ARTICLE VII.—NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

BUNYAN.*--This biography, from Morley's series of "English Men of Letters," needs no heralding to commend it to all our readers. Such a subject as Bunyan in the hands of such a writer as Froude, could not fail to make a charming volume. At first, indeed, there would seem to be an incongruity, almost repulsive, in the association of the two names for such a purpose. That one of the most illustrious examples and champions of Calvinism should be portrayed by a historical writer understood to be at a far remove from any school of evangelical thought, was to the majority of those most interested in the subject at least an unpromising conjunction. There was a similar apprehension when Southey be came a biographer first of John Wesley and then of Bunyan half a century ago. The contrast in that case was by no means so radical as in this, but it was enough to awaken no little jealousy among the followers and admirers of the two great evangelical leaders. Yet the reputation of the subjects gained more than it lost by the testimony of a writer more impartial and more scholarly than preceding biographers. And in the case before us, in spite of a more radical antagonism, the genius and character of Bunyan will stand even higher than before, and in a larger circle of readers, for the tribute Mr. Froude has rendered. He makes no secret indeed of his own unbelief on points that Bunyan and multitudes of others have felt to be more vitally important and sacred than any man's individual endowments or reputation, and he would have fared ill if the great allegorist had taken him in hand for one of his immortal portraitures. But we call attention to the fact that however unsettled or heretical the biographer's own theology may be, if he has any, and with all his slurs and sarcasms, yet in many places in this book, and in an earlier address delivered in Scotland, he shows a warm liking for eminent Calvinists, and acknowledges great truths in some of their most pronounced and characteristic utterances. Repeatedly he speaks of their system itself as having always attracted the highest order of minds, and one might infer that with some change of costume and readjustment of parts, it would receive the homage

* Bunyan: by JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1880. pp. 178.

of his own convictions. We observe too, that it has become a sort of fashion with many opponents of orthodoxy, as with him, when rejecting this or that particular doctrine, to protest with an air of candor that "nevertheless, there is a profound truth here," leaving us to understand that with them the question is chiefly one of logomachy. We are impressed also, even in the case of Mr. Froude, whose habits as a historian ought to have made him more guarded, and still more of other inferior writers, in controverting orthodox opinions, with the confident conceit they show in passing judgment on such opinions as obsolete, or no longer held otherwise than in the repetition of technical terms. Thus he speaks of the theology that he admits ruled the best English minds. in the seventeenth century as now entirely a thing of the past, and of its phraseology when now used as unmeaning, just as if substantially the same doctrine in like terms (mostly from Scripture), were not to-day the life and hope of thousands and millions of evangelical Christians in all the English-speaking world; and all this because he and his associates have ceased to think and speak in this manner. Some thirty years ago an American thinker, as eminent as any other, and not wanting in candor, when told of a clergyman of his acquaintance being over-taxed by the excitement of a religious revival, expressed an honest surprise, supposing "such things to have passed away years before," whereas "such things" were then constantly occurring, and have been ever since even more conspicuous. Because they were out of his circle he reckoned them out of existence. This is a kind of narrowness quite as prevalent, to say the least, among free-thinkers as among theologians. That the doctrines Bunyan most loved and taught still survive in power and with a wider dissemination is shown by the fact that his delineations, which this biographer so much admires, have not ceased to be recognized by Christian people everywhere. We are sure the pictures and their originals will never become obsolete. Not to dwell longer, however, on the exceptions taken to the historian's religious bias, we have no doubt that even more than in the instance of Southey, his impartiality and literary competence will add weight to his most favorable judgment of Bunyan as a writer and as a man. He is a most ardent admirer of the "inspired tinker." His clear, flexible style of course lends a charm to the narrative of incidents often described before, and his historical skill sheds some new light on questions hitherto left singularly unsettled; for in38

VOL. III.

stance as to the side on which Bunyan bore his brief part as a soldier, about which Froude differs from Macaulay, and also as to the severity of the persecution he endured. We are willing to believe that according to this account he was more leniently treated than has been generally supposed, his place of imprisonment not being the worst that might have been assigned to him, and the authorities being exceptionally well-disposed toward him personally in carrying out the existing laws. The separation of such a man from his blind daughter will always remain one of the most painful incidents in the history of religious persecution. Some mitigation of his suffering, as well as the stuff the captive was made of, may be learned from the possibility of his composing his great work in such circumstances, and we can always better bear to think of his imprisonment from considering that, had he been at liberty and hence constantly occupied in preaching, the world would have lost the "Pilgrim's Progress." Mr. Froude has taken great pains in the analysis not only of this work but of the "Holy War," and the "Life and Death of Mr. Badman,” with a fine appreciation of their merits, though of course not enforcing some of the lessons the author most desired to teach. He criticises the introduction of Divine Personages as actors, particu larly in the Holy War, as also in Milton's epics, on the ground of unfitness in the subjects for such a treatment, since "if the story which he tells us is true, it is too momentous to be played with in poetry," (p. 117), and it had not yet come to be regarded as a mere legend of mythology. "There is a truth" in the criticism (as "liberal" critics say of an old Christian doctrine), yet such representations were written by and for men to whom they were not myths, but in substance stupendous realities, and they were in fact more successful and more acceptable than they should have been on the critic's theory. It occurs to us also that the annual "Passion Play," in Germany, is not the failure which it should be in the same view, since it is both performed and witnessed effectively by sincere believers. We admit, however, that we do not get our most satisfactory impressions even of Milton and Bunyan in such delineations. It should be added as a further distinction of Mr. Froude's work, that he puts a higher estimate than is commonly allowed on Bunyan's poetry. "It has been the fashion," he says, "to call Bunyan's verse doggerel, but no verse is doggerel which has a sincere and rational meaning in it. Goethe, who understood his own trade, says that

the test of poetry is the substance which remains when the poetry is reduced to prose." (p. 91). He adds several happy citations and notices. The quotation from Goethe deserves to be remembered. In fine we have enjoyed this book. The exceptions we have taken are so palpable that our discriminating readers might not need to have them pointed out. We never recur to Bunyan without a fresh admiration for his genius and his character, and especially for his wonderful style. With no classic before him but his Bible, he is yet unsurpassed in his mastery of English for every use he had occasion to make of it. No wonder that with his fervent piety, which indeed was the soul of his authorship, he drew crowded assemblies to his preaching. We wish ministers and candidates for the ministry would make a frequent study of his style. If it were submitted to our choice to hear once any one of the great preachers since the time of the New Testament, we would ask for John Bunyan.

HAUPT ON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN.* The number of valuable Commentaries on the First Epistle of John in the English language, whether original or translations, is not large. The interest of this Epistle to the Christian scholar, however, is so great as to make every new contribution to its interpretation most acceptable. In the volume before us the Messrs. Clark, of Edinburgh, have given to the public a translation of a German work, which has been known to the author's own countrymen for some time. It does not profess to be an ordinary commentary, but, in accordance with the statements on its title-page, to be a contribution to Biblical Theology. The attempt of the author is to trace out and develop the thought of the Epistle, and to exhibit it in its theological bearings. In the carrying out of this purpose, however, he considers the meaning of words and phrases very fully, so far as they bear upon the end in view. And on the foundation of the Apostle's statements, as properly interpreted, he founds what he believes to be his teaching. In this way he grasps the entire thought and doctrine of the Epistle, and gives the reader what too many commentators fail sufficiently to present. The student who uses his work will find in it interesting discussions in reference to the leading Johannean ideas, and will *The First Epistle of St. John: A contribution to Biblical Theology. By ERICH HAUPT. Translated, with an Introduction, by W. B. POPE, D.D. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark. 1870. New York: Scribner & Welford. 1879. 1 vol., 8vo. pp. 385.

be aided in his efforts to enter into the Apostle's thought. To the limited number of valuable books upon the subject of which it treats, the volume must be regarded as a timely addition.

DR. BUTLER'S BIBLE READER'S COMMENTARY.*-Dr. J. Glentworth Butler has now completed his Commentary on the New Testament, the first volume of which was published more than a year ago. The plan of this work is somewhat peculiar. It undertakes to present to the reader the suggestions of a large number of prominent writers and preachers on the verses and passages of the New Testament successively. The editor, or compiler, if we may thus designate him, divides the various New Testament books into sections of ten or twelve verses each. He appends to each of these sections, in the first place, certain general comments on the thought or doctrine of all the verses taken together, and, in the second place, more special reflections with regard to the individual verses. These comments and reflections are taken from different authors, the words of one following immediately upon those of another. Thus, for example, on the section Romans i. 16-32, we have seventeen different writers quoted, following each other in quick succession, in this order :--Dean Alford, Martin Luther, James Hamilton, Dr. Goulburn, F. W. Robertson, George B. Cheever, William Archer Butler, St. Augus tine, Dr. Shedd, Dr. Arnold, Canon Liddon, Dr. Philip Schaff, Professor Fisher, Dr. Van Oosterzee, Dr. Frederick Temple, and Pres. Wayland. The character of the book will be recognized by this citation, and the design of it will be readily understood. There is a large class of Bible readers who will find such a collection of brief passages from writers of all ages, extending from Augustine to Dr. Shedd, most edifying and valuable. The Commentary will thus supply a want, and will prove useful to many. The selections seem to be made with care, and to be fitted together with as much success as might reasonably be expected when the range is so wide. Of course, the work belongs rather in the class of practical than of exegetical commentaries, and is intended for those who use the former and not the latter class.

*The Bible Reader's Commentary. The New Testament, in Two Volumes. Vol. II: The Acts, the Epistles, and the Revelation. The Text arranged in Sections; with Brief Readings and Complete Annotations, selected from "the choice and best observations" of more than Three Hundred Eminent Christian Thinkers of the Past and Present, with illustrations, maps, and diagrams. Prepared by J. GLENTWORTH BUTLER, D.D. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1879. 8vo, pp.

831.