Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

single reservation. The illustrations are disgracefully bad. Thackeray was not remarkable for his skill in drawing; but his sketches were occasionally very full of humorous expression. The drawings of the Messrs. Harper are reduced in size from the original wood-cuts; and, while in the process the drawing is by no means improved, every trace of expression is carefully eliminated. The unhappy man who executed the picture of Dobbin lying under a tree, in the fifth chapter, must have been filled with remorse when he came to discover that he had made a dreadful caricature of the only virtuous man in the book. We recommend the publishers in the succeeding volumes to either pay more attention to the execution of the illustrations, or omit them altogether.

NEW PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

THEOLOGICAL AND RELIGIOUS.

The Church of the First Three Centuries; or, Notices of the Lives and Opinions of the Early Fathers, with special reference to the Doctrine of the Trinity, illustrating its Late Origin and Gradual Formation. By Alvan Lamson, D.D. Second edition, revised and enlarged. Boston: Walker, Fuller, & Co. 8vo. pp. 410.

The Graver Thoughts of a Country Parson. Second Series. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. pp. 332.

A Commentary on the Lord's Prayer. By W. Denton. Edited and enlarged by H. J. Fox. New York: Carlton & Porter. 24mo. pp. 208.

Hallowed Songs; a Collection of the most popular Hymns and Tunes. New York: Carlton & Porter. (Containing 400 hymns, and nearly as many tunes, well selected, and in a form extremely convenient for use).

Hours among the Gospels; or, Wayside Truths from the Life of our Lord. By N. Č. Burt, D.D). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 12mo. Pp. 215.

Christianity and Statesmanship, with Kindred Topics. By William Hague, D.D. New edition. Boston: Gould & Lincoln. 12mo. pp. 414.

The Verdict of Reason upon the Question of the Future Punishment of those who die Impenitent. By Henry Martyn Dexter. Boston: Nichols & Noyes. pp. 157.

History of Congregationalism from about A.D. 250 to the Present Time; in continuation of the Account of the Origin and Earliest History of this System of Church Polity contained in "A View of Congregationalism." By George Punchard. Second edition, rewritten and greatly enlarged. New York: Hurd & Houghton. 12mo. 2 vols. pp. 562, 519.

Our Country; its Trial and its Triumph. A Series of Discourses suggested by the varying Events of the War for the Union. By George Peck. New York: Carlton & Porter. pp. 300.

HISTORY AND POLITICS.

Historical View of the American Revolution. By George Washington Greene. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. pp. 459.

History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. By James Antony Froude. New York: Charles Scribner & Co. Vols. I., II. pp. 447, 501. (To be reviewed.).

Canada; its Defences, Condition, and Resources. By W. Howard Russell. Boston Burnham. pp. 310.

:

A Smaller History of Rome, from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire. By William Smith. With a Continuation to A.D. 476. By Eugene Lawrence. New York: Harper & Brothers. 24mo. pp. 365.

SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY.

A Treatise on Astronomy. By Elias Loomis. New York: Harper & Brothers. 8vo. pp. 338.

Annual of Scientific Discovery; or, Year-Book of Facts in Science and Art for 1865. Edited by David A. Wells. Boston: Gould & Lincoln. pp. 355.

A View at the Foundations; or, First Causes of Character, as operative before Birth from Hereditary and Spiritual Sources. By Woodbury M. Fernald. Boston: William V. Spencer. pp. 210.

Know the Truth; a Critique on the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation, including Seven Strictures on the Theories of Rev. Henry L. Mansel, and Mr. Herbert Spencer. By Jesse H. Jones. New York: Hurd & Houghton. pp. 225.

CRITICISM, ETC.

Essays in Criticism. By Matthew Arnold. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. 12mo. pp. 506.

Homeric Translation in Theory and Practice. A reply to Matthew Arnold, Esq. By Francis W. Newman, a Translator of the Iliad. London: Williams & Norgate. 8vo. pp. 104.

The Iliad of Homer, rendered into English Blank Verse, by Edward, Earl of Derby. New York: Charles Scribner & Co. 2 vols. (To be reviewed.)

NOVELS AND TALES.

At Anchor; a Story of our Civil War. By an American. New York: D. Appleton & Co. pp. 311.

Kate Kennedy; A Son of the Soil; Miss Mackenzie, by Anthony Trollope; On Guard, by Annie Thomas; Theo. Leigh, by the Same. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Beatrice. By Julia Kavanagh. New York: D. Appleton & Co. pp. 520.

The Ideal Attained; being the Story of two Steadfast Souls, and how they won their Happiness, and lost it not. By Eliza W. Farnham. New York: C. M. Plumb & Co. 8vo. pp. 510.

The Clever Woman of the Family. By the author of "The Heir of Redclyffe." New York: D. Appleton & Co. 8vo. pp. 233.

The Gayworthys; a Story of Threads and Thrums. By the author of "Faith Gartney's Girlhood." Boston: Loring. pp. 399.

The Young Lieutenant; or, the Adventures of an Army Officer. A Story of the Great Rebellion. By William T. Adams. Boston: Lee & Shepard. 8vo. pp. 383.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Companion Poets for the People. 1. Household Poems, by H. W. Longfellow; 2. Songs for all Seasons, by Alfred Tennyson. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. 16mo. pp. 96.

Hasty Recognition of Rebel Belligerency, and our Right to complain of it. By George Bemis. Boston: A. Williams & Co. 8vo. pp. 57.

The President's Words; a Selection of Passages from the Speeches, Addresses, and Letters of Abraham Lincoln. Boston: Walker, Fuller, & Co. pp. 186.

4

THE

CHRISTIAN EXAMINER.

SEPTEMBER, 1865.

ART. I.-THEISM AND CHRISTIANITY.

[ocr errors]

THE "Christian Examiner" has already given its word of welcome and praise to the recent volume by Dr. Hedge, entitled "Reason in Religion." In prefacing our present argument with a few remarks upon the theory of religious belief contained in it, we desire to re-affirm, cordially, the general judgment there expressed. It is a work of great and permanent value. The essays which compose it possess qualities which are rarely united, deep thoughtfulness and artistic beauty, solidity of substance and elegance of finish. The style is admirable, and, by an unsurpassed mastery of words and felicity of illustration, fascinates and perpetually delights the reader. Great thoughts are frequently condensed with epigrammatic terseness to the ultimate limit of compressibility, and thus rendered "portable property," -jewels which will be heirlooms to posterity. The essays are enriched, but not encumbered, by the deep and varied scholarship for which Dr. Hedge enjoys so high a reputation. The treatment of special topics, while combining originality of conception with very striking forms of presentation, exhibits likewise what is of vastly greater moment than these, a rare depth of religious feeling and experience, and a truth of spiritual insight which sometimes soars to genuine inspiration. Throughout

VOL. LXXIX.-5TH S. VOL. XVII. NO. II.

[ocr errors]

14

the entire work, there breathes a spirit of intense earnestness, loyalty to conviction, reverence for God, and charity for man, which appeals irresistibly to the reader's best sympathies, and touches the secret springs of aspiration and worship. A soul hungry for truth and life will find rich pasturage in its pages.

But, however valuable they may be in their insulation, the general plan and structure of the work entitle us to expect something more than a series of religious essays. It is presented in a form which warrants a demand for organic unity: its title, divisions, and subdivisions, excite the expect ation of a certain theological coherence, and justify the inquiry, whether there exists a universally dominant principle which controls and vitalizes the whole. Yet, viewed as a religious philosophy, or an attempt to organize rational religion, we find grave deficiencies, both in general scope and special execution. Its logic is sometimes so exceedingly loose as to permit point-blank contradictions, even in the same sentence.* Its breadth of survey and precision of statement are unequal to its depth of insight. Its speculative value is inferior to its spiritual uses. It very imperfectly carries out the application of reason to religion. On those great radical questions, the answer to which determines the answer to all others, a vagueness and vacillation exist, which seriously impair its value, in the eyes of scientific criticism, as a contribution to philosophical theology.

A most important question, considered as a problem for reason to solve, is this: On what side of our nature do we come into contact with the spiritual world? by what faculty

*For instance, on p. 218, we find it stated, that "Christian Churches, as organized bodies of believers, must stand or fall with the Christian confession,-— that is, the confession of Christ as divinely human Master and Head." Here we have, as the "Christian confession," three distinct articles or propositions, — Christ is divine, Christ is human, Christ is Master and Head of the Church. Yet, on p. 221, it is said: "Catholicism does not consist in uniformity of articles, but in unity of spirit, not in a common exposition, but a common confession and mutual good-will." Here uniformity of articles is affirmed and denied in the same sentence, as the essence of Catholicism; for, as we have just seen, the "common confession" is "uniformity of articles."

do we apprehend the great truths of religion? This question. lies at the very threshold of inquiry; yet Dr. Hedge gives no explicit answer to it, or rather it seems impossible to reconcile his conflicting answers. It is true, his negative position is clear, and consistently maintained: the understanding is declared incompetent to "discover and establish the truths of religion" (p. 12). "There is no way to God through the understanding, which knows only to arrange and elaborate what the senses supply" (p. 36). "Truths of this order [i. e., the spiritual order] are apprehended by some other faculty than the sensuous understanding. The Holy Spirit is the teacher here" (p. 287). And this negative position, repeatedly affirmed in other passages, is, we believe, nowhere contradicted. But when we attempt to discover his positive position, and determine what this "other faculty" is, we are perplexed by discordant statements.

"Subjectively, then, the Holy Spirit is to be considered a divine instinct in man; a special faculty, differing from reason and understanding, and the other faculties of the mind, in this, that it always speaks with authority" (p. 291).

In this passage, the Holy Spirit seems to be regarded as a human faculty, cognizant by itself of divine things, and distinct equally from reason and from understanding. Yet in the following passage it seems to be regarded as God's spiritual influence, determining reason itself to the perception of spiritual truth:

"The Spirit acts on the reason and on the will. It inspires the knowledge of moral and spiritual truths, and it quickens the moral and spiritual life. We are influenced by it in our perceptions and in our practice" (p. 286).

With regard to the religious function of reason, the passage last cited appears to show that it is an intuitive faculty cognizant of God; as, likewise, the following: "All that reason teaches of God is expressed in the saying, 'God is Law"" (p. 123). But, on the other hand, certain passages seem to show that reason teaches nothing whatever of God.

« AnteriorContinuar »