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The Bampton Lectures, 1899
Considered in Eight Lectures Delivered before the University of Oxford
by
WILLIAM RALPH INGE, D.D.
Dean Of S. Paul's
Methuen & Co. Ltd.36 Essex Street W.c.London
Extract
From The Last Will And Testament
Of The Late
Rev. John Bampton
Canon Of Salisbury
——"I give and bequeath my Lands and Estates to the Chancellor,Masters, and Scholars of the University of Oxford for ever, to haveand to hold all and singular the said Lands and Estates upon trust,and to the intents and purposes hereinafter mentioned; that is to say,I will and appoint that the Vice-Chancellor of the University ofOxford for the time being shall take and receive all the rents,issues, and profits thereof, and (after all taxes, reparations, andnecessary deductions made) that he pay all the remainder to theendowment of eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, to be established forever in the said University, and to be performed in the mannerfollowing:
"I direct and appoint that upon the first Tuesday in Easter Term, aLecturer be yearly chosen by the Heads of Colleges only, and by noothers, in the room adjoining to the Printing-House, between the hoursof ten in the morning and two in the afternoon, to preach eightDivinity Lecture Sermons, the year following, at St. Mary's in Oxford,between the commencement of the last month in Lent Term, and the endof the third week in Act Term.
"Also I direct and appoint, that the eight Divinity Lecture Sermonsshall be preached upon either of the following Subjects—to confirmand establish the Christian Faith, and to confute all heretics andschismatics—upon the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures—uponthe authority of the writings of the primitive Fathers, as to thefaith and practice of the primitive Church—upon the Divinity of ourLord and Saviour Jesus Christ—upon the Divinity of the HolyGhost—upon the Articles of the Christian Faith, as comprehended inthe Apostles' and Nicene Creeds.
"Also I direct that thirty copies of the eight Divinity LectureSermons shall be always printed within two months after they arepreached; and one copy shall be given to the Chancellor of theUniversity, and one copy to the head of every College, and one copy tothe Mayor of the City of Oxford, and one copy to be put into theBodleian Library; and the expense of printing them shall be paid outof the revenue of the Land or Estates given for establishing theDivinity Lecture Sermons; and the Preacher shall not be paid, norentitled to the revenue, before they are printed.
"Also I direct and appoint, that no person shall be qualified topreach the Divinity Lecture Sermons, unless he hath taken the degreeof Master of Arts at least, in one of the two Universities of Oxfordor Cambridge; and that the same person shall never preach the DivinityLecture Sermons twice."
The first of the subjects which, according to the will of CanonBampton, are prescribed for the Lecturers upon his foundation, is theconfirmation and establishment of the Christian faith. This is the aimwhich I have kept in view in preparing this volume; and I should wishmy book to be judged as a contribution to apologetics, rather than asa historical sketch of Christian Mysticism. I say this because Idec