Wiseman, " seems to be twofold. First, they
endeavour to revive in the Anglican Church
a love of ancient principles, and practices, by
showing us how many points it has departed
from them, and how wholesome it would be
* " Narrative of Events," p. 20.
n8 THE STORY OF
to return to them. Secondly, they endeavour
to place their Church upon the foundation of
Apostolical succession." *
When the first forty-six Tracts had been
issued, they were gathered up into a volume,
in the year 1834, to which an "Advertisement"
was prefixed explaining the nature and scope
of the writings, from which we quote the
following :
" The following Tracts were published with
the object of contributing something towards
the practical revival of doctrines which, although
held by the great divines of our Church at
present, have become obsolete with the majority
of her members. . . .
" Methodism and Popery are in different ways
the refuge of those whom the Church stints of
the gifts of grace ; they are the foster-mothers
of abandoned children. The neglect of the
daily service, the desecration of the festivals,
the Eucharist scantily administered, insubor-
* "Catholic Institute Tract," 17, No. 3.
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 119
dination permitted in all ranks of the Church
orders, and offices imperfectly developed, the
want of societies for particular religious objects,
and the like deficiencies, lead the feverish
mind, desirous of a vent to its feelings and
a stricter rule of life, to the smaller religious
communities, to prayer and Bible meetings,
and ill-advised institutions and societies, on
the one hand ; and on the other, to the solemn
and captivating services by which Popery gains
proselytes. . . . There are zealous sons
and servants (of the Church of Christ) . . .
who ' believe that nothing but these neglected
doctrines, faithfully preached, will repress that
extension of Popery, for which the ever-multi-
plying divisions of the religious world are too
clearly preparing the way.' "
So it appears that in the minds of the
writers of these Tracts they were doing what
they could, and in what they thought was the
best way, to " repress the extension of Popery
which they all alike deplored.
lao THE STORY OF
The " Tracts for the Times " made their first
appearance, as we have said, in 1833, and were
continued until 1841, when Newman's cele-
brated Tract " No. 90 " brought the series to
an abrupt close. Their influence was enormous.
The two great objects set forth were : the
maintenance and assertion of Catholic doc-
trine (the doctrine of the Apostolical succes-
sion), and the preservation and use of the
Prayer-book in its integrity.
In about two years from the issue of the
first Tract, the little band of workers, and
those who sympathised with them, had grown
to be called a party, although there appear to
be no grounds for supposing that any attempt
was made, anywhere, or by any of these men,
to secure adhesion to their cause, beyond issuing
tracts, and writing, and preaching sermons.
" I would not have it called a party," says
Dr. Newman in his Apologia, but of course it
became to be known as one, and one which
was assailed by many foes from without and
friends from within.
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 121
There were many able and thoughtful men
who were utterly displeased, and even mystified,
at the growth of the Movement, and the way
in which it found favour in unlooked - for
quarters ; whilst in places, and with persons
where sympathy and practical help might have
been possibly forthcoming, the whole thing was
utterly distasteful, and by many unreservedly
condemned.
But whatever the feelings, clearly the work
had not been in vain.
Soon a marked change came over the Church
of England. An unlooked-for vitality was
visible in many a long-neglected parish. The
clergymen began to study and to teach the
people not a new doctrine, but the old primitive
doctrine of the Church of England. In many
churches the Holy Communion had been almost
wholly neglected, or administered in a very
irreverent fashion. Now a change was observ-
able in many quarters, the holy sacraments of
the Church were once more "rightly and duly
122 THE STORY OF
administered," the services for saints' days for
many a long year forgotten altogether in some
parishes were once again adopted, and daily
services in church became frequent. Of course
all this did not happen at once ; it came about
gradually, but it came ; and soon the influence
of this revival of religious worship extended to
the uttermost parts of the Church.
But the influence of the Movement did not
end with a better observance of the sacraments
of the Church, or with the revival of old
primitive doctrines so long utterly neglected
and forgotten.
The laity were much interested, much im-
pressed, with what was going on, and, as in
all ages the laity have responded to the call
of the Church when they see and know that
the clergy are thoroughly awake and alive to
their duties, they heartily responded to a call
for new churches, and for the proper restora-
tion, enlargement, and improvement of old ones.
In every growing town and village new
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 123
churches began to spring up, to meet the
wants of an ever-growing population. Parson-
age-houses in the parish, so that the clergy
might have no longer any excuse for living
away from their parishioners were erected ;
the old fabrics were restored, enlarged, and
beautified ; music, and every other accessory
for the promotion of divine service, was intro-
duced ; and the Church again invited the poor
and the outcast to come in and worship their
God and Father.
As is usual with almost every new move-
ment whether it be in the Church or in the
world, if it is of sufficient importance to com-
mand attention at all the Oxford Movement
was at first, but not for long, neglected, next
condemned, and its leaders ridiculed and held
up to scorn and derision.
Dr. Pusey, who became the actual leader of
the little knot of reformers for such they may
be called in 1835 had thrown himself heart
and soul into the Movement. His high position
124 THE STORY OF
and equally high standard of life, ought to
have secured for him however much men
disagreed with his views that tespect which
is due to all well-meaning and high-principled
men. What the average British-born subject
does not understand, he ofttimes ridicules ; and
so the followers of this great divine were called,
in derision, " Puseyites," just as followers of
John Wesley had been nicknamed " Methodists,"
only because they were more methodical, more
devoted to their religious duties than the great
majority of their college contemporaries.
It will have been observed that there was
reality and vitality about the Movement. It
was not the embodiment of abstract ideas of
college dons and antiquated fogies. It was
the simple result of real, practical, intense,
and earnest thought, and deliberation, on the
part of men who realised the enormous value
of Catholic teaching in an age when the very
word " Catholic " was itself, even, wholly mis-
understood and misrepresented.
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 125
" The Movement," writes Dean Church,* " was
not one of mere opinion. It took two distinct
though connected lines. It was on the one
hand theological, on the other resolutely prac-
tical. Theologically it dealt with great questions
of religious principle. What is the Church ?
Is it a reality, or a mode of speech ? On
what grounds does it rest ? How may it be
known ? Is it among us ? How is it to be
discriminated from its rivals and counterfeits ?
What is its essential constitution ? What does
it teach ? What are its shortcomings ? Does
it need reform ? But, on the other hand, the
Movement was marked by its deep earnest-
ness on the practical side of genuine Christian
life. . . . The Movement, above all, was a
moral one ; it was nothing allowed to be
nothing if it was not this. Seriousness,
reverence, the fear of insincere words and
unsound professions, were essential in the
* "Oxford Movement," p. 190.
126 THE STORY OF
character which alone it would tolerate in those
who made common cause with it."
Of course the party soon had the faults of
a party real and imputed. " Is it conceivable,"
says Dean Church, "that there should ever
have been a religious movement which has not
provoked smiles from those outside of it, and
which has not lent itself to caricature ? . . .
There were weaker members of it, and head-
strong ones, and imitative ones ; some were
deeper, some shallower ; some liked it for its
excitement, and some liked it for its cause ;
there were those who were for pushing on,
and those who were for holding back. There
were men of combat and men of peace ; there
were those whom it made conceited and self-
important, and those whom it drove into serious-
ness, anxiety, and retirement But whatever
faults it had, a pure and high spirit ruled in
it ; there were no disloyal members, and there
were none who sought their own in it, or
thought of high things for themselves in joining
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 127
it. It was this whole-heartedness, this supreme
reverence for moral goodness, more even than
the great ability of the leaders, and in spite
of mistakes and failures, which gave its co-
hesion and its momentum to the Movement in
its earlier stages."*
The Tracts, of course, differed greatly, not
only in size and quantity, but in tone and
structure. Some were written for the clergy
only, others were written for the people ; some
consisted of only a few pages, others reached
the size of volumes of four hundred pages, or
even more. Amongst the Tracts were village
dialogues. Others were reprints of the writings
of the early English divines, such as Wilson
and Cosin. Many were directed against Romish
worship. Tract 75 dealt with the Breviary, a
tract which was printed for the purpose of
" wresting a weapon out of our adversaries'
hands, who have in this, as in many other
instances, appropriated to themselves a treasure
* " Oxford Movement," p. 193.
128 THE STORY OF
which was ours as much as theirs, and on our
attempting to recover it, accuse us of borrowing
what we have lost." In the words of the then
Bishop of Exeter (who at a subsequent stage
strongly dissented from the later teaching of
some of the writers, and severely criticised their
work) : " The writers of the Tracts have largely
contributed, not to revive, for it was never
dead, but to spread and strengthen a practical
sense of this our corporate character, as we
are Christians ; to exhibit the Church as the
designation of that body of which Jesus Christ
Himself is, in some mysterious yet most true
and perfect manner, the Head. For earnestly
impressing this truth, and others connected with
it, and the consequences resulting from them,
the writers of whom I speak appear to me to
merit the grateful acknowledgment of true
Churchmen, in proportion to the contumely
which has been in some quarters most un-
sparingly heaped upon them."*
"Charge of the Bishop of Exeter," 1842, p. 15.
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 129
For some eight years or so nothing could
exceed the labours and the energy, which was
inspired by leaders and followers alike of the
Oxford Movement Of course they were con-
tinuously attacked and assailed upon every
side. Dr. Arnold, in a letter to Dean Stanley,
writes that it is clear to him "that Newman
and his party are idolaters. I have been
looking," he adds, " through the Tracts, which
are a memorable proof of their idolatry." But
even he is constrained to admit, " some of the
idols are better than others."*
As the Movement made itself more and
more widely felt, it was eagerly discussed,
and by many condemned. Some of the
heads of the Church began to be seriously
alarmed. The then Bishop of Chester spoke of
the matter as one " daily assuming a more
serious and alarming aspect." Mr. Newman
endeavoured to allay the alarm and irritation
*Dr. Arnold to Dean Stanley, "Life," II., 42.
II
i 3 o THE STORY OF
that existed in certain quarters by explaining *
that the Movement was not in any sense to be
regarded as a party movement, that it was " in
a manner quite independent of things visible.
. . . It is not here nor there, it has no
progress, no causes, no fortunes ; it is not a
movement, it is a spirit, it is a spirit afloat,
neither in 'the secret chamber,' nor ' in the desert,'
but everywhere. It is within us, rising up in the
heart where it was least expected, and working
its way, though not in secret, yet so subtly
and impalpably, as hardly to admit of pre-
caution or encounter on any ordinary human
rules of opposition. It is an adversary in the
air, a something one and entire, a whole
wherever it is, unapproachable and incapable
of being grasped as being the result of causes
far deeper than political, or other visible
agencies, the spiritual awakening of spiritual
wants."
Nothing can show more strikingly the
* Article in British Critic, April, 1839.
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 131
truth of this representation than to refer to
what may be called the theological history of
the individuals who, whatever be their differ-
ences from each other on important or
unimportant points, yet are associated together
in the advocacy of the doctrines in question.
Of Dr. Hook and Mr. Churton, it was said, that
they " represented the High Church dignitaries
of the last generation ; Mr. Perceval, the Tory
aristocracy ; Mr. Keble was of the country
clergy, and came from valleys and woods far
removed both from notoriety and noise ; Mr.
Palmer and Mr. Todd were of Ireland ; Dr.
Pusey became what he was from among the
Universities of Germany, and after a severe
and tedious analysis of Arabic MSS. ; Mr.
Dodsworth is said to have begun in the
study of prophecy ; Mr. Newman to have been
much indebted to the friendship of Archbishop
Whately; Mr. Froude, if anyone, gained his
views from his own mind ; others have passed
over from Calvinism, and kindred religions."
1 32 THE STORY OF
It was not only interested lookers-on who
attacked the workers and assailed the work.
Friends of the household, like Mr. Palmer, of
whom we have written, became alarmed at the
progress things were making. In his published
account of the Movement he writes as touching
the " Tracts for the Times " :
"Admitting, as we do most cordially and
fully, the great services which have been
rendered to the cause of truth and piety by
the authors of the Tracts, it is still undeniable
that the friends of Church principles have not
been able to concur in every position which
has been advanced by individual writers
connected with the Tracts. They have indeed,
not infrequently, been placed in very serious
embarrassment by the incaution of individuals,
by indiscreet publications and actions."* But
the steady issue of the Tracts went on until a
catastrophe happened, which put an end to the
issue.
"Narrative of Events," p. 26.
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 133
"The Tracts for the Times," writes Dean
Burgon, "pursued their brilliant course until
the publication of Tract No. 90 (Jan. 25, 1841)
brought the series to a calamitous close.
They had begun admirably in the autumn of
1833, and continued to do good service until
the middle of 1835, when there was a sudden
halt. They were resumed in the first days of
1836, under seriously altered conditions, where-
upon they encountered rebuke, suspicion, dis-
favour at the hands of their best friends."
Into the excited controversy which subse-
quently raged over the famous " Tract 90," ::
from the pen of Mr. Newman, respecting the
Thirty-nine Articles, endeavouring to justify
their acceptance in a way other than that
which they were commonly intended to convey,
we have no desire or intention to enter, as
it forms no part of our design. Sufficient is it
to say that party spirit ran high at the time
of its appearance. The " Tract " was received
* " Remarks on certain passages in the Thirty-nine Articles."
134 THE STORY OF
with a torrent of indignation. The authorities
at Oxford met, and hurriedly passed
resolutions disclaiming all responsibility, not
only for its appearance, but for " a series of
anonymous publications purporting to be
written by members of the University ; but
which are in no way sanctioned by the
University itself," and thus they condemned,
not only this one particular offending Tract,
but the whole series.
Mr. Newman, it should be said, at once
wrote to the Vice-Chancellor of the University,
acknowledging himself to be the author of the
Tract in question, and expressing himself as
sorry ; but not convinced by the action of the
authorities.
As touching this action, Dean Church has
left it on record that in his judgment the
policy of the authorities of Oxford was wrong,
stupid, unjust, pernicious. " It was a deplor-
able mistake, and all will wish now that the
discredit did not rest on Oxford. And yet
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 135
it was the mistake of upright and conscientious
men."
As time wore on, party passion gradually
subsided, a calm succeeded the storm. Four
years later, when someone suggested that the
condemnation of the University authorities
should be made a University decree, the
proposal was negatived by the proctors, who
were thanked by a letter, signed by 554
members of the University Convocation.*
It is only fair to say that the Tract found
many staunch supporters, Keble and Pusey
being amongst them, and it does not appear
that Newman left the Church of England
because of the official declaration against his
writings. That unhappy event seems to have
been connected with something quite different
the result of the establishment of the
Jerusalem Bishopric for, writing in his
Apologia, t he says : " As to the project of a
* "A History of the English Church," Canon Perry, p. 231.
f Page 253.
136 THE STORY OF
Jerusalem Bishopric, I never heard of any good
or harm it has ever done, except what it has
done for me, which many think a great mis-
fortune, and I one of the greatest of mercies.
It brought me on to the beginning of the
end." Newman evidently was not prepared
to join the Church of Rome at the time he
could write, " I could not go to Rome while
she suffered honours to be paid to the
Blessed Virgin and the Saints," but finally,
not, however, until 1845, ne was > as we know,
received into the Church of Rome.
Mr. Newman's disappearance made a great
rift, and an immense difference, in the Move-
ment gave it, as some thought, its death-blow.
A few amongst the prominent leaders followed
in his footsteps ; but men like Keble, Dr.
Pusey, and Mr. Palmer held firm, and though
many then possibly thought the days of the
Church of England were numbered, they were
wrong. The Church gained strength rather
than lost it by the departure of men, who, in
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 137
course of time, became untrue to her principles,
and she emerged from the event stronger, and
more firmly enshrined in the hearts of the
people than ever.
It was thought that many would follow the
example of Mr. Newman, Robert Wilberforce,
and the others who then or thereafter joined
the Church of Rome, but, as a matter of
fact, the secessions to Rome since 1841 have
been comparatively few.
It is also a fact, far less recognised, that
many who do join the Roman Catholic Com-
munion return to the fold of Mother Church.
For obvious reasons, little is said of the
secessions from Rome, yet cases such as are
described in the following paragraph, taken
from a daily newspaper, are by no means
uncommon :
" Under a commission from the Archbishop
of Canterbury the Rev. W. F. Chambers, who
recently, under circumstances of physical de-
pression, joined the Roman Communion, has
138 THE STORY OF
been received back again into the English
Church."
Dean Church has pointed out with much
force the behaviour of the authorities of the
University towards the Movement. The heads,
from a posture of indifference, drifted into that
of ignorant antagonism, following the outside
current of uninstructed and ignoble prejudice,
not taking the trouble to understand the
character of the Movement, or to "put them-
selves frankly into communication with its
leading persons." The result was, as might
have been expected, " men who in point of
intellect, and character, might have been the
flower of the English Communion, were hound-
ed out of her, by ignorance and clamour, when
wiser heads, and more courageous hearts,
might have averted these disasters. But the
irreparable loss did not occur till October 8th,
1845, when Father Dominic received Newman
into the Church of Rome. There was no
wavering at this crisis in Keble, and Pusey,
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 139
the recognised chiefs, and the Movement went
on, though somewhat weakened and im-
poverished for a time. It was found
impossible to crush it, for it was a matter
now, not of men, but of principles. What
had first been academic became parochial, and
finally leavened the National Church." *
Mr. Newman once lamented that " A certain
new section was sweeping the original party of
the 'Movement' aside, and taking its place," f
and if this were so, as indeed would appear to
nave been the case, much of the evil which is
attributed to that " Romanizing " influence
exercised by some of the later Tractarians must
be set down not to the original founders of the
Oxford Movement, whose characters we have
roughly sketched in these pages, but to those
who succeeded Mr. Keble and his co-workers in
their great efforts to place the Church of England
upon its true basis, that " new section " here
* "The Oxford Movement."
t See Canon Liddon's " Life of Pusey."
140 THE STORY OF
alluded to by Mr. Newman, who were accused
of " sweeping aside " the labours of the little band
of workers, the men, in fact, who desired above
all things to maintain, and to explain to others,
true Church of England principles and none other.
"The more impatient spirits," writes Canon
Gamier,* " rinding themselves distrusted, lost
heart and began to fall away to the Church of
Rome. The greatest blow of all was the
secession of J. H. Newman . . but Edward
Bouverie Pusey, though also censured in 1842
by the University authorities, and debarred
from preaching before the University for a
time, never despaired of his Church. The
thought of joining the Roman Communion
never appears to have presented itself to him."
To many no doubt the work which had
promised so well at the outset was finished,
with the loss of Mr. Newman, but, as it has
been well said, they did not preach themselves
they appealed to primitive Christianity, they
* " Title Deeds of the Church of England," p. 235.
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 141
simply asked the sons and daughters of Mother
Church to return to the old paths. The work
did not flow within any narrow channel of its
own devising ; but sought rather to lose itself
in the very life of the Church itself.
The secessions to Rome filled the country
with alarm, and many condemned the Oxford
Movement as the cause of all the trouble. Those
who had sympathised with the Movement, but
who remained faithful to the Church of their
forefathers, were regarded with much suspicion
by others, and doubtless it was due in part to
the later development of the Movement that
Rome for the moment gained converts.
As, however, it was wrong to condemn all the
"Tracts for the Times," because of one
offending writing, so also is it wrong to con-
demn the " Oxford Movement " for the defects
of some of its promoters, and of others who
joined the Movement at a subsequent period-
We should remember that before the Move-
ment began there had been a steady leakage
142 THE STORY OF
from the Church of England to Dissent a
leakage which we are assured had assumed
" formidable proportions " and which was only
" stopped in a large degree with the Tractarian
Movement." *
Another thing to be remembered is this,
that had it not been for this great Revival in
the Church of England Rome might, and
probably indeed would, long before this, have
possessed a far greater hold upon the English
Nation than she admittedly now has. As it
was, the very fact of Newman's secession
opened the eyes of English people to the folly
of joining a Church, many of whose doctrines
are but the vain inventions of man, based
upon fraudulent writings, t
It has been mentioned that, as a matter of
fact, the secessions to Rome were nothing like