"But on the other hand, while disclaiming any change in my opinions, I desire equally to disclaim the representations of those opinions which have been put forward in some quarters"
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It’s the Victorian equivalent of a strategic sidestep: Lightfoot wants you to know he’s not backing down, but he’s also not going to let his opponents narrate him into heresy. The sentence is built like a legal brief disguised as pastoral politeness. “Disclaiming” does double duty, first as a declaration of steadfastness (“no change in my opinions”), then as a controlled detonation of the rumor mill (“disclaim the representations... put forward in some quarters”). He’s separating belief from branding.
The intent is reputational triage. In 19th-century Anglican theology, “opinions” weren’t private takes; they were markers of orthodoxy with institutional consequences. Lightfoot, a major New Testament scholar and later Bishop of Durham, worked in a culture where theological disputes traveled fast, and caricature traveled faster. Controversies over biblical criticism, doctrinal development, and the boundary between scholarship and skepticism made “representation” a weapon: you didn’t have to refute a man’s argument if you could recast it as capitulation to modernity or disloyalty to the Church.
The subtext is pointed: I am not moving; you are misquoting me. “Some quarters” is a genteel dodge that still lands as an accusation. He doesn’t dignify his critics with names, which keeps him above the scrum while still alerting allies that a coordinated distortion is underway. The phrase “on the other hand” signals balance, but it’s really a rhetorical shield: continuity of conviction, coupled with a demand for interpretive fairness.
The intent is reputational triage. In 19th-century Anglican theology, “opinions” weren’t private takes; they were markers of orthodoxy with institutional consequences. Lightfoot, a major New Testament scholar and later Bishop of Durham, worked in a culture where theological disputes traveled fast, and caricature traveled faster. Controversies over biblical criticism, doctrinal development, and the boundary between scholarship and skepticism made “representation” a weapon: you didn’t have to refute a man’s argument if you could recast it as capitulation to modernity or disloyalty to the Church.
The subtext is pointed: I am not moving; you are misquoting me. “Some quarters” is a genteel dodge that still lands as an accusation. He doesn’t dignify his critics with names, which keeps him above the scrum while still alerting allies that a coordinated distortion is underway. The phrase “on the other hand” signals balance, but it’s really a rhetorical shield: continuity of conviction, coupled with a demand for interpretive fairness.
Quote Details
| Topic | Honesty & Integrity |
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