Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Penguin Classics)
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Product Description
Product Description
John Henry Newman, one of the towering figures of the early Victorian Church of England, caused shock and outrage in equal measure when he announced his espousal of Roman Catholicism in 1845. His Apologia, written nearly twenty years later in response to a scurrilous public attack by Charles Kingsley, is a superbly crafted response to those who criticized his actions and questioned his motives, and traces his spiritual development since boyhood, his close involvement in the high church Tractarian Movement and his agonizing decision to reject the church he had been born into. Ostensibly an autobiography and a speech for the defence, the Apologia transcends self-justification to explore the very nature of Christianity and its place in the modern age.
About the Author
John Henry Newman (1801 - 1890) was a vicar of Oxford University's church from 1828 - 1842, when his controversial Tract attempting to interpret the 39 Articles of Faith of the Church of England in a Catholic sense, led to him retiring to Littlemore, where he lived in monastic seclusion. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1845 and ordained in 1847. Apologia Pro Vita Sua appeared in 1864.
Ian Ker has a MA from Oxford and a Ph.D from Cambridge. He was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest in 1979 and has taught at universities in Britain and the United States. He is the author and editor of sixteen books on Newman, including Newman and the Fullness of Christianity (1993).
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First Sentence
It may easily be conceived how great a trial it is to me to write the following history of myself; but I must not shrink from the task. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It may easily be conceived how great a trial it is to me to write the following history of myself; but I must not shrink from the task. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After reading his book , one cannot but like John Henry Newman.
Clearly a man of deep spirituality and uncompromising intellectual integrity, his life was one of conflict between his love and loyalty for his old friends, colleagues and the Anglican Church itself, and his true spiritual leanings, which after decades of study and original thought, he finally left to join the Roman Catholic Church, in which he became a cardinal.
The book (explaining his whole life and spiritual journey, and its many, Bunyaneque trials) was written in reply to a withering critique by Charles Kingsley, which it admirably counters. In the process, it interestingly illuminates and contrasts the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches and their respective thinking, and gives the lay reader or agnostic a fascinating insight into the mind of a devout Christian.
The book is best understood in the context of the history of the Oxford Movement and the ecclesiastical times in general, but much of its content is timeless and relevant today.
Clearly a man of deep spirituality and uncompromising intellectual integrity, his life was one of conflict between his love and loyalty for his old friends, colleagues and the Anglican Church itself, and his true spiritual leanings, which after decades of study and original thought, he finally left to join the Roman Catholic Church, in which he became a cardinal.
The book (explaining his whole life and spiritual journey, and its many, Bunyaneque trials) was written in reply to a withering critique by Charles Kingsley, which it admirably counters. In the process, it interestingly illuminates and contrasts the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches and their respective thinking, and gives the lay reader or agnostic a fascinating insight into the mind of a devout Christian.
The book is best understood in the context of the history of the Oxford Movement and the ecclesiastical times in general, but much of its content is timeless and relevant today.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I think in essence Charles Kingsley was a good man, but it is to his great discredit that he could not extend his store of sympathy for his fellow man to include those who were (or, which is worse, became) Catholic. In this incapability, he typifies the prejudices held by the clever and considerate Englishman of his time, for whom the Catholic Church could only be adversarial. Even John Henry Newman, who would later become synonymous with Victorian English Catholicism, fulfilled this lowly expectation in his early career. Nevertheless, Kingsley, in scandalously stating in the 1860s that (the now) Cardinal Newman (who (along with Manning) became the leading (intellectually and influentially, that is) English Catholic in 1845) believed that "Truth need and ought not to be a virtue with the Roman clergy", defamed a great man. But the positive unintended result of Kingsley's negative action was that his words roused this great man into composing in response what would come to be regarded among the finest works of its kind (that of religious autobiography) in the English language.
Newman was a decent poet (the Dream of Gerontius is admirable) and novelist, but it is in his religious and intellectual writings that he shines. Here, his prose was rightly denominated "regal" and demanded the awed admiration even of those who could only regard him as an enemy on theological grounds, either during his years as a prominent figure in the controversial Oxford Movement, or, especially, following his "going over" to Rome. I think Elliot-Binns described him well, as; "one of the great outstanding figures of the century...As a Preacher, a writer, and a religious leader his fame is bounded only by the frontiers beyond which the English language has never penetrated."
Newman's writing is always refined, and renders what are often complex ideas or feelings not only as clear as crystal, but as natural and beautiful. In Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Defence of One's Life), he offers a history of his religious opinions throughout his notable life; the Anglican period when he must be named among the four most important Tractarians, through his explorations and depth in history leading to his, after a prolonged period*, conversion to the Catholic Church, and thereafter. It is difficult for us to now appreciate what becoming Catholic meant for an Englishman at that time. It is sufficient to say that the cost was always colossal; among much else, Newman lost the friendship of numerous men he adored and became alien where once he had found his home. The gains of Truth were perhaps not according to its pains, and it was a burdensome weight for a man, small or great, to bear. It is said that Newman wrote this entire book standing up and in tears. The result of his labour is the obliteration of any suggestion that the author is capable of untruthfulness. What is more, it reveals a man whose courageousness, uprightness, dignity and virtue abound, and therefore, astound.
I am unconvinced by the miracle attributed to Newman as part of the process of his beatification, but, having read much of his writings I have become unwavering in the conviction that his mind was miraculous.
*In the years between the publication of his "epoch-making" Tract 90 and his eventual conversion, many of his followers preceded him to Rome, if that makes sense!
Newman was a decent poet (the Dream of Gerontius is admirable) and novelist, but it is in his religious and intellectual writings that he shines. Here, his prose was rightly denominated "regal" and demanded the awed admiration even of those who could only regard him as an enemy on theological grounds, either during his years as a prominent figure in the controversial Oxford Movement, or, especially, following his "going over" to Rome. I think Elliot-Binns described him well, as; "one of the great outstanding figures of the century...As a Preacher, a writer, and a religious leader his fame is bounded only by the frontiers beyond which the English language has never penetrated."
Newman's writing is always refined, and renders what are often complex ideas or feelings not only as clear as crystal, but as natural and beautiful. In Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Defence of One's Life), he offers a history of his religious opinions throughout his notable life; the Anglican period when he must be named among the four most important Tractarians, through his explorations and depth in history leading to his, after a prolonged period*, conversion to the Catholic Church, and thereafter. It is difficult for us to now appreciate what becoming Catholic meant for an Englishman at that time. It is sufficient to say that the cost was always colossal; among much else, Newman lost the friendship of numerous men he adored and became alien where once he had found his home. The gains of Truth were perhaps not according to its pains, and it was a burdensome weight for a man, small or great, to bear. It is said that Newman wrote this entire book standing up and in tears. The result of his labour is the obliteration of any suggestion that the author is capable of untruthfulness. What is more, it reveals a man whose courageousness, uprightness, dignity and virtue abound, and therefore, astound.
I am unconvinced by the miracle attributed to Newman as part of the process of his beatification, but, having read much of his writings I have become unwavering in the conviction that his mind was miraculous.
*In the years between the publication of his "epoch-making" Tract 90 and his eventual conversion, many of his followers preceded him to Rome, if that makes sense!
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
(Cardinal)Newman wrote his book to defend himself against charges of insincerity by Charles Kingsley. He tells his story to show how his beliefs developed , and why he entered the Roman Catholic Church. It is a scholarly read, and useful to anyone who wants to understand the man who is being considered for canonisation by the church.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
apologia john henry newman
this is a great read and would recommend it this great convert of the virgin Mary shows a great insight into the sincerity of his beliefs ,.in victorian England . Read more
Published 1 month ago by PATRICIA
never explain, never apologise
Wondering what the fuss is about, I read this to find that it is not a personal spiritual journey to set with Seven Storey Mountain or Augustine's Confessions. Read more
Published 12 months ago by gille liath
Apologia Pro Vita Sua
A truly marvellous autobiographical account of John Henry Newman's stuggle to find true spiritual fulfillment. Read more
Published 19 months ago by jimgohara
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