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which so much of this part of it appears; but, as a useful guide to the student, it could not be superseded by any other extant book in English Literature.

We much doubt, however, whether this or any other work will excite to the study of the Fathers, in such manner as to revive any thing like a general attention to them, even among divines themselves. For the neglect into which they are fallen, many reasons may be assigned. They are no longer the only, or the principal sources from which the materials of theological learning can be drawn; and other and better guides to direct the studies of the inquisitive, are now every where at hand. The disuse of the Fathers was a natural consequence of the freedom acquired at the Reformation from the despotism of the Romish Church, the usurpations of which were, in many instances, and to a great extent, associated with the authority of their names. To that proud elevation, they can no more be raised. Questions of the last importance to mankind, will never again be settled by a quotation from Jerome, or an appeal to Cyprian. Every error, every delusion, every corruption of Christian doctrine, may be traced to the Fathers. And it was on account of the corruptions and the deceptions which they originated and extended, that their authority was maintained. Their real excellences were never of primary consideration in the times when they were most venerated. By their depression, much has been gained to the cause of truth and liberty. An acquaintance with them, however, may now be of great advantage to those who possess the leisure and the means of using them. Among them, unquestionably, are to be found some of the noblest monuments of zeal and knowledge, eloquence and holiness; and of such of them as may be most profitably employed as affording excitements to devotion and religious duties, so pure and elevated, the notices before us are of much value.

It is well observed by Mr. Clarke, that the Greek writers are on every account to be generally preferred, being more free from doctrinal errors, and less pledged to the support of ecclesiastical dominion, than the Latin. A Dissertation on the Use of the Fathers, was designed as an Introduction to the Work before us; but the size of the book has induced the Author to reserve it. Several works of this kind have already appeared. That of Daille is well known, though now but little read. But, as Mr. Clarke would necessarily adapt his Dissertation to the present state of theological literature, and to readers in these times, its publication might be a real service to the cause of sound learning. The use of the Fathers to which Mr. Clarke would excite, would certainly be a cautious one. It is well,' he remarks, that we are emancipated on points of doctrine from the authority of even the pure Fathers. p. 68. And, again, p. 81, Those Protestants who 'still stickle for the authority of the Fathers upon points of doc

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'trine, can scarcely know the snares among which they are 'walking.'

From the account of Chrysostom, pp. 50—104, we shall extract the sketch of his character.

There is no ecclesiastical writer from whom so much general information can be obtained as from Chrysostom: the manners and customs of the day are frequently introduced into his orations; the superstitions and elegant follies of the times are made subjects of his reprobation; he enters into domestic society, and shews us how it was formed and regulated; the sports of the low, and the amusements of the high, are made fruitful themes for instruction; contemporaneous history frequently receives light, and there are few events of even a trifling nature, from which he does not shew instruction can be derived. His morality is not of that ascetic cast which renders the manners rough, and the religion revolting, of too many of the holy men of those times ; so long as there was a pure heart and an upright life, Chrysostom did not teach that the soul would perish because sackcloth was not worn, that it could not grow in grace because the body was not emaciated, and that it could not hold communion with its God, unless amid the bleak air of a mountain-top, or the burning desolation of an arid desert: self-denial he considers as an exalted virtue, but total abstemiousness from the use of allowed pleasures, he did not regard as absolutely necessary. He is a strenuous supporter of strict ecclesiastical discipline, and though a high favorer of monkish establishments, he does not represent them as entirely essential to the prosperity of Christianity: most things referring to discipline, or doctrine, or occurrences in the Church, are in some place noticed, from the decrees of councils and words of an established Liturgy, to the oft-repeated interruptions occasioned by the noisy plaudits of a delighted audience.

As a Commentator, Chrysostom is peculiarly valuable; he has no allegorical flights nor petty conceits, but he confines himself to literal interpretation and practical advice; important passages are proved to have a full signification, by strong reasoning enforced by powerful eloquence, and portions of apparently less moment are made advisers of high and holy things; a word will sometimes be shewn to add unspeakable force, and a common event will evidently contain matter for astonishing and deep consideration.

The style of this Father is exactly characteristic of his manner of thinking, clear, and full, and ornate: the diction never shocks the ear by rugged progress, nor by abrupt nor harsh conclusions of sentences: it is flowingly majestic and singularly suited to the majesty of his thoughts; the sentences do not fatigue the ear by length, nor puzzle the mind by involution, and great vividness and interest is (are) given to the subject in discussion, by frequent and unexpected interrogatories, which some of his clumsy imitators affecting, they have discovered themselves by their overloaded disguise: the chief imperfection may perhaps be a sameness of language upon all subjects, --the torrent still sweeps along, whether a mountain or a mole-hill have opposed its course. The fertility of his imagination is one of the commanding excellences of Chrysostom's writings; he abounds in imagery, and none

of it is too powerful for the control of the summoning Enchanter, nor does it overstep the circle which should keep it from breaking in upon the knowledge that is to guide it. His pathos is too much expanded to be effective, nor is there the forcible simplicity of unstudied language which Nature acknowledges as her own by involuntary approbation and heart-felt pleasure; the Orator is apt to appear where art should be entirely shrouded: hence the secret source of tears seems to have been hidden from Chrysostom, nor is he frequently successful in exciting the gentle, or pleasing, or mournful emotions of the soul; his march is that of a victorious monarch, splendid in retinue and gorgeous in attire, but amid the whole of the pomp are to be discovered the instruments of power and conquest,-under the gold and purple of the robe are seen the panoply of polished proof,-and his dominion is the result of force and not of persuasion.' pp. 99–102.

Of the merits of a Divine whose worth will not be known till an answer be given to the question, Whether a Platonic idea, hovering to the right on the orifice of Chaos, might drive away the squadrons of democratical atoms?' our readers must, we apprehend, remain ignorant; but such a question may serve to shew them the miserable obscurities and the mystic jargon which have been mixed up with Christian theology, and may satisfy them in respect to the character of Synesius as a Platonic divine. Of the turbulent Cyril of Alexandria, to whom the Romish Church is so much indebted for asserting the appropriation of the title, Mother of God,' to the Virgin Mary, a very just account is given by Mr. Clarke (pp. 135-146); and few of those who read it, will be anxious to study the works of a writer who shrouds with blackness what was before obscure, and inextricably en'tangles what was perplexed.' In the account of Theodoret, one of the most eminent of even the most valuable Fathers," (pp. 154-185,) we find some remarks which every reader of the Fathers and early ecclesiastical historians should understand, and the spirit of which will induce him to reverse many of the judgments pronounced by them. We agree with Mr. Clarke, that it would not be difficult to prove, that some of those termed 'heresiarchs were maintainers of pure doctrine, and restorers of "the ancient faith.'

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We shall extract the two following articles.

'BOETIUS, A.D. 510.

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Sprung from one of the most illustrious families of Rome, An. Man. Torq. Severin, Boetius was educated according to his rank : for eighteen years he studied at Athens, the university of the Roman world. A. D. 487, he was created consul; he was afterwards raised by Theodoric to be Magister Palatii; in 510 he again bore the consular office; and in 522 he was constituted consul for the third time. Shortly after this, he fell into suspicion with Theodoric, and there were not wanting accusers to hasten the downfal of a favorite: Gaudentius, Opilio, and Basilius charged him with endeavouring to restore Rome

to its original republican government; the accusation was believed, or at any rate acted on, and Boetius was sent by the king to expiate his virtues in a prison at Pavia, where, after some time had elapsed, he was beheaded by the king's order. Boetius was author of several works on Theology, Philosophy, Science, Logic, with some controversial Works: those only will be here noticed that have reference to the object of this work.

Against Eutyches and Nestorius.-A Treatise on the two Natures of Christ contained in one Person; it is addressed to John, a deacon of Rome. He enters into deep and subtle distinctions, and calls in the Aristotelian philosophy to help him in his theological distinctions

and difficulties.

On the Trinity,-addressed to Symmachus the Consul. A subject too high for human comprehension is here treated in such a way as to render it even more obscure: metaphysical subtleties and nice distinctions perplex a point which ultimately we must credit, not because we can prove it by reasoning, but because it is clearly revealed in the word of Him who cannot lie.

On the Trinity,-addressed to John the Deacon of Rome, upon this Question, "Whether each Person of the Trinity may be affirmed to be substantially the Divinity."

The Consolation of Philosophy.-A Treatise written while Boetius was in prison, to console himself under his reverse of fortune: it is written in the form of a Dialogue between him and Philosophy, consisting of prose and different kinds of verse intermingled; there are five books. The first book contains the complaint and lamentation of Boetius, comparing his former with his present state: -the second represents the assuasions Philosophy affords to a dejected mind, and how wrong it is to blame fortune for the events of life:-the third enters deeper into the cure of a wounded spirit, and, to the overthrow of false happiness, shews that which is true: the fourth proves that the wicked are always wretched, and the good happy; speaks of Fate and the superintendence of Divine Providence, arguing that nothing happens casually, and that the pains of the righteous and the joys of the unholy are not really such to either:-the fifth speaks of Chance, Free-will, and the agreement of God's Omniscience with the Freeagency of man. It is upon this treatise that Boetius's fame most especially rests here are none of those perplexing distinctions and scholastic niceties which bewilder the reader by argument, and make him blind with excess of light. Boetius led the way to the introduction of the Aristotelian method of reasoning in controversial Divinity, and few even of his own scholars, the schoolmen, have exceeded or excelled him in the use of it: but in this work there is nothing of the sort; the style of the prose is perspicuous and good, and that of the poetry is abundant in beauty: it is a work which has stood firmly balanced upon its own excellence till the present time, and will sink in estimation only when taste is extinct, and the perception of philosophic beauty is destroyed.

BOETHII Opera, Venet, 1491.
Basil, 1546.

Cum Com. Var., Basil, 1570.

BOECIUS, Consol. of Philosoph., translated by Geoff. Chaucer, and printed by Caxton.

The Boke of Comfort, -called in Laten, Boetius de Consol. Philosoph.;_translated into Englesse Tonge: in Verse by John Waltwnem: Enprented in the exempt Monastery of Tavestock, in Denshyre; by me, Dan Thomas Rychard, Monke of the said Monastery, 4to. 1525. "Perhaps the scarcest work in the English language."

by Richard, Lord Viscount Preston, 8vo.

Lond. 1695, Sec. Edit. 8vo. Lond. 1712.

Illustr. 8vo. Lond. 1785.'

by the Rev. Phil. Ridpath, with Notes and

The Consolation of Philosophy is an Eclectic Treatise, in which the doctrines of the Academics and the Stoics are incorporated; and, in strict accordance with its title, the topics are without reference to the truths of Christianity. Boetius is the last of the writers to whom the appellation of ancient is given. The following article should have had a place in the enumeration of editions. BOETHII Consolationis Philosophiæ Lib. V. ANGLOSAXONICE redditi ab Alfredo Anglo-Saxonum Rege, edidit Rawlinson, 8vo. Oxon. 1698.

'ALDHELMUS, A.D. 680.

After visiting Italy, where he cultivated his taste for literature, Aldhelmus returned to England, and was made Abbot of Malmsbury, and afterwards Bishop of Salisbury: he died A.D. 702, with a high character among his contemporaries for theological and human learning. Of his writings there are extant, a book—

In Praise of Virginity,-in prose, consisting of thirty chapters: the state of Virginity is praised in general, and very many examples given of celebrated men and women who lived in a state of celibacy ; their praises are recorded, and some particulars of their lives mentioned. The style of this work is affectedly ornamented, and, from the use of barbarous terms and words in forced meanings, it is at once known as the production of an age when the old models were indeed known, but the taste was so vitiated as either to neglect or to strive to excel them! From the 29th chapter we find that this prose work preceded the following one in verse, for he there says, that he shall, if life be spared, treat upon the same subject in poetry; which intention afterwards produced the following.-Biblioth. Patr. vol. iii. p. 275.

The Praise of Virgins.-There is a singular poetical Preface, addressed to the Abbess Maxima, in hexameter verse; the initial and terminal letters of the lines of the Preface are each an acrostic of the first line, and the last line is the first repeated backward, so that the four sides of the Poem, as they are read backward or forward, or up or down, still present the commencing line of the Preface, which is,

'Metrica tirones nunc promant carmina castos.

The two following lines are instances of the same words being presented, whether read forward or backward,

VOL. IX.-N.S.

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