'The Second Spring'
A Sermon preached on July 13, 1852, in St. Mary's Oscott, in the First Provincial Synod of Westerminster, by John Henry , later Cardinal Newman
IN the course of time, centuries, like individuals, get labels attached to them. Thus the nineteenth century, superficially considered, has fallen into the category of an industrial age, distinguished from the growth of a scepticism originating in the triumphs of scientific speculation. The numerous sources of spiritual renaissance which irrigated this desert are either neglected or studied without much reference to the' climate of opinion' which surrounded them.
One of the most isolated, but one of the most vigorous, of these springs, was the Oxford Movement. And the most striking individual amongst its leaders, by virtue of the vigour of his thought and the quality of its expression, was John Henry , later Cardinal Newman.
As a man, Newman was chiefly distinguished for his personality, which gave unity to his religions development and all its forms of expression. In his lifetime he exercised an attraction which continues to emanate from his writings. As a preacher, he was distinguished for the extraordinary range of his eloquence, which combines irony and tenderness with sympathetic intuition Ho excels in his ability to present clearly and nobly the conflicts of sensibility. The sermon called ' The Second Spring' fully illustrates these qualities. It was preached at Oscott, while he was still suffering under the tribulations due to the famous Achilli libel trial.