tic forms of expression to eke out a vague idea; and it may be that many of the writers are laymen, and if so, it is far better that they should write in a style which is natural, and to which they are accustomed, than that they should affect a scholastic style, and become constrained and obscure.

But laymen especially should remember, that when they are engaged in a work so sacred as religious discussions, any approach to levity or jocularity breaks the solemn spell, instantly destroys the effect of their argument upon the minds of their readers, and they write in vain. Sidney Smith never has written, never will write, anything to carry weight with the Church; and in this series a joke at page 203 has spoiled the whole Tract.

The publication of this series of Tracts has avowedly originated in the discontinuance of the Oxford Tracts for the Times. But "the writers of these have no connexion with the writers of the Tracts for the Times," and the object aimed at in these "will be the statement of Catholic truth; by which expression is meant, truth which it equally concerns every part of the Catholic ChurchGreek, Roman, and Protestant to consider. Men will not be urged to return to ancient practices, however good and necessary, without first understanding and feeling the necessity for them; whilst they will be encouraged to adopt them when once their appropriateness is felt."-Address.

The writers of these Tracts seem to know better what they are about than the Oxford writers did at the commencement of their series; though they take a far wider range, and seem to aim at far higher things. Our doubt is, whether they are not taking too wide a range, and aiming at impracticable things-at least, for thepresent impracticable; and, having taken too high a standard, whether they are justifiable in condemning all things which fall short of this confessedly abstract and ideal perfection. From the abstract and theoretic form in which the argument is put, it was difficult to discover, from the first numbers of these Tracts, at what the writers of them were aiming, or whether they had in view any practical end whatsoever. But now we are able pretty clearly to discern what their purpose is, and also the way by which they think that it may be attained. Of the first fifteen of these Tracts, nine have the same heading "The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church," and are continuations of the same subject; and from these, taken together, we may discover the system upon which these writers proceed. It was not till the ninetieth number of the Oxford Tracts that the system advocated by the writers of those fully developed itself; and it was evident then that in the earlier numbers they had either suppressed their opinions as too startling to be made known without first preparing men's minds for the announcement; or, as we rather think to have been the case, they had not matured their system, and had not themselves perceived the consequences which would necessarily ensue whether in the place where it would ultimately land them, or in the position which others would then be constrained to take towards them.

We now perceive that the systems held by the writers of the former and of the present Tracts are wholly dissimilar; and that they have nothing in common, save the name, and the endeavour to arrive at what they call Catholic truth; for it is evident that the thing sought for is different, the place in which they expect to find it is different, and the means used for ascertaining it are altogether different. So that we think it is a mistake in the present writers to suppose, as they appear to do in their preliminary address, that those who have gone along with the former system may now take another step in advance with them: they must turn right about, and retrace their steps, and begin another system, de novo, in order to assimilate or go on together. The Oxford writers assumed that all Catholic truth was contained in the Church, meaning thereby the visible Church, or the Church upon earth; and they sought for its elements in such traditions and practices as had prevailed so generally in the best ages of the Church, as to be a probable representation of the abiding faith and practice of the one Catholic Church of all generations, from which they assumed that God had never withdrawn his Spirit, and in which, therefore, true faith had always abidden : resting these assumptions upon the promise made to the Church, that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it;" and upon the promise to the first disciples, "Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

The present writers assume that Catholic truth is only to be found in the word of God, of which the Church may be the exponent, but this only imperfectly-an imperfection needing to be rectified, enlarged, and harmonized by a standard more fixed and sure than anything known among visible things, viz., the abstract idea of a Church, in the unalterable purpose of God, as this may be inferred from his declaration in Scripture. These writers take, therefore, a far more extensive view of Catholic truth, and limit not its meaning to what might be found in the Church, even if that Church were perfect; but, including the ordinary senses of the word as implying the worship and service of God, and the blessing of individuals, they regard it as passing beyond these immediate and present objects, as being the kingdom of heaven, and as bringing glory to God as well as blessing to man. They make this abstraction consequently their standard, and bring the existing Churches of all ages to the test of this higher standard, instead of endeavouring to form a standard from the practices of the best Churches of past or present times.

And whereas the Oxford writers expected to be able to realize their idea now, by mutual concession among existing Churches, and by an amalgamation of the best things which have been retained by them all from the beginning; it is evident that the present writers look not for the immediate realization of their idea of a Church -they find it not in past ages; they find no change for the better in the present generation; and they evidently look for some other dispensation, or some other interposition of God, for the establishment of that polity which they are looking for-meaning thereby not simply a Church, but the kingdom of heaven.

This difference of object contemplated, and of place where the expectations are to be realized, affects all the details of the respective systems; for those who look to visible things only, as the end of the Church may well regard the first ages as preparatory for the presently existent Church. But those who contemplate a higher and more perfect Church than has ever yet appeared, must regard the existing Church as one whole, preparatory of that future and higher thing. And thus, on the first supposition, the miraculous endowments of the first ages, with the machinery of apostles and prophets for establishing the Church, might not seem necessary for the continuance of the Church after it had been established; and the power necessary for governing it might devolve upon successors of the apostles, enlightened and sustained by the ordinary, and not the extraordinary, operations of the Holy Ghost. But, on the second supposition, a continuance of the first endowments, and first machinery, throughout all succeeding generations, must be insisted on, if not even an enlargement of power expected, in order to raise the Church to that standing of truth and holiness which is its calling, but has never yet been attained. Accordingly it is argued, in these Tracts, that the Church cannot dispense with any of the gifts which God at any time gave, without coming short of that point of perfection which he has set before her:

"It is commonly said that these gifts were temporary; by which word temporary is meant, that they were given to accomplish an end which has been already attained; and for a time only, which has already expired. But the Scripture declares, that the objects destined to be accomplished by them have not been attained, and therefore the time for which they were given cannot have expired; for the saints are not yet perfected, and never can be but by these means."-Tract vi., p. 81.

The exalted claims thus made by these writers, on behalf of the Church, enlist all their sympathies on the side of the High Church party, to whatever denomination belonging, and seem to have given them a perfect antipathy to the Low Church party, and to have rendered them insensible to the truths contended for by them, as the right of private judgment, &c.; truths which ought not to be neglected or undervalued. But so far does their antipathy proceed, that Tract xviii. is entitled "Evangelicalism the Apostasy of the Last Days;" and all the evils of Radicalism, whether in its political or religious form, are ascribed to spiritual lawlessness-of which they say, "There can be little doubt that it had its origin at the Reformation" (p. 260). The proof of this is attempted by historical facts, and with the same degree of plausibility as in the Oxford Tracts; but both fail, inasmuch as the origin of the Reformation itself is then unaccountable, and as the lawlessness has pervaded the Papal as entirely as the Reformed States, and is at the present mo ment far more rampant in Papal Ireland than in Protestant England. Besides, the Church of England affords a practical refutation of the hypothesis, wherein the Reformation itself stands embodied, and

yet lawlessness is counteracted. We ascribe the Reformation to the overstraining of High Church principles, and thank God for the blessings which have descended to us in consequence of that reaction; and to it even these writers are indebted for the freedom with which they are allowed to canvass and discuss topics such as these.

But it is evident that the writers of these Tracts look with a more favourable eye upon the Papal than upon any other branch of the Catholic Church, notwithstanding the Papal is that branch which most entirely contravenes their abstract idea of a Church, by overriding the Scripture from whence that idea is derived; and notwithstar ding also the many hard and ugly epithets which are applied by them to the Church of Rome. The whole Roman system is an anticipation of the kingdom of heaven-the present system rests upon the assumption that it is still future. And we must say, moreover, that harsh terms occur much too often in these Tracts, and so lose their point, and give gratuitous offence. One of the most revolting offences, one of the most pernicious vices of this lawless age, is the prevalence of anonymous slander and indiscriminate abuse. Against this spirit every anonymous writer should guard, and in his whole conduct practically protest. The honourable man, who writes anonymously, should avoid everything which may, however remotely or indirectly, countenance this spirit of detraction; and the Christian, who may desire to shrink from publicity, should take care that he does not by his conduct afford any shelter or immunity to the skulking slanderer and the moral assassin.

The Papal preferences to which we allude, are chiefly apparent in those Tracts which speak of the subjects of difference between the Greek, Roman, and Protestant branches of the Catholic Church. In these we do not think that equal justice is done to the three, from the first and the last being regarded through a Roman medium ; and this, not as a Romanist would do, if he got emancipated into liberty, having experienced the evils of the Roman system as well as its good; but as a theorist who may construct a system, and say how things ought to work, when they do, in fact, work very differently. We do not affect to conceal our own preferences for the Church of England, and are quite content to bear the imputation of looking at these questions through this medium, happy if we can attain such enlarged, yet accurate views of Catholic truth as those we find embodied in the writings of the Anglican Fathers. The Church of England appears to us as steering a middle course in doctrine, between the opposite extremes; and towards other Churches to have been liberal, maintaining her own rights, not meddling with those of other Churches, nor much troubling herself with what others are doing, beyond the help which she may derive from them for the better ordering of her own affairs. To strengthen her own defences, to ward off dangers from without, and to guard against the insidious workings of corruptions which may arise within-these are her proper cares to these she must devote herself.

In this point of view, both the Oxford Tracts and the present series have their uses, and the latter we think of greater use than the former. Such writings tend to check sectarianism, to which we are all prone; and tend to produce a respect for others, by showing us the importance of the truths for which they are contending. Sectarianism may exist in large bodies as well as in small. The Churches of Rome and Greece are decidedly sectarian, and the Anglican, and every national Church, is continually tempted to become so. Witnessing for certain predominant truths is the characteristic of each national Church; and to do this, without contradicting or obscuring other and equally important truths this is the difficulty. This witness must be borne by each Church, in emulation, rather than in rivalry, of the others with hearty acknowledgment of whatever good there is in any, and in mutual dependence upon each other, as belonging to the same mystical body, under one Head in the heavens, as the One Catholic Church of Christ.

The Life of Robert Pollok, Author of "The Course of Time." By his Brother, DAVID POLLOK, A.M. With Selections from his Manuscripts. London: Blackwood and Sons.

1843.

THIS interesting volume contains an account of a man who was cut off in the flower of his youth, and respecting whom the public will be glad to learn as many particulars as possible-of an author whose memory will not be forgotten while the English language endures. The history of Robert Pollok is a melancholy one. At the early age of twenty-nine, with a prospect before him of great usefulness, he was called away from earth to heaven. His brother's account of his journey from Edinburgh to London, from London to Southampton, and of his closing moments in a cottage near the latter place, is especially interesting. Indeed, the whole volume will be read with much pleasure by all those who have been interested in "The Course of Time." His remains were deposited in a village churchyard two miles from Southampton, and near the sea. Over his grave is engraven-" The grave of Robert Pollok, A.M., author of The Course of Time.' His immortal poem is his monument. Erected by the admirers of his genius."

At the close of the volume is a selection of poems from his manuscript Remains. These will be read with peculiar interest. It appears from "The Life," that a large mass of manuscript documents, both in verse and prose, is in the hands of his brother. We would suggest that a volume of "Remains" might be selected worthy of publication.

Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature. By JOHN KITTO. Part III. Edinburgh: Black.

THIS work is on the plan of the " Pictorial Bible." The illustrations are numerous, and neatly executed. A large mass of materials will be found collected; and to general readers, who are unable to procure more voluminous works, this volume will be interesting and useful.