e Roman
to the Anglican. The spirit of the volume is not so gentle to the
Church of Rome, as Tract 71 published the year before; on the
contrary, it is very fierce; and this I attribute to the circumstance
that the volume is theological and didactic, whereas the Tract, being
controversial, assumes as little and grants as much as possible on
the points in dispute, and insists on points of agreement as well as
of difference. A further and more direct reason is, that in my volume
I deal with "Romanism" (as I call it), not so much in its formal
decrees and in the substance of its creed, as in its traditional
action and its authorised teaching as represented by its prominent
writers;--whereas the Tract is written as if discussing the
differences of the Churches with a view to a reconciliation between
them. There is a further reason too, which I will state presently.

But this volume had a larger scope than that of opposing the Roman
system. It was an attempt at commencing a system of theology on the
Anglican idea, and based upon Anglican authorities. Mr. Palmer, about
the same time, was projecting a work of a similar nature in his own
way. It was published, I think, under the title, "A Treatise on the
Christian Church." As was to be expected from the author, it was a
most learned, most careful composition; and in its form, I should
say, polemical. So happily at least did he follow the logical method
of the Roman Schools, that Father Perrone in his treatise on dogmatic
theology, recognised in him a combatant of the true cast, and saluted
him as a foe worthy of being vanquished. Other soldiers in that field
he seems to have thought little better than the _lanzknechts_ of the
middle ages, and, I dare say, with very good reason. When I knew that
excellent and kind-hearted man at Rome at a later time, he allowed me
to put him to ample penance for those light thoughts of me, which he
had once had, by encroaching on his valuable time with my theological
questions. As to Mr. Palmer's book, it was one which no Anglican
could write but himself,--in no sense, if I recollect aright, a
tentative work. The ground of controversy was cut into squares, and
then every objection had its answer. This is the proper method to
adopt in teaching authoritatively young men; and the work in fact was
intended for students in theology. My own book, on the other hand,
was of a directly tentative and empirical character. I wished to
build up an Anglican