(notwithstanding its necessarily many defects) admirable Lexicon to the Greek Testament; and THIRTY years have passed since the third edition appeared, with the author's latest corrections and additions, which have been printed in every subsequent impression. During this long interval, sacred philology has received many important accessions; and Biblical students are greatly indebted to Mr. Rose, to whom the proprietors entrusted the superintendence of this new edition, for the important corrections and additions which he has made. By omitting Mr. Parkhurst's Hutchinsonian and, in many instances, very fanciful etymologies, and by throwing into the notes much comparatively unimportant-not to say useless matter, by re-writing very many articles, and by enlarging the pages both in length and width (which exceed the former editions by the number of two hundred) Mr. Rose has augmented the work at least one-third, without increasing the price more than eighteen-pence. We mention this seemingly little circumstance, because it is much to the honour of the liberal publishers, who might have put a larger price upon the book with some semblance of reason, considering the bulk of the volume and the length of time necessary for conducting it through the press. Further, wherever Parkhurst's work was defective in accurate discrimination between the various senses of the same word, or in the paucity of examples, and in looseness of reference to profane authors, Mr. Rose has supplied these defects, in some degree from his own researches, but principally from the lexicons of Schleusner, Bretschneider, and Wahl; whose work, though by no means free from interpretations, tainted with what is commonly termed rationalism, contain a mass of most valuable philological information, which a judicious scholar (and such Mr. Rose has evinced himself to be) may turn to good account. The Grammar, which has deservedly been considered as one of the most perspicuous in the English language, has likewise been enriched with many valuable observations from the excellent grammars of Buttman and Matthiæ. All the additions made by Mr. Rose (and his coadjutor for a part of the work, the Rev. Henry Rose, Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge,) are very properly inclosed within brackets, so that the reader can readily distinguish the additions from the articles composed by the original author. There is one feature peculiar to this edition, which ought not to be passed in silence:-For the convenience of those students who are attending to the style of the New Testament, he has distinguished by a convenient mark those words which do not occur in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament; and he has given additional examples from the Apocryphal writings, where such instances are to be found. We hesitate not to say that, in its present greatly improved state, this lexicon is indispensably necessary to every one who is desirous of obtaining an accurate and critical knowledge of the Greek Scriptures of the New Testament; and that it is one of those works, of which he will never regret the purchase. The Origin of Man: dedicated to the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the various Societies for the Promotion of Christian and Useful Knowledge. Effingham Wilson. London: 1829. Pp. 27. Price 1s. 6d. THE Author, or rather Authoress, (for from internal evidence we pronounce her a lady, and a young one too) of this pamphlet, sets out with the position, that "to promote Christian Knowledge, is to confer a blessing which passeth all understanding. While we subscribe willingly to her axiom, let her not think us ungallant, if we confess that how it is to be promoted by such effusions as the one before us, certainly passeth ours. Her system of the "Origin of Man," is an odd mixture of sacred poetry and profane prose: Milton, and the Metempsychosis. Satan and his Angels, it seems, after" bewailing in chaos and despair their endless misery and unparalleled guilt," were, through the relenting of divine mercy, imprisoned in the forms of different animals; and as they had gradations in wickedness, so they were divided in their new allotment into two classes; but "such was the universal sway of pride over the whole fallen host, that in the beginning two only of them were found worthy of this mitigated punishment, and admitted to superiority of form over the others," under the name of man. "Weakness, rather than wickedness, continued their distinguishing characteristic," and "Satan, now himself the lowest object in creation, once more advocated guilt and whispered disobedience." Adam and Eve yielded, and death was added to the measure of their calamities. By degrees, as the imprisoned spirits proceeded in their expiation, a beast died, and a human being was born; the actual number of offending spirits neither increasing nor diminishing with the lapse of ages, but only assuming new forms. The increase of man, she goes on to say, has banished many animal beings entirely from creation; while war, murder, and destruction have thinned some portions of the globe, in proportion to the increase of others. On this foundation she proceeds to raise the superstructure of the Christian atonement, by which the demon in human form, (for according to her theory the soul is no better) is eventually to be restored to its pristine state of an Archangel. very bitter against "Judas, Robespierre, Arnold, and Murat," (rather a singular classification); but which of the four was the incarnation of Satan himself, this absurd little devil (we beg her pardon-but if her system be worth a farthing, she is such by her own shewing) does not inform us. To be serious, we would earnestly advise this lady, if lady she be, not to give the reins to an over-heated imagination, but to study attentively, and humbly, those Christian truths, the promulgation of which she professes to have so much at heart. She is The positions which she so dogmatically lays down, she doubtless esteems originally and peculiarly her own hidden arcana, which it was reserved for her to discover: but we can assure her that her whole system is at least as old as the fourth century, when Priscillian a man of intellect, though perverted, yet far superior to her own, suggested that the soul was of a divine substance, which having offended in heaven, was sent into the body as a place of punishment; and offered as a probability, what she does not hesitate to affirm as a fact. That she means well, we can believe, but she has much yet to " 'read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest," before her lucubrations can be productive of aught but mischief: and it is in no spirit of harsh or unfriendly feeling that we sincerely recommend to her less confidence in her opinions, and greater caution in expressing them: that she will pause, before she again attempts to serve God's altar with unhallowed fire, or madly" rush in where angels fear to tread." The Clerical Guide, or Ecclesiastical Directory. Containing a complete Register of the Dignities and Benefices of the Church of England, with the Names of their present Possessors, Patrons, &c. and an alphabetical List of the Dignitaries and Beneficed Clergy; with an Appendix containing the Ecclesiastical Patronage at the disposal of the King, the Lord Chancellor, Archbishops and Bishops, Deans and Chapters, the Universities, &c. The Third Edition, Corrected to 1829. By RICHARD GILBERT. London: Rivingtons. Royal 8vo. 11. 2s. Ir is unnecessary to recommend this well-known and highly useful publication to the notice of the Clergy; but we deem it expedient to announce the principal improvements which have been made in this new edition. In the first place, the whole has been carefully corrected to the date of publication, and the greatest attention has been paid to general accuracy, though, of course, every day must lessen its character in this respect. The dignitaries have been arranged under their respective dioceses, at the commencement of the book; and the list of Church Patronage at the end has been corrected and enlarged. All the new district Churches, which have lately been erected by the Commissioners, are inserted; and, in fact, every thing has been done to render the work complete. Mr. Gilbert, the editor, is really deserving not only of great praise for his indefatigable exertions in presenting us with this and several other useful compilations; but we may add interesting, deeply interesting, compilations also. We remember the calculating concern and conscious satisfaction with which, in our younger days, we conned the University Calendar, upon its annual appearance, investigating the chances of a matrimonial vacancy, and praying for the termination of a year of grace: and the unbeneficed Curate may pass an hour with similar complacency over the long list of preferments and preferred, in this amusing multiplicity of names, and select from the list of patrons some imaginary friend, who shall realize for him the silent wish which the contemplation naturally suggests. The Last Hours of Eminent Christians, from the commencement of the Christian Era, to the death of George III. compiled from the best authorities, and chronologically arranged. By the Rev. HENRY CLISSOLD, M. A. Minister of Stockwell Chapel, Lambeth. London: Rivingtons & Hatchard. 1829. 8vo. pp. xvi. 552. 13s. DEATH, under all its forms, is an awfully instructive lesson. In the restless disquietude and trembling uncertainty of the dying infidel; in the doubts and distrust of the death-bed penitent; in the longing after immortality of the steady and persevering Christian, there is a call for the unconverted, a warning to the thoughtless and unconcerned, and a sure and certain hope to the faithful believer, of eternal salvation through the merits of his Redeemer. Not indeed that the instruction is thus respectively limited to each particular description of persons; for the parting of soul and body is in itself a subject of serious and useful meditation; and though the departure of the infidel and the impenitent may be more striking in its horrors, the impression which is made by the patient endurance, the Christian fortitude, the calm resignation, the fervent aspirations, and the peaceful end of the dying Christian, will, perhaps, be more permanent and effective. On the one hand, there is a scene which the mind can contemplate with joy and satisfaction; while, on the other, we are anxious to evade reflections, replete with terror and dismay. Mr. Clissold has furnished his readers with abundant matter for useful and consolatory meditation, on the dying hours of a long series of pious Christians, who have fought a good fight, and finished their mortal course in the true faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. The details are given without note or comment; those passages being simply printed in italics, which appear best calculated to elicit holy thoughts, and cherish godly resolutions. They are selected with indefatigable industry from the most approved authorities; and the selection is at once judicious and extensive. To the whole is added Sir H. Taylor's memorial of the death of the late lamented Duke of York; and an appendix of such matters as did not immediately come within the compiler's plan, among which are notices of Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Rochester, and various brief memoranda, of comparatively less interest than those which occupy the body of the work. Testimonies in Proof of the separate Existence of the Soul in a State of THE scriptural proofs of the selfconsciousness of disembodied spirits were well stated in an essay, published in some of our late Numbers; and although, for wise reasons, the Almighty has encircled with an impenetrable veil the precise nature of the state of the soul after death, the consoling fact of an intermediate existence is unequivocally revealed in Holy Writ. In the volume before us, the opinions of the most able divines, together with the conclusions at which heathen philosophy had been enabled to arrive in the important subject, are brought together in one view, for the purpose of refuting the dangerous position maintained by Dr. Whately in his late work on "certain" Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, that no such doctrine has been revealed, and that the discussion of the subject is unnecessary, and, perhaps, unprofitable. At the same time it must be acknowledged that Dr. W.'s object in writing is excellent; and nothing more is intended by Mr. Huntingford than to refute the erroneous opinion which he has unfortunately published to the world. By way of appendix to the "Testimonies" Mr. H. has re-edited Calvin's Psychopannychia, in which there is no trace of the peculiar tenets afterwards maintained by that writer, while it exhibits, in a striking degree, the strong powers of reasoning with which he was eminently gifted. 1. The Portraiture of a Christian Gentleman. By a BARRISTER. London: Hessey. 1829. Post 8vo. pp. xii. 231. 6s. 2. The Clerical Portrait: a Word of Advice to the Young Divine. (preceded by an Introductory Letter to the Under-Graduate.) By the Rev. GEO. HUGHES, Curate of Horningsheath. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. London, Rivingtons: Cambridge, Newby: Oxford, Parker. 1829. 8vo. pp. viii. 167. 5s. "THAT the Christian loses nothing by being a gentleman, and that the gentleman gains greatly by being a Christian," is abundantly proved in the former of the two little volumes which stand at the head of this notice. We have seldom, if ever, met with a work calculated to produce more essential advantage in forming the character, directing the conduct, and improving the heart,-written in a chaste and easy style, and coming from the pen of one who has evidently formed his own course upon the model which he has sketched for the imitation of others; it gratifies the taste, while it instructs the minds, and carries its doctrines with prompt conviction to the heart. If there is one part more than another which we deem worthy of recommendation, it is the concluding part of the volume, which relates to the occupation and deportment of the Christian gentleman on the Lord's day: but most cordially do we recommend the whole, not only to the notice, but to the practice of all who aspire to the honourable estate, of which the "Portraiture" is a faithful representation. The "Clerical Portrait," also, possesses considerable merit, and is worthy the attention of those to whom it is more immediately addressed. The author is evidently one who fully appreciates the duties and the character of a conscientious minister of the gospel; and aware of the importance of the charge committed to himself, he would impress upon others a due consideration of the awful responsibility, which attaches to the pastoral office, and the cure of souls. The Dublin Juvenile Magazine; or, Literary and Religious Miscellany. No. I. April, 1829. Dublin, Curry and Tims: London, Hunt & Co. 12mo. pp. 72. 1s. WE congratulate our juvenile cotemporary on its favourable debut; and we cordially wish it the success it merits. Its contents seem to be somewhat above the standard of capacity for which it is designed; unless, perhaps, the conductors include in their circle of expected readers, youth of larger growth, than their title would lead us to imagine. The articles are well written throughout; and we would refer to the "Legend of St. Kieran," as a pleasing exposition of the effect of the tyranny of the Popish Priesthood over the minds of the Irish peasantry. Stories from Church History, from the Introduction of Christianity, to the In this little volume the author has endeavoured to furnish the rising generation with a pleasing narrative of the principal events in the History of Christ, and to arm them against the hurtful impressions which the misrepresentation, the calumnies, and the upon inexperienced minds. He has not, perhaps, satisfied us wholly in sneers of the infidel, are apt to make some of his views and observations; but there is not much that can be found fault with, and nothing, perhaps, to interfere with our recommendation of the work. The history is faithful; the points well selected, and the style familiar and correct. Father Butler-The Lough Dearg Pilgrim. Being Sketches of Irish Manners. Dublin: Curry. 1829. 18mo. pp. 302. 3s. 6d. THE two highly instructive Tales which compose this little volume originally appeared in the Christian Examiner;-a journal of sound Protestant principles, and conducted with considerable ability in the sister kingdom. The former is a vivid sketch of the tyranny, the treachery, and rapacity of the Popish priesthood, exemplified in the history of an unwilling student of the College at Maynooth; and the latter exhibits, in the most lively colours, the horrors and the barbarities of that emblem of Gehenna-the purgatory of Lough Dearg. Simple stories as they are, they would read a salutary lesson to those good easy souls, who contemplate nothing more than peace and conciliation, from blending in a happy union the Churches of England and of Rome. JUST PUBLISHED. "Pastoralia." By the Rev. Henry Thompson, M. A. of St. John's College, Cambridge, and Curate of Wrington, Somerset, author of " Davidica." An Historical Account of the Thirty-Nine Articles, from the first Promulgation of them in 1553, to their final Establishment in 1571. With exact Copies of the Latin and English MSS. and Fac-Similes of the Signatures of the Archbishops and Bishops. By John Lamb, D. D. Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Royal 4to. 17. 58. A Plain and Short History of England for Children. In Letters from a Father to his Son. By the Editor of "The Cottager's Monthly Visitor." 18mo. 2s. 6d. halfbound. IN THE PRESS. The Family Chaplain; or, St. Mark's Gospel Analysed and Prepared for Reading and Expounding to a Family Circle. By the Rev. S. Hinds, M. A. Vice-Principal of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford. John Huss, or the Council of Constance, a Poem. With numerous Historical and Descriptive Notes. Small 8vo. A Series of Sermons on the Lives of the First Promulgators of Christianity; with other Discourses: to which are added Discourses on Miscellaneous Subjects, preached in the Parish of Bromley, Middlesex. By the Reverend Peter Fraser, M. A. Chaplain to his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge. 8vo. A Course of Lectures upon Hieroglyphics. By the Marquis Spineto. In one Volume, 8vo. With Plates. Sermons; preached by William Laud, D. D. Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Reprinted verbatim from the last Edition in 1651, and Edited by the Rev. J. W. Hatherell, M. A. of Brasennose College, Oxford. In one Volume, 8vo. An Address delivered to the Candidates for Holy Orders, in the Diocese of Barbados and the Leeward Islands. By the Right Rev. William Hart Coleridge, D. D. Bishop of Barbados. 12mo. 3s. An Essay on the Coins of Scripture, as internal Evidence of the truth of Christianity, and on the Tribute Money, as affording no ground for the Popish doctrine of divided Allegiance. By the Rev. J. Grant, of Kentish Town. Memoirs of the Life of Richard Bentley, D. D. formerly Archdeacon of Ely, Master of Trinity College, and Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. By the Very Reverend J. H. Monk, D. D. Dean of Peterborough. In one Volume, 4to. With a Portrait. A Volume of Parochial Letters, from a Beneficed Clergyman to his Curate, treating of the most interesting and important Subjects relating to the Pastoral Care, will shortly appear. A little Annual, of a new and distinct class, will appear on the first of June; the contents of which will be selected, principally, from the best English writers, ancient and modern, and arranged under suitable heads. The design, which has been recommended by high authority, being to supply an appropriate RewardBook for the young, either as a prize at School, or as a domestic present. To be Edited by the Rev. J. D. Parry, M. A. of St. Peter's College, Cambridge. |