Do not

is immeasurably worse, the Word of God, plain as you may read it, is liable to be misunderstood too. Remember this. The Boston Free-thinkers, through their mouth-piece in the Monthly Magazine, want the Bible "depolarized" into common speech. You must "depolarize," not the Bible, but the popular religious dialect. You must teach the truths it does contain in the husk of those technical phrases, in plain, good, homely Saxon. You must take them out of their dead shells, and enforce them as living. Do not fear to do it. It is just what thousands of the best hearts are waiting for, under every pulpit cushion in the land. Many of these words had a strong meaning once. They are now only the dead bones from which the life fled first, then, even the muscles and the flesh. They have since been adopted into another "System," and galvanized into some life. Many of them contain truths torn from their connections,-truths, great truths, sadly distorted. Do not forget the peculiarities of your place and time. let, for instance, as in this case, a purely technical meaning of the word "Regeneration," blind your people, and especially the children of your charge, the lambs of the Flock, to the true sense of the Baptismal Service, and compel them to refuse assent to the Lord's plain words. See that you rid them of that commentary of "a Religious Dialect." Do not let them fancy, when you preach "Baptismal Regeneration," little as you like to do it, from a sense of duty sometimes, that you are preaching an "Effectual Call," or, a "Change of Heart" in Baptism. Give them good English, and tell them "what these things mean." Hearts that wait on your preaching, and children who grow up under your care, will find, and feel, at last, new joys, new hopes; they will find, that deeper, richer experience of the Christian life, which the Church teaches and nurtures; even though it be affirmed that she is a stranger to its power. There is such a thing as Evangelical experience and piety. CHRIST is the Way, as well as the Truth and the Life. The strange developments of such works as we have placed at the head of our Article, are showing where that Evangelical experience and piety are yet to be sought, and where that Truth and Life are to find munitions and guardians. 46

VOL. XIV.-NO. III.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

A TRANSLATION OF THE SYRIAC PESHITO VERSION of the Psalms of David, with Notes, Critical and Explanatory: by the Rev. ANDREW OLIVER, M. A.

London:

.Boston: E. P. Dutton & Co אין אפד ואין דברים בלי נשפע

Trübner & Co. 1861.

The abundant facilities for the study of the Scriptures in their originals might, at least in our day, seem to render it superfluous to devote time and labor to the production of a work like this. It seems, at first, a circuitous mode of doing what is already done, actum agere, to translate a book already translated, not from the original, but at second hand, from another language, as ancient and difficult as the original itself. Such labor might seem proper or requisite only when the original is lost, as we must always expect a translation either to fall short or to exceed its original somewhere. But the aim of the translator in the present instance, if we apprehend aright, has been to translate from another Version in order to let it reflect its light upon the obscurities of the original and thereby aid in rendering it more intelligible or perspicuous. The aim has been to give the Syriac, with all fidelity, clad in the modern costume of our Anglo-Saxon tongue; and here the original itself would seem rather to take the place of an auxiliary, in order to determine words or phrases in cases of doubt. Much, therefore, as the translation here made is meant to bear ultimately on the right understanding of the Hebrew text, yet in another view, it may seem to ignore all reference to its Hebrew relation, for this very purpose.

In the Syriac we have the oldest Version of the New Testament and one of the oldest of the Old Testament. Since the days of the late lamented Dr. Murdock, whose last literary labors, at a highly advanced stage of human life, were devoted chiefly to Oriental studies, no work has appeared in the English language as a translation of any part of the Syriac Peshito, down to the present year, and the work before us. A decade of years has thus passed away between the translation of the Syriac Testament by Dr. Murdock, and the Psalms now published by our brother in the Ministry, the Rev. Andrew Oliver, A. M.

As we are not prepared to speak definitively on the merits of the work itself, having not yet compared it sufficiently, we do not of course enter into a review of its execution now, but purpose doing so at the earliest opportunity. In the meanwhile, we can only express our favorable impressions from a cursory and incidental reading, with some expectation however that we may occasionally differ on less important points, whilst we have got the impression also that we shall find our Rev. Brother generally on the safe side. His preface, without any pretentions to elaborate prolegomena, is an unpretending multum in parvo, given in a few pages, explanatory, linguistic and apologetic, with a statement of interesting facts connected with the subject.

To the present writer the chief value of the Syriac for the Theological scholar is to be found in its bearing upon the exegesis of the New Testament. This part of our sacred Books is every where materially affected by the Aramaic elements. The phrases as well as the terms, concrete and abstract, give it peculiarities that clearly indicate its Oriental affinities; without some knowledge of which, many things must remain obscure. A faithful translation, therefore, may be justly hailed as an auxiliary in this department. Although the Peshito of the New Testament, translated by Dr. Murdock, is not the original, yet as the earliest of the New Testament Versions it has the advantage of antiquity, and must be regarded as the nearest approximation to the language spoken by our Lord. But of this Version itself we must say what the old poet said of his dithyrambics, ¿punvewç xatıĞEL A wide survey of style, diction and literature is often necessary to determine the sense, and in this view a successful version of a version, whether of parts of the Old or the New Testament Peshito may serve to strengthen if not elucidate the

ground of the interpreter, and relieve him from the necessity of a loose and perhaps erroneous conjecture. In this view we greet every contribution to the light of truth and religion.

INSPIRATION AND INTERPRETATION. Seven Sermons preached before the University of Oxford. Preliminary Remarks: being an Answer to a Volume entitled “Essays and Reviews." By the Rev. JOHN WILLIAM BURGON, M. A.. Fellow of Oriel College, and Select Preacher. Oxford and London: Parkers. 8vo. pp. 508. A volume with such a title from the Author of the "Plain Commentary," promises a rich treat, and the reader will not be disappointed. It was while the Sermons were in course of delivery, that the "Essays and Reviews" came under his notice; and he says; "Astonished at the apathy which seemed to prevail on questions of such vital moment, I determined at all events not to be a party to a craven silence; and denounced, from the University pulpit, with hearty indignation, the whole system of unbelief (if system it can be called) which has been growing up for years among us, and which I was and am convinced must be openly met, not silently ignored until the mischief becomes unmanageable." We confess we like the honest and hearty condemnation with which Mr. Burgon treats these traitors of the Church, who yet live on her money. There are very good and well-meaning people now-a-days who would not speak plainly and truthfully, even of Beelzebub himself, without taking off their hats and making an apology, and virtually retracting their censure; and if he were to advertise a" Lecture," they would be sure to be on the platform, just to show that they are not "bigoted." Mr. Burgon says; "Some respectable persons, I doubt not, will think my treatment of them harsh and uncharitable. I invite them to consider that we do not expect blasphemy from ministers of the Gospel, irreligion from the teachers of youth, infidelity from the professor's chair; nor are we called upon to tolerate it either. .. Let those, who feel little jealousy for God's honour, measure out in grains their censure of a volume, the confessed tendency of which is to sap the foundations of faith, and to introduce irreligion with a flood tide. Such shall not, at all events, be my method. Private regard, if it is to weigh largely with him who stands up for God's truth, should first have weighed a little with those by whom it has been most grievously outraged."

In the course of his "Preliminary Remarks," which cover two hundred and thirty pages, he reviews rigidly each one of these Essays, and he does not daub with untempered mortar. The following statement of the true place which the New Testament fills, contains volumes of meaning and cannot be too carefully remembered. The popular impression in our country is as wide apart from this, as it can be, and the popular theology and the popular religion of our times are all based on a different theory. Men make a religion according to their own notions, and then try to square the Bible accordingly, instead of interpreting the Bible according to the understanding and practice of the men who wrote it. That is just the difference between the Church theory, and the Sectarian theory. Here is the statement:

"How did Christianity originate? How did it first establish a footing in the world? The answer is (in the words of the Rev. J. Woodward,) by the preaching of living men, who said they were commissioned of God to proclaim it. That was the origin and first establishment of Christianity. There is, indeed, a vague and increasing notion prevalent that Christianity was taken from the New Testament. The notion is historically untrue. Christianity was widely extended through the civilized world before the New Testament was written, and its several books were successively addressed to various bodies of Christian believers; to bodies, that is, which already professed the faith of Christ in its integrity. When, indeed, God ceased to inspire persons to write those books, and when they were all collected together into what we call the New Testament, the existing faith of the Church, derived from oral teaching, was tested by comparison with the Inspired Record. And it henceforth became the standing law of the Church, that nothing should be received as necessary to salvation which could not stand that test. But still, though thus tested, and every article being proved by the New Testament, Christianity is not taken from it. For it existed before it. What then was the Christianity which

was then established? Have we any record of it as it existed before the New Testament became the sole authoritative standard? I answer, we have. The creeds of the Christian Church are the record of it. That is precisely what they purport to be; not documents taken from the New Testament, but documents transmitting to us the faith as it was held from the beginning: the faith as it was preached by inspired men before the inspired men put forth any writings; the faith once for all delivered to the Saints."

AN ECCLESIASTICAL DICTIONARY; Containing Definitions of Terms and Explana tions and Illustrations of Subjects pertaining to the History, Ritual, Discipline, Worship, Ceremonies and Usages of the Christian Church; with Brief Notices of Ancient and Modern Sects, and Biographical Sketches of the Early Fathers and Writers of the Church. By the Rev. WILLIAM STAUNTON, D. D. New York: Church Book Society. 1861. 8vo. pp. 700.

And

In a Church like the American, where so large a number both of Clergy and laity are converts from Sects who hold little that is positive in common with the Church, and who are won to her with a slight acquaintance with her usages and language, the great necessity of a good Ecclesiastical Dictionary is obvious. then there are the ordinary needs of such a work. Parents, Sponsors, Sunday School teachers, all need a faithful and true explanation of things with whose outward phenomena they are familiar, but with whose real meaning they are more or less unacquainted. The qualifications of Dr. Staunton to write such a book were proved by the success of the Dictionary first issued in 1839, a 12mo. of 473 pages, of which the one before us is an enlarged and greatly improved edition. The labor of preparing accurate papers upon such a variety and number of subjects, and there are nearly 2,500 of them, is immense, and would more than exhaust a long life-time; but the Doctor has had the aid of the best libraries, and for some years he has been steadily at work. The Dictionary embraces;

1. Such terms as relate to the ministry, sacraments, worship, discipline, ceremonies and usages, etc., of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

2. Obsolete words and phrases, occurring in the Prayer-book, etc., together with expressions liable to misconstruction by those who are not familiar with the views and language of the Church.

3. Some geographical, biographical, ethnological, and other names and terms occurring in the Psalter, Gospels, and Epistles, in the Prayer-book.

4. Words relating to the controversies, discipline, institutions, worship, and customs, of the various branches, and the various ages of the Catholic Church.

5. Brief notices of the principal ancient and modern Sects and their leaders.

6. Sketches illustrative of the lives of the Fathers and distinguished writers of the Ancient Church.

7. Terms relating to Ecclesiastical Architecture, Music, Antiquities, the furniture of Churches, and the vestments of the Clergy.

8. A miscellaneous class of words and names often found in Ecclesiastical works, but sufficiently antiquated, technical, or otherwise obscure, to need explanation. Of course a work with so wide a scope must partake to some extent of a theological or doctrinal character. We have seen nothing which in this respect is not thoroughly sound, or at least is not sustained by the best authors. The sketches of the Early Fathers are exceedingly valuable, and on nearly all the points named above, the Clergy and others will find the Dictionary a Vade Mecum.

There is one respect, in which we venture a suggestion to the author. We wish that he had made some portions of his work less summary, and given us those facts, names, and dates, for which we have a right to look to a Dictionary. Thus, in respect to the Sect of the Baptists, Maclaine, in his Translation of Mosheim, says, "the origin of the Baptists is lost in the misty depths of antiquity." Murdock, in his translation, does not say any such thing; and one of our Clergy, a while since, in a controversy with a Baptist, wrote to Dr. Murdock to know what the original language of Mosheim is. Now, without increasing the bulk of the volume at all, the Doctor might give a condensed statement of facts, dates and references on such matters, which, as we have said, we have certainly a right to look for in a Dictionary. It would require learning, reading and labor, but the Doctor is equal to it.

There is one feature of the book worthy of special mention. In a Dictionary we do not ordinarily look for fine rhetoric or glow of emotion; and yet, in several of the Articles, there is a warmth of tone which is creditable to the author, and which will not be lost upon the reader.

In the Preface to the work, Dr. Staunton takes the venerable Dr. Hook to task for appropriating without the slightest acknowledgement, more than fifty pages of the former edition, in a Dictionary which has had quite a reputation in this country. The Very Reverend Dean we know was only copying an example very common in England, and of which we can give an instance, even much worse than this. Still he does owe to our American author the handsomest apology which he is able to make.

CARTHAGE AND HER REMAINS: Being an account of the Excavations and Researches on the Site of the Phoenician Metropolis in Africa and other Adjacent Places. Conducted under the Auspices of Her Majesty's Government. By Dr. N. DAVIS, F. R. G. S. Profusely Illustrated with Maps, Wood cuts, Chromo-Lithographs, &c., &c. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1861. 8vo. pp. 504.

Modern research is prosecuting no field of enquiry more interesting or important than that of which this volume is one of the fruits. Carthage yields to Nineveh in the value of its explorations, at least so the Biblical scholar will deem: and yet there are associations enough to throw a powerful charm around a field like this. The names of Hannibal and Tertullian, and Cyprian, and of Augustine too, the vast power and wealth, the large population, the commercial importance, and the eventful history of Carthage invest the place itself with thrilling interest and make us anxious to know all we can of a city now for centuries buried in ruins. The author, having gained the confidence of the Bey of Tunis, and secured the patronage of the British Museum, and of Lord Clarendon, then Foreign Secretary, and so being master of ample means for the enterprise, entered upon an examination of the ruins of Carthage. (When or in what year we believe he has not told us.) For about three years he had about twenty-five Arabs in his employ, sinking his shafts, and digging his trenches wherever the field seemed most promising. The results will perhaps disappoint the reader, and yet they were not by any means fruitless. One of the most important of his discoveries was the pavement of a Chapel, which he thinks was dedicated to Dido and Anna, Ceres and Proserpine. Of the portion brought to light he says; "it measured about fifteen feet by nine, and contained, besides the elegant and chaste designs, a colossal female bust, and two priestesses, full length and robed. The heads of the latter were rather damaged; but there can be but one opinion as to the artistic talent displayed in the execution of this mosiac, whether as regards grace, attitude, or coloring." These ruins he regards as Punic, though Mr. Beulé and Mr. Franks of the British Museum assign to them a Roman origin. He also made investigations among the remains of the Temple of Saturn, "the Moloch and Baal Hammon of the Carthaginians," and he gives what he calls a ground-plan of this structure, of which the diameter was two hundred feet; and specimens of its pavement and of its fluted columns were also found. The number of relics, however, brought to light was small, for the whole field has again and again been ravaged in quest of gain, not only by the ancient invaders but by the modern Arabs. And so this old City, founded more than 800 years B. C., and which, when the Punic wars began, numbered its 700,000 souls, which has been devastated successively by Vandals and Romans and Saracens, is at length utterly destroyed. A few fragments of its temples, and remnants of its sewers and walls are nearly all that meet the eye.

We have attempted to state what Dr. Davis has actually done. We ought also to say that the author has cumbered his volume with long disquisitions, which seem to us quite out of place, as having really nothing to do with the matter in hand; and what is still worse, the work is full of quotations from authors, many of whom are of no authority, and from many languages living and dead, the appearance of which is far more suggestive of the pedantry, than of the thorough learning and good taste of the author. The book however is an interesting and important one; and the publishers have spared no pains or expense, by maps, plans, and other illustrations, to make it attractive and valuable.