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and reducing it to the level of a human system, than from a Church which rejects and condemns even the soundest conclusions of true philosophy when they are at variance with the determinations of its own presumed infallibility. ...

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Now, I fear that there are some persons, who think that they may safely go to a certain length with these bold adventurers in theology, without following them into all their extravagant speculations; for instance, that they may deny the inspiration of Holy Scripture, as the Church understands it, without calling in question the evidences, that is, the historical evidences, of Christianity; that they may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and yet cast off what they term a superstitious reverence for the text (not the letter, but the substantive contents,) of the Bible. But I do not believe it possible for any one thus to undervalue and weaken the authority of the Apostles and Prophets, and so to undermine the foundations of his belief, without impairing the soundness of the superstructure, and diluting his faith in Jesus Christ as the chief corner-. stone. To deny the inspiration of Scripture, is one step towards the rejection of the Gospel as a revelation. from God. Against this fatal heresy I would earnestly caution my younger brethren, as being one from which, in the present state of the human mind, we have much more to fear than from the encroachment of popery. ... The true safeguard and preservative from both extremes is to be found in the general diffusion of sound scriptural knowledge by means of education; in a sedulous inculcation of the doctrines of our Reformed Church, as drawn from the inspired Word of God; and in a firm adherence to her Creeds, and Liturgies, and Articles. If these be cast aside; or if, while they are subscribed to in the letter, they are understood and interpreted in a non-natural sense, so as to explain away,

on one side, the fundamental truths of Christianity, or, on the other, the distinctive doctrines of our Church, we shall soon be afloat on a sea of error, drifting helplessly amongst the shoals and quicksands of heresy, old and new. The Church will no longer be an ark of safety; its ministry will be a ministry, not of peace but of confusion; and what the results will be, we may learn from the example of the Continental Churches, which are now reaping the bitter fruits of their defection from catholic truth and order, and of their separation of religious from secular education."

In the last year of his personal administration of the diocese, writing to one, whose name subsequently became conspicuous in connexion with rationalistic doctrine, he said:

".... The question whether the Mosaic account of the creation can be reconciled with the discoveries of geology, is not a fit subject for discussion in the pulpit before a mixed congregation. Considering the allusions made by our Lord and by St. Paul to the history of man's primæval state, as recorded in the Book of Genesis by an inspired prophet and lawgiver, a preacher ought to hesitate before he speaks of it as a 'fiction,' or 'poetical allegory.' He who rejects the Old Testament must have a very vague and doubtful faith in the New. I do not pretend to question your right to put forth what I hold to be heterodox opinions in print, but I cannot allow them to be advanced in the pulpits of my diocese; and I must beg of you, that you will abstain from doing so, or that you will forbear from preaching in the diocese of London....."

Had Bishop Blomfield been aware, that the year 1855 was destined to be the last of his labours as chief pastor

of the diocese of London, and had he with that knowledge reviewed the results of his long episcopate, he might have had, on the whole, great cause to be thankful for what he had been permitted to accomplish. No man could have thrown himself with greater zeal into the work which lay before him, and few possessed greater abilities for coping with the difficulties of which that work was full. Some of his most cherished schemes, indeed, had not answered his expectations, and in some cases he had been compelled to retrace his own steps; yet on the whole the aspect of the Church in general, at the moment when he was to cease to be one of its rulers, was encouraging. No controversy on any point of vital importance was agitating the Church; while schemes of practical usefulness were being organized and carried by the various religious parties, each acting according to its own ideas, and each attaining a certain measure of success. And with regard to that which was one of the most cheering signs of the times for the Church of England—the increased zeal and activity of the clergy -Bishop Blomfield, had he been given to self-approbation, might have claimed no small part of the credit which this improvement reflected upon the clerical body. He had set an example of unwearying energy and abundant labour, not only to the clergy in general, but to the order to which he himself had been raised. Thirty years before, the popular notion of a Bishop, justified by the habits of many who occupied the bench, was that of a stately gentleman, of dignified demeanour and ample income, who appeared in public on solemn occasions, at confirmations and visitations, passing the rest of his time either in retired leisure, or in the society of

London, or, perhaps, in fulfilling the duties of some other preferment which he held in conjunction with his bishopric; and whose name was remembered in his diocese, rather from the circumstance of so many of the cathedral dignities being filled by those who bore it, than from any permanent benefit which he had conferred upon the districts of which he had the spiritual oversight. But Bishop Blomfield was one of the earliest to set the example of an active Bishop, stimulating and directing all the schemes of religious usefulness which he found in his diocese, or if necessary creating new ones, visiting personally even the most remote districts, and becoming acquainted with the circumstances and character of every parish and every clergyman, yet not neglecting the social or legislative duties which his position entailed upon him; an example which since then has been followed by so many prelates, with the best results to the Church.

It will be attempted, in the next two chapters, to give some idea of the private and personal character of Bishop Blomfield, before proceeding to sketch the close of his episcopate and of his life.

CHAPTER IX.

APPEARANCE

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PRIVATE AND DOMESTIC LIFE OF BISHOP BLOMFIELD HIS PERSONAL CHARACTER OF HIS MIND - HIS INDUSTRY HIS INTERCOURSE WITH HIS CLERGY-AND WITH LITERARY MEN-HIS HUMOUR-HIS VIEWS ON AMUSEMENTS-HIS OWN RECREATIONSPOWERS OF VERSIFICATION-CARE OF THE HOUSE AND ESTATE AT FULHAM.

THE preceding pages have, for the most part, represented Bishop Blomfield in his public life; but a memoir of him would not be complete without some account of his life at home and in society, and a sketch of his character, which can only be partially understood from a record of his public acts. Yet so completely were his time and thoughts occupied with the duties of his office, and with the additional work which his ceaseless activity created for himself, that he had little leisure for the pursuits and recreations of domestic life. Few men were naturally more capable of appreciating the enjoyments of home, the sympathies of friendship, and the intercourse of society; but he had to make the sacrifice demanded of most public men-the surrender of his own natural tastes, and of the claims of family and friends, to the wider interests of the Church.

Bishop Blomfield had been favoured by naturę with excellent endowments of body and mind. Th following account of his personal appearance has been

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