Robin C. Selby first became fascinated by Newman when he was a student of Tony Cockshut at Hertford College, Oxford, and he has remained fascinated ever since. When he was at Oxford his car was stolen, and by lucky chance the thief abandoned it in Birmingham. Robin took the opportunity to visit the Oratory, where he met Fr. Stephen Dessain, editor of Newman’s Letters and Diaries. Subsequently he carried out research for his thesis at the Oratory, where he met Ian Ker, author of Newman’s biography and other works. The thesis was published by the Oxford University Press as The Principle of Reserve in the Writings of John Henry Cardinal Newman (1975).
This article, presented in two parts, traces the use of “Reserve” in the writings of John Keble, John Henry Newman, and Isaac Williams. The principle of reserve was explored in the nineteenth-century Tractarian movement and is the idea that sacred truths should remain hidden until the person is prepared to receive them. Robin C. Selby published a book in 1975 on this topic, entitled, The Principle of Reserve in the Writings of John Henry, Cardinal Newman (Oxford University Press).
This article, presented in two parts, traces the use of “Reserve” in the writings of John Keble, John Henry Newman, and Isaac Williams. The principle of reserve was explored in the nineteenth-century Tractarian movement and is the idea that sacred truths should remain hidden until the person is prepared to receive them. Robin C. Selby published a book in 1975 on this topic, entitled, The Principle of Reserve in the Writings of John Henry, Cardinal Newman (Oxford University Press).
