burning coal, they have gone forth "conquering and to conquer." From that awful night in which the rude barbarians, sent to seize the meek and lowly Jesus, exclaimed, "Never man spake like this man," from the memorable time when Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill, and before trembling Felix,- through the dark age when the honest words of Luther made the Roman hierarchy shake like a coward, and gave an undying impulse to the dissemination of the knowledge and enjoyment of the most sacred rights of man, down to the present hour, by the eloquence of its Apostles, the lives of its heroes, and the blood of its martyrs, the kingdom of heaven has been extending its realms and gathering in its subjects. During its progress, how many eloquent lips have been sealed, how many tongues of fire are silent and cold now! But their words have left echoes to linger in the air and haunt the holy shrines of history for ever. And blessed be God for the living voices in his Church, whose earnest appeals even now are falling upon our ears, in behalf of that Christianity whose complete triumph is destined "in the good time coming" to sweep away the contaminations of sin and regenerate the whole earth.

A word more only, in conclusion. Eloquence is the thrill of power and delight with which nature recognizes truth. Its highest forms require a complete harmony with truth, and the perfection of the orator rests on the perfection of the man. His thoughts must be truth to the mind, his voice music to the ear, and his action grace to the eye. For the attainment of such results he must love the Lord his God with his whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and his neighbour as himself. He must take delight in all forms of goodness, beauty, and truth. He must feel in his single breast the heroism of a thousand men. He must have nerves firm as iron, sensibilities delicate as the sensitive leaf, a will unbending as adamant, a heart so sympathizing that he cannot help weeping with those that weep and rejoicing with those that rejoice, a rigid correctness of logic, a striking fertility of illustration, a diction fluent like a stream, clear like crystal, and varied like sunset, a memory loaded with the golden fruits of a ripe scholarship and a liberal culture, and a character pure, generous, commanding, aspiring evermore to God. Imagine one who realizes all this, and in the person of the perfect man stands before you the embodiment of the Christian

orator.

W. R. A.

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

Discourses on the Lord's Prayer. By Rev. JASON WHITMAN, Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Lexington, Mass. Portland S. H. Colesworthy. 1847. 18mo. pp. 239.

THIS is an excellent little volume, containing eleven discourses, -seven on the different clauses and petitions of the Lord's Prayer, one on "The Devotional Habits of the Saviour," one on "Prayer, a Duty and a Privilege," one on "Helps and Hindrances to Prayer," and one on "Family Prayer." A different arrangement would have added, we think, to the interest and impression of the volume. The general topics, "Prayer, a Duty and a Privilege," etc., should have been discussed first; then "The Devotional Habits of the Saviour" might have been presented, and thus the mind have been led along, and prepared for that which is evidently intended to be the main purpose of the volume, and to leave the strongest impression on the mind, namely, the Discourses on the Lord's Prayer, which Mr. Whitman justly observes in the first sermon " is not to be regarded as a prescribed form to be used by all men on all occasions, to the exclusion of all other prayers," but " is to be considered rather as containing the elements of an appropriate and acceptable prayer, and is important, not merely that we may imprint its words upon our memories, but that we may impress its tone of feeling, and its general spirit, upon our hearts." We know not that we are correct in this criticism. We can only say, that in reading the volume through in course, the arrangement of the topics was not in harmony with our feelings. When we had finished the Discourses on the Lord's Prayer, we were disposed to lay the book down and commune with God in spirit, and meditate upon the beauty and majesty of that character whose example and whose words had been so clearly and so forcibly presented to us. We were not prepared, we were not disposed, to be led on to any general discussions. We wished these had been presented first. Öthers, however, may not experience this defect (if it be a defect) in the arrangement; and all will admit that the volume forms a valuable addition to our works on practical religion.

Mr. Whitman writes with an earnest purpose, in a direct, clear, forcible style, addressing himself to the conscience and the understanding, to convince and persuade, rather than to the heart, to awaken momentary emotion and feeling. In reading these Discourses, we were reminded, by contrast, of a criticism we once heard made upon a sermon, - that the writer in preparing

it "paid more attention to the words than to the thoughts." This surely cannot be said of Mr. Whitman. His chief attention is evidently occupied with what he has to say, rather than how he shall say it. While his style has no great rhetorical polish or finish, it is commonly accurate, always clear and forcible, and his writings always interest and instruct, because we find in them just and strong thought, flowing naturally and easily from a clear mind and an earnest heart. These are eminently the characteristics of the volume before us, which we trust will be extensively read. As a clear and satisfactory exposition of the spirit and meaning of the Lord's Prayer, it is valuable, and no one can read the whole volume without having a deep devotional feeling awakened, or without finding himself largely instructed as to the method by which this feeling is to be cultivated, and the manner in which it should express itself.

L.

The Christian Liturgy, and Book of Common Prayer; containing the Administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Apostolic Catholic, or Universal Church of Christ. With Collects and Prayers, and Extracts from the Psalter or Psalms of David. Also a Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship. Boston: William D. Ticknor & Co. 1845. 18mo. pp. 458.

We have no idea who the author or compiler of this volume may be, nor do we know whether it is used by any body of Christians among us. Though its title-page bears the date of 1845, we believe it has but recently been offered to the public. It has evidently been prepared with great care, and by one who feels that in a true worship of God the main thing is a thoroughly devout spirit. The religious feeling which pervades it, and its freedom from what is too common both in liturgical and extemporaneous prayers an attempt to make the devotions of the church a means of indoctrinating the worshippers in a sectarian creed, would be sufficient to commend it to attention.

But we are led to notice it particularly, because of the purpose which it has in view. Its object is to provide a liturgy which shall comprehend those doctrines, and those only, which are es sential to guide the mind in a right worship of God. It is obvious that men who differ as to the origin of sin, or as to the precise nature of the atonement, may nevertheless equally love God, may be alike grateful to him for his mercy, and desire his approval, and seek his will, and adore his infinite perfections. They may differ on many theological questions, and yet may have the same sentiments of devout trust and reverential grati

tude, and may equally feel the need of the Divine help. If they may thus agree in what is essential to devotion, why may they not unite in religious worship? If they will abstain from obtruding into the act of worship those theological speculations which have no necessary connection with it, why may they not bow together before that God whom they all adore ? The volume before us is founded on this idea. Its professed purpose is, not to teach a creed, but to give expression to those feelings which should be in man's heart when he looks up to God. It would leave the theological questions on which sects divide to be settled by each individual in his own way, while it would draw all Christian people together in the sentiment and offices of devotion. It may be doubted whether it is possible for a plan like this to be fully carried into effect. But it is so desirable that Christians should feel that the holiest union is that which is based on similarity of moral and religious sentiment and purpose, rather than on a metaphysical creed, -the unity of a devout spirit amidst diversities of speculative opinions, that any effort to promote such a state of things must be held in honor.

But

The basis of this volume is the Book of Common Prayer used by the Episcopal Church in this country. It contains, with slight alterations, its forms of prayer and its order of service. something is added to the devotional part, and more subtracted from the doctrinal part. In the forms, there would seem to be a leaning towards the Catholic Church. We find not only the sign of the cross made on the child's forehead in baptism, but the altar may have on it a crucifix, and at communion-time lighted candles, as emblems and memorials of the most important events in Christian history, while among "spiritual works of mercy" are reckoned prayers for the dead as well as the living. From its articles of faith every thing like Calvinism is carefully and thoroughly weeded out. The liberal tone of the author's mind is seen in the aid which he has derived from a little work of Dr. Channing, in framing a catechism for children. Yet he is no Unitarian. He is not only a Trinitarian, but he has presented the doctrine of the Trinity in a new form. He supposes that there is one only true and Almighty God, the great Spirit of the universe. "From this Godhead there are three beings in union, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." These three beings, mysteriously united, are apparently emanations from the Supreme and Almighty God of the universe, through and in whom he manifests himself, and by whom he created, and saves, and blesses the world. Each of them sustains such relations to man as to be a proper object of religious worship. And thus we have prayers and acts of adoration addressed, separately, to Almighty God, to our Father in heaven, to our Saviour Jesus Christ, to the Holy Ghost, and to the Trinity.

The volume contains a good selection of hymns, and some pages of rules for devout living and for self-examination, such as are found in Catholic manuals. We have pointed out its princi pal peculiarities. The alterations from the Episcopal Liturgy are almost invariably improvements; and although it may not be destined to become the devotional manual of the "Universal Church," we have been interested in it as one of the indications of a tendency to a greater moral and spiritual union among Christian people, amidst many differences of speculative opinion.

P.

A System of Intellectual Philosophy. By REV. ASA MAHAN, President, and Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, in the Oberlin Collegiate Institute. Second Edition. New York. 1847. 12mo. pp. 330.

NOTWITHSTANDING the jeers, and reasonings, and earnest and angry protestations of many well-meaning men, it is impossible not to see that Idealism or Spiritualism, under some of its vari ous forms, is gradually gaining ground in England and in this country. Here we have the second edition of a manual of Intellectual Philosophy, prepared beyond the mountains by one who says, "The individuals to whom I feel most indebted as a philosopher are Coleridge, Cousin, and Kant"; who pronounces Cousin's criticism on Locke "one of the finest specimens of philosophic reasoning to be met with in any language "; and who says of Paley's Natural Theology, "To me such treatises appear really worse than useless, if presented as grounds of proof of the existence of God." It is but justice to add, that President Mahan, while he adopts, for the most part, Kant's analysis of the Reason, and Cousin's Method, thinks that he has detected important errors in both, which give a skeptical or a pantheistic tendency to their speculations.

We have no right to expect in every new text-book of philos ophy a new philosophy; it is enough, if the form in which received doctrines are stated and illustrated is unexceptionable. President Mahan is not, however, a blind and slavish follower either in philosophy or in theology; but evinces, as occasion offers, an original, free, and acute mind. As evidence of this, we might refer to his treatment of several topics in the work before us; particularly, Association, Imagination, the Secondary Ideas of Reason, and the Intelligence of Man as distinguished from that of the Brute. We think that a careful reading of Mills's System of Logic would have led him to modify in some respects his chapter on Reasoning. As regards style and general execu tion, it is plain that the author has given a good deal of attention