Newman Studies Journal

Volume 9, Issue 2, Fall 2012

Marcin Kuczok
Pages 38-54

The Christian Life as War in John Henry Newman’s Parochial and Plain Sermons (1834–1843)

Among the various descriptions of the Christian life in Newman’s Parochial and Plain Sermons (1834–1843), the metaphor of war is prominent. This essay examines Newman’s extensive use of the metaphor of war from the viewpoint of cognitive semantics, which assumes that transcendental reality can only be conceived of and described in language that uses such conceptual mechanisms as image schemata, metaphor, metonymy, and conceptual blending. Analyzing the conceptual phenomena inherent in the metaphor of war provides both a better understanding of Newman’s Parochial and Plain Sermons as well as a better appreciation of Newman’s understanding of the Christian life.