The Henson Journals

[365]

Tuesday, August 31st, 1915.

393rd day

The "Church Gazette" is sent to me this morning. It contains a notice from the Roman Catholic "Month" of that insolent "Society of SS. Peter & Paul”, which has the impudence to describe itself as "Publishers to the Church of England". The writer of this notice which he heads "The latest portent of Anglicanism" appears to have been himself an Anglican extremist, & to have moved logically to Rome. His summary of the "Ritualist" methods is equally just and acute:

"A plain disloyalty to one's own house, a degree of unreality in controversy hardly distinguishable from playing with the truth, an infusion of bitterness, cynicism, mockery into one's relations with one's own authorities, a jaunty confidence in one's own infallibility – such things in a normal environment would almost of necessity exclude any chance of good faith."

It would be impossible to give a better description of Ronald Knox's style.

Then I settled down to a serious attempt to write a sermon for 3rd Oct: when I am pledged to preach in S. Margaret's on the 'Dedication' Festival. I did not succeed in making much progress.

I attended Evensong, and took Logic for a walk. Cruickshank came to say "Goodbye", before going off to Wales. We had some talk about College–matters, and I begged him to study the Statutes. It is evident from what he says that the Archdeacon makes as much mischief as possible. The problem for me is how to ignore his continual provocations, for it would never do to have quarrelings, yet the Old Adam would dearly like to 'have it out' with the false loon!

After dinner I wrote briefly to Taylor, who had criticized my use of the word 'Protestant'. He is evidently a pragmatical fellow, though he has not written a bad essay. This horror of 'Protestantism' is a very strange & significant phenomenon.

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