THE

BRITISH CRITIC,

FOR JULY, 1815.

ART. I. Discourses on the Malevolent Sentiments. By John Hey, D. D. 8vo, pp. 213.

THE publication of these Discourses is attended with circumstances of somewhat a peculiar nature. They were printed by their learned Author as early as 1801, and were at that time distributed only among his private friends. In the spring, how-` ever, of the present year, Dr. Hey thought proper to change his plan of private distribution, and to present the world at large with the result of his enquiries upon this curious and intricate subject. Scarcely had his intention been carried into execution, when in the fullness of his years he was summoned to a better world, leaving the present volume almost a posthumous work. As a lecturer upon Divinity, few theologians could be placed in competition with Dr. Hey. During the time that he sat in the Professor's chair in the University of Cambridge, he was eminently successful in inspiring the minds of his young auditors with a love for their sacred study, and in imparting that interest to the drier and more abstruse departments of theology, which commanded the attention even of the thoughtless and the indolent. The most satisfactory proof of our assertions will be found in the four volumes which contain the substance of his lectures, which cannot be sufficiently admired for the various and extended learning, the profound thought, the copious and correct document, and the calm dis cussion for which they are distinguished. Above all, the mild and unruffled spirit which pervades the whole, cannot but furnish a striking document to the young and ardent mind of that peculiar temper with which all the intricate questions of polemical theology ought to be handled. From this very calmness, however, the reader will perceive that a few metaphysical

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refinements have resulted, with which the fancy rather of the reader will be amused, than his judgment directed. These however are so very few, as scarcely to deserve our attention, except as the results of that calm and profound enquiry, which is the distinguishing feature of the author's mind. We much regret that these volumes, which contain such stores of theological information conveyed in the simplest, yet at times in the most animated form, and which may be justly considered as the very best compendium both to incite the ardour and to direct the judgment of the student, should have sunk into such utter neglect. We are happy of such an opportunity to recal the attention of our readers to this admirable work of the late Professor, and we trust, that the admiration which it once commanded, will be again revived, and that it will find its way not only into the libraries of the professed theologian, but the reading desk of the younger student.

The volume before us is evidently the result of a long and matured speculation upon a subject which has been involved in much obscurity, and has rather been perplexed than illustrated by the laborious and frequent discussions which it has undergone. From Aristotle to Adam Smith, the theory of human passions has ever been the object of philosophical enquiry; it must however be confessed, that little has been added in later ages to the Nicomachean ethics of the ancient sage, and that as a masterly delineation of the moral construction of man, it stilk continues to maintain its accustomed rank. The great source indeed to which we may refer the repeated failures of the moralists of our own age, is the total omission of Christianity in all their speculations and enquiries. It would appear from the works of many of our best metaphysicians, those especially of our sister kingdom, that moral philosophy and Christian principle were two separate and distinct objects, and that all discussions on the former were impeded and obstructed by the consideration of the latter. Now if the Gospel be in truth a reve lation from God, it is to be expected a priori, that as it prescribes our duty and enforces certain motives for its performance, it should not only disclose to us, as far as they concern ourselves, the attributes of God, but that it should acquaint us with the secret springs of human action. The great example of Mr. Locke, has demonstrated that no man will be a worse philosopher for being a Christian; and the publication of Dr. Hey will also shew that no man will investigate the sources, and discuss the motives of our moral actions, with less perspicuity. and effect for engrafting upon his abstract speculations the leading principles of the Gospel, and for illuminating the dark recesses of the heart with a ray of divine truth. We shall find that neither