a third, in which rocks of pudding-stone appeared; and then came the last period, or revolution, in which the volcanoes spread flaming torrents of melted lavas over thefe fuperpofed and heterogeneous rocks. The remaining volumes of this curious work fhall be reviewed when they come to hand. AR T. XI. Naturgefchichte des Niederdeutfchlands, &c. i. e. A Natural History of Lower Germany, and other Countries, containing a great Number of New Discoveries and Obfervations of Natural Productions, little known, rare, and worthy of Attention. By Baron HUPSCH. Number I. In large 4to. Enriched with Seven Plates, in which there are Thirty-four Figures in the natural Colours of the Objects. Price Three German Florins. Nuremberg. 1781. BARON ARON HUPSCH is an ingenious and laborious naturalift, as well as an eminent friend to humanity by his medicinal discoveries. The work, of which we have here the first number, is not confined to the natural productions of Germany. In its progrefs, it is defigned to comprehend, ift, Difcoveries of many natural bodies hitherto unknown: 2d, New observations on rare productions: 3d, Coloured drawings of petrifications, foffils, minerals, infects, &c. found in the provinces of Cologn, Eiffel, Juliers, Berg, Triers, Mentz, Lorrain, Naffau, La Mark, Cleves, Guelder, Weftphalia, Liege, Limburg, Luxemburg, Brabant, Flanders, Hainault, Namur, Holland, and the adjacent countries: 4th, Drawings, accompanied with a fhort description of fome exotic animals, plants, and petrifications (fome unknown, others little known), which have been communicated to the author by his friends and correfpondents: 5th, Every thing that can contribute to extend the fphere, or illuftrate the objects of natural hiftory, will have a place in this work. The author has formed a valuable collection of natural productions, which has been much admired by many curious travellers, who have seen it in their paffage through Cologn; and he intimates, in his preface, his defire of correfponding with lovers of natural hiftory, and those who have formed, or are inclined to form, collections in this line of science. Verhandelingen raakende den Natuurlyken en Geopenbaarden Goafdienft, &e. i. e. Differtations on Natural and Revealed Religion. Published by TEYLER'S Theological Society. Volume I. Large 4to. Haarlem. 1781. WE E have here the firft fruits of this moft excellent inftitution, of which some account has already been given in our Review,-an institution admirably calculated to encourage that that liberal spirit of inveftigation, which difpels prejudice, seeks truth with modefty and freedom, and thus muft tend to place religion in the moft amiable and rational point of view, as the honour, the happiness, and the true perfection of human nature. We have two volumes of this valuable collection now before us; and, by comparing their respective contents, we obferve, with pleasure, that it may be faid of this inftitution, Crefcit eundo; that is, It brightens as it goes on. According to the plan of the directors, all the pieces are to be published only in the Dutch language, except the differtation that has obtained the first prize. This is always to be printed in the language in which it was written; and is to be accompanied with a Dutch translation, executed by the members of this fociety, who are eminently diftinguished by their capacity, judgment, and erudition. The other pieces are published only in Dutch, though many of them are compofed in other languages; and this method of proceeding is conformable to the intention of the founder, who defigned this inftitutution for the inftruction of his countrymen. This first volume contains five Differtations, which were felected, as the beft, from many that were written on the queftion proposed. The question is, What is the distinguishing characteristic of the gospel,—and what is its connection with the MOSAICAL DISPENSATION, and with natural religion ? The firft Differtation we meet with here is the compofition of Mr. DANIEL HOVENS, minifter of the Baptifts congregation at Leyden, who obtained the gold medal, or the first prize. The fecond and third prizes were adjudged to two ecclefiaftics of the fame profeffion, Meffrs. Heffelinck and Loofies, who, accordingly, were honoured, each, with a filver medal. The two laft Dif courfes had only the honours of publication, and were composed by M. De Vries, a Baptist minifter at Utrecht, and M. Vafter, a layman at the Hague. "In felecting thefe Differtations (fay the wife and judicious Directors), we have thought it expedient to regard, not so much the particular fentiments of their respective authors concerning the subject proposed, as their method of treating it. Amidt fimilar or different opinions, we only propofe to examine, which of the writers, in our judgment, beft expreffes and fupports his fentiments. By proceeding otherwife, we should obtrude ourfelves, in fome refpect, as fupreme judges of truth and errors which would not only be foreign to our defign, but directly contrary to our own principles. We therefore publifh the following Differtations, as being, in our opinion, the best in their kind of those which have been fent to us. But we don't mean either to prefer one fyftem before another, or to render ourselves refponsible for any of the religious opinions they contain: on the contrary, we leave every writer anfwerable for his own particular ticular fentiments." This method of proceeding is certainly liberal and commendable in the highest degree; and it has this advantage (as the fame directors wifely obferve), that the reader is thereby led to think for himself, to compare the different opinions of the writers, with the reasonings that are employed to fupport them, and to draw the conclufion which he shall judge molt comformable to truth.-This is the fpirit of true religion and true philofophy. The Victor, M. HOVENS, enters upon his fubject, by confidering the human race as in a state of education for a future fcene; and not only fo, but the different periods of the world, as analogous to the ftates of infancy, childhood, and youth, while the Deity appears under the character of a wife parent, accommodating the modes of inftruction, and the degrees of knowledge to the various capacities, difpofitions, and exigencies of these different periods. Should it be objected to this, that those who lived in the infant period, were removed to another fcene before the education was finished; we think he might anfwer, without hesitation, that this is no more an objection against the grand scheme of revelation, than it would be an objection to the wisdom of Providence in the natural world, that the individual, whofe ftructure feems fufceptible of manhood, is taken from hence in the state of infancy. While the collective body holds on its progreffive courfe here below, individuals are tranfplanted to another region, where the wife purposes of God's moral government fhall be finished and accomplished with refpect to them all, in a manner as yet unknown to us. If you afk, where? we refer you for an answer to thofe remarkable words of the Son of God,-In my Father's house there are many mansions. But we return to our author. He has juft views of his fubject, and is abundantly provided with facred erudition; his elucidations indeed are not always diftributed with proportion; they caft their light indifcriminately on what is clear and obfcure. He first exhibits an accurate view of what is called Natural Religion, which, though (according to him) derived chiefly from a Divine Revelation, is, when known or propofed, confiftent with all our natural conceptions, conformable to thofe first principles from which the mind proceeds to extend its ideas, confirmed by all we know of our own existence, and of the objects around us, and thus juftly denominated Natural Religion, to diftinguish its truths and duties from thofe which, from their very nature, can have no other origin than a positive and express revelation. He then confiders the Patriarchial religion as connected with Natural religion, and defigned, by new inftructions and promises, to revive the hopes and virtue of infant humanity, labouring under fear and remorfe, from the fall of man, and the diftreffes diftreffes that arofe from phyfical evil, connected with the violation of moral order. Under this difpenfation the dawn of religious light encreafed gradually; and there is no doubt, but that Abraham, and his immediate defcendants, enjoyed the advantages of fuller inftructions and clearer hopes, than were imparted to thofe who lived before the flood. So far down revelation was calculated for mankind in general; and we find, accordingly, feveral traces of it in the hiftories and religions of the moft ancient nations. Next arifes to view the Jewish or Mo faic difpenfation, confirming the truths and obligations of natu ral religion, enforcing the laws of a more particular civil Theo cratical government, and the laborious obfervance of many external rites, by fevere admonitions and punishments, and alfo by temporal rewards; blending, however, with this feverity, palpable marks of the Divine Lawgiver's paternal condefcention and indulgence, and preparing the minds of men for a more excellent difpenfation, by repeated and prophetical declarations of its Ineftimable bleffings. Thefe had been promifed in earlier times, but they were more clearly foretold, in proportion as their accomplishment approached. This remarkable difpenfation, notwithstanding the prevalence of vice, idolatry, and fuperftition, in the world, raifed a general expectation, that an extraordinary perfon, among the Jews, fhould arife to reform mankind. This extraordinary person arose in effect, and introduced a difpenfation founded, indeed, upon natural religion, and connected with the Jewish economy, but free from the imperfections and inconveniences to which they were both subject, from their having been adapted to the earlier periods of human nature. The books of the New Teftament, which contain this laft difpenfation, are confidered, by our author, not as defigned to convey a regular fystem of faith and morals (if by regular he means metho dical or geometrical, he is in the right; but if he means by it, full and complete, he is palpably in the wrong), not as fent down from Heaven, like the books of Mofes, and verbally dictated to their writers *. He only confiders them as a faithful relation of facts, or as affectionate and inftructive epiftles, written by men endowed with an abundant portion of that divine light and direction, which, in the primitive church, were vouchfafed to all He excepts the laft of the facred books (the Revelations of St. John) in this affirmation. This book, which confits of allegorical predictions, he fuppofes to have been written by the exprefs fuggeftion of the exalted Meffiah. However (fays he), thefe predictions, as far as I am able, or dare, to judge of them, are fulfiled but in part; and the most of them must acquire perfect perfpicuity, with regard to their meaning and defign, from their future accomplishment, APP. REV. Vol. LXVII, Mm true true believers, and particularly to the apoftles,-tranfmitted from age to age by the efpecial care of Providence, and handed down to us with as many marks of authenticity as can poffibly be expected in works of fuch antiquity. From thefe obfervations, which fill with good matter, very diffufively extended, a great number of pages, our author takes fome digreffive steps to confute the adverfaries of the gospel, and to afcertain and illuftrate the fpiritual nature of Chrift's kingdom. He at length draws near to his direct answer to the queltion propofed, in the following manner: Natural religion is connected with Christianity (which always prefuppofes, improves, and confirms it), as the firft elements of the inftruction of a wife parent are connected with that more perfect information, which he communicates when his child approaches towards manhood, and is capable of immediate preparation for the ftation he is defigned for. The interval between these two periods is filled up, first, with the patriarchal difpenfation, which confifts of positive commands and predictions of future events; and, fecondly, with thofe revelations with which God, for the fake of all mankind, favoured Ifrael, in a gradual completion of the great connected fcheme of Redemption. The religion of Mofes exhibits the Deity operating in a manner fimilar to the conduct of a wife parent, who fubmits his children, grown fickle and obftinate, when they have paffed the term of infancy, to the discipline of a fchoolmaster, who alternately makes ufe of prudent indulgence and sharp restraint, to prevent corruption of manners, and the imitation of vicious examples. Finally, the Chriftian religion, connected with the Mofaic, of whofe types and fhadows it is the full accomplishment, completes what was yet imperfect in former ditpenfations. It directly leads us to the great end of our existence, by a revelation, for which it was wife and expedient to prepare mankind. Our author's pofitive answer to the queftion comes then at length, and is conceived in the following terms: "The diftinguifhing characteristic of the Chriftian religion is, that it is the DIRECT and IMMEDIATE preparation for HEAVEN. It effectuates this preparation, by giving peace of confcience through the remiffion of fin, which eftranged us from God, and rendered us incapable of the happiness which refults from his communion and prefence, by exhibiting the death of Chrift as the means of this remiflion, by enforcing the practice of holiness and virtue, which are the effential qualities of a heavenly life, and by a tranfporting difcovery of the happy circumstances of a future and immortal life, and as full an affurance of its attainment, as, in the nature of things, can be imparted to finite and earthly * Galat. iii. 24, 25. beings. |