osophy will tell the tale. "It must be
remembered that an Oxford scheme was never Newman's ideal. It was a
concession to necessities of the hour. His ideal scheme, alike for
education of the young and for the necessary intellectual defence of
Christianity, had consistently been the erection of a large Catholic
University like Louvain. This he had tried to set up in Ireland. In
such an institution, _research and discussion of the questions of the day
would be combined_ as in the middle ages with a Catholic atmosphere, the
personal ascendancy of able _Christian professors_ and directly
_religious influence_ for the young men." (Life of Newman)--by Ward.

Were there question only of postgraduate work, of some special course in
agriculture, domestic science, there would be no difficulty, we believe,
to see Catholic students take advantage of the marvellous facilities our
state universities offer. The matter, the short term of these courses or
the advanced age of the pupil would be in themselves sufficient
guarantee. _But what we strongly object to is the Arts Course, and
particularly undergraduate work_, even were the contentious subjects,
such as philosophy and history, be given by Catholic teachers to Catholic
students separately. The Arts Course, we must remember, is the real
dominating factor in higher education. For we maintain with Cardinal
Newman that a University is a place of teaching universal knowledge and
that its object is primarily intellectual. It has in view the diffusion
and extension of knowledge, rather than its advancement, which is
reserved to Academies. It is the Arts Course of a University,
particularly its Philosophy, that gives this general knowledge and
enlargement of the mind. Its influence is most telling in the various
Faculties where students specialize for their future career. For
Philosophy plays such a large part in _human life, the movement of
opinions and the direction of minds_. The Catholic student in those most
plastic years, in that critical period of receptivity, wherein ideas are
analyzed and synthesized for life time, cannot help but imbibe ideas and
doctrines opposed to his belief. The elite alone, we believe, can resist
in the long run the influence of that indefinable quality called
atmosphere, and maintain among so many cross-currents, the right course.
The ordinary and inexperienced mind will be, if not contaminated, at
least weakened and this alone is disastrous