the basilisk's eye, fancies which, if they had been facts, would not have been nearly as wonderful as the transformation of the commonest insect, or the fertilization of the meanest weed, but which are rejected now, not because they are too wonderful, but simply because experience has proved them to be untrue. And experience, it must be remembered, is the only sound test of truth. As long as men will settle beforehand for themselves without experience, what they ought to see, so long will they be perpetually fancying that they or others have seen it; and their faith, as it is falsely called, will' delude not only their reason, but their very hearing, sight, and touch."

THE NATIONAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

Vol. XIII.

London: William Mac-

kenzie, 22, Paternoster Row.

THIS is the thirteenth volume of a work to which we have frequently called the attention of our readers. In truth every preceding volume we have felt it a pleasure to notice in our pages. This volume takes us to the letter Z, and, therefore, we presume closes the work so far as the original intention is concerned. We are glad, however, to find that a supplement is commenced which takes us no farther than the letter F, and therefore we are to expect at least another volume. We are exceedingly glad of this supplement. Without it the work would not be up in al the information on important matters to the present point, and would, therefore, be necessarily incomplete. We must confess, however, that we åre rather surprised to find in the supplement, so far as it has gone, so many subjects noticed that ought to have been noticed under their respective alphabetical headings in the preceding volumes. Such subjects for instance as Agapemone, Arctic Voyages, Ark of the Covenant, Brunel, etc. This indicates editorial neglect. However, this is a very minor matter. The work, as a whole, is one which we can scarcely characterize too highly, or recommend too strongly. It treats of all conceivable subjects of any importance, and the articles on all those subjects are, notwithstanding their remarkable succinctness, very clear and comprehensive. The illustrative plates, too, are very numerous and good. He who possesses this work, and its cheapness puts it within the reach of all but the pauper, need not be ignorant on any subject practically useful and generally known. We presume that the next volume will contain a list of contributors. The men who have aided in the production of such a work deserve to be known.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD; OR, WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? By HENRY DUNN. London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., Stationers' Hall Court. THIS is another work from the able, useful, and somewhat prolific pen of Mr. Dunn. We confess that although we are unable at present to accept the whole of his conclusions, we are always ready to give a hearty welcome and a candid perusal of his productions. With a mind freed from the trammels of scholastic theology, and from the bias of sectarian teachings, he prosecutes an earnest, vigorous, and devout inquiry into the meaning

of Holy Writ. Such an investigator is sure to discover what is not generally seen, and technical saints and traditional creedists will scream at as heresies. We say all this, although we are neither millenarians, nor universalists, but remembering that—

"Though churches deem their creeds of worth,

And think their systems broad,

The Lord has yet more light and truth

To break forth from His Word."

THE HOMILETICAL TREASURY. By Rev. J. LYTH, D.D. (Romans.) London: Elliot Stock.

ALL homiletical works that are not miserable imitations of our own, and stolen from our own, without acknowledgment, if they have any value in them, we heartily welcome. There are authors homiletic, as well as others,

"Who steal a thought

And clip it round the edge,

And challenge him whose it was
To swear to it."

One day we may have an opportunity of exposing the thefts which these literary thieves have perpetrated on the HOMILIST. These remarks, however, will not apply to the author of this work; he has elsewhere acknowledged his obligations to the HOMILIST. What we have said of the author's sketch on "Isaiah," is applicable to these sketches of his on the "Romans." Most of them are exceedingly brief, and many of them are very suggestive. A work like this on the whole Bible would be unique, and very useful to preachers.

LIFE AND DEATH: As Taught in Scripture. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row.

THE author's prefatory note will explain the purport of this work. "This little volume is presented to the attention of thoughtful Christian men. The subject is one of inexpressible importance, and it is an immense relief to discover that the awful doctrine here controverted has not a shadow of support from the Bible. The idea of endless suffering on the part of any creature, is such a terrible libel on the character of the blessed God, that all who love Him should protest against it." We recommend our readers to peruse this little volume, and to judge for themselves whether the author has succeeded in proving from Scripture the annihilation of the wicked.

CONGREGATIONALISM IN YORKSHIRE. By JAMES G. MIALL.

John Snow and Co., Paternoster Row.

London :

THIS work is of partial interest. It treats of only one denomination of Christians, and only of the history of that denomination in a certain district of the country. For our own part we prefer the broad sunny continent of catholicity to the little foggy kitchen-garden of denominationalism.

Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men."-Psa. xii. 1.

HIS is the utterance of a noble soul, a distinguished monarch, an eminent saint-a man who, notwithstanding some salient imperfections, had a piety marked and sublimated by the tenderest pathos, the sweetest poetry, the truest heroism. It is a pious lament over departed goodness; it glows with feelings holy and ardent. It agrees with the spirit of this service. It expresses sentiments which with us require no effort to understand—our saddened hearts supply the key to their full interpretation."

*

It is the language of feeling. In the inner history of most men, there dawns at times a period when the faculty of thought is overborne by the whelming tide of the heart -a period when the intellect recoils from effort-when

* A funeral sermon upon the death of the late Rev. J. A. Morris, Holloway. For personal references see "Pulpit and its Hand

maids."

VOL. XXIII.

Y

it will not and cannot think. Verbal criticism, philosophic speculation, formal argumentation-all this is unsuited to such a season. It is the hour for the heart to speak -to speak in tears and prayers, and words of tender condolence. Let none deprecate, none pity, none speak lightly, of such emotional states. They are appointed seasons in the history of souls, and, like the seasons in the material world, they are divine; they are controlled by beneficent laws, and have their use. "There is a time to mourn." We have no fellow-feeling with that cold-hearted philosophy which would seal up the fountains of emotion, reduce man to a mere intellectual machine, and then pronounce his moral perfection attained. Sensibility I class amongst the cardinal blessings of being. It is the primary impulse of action, the bond of social union, the source from which springs every felt delight. What should we be without it? Should we have any spring to our souls-any faculty to taste the sweets of life-any conscious connexion with creation, society, or God? No. We should live in everlasting isolation. In the midst of a teeming universe, we should stand alone, having neither the power of attracting, nor the susceptibility of being attracted. The quickening and cementing touch of sympathy we could never receive— never give. Indeed, the very energy of a man's thought is dependent upon the power of feeling. How weak the thought that springs not from an earnest soul—that has not been dipped in the living current of the heart! The thought that has no connexion with emotion, though the product of a great mind is like the ray of the night-orb, pale, cold, and deadly. Whereas, that thought which has mingled with the sympathies of the heart, breathed the quickening atmosphere of an earnest soul, is like the beam of morning-it comes from the centre of the system, it is charged with life, it is the herald of better things to come.

But thought and feeling should not be placed in opposition to each other. They are mutually dependent. Each derives

its value from the influence of the other. The right action of either requires the reciprocal action of both-as thought without feeling would be powerless, feeling without thought would be wild, turbulent, and reckless. It is the province of thought to refine, regulate, and humanize our affections—to map out the varied channels in which heaven ordained them to flow on for ever. I thank God for our susceptibilities; though they are the occasions of much mental suffering in this our probationary state, still I praise our Maker for the power to feel; and the more so, as Christianity teaches that the very sorrows of its disciples are disciplinary: "they yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised thereby." The bitterest cup has curative virtues; the fiercest storm breathes to purify. Let us not refuse the cup or bar up the heart from the rushing tempest. God alone knows the value of spiritual suffering in the economy of spiritual culture. When I say that the text is the language of feeling, I only say what may be predicated of the whole book in which it is found. The Bible is pre-eminently a book of genuine feeling. This gives to it that glow of lifethat charm of freshness-that captivating power-which separate it immeasurably from all human productions. The purest streams of affection that ever flowed through human souls are here. Here are the warm, life-giving, immaculate sympathies of the Son of God. Above all the breathings, the bursts, the unfoldings of the Infinite Heart, are on these mystic pages. The feeling of God is the living element of the book. It rolls from its sublimest heights—diffuses itself through all its parts-mingles with all its objects-stamps its character on the whole. It is the sun on the landscape of truth, giving its glow of life and tinge of beauty to every part. It is hence "life" as well as "light." It is living light.

It is time to adopt some more definite plan of thought. We shall begin by noticing,

I. SPIRITUAL WORTH.-The two words, "godly" and