religious truth; but this need not prevent us from summoning every thing, in order to represent the Christian spirit in the greatest purity and beauty of expression, and thus with twofold energy, before men. The True produces a double effect, as the Beautiful; nay, in our dainty times, it can hardly act at all, but in union with beauty. The most perfect and imperishable production is brought forth, when the truth and profoundness of the Christian spirit are combined with the masterly strength and dignity of a classical style.

THE INFLUENCE OF INDIVIDUALS.

LET every one do what he can; let him seek with humbleness of mind, and with a pure love of truth; and if he has found its living image, let him guard it, with fidelity and gratitude, within his heart. Let every one also defend what he recognises as the inmost need of his life and the salvation of humanity, with decision and firmness, even to his last breath.

let no one suppose that he is essential to the victory of truth, let no one boast of his own person. No individual is of so much consequence, that the truth can be brought to recognition by none but himself; Divine providence always finds its instruments, whether these individuals or others. Men have died, on whom thousands looked, as the champions of truth and right; a chasm seemed made in humanity, and the spirit itself to go down to the grave; the waves of time broke over them, but truth was not buried in the stream, her spirit continued to hover over the waters. Least of all, does truth need force; she is not in alliance with the sword. She cannot be obtained for this. The mightiest powers of earth are shattered; thrones sink and states fall; but truth falls not and dies not; she has a guardian sovereign, whose sceptre is never broken. Amid the ruins of all earthly things, she pursues unseen her silent path, but known and felt by the souls which thirst for her. As such truth, which has stood fast and still stands fast, in all changes of persons, of systems, and of kingdoms, Christianity has maintained its ground in the history of the world. The undying spirit of the gospel has broken through centuries, and has always raised up its own defenders. The Apostles, the great teachers of the church, the Reformers, have passed into the grave; but their spirit is revived in a thousand others, and transmitted, in its vital power, from generation to generation. Doubts threaten to undermine Christianity; human visdom

would suppress it; narrow-minded dogmatism slay it; a service of ceremony degrade it to a religion of sense. Not only much has threatened it, much also has injured it; but we ought not to be anxious on that account. Christian truth yet hovers, in unapproachable loftiness and purity, over the endeavours of men. God is with it, and the human soul needs it. When we should the least believe it, it revives and grows young again, like the eagle; while the old forms die out, new creations of the spirit appear, and the Ancient and Everlasting is again presented in the freshness and beauty of renovated youth.

G. R.

NOTICES AND INTELLIGENCE.

The Poor Rich Man, and the Rich Poor Man. By the Author of "Hope Leslie," "The Linwoods," &c. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1836. pp. 186. We cannot allow this little book to pass without emphatically calling to it the attention of our readers. It is one of those rare productions of wisdom and genius which none can read without delight, and which are adapted to leave deep impressions of duty. If we dared to allude to so trite a saying as that which sets ballad-making above law-making, we would say that the writer of works like this, and its twin-sister, “HOME," has the character and fortunes of this nation more at her disposal than any of the ambitious politicians in the land. We look far more to the operation of strong principle and persuasive truth, wrought quietly into the heart, and formed silently into habit, for the safety and progress of society, than to any action of government, or other external institution. Let our families be well ordered, let love and rectitude rule in social intercourse and common affairs, and all will be well. Let domestic economy be perfect, and political economy will take care of itself. The world has no more efficient friends than they who devote the powers of a sagacious. and cultivated mind to teaching the people, and leading them to the ways of industry, order, and piety. Precisely of this class is the author of the little work before us. She has a clear perception of what the people need, a keen feeling of the errors which prevail in our social order, a perfect understanding of the remedies which are demanded, a hearty longing for the best pattern, and an exquisite tact in setting forth, in a graphic, attractive, and convincing form, the truths which she wishes to convey. There is a charm about her lessons which makes it pleasant to listen to her, and a persuasion in her voice which converts her listeners into disciples.

The motto on the title-page describes the subject which forms the moral of the book; "There is that maketh rich, yet hath nothing there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches." Upon this pregnant text there probably was never a finer sermon preached than in this narrative. Never was more convincingly set before us the great truth of the utter worthlessness of mere wealth, and the despicable meanness of a man who lives only to be rich; - seldom so beautifully described the honor and satisfaction which attend the state of contented and industrious poverty. The thoughtful of all ages have known this, the moralists of all sects have taught it, the preachers of Christianity have set it forth in the strong language of the inspired volume, and in their earnest reasonings about happiness and virtue. Yet the world has still gone on in error, men have lived for wealth as the supreme good, and now, in the very light of this improved century, when knowledge is more widely spread, and religion more truly and generally honored than in any previous age, and the true sources of happiness more universally understood; in this age and this country, there seems to be almost a new and yet more insane developement of the thirst for acquisition, and a most inordinate value set upon that external advantage which mere money can give. It is impossible to look upon society, and see how extensively the grossest errors prevail on this subject, how arts, letters, and even religion are sacrificed to the love of gain, and not be impressed with a profound sadness at the prospect of the world. It requires a strong faith in the final triumph of principle, and a recollection of all that is admirable in the action of the times and promising in our own institutions, to restore the mind to its cheerfulness. The prodigious efforts which are now made by the benevolent and wise in behalf of mankind, are retarded by nothing so much as this prevailing worldliness, and can have their full effect only when it is removed. In vain do we make progress in civilization and refinement, in political wisdom and social enjoyment, while we allow the luxury and pomp which wealth introduces, to rear unreasonable barriers, and make hateful distinctions, and decoy a large portion of society away from those higher pursuits which are the true dignity and only certain strength of man.

While all reflecting persons are looking on this state of things with apprehensive forebodings, our author's spirit is stirred within her, and she speaks; - not in the formal harangue of the pulpit, not in the stately treatise, drawing conclusions from remote premises and cunningly threading a maze of philosophical deduction, but she speaks to the people themselves, in their own language, appealing to their own good sense, to their own observation and experience. She paints the truth in characters that live and move, draws scenes which they acknowledge to be natural and real, and

makes them to decide by their own conviction, that the wealth which is to satisfy, consists not in riches, but in character, and may be found abundantly where the world gives least.

When the divine Teacher was asked, Who is my neighbour? he set before the inquirer a picture of a wounded traveller, relieved by a stranger and enemy, while a Levite and a priest of his own nation passed him by in neglect. No dissertation on brotherly love could have wrought conviction so effectually as this group of four characters, connected in so striking a narrative. And so, parva componere magnis, no treatise on wealth and poverty could so powerfully set forth the true doctrine on these most important topics, as is done in this long parable in which is answered the question, Who is the rich man?

We cannot recite the story here; it is given in the briefest space in the book itself, which contains materials which might easily be extended to two large volumes, and yet are so skilfully managed that nothing seems to be wanting to the vividness and completeness of the picture. We wish we had room for a specimen or two of the manner in which single scenes are made to do the work of long discussions; as in the ninth chapter, where the author gives us a peep into the rich poor man's house. But the work is, or ought to be, in everybody's hands. We hope it will be followed by the history of Mr. Beckwith, the rich rich man, into whose house and heart we are slightly introduced in the sixteenth chapter, and whose whole system of life we desire to have depicted for the emulation of our prosperous citizens. If not this, we shall look earnestly for other works of this class from the same hand, and shall expect that those who have the means, and understand their value, will see to it that they are extensively circulated.

A Historical View of the Council of Nice, with a Translation of Documents. By the Rev. ISAAC BOYLE, A. M. Boston. 1836. 8vo. pp. 62.- This sketch of the History of the Council of Nice was prepared as a sort of appendix to the second edition of Cruse's Translation of Eusebius recently issued; but for the convenience of those who might desire it in a separate form, some additional copies have been struck off, and are offered for sale. It has the merit of conciseness and impartiality, and is written in a style of easy narration, without affectation or pedantry. It is not encumbered with tedious details, yet is sufficiently minute, we suppose, to satisfy the general reader. At the end, Mr. Boyle subjoins an argument for the truth of the doctrine of the trinity, derived from the fact, that the council asserts, as he expresses it, "our Saviour's true and proper divinity." Were we to attempt to argue the point with Mr. Boyle, which we have no intention

of doing at present, we should object, that the council does not assert our Saviour's divinity in the sense in which modern Trinitarians understand the term; that it does not, for example, assert the numerical identity of the Son with the Father, but only a sort of generic sameness, homogeneousness, we believe, is Professor Stuart's word, the Son being divine because begotten of divine, as man is human, because begotten of human. This appears from the express testimony of both Eusebius, and Athanasius (with Trinitarians, a less suspicious authority), and from the face of the Nicene creed itself, and is a point, we believe, now generally conceded by the learned in these matters. With regard to the Spirit, it is still worse.

The Historical View is accompanied by several brief documents relating to the origin of the Arian controversy, and the proceedings of the council, as a Letter of Alexander of Alexandria, whose rashness provoked the dispute ; the Letter of Constantine to Alexander and Arius, in which he treats the whole controversy as a frivolous and silly affair, (for which the Orthodox have never forgiven him,) and urges the combatants to lay aside their weapons and be friends, notwithstanding some differences of opinion, which, he says, are unavoidable, "since all men have not the same understanding of every thing, the same turn of mind, and mode of thinking." But the Imperial convert knew little of the pertinacity of theologians, and his advice was thrown away. The Letter of Constantine is followed by one of Arius, the great champion of mental freedom in an age of growing bigotry and exclusiveness. This is addressed to his friend Eusebius of Nicomedia, from whom the Arians took the name of Eusebians. Then follows a letter of the latter, to Pamphilus of Tyre; and next, Eusebius Pamphilus's Apologetic Letter to his people from Nice; then two Letters of the Emperor, written after the council had broken up, and which show that, however his understanding may have been enlightened, he had lost something of his good temper and charity by contact with his theologians, for they breathe, the former of them especially, a fierce and denunciatory spirit we do not discover in his epistle to Alexander and Arius, written before the council. These are among the principal original documents from which we derive our knowledge of that tyrannical council, which aimed a deadly blow at religious freedom, and prepared the way for all the miseries entailed on the world, by the creed-making and creedimposing spirit. We are glad, however, to have them in a dress which renders them accessible to the English reader.

Mr. Boyle's version is easy and classical, and is among the very best specimens of translation of old theological writings which have fallen under our eye. We cannot say as much for Mr. VOL. XXI. - 3D S. VOL. III. NO. III.

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