his view of the case. The state of the soul after death, and before the final summoning to judgment, has been always a bewildering subject of speculation. Milton here decides that it suffers death, and that there is no recompence of good or bad till the day of judgment itself. The restoration of man takes place through Jesus Christ. He redeems all believers by his own blood: he renews us by bringing us into a state of grace, either naturally, by calling, or supernaturally, by regeneration and implanting in Christ. All are called, whether elect or reprobate. Of regeneration, the effects are repentance and saving faith: of regeneration combined with engrafting in Christ, newness of life and increase. Thence follow justification and adoption; union and communion with Christ and his members; and, finally, glorification inchoate and perfect. These topics, and others connected with them, are well handled; but it would sadly transgress our limits did we enter, ever so slightly, into their discussion; nor, as they do not display any thing peculiarly Miltonic, would it be exactly in accordance with our plan. He rejects the Roman Catholic doctrines of purgatory, and their theory of the efficacy of good works; and in his arguments on the mediatorial office, again very strongly asserts the humanity of Christ, and that in a way which will overthrow some of the theories of the commentators of Paradise Regained. The consideration of the covenant of grace introduces that of the law of God; and thence of the Gospel and Christian liberty. The Gospel is the new dispensation of the covenant of grace, far more excellent and perfect than the law, announced first obscurely by Moses and the prophets, afterwards in the clearest terms by Christ himself, and his apostles and evangelists, written since by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers, and ordained to continue even to the end of the world, containing a promise of eternal life to all in all nations, who shall believe in Christ when revealed to them, and a threat of eternal death to such as shall not believe. This would serve for a commentary on many passages in Paradise Lost. Sumner quotes Thy great Deliverer, who shall bruise Paradise Lost, xii. 149. The Woman's seed obscurely then foretold, Now amplier known thy Saviour and thy Lord.'—Ibid. 543.' He to his own a Comforter shall send, The promise of the Father, who shall dwell His Spirit within them, and the law of faith To which others might easily be added. This new dispensation utterly abrogates the old law, and leaves us in Christian liberty. "Christian liberty is that whereby we are loosed as it were by enfranchisement, through Christ our deliverer, from the bondage of sin, and consequently from the rule of the law and of man; to the intent that being made sons instead of servants, and perfect men instead of children, we may serve God in love through the guidance of the Spirit of truth." As one consequence from this doctrine, it follows that magistrates have no right to controul believers or deprive them, in any respect, of their religious liberty. But we fear that the clause immediately preceding this conclusion would go far towards putting the right into some one's hands; for we are told that the malicious or obstinate are not to be regarded, and that even the brethren themselves are to be withstood if they be influenced by motives unworthy of the Gospel. This is, we believe, all that is asked, even by the greatest of persecutors, the church of Rome. She, however, takes care to decide who are the malicious, what are motives unworthy of the Gospel, and how those actuated by them are to be withstood. Nor have those who clamour the loudest for Gospel liberty, when oppressed themselves, always shewn much regard for it when their turn of power came round. We believe we could find many proofs of our assertion in Milton's own time, were it worth our while to waste paper on the subject. Of sacraments, he acknowleges the two usually acknowleged by Protestants. Baptism must be of adults; and, we know not why, in running water. In the Lord's Supper he denies consubstantiation, and still more transubstantiation, or rather anthropophagy, for it deserves no better name,' p. 442.; and he holds that it may be administered by any one. The supremacy of a visible head of the church he denies, as also the necessity of regularly ordained ministers to perform any act of religious, or supposed religious, ceremony. All men are qualified to pray and preach, baptize and give the eucharist, and there can be still less shadow of reason for assigning to the ministers of the church the celebration of marriages or funerals, offices which hirelings' (a title he was fond of applying to paid clergy, P. L. iv. 193., Sonnet xvi., Prose works, iii. 391.) are wont to assume assume to themselves exclusively, without even the feeble semblance of prescription derived from the Levitical law.' P. 464. He suggests that the clergy should support themselves, like St. Paul, by their own industry; or, at all events, by the voluntary offerings of the faithful. This was a favorite theory of his, often broached. As the passage in which he expostulates against tythes is a favorable specimen of his Latin style, we shall extract it: Itaque decimas aut stipendium evangelicum pacisci aut exigere, aut vi atque edictis magistratuum impositum gregi extorquere, aut de mercede ecclesiastica in jus civile ambulare, litemque in foro intendere, ministrorum evangelii non est, sed luporum. Act. xx. 29. scio lupos graves non parcentes gregi ingressuros ad vos post discessum meum, et v. 33. argentum vel aurum aut vestem millius concupivi: non ergo exegit, aut exigendum cuivis ministro evangelii censuit. 1 Tim. iii. 3. non turpis lucri, non pecuniæ cupidum quanto minus exactorem? et iterum v. 8. Tit. i. 7. et v. 11. idem. 1 Pet. v. 2, 3. pascite Dei gregem, qui penes vos est: neque turpis lucri causa, sed prompto animo. Certe si homini Christiano vix licet cum adversario de bonis propriis in foro contendere, Matt. v. 39, 40. 1 Cor. yi. 7. quam turpe est hominem ecclesiasticum de decimis, id est, de bonis alienis, quæ vel ex bello, vel ex voto pro libitu cujusque, vel antiquata jam non solum lege verum etiam omnibus illius legis, agrariæ scilicet nobis alienissimæ, causis, olim quidem, idque diverso ministrorum generi debebantur, nunc nemini debentur, cum grege (id quod apud reformatos nusquam nisi apud nos fieri solet) cum grege inquam vel suo vel revera non suo litigare? Si suo, quam avarum ex re sacra tam cupide quæstum facere! si non suo, quam injustum ! quam deinde importunum docere velle qui abs te doceri nolit! quam violentum, "docendi mercedem exigere ab eo, qui doctorem te respuat; quem tu discipulum quoque nisi lucri causa æque respueres! mercenarius enim, cujus non sunt oves propriæ, fugit, quia mercenarius est, et non est ipsi cura ovium, Joan. x. 12, 13. Tales permulti hodie de grege in gregem per causas fere levissimas toties desultant atque fugitant, non tam luporum metu, quam ipsimet lupi, quoties opimioris præda ministerii aliunde ostentatur; et contra atque pastores facere solent, non gregi suo, sed ipsi sibi lætiora subinde pascua sectantur. Dices, unde ergo vivemus? Unde nam vivetis? unde prophetæ olim atque apostoli, facultatibus propriis, artificio aliquo aut honesto studio, prophetarum exemplo, qui nec ligna cædendi nec domum ipsi suam fabricandi rudes erant, 2 Reg. vi. 2. exemplo Christi, qui et ipse faber fuit, Marc. vi. 3. Pauli, Act. xviii, 3, 4. qui cum in optimis esset artibus ac disciplinis proprio sumptu educatus, non tamen ex evangelio reficiendas esse impensas educationis suæ, ut ministri solent hodierni, clamitabat. Hactenus de ministris.' All All clergy should be elected by the people, and he allows no difference of ecclesiastical degree but deacon and presbyter; which latter he holds to be the same as bishop, as he had often elsewhere asserted. Prose works, i. 314., iii. 356., &c. In the assemblies of the faithful all should speak, even the weakest, except women; an exception probably made on account of the then novel doctrine of the Quakers. As for Scripture, it is so plain, in all, places requisite to salvation, that any person may understand it; and, therefore, neither the civil nor ecclesiastical power has any right to impose their own interpretations of it on others as articles of implicit faith. The Apocrypha he rejects, for the usual reasons. Such are the outlines of his idea of a church; in arranging which, he decides with a spirit sufficiently dogmatical but it is only fair to say, that he recommends charity and toleration of the opinions of others. The first book (we should have said the work is divided into two books, one on Doctrine, the other on Worship,) concludes with a chapter on perfect glorification, including the second advent of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the general conflagration. This chapter abounds with matter illustrative of Paradise Lost. Take, for instance, his description of hell: The place of punishment is called HELL; Tophet *, Isai. xxx. 33. hell fire, Matt. v. 22. and still more distinctly x. 28. outer darkness, viii. 12. xxii. 13. xxv. 30. a furnace of fire, xiii. 42. Hades, Luke, xvi. 23; and elsewhere: a place of torment, v. 28. the bottomless pit, Rev. ix. 1. the lake of fire. xx. 15. the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, xxi. 8. Hell appears to be situated beyond the limits of this universe, Luke, xvi. 26. between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Matt. viii. 12. outer darkness. Rev. xxii. 14, 15. they may enter in through the gates into the city; for without are dogs. Nor are reasons wanting for this locality; for as the place of the damned is the same as that prepared for the devil and his angels, Matt. xxv. 41. in punishment of their apostacy, which occurred before the fall of man, it does not seem probable that hell should have been prepared within the limits of this. world, in the bowels of the earth, on which the curse had not as yet passed. This is said to have been the opinion of Chrysostom, Tophet thence And black Gehenna call'd, the type of hell." Paradise Lost, i. 404. + In the argument to the first book of Paradise Lost, hell is described as situated "not in the centre (for heaven and earth may be supposed as yet not made, certainly not yet accursed,) but in a place of utter" (i. c. outer)" darkness, fitliest called Chaos." as as likewise of Luther and some later divines.* Besides, if, as has been shown from various passages of the New Testament, the whole world is to be finally consumed by fire, it follows that hell, being situated in the centre of the earth, must share the fate of the surrounding universe, and perish likewise; a consummation more to be desired than expected by the souls in perdition.' Milton, in Paradise Lost, in one place forgets this theory of hell not being in the centre of the earth, when, in b. xii. 41. he tells us that, near Babel, 66 A black bituminous gurge a slip which Bentley has noticed, and altered according to his usual system. In his second book he considers the service of God, which consists chiefly in good works. These he defines to be what we perform by the Spirit of God working in us through true faith, to the glory of God, the assured hope of our own salvation, and the edification of our neighbour. P. 528. He rejects the impious theory of works of supererogation; and asserts the vanity of human merits. The primary cause of good works is God, -the proximate, are virtues. The virtues of the understanding are wisdom and prudence, - of the will, sincerity, promptitude, and constancy. These are general virtues, the special relate to our duty towards God and towards man. The duties towards God are the acknowlegement of the one Deity, opposed to polytheism and atheism, devout affection toward him shown in love, hope, fear, obedience, • * Καὶ ποῦ, φησὶ, καὶ ἐν ποίῳ χωρίῳ αὕτη ἔσται ἡ γέεννα ; τί σοι τούτου μέλει; τὸ γὰρ ζητούμενον, δεῖξαι ὅτι ἐστὶν, οὐ ποῦ τεταμίευται, καὶ ἐν ποίῳ χωρίῳ . .. ἀλλ' ἐν ποίῳ τόπῳ, φησὶν, ἔσται; ἔξω που, ὡς ἔγωγε οἶμαι, τοῦ κόσμου τούτου παντός. καθάπερ γὰρ τῶν βασιλείων τὰ δεσμωτήρια καὶ τὰ μέταλλα πόρρω διέστηκεν, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης ταύτης ἔξω που ἔσται ἡ yéva. Chrysost. in Ep. ad Rom. Homil. xxxi. Milton elsewhere refers to the locality of hell: Such place eternal justice had prepared For those rebellious; here their prison ordain'd As far removed from God and light of heaven, Paradise Lost, i. 70. Again: to banish for ever into a local hell, whether in the air or in the center, or in that uttermost and bottomless gulf of Chaos, deeper from holy bliss than the world's diameter multiplied, they thought not a punishment so proper and proportionate for God to inflict, as to punish sin with sin." Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce. Proşe works, ii. 11.' &c., and |