DR. NEWMAN’S DEFINITION OF AN INTELLECTUAL MAN OR OF A GENTLEMAN.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5642, 30 April 1879, Page 3

DR. NEWMAN’S DEFINITION OF AN INTELLECTUAL MAN OR OF A GENTLEMAN.

“An intellectual man, as the;world now conceives of him, is one who is full’of ‘ views ’ on all subjects of philosophy,'on all matters of the day. It is almost thought a disgrace not to have a 'viaw at a moment’s notice on any question from the Personal Advent to,.the cholera or mesmerism. This is owing in great measure to the necessities of periodical literature, now so much in request. Every quarter of a year, every month; every day there must be a supply, for the.gratificatijn of; the public, ot new .and luminous theories on the subjects of religion, foreign politics, home politics,; civil economy, finance, trade, agriculture, emigration, and the colonies. Slavery, the goldfields, German philosophy, the French Empire,Wellington, Peel, Ireland, must all be practised on, day after, day, by what are called ioriginal; thinkers. ; As the great man’s guest must produce his good stories or songs at the evehing banquet, as the platform orator exhibits his telling facts at ;mid-day, so the journalist'lies under the stern .obligation; of ex-, : temporising bis lucid views, leading.ideas, and, nutshell truths for. the, breakfast table! The very nature of periodical literature; broken into small wholes, and. demanded punctually to an hour, involves the habit of this extempore philosophy. , ‘Almost all the Ramblers/ says .'Boswellof Johnson, ‘ were written just as they were wanted for the, press ; he sent a certain portion.of .the copy, of an essay, and wrote the remainder while the former part of it was printing.’ Few men have the gifts rof Johnson, who, to a great vigor'and resource of intellect, when it was fairly, roused, united a rare com-mon-sense and a-conscientious ; regard for veracity, which preserved him from flippancy or extravagance in writing. .Few men are Johnsons ; yet how. many men at this day are assailed by incessant demands on their mental powers which only .a productiveness like his could suitably supply ! There is a demand for a reckless originality of thought, and aispark- . ling plausibility of argument, which he would have" despised, even if he could,have displayed;; a demand for crude theory and unsound philosophy, rather than none at all. It is a sort, of repetition of . the .‘ Quid noyi?' of the Areopagus, and it must have an answer. I Men must be,found who cau treat, where it is necessary, like the Athenian sophist, de Omni scibili, ■ , ; ‘ Grammaticus, Rhetor, Geometres, Pictor, A11pte5...... Augur, Sohcenobates, Medicus, Magus, omnia novit.'

“ I am speaking of-such writers with a feeling of real sympathy for men who are under the rod of a cruel slavery. I hare never-in-deed been in such, circum-itauoes myself, nor in the temptations which they involve ; but most men.who have had to do with composition, must know the distress which at times it occasions them to have to write —a distress sometimes ■ so keen and; so specific that it resembles nothing else than .bodily paini That pain is the token of-the wear-and tear of mind ; and, if works -.done, comparatively at leisure involve such mental fatigue and exhaustion, what, must be the toil of those whose in- . tellects are to be flaunted daily before the public in full dress, and that dress ever new and varied, and spun, like, the silkworms’, out of themselves ? Still, whatever true sympathy ,we may feel for the ministers of this dearly purchased, luxury, and whatever, sense we may jhave of the great intellectual- power which the fitera-. ture in question- displays, we cannot honestly "Close 'our eyes to its direct evil.” ;(“ Idea of a University,” pref.-xx.) - ■ ! We may be pardoned for another illustration;; 'ofv the power ; and gracefulness; of his style, taken from his ' “ Idea of a-UniversiUi” in; which he sketchesthe ifeatiiresof thej*ethical character ennobled almost exclusively !by.,high worldly culture,-without the aid bf the ihspirat tions and- solaces of religion.-; v: C " j “ Hence it isthat it is almost; a definitjonef, a gentleman tbisay.heis one-who never - inflicts, pain. This description is both refined and, as far 'as it goes, accurate.; He is mainly coonpied " in . merely- removing ?,the pbstacleswhioh hinder . the -free .- and unembarrassed action ; of—those:.;about him j and he concurswith’ - ; their - .movements rather than takes' the ; initiative.'kiffiself. His benefits may hei considered as parallel to what "are called-comforts or cbnveniertces iniarrangements of a personal mature.;-like an easy chair or a good fire-, which do their pqrt in dispelling cold and fatigue, though nature provides means

of rest and animal heat without them. The, true gentleman in like manner "carefully avoids whatever may cause a j-rr nvr.j dr, in the minds of those with whom he is cast ; all clashing of, opinion, or collision of .feeling,, all restraint, or suspipion, or gloom,or resentment; hisgreatcohcern faeing-to make everyone at their ease and at home. He has his ryes on all his company; he is tender towards the bashful, gentle towards the distant, and merciful towards the absurd ; he can recollect to whom he is speaking ; he guards against unseasonable allusions or topics which may irritate ; he is seldom prominent in conversation, and never wearisome. He makes light of favors while he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring. He never speaks of 'himself except when compelled, never defends himself by a mere' retort; he has no 'ears for slander or gossip, is .scrupulous in imputing motives to those who'; interfere with him, and interprets everything for the best. He is never mean or little in his disputes, never takes unfair advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp sayings for arguments, •or insinuates evil, which he dare not say out. From a long-sighted prudence, he observes the maxim of the ancient sage, that we should conduct ourselves towards our enemy as if he were one day to be our friend. He has too much good sense to be affronted at insults, :he is too well employed to remember injuries, and too indolent to bear'malice. .He; is, patient, forbearing, and resigned on philosophical principles ; be submits to pain, because it is inevitable, to bereavement, because it is irreparable, and to death, because' it, is his destiny. If he engages in controversy of any kind, his disciplined intellect preserves him from the blundering discourtesy of ' better, perhaps, but leas educated minds, who, like blunt weapons, tear and hack instead; of cutting clean, who mistake the point in argument, waste their strength on trifles, misconceive their adversary, and leave the question more involved than they find it: He may be right or wrong in his opinion, but .he isjtoo clear headed to be unjust ; he is as simple as he is forcible, and as brief as he is decisive. Now here shall we find greater candor, consideration, indulgence ; he throws himself into the minds of' his .opponents,' he accounts' for their mistakes.’ He knows the weakness of human reason as well; as its strength, its province, and its limits. If he be an unbeliever, he will be too profound and large minded to ridicule religion or to act against it; he is:too wise to be. a dogmatist ,or fanatic in ; his infidelity.' He respects piety and devotion ; he even supports institutions- as venerable, beautiful, or useful, to which he does * not assent; he honors the ministers of religion,land it contents him to decline its mysteries without assailing or denouncing them. ’ He’is a friend of religious toleration, ■ and' tjiat; not only because his philosophy has .taught him to look bn all forms of faith with an impartial eye, but also from the gentleness and tffeminancy of feeling, which is the attendant on civilisation.

“ Not that he may not hold a religion too, in his own way, even when he is not a Christian, lii that case his religion is one of imagination and sentiment; it is the embodiment of those ideas of the sublime, majestic, and, beautiful, without which.there can be no large philosophy. Sometimes he acknowledges the being of God, sometimes he invests an unknown principle or quality with the attributes of perfection. And this deduction of his reason, Or creation of his fancy, be makes the occasion of such, excellent thoughts, and the starting point of so varied and systematic a teaching, that he even seems like a disciple of Christianity itself. From the very accuracy and steadiness of ' his logical powers, he is’ ‘able to see what sentiments are consistent in those who hold any religious doctrine at all, and he appears to others to ; feel and to hold a whole circle of theological truths, which exist in his mind no otherwise; than, as a number of deductions.” , i' ‘