[79] “It would not be at all surprising, though, in spite of the earnestness of the principal advocates of the views in question, for which every one seems to give them credit, there should be among their followers much that is enthusiastic, extravagant, or excessive.  All these aberrations will be and are imputed to the doctrines from which they proceed; nor unnaturally, but hardly fairly, for aberrations there must be, whatever the doctrine is, while the human heart is sensitive, capricious, and wayward....  There will ever be a number of persons professing the opinions of a movement party, who talk loudly and strangely, do odd and fierce things, display themselves unnecessarily, and disgust other people; there will ever be those who are too young to be wise, too generous to be cautious, too warm to be sober, or too intellectual to be humble; of whom human sagacity cannot determine, only the event, and perhaps not even that, whether they feel what they say, or how far; whether they are to be encouraged or discountenanced.”—­British Critic, April 1839, “State of Religious Parties,” p. 405.

[80] Cardinal Newman, Grammar of Assent.

[81] The argument from history is sketched fairly, but only sketched in The Prophetic Office, Lect. xiv.

[82] In the Roman controversy it is sometimes hard to be just without appearing to mean more than is said; for the obligation of justice sometimes forces one who wishes to be a fair judge to be apparently an apologist or advocate.  Yet the supreme duty in religious controversy is justice.  But for the very reason that these controversialists wished to be just to Rome, they were bound to be just against her.  They meant to be so; but events passed quickly, and leisure never came for a work which involved a serious appeal to history.

[83] Vide a striking review in the British Critic, April 1839, partly correcting and guarding the view given in the Tract.

CHAPTER XIV

NO. 90

The formation of a strong Romanising section in the Tractarian party was obviously damaging to the party and dangerous to the Church.  It was pro tanto a verification of the fundamental charge against the party, a charge which on paper they had met successfully, but which acquired double force when this paper defence was traversed by facts.  And a great blow was impending over the Church, if the zeal and ability which the movement had called forth and animated were to be sucked away from the Church, and not only lost to it, but educated into a special instrument against it.  But the divergence became clear only gradually, and the hope that after all it was only temporary and would ultimately disappear was long kept up by the tenacity with which Mr. Newman, in spite of misgivings and disturbing thoughts, still recognised the gifts and claims of the English Church.  And on the