prise? What mean those unmeasurable longings, which no gratification can extinguish, and which still continue to agitate the heart of man, even in the fulness of plenty and of enjoyment. If they mean any thing at all, they mean, that all which this world can offer, is not enough to fill up his capacity for happiness-that time is too small for him, and he is born for something beyond it-that the scene of his earthly existence is too limited, and he is formed to expatiate in a wider and a grander theatre-that a nobler destiny is reserved for him—and that to accomplish the purpose of his being, he must soar above the littleness of the world, and aiun at a loftier prize.

"It forms the peculiar honour and excellence of religion, that it accommodates to this property of our naturethat it holds out a prize suited to our high calling-that there is a grandeur in its objects, which can fill and surpass the imagination-that it dignifies the present scene by connecting it with eternity-that it reveals to the eye of 'faith the glories of an unperishable world-and how, from the high eminencies of heaven, a cloud of witnesses are looking down upon earth, not as a scene for the petty anxieties of time, but as a splendid theatre for the ambition of immortal spirits."

tain?-O that I had the wings of a dove, that I might fly away, and be at rest.” Examine the scope of the two Psalms, and you will not find the smallest allu sion to "the restlessness of human ambition," in either of them. They breathe throughout the bewailing complaint of a persecuted man, whose life was constantly in jeopardy from the malice of his enemies who hunted him like a partridge upon the mountains. The texts, therefore, were ill chosen.

Another remark that we would offer relates to the sentiment contained in the above quotation—That human ambition is a restless principle, must be allowed by every one that has thought upon the subject, and the Doctor says very justly, that "it is the doctrine of the Bible, and all experience loudly proclaims it." He might have referred us for proof of this to the second chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes, where we are presented with a striking exemplification of it in the conduct and experience of King Solomon. But this restlessness is not peculiar to the pursuits of ambition; and consequently the Doctor has taken but a very limited view of his subject. It is just as common to the miser, and the voluptuary, or man of pleasure, as it is to the ambitious; and accordingly, Solomon exemplifies it under both characters, see ver. 7—9, and 10, 11. The fact is, that this restless state of mind is the common lot of every child of Adam, until he is brought to know Christ, and to find rest in him. Nor does revelation leave us ignorant of the cause of this phenomenon. The soul of man was formed for enjoying happiness in the favour of God-this consti tutes man's proper life. But this blessing was forfeited by sin; and the alienation of the human mind is now evinced by the universal propensity that there is in us to seek that happiness in the pleasures, riches, and honours of this world, which can alone be found in the enjoy ment of the divine favour. Hence we may observe, that in the Gospel, God presents himself to us under the amiable But what we would more particularly and endearing character of "The portion remark is, that, in our opinion, neither of his people," Hos. ii. 23. Zech. xii. 9. of the texts which the Doctor has placed and his people claim him as such, at the head of his Sermon, has any Ps. cxix. 57. Ps. cxlii. 5. and Ixxiii. 26. thing to do with the subject which forms The Gospel presupposes all the children the burden of his discourse" The rest of men to be in anxious pursuit of rest to lessness of human ambition.” The texts their souls; and Christ calls upon them are, Ps. xi. 1. and Iv. 6. “How say ye to in these gracious accents, “Come unto my soul, Flee as a bird to your moun-me, and I will give you rest.” In be

On this quotation we take the liberty of offering a few remarks. We need not call the attention of our readers to it as a specimen of animated description, and of elegant composition; indeed the whole Serinon from which we have extracted it, is among the happiest effusions of the Doctor's pen, and may serve to shew us that, if he pleases, he can write as gracefully as any of his cotemporaries. How much then is it to be regretted that his compositions should be marked by such inequalities of style that he should occasionally descend to the vulgar verbiage (as the French term it) which disfigures so many of his pages!

QUERIES

To the Editor of the New Evan. Magazine. grant; he wishes to know into which

Theological Review.

An Appeal to the Members of the British | Foreign Bible Society, it was deterand Foreign Bible Society, on the subject mined that this version should again be of the Turkish New Testament, Printed put in circulation. This resolution, toat Paris in 1819. Containing a view of gether with some others almost equally its history, an exposure of its errors, and obnoxious, produced such an effect on palpable proofs of the necessity of its the minds of these two agents of the suppression. By EBENEZER HENDER- Society, that they felt themselves comSON, Author of a “Journal of a Resi-pelled to abandon the prosecution of dence in Iceland." London, B. J. Holdsworth, 8vo. 3s. 1824.

HENDERSON'S APPEAL TO MEMBERS OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY. 77

themselves." That the Committee," says the Author, "may be able the more easily to judge of the force of my objections, I beg leave to arrange them under the following heads :-the mistranslation of proper names; the unnecessary use of synonymes; the want of consistency and uniformity; false renderings; omissions and additions."

From each of these heads we shall select a few examples.

1. The Mistranslation of Proper Names. In this respect Dr. Henderson affirms, that Ali Bey's version outstrips all the translations of the Scriptures at present in existence. Thus, instead of uniformly rendering Osos God, by the Arabic Allah, which is perfectly intelligible to every Mohammedan, and corresponds with its cognate Elohim in the Hebrew, not fewer than twelve different phrases are substituted for the unadorned simplicity of the original. Out of nearly one hundred times in the Book of Revelations, where the word ought to have occurred in its simple form, in twenty-seven passages only is it so used. In the other passages we have-The Supreme God, thirty-one times; The Glorious Majesty, twelve times; The Divine Majesty, seven times; The True Majesty, nine times. Tengri, Tartar word for God, five times; Tengri, the Supreme God, three times; The Supreme Divinity, occurs twice; - and The Illustrious God, once. Other epithets used by Ali Bey instead of Allah are, The Supreme Verity; The Illustrious_ Verity; The Good God: The Supreme Tengri. The phrase Kupies ¡Oεos ó Íανтoxρáτwр, The Lord God Omnipotent, is rendered, Effendi God Almighty; the Almighty Effendi God, and Our Almighty Tengri God Supreme.

II. The useless employment of synonymes, where one word sufficiently expresses the force of the original. Of this only a few specimens are given. Thus Sixaoovvn is rendered righteousness and piety; apyous is rendered unoccupied, unemployed; Aun, is rendered, anguish and sorrow; äğa, is rendered, worthy and deserving; quick and ready is given for os, swift, &c. Respecting this style Dr. H. observes in a note, "It is what the Greeks of Constantinople call coffee-house Turkish, and is perfectly incompatible with the dignity of the Holy Scriptures."

III. Want of uniformity and consistency. Under this head, among a host of others, we have the following. Mepuváw, "I am anxious," is rendered by four different phrasas, viz. to be solicitous in mind, to labour, be diligent, to suffer anxiety, and to attend, apply the mind to any thing. The words axavduλov and oxavdania are

given in not fewer than five different ways, scarcely any one of which conveys the exact idea of the original, to cause to stumble or fall; the term Tavge is also given in five different forms, most of which express the nature of conversion, rather than repentance. For Sixaoovn, righteousness, eight different words or phrases are which are connected, the terms, to be just given, viz. equity, righteousness, with or pious, righteousness and piety, veracity, justice, good deed, &c. Where the same Testament, scarcely two of them are found identical word is quoted from the Old to be alike. Thus," Abraham believed in the Supreme God, and that faith he counted instead of righteousness," Rom. iv. 3. And in Gal. iii. 6. " Abraham believed in the Supreme God, and this he counted to him for righteousness and piety."

the first place is assigned to Ali Bey's inIV. False Renderings. Under this head terpretation of Sixaoruun, righteousness, Rom. iv. 13. v. 17. x. 3. Gal. ii. 21. iii. 6, 21. in all which passages it is rendered righteousness and piety. In Matt. vi. 32. Ta ovn, the nations, is rendered idolaters, a very unfortunate translation for a Mohammedan reader. In Matt. xxvii. 62., the word aρaσxen, the day of preparation, is converted into the day of assembly, i. e. Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath. This anachronism, remarks Dr. H. makes the Evangelist speak of an appropriation of the day which did not take place till several centuries after he wrote !

To the ear of a modern Christian there is something sufficiently grating in many of the renderings of our old versions. Thus, for instance, Coverdale's rendering of Rev. i. 10. "I was in the sprete on a Sondaye," would be reckoned rather uncouth for a version of the New Testament in the present day; but what in this case shall be said of Ali Bey's improved version of this passage? It is this "I was in the spirit on a MARKET DAY." The mere English reader may judge of the fidelity of the rendering here given, when he is informed that the word used by Ali Bey is "bazar." John x. 30. is rendered, "I and the Father are one thing." On this rendering Dr. H. makes no particular remark, very likely concluding that it is so grossly at variance with the whole doctrine of the New Testament as to require none. The passage, however, which seals the death warrant of this translation, continues the Author, is Rev. xxii. 8, 9. where the Lamb of God himself is introduced by Ali Bey, as forbidding his disciples to worship him!!! "I fell down to worship at the feet of the LAMB; but he said unto me, Beware thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, &c. WORSHIP THE DIVINE MAJESTY." This rendering, the Doctor assures us, after

the fullest deliberation, he feels no hesita- | time since fell into the hands of a native tion in pronouncing to be designed, and ont an inadvertency.