cometh to judgment. The tower is Christ, for he is a strong tower for us against the enemy. The door is also Christ, for he said, 'I am the Door.' The font is close by the door, for by baptism we put on Christ, and enter by the Door' into the sheepfold.' It is of stone, as is also the altar, because Christ is our Rock,' and he is the stone cut out from the mountain.' The pavement is humility, as David saith, 'my soul cleaveth unto the ground.' (Adhæsit pavimento anima mea. Vulg.) The great piers or pillars are apostles, for St. Paul saith of Peter, James, and John, that they seemed to be pillars.' The windows are Holy Scripture, as saith the Psalmist, 'the entrance of thy words giveth light.' The glass is stained and thus darkened, for here we see through a glass darkly.' The stars and angels in the roof are the heavenly host, for St. Paul speaks of the whole family in heaven and earth' as one household. The chancel, arch, and screen, signifies the grave and gate of Death,' by which all must pass from the Church militant to the Church triumphant. The halls are the rest that is in store for the servants of God.' The sanctuary, at the extreme east, is adorned with the highest brilliance, for the New Jerusalem has streets of gold, gates of pearls, and walls of twelve manner of precious stones." Classical and Miscellaneous. EUROPEAN. LORD JEFFREY, for twenty-seven years Editor of the Edinburgh Review, and, by virtue of that position, and the talent with which he filled it, one of the chief directors of the English mind of the present age, died at his seat near Edinburgh, on Saturday, January 26th, in the 67th year of his age. For one who wishes to know the present aspect of the banks of the Nile, the next best thing after going to Egypt, or seeing Gliddon's panorama, is to read "The Nile Boat; or, Glimpses of the Land of Egypt; illustrated by thirty-five steel Engravings and Maps; also, numerous Woodcuts. By W. H. Bartlett, Author of Forty Days in the Desert,''Walks about Jerusalem,'" &c. We believe that Messrs. Harper & Brothers intend to republish it here. We regret to learn, from the Classical Museum for January, that that valuable Journal is to be discontinued. The support it has received is too slender to sustain it.. The six volumes will form a valuable addition to any scholar's library. Among the books in general literature recently announced in Great Britain are the following:-Specimens of Ornamental Art, by Lewis Gruner; selected from the best Models of the Classical Epochs. Eighty Plates, large folio, with descriptive letterpress, by Emil Braun:-The Decorative Arts of the Middle Ages, by Henry Shaw, F. S. A.; Part 1, 8vo:-Political Economy, by Nassau W. Senior, Esq., late Professor of Political Economy in the University of Oxford; being the sixth volume of the octavo reissue of the Encyclopædia Metropolitana :-The English Revolution of 16401688, by M. Guizot; 8vo. :-Latter-Day Pamphlets, by Thomas Carlyle; No. 1, The Present Time; No. 2, Model Prisons: The Hand Atlas of Physical Geography; comprising twenty-five Maps, engraved on steel in the first manner and finely coloured; compiled from Berghaus, Karl Ritter, Elie Beaumont, Ami Boué, Schouw, &c.; 1 vol., 12mo. :-Dr. Vogel's Illustrated Physical Atlas, (for Schools,) containing nine Maps, large imperial, full coloured, with Descriptive Letter-press:-Hints for the Earnest Student; or, A Year-Book for the Young. Compiled by Mrs. W. Fison. Fcp., 8vo. :Turkey and its Destiny, by Charles Macfarlane, Esq.; 2 vols. 8vo. :-Norway, in 1848 and 1849; by Thomas Forester; with illustrations, &c.; 8vo. :-Observations on the Social State and Economy of various Parts of Europe; being the Second Series of "Notes of a Traveller;" by S. Laing; 8vo. :-Impressions of a Central and Southern Europe, being Notes of Successive Journeys; by W. E. Baxter ; 8vo. :-Historical Memoirs of Cardinal Pacca, Prime Minister to Pius VI.; translated from the Italian by Sir George Head; 2 vols., post 8vo. The Social Condition and Educa tion of the People in England and Europe; by Joseph Kay, Esq., M. A., 2 volumes, post 8vo. :-The Comedy of Dante, a new translation, by Patrick Bannerman, Esq. :A new edition of the Works of Alexander Pope; with Notes, an Original Life, and 100 Unpublished Letters; by the Rt. Hon. John Wilson Croker; with portraits, 4 vols., 8vo. - Personal Narrative of an Englishman Domesticated in Abyssinia, by Mansfield Parkyns, Esq., 8vo. :-The Life of Tasso, by the Rev. R. Milman; 2 vols., post 8vo. :-London Literary Society in the days of Samuel Johnson, from the papers of the late Henry Roscoe, by William Weir; 2 vols., post 8vo. AMERICAN. It is well known that Dr. Wayland, President of Brown University, has long been dissatisfied with the American system of collegiate instruction. His views were developed, to some extent, in a small volume published some years ago. An attempt is now making to put these views into practice, by in part reorganizing Brown University nearly upon the plan of the German universities. We should be glad to see the experiment tried. Messrs. Harper & Brothers have nearly ready for publication A Second Book in Greek, containing Syntax with Reading Lessons in Prose; Prosody and the Dialects, with Reading Lessons in Verse; forming a sufficient Greek Reader: with a Dictionary, by Professors M'Clintock & Crooks, 1 vol., 12mo. :-A. New Gradus Ad Parnassum of the Latin Language; containing every Word used by the Poets of good Authority; by C. D. Yonge, B. A. :Smith's New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology, and Geography; edited by Charles Anthon, LL. D.; royal 8vo. :-An English-Greek Lexicon; containing all the Greek Words used by Writers of good Authority: citing the Authorities in Chronological Order; by C. D. Yonge. Edited, with large Additions, by Henry Drisler, M. A. Royal 8vo., sheep:A Greek and English Lexicon of the New Testament, by Edward Robinson, D. D., LL. D. A new edition, revised, and in great part rewritten. Royal 8vo. sheep:A Latin-English Lexicon; from the new German Work of Dr. Freund; augmented with important Additions, by Professor AnRoyal 8vo:-Buttman's Larger drews. Greek Grammar. A Greek Grammar for the Use of High-schools and Universities, by Philip Buttman. From the 17th German edition, corrected and enlarged, by Edward Robinson, D. D., LL. D. A new edition. 12mo. :-An Introduction to the Study of the English Language, by Prof. Fowler ; 8vo. :The Cradle of the Twin Giants, Science and History. By the Rev. Henry Christmas, M. A., F. R. S., F. S. A., Librarian of Zion College; 8vo. :-Lavengro: an Autobiography. By G. Borrow, Esq. 8vo. Cheap edition-The Pillars of Hercules; or, a Narrative of Travels in Spain and Morocco, in 1848. By David Urquhart, Esq., M. P. 2 vols. 12mo. :-The Plays of Terence: with Notes, Critical and Explanatory, by Charles Anthon, LL. D. 12mo., sheep:Woman's Record; or, Biographical Sketches of all Distinguished Women from the Creation to the Present Era; with rare Gems of Thought selected from the most celebrated Female Writers. By Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale. With over 200 portraits; 8vo. -The Shoulder-Knot; or, Sketches of the Three-fold Life of Man. A Story of the 17th Century. By B. F. Tefft. 12mo.. muslin. Though we have given twelve pages over our usual number, we are compelled to omit the Religious Intelligence, as well as a number of Critical Notices. THE METHODIST QUARTERLY REVIEW. JULY, 1850. ART L-MORELL'S PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. The Philosophy of Religion. By J. D. MORELL, A. M., Author of the History of Modern Philosophy, &c. New-York: D. Appleton & Co., 200 Broadway; Philadelphia, George S. Appleton, 164 Chesnut-street. 1849. 12mo., pp. 359. THE relation of philosophy to religion is one of those problems that it would seem each age must work out for itself. Whether the equation is really indeterminate, or whether we must wait for some more potent analysis than has hitherto been discovered, we cannot tell; but the fact stands palpably out, that every age has made the effort, and, by the demonstration of the age that followed it, has signally failed. That this failure occurred among the sages of Persia and India, and the yet loftier speculators of the Porch and the Academy, is a matter that cannot excite our surprise, for both philosophy and religion were yet in their infancy; and men at once dogmatized on an unknown science, and worshipped an unknown God. But we would naturally suppose, that after "life and immortality" had been brought to light in the gospel, a clearer conception of the relation of these great departments of thought would be attained. In this supposition, however, we are sadly mistaken. The Gnostic, the Neo-Platonist, the Scholastic, the Cartesian, and the successive schools of England, France, and Germany, have in turn shouted the joyful evonka, only to have it triumphantly proved by the school which succeeded, that a fatal fallacy existed in the analysis, and that the problem was yet unsolved. The appearance of Mr. Morell's History of Speculative Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century, was greeted with no little satisfaction by the thinking world. Much of this satisfaction was produced by the novelty of the field that was opened up, and the clear, transparent style in which the crabbed technicalities of GerFOURTH SERIES, VOL. II.-23 man metaphysics were explained to the mere English scholar. And Mr. Morell evinced, in that work, much good sense, as well as a fair acquaintance with the course of modern philosophy. There was also an apparent reverence for Christianity—a quality so rare in those who make extensive excursions in this field, that it was doubly welcome in one who had explored it so widely. But, at the same time, his manner of treating some of the fundamental doctrines of natural religion, gave rise to suspicion that he entertained views of Christianity at variance with the common opinions on the subject. These suspicions were confirmed by his "Lectures on the Philosophical Tendencies of the Age," in which he discussed the philosophic doctrines of Positivism, of Individualism, of Traditionalism, and of Common Sense. In these discussions he developed some opinions that paved the way for those he has since avowed. Yet, notwithstanding these indications, high hopes were felt that this contribution to the Philosophy of Religion would throw very important light on this difficult subject. The writer had been brought up at the fect of Wardlaw; his early training had been gained in the clear school of the Scotch metaphysics; his recent investigations had familiarized him with the profoundest investigations of modern times; and it was hoped that he combined in his own case the elements necessary for a solution of the high problems contained in the philosophy of religion. It was, we honestly confess, with such feelings as these that we eagerly seized the volume before us. We hoped that now, at least, we should find an interpreter between the old Christianity and the new metaphysics; one who thoroughly understood the language, and partook of the spirit, of both; and who, possessing somewhat of the confidence of each, could mediate between them, and show us the nexus by which they are connected in the great circle of truth. Our hopes were somewhat damped by the preface, and sunk lower and lower as we proceeded in the perusal of the work, until we laid it down, at the conclusion, with sadness of heart, feeling that if these great problems are soluble at all, this effort, at least, had failed to solve them. We do not mean to bring any railing accusations against Mr. Morell, or to call him by any of the hard names he repudiates with so much spirit in his preface: nor do we mean to undervalue the wonderful contributions made by German intellect to the knowledge of the world. But our deliberate judgment is, that instead of this work being the philosophy of religion, it is philosophy versus religion; and that if we adopt the principles here avowed, we must choose between our metaphysics and our Chris tianity. We do not say, nor do we believe, that Mr. Morell is not a Christian; nor would we dream of putting him in the same category with the Strausses, the Parkers, and the Emersons of the present age; much less with the Voltaires, the Gibbons, and the Paines of a past; but we deliberately aver, that if we believed with Mr. Morell, we must renounce everything that to us is peculiar and essential to Christianity. Whilst we are willing to believe that he is a Christian, we believe his Philosophy of Religion to be anti-Christian and perilous in the extreme. This charge, we admit, is very serious; but, as he has not been at all chary in speaking of our positions, we shall use the same liberty with his, and endeavour, not only to make the charge, but to prove it. With the preface we need not be detained, for it contains but little that is worthy of special remark. It however seems to us to be needlessly waspish, as introductory to themes so grand and awful as those which are discussed in this book. There is connected with this asperity a tone of ill-concealed contempt for modern Christianity, at least in its English type, that must rather irritate than conciliate; and a real or affected ignorance of some of its most cherished doctrines, (as when Mr. Morell speaks of "the eternal procession of the Son,") that sits unfavourably on one who comes forth to act as an umpire and interpreter between conflicting systems. Some of his remarks, however, we regard to be just. There is, throughout the Church, a very vague feeling of hostility and suspicion directed towards everything German, that is too indiscriminate in its cen We have received much that is good, as well as much that is evil, from the patient thinkers of Germany; and it is unwise to deprive ourselves of the one, because of the other. But we must say that this book, instead of diminishing, will rather tend to increase this feeling of suspicion and hostility. The first chapter discusses the faculties of the human mind. It places human personality in the will, and regards it as "the essential nature or principle of the human mind." The essence of the soul, accordingly, consists in pure, spontaneous activity, that lies behind all its determinations; and this is the central point of a man's consciousness, that which distinguishes him from every other man, called indifferently spontaneity, personality, self, or will. 66 This definition of the concrete essence of mind" is somewhat surprising. The essence of a thing is usually understood to be, what remains when everything individual and peculiar has been abstracted. The essence of matter is that which remains when all the peculiar properties of any particular kind of matter have been removed, and we have left that only which is common to all |