The rest of his life belongs mainly to theological history. He became one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement (1833-1841) toward stricter High-Church principles, as opposed to liberalism, and in 1845 he joined the Catholic Church. He was rector of the new Catholic University at Dublin from 1854 to 1858. In 1879 he was made a cardinal. Most of his later life was spent at Edgbaston (near Birmingham) at the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Works and General Characteristics.--Newman was a voluminous writer. An edition of his works in thirty-six volumes was issued during his lifetime. Most of these properly belong to the history of theological thought. His _Apologia pro Vita Sua_, which he wrote in reply to an attack by Charles Kingsley, an Episcopal clergyman, is really, as its sub-title indicates, _A History of His Religious Opinions_. This intimate, sympathetic account of his religious experiences won him many friends. He wrote two novels: _Loss and Gain_ (1848), which gives an excellent picture of Oxford society during the last days of the Oxford Movement, and _Callista_ (1852), a vivid story of an early Christian martyr in Africa. His best-known hymn, _Lead kindly Light_, remains a favorite with all Christian denominations. _The Dream of Gerontius_ (1865) is a poem that has been called "the happiest effort to represent the unseen world that has been made since the time of Dante." Those who are not interested in Newman's Episcopal or Catholic sermons or in his great theological treatises will find some of his best prose in the work known as _The Idea of a University_. This volume, containing 521 pages, is composed of discussions, lectures, and essays, prepared while he was rector of the University at Dublin. Newman's prose is worthy of close study for the following reasons:-- (1) His style is a clear, transparent medium for the presentation of thought. He molded his sentences with the care of an artist. He said:-- "I have been obliged to take great pains with everything I have ever written, and I often write chapters over and over again, besides innumerable corrections and interlinear additions." His definition of style is "a thinking out into language," not an ornamental "addition from without." He employs his characteristic irony in ridiculing those who think that "_one_ man could do the thought and _another_ the style":--