I  cannot  well  exaggerate  the  misery  of  such  a  state  of
things.  Here  the  English  theology  would  come  in  with
its  characteristic  calmness  and  caution,  clear  and  de-
cided in  its  view,  giving  no  encouragement  to  luke-
warmness  and  liberalism,  but  withholding  all  absolute
anathemas  on  errors  of  opinion,  except  where  the
primitive  Church  sanctions  the  use  of  them."  ^

Such,  then,  is  the  Anglican  Church  and  its  Via  Media,

^  Proph.  Off.  p.  26u


to  the  Apostolicity  of  the  Church.        377

aud  such  the  practical  application  of  it ;  it  is  an  inter-
position or  arbitration  between  the  extreme  doctrines  of
Protestantism  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  faith  of  Eome
which  Protestantism  contradicts  on  the  other.  At  the
same  time,  though  it  may  be  unwilling  to  allow  it,  it  is,
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  but  a  particular  form  of
Protestantism.  I  do  not  say  that  in  secondary  principles
it  may  not  agree  with  the  Catliolic  Church  ;  but,  its
essential  idea  being  that  she  has  gone  into  error,  whereas
the  essential  idea  of  Catholicism  is  the  Church's  infal-
libility, the  Via  Media  is  really  nothing  else  than
Protestant.  Not  to  submit  to  the  Church  is  to  oppose
her,  and  to  side  with  the  heretical  party  ;  for  medium
there  is  none.  The  Via  Media  assumes  that  Protestant-
ism is  right  in  its  protest  against  Catholic  doctrine,  only
that  that  protest  needs  correcting,  limiting,  perfecting.
