the creed of a very able man. It is crude, hastily done; much of the thinking is shallow because the process has been too rapid; there has been a want of assimilation in the writer's mind of the materials of his thought. We fancied every now and then in reading the book we could detect the tones of the author who had helped him to the statement before us. We are sorry that we cannot speak so highly as we could wish of this production of Mr. Kirkus, but he is a strong man and can bear criticism from those who wish that for his own sake he had done better. The marks of ability in the book are abundant; they would be sufficient to establish the reputation of an unknown man for intellectual vigour, but for one, who has already shown how well he can write, they are the indications of his duty to do better. SHORT NOTICES OF BOOKS. On a page of advertisements at the end of this book, we find the following remarkable notice :"The 375th edition. One million six hundred and sixty-three thousand (exclusive of all foreign editions, in twenty-nine languages), of The Sinner's Friend." Now this may be quickly written, and still more quicly said; but what cannot be quickly apprehended, nor, indeed, apprehended even approximately, is the amount of spiritual influence represented by, or rather, concealed in, these fi Now gures. Consequently, also, is it impossible to apprehend the power for good wielded by a man, whose simple Gospel pamphlet has had such a wide notoriety. For Mr. J. Vine Hall, living, and for his sons on his behalf-now that he is gone, it is surely fame enough that he was the author of "The Sinner's Friend." The book before us cannot possibly increase that fame; for, though we sincerely grieve to say so, this "Autobiography" is a mistake. Of Mr. Newman Hall's integrity of purpose in the publication of this book, we can have not even the shadow of a doubt, and we, therefore, have not the heart to follow some of our contemporaries in their dissections of the work. We will only suggest that a much smaller narrative, carefully divested of all that is either trivial or objectionable in the larger one, be given us instead. The Life of John de Wycliffe, with a sketch of the Ancient British Church and the English Reformation. By the author of "The Story of Martin Luther" and "The Story of Ulrich Zwingle." London: John F. Shaw & Co. of The genial and accomplished authoress of the "stories "9 Luther and Zwingle has established another claim to the thankfulness of young readers, by the publication of this life of Wycliffe. The work has no pretensions to originality: it is really a compilation; but it is done throughout with much taste and good sense. The sketch of the early British Church, though necessarily brief, is well done, and, considering the small quantity of reliable materials at hand, gives a fair idea of that Church. Equally good is the story of our Reformation; it is particularly free from party bias, and is simply an impartial statement of facts a statement made, however, with much true feeling. The life of the great translator and reformer occupies rather more than a third of the book. We advise the readers of the CHRISTIAN SPECTATOR to put this book into the hands of their young people: it will prove both healthy and instructive reading for them. Christ and Man; or, God's Answer to our Chief Questions. By WILLIAM BATHGATE. London: Jackson, Walford, & Co., Paternoster Row. We cannot better state the object of this volume than by quoting the first paragraph of the preface. The writer says: "This volume is an attempt to show that our Lord Jesus Christ, in his person, his attributes, and his offices, is God's present answer to man's chief questions, whether of the individual soul or of any one of the small or great circles of human society. There is throughout the book a persistent and prolonged effort both to state the prime facts in our moral nature and circumstances, and the prime facts in the mediatorship of Christ, and to exhibit the adaptations of the latter series of facts to compass all the demands arising out of the former series of facts. My aim has been to represent Christ as hasting to draw forth the great moral and religious inquiries of the soul and of society, and I have striven to make it evident how triumphantly the Saviour King, sitting on the circle of his offices, fulfils the varied and complicated and immense demands of the case. The individual, the family, the market, the State, the Church, the age, and the race, are viewed as stirred with their better aspirations, surrounded with their dire necessities, and burdened with their weightiest problems. The Christ of the Word, the Christ of earth and heaven, of time and eternity, satisfies these aspirations, meets these necessities, and solves these problems." To the accomplishment of his task, the author sets himself with remarkable earnestness, and, although his subject is by no means new, he treats it with much vigour and freshness. We should, indeed, be withholding a due meed of praise if we did not say that it is long since we read a book which pleased us more. The volume contains twelve chapters, arranged according to the outline sketched in the quotation we have made above. The principal chapter in the book, however, is the fourth. It is on the "offices" of Christ, and is a very complete, intelligent, and unexceptionably evangelical exposition of the old and great subject. We had marked several passages for quotation, but must forbear. We only repeat our commendation of the book, and assure our readers that they will find both pleasure and profit in its perusal. The Nature and Extent of Divine Inspiration, as stated by the writers, and deduced from the facts, of the New Testament. By the Rev. C. A. Row, M.A. London: Longmans. 1864. THAT a revelation from God to man is not only possible, but has actually been given, is a proposition to which assent is yielded by persons of widely different opinions. It is also admitted by many who by no means agree when they come to details, that a divine revelation has been made through individuals who may truly be called inspired, and who have recorded the results in their writings. Beyond this it is not easy to proceed without controversy; for some affirm that all men alike have a certain divine inspiration; others, that select soul in connection with all creeds in all ages, have been specially inspired; others again, that this inspiration can only be predicated of the writers of the Old and the New Testaments, and of such as are there set forth as under a divine afflatus. Mr. Row has treated most phases of the subject with much candour, earnestness, and ability, and his book ought to be placed along with the more important of the modern essays on inspiration. If the number of his chapters had not been so considerable, we would have copied here their titles at least. Some notion of them may be acquired from the following selection :-Ch. 2. The inadequacy of all human conceptions of the Infinite a limitation to the extent of truth which can be communicated in a revelation. Ch. 4. The possibility of a divine revelation, and the mode adopted in its communication. Ch. 5. The impossibility of arguing from the Divine attributed to the facts of nature, invalidates all such arguments when applied to the facts of revelation. Ch. 6. The theory of verbal inspiration contrary to the mode of the Creator's acting in creation and providence. Ch. 7. The incarnation is the great objective manifestation of Deity to the finite mind. The person of Christ exhibits the highest form of inspiration. In the next chapter, the inspiration of our Lord is considered; after which come eleven chapters devoted to a most searching inquiry into the nature and extent of the inspiration of Apostles and Evangelists. The 20th chapter is an application of results to existing theories, and the 21st, which ends the book, is an endeavour to prove that the Christ of the Gospels is no creation of the unassisted powers of the human mind. It will be seen that the author strictly adheres to his programme, -to consider the nature and extent of Divine inspiration, as stated by the writers, and deduced from the facts of the New Testament. He has been perfectly at liberty to confine himself to these limits; but would not he render an invaluable service to his generation who should resolutely grapple with the statements and facts of the Old Testament? The subject is fairly afloat, and we owe our best thanks to those who seek to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. Mr. Row has not done this, but he has given us a valuable contribution towards it; and we venture to think, without approv ing of all he says, that the work which we have rather reflected upon than reviewed, will secure a respectful hearing from most of those who are honest enough to appreciate a good book, whether they agree with it all or not. We not only believe our readers to be of this class, but that they will very much approve of a large portion of Mr. Row's excellent volume. This little volume of sermons is designed for those who are deprived of the privilege of the sanctuary; and of such persons, alas, there are not a few. The sick and the aged always abound, and with many among them, enforced absence from God's house is one of the bitterest ingredients in the cup their Heavenly Father gives them to drink. Happily for them, however, they have access to God's truth, and to a vast mass of religious literature which is specially designed to meet their wants. The sermons before us are well adapted to their end. They are short, evangelical, pointed, and devout. We have pleasure in commending them to our invalid friends. In bury their sons, but in times of peace sons bury their fathers." Once more a father has had to lay a son in his grave when war was not the cause of death. this case the grief must have been great, for the buried youth was one of whom it was reasonable to cherish no little expectations. The story of his brief but busy life is well told, and is well worth the telling. It is wise to publish the biography and the literary remains in the same volume, for each section of the book enhances our appreciation of the other. The "Remains" furnish unmistakable proofs of a mind versatile in its gifts and acquirements, for Mr Taylor was "at home" in some branches of physical science and in metaphysical discussions; he tried his hand at fiction, and by no means failed; and last, but not least, he possessed some sparks of the true poetic fire. The memoir shows that with all these indications of culture and genius be had strong common sense, good business abilities, and the faculty of achieving success in labours which many young men with less of literary power would have counted drudgery almost unbearable. For this reason amongst others we give the book our most hearty recommendation; it will teach our young men that neither fine literary tastes nor true genius need be separated from the prudence and industry by which daily bread is to be won, and, on the other hand, it will teach them (what a large number of them much need to learn) that proper devotion to business need not become a sordid and grovelling thing, eschewing all literature excepting that found in share lists and the Times City article. Through Deep Waters; or, Seek and ye Shall Find. Translated from the German. Nisbet & Co., 1865. The object of this story, which takes the form of an autobiography, is to pourtray the workings of a mind, morbidly self-conscious, in its struggles after peace. The chapters which relate to the stay of the heroine at "Bethany," the name of a hospital under the care of deaconesses at Berlin, are full of interest; but the book, as a whole, is tedious to an extent which materially detracts from the pleasure of reading it. Friendship with God. By the REV. CHARLES STANFORD. London: Jackson, Walford, and Hodder. Amid the turmoil and disappointment of daily life, it is refreshing to the spirit to take up this little pamphlet. We have read Mr. Stanford's discourse with exceeding pleasure. The theme is one of the loftiest, and he has treated it eloquently and well. The Preacher's Portfolio: contain ing two hundred and fifty Outlines of Sermons. Second Se ries. Marlborough and Co. We once heard a young preacher bemoan the difficulty he experienced in "breaking up " texts; the above would furnish him a goodly choice of texts already "broken." To any who labour under the same difficulty this volume will prove useful; and as the outlines are not the production of one mind, but are derived from such sources as Cecil, |
