llowers of the Lamb whithersoever he goeth;" in other words, ose who make it a part of their daily business to be guided in all ings by religious principle, and to "glorify God in their body d spirit." Every point in this argument requires that we should agreed as to the sort of people whom we respectively have in ew. These are clearly defined by your correspondent. The world Il not come to the Church for guidance in their amusements; we can do in this matter, therefore, must be with "religious peoreligious dissenters, and Christians.' In your second paragraph you say, “As to dancing, there is no ubt that the Bible is full of it." Here you must mean dancing understood metaphorically of religious joy, or the instances of it ntained in the Bible, neither of which bear the least relation to ncing as an amusement in modern times. If these Bible innces of dancing (with one or two exceptions) were not expresns of religious joy, what were they expressions of? Let us have apter and verse in disproof, if you can bring them; for as an old mnday-school scholar, and now teacher, I always, by a strange sort perversity, ask for these when establishing any point from the ole. You will not mention David's dancing before the ark, for i that been a mere expression of natural joy and for amusement's te, Michal would not have "despised him in her heart;" besides, is said, he "danced before the Lord." I think I may venture, n, to aver that the dancing approved in the Bible has nothing atever to do with the dancing of the present time, nor indeed h that of any other time in the world's history. You have reitly shown your readers the sin of those Southern slave-owners o try to defend their infernal institution from the Bible: let us e care that we make not a similar mistake in matters of less imrtance. As, however, you mention the dancing" which respects d," and so markedly connect cheerfulness with dancing in your tence, " if people become cheerful enough to wish to dance," &c, u will oblige your readers by describing what sort of dancing this the music used on the occasion, the company present, and the st time for practising it. By your so doing, true service will be dered to the Church, cheerfulness being enjoined upon us both Christ and His apostles. Christian parents then will know how use for their children that which is so pleasant and profitable to emselves, keeping their eye, as they do, on the Scripture, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not part from it." If the Apostle had written any directions upon ancing, I am almost sure he would have put them in this connecon, "In like manner also that women adorn themselves with odest apparel, with shamefacedness, and sobriety; not with broi *Job xxi. 11, Exodus xxii. 19. dered hair, or gold, or costly array, or pearls, but (which becomet women professing godliness) with good works." With one or two extracts for the use especially of Sunday-schoo teachers, I conclude. -Yours, A SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER. Psalm cxlix. 3.-"Let them praise His name with flutes." Walford's Translation of the Psalms. "The original words so rendered (dance) in our Bibles, do not always be such a sense, but merely to leap for joy, or great joy-Psalm xxx. 11, Luke x 26; or to praise God by playing on an organ-2 Sam. vi. 14; and the wo rendered the dance, signifies no more than a company of singers"-Psal cxlix. 2, &c.-Brown's Dictionary of the Bible. 66 In the time of our Saviour, all the elders, the members of the Sanhedri the rulers of the synagogues, the doctors of the schools, and other perso deemed venerable for their age and piety, danced together in the court of t temple to the sound of the temple music every evening while this feast Tabernacles) lasted. . . . The ceremony was professedly in imitation David's dancing before the ark. Dr. Jennings, who evidently does not mu admire it, says, 'All the sport was to see these venerable fathers of the nat skip and dance, clap their hands, and sing; and they who played the fool egregiously! acquitted themselves with the most honour.'"-Jewish Antiqu quoted by Kitto. "At a very early period dancing was enlisted into the service of religion; dance, enlivened by vocal and instrumental music, was a usual accompanime in all the processions and festivals of the gods. The Hebrews, in common wi other nations, had their sacred dances, which were performed on their solen anniversaries, and other occasions of commemorating some special token of t Divine goodness and favour, as means of drawing forth in the liveliest mann their expressions of joy and thanksgiving. In early times, indeed, those w perverted the exercise from a sacred use to purposes of amusement, were co sidered profane and infamous, and hence Job introduces it as a distinguishi feature in the character of the ungodly rich, that they encouraged a taste dancing in their families-Job xxi. 11. During the classic ages of Greece s Rome, society underwent a complete revolution of sentiment on this subje Notwithstanding, however, the strong partiality cherished for this inspiriti amusement, it was considered beneath the dignity of persons of rank and ch racter to practise it. The well-known words of Cicero, that no one dan unless he is either drunk or mad,' express the prevailing sense as to the imp priety of respectable individuals taking part in it, and hence the gay circles Rome and its provinces derived all their entertainment, as is done in the E to this day, from the exhibitions of professional dancers. The Jewish da was performed by the sexes separately. There is no evidence from sacred h tory that the diversion was promiscuously enjoyed, except it might be att erection of the deified calf, when, in imitation of the Egyptian festival of Ap all classes of the Hebrews intermingled in the frantic revelry."-Kitto's (y pædia of Biblical Literature. Before attempting to sum up the evidence on this question some future time, we intend to hear argument further on both side Meantime, while duly appreciating the tone of piety which perva e preceding paper, we submit that the writer has somewhat misken the question at issue, which is, whether all dancing is essenally sinful; except such gesticulation before the ark, as David actised (the Hebrew word for which, in 2 Sam. vi. 14, is not ahol, the ordinary term for the dance, but carcar, and signifies ping); or whether there is not a kind of dancing which is wful, and which is not offensive to God when enjoyed in the right mpany, in the right costume, at the right time, and in the right uper. Some of the objections offered to such dancing by the esent writer would, if admitted, be equally fatal to all music and ging, except that used in divine worship; and we do not expect at most of our readers will think it a duty to put down all music cept that of the sanctuary. If there be a lawful dancing, Chrisn young people may dance; if all dancing be sinful, the dancing unconverted people ought not to be condemned for its accidents erely, but for its essence. The question of the expediency of ing this amusement under present circumstances, deserves careful nsideration; but our present business is with the discussion of its wfulness as an amusement, when "used" so as not to be bused." Our correspondent invites us to deal with the Scripture arguent. Without pretending to exhaust the subject, we offer the folving notes for consideration. There are three roots in the Hebrew, mations from which are translated by the verb to dance and noun dance. 1, Carcar to leap, whence car, a lamb, and carcaroth, medaries, so called from their jolting motion. This is the term ed to denote David's action before the ark. 2, Riquad, also to p or skip, used in 1 Chron. xv. 29, to describe David's action fore the ark; in Job xxi. 11, to describe the skipping of chilen like lambs," they send forth their little ones like a flock sheep, and their children skip; " and in Isaiah xiii. 21, to denote e awkward jumping motion either of imaginary satyrs, or of eral shaggy goats, "and satyrs shall dance there." Then-3, have machol or macholah, the regular and proper word for e dance, used in Exodus xv. 20, "Then Miriam took a timbrel, d all the women went out after her with timbrels and with inces;" in Exodus xxxii. 19, "And it came to pass as soon sa came nigh to the camp, and saw the calf and the dancing; Judges xi. 34, "And Jepthah came to Mizpeh, and behold his ughter came out to meet him, with timbrels and with dances; Judges xxi. 21, "And behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come it to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and tch you every man his wife." This, too, is the word used in salm xxx. 12, "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancg;" in Psalm cxlix. 3, "Let the children of Zion be joyful in eir King, let them praise his name in the dance;" and in Psalm 4, "Praise him in the timbrel and dance." When, therefore, W Dr. Brown, in his Dictionary of the Bible, says that this wor does not signify a dance, he contradicts Gesenius and all lexic graphers, who assure us that it does, a decision which certainly accor exceedingly well with the use of the word wherever it occurs. do not profess to be better Hebraists than Gesenius; we leave th honour to "the Sunday-school teacher." When, moreover, "I Brown" refers to 2 Sam. vi. 14, as containing the word to dand which is used in Psalm cl. 4, he makes a mistake; for in both t accounts of David's dancing the word is not mahol, but eith carcar, to caracol, or raquad to leap and skip, neither of whi words can possibly signify, as he presumes to affirm, "playing ( But our correspondent boldly challenges us to bring forwa Scriptures in defence of ordinary dancing. We decline to defer modern balls in several particulars. We do not know any "text which can be quoted in defence of late hours, immodest dress or a spirit of reckless revelling. But that there may be such thing as innocent dancing, we prove from the passages alrea quoted, and especially from the following words of the great Pr phet Jeremiah. In his thirty-first chapter, he is comforting t exiled Jews with the promise of return to the Holy Land, and the very person of God, he thus speaks or sings," Again, In build thee, and thou shalt be built, O Virgin of Israel; thou sha again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the danc of them that make merry, "be mahol mesachochim, in the dan of them that laugh for joy" (verse 4). And, again, in the 12 verse, "Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zi and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, a for wine, and for oil; and their soul shall be as a watered garde and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virg rejoice in the dance, BE MACHOL, both young men and old togethe for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, a make them rejoice from their sorrow." Now, is it conceivable th the Almighty Himself would have promised the Israelites, wh they returned from captivity, as part of their joy, participation an essentially sinful amusement; an amusement and recreati which is specially spoken of as comprehending "virgins, and your men, and old men together?" It is a mere perversion of Scriptur therefore, to quote Job xxi. 11, "and their children dance;" as proof that only bad men's children danced in antiquity; for fir the word there used signifies that the young children of prospero wicked men, like other people's, skipped like lambs, and does n refer to dancing properly so called at all; and still more, it is to violence to Scripture to attempt to get rid of the argument affirming that the word mahol does not signify to dance, when is the regular Hebrew term to denote it. Once more, we find in the Greek Testament that our Lor scribes the domestic festival that was held on the prodigal's return, uke xv., as being cheered by "music and dancing," xopwr. It simply absurd to attempt to deny that this word signifies dances. et our Lord, in representing parabolically the joy of God and His gels at the sinner's return, uses this image of earthly joy to repreat it. If Christ had regarded all family dancing as essentially ful and wicked, he could not possibly have introduced it as a pe of the joys of God and His saints in heaven, any more than e would have used the image of drunkenness to describe it. ow, putting these things together, we think there is food for reflecn to our honoured "Sunday-school teacher," and a great many her persons besides. However, we will continue to receive evince, and meantime will conclude by earnestly commending the >re spiritual portions of our correspondent's communication to e attention of our readers. If, as is quite possible, it can be monstrated that, under present circumstances and usages, it is etter for Christian families to abstain wholly from a recreation in self not unlawful, we shall be forward to assist the argument; and ere is much to be said on that side; but it is impossible to govern restrain the young people of this generation by false quotations Scripture or fallacious reasonings.-[ED. C. S.] SPINOZA. IE Colenso Controversy has now reached a peculiar and interest3, yet tantalising point, where, as with the American war, a final cision seems for the present entirely out of the question. On the e hand, it is quite clear that the bishop has not rased the Pentauch to its foundation, although his attack on the Mosaic authorip, and the morality of Deuteronomy, is very formidable, and ust be met, not by abuse or ridicule, but either by fairly admitting at he is in the main, on this head, right; or by showing, by able id candid argument, how and where he is wrong. It is clear, too, at even were we to grant that he has a great critical truth in his ew, he has not the philosophical grasp or the thorough learning > turn it to full account; on the other hand, he has hit McCaul 1 many things strongly on the hip, particularly in reference to the fidianite war, and in comparison with the majority of the Bishops nd the Committee of Convocation, with their ill-disguised ignoance, narrowness, cowardice, and inconsistency, he towers an abso |