sents us with an extremely affecting view of the Poet's mental malady.

“A yellow shower of leaves is falling continually from all the trees in the country. A few moments only seem to have passed since they were buds; and in few moments more, they will have disappeared. It is one advantage of a rural situation, that it affords many hints of the rapidity with which life flies, that do not occur in towns and cities. It is impossible for a man, conversant with such scenes as surround me, not to advert daily to the shortness of his existence here, admonished of it, as he must be, by ten thousand objects. There was a time when I could contemplate my present state, and consider myself as a thing of a day with pleasure; when I numbered the seasons as they passed in swift rotation, as a school boy numbers the days that interpose between the next vacation, when he shall see his parents and enjoy his home again. But to make so just an estimate of a life like this, is no longer in my power. The consideration of my short continuance here, which was once grateful to me, now fills me with regret. I would live and live always, and am become such another wretch as Maecenas was, who wished for long life, he cared not at what expense of sufferings. The only consolation left me on this subject is, that the voice of the Almighty can in one moment cure me of this mental infirmity. That he can, I know by experience; and there are reasons for which I ought to believe that He will. But from hope to despair is a transition that I have made so often, that I can only consider the hope that may come, and that sometimes I believe will, as a short prelude of joy to a miserable conclusion of sorrow that shall never end. Thus are my brightest prospects clouded, and thus to me is hope itself become like a withered flower, that has lost both its hue and its fragrance.

I ought not to have written in this dismal strain to you, in your present trying situation, nor did I intend it. You have more need to be cheered than to be saddened; but a dearth of other themes con

strained me to choose myself for a subject,

and of myself I can write no otherwise.

Adieu, my dear friend. We are well; and notwithstanding all that I have said, I am myself as cheerful as usual. Lady Hesketh is here, and in her company even I, except now and then for a moment, forget my sorrows.

I remain sincerely yours,

W. C." We must now take our leave of these fascinating volumes, with thanks to the Editor for the pleasure they have afforded us, and recommending them to the

attention of our readers as a rich mine of pleasant and profitable perusal. Those session of Mr. Hayley's collection of persons, in particular, who are in posCowper's Letters, ought to add these volumes to it as completing the series. A good Index accompanies the last volume.

Dissertations Introductory to the Study and right understanding of the Language, Structure, and Contents of the Apocalypse. By ALEX. TILLOCH, LL.D. &c. London, Sherwood, Jones, and Co. pp. 400, 8vo. pr. 12s. bds. 1823. We are informed, in a short adver tisement prefixed to the volume before us, that about forty years have elapsed since the attention of the author was first turned to the study of the Book of the Revelation; and that the contents of it have ever since occupied much of allowed to quote Dr. Tilloch as a living his thoughts. We may, therefore, be instance to disprove the assertion of South-that the study of the book of the Apocalypse, either finds a man mad, or it never fails to make him such! Indeed the assertion itself only merits to be classed among the extravagancies and paradoxes of that witty clergyman, who, like his brethren, Swift and Sterne, could not resist the pleasure of saying a good thing, though characterized by profaneness, and calculated to serve no other purpose

than to excite the mirth

of fools. We no sooner enter upon the perusal of the Apocalypse, than we find a blessing pronounced "on him that readeth, and on those that lear the words of this prophecy, and keep (or observe) those things that are written therein," ver. 3. But if the book itself were unintelligible, what are we to make of the promised blessing?

We recollect, about twenty years ago, given to the public, through the medium perusing a series of papers which were of one of the daily Evening prints, on the subject of the Apocalypse, and which were, by common report, attributed to the author of the volume before us. When we first heard of the publication, now under review, we too hastily concluded that Dr. Tilloch had collected these scattered pieces into a volume, and that he was presenting them to the public, as the fruits of his matured judgment and experience, perfected by his latest emendations and

tles of John-Titus, and Philemon; and having laid before the reader his proofs of the fact, Dr. Tilloch thus concludes: "The Apocalypse being, as I persuade myself has been proved, quoted in every Epistle in which the subjects treated of could possibly admit of it, it follows, that this Prophecy was delivered before these Epistles were written; nor is this a matter of trivial import, as viewed in connection with rightly understanding the New Testament record. The very knowledge of the fact serves to account for many expressions which seem abrupt, and as it were insulated, in the Epistles; and their import, for that very reason, not always apparent. The quotations, in fact, often carry with them the supposition, that the reader will consult the context, in the book whence they are taken; for it would have been contrary to that plan of brevity which seems purposely to have been made to pervade the New Testament, to swell it out by large quotations from either the Old Testament Prophets or the Apocalypse. It is admitted on all hands, that when the Law or any of the Prophets is quoted, it is often indispensable that the context of the quoted words should be examined; and now that it is known to be no less certain, that the Apocalypse is in like manner quoted by the writers of the Apostolic Epistles, the propriety and necessity of attending to that book will be held to be equally indispensable.

"I am well aware that, the circumstance of quotations from the Apocalypse being found in the Epistles of the New Testament having been scarcely even suspected, many may be disposed to question the fact entirely. Let such persons first take due pains to examine the alleged quotations. In the examination they may, perhaps, find reason to reject, as not sufficiently evident, some of the instances that have been offered; but I humbly apprehend that no person, acquainted with the ancient modes of quotation and reference, will be able to reject them all; and such is the nature of this evidence, that if but a single instance, out of the many that have been offered, shall be found to be, indisputably, a quotation from, or an allusion or reference to, the Apocalypse, the argument for an early date will remain unimpaired, and the fact incontrovertible, that the book was written at least as early as the reign of Nero, or more probably that of his predecessor."

We do not doubt but that many of our readers will be very much surprised at the conclusion to which the Doctor has arrived, and still more so at the

steps which have led him to it. We do contess that our surprise is not little on the occasion; and if he can be satisfied with the general complexion of his own proofs, his mind must be very differently constructed from ours; for after wading through a hundred pages of elaborate criticism devoted to the subject, we have not met with one single instance of quotation that is conclusive upon the point! So far, indeed, is this from being the case, that we have experienced no little grief at seeing a person of Dr. Tilloch's character employed in torturing and wresting the language of the inspired writers, in order to force them to speak contrary to their obvious meaning. Whatever may become of the question as to the priority of date, between the Apocalypse and the several epistles to the churches, and on this point Dr. T. well knows that the weight of historical evidence is against him-we must enter our decided protest against Dr. Tilloch's method of establishing the point. But having made this charge, it will be expected that we assign the grounds and reasons on which it is founded.

Our author commences with an examination of Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, and quotes ch. x. 37. "For in a very little while ὁ ερχομενος, THE COMING ONE will come; yea, he will not procrastinate," [we give Dr. Tilloch's translation.] The argument here is, that "the coming one" was a name common among the Jews for the Messiah; that it is applied to him in Rev.i. 4. and chap. iv. 8. and particularly in chap. xxii. 12. "Behold, I come QUICKLY, and my REWARD is with me." Ergo, Paul quotes the words of the writer of the Apocalypse! But is it not equally probable that he quotes the prophecy of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, even as Jude does, verse 14 of his epistle, “Behold, THE LORD COMETH," &c. Again, Paul speaks of the new Jerusalem, THE CITY which hath FOUNDATIONS, Heb. xi. 10; but whence did the apostle derive this expression, says Dr. Tilloch, except from Rev. xxi. 14, "the wall of The words, says our learned author, are THE CITY HAVING FOUNDATIONS twelve." a quotation from the Apocalypse, as close as the use to which they are applied in the passage before us could possibly admit of. position, Dr. T. attaches great import In support of this ance to what he thinks a singularity of

expression in Heb. xi. 10. The Tous Opλlous Exoura ó, rendered in our version "a city which hath foundations;" but which he is of opinion should be translated"the city having the foundations." That the article connected with i, is emphatical in this passage, we are not disposed to dispute; but we are not aware that our version overlooks it, though rendering it a city. The a taken in connection with the whole passage, has probably as much of a definite sense, if not more emphasis than would be secured by the proposed alteration, there being but one abode answering to the description given. We are not aware of any sufficient authority for considering rods as definite in this construction, a point that is evidently the main support of Dr. T.'s supposition, that the passage alludes to what is said of this city in Rev. xxi. 14. He will hardly, we presume, affirm that the Greek (independently of his view of the meaning) requires this construction, the cases being so numerous wherein the article is not introduced in translating. We are of opinion, therefore, that this alteration is unauthorized. Besides, the question may be fairly put-why should the words, even with Dr. Tilloch's version of them, be supposed to be taken from the Revelation? To us it appears a mere gratuitous assumption, resting on no positive evidence. The same remarks will apply to another text, viz. Heb. xii. 22, 23. which our author presses into his service, by comparing it with Rev. xiv. 1. and ch. xxi. 10. In fact, the attempt to extract evidence from any of the texts which the Doctor has adduced in this Section is so extraordinary an effort, that we cannot refrain our surprise at the superlative confidence which characterizes his conclusion." Comparing the terms employed in the passage that has been quoted from the epistle to the Hebrews, with the passages just referred to in the Apocalypse," says Dr. Tilloch, "I cannot entertain the slightest doubt, that the former were taken from the latter," p. 59. This, to us, is marvellous in a philosopher!

Our attention is next called to the epistles of Peter, in which we find repeated mention made of "the revelation of Jesus Christ." Here, at the outset, we have a quotation of four pages from Sir Isaac Newton, who had previously gone over this ground, but found so little

115

to his purpose in the first epistle, that he pronounced the texts "obscure allusions." To our author, however, they appear far otherwise; and therefore he adds "I hope I shall make them appear very obvious to the reader." The texts are 1 Pet. i. 7, 12. ch. iv. 13. and ch. v. 1. On the first of these passages we are presented with a very singular piece of criticism, which we shall quote. In Dr. Tilloch's improved translation, the passage reads thus-"though now suffering sorrow by divers trials, this being necessary for the trial of your faith-rejoice greatly in the things brought to your knowledge, respecting the last time in (by or through) the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ." "Here then," says Dr. T. "we have the book of the Revelation referred to by the very title which John himself has given it in Rev. i. 1.”

In the simplicity of our heart, we had hitherto been accustomed to regard this text in Peter, as being precisely of the same import with the words of Paul, in 2 Thess. i. 7.-"And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels," &c. We accordingly turned to that Section of the volume, in which the author professes to collect evidence from that epistle, to see if he had taken any notice of this last mentioned text, and if so, how he had explained it. And, sure enough, in p. 114, &c. we found the text adduced, and the following singular gloss upon it. After quoting our English translation of the verse, Dr. Tilloch thus proceeds:

"In this translation the preposition is translated as an adverb of time, when,' and the word ἀποκαλύψει has been rendered as the third person singular future passive of the verb azoxaλÚT. Macknight has given the same version, and the greater number of translators has given a future signification to this word. It is probable, however, had they been aware of the possible existence of the Apocalypse, at the time this Epistle was written, that they would have rendered the passage otherwise, as they could not possibly be ignorant that arоxaλú forms the dative singular of the noun άozás. Macknight, on ' rest with us,' says, 'The Apostle does not mean, relaxation from persecution. The believing Jews had no relaxation in that sense, any more than the believing Gentiles. But he means relaxation from the troubles of this life at death, and the enjoyment of eternal rest, the rest of God,