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eminent victorians-第9章

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lived; but somehow he never could find it。 On the other hand;

Keble and Pusey continued for the rest of their lives to dance in

an exemplary manner upon the tight…rope of High Anglicanism; in

such an exemplary manner; indeed; that the tightrope has its

dancers still。



IV



MANNING was now thirty…eight; and it was clear that he was the

rising man in the Church of England。 He had many powerful

connections: he was the brother…in…law of Samuel Wilberforce; who

had been lately made a bishop; he was a close friend of Mr。

Gladstone; who was a Cabinet Minister; and he was becoming well

known in the influential circles of society in London。 His talent

for affairs was recognised not only in the Church; but in the

world at large; and he busied himself with matters of such varied

scope as National Education; the administration of the Poor Law;

and the Employment of Women。 Mr。 Gladstone kept up an intimate

correspondence with him on these and on other subjects; mingling

in his letters the details of practical statesmanship with the

speculations of a religious thinker。 'Sir James Graham;' he

wrote; in a discussion of the bastardy clauses of the Poor Law;

'is much pleased with the tone of your two communications。 He is

disposed; without putting an end to the application of the

workhouse test against the mother; to make the remedy against the

putative father 〃real and effective〃 for expenses incurred in the

workhouse。 I am not enough acquainted to know whether it would be

advisable to go further。 You have not proposed it; and I am

disposed to believe that only with a revived and improved

discipline in the Church can we hope for any generally effective

check upon lawless lust。' 'I agree with you EMINENTLY;' he

writes; in a later letter; 'in your doctrine of FILTRATION。 But

it sometimes occurs to me; though the question may seem a strange

one; how far was the Reformation; but especially the Continental

Reformation; designed by God; in the region of final causes; for

that purification of the Roman Church which it has actually

realised?'



In his archdeaconry; Manning lived to the full the active life of

a country clergyman。 His slim; athletic figure was seen

everywhere in the streets of Chichester; or on the lawns of the

neighbouring rectories; or galloping over the downs in breeches

and gaiters; or cutting brilliant figures on the ice。 He was an

excellent judge of horse…flesh; and the pair of greys which drew

his hooded phaeton so swiftly through the lanes were the

admiration of the county。 His features were already beginning to

assume their ascetic cast; but the spirit of youth had not yet

fled from them; so that he seemed to combine the attractions of

dignity and grace。 He was a good talker; a sympathetic listener;

a man who understood the difficult art of preserving all the

vigour of a manly character and yet never giving offence。 No

wonder that his sermons drew crowds; no wonder that his spiritual

advice was sought for eagerly by an ever…growing group of

penitents; no wonder that men would say; when his name was

mentioned; 'Oh; Manning! No power on earth can keep HIM from a

bishopric!'



Such was the fair outward seeming of the Archdeacon's life; but;

the inward reality was different。 The more active; the more

fortunate; the more full of happy promise his existence became;

the more persistently was his secret imagination haunted by a

dreadful visionthe lake that burneth forever with brimstone and

fire。 The temptations of the Evil One are many; Manning knew; and

he knew also that; for him at least; the most subtle and terrible

of all temptations was the temptation of worldly success。 He

tried to reassure himself; but it was in vain。 He committed his

thoughts to a diary; weighing scrupulously his every motive;

examining with relentless searchings into the depths of his

heart。 Perhaps; after all; his longings for preferment were

merely legitimatehopes for 'an elevation into a sphere of higher

usefulness'。 But no。 there was something more than that。 'I do

feel pleasure;' he noted; 'in honour; precedence; elevation; the

society of great people; and all this is very shameful and mean。'



After Newman's conversion; he almost convinced himself that his

'visions of an ecclesiastical future' were justified by the role

that he would play as a 'healer of the breach in the Church of

England'。 Mr。 Gladstone agreed with him; but there was One higher

than Mr。 Gladstone; and did He agree? 'I am pierced by anxious

thoughts。 God knows what my desires have been and are; and why

they are crossed。 。。。 I am flattering myself with a fancy about

depth and reality。 。。。 The great question is: Is God enough for

you now? And if you are as now even to the end of life; will it

suffice you? 。。。 Certainly I would rather choose to be stayed on

God; than to be in the thrones of the world and the Church。

Nothing else will go into Eternity。'



In a moment of ambition; he had applied for the Readership of

Lincoln's Inn; but; owing chiefly to the hostile influence of the

Record; the appointment had gone elsewhere。 A little later; a

more important position was offered to him the office of sub…

almoner to the Queen; which had just been vacated by the

Archbishop of York; and was almost certain to lead to a mitre。

The offer threw Manning into an agony of self…examination。 He

drew up elaborate tables; after the manner of Robinson Crusoe;

with the reasons for and against his acceptance of the post:



           FOR                      AGAINST1。 That it comes

unsought。  1。 Not therefore to be accepted。 Such                  

           

things are trials as well as                               

leadings。2。 That it is honourable。   2。 Being what I am; ought I  

                           

not therefore to decline it …                                (1)

as humiliation;                                (2) as revenge on

myself for                                    Lincoln's Inn;      

                        

(3) as a testimony?



And so on。 He found in the end ten 'negative reasons'; with no

affirmative ones to balance them; and; after a week's

deliberation; he rejected the offer。



But peace of mind was as far off from him as ever。 First the

bitter thought came to him that 'in all this Satan tells me I am

doing it to be thought mortified and holy'; and then he was

obsessed by the still bitterer feelings of ineradicable

disappointment and regret。 He had lost a great opportunity; and

it brought him small comfort to consider that 'in the region of

counsels; self…chastisement; humiliation; self…discipline;

penance; and of the Cross'; he had perhaps done right。



The crisis passed; but it was succeeded by a fiercer one。 Manning

was taken seriously ill; and became convinced that he might die

at any moment。 The entries in his Diary grew more elaborate than

ever; his remorse for the past; his resolutions for the future;

his protestations of submission to the will of God; filled page

after page of parallel columns; headings and sub…headings;

numbered clauses; and analytical tables。 'How do I feel about

Death?' he wrote。 'Certainly great fear:



1。 Because of the uncertainty of our state before God。 2。 Because

of the consciousness…(1) of great sins past; (2)  of great

sinfulness; (3)     of most shallow repentance。 What shall I do?'



He decided to mortify himself; to read St Thomas Aquinas; and to

make his 'night prayers forty instead of thirty minutes'。 He

determined during Lent 'to use no pleasant bread (except on

Sundays and feasts) such as cake and sweetmeat'; but he added the

proviso 'I do not include plain biscuits'。 Opposite this entry

appears the word 'KEPT'。 And yet his backslidings were many。

Looking back over a single week; he was obliged to register

'petulance twice' and 'complacent visions'。  He heard his curate

being commended for bringing so many souls to God during Lent;

and he 'could not bear it'; but the remorse was terrible: 'I

abhorred myself on the spot; and looked upward for help。' He made

out list upon list of the Almighty's special mercies towards him;

and they included his creation; his regeneration; and (No。 5)

'the preservation of my life six times to my knowledge:



 (1) In illness at the age of nine。  (2) In the water。 (3) By a

runaway horse at Oxford。  (4) By the same。 (5) By falling nearly

through the ceiling of a church。 (6) Again by a fall of a horse。

And I know not how often in     shooting; riding; etc。'



At last he became convalescent; but the spiritual experiences of

those agitated weeks left an indelible mark upon his mind; and

prepared the way for the great change which was to follow。For he

had other doubts besides those which held him in torment as to

his own salvation; he was in doubt about the whole framework of

his faith。 Newman's conversion; he found; had meant something

more to him than he had firs
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