1. Meditations and Devotions. All of them short, and they are insightful and resonate deeply.
2. An Essay On the Development of Doctrine. When Newman started writing this book he was Anglican, when he finished, he was Catholic. The best work on how tradition develops and a great apologetic for the Church.
3. Parochial and Plain Sermons. Yes, he was still an Anglican when he gave these, but there are some great ones in here, and you really get to experience the power of his prose.
4. University Sermons. These are really more invited lectures than sermons as we usually think of them. But covers some of his key ideas.
5. Letter to the Duke of Norfolk. Discusses conscience and the role it properly plays.
As a bonus, my top three biographies:
1. John Henry Newman by Ian Ker. The standard. It's not short....
2. Passion for Truth: The Life of John Henry Newman, by Fr. Juan R. Velez Another thorough look at the life of this saint.
3. Newman: His Life and Spirituality, by Louis Bouyer. I found this a very sympathetic look at his life and thought. Bouyer gets behind the events of his life and pulls out what they meant to Newman.
One of the things that struck me in the Apologia is how “flowery” the language is. I know that was on par for his time, though. It’s worth noting how hard he tried to get the Via Media to work.
Great list. I would probably agree that Apologia is the best place to start, especially for converts interested in denominational differences. But I kind of want to warn new readers that it gets very granular — I almost want to say gossipy — in the dramas of the 19th century Church of England and arguably shows a less attractive side to Newman’s rhetoric. I didn’t have the best first experience with it (and am probably due for a reread)
I remember that on my first read-through, I found Newman overly defensive and even a bit self-pitying. There’s a lot of space dedicated to the long list of individual Bishops or intellectuals (now forgotten) who criticized some minor element of his preaching or practice. On the one hand, of course it makes sense that Newman wants to put the record straight and to deal with the decades of being misrepresented. But in my opinion, it shows a somewhat less attractive side of Newman — a lot of it comes off as score-settling. He’s closer to the fray than we are, so it’s all “fresh” for him in a way that it isn’t for us. There are wonderful passages throughout, so it’s still worth putting early in the Newman order, but I also think new readers should know that Newman isn’t always “on the defensive” like he is here. His “objective” and less personal writings show an entirely different side to his mind
Interesting. I think I'd put this as my top five:
1. Meditations and Devotions. All of them short, and they are insightful and resonate deeply.
2. An Essay On the Development of Doctrine. When Newman started writing this book he was Anglican, when he finished, he was Catholic. The best work on how tradition develops and a great apologetic for the Church.
3. Parochial and Plain Sermons. Yes, he was still an Anglican when he gave these, but there are some great ones in here, and you really get to experience the power of his prose.
4. University Sermons. These are really more invited lectures than sermons as we usually think of them. But covers some of his key ideas.
5. Letter to the Duke of Norfolk. Discusses conscience and the role it properly plays.
As a bonus, my top three biographies:
1. John Henry Newman by Ian Ker. The standard. It's not short....
2. Passion for Truth: The Life of John Henry Newman, by Fr. Juan R. Velez Another thorough look at the life of this saint.
3. Newman: His Life and Spirituality, by Louis Bouyer. I found this a very sympathetic look at his life and thought. Bouyer gets behind the events of his life and pulls out what they meant to Newman.
One of the things that struck me in the Apologia is how “flowery” the language is. I know that was on par for his time, though. It’s worth noting how hard he tried to get the Via Media to work.
Great list. I would probably agree that Apologia is the best place to start, especially for converts interested in denominational differences. But I kind of want to warn new readers that it gets very granular — I almost want to say gossipy — in the dramas of the 19th century Church of England and arguably shows a less attractive side to Newman’s rhetoric. I didn’t have the best first experience with it (and am probably due for a reread)
I remember that on my first read-through, I found Newman overly defensive and even a bit self-pitying. There’s a lot of space dedicated to the long list of individual Bishops or intellectuals (now forgotten) who criticized some minor element of his preaching or practice. On the one hand, of course it makes sense that Newman wants to put the record straight and to deal with the decades of being misrepresented. But in my opinion, it shows a somewhat less attractive side of Newman — a lot of it comes off as score-settling. He’s closer to the fray than we are, so it’s all “fresh” for him in a way that it isn’t for us. There are wonderful passages throughout, so it’s still worth putting early in the Newman order, but I also think new readers should know that Newman isn’t always “on the defensive” like he is here. His “objective” and less personal writings show an entirely different side to his mind
All good points. Thanks Isaac!