Part 31 (1/2)
In 1852 the death of Dr Jenkyns caused the Mastershi+p at Balliol to becoreat, but with it there had spread a suspicion of ”rationalisreat tutor was tainted with Gerues; and, when the election cale vote His disappointment was deep, but he threw himself more than ever into his work He told e of his in Marcus Aurelius--”Be always doing soenerosity be your only pleasure, not forgetting a due regard to God”--had been of great help to him at that time
The lectures which his pupils cared most about were those on Plato and St Paul; both as tutor and examiner he may be said to have stimulated the study of Plato in Oxford: he made it a rival to that of Aristotle
”Aristotle is dead,” he would say, ”but Plato is alive”
Hitherto he had published little--an anonymous essay on Pascal and a few literary articles--but under the stimulus of disappointment he finished his share of the edition of St Paul's Epistles, which had been undertaken in conjunction with Arthur Stanley Both produced their books in 1855; but while Stanley's Corinthians evoked languid interest, Jowett's Galatians, Thessalonians and Ro his friends and enemies About that time he was appointed to the Oxford Greek Chair, which pleased hiht was rather dashed by a hostile article in the Quarterly Review, abusing his The Vice-Chancellor, Dr Cotton, required froland At the interviehen addressed by twothat it was a necessary act if he was to retain his cloth and the other apologising for inflicting a humiliation upon him--he merely said:
”Give me the pen”
His essay on The Interpretation of Scripture, which came out in 1860 in the famous voluainst hi Dr Pusey, persisted in withholding from him an extra salary, without which the endowment of the Greek Chair orth L40 This scandal was not removed till 1864, after he had been excluded fro hard at his translation of the whole of Plato; he had already published notes on the Republic and analyses of the dialogue This took up all his time till 1878, when he became Master of Balliol
The worst of the Essays and Reviews controversy was that it did an injustice to Jowett's reputation For years people thought that he was a great heresiarch presiding over a college of infidels and heretics His iht to-day be published by any clergy that the Bible should be criticised like other books
In his introduction to the Republic of Plato he expresses the sae of Plato attached no iion was an historical fact Men only began to suspect that the narratives of Honised theions: the consideration of their morality comes first, afterwards the truth of the documents in which they are recorded, or of the events, natural or supernatural, which are told of them But in modern times, and in Protestant countries perhaps more than Catholic, we have been too much inclined to identify the historical with the ion at all, unless a superhuman accuracy was discerned in every part of the record
The facts of an ancient or religious history are ast the most important of all facts, but they are frequently uncertain, and we only learn the true lesson which is to be gathered from them e place ourselves above them
Some one writes in the Literary Supplement of the Times to-day, 11th December, 1919:
”An almost anireat public”
This is quite true, and presureat public but of the Established Church
Catherine Marsh, the author of The Life of Hedley Vicars, wrote to Jowett assuring hiious views and expressing indignation that he should have had to sign the thirty-nine Articles again I give his reply The postscript is characteristic of his kindliness, gentle temper and practical wisdom
MARCH 16TH, 1864 DEAR MADAM,
Accept my best thanks for your kind letter, and for the books you have been so good as to send h conscious of how little I am able to do) that I shall devote my life to the service of God, and of the youths of Oxford, whoiven e from the tenour of your letter, that I should not express ious subjects Perhaps the difference may be more than one of words I will not, therefore, enter further into the grave question suggested by you, except to say that I a your books
The recent matter of Oxford is of no real consequence, and is not worth speaking about, though I anant” at the refusal
With sincere respect for your labours, Believe me, dear Madam,
Most truly yours,
B JOWETT
PS--I have read your letter again! I think that I ought to tell you that, unless you had been a coood an opinion of me I feel the kindness of your letter, but at the same time, if I believed what you say of me, I should soon become a ”very complete rascal” Any letter like yours, which is written with such earnestness, and in a tiion I do not intend to neglect this because I ae
When Jowett becaathered round hi tutor, Vice-Chancellor and Master that Oxford ever had Balliol, under his regirew in numbers and produced more scholars, more thinkers and e in the university He had authority and a unique prestige It was said of Dr Whewell of Trinity that ”knowledge was his forte and oht have been said of the Master and was expressed in a college epigraraduate After Jowett's death I cut the following froazine:
The author of a famous and often misquoted verse upon Professor Jowett has written me a note upon his lines which may be appropriately inserted here ”Several versions,” he writes, ”have appeared lately, and my vanity does not consider them improvements The lines ritten:
'First coe but I know it