of which it was composed and in the necessity of guarding carefully, by every variety of position and expression, the unity of the church against the confusion which these heresies have introduced. Something perhaps is to be attributed to the hasty views and rash conclusions of the objectors themselves, who are not careful to inquire sufficiently into the real meaning and intention of the terms, and are apt, as our author truly says, to imagine that, instead of being an exposi. tion of the doctrine, it is offered as an explanation of it. But, whatever may be the source of these objections, they are eminently entitled to our consideration, for they are connected with some of the best principles of our nature, and particularly with Christian charity! And as we are heartily anxious, with Mr. Rennell, for the interchange of mutual concession, and for the unity and peace of the church,' we are glad to present these observations to our readers, because they are, we think, admirably calculated to promote them."

Now take the following quotation from the amiable RENNELL:

"The first objection generally urged against this Creed is, that in attempting to explain what admits not of explana tion, and to define what is incapable of definition, it is at once confused, obscure and unintelligible. That the doctrine of the Trinity is beyond the grasp of the human mind to comprehend, is fully and universally allowed; it is ever at the same time to be remembered, that because it is above, it is not therefore contrary to, reason. We are not to refuse assent to the truth of a proposition if we ascertain that its terms include not an actual contradiction, because we are un able to comprehend its mode and extent. Every proposition respecting the attributes of the Deity, that is, every application of a finite mind to an Infinite Being, is subject to this rule. We assert the eternity of God, although of eternity we have but a faint and unsatisfactory idea. We doubt not of the ubiquity of the Di. vine Presence, though of infinite space our notions are equally limited. Why then should we feel any hesitation in admitting, as an article of our belief, that though the Almighty appears in three different and distinct persons or charucters in his dispensations towards man, these three are but the self-same existent Being, whose Godhead is essentially and and necessarily One; or in other words, what reason can be adduced why we should not believe the existence of One God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity?

There is nothing in the nature of the proposition that confounds the powers of our belief, though it defies the force of our comprehension. It is a proposition that is clearly to be deduced not from a few insulated passages but from the whole tenor of Scripture and the whole scheme of Christianity: it therefore demands our assent. Confusion only follows when we are anxious to explain the mode of its existence-when the temerity of man attempts to fathom the mysteries of the Godhead. He maketh darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds to cover him."

Mr. Rennell endeavours to render the doctrine of the Athanasian Creed more palatable, by stating the Almighty to have appeared in three persons or characters, which are by no means synonymous terms. This lat ter appellation reduces his Trinity to the Sabellian heresy, which has been pronounced to be Unitarianism in a fog! However, the Reverend Divine has afterwards more wisely retreated binson somewhere says, that mystery into the old covert of mystery. Ro is a fine article for manufacture, can be made into any thing, and is absolutely inexhaustible! Here, indeed, and here only, modern orthodoxy, defended by the first talents, or embellished by the most brilliant attainments, can repose in safety. Entrenched within this fortress, it defies all the researches of the religious world.

But now let us listen to the charitable Mr. Rennell on the damnatory clauses of the Athanasian Creed:

"The second and most serious objection to this Creed, in the eyes of many good and charitable men, is the doctrine contained in what are usually termed the damnatory clauses. Shall a fallible man (say they) frame his system of belief on a most difficult and in some manner iucomprehensible subject, and condemn to eternal destruction all those who differ from him in so tender and questionable a point? And shall the mild and tolerant Church of England sauction such an unwarrantable temerity? Let us consider what the assertion really is to which we so strongly object, and then let us con. sider whether that assertion is not warranted by the whole tenor of the Christian dispensation. When then we say in the strongest clause of the whole, that

this is the Catholic faith, which except every one do keep whole and undefiled,

without doubt he shall perish everlastingly,' we cannot be supposed to mean that every trifling verbal difference on a subject above our knowledge shall doom even the best of men to eternal destruction: this is contrary to our belief as sons of the Church of England; it is contrary to our charity as Christians! But when words grow into things, when verbal distinctions, as they very rapidly do, grow into practical evils, when a man shall wilfully reject, insidiously undermine, or knowingly degrade any leading doctrine of the Christian dispensation, then he is amenable to this clause. The revelation of God to man, the glories and graces of the Christian dispensation, are not objects of capricious sport or idle contention. They are not to be received

at pleasure, nor rejected with impunity. Those who have the power and opportunity of ascertaining, of receiving, and of defending their truth, must, in reason, be answerable for their wilful rejection or intentional corruption. God is not mocked: that which a man soweth that also will he reap. But even here we must remember that God, not man, is the Judge! And when the judgments of God are threatened, they neither are nor can be threatened absolutely, but with a final and essential reservation for the mercies of Infinite Wisdom."

Such is the mode after which a pious and learned divine has explained away the damnatory clauses of the Athanasian Creed at the commencement of the nineteenth century. Of its validity the reader must decide. But we must be gratified to perceive orthodox clergymen, fast bound hand and foot by their subscription to articles of faith, yet striving to reconcile their credence of them with the dictates of common sense, and with the suggestions of Christian charity. The practical remembrance of this truly evangelical apothegm, that God, not man, is Judge, is a sovereign remedy for all uncharitableness and bigotry. Had this obvious truth been recognised, the Athanasian Creed, in all its hideous deformity, would never have been composed. It would not have reared its head to affright the timid, to embolden the censorious, and scatter dismay throughout the religious world. The uncharitable surmise and savage anathema, now indelibly staining the page of ecclesiastical history, would, under the recognition of this

admirable sentiment, have been sup pressed. Indeed, it is the usurpation of the province of the great Judge of all that has spoiled the temper of individuals, murdered the repose of comGod with blood. This is the Antimunities, and deluged the church of christ denounced in the mysterious book of the Revelation, closing the canon of Scripture, and which the hallowed spirit of prophecy, announcing the second coming of the Messiah, assures us shall be destroyed at the brightness of his rising. Charitably judging each other, is a duty of the first order, solemnly and repeatedly inculcated in the New Testament. Resigning the ultimate condition of our brethren of a different faith to the wise and merciful disposal of the alone Searcher of hearts, Truth would fearlessly pursue her inquiries, proclaim undismayed the result of her labours, and reign triumphant! Error ceasing any longer to delude her votaries by false hopes or groundless fears, we should speedily return to the doctrines and spirit of primitive Christianity.

Madame de Staël has thus felicitously expressed herself on the subject:

"Men whose affections are disinterested and their thoughts religious—men who live in the sanctuary of their conscience and know how to concentrate in it, as in a burning glass, all the rays of the universe-these men, I say, are the priests of the religion of the soul, and nothing ought ever to disunite them. Au abyss separates those who conduct themselves ac

cording to calculation and those who are guided by feeling. All other differences of opinion are nothing; this alone is essential! It is possible that one day a cry of union may be raised, and that all Christians may aspire to profess the same theological, political and moral religion; but before this miracle is accomplished, all men who have a heart and who obey it, ought mutually to respect each other!"

Ministers of the Established Church and among the Protestant Dissenters, would do well to recollect, that it is the illustrious grace of Christian charity, pronounced by the Apostle of the Gentiles to be greater than faith and hope, which will hereafter be emblazoned and perfected before the throne of God in heaven.

J. EVANS.

ART. I.-Joannis Miltoni_Angli_de Doctrina Christiana Libri Duo Posthumi quos ex Schedis Manuscriptis deprompsit et Typis mandari primus curavit Carolus Ricardus Sumner, A. M. Bibliothecæ Regiæ Præfectus. Cantabrigia, &c. 4to. pp. 554. £2. 10s. A Treatise of Christian Doctrine, compiled from the Holy Scriptures alone. By John Milton. Translated from the Original by Charles R. Sumner, M. A., Librarian and Historiographer to his Majesty, and Prebendary of Canterbury. Cambridge, printed for Charles Knight, Pall Mall East. 4to. pp. 410. £2.

10s.

IN

N every point of view, this is an exceedingly interesting and important publication. Any original manuscript of Milton's would have been a treasure; and a manuscript containing his "Last Thoughts" on Christianity is inestimable.

There can be no doubt of the genuineness of the work. Mr. Sumner's history of its discovery is satisfactory, [see Mon. Repos. XIX. 124,] and there is abundant internal evidence of its being rightly ascribed to the Great Writer whose name it bears.

The publication is in the highest degree honourable to His Majesty, by whose order it has been both printed and translated, [Mon. Ropos. XIX. 253,] and creditable to Mr. Sumner, who is the Translator and Editor.

We propose to make our readers acquainted with the contents of the book, less in the character of reviewers than reporters. Milton, of all men that ever lived, is entitled to speak for himself.

The dedication of the work by the writer proves that he intended it for the press, and calmly calculated upon its circulation "throughout the world." There is a manly but somewhat subdued tone in this Preface, which shews how much Milton was in earnest with regard to Divine truth, and which consequently bespeaks the reader's solemn attention. It opens

thus: VOL. XX.

41

"John Milton, to all the churches of Christ, and to all who profess the Christian faith throughout the world, peace and the recognition of the truth, and eternal salvation in God the Father, and

in our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Since the commencement of the last

century, when religion began to be restored from the corruptions of more than thirteen hundred years to something of its original purity, many treatises of theology have been published, conducted according to sounder principles, wherein the chief heads of Christian doctrine are set forth, sometimes briefly, sometimes in a more enlarged and methodical order. I think myself obliged, therefore, to declare, in the first instance, why, if any works have already appeared as perfect

as the nature of the subject will admit, I have not remained contented with them; or, if all my predecessors have treated it unsuccessfully, why their failure has not deterred me from attempting an undertaking of a similar kind.

"If I were to say that I had devoted myself to the study of the Christian religion because nothing else can so effectually rescue the lives and minds of men from those two detestable curses, slavery and superstition, I should seem to have acted rather from a regard to my highest earthly comforts, than from a religious

motive.

"But since it is only to the individual faith of each that the Deity has opened the way of eternal salvation, and as he requires that he who would be saved should have a personal belief of his own, I

resolved not to repose on the faith or judgment of others in matters relating to God; but, on the one hand, having taken the grounds of my faith from divine revelation alone, and on the other, having neglected nothing which depended on my own industry, I thought fit to scrutinize and ascertain for myself the several points of my religious belief, by the most careful perusal and meditation of the Holy Scriptures themselves.

"If, therefore, I mention what has proved beneficial in my own practice, it is in the hope that others, who have a similar wish of improving themselves, may be thereby invited to pursue the duous course of study in my youth, besame method. I entered upon au assiginning with the books of the Old and New Testament in their original languages, and going diligently through a few of the shorter systems of divines, in imitation of whom I was in the habit of

doctrine orally delivered-and that those only were looked upon as heretics who, according to Rom. xvi. 17, 18, 'caused divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine of the apostles-serving not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly.' By parity of reasoning, therefore, since

the compilation of the New Testament, I maintain that nothing but what is in contradiction to it can properly be called heresy.

"For my own part, I adhere to the Holy Scriptures alone-I follow no other heresy or sect. I had not even read any of the works of heretics, so called, when the mistakes of those who are reckoned for orthodox, and their incautious han dling of Scripture, first taught me to agree with their opponents whenever those opponents agreed with Scripture. If this be heresy, I confess with St. Paul, Acts xxiv. 14, That after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets,'to which I add, whatever is written in the New Testament. Any other judges or chief interpreters of the Christian belief, together with all implicit faith, as it is called, I, in common with the whole Protestant Church, refuse to recognize.

"For the rest, brethren, cultivate truth with brotherly love, judge of my present undertaking according to the admonishing of the spirit of God-and neither adopt my sentiments nor reject them, unless every doubt has been removed from your belief, by the clear testimony of revelation. Finally, live in the faith of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Farewell."-Pp. 5-8.

The work begins with a definition of Christian Doctrine:

"The CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE is that DIVINE REVELATION disclosed to all ages by CHRIST (though he was not known under that name in the beginning) concerning the nature and worship of the Deity, for the promotion of the glory of God, and the salvation of mankind.”. P. 9.

He explains his purposed method: "In this treatise, then, no novelties of doctrine are taught; but, for the sake of assisting the memory, what is dispersed throughout the different parts of the Holy Scriptures is conveniently reduced into one compact body as it were, and digested under certain heads."-P. 10.

The second chapter is "Of God." The argument for the Divine Existence is judiciously and clearly stated. Milton relies upon the testimony of

"conscience," but by conscience he means right reason." He appeals also to "the ancient nation of the Jews," whose dispersion is designed not only to pay the penalty of their own guilt," "but rather to be a perpetual and living testimony to all people under heaven of the existence of God, and of the truth of the Holy Scriptures."

This great man appears to us to approach the confines, at least, of a long exploded doctrine, in his representation of the Divine Nature; but it is fitting that the reader should see his own words.

"Our safest way is to form in our minds such a conception of God, as shall correspond with his own delineation and representation of himself in the sacred writings. For, granting that both in the literal and figurative descriptions of God, he is exhibited not as he really is, but in such a manner as may be within the scope of our comprehensions, yet we ought to entertain such a conception of him, as he, in condescending to accommodate himself to our capacities, has shewn that he desires we should conceive. For it is on this very account that he has lowered himself to our level, lest in our flights above the reach of human understanding, and beyond the written word of Scripture, we should be tempted to indulge in vague cogitations and subtleties.

"There is no need, then, that theologians should have recourse here to what they call anthropopathy-a figure invented by the grammarians to excuse the abthe Heathen divinities. We may be sure surdities of the poets on the subject of

that sufficient care has been taken that the Holy Scriptures should contain nothing unsuitable to the character or dignity of God, and that God should say nothing of himself which could derogate from his own majesty. It is better, therefore, to contemplate the Deity, and to conceive of him, not with reference to human passions, that is, after the manner of men, who are never weary of forming subtle imaginations respecting him, but after the manner of Scripture, that is, in the way in which God has offered himself to our contemplation; nor should we think that he would say or direct any thing to be written of himself, which is inconsistent with the opinion he wishes us to entertain of his character. Let us require no better authority than God himself for determining what is worthy or unworthy of him. If it repented Jehovah that he had made man, Gen. vi. 6, and because of their groanings, Judges ii.