in 1838. The issue then was, which was the true General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church-the true supreme tribunal. This required to be determined. It could turn on nothing else than the question, which was regularly and constitutionally established? But when this was ascertained, no court has undertaken to review the action of this supreme tribunal, to ascertain whether such action is ecclesiastically valid-whether those whom it decides to be elders are such. This field of judicial investigation and authority has not been claimed by civil courts, until recently. It cannot be conceded without a struggle.

Our Creeds. A Sermon preached in the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church, New York, October, 1869. By James M. Ludlow, one of the Pastors of the Church. Printed by order of the Consistory. New York: Sutton, Bowne & Co. 1869.

A timely and wholesome discourse, which we are glad the young pastor was moved to preach, and the venerable Consistory to publish in exquisite style. The historical account given in it of the genesis ard uses of the great symbols of the church, ending with the Heidelberg and Westminster Catechisms, is perspicuous and earnest. And we hope the closing exhortation to the adherents of each to "stand together in nearer sympathy aud mutual co-operation," will not be lost.

Plans of Systematic Beneficence, prepared for the use of the Churches, by a Special Committee of the General Assembly of 1869. Presbyterian Board of Publication.

This is a carefully elaborated document, containing a great variety of plans for promoting systematic and increased giving in our church. We are glad that they will be furnished gratuitously to congregations applying for them. They ought to be sown broadcast throughout the whole church. We are well aware that no plans can be successful unless actuated and inspired by living piety. On the other hand, good working plans greatly facilitate and augment the contributions of Christian benevolence.

Two Letters on Causation and Freedom in Willing, addressed to John Stuart Mill; with an Appendix on the Existence of Matter, and on our Notions of Infinite Space. By Rowland G. Hazard, author of "Language," Freedom of the Mind in Willing," etc. Boston:

66

Lee & Shepard. 1869.

Mr. Hazard is, we believe, a civilian of some prominence, residing in the State of Rhode Island, He has long shown a taste and aptitude for metaphysical studies, the fruits of which have already appeared in volumes that have attracted considerable attention. His work on "Freedom of Mind in Willing," along with another on the same subject, by Dr. Whedon, was reviewed in an extended article in the October number of this journal for 1864. In that review it was shown that the author, on the one hand, appeared to admit and insist that the mind in willing is guided by its intelligence and its wants or desires, and, though determining itself freely, determines itself none the less, as it pleases, in accordance with its wants and conditions; while yet, on the contrary side, he carried the absolute autonomy of the will to the extreme of putting its volitions beyond the reach of the Divine foreknowledge.

In the two letters to Mr. Mill which swell out to this good sized volume, while he justly redargues the idealistic materialism and fatalism of that renowned and acute writer, he sets in opposition to them the views of his previous work on the will, many of them just, but sometimes verging to the extreme just indicated.

In the paper "On the Existence of Matter" he virtually takes ground against its existence. His concluding words are, "That the changes in our sensations are, in all cases, caused by intelligent effort within or without us, in neither case requiring the existence of matter as a distinct entity to account for the phenomenon, nor furnishing any proof or indication of such existence."-P. 273.

His reasonings take for granted that all our cognition of matter is in a change of sensations within us. He ignores any direct and immediate perception of externality and external objects, such as every human being is conscious of, with a certainty as complete as we have of our sensations, or of ourselves. It is quite as reasonable to deny the Ego as the non-Ego. If we must enter on this annihilating process, we think our true goal will be the nihilism of Mr. Mill, who attenuates and volatilizes both mind and matter into mere "permanent possibilities of sensations." For ourselves, if we had reduced matter to a nonentity, we should hardly think it worth while to attempt to preserve spirit and its preroga tives. We have no evidence of the existence of mind stronger than that for the existence of matter.

ART. X.-LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

GERMANY.

No other recent theological production has caused as much sensation in Germany as an article which appeared a few months since in the Augsburg Allgemeine Zeitung, entitled "Das Concil und die Civiità," and which has since been expanded and published in a volume (pp. xix., 450) with the title "Der Papst und das Concil." It appears anonymously, the author assuming the pseudonym "Janus." It has already been published in England in a translation, and is there attracting great attention. It is written in the interest of the so-called "liberal" Catholicism, and exposes and denounces the doctrines and policy of the Jesuitical and ultramontane party with extraordinary ability, point, and learning. Hundreds of foot-notes refer to the literature and the authoritative documents of the church, and show how wide is the departure of the assailed party and tendency in Catholicism from the doctrine and practice of early Christianity. The first division of the book (pp. 8-37) relates to the proposed elevation of the propositions of the Pope's syllabus to the position of dogmas of the church. The second section (pp. 37-40) discusses the proposed development of Mariolatry, in the assertion of the assumption into heaven of the body of the Virgin Mary. The remainder is devoted to the proposed authoritative declaration of Papal infallibility. The doctrine of the early church (presented, of course, from a Catholic point of view) in respect to the simple primacy of the Bishop of Rome is set forth with great fulness and variety of illustration, and then the successive steps by which the Papacy was built up are clearly traced. The falsification of primitive documents, early undertaken in the interest of Romish claims and assumptions, the "magnificent fabrications" of the Decretals of Isidorus, and their influence from the middle of the ninth century, the decree of Gratian about the middle of the twelfth, the various assumptions of power by Gregory VII., Innocent III., etc., the services rendered by the great monastic orders in their turn, and especially the Jesuits, the occasional protests and oppositions in the church to these novel doctrines and usages-all this, and much more, is presented with a most masterly and unsparing hand. Modern interpretations of Scripture (i. e., the Papist) are exhibited in most significant and effective contrast with those of the Greek and Roman fathers, and the ingenuity, and unscrupulousness with which history has been falsified at every critical point are set forth with great plainness of speech and ample illustration. The consequences to many unfortunate Popes of the past, if the doctrine of Papal infallibility should be made a dogma, are so presented that one would think that the kind, tenderhearted Pius IX. would beg his zealous bishops not thus to defame and hold up to ridicule his illustrious predecessors, and to spare him what the future may yet have for him.

The hopeless and pitiable attitude of the Council itself, if the ultramontane spirit rules it, is not the least telling point in this remarkable book.

As a contribution to church history it is a monograph of great value. It secures our warmest sympathy as a high-toned, eloquent, profoundly learned and intensely earnest protest against a monstrous error, threatening society as well as the church. Within about twenty-four years this reactionary movement has acquired a great momentum. As Protestants, we might perhaps rejoice to see every one of its demands granted by the Council, and the Papacy involved in all the natural and just results of such a course; as lovers of truth we would not see even Rome take one more false step, either to save or to complete her consistency, or for any other purpose whatsoever.

Not a few other books and pamphlets have appeared on the same general subject, or some of its kindred. We have, however, seen none that approaches this in power and value. It is republished by Roberts Brothers, Boston.

The most important contribution of the last quarter in the department of dogmatic theology is Part I. of Rothe's Dogmatik, edited by Schenkel, from manuscripts left by the author. The volume just issued (pp. 325, 8vo) treats of "The Consciousness of Sin." Other works in this department are "Theology of the Old Testament: Revealed Religion in the An e-Christian Stage of its Development" (vol. i.), by Hermann Schultz (Prof. at Basle); H. Plitt's "Zinzendorf's Theology" (vol. i.), treating of "Zinzendorf's Original Sound Doctrine;"' O. Flügel's "Das Wunder und die Erkennbarkeit Gottes; " Prof. W. G. Schmidt's (of Leipsic) "Doctrine of the Epistle of James-a Contribution to the Theology of the New Testament;" H. Ritter's "Evil and its Consequences." From closely-related departments we select W. Otto's "Evangelical Practical Theology" (vol. i.); a second edition of Prof. C. L. W. Grimm's "Institutio Theologiæ Dogmaticæ Evangelicæ Historico-Critica;" "The Christian's Faith and Life," posthumous sermons by C. Harms; an eighth edition of Hagenbach's "Methodology;" P. Zimmermann's "Immortality of the Soul in Plato's Phædo;" E. Buchholz's "Moral View of the World in Pindar and Eschylus;" Vol. I., Part 2, of Alex. von Oettingen's "Moral Statistics and Christian Ethics," containing an analysis of the data, and a tabular supplement of 176 tables.

Among the late contributions to ecclesiastical and religious history we find Förster's "Chrysostom in his Relation to the Antiochene School;" Dr. E. Sachau's edition and version of "Syriac Fragments of Theodore of Mopsuesta, found in Nitrian Manuscripts in the British Museum;" Vol. VII., Part 1, of Hefele's "History of Councils," containing the history of the Council of Constance; Baumgarten's Twelve Lectures on Church History, in Illustration of the Present State of the Church;" and Schiefner's translation from the Thibetan of Târanatha's "History of Buddhism in India."

In exegesis very little calls for our notice. We record Moll's "Commentary on the Psalms" (in Lange's Bibelwerk), vol. i.; Neteler's "Structure of the Book of Isaiah, as a Basis for its Exposition, etc.;” “A Practical Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Colossians," by Prof. Thomasius, of Erlangen; Seydel's "Prophecy of Obadiah;" Stein's "Talmudic Terminology, compiled and alphabetically arranged;" the third edition of the "Commentary on Job," in the Kurzgef. exeg. Handb. zum A. T. (previously edited by Hirzel and J. Olshausen), revised by Prof. Dillmann, who succeeds Hengstenberg at Berlin.

In philosophy we find Vol. II. of Baumann's "Doctrines of Space, Time, and

Mathematics in Modern Philosophy;" Perty's "Nature in the Light of Philosophical Contemplation;" Biedermann's "Kant's Kritik and Hegel's Logic in their Significance with respect to the Science of Thought;" J. G. Meyer's "Kant's Psychology:" Hermann's Philosophy of History;" Geiger's "Origin of Language; Frohschammer's "Right of Private Judgment;" and Menzel's "Kritik des modernen Zeitbewusstseins." Several works of considerable interest and importance in philology and archæology are to be found among the quarter's issues, such as Lorinser's translation and interpretation of the "Bhagavad-Gita;" Vol. II. of A. Weber's "Indische Streifen;" Lauer's "Grammar of the Classic Armenian Language;" Schröder's "Phoenician Language;" L. Meyer's "Gothic Language;" Zschokke's "Institutiones Fundamentales Linguæ Arabicæ;" Vol. III., Part 2 (the conclusion), of Koch's very valuable "Historical Grammar of the English Language;" C. F. W. Müller's "Prosody of Plautus;" Vol. II. of Halm's edition of "Quintilian;" Vol. I. of a new edition of Overbeck's "Grecian Plastic Art;" Madsen's "Antiquités Préhistoriques du Danemark, l'Age de la Pierre;" and Part 1 of Eisenlohr's " Analytic Interpretation of the Demotic Part of the celebrated Rosetta Inscription."

There remain on our list, Vol. II. of the German (enlarged) edition of the "Life of Binsen;""Humboldt's Letters to Bunsen;" Vol. II., Part 2 (conclusion) of Strodtmann's "Life and Works of H. Heine;" Part 1 of Hoffmann's "History of the Jesuits;" Vol. III. of Pertz's "Life of Field-marshal Gneisenau;" 3d and 4th Books of Part 2 of Klippel's "Life of General Von Scharnhorst;" Bengel's "Table-talk," edited by Ehmann; a monograph by Hetzel on Capital Punishment in its Relation to the History of Civilization;" and Passarge's German translation of the "Narrative of the Swedish Expeditions to the Arctic Regions in 1861, 1864, and 1868."

FRANCE.

In France, even more than in Germany, the Ecumenical Council and its various relations to religious and political questions have called forth no small number of treatises, more or less elaborate and valuable. Of this theologico-political character are Deschamps' "L'Infallibilité et le Concile Général;" Stap's "L'Immaculée Conception;" Jaugey's "Le Concile;" Michon's "Le Concile et la Science Moderne;" Bobart's "Le Sanctuaire;" Maret's "Du Concile Général et de la Paix Religieuse;" Perrot's "Le Libre Examen et la Presse;" Régis' "Le Christianisme et la Papauté au Moyen Age;" Sauvage's "La Clergé et la Démocratie;" Ferrari's "Summa Institutionum Canonicarum ;" and Desjardins' "Le Pouvoir Civil au Concile de Trente." These are but samples.

Among the works more nearly related to theology as a science are Aubertin's "Sénèque et Saint-Paul;" Schiebel's "Démonstration de l'Authenticité Mosaïque du Lévitique et des Nombres;" Trognon's "L'Apôtre Saint-Paul;" Bois Evangile et Liberté;" Pressensé's "La Vraie Liberté;" Lambert's "L'Homme Primitif et la ible;" Le Lièvre's "La Science et la Foi;" Lenormant's "De la Divinité du Christianisme dans les Rapports avec l'Histoire;" Ravelet's "Traité des Congrégations Religieuses;" and Lefranc's "De l'Esprit Moderne."

In church history we find Jéhan's "Le Christianisme dans les Gaules" (which evidently has at least one eye turned toward questions in which France is concerned with the Pope); Pilliers' "Les Bénédictins de la Congrégations de