His Sermons-their systematic strength and freedom. 573

on the Pisgah of some sacred and enraptured survey, it was more delightful to behold him in self-unconscious lowliness-still great, but forgetful of his greatness-by the hearth of some quiet neighbour, or in the bosom of his own family, or among friends who did not make an open show of him, out of the good treasure of his heart bringing forth nothing but good things. With all the puissant combativeness and intellectual prowess essential to such a lofty reason, it was lovely to see the gentle play of the lionhearted man. With all his optimism-his longings after a higher scale of piety, and a nobler style of Christianity, it was beautiful to see how contented he was with every friend as he is, and with what magnetic alertness all that was Christian in himself darted forth to all that was Christian in a brother. And above all, with his wholesale beneficence, the abundance of his labours, the extent of his regards, and the vastness of his projects, it was instructive to see his affections so tender, his friendships so firm, and his kind offices so thoughtful and untiring.

Perhaps there never was a theologian who approached a given text with less appearance of system or pre-conception. No passage wore to him a suspicious or precarious look, and instead of handling it uneasily, as if it were some deadly thing, he took it up securely and frankly, and dealt with it in all the confidence of a good understanding. Some Scripture interpreters have no system. To them all texts are isolated, and none interprets another. And the system of others is too scanty. It is not co-extensive with the whole counsel of God. It interprets some passages, but leaves others unexplained. In the highest sense, Dr. Chalmers was systematic. He justly assumed that a revelation from God must be pervaded by some continuous truth; and that a clue to its general meaning must be sought in some ultimate fact, some self-consistent and all-reconciling principle. To him the Gospel was a REVELATION of RIGHTEOUSNESS; and MAN'S NEED and GOD'S GIFT were the simple elements into which his theology resolved itself. In the various forms of man's vacuity and God's fulness, man's blindness and the Spirit's enlightening, the carnal enmity and the supplanting power of a new affection, the hollowness of a morality without godliness, and the purifying influence of the Christian faith, these primary truths were con stantly re-appearing; and just because his first principles were so few, they suited every case, and because his system was so simple, he felt it perfectly secure. Instead of forcing locks, he had found the master-key, and went freely out and in. And in this we believe that he was right. From want of spirituality, from want of study or capacity, we may fail to catch it; but there is a Scriptural unity. So far as the Bible is a record, its main fact is one; so far as it is a revelation, its chief doctrine is one; so

far as it is the mind of God exhibited to fallen man, its prevailing tone and feeling are one. And having in comprehension of mind ascertained, and in simplicity of faith accepted this unitythe revealed truth and the Scriptural temperament, Dr. Chalmers walked at liberty. It was his systematic strength which gave him textual freedom; and if for one forenoon he would dilate on a single duty till it seemed to expand into the whole of man, or on one doctrine till it bulked into a Bible, it was only a portion of the grand scheme passing under the evangelic microscope. It was the lamp of the one cardinal truth lighting up a particular topic. And those who, on the other hand, objected to his preaching as not sufficiently evangelical, were only less evangelical than he. With many the Gospel is a tenet; with Dr. Chalmers the Gospel was a pervasion. The sermons of Dr. Chalmers were not stuck over with quoted texts, but every paragraph had its Scriptural seasoning. His whole being held the Gospel in solution, and beyond most text-reciters, it was his anxiety to saturate with its purest truth ethical philosophy and political economy, daily life and personal conduct, as well as retired meditation and Sabbath-day religion.

We would only, in conclusion, commemorate the Lord's great goodness to his servant in allowing him such a completed work and finished course. Many a great man has had a good thing in his heart; a temple, or some august undertaking; but it was still in his heart when he died. And many more have just put to their hand, when death struck them down, and a stately fragment is all their monument. But there is a sublime and affecting conclusiveness in the work of Dr. Chalmers. What more could the Church or the world have asked from him? It will take the Church a generation to learn all that he has taught it, and the world a century to reach that point from which he was translated. And yet he has left all his meaning clear, and all his plans complete. And all that completed work is of the best kind; all gold and silver and precious stones. To activity and enterprize he has read a new lesson. To disinterested but farseen goodness he has supplied a new motive. To philanthropy he has given new impulse, and to the pulpit new inspiration. And whilst he has added another to the short catalogue of this world's great men, he has gone up another and a majestic on-looker to the Cloud of Witnesses.

INDEX

TO THE

SEVENTH VOLUME OF THE NORTH BRITISH REVIEW.

576

INDEX.

Chusan, commercial importance of, 398, 399.
Claudet, M. A.,-his recent improvements
on the Daguerreotype, 487.

Clerk, Mr. G. R.,-Political Agent on the
Sutledge, 437.

Confucius, 405, See China.

hybrid animals, 50-proofs of the early
subjugation of the dog, 51-its treatment
by Jews, Mohammedans, and Hindoos,
51, 52 disinterestedness of its attachi-
ment to men, 52, 53-instances of its
fidelity, 53, 54,

Copley Medal, unjust adjudications of, 231, Doubleday, Mr., his merits as a historian not

232.

Cotton, cultivation of 402, 403.

Corn, exports of, 284.

Cousin, Victor, his historical Cycles, 11.

Ꭰ

-

Daguerre and Daguerreotype. See Photo-
graphy.
Davy, Sir Humphry, his approximation
to the discovery of Photography, 467.
De Wette's introduction, 355-the Modern
Theology of Germany, 355-necessity for
a sound Christian literature, 356-Mr.
Parker's translations, 357, 358-De Wet-
te, 358-his fundamental maxim, 359—
the Bible classed with Homer, &c. 360-
its inspiration proved from internal evi-
dence, 360, 361-economy of Divine in-
terpositions, 361-Divine interpositions
distinguished from fictitious miracles, 362
-modification of the miraculous economy,
363-essential points of difference be-
tween the Mosaic and Mythic records,
363, 364 the Mythic and the Hebrew
idea of God, 365-the Hebrew theocracy,
366-defect of the Bible literature of
Germany, 367.

Dickens, Charles, review of his works, 114-
117.

Distilleries, stoppage of, and amount of grain
consumed in, 261-263-stoppage of, 283.
Dogs, natural history and origin of, 29-
man's power over the brute creation, 29,
30-ferocity of wolves, 30-capability of
domestication of wild animals, 31-man's
share of the work of domestication, 32.
Pointer dog, its natural instinct, 32-
extract from Mr. Swainson, 32-Shep-
herds' Dogs asserted by Buffon to be the
nearest to the original species, 33-sup-
posed origin of dogs from wolves, 34, 35
-resemblance between the dogs and
wolves of North America, 36-colour of
wolves, 37-dogs of South America, 38,
39-barking unnatural to dogs, 38, 39-
dogs of the Falkland Islands, 39, 40-
Eastern dogs, their supposed origin, 40-
habits of, 41-Hydrophobia in the East,
41-Jackals in the East, 42-red dogs of
Asia, 43-Buansa dogs of Nepaul, 43, 44
wild dog of Beloochistan, 44-Indian
Dholes, 44, 45-Pariah dogs of India, 45,
46-Pariah dogs of Egypt, 46-Dinghs of
New Holland, 47, 48-various origin of
dogs, and influence of accidental circum-
stances in producing different varieties,
49-dogs an exception to the physiologi-
cal dictum of John Hunter concerning

yet established, 337-
him for the Revolution of 1688, 333-his
-cause assigned by
view of the state of the country during the
Stuart period, as compared with it at the
present time, 338-340-Letter from Jef-
ferson in support of his views, 342-he
adopts some of Ricardo's opinions, 346—
epithets of abuse used by him, 348-mea-
sure proposed by him for bettering the
Draper, J. W., M.D.,-discovers the an-
condition of the country, 353, 354.
tagonizing action of the two halves of the
spectrum, 494.

F

-

Final Causes,-the doctrine of, commonly
disparaged, 1-discarded by Epicurus and
Lucretius, 1, 2-objected to by Bacon and
Descartes, 2-nature of Bacon's objec
tions to, 3-legitimate use of, vindicated by
Bacon and Robert Boyle, 4-its subser-
vience to physical science and natural theo-
logy, 4, 5, 24-Whewell's opinions of, 5——
nature of Descartes' objections to, 5, 6—
vindicated by Hon. Robert Boyle, 6-ana-
lysis of Boyle's disquisitions, 6, 7, 8-dis-
paraged by Laplace, Cabanis, and Geoffrey
St. Hilaire, 9, 10-influence of science ou
our national religion, 10, 11-
Cousin's historical cycles, 11-our present
Victor
position in his chart, 12-works of Auguste
Comte and John Mill on the sensational
system, 12-ideal system revived through
Kant's speculations and Dr. Chalmers'
works, 12-tendency to scepticism in
England, 13-physical science discouraged
at Oxford, 13, 14-Bishop Wiseman's re-
marks on the study of geology, 14—Mr.
Irons, 15-his opinions on the argument
from design and natural theology, 18, 19
-general outline of his scheme, 20-his
definition of a cause, 20-Westminster
Divines on second causes, 20, 21—Mr.
Irons' attempt to overthrow Paley's argu-
ment from design, 21-inconsistencies of
Irons' argument, 22-definition of final
causes, 23-difference between ancient
and modern speculations on, 23-the ar-
gument for the being of a God from, stated
by the ancients, 23, 24-doctrine of causa-
tion, 24, 25—Mr. Irons' doctrine of final
causes, 25-religion the final cause of the

INDEX.

human mind, 26-examination of Mr.
Irons' theory, 26-natural evidence of
theology maintained by Professor Whe-
well, 27, 28.

Financial History of England, effects of the
Revolution of 1688, 337, 338-State of
England during the reigns of Charles II.
and James II., 338, 339-effects of the
Act of 1719, 341-Napoleon's project of
invading England, 343, 344-expenditure
incurred to meet the invasion, 345-Ri-
cardo's tract on the Funding System, 346
-enclosures of lands in England and
Wales, 347-position of England and of
the Continental Powers in the prospect of
war, 349, 350-different condition of the
English and French labourer, 352-pro-
posal for sweeping away the national debt
and taxes, 353, 354.

Fizeau, M.,-his discovery of the Electro-

type process in Photography, 491.
Forbes, Duncan. His expostulations with
Lord Lovat, 89, 90-his birth and parent-
age, 92, 93-his clemency towards his
vanquished countrymen, 93, 94-he enters
Parliament, 95-becomes Lord-Advocate,
96, 97-measures carried by him through
Parliament, 97-his zeal in serving his
country, 98 change in his religious opin-
ions, 99-is appointed President of the
Court of Session, 100-his talents as a
lawyer, 100, 101-his exertions in sup-
pressing the Rebellion of '45, 102, 103
ingratitude of Government for his valu-
able services, 104, 105-his death and
character, 106-108.

Foster, Judge, his opinion on Middle-men,
525.

France, condition of, 351-paralell between
and England, 352, 353.

Freeman, J. J., and D. Johns. See Narra-
tive.

G

Galileo, his mode of publishing his discove-
ries, 239.

Galle, M., discovers the New Planet, 227.
German Women, 372. See Hahn Hahn.
Germany, theology of, 355-Biblical litera-
ture, 367.

Grimshaw, Rev. William, his popularity and
ardour in his work, 326.

H

Hahn Hahn, Ida, Countess of. Her novels,
368 literary ladies a new order of
beings, 368-proper province of women,
369, 370-of men, 370-the domestic ro-
mance the peculiar province of liter-
ary ladies, 370, 371-character of her
writings, 371, 372 German women,
their taste for psychology, 372, 373
--Sybille, 373-380-female characters of
Countess Hahn Hahn contrasted with
those of Shakspere and Goethe, 380,
381-tendency to scepticism and an ideal

VOL. VII. NO. XIV.

|

577

life among German women, 381, 382-
Gräfin Faustine, 382, 383- Countess
Hahn Hahn's travels, 383-her descrip-
tion of young girls, 383, 384-good-breed-
ing, 384, 385-the Countess's vanity, 385
-Anglomania, 386, 387-German na-
tional character, 387.
Herat, seige of, 430.

Hervey, Rev. James, acccount of his con-
version, 317-his death, 318-style of his
writings, 318, 319.
Hong-Kong, 399.

Howard, John, his three visits to Scotland,
67-results of his exertions in behalf of
Scottish jails, 68.

Hume, David Life and Correspondence
of-Analysis of his character, 541-Scot-
land during the seventeenth century, 543
-birth and education of Hume, 545-
early compositions, 547-his own dissec-
tion of his mind and temper, 549-trea-
tise of human nature, 550-his infidelity,
553-moral and political essays, 554.
his epistolary style, 555-candidate for
the Chair of Ethics in the University of
Edinburgh, 556 — personal appearance,
557-goes to Paris with Lord Hertford,
558 his merits as a man of letters, 559
-merits of his History of England, 559.
Hunt, Robert, his improvements on the
Talbotype, 467.

Hussey, Mr., his endeavours to account for
the perturbations of Uranus, 209, 210,
Huygens, his discovering the triple form of
Saturn, 240, 241.

I

India, dogs of, 44-46. See Dogs.
Indian Politicals, 420-Lord Metcalfe, 423
-political agents, 425-Wellington's opi-
nion of them, 427-Russian intrigue in
India, 429-Siege of Herat, 430 Lieu-
tenant Pottinger in the Durbar of Kam-
ran, 433 Sir William Macnaghten, 435

-Major Macgregor, 436- Mr. G. R.
Clerk, 437,-province of Sinde, 438.
Ireland, proposed measures for its improve-
ment, 278-Poor Law in, 279-emigra-
tion from, 282. See Political Economy.

-

Agrarian Outrages in, 505 → recent
legislation-the Poor Law, 507-Loans-
act, 509 sale of encumbered estates act,
509 forced sales, 511-reclamation of
waste lands, 512-emigration, 513-civil-
izing effects of the works carried on by
Government in the barony of Dukallow,
515, 516-banditti in 1821, 517-origin
of the title Captain Rock, 519-effects
upon the public mind, of a prophecy pro-
mising the triumphant establishment of
the Roman Catholic Church in 1825, 519
-and Prince Hohenlohe's miracles, 519
-mysterious oaths, 520-rhymes of the
Sons of Union, 521-testimonies of Sir
M. Barrington, and Sir W. Petty as to

20