that reigns among the vineyards and olive-grounds around Siena. They saw just as much society as they desired to see, and the bringing up of their boy was a perpetual source of interest and happiness. We like to think of the poet and his poetess wife in their active consistent devotion to a high ideal. They refrained from reading each other's work while it was going on. Six books of Aurora Leigh were shown to Browning while they were at Paris, of which he had never before seen a line. No doubt they encouraged each other in their idiosyncrasies, and in the enigmatical style which for the general reader so often requires an interpreter. But the bulk of what they wrote, when they were at their best, will remain a fixed landmark above the ebb and flow of opinion.

We can trace but two differences that existed between them, and neither of these ever reached such an acute stage as to disturb the harmony of their lives. One of these was as to the character and career of Louis Napoleon, on whose conduct on the matter of Savoy we have already quoted an expression of Robert Browning, while his general opinion of the Emperor is reflected in Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau.' The other turned upon their views on the question of spiritualism. Mrs. Browning admits in one place that 'mediums cheat certainly' (ii. 356), and she had to modify very much her belief in the notorious Hume, or Home, her protégé prophet' (p. 280), who was the prototype of Mr. Sludge. But though she grants that the subject lends itself to ridicule, she holds that ridicule is not disproof; and on the subject of communication with the unseen world there is much (some readers may consider too much) in these volumes. She regarded the interest taken in the question as a strong reaction from the materialism of the age, and something more than a mere human reaction. The phenomena of spiritualism she held to have been foreseen by Swedenborg, to whose religious system her mind had a decided leaning. On the whole, while she is very earnest on the subject, and confesses that she cannot prophesy smooth things' at moments of strong conviction, there is, if we except some bitterness towards Faraday, self-restraint and consideration for the opinions and feelings of others when she approaches the topic. What strikes her most is the probability of there being communications at all with the world of spirits, and the fact that the whole theory of spiritualism tends so much to confirm revelation (see ii. 422).

There was nothing narrow in Mrs. Browning's religion. She disclaims any sympathy with either Calvinism (on this

we would refer to an interesting letter, i. 115) or with Unitarianism: 'I should throw up revelation altogether if I ceased to recognize Christ as divine' (ii. 156). On the use of Christian phraseology in verse, and on the future development of the poetry of Christianity, she speaks with great directness and sincerity (i. 127, 129), while at the same time she avows her belief that all truth and all beauty and all music belong to God. These letters reveal to us a mind deeply imbued with the strongest conviction on such vital points as the efficacy of prayer and the divine allowances made for our wanderings in it, 'the unbroken continuity of an active human life beyond the grave' (ii. 177), and the fact that the suffering of the Lord was necessary in order that we should not suffer, and that through His work and Incarnation His worlds recovered the possibility of good' (ii. 426).

Two long letters to Miss E. F. Haworth (ii. 420-428), written in the last year of her life, illustrate in several particulars both the depth and breadth of her religious opinions. These volumes throughout exhibit a marked feature in her character, the strong attachment to her early friends that she preserved to the last, and her power to return their affection. Considering her fragile health, we wonder how one who for many years had to live by her pen, could find time to pour forth so much excellent correspondence, breathing a spirit of such tenderness that, as the editor says, 'it seems as though she could hardly bring herself to speak harshly of any one' (Preface, p. vii).

It would indeed have been strange if Mrs. Browning had not also endeared herself, as she did, to the people among whom she dwelt so long. They seem, as Browning said, to have understood her by an instinct. She was not indeed destined to see her aspirations realized, that Venetia might become an integral portion of the Italian kingdom. For that crowning consummation to be brought about, five more years had to elapse. But we are glad to think that four months before her death Victor Emmanuel II. assumed the title of King of Italy, at Turin, and that thus she was permitted to witness the regeneration of the country whose fortunes she had anxiously watched since the day of its deliverance began to dawn.

२

ART. VIII.-THE NEW DICTIONARY OF
THE BIBLE.

A Dictionary of the Bible, dealing with its Language, Literature, and Contents, including the Biblical Theology. Edited by JAMES HASTINGS, M.A., D.D., with the assistance of JOHN A. SELBIE, M.A., and, chiefly in the Revision of Proofs, of Professors DAVIDSON, DRIVER, and SWETE. Vol. I., A-Feasts. (Edinburgh and New York, 1898.)

THIS is a great work, sir,' said 'the worthy and respectable Master of Pembroke College' when he found Dr. Johnson one day busy at his Dictionary,' and this may fairly be said of the present work, to be completed in four volumes of about nine hundred pages each, the first of which lies before

us.

Dr. Hastings, however, does not bear such a prodigious burden as the great lexicographer. He is the editor of a collection of articles which have been composed by 135 authors for this first volume; and though he has himself contributed some articles, he does not insert his own name in the author's list. And further, although this is a Bible dictionary, we find no expression on the part of the editor which rises up to that lofty prayer of reverence to which Dr. Johnson gave utterance in connexion with his work, the prayer of a man who walked with God.2 The Bible doubtless has promoted the sale of numerous grammars and the compilation of enormous dictionaries; but if scholarship is to be the lowly handmaid of divine truth she must breathe the atmosphere of devotion, and be careful not to act as if the spirit of devotion were no concern of hers. We have not found any instance in this work of a writer who is unmindful of the grave responsibility of taking part in the composition of a Bible dictionary, but we do miss in some cases the air of awe which blows round the inspired writings in the Biblical works of Dr. Pusey and Bishop Wordsworth, and, as a matter of 2 Ibid. p. 204.

3

1 Boswell's Johnson, i. 46, 143, ed. Napier.

4

See especially his 'introductory statement on the principles and object of the commentary' on The Minor Prophets, and the passage in the Lectures Daniel the Prophet: 'This has been, for some thirty years, a deep conviction of my soul, that no book can be written in behalf of the Bible like the Bible itself. Man's defences are man's word; they may help to beat off attacks, they may draw out some portion of its meaning. The Bible is God's Word, and through it God the Holy Ghost, Who spake it, speaks to the soul which closes not itself against it' (Pref. p. xxv).

We may here again repeat the wish which has often been expressed,

fact, in the commentaries of the Fathers. We admit to the full that the Dictionary gives us much which is of very great value in a supplementary way for study of the Bible, and we shall have great pleasure in laying some details before our readers to illustrate the fact. But it is only natural to find that the atmosphere of Catholic interpretation is mixed with other elements when we have a company of authors gathered from various quarters, who do not all regard the Church as a divine organization, or her episcopal government as essential, or her sacraments as generally necessary to salvation, or her functions as including the duty of acting as the witness and keeper of Holy Writ.

This Dictionary is published, we are told in the somewhat cumbrous language of the Preface, ' as a contribution towards the furnishing of the Church' for the great work of teaching, or, as it is sometimes called, expository preaching. It includes within its scope the Old and New Testaments and the Old Testament Apocrypha, according to the Authorized and Revised English Versions, with references to the original tongues. Articles have been written on the names of all persons and places, on the antiquities and archæology of the Bible; on its ethnology, geology, and natural history; on Biblical theology and ethics; and on the obsolete or archaic words of the English versions. There is a great number of short articles, but there are also in the volume about eighty articles which deal with important and difficult subjects, and extend to considerable length. The editor is to be con gratulated upon obtaining so many well-known names in his list of contributors from both sides of the Atlantic. The names of the authors are appended to their articles, and many are a guarantee for orthodox Churchmanship, or for Hebrew scholarship, or for good work in exploration, or for the best available results in some special branch of learning. Without at all attempting any classification of names, and saying nothing for the moment of the value which we attach to their respective views and contributions, it is evident that a vast amount of solid learning may be expected from a list which makes it possible to choose as representative names that Bishop Wordsworth's Prolegomena may be collected from his Commentary and issued separately, by way of bringing out the spiritual unity of the Bible.

1 All students of the Bible could read with profit the last chapter of St. Athan. De Incarn. Verbi Dei, beginning, 'But in order that we may search into and gain a true knowledge of the Scriptures, there is need of a good life, and a pure soul, and Christian virtue.' Compare Later Treatises, p. 196, note *.

VOL. XLVI.-NO. XCII.

DD

Professors Lock, Stanton, and Gwatkin, the Revs. A. C. Headlam, A. Plummer, H. A. Redpath, and T. B. Strong, and Mr. Turner of Magdalen; or again, Professors Driver, Margoliouth, Mayor, Ryle, and Sayce, the Revs. G. A. Cooke, S. T. Gwilliam, and F. H. Woods, Dr. Jevons, Mr. Pinches, Lieutenant-Colonel Conder, and Sir C. Warren; or again, Professors Denney, Ramsay, and G. A. Smith. As the communications of these distinguished scholars were sent in they were not only perused by the editor and his assistant, but also placed in the hands of Professors Davidson, Driver, and Swete, and, so far as illness permitted, also of Professor Sanday. Dr. Shearer has verified the Scriptural references, and other scholars have rendered assistance which is duly acknowledged. This revision of the proof-sheets has no doubt led towards uniformity, which must have been difficult to attain when such a heterogeneous company of authors was at work. It certainly may be taken as a good assurance that the work as a whole can be relied on as authoritative, though the readers of the proofs do not hold themselves responsible for errors of any kind. The editor has rightly considered that it is of great importance that the reader should be able to find each subject under its own natural title. To this end, when allied subjects have been grouped together, the careful system of black-lettering and cross-reference enables the reader to find what he wants. We do not complain that a little repetition is found here and there, though not in identical terms, because the reader's time is thereby saved, and he is not annoyed by directions which lead him first to one article and then to another. The spelling of the Revised Version is adopted for proper names, and when the spelling of the Authorized Verson is given there is a cross-reference to the other version. The Hebrew and, where it was thought necessary, the Septuagint of all proper and many common names have been given. The list of abbreviations is not a long one when the size and scope of the work is considered. But there are details in the system adopted which are not quite satisfactory : Apocr. is given in the list as the abbreviation for Apocrypha, but aal, used on p. 123 for apocryphal, is not given. J. is used for Jahvist, and J" for Jehovah, whereas it would have been much better to use the simple letter without dashes for the sacred Name. In the abbreviations which are used for the literature, J. Q. R. is used for the Jewish Quarterly Review, and the Church Quarterly Review is referred to as Church Quart. Rev. (p. 403). A simple and uniform scheme of transliterating Hebrew and Arabic words has been adopted,