Bear in mind that Newman was also one of the masters of English prose. As Somerset Maugham wrote, "Newman had an exquisite grace, music, playful sometimes and sometimes grave, a woodland beauty of phrase, dignity and mellowness."
I look forward to a future in which persons try to remember whether their friends' wedding is at St. John Neumann or St. John Henry Newman. But I suppose with portable electronic devices it may be harder to forget.
(My parents once misplaced an invitation, then flipped a coin to decide which of two identically named parishes in Washington they'd go to. They drove to the one selected by the nickel, and arrived in time to see one complete stranger walk up the aisle to marry another.)
Newman's prose is wonderful; but one is always aware not only of the grace, but also of the powerful mind behind it. In writing about Newman or his works one is tempted simply to give in and quote at length.
I look forward to a future in which persons try to remember whether their friends' wedding is at St. John Neumann or St. John Henry Newman. But I suppose with portable electronic devices it may be harder to forget.
ReplyDelete(My parents once misplaced an invitation, then flipped a coin to decide which of two identically named parishes in Washington they'd go to. They drove to the one selected by the nickel, and arrived in time to see one complete stranger walk up the aisle to marry another.)
Newman's prose is wonderful; but one is always aware not only of the grace, but also of the powerful mind behind it. In writing about Newman or his works one is tempted simply to give in and quote at length.