Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

Edward Hyde, Lord Chancellor of England, not only made Dean of Winchester, anno 1660 .... but also advanced, upon the death of Dr. John Earle, to the see of Salisbury; to which receiving consecration in New College Chapel, 31st of Dec. 1665, (the king and queen with their courts being then in Oxon,) . . [he] enjoyed it but a little while to his detriment. In his deanery succeeded William Clarke, D.D., of Cambridge. . . . As for Dr. Hyde, he died, to the great grief of his relations, on the 22nd day of August, in 1667, aged seventy years.... His eldest brother, Laurence Hyde, Esq., was of Heale, near Salisbury, whose widow, Mrs. Mary Hyde, did for a time conceal in her house there King Charles II. in his flight from Worcester battle. . . . The next was Sir Robert Hyde, who, by the endeavours of his kinsman, Sir Edward, before mentioned, was made Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. . . . Another brother, was Edward Hyde, D.D., sometime fellow of Trinity College, in Cambridge, and afterwards rector of Brightwell, near Wallingford, in Berkshire; from which being ejected in the time of usurpation, he retired with his wife and children to Oxford, and, hiring an apartment within the precincts of Hart Hall, lived there several years, studied frequently in Bodley's Library, and preached in the church of Holywell, in the suburbs of Oxford, to the royal party, till he was silenced by the faction. In 1658, he obtained of his exiled majesty, by the endeavours of Sir Edward Hyde, before mentioned, his kinsman, (then, though in banishment, Lord Chancellor of England,) letters patent for the Deanery of Windsor.... but, dying at Salisbury . . . . a little before the restoration of King Charles II., he was never installed in that dignity. He hath written and published several books, which were taken into the hands of and perused by the royal party, as (1) A Christian Legacy, &c.' "* "An. 1666, Nov. 25... John Dolben,† D.D., Bishop of Rochester." "He was a man of a free, generous, and noble disposition, and withal of a natural, bold, and happy eloquence. As he imitated his uncle, Bishop Williams, in the greatness of his parts and abilities, so, by a certain hereditary right, in his honours, both in his Deanery of Westminster and Archbishopric of York."§

[blocks in formation]

How hard for wandering children to be Thine again!

Wood, vol. ii. pp. 1151-3.

+ Archbishop Dolben is thus mentioned in Evelyn's Diary (vol. iii. p. 206) : [1686,]" Aprill 15. The Archbishop of York now dead of the small pox, aged sixtytwo, a corpulent man. He was my special loving friend, and whilst Bishop of Rochester (from whence he was translated) my excellent neighbour. He was an inexpressible loss to the whole church, and that province especially, being a learned, wise, stoute, and most worthy prelate; I looke on this as a greate stroke to the poore church of England, now in this defecting period."

Le Neve, sup. cit.

§ Id. Archbishops of York, p. 268.

[blocks in formation]

Where am I in the world? And, SAVIOUR, where art Thou?

Thus bitter is the soul

Whom once baptismal water had made whole;

But sin hath marred Christ's stole,

Hath checked good conscience, grieved the SPIRIT's love,
All holy Dove!

Whose wing

Must brush away the filth, or banished, heavenward spring

[blocks in formation]

To watch, from brook scarce seen, the o'erwhelming torrent swell.

H.

HYMN FOR THE GOSPEL AND LESSON OF SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY

O GOD! thy bounteous grace imparts
The seed of all good things;

But we confess, with lowly hearts,
The small increase it brings.

For ah! the word has not been void
That curs'd this earth of ours;
The fields of Eden are destroyed,
And perished all its flowers.

And on the sad and barren way

The evil one is found;

The word he snatches from his prey,

And treads it on the ground.

Or should the plenteous seed be sown
Where some pale flowers remain,
Entwined with these the thorns have grown,
And choked the rising grain.

There still is left the fertile spot
No troubles can destroy ;
Cast there, O Lord, our happy lot,
And crown the fruit with joy.

[blocks in formation]

Ye melancholy night winds, on whose wings
Hushed voices come, the voices of the dead,
Methinks your spirit as it passeth sings

A dirge o'er me, as one whose light is fled;
Myself a fallen temple. Lord, make thou

My heart the habitation of thy love;
Renew it with thy grace, and teach me how,
While living here, to seek but thee above.

CORRESPONDENCE.

J. C. P.

The Editor begs to remind his readers that he is not responsible for the opinions of his Correspondents.

ON TRADITION.

SIR,In addressing myself to the next subject which I proposed to take in the book of the Warden of New College-namely, the Holy Eucharist, I feel the greatest diffidence. The topics which the Warden has touched raise points for debate, so many, so intricate in themselves, so involved in the stores of theological controversy, as to render an attempt to do them justice, within the limits which must bound discussion in a magazine, quite hopeless. It is, unhappily, easy to approach an awful subject, and scatter doubts, and raise questions; and I think that the Warden has so treated this most awful subject. But to approach it with veneration, dispute about it (if that painful duty is forced upon us) with deference to authority, and solve the doubts and questions which have been raised, is an undertaking which necessarily infers a high degree of care, and very ample space. I can only promise to endeavour, as little as may be, to shock the feelings of those who feel that the handling of such a subject in controversy at all is a thing to be fled from rather than sought.

It is evident, that before any agreement of opinion can be brought about, between parties who acknowledge the canon of holy scripture and differ upon the matter of it, the previous question must be settled, "Who is to interpret?" The Warden rejects the catholic rule of interpretation, that, namely, of taking the sense of the primitive fathers as far as they are unanimous, and adopts in its stead the letting scripture speak for itself; which is, in other words, letting every man make scripture speak what he pleases to interpret it to speak. I reject this alternative as heartily as the Warden adopts it, and think my case made good if I can support what I maintain by the unanimous voice of the catholic church, without any reference to modern

I beg leave to correct the following errors of the press in my last letter :-On page 671, in the first paragraph, for " Dr. Hill," read" Dr. Mill." In the first line of the second paragraph, for "obligation," read "objection,"

writers, who have had a palpable interest in inventing new interpretations. And in particular, where I find the church of England teaching, or acting without teaching in words, in perfect unison with primitive antiquity in relation to the holy eucharist, I think all further argument unnecessary; for however persons without the pale of the church may teach, yet those who are her members and priests are bound by her interpretation, wherever and however given. I will, therefore, with the fewest words possible, notice-1. The Warden's rule of faith and interpretation. 2. The effects of his rule upon himself, as appearing in his account of the holy eucharist. 3. The effects of the same rule on certain societies of persons calling themselves Christians. 4. The rule of faith and interpretation in the church of England.

I. The Warden's words are

"What then, it may be asked, is the blessed eucharist after all?-a mere commemorative ceremony, involving no special mystery, and conveying no spiritual grace? Are the bread and wine after consecration still mere bread and wine, unchanged in their nature, and endued with no special sanctity? I answer, let us confine ourselves within the range of scripture, and we shall acquire all the knowledge upon this subject which is necessary for us.”—(p. 122.)

And again

Keeping ourselves within scripture, I repeat, we must do right. Calling in the aid of tradition, we can scarcely fail to go wrong."—(p. 125.)

Under this head it will only be necessary to mention what parts of scripture the Warden applies to the holy eucharist. He sees in the passover the type, not so much (if I understand him) of the holy eucharist, as of the sacrifice on the cross; and he takes the gospel accounts, together with St. Paul's words to the Corinthians, as the places to which is limited our "range of scripture" in the New Tes

tament.

2. Under the second head-namely, the effects of the Warden's rule on his own account of the holy eucharist-I must begin with setting down, for form's sake, all the information which we receive from the New Testament as to its celebration :

(1.) "And as they were eating, JESUS took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sin."-Matt. xxvi. 26-28. (2.) And as they did eat, JESUS took bread, and blessed and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take eat, this is my body. And HE took the cup, and when HE had given thanks, HE gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.". Mark, xiv. 22-24. (3.) "And HE took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you; this do in remembrance of ME. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."— Luke, xxii. 19, 20. (4.) "For I have received of the LORD that which also I delivered unto you, that the LORD JESUS, the same night in which

« AnteriorContinuar »