respects, a defective performance. In not a few instances, it is far more a paraphrase than an exact rendering; and contains additions to the text, of which the translator makes no mention, except by general reference in his preface. Nor are there wanting parts in which the outline of the author's history has been altered, obscured, and mutilated. It was high time that such glaring defects should be remedied, and that the English reader should be put in possession of an edition of this great work, upon the integrity of which he may fully depend. It is somewhat humbling to the literary pride or enterprise of this country, that this task should have been left to be performed by an American divine; but it is creditable to the New World, that sufficient encouragement has been afforded to Dr. Murdock in the accomplishment of his very acceptable undertaking. So far as we have been able to examine the merits of the translation, we have found it to be, what the translator aimed to make it," a close, literal version, containing neither more nor less than the original, and presenting the exact thoughts of the author in the same direct, artless, and lucid manner, with as much similarity in the phraseology and modes of expression as the idioms of the two languages would admit."

Dr. Murdock's notes, too, are of very great value, and contain a vast body of historical evidence upon many points of considerable ecclesiastical importance. We think so highly of his labours, that we could earnestly wish to see from his pen a translation of Mosheim's two important works entitled "De Rebus Christianis ante Constantinum Magnum," and "Dissertationum ad Historiam Ecclesiasticam pertinentium Volumen." The first especially we long to see in a good English translation.

Nor are we less indebted to our English editor, Mr. Soames, for the manner in which he has performed the task undertaken by him. To say nothing of his very able and instructive preface, in which there occur some admirable and highly philosophical remarks upon the phenomena of Popery, we cannot but make honourable mention of his laborious notes, his new and admirable index, and his laborious additions to Mosheim's text, by which the history has not only been carried down to the present times, but also supplies an ample account of the ecclesiastical affairs of our own country, a feature in which Mosheim's work was very defective. At times we have felt the incongruity attaching to the circumstance of the editor belonging to a communion differing from that of the author, though we have no serious com. plaint of unfairness or want of candour to urge against Mr. Soames. Generally speak

ing, however, we think it rather a doubtful literary policy for any one to attempt the continuation of a history upon principles not strictly in accordance with those avowed in the original work. Our editor, without merging his own views, has managed his delicate task with commendable skill.

Of the whole work, as it now appears, Mr. Soames speaks in the following terms :"As these volumes, though all passing under the venerable name of Mosheim, and chiefly filled by his invaluable labours, really contain a great mass of matter from other pens, the reader will necessarily find in them considerable diversities of all kinds. The peculiarity is rendered more conspicuous by the difference of sentiment entertained by the several authors. They have, indeed, little in common beyond a desire to give all the information allowed by their several limits, and a Protestant anxiety to speak the truth fully upon questions relating to the Church of Rome. Adherents of that Church may complain of them all upon that score. But such complaints are of no value, unless it can be shown that positive injustice has been done to the Romish party. This, however, it is hoped and believed, cannot be shown. Circumstances, indeed, are freely detailed, and inferences drawn, unfavourable to the Papal Church; but extenuating facts have also their due place and importance. To omit any of the details or views which Romanists may dislike, would have been treachery, therefore, it is conceived, to the souls of men. Wellinformed holders of reformed opinions, consider Popery as no other than a branch of that grand apostasy which anciently depraved the patriarchal faith, and now the Christian. They consider the Old and New Testament as both levelled especially against this very corruption of the truth, and it is perfectly undeniable that this view rests upon a deep and scholarly foundation. Any student may, therefore, be at least excusable in taking the Protestant side in this momentous controversy; but any one who has taken that side will not be so easy to excuse, if he write ecclesiastical history in such a manner as to withhold any thing of his own convictions in this matter from the minds of his readers. The question between the Church of Rome and those who have left her communion, does not involve mere questions of discipline, or ceremonies, or of opinion substantially identical. It embraces points bearing vitally upon religious belief. The necessity, too, for treating such questions fully, though candidly, has been increased by the progress of events. manists have been, for several years, courting prominence, and the whole controversy between them and their opponents is likely again, by these means, to be forced upon

Ro

mankind, however desirous the majority may be to bury it in oblivion. Thus, a knowledge of ecclesiastical history is indispensable, as a preparation for discussions which no inquirer into religious truth may long be able to decline. Nor need any complaint be made of unfavourable lights thrown upon the Romish controversy, unless they can be convicted of a deficiency of candour and information. Political changes, and the reaction flowing from the irreligious temper of the last generation, have given Romanism opportunities for a favourable appearance, and for a favourable reception too, which have been skilfully improved, and which demand an unshrinking, though temperate and scholarly exposure from the adverse party."

In Mr. Soames's continuation of Mosheim, we can discover occasional traces of his ecclesiastical bias; but his candour in general outstrips his party feeling; and his good sense, intelligence, and sound scholarship in most cases prevail. We wish our author had spoken with a little more decision on the Oxford controversy. What he has said would rather help than hinder the antiquity-loving doctors of a certain school. The following paragraph is a real blot in his pages:

"Latterly, Churchmen have been led into discussions by several talented and excellent men in the University of Oxford, upon the expediency of a closer attention than has been usual for many years, to some points of principle and practice which England, in common with Rome, has inherited from catholic antiquity. Protestant refusal to recognise tradition as an authority for articles of faith, has occasionally led into a neglect or disparagement of it, as an authority for other things. A dislike of the willworship and sacerdotal pretensions, distinguishing Romanism, has often been betrayed into the opposite extremes offered by puritanism.

It is to the evils incurred by such want of caution, that popular attention has been latterly called in England. Nor is the call likely to be unattended with considerable national advantage. But it has not always been made with due discretion. There have, even, been mingled with it, ungrateful and injudicious reflections upon the Reformers. To ritual ministrations, also, a degree of importance has been sometimes given, that England's inveterate habits appear unlikely to concede. But, upon the whole, man's appetite for religious discussion has rarely taken a direction from which even opponents can argue less evil. Every support of the Catholic faith is rigidly respected, and, if possible, strengthened; while in minor, but still more important matters, men are taught to see the value of an unbroken connexion with the unsus

pected periods of catholic antiquity." (Vol. IV. p. 507.)

This is a very suspicious passage; more lenient to Puseyism than even the rebuke of the Bishops. It has certainly this advantage attaching to it, that, like Mr. Newman's view of the thirty-nine Articles, it may mean anything or nothing.

The typography of the work before us is extremely beautiful, and will bear comparison, in this respect, with any production of the modern press.

COMMENTARIES on the EPISTLES of PAUL to the GALATIANS and EPHESIANS. By JOHN CALVIN. Translated from the Original, by the Rev. WILLIAM PRINGLE, Archdeacon. No. 30, of "the Biblical Cabinet; or, Hermeneutical, Exegetical, and Philological Library." 12mo. pp.

356.

T. Clark, Edinburgh; Rivington, London.

The Commentaries of Calvin have long been held in the highest repute by all competent judges. His insight into the meaning of God's word, was equally penetrating and profound. Though he flourished at a period when Hermeneutical science was but little cultivated, and when the jargon of the schools held sovereign sway, such was his prophetic sagacity, that he well nigh anticipated the best results of modern criticism, while he eschewed most of its errors and mistakes. Mr. Pringle's translation of his Commentaries on the Epistles to the Galatians and Ephesians, is the first rendering of them in our language that has seen the light. We have met with two or three individuals who have called this in question; but they have mistaken his Sermons on these two Epistles for his Commentaries. We have long had those in our possession, and have consulted them with advantage; but, though more elaborate, they are not, by any means, so precise and clear. The translator has done himself great honour by his forcible and scholarly rendering of a work which must live while sound theology is appreciated in our country. Those who wish thoroughly to understand the general drift of Paul's reasoning with the Galatians, as well as to grasp the meaning of its minute parts, cannot find a safer human guide, than the cheap volume now placed within the reach of persons in almost every walk in life.

IMPORTANT TRUTHS in SIMPLE VERSE; being a Collection of Original Poems on Religious and Miscellaneous Subjects, for the Use of Young Persons. Pp. 152.

Souter, School Library, 131, Fleet-street. This is a neat little volume, beautifully got up, and well adapted to interest and improve

the young. It contains between eighty and ninety little poems, conveying, in a very simple and lively manner, important religious and moral lessons. The subjects of the pieces are very various, as are the kinds of measure employed. There is a great deal of pious feeling in the book, and religious principle, and pleasing poetry. We can very cordially recommend it as worthy of a place in our nurseries and schools, by the side of the "Original Poems" and similar productions, though, here and there, and by a very slight change, the smoothness and vivacity of a verse might be increased. We can only here give a verse or two as a specimen, and in giving it suggest, as the author will see, the alteration of one word:

GOD IS LOVE.

"God is love, the Bible says.

Mercy governs all his ways:
Great and awful though he be,
Greater is his clemency.
Every page his goodness shows;
Every line with kindness glows;
Every law and promise prove,-
Glorious knowledge,-God is love.
"God is love, all Nature cries;

Loud the echo wakes the skies.
Hill and valley, rock and plain,
Raise the gladsome song again.
God is love, the ocean roars,
Thundering on a thousand shores.
All around, beneath, above,

Mr. Bush has been advantageously known to the Christian public,, for some time past, as the author of several enlightened works on biblical subjects. He has won for himself an honourable reputation in his own country, and will soon be regarded with equal respect in Great Britain. The American theological press is becoming every day more energetic; the scholars of the United States are rapidly increasing, though we by no means accede to the opinions recently put forth, by some conceited writer in the Theological Repository, respecting the inferiority of England in the knowledge of biblical science. To talk of the Dissenters having no men of learning among

them but Dr. Smith and Dr. Henderson would be truly ridiculous, if it were not insufferably insolent. Mr. Bush is not one of the vaunting school. He is a soberminded humble man, who would be the last in the world to talk of America outstripping England. The thing is too absurd to admit of grave refutation. But we must lay aside this digression, and remind our readers, that they will find in Mr. Bush's Notes on Genesis, one of the ablest assistances to the study of that important part of inspired truth, that has seen the light in modern times. Those who have Fuller and Bush, with a prayerful mind, have every aid they can desire in the study of this book..

The PARABLES of JESUS, EXPLAINED and ILLUSTRATED. By FREDERICK GUSTAV LISCO, Minister of St. Gertraud Church, Berlin. Translated from the German: by the Rev. P. FAIRBAIRN. Minister of Salton. No. 29, of "the Biblical Cabinet; or, Hermeneutical, Exegetical, and Philological Library." 12mo. pp. 414.

T. Clark, Edinburgh; Rivington, London. The orthodoxy of this interesting volume is fully attested by the frequent use made in its pages of the written opinions of Luther and Calvin. It is one of the best Commentaries on the Parables we have had the opportunity of consulting. Fanciful interpretations are carefully avoided, and the general scope of the parable is shown to be the only genuine clew of its sober exposition. There is much ingenuity of illustration pervading the work, and deep and chastened piety is every where prominent. We are greatly indebted to Mr. Fairbairn for this valuable translation from the German. It is one of the many proofs we are daily receiving, that the theology of that country is recovering from the paralysing influence of neological infidelity.

AGRIPPA; or, the Nominal Christian invited to Consideration and Decision. By JOHN JEFFERSON, Abney Chapel, Stoke Newington. 18mo. pp. 150.

J. Snow.

The author of this little volume is one of the most judicious divines in the Congregational denomination, laboriously employed in doing good to the souls of men. “Agrippa" is a very powerful appeal to the consciences of those who are convinced of the truth of Christianity, but who still linger in a state of indecision. We have been strikingly reminded of Baxter's "Call to the Unconverted" in the perusal of this admirable treatise, and augur much good from its extensive circulation.

WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED.

1. Memoirs and Sermons of the late Rev. Dr. Ferrier, Paisley. Compiled by the Rev. ANDREW FERRIER. 12mo, pp. 382. Robertson, Glasgow; Hamilton, Adams, and Co., London.

2. Mammon; or, Covetousness the Sin of the Christian Church. By the Rev. JOHN HARRIS, D.D., author of "The Great Teacher," &c. &c. Thirty-first Thousand. Imperial 8vo, pp. 60. 18. 6d. Ward and Co.

3. The Present Position and Urgent Claims of the London Missionary Society. A discourse, delivered in Ward Chapel, Dundee, on Lord's-day, February 14, 1841. By DAVID RUSSELL, D.D. 12mo, pp. 48, 6d. Hamilton, Adams, and Co.

4. Part II. Fox's Book of Martyrs. Edited by the Rev. JOHN CUMMING, M.A. Imperial 8vo, 28. G. Virtue.

5. Parts I. II. and III. A Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art. Comprising the history, description, and scientific principles of eyery branch of human knowledge; with the derivation and definition of all the terms in general use. Illustrated by engravings on wood. General Editor, W. T. BRANDE, F.R.S.L. and E, &c. Being the Twelfth of the Series of "Encyclopædias and Dictionaries." Svo. Longman and Co.

6. Patrick Welwood. A tale of the times of the Kirk and the Convent, for the Young.. By a Minister of the Church of Scotland. Second edition, 12mo, pp. 318. Hamilton, Adams, and Co.

7. Agrippa; or, the Nominal Christian invited to consideration and decision. By JOHN JEFFERSON, Abney Chapel, Stoke Newington. 18mo, pp. 146. J. Snow.

8. Letters to Young Ladies. By Mrs. L. H. SIGOURNEY. A new edition, with Two additional Letters, never before published. 12mo, pp. 280. Jackson and Walford.

9. Conversations between a Roman Catholic and a Protestant, on the Doctrines of the Church of Rome, supported by History and Scripture. By E. LEON, formerly a Roman Catholic. 12mo, pp. 48. E. Hartnell, Ryde.

10. Infant Salvation. Thoughts on the future state of children who die in infancy. In a Letter

to a Friend. By THOMAS OWEN, Minister of the Baptist Chapel, Holt, author of "Female Communion, and Infant Baptism," &c. J. M. Burton, Ipswich.

11. Ashantee, and the Gold Coast. Being a sketchi of the history, social state, and superstitions of the inhabitants of these countries. With a notice of the state and prospects of Christianity among them. By JOHN BEECHAN. 12mo, pp. 396. Mason, Cityroad.

12. Truth and Love. A sermon, preached before the University of Oxford, on Sunday, February 21, 1841. By the Rev. J. E. RIDDLE, M.A., of St. Edmund Hall, Author of Ecclesiastical Chronology," "Christian Antiquities," "Sermons," "Latin-English Dictionary," &c. 8vo. Hatchard and

PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION.

1. Shortly will be published, by subscription, A Supplement to Schmidius's Concordance of the Greek New Testament. By ORLANDO T. DOBBIN, B.A., Trinity College, Dublin. In one volume.

To be followed by an entirely New Greek Concordance of the New Testament, in which some thousands of errors in the most recent editions of Schmidius will be corrected, and the readings altered, according to the best critical editions of the sacred text. In one volume.

2. The Bible Student's Concordance. By which the English reader may be enabled readily to ascertain the literal meaning of any word in the sacred original. In one volume imperial 8vo.

3. DR. MORISON's work entitled, Homilies for the Times; or, Rome and her New Allies, will be ready for delivery to the trade, on the 15th of May.

MRS. M. GIFFORD.

On the 17th of October, 1840, died, at Beaminster, Dorset, Mrs. M. Gifford, a highly valued and beloved member of the church in that town, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Alfred Bishop. She was the daughter of respectable parents, who had long been connected with the Established Church. Her aged mother, however, who survives her, has been, for some years past, a member of an Independent church, in Beaminster. She was a person naturally gifted with a mind of no ordinary strength and vigour, and with a temper of uncommon sweetness. These endowments, as they recommended and endeared her to the whole circle of her acquaintance, so were they of

great use in carrying her, with dignity and ease, through a life of varied and severe trials. All who knew her, admired and loved her while living, and now that she is removed, feel sensibly their loss. To the amiable qualities which were conferred on her character by the God of nature, the superior beauties of humble piety were superadded by the God of grace. It is not

now easy to specify with exactness at what period, or by what steps, the religious principle was first formed in her heart. It is believed, however, that her first decided conviction in favour of true religion took place under the preaching of the Rev. J. B. Simper, at Beaminster, as it was at that time she began more regularly to associate

with serious Christians, and to attend a gospel ministry, but those convictions were, according to her own statement, developed and matured under that of his successor, the present pastor, by whom she was joyfully received into the church in February, 1830. From that period till her peaceful, triumphant death, she "walked in all good conscience before God," and in the most lovely, attractive course of usefulness to all around her. While her energetic and cultivated intellect caused her, under the influence of divine grace, to be firm and consistent in the principles she had adopted; her natural gentleness led her to hold them in tolerance and charity towards all. Her benignant countenance was a true index to the kindness and benevolence of her soul. To her husband she was of great religious benefit. She had the happiness of seeing him, a few months after, follow her to the table of the Lord; and she has now followed him to the heavenly kingdom. He died, almost suddenly, but happy in the Lord, at Hackney, in 1837.

During her former residence in Beaminster, she was engaged in the instruction of youth, having the charge of a school. To all her young friends in this relation, she was greatly endeared; to some of them, it is believed, she was made truly useful. It was only a few days before her death, she received a letter from a young lady, who had resided under her roof at Hackney, sweetly expressing a deep sense of obligation, and the vast benefit experienced from her maternal counsels and influence.

On removing to Hackney, in 1834, a new scene of duties, and a new circle of Christian connexion, opened to her. Here, for several years, in communion with the church under the care of the Rev. Dr. Burder, she enjoyed and reciprocated the benefits of pious affection and fellowship.

But here, an insidious and terrible disease, cancer, which had, no doubt, for years been unobserved, fixing its fangs in her frame, began to discover itself more extensively, and obliged her, widowed as she then was, to relinquish her happy and important situation, and return to her native town, to die. Under the slow but certain, and, at length, torturing advances of her complaint, she was the same calm, dignified, and habitually cheerful character as before. She continued to attend the house of God frequently, whenever, indeed, the intermissions of severe pain rendered it possible. As these intermissions became less numerous, and as pain and debility at length rapidly increased, the prospect of release grew more welcome, heaven more attractive. At times, she was favoured with delight and joy almost ecstatic. On one occasion, a few weeks before her end, a sudden sinking and faintness which came

over her, led her, and those around her, to
suppose that she was just departing. At
this moment, her bliss was literally inde-
scribable. To her pastor, and to other
friends who afterwards visited her, she said,
referring to her feelings at that crisis, "Oh,
it is impossible to tell you what I saw and
felt then, when I thought I was just going:
it was joy unspeakable; and oh, how dis-
appointed I felt, when I found the time was
not really come." And in the same state
of mind, or in an unruffled tranquillity and
patient waiting akin to it, she continued for
a few weeks longer, till the happy moment
of dismissal came. To her venerable pa-
rent, and her other affectionate relatives and
friends around, she held the same language,
so long as reason was undisturbed. The
last expressions which her pastor heard
from her were, in a kind of broken whisper,
"I am very weak, but free from pain now;
and He is very precious to me; I am wait-
ing for Him to come to me. Pray, pray,
pray that it may be soon." She breathed
her last almost unperceived by the by-
standers, so easy and gentle was the separa-
tion, at one o'clock in the afternoon.
death was improved by her minister, on the
25th of October, to a numerous congrega-
tion, from 2 Sam. iii. 24.

"Happy soul! thy days are ended;
All thy mourning days below.
Go, by angel guards attended,
To the sight of Jesus, go.
For the joy he sets before thee,
Bear a momentary pain;
Die, to live a life of glory;

Suffer, with thy Lord to reign."

MRS. J. HARTLEY.

Her

Mrs. Jane Hartley, the late wife of Mr. John Hartley, one of the deacons of the Congregational church, Skipton, died on the 12th December, 1840. "The memory of the just is blessed."

Mrs. Hartley was a woman of eminent piety, and highly esteemed by all who had the privilege of her acquaintance. Accustomed to a regular attendance on the ministry of the gospel, and being naturally of a thoughtful mind, her attention to divine things was gradually quickened. Aroused to a sense of her state as a sinner before God, she bowed with humility at the footstool of mercy, and there fervently implored pardon. The favour she solicited at the hand of God was graciously bestowed; and from that time she was prepared to identify herself with the people of God.

Having experienced the power of divine truth upon her mind, she hesitated not to express her wish for union with the Christian church; seeking the enjoyment of this high privilege, it was not under the conviction of any superiority of character which she possessed. Deeply did she feel the depravity