The Henson Journals

[168]

Thursday, February 17th, 1921.

"He that is comely, when old and decrepit, surely was very beautiful when he was young. An Aristotle was but the rubbish of an Adam, and Athens but the rudiments of Paradise."

South. A.D. 1662

It must have been easier to preach the Religion of self–respect when that notion of human origins was firmly established in the minds of preacher & congregation. Then every moral failure was an outrage on the glorious original; now it is a reversion to ancestral habits. Then sin could be pictured as unnatural: now it is confessed to be but too natural. Of course, the significance of the word 'natural' may be enlarged to include that which is implicit & Divinely purposed, and then we may still say of everything however congruous with Nature as it has been and is, that if it hinders that Divine Purpose it is truly unnatural: but this is a 'hard saying' to a man conscious of an inner imperious drift towards lust and excess. He is more easily drawn to some dualistic heresy which will allow him to release his higher Self from responsibility for his lower appetites, and may even authorize him to indulge the last as wholly unrelated with the first, and having a certain natural right to their own appropriate satisfaction. The modern blend of scientific history and Christian morality is extraordinarily unattractive, and very severe on human weakness.

[169]

I began the confirmations by confirming 46 candidates at Chilton Moor, and 105 at Herrington. Neither confirmation gave me much satisfaction. At the first I was distressed at the fewness of the male candidates: at the last, I was also perturbed by the extreme youth of some of them. No less than four boys were under 13, and several were scarcely more. The vicar, Mr Dawson, alleged that he had written to me with reference to them, and that I had permitted them to be presented. This appears to be the case, but I was misled by his general statement that he had some candidates long under preparation who had not reached the appointed age, 14. It did not occur to me that they were also under 13! But I fear that candour is not the strong point of the "Catholick" clergy.

I received letters from Frank Pember and Oman, telling me that I had been elected a member of the Club. The formal intimation in Dr Johnson's form ran thus:–

Sir

I have the pleasure to inform you that you had last night the honour to be elected a member of The Club.

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

Your obedient humble Servant

Charles Oman

Chairman of the Club on Feb: 15. 1921.

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