Untitled - Electric Scotland

302 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP TAIT [CH. xn.
tion of Canterbury. In the Lower House some of the
speakers gave expression to their wrath or their alarm in
language of the wildest kind. Archdeacon Denison called
upon the House to act with rigour
"
for the sake of the
young, who are tainted and corrupted and thrust almost
" l
to Hell by the action of this book ; adding, on another
occasion,
"
In my judgment, of all books in any language,
which I ever laid my hands on, it is incomparably the
worst. It contains all the poison which is to be found in
Tom Paine s Age of Reason, while it has the additional
disadvantage of having been written by clergymen."
spoke
In the Upper House, on February 28th, Bishop Tait
as follows :
"
I am not in the position of the Bishop of Salisbury, for none
of the writers of this book are within my diocese. But I am
in this position that I have been, and am at this moment, the
intimate personal friend of two of the clergymen whose names
appear in Essays and Reviews, and I wish to say with regard to
both of them that from my present friendship and intercourse with
them for more than twenty years, I entertain for them the very
liveliest affection and regard ; and in proportion as that affection
and regard is strong, the more do I desire that an opportunity
should be given to them of doing what I trust they will do, namely
make a declaration satisfactory to the country that they are not
responsible for volume. ... I
every word that appears in this unfortunate
must say that I am greatly pained, that I am
ashamed of those who have characterised the writers of this book,
by a miserable joke, as Septem contra Christum. It seems to me
to be a joke as ill-suited to the solemnity of the occasion as it is
unworthy of any serious person who is dealing with the characters
of his brother clergymen. ... I have known Dr. Temple, as I
have said, for many years in the intimacy of private friendship.
The particular essay which he has written certainly does not
express my views. I believe it was first preached as a University
Sermon in St. Mary s Church, Oxford. I dislike it, but, in my
1 Chronicle of Convocation, Feb. 26, 1861, p. 394.
2 Ibid. p. 809.