Hello and welcome to American Catholic History, brought to you by the support of listeners like you.

If you like this podcast and would like to support our work, please visit American Catholic History.org

slash support. I'm Noelle Heister Crowe. And I'm Tom Crow. Today we're talking about the

conversion of Arrestes Brownson, one of the most prolific writers and most important

intellectuals of the 19th century. Now, it's important to emphasize what you just said there.

Brownson wasn't just one of the most important Catholic intellectuals or most important

American intellectuals, but he truly was one of the most important writers and thinkers of the

19th century. Right. And in his 41st year, he converted to Catholicism after decades of religious

seeking. His conversion was seen by some as just the latest fad in his process of religious self-discovery, but as we'll see, Brownson saw something much more significant in becoming Catholic than in any of his previous religious movement.

Yeah, and as you said before, he was a major writer and thinker of his time. He did nothing and said nothing by half measures.

At each step along his path, he was all in on that thing and wrote extensively about his thinking.

So when he became Catholic, he led people know why.

And his writings led one associate to say of him,

no one has ever equaled Mr. Brownson in the ability which he has over time to refute his own arguments.

He has made the most elaborate and plausible plea for eclecticism and later the most elaborate and plausible plea against eclecticism.

He has said the very best things about transcendentalism and the very best things against it.

He has satisfactorily showed the truth of socialism and its necessity to bring about a golden age,

and he has, by the most convincing arguments, demonstrated that the whole socialist system is from the pit and can lead to nothing but anarchy and ruin.

Which should lead one to wonder if, since Brownson remained a staunch Orthodox Catholic for the latter 35 years of his life, why didn't people like that associate take note? Well, possibly because

they lacked Bronson's determination to always go where the evidence logically led, no matter

the personal cost. It's a common problem. People prefer comfort and stability to honesty

and integrity. That was not Bronsson's failing. He had others,

...