conscious of no malady. We know of no doctrine which so intensely needs to be preached and unfolded at the present day as this; sin as a power reigning without and within, in society, in the world, and especially in the soul, corrupting and enslaving the whole being and from which man cannot deliver himself. Sin, as essential evil, the only real evil, and involving in itself all evil and all punishment, and that, none other than eternal death. One good result which is coming from the thorough discussion now or recently in progress respecting future punishment, is the deeper knowledge and insight it will bring concerning the nature of sin, and the conviction which is beginning to be felt that sin is essentially and forever its own punishment; that all the positive punishments which a God of justice and love can inflict upon the wicked are not so terrible or lasting as those penalties which sin itself inflicts upon its victims; that those dire symbols of future suffering so terribly portrayed by the Saviour, are but shadows of this soul-destroying evil, projected from eternity upon the walls of time.

Sin needs to be presented, moreover, in its ethical and moral nature not as a misfortune, but as guilt, self-created by the selfdetermining power of a tempted but free agent a willful offence against the law and mind of God, and needing an atonement, a vicarious sacrifice to put away and destroy it. And here the moral or ethical side of the atonement needs to be brought more distinctly into view, not as being the only side, but a real and most important one. It is the feeling of many of the most thoughtful and spiritual teachers of the age that the face of the cross has been turned too exclusively toward God and the divine justice; that since Christ is exalted to give repentance to Israel as well as remission of sins, and to draw all men unto him, the most powerful attraction and the strongest motive to repentance is that view of the atonement where all the attributes of God are blended and concentrated in one intense focus and brought to bear not upon God from whom they proceed, and not to reconcile any conflict in the mind or government of God, but upon the heart of the sinner, to break the power of sin and reconcile the world unto God. As the works and miracles of Christ were wrought not for ostentation or for the pur. 47

VOL. III.

pose of proving his divinity, though they did this, but to heal and bless and save humanity, body and soul, so the whole redemptive work of Christ in his life and death-all the mighty forces of truth and grace, of love, and righteousness, and patience, and forgiveness, which stream from the cross, are not a mere show, or governmental expedient, having only abstract relations to law and justice, but have a mighty moral power and influence, to turn men from sin by revealing the heart of God. The cross thus becomes the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation.

Have we not, by accepting theories of the atonement which hide the true glory of the cross, and greatly weaken its power, which even eclipse and darken the character of God-have we not made this central doctrine of Christianity unnecessarily an offense and a stone of stumbling, and what is worse, weakened the moral sense, by interpretations that confuse the first principles of right and justice? Can we hope for an “ethical revival," or a radical quickening and deepening of the Christian conscience, so long as our conception of God's character and of his supreme act of love and righteousness is blurred by a confounding of all moral distinctions, as it is by supposing that divine justice can be satisfied by the punishment of the innocent in place of the guilty?

3. Finally, the true relation between faith and works must be understood and their vital unity restored.

Faith must be seen to be not a mere sentiment, having no roots that reach below the sensibilities and strike deep into the moral and spiritual being-nor yet as a mere intellectual belief, however true and orthodox that belief may be, but a vital and practical power or principle, the deepest, most central, most controlling, and most ineradicable principle of the soul.

Faith is not a feeling but a conviction, and not a conviction merely but a purpose, and not a purpose merely but a love,-for love and faith though distinct in name are inseparable in reality. Its substance is truth received into the heart and embrac ing the will, and working through the whole intellectual and moral being, controlling every thought, volition, and affection, and bringing the whole life into subjection to the obedience of Christ. Hence its connection with doctrine, or the truth of

God, without which faith is mere feeling, destitute of root or practical power. Hence too, its connection with obedience, without which, according to our Saviour's comparison, a hearing without doing, believing the truth without obeying it, is like a man who built his house upon the sand. How many of these sand-built houses, faith as a mere sentiment, or intellectual conviction, without works to substantiate it, belief without prac tice, profession without character, have we in our churches, that cannot withstand a storm or a flood, but fall when the trial

comes.

In these times that try men's souls, we need a faith that is made of sterner stuff and tougher fibre, if our churches, or even our Christianity is to stand. As was said in the old days of anti-slavery agitation, when the clouds of rebellion and war were looming in the horizon, and which might be said with more emphasis now- What our statesmen and public men need is backbone," so in these times of possibly greater peril, when ominous clouds are rising from all quarters of the heavens, and mutterings of deep thunder are heard announcing that the day of anti-Christ is come, and the battle of the great day of God Almighty is approaching, what we need as Christian churches and Christian ministers, what our faith and relig ion needs is backbone, that we may stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. And this means to withstand. For as Coleridge has truly said, "That which doth not withstand hath itself no standing place."

A faith which is merely passive and receptive, which is content to sing, and pray, and rejoice over sins forgiven and heaven secure, which accepts Christ merely as a substitute, and not as an example, and a leader and commander, which does not inspire the soul to fight for its crown, as He did, to deny self and take up the cross and follow Christ in obedience unto death, is no true or saving faith.

The repentance that simply feels sorrow for sin without forsaking, and renouncing, and overcoming it, is no repentance. unto life. A salvation which does not save from sin as well as from its penalties, and secure a regenerate and holy character, is no true salvation. The essence of salvation is holiness, and not exemption from suffering. And the essence of religion, its

experience and its blessedness, is not enjoyment here or hereaf ter, but a holy and Christ-like character.

Hence, let us say in conclusion, we do need an "ethical revi val," a revival not of religion as that word is used in its demor alized sense, but of righteousness — righteousness rooted and grounded in the conscience, and below this, in God, who is the ground and authority of conscience; righteousness, which is ours, and yet not ours, being derived from Christ the righteous, living and reigning within, a righteousness born of faith, and nourished by truth, and working by love, and issuing in good works, i. e., in all the fruits of a regenerate and holy char acter; a righteousness which is more than an experience of religion," which needs no self-inspection or examining commit tee to detect; which is seen and read of all men; which shows itself in whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, let us think on these things, and do them.

ARTICLE VIII.-NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

EVERY DAY ENGLISH.*-This volume, with its appropriate title and the author's well known name, will find for itself readers without formal recommendation, or rather will enlarge the circle of those who have read most of its contents in other forms. It comprises thirty chapters, of which within a few years some appeared in the New York Times under the same title, and others in the "Galaxy" magazine. A lively preface of sixteen pages treats of the same writer's work, "Words and their Uses" published nine years earlier, as well as of the present, which is described as its “Sequel," and of the controversy it occasioned, referring to his critics with characteristic freedom and confidence. The chapters of varying lengths are arranged under four heads,-Speech, Writing, Grammar, Words, and Phrases. The whole is dedicated, in a pleasant note, to Prof. Child, of Harvard University, and an index is added which is always convenient for recurrence to the details of such discussions, besides an ample table of contents. Many of our readers are sufficiently familiar with some of the essays thus reproduced (with "little change" from their original form "except by omission and condensation ") and with the author's other writings on the same themes, to know what to expect here. He sets forth with his wonted clearness and vivacity his views of English spelling, especially in opposition to the phonetic reform urged nowadays; of pronunciation according to the best usage in England, for which he is a zealous stickler; of grammar, in opposition to the current teaching in our school-books, and indeed to the existence of any proper grammar in our present English tongue; and of words and phrases now commonly misused in this country.

The name of Richard Grant White was first made familiar by his Shakespearean scholarship, and then by his enthusiasm and ability in discussing questions of this sort. His large acquaintance with English literature, especially of the Elizabethan period, his stores of illustration, his positive opinions, and especially his readable style, have given his papers wide circulation, and they

*Every Day English. A Sequel to "Words and their Uses." By RICHARD GRANT WHITE. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1880. 512 pp.