Page:The Church of England, its catholicity and continuity.djvu/200

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The Oxford Movement

a secret Jesuitical affair. Were that the case, when the leader left for Rome, all his allies would have followed him. As a matter of fact, considering the immense influence of Newman, it is a matter of great wonder that more men did not follow Newman than actually went over with him. The Tractarian Movement was not a secret Romanizing movement, although Mr. Walsh has recently published a book to try to prove that it was. Anyone who has read that book ought to read the criticism which has latterly been made upon it. There was nothing secret at all about the work of the Tractarians. What they did they did openly, and they brought great odium upon themselves for doing it. But they also won a blessing.

Next week I shall give the last Lecture of this course, and the subject will be—The Growth of Church Life during the last Sixty Years.