434

WE are happy to have an opportunity of vindicating a man so universally and deservedly respected as Mr. Cooper.

Every body knows that original sin has been a leading topic with divines of a certain class (why we know not), and that it has brought the Church into discredit by the affixation of the soubriquet original-sin men to particular persons. We think that such persons have not understood the subject, for they have made of it a physical absurdity, in that they have affirmed, that what is utterly spoiled is capable of resuming its original properties; i. e. that a putrid carcase be physically susceptible of living functions. We are satisfied that Reason and Religion (God being the author of both) can never be at variance; for things incomprehensible are only such, because it is impossible for man to understand them. The original-sin men having, however, affirmed that the fall has made of human nature a complete mass of corruption, a mere rotten egg, it is so palpable an absurdity, that Mr. Cooper has very justly and philosophically said that, if so, man must have been physically incapable of good actions in any way. The truth is that, according to a theologian of the very

[May,

highest class, Dr. Wheeler (Theological Lectures, I. 133), the moral sense remained after the Fall, but with enfeebled physical powers; and that this is correct, is proved by St. Paul's doctrine, couched in the well-known texts, relative to the law of the members warring against the law of the mind. Now Dr. Johnson says, that where there is shame, there may yet be virtue; and if a man be open to shame, he is open of course to repentance, which the Scripture never denies, and would be utterly impracticable under complete depravity. But such a form of animation is not to be found. No animal exists, with whose being some providential good or other is unconnected. Natural philosophy and chemical experiment show that God cannot be the author of undefecated evil of any kind; for even in man, if any one becomes so intolerably bad as to be a civil injury, the sense of suffering makes others in correction feel and urge the value of virtue; but philosophers know that it is impossible for any man to be without some good qualities. In truth, the Calvinistic doctrine of Mr. Whish, which consists of cavils only, is completely confuted by Bishop Tomline, whom we shall quote from Mr. Cooper (p. 73). Lordship says (Refutation of Calvinism, c. i. p. 3),

His

"The general approbation of virtue and detestation of vice, which have universally prevailed, prove that the moral sense was

not aunibilated, and that man did not become by the fall an unmixed, incorrigible incapable of amendment, or of knowing or mass of pollution and depravity, absolutely discharging by his natural powers any part of the duty of a dependent being."

And in his observations on the 10th article (c. i. p. 54), he says,

"We can by no means allow the inferences attempted to be drawn from them, [i. e. the words of the article] by modern Calvinistical writers, namely, that of our own nature we are without any spark of goodness in us,' and that man has no ability or disposition whatever with respect to faith or good works."

Now a more bare-faced, impudent, unphilosophical absurdity that the last position was never maintained, for, was it the fact, there could not nor would not exist any religion at all among mankind, nor civilization, for religion implies faith in God, and civil

insidious, and their confessions as an additional tax upon our credulity.

We perfectly agree with the sentiments contained in "Character-hunting." The paper entitled "My first Appearance on the Stage," is amusing, as is "The Templar's Story." "The wandering Jew" is written in a higher strain. The unknown Region" is a good jeu d'esprit on a certain square situated rather to the northward of the Metropolis, which would have been better, we think, had it been longer; too much time is taken up in the voyage, and too little is allotted to the newly-discovered territory. The sketches of low life are, perhaps, too accurate, and this is a fault which all readers of taste will wish amended. With the poetry we have been much pleased. "The Rapture of Beneficence" is our favourite. My Birth-day;" "Tell me now that thou art mine;" "A new Arion" may also be recommended. "The Crumbs for the Critics" is a disarming title, but we like that division the least, unless "Oh come, the Window" be an exception.

66

We know too much of authorship not to congratulate any young man on his preference for professional labours, but many readers will doubtless regret that Mr. Becke has resigned the pursuit of literature.

79. The History of Inventions and Discoveries, alphabetically arranged. By Francis Sellon White, Esq. F.S.A. 8vo. pp.

547.

THIS work (Mr. White says) was solely undertaken at first for amusement, but having assumed a magnitude beyond his expectations, he has given it to the public, under a hope of its utility. (Pref. iv.) It is evidently compiled from Encyclopedias, as to the chief sources, but occasionally improved and (as it seems to us) augmented by the author, in good taste. On a subject of such latitude, and, we may add, extreme difficulty and uncertainty, it is impossible, given points excepted, to state the real history of very numerous discoveries and inventions; and it is, as a general rule, better simply to state what ancient authors say, than to give to any the credit of knowing particular inventions, where the periods are very distant, or the sources of intelligence very limited.

The arts in Asia and Egypt were the prototypes of nearly all those in Europe; yet Pliny, having no oriental knowledge, finds the authors of them among the Greeks; and Beckman would have told us, if he could have done so without ridicule, that Thebes and the Pyramids were built by the Germans in the sixteenth century. If a German had to do with an invention, it was certainly modern, but if he had not, it might meet with a fair chance. At the same time, it is both amusing and useful to know what authors have said upon such topics, as it is good to have moons and twilight, for were there a total silence upon the subject, we should be for several hours in complete midnight. Mr. White has also great merit for having condensed this copious store of matter into a very eligible form; and we only speak concerning an absurdity of principle, extended to impossible points of knowledge. For instance, in p. 19, we are told that the first volcanic eruptions from Mount Etna is that mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, as if any man who ever lived, even Cuvier himself, could be competent to make such an affirmation. There are, however, subjects of mathematical, philosophical, chemical, and mechanical science, of which the modern origin is unquestionable; and in these disquisitions Mr. White is excellent. We need only mention the article clock (one very difficult), where a world of information is condensed; and though we cannot as Antiquaries admit all the facts stated by Mr. White or any other author whatever, because it is impossible that their originals, whom they quote, could have pretensions to certainty, yet even a hypothetical knowledge of discoveries and inventions, prevents oblivion of them, and suggests improvement. We shall, therefore, only say, that Mr. White's book is useful, instructive, and entertaining. We extract a very curious paragraph from the article Parliament:

"It is rather singular that Speakers, like Bishops, always affect reluctance to undertake the office, which cannot be easily ac counted for, unless it be true that it was formerly the custom to buffet them when elected." P. 460.

We cannot now refer to the ancient liturgists in the Bibliotheca Patrum, for a true origin of the nolo episcopari, or speakerari, but we can confidently

WE have been very considerably gratified with the first number of this series, which we may truly affirm to be some of the most beautiful specimens of the lithographic press which have ever come under our notice; being even superior in picturesque effect and cleverness of execution to those views in New South Wales, which we noticed with so much commendation at the time of their appearance. As an accompaniment to this series, the one now in course of publication will be very appropriate. They are free from that smeary appearance and carelessness of manner which till lately distinguished the productions from chalk drawings on stone; and represent, 1. Pont y Coch near Llanelly, Brecknockshire. 2. Falls of the Rheidiol near Pont-ar-Fynach, Cardiganshire. 3. Pont-ar-Lleche near Llangadock, Brecknockshire. Of these the second exhibits the boldest outline, and produces the grandest effect, while the last has all the soft and quiet feelings which a more homely and rustic scenery presents on a still summer's morn. Pont Ꭹ Coch is, however, the most romantic, possessing the grandeur of the falls of Rheidiol with the more woody scenery of Pont-ar-Lleche. The gracefully overhanging boughs,-bending in sílent majesty, and the dashing of the water's foam over the masses which arrest its course, produce a beautiful picture.

*If it be the fact, there might have been an allusion to the buffeting of Christ by the Roman soldiers.

81. The Heart, with Odes and other Poems.

By Percy Rolle. 12mo. pp. 126. THIS is a little volume of considerable promise, containing many poetical thoughts very sweetly expressed, and it is precisely on this account that we are tempted to regret its publication. We must explain this seeming paradox. It has been our lot to see the children of promise generally die an early and premature death. The public taste in poetry is fastidious; it stops not to inquire into the age and the circumstances of him who presents a volume to its inspection. 66 No book," says an elegant writer with a profound knowledge of human nature, "was ever spared in tenderness to its author." General readers have neither leisure nor inclination to hunt for beauties; a feeble line, a common-place expression disgusts them, and they pronounce a hasty censure on the whole. If the volume of Mr. Rolle had been presented to us in manuscript, we should have returned it with this advice; Your poetry evinces talents, which, if cultivated with care, and brought to the standard of a severer taste and a sounder judgment than you have yet applied to them, will one day do you honour; but hazard not premature publication. Be not known to the few as the author of a volume, of which your own after-improvement will cause you to think lightly. To write smooth verse, is in the present advanced age a very common accomplishment; you have higher gifts, have also a higher ambition. He never yet won an abiding fame, who was too impatient to wait."

The volume, however, is before us; and we will only repeat, that it is full of those indications which belong to a genuine poetical temperament, but it wants revision and correction.

The following is a specimen in proof of each:

Tears. Woman, I envy thee the tears

With which thy griefs are wash'd away, And quench'd the deadly fire that sears The heart, and goads it to decay; As mists are melted into rain

And lost, earth's bosom scattered o'er, So sighs that rend the heart with pain,

Melt into tears, and are no more:
Light is the grief that thus can pour

Itself from the o'erflowing eyes,
To that which racks the bosom's core,
And may not vent its agonies:

Often, alas! 'tis mine to mourn Without a hope to which to fly, By torture's tooth my heart is torn, And yet each burning lid is dry!

82. The Living and the Dead. By a Country Curate. 8vo, pp. 379.

WHEN we first looked at this book, we were afraid that it had issued from the manufactory of Mr. -, the Original Sin man, and other charlatans, who propose to introduce the golden age into Great Britain, by stuffing it full of blind devotees, like Italy, Spain, and Portugal. But we have been agreeably disappointed-practicul Christianity, and the qualities useful to society (i. e. a correct understanding of the intentions of Christ in the reformation of the world) is its sole object, and it is not a book which makes Christianity a mere lucrative trade for preaching auctioneers; or, in the words of our author (p. 75), a system of all others the best calculated for disseminating doctrines fatal to morality, and encouraging confident hypocrites.

canvas.

In short, it is a charming miscellany, full of sweet sentiment and the beauty of holiness," as beautiful in description as an angel of Guido upon -But we have no room for praises, not even for numerous fine passages, because one long one we must give-viz. the following account of ARCHDEACON DAUBENY-a man whom hawkers and pedlars in religion have represented to the vulgar as a Vicar-general of the devil himself, because he has justly thought that schism is only one roguish mode of selling bad

wares.

We shall not copy their slander, but commence our account with the building of the Church of Rode, co. Wilts.

"The Church is a perfect picture. Built in the most beautiful style of Gothic architecture, on the summit of a hill-in the midst of the most enchanting landscapelooking down with an air of protection upon the hamlet, that is scattered at irregular intervals below it-and completely isolated from every other object-it forms a feature on which the eye of the most fastidious critic may repose with transport. Its cost is reputed to have exceeded ten thousand pounds, of which the Archdeacon alone contributed three. It is my legacy,' he said to me at Bradley, after the consecration was over, to the Church of England.' The books for the reading-desk are the gift of the Archdeacon's grandchildren; being,

as I heard the little ones joyfully relate,

the savings of our pocket-money towards grand-papa's Church. The plate for the communion was presented by the Archdeacon; and there is a fact connected with it so emblematic of his simplicity of heart, and to my mind so expressive of his character, that I cannot forbear recording it. Some months previous to the completion of Rode Church, its indefatigable supporter was so severely attacked with illness, that his recovery was deemed hopeless. Acquainted with the opinion of his medical men, and perfectly coinciding in it, he calmly and steadily betook himself to settle his affairs, and especially every particular relating to his Church. Let the Communion vessels,' said he, to his old friend Mr. Hey,

'be as handsome as can be made-but

plated. I have always condemned those who have placed unnecessary temptations in the path of their fellow mortals; and I am earnest that the last act of my life should hold out to others no inducement to sin.'

"Nor is the beautiful Church at Rode the only substantial proof which the Archdeacon has given of his zeal for the Esta

Such is

blishment. The inhabitants of Bath well know how unwearied and how liberal an advocate he proved himself to be for the building of Christchurch in that city; the money, the pains, the time, and the exertion which he brought to the cause. the man who has been styled, forsooth, a hypocrite.' Well; there are, to be sure, various shades of hypocrisy, and different modes of evincing it, but that which the Archdeacon has adopted appears to be the most extraordinary of all. One has heard of men giving to a cause their breath, in the way of eulogy-or sanctioning a charity by their name, and a nominal subscription; but to devote a handsome private fortune to the support of the Established Religion of the country, and this, year after year, in the most liberal manner, and at every opportu nity, and as it will be seen in the sequel, by the exercise of the most undeviating selfdenial is one of the most extraordinary specimens of hypocrisy I have ever chanced to meet with.

"So much for his public character. We will now look at him in another light, as a parish priest. The peasant of sixty years ago would hardly recognise, in its present state, the village of North Bradley. It was once a poor, straggling, miserable hamlethad a Church half in ruins-and, surrounded with a few stunted shrubs, a vicarage apparently in a state of dilapidation: it is now the very picture of thriving industry. Its Church and Church-yard in admirable order, tell the passing stranger that there is a watchful eye over both; while the vicarage, embosomed in trees, with its verdant lawn and sweeping shrubbery, says as plainly, that both taste and generosity have been