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, particularly 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. Augustine, 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. EWALD ON THE ANTIQUITIES OF ISRAEL.*-This work was originally designed as an appendix to the second volume of the "History of Israel;" but it grew into much more than an appendix and is an independent and very full treatise on the subject. After an introduction on the laws and customs of the Theocracy in its transition to the Monarchy, he treats the subject in the first section from the human side, and discusses man's effort and action towards God. In this section he gives a careful investigation of the worship and service of God; prayer, oaths, vows, sacrifices of all kinds, gifts, fasting, circumcision, the Sabbath, the priesthood, the religious festivals and the sacred places. In the second section he treats the subject from the divine side, and discusses the divine demands for holiness and righteousness. Here he considers the subject of clean and unclean meats, material impurities in human beings and the like as recognizing the sanctity of nature; also the sanctity of life and property, the sanctity of the home, the treatment of foreigners and the kingdom of Jahveh, and the sanctity of the nation in relation to it. In the third section he considers the political organization of the nation, the administration of government, production, and trade, the relation of the priesthood to national affairs. In the fourth section he considers the division of time, the Sabbatical year, the year of Jubilee, and kindred subjects. The work treats more particularly of the institutions of Moses and their development to the time of the institution of the monarchy; but it draws illustrations from all parts of the Old Testament. It is marked by the well-known characteristics of the History of Israel by the same learned author, and is a great thesaurus of information on the subjects discussed. THE EXODUS OF ISRAEL, BY DR. BRUGSCH.-Dr. Brugsch spent thirty years under the patronage of the Egyptian government, in exploration and the study of the inscriptions. The result of his investigations has been published in a work entitled "Egypt under the Pharaohs." From this work the volume be *The Antiquities of Israel: by HEINRICH EWALD, late professor of the University of Göttingen. Translated from the German by Henry Shaen Solly, M.A. London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1876. 8vo, pp. xii. and 386. The true story of the Exodus of Israel, together with a brief view of the History of Monumental Egypt. Compiled from the work of Dr. HENRY BRUGSCH, BEY. Edited with an introduction and notes by Francis H. Underwood. Boston: Lee and Shepard. New York: Charles T. Dillingham. 1880. pp. 260. fore us has been compiled. This volume comprises twelve chap- DR. TAYLOR'S LECTURES ON MIRACLES.*-This volume contains a course of seven lectures on Miracles, delivered before the Princeton Theological School. The subjects discussed are the Nature and Possibility of Miracles; the Supernatural in Christ; the Credibility of Miracles; Testimony in behalf of them; the Mythical theory; the Evidential value of Miracles; and their spiritual significance. The lectures are marked by the author's habitual freshness and vigor of thought, and clearness and force of style. ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE PSALMS.-The two first lectures in this volume discuss the origin and history of the Shemitic peoples, and the history of the Hebrew language and early literature. The remaining lectures discuss the Psalms, but only with reference to their literature and history. The author reaches the conclusion that the book of Psalms, as we now have it, consists of five books collected and edited for the worship of the second temple between 537 and 337 B. C. The first book (Psalms 2-41) *The Gospel Miracles in their relation to Christ and Christianity. By WM. M. TAYLOR, D.D., Pastor of the Broadway Tabernacle Church, N. Y. New York: Anson D. F. Randolph & Co., 900 Broadway. pp. 249. + Lectures on the Origin and Growth of the Psalms. By THOMAS CHALMESS MURRAY, Associate Professor of the Shemitic Languages at the Johns Hopkins University. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 743 and 745 Broadway. 1880. xiii. and 319 pp. 1 |