“. . . . . James
II.’s conduct in obtruding a Romish president upon
Magdalen, was not worse than that of the present Ministry in appointing
Dr. Hampden to the professorship of
divinity. If they had given him any other preferment, even a bishopric, it
would have been only one proof among many that it is part of their policy to
promote men of loose opinions; but to place him in the office which he now
holds, was an intentional insult to the university. In no way could the Whigs
expect so materially to injure the Church, as by planting Germanised professors
in our schools of divinity. Thank God there is too much sound learning in the
land for them to succeed in this. Not the least remarkable of the many
parallels between these times and those of Charles
I., is to be found in the state of the clergy: from the time of
the Reformation they had never been in so good a state as when the Church was
for a while overthrown; and since the Restoration they have never been in so
good a state as at present. I mean, that
| 292 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 60. |
“Have you read ‘Subscription no Bondage?’ Some one (I forget who) sent it me last year. Maurice* is said to be the author’s name; an abler treatise I have never read.
“I am glad that you are studying German, and that you sometimes write verses, not only as a wholesome exercise for thoughts and feelings which hardly find utterance in any other form, but also because if you ever become a prose writer, you will find the great advantage of having written poetry. No poet ever becomes a mannerist in prose, nor falls into those tricks of style which show that the writer is always labouring to produce effect.
“The third volume of Cowper will be published next week. The remaining part of the Life extends far into it. The dealers in weekly and monthly criticism appear to think it as much a matter of course that I am now to be beplaistered with praise as they once did that I was to be bespattered with abuse. On both occasions I have often remembered what the Moravian said to Wesley: Mi frater, non adhæret vestibus. To make amends, however, the Evangelical party have declared war against me; and I am told that in some places as much zeal is manifested in recommending Grimshawe’s edition, as in
* Rev. F. Maurice, Professor at King’s College, London. |
| Ætat. 60. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 293 |
“It would have amused me much if you and Edward had exhibited your skill in special
pleading upon the delectable book ‘The Doctor,’ as you intended. To
convince a man against his will, you know, is no easy matter; and if you
substitute knowledge for will, what must it be then? That the writer has at
first or second hand picked up some things from me, is plain enough; if it be
at first hand, there is but one man upon whom my suspicion could rest, and he
is very capable of having written it, which is no light praise. He possesses
all the talents that the book displays, but not the multifarious sort of
knowledge, nor are the opinions altogether such as he would be likely to
express. So if it be his, he must have had assistance, and must also have hung
out false lights. However, some friends of Henry
Taylor’s tell him that Dr. Bowring is
the author; not the Dr. Bowring who is
now M.P., who has had a finger in every revolutionary pie for the last fifteen
years (and ought, indeed, to be denoted as dealer in revolutions and Greek
scrip), but a retired practitioner of that name at Doncaster. H.
Taylor’s informants know every thing
| 294 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 60. |
“God bless you, my dear Herbert!
