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taken in their immediate connection, imply. He is a strenuous defender of Christian theism. The seemingly erroneous statements are inconsistent with his main doctrine, and not necessary to the specific arguments in which they appear. These inconsistencies in a work of so much philosophical power are greatly to be regretted, the more so as they obscure his thought, weaken his argument, and put weapons into the hands of the adversaries of the doctrine which he defends.

THE TRUE GENESIS OF LIFE.*-The design of this work is to establish the doctrine that the primordial germs (meaning germinal principles of life) of all living things, man alone excepted, are in themselves upon the earth, and that they severally make their appearance, each after its kind, whenever and wherever the necessary environing conditions exist." The author claims that this is the teaching of Genesis i. 11, which he translates: "Whose germinal principle of life, each in itself after its kind, is upon the earth;" also that the account of creation in Genesis i. discrimi nates between vegetable and brute life which is originated from the earth and the waters, and man, whom God made after his own image and himself breathed into him the breath of life. The volume consists mainly of the statement of facts pertaining mostly to vegetable life, urged as proving that any specific kind of living organism is produced from the earth itself (Gen. i. 11, 12, 20, 24) when the appropriate telluric and climatic conditions exist. The most important of these is the fact that when forests are cut or burned off, trees of a different species succeed. Presi dent Dwight, in his "Travels," mentions a piece of land in Vermont which had been cultivated and afterwards left to lie waste, and on which there sprung up a thick and vigorous growth of hickory, "where there was not a single hickory tree in any original forest within fifty miles of the place." He also refers to the springing up of new herbaceous plants; the author himself, in digging a well in Wisconsin struck soil thirty-five feet below the surface, which was evidently ante-glacial, and which, when brought to the surface, " produced several small plants wholly unlike the prevailing local flora." The well-known facts of this kind seem, many of them, to be quite inexplicable by the common theory of pre-existing seeds. The author also argues from facts pertaining to the distribution and vitality of seeds, plant migration, and

*Life: Its True Genesis. By R. W. WRIGHT. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1880. pp. 298.

inter-glacial periods, and the distribution and permanence of species. Three chapters follow, discussing various theories in answer to the question, "What is Life?" and the last chapter is on "Darwinism Considered from a Vitalistic Standpoint."

MACDONALD'S LIFE AND WRITINGS OF ST. JOHN.*-The writer of this volume attempts to do a work with reference to the Life of the Apostle John, which was done, many years ago, by the author who edits it with an Introduction, for the Life of St. Paul. Since the publication of the volumes by Dean Howson and his co-laborer, Mr. Conybeare, two most important and valuable works on the history of Paul's life have been prepared in England, one of which, by Canon Farrar, has become widely known in our country within the last few months. But previous to the publication of Dr. MacDonald's book, no similar effort has been made to present the writings and history of that other great Apostle, from whom the Church has learned so many lessons, and who was the most loving and loved of all the earliest disciples. It seems most fitting that Dean Howson should commend the work of his successor in the same department to the public, which has so long read with satisfaction and pleasure his own writings. That Dr. MacDonald has accomplished his purpose as fully as the leading historians of St. Paul's life, to whom we have alluded, can scarcely be affirmed. The materials for an interesting narrative of St. Paul's career are so much more abundant than those which we find in the case of St. John, that it is almost impossible for the one who undertakes the work of gathering the latter into a connected biography to attain the success, which might easily be gained were he doing the same thing for the former. But that Dr. MacDonald has done an excellent service for the Church cannot be questioned. His work has been received with approval, and it could have been wished that he might have lived to see the results of his studies and labors as they came to be publicly known. His preparation for the work was evidently thorough, and his plan well-formed. He has carefully collected all that could bear upon the Apostle's life, and has brought it together in an attractive form. His description of the surroundings, both in time and place, of St. John and his work is interesting, and his

* The Life and Writings of St. John. By JAMES M. MACDONALD, D.D., Princeton, New Jersey. Edited, with an Introduction by the Very Reverend J. S. HowSON, D.D., Dean of Chester. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1880. 8vo. pp. 436. $3.00.

enlargement of the brief hints and stories found in the New Tes tament is wrought out with the skill which carries on the reader without weariness. The translation of the Apostle's writings is made with care and accompanied with suggestive notes. We think the volume will hold a place in the literature of this subject, and will be consulted by many who are desirous of entering more fully into the life and history of this great Apostle.

MEYER'S COMMENTARY ON MARK AND LUKE.*-Since the last issue of the New Englander, two new volumes of the Edinburgh translation of Meyer's Commentary have been received. We have now in English all the portions of this great work which were prepared by Meyer himself, except that which relates to the Epistles to the Ephesians and Philemon. The more this work is used, the more will our students in theology make progress in the true way in exegetical study, and we cannot but hope that the publication of it in England and America will be of the greatest service to those who are coming forward into the clerical profession. That the author has always reached the truth in his conclusions, or that he is in every case a safe guide to follow, will be denied by many, perhaps by all. But it is beyond doubt that his method is the true one, and that he is one of the ablest, if not the ablest, of all who have adopted his method.

The present volumes are trauslated from the last edition which the author himself revised, so that we have before us his latest opinions and his most perfected work. The translation has been made with much care, and though inferior to the original in some cases, as all translations must be, it gives the English reader a very faithful representation of the words and thoughts of the author. We are glad to see that the publishers have found encouragement enough from the public to lead them to continue the translation, so as to include the Commentaries on the Pastoral and the Catholic Epistles, as well as on the Epistle to the Hebrews, which were written by Professors Huther and Lüne mann, the coadjutors of Dr. Meyer. It would be a matter of regret if the entire work as published in Germany were not to be

Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Gospels of Mark and Luke. By HEINRICH AUGUST WILHELM MEYER, Th.D., Oberconsistiorialrath, Hannover. Transla ted from the fifth edition of the German, by Rev. ROBERT ERNEST WALLIS, Ph.D. The Translations revised and edited by WILLIAM P. DICKSON, D.D., Professor of Divinity in the University of Glasgow. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. New York: Scribner & Welford. 1880. 2 vols. 8vo. $3 each.

brought out in an English form. The doubts which the publishers express concerning the issuing of Dr. Düsterdieck's volume on the Apocalypse we hope may soon be removed by the demands of those who are interested in having the Commentary in its completeness.

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.*-The new issue of Dr. Thompson's highly valued work on Palestine has long been anticipated with much interest by students of the Scriptures. In its exterior, the volume on Southern Judea which has lately appeared is quite satisfactory. The paper and typography are excellent, and the numerous maps and illustrations are well mated to the beauty of the text. We can only hope that eventually a cheaper edition for general circulation may be put forth for the benefit of those who cannot afford to purchase the work in its more costly form. Dr. Thompson has the inestimable advantage of having resided for nearly fifty years in the country which he describes. He is no hasty traveler, giving out the information which he has collected for the purpose. He is, moreover, sympathetic with the Scriptures, a reverent believer. He writes in a devout spirit. He is an accurate and truthful observer. He is, also, familiar with the Bible, and is thus able to bring forward its passages in apposite relation to the scenes and phenomena to which they refer. A more profound scholarship would have given additional merit to the volume before us. We do not think that the method of an imaginary journey, which the author adopts, is, on the whole, a happy expedient. But the work is a substantial addition to our means of becoming acquainted with the land of the Bible.

GEIKIE'S LIFE AND WORDS OF CHRIST.-This work has been so long before the public, that it will only be necessary to call the attention of our readers to the fact that the Messrs. Appleton have issued a new edition, from the same stereotype plates as the original two-volume edition, at the low price of one dollar and fifty cents. The type is good, and the book is given to the reader in its entirety, including all the author's notes. The paper is very

*The Land and the Book, or Biblical illustrations, drawn from the scenes and scenery of the Holy Land: Southern Palestine and Jerusalem. By WILLIAM M. THOMPSON, D.D., forty-five years a missionary in Syria and Palestine. New York: Harper and Brothers. 1880.

The Life and Words of Christ. By CUNNINGHAM GEIKIE, D.D. Two volumes in one. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1880. 8vo. pp. 1258.

thin, and yet not such as to cause the type to strike through it and thus to injure the pages or occasion difficulty in reading. It is of so inferior character, however, as greatly to mar the appearance of the volume. The purchaser must find his compensation for this evil in the saving of expense which is afforded by means of it.

While not ranking as the best of the Lives of our Lord which have been published within the last few years, Dr. Geikie's work is one of value and of interest to the reader. It is a work showing much care and study, and has already met with most favorable criticism in this country, as well as in England, the home of its author.

LANIER'S SCIENCE OF ENGLISH VERSE.*-This is a book of curious interest, which we have not yet examined as thoroughly as it deserves, but enough to see that it will invite and reward the attention of such as have leisure to make it a study. It is a labored, scientific treatment of its subject. In the author's definition, however, verse is not, as in common use, equivalent to poetry, but more strictly what is called versification. The treatment is concerned with the structure rather than with the senti ment of poetry, with the form more than with the material; with verse as sound addressed to the ear, (and not the less if through the medium of the eye), even as it would appear if the words themselves were not understood, as in the case of a foreign tongue, but only so many sounds heard. The preface shows, what is true enough, that writers who have treated of English versification, have found it and left it in an unsettled state, not subjecting it to rigid analysis, nor ascertaining its laws. No science of verse, as in modern times of music, has been constructed, nor so much as attempted. The old classic metres have been more thoroughly studied than those of English poetry. The author aims to supply the deficiency. He analyzes and classifies the variations of sound heard in verse, as to duration, loudness, pitch, and a certain quality which he calls "tone-color," and he attempts to represent these differences to the eye by musical notation. His method is certainly novel and ingenious. Dr. Rush made some use of music in his "Philosophy of the Voice," but the scheme here proposed is more elaborate than any we remember to have seen. It is a work of much study and nice discrimination. The *The Science of English Verse: by SIDNEY LANIER, Scribner's Sons, pp. 315.

New York: Charles

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