of the old prince, bishops and a faculty of theology, particularly Roman) , the reaction upon German Protestantism will be im- mense. I had the luck to hear a long conversation on this point the other night between DoUinger and the ablest of the Bavarian Protestants. Their mutual con- fidence was astonishing to a beholder. DoUinger said that the thing at least was certain that the Romanism of the Church was destroyed for good, and the other was convinced that the presence of the Holy See in Germany, on the borderland of the two religions, must lead to the reunion of the German Protestants with the Church. But there are a great many more consequences connected with the fall of the Temporal * This was an article by Simpson on Foster's Grand Remonstrance, which appeared in the January number. Letters of Lord AAon Power, which when the time comes we must try to point out. In the March number I spoke of a possible combination of Peter's Pence, State payments and domains for the support of the Pope. The last seems to be the most natural and the only one that can per- manently endure. Popular collections are uncertain, they cannot be equally levied in countries where the clergy is supported by the State and in countries where it is maintained by the people. Peter's Pence of old was a very partial and a very small tribute, and it was paid by countries where the Church was already richly endowed. You cannot expect a clergy that looks to collections for its own livelihood to be zealous in promoting constant and permanent tribute which enters into competition with its own. That applies chiefly to our country. But abroad there are more serious objections. In Prussia, for instance, the State cannot stand in the long run a perpetual or periodical popular excitement which combines the two things most feared, attachment to the papal authority and democracy, for in a bureaucratic State everything that stirs independently of Government, and in the mass of the people as such, that is not in their organization, is virtually democratic. Much more must those Catholic States which, like France and Sardinia, are responsible for the troubles and necessities of the Pope dislike and dread a movement constantly recur- ring, organized and kept alive by the whole clergy, which is in fact a protest against what they have done. All these difficulties will be met by the system of domains. The Governments, if they give up a frag- ment of crown lands to the Holy See, lose nothing, 154 Proposed Solution of the Roman Question because the voluntary contributions, which have the serious disadvantage ut supra, carry away as much wealth of the country, and it would be in each country a matter of little more than ^20,000 or ^^3 0,000 a year. Add to this, which is a just claim and obviously in the interest of France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Prussia and Germany, to concede the liberty of private bequests, and the Pope is as rich once more as in the days of Gregory the Great. This I would hold fast to: that the arrangement that is to be made must be made for good. In speaking of the loss of the Roman States I could not speak of a chance of a restoration, for a restoration of the old regime and of the position of the Pope as a ruler of millions is, I am persuaded, out of the question. . . It is much to be prayed and hoped that you will keep up your spirits at the Wee\ly. There you are doing the service of outposts, and must be always exposed to a brush with the arch-enemy dull- ness. The good that men write lives after them, but it is only by patience and prolongation and perseverance that it is to be done at all with the pen. I hope we shall have patience and fortitude to go on sowing what we shall not reap, although that is a sort of labour which is not its own reward. But for you be- sides there are two things: one is to publish, if it can be managed, one or two books, trying Longman, Parker, Bentley and Hurst. The other, which your book on Campion gives you a right to, is to lead and manage the society for the publication of materials for Catholic History in England. Whenever I think of it, it seems to me more and more desirable and feasible. If I could only get turned out of Parliament in an 155 Letters of Lord Adon honest way and settle down among my books, I should soon bring to maturity my part of the plan. As you are versed in the matter, it would be important by degrees to collect an accurate list of all the documents, reports, letters, etc., that have been printed relating in any way to the matter. If you make a list of what has been published, I will make one of what might be. Really this is a serious matter, and we might do good service in it. Letter LXX Afton's article on Dollinger — Asks Simpson to read and correft, and to verify some quotations Munich, Wednesday [December, i860]. I send you the beginning and the end of my article.* I go to the Rhine to-morrow and will there finish the intermediate part, which will not be above four pages of print at the outside, so I reckon there will be altogether near thirty pages. Pray bestow a careful perusal on what has been, especially in the second part, hastily written, though it is on a subject I have read most of the books upon. It was difficult to put an account of the critical school in a moderate compass. I thought it wiser not to talk much about DoUinger's book, but by the help of other things to put it on a proper pedestal. Some malice will not escape you. Are the lectures on the Protestant tradition in the Ang- lican "Difficulties or in the Present Position of Catho- lics f I have neither at hand. At page 19 I quote * " DoUinger's History of Christianity," the first article in the Rambler for January, 1 86 1, '§6 Oscott Divines a passage from Petavius, which both in the original and in Kulm's quotation finishes with debeat. I suppose it ought to be prcebeat, but I know not. It is in the second cap. of the preface to De Trinitate. If I have put too strongly the Protestant disbelief in miracles (p. 7 of the last part), pray see to it. I say once or twice that I speak of rationalistic Protestantism, but not introducing that qualification each time may make it seem too sweeping. I have seen some Tablets with very absurd letters. Walker has found out editions of Hallam's Constitu- tional History in nine volumes, and of Mign^t's Revolu- tion in twenty-four, which is about as long as three Ramblers. Northcote must be ashamed to be quoted for such bibliographical curiosities. It is rather curious that a year ago I wrote to Northcote a letter on students and divines at Oscott, compared to which X.Y.Z. is a panegyrist, and in February Northcote told me that really things were a good deal worse than I described. A German says a good thing which you may apply to our friend Napoleon: " When the sense of right and respect for law is undermined, the droit du plus fort prevails. But the plus fort is generally up to a certain point he who is most unscrupulous in the choice of means." I am just going to see young Wilberforce, the son of the late archdeacon, who has got an American wife with an estate full of slaves. 157 Letters of Lord Adon Letter LXXI Acton's article on Dollinger — The question of Hungary — Schmerling's plan for the reconstitution of Austria-Hungary — The Concordat is threatened, and half of it secured will be better than the present "unsafe and unsecured" Herrnsheim Worms, "December 20 [i860]. I have shortened the article and omit several pages of MS. in which I went into details, as it would have led me too far. I speak of coming back to them: this refers to DoUinger's interpretation of iropvela and divorce, which will be valuable for the Protestants and seems to me very successful. I remember the Christian Remembrancer of July, at the end of the article on Broglie, says of the kings of thought, as he calls them, in Germany that they write less well than the French, and his examples are Gothe, Kant, Mohler and the Professor. Now Gothe writes about as well as Plato, so the thing is absurd with these examples, but it is remarkable that a Protestant Oxford man should select these four as the greatest Germans. I did not think of it where I say that the book is well and popularly written, which it is in the highest degree alone of D.'s writings, or I would have quoted the Remembrancer to give relief to my sentiments. The quotation would serve also to praise Dollinger, which I have tried to avoid. Can you get the number? If so, it may be worth while to put it skilfully in. I still despond about Schmerling, though I do not know his plans. If he makes non-Hungary one State and parliament and Hungary another, his house is divi- 158 The Situation in Austria ded against itself. I saw at Freiburg a long article going to the JJniversel on the subject. Some facts are true in it, but do not trust the judgements. The late plan of triennial parliament was Rechberg's. Its absur- dity lies in many things; also in making so many small provincial estates over against big Hungary. Schmerling, as a German, was a national necessity, because Gots- chousky is a Slavonian, and the Rechberg constitution made the Germans jealous of the Slavonic element. I have seen many more men who knew Schmerling. All think highly of his ability, courage and finesse. Do not publish this, but it is significant of Machia- vellic genius. At Frankfort he, the Austrian, member for Vienna, confidential minister of Archduke John, wanted to let the crown of Germany be given to Frederick William, judging that Austria would then become chief of the popular party in the empire and would be strengthened by all the popular elements. He told this confidentially to another deputy at Frank- fort whom I have just seen. N.B. — If Archduke Stephen is spoken of in the paper (I do not see them) , he was Palatine and fell into unpopularity on one side and disgrace on the other in '48; but he is the cleverest archduke, and I have just seen a confidential letter from him, full of confi- dence in the result of things in Hungary. His cor- respondent told me he thought he would be consulted or put into some great office. The army is not discouraged, as I thought my cousin was, but eager to fight and confident of victory, as I hear on good authority. As to the Concordat, it is likely S[chmerling] will try and alter. I am more and 159 Letters of Lord Adon more convinced of that from what I hear. Half the Concordat, executed and secured by other liberties, will be better than the present document unsafe and unperformed. But the breach of faith will be terrible, Benedek is disliked at court, because the army forced him on the Emperor. People speak of Wallenstein. As long as Archduke Albert serves peaceably under him, good terms will certainly be kept up. 1 60 i86i Letter LXXII Is averse to a communicated article on the Education Question — Does not wish the Rambler to adopt the views of X.Y.Z. — Newman is pleased with the answer X.Y.Z. made to him and is believed by many to be the author of Simpson's letter in the Register 'Buckland, Saturday [January 12, 1861]. I do not feel certain that the termination [of the controversy on the letter of X.Y.Z.] will be attained by a communicated article. The pensive pub- lic is not metaphysical enough to understand or honest enough to be willing to understand the dif- ference between a letter and a communicated article with respect to its authority and responsibility. By making a letter a communicated article we do not put an end to controversy, as we would tolerate not only a letter against a communicated article, but suc- cessive communicated articles contradicting in some degree each other. The synthetical, epicritical view which we might put under " Communicated " would not be elevated above the region in which Ward and Oakeley wage their war, or have the weight of an editorial decision. We have shared the odium of open- ing the question, as it is, justly and rightly. It will not be increased by putting in an article adopting some of the chief points of X.Y.Z., as we can sepa- rate ourselves from him properly on some others. 161 II Letters of Lord Adton Besides, the outraged interests and prejudices have had their say, and the violence of the storm has abated in the public mind. Moreover, the belief will not be that X.Y.Z. has gained any victory in public opinion. Great names have appeared against him and loud voices have cried out. I think his general view re- quires and deserves support, and we give him that much more by a discriminating editorial than by let- ting the dispute go on or transferring it to the second compartment. Those are the reasons which make me think it would be wisest to finish with an editorial. Newman I hear is pleased with X.Y.Z. 's answer to him, and is believed by many persons to be the author of your letter in the Register. He is highly pleased with the new number. Northcote and Mey- nell are both indignant with my article. . . I hear Newman has been so angry at various times with my politics that I am tempted to write an article on Italian affairs, which will cost less trouble than one on Baden, which would be more of fact and less of doctrine. Letter LXXIII General approval of the January Rambler — Criticisms on Simpson's " Campion," the first number of which appeared in the maga- zine — Importance of references — Certain mistakes pointed out 1 6 Bruton Street, Saturday [January, 1861]. I have just got the Rambler and read my abo- minations. Your paper on Foster* touches a great question capitally, and I have read with the greatest *"The Grand Remonstrance" in the January number, pp. 176-1183. 162 "Edmund Campion" interest the beginning of your life of Campion.* Here are the things that occurred to me reading it. You must make up your mind from the first whether you are writing for a general public and for your present readers, or a book that is to satisfy the curiosity of learned men on the subject in time to come. I pray you choose the latter. It includes the former and will cost you no greater trouble, for you have the materials, and know more about it than any man living. But then some things must be changed: i . You must omit allusions to matters of merely momentary, passing interest, making them, if at all, in the most ingenious, secure, concealed manner. Nothing betrays more than this the low estimate an author has of his own purpose and of the capacity of his readers. Such are (p. 224) the points at Wiseman and Flanagan, which are really beneath the dignity and respe6t of history. 2. You must give references to your authorities whenever you do not quote common books either at the foot of the pages or in notes at the end of the volume, with numbers at the margin. In which notes you can then sometimes, and with greater freedom if they are at the end, give important passages in Latin, of which you have given the sense in the text. In all decisive points this is indispensable to give authority to your book ; especially when you use unpublished matter. So also (p. 227) the quotations from S. Tho- mas and (234) St Hilary should have Cap. and v. There ahould be authority cited for the passage on Dudley's religion, half-way down p. 227, etc. Then p. 217. Is " spout his address " dignified * "Edmund Campion," No. I, in the same number. 163 Letters of Lord A6ton enough ? Macaulay would have used it, but he would have covered and surrounded it with great splendour and pomp of words, and he is accused of vulgarity in his expressions. P. 220. For Ingol^stadt read Ingolstadt, no d. P. 221. Is it fair to Anglicans to divide them as you do in the sixth line ? Then in same I never heard of a bishop of Tarragona, surely Tarraconensis. Also has Demosthenes, in a garbled quotation, any business here ? P. 226. Is Prince Consort a title naturally given to the Queen's husband ? I thought it was a privilege not always conferred, but I don't know. You call ora- torical see-saw a passage which in Latin must read very like certain passages of Cicero, for which there is certainly a learned rhetorical designation. P. 232. "Governor" in inverted commas means father. It is a natural old word for tutor, and you so use it farther on. P. 233. Cardinal Toleto, generally Toletus; but I suppose you have authority. P. 236. "Orders and disorders," perhaps a quotation, but don't appear so and looks like a joke. My criticisms on style will remind you of Gracchus denouncing sedition. But it is a great danger to carry the characteristics of every-day writing into a serious, learned, grilndlich book. My theory is that in history the historian has to disappear and leave the fafts and ideas objedlively to produce their own efFeft. 164 Newman and the Council of Trent Letter LXXIV Are Campion's books rare ? — Newman's view of the Council of Trent must not go " unreproved " — Ward's letter is not " a reasonable view, but a state of mind " — Educational topics should be dis- cussed — Everything secret tends to degenerate — A high stan- dard of education of clergy most wanted — The example of France — Asceticism by itself no security — The Council of Trent does not limit the range of studies at all — The Gaume controversy — Is the bulk of literature dangerous ? Aldenham, Wednesday [January 23, 1861]. Think well on't before you resolve to publish a volume of Campion's works, (i) How rare is the History of Ireland ? (2) How good ? (3) How likely to be read ? I can answer none of these questions. I do not believe the Rationes would justify "very" as an answer to any of the three. Wetherell is resolute because he does not want to commit the Rambler to a view opposed to Newman. What I care for most is that Newman's view of the Council of Trent should not go unreproved in the letter which, whoever writes it, is to be the most authoritative document of the controversy. Next to that my strongest consideration is of the hope- and use-lessness of disputing with Ward, whose letter* represents not a reasonable view, but a state of mind. A very kind letter from Newman this morning highly approves of the late Rambler and particularly subscribes to my extravagantest utterances, t ' "Catholic Education," a letter by Dr Ward, was printed in the January Rambler, pp. 237-273. t The article on " Dallinger's History of Christianity." 165 Letters of Lord AAon My own contribution to the discussion* must be very small, for I have not got the back numbers. But it must be established that all questions of this kind, not exclusively ecclesiastical, but social and interesting to all alike, require ventilation (i) for the enlightenment of those whose business pra6tically it is to decide about them; (2) for the satisfadtion of others and for inspir- ing them with confidence, giving security, etc. Every thing secret degenerates, even the adminis- tration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity. The Church especially has been in the habit of appealing to the sense of the masses, to public opinion, as she is founded on conscience. For instance, the great movement of Hilde- brand's age was begun by raising the laity of Northern Italy against the corrupt clergy (Pataria). But I don't know whether this historical argument will be of any use. Under Catholic absolutism the Church set to work in another way. What is most wanted is a high standard of educa- tion in the clergy, without which we can neither have, except in rare cases, good preachers or men of taste or masters of style, or up to the knowledge, the ignorance and the errors of the day. They will have neither sympathy nor equality with the laity. The example of France is conclusive. No clergy is more zealous, more ascetical, than the better sort of French priests. St Sulpice educates them for that but not for learning. So they are shut off from the lay world, they influence only the women, and instead of influencing society through the women help to dis- * I.e., the education controversy raised by X.Y.Z. 166 The Education of the Clergy organize, by separating the men and women. " Our wives," says Michelet, " have not been educated in the same faith as ourselves, hence decline of marriage in France." When the French clergy has a great man to show — Gratry, Ravignan, Lacordaire — his social influ- ence is immense. For it is no answer to say that an ignorant clergy is good enough for an ignorant laity. They must be equal not only to lay Catholics, but also to Protestants, both lay and clerical. They must be educated with a view to the clever enemy, not only to the stupid friend. Asceticism by itself is no security without know- ledge. It is just as dangerous to faith in educated men, though not highly or sufficiently instructed, as knowledge is, by itself. One-sided view of things, igno- rance of the world, ignorance of proportion and per- spective in things purely religious, ignorance of the borderland where religion touches the outer world of life and ideas. There have been heresies of false asceti- cism just as there have of false speculation. Taste for learning can be nourished only by reading the great writers, by artes liberales, not by prayer and seclusion. Then I would define the Rambler as not a lay maga- zine either in its subje6ts, or its writers, or its purpose; and the notion of a lay magazine is foolish, which I suppose is what you said in the Register. Then we ought to put aside Newman's view of the Council of Trent as a dangerous error, (i) The decree he quotes does not limit the range of studies at all. The terms are quite definite. Nor (2) does it settle anything about lay or Church students. As there were few and 167 Letters of Lord Adlon imperfeft schools for education in general for boys, it was decreed that every diocese should have an institu- tion of the kind at least for the clergy, that they at least might be safely educated, but not to the express exclusion of others. I am positive about this, for I re- ferred to the passage with DoUinger. Both Newman and X.Y.Z. are wrong as to the authority of the Coun- cil of Trent, and I suppose it would be best to set New- man right, as he is most in the wrong, by setting the other right. For X.Y.Z. says, Trent does not bind us, because it is not received here; but in fa6t that is not the reason, for its decrees in discipline are not abso- lute, but are modifiable and everywhere modified by time and place, and were themselves only what the Germans would call an historical phenomenon, a change with regard to the past changeable in the future. Newman is not wrong because the Council is not accepted in England; he would be equally wrong . everywhere else and in every period except just that when the decrees were given. Then X.Y.Z. quotes wrongly the Council of Con- stance as to tolerated heretics. The notion would be a contradiction in that age. None were tolerated or tolerable, but the words apply to excommunicated persons and the mode of dealing with them. Then I suppose you will agree with me that he ex- aggerates the merits and the influence of the Anglican clergy. The Methodists are surely a warning to him. Before posting this, Sunday intervening, I have got through a good part of W. G. W[ard]. Newman never said a truer word than when he said that if we care- fully define our views, controversy will generally be- i68 W. G. Ward on Literature come hopeless or superfluous. There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion. I cannot see that Ward's view is susceptible of discussion, or that his argument is fit to be seriously treated in the Rambler. D and many others are examples of men who study not to find out truths, but to find out proofs of what they already be- lieve to be truths. Now this is in contradiftion with the nature of research and arguments, and men of this sort must be passed by. If one can promote knowledge and common sense in general, their influence and dangerousness will go of itself. The only serious thing seems to me the discussion (p. 249) of the literature which Ward puts in the third class. This is simply the Gaume controversy. The ancient and the English classics are the substance of what he calls literature and denies their educative properties. Sophocles and Shakespeare, Cicero and Bacon are the types. Ward unjustly concentrates the whole into novels, romances of earthly passion, and argues therefrom, making no proper distindlion (and indeed speaking like a heathen) between sensuality and love. Then one must surely distinguish between the danger of knowledge and the danger of exciting the imagination. They belong to different ages. The bulk of all literature is dangerous in the first way. Novels of course are dangerous during study periods because they distract and absorb, but I don't believe there is any of the other danger in most of Scott, Dickens, Thackeray or the later Bulwer's writings. 169 Letters of Lord Acfton Ward seems to me so childish in his psychology and in the ignorance betrayed by his ideas of the French clergy that I cannot laelp thinking Oakeley and the Anon, will waste powder. You cannot convince by logic men attrafted by such arguments as these. Letter LXXV The articles for the next Rambler — More letters on the education ■question from X.Y.Z. and Ward — Simpson's review of Ward Aldenham, Thursday, [March, 1861]. I send you a MS. from Hennessy* which I think we ought to admit, although I do not agree with his decimal propensities (perhaps you, a mathe- matician, will), nor altogether in his dislike of anony- mous writing, not at all in his ideas of orthography or his reverence for the Marquis of Normanby. But he is a writer in the obiscum will disguise various ideas which are not of the most acceptable kind. An apology of the Reign of Terror has, compared to many Catholic apologies, the advantage of entire sincerity and truth, and serves to show that we defend the Church on the same footing as all other truths. I am softened towards all Goldwin Smith's errors by his purposelessness and honesty. He often speaks of things he does not know, but is not really a humbug in history. I have not felt confidence enough to use your paper on his other book, as I have not read it. If it throws any light on his want of the sense of the spiritual, pray put it in at the place where I say that of him. Who is Manwaring, of King William Street, by whom a translation of the Professor's is announced ? Ddllinger is writing a life of Eckstein to be prefixed to a posthumous work of his. 244 Goldwin Smith's History Letter CVIII Goldwin Smith's " Irish History" — Dollinger's treatment of positive Protestantism — The Society of St Vincent de Paul — Only such societies can intercept poverty on its way to pauperism — Indis- criminate almsgiving — Death of Prince Albert Aldenham, Tuesday [December 17, 1861]. I reckon upon your longanimity to make my paper intelligible* and to correct what you disapprove. Bramhall had better be left out. The words of G [old- win] S[mith] startled me, impressed with Laud's medio- crity and with the conspicuous failure of his enterprise. I must confess that if you deprive G. S. of his honesty in history, he has nothing to stand upon but the merits of his style. But his blunders are certainly not due to his theory, if he has one, or he would not make out so weak a case against the Irish establishment. However, I cannot speak as to his other book, and must leave that correction to you. In the passage about laws you are right as to the meaning, but do averages signify all that recurs with constant regularity? I want to dis- tinguish between injunctions proceeding from outward authority and will, and laws which are part of a thing's nature. I can hardly conceive a real infidel translating all Dollinger's book faithfully, but there is not a word in it against the infidels^ and it is remarkable that the Professor should havfe particularly reckoned on his treatment of positive Protestantism being taken up and * " Mr Goldwin Smith's Irish History," ibid. pp. 190-220. 245 Letters of Lord Adlon pushed forward by unattached Protestants. Strange that his Italian translator should have been, on a former occasion, Bianchi Giovini, no better than Manning, according to your account of him. Be sure not to mitigate the folly and wickedness of suppressing St Vincent, while you explain it. The beauty of the Society always struck me with being in harmony with the laws of political economy. The remedy for poverty is not in the material resources of the rich, but in the moral resources of the poor. These, which are lulled and deadened by money gifts, can be raised and strengthened only by personal influence, sympathy, charity. Money gifts save the poor man who gets them, but give longer life to pauperism in the country. Moral influence cuts off the supplies which nourish it. Only institutions like the St Vincent Society can intercept poverty on its way to pauperism, and can permanently relieve not only the poor but the State. For poverty comes either from one's own fault, or from some independent cause. The first may be pre- vented by influences over which the State has no power, by social aftion, which reduces peverty to its ideal minimum of those who are poor by no fault of their own and who have a claim on the State. These alone, in whose case compassion is free from censure, are to be directly supported by the public. Indis- criminate almsgiving is as contrary to Christ's teaching as to political science. A despotic State founded on pro- letariate naturally jealous of influences coming between it and the basis of its construction. The Prince is a serious loss,* but he only misled our * i.e., Prince Albert, Consort of the Queen. 246 Effeft of Prince Albert's Death public men in German affairs. As the Prince of Wales comes to the van, I suppose it will strengthen his can- didate, the Duke of Newcastle, who is also Goldwin Smith's patron. Probably the Queen will be more dis- posed to follow her feelings than the voice of prudence. So I see troubles coming among ministers, whom I suppose the American difficulty will strengthen until there is some signal reverse. How Canada is to be held until the ice breaks, I cannot conceive. Letter CIX Preparation of Material for the January Rambler — Archbishop Laud's failure — The Society of St Vincent flourishes in Germany — The lesson of the Revolution — Except by force the Pope can never be safe — How^ the powder was preserved in the Middle Ages — Con- nexion between temporal power of the Popes and the balance of power of nations Aldenham, 'Thursday [Dec. 19, 1861]. Supposing there would be much^more space, I was going on placidly with i an Italian Chronicle, which I cut short and sent you with America,* I fear twelve pages swelled with dodtrine, and therefore compressible at your discretion. Green's letter may be curtailed by giving substance for text of Protestant oaths, t I had written a note on the University of Louvain, to meet the charge of Gallicanism, but left it out, because of the length of the letter, and because the peculiarly anti-Gallican charadler of that faculty must be matter of notoriety. * In the Rambler for January, 1862, pp. 277-292. t "The Oaths," ibid. pp. 250-265. 247 Letters of Lord A6i;on Pray omit Capitular notices rather than bits of Campion. Lord Grey is detestable, Napier is as bad. Pray do what you like with Oakeley, but I beseech you to soften the spirit of Oxenham with a discreet communication.* I get twelve to sixteen pages from him regularly thrice a week. I say Laud failed because he helped to pull down the house about the king's ears and his own. Perhaps you do not agree in my view of the great part played by religion in the rebellion. Friday [December 20]. Beginning ^at "all overi:Europe," 1 the end of your paper won't do. I have :sketched an alteration which I think keeps the point and leaves out the sting. Pray see whether it will do. Has the Pope made no pro- test at all ? "All over Europe" is a very general state- ment. St Vincent flourishes gloriously in Germany. The affair on Guizot is good enough till it comes to the hollow phrases at the end. I think the following points ought to be dwelt on : The revolution teaches that a government may be subverted by its subjects, irrespective of its merits; while that theory lasts, the Pope can never be safe against his own subjects except by force. Even good government is no security in a revolutionary age — see the cases of Louis Philippe, of Tuscany, in '59. While the revolutionary principle has power therefore, the papal sovereignty must depend on the aid of its neigh- bours against its subjefts. But the revolutionary theory has also an international application and teaches that a State may be absorbed by its neighbours even if it * Neither his article nor his letter found place in this number. 248 The Popes and the Balance of Power has not attacked them, when a wish of the kind is pre- sumed on the part of the people, or expressed by in- surre6tion, or ascertained afterwards by vote, or even for rectification of physical boundaries, or for the sake of ethnological connexion. Therefore (which is a priori necessarily obvious, as it can't contradict itself), the same revolutionary doctrine which puts governments at the mercy of the people, prevents neighbours protecting it against the people. Therefore in an age where the duty of allegiance and even good government are no security, treaties, and international guarantees, and public law, can be no security. In the middle ages the Popes preserved their liberty by their authority, by the faith of nations, not by their own political sovereignty; by the moderating influence they exercised over States, which was the keystone of the European system. Simultaneously almost with the final destruction of that system by the cessation of unity of faith and the nationalization of Churches (Concor- dat of Francis I in 1516, Luther, 15 17), the Popes obtained a material basis for the freedom which was losing its spiritual guarantee — through the formation of the sovereign dominion in central Italy by the Borgias, Julius II and the Medici. On this theory they straightway built up a new system to take the place of the old, and this was the system of the balance of power. The political support of the medieval system was the empire ; this had now fallen, and as much of it as re- mained was an alarm to the Pope as an Italian sove- reign. The army of Charles V took Rome, and the relu6lance of the Holy See to assist the empire in the Thirty Years' war was due to Italian politics. 249 Letters of Lord Ad:on TheviolenceofCassar Borgia, of Julius II in armour, could not continue, and the military manner of founding the State could not go on to preserve it. That would have been contrary to the character of a priestly govern- ment. So the Popes undertook to maintain their spiri- tual freedom through their territorial independence by the opposite plan to that of the respublica Chri- stiana under pope and emperor, by preloenting predomi- nance of any one power, not by courting it. So they created the system of balance of power as the security of their temporal power, as of old the imperial supre- macy had been the implement and safeguard of their spiritual predominance. Now the balance of power, which popes kept up in Italy, and by balancing France and Austria, is a system of alliances; and the alliances may very easily vary, be mixed up like a pack of cards, provided a certain equality is the result. The objeft is peace, not any high ethical purpose ; and for this the alliance of Protestant powers is good enough — yea, or of the Tiirk. The connexion between the Temporal power and the balance is so clear that when Napoleon raised up a new universal empire, Pacca imagined the Temporal power would become superfluous. Now as balance of power is made up of alliances, it depends on the security of the alliance, that is, on the sanftity of treaties. The revolution, just now in the shape of Cssarism,, natu- rally upset both. Result: In an age of revolution the Temporal power has no security against rebellious sub- jects or ambitious neighbours. The spiritual liberty of the Church has no safety in a revolutionary State. No solution, therefore, is to be looked for till the revolu- 250 spiritual Liberty and the Revolution tion has exhausted itself. Till then provisional safety in some State that is not despotic or revolutionary. All this as suggestions to you. Say as much of it as you like. It will, I think, give more points to Lath- bury's notice. The notion of balance of power being made by the Popes to preserve their Temporal power, instead of the old universal authority, will startle those who think it merely an attack on the old papal supre- macy. But I am armed to the teeth with the materials of Italian and papal history, since Libri's sale, and I am sure this is true. Letter CX Cardinal Wiseman's denunciation not to be noticed — Newman wishes St John to write for the Rambler Aldenham^ Monday night [T>ec. 23, 1861]. I have just come home from a couple of days' trip to Oxford and into Berkshire. The Guizot must have reached you since you wrote. I hope you have soothed Capes more successfully than Wetherell has Oxenham, who has thrown that function upon me, and I found two very long and plaintive letters await- ing me. I shall try my hand on him to-morrow. It is best to take no notice of the Cardinal's denun- ciation. It is impossible to reconcile him or those who believe in him, and as he desires the clergy not to dis- pute with us, we ought to expect to live in peace. Shall we not give him the benefit of the season? 251 Letters of Lord Ad:on Tuesday I shall be surprised if Oxenham insists on having his paper published or consents to alter it. He will see from my letter that though I asked him to write it I did not think much of it. Your reading of Benedict XIV is very happy. Your rather illiterate anonymous correspondent may be B. Newman has told St John that he must write for the Rambler, who therefore offers papers or a paper of exactly this kind, whether competent or otherwise I know not. Certainly versed in the German literature of the Old Testament. 252 i862 Letter CXI In secular States the existence of great classes limit the power of the State — Administration of Church property — Liberty consists in the preservation of an inner sphere exempt from State power — Law is national — People cannot administer a law not their own — Difficulty as to religion governing a State — Everything must yield to the preservation of faith — The domain of conscience not distinft from that of the State Aldenham^ January 5, 1862. DoUinger, whose book has been approved by the Pope — personally — on the strength of an elaborate private report he has made, asks whether he is to send you a copy of the second edition. I discouraged him, but I will send you one of the first edition, where you will find (p. 577) that he agrees with your view of clerical government. All your points seem to me right. An important corollary of the first is that in all secular States the existence of great classes, nobles, clergy, etc., limit the Royal or State power. In Rome the great class of the clergy is the mere creature and instrument of the sovereign. In Protestant countries and those Catholic countries where Church property was seized (Austria, etc.), the monarch had to call into existence a new class for administration of Church property. This was the origin of modern bureaucracy, that is of a class irresistible as against the people, merely an implement as against the crown. This was the step by which loss of Church power or freedom 253 Letters of Lord A 6ton led to absolutism. But in Rome the clergy = the bu- reaucracy, which is made ludicrously apparent by giving a clerical garb to secular employes. All liberty consists in radice in the preservation of an inner sphere exempt from State pow^er. That reverence for conscience is the germ of all civil freedom, and the way in which Christianity served it. That is, liberty has grown out of the distindlion (separation is a bad word) of Church and State. Rome, where they are not distindt, would therefore be like the Caliphate, Russia, etc., but for the difference that in those cases the absolute civil ruler becomes ipso facto ruler of the Church, whereas in Rome the anything-but-absolute ruler of the Church is ipso facto ruler of the State. The security, therefore, is only in the objedliveness of ecclesiastical law and its transfer on to the State, which is precisely what asceticism overturns. Law is national, growing on a particular soil, suited to particular character and wants. How peculiar, local, national, influenced by time and place, is the political and social legislation of Moses ! But where a religion which is universal inspires the government of a State, it must do so absolutely, regardless of particular condi- tions, of historical traditions, physical aptitude, moral inclination or geographical connexion. It contradicts the first principle of legislation that it should grow in harmony with the people, that it should be based on habits as well as on precepts (^0oc — mos; Oifuc — Jus) , that it should be identified with the national character and life. On this depends growth, and liberty, and progress, saving tradition. But where a general or different code is imposed on a people, as the civil war was on the 254 Self-Go vernment and State- Absolutism continental States in the fifteenth century, the conse- quence must be State-absolutism. For the system must be administered by experts, legists, jurists, bureaucrats. It must proceed downwards. The people cannot ad- minister a law not their own. This is the reverse of self-government, which proceeds not from a code but from custom, is learnt not from books but from prac- tice, is administered by the people themselves, class for class (i.e., judgement by one's peers, which is the prin- ciple of jury; the participation of society in the judge- ment, the judge representing the State) and place for place — Mayors, J. P., jurisdiction of seigneurs on the Continent to this day in some parts, though that is un- reasonable where there is Roman law. However good, therefore, the code may be, if it comes aliunde than from national life and history, it destroys self-govern- ment and makes the State absolute — even if its forms are liberal. The exception is in conquest, where the vanquished learn the laws and polity of the conquerors, like the Gauls and Spaniards from the Franks and Goths. Intermarriages can at once produce it, destroying mono- poly of aptitude and knowledge. Another point is that a religious government depends for its existence on the belief of the people. Preservation of the faith is ratio summa status, to which everything else must yield. Therefore, not only the civil power enforces the religious law, but the transgressions of the religious law must be watched and denounced — there- fore espionage and religious detectives, and the use of the peculiar means of information religion provides to give warning to police. The domain of conscience not distinct, therefore, from the domain of the State — sins, 255 Letters of Lord Adton crimes, and sins against faith, even when private, with- out proselytism, are acts of treason. Seclusion from the rest of the world necessarily follows, if the rest of the world has not the same religion, or even if it is not governed on the same principle. For liberty is extremely contagious. Therefore travel and commerce, facilities of communication, etc., necessarily proscribed, for they would be solvents of a State founded on religion only. But all these prohibitions restrain material as well as intellectual well-being. Poverty and stationary cultiva- tion, that is to say, in comparison to the rest of the world, retrogression, the price of such a government. Two things put an end to this. The economical dependence on other countries which needs ensure, ultimately breaks down the seclusion, as the determination of capital to exploit undeveloped resources is resistless in the long run. And the increase of communication gra- dually destroys barriers and brings the forbidden know- ledge and desires into the sequestered community. All this is perfectly applicable to Tibet and Merv, which correspond with Rome better than the Jews, for among the Jews the priesthood did not retain the ruling power. All which is more true than new, so forgive me. What do you hear of the new Qorrespondant f I sup- pose a last vigorous blow at us. Will it not destroy the Dublin and make us quarterly .? Don't be indiscreet and angry about it in company. 2';6 Gratry on DoUinger Letter CXI Gratry's opinion of Dollinger's book — Lacordaire's last letter before his death shows he held the same views Aldenham, Monday ^January 13, 1862]. I have only just had time to read your article, and will keep it a day to put down a variety of glosses that it suggests to me. If then you think any of them worth adopting, it would be wise at the same time to soften the tone of the paper, which is not objeftive enough, and to weigh certain expressions and defini- tions where accuracy is of importance. . . Gratry writes of Dollinger's book: "C'est selon moi le livre decisif, destine a produire un bien incalculable et a fixer I'opinion sur ce sujet. . . Le D. DoUinger nous a rendu a tous un gra.nd service." So much for the man in the Register who says I lied when I quoted Gratry in favour. La- cordaire's last letter before his death was a strong ex- pression of the same views. I send you a volume of Gobineau, where you will find an interesting chapter on religion and policy. I have been hard at work, but have too many books. 257 17 Letters of Lord Adon Letter CXII Principles ot voluntary poverty — Contrast between Benediftines and Franciscans — Effect of living on alms in Spain Aldenham, Tuesday \yanuary 21, 1862]. Your article* has lost nothing either in vigour or in efFeftiveness by the softened tone. . . You speak of the Beatitudes; it occurs to me that you might use them more as the root of the Christian revolution in ethics, poor in spirit, etc. These were new^ ideas in the world. The Sermon on the Mount is the real revelation of a new society, morally. Observe the degeneration of the principle of poverty in an altered society in the friars who followed the monks. It had enriched the old world, if impoverished the modern. For the Benediftines, the real inheritors of the old monastic and ascetic spirit, growing with the growth of Christendom, became wealthy and politi- cally powerful. But the Franciscans, continuing to live on alms, instead of giving them, multiplied overmuch, as it was cheap to found a community of them, requir- ing only bricks and mortar, and leaving them to beg their food from the poor. In Spain this was one cause of the country falling into decay, and the General of the Order protested at last against the multiplication of his Order. . . Clarendon calls his book Religion and Policy. Will that do for your article .? * " The Protestant Theory of Persecution," which appeared in the %ambler for March, pp. 318-351. i\'i8 1 A New Writer for the " Rambler" Letter CXIII Has found an excellent historical student to write — Wishes Simpson to secure some papers through Weld — Has obtained a MS. life of Mary Stuart — DoUinger recommends books 37, Half-moon Street, Friday [March 28, 1862]. I shall expect you to-morrow afternoon, some time between two and four. We can have a talk and go to Williams and Norgate. The quarterly cannot be as cheap, because we must pay, if possible, ^^5 a sheet to contributors who will take it. The question is, will advertisements, increased circulation and a sum of, say, five hundred pounds at starting, enable us to do this? I am in luck. There is an excellent young German historian, who has written on Gregory VII, and prac- tised the historic art in the best of all schools under Bohmer of Frankfort, Dr Helfenstein. He called on me an hour ago, and proves to be established in London, giving lessons and studying in the Record Office for the Catholic history of England. He is anxious for employ- ment, and so I won him by talking German and prais- ing his book, and speaking of his master Bohmer, for all which he was not prepared. I broached no plan but asked him to call on me again, which he is sure to do. He can write English well and is an excellent Anglo- Saxon scholar besides. He will be invaluable, both for articles and for notices of German literature. It would be a great thing if Newman could be in-' duced to do what Wetherell suggests. F. Ward is thinking of the same thing. 259 Letters of Lord Acton Saturday I will be at home on Monday at six and till six-thirty in hopes of seeing you after your interview with Weld. My presence would probably not contri- bute to a satisfadlory arrangement, and you are a famous negotiator. Get the papers from him by all means, and renew or extend the offer if you see cause. He must have bought the papers, and therefore his price will be fixed. I have also got on the way from Germany a MS. life of Mary Stuart, which may also help to an article. Teulet also throws light. I sent him to you only for a short notice. Bolto's introduction may or may not be worth something. There ought to be some security from him that he has sent all the papers on the subjedl that he knew of or could find. If there is any reticence, the blame would fall on us. DoUinger knows nothing of the missionary ques- tion, but recommends inspedlion of Mislin, Les Lieux Saints, and the 'Bullarium Congregationis de Propaganda Fide. I asked Wetherell to forward Russell's letter to you. It is hard to believe that the Cardinal will come to terms with us, but Russell is well disposed. Monsell is very eager for the success of our scheme, and wishes to write articles and republish them as pamphlets — a way of getting Irish circulation. It was perfectly settled that Campion was to be struck off at Rambler expense, and Robson must under- stand that it will continue to be so printed. 260 A Debate in Parliament Letter CXIV A debate in Parliament — Tories opposed to Disraeli but hate Glad- stone — Evidence of party disorganization — Stansfeld's manner — Bright's bitterness 37 Half -moon Street, Wednesday [1862]. Nothing could be more suggestive for your article than the debate of last night. The point is more in the short speeches than in the long. Walpole and the regular Tories don't want Dizzy in, but hate Glad- stone, and the amendment was aimed at him. It would have weakened him, they calculated, without turning out Palmerston. But the party men, looking for oflEce, and fresh from Lord Derby's meeting, were less soli- citous of keeping Palmerston in, and only did not wish at first for a dire6t attack. So they were angry with Walpole for betraying them and their hopes, and spoke of future occasions for renewing the fight. When Lord R. Montague and others said there was no party inten- tion, they were very feebly cheered by the Opposition. There never was a greater proof of party disorganization. Observe Walpole' s dread of upsetting Palmerston. Heathcote's ditto, and anger at Disraeli. Foster's pre- ference of Dizzy's views of retrenchment to Palmer- ston's, and dread only of his foreign policy. Whiteside's indignation at losing his chance. Osborne said some good things. Disraeli, bitter against Walpole, spoke very mellifluously at the end, but with anger peep- ing out. Observe also perfeft absence of ideas in Cobden. 261 Letters of Lord Adon Stansfeld's manner was quite perfect, language exqui- site — rather too laboured. But it seems now pretty clear that he has very few ideas. Bow-wow platitudes was a fair description of his speech. When Osborne said that Foster pulled the strings, he meant, what Foster's speech showed, that he was the man among the Radical lea- ders Dizzy has best succeeded in catching. Bright's bitterness against the Government is now very great. This is what Disraeli reckoned on. Osborne very rightly complained of Italian unity. It was Palmerston's only real topic of defence. As the most popular point he clung to it, I did not hear Horsman, but he knows something of politics, which very few others do. There was one idea in Stansfeld: that is, large bodies move only on simple lines, rather awkwardly; so masses of public opinion cannot distinguish or refine. I shall see Gladstone to-night and will try to get a light. Letter CXV A Conservative reaftion — Gladstone an objeft of particular hatred — An aristocratic element of reaftion in foreign affairs — Palmer- ston's strong feeling against Austria — Reaction manifested logi- cally in Roebuck's speeches — Attitude of Catholics to Italian question — Palmerston tolerated because he is cheerful and wounds no pride Aldenham, Wednesday [? 1862]. The occasion of the Conservative reaction is the alliance of the Liberals with the Radicals in finance and in foreign affairs. Gladstone chiefly represents this alliance, in its financial aspect, and he is consequently the object of the particular hatred of the rea6lionists, 262 English Aristocracy and Austria and he has found it necessary to abjure Bright. This is in one way a revival or continuation of Protectionism — and dislike of diredt taxation. The type of this party in Parliament is Sir Stafford Northcote and the group of City men: Baring, Hubbard, etc., who always oppose Gladstone's budgets. Northcote's new book* will con- tain the case of this party. Then there is another aristocratic element of reaftion in foreign affairs. Aristocracy loves aristocracy. Now the only real political noblesse on the continent is the Austrian. So the tendency of our aristocracy is to de- plore the defeats of Austria, and the progress of France and Piedmont, whose system is averse to real aristocracy, denying primogeniture and having no hereditary sena- tors. Palmerston's strong and open feeling against Aus- tria, and her great perplexities in the last three years, have strengthened this feeling far beyond what it was when they were in office. Lord Malmesbury still speaks the old language, not really Austrian. But his far abler under-secretary, Seymour Fitzgerald, shows this clearly enough. Now inasmuch as aristocracy is the framework of liberty, sincere friends of liberty must have the same sympathy with Austria. Accordingly the Conservative reaftion in foreign affairs manifests itself most oddly, though quite logically, in Roebuck's speeches. Whereas moreover this is a class tendency, it is shared partly by the old Whigs — " the old gentlemen who go to bed at 1 1 o'clock," as Bernal Osborne defines that political connexion. These are the old stagers and fogies at Brookes', old EUice, Sir F. Baring, Charles Greville * Tvfenty Tears of Financial "Policy. 263 Letters of Lord Adon and a coterie of Whigs, who, for instance, think the Pope a very ill-used man. Now of these two tendencies together — anti-direct taxation and anti-French alliance, the meeting-point of which is the commercial treaty, which he so power- fully assailed — the most eminent representative is Horsman. There is another cause to be followed in the same direction, America, on which I need not enlarge. Gre- gory is the best representative of this in the House of Commons. This is what has shelved reform so com- pletely, and gives to Gregory's reform speech in May, 1 860 — which was merely an account of his American journey — a certain significance. There is another element of Conservative reaftion in the position of Catholics. Their attitude in the Italian question has persuaded many that they are really hos- tile to liberty and alien to our institutions, and this has strengthened the Protestant feeling against them, even among Liberals and Radicals, especially among these. The Conservatives who would stand with the Catholics (Bowyer, Hennessy, etc.) politically, will not do so on religious opinions, and leave it to the extravagant Tories of the second rank, Baillie, etc., to support them. But Whalley, who is a Liberal, really represents an anti- Catholic movement, which takes its root in Italy. So there are a lot of different things, some good and some bad (Roebuck, Whalley or Gregory, Northcote) help- ing on a Conservative reaction. Real forces in that di- rection mixed up with artificial and unreal elements. They do not take a pra6tical shape in an attack against Government, because they are heterogeneous 264 Palmerston's Strength and contradiftory. On some points (reform) the Gov- ernment goes along with them and disarms them, on others they cannot unite against it. Then there is the position of Palmerston, who is tolerated because he is cheerful and wounds no pride, and because he is old and excites no envy. The opposition like him and consider him a Conservative. He suits the bad Conser- vative instindts just as he adopts the sins of the Libe- rals, and is strong because he is wrong. Gladstone could not hold the Government together for a week if Palmerston were to die, because of his genius, of his principles and of his pugnacity. The only man who could disarm opposition in a different way from Pal- merston would be Lewis, who has gained ground wonderfully of late. You can count up the praftical reaftionists Ifenong the late successful candidates by seeing how many con- demned Palmerston's foreign policy, and declared against reform — on the hustings. More later. If you have not written to John Arundell, don't, please. I should do it myself, as I must explain to him that I have to say of Bellings what he perhaps won't like. If Minardi is beautiful, let's have him; as he is evidently foolish, let us put him into "communicated." Have you discovered about Brownson, whether he goes or no.? I would write to him, if he was silent, to get him to help us. I think he would be glad to do it, if his own organ is no more, and he cannot otherwise be heard in Europe. I have no sanguine hopes of my letter to Morris succeeding. Our position ought to be strengthened by the wisdom of our first few numbers. 265 Letters of Lord A6ton Husenbeth has written a Life of •3\lilner, which he cannot get published. Should we ask for the MS. to make an article of it, giving him the value of the article and making it also an advertisement and puff of his book.? It is a capital subjedt. Green here is Husenbeth's friend. Letter CXVI Dsllinger is delighted with the last chapter of Simpson's " Campion " — The question of the reception of Charles II into the Church 37 Half -moon Street^ Tuesday [April i, 1862]. Your last chapter on Campion* has over- whelmed the Professor with delight, who asks why you do not enlarge your scope into a Geschichte des Snglischen ReligionsWesens unter Slizabeth, and hopes you will publish as fully as possible your precious materials. Bolto won't do at all. He has written nothing but commonplaces, possesses no collateral illustrative infor- mation, and knows only Hume and Lingard. Then he is diffuse, as if all he has copied out of them was per- feftly new. There is only one successful piece of com- bination where he tries to make up for the gaps of his papers. For they do not adlually prove that the king was ever received into the Church before his death. A better case for that can be made out of the scene at his deathbed than out of these documents. Neverthe- less an interesting paper could be made out of them, by throwing in other matter, wefe it only from Ma- caulay. So they must be got ; but Weld has only to read Boko's narrative to see the absurdity of the no- * In the March %ambler, pp. 366 seqq. 266 The "Dublin"andthe "Rambler" tion of publishing a single line of it. It is unfit even for the Dublin RelDieiv and the congruity of Finlason. Letter CXVII End of all negotiations with the Dublin Review — The proposed change of the Rambler to a quarterly 37 Half -moon Street, Saturday [April 5, 1862]. Here is the end of the Dublin negotiations and the beginning of the fight; a stand-up fight it will be. It is very likely the whole thing is got up in conse- quence of our scheme.* Allies, having disbelieved what Wetherell and I said about the decline of the Dublin, perhaps indicates that they were already scheming. It will be necessary now to announce our change as soon as possible, in order to be in the field first if possible. At any rate, they cannot well bring out their first new number for a month after us at least. Do not be indiscreet in your talk at Clapham. Pray think of a very good article for July. Letter CXVIII History of the negotiations for an amalgamation of the Rambler&nd. Dub- lin Review — Newman's arbitration refused The Athenaum, Wednesday [April 16, 1862]. I think Burns's letter might be useful. You ought to tell him that I, for my part, am as anxious now as I was in the autumn to get rid of the trouble * To issue the Rambler henceforth quarterly. This resolution was subse- quently carried into efFeft, and the name of The Home and Foreign R^iew was chosen. 267 Letters of Lord AAon and responsibility of the editorship, and that all I care for is the certainty that there shall be an organ of free discussion, which shall be in all respe6ts as good a review as it can be made. Accordingly, before making the change in the 'Rambler, I made preliminary over- tures to the Dublin "^R^lpienv, and Dr Russell* distinftly said that he saw nothing in my proposal which could be an obstacle to a perfeft agreement and combination. He only asked for time, and we accordingly postponed our announcement. But Dr Russell found that arrange- ments were already being made to put the Dublin on a new footing, and it was therefore impossible to hope for any result of the negotiations. Burns must there- fore understand that the notion of union was rejedled before any conditions could be discussed, and when Russell thought it both possible and extremely desirable, because the Dublin informed us that it was going to be revived and reformed. Under these circumstances we published our intention in the newspapers. You should add that, as to Allies, whom he puts forward, I have seen him, and he has assured me of his sympathy with the scheme as it is. He should also be told that if on public grounds he wishes to see us united, he ought to have gone to the Dublin people, who have rejedled the idea. When it was proposed by the other side we accepted, making only one condition — that of New- man's arbitration, which they rejected. We have now made proposals ourselves, which the old master of the Dublin eagerly accepted; but the plan turned out to * President of the Maynooth College, and, with Cardinal Wiseman, co- editor at one time of the Dublin ReyieTf. 268 The May "Rambler" be imprafticable because the Dublin has already made other arrangements. If I were you, I would not say very much more than this. Mark your letter "private," because of Russell. Does Burns seriously suppose that his "men of the same stamp" could seriously accept our motto? Put on the wisdom of the serpent and answer diplo- matically. The tone to take is not defiant or triumphant but regarding the rejection as irrevocable and our advertisement as an engagement. Letter CXIX Preparations for the May Rambler — Suggestions as to writers and sub- jedls for July T^ J Ha If -moon Street, ^ood Friday \_April i8, 1862]. I have done twenty-five pages of Foreign Events, or doctrine, on Italy, Mexico and Prussia.* The letter will be seven pages,t on Monday, as they will not print for a couple of days at Easter. That makes my contri- bution of thirty-two pages. Sullivan, overcome by my account of our intentions, offers indefinite articles on half a dozen subjedls, Celtic Philology, Asiatic Ethnology, Ceramic Ware, Che- mistry, Geology, Mineralogy, Mining, Agriculture and Physical Science in general. I will try to bind him at once for current literature. He will hardly be able to give an article in July. I am off to-morrow, for no holiday, but to do * Which appeared in the May Rambler, pp. 546-572. tThis letter by Afton, signed N.N., on "The Danger of Physical Science," ibid. pp. 526-534. 269 Letters of Lord A6lon "Nationality" under the benign er heaven of my own country. Pray tell me what books I am to pack up for you. France; Mr Browning; Blockade; Nationality; Charles II; Wetherell; Paley; Ormsby, will probably be nearly our contents for July. There ought to be some- thing Irish and something religious soon. Letter CXX Bishop Grant and Simpson — Afton suggests a line of reply to the Bishop's striftures Aldenham, Tuesday [April 22, 1862]. I think it very possible the Bishop,* egged on by common rumour and deceived by eminent reports, * Bishop Grant of Southwark at the time wrote to Simpson about the rumours and reports as to his style of treating dangerous subjefts. The Bishop pointed out that some of the writings in the Rambler were not such as to attraft people to the Church. " Even if you could defend them," he tells Mr Simpson, " because you aifix an orthodox meaning to them in your own heart, surely they are not necessary to the world, and if not necessary, why waste your talents, which are very great, and your time, which you are anxious to spend well?" . . "Do not let us discuss how much or how little these writings can be defended. I could not finish this letter yesterday and it is already Easter eve. Why make you sad at such a time by asking you to with- draw from a position in which you have so actively and so earnestly occupied yourself? Oh, my dearest friend, you have given generously and often during the past year for the faithful, for the poor, for the Church, and I am deeply gratefol to you ; and if I humbly and urgently entreat you to take henceforth the part of silence, or, if you write and publish, the choice of subjefts that do not affed the Church and the Holy See, you will be as generous in for- giving me as you have been munificent in helping my poor flock." In reply, Simpson, on April 23, 1 862, says : " Brought up as I was, I have no other resource but literature. And being a Catholic, I cannot help writing as a Catholic — in matters defined, taking the one side defined ; in doubtful matters, choosing my side according to my conviftions and trying to recom- mend my opinions to others. I am convinced in what I have written I have 270 Bishop Grant and Simpson may have never had before him your case and has never considered the points which go the other way. He is at the same time a true and holy man, and a weak man, I would, in your place, bear all this in mind in replying and write as moderate and religious and grave an ex- planation as possible in answer. Of course you cannot assist contrition and penance, for a journal deals neces- sarily with public topics and cannot handle the private spiritual concerns of individuals. But you can assist faith by defending the truth, to the best of your ability, which cannot be done by suppressio vert and suggestio falsi; and you can help charity by giving an example of an objeftive and dispassionate way of writing, which does not attack the person but the error. You can hardly avoid a discussion, which he depre- cates, because he keeps to generalities. What you pro- pose to say is, I think, quite the thing, but pray assume, if you can, ignorance and good intention in the corres- pondent. not gainsaid any definition of the Church, nor gone beyond the liberty per- mitted to all Catholics in doubtful points. And I am convinced also that, in spite of many blunders and follies, the general line I have taken is one that is supremely necessary for the cause of truth ... As to your advice about not touching on theological matters, it is the same as Dr Newman has urged on me before and again lately, and it is advice I try to observe. But all my studies have been on subjefts that have some slight relation to theology, politics, metaphysics and physical science, and it is very difficult, all but im- possible, for me to keep oiF the tabooed territory, and the more I try the more I fail. I thought I was progressing that way, and lo, Wenham and Allies are disgusted with me for ignoring the supernatural ; and Marshall (if he is {jm)pudens) accuses me of infidelity. See what I get by keeping clear of theology!' 271 Letters of Lord A6ton Letter CXXII Father Bolto's Stuart Papers Aldenham, Friday [April 25, 1862]. I have nearly finished my dissertation on Bolto's papers. I shall aftually quote very little of them, and eke out the information they contain from the con- temporary writers. But it w^ould be a foolish predica- ment if I could not show copies of the letters them- selves after quoting them for such very singular and unlikely fafts. Do you think Weld would acquiesce in the papers remaining till after the appearance of the article, or would it be best to have the copies copied? I have tried to hunt out traces of James Stuart in every dire6lion, and have wasted a great deal of time with no success beyond the year 1 670. I am persuaded that he went to S. Omers or Watten in the winter of 1668-9 and was ordained there — under what name does not appear. But if one could see a list of all novices who entered at S. Omers, and of all Jesuits ordained priests there, between January, 1669, and October, 1670, it would probably be possible to trace him further. I shall express my acknowledgments to Bolto without alluding to the Gesu. There is yet one point on which Father Bolto might manage to throw light, but it is a very feeble chance. The manuscripts of Oliva the General must be at the Gesu. It would be curious to find that of the letter marked 633, vol. 11, p. 7 of the Bologna edition — al 272 Renewed Negotiations with the " Dublin " Re di N. This anonymous king is either John Casimir of Poland or Charles II. I cannot from internal evi- dence determine which, though if I did not know, through these MSS., that Oliva corresponded secretly with Charles, I should have had no suspicion that it could be meant for him. If the letter is to him, then the Jesuit spoken of in it, also anonymously, is James Stuart. If it is to the King of Poland, I do not see why his name should have been concealed, as there are other letters from Oliva to him without any disguise. I do not know whether Weld takes interest enough in the question to inquire further. I cannot say that this is a promising clue. Letter CXXIII Amalgamation with the Dublin is again discussed — Dr Russell and Canon Macmullen consent to afl: as advisers — Afton's terms for amalgamation Aldenham, Saturday [April 26, 1862]. You have brought to book at last. As to- morrow is Sunday, I have time to think about the best way of using the information and turning to account the present situation, which is sufficiently good. I greatly dislike the notion of meeting Morris yet on the subject. He is positive, obstinate, narrow, prejudiced and extremely pontifical. But he is intelligent and straightforward, and ought to be, and I suspect is, grate- ful to me for the constant support I have given him against many adversaries throughout the Poor Law inquiry. The moral of this is that he ought to be com- municated with, but indirectly. He is not quite pleni- 273 18 Letters of Lord Adton potentiary ; therefore, he ought to be met by some in- termediate agent. Where one party is represented by an agent who can be disavowed, and the other must stand by every word he says, the first has a great advan- tage. Now Burns is not eligible for the purpose. Allies occurs to me as the best man. He can hardly have shaken off yet the impression I made on him a fortnight ago, and he is so far disconnected with us that he will look like an independent actor. He is overwhelmed with work this week, and will only pass on my letter, but as it is the week of his glory and persecution, he will give it an impetus as it passes through his hands. If nothing is done at once, the Cardinal may take advantage of the presence of the bishops to try to do something for the Dublin. But I think I would at the same time write to Russell, on whose good will I think I can rely. My line would be perfectly independent, but ex- tremely conciliatory. I would say that I loved peace much, knowledge and honesty more, and that the ar- rangement of communicated articles will enable us to combine the two; that two distinguished priests offered to advise us, Russell as to questions of theology, Mac- muUen as to questions of policy — the first would pre- serve our harmony with the Church, the last with the clergy. The first offer, however, contingent with the disappearance of the Dublin. In that case I should be happy to accept the friendly offers, to drop the name Rambler and to publish the united Quarterly on July i . I do not see that there is any other concession possible, or that Newman's name can in any way be used, or that there would be any security if I offered to retire at once from the editorship. 274 Proposed ProspeAus Conservative reaction for ever. See the weeklies for the dates of elections. You shall have mine when I get back. I think they are not in my room. I have no time to-day to write or even to think about it, or to write to Wetherell about Burns, etc. It is reckoned in sieges that one shot in four hundred kills a man. Shall we take the same proportions in our prospectus and send out four hundred thousand to get one thousand sub- scribers, or will it be enough to take away two noughts ? The next time you dine out let it be known that you are going abroad for the summer. Letter CXXIV The conversion of Charles II — The negotiations with the Dublin — Editorial limitations — " Communicated " articles ^Idenham, Monday \April 28, 1862]. Many thanks for your inquiries sent to Weld. I am sure Sellings' letters must contain information. If you should be going to the State Paper Office, you might surely discover something — 1. About Bellings' mission to Rome, October, 1662, and Aubigny's cardinalate. 2. About correspondence with Rome in August- November, 1668, or January, 1669. 3. Any letters from Jersey, April 17, June 24, 1646, in which the name of de la Cloche occurs. Anything concerning the release from prison of a clergyman of that name in that interval. But these were things done so privately that there may be nothing. If, at the Museum, you have time to get a look at 275 Letters of Lord A<9:on the Vatican transcripts, Marini's collection, you will find only a volume or so about Charles II, with a regis- ter of contents. Anything therein about reconciliation with Rome, between 1662 and 1672, ought to be en- trusted to Davis to copy. I heard yesterday from Ranke, who is not at all prepared for the discovery. To-day I am writing to Morris, with as much dis- cretion as possible. I have given Morris: 1. A statement of the theory of editorial articles, which are not to be all the editor thinks, but confined to certain limits. 2. An explanation of the wide margin on both sides of the editorial department in communicated articles. No test of opinion there, only merit, sincerity, etc. 3. As theology cannot be omitted, (i) as many priests to write as possible : (2) Russell's offer of super- vision for theology, and MacmuUen's for policy, to be accepted. Finally, one or two explanations of personal views which may be misunderstood, and a general declaration that we shall be very happy to amalgamate on those conditions (that is, that we offer those terms provided the Dublin will disappear from the face of the earth) , and that at the same time we shall be perfectly content and peaceful if they refuse. 276 Record OiBce Researches Letter CXXV Simpson's research at the S.P.O. — A German Protestant promises contributions — The Dublin tAldenham, Saturday [May 3, 1862]. It is a shame to give you so much trouble at the S. P. O. Your discoveries and suggestions are ex- tremely useful. You must read my dissertation and then see what can be got. Clarendon clearly lied in his throat. Hoskin's book v\rill be useful. I think the name is taken from a particular de la Cloche, who cut a figure just then, and may have christened the child. A first-rate German liberal Protestant has offered an article at once, and promises a vista of more. He is writing the life of Gustavus Adolphus, so to make sure of him I have sent him a very important paper on that personage's schemes which I found at Rome. I bring to town Dentinger's paper on German phi- losophy since Hegel, with a translation, which will only help you to read the German. I also bring Gali- leo for Roberts, and Montalembert for Wetherell. Morris has written, saying he thinks an arrange- ment possible and desirable — but he says he is nobody. 277 Letters of Lord Adlon Letter CXXVI The English and Spanish systems of colonization — Bacon's view of plantations — Discussions with Oxenham sAldenham, Thursday [ 1862]. There is this great difference between Spanish and English colonies, looking at them quite ab extra, that the Spaniards undertook to discharge the duties of a higher religion and civilization to the natives, w^hilst the English quietly ignored the natives alto- gether. Undoubtedly the first cause of this is the fa6l that the Church formed a link uniting Spaniards and natives, which was wanting in the English colonies. A second point is this : Labour in the tropics is hateful and unnatural to Europeans, whilst in Nor- thern countries it suits them. Therefore the Spaniards required the natives to do their work for them ; the English did their own. We have a signal proof of this in the faft that in the Southern colonies of the Eng- lish they provide a race of labourers accustomed to the hot sun, who do the work for them. Moreover, the na- tives in the countries we colonized lived by the chase and were not cultivators of the soil. The South Ameri- cans in very many countries had already fixed settle- ments and a high agricultural culture. The English aborigines therefore could not be easily utilized, the Spanish easily as well as necessarily. Then there is this great difference. The English colonies in general were founded by the emigrants, for 278 Bacon on Plantations themselves, riot by or for the State. They were in oppo- sition to the home country, and were, more or less, ori- ginally sectarian — that is, exclusive in their religion, not members of a great, spreading religious organization. In these two respects the Spaniards were entirely different. They went forth as emissaries of the State, labouring for it, helped and guided by it, and controlled, at the same time, by a Church which had very similar duties towards the natives as towards them. Thus they were under a double control which was wanting in North America. The English colonists could only ignore the natives because their political principles were liberal; there was no overwhelming State power over them. Where class rules over class, a strong, supreme power is (i) necessary, because one must be watched and the other protected, as the duties of the State and its interests oblige it to preserve both alike; and (2) /ojjii^/i?, because the domi- nion of one class over the other gives to the dominant class a compensation that makes it tolerant of oppres- sion from above, whilst it partly deadens to the lower class the force of the State, partly represents it as a pro- teftion from the social domination (as in Russia) . Thus absolute monarchy delights in castes, in the modulation of citizenship fixed and determined by blood (Creole, Octoroon, etc.) , in s/a^ery, which even where there is no monarchy tends to make the State absolute, and abso- lutism a blessing. The English colonies were fed by the condition of the mother-country — over-population (at first), reli- gious oppression, civil troubles. All this drove them out by a natural impulse. But in Spain there were the best 279 Letters of Lord A6lon possible reasons to remain at home. No man went out for good, if he could help it. The whole thing had to be organized by the public authority, and had, there- fore, a political character. The English went forth from the weakness and sickness of England, at the time ot greatest weakness (Stuarts) — the Spanish from the superabundant force of Spain. 'Therefore, as the first relied upon themselves, they flourished and grew inde- pendent naturally — the latter declined as the mother- coijntry declined, developed no independent resources — and when they violently broke off, had no vitality in them. Observe that Bacon (Essay of Plantations) wishes colonies to be planted only on virgin soil, not where natives must be dispossessed or destroyed — a charac- teristic difference. All this is great nonsense and not much to the point. As to Dante there is much to be said. Let me know by return of post what books I am to bring to town, or what subjefts you want books about. I come up Monday by our new railway. Darnell is gone. Oxenham goes to-morrow, having exhausted the topics of possible discussion with me and kept me up till half-past two in the morning for a fort- night. I have not been free to read or write a page all this time, but will turn these two days to account to furnish Wetherell with trouble next week. 280 The Lingard Society Letter CXXVII Brewer likely to be a troublesome contributor — The "Lingard So- ciety" — Negotiations for copies from the Vatican Archives — Books to review 37, Ha If -moon Street, Saturday night \jSMay i, 1862]. Your Austria was a miracle of speed. Brewer is evidently meant by fate to write for us, but he will give us great trouble. I will take advantage of the opening, and write as you suggest. As to the other question I must postpone my answer rather than reject the offer. The Philobiblon is to have a paper on Richelieu, so that is no difficulty. But the " Lingard Society " ? I meditate a volume by way of inauguration, which ought to contain those papers, the life of Mary Stuart and many more important papers. For I am in negotiation with Theiner for manuscripts from the Vatican archives. He offers to let me have many letters of Henry VIII to four Popes; the acts of the trial of his divorce ; letters of Wolsey and of Beatoun ; some of Mary Stuart to Rome, inedited all; James II's letters to the Pope, the answers; letters of Sunderland and Mary Beatrice; of the exiled Irish Bishops under William, etc. He says he wants money for the fourth volume on the Temporal Power, that the Pope has none to give, that he will regard payment as a gift to St Peter, etc. To whom I, making many conditions, have made a magnificent offer. There would probably be matter for a couple of volumes altogether. If this fails me, I 281 Letters of Lord A<9:on think. Romilly's idea might be entertained. I would put them off with some allusion to arrangements now pending, but not absolutely. The thing itself I wish to keep very quiet. Will you review Stanley's letter to the Bishop of London on subscription? The claims of the Bible and science, letters between Maurice and a layman ? Howitt's Supernatural ? The Polish Captivity, by Sutherland Edwards? Keble's Life of Wilson? Letter CXXVIII Further researches into the history of the Stuarts — Simpson's Life of Campion — The Life of Milner Aldenliam, Sunday \^May 4, 1862]. I believe it is not necessary to persecute Lord Arundell. The history is tolerably clear so far as it goes. In the later negotiation, 1669-70, I think Bellings remained at Paris with Lord Arundel. He neither knew what was done then in Rome, nor wrote letters that would be at Wardour. But your Neapolitan discovery is very curious. De la Cloche disappears at the end of 1668 on his way to Rome. I have no certain trace of him after. He was not yet ordained. Pray pursue your researches. There is a mystery here. Nothing could be more grave and respectable than the character of young Stuart, as I make it out, and I am almost sure of being on his traces afterwards. But to introduce the Neapolitan story at the moment of his disappearance from the documents would be a stroke of art. 282 Simpson's "Campion" I really don't think a continuous history could be carried on through successive numbers of a miscella- neous quarterly. If I was you, I would announce con- spicuously in the July advertisements in the press — Life of Edmund Campion, by R. Simpson. Then finish your MS. in the autumn and print it as hitherto — "Typis Cong, de Propaganda Fide," or "Tipog. della Civilta Cattolica," as Taparelli's and other works are. Then we will write a review and cut it up in the quarterly. I see Milner is coming out. He must have an article in October. I may manage to get some papers on the subjeft. Letter CXXIX Proposed successor to the Rambler — Contributions by Morris, Capes and Paley — " Elements of Conservative Reaction " [37 Half-moon Street], "Tuesday night \j^ay 20, 1862]. I finished my committee to-day, so that I can be at your orders and Roberts's when you like. What he says confirms my view that it is better not to keep the old name, and that all pra6tically necessary conti- nuity will be preserved by the publisher's arrange- ments, the colour, the motto, the persons and the animus. Morris sends half a paper on the Gospels, and one on bazaars, which I think might be made very good. Of the first I say nothing, like Solon, till I have seen the end. Capes promises his article at once; also short notices. Paley consents to necessary modifications, and Letters of Lord Ad:on accepts the classical short notices department and pro- mises a MS. paper for Oftober. I hope you will not confine your political article within too narrow limits, taking only one or two threads. I can only repeat what I said, that Horsman, Roebuck, America, represent elements of Conservative reaftion. Distinguish readlion from confirmed vis inertia. Why did we not meet at the Exhibition to-day ? I went with Wetherell to Williams and Norgate. I have sent Paley a list of classical publications, besides what he may have, offering to send the books. I, Conservative reaftion; 2, Roberts; 3, Paley; 4, Capes ; 5, 6, Morris ; 7, Klopp ; 8, Nationality ; 9, Charles II; 10, Woodstock; 1 1, Blockade; 12, Orms- by, Africa; 13, Minardi. One may fail, one may be rejected. We want grie- vously a purely literary article on some book or writer of the day. We shall be well supplied. Abraham gives a more detailed account of himself, not very promising. We will try him either on Irish or French subjedls. It would be a great thing in your article to give charadters of Gladstone, Disraeli, Stanley and, if pos- sible, Palmerston and Russell, if we three can agree upon them. A slight element of personality is benefi- cial, especially in the hands of men really independent. 2S4 Simpson's "Conservative Readion" Letter CXXX Criticism of Simpson's paper on "Conservative Rea6tion" — Some other contributors — A wrriter on Biblical science 37 Half -moon Street, Wednesday [June 1 1, 1862]. Morris is not so long as you suppose — 58 sheets of 280 words, that is 36 pages. But this is no reason not to clip and improve. Neither Wetherell nor I altogether like the paper on Conservative reaction. My own feeling was that you are not so attentive a reader of the papers as people must be who have to get up small talk for dinner parties in the season, and so were less over- flowing with information and background than your figures required to do them full justice. The real fault, however, is mine with my foolish notes, which I am afraid were an impedimentary influence on you. Unless you are quite sure of everything on which Wetherell has a bone to pick, it would be safer, if you don't mind it, to be "communicated." If you sign with an X, it will furnish a happy and congenial pun. The French note is best in the original, I think. I will write to Ornsby to hurry the rest of his article. Sullivan and Renouf formerly promised short notices, and I wrote some days ago to remind them. They do not answer, which I take to be a good sign. Arnold ditto. John O'Hagan undertakes the Irish chronicle and even offers an article besides, overcome by my judiciously complimentary letter. This is not only a 285 Letters of Lord AAon great relief for Wetherell, but an excellent thing for our Irish circulation. He wishes his name not to be spoken. Instead of short notices of recent books my Ratis- bon friend has sent me an article on the present state of Biblical science with reference to religion — pour orienter, promising regular contributions to the review department in future numbers. The article is clever, spirited, and exactly in our tendency; but as he avoids going into particulars, because of his future short no- tices, it would appear rather superficial and beating about the bush. I will either ask him to work into it notices of the great writers, and of the late publica- tions, for a very good October article, or I will break it up and distribute it among the short notices when they come. Which do you advise ? Helfenstein will not do for an article, but with further compression will be a good short notice, hardly longer than one or two of Paley's, and a warning to you for writing such very short ones. The subject would be a good one for an article, with the use of other books, and it may be a question whether I should not furnish Helfenstein with the necessary literature and ask him to do it for January. He does not seem to me to understand proportion. 286 Darnell Letter CXXXI J. Brande Morris on the Gospels — Darnell a model historical writer 37 Half -moon Street^ 'Thursday \yune 12, 1862], Jack Morris owes you a great deal, and to my profane mind it is an excellent article* as you have cooked it. The reduction of the passage on the title seems to me an improvement for which he ought to be grateful. Wetherell is going to send Darnell's book to you. It will be a lesson of objeftiveness and scientific me- thod. Pray observe in reading it how history differs from other sciences by confining the author to matter supplied by the sources. The author does not put in reflections, combinations, explanations of his own not suggested or furnished by his materials, no subje<5live scheme to explain the progress of paganism, no light borrowed ab extra to explain its origin, no theological illustration of the devil's part in oracles, no improving of any occasion for moralizing. Excepting the works on pure philosophy and classical antiquities I know no specimen of German literature exhibiting more re- markably this sort of self-denial, which is the condition of scientific history. Darnell's only fault that I know, is a certain copiousness and superabundance of style, but he says this does not appear in the second volume, * " The Evangelistic Symbols as a Key to the Gospels," by J. Brande Morris, appeared in the first number of the Home and Foreign Review, July, i86z. 287 Letters of Lord Adon which I have not read. He has verified all the quota- tions, as you know, and corredted or altered some of them. Letter CXXXII Suggests " Wolsey " as the subjefl: of an article by Brewer — The con- tents of the October number of the Home and Foreign — Milman , is staggered and " in a fix " [June 17, 1862.] Brewer fears he cannot extricate more from the hands of the National, but he is ready to give us an article — year article — on any subject we please. Pray answer by return what you think of Wolsey, for whom he must have lots of not yet registered materials. In case Roberts fails us, will you prepare Dentinger for October? How shall we stand as to supply? Pro- verbs; Names; Foundlings; Poor Law; German Philo- sophy; "Srownson and Simpson; Wolsey; Mary Stuart; Medieval Universities; English University Education for Catholics; The Irish Church; Celtic Literature; Sir James Graham; Volunteers. Belgium (Arenat) ; Italy (Lacaita) ; or Poland (Bud- dens) ; or Australia (Childers) . I have been corresponding with Renouf about the article on University Education for Catholics, who likes the idea, but cannot yet make up his mind. I have sketched a famous article for him, and he is coming up to talk it over. Milman, to whom I sent the proofs of his article, is a good deal staggered and is in a fix, seeing that his book is being reprinted. Lathbury wants the subjedl of Sir James Graham; Brownson but we must know first what Gladstone prefers to write on in Oftqber. I have a learned paper on the places where the Three Kings stopped on the way from Milan to Cologne, ending with some doubts as to its having been the Three Kings at all; to be civilly re- turned. Letter CXXXIII The decay of Brownson 37 Half-moon Street, Tuesday [June 31, 1862]. I wish you joy of the perversion of Brownson. Certainly, when I knew him in his prime, nine years ago, the light was not kindled in him, and I thought it never would come, because of his imperfeft education and his unhistoric mind. He is not sixty, and his decay is pitiful andpremature; and his letter, to one who knew (him, very melancholy. Perhaps it will be well to en- courage him with fair promises, as it would be a com- fort to him in deciding about giving up his review to know that he could write in another at his ease without the trouble of editing. Letter CXXXIV Bishop Ullathorne attacks the methods of the %ambler and the Home and Foreign — Newman counsels submission — Adlon's own course Aldenham, Friday [October 31, 1862]. ... I have not seen Bishop UUathorne's letter* yet, but I suppose the Home and Foreign comes in for its share. Now, so far as I see my way, I am decidedly * Bishop Ullathorne addressed a letter to his clergy upon the methods of the Rambler and the Home and Foreign, which was chiefly aimed at Simpson. 289 19 Letters of Lord Adion against any public answer on the part of the Review. I was against answering the Cardinal, and see much stronger reason against answering Bishop UUathorne. Newman writes a singularly absurd letter, saying that UUathorne's is the voice of the Church; that there is no opposition or explanation possible, and seems to ask what we mean to do. He tells Arnold he means to sub- mit in the fullest manner. I can only tell him that the Review will not combat or resist the censure. The only thing I can do is this : Sooner or later I shall either hear from my bishop, or have an opening to write to him about Bishop UUathorne. Now I ought to be able to explain to him why the blunders and faults of his episcopal brother make it impossible to make any public acknowledgement. Letter CXXXV Parochial relief of the poor — The difference between charity and relief — The evils of relief by means of public works Aldenham, Wednesday [August 20, 1862]. You seem to me quite right about Poor Relief, always sticking to the distinction between pillaging your neighbour and the community. The rate and the relief must be local, in order that the atomic system prevail not, which would be the result if it was not communal, if rates were entirely equalized. On the other hand, by making the area of a rate too small, as the parish often is now, the evil is often aggravated, as the poor must pay for the poor, and the machinery for the relief of paupers increases the number of pau- 290 State Benevolence pers, and spoils with one hand the good it does with the other. The use of the word bienfaisance is detestable. It means charity, not relief. One is personal and individual, private, voluntary and a channel of spiritual influence; the other impersonal, official, mechanical, unconnected with any spiritual end or aftion. One is merely nega- tive, keeps men alive; the other occupies itself in detail with their condition, raises them up, stops the supply of paupers, whilst the other combats not poverty but starvation. The avoidance of a Poor Law by means of public works not actually necessary is characteristic of cen- tralized absolutism. It nurses artificially a proletariate, a classless community, which, instead of being absorbed in its own places, is permanently relying on the State to provide for it, not by barely keeping it alive and leaving to vice and improvidence all its natural effects, but by raising it up to the level of those who are able to provide for themselves, as far as present profits go, only depriving it of the possibility of becoming inde- pendent and normally self-supporting. Thus a constant danger menaces society, and the need of a strong hand perpetually saving society and converting dictatorship into a regular form of government is kept always be- fore it. As private individuals cannot certainly go on with this kind of benevolence without ruin, the la- bourer turns from the proprietor to the State as his protector and refuge, and the antagonism of property and labour is made more irreconcilable to the great advantage of the civil power. 291 Letters of Lord Adon Letter CXXXVI Adlon is opposed to taking notice of Cardinal Wiseman's attacks — Patience and "a duck's back" are the only safeguards for their principles ^Idenham, Wednesday \August 27, 1862]. ... I am strongly against noticing the Cardinal. His attack on our narrative is a tissue of mistakes. Let us rather submit to an unjust accusation of error than subject him to a true accusation. 1 . The tone has nothing whatever to do with it. The antagonism of principles is so enormous that it over- whelms all the lesser questions of disagreement. But our principles, method and objedls are unchanged. 2. We cannot separate our Rambler from Newman's. Any surrender about the past must involve more or less the paper on "Consulting the Laity," which is, theo- logically, the most offending thing of all. 3. Newman's school, the future university (whether our own or at Oxford), and the whole interest of thought and science, are mixed up in our cause. In order to save them I am persuaded that patience and a duck's back are the only safeguards. 292 Article on Shropshire Letter CXXXVII Afton's desire "to be left alone" — A proposed article on "Shropshire" Aldenham, Friday [October 21, 1862]. . . . Waters is profoundly wrong. We don't want to quarrel with these good people, and don't want to hurt or weaken them — only to be left alone. There- fore, no sting and no fuss. But I am very glad he is writing. We might have Salop for April. Does he want any notices } Has he got the histories of Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth ? Has he read in Smiles's Engineers the life of the man who built the Ironbridge? Has he traced Charles II from Whiteladies to the Severn ford at Madeley? Has he read Baxter's autobiography for this part of the country.? Dugdale, for Wenlock and Buildwas ? The lives of the Clives and the Hills .? Does he know the man who lived two hundred and seven years at Bridg- north ? That old man must do good service in founding the University. Has he read Blakeway's Sheriffs of Shropshire? and somebody's lAll Round the Wrekin^ and a history of the foxhounds, to know about old Squire Forester.? and has he got all the ghost stories about Acton Burnell .? 293 Letters of Lord Ad:on Letter CXXXVIII Renewed opposition from Bishop Ullathorne — The contents of "our model number" Aldenham, Tuesday \_No')>ember 25, 1862]. Your letter will be useful, and I will use it en temps et lieu. Bishop Ullathorne says that he hears he is to be ignored, so, as he has his hand in, he will just finish off another pamphlet* at once, so as to crush the Review. I don't know whether this will be against the Home and Foreign only — which would in some degree alter our position. If it is also against you, you ought to wait for it, I think, only keep your plans to yourself. . . I begin to think that "Three Generations" may stand over to April, to end our model number, which that is to be. You might then work a little at Events and Notices. For we stand thus: Perin's Political Economy, Roscher; Irish Univer- sity Education, Monsell; Material Revival of Spain, Albania; Colton; Three Recent Poets, O'Hagan; Clas- sical Scholarship in England, Paley; Confessions of Frederick the Great, Ozanam; Stanhope's Life of Pitt, Capes; Christmas, Science and Industry, Sullivan. Four are in hand. Two are due next week. I look forward to a grand April number, for which see below. Proposed April number: * A second published letter of Bishop Ullathorne's appeared, but at the same time a letter of Simpson's criticizing the first as to its facts and infe- rences had been printed and circulated. 294 Writers for the April Number Volunteers, Wetherell; Land Question in Ireland, O'Hagan; The Teutonic Alliance, Frantz; Position of Austria, Price; Revolution in Greece, Finlay; Shrop- shire, Waters; Lyell on Antiquity of Man, Sullivan; Celtic Literature, Sullivan; The Waldenses, DoUinger; Mary Stuart, A[cton] and Weale ; Art at the Exhibi- tion, Pollen; Pythagoras, Acton; Three Generations, Simpson. Besides other things by yourself, Renouf, Bloch, de Buck, Dentinger, Ryley (Marine Insurance) Monsell and many others. If the Three Generations are postponed, then pray that notice of Husenbeth. Don't let us bid against each other at Tierney's sale. Letter CXXXIX Afton criticises Simpson's reply to attacks Aldenham, Monday [December 9, 1862]. I could not get through your pamphlet in time to write by to-day's post, and I am afraid I shall be rather late. I strongly dissent from a very important part of it. You end by a sort of appeal to Philip sober and to the Holy See. Now the first is only a charitable figure, but the second is, to my mind, an error. Under circum- stances such as when the issue lies between the autho- rity, veracity and theology of the whole hierarchy of England, supported already by Propaganda, and people obnoxious in the highest degree because of the Tem- poral Power, which is in Roman eyes a question of existence, I should think very poorly of the chance of 295 Letters of Lord Adion a verdi6t. ( i ) They do not deem themselves canonically bound to hear or to consult an obnoxious. (2)There is an enormous latitude for condemnation of what is offen- sive to pious ears, dangerous to the weak, open to misinterpretation, etc. In this great point, therefore, you — in the pamph- let — and the Home and Foreign part company, and you can safely say that there is no combination between us in terms as strong as you like to use. 296 i863 Letter CXL Simpson's "Three Generations" — Kinglake's "splendid, mischievous performance " — The April number A Idenham, January 20, [1863]. I . . . trust you will complete the " Three Generations," down to 1851, for April. It will be of the greatest importance to have that article in the next number, if you can manage it. I cannot find anything of Plowden, but I will try to get you a pamphlet or two when I come to town. Will it not be possible to get Waters' " Salop " for April \ It would be very desirable, if you can bring any pressure to bear on him. April ought to be a model number. Of ten men who wrote sixty-three notices in January, I wrote thirty-one. This must be more equally divided ; I beg of you do as many as you can conscientiously. If you are doing a light article, let not that prevent you. I read most of Kinglake before it appeared. A splendid, mischievous performance, bottomed on much good political do6trine. It requires a showy article: shall not Capes write it ? See my dreams for April. Lord Stanhope has asked me to review him on " Human Sacrifice," so if I can do it he will talk about it. Ultramontanism,* S[impson] and A[6lon] ; Past and Future of the Volunteers (Wetherell) ; Present Posi- * In the Home and Foreign for July, 1863. In reality the article was Aflon's. 297 Letters of Lord Ad:on tion of Parties (Price); Tenant Right (O'Hagan); Finances of the French Empire* (Bloch) ; Albania f (Arnold) ; The Art Exhibition of 1 862 (Pollen) ; Lyell on Man | (Sullivan) ; Human Sacrifice (A6ton) ; The Waldensian Forgeries (Dollinger) ; Kinglake's Inva- sion of the Crimea § (Capes) ; Three Generations of English Catholics (Simpson). Also Waters on Salop, Monsell on Irish Politics, Sullivan on Celtic Lore, Capes on Pitt, Helfenstein on Medieval Education, Dentinger on German Philosophy, Renouf, etc., etc. Letter CXLI A naval contributor — A proposed article on " Ultramontanism " — Renouf on " Orientalism " Aldenham \January 23, 1863]. Captain Hall on " Naval Discipline," || by all means. Get him all official books and publications he may want, and encourage him in every way. Also in Coles's shield, etc., for July, an excellent idea. Nothing can be better than these two articles. I will supply materials on Ultramontanism and you literature and wisdom. DufFus Hardy crops up from time to time. Will he ever do anything of any use to us? Will you give me back those men whom you des- cribe as the founders of our school in "Three Genera- tions".? I want them for Ultramontanism, where I pro- pose tracing the true and the spurious pedigrees. . . . * Printed in April. t Printed in July. t Ibid. § Printed in the April number. II Printed in the April number (1863) as the first article. 298 Suarez and Christian Politics Bergenroth would be the right man for us. I wish too we could get a scrap from Brewer. Don't let Volunteers (which must come in April) prevent the Captain from writing his two articles for July and October. Wethe- rell will easily, I should think, get him the admiralty papers. Gladstone has not answered yet. Perhaps he is not in town. Renouf offers an April paper on Orientalism* in the early Church, with new light on Manichees and Gnostics. Do I reckon on you for Greece, Russia, Egypt, France and Spain? Letter CXLII A gift to the Bollandists — Suarez and Christian politics — Manning's Radicalism Aldenham, January 25 [1863]. Do you think the Bollandists would allow me to make them a handsome present of the Medieval series, published and to come ? If you do, pray direct all that has appeared to go to them, and order the con- tinuation in my name. Stewart will manage it, if you like. Let Paley have the Speculum; hewill review it, and Stewart shall give us advertisements. Will not de Buck review de Rossi? January 27. Ward alludes to an article on the Roman States in March, i860, and the passage he means is Vol. 11, pp. 3 1 5-3 1 6. The allusion to Suarez refers chiefly to his Defensio against James I. The treatise De Legibus *" Orientalism and Early Christianity" was printed in July, 1863. 299 Letters of Lord A6lon is not quite in the same degree open to this objection. Ventura afterwards wrought out this system in his Pouvoir Chretien, not always happily. PufFendorf quotes some writer who had died shortly before, I forget whom, and call him beatus so and so. Ventura sees this in Puf- fendorf, and without acknowledgement, pretending to have read the work referred to, cites Le Bienheureux so and so as an authority on his side. Ward must settle the question with Manning, who agrees with Suarez, and alludes to this theory when he says that he is in reality a radical. The most extreme development of Suarez's views is in Spedalieri, whose book is not very common, and who is a sanctimonious Tom Paine. Will you suggest to Ward that a very good book has lately been published on the "Life and System of Suarez" by Werner, an Austrian theologian of note.? If he has some German-reading friend who would re- view the book, and would add his own thoughts on Suarez, it would be interesting. Letter CXLIII Proposed article on the Catacombs — Pitra's elevation to the Car- dinalate — Spurious afts of martyrs — An Irish contributor — Kinglake's Crimea A I den ham, Thursday [February 12, 1863]. ... As to the insertion of a treatise on the Corpi SS. — in the shape of a review of de Rossi — it would be so good an advertisement in ecclesiastical quarters that I think it deserves consideration. I will bring up my de Rossi for you, as I conclude that you 300 Cardinal Pitra will not put the matter into Northcote's hands. As a review of the Inscriptions, there would be a favour- able prejudice in the minds of readers, and de Rossi and his friends would pu£F it. Pitra's elevation is really creditable, for he is as learned as such a man can be. The Solesmes people all believe in the spurious a6ls of martyrs, and think that Tillemont, Arnauld and Ruinart rejected them in a sort of heretical spirit. So they would of course multi- ply the number of martyrs by here and there an odd ten thousand. Dollinger's demolition of the Laurentian legend carries criticism a stage further than Mabillon. Dunne, who is much in the confidence of every Irish bishop, but testibus Newman and Renouf a very clever fellow, offers literary and historical articles. I have dangled Bossuet's new works before him at a dis- tance, and proposed Limerick at once. Lathbury is on Kinglake, and an illustrious Crimean hero has pro- mised military criticisms. So it will be: "We can only say we saw nothing of the kind " — " We can appeal to every man present on the left wing whether we are not right in stating" — "No historian has yet done justice to," etc., etc. Letter CXLIV Afton proposes a article on "Epigrams" — Conversion of Lady Herbert of Lea Half -moon Street, Monday \JMarch, 2, 1863]. ... I hope Beaumarchais is giving you the wish to do "Epigrams"* for July. It would be much * Simpson's papei, "Epigrams," was printed in the July number. 301 Letters of Lord Adion wanted. If we have Volunteers and Convicts, which are timely, Poor Law, not being particularly timely, might come in October. I believe there is no better thread for epigrams than philology; seeing how different languages and there- fore the spirit of different nations adapted themselves to the construftions of pointed sayings: Greek, Latin, Italian, French, English and German. The beginning is, however, in the Sapiential books. They say that Lady Herbert of Lea has been received at Rome. Letter CXLV A restored Poland Half-moon Street, Friday Morning [Marc& 6, 1863]. I send you the Daily 'Telegraphs from the end of January. You will find all details about the Polish revolution in the field. Of course you have seen Monta- lembert in the Correspondant. You have filled me with a misgiving about your doctrines. The conspirators of the emigration, who for many years have been getting up a movement, aim at independence, at a restored Poland, and as it would be Catholic and would deprive Austria of a great province, the French liberal Catholics of course desire it. But from the point of view of right, what is to be insisted on is the establishment of just government and gradual freedom there as everywhere else. National indepen- dence must not come into competition with this, or be preferred to it, as it is of course by all men of ambi- tious views, all democrats, believers in the sovereign 302 A Restored Poland nationality, lovers of a Catholic power. There is no security for good government in a restored Poland, with the revolutionary party supreme, either in the principles of that party or in Polish traditions, or in the chance of union with Austrian and Prussian Poland. Now on the principle that arbitrary power must be put down we must think not of a restored Poland, but of a converted Czar. The wrongs of Russia are also very great, and only part of the work would be done by taking away Poland. The principle requires us to de- fend the Russians also. If we appeal to the treaties of 1 8 1 5 as a security for the liberty of Poland, they are a security also against its restoration. The same claim the Poles have for the old, promised constitution se- cures Galicia to Austria and Posen to Prussia. It is not enough to stick up for that constitution. The evil is not that Poland is aggrieved, but that Petersburg op- presses. The claim of Poland to a constitution is not greater than the claim of Russia. Sen vetus, etc. The position of the Russians is not improved by taking away Poland, but the right to care for them is yielded up; and so the principle would be abandoned. I do not see how we can be consistent if we urge a separation of Poland, or a restoration of the ancient territories, as true legitimate principles, if the revolu- tion is to be justified by Russian despotism, and there- fore on behalf of the Russians also. The crime that destroyed Venice was greater than that of the partition, for Poland was unable to preserve her independence without being a nuisance. The abomination of the last generation of her independence cannot be overesti- mated. Yet we do not wish Venice to be restored at 303 Letters of Lord Adon the expense of Austria or of Italy. We really cannot build up a right now on the basis of the iniquity of the Partition. Fromia religious point of view, which will not do as a guide, but with which one ought to cover one's rear, the striving of Poland to be independent is a great evil for the Catholics of Russia, as it connects Catho- licism with insubordination. But a reconciled Poland, self-governing, and carrying the necessity for self- government into Russia would give great support to Russian Catholics. I remember I saw nobody so ear- nestly opposed to Polish independence as the good Polish monks in Russia. Your notice of Colenso will be of great importance. Pray do it carefully without allusions. Letter CXLVI Preparation for the next number of the Home and Foreign — Water- worth's report as to Bishop Brown's opinion of the Review — "There has never been anything so good in England" Aldenham, Monday [August ? 1863]. I send you Scheret on "George Eliot" and Heine on "Shakespeare's Womankind." Heine is a man you ought to delight in. I know nothing of Lewes's "Comtism," and I have not got his Biographical History of Philosophy, of which there is a new edition in one volume. I hope your Eliot studies are getting on.* Frohschammer seems to have been delayed because I was expected at Munich. Here is what has been given * Simpson's article on "George Eliot" appeared in the Oftober number of the Home and Foreign Review. 304 Bishop Brown of Newport or recently promised, for I have written to make sure: 4, Foundlings; lo, Dante's Commentators (at Rob- son's); 3, Poland, Buddeus; 5, Geography, Arnold; 6, George Eliot, Simpson; i i,Frohschammer; 12, Uni- versity Education, Renouf; 8, Papst Fabeln, half finished; i. Prison Rules and Ministers, Lathbury; 7, Primitive Myths, Paley; 2, Emigration, Moule; 9, Celtic Literature, Sullivan. The Irish Church, Sir Thomas More, Federal Re- form in Germany, Lowe on Gladstone's still unpub- lished speeches, are all uncertain. Roberts only asks for time. 'New Zealand excellent. Childers on Viftoria in January, Bowen on Queens- land in April, and Weld on New Zealand in July w^ould be well. Waterworth, a devoted friend and ad- mirer, told me, in all secrecy, that the Bishop of New- port was overcome by our last number, and declared to him privately and at Spetchley quite openly, so that it might reach the ears of the bishop of that diocese, that there has never been anything so good in Eng- land, etc. Letter CXLVII The Bishop of Shrewsbury converted to the value of the Home and Foreign — Cardinal CuUen's organ has also an eulogy on the last number — Articles ready or promised for the next numbers Aldenham, Tuesday [Sept 9, 1863]. The Bishop of Shrewsbury, under pretence of making his visitation, has spent a week here for the purpose o£ demolishing the Home and Foreign. Wetherell, 305 20 Letters of Lord A(9:on Arnold and Roger Vaughan * came to meet him, and I have been too busy to do anything. The time was not lost, however, for I converted the Bishop, who came to curse, and went away yesterday after giving his blessing to the Review and expressing himself gratified at my explanations, and satisfied with the principle non lac sed escam. At this moment he is at a great meeting at Sedgley Park, where he announced his intention of proclaiming his altered views. He as- sured me that in spite of the strong feelings of some bishops, a reaction has been setting in among them, and that he would try and promote it. Pray take care not to over-use this fa<5l in conversa- tion. It will be best to let it work out its own efFeft, and not to provoke others to drive back the bishops. Arnold and Vaughan, to whom the Bishop opened his mind, will carry the matter. At the same time, CuUen's organ has a flaming eulogy of the last number. The episcopal conference was diversified by the study of your article on " George Eliot," which is one of the most excellent things you have ever written. Even our stern critic was mollified and moved to frequent choking. I sent thirty pages to the printers to-day. He has carried off the rest to Malvern, My review of DoUingerf has long been in the prin- ters' hands, as also "Emigration,"! and Wetherell will * At that time Cathedral Prior of the Benediftine House of Studies at Belmont, Herefordshire, and afterwards Archbishop of Sydney from 1877 till 1883. He died suddenly the night after his arrival in England on a visit, August 18, 1883. t "Medieval Fables of the Popes," printed in the Odioher Home anJ Foreign. t " Emigration in the Nineteenth Century," by Moule, in the same. 306 The January "Home and Foreign" send up Paley on the "Ancient Myths"* immediately. I read nine good but severe pages of Arnold on " Eng- lish Boundaries," which will be original and soon ready. Lathbury is finishing" Prison Disciphne/'fand I expeft "Poland" daily. Renouf and Sullivan are postponed till January. The first I have not pressed, as an interval after " Manning " is not to be regretted. The latter could hardly come in the same number with " Dante," which cannot be put off. The materials on Frohschammcr are very incomplete, and contain nothing about what has been done. I go to Munich on the 25th, and shall get all particulars for January. It is no use doing it now very imperfeftly. . . Materials abound for Mexico. You should look up Chevalier and one or two pamphlets spoken of in the newspapers. Let me know if you would like to look through France. After Mexico, turn for a moment to French internal affairs, the anti-episcopal edi6t, and so by an easy transition to the absence of all the French clergy from Malines, to the spirit of that assembly, the unexpected effe6l of Montalembert's speech, etc. The new Correspondant has an article on it. I have your notices safe. Can you also do Chevalier, and Cousin's History of Philosophy^ I am busy with the splendid new ^£ia SS. For January we have: "Volunteers" (he is well and eager to do them) ; Lowe on "Gladstone";! The "Irish Church"; "Federal Reform in Germany"; "Found- lings"; " Browning's Poems " (Arnold); " Celtic Phi- * " Classical Myths in Relation to the Antiquity of Man," in the number for January, 1864. t "Gaol Discipline in England and Wales," printed in Oaober, 1863. t"Mr Gladstone's Financial Statements," in January, 1864. 307 Letters of Lord Adton lology "; " Sir Thomas More " (a charming letter from Brewer); " Frohschammer "; "Catholic University," etc. Would it suggest itself to you to do Vinet for January ? Besides the two little volumes, I can send you half a dozen exquisite works and a few criticisms. He is a portent in the history of Calvinism, and would be a capital subje6l for such a pen as yours. I have put the Register question into the hands of the Attor- ney General together with much good advice. 308 1864 Letter CXLVIII Plan to secure writers for the Review — Father de Buck and M. Block named — Simpson's projected article on Shakespeare — Were the Sonnets early and written at one time? — Thackeray — His posi- tion as a critic, etc. — The suggested resemblance to Horace A Idenham, Saturday [January 10, 1864]. ... I would try, if I were you, to get some no- tices from de Buck, and especially one on St Dympna. Block is so very sensible a man, and his politics are so sound, as I judge not only from his articles in his T)ictionnaire, but especially from the notes with which he occasionally corrects a digne confrere, that I would not, if I were you, lose the chance of getting his notices on any books that interest him, more particularly on France, politics and economy. Laboulaye's book is very good indeed, but if he does not make certain draw- backs on his praise, I shall be in a fix. I do not see why Judaism is an objeftion to a man writing current events. Block would go into details and give a real chronicle with very accurate know- ledge. Renouf expects to get M. de Lincourt to write for us, who is a very remarkable personage and would be invaluable; but I do not anticipate that he will do Current Events. So if you will offer them to Block and undertake to give them an H. & F.-ical aspect, I think you cannot do better. By all means promise him a notice of his DiStionary, whenever he likes. If you don't write it yourself, I will, and the book deserves great praise. 309 Letters of Lord Adton Do you really think of two successive articles on Shakespeare ? There would be many reasons of policy against it, and I should think internal objections, too. Would you prefer doing Shakespeare altogether for April, putting away Thackeray, and getting somebody (which is easy) to translate Block ? I think the other arrangement would be better. Your article can be as long as ever you like, four sheets if necessary, and I am sure it will answer. Are you so sure all the Sonnets were written early ? Nobody who is a real poet, sits down to write a hatful of sonnets; they are produced occasionally — in intervals, as it were, of business, Bo- denstedt has arranged them in order by the resem- blance of phrases, etc., to passages in his plays, and, though very vague, the plan struck me as plausible and ingenious. Assuming that you care enough for Thackeray to do him, which nobody else is likely to attempt, I am sorry to say I have neither his books nor any good ideas about him. The former you must buy out of the public funds. I have a vision of a clever essay on him by Henri Taine in one of his volumes of essays. His views of history are surely very superficial, and he is not in the first rank of literary critics, but he can go to the bottom of small minds in a way which is wonder- ful, because he was not a first-rate judge of character among his acquaintances, and, therefore, often wanted taft. Lord Broughton dined with him, and there was a bottle of rare wine, of which one glass remained when all had partaken, Thackeray slapped the drunken old lord on the back, saying, "And this shall be for you, my good old friend." At which the other pulled awry 310 Thackeray face, as having a sore back, and because he thinks he is not old and knows he is not good, nor wishes to be thought so. Thackeray himself was extremely sensitive in the great world. I certainly did not think him dis- tingue. The marvel is how he knew the ladies of the great world so well, for that is his strongest department. Esmond, again and again I assure you, is a master- piece for that sort of knowledge. Also, in The Vir- ginians, the description of the growth of love in the two sisters for the two brothers. The old' flirt in that book. Lady Maria, does not seem to be superior to Amelia Roper. Also, in The S^wcomes, to the match- making mammas I could add a touch or two. There are historians, like Thiers and Ranke, whose cleverness won't allow them to recognize the union of greatness and genius with goodness. Their great men are Richelieu, Frederick, Napoleon, without high moral virtue; and their good men are commonplace or else dupes. They require some compensation of this kind, and would be puzzled to draw the conventional Wash- ington or Burke. There is a point to be made here for those who read and love the lives of the saints ; and, as you will remember Thackeray's joke about the diction- ary, perhaps he would deserve it. For he is very like those historians. I suppose more poetry would have raised him above this defect, for Dickens is without it, although he is so far below Thackeray in his characters. The resemblance to Horace which one of the re- views suggested, may deserve following out. Is it not a fault in art to hold the mask in one's hand instead of on the face, to be constantly looking out from behind 3" Letters of Lord A6ton it ? To give him his place in literature, you must read Tom Jones and Thackeray's essay on Fielding. Is he not quite incapable of the great effort of art which is so common in Shakespeare, and which Dickens imi- tates, of putting the comic perpetually as a foil to the tragic? He rather relieves the comic by the colloquial. There, I know it matters not whether one's ideas are true or false, if one can set you agoing. The fa6l is I know only Vanity Fair well. But you will find him often a congenial mind with your dining-out self. Ar- nold is recovering him of his illness, and will do his "Northumbria" in April. He seems to have been cured by the Home and Foreign for January, Letter CXLIX Question as to the dedication of the 1609 edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets — Thackeray hardly ever epic, but rather surgical — Trollope Aldenham, Tuesday [January iz, 1864J. I am afraid I dare not, without book, involve myself in the difficulties you propose. Some of the points are, I remember, dealt with in Bodenstedt's Commentary, but I have not got the book. It is a little volume, 1862, well worth looking at. I wonder how you reconcile the Dedication of 1 6og with the idea that Shakespeare prepared the edition and is responsible for the arrangement. The fate of Marlowe and others would confirm your interpretation of Sonnet 74. 1 can bring or rather send you Marlowe and Webster. I am not sure I have 312 Thackeray any others. Also you shall have Ulrici, who, I pre- sume, is not translated, in spite of his Protestantism. . . Wednesday. Pray stop the printing of Moule, and I will write unto him. It won't do to have a weak Taylor by the side of Thackeray. The latter is not objeftive, if that is what you mean, as a glance at his perpetual moralizing will show you. He is hardly ever epic, but rather surgical. A writer of the first order discovers the mode of aftion and thought of his own characters when once he has clearly conceived them, rather than invents. He does not sit down to consider, " How shall my hero a6t or speak under such circumstances } " but, " How does he ? " Shakespeare passim^ which is caricatured by your friend Balzac, who did not give names to his charafters, but walked over Paris reading the names on shops till he found them. I don't think Thackeray ever got so far as this, unless in Esmond. I think TroUope does, and his glasses do not colour, but he does not profess to go so deep. Perhaps the slow and studious growth of Thackeray's powers contributed to this, or is con- nected with it. The Germans whom he studied would not raise him above this Euripidean method — nor pro- bably any amount of mere labour. But why do I talk ? Have you not cheapened the original .? . . . 313 Letters of Lord Adon Letter CL Bacon's Philosophy of Shakespeare — Thackeray must not be judged without reading Vanity Fair, Pendennis, etc. — Some articles for the Review Aldenham, Sunday [Jan. 24, 1864]. I suppose you know Bacon's Philosophy of Shakespeare, which I think is only an attack on his claim to be his own author. You shall have Swift in two volumes and any German in whom I can find any- thing humorous. You shall also have the new volume of the '\Philobiblon with Bohn's foolish life of Shakespeare. You are putting Thackeray in his box before read- ing Vanity Fair, which is premature, and the picture of the great world in Pendennis and The Newcomes is true to a considerable degree. I shall not come up probably for a fortnight, so write for books any time next week. Do you think it would be possible to get through Block a Spanish " Current Events" for April? There are ministerial changes and new party arrangements of which we all know nothing at all. Talking of Spain, I have suggested an article on recent Spanish litera- ture to MacCarthy, perhaps for July. My friend Dease promises an Irish article for April, on " Emigration and Landlordism." I have already seen the bulk of it, and think him very sensible, honest and fluent. Bonamy Price offers " Currency" for July. Renouf shirks the " Bible Dictionary " for fear of the Jews. 314 Newman's Sympathy Goodwin, knocked down by the article on George Eliot, is anxious to write for us. Letter CLI The doftrines, etc., of the Home and Foreign not likely to triumph — Newman has great sympathy, but doesn't understand the theory — Urges Simpson to reply to Anglicanus in the Times A Idenham^ Sunday \Feb. 7, 1864]. I always warned people that there was no tri- umph in store for our do6lrines, and that the authorities could never adopt them or sincerely admit us to be other than rogues. To this X. demurred very decidedly, I suppose because Newman dreams of a conversion in high places. Now Newman has great sympathy with our cause, inasmuch as he is enlightened and liberal and highly cultivated; but I do not believe he really understands our theory, and certainly would no more admit it than de Buck. Wednesday. Why don't you write an answer to Anglicanus in the limes (who is Arthur Stanley) and sign it Ro- manus, and show the way in which we have an advan- tage over Anglicans, and how far Dollinger's words can apply to them, and preach up H. and F.-dom? Carleton is very provoking, for he carefully excludes the question which makes New Zealand interesting — the gradual formation of a free community. 315 Letters of Lord A6lon Letter CLII The story of Frohschammei's errors — His heresy on development — Sends Simpson the Brief condemning him — The rescript must be printed after the article 37 Half-moon Street^ Good Friday \£March 6, 1 864J. I sent you the exordium yesterday. I now send all that remains to complete the story of Frohs- chammer down to the beginning of your story. I have taken pains to make his progress in error intelligible and, to be just, have separated the debatable part, much of which may be explained in two ways, from his pure heresy on Development. You will see at a glance what it is all about. I send the Brief condemn- ing him, which goes farther in the direction of Ratio- nalism than any papal aft. Observe the words Dei na- turam. Also my notes, when I meant to deal more at length with Frohschammer. I don't know whether any part of them will suggest anything to you worth inserting. We must print the rescript against us (shall we call it a Brief?) after the article. 316 Difficulties Letter CLIII Sends Simpson a document which makes it impossible to carry on the Home and Foreign — Attitude of the writers in the Review to the papal rescript against Dollinger — Acton's wish to close the career of Home and Foreign at once 27 Half-moon Street, Tuesday \_March 8, 1864]. I send you a document, received this evening, which will make it impossible for me to carry on the Review as hitherto with a good conscience. The whole drift of the Papal rescript, beyond the direct attack on Dollinger, is to condemn the foremost principle of the Home and Foreign — one on which I believe there has never been any difference of opinion between us. Let me call your attention particularly to the passage in the second half of the first column on P- 49-. This is an elaborate statement of opinions and inten- tions on a point praftically fundamental which are incompatible with our own. I, at least, entirely rejedl the view here stated. If it is accepted by the Home and Foreign, the Review loses its identity and the very breath of its nostrils. If it is rejedled, and the proclamation of the Holy See defied, the Review cannot long escape condemnation, and cannot any longer efficiently profess to represent the true, authoritative Catholic opinion. In either case I think the Review forfeits the reason of its existence. It cannot sacrifice its traditions or sur- render its representative charadler. There is nothing new in the sentiments of the re- 317 Letters of Lord Adlon script; but the open aggressive declaration and the will to enforce obedience are in reality new. This is what places us in flagrant contradiction with the government of the Church. My wish is therefore to close the career of the Home and Foreign with the next number, and to do so with your full consent and approbation, but on my responsibility alone. The article on Lamennais and Frohschammer gives an opportunity of explaining in a peroration the motives of the step, and of defin- ing once more the principles of the Review and of vindicating the Catholicity of its conduftors. I will draw this up separately, and will send it to you on Thursday, to be judged and interpreted with your usual kindness and handled with your usual freedom. If my impression of the probable consequences of this document do not seem to you justified by its language, I hope you will suspend your judgement till I have put together the grounds of my opinion. I will only say that, in reading the rescript, the maxim restringenda odiosa would not be a safe guide. Remember also the public efFe6l this attack on the Munich Congress will have. Pray return the paper when mastered. Letter CLIV Is glad Simpson sees the importance of discontinuing the Home and Foreign — Will write the declaration of policy at once — Hopes that his literary partnership with Simpson is not at an end 37 Half-moon Street [March lo, 1864]. I am most grateful for your letter, because I take it as evidence that you see the thing in the same 318 End of the "Home and Foreign" light as I do, and are not making a concession to my scruples. In omitting all allusions to the two circum- stances you speak of, the expense and the differences which have arisen, I was guided by no other motive but that of sincerely informing you of the true grounds of my intention — with which they had nothing to do. As to the first, I have never been disturbed by it, because the objeft of our experiment deserved some sacrifice. As to the other matter I hope you know by this time that it no longer exists. . . I cannot keep my promise of sending you the decla- ration to-day. I mean it to be as open and objective as possible. I shall write only for the purpose of making people clearly understand our motives, not in order to please, or to conciliate anybody ; but I will give as little scandal, and say as little against Rome, as possible. Of course it must be made as clear as daylight that we do not accept these views on the subje<5l. But I am unwilling to enter upon any part of the paper which may involve a defence of the Germans against whom it is directed — as nobody must be given an opportunity of attributing to them the same disagreement with Rome which we acknowledge. Keeping only this in mind, pray modify what I shall send you, give it all literary form compa- tible with my signing it, and return it to me to be copied out. I hope our literary partnership is not at an end. It has often been in my mind that you had larger things to do than to write articles, and that the pressing need of the hour kept you from more important work. If you and Renouf turn your thoughts to the compo- sition of serious books, you will do more for the lite- 319 Letters of Lord A£ton rary chara6ter of the Catholic body than the Home and Foreign could ever have done. For my part I will take the most selfishly liberal advantage of your friend- ship to consult you about the political philosophy of Catholicism for which I have coUefted so much. 320 i866 Letter CLV Preparations for the publication of the Qhronkle — Afton's advice to the editor, Mr Wetherell — How to secure the best writers — His high opinion of Father Stevenson — Recommends certain books of reference ^Munich, Thursday night [October, 1866]. Your letter brings good news indeed, and you will have to compute how such wealth can be best made recuperative. If you can pay ^^ ^"^ article, I should think that the best investment. But there will be some heavy expenditure, at first, on books, and then on corre- spondence. This is a matter on which it will not be possible not to waste some money in experiments. You cannot tell beforehand whether that proposed system will work and pay. I saw Friedmann,t who was full of a letter of yours, sent to him by Bergenroth. He is very well off, and said he would be glad to pay for the admission of his articles, if he could not come out otherwise. It is pos- sible, therefore, that you may spare your money as far as he is concerned. He cannot yet write English well — nor indeed can Bergenroth. But he is clever, sensible, ambitious, thoroughly trained in Prussian universities, and immensely learned on the period of Philip and Mary — between Bergenroth's period and Stevenson's. I suggested a paper on the spuriousness of the Memoirs * This and the following Letters (Nos 155-169) were addressed to Mr Wetherell. t Paul Friedmann, who is known as the author of the works on Queen {Mary and on ^nne Boleyn published in 1 884, was recommended by Adlon to Wetherell. 321 21 Letters of Lord Ad:on of Charles V, and he Hked the idea, and will execute it if reminded. He will propose other essays of the same kind when you put yourself in closer relations with him. Stevenson * is probably on the whole the best-in- formed of men living on every part of English history. I found him as deeply read in the later Stuart times as on the Anglo-Saxons. So I ought not to have made the proposal I did about Bergenroth's next volume. But I had a motive which was not mere presumption. I have read and discussed most of his [Bergenroth's] " Introduction "f with him, and it contains very strange things. There is no resisting Bergenroth's evidences with the materials of the bows and arrows period of historical knowledge. Now he is very hard on a Pope who had rare qualities, Adrian VI, and he praises the Epicurean Medicis who preceded and followed him. I discovered at Brighton the reason of this, and of a cer- tain very refined and intangible sort of injustice in his idea of the Church, and I was anxious to point this out for his own as well as for the public benefit, in a way that might enlighten and could not repel him. Simpson says that Stevenson considers Bergenroth an evil-minded enemy of Catholicism. Nothing can be more unfair, and if the very grave provocation the " Introduction " will give is taken in an angry way, the * Rev. Joseph Stevenson, born 1806; entered the MS. department in the British Museum in 1 83 I; was incumbent of Leighton Buzzard 1849-62; projedled the Rolls series oi Chronicles and SVLemorials ; became a Catholic 1863; was employed at the Vatican by the English Government in transcribing, etc.; became a Jesuit; died 1895. t Bergenroth edited the Letters, etc., relating to the Negotiations bettveen Eng- land and Si>ain (vols I and 11, 1485-1525). The second volume appeared in 1866. 322 Preparations for the " Chronicle" critic will not have the best of it, and Bergenroth will not understand the Church any better. Perhaps Steven- son might review the book (you bearing what I have just said in mind), and I might somewhat later write an article on Adrian, and the figure he cuts in Bergen- roth's " Introduftion." It will be well to keep the authors of ci'itical articles quite secret, especially from the authors reviewed and their friends; otherwise you might have submitted the dilemma to Bergenroth himself. Friedmann has offered an essay on the Loss of Calais to Lewes; * if not accepted, he spoke of breaking it up for you. I cannot tell whether that would be pradticable. Gayangosf being what you say, it might be well to consult him on the choice of a Spaniard, rather than ask him to write. Bergenroth would know what sort of choice there would be. Gayangos possesses an ad- mirable colleftion of historical MSS., which the mis- governed Museum will not buy. Perhaps an article might be made upon it, to draw attention, and pro- mote the purchase. Stevenson could write, or give matter for, an excel- lent article on the literary policy of the Government in the Rolls and other publications. He says there are most important medieval works that have been disre- garded by the Commission, and should be published. But he will not offend Romilly.| I am fencing with that potentate concerning the Vatican, and have thriven so far; and he says he will consult me when the time * George H. Lewes was then editing the Fortnightly Reyiiew. t Don Pascual de Gayangos, who succeeded Bergenroth as editor of the Spanish State Papers for the Record Office. JThe Master of the Rolls, 1 851- 1873. Letters of Lord Adton comes to choose a man for the mission; so that it may happen that the notabilities in Rome will be as numer- ous as the papers say. Kaufmann probably knows all about the discontented Slavonic races in Austria, and all about the German press, if you should care for article or information about the spirit and inspiration of various journals. Cartwright * and Grant Duff know about people who go to Turkey. I bought at Paris, and sent over, U^^nnuaire Ency- clopedique — a large half-yearly volume, with informa- tion for the first half of this year. It will reach you sooner or later, by devious paths. You should get Williams and Norgate to send for Kellners Statistik, 1866, a very useful new book, with all that can be told in figures of the various countries of the world. Remember that a German square mile = 2 1 English square miles. I was not able to do anything for you at Paris. I know Broglie, in truth, hardly more than Simpson does. He is no doubt a superior man, and would be invaluable. Blockf will, however, be decidedly useful. He has more information than anybody about French adminis- tration, finance, trade, economy, and his views are sen- sible, but I am not sure whether he is behind the scenes of aftual statecraft. You remember he was going to start a newspaper of his own ; so he must be well up. * William Cornwallis Cartwright, author of a work on Papal Concla'Ves and other books. t Maurice Block, author of many works upon general and French politics. His chief work was a Dictionnaire General de la Politique written in collabo- ration with various statesmen and others. 324 Suggested Writers for the " Chronicle" He knows all sorts of writers, but it would require skilful handling to get him to press them into service. . . . Piot * is a friend of de Buck, and a sound Belgic historian, but him also I cannot judge in the light of the present. Is Stevenson's Douai friend Le Glay? He would do well. Gardiner,t I should, think, must be known to both Stevenson and Bergenroth. He would write very gravely on his times. In his book he glorifies Guido Fawkes and his friends. He has taken pains to get docu- ments even from Munich. But perhaps Pinchart would do still better to review Motley's new volumes. I think Grant DufFsent back Calvo, but am not sure. The Introduction is in the first volume, and he may have kept that one, but I don't know. See, on South America, the last Annuaire des Deux Mondes. It is an excellent annual register, but I am not sure whether there is a volume for the last year or two. It was always well up in South American affairs. It is a subjeft not to be neglected. Napoleon III is the only statesman in Europe who has taken interest in those countries — and understood them so as to have a policy about them, which is one of the best things in his reign. Wappaus, of Gottingen, in his new edition of Stein and Horschel- mann's Geographic, has taken great pains with South America. It may be a few years old, however. Daniel's Geographic, in the new edition, published last year and not yet complete as to Europe, is quite excellent. He is a crypto-Catholic, a friend of DoUinger's, and gives * G. J. Charles Piot, the editor of the Chroniques de Brabant et de Flandre. tDr Samuel Rawson Gardiner, the first volumes of whose History had already appeared. 325 Letters of Lord Ad:on you a deal of political economy, philosophy of history, statistics, etc., in the shape of a handbook of geography. The best book of reference I know of for recent political history is Wagener's Staats und Qesellschafts- lexicon, complete in twenty-one or twenty-two volumes. It is very interesting, full of the most recent and most intimate information, tinged with the JS^euzzeitung politics and religion of Stahl, Leo, etc. Both of these men wrote in it. The Review would do, I think, if followed by "of Politics and Literature " in small letters like the Journal des Debats politiques et litteraires. Leone Levi ought on every account to write, but I don't know how he stands to the particular subject you speak of. When I get hold of Gladstone, I shall pump him. Who knows all about military affairs } You ought to have some clear view for the reform of our detestable system. I don't believe that of the5)!»^c/<3/orwaspra(5lical. Might not Gayangos, Dedecker and others write a good long letter to start with, and so give you a compass and chart? There is no good large portrait of DoUinger. You shall have the autograph ; meanwhile I send you the promised photograph. My wife has gone to St Martin, Ried, Haute Autriche, where I shall go this day week, and remain till the i6th. Then Venice till October 28; and then Hotel de Londres, Rome. 326 Suggestion as to Reviewers Letter CLVI Germans do not subscribe to journals of others countries — Sugges- tions as to reviewers — Raleigh an excellent subjedl for Gardiner — Bryce, beside leading articles, ought to review much German literature St ^^Martin, OSiober ly [1866]. I do not anticipate success in getting an appre- ciable number of foreign subscribers, for in Germany, at least, people do not subscribe to foreign journals, but to libraries and reading rooms. You ought not to reckon on this. But I hope for better things in respeft of books and perhaps of advertisements, and have written to the two first publishers in Southern Germany on the sub- jedt. Would not Block do the same for Didier, Levy, Hachette and the principal Paris booksellers, and Pinchart at Brussels .? I will see what can be done in Italy. Should not Sullivan,* who is said to receive all the learned journals and transactions in Europe, occa- sionally give brief accounts of what he finds in them ? It would not disfigure " Contemporary Literature," as a sort of supplement. Friedmann is more at home abroad than in England; his studies incline to foreign policy, and he has pro- bably never read Cranmer. The new volumes of Hookf * William Kirby Sullivan, a professor at the Catholic University, Dublin, and author of (Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish and of several learned articles and reviews in the Home and Foreign and elsewhere. t Li'ves of the Archbishops of Canterbury . 327 Letters of Lord Ad:on ought surely to be reviewed [by] Stevenson. Cranmer and Pole especially point that w^ay, Cartwright lived at Lady W. Russell's, 2 Audley Square, but was all day at the Athensum. I don't know whether he went abroad, but he was not at Paris when I went there. At Lady William's they will for- ward letters to him. The Globe military articles were renowned, I thought were by Siborne.* Get hold of the writer by all means, and of any friends of his who did not write in the Globe. "German Universities" maybe hung on the peg of the agitation for a Catholic University, a most charac- teristic dispute, which Renouf probably knows all about. Remember that Bryce is on very friendly terms with DoUinger. He ought to review a good deal of German literature, besides leading articles. " Raleigh " is an excellent subjeft for Gardiner. Pray send me the new volume of Fox,t as well as Bergen- roth, but remember I have no books or notes to refer to in Rome. Would you mind, v/hen direfting Stewart to send the two books to Rome, adding Darling's Cyclopcedia '? \ I am not sure of finding Lord Clarendon — I saw him at Paris, but did not hear that he would be at Rome. Perhaps I may find Layard at Venice. But surely internal evidence will soon establish Kennedy's value, and it would be well to seize him — especially if nothing is got out of Edwin Norris. * Herbert T. Siborne, who subsequently edited his father's Waterloo Letters in 1891. t Probably the last volume of Lord John Russell's Life and Times ofC. J. Fox, which appeared this year. X James Darling's Cyclopcedia 'Bibliographica. 328 Libraries and Archives My time is cut short, and I must keep my next letter for Bologna, where pray direft, Palazzo Marescalchi, till November i o. We go on Monday, through Tyrol, and I shall be at Venice alone for a few days, because of cholera. After November lo, Rome. By the time I get there I hope to have to report favourably about contributors. You do not speak of Ffoulkes having been adopted. Why not a series of sharp articles at first on things to be reformed, errors and abuses in our State altogether — in the government of dependencies, of Ireland, of army and navy, in criminal law, poor law, prison law, local self-government. Church matters, nonconformity, etc., etc. ? Done with care and with special knowledge, this should be a good substratum. Letter CLVII Education and the raising of the masses — Is going with Gladstone to Monte Casino — Has had great success in libraries and archives — The Cardinals call upon him as if he were an ambassador of a Catholic Power — The French flag was lowered on the Castle of St Angelo to-day (Dec. lo, 1866) — In a previous letter has over- rated the resisting power of the Papal army Rome, Dec. 10 [1866]. . . . Compulsory education will be a great fight, but will destroy the presumption in favour of the State religion when it is really carried out. An important point of view is the saving in Poor Relief, which the raising of the masses and the disciplining of children ought to cause. But it will be a Revolution compared with which everything since 1560 has been child's 329 Letters of Lord Ad:on play. . . On Thursday I am going with Gladstone to Monte Casino. My success in libraries and archives surpasses all expectation, and Cardinals frequent us as if we were an embassy from a new Catholic power. Everything that I send you is of course submitted without reserve to your correcting and improving pen, and if you would let Renouf revise everything literary from me, I should feel sure of not leading you into mistakes. The French flag is lowered on St Angelo to-day. I find reason to believe that I overrated the resisting power of the Papal troops in my notes. The artillery, ultima ratio in street fighting, will not fire on the people ; and Cardinal di Pietro tells me that a barrel of napo- leons and a cask of wine will settle the infantry of the line. Argyll has arrived and Cardwell goes, without a single political observation or idea. Letter CLVIII William C. Cartwright will join in the new enterprise of the Chronicle as a writer — Attempted arrangement between Italy and Rome — The city perfedtly tranquil — The Duke of Argyll will not go to see the Pope, as his son is to stand for a Scottish constituency — The Disraeli Reform Bill a chance for Simpson and Lambert Rome, "Dec. 17 [1866]. Cartwright is flattered at being asked to join, and has evidently hoped for the offer ever since Ber- genroth told him of the scheme. He overflows with spontaneous promise. For Rome and Italy his means 330 Articles for the "Chronicle" of information are quite exceptional, and his letters will be valuable. He has no anti-Catholic propensity, but he sees every fact as it bears on his hopes and wishes, concerning which he is always sanguine. Both in Germany, in Italy and in America his ultimate theories are those of vulgar unitarianism. The depart- ment in which he has more rich thought is social science and associations of operatives. In personal judge- ments all his geese are swans, or at least all his speci- mens are types. You shall have the last letter of Buddeus when I have answered it. It is the essence of three excellent articles, and not only shows but declares that he will work well with Frantz. He recommends Thaler more decidedly as correspondent for the secret history of Vienna and the Lower Danube. Perhaps it will be well to communicate with him. You have his direc- tion in a previous letter of Buddeus. It would be well to allude to Buddeus and to the fact that Frobel, his former colleague, wrote in the Home and Foreign, which he must know, as Frobel mentions it in the preface to his last book. Thaler is desponding and Teutonic, the only qualities needing to be kept in mind when writing to him. I suppose you will only ask him for private letters, which you had better work into articles in Lon- don. You will judge of it better when you have read Buddeus's letter. Tonello has had an indecisive, but not unpleasant audience of the Pope. Antonelli receives him with personal civility, but with taunts at the Italian Gover- ment. Probably both sides will wish to prolong nego- tiations. Rome is perfectly tranquil, but full of new 331 Letters of Lord Ad;on soldiers. The Jesuits are thought to be veering a little. Words of Curci were reported to the governatore as showing some disposition to get down from the high horse. Gualterio, prefedl of Naples, the historian, has told my friend at the Vatican that they are resolved to strike a great blow at the Jesuits. It is still hoped that the Empress will come and prepare difficulties for the enemy. Argyll will not go to the Vatican, because Lome is to stand for a Scottish constituency. Gladstone's illness has put off our visit to Monte Casino, whence Tosti writes me charming letters. We talk of going there after Christmas. Cardwell is off to Florence. He relies on Disraeli's unskilfulness to drive ministers to a dissolution in May. Robertson Gladstone said happily: "My brother William never looks out of the window." Beware of mistakes in Cartwright's article on " Con- claves"* in the S^rth 'British. I will prepare some- thing on the subject either a propos of the article, or against a future conclave. Will you go to Allen's, 1 2 Tavistock Row, and see if any books of mine are there which you can use? The zAnnuaire Encyclopedique ought to be there. What an opening for Simpson and Lambert f a Disraeli Reform Bill will be ! I suppose you have settled your newspapers. I send you some French statistics on the subject. * Afterwards published separately in 1868. t Afterwards Sir John Lambert. 332 i867 Letter CLIX The appearance of the new journal — The name Chronicle pleases him — Sends an article — Mode of electing a Pope is altered by a Bull — The Presbyterian difficulty still goes on January 25, 1867. Your many friends in Rome have been getting anxious to hear about you, and I have sent no articles for fear they should grow obsolete before you appear. Last night Nardi gave me a number of the tVest- minster Gazette* in which I see an announcement of the Chronicle, which is far the best name. I presume your first number will appear next Saturday, and so send you an article which strikes me as not unsuited for a be- ginning. I find that there is a Bull altering the mode of election, but not yet circulated, definitively, among the Cardinals. It is impossible to give a complete account of it, or even to say what I know. I have no doubt it substantially follows the utterly forgotten and unprinted acts of Pius V|, to which Cartwright alludes in the d^rth 'British, but which nobody seems to know. I got them in MS. from among the papers of a dead Cardinal, together with those letters of Antonelli, from which, with a little help from Consalvi,? I have put together my story. The only point that is quite obscure is the ultimate fate of the Bull oAttentis. Antonelli got it signed in August, 1798. In October he says that the * A Catholic weekly paper started by Mr E. S. Purcell with the approval of Archbishop Manning. i2,o Letters of Lord Adon imprudence of his brethren made his plot fail, and wishes the Dean to get the Bull from the Pope. Mo- rone (xv, 273) and Pistolesi, continuator of Novaes, say that it was a formal Bull, but do not appear to have seen it. The earlier Bull has never been mentioned. I have read it. The other I only know from Antonelli's analysis. Of course I want to insinuate that the recent adt is described in the description of the old adls, and this is certain ; but I cannot say so without violating a solemn seal of secrecy. I should have sent you an article on the " Kirk and the Inquisition," but it is getting such an old story. As the Roman Government can be thoroughly justified, and there may be an opportunity, even so late, of speak- ing about it, I will send you all the fafts to use as the state of feeling and knowledge in England may call for them. . . Pray see whether in speaking of Panqbianco I make a mistake in calling Clement XIV a Franciscan (Con- ventual), and correal me if necessary. I send another capital letter from Buddeus, which you v,411 not want, as he seems to have written much to you. I am afraid the correspondence will be too great a drain on the money resources of the paper. You will have good matter from Cartwright. 334 church and State in Italy Letter CLX Roman authorities not pleased with the Weitmimter Gazette defence — Reported retra£tation of Passaglia premature — Difficulty of financial arrangement between Church and State in Italy \zAbout February i, 1867.] I discovered yesterday that they are angry here at the defence of their policy in the Westminster Gazette, which raises very delicate questions. So I thought you might like to have a statement of the fafts and an outline of the defence which suggests itself on the spot. I fear it is much too late; if not, my notes, with much cooking, may serve as the basis of an article. The report of Passaglia's retra6tation is premature. He has been going through "the exercises," and the Bishop of Mondovi has given hopes of his recantation or reconciliation. Nobody knows here what he ought to retradt. You had better say nothing till you hear more about it from me. You shall have an account of the finances of Rome in time for next week. There is no probability of their accepting Scialoja's plan. Much turns on the question whether the pro- perty may be placed out of Italy, or the clergy, must become public creditors. In the latter case it is impos- sible to wish that they should accept it. As I see no papers, but pick up things orally, you must check all 335 Letters of Lord Adton I say by authentic documents, and there are so many wrong stories that I take some time to be sure of my fads. Letter CLXI The question of toleration in Rome is likely to be reopened — State of suspense in the city very great — Things more uneasy — The Mazzinists are aftive and the police not to be depended upon — Afton has visited some Roman prisons and finds them up to date Thursday [? Feb. 22, 1867]. If not already published, pray keep the paper on the Secret Bull until you hear from me again. You ought to send copies [of the Chronicle] gene- rously at first to continental newspapers. The toleration question is very likely to reopen, for it turns out that the recall of the American Minister and the abolition of his mission is in part due to the disgust caused by the Pope's meddling with their re- ligious service; and Antonelli professes to believe that they are also worshipping in the Pantheon established outside the Porta del Popolo. When the mission dis- appears — it is not quite done yet — the Americans will have no locus standi within the walls, and will have to go the way of all unbelievers. Things are getting more uneasy here. The Mazzi- nists are profiting by the intolerable prolongation of inactivity, and are not likely to remain quiet long. The Comitato wishes the monarchical Liberals to avoid the Corso during the Carnival, not only by way of demonstration but because the Red party is inclined to seize that moment for some aft of violence. The Government and its organs would then throw the blame The Mazzinists on the Liberals, and arrest them, unless they had kept ostentatiously out of the way. The police are anxiously waiting for some opportunity of involving the Liberals in the blame and the doom deserved by the others. Therefore the Comitato cannot prote6l themselves by denouncing the Mazzinist emissaries to the Govern- ment. No notice is taken of the denunciation, and the papers carefully abstain from recognizing any diffe- rence between the Catholic and even Papal Liberals, the Italian patriots of the Royalist party, and the Maz- zinists. The consequence is that persons notoriously of suspicious charafter, and known or held to be conne6l- ed with Mazzini, walk not only at large but enjoy a sort of immunity, and even favour in high places. A very strange suspicion has been thereby engendered. It has become known that the Mazzinists, having held a conference some months ago at Bologna, then pro- fessed a wish that Randi might become Minister of Police, a post he now occupies. Some who knew him years ago afRrm that, as a young man, he was associ- ated with the Sedl. I cannot speak positively of this suspicion of treason. I have heard it in more quarters than one, and on the very best authority as far as in- formation and integrity go. But it must be remem- bered that a situation so enormous as this, where the Republicans are protefted in order to swamp the Libe- rals, to spoil their game and prevent them from holding in hand the conduct of the people, is likely to give rise to extraordinary explanations. I would only speak of it now as a suspicion illustrating the peculiar position of things. Should it happen that Randi loses his post before very long, and that Mgr Lupi or some other 337 22 Letters of Lord Ad:on person succeeds him, you will understand what it means. And if you hear of some acts of violence dur- ing the Carnival, you may be sure that the Mazzinists have done it, in conspiracy, more or less, with the police, to ruin the common enemy, the Comitato, and that the Government will take advantage of it ac- cordingly. The crisis may come a little later, after the Italian elections, before the end of March, which is the term within which the new budget must pass. They must revive the scheme of spoliation ; the Holy See will resist in spite of any modifications which may be adopted. Tonello is very likely then to be recalled, and then I do not see what more is to be waited for before an out- break. The boldness of the brigands is increasing. They came lately into a place near Tivoli and purchased the food they wanted — a very ominous circumstance. There is not force to put them down. Kanzler, an honest, straightforward, quiet, but unhopeful man, reviewed his army yesterday. They look extremely well. Clark, Public Orator* of Cambridge, and Cartwright both counted, and made out about 4,000. But all the posts in the city were well manned during the review, so the garrison must be above 5,000. Theiner has just told me that he thinks all will be quiet till autumn. It is hardly possible. The emperor's speech is understood here as a renunciation of the personal obligation to the Pope — by all but the Pope himself; so the Revolu- tionists are more free than they thought. Fleury, at Florence, said that the emperor would send an army * William George Clark, fellow of Trinity Coll., Cambridge, Public Orator (1857-1870), joint editor with Mr Aldis Wright of the Cambridge SAaies- peare; died 1878. 338 Situation in Rome to Rome if there should be an outbreak. RicasoH re- plied, " Yes, but we shall occupy Rome together " ; and Fleury replied nothing. The Italians can reach Rome in two marches. The military situation is this: the Pope has troops enough to hold Rome if they are faithful; but he cannot hold the city and the provinces. If he concentrates, the provinces will declare for indepen- dence; if he divides, the Romans can crush the Zou- aves. For them, the joint occupation means deliverance. All this is so clear, except the amount of venality in the army, that the despondency of the friends of Government is growing very great. . . The bishops named in the Consistory of to-day, or a very early day (I have not heard yet of its having been done), are the first positive fruit of Tonello's mission. Yesterday I visited one of the great prisons with Sausse. We saw some cells really models of the kind, not yet occupied, and no sort of inhumanity. But there are grievous defefts of system. I also saw the Good Shepherd prison, which is admirable in every respeft. I suppose plurality of votes means their multiplica- tion by wealth, etc., which is untenable. If it means the right of giving all one's votes to one candidate, I do not understand the objection to it. It would make plumpers count two instead of one, and would make ele6tions more amusing. Voting papers is, next to bal- lot and the punishment of bribery by imprisonment, the bulwark of the future constitution. I hope to learn, by the spe6lacle of the paper itself, that you are going on well. Don't bore yourself with writing, unless you want me to do or say something in particular. 339 Letters of Lord A6kon Generally I think it would be a help to correspon- dents abroad to have questions asked of them, and pro- blems given them. Letter CLXII Dangerous state of Italy — Catholics are to stand aloof in the eledtions — In the event of the Government not getting a majority there will be serious trouble — The Italian Republicans are all red, and the priests will be made to pay in blood the penalty of past faults Rome, February 25, 1867. My news will be stale before you get my let- ter, but I am obliged to write secretly as things now are. Should the thing be still unknown, you might do well to send the substance of my letter, without the names, to Gladstone. Ricasoli's circular contains an intelligible threat which meant that if the new Parliament is not as it should be, the absolute requirements of State policy must be met somehow. There is no hope of a favour- able eleftion. The organs of the Holy See distindlly announce that Catholics are, generally, to stand aloof, and let things take their doomed course. But without the Catholics a Catholic Parliament cannot be eledted, and at this moment what the Government requires is a Parliament ready to carry out the engagements with Rome, and the principle of liberty, in compensation for the forced sale of property. The revolutionary party profits by the fix the ministers are in, and wishes to deprive the Church both of wealth and freedom, as the protest of the Left shows. Here they reckon on the ruin of the Italian State, and would not mind if 340 The Catholic Vote in Italy the Catholics helped the revolutionists at the eledion. The new bishops are so chosen as to be a declaration of war to Italy. A few, who are not violent, are dull. Others are men of parts, but violently opposed to the national movement. Probably, in the South, the Pope thought it right to come to an understanding with the King of Naples on the sele6tion. In the hopelessness of a successful eledtion, the king has been advised to suspend the constitution. Ricasoli will make way, with his own consent, for the men who are to execute the coup d'etat. . . I am told that 40,000 men are at hand to keep Flo- rence quiet. Men who are in the secret are not sure that there will not be a moment of mob rule in some towns. If the Republicans are kept or put down at Florence, Milan, Naples, Palermo, and the angry Piedmontese at Turin (Venice and Genoa being com- manded by forts), I dread a recoil in Rome. Italian liberties will be suspended, for the immediate purpose of carrying out measures which are unpopular be- cause they involve too great concessions to Rome. The Catholic interest is the first cause of the suppres- sion, and a Catholic in evil odour is to be the chief adtor in it. The unpopularity of the Church must be increased, and I see no prospe6l that the Catholic vote will be thrown into the scale presently, to sus- tain this new policy — or that those for whom the great risk is to be incurred will help those who are re- solved to incur it. The Viscount calculates on the dis- credit into which the parliamentary regime has fallen, on the wish for administrative reforms which cannot be carried out as things now are, on the analogous 341 Letters of Lord Adton case of the late war, when all powers were concen- trated in the king, for a purpose not more essential, on the personal popularity of the king, for his fidelity to the statuto. This of course is about to fail him. I cannot believe that he will succeed. If my news is new, you might suggest the names, preferring them to certain others, but do not reveal them straightforwardly. The question between unity and liberty has come to a dreadful dilemma. I fear that nearly all Italian Republicans are Red, and would make the priests pay in blood the penalty of their faults in the past. What I have said I know for certain. There may be changes of persons or of counsels before the event. Letter CLXIII Question of Lord Granville's Premiership — Gladstone willing to serve under him — Suggests the name of a correspondent for Dutch affairs Wednesday, February 27 [1867]. Here is a letter of no concern except to yourself. In the autumn the Russells designed to hold an assembly of Whig leaders at Woburn. In making their list it occurred to them that in any discussion of Lord Russell's legacy there might be some jealousy or un- pleasantness between Gladstone and Lord Granville. Brand saw Gladstone on the subjeft, and reported that Gladstone had expressed his perfect willingness to serve under Lord Granville's Premiership. Therefore there can hardly be any personal jealousy of Gladstone in Lord Granville's mind, or any disinclination to regard 342 Writers for the "Chronicle" the Chronicle as a common ally and friend. But some suspicion of his [Gladstone's] Radicalism is immortal in the minds of Brooksian Whigs. Bunbury knows Watson, and I think that Simpson knows Bunbury — the Catholic ex-dragoon and Rosmi- nian. Letter CLXIV Importance of getting able writers for the Chronicle — Suggestions of some more names: Wattenbach; Julius Ficker, Anton Gpndely, etc. Rome, Sunday Y? March ii, 1867]. It is said that certain arrears to be paid by Italy, on their proportion of the debt, will reduce the papal deficit to O for this year. If this comes in time, pray insert this, as " It is believed," in the proper place. The heroic remedies will not, therefore, be tried yet. Kochly, whom I believed to be at Zurich, is at Heidel- berg. Pauli is no longer at Tubingen, but at Marburg, in Electoral Hesse, which is now Prussia. As a general rule there can be no reason, I think, against trying to get all these men to write, if you can translate their papers. They are all sure to be flattered at being appreciated and solicited by an English Review. Should both Bursian and Kochly decline, I would try Professor Vischer of Basel. This is not the assthetical man of Tubingen or Zurich, who was in Bruce's list; but a man who has written very little, but that little almost perfect, on Greek history. If written to, he should be called " Professor S. Vischer, Sr," for there is his son at the same University.' I do not know that he is as 343 Letters of Lord Adon widely read as Bursian, or as well up in everything that appears. For the Middle Ages, about the best man of all would be Wattenbach, of Heidelberg. He has written a book on the medieval chronicles down to the thirteenth cen- tury, which is a classic, and has edited some of them, Waitz is out of the question; Pertz is too old; and JafFe, I presume, too busy. It is for his literary, edi- torial, bibliographical knowledge, and for his perfeft fairness that I mention Wattenbach. But Ficker, of Innsbruck, is as learned a man as any of these. He is a Catholic and still young; a man of Renoufs powers of work, fond of the tedious parts of historical inquiry, and not a finished writer; but decidedly in the first rank of learned men, and one of those who hardly ever make a mistake. If I was you, I would invite Ficker and Wattenbach both to review books on medieval history. If you want a Frenchman for the same sort of lite- rature, probably the most solid is Leopold Delisle, of the Bibliotheque Imperiale. If he cannot write himself, he might be trusted to recommend some friend, capable of keeping you well up in French history down to the sixteenth century or even later. From about 1570 to 1640 a certain [Anton] Gnlndely * has the sort of secret information that makes Bergenroth valuable. If he took to noticing books of that period, he would bring his hidden stores to bear. The Vienna Academy was to publish ten vols, of his Inedita. This and his life of Rodolph II might be alluded to. We were friends iso long ago that he must have *Tlie historian oiThe Thirty Tears War, etc. 344 Congratulations on the "Chronicle" forgotten me. He knows all about Bohemia and Mo- ravia, and should be sought at Prague. I have seen at last your neat advertisement in the Saturday, etc. You will soon find contributors multiply. Pray prune away anything libellous in my notice of Cretineau-Joly. He is a great rogue, and I refreshed my memory by consulting Theiner, whom he libelled, before writing. I have no means of verifying about the Duke of Brunswick and Lord E. Fitzgerald, or about the death of Ducange in the notice of Rosa. That third article of Scialoja's bill, which makes civil tribunals decide cases by canon law, gave the greatest offence both at Rome and among the Radicals. So it will surely go. In speaking of the coup d'etat play, which was, and is, so near adoption, one may say that the end must never be sacrificed to the means, or the substance (liberty and righi) to the forms {law). Letter CLXV Congratulates Wetherell upon the Qhronicle — Thinks some of the articles want "fun" — Buddeus speaks too strongly of the anti- Prussian tendency of the Catholic clergy — Stevenson is wrong about the Austrians not having taken much out of the Venetian archives Wednesday \_March 27^ 1867]. Your note and the ghost * of the Chronicle came to-day. My congratulations are indeed most hearty. But I will begin with criticisms, as they alone are of any use. * A rehearsal number, printed and privately circulated a week before the publication of No. i. 345 Letters of Lord AAon "Current Events" ought to embrace more coun- tries; but the reason for excluding Italy is excellent. A certain number of idle readers are caught by neat titles of articles; your titles are excessively sincere and matter-of-fa6l. There is some want of fun in the articles themselves, but that is what everybody has a better right to complain of than I have. Still, the French Commission and the National Debt are not light; though indeed the latter was as clear and easy reading as anything of the kind can be. I detedl a slight trace of partiality in "Current Events," where, I suppose, Buddeus speaks of the anti-Prussian tendency of the Catholic clergy. To the surprise of everybody, the Bishop of Mentz — he is indeed a Prussian — has written a pamphlet decidedly unionistic, and there are parts of DoUinger's address which must be read in the same way. Ultimately, no doubt, there will be an Ultra- montane opposition to the Protestant hegemony, but there is no prejudice of that sort among the others, so far as can be judged at a distance. Stevenson is wrong about the Venetian archives. A good many things were taken away by the Austrians under various pretexts. In the treaty of peace their restitution was agreed, and Librario is to go to Vienna for them. Ceresole, a Swiss at Venice, wrote a pamph- let, in which the exa6l things taken away are cata- logued. Then the photographs of Michael's despatches were finished when I was at Venice in Oftober. They are wonderfully well done, and I should have thought must be in London at this time. Out of jealousy, I sup- pose, as it treads on my sutjefts, I thought the Vene- tian the least good article. 346 Reviews in the " Chronicle" "Current Events," on Reform, are excellent, only too Gladstonian ; and Lathbury's article strikes me as perfeftly well written. The article on Reform has only the defeft of not appearing to be worked up carefully; but it is quite excellent, and, together with the German Constitution, gives you at once a very high place in politics. The Fenian article is better still, and I hope will appear in No. I . Smith contains too much padding, although it is so very well written ; and Catullus will put Paley on his mettle. I think your literature will beat both the Saturday and the sAthenceum. As soon as I have a little leisure, I will look out more books for Pearson and others. I will [do] that notice [of] Werner, though it is not pleasant to do a companion notice to Renouf's Dor- ner; and if he ends by doing Werner, put mine into the fire. Renouf had better do DoUinger; and if he has not done him when my article comes, I wish you would give it to him to manipulate. Letter CLXVI The first number of the Chronicle "surpasses all probability" — Rat- tazzi has been made minister — He is friendly to France but an enemy to the Church — Revolutionary proclamations in Rome [April 6, 1867.] Your first number surpasses all probability, and its one defeft is that there are not articles enough. I will try not to be so very prolix another time, but my next article on "Ranke" will not show any signs of amend- ment. I think the way correspondence and news are ^ 347 Letters of Lord Adon worked up in the "Current Events" is admirable. Gladstone must be grateful for the articleon "Reform." The Russian article has not quite been brought to the tone of English reviews, and your Greek type is very small — ^which does not matter much. I cannot tell yet what will be the consequence of Rattazzi's elevation. He is a much better debater and manager than Ricasoli, and on friendly terms with France, but an enemy of the Church. It will be a dis- appointment for Bismarck, I should think, but I see the papers say the contrary. Ricasoli wished for an alliance with Rattazzi, and it failed for reasons you will see in all the papers, and chiefly through the ambition of Rattazzi and Ricasoli's indifference to ofBce. Pray remember, whoever reviews Vizetelly, that the spuriousness of the disputed letters of Marie Antoinette is not an open question, but has been proved beyond all discussion. There is an important German book for Renouf — Tf^tholik oder Ultramontan, von L. Schmid. L. Schmid was professor of Catholic theology at Giessen, and was elected Bishop of Mentz in 1 849. The Pope appointed Ketteler instead, who removed the theological faculty from Giessen to Mentz, and left his rival out in the cold. Schmid became a very vigorous enemy of the extreme school, and in the above-named book explains that he secedes from the Church without becoming a Protestant. . . I have no chance of ever seeing the book here ; it is a capital opportunity for a very delicate article. You must tell Newman how anxious I was to show him up, and how diligently you blocked up every opening. 348 Garibaldi and Revolution Sunday night \April 7] . I have only just heard how prophetic your "Events" were: Menabrea-Castellani was to have been the ministry, and failed, it appears, yesterday. We also just hear of the warlike a£ts of Bismarck. The recoil of Florentine complications has reached Rome. Yesterday a revolutionary proclamation was distributed, with a letter from Garibaldi accepting the lead of the Roman Revolution. Let me have half a dozen copies here of No. i , and of each following number, till I see my way to asking you to direft them to particular people. Odo Russell has made a dispatch to the F.O. enclosing the finance article.* * Article on "Material Resources of the Papacy," Qhronkle, March 30, 1867. 349 1869 Letter CLXVII Suggestions as to writers and subjects for the North British Review — His own proposals Aldenham, [before May 14, 1869]. The French Directory sent plenipotentiaries to treat for peace with Germany at Rastatt. As they were leaving the town, soldiers on horseback attacked them, killed two, and left the third for dead. Nobody has ever known for certain why or by whom the thing was done. Iconjefturethat Mendelssohn has discovered. Brie ought to review the book. G/indely is not strong in general history. It would not be advantageous to set him to work on any times but 1 5 8 o- 1 6 5 o, except in Bohemia and Moravia, which he knows during the whole Reformation period. He is professor of general history, and has probably written his Lehrbuch to save trouble in his leftures. ^l(gger de Belloguet is for Renouf or Sullivan. Emile Burnouf'\% a subjeft also of Renouf. I can hardly ima- gine his Greek literature being worth much. yulffentus Mundi [by Gladstone] is a sort of philo- sophy of history in the shape of a reconstrudlion of the Homeric age. I read much of it in MS. and kept my opinion to myself. It is gorgeous and original and para- doxical. Perhaps the best thing would be to put it, when it appears, in the hands of a great and generous scholar. 350 Writers for "North British" The Life of Sarpi [by Arabella Georgina Campbell], turns out to be complete rubbish, so that I can only short notice it. And the history of the Condes, by the Due d' Aumale, passes over the event in almost complete silence, so that it would not be reasonable to append a discussion to it. The Duke is only worthy of a short notice. If therefore you wish for St Bartholomew, it must be undisguised. Theiner sends me his book, asking me to review it, and to be particular in showing up the mendacity of Cardinal Consalvi. Pray add this to my notices. I don't know the title. He also promises me dispatches that I asked for out of the secret archives. Namely — in his continuation of Baronius are letters from the nuncio at Paris which allude to other previous letters, that are omitted. These omitted letters seem to be im- portant for a minute inquiry into facts. In Mackintosh there is a fragment of another letter, which is omitted by Theiner. So that one is not at one's ease with the published dispatches, and I asked for the rest. He pro- mises to send them. As I have a good deal of unpub- lished matter besides, it may yet be worth while to make a careful article on the subjedl. I see Guicciardini's last volume appeared in 1867. I had already written to De Leva, suggesting this, Giordano Bruno and Zeller, and inquiring about his own third volume in a very friendly way. Cosmo Innes is a great authority in Scottish history. I hope he will write about it. . . . Madame de Peyronnet can write for Reeve as much as she likes. Why not try Duvergier, Remusat, Laboulaye, Lanfrey, or Louis de Vielcastel .? I would 351 Letters of Lord AAon begin with Lanfrey. He is certainly the author of a most excellent book on Napoleon. He has written one on the Popes, which I have sent for; it is too old for review, but would show all his line. He would also, probably, do reviews of French books, as, for instance, the next volumes of Vielcastel's Restoration and Duvergier's Parliamentary Government in France — books of the highest class. Lanfrey is only just making his way to celebrity, and is less established than Duvergier or Remusat. Delisle's Catalogue is not a catalogue, but a history like that lately published on the Bodley. It is very easy to review, and I shall be charmed to do it. Is HHomme qui rit quite finished ? I think it can wait December, I must stay here till end of June, and shall be at Herrnsheim or Munich till end of August. My two articles and twelve notices will take me all that time. Letter CLXVIII On possible writers for the 3^(orth British — Acton is willing to review Raleigh himself unless Gayangos will do it — Knows little of the old North British writers 'iAldenham, <£May 21, 1869. Frantz accepts in general terms, with a friendly allusion to Chronicle days. But his health is weak, and he is busy with a series of articles in Cotta's Vierteljahr- schrift on political science. Four have already ap- peared, and he thinks well of them, and would like notice to be taken of them. He seems hardly prepared to write regular political articles just yet. But he will look through the books you mention with a view to 352 Writers for the " North British" notice them. Only he has never seen a North British, and asks for the last number. It will have to be ex- plained that you mean it to be a different thing. I daresay the silence of Heidelberg is merely acci- dental. You might probe it -by proposing another book to one of them, with an ingenious mention of your previous letter. Droysen's Gustaj Adolf is in the list you sent me of my engagements, on April 29. I cannot find any definite release among your later letters. Remember that Frantz, to whom you do not seem to have offered it, gives no positive promise for the first number. Ranke announces two distinct monographs, on the reigns of Rodolph and Mathias and on Wallenstein. They are not connected or consecutive works. Go^ndely has written a history of Rodolph, and Ranke will have to explain his attitude towards him. I would give both Ranke and Droysen to Gardiner. The Wallenstein has certainly not yet appeared, though announced for this month, and Wallenstein is a more delicate topic than Rodolph and Mathias. Raleigh is published by Macmillan, of whom you are sure to notice other books, and I am not properly competent, knowing nothing of the filibuster litera- ture. If you care for a short notice, putting aside the critical matters on which the views of Edwards have already been checked by Gardiner, I don't mind trying, for I venerate that villainous adventurer for his ideas on political economy and universal history. If Gayangos will do it, he would be the best man in Spain. He is a man of the world, who likes money, cards and ease ; but he has immense knowledge of 353 23 Letters of Lord Adon books. They say he is idle, but if he likes to work he can be infinitely useful to you. I don't suppose Gayan- gos is a very zealous Christian. Oxenham came into my mind by reason of a letter in which he asked me about Sarpi, whose biography he is to review in the Saturday Relukw, and finds Miss Campbell differing from the Chronicle. I hope I have given him the means of making an example of the book. I find myself painfully unacquainted with the North 'British writers. Professor Blackie is the one brilliant, paradoxical Scotsman, to be carefully prevented from reviewing the Juventus tSMundi, on which, if he chooses, Simcox might make a splendid article. J. H. Burton is an economist versed in the eighteenth century, for he is Hume's biographer ; and in Scottish history, where he is, I suppose, the greatest master living. Maziere Brady may make himself useful, though I suppose less so than Sigerson.* Freeman is really a first-rate man, and knows about Federal Republics as well as about the Roman conquest. I don't know whether he and Pearsont are friends. Forbes of Brechin might be made much of. Houghton is the Salop clergyman so lauded by Renouf for his Scripture zoology — a friend of Grant Duff. Lounier, a laborious politician and historian. Sterling, Hegel's alarming secretary. Nicol, a conspicuous man of science. * George Sigerson, M.D., author of Modem Ireland and Land Tenure and Land Classes of Ireland. tC. H. Pearson, M.A. Oxen; sometime Professor of Modern History at King's College, London, and afterwards Minister of Education at Melbourne; 354 The Massacre of St Bartholomew I suppose you will take an early opportunity of inviting as many of these men as seem worthy to work. It will be a dreadful load of correspondence, but such a blessing to have a great store of articles. Those who have 99* against their names on the list are responsible for a dull number. Letter CLXIX His article on the Massacre of St Bartholomew — A book on the Council is coming out which developes the ideas of articles in the ^llgeme'me erroneously attributed to Dollinger, to Pichler and to Huber — Would like to write an article on it — Gladstone has ofFered him a peerage Herrnsheim, July 30, 1869. I made a grave miscalculation when I expedted to get St Bartholomew f into thirty pages. If I give ample extrafts, and full discussion of the critical points, it will be at least forty pages. If you like, I can reduce it to thirty by omitting the longer extracts, and giving smooth results instead of minute argument. I would then print my new materials in full, in a French or German edition, a month or two later. At the same time, the value of my article depends chiefly on the singular force of the evidence, which can only be made clear by rather a full treatment. So that, in short, I apply for two and a half to three sheets. I am going to Munich for a few days; when I come back I hope to have the papers which Mignet gave my copyist. author of English History in the Fourteenth Century, National Life and Character, etc. He contributed to the Home and Foreign and constantly to the Chronicle and :}^rth 'British. * i.e., No. 99 of the North British. tThe article appeared in the North British for October, 1869. 355 Letters of Lord Adion The remainder of my letter must be secret to the last degree. A book is just coming out on the Council, deve- loping, on a very full scale, the ideas of those articles in the Allgemeine w^hich were variously attributed to DoUinger, to Pichler and to Huber, but, as I find, erroneously. I should very much like to write a short article upon it, or a very long notice, of say, seven or eight pages. It seems to me so important, that I shall pro- bably write somewhere else, if you donotlike the notion. If you entertain the notion, let me know whether you prefer an article of twelve pages or a notice of eight, and whether you will leave me the option, as I find the book invites when it appears. This is a more serious affair than the book on the Temporal Power, and the coming Council makes me anxious about it. If you are pursuing the idea of an article on the House of Lords, it is well you should know that Glad- stone does contemplate a moderate creation of peers, in spite of his victory. A peerage was offered to me on the day after the Lords yielded. I conjedlure, but I do not know, that there will be at least a dozen. I need not repeat that these two fafts must be kept quijelQto our- selves. Your answer will find me just returned from Munich. 356 i874 Letter CLXX' Simpson's illness — Afton's expression of his indebtedness to Simpson's help Aldenham, January 8, 1874. Your letter has been the most welcome New Year's greeting I could have received after all the anxious accounts we had of your illness in the summer. I do most sincerely hope that the discipline you speak of is a salutary one, and that you are gaining strength surely, and without losing prudence. If the apprehensions of last September had been unfortunately realized, I should not only have had to bear the grief of all your friends but especially my own, for having never ex- pressed, nor I fear shown, how great a part of the good things of many years of my life had come to me from your true and generous friendship, or how much reason I have had to thank God for it, and also for having been of so little help and comfort and edifica- tion to you in former troubles, for which it cannot be inopportune to ask your forgiveness. . . * This and all the Letters that follow were written to Simpson. 357 Letters of Lord AAon Letter CLXXI Gladstone's Vat'uanhm Pamphlet — A6ton argues against its publication aAldenham, November 4 [1874]. Pray consider what follows most secret, and discuss it only with your inmost self. Ten days ago Gladstone wrote to me about his ar- ticle on Ritualism, besides other things. In my answer I said that the reproach of Ultramontanism is tao grave to be lightly addressed against any one without defi- nite reason. He thought what I said just and sugges- tive, and asked to consult me about his next step. I went to him and found that he has written an elabo- rate and careful pamphlet, which amounts to this: You got emancipated by declaring yourselves good subjefts and decent people in 1826. But you also declared, for the same purpose, that you disbelieved Infallibility. This declaration has become false. What proof have we the other is still true ? Assume that the evidence in support of this dilemma, of this challenge, is fairly and fully put. The result is to demand of the Catholics security against political Ultramontanism under pain of losing their claim to Liberal, to national respeft and support — in reality, under pain of a tremendous No Popery cry. Objedlions in detail were attended to, but to all political, spiritual and other obvious arguments against publication he was deaf. I ended by saying that though not one of those attacked, I was one of those challenged, 358 A6ton and Manning and that I should meet his challenge on my own ac- count. I only obtained a promise that I shall see him again before he publishes. I want to have your views on this grave business. Do you think it right for me to reply ? Do you see your way to a good reply .? I have made a sketch, and have plenty to say. If I do prepare a letter to the Times, I shall be anxious to bring it to Clapham and talk it over with you. Letter CLXXII The Vatican decrees — Archbishop Manning's correspondence with Adlon — Meaning of the word submission — Telegram to Simpson with reply Aldenham, 'Tuesday [iVbl?., 1874]. . . . Manning writes amiably as to my answer to his first question and the suppressed letter. But he knows not what I mean to be taken as the answer to the second: "Unless you intend to describe yourself as one of ' those who adopt a less severe and more con- ciliatory construction ' of those decrees. If I am right in this inference, I would still ask you to enable me to understand what that construction is. . . Let me be able to reassure the minds of a multitude who," etc., etc. You see, of course, the opening. I think of saying that I did not answer a question there seemed to be no occasion to ask, but that I must resist the inference he draws from my letter to him, as I really have no interpretation of my own, but am content to wait the construdlion of others, in absolute reliance on God's providence in the government of His Church, etc. The great question is, whether I ought to say that I 359 Letters of Lord A<9:on submit to the afts of this, as of other Councils, without difficulty or examination (meaning that I feel no need of harmonizing and reconciling what the Church her- self has not yet had time to reconcile and to harmon- ize), or ought not the word submit to be avoided, as easily misunderstood ? I mean to be very short, to save the old ground of his having no business here, to deal only with the meaning applied by him to my words about concilia- tory construftion, and to meet that, in ten lines, so fully as perhaps to meet the difficulty. Telegram from