be sincere, unless we are sincere also in the truth. It is not enough that we have a confident persuasion that we are right, for this may be the result only of feeling and prejudice, but we must have submitted this persuasion in the best manner in our power, to the test of those Scriptures, that are alone, "able," as they themselves declare," to make us wise unto salvation." A man may err, even when he is most conscientious in his errour; he may think and feel himself to be in the right, and yet be no less in the wrong. Nay, as Law has well remarked, "a little knowledge of human nature is sufficient to teach us, that our sincerity may be often charged with guilt; not as if we were guilty because we are sincere, but because it may be our own fault that we are sincere in an illgrounded opinion. It may have been from some ill conduct of our own, some irregularities or abuse of our faculties, that we conceive things so wrongly. And can we think so much owing to a sincerity of opinions, contracted by ill habits and guilty behaviour?" Certain conditions in the way of moral qualifications may be considered as affixed by the great Giver of all good gifts, to the attainment of the truth. If men then, will not comply with these conditions; if they are resolved to bring down the word of God to the weak and erring decisions of their individual reason, and believe nothing that they cannot comprehend, tho' it be in its very nature above their comprehension; if they will set up their own unsupported and isolated opinions against the interpretation and doctrines of ages, as if they alone of all the faithful servants of God, were blessed with the spirit of God, and fitted to declare the truth, can we wonder that they should so often err, even when they may be most sincere? Let me descend however more to particulars. We have in the Holy Scriptures

three Persons expressly mentioned under the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and to these three are assigned every possible attribute of Divinity. We have the Father declared to be God, the Son, God blessed for evermore; the Holy Ghost, God, whose temples we are. We have many collateral arguments of great weight, all tending to the same point. We have the authority of the earliest and best antiquities decidedly in favour of what, for brevity's sake, has been termed the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity and can we suppose, that because a man in the pride of human reason, or from whatever other cause, (God knoweth the heart) chooses to work himself into a sincere disbelief of all this, that therefore his errour is blameless, nay, for the sake of his sincerity, even acceptable to the glorious Being, whose right he so openly invades ?

:

We hear the further mention of a visible Church, existing as a distinct society, under its own laws and rules; governed like its earlier branch, the Jewish Church, by three separate orders; by our Lord, as the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, by his twelve Apostles, and the seventy Disciples during his abode on earth; and on his removal from it by the Apostles, and the Bishops their successors, the Priests and the Deacons, in one uninterrupted succession down to the present day. We have this Church set forth as a building fitly framed together, divided indeed for purposes of external communion, into several compartments or national Churches, yet still but one building, one universal or Catholic Church, having "one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all," and built up on the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being at once the Head and chief Corner-stone. We are implored even by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we

in good Archbishop Cranmer's "Defence of the true and Catholick doctrine of the Sacrament of the body and blood of our Saviour Christ." He is speaking of a passage out of St. Chrysostom, which the Papists had advanced as favouring their doctrine of transubstantiation;

"Which fashion of speache," saith he " (a speache, which is no pure negative, but a negative by comparison,) is commonly used, not only in the Scripture and among all good authors, but also in all manner of languages. For when two thynges be compared togyther, in the extolling of the more excellent, or abasyng of the more vile, is many tymes used a negative by comparison, whyche neverthelesse is no pure negative, but onely in the re-pecte of the more excellent, or the more base. As by example-When the people rejectyng the prophet Samuell, desired to have a kynge, Almighty God sayd to Samuell; "They have not rejected thee, but me"-not meanynge by this negative absolutely, that they had not rejected Samuell (in whose place they desyred to have a kyng); but by that one negative by comparison he understood two affirmatives, that is to say, that they had rejected Samuell, and not him alone, but also that they had chiefly rejected God. And when the prophet David said in the person of Christ, "I am a worme and not a man" by this negative he denied not utterly that Christ was a man, but (the more vehemently to expresse the greate humiliation of Christ) he said, that he was not abased only to the nature of man, but was brought so low, that he myght rather be called a worme,

than a man.

This manner of speache was familiar and usuall to St. Paule, as what he sayd;

"It is not I that doo it, but it is the sin that dwelleth in me;" and in another place he saith "Christ

sent me not to baptise, but to preache the Gospel."

And again he saith,

"My speache and preachyng was not in wordes of men's persuasion, but in manyfest declaration of the spirite and power."

And he saith also,

"Neither he that grafteth nor he that watereth is any thynge, but God that giveth the increase." And he saith moreover,

'It is not I that lyve, but Christ lyveth within me."

And "God forbyde that I should rejoyce in any thynge, but in the crosse of our Lorde Jesu Christe."

And further, "We do not wrastell against fleshe and bloud, but against the spirites of darkness." In all these sentences and many other lyke, although they bee negatives, nevertheless S. Paule meant not clearely to denye, that he did, that evyl whereof he spake; or utterly to saye, that he was not sente to baptise (who indeede dydde baptize at certayne times and was sente to doo all thynges that pertayned to salvation); or that in his office of settyng forth Goddes worde, he used no wytty persuasions (whyche indede he used moste discretely); or that the grafter and waterer be nothynge (whiche bee Goddes crea-tures, made to his similitude, and withoute whose woorke there shoulde be no increase); or to say, that he was not alive (who bothe lyved, and ranne through all countreys to set forth Goddes glory); or clerely to affirme, that he gloried and rejoyced in no other thynge than in Christe's crosse (who rejoyced with all men, that were in joye and sorrowed with all that were in sorrowe); or to deny utterly, that we wrastle against fleshe and bloud (which ceasse not dayly to wrastell and warre against our enemies, the world, the fleshe, and the dyvil): in all these sentences, S. Paule (as I sayde) ment not clerely to denye these thynges, which undoubtedly

were all trewe, but he ment, that in comparison of other greater thynges, these smaller were not muche to bee esteemed, but that the greater thynges were the chiefe thynges to be considered. As that synne committed by his infirmitie was rather to be imputed to original sin or corruption of nature, which lay lurking within him, then to his own wille and consente, and that although he was sente to baptise, yet he was chiefely sente to preache Goddes worde, and that althoughe he used wyse and discrete persuasions therein, yet the successe thereof came principally of the power of God, and of the workynge of the holy Spirite. And that although the grafter and waterer of the gardeyn be some thynges, and doo not a little in theyr offyces, yet it is God chiefely, that gyveth the increase. And that althoughe he lyved in this worlde, yet his chiefe lyfe, concernynge God, was by Christe, whom he hadd lyving within him. And that althoughe he gloried in many other thynges, yea in his own infirmities, yet his greatest joye, was in the Redemption by the crosse of Christe. And that althoughe oure spirite dayely fyghteth agaynste our fleshe, yet our chief and principal fyght is against oure ghostely enemies, the subtill, and puisant wicked spirites and dyvels."

The Archbishop continues for two full pages more to accumulate examples in support of his assertion, but, though they are equally strong with what I have quoted, and equally enriched with his valuable commentary on their meaning, I forbear to add them, lest I should engross too much of your valuable paper. To the generality of your readers, it will have been enough to have suggested this idea of comparative negation, as applicable to numberless passages of holy Scrip

ture.

W.

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATIONS.

(Continued.)

".And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel and over the storehouses in the fields." 1 Chron. xxvii. 25.

Subterranean granaries were common in the East; the following is a detailed account of those now used by the Moors.

Apres la moisson, les Maures sont dans l'usage d'enfermer leur bled dans des matamores, qui sont des puits creusés en terre, ou le bled se conserve long-tems. Cet usage est tres ancien, et il a du étre general dans les pays chauds, habités par des peuples errants. Pour garantir le bled de l'humidité, on garnit de paille les cotes de ce puits, a mesure qu'on le remplit, et on le couvre de meme quand la matamore est pleine; on la ferme en suite avec une pierre, sur laquelle on met un monceau de terre, en forme pyramidale, pour ecarter l'eau en cas de pluie. Les peres, parmi les gens aisés, sont dans l'usage de remplir un matamore a la naisance d'un enfant et de la vuider a son mariage. J'ai vu du bled conservé de meme pendant vingt cinq ans; il avoit perdu de sa blancheur. Quand, par des motifs de convenance ou par ordre imperial, les Maures sont contraints de changer d'habitation, ne pouvant emporter leurs grains avec eux, ils laissent sur les matamores des signaux avec des pierres amoncelées qu'ils ont ensuite peine a retrouver; ils sont dans l'usage alors d'observer la terre au soleil levant et a mesure qu'ils voient s'exhaler une vapeur plus epaisse, ils reconnoissent la matamore, sur laquelle l'attraction du soleil a un effet plus marqué, en raison de la fermentation du bled quelle renferme." Cheneir Researches sur les Maures. Vol. III. 219.

"And also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits," 2 Chron. iii. 15.

It seems to have been a general custom in temples of remote antiquity to erect isolated monuments or obelisks in front. The reader on referring to Belzoni, whose indefatigable researches have contributed so much to throw light on those stupendous structures of former ages, will find many instances of these colossal pillars. Savary mentions two obelisks before the porches of the great temple at Luxore, each a solid block of granite, seventy-two feet high above the surface and thirty in circumference, but being sunk deep in the sand and mud, they may well be supposed ninety feet from the base to the summit. The hieroglyphics they contain, divided into columns, and cut in bas reliefs, projecting an inch and a half, do honor to the sculptort. It is the opinion of many commentators that the pillars of Solomon were in like manner inscribed with characters referring to the date and various circumstances attendant on the building of the temple.

Before the gate of the temple of Jagernaut there is also a pillar of black stone of an octagon form fifty cubits high.

At Stonehenge in the middle of the avenue and in a right line with the great entrance two hundred and ten feet from the body of the structure stands a solitary pyramidical stone sixteen feet four inches high and twenty-four feet nine inches in circumference. In a remote part of

the island of Lewes and Herries near the village of Calarnish, there are some magnificent druidical remains, from the circle an avenue of eighty yards bounded by tall stones of great bulk extends towards the south, in the immediate front of which stands a single stone of prodigious size.

Shadi Khojah, who in 1419, was sent on a mission from Persia to the court of China, mentions a splendid

Vol. II. 107.

Vol. II. 98. Vol. III. 112.

temple at Khamis in China, in front of which were two gigantic statues. Muinay's Asia, Vol. I. 227.

"And the Levites which were the singers with their sons and their brethren being arrayed in white linen having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, &c." Chron. v. 12.

"And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white." Esther viii. 15.

"Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment." Revelation iii. 4, 5.

"The Soors or good Genii of the Hindoo mythology are painted of a white colour, while the Assoors of children of darkness are constantly depicted black." Maurice Ind. Ant. Vol. IV. 365.

"Before the Indian Archimagus officiates in making the supposed holy fire, for the yearly atonement of sin, the Sagan clothes him with a white ephod, which is a waistcoat without sleeves. When he enters on that solemn duty, a beloved attendant spreads a white drest buck-skin on the white seat, which stands close to the supposed holiest, and then puts some white beads upon it, that are given him by the people. Then the Archimagus wraps around his shoulders a consecrated skin of the same sort, which reaching across under his arms, he ties behind his back, with two knots on the legs, in the form of a figure of eight. Another custom he observes on this solemn occasion is, instead of going barefoot, he wears a new pair of buck-skin white maccasenes made by himself, and stitched with the sinews of the same animal. The upper leather across the toes he paints for the space of three inches with a few streaks of red. These

shoes he never wears but in the time of the supposed passover; for at the end of it they are laid up in the beloved place, or holiest, where much