Lo! the heavenly spirit towers, And claps his wings of fire! 'Nothing hath the just to lose By worlds on worlds destroyed: The grand millennial reign begun; Around th' eternal throne.' “He made an attempt to speak; and we could catch a few disjointed sentences; such as, I am the resurrection,-God,Jesus Christ, the ransom of sinners,-life from the dead,— praise the Lord,-praise Him,-praise Him, all the earth.' "In about an hour he sank back exhausted; his lips moved as if in prayer; he folded his hands on his breast, and was heard pouring out his soul in prayer for his family. By putting the ear close to his mouth, we heard distinctly his dying testimony: 'I am going to leave you; but God will be with you. Jesus is the resurrection and the life; and the life of Jesus'is life from the dead. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. By their prayers they shall prevail, by their prayers and tears. Hear Thou their prayers and tears. Blessed is the righteous in his life, and in his death. He shall see Jesus in the day when all tears are wiped away, and sorrow and crying are no more. The righteous shall never die. Fear sin, not death.' Then, after a brief interval, he said, 'Farewell. I am going to join the myriads of angels and archangels before the throne of God. Farewell, sin, and farewell, death. Praise the Lord. Praise him for ever.' After another interval he again made an effort to speak; and we heard him say, 'Praise God,-praise;' and at one o'clock on Saturday afternoon, the voice that had so often led the prayers and praises of religious assnmblies was hushed for ever." A work, which, were it reduceable to a manageable and purchasable compass, would be likely to be attended with much mischief, has been just published by Mrs. L. MARIA CHILD, on the Progress of Religious Ideas.* Mrs. Child, as the title indicates, and as some of her previous appearances show, belongs to that peculiar body called "Progressive Friends,” a body which has declined worshipping any positive and definite God, but does not consider it below its dignity to curtsey up to and perform its obeisance before every popular abnormity which arises, whether it be Kossuth, Woman's Rights, Animal Magnetism, Dr. Beale, Vegetarianism, or Spirit-Rapping. To a mind, whose vision is thus microscopically contracted, it is not to be wondered at that all the religions, true or false, which have arrested the attention of the human mind, should, like the fixed stars to the astronomer, withdraw to such an infinite distance as to become mere points of light, incapable of being distinguished. It is on this principle that she constructs her theological orrery. In the first volume we have marshaled before us, the Religion of Hindostan, of Egypt, of China, of Thibet and Tartary, of Chaldee, of Persia, of Greece and Rome, and of the Celtic tribes; in the second, the Jewish and Mohammedan; in the third, the Christian. The plan of the book is to preserve a philosophic impartiality, by, on the one side Paganizing Christianity, and on the other, Christianizing Paganism. Thus, while the Christian system comes before us in a costume so barbarous as to be entirely unfit for recognition among the polite and elegant, we are favored with visions of the Priest of Fo, arrayed in all the refined culture of a Fenelon, of Buddha modelled into a Washington, and of Venus subdued into a Caroline Fry. The graces and home virtues, which Christianity alone introduced, are stolen to dress up the old Pagan faiths into respectable and presentable religions, and thus to introduce them into that assemblage of creeds which it is Mrs. Child's boast to array before her readers as a confederation of coördinate faith, or rather (for such she in truth considers them) as a group of equally unfounded superstitions. In order to effect this equalization, she glosses over the most unnatural enormities of Paganism with terms of almost polite obeisance; and does not think it unworthy of her position as *The Progress of Religious Ideas through Successive Ages. By L. Maria Child. In three volumes. New-York: C. S. Francis & Co., 252 Broadway. 1855. an American woman, who is, at least, nominally a Christian, to speak of one of the most obscene emblems of the worst religion of the old world, as ornaments worn by the "pious," and as distinguished for "the serious impression" they were capable of producing. (See Vol. I. p. 13-17.) When the most revolting features of Heathenism are introduced to us with such complimentary obsequiousness, we can readily understand how it is that the cardinal doctrines of Christianity should be treated as unmeaning mysticisms, and its economical precepts parodied and perverted. In a literary point of view this book has the merit of simple though diffuse style, and of a flowing narrative. It is without just notes, or reference to authorities, however, and is as unfit to instruct the learned as it is to edify the devout. Mr. SEYMOUR'S "Evenings with the Romanists,"* is destined, we think, to open a new era in the controversy, not only with Romanists, but with Romanizers. Who Mr. Seymour is, his past works sufficiently indicate. Of Protestant and patrician birth, he was one of that class of ingenuous young men, who, impressed with the beauties of pseudo-Catholicity, as exhibited on the Anglo-Catholic canvas, proceeded to acquire a more intimate acquaintance by visiting the original at Rome. Here his good sense as well as his moral integrity recoiled at the impostures which he daily detected, and he at once entered upon the difficult task of refuting the logical deductions drawn by his new friends, from the premises which he and they held in common. Naturally enough, he found, that to do this successfully, he must abandon plank after plank of the AngloCatholic platform, and the result was, that he soon found that he had pushed away from underneath him the entire Tractarian stand-point: he then stood firmly on the old Protestant battle-ground, on the very spot on which Chillingworth had erected that impregnable fortress, which not only marked his great victory, but has afforded in times past, and will afford Evenings with the Romanists; with an Introductory Chapter on the Moral Results of the Romish System. By the Rev. H. Seymour, M. A. With Introductory Notices. By Stephen H. Tyng, D. D. New-York: Robert Carter & Brothers, No. 285 Broadway, 1855. Philadelphia: H, Hooker. 1855. for all ages, a sure bulwark for the Protestant faith. Of Mr. Seymour's experience the present volume is the last result, and full of pointed expressions and striking thoughts, as was its predecessor, ("Mornings with the Jesuits,") it is entitled greatly to the preference, both for completeness of argument and richness of illustration. The position is that of Chillingworth, but while that immortal controversialist led his followers over logical processes so exquisitely fine and attenuated that it required a strong head to walk over them without dizziness, Mr. Seymour has so spread and fenced in the pathway that one may travel it with confidence and success. The former laid his wire cables over the boiling stream and made their staples for ever secure; the latter bridged them over, so as to make a wide and commodious road, and so fenced and balustrated it that even the simplest may walk over it with ease and safety. We are confident that we are awarding Mr. Seymour's book praise none too high, when we say, that for popular purposes, it is the best on the Romish controversy that has yet been published. But here we are arrested by a very interesting question of editorial propriety. It seems that the first attempt to republish Mr. Seymour's book was by Mr. Hooker, well known as an Episcopal clergyman and a writer, who, for some years, has been also well known as a bookseller in Philadelphia. Under Mr. Hooker's auspices, the book made its appearance in the American market with nothing either on its title-page or in its preface to indicate properly the changes made. The title was the same as in the English edition, and the American preface simply stated that "the introductory chapter, which was of a general nature, and parts of other chapters, in the London edition, which seemed to be redundant, or least adapted to be useful here, have been omitted; while the author is left everywhere to speak his own words without addition or alteration." From a full and elaborate review of the question which we find in the Protestant Churchman, we give a specimen of the kind of alterations in the Philadelphia edition: "On page 27 of Hooker's edition, nearly four pages, advocating the right of private judgment in the interpretation of the Scriptures are omitted. "On pages 36 and 37 are omitted more than twelve pages, advocating the actual unity of the Protestant Churches, without notice of the omission. "On page 63 are omitted two pages, advocating the existence of an invisible, spiritual Church. "On page 73 are omitted two pages, illustrating the Apostolical character of the Church, from its conformity to the doctrine of the Apostles. "Page 74. Three pages, advocating the Church character and claims of nonEpiscopal Churches, are wanting. "Page 85. Twelve pages, opposing the doctrine of priestly absolution, are omitted. "Page 89. Three pages, opposing the same doctrine and the priestly power of forgiveness of sins, are omitted. "Page 163. Six pages, illustrating the sole Priesthood and Mediation of Christ, are omitted. "Page 194. A WHOLE CHAPTER on the Christian Priesthood, advocating and illustrating the great doctrine that all Christians are a holy priesthood, in opposition to the claims for an authoritative priesthood in the ministry, is omitted. “Page 232. Five pages, illustrating the memorial character of the Lord's Supper, are omitted in the middle of a paragraph. "Page 224. Five pages, illustrating the same great truth from the Passover, are omitted. "Page 252. A WHOLE CHAPTER on Transubstantiation is omitted. "Page 308. Six pages, illustrating the sole headship of Christ in his Church, are omitted. "Page 309. Thirteen pages, advocating the Infallibility of the Scriptures as the Protestant guide, are left out." It must be admitted by readers, and we believe that it has been admitted by the publisher himself, with great candor in several communications to the periodical press, that the alterations are material, and not only go to reduce the positively Protestant portions of the book, but were intended to do so. And he gives for this course a reason which, to say the least of it, is entitled to credit for its frankness. That portion of the Episcopal community most in need of a book against Romanism, (we give the substance not the language of the publisher's letters,) require to be gently dealt with, and not to have what is for their cure to be so given as to revolt or offend by nausea. There are portions of the book fitted, in the judgment of the publisher and his advisers, thus to offend, and consequently these have been cut out. The excision is justified not only on this ground, which is rather hinted at than stated, but for the general reason that these portions were not only unsound but unacceptable to by far the greater portion of the American Church. |