eminent victorians-第47章
按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!
doubt not; of the Trades Unions; a fearful engine of mischief;
ready to riot or to assassinate; and I see no counteracting
power。'
On the whole; his view of the condition of England was a gloomy
one。 He recommended a correspondent to read 'Isaiah iii; v; xxii;
Jeremiah v; xxii; xxx; Amos iv; and Habakkuk ii'; adding; 'you
will be struck; I think; with the close resemblance of our own
state with that of the Jews before the second destruction of
Jerusalem'。 When he was told that the gift of tongues had
descended on the Irvingites at Glasgow; he was not surprised。 'I
should take it;' he said; 'merely as a sign of the coming of the
day of the Lord。' And he was convinced that the day of the Lord
was coming'the termination of one of the great aiones of the
human race'。 Of that he had no doubt whatever; wherever he looked
he saw 'calamities; wars; tumults; pestilences; earthquakes;
etc。; all marking the time of one of God's peculiar seasons of
visitation'。 His only uncertainty was whether this termination of
an aion would turn out to be the absolutely final one; but that
he believed 'no created being knows or can know'。 In any case; he
had 'not the slightest expectation of what is commonly meant by
the Millennium'。 And his only consolation was that he preferred
the present Ministry; inefficient as it was; to the Tories。
He had planned a great work on Church and State; in which he
intended to lay bare the causes and to point out the remedies of
the evils which afflicted society。 Its theme was to be; not the
alliance or union; but the absolute identity of the Church and
the State; and he felt sure that if only this fundamental truth
were fully realised by the public; a general reformation would
follow。 Unfortunately; however; as time went on; the public
seemed to realise it less and less。 In spite of his protests; not
only were Jews admitted to Parliament; but a Jew was actually
appointed a governor of Christ's Hospital; and Scripture was not
made an obligatory subject at the London University。
There was one point in his theory which was not quite plain to
Dr。 Arnold。 If Church and State were absolutely identical; it
became important to decide precisely which classes of persons
were to be excluded; owing to their beliefs; from the community。
Jews; for instance; were decidedly outside the pale; while
Dissentersso Dr。 Arnold arguedwere as decidedly within it。
But what was the position of the Unitarians? Were they; or were
they not; members of the Church of Christ? This was one of those
puzzling questions which deepened the frown upon the Doctor's
forehead and intensified the pursing of his lips。 He thought long
and earnestly upon the subject; he wrote elaborate letters on it
to various correspondents; but his conclusions remained
indefinite。 'My great objection to Unitarianism;' he wrote; 'in
its present form in England; is that it makes Christ virtually
dead。' Yet he expressed 'a fervent hope that if we could get rid
of the Athanasian Creed many good Unitarians would join their
fellow Christians in bowing the knee to Him who is Lord both of
the dead and the living'。 Amid these perplexities; it was
disquieting to learn that 'Unitarianism is becoming very
prevalent in Boston'。 He inquired anxiously as to its
'complexion' there; but received no very illuminating answer。 The
whole matter continued to be wrapped in a painful obscurity;
There were; he believed; Unitarians and Unitarians; and he could
say no more。
In the meantime; pending the completion of his great work; he
occupied himself with putting forward various suggestions of a
practical kind。 He advocated the restoration of the Order of
Deacons; which; he observed; had long been 'quoad the reality;
dead; for he believed that 'some plan of this sort might be the
small end of the wedge; by which Antichrist might hereafter be
burst asunder like the Dragon of Bel's temple'。 But the Order of
Deacons was never restored; and Dr。 Arnold turned his attention
elsewhere; urging in a weighty pamphlet the desirabitity of
authorising military officers; in congregations where it was
impossible to procure the presence of clergy; to administer the
Eucharist; as well as Baptism。 It was with the object of laying
such views as these before the public'to tell them plainly'; as
he said; 'the evils that exist; and lead them; if I can; to their
causes and remedies'that he started; in 1831; a weekly
newspaper; 〃The Englishman's Register〃。 The paper was not a
success; in spite of the fact that it set out to improve its
readers morally and; that it preserved; in every article; an
avowedly Christian tone。 After a few weeks; and after he had
spent upon it more than £200; it came to an end。
Altogether; the prospect was decidedly discouraging。 After all
his efforts; the absolute identity of Church and State remained
as unrecognised as ever。 'So deep'; he was at last obliged to
confess; 'is the distinction between the Church and the State
seated in our laws; our language; and our very notions; that
nothing less than a miraculous interposition of God's Providence
seems capable of eradicating it。' Dr。 Arnold waited in vain。
But; he did not wait in idleness。 He attacked the same question
from another side: he explored the writings of the Christian
Fathers; and began to compose a commentary on the New Testament。
In his view; the Scriptures were as fit a subject as any other
book for free inquiry and the exercise of the individual
judgment; and it was in this spirit that he set about the
interpretation of them。 He was not afraid of facing apparent
difficulties; of admitting inconsistencies; or even errors; in
the sacred text。 Thus he observed that 'in Chronicles xi; 20 and
xiii; 2; there is a decided difference in the parentage of
Abijah's mother;' 'which'; he added; 'is curious on any
supposition'。 And at one time he had serious doubts as to the
authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews。 But he was able; on
various problematical points; to suggest interesting solutions。
At first; for instance; he could not but be startled by the
cessation of miracles in the early Church; but upon
consideration; he came to the conclusion that this phenomenon
might be 'truly accounted for by the supposition that none but
the Apostles ever conferred miraculous powers; and that therefore
they ceased of course; after one generation'。 Nor did he fail to
base his exegesis; whenever possible; upon an appeal to general
principles。 One of his admirers points out how Dr。 Arnold
'vindicated God's command to Abraham to sacrifice his son and to
the Jews to exterminate the nations of Canaan'; by explaining the
principles on which these commands were given; and their
reference to the moral state of those to whom they were
addressed thereby educing light out of darkness; unravelling
the thread of God's religious education of the human race; and
holding up God's marvellous counsels to the devout wonder and
meditation of the thoughtful believer'。
There was one of his friends; however; who did not share this
admiration for the Doctor's methods of Scriptural interpretation。
W。 G。 Ward; while still a young man at Oxford; had come under his
influence; and had been for some time one of his most
enthusiastic disciples。 But the star of Newman was rising at the
University; Ward soon felt the attraction of that magnetic power;
and his belief in his old teacher began to waver。 It was; in
particular; Dr。 Arnold's treatment of the Scriptures which filled
Ward's argumentative mind; at first with distrust; and at last
with positive antagonism。 To subject the Bible to free inquiry;
to exercise upon it the criticism of the individual judgment
where might not such methods lead? Who could say that they would
not end in Socinianism?nay; in Atheism itself? If the text of
Scripture was to be submitted to the searchings of human reason;
how could the question of its inspir