door of her academy. A rumour was spread among the Christians, that the daughter of Theon was the only obstacle to the reconciliation of the Prefect and the Archbishop, and that obstacle was speedily removed. On a fatal day, in the holy season of Lent, Hypatia was torn from her chariot, stripped naked, dragged to the church, and inhumanly butchered by the hands of Peter the reader, and a troop of savage and merciless fanatics: her flesh was scraped from her bones with sharp oyster-shells, and her quivering limbs were delivered to the flames. The just progress of inquiry and punishment was stopped by seasonable gifts; but the murder of Hypatia has imprinted an indelible stain on the character and religion of Cyril.'

"After having spent a great part of his life in secular affairs, Synesius was converted, and made Bishop of Ptolemais in 410. It will appear by the first letter I shall produce, that he was unwilling to accept the charge, and that he was very candid and ingenuous in the avowal of his reasons, and of all the particulars of his life which in any way affected his qualifications for the sacred office to which he was invited by Theophilus, the Archbishop of Alexandria. He was not fully persuaded of the great truths of the Christian religion, and yet such was the laxity as to essentials in those days, to which many look for models and examples, that notwithstanding the candid admission by Synesius of the state of his theological convictions, he was urged and induced to become the Bishop of Ptolemais; a fact that reminds us of the case of St. Ambrose, who is said to have been constrained to accept the Archbishoprick of Milan, though but newly baptised, and not having had time to study religion before his ordination.'

"Synesius exercised the important office of Bishop of Ptolemais during the space of twenty years, his life having terminated about the same time with that of St. Augustine; and the acts of his sacred ministry bore testimony to the integrity of his mind, and the firmness and humanity of his principles and feelings. The prognostics of this sensible and wise, and, we may hope, faithful deportment, are, indeed, observable in some of the earlier transactions of his life, and especially in the instructive oration which he pronounced, when at Constantinople, as deputy from Cyrene to the Emperor Arcadius; whom he exhorted to revive the courage of his subjects by an example in his own person of manly virtue, to banish luxury from his court, to rouse the lazy citizen from his dream of pleasure, and to display the spirit of a Roman at the head of his indigenous troops.

"SYNESIUS TO HIS BROTHER.

"I should be an insensible man, were I not to return many thanks to the people of Ptolemais, for deeming me worthy of honours to which, for my own part, I do not think myself competent. It is my duty to consider, not so much the greatness of the office which is tendered to me, as my ability to discharge its duties. For, feeling myself a mere man, to be promoted to honours little less than divine, is a distinction which may be very gratifying in the acceptance to one who is fit for the undertaking, but to one who comes so far short of what the undertaking demands, the bitter disappointment of his hopes is the only probable result. It is no new fear of mine, but one which I have long entertained, that my receiving honour from man may be an infliction upon me for some sin against God. For, upon self-investigation, I find myself altogether unsuited to the gravity of the sacerdotal office. Let me make you acquainted then with what is passing in my mind, since to none can I do this so well as to him who was brought up with me, and whom I hold so dear. For I presume to think, that you will partake with me in all my cares, and my attainment of any good, or escape from any evil, is at all times the subject of your anxious thoughts. Hear then how matters stand with me, though, indeed, you must, for the most part, be already acquainted with them. I have taken upon me the light burthen of philosophy, and seem to myself hitherto to have sustained it well; but having been praised by some as not altogether unsuccessful in this study, I am thought equal to greater things by those who are no good judges of the qualifications of my mind. I fear then lest, being elated so far as to accept the honour, I should commit a double error, acting as if I thought myself above the profession of philosophy, whilst I fall below the demands of the new situation proposed to me. For consider that between these two things I regularly divide my time,-amusement, and study. When I am studying, I am in privacy, especially if engaged in religious exercises; but when I recreate myself, I am quite in public; and the truth is, as you know, that when I rise from my books I am wholly given up to recreation. I fear, therefore, I am unfitted, both by nature and by habit, for public

cares.

"Now a priest ought to be a holy man,-one who should be utterly indisposed to any manner of amusement; one who is garrisoned by ten thousand eyes, that he may live conformably to his profession; which check upon him would avail little or

nothing without a fitness in the man himself for what he has undertaken, without a spiritual discernment, and a superiority to all self-indulgence. In things relating to God he should not keep to himself, but impart, the benefit of his knowledge; being a teacher of the law, and one who should pronounce its decisions: he must himself perform what is usually the work of many hands. He must do everybody's duties, and submit to everybody's accusations. Must he not necessarily then be a man of a most capacious mind, to bear so great an accumulation of cares, without being overwhelmed by them; how otherwise can the sacred spark be kept alive in his soul, when such a variety of employments are distracting him? I well know that some men are equal to all this; and much do I admire their abilities, and esteem them to be men of a truly god-like cast, able, as they are, to interest themselves in human affairs, without cutting themselves off from divine communion. As for myself, I feel that I cannot go to and fro in the city, without having my affections implicated in things that drag me to the earth, and bring on my soul more defilement than I can express. For to one who has long found himself sullied even by his family affairs, a slight accession greatly swells the amount. I feel a deficiency of strength. It is the unsoundness within me that makes me unequal to exterior things. I am far from being able to endure grief for conscience sake. As often as any one asks the question of me, I shrink not from explicitly declaring my opinion, that a bishop should be spotless himself, in an extraordinary and eminent degree, inasmuch as he has even to cleanse others from their spots. This it becomes me to confess in a letter written to a brother; but undoubtedly many persons will read this epistle; and, indeed, it is mainly for this reason that I have written it, in order that the matter may be clear to all men. For I am anxious, whatever the result may be, that I may stand free of blame before God and men, and especially before our father Theophilus. For, by laying all my case before him, and giving him an opportunity, by this full exposure of my circumstances, of judging for me, is not the weight of responsibility removed from me? On me both God and the law, and the holy hand of Theophilus, have bestowed a wife. I declare, therefore, and protest before all men, that from this wife of mine I will not either entirely live apart, nor cohabit clandestinely with her, as a fornicator. For the one would be anything but holy, and the other anything but lawful. My wish and prayer is, that I may have a numerous and virtuous offspring. This one thing ought to be well understood by him who has the right of the appointment. Let him be told this by his associates Paulus and Dionysius, who, as I understand, have been made presbyters by the people. Indeed there is no need to inform him of it, but to remind him of it: I shall have more to say to you, however, concerning him. But if all other impediments were of small consequence, who should settle this point?

66

Again, it is difficult, if not wholly impossible, to shake opinions which have been established in the mind by demonstrative reasoning. You know that philosophy is in many instances opposed to the commonly received dogmas. I never can think it proper to admit that the soul comes into existence after the body: nor will I say that the world and other parts of the creation perish together. I think that the doctrine of the resurrection, which is publicly preached, is something sacred, and not a fit subject of discourse. I am far from falling in with the opinions of the vulgar; and I think that the philosophical mind, though it is its business to discern the truth, must yield occasionally to the necessity of falsifying. For the interior light bears the same relation to truth, as the natural eye to its objects, where its vision is obscured by a film: the spiritual vision requires a film between it and the truth, as the natural vision does between it and light, inasmuch as the eye would be injured by being exposed to too much brightness. As the dark is beneficial to those who have a defect in the eye, so, I think, that deception is useful to the people, and the truth may be hurtful to those who are not strong enough to fix their vision upon objects that are very luminous. If the laws concerning the priesthood would allow these things to me, I could undertake the priesthood. For when at home, I act the part of a philosopher—when abroad, and teaching, I indulge in fiction. Not in any respect to disabuse their minds, but to suffer them to remain as they are, is what I propose to do. But if they say that they also are to be awakened, and that the people are to be as the priest in doctrines, I will not be the first to render myself transparent to all. For the people and philosophy, what have they to do with one another? The truth of divine things ought not to be spoken out, since the people require a different mode of teaching. Though again and again I repeat that a wise man should neither argue nor be argued with when there is no necessity for it, yet when called to the priesthood I do not deem it right to profess opinions which I do not entertain. I call God and men to witness the truth of what I say. Truth is the special attribute of God, before whom I am desirous in all things to be blameless. In this one

thing I will be quite sincere. Fond as I am of amusement, insomuch that from my youth I have been blamed for an excessive and inordinate attachment to arms and horses, I should grieve indeed (for what should I suffer to see my favourite dogs unexercised in hunting, and my arrows worm-eaten), yet I will suffer martyrdom if God commands it. And as I am one who dislikes the cares of business, I shall feel uncomfortable at this change of habits; but I will bear this service of controversy and trouble, burthensome as it is, if I thereby fulfil my duty to God; I will not dissemble my opinions; my mind and tongue shall not be at variance. Thus thinking, thus speaking, I think I shall do what is pleasing to God. I am unwilling to give occasion to its being said hereafter, that without letting my sentiments be known I caught at the appointment. But let the most devout father Theophilus, with this full knowledge of what my opinions are, dispose of me, informing me first of his determination. For he will either leave me in my present situation philosophizing by myself, or he will leave himself no opportunity afterwards of passing judgment upon me, and of striking me out of the list of bishops. Every consideration is trifling in comparison with this point; for I well know that the truth is most agreeable to God. I protest by your sacred head, and what is more, by God, the inspector of truth, I feel great distress of mind; for how can I but hesitate when required to make a transition from one sort of life to another? If, then, when these things are made manifest, which I do not think proper to conceal, he to whom God has given the authority should still determine to enroll me amongst the bishops, I will submit to the necessity. I will receive it as a signification of the Divine will. I feel that if the emperor, or an evil spirit in the imperial form, were to lay the command upon me, I would incur the penalty of disobedience; but to the will of God I must implicitly submit. Unless, however, God admits me to be His minister, and that by some pre-intimation of his will, it behoves me to cleave to the truth, that most divine thing, and not by a line of conduct opposed to truth, such as all deception is, to enter, in a sinister way, into His service. Let the scholastics know these things, and report them to him.'

"Before we take our leave of Synesius, it would be unfair to his memory not to speak of his character as greatly distinguished among the best and brightest ornaments of the fourth century. His conversion to Christianity was no sudden change produced by interest or ambition, as his mind before that event had long been conversant with theology and philosophy, in all the forms and colours with which the schools had invested them in that disputatious æra. His researches in philosophy were recommended and adorned no less by the polite attainments to which they were associated, than by the modesty and manly grace which accompanied their display in the commerce of life. His epistles bear the impress of qualities far above the tone and bearing of the ecclesiastics of the age in which he lived; and it would be difficult to shew among the familiar letters of any period, either ancient or modern, more truth of feeling, more raciness of expression, and more of the play of vivacity, than in the part borne by Synesius in his correspondence with his friends. He was an accomplished gentleman of the fourth century, with a mind on a level with his high descent, and at an equal distance from sacerdotal haughtiness and monkish humility. His avocations as a scholar and man of science appear to have impaired his fortune; yet no considerations of ease could deter him from the frank avowal of opinions that seemed to be, and ought to have been, a bar to his preferment. On his elevation, however, to the throne of episcopacy, he was fully alive to the responsibility of the charge, and resolute in the administration of its duties. In the annals of faction and persecution, or the uncharitable strife of controversy, the name of Synesius is nowhere heard: it was only in a contest with crime and cruelty that he wielded the weapons of the sanctuary, and tried the efficacy of its spiritual thunder in a combat with secular authority." "I am not asking of the reader an unqualified approbation of this amiable and distinguished man. He was a great admirer, and almost a disciple of the Pythagorean school, and imported from it those maxims of secrecy and suppression by which it was so particularized. Of the reserve of the Pythagorean mystics in the economy of their arcana, few in any age could with reason complain; but reserve in the communication of saving truths is a gross wrong done to humanity. Such a mode of dispensing Christian knowledge is to intercept the beams of the Sun of righteousness, to render darker still the glass through which we see so darkly, and to interpose a veil of human texture between the sinner and the sinner's hope. There is, however, good reason to conclude that Synesius, after entering into the episcopal office, acquired clearer and correcter views of some of those theological points on which his mind had been sceptical or unsettled, as we find him very anxious and active in removing the doubts of a friend on the same subjects; though still it is probable that, like all the luminaries of the church in the fourth century,

especially those who were late converts to Christianity, he failed in that entire reliance on the Saviour's blood, and the exclusive all-sufficiency of his merits, which acknowledges the full completion of the work of mercy in accomplishing our redemption.'

ON THE BAPTISM OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

IN your Number for June, p. 338, you quote the following passage from Mr. Bickersteth's Sermon before the London City Mission Society. "In one court in the neighbourhood of Cow-cross, there were twenty-three unmarried couples living together, and their children were unbaptized." These have become your own words by adoption. May I ask you, therefore, on what ground is it to be regretted that these children are unbaptized? Are not the parents living in such a state as to expose them to excommunication if church censures were applied and diregarded? Are they not self-excommunicated? And are the children of excommunicated persons entitled to the privilege of baptism? Is it not rather, in fact, a subject for thankfulness that that holy ordinance should be withheld from children whose parents are living in a known, wilful, but remediable scandal?

I fear that the abandonment of church censures, and the prostitution of church ordinances, is the crying, withering sin of the Church of England.

A LINCOLNSHIRE PRESBYTER.

We were

Our correspondent jumps rather rapidly to conclusions. not alluding directly or indirectly to the question of the baptism of illegitimate children. It never entered our minds while we were writing. We quoted Mr. Bickersteth's description of the dreadful vice and misery which prevail in too many of our densely-peopled districts, for the purpose of shewing that "the Church of England ought to have missions [that is, to exercise aggressive labours] in our large towns under episcopal and pastoral control." In quoting a passage detailing matters of fact for a particular object, we do not make every incidental opinion of the writer our's by adoption. But upon the point touched upon by our correspondent, Mr. Bickersteth gave no opinion. He merely stated a lamentable fact; that in one court there are twentythree unmarried couples, and a multitude of unbaptized children, their unhappy progeny. He did not say that he regretted that these sinning parents do not cause their children to be baptized. He regretted to see so many children brought up in heathenism; and assuredly these unbaptized infants call aloud upon the faithful to use every effort, by God's blessing, to reclaim the graceless and godless multitudes who pollute both our cities and our rural districts.

As to the practical question of a clergyman's duty when the children of unmarried persons are brought to him for baptism, there is no doubt. Canon 68 says, "No minister shall refuse or delay to christen any child according to the form of the Book of Common Prayer, that is brought to the church to him on Sundays and holidays to be christened, convenient warning being given him thereof before." If the parents send the child, and provide suitable sponsors, who are willing to undertake the office, the clergyman is bound to administer baptism. He cannot cite the parents to answer questions. "No

parent," says Canon 29, "shall be urged to be present;" nor has he any warrant to consider the parents excommunicated till they are pronounced to be so by due process. Canon 69 says that if any minister, being duly informed of "the weakness and danger of death of any infant [there is no exception of base-born infants, or those supposed to be so] unbaptized in his parish, and thereupon desired to go or come to the place where the said infant remaineth, to baptize the same, shall wilfully refuse so to do, &c. &c.," he shall, if the child die unbaptized, be suspended for three months.

KEN'S HYMNS AN IMITATION OF SIR T. BROWNE'S
"COLLOQUY WITH GOD."

For the Christian Observer.

DID it ever occur to our readers to collate Bishop Ken's admirable Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymns, with the lines entitled "Colloquy with God," in Sir Thomas Browne's "Religio Medici?" We do not say that Ken plagiarised Browne; but the worthy Knight's verses evidently suggested some of the thoughts in the Bishop's stanzas; or possibly Browne's lines were so interwoven with Ken's early recollections, that he paraphrased them without knowing it. Browne was born in London in 1605: he was educated at Winchester and Oxford; travelled on the continent as far as Rome; became a physician, and followed his profession with great success at Norwich. He published various works; but is now known chiefly by his "Religio Medici," and his treatise on 66 Vulgar Errors." He died in 1682, and was buried at Norwich. Dr. Johnson, in defending him from the charge of infidelity, remarks:

"It is somewhat wonderful that he should be placed without the pale of Christianity who declares that he assumes the honourable style of a Christian, not because it is the religion of his country, but because, having in his riper years and confirmed judgment seen and examined all, he finds himself obliged by the principles of grace, and the law of his own reason, to embrace no other name but this:' who, to specify his persuasion yet more, tells us that he is of the Reformed religion; of the same belief our Saviour taught, the Apostles disseminated, the Fathers authorized, and the martyrs confirmed: who, though paradoxical in philosophy, loves in divinity to keep the beaten road, and pleases himself that he has no taint of heresy, schism, or error:' to whom where the scripture is silent the church is a text; where that speaks but a comment:' and who uses not the dictates of his own reason, but where there is a joint silence of both;' and who blesses himself that he lived not in the days of miracles, when faith had been thrust upon him; but enjoys that greater blessing pronounced to all that believe and saw not.' He cannot be charged with a defect of faith, who believes that our Saviour was dead, and buried, and desires to see him in his glory:' and who affirms that 'this is not much to believe;' that we have reason to owe this faith unto history;' and that they only had the advantage of a bold and noble faith who lived before his coming; and upon obscure prophecies and mystical types could raise a belief.""

Dr. Johnson might have quoted a still stronger passage, in which Browne says, "I could be content to be nothing almost to eternity" (a hyperbolical expression; for eternity cannot be measured or divided) "if I might enjoy my Saviour at the last." The biographer adds: "The opinions of every man must be learned from himself: concerning his practice it is safest to trust the evidence of others. Where these testimonies concur, no higher defence of historical certainty can be obtained; and they apparently concur to prove that Browne was a zealous CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 70. 4 G