The third lecture: One hundred and fifty years of anti-popery at Harvard
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Citation Stange, Douglas C. 1968. The third lecture: One hundred and fifty years of anti-popery at Harvard. Harvard Library Bulletin XVI (4), October 1968: 354-369.
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Doug!t'I.SC. Stange
TJ lC Third Le:cture to be for th c detecting and convicting =3.n d exposing of tho
ido]atry of thE!Romish Church 1 their tyranny 1 usurpations! dan1nahle heresies~ fatal. errors, abon1inable supcr~titions~ and other crying ,v.ickcdne.~sesjn their high places, and .fina 11y that the Church of Ron1c is that 1n ystica l B ~byion, that
!\1an of Sin1 that apo5tate Church spoken of1 in the Nevr Testament.
HEN the ,vill of Judge Paul Dudley· ( 167 5-r 7 51) pre- scribing g lccn1reship for Harvard \Yas read, the Ron1an CnthoH c Church ,vas grcatl }' feared in a][ P rotes tant ]ands. Dudley's hon1c region, Nc,v Englan Sister l'Vfo.t y i\ u gusdnn Ray- discu~scd a nu Ill 1Jer of the I S-thcentury D udlei an lectures un anti-Po11cry. Cf. A,nerican Opinion o[ Rounu1 Catholicis111in the Eighteentb CentlffY ( No,\' York~ 1936) ! 88! 1~6--1381 211, 3 79:-3S-o, 39.2. Perry l\1i1Ier, jn ddivcring one of tho Dtlclldan lectures hin1self, g:n-e attention to those on natural religion. Cf. Pc1:ryl\1illcr, uThc Jnscctidty of Nature 1 Being the Dudlefon Lecture for the A co.dcnlic Ycar 195i-i 9j3! El 8.rvard Univer-,hyt Delivered in An- dover Cha pd, AJ~ril 14, i953,'' H(fro(lrd JJi-:.1i11ityScbool Du1leti111 XlX ( 1953-1954 )t 13~2.8. 354 Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Tbe Third Lecture 355 examp Ic, nearly· a11 th c ''anti-Pop cry'' le cturcrs V{Ctc graduates of Harvard~ half of thetn arc listed in the Dictionnry of An1ericfn1Biog- rapl; y, and all their ,vri tin gs garncrc d to gcthcr ·,vould com prise at1 i1nposing bibliography of historyr theology, and ]iteratnrc. In the 1nyriad of todayJspublishing ventures it is unfortunate that one project docs not include the redaction -and publication of the complete lecture series-. Ho\vever, before the day arrives ,vhen a student of church history and theology 1nay have sucl1 a sct of Dudleian leecures on his .shel vcs- t bi bl io graphical research is a n eccssit) 7 • This essa) 7 seeks to provide bibliographical infor1nation for those particular lectures on anti~Popery. In a ,va)r, Paul Dudley himself delivered the prototype of the lec- rurcs on anti-Popcry in his tract ,vritten in 173 z entitled, A11Essay on tbe Alerchr111diseof Slaver a11dSauls of Aieu. In the essay Dudley· praised the Protestant prin1ac)r of the Bible and condc mncd the papal prin1acy of Ro1ne. li'or Dudley the division in Christcndon1bcnvcen Protest-ant nnd Catholic ,vas irrcconcilab]c: Communion of Light ,vith Darkness, or a Concord hcnveen CIJristand Belial n1a)T as soon be expected," suggested the Judge, "as a Union bet\veen Jlrotestants and I'apiststso long as they adhc1·c to their respective Principles and \\' or.ship..,, 2 Ed,va.rd ,v-igglcs\vorth ( 1693~1765), the first Hollis Professor of Divinity at I-Iarvard, gave the initial third l ecturc on anti-Papery in 1 75 7. , ~1igg lcs, v orth enunciated ideas sin1ila.r to those of Dudley in his lecn1re, S0111eThoughts upon the Spirit of l11fallibilit.y 1 Clahned by 7 tbe Cburc_bof Rou1e. The clain1 to infal1ibilit)r1 declared \~ igglc.~- \Vorth, depreciated the' role of Scripture. Everything neccssnry- to salvation ,vas to be found in the Bible and no papal intermediary ,vas necessary (p. 29) .8 "\1/hcn he concluded, 1i\'iggic$\VOrthcautioned his hearers to keep their eyes upon the Ron1an Catholic Church - that "restless, incroaching and in1placablc Enc1n}" to Protestants of every Dcno1ninationJ' (p. 3 1). [P~ul Dud]ey,] A·n Essay on tbe Aiercbandise_of Slaves mui Souls of Alen; Revelation XV!Jl .13. 1Vitb an Applicntion Thereof to the C!:Jurch of Rrnne. Ily a Ge1Jtle-nM11.(Boston~ 173"2)i p. 30. · Page references are gi\Ten to the appropriate tract in the list of Dudlcion lee~ tures appended to this essny. _,,?here ]ectuces exist on]y in manuscript form, page numuor~ arc given only ·where the lecturer hjmself indicated page nu1nbers, All the manuscripts are in the H ar\-T3 rd Uni ,Tcrsity Archives and are used here '-Vjth the per 1njs~ion of the H-arv :;ud Col] cgc Library. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Har·vardl~ibrary Bulletin l~our )Tears 1ater, Thomas Foxcroft ( 1696-1769), a Congregation~ alist pastor in Boston, spokc on '~The Po pc' s Suprcn1acyt an Usurpa- tion.", In an exegetical study of l\1ark ro:43, he decried any idea of the prirnacy-of St. Pctcr 1 and .surely stirred the young Haryard under- graduates seated _before hirn ,v11cn he shouted,. ""J\1ay·the true Re- f or111edReligion ever continue the Glory of }-l ew E11gll111d!"(p.44) Such on tburs ts ha vc to be 11ndersto o d b }r vie,v ing th c in tel 1cctu-a 1 nnd religious cnviron1nent ,v hjch produced the lecturers. For instance, \Vhen the next quadrennial lccn1rcr, Jonathan l\1ayhe,v ( 17 2.0-1766), die dt consid crab le conuncnt arose because Dr. Chaun cy prayed at. his funeral. This supposedly had been the fir.st prayer ever offered at a ll oston funeral~.so anxious " 7 ere N e,v Eng 1anders to a v.oid any "Ca tho- li ck', practices such as praying for the dead ..4 l\1ayhc,v hirnse]f, in his discourse in 1765, attacked these prayers in a broad assault upon the popula.i·doctrines of lloman Catholicism~ "\\ 1ithout a doubt A1ayhev/s severity in tone and the energy· he dis- played in completing his task as a Dndleian lecturer ,vere enormous. 1-Ic did not mince ,vords in dcliverjng his essay·on Popisb ldolatr·y. The cuehari st, ssin ts., pictures, irn ages, m a.riola try, and purgatory of the Hpapistsnreceived in turn vigorous denunciation. For l\L1yhe\v, Ron1c \vas the biblical Hfilthy prostitute,~, '~the n1othcr of harlots," and, .oddly cnoughi at the same time ~'the l'vlan of Sin" (pp4 44, 5 2-). ~1oreover, he issued the ,varning: Rome's agents ,vere going from countt}r to country "seeking ,vhon1 they may devour.,,, and luncrica should be on guard against then1! (p. 51) Jn r 769, Sa1nucl lVJat her ( 1706-178 5), the son of Cotton l\1nther, can1e to th c podiun1 for the third 1e crure.. Ta king for hjs ti cle, ''Pop ery a Comp 1e te F~1 seh ood1'' l\1at her pr oc] ai1ncd his accus-n tion ,vas based upon the, I-Ioly Scriprures. The n1ain content of his lccrure carried not the in1portancc of the charge he delivered ::it its conclusion, for he told "'the blooming youth~J of Harvard (its Divinity students in particular) that he connncndcd them to the love of God and a h-atrcd of popery ''not indeed to a cbildisb or blind or bigotted one; but to an understanding and rational Hatred of it .. 4 [!] (pp. 2 2-2-3). l\-1ather legitirnatize d his admonition to hate Rome by· citing Scrip- ture. Samuel Cooper (1725-1783) like,vise ,vould do so in his Dis- courseon tbe Alan of Sin., in 1773.. Cooper believed thnt even ,vithout -1.,,, iUia m B. Spraguc1 Anna ls- of tbe Au1eric~n Pulpit, \T ol. ''III (N en~ Y ork 1 1865 )1 is.. I ' ! ' Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) The Tbird Lectttre 357 the prophecy of Scripture, rc~son and co1nn1on sense ,vould tell us that P.opery \Va.s in "the true and proper sense-=auticbristia11'' (p. 18) t and the Pope ,vas the antichrist - '•Lttcifer, the son of morning" (pp. 61~62). J\,1oreovcr,a ''Ro1nish Bishop'' and the. ('Popish colonyu of Canada existed not far fron1 us and ,vere gaining converts fron1 atnong Ne,v England P rotcstants ( p. 6 5) . Co.oper expressed his concern th at America JS vig1lance ,vas ]essening and ,varncd everyone to be on guard since Popery·\Vas '~incon1patible ,vith the safety of a free govcrnntent', (pp. 65, 66). In 1777, Ed,vard "\1/iggles,vorth ( 17 32-1794),. ,vho had follo,ved his father in the Hollis Professorship~ attacked Tbe Aut!Jority of T-rn.~ ditio11in his Dudieian lecture. I-Iis main point ,vas plain not only to his hearers, but to the render~ of his lccn1rc as ,vcll: ''\\Tc muy &ifely· abide by the Protestant doctrjne, that THE SCR1PTUllES AllE SUFFICIF.NTTJY CLF.AR· AND PERSPICUOUS 1N ALL POINTS THAT Il\1J\1EDIATELY CONCERN OUR ETER- NAL SAL \.r ATION" (p. 34). In 1781, the rnsk of the Dudlcian lecture for ,Villiam Gordon ( 17 2 8- I 807) ,vas a bit more difficult than it had been for his predecessors. The .American colonisn; ,vere allied to France, a great Catholic po,ver1 and uaturally it is not particularly judicious to attack the religious life of your alIi cs. Yet Gordon stood fir1n in the trndi tion of the tl 1ird lccrure. "'''hile ,vc are po]iticaUy allied to Popish po,,Tcrs,'"he con~ fidcdt H:an of reJigjon, 4 • • let us not t de clin e oppo sing the erroneous tenets of P opery, nnd b cco1ne indiff crcn t to f'r otest ant truths.~' Tl1c President of Harvard College, Joseph l\ 7i11ard ( 1738~1804), follo,vcd Gordon as the next anti-Popery· lccn1rer. Speaking in 1785 on (cPersecu ti on Opposite to tl 1e Genius of th c Gospel,'' \i\1illard cautioned his hearers to nvoid nssu1ning the attitude of p er,sccutors in meeting the threat of the ~'Ilo1nanists.'' Although the Church of llomc had the ''blood of hundreds of thousands if not n1illions)' on her hands ,ve should not ,vish the destruction of her n1cn1bers. "\~7e n1ay use argu1ncnt and persuasion to lead thcn1 a \vay from their errors, but never violence and cruelty. Frequent praJ7 er, the irenic \\lillard declared, , vas 2 n effective nppro ach to chan gc the h e:rrts of the "Ilomanists:i, (pp. 41, 45-46) 4 ,~ 7ilh1rd"sattempt to 1nix a fe,v kind ,vords in his po1emic,vas copied by Jason Hav-en ( 1733-1803) in 1789. I--Iavcn,in a lecture on BThc Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Hnr-vnrd Library Bulletiu Doctrine of j\.ferit, and Supererogation as Held~ 1.1ndApplied in the Ron1ish Church/n tried to induce his listeners to believe a sicl.:: tree cou]d stjlJ beat" soJnc healthy fruit. 1~7c nttnck doctrine, proclai1ned HavenJ not persons. Y\7hcn the Catholics clain~ '"'there is no sahTation outside t11cir Churcl1,'J Iie 1·casoned, '',vc do not retort d1at tl1ere i-s none in je] (p. 2 7). John l.tathrop ( 1740~1816), the Dndleian Jecrurer jn 1 793, arid the first non~graduate of Harvar polc111icby de]ivcring a rancoro11s ]ectnre on i11iraclcs1 in 1805. Ron1e \ 1/as sin1ply ''an en1pirc of despo6sn11norc f nlse~sn11 6111iuary,and de- structi·ve to [ God is] creatures, rh::111any superstition and jdo}acry b'cfore existing-)'; or, Thacher added, than "any e~rth(Juake, fam1ne., or pestilcncc 1 ,vhich convulsed the natural ,vorld"'' (p. 4). I-le prayed \Vith the Harvard students that God ,vould unner,Tc the ar111 of this '"forn1jdal)]e 1nonstcr~~- the Ronu111papacy (pp. 5,, 26). If an)7 An1ericans ,vcre hcginni11g to ,vonder ,vhat the contest ,vith Rome ,vas all about, John Allyn ( 1767-183 3)1: the lecturer for 18091 "\vouldrefresh their n1emory. After Allyn confessed that many people did feel the subject of anti-Popery ,vas obsolete, he ,vent on ro ass~_il Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Tbe Tbird Lect11re 359 1.) the· rcn1cn1brante of the saints, 2 4) transubstanti~ tion.,-3 .) Purga- tory, 4.) the doctrine of auricular confession and 5.) ,vorship in Lntin (pp. sf.). Irle ashed the I-la.rvard stndcnts to pu~h back not to the lleforn1alion, but to the Apostolic Age (p. 46). Stearns! Thacher and AHyn ,vcre very n111chalike jn background. All ,vcrc Harvard graduates, 111c1nbcrsof the An1cric.a11Acade111y of Ar ts an cl Sc icn ccs, nnd Uni tar ian 1n inistcr s. Th cir crcd en ti a1s~ a.s those of their fcllo,v lcctu rers, contained nothing ,vhich particularly qualified then1 to speak on anri-Popcry-4They ,vere selected for this· acadeniic honor because of their cn1inent positjon in society and for the intellectual rcc_ognitioa they had achieved. None of the lecturers n1cntioncd or yet to be narncd ,vas traveling the lecture circuit espous- ing the du\vnfall of Ilon1e. l"'hey ,verc not 18th or 19th ccnn1ry American nativistsi but for the n1ost part pastors and professors of the l_jheral Protestant tradition (~hnost so]idly Unitarjan) ,vho could be counted upon to deliver a.po]c1nic on the cvi]s of Ron1c for r~Iar~ vard~if requested to do so. As \VC Ml\V \Vith ,~~liliardl'c,Tcn the president of the College hin1sclf could receive the call to speak on 3nti-Popcry. This situation \Vas repeated ,vith the presentation by the an1iahlc John "T'hornton ](irk- land ( 1770~1 840) ,vho g~ve the lecture in 181 3. A Unitarian 1ninister and a popular prcsjdcnt of l..Jarvard, I(irkland broke ,vith 1nost of his predecessors at the Dudlcian lecture platforn1 by denying the alJegory that the j\1an of Sin spoken of in the Dible ,vas the Pope4 He atten1pted to rc·n1ain on a"positive 1evel and en1phasized the prjnciples of the llcformation~ ,vhich in his n1ind ,verc the supretnacy of the Scriptures and liberty of conscience in the exercise .of private judg~ mcnt. Nathaniel "fhaycr ( 1769~1840) and John Pierce ( 177 3-1849) also chose to enunciate these principles in their Jccturcs given respectively in 1817 and 1821. Their statenlents bore a close rese1nhlancc to that of President Kirkland. Thayer, in attacking the neglect of reason in both ll.01nan Cnthoiicisrn and Prote.standsn1, cited the principles of the Ref orn1ation to be the adeqnacy of the Bible as a Rule of Faith and the inalienable right of each individual to the f rce exercise of his o\~in judgn1cnt and conscience in interpretation (p. 2 7). Pierce in turn felt that the doctrines of the ltcfor111ation could be reduced to t,vo: ''l"'he sufficiency ·of scriptures, and the right of private judg- 111cnt.,.,(p. 20) 4 • • Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) H nrvar d Library B111Jetin The c1nphasisupon the use of reason, the sufficiency of Scriptures, and espccia11)7 ~ the primacy- of private judgn1ent as concepts arc in- teresting here. Thayer ~nd Pierce 'l'erc Unitarian clergyn1cn \vho d ls1 i ked the stiffness and cr.ced a 1 aspc c Ls of 111agisteria l Protestant isn1. Thayer directed his aim at nYo targets ,vb en h c remarked, "Both the Reforn1ed and Papal Churches ha,Tegroaned under a burden of absurd theories, unprofitable for1ns~ superstitious observances, visionary ter- rorism, and delusive hopes'' (p .. 5) Pierce ,vas no less explicit ,vhen he declared that there had been i 'too 1nu ch Protestant Popery in every· successivegenerationn (p. 20). The ~pparent shift in the lectures 1nade by Thayer and Pierce \Vas reversed ,vhcn Y\Til1ia1nJenks ( 1778-r 866), a Congregationalist min- ister and forn1er professor fron1 Bo,vdoin College, took the lectern in r 825. A pprchensive rhat rhere ,vas current1y too much a disposition to vie\v ,cthe errors of Rome as unitnportant and trivi21tti Jenks de- clared tl 1at discussion of the dangers of the Pap a cy should not be branded '\vith the opprobrious nan1cs of illiberalit:}7 and bjgotry.n He favored a reassertion that the antichri.st of the Book of Revelation ,vas th c Pope, and expressed concern about the in filtration of An1cricat s great ,vestern frontier by-Jesuit ernissarics. A more charitable approach ,vas follolved by Hosea Hildreth ( 1782-1835) in 1829. A Unitarian clergyman in Gloucester, lviassa- chusctts1 Hi ldrcth told his Harvard audience that no longer could tl1e Church of Rome be held up to ~'hatred and scorn~t, Accordingly, to attempt to gratify a.ny-hidden feeling of prejudice ,vhich n1ayexist in the comn1unity, ,vould be ''inunoral and unchristianJ' (p. 5) ·rhe Roman Catholic Church had changed so n1uch -and had lost so n1nch of her political po,vcr 1 Hildreth explained, ,vc should thro\v ,1:the mantle of forgiveness,if not forgetfulness, over [herJ enormities and corruptions of past agesi, (p. 5) . A great numb er of the ''Romish reli- gion "'J 1uost certainly· belong to Christ's Churcht he concinuedt but the re1igionas a. ,vhole ,vas "a. gross corrupdon of Christinnity·)t(p. 17) 4 Conver.s Francis ( 1795~1863) 1 a Unitarian minister and later a pro- fessor at the Harvard DivjnitJ'" School, returned to the thinking of Thayer and Piercc 1 in 11ispresentation in 183 3. Francis called the \Vork of labe11ingthe Pope the ?\1anof Sin a fruitlesstask. Better to associate the.se biblical irnages ,vith principles, Francis ur gcd~ th an j nd ivj duals. 1 i\1uch ''popcr) 7 '~ existed in Protestant sects ,vhich ' should be cquaHy held up to impartial reprobation.'J I-iis con1plaint against the Church Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) The Third Lecture of Rome lay in its unfriendliness to n1an's progress -a.ndits lack of adapting itself to the needs of "~an enlightened age." The next Dudlcian lecturer .on anri-Popery, Ja1nes \,\'~Iker· ( 1794- 1874), agreed ,,rith Francis in debunking the favorite interpretation Protestant p olernici sts had g ivcn the S cri ptu ral passag cs on the '' l\~I-an of Sin.'> The f u turc President of Harvard University ridiculed the idea that Christians ,vcre uat 1ibcrty to abuse one another to their hearts content provided that they [ did] it in Scriptur[alJ language.n But he ,vent on to relate the gro,vth of the Ro1nnn Catholic Church in the Uni tcd States-and provid cd his a udien cc ,vi th the u,v cson1e statistics~ lvloreover '''alker reminded those present thut A1nerica ,vas bounded on the North by a country ,vhose Catholic population held a four to one n1aJority over Protestants 1 and on the soutl1 and ,vest b)7 -a land ,vherc lloman Catholicisn1 alone ,vas tolerated. I-fe c-a.lled Protestants to rally as one n1~u1to "the defense of the sufficiency of the Scriptures~ a.nd the right of private judgment in the interpretation of the Scrip- tures. n · The s,vclling Ron1an Catholic population in the United States ,vould invoke considerable con1n1cnt among the Dudlcian lecturers~ In 1841 David Damon, a Unitarjan clergyrnan in ,,rest Can1bTidger sho,vcd the ir11balanceof Catholic po,ver in the ,vorld; the Church ,vas declining in Europe, but rapidly rising in nu1nbers and influence in An1erica. ''Is there anything to be anxious about?', he uskcd. "There is al,va ys ~on1ethin g to be f c are tu galI and Spain ,voul d be d an gcrous, but 111aintaine d that ,vith th c Irish, their "''attaclunent to the llo111ish Church and priesthood rnust cvaporaten-in the face of American democratic education and influence; in fact, Da111onbelieved the idea of eucourngiug the in1n1igration of Irish to th c Uni red States~ in order to save t11cn1 f ro1n starvation 2nd con vcrt th en1 to P rotestantisn1~ , vas a vcr y good one~ Ed\vards An1as11Park ( 1808-1900), a graduate of Bro,vn Univer~ sity and Andover Sen1inary (later a distjnguishcd n1emher of tl1c facnlt);r of the }atter school), also sho,\·cd concern over America,s Catholic popu1alion explosion. ~t\.ftcra rather comprehensive indict- ment of the Catholic Church in the lecture for 1845, entitled ~'In~ Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Hnr·vnrd Library·Bulletin tel?ectuc1land J\iloral Infl uencc of lton1anist11i'' Park gave his reason for his incj sive ren1arks. I-Ie bcl ieved t ( 0u r heJO \·ed Iand r"\Y3S] threat- c ncd ,\~ith serious evil fron1 the inroads of the papal church. i, The churcht perfected in its organization by the '\·vork of agcsu and {'thousands of niinds,'' ,vou1d have influence ,vherever it formed a part of society, and £~this111flnci1ce \Vas p~rticularly in.jurjous ·to a republic,,. (pp. 48 5-48 6). Park s~ellcd out exnctl)T ,v hat he n1eant: T'he But the Dudlei"n Jecturer quickly adn1onishcd his hearers: ~'I an1 no alarmistL l have strong confidence in the protc~tant n,ind. lt ,vill at la.st pre,Tail over Papal discip]inen (p. 488) 4 In 1849 George ,,,. Dlagdeu ( 1802-1884) stated ;1shis 111ainthcrne in a colorless 1ecture that the errors of popery· ,ycre better ar..crihed to con 11non h u u1::in ri ature than to tl 1e rcsul ts of R on1an is en. J,1ore decisive and · in1portant lectures in content and style ,vcrc given b)T the next t,vo Dudlcian Jccturcrsl Gco"rgc "'\-\r.Burnap ( J 802-1859), ,vho spoke on 1"The Errors and Superstitions of the Church of Ron1c/~ in r 853, and Rollin l-Ieber Kc-a.le ( r 808-1 879)1 in 18 57 Burnap, a Unitarian clergy1nan of the· First Jndependent Church in B~ltirnorc1 l\1ary1and.continued a f ~111ilia.rtl1e1nc: The Pope's polvcr internationallv had declined, but An1crica,s Catholic n1inority at ,vork ,Yithin the country's political institutions could possibly cstahJisl, his poi.vcr here. Dudley hin1self ,youid be surprised, Burn'lp cxpJained, to sec that a convent had arisen in sight of 1-I~rvard Y ru·d., that a c~rholic college had 1Jeen founded jn the heart of 1'1assnchuscttsl and that the Ron111.nCatholic population in An1erjca had soared through i1nn1igration (p. 48). A population of t,vo 1ni1lions exerted great political po,vcr, he declared; ,vhcn it began to dcn1and its o,vn school sy.stcn1, or, in Burnap's ,vords, 2s a Hscctarian inreresta it interfered \ v it h the systcrn .of pub] ic education J th en the Dud leia n Ie cturc beca 01 e ,vord in season 1norc than it ,v:1s before,) (p. 49). Burnap attacked ,vhat he considered to be the three fundan1ental errors of H..orne: 1) Its ultraconscrvatisn1, 2.) In; corporate spirit, i.e., ~'a disp o.siti on to sacrj fi cc every rl1 in g to the interests of -a gigantic and per petua I corpora ti on,'~ and 3) I ts 11n fricn dlincss · to th c diss cm ina ti on Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Tbe Tbird Lect11re of the I-Ioly Scriptures (pp. 49f) .. But Burnap sa,v hope for the Catho- lic Church in the 111ultitudcs\\'ho ,verc con1ing to A1ncrican shores. I-Icrc the Church ,vould be radically· tran~f orn1edtsince in the United States she had no pc1stto back her authority, an Ncalc 1 n Baptist clcrgyn1an and a n1emher of the Doard of Overseers at I-Iarvurd, spenking four years later, agreed ,vith Burnap's nnalysis. Although he felt the Cntholic Cl1urch ,vo11ld n1ake son1e converts in An1crica, Neale t.Jclic\Tcdthis ,Yarrantcd little anxiety·. ...fhe first gen- erations of Irish, he rcn1arked, ,vill rctnain in the Church of ]lome, but ,vhat about Jater generations? Tirearhjngthe air of frccdon1 they \Vill not listen to talk of Papal inf allihi]ity or priestly authority. Con- versions f ro1n C~tholicism and n1odific~tions of the religion ,vill take ph1ce. Nealets lecture on anti-Popcry ,vou]d be the last one for near]y a generation. The ,vholc lecture series ,vas allo,vcd to lapse in order to pcr1nit the Dudlcian fund to accurnu]atc. \\rhen the lecture on ~nti- Popery ,vas rcsun1cd in the acgdc1nic y·ear J 891-1892~ A1nerican opinion of lZornan Catholicis111tof course, :lt Harvard, ju Nc,v Eng~ land~ and an1ong Protestant liberals, had cllanged tu a large degree. The n1rnabout ,vas so apparent at 1-Inrvnrd that in 1890 a Roman Catholic Bishop) the president of Catho]ic University in "\~7ashington, D.C., the Right Reverend John J. I(eane, ,vas invited to give the Dudlcian lccrurc on revealed religion. Tbe Christirr11T?..cgister~ a Un.i- tnrian nc\vspapcr con1n1cnting 11pon the event, \Vishcd the President of H11.rvardn1ight also be asked to speak in turn at Catholic Universit)T, 2nd announced that the occasion'~,Yould not cause more an1azcmcnt- not to use any· ~uongcr \Vord-to llon1an Catholics of our day, than the founder of the lecture 2t I-L1.rvard\Vonld have experienced, h11.d he gone forth f ron1 his ton1b in Roxbury to be a listener in Appleton Chapel.', ri I ndc ed, a tri tu des l tad 1lcen so trans f orn 1ed in the intervening gen- r.; Thf.YCIJristian Regis-ter,LXIX ( 1890 )~ 695-696. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) HarvardLibrary Bulletin era ti ons that fifty-cight mcmhers of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard petitioned the Corporation to ren1ove the third lecture,, even '1t the cost, if nccessarJ\ of forfeiting the \vhole scrie.s. Their request ,vas refused by the Corporation., ,vho suggested that cancella- tion of the lecn1rc ,vould be a breach of trust. They ,vcre confident that a , vorth ,v hi le h isrorica l prese n tat j on could be given , vi thou t hurt- ing se vcrel y· the sensibi] iti es of R ornan Catl 1olics. 0 Ephraim En1erton ( 18 5 1~r93 5), the first "\\'inn Prof cssor of Eccle- siastical History at the University, presented the Dudlcian lecture on anti-Popet} 7 ju 1891. Follo\ving the Corporation's suggcstioni Emer- ton avoided cxcessivc conrrovcrsy· by presenting a historical account of the papacy, an approach previously used by several of the D udleian lec- t11rers~ In this n1an ner it had b cen easier to ref er to ~'popish errors"' , vith greater disinterest than by attacking particular doctrines or features of the Church of Ron1c. En1ertonj interpreting his history as he re- latc d it I extollcd the v irtu cs of Pro tc.~tanti sm.,espe c ia lJ y· its ho~ri 1 i ty to any forn1 of n1echanical rcligionJ and its appreciation of the right of diversity·. Rome on the other hand, had a1\vays c1nploycd ,can elabo- rate n1cchanicalsystem of intermediary agencies" bct\vccn G·od and 1nan., and cn1phasized the n.bsolute necessitJ· of un.iforn1ity(pp. 15 3, 2 54, 2 5 6). A hove everything., ho\vcver, Emerton be}ievcd the chief sin and ,vcakness of the Catholic Church ,vas its clain1 to be universal (p. 258). It "'as exactly on such clain1s chat Brooke Herford ( 1830-1903) ,vould address his Harvard nudicncci in 1895, in a lecture called, Lib- ernlisnis A11s·werto tbe Clai111rof tbe Ro'llzirb Church. I-Ierford ,vas Profes-sor Francis J, Child h~d Je,1 the Hs.tof pc:dtioners. T·he Corporation hid d~clared Jn part r:hat The langn::~ge used by the Chief Justice, ·who ·was a just and sincere 11H.n 1 is language characLeristic of th-e tin1c ,vhcn -anirnoshicsarr1ong religious. .sects ,rere hitter and intern,ei gnd jf he \Vere to drrt.\V the dause to~d;1y, it "\vould be couched in di ff cren t renns and \\'OU id b rcat he a vc ry different spi dt. No lecturer c ou] d ,,·ith propriety u~e such fanguagc-iadopt soch yfo,vs. or be inspired by such a spirit,. as is disclosed by the expressions of the Chief Justice in dra.,ving the third clau.i;;eof h3s ,viU. At the present UffLC this subject should Le =.:Lnddoubtless ,vill he tre~ted historically. Great changes have ta1{c.nplace in the opinions of theo- Jngians, schol:us., and hii,torians1 not only jn regard to the attknde to du; utl101ic Church 1 but aho in regard to naturnl ~nd r~n:e~led reJigion :!nd the ordination of rr11n istcr~; n d th c op11 on imfry n 1a y w·e11 ue t~ ken in deli Yerjn_g r h 1s third l ecrure to sooth c lnd ;;i.U a y the tlni mosicics and brttc t ncss of th c pa st, and d ea] ,vith t-hese qucsdons in a bro:1di scholarly, and magnanhnous spirit. Cf. I-lar-i\rrd University llulleti-11.,,.r ( 1892 ), 342. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Tbe Third Lecture one of the preachers to the University·. Having been bor11 nnd edu- cated in England, Herford consented only ,vith some reluctance ,vhcn called upon to deliver the Dudleian lecn1re. Unitarians and Catholics had suffered together in England and Herford had gro,vn up ,l/ith an ad1niration for Catholics as allies (p. 4). But he thought one could separate the exorbitant claims of the Church's -hierarchy fron1 the piety of its laity. Snrprisingly 1 Her£ ord lo\vercd the intellectual level of his lecture by relating a nun1bcr of spicy folk tales about Ron1an Catholics, e4g.t laymen surreptitiously baptising children., and so on (pp. 14f). A nun1bcr of Ron1an Catholics ,,rho heard l-=Jcrford'slec- ture later rebutted n1uch of his 2rgu111ent.1 The nvo Dudleian lectures on and-Popcry ,vhich in succession fol~ lu,vcd Herford ~s,vere Cr~,vf ord Hovlel l 1 "o)7 ~S ( r 8 3 6-r 9 1 9), ('Pope Leo XIII/~ in 1899~ and Alexander \Tiers Gris,vold Allen's ( r 841- 190'8)1 "'I.he Catholic Church -and the l\1odern Sense of Nationality,'' 111 1904~ Toy, Hancock Professor of Hehre,v and other Oriental Languages at Harvard, cited as Rome's greatest error the dogn1a of the Church 1s absolute control over the individuaL He quoted Pope Leo XIII in order to sho,v that the CathoHc Church's atten1pt to control voluntary· organizations 1 philosophical thought, and politics ,vas still a living reality (pp. 661 671 68). Allen, a professor of. church history at the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, presented a lengthy essay·on ,-vhat he thought ,vere the nvo forces ,v1lich broke do,vn the sovereignty·of the Church of Ron1e - nationalit)Tand indh-idualism (p. 36)4 The po\ver of the Church had fallen so far that she had been farced co proclr1i1npa pal infallibilit)7 as basis of authority· or n1eans of regaining it" (p. 63). ,i\ 1hen .A..rthur Cushman l\lcGiffert ( 1861-193 3) presented the last Dud1cian lecture in 1909, he noted the historical distance bcnveen Dudlcy·'.sbequest and conte1nporary·thought. "1... hc spirit of toleration has taken hold of us/' declared the great historian of church doctrine in his lecturct "J\1odernisn1and Catho]icisrn,, (p. 24) 4 1.""hc111odcrnists \ verc drcan1in g of an idc a1 Catholici sin, he explained, a Cath oli cjs1n th-at ,vould cr1rry rhe1n back to Jesus hitnself. In this pursuit they 7 Ji'o.r t\Vo such rcbu ttal~ Cf. B c1·tfj H d L-. Con,va y, et al., "Ca tholid srn vs. Science~ 1 L1bcrq\ Truthfulness/ Tbe Catbolfr:. University nulletin 1 U ( I896) 1 356-387; and David i\{oyes, BRcply to Dudleian Lecture/' New-York Freen1rrn's]oururt/ 1 Decem- Lcr i8,. J 895. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) H arvnrd J_Jbritry·Bulletin 1vcrc co-partners ,-vith Protesmnt Liberals ·\"rho ,vcrc also seeking this simple Christianity·. l\1cGiffcrt sa\v in this a great ray of hope; not- ,vithstnnding Dudley·"'sidea that union ,vould ever be 1111possiblc,he stated that herein lay "the great pron1ise of the future~ the pron1jse of a ,vider nnit) 7 and a 1nore general cooperation than [had] yet been kno,Yn~ and so of the speedier and better accon1plisluncnt of the con1n1011task', (pp. 45, 46). Thereafter, the third lecture ,vas terminated, for the I-Jarva.rdCor- poration ,vas finally pcrsu~ded that it 110 longer scrYcd -any plirpose,8 "J'he 1ecrurc,s incongruity and intolerance at Harvard could itself no longer be tolerated~ Still, the ren1aining subjects of the Dud]eian quadriga ,vere continued. The names of the scholars ,vho gave thern reveal ho"~ radically tin1c had altered tradition. FoI inst:1ncc1 in 1940 Abba 1-Iillel Silver of the Ten1ple in Clevc1and,Ohiol spoke on ' 1The Prophetic Conception of rhe J\1Jinistry/~ nnd in 1947 the Reverend John La.Fargc, S.J.. , the editor of A111e--rica,lectured on 11 T\vo l'Vorld Conee p tsa J O The great d en1o eratic inf!ucnccs of A 1nerjca ,v h ic h, us several Dud]eian lectures had prophesied, broadened the narro,\T out- look of the "popish.,,.in1n1igrants of ·our land, also transforn1ed to u goodly dcgret Harvard and tht Nc\v Engh1nd Protestanrisn1 it reprc- scntr: a ·rJIo t1\ i rd k cture ,vas again .included in the H arvtrtd U 'ltivcrsity Catn.1 o g_li e for r 95 6- r 9 5 7 :is the Dud lefon lecture on 1 ~Protestantism and Cath ulic isn1, ·n but this subject ·was not treated in th(1t acade1njc year, Cf, Har-11ard Uulversity Catalogue 1956-1957 (C-antbrjdgc, l 957) 1 p. 995r I} John La F~rgc, t~T,vo ,,.rorld Concepts., Eelng the Dudleian Lecture. for the Academtc Year HJ46--1947.. HanTard Uni\Tersic:y-. Delivered in Andover Chapcl 1 April 14, 1947t Harvard Di-vinity Sc!Jool Rulletin, X Ul ( 1948), z 7-41; and Abba Hi1 Iel Sil\~er, uTh e P .rophetic Conception (l f ·the J\-'I1n istr y I ll c ng the Dud lcian Lec- ture for the A c~dcn1ic ·Year ,939-l 940, I-Irtr-n~rd Univ~rsity. Delil'ered in Ando,Ter Chapel. April 161 1940 + •• ,'' H nri,~rd Divinity Sr.boo! Bulletin, VI ( r 941 )., 19-3 3,, A COlvfPL.ET'£ CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF TI-IE DUDLEIAN LECTURES ON ANTI~POPERY 1757 ,viggles\,TOrth,Ed,vard ( 1693-c 765). So111eThougbts upo11 the Spirit of Infallibility, Cllfi111edby t/Je Church of }lcnne: Offcr'd at ibe Anni- 'i.JerstrryDudleian-Lecturei nt H arvard-Colle-ge-i·u Ca1nbridge., Afay 11, 1757. Boston: John Draper, 1757. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Tbc Thi-rdLecture .1761~Foxcroft, Thorn~s (1696-1769). "The Pope)s Sup.remacy1 nn Usurpa- .. - . tion; She,\Tn·in a Sernion Preached at Hnrvard CoJlcgc jn ·cambridgci . , h,1ay 1 3, 176 r, Ileing the Day of the Annual Dudlcian Lecture." !VIS. 1765 -Ailayhc"· 1 Jonathan ( 1720--,1766).. l'opish Idolatry: A Dircourse- De- livered in tbe Chapel of 1-farrvard~College in Crr1nbridge1 New-E11gla11d, A1ny 8. 176J. At ·tbe Lecture Founded by the Honorable 1JaulDndleJ, Erquire. Roston: H.. & S. Draper~ Edes & Gjll, and T. & J. Fleet~ 1765 + ,1769-l\1uthert San1ne] (1706-1785 ) .. .[[Popery Con1pletc Falsehood: or, An Attcinpt, to Clear and E\'idcnce that It ls So. in a Dndieian Lecture 1 I-lad at I~JaL"vardCollege in Cu1nbridgc, N C\V England, on l\1ay 1 o, I 769: By Samuel i\1.nthert A.l'VL~Pastor of n Church of Boston.J' NlS. 1773 Cooper~ San1ue1 ( 1725-1783). A Discourse on the Alan of Sin; De- /hJered in the Chapel of Har•m1rdCollege, in Ca1nbridge.,Neiu EnglrrudJ Septe1uber 1, 1773: At tbe Lecture Founded by t/Je Honorttble Paul Dudley I Esq. Boston: Grecnlcaf's Printing Office, I 774. '7i7 - ,vigg]cS\vorth, Ed,vard ( 1732-1794). 'J'he AutlJority of 1,radition Considered. al the 1.JectureFotn~ded by the Hon. Judge Dudley, h1 11f!f•v11rd College, N o-ve'}JJber5, 1777. Boston: 1"hotntts & John Fleet, I 778. 178 1 - Gordon, '~'ilUain ( l 7 2.9-1 807). 0 T he D octrinc of Tran sub stan tia ti on Con sidcrc Paul Dudlcyi Esqujre, by Joseph ,~1jllard 1 President of the Collcgc:n J\1ST 1789 - I·Iaven, Jason ( 1733-1803). ''T'hc Doctrine of l\1erk, and Supereroga- tion as Held, and App}jed jn the Romish Church, Considered in a l)is- coursc De]ivered, at the Dl1dlejan~Lccturei in the Chapel of tl1c Uni- Yersity, .in Canlbri 1793 Lathrop, John (1740-1816) .. A Discourse 011 tbe E1-rors of Pojlery: De-liveredin t/Jc C {JapeI of t be U 11i-ve rsity of Cm11bridge~ Sep te111ber 41 17931 nt tbe I~ecture Fou11ded by tbe Honor~ThlePnul Dudley, Esquire. Boston: S+Hnll, J 793. 1797 - Ilrjdgc, Josiah { 174(>-l 801). !4'.Discuurseupon the Errors of Pnpery Delivered at the Dud 1cfa n Lecture, Sept en 1bcr 6i 1797, by- the Rcvd. Jo_i;fo_h Bridge of Sud bury." 1\1S a 1801 - Stearns, Charles. { l 75 3-1826).. "Copy of a Senn on P1·eached at the Uni versiry 1n C Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) HarvtlrdJ_.,ibrary Bulletin 1805 -Thacher, Thomas ( 1756--1 8 I 2.). A Discourse on tbc Errors of J>opery. De livered in the C bapel of the U 11iversity in CaJ11bridge t May 8 t 18 o5 t n.t tbe Anni-versary Lecture, Founded by the Hon~ Paul Dudleyt Erq. Gimbrjdge: "\Villian1I.Jilliard, 1805. 1809-AHyn., John (1767-1833). ''A Lecture on Popery Delivered in the Chapel of Ha ni-ard Col] egci !via y Io, 1809, at the Anniversary Le cturc Founded by the Hon+Paul Dudley~ Esq.'~ 1'1S. 181 3 - Kirkland, John Thorn ton ( 1 7 7 o--1 840) . ''Du dlefan Lecture.\ i\1a y 12, 181 3, on the Errors of the Rornish Church/~ l\ 1S~ 1817 - Thayeri Nathaniel ( I 769-1840) ''Errours of Papery and Protestantisn1 Proceed fron1 the l)isuse or Perversion of Reason+ A Discourse De- li vercd j n th c Cfrn p cl of the Uni vcr.sity in C-an1hr.idgc, 1\1.a y 14, 1 8 17 at the AnnhreriSa.ty Lecture Founded by the lion. Paul Dudley, Esq., by Na thaoicl Thayer i J\1inbter of J... unc.:aster. l l l\1S~ 1821 - Pierce~ John ( 1773-1849). 7,be Right of Private ]11dg111entin Reli- glon, T7 indicated Against the C!aiJJlsof tbe Ro111ishCburcb and All l(indted Usurpations. In a Dudleiau Lecture Delivered before the University in Canthridge, 24 Ottober~ 1811, hy f ob11 Pierce~A+tl-1., A-fini ster in Droo klin e. Cam brj d g e: Hilliard and i\·f ctcalf t 1 8 2 r .. I 82 5 - Jcnksi ,\ 7illi~m ( l 77 8-1866) + ''"fhe Grand Apostasy and Antichriscian I nil uen cc of Pap.a1 Ron1c Con~1 d crcd~ in a. Senn on Delivered., -at the Lecture Founded by the I:Ion. Paul Esq. in the U n.iversity at Cambridget i\1ay r i, 182 5 .n l\lS .. 1819 Hildreth, Hosea (r78i-1835). Tbe l(ingdo1/l of Jesus Not of This lfTorld. A Dudleitrn Lecturei Delivered before the University in. Ca,u- 7 bridge, A1ay 13, 1S29. Gu11bridgc: " • J\1ctcnlf and Co., r 829. l83 3 - Francisi Convers ( 1793-1863). "Pop.ery and Its I(indred Principles! U nfricn dl r to the I tnprovcmcn t of 1\1 n. A Dud] cian Lecture D c li-ve:rcd before the University· in C-an1bridge~1\1ay 8,. 183 3i by Convers Francis, J\1inister of the Congregnti anal Soc1ety in ,vaterto\Yn.n 1\1S. 1837 - \\'a!keri James ( 1794-1874). "'Reaction jn Favour of the H.ornan Ca tho] ics. A Discourse JJclivered bcf ore the Uni ver~ty jn Camb ridge at the Du dlcian Lcctu re, .i\1-ay 1 o, 1 8 J 7.'' 1\1S. 1841 - Damon~ Dav1d ( 17~7-184 3). "'Dudician Lecture Dcli'rcred in the CoHcge Chapd, \V cdnesday the 1.1.th of i\1:ay, 1 S-41 by the Revd. David Dnn1on of,,, est Cambridge.'' i\-IS. 1 845 - Park, Ed Vi.'ardsArn asa ( 1808-1 900). ,.ern tel kc tua l and N1oniI Tnfl uence of R.0111 :l nis n1. A Dud 1cj an Lecture De.livered bcf ore the Uni versi t):r in Cain bridge, i'\·lay 14, i 845/' Bihliot/:JecaSacrn, TI ( 1845), 451-48 EL 1849 - Illagdcn, George Washington ( i 802-1 SS4). ccDudleian Lech1re by George \~r. Tibgdcnt 0.1).i Delivered J\-:lay9thi 1849.'' lv1S. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968) Tbc Tbird Lecture 1853 ~Ilurnap 1 George W. (18oi~1859),. "The F..rrors and Superstitions of ti le Church of Rome. Being the Dud lcfa.n Lee rure Delivered in the Chapel of Harvard Co1lcgc1 on Wednesday, i\·fay r ith, 1853/' '1.. /Je Christian Exau1iner and Religious A!isceilauy,J ... V (1853), 46---63. 1857-Nealet Rollin Heber ( i 80~-•879). uoudleian Lecture by Rollin Heber Neale Delivered in the Chapel of H an~ard Co11ege1 May 1 3th, 185 7 .. '' h1S. l891 -Emerton., Ephraim (1851-1935). uThe Dudleian Lecture for the Year 1891,n The Andover Revie~,~ X\ 7II ( 1891), 2.38-259. 1895 - Herford, Eroo ke ( 18 3o-1903}. Li berali:r1n' s Answer to the Clai1n s of the Ro111ishChurch~ Boston: I·I. Ellis, 1895. r 899 Toy-1 Cra,vford Ho\\'ell, LL.D. ( 1836-1919),. ~~PopeLeo XIII/' The Christianl~egister, LXXIX ( 1900), 65-69,. 1904 - Allen, Alexander \Tiets G r.is,vol d ( I 841-190 B).. ' 4The Catho lie Church and the l\1odern Sense of Nationality .. The Third Dudlcis.n Lecture · by Alexander Vic ts G riS\voId AIIent Profcssor of Churcll 1-fistory in the Episcopal Theological School jn Catnbridge, April 6, 1904/' 1\1S. 1909 AlcGiffert., i\rthur Cushnrnn ( 1861-1933),. "'1J\.1odcmismand Catholi- cis111,"Harvard Tbeolvgical Review, III ( 19 Io) i 24-46. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XVI, Number 4 (October 1968)