There has been a continuous ebb and flow of interest in Newman down through the last hundred years. During his lifetime many people silently revered him for his holy life, his undoubted sincerity and his persuasive preaching of the word of God. They also admired him for sacrificing his most treasured possessions in order to follow his own conscience and the voice of truth.
In fact, it was not simply the intellectual genius of the man nor was it his fascinating use of words that gave him the influence he wielded. It was the moral qualities of the writer himself and the persuasive power of the truth he spoke that enlightened and encouraged countless people.