inspiration; but, when we take a correcter view, are wholly immaterial;" adding that "the correction of our views on inspiration would remove a number of stumbling-blocks which now beset our students of theology, and which they cannot get over except by willfully closing their eyes to them." Yet, the very discrepance here specially referred to by Hare, (that found in the history of the Gergesene demoniac,) and which he agrees with Olshausen in considering equally irreconcilable and "immaterial," is not admitted to be any real discrepance by Stier, an exegete not inferior to Olshausen, and rated very high by Hare himself. No doubt it is to such a philosophy as that of Coleridge's on the subject of inspiration, a philosophy borrowed, like most of Coleridge's, from Germany, that Hare refers in his Preface to the Mission of the Comforter," when he says that in Germany the champions of the truth defend it, "not by shutting their eyes to its difficulties, and hooting at its adversaries, but by calmly refuting those adversaries, and solving the difficulties, with the help of weapons derived from a higher philology and philosophy." We confess that we have met with nothing in all Hare's writings to us so distressing as these passages on the subject of inspiration.

Akin to his views on this subject are those which he seems to have held on the subject of miracles. Undoubtedly these, and the other external evidences of Christianity, were, by the Grotian school, insisted upon far too exclusively. Even Chalmers, also, has confessed, that at one time he placed too main a reliance on this branch of evidence. But Coleridge and his school place miracles too low by far, scarcely admitting them to have any importance whatever as evidence of the divinity of Christianity. They have authority, in Coleridge's view, only as authenticated and accepted by the reason; they are not allowed to be the seal of God to the validity of the commission of those by whom they were wrought. How far Hare went along with Coleridge in this view we know not, but there is enough evidence to show that at least he shared in the general bias of his school.*

Liberal as Hare was, he was a thorough Church of England man. He loved to preach upon the subject of her main festivals; and to trace the order of her services through the year as illustrating the life and offices of Christ. Indeed, as we remarked in a former article, the Anglican Church arrangements and formularies are peculiarly suited to the principles and predilections of the Broad Churchman, who dwells so fondly upon the life and human character • See "Mission of the Comforter," vol. ii, pp. 553, 564. First Series, p. 385.

"Guesses at Truth,"

of our Lord, while he ordinarily avoids the theology of guilt and ransom, of law and expiation, and, indeed, doctrinal theology in general. But, though a Church of England man, Hare was no believer in sacramental salvation in any form; which he speaks of as a doctrine of "magical powers and acts." If our readers should sometimes, in consulting him, think his phraseology on the subject of baptism ambiguous, they will find by and by, that, at any rate, what he means is nothing like Tractarianism.

We feel that we have by no means done justice to this distinguished writer. We could much more easily have managed, if he had been a man of less comprehensive cultivation, and less catholic sympathies. But it is hard to form, and harder still, within reasonable compass, to furnish a fair estimate of a man who seems to have been equally familiar with profane and with sacred studies, with ancient and modern history and philosophy; with Fathers, Schoolmen, Mystics, Reformers, Puritan and Church of England divines, German Philosophy and Theology, and British Poetry and Literature; who could criticise with equal ability a play or a metaphysical argument, an opera or a political treatise; who was an equally good judge of a fine old painting or a fine old folio; who had sympathies which linked him with all tendencies, tempers, and ages-only never with meanness or vice; who, in his theological writings, quoted, with almost equal relish, Tauler or Calvin, Andrewes or Leighton, Donne or Baxter, Matthew Henry or Neander, while, above all, he studied and honoured Luther and Coleridge; who now verges on Mysticism, then speaks out in the strong dialect of Lutheran evangelism; and again philosophizes in the spirit of Coleridge's better and more genial vein; who here winds his way in brilliant allegory, and elsewhere writes in a practical style of unequalled pith and point. Take him for all in all, he was, perhaps, the richest, freshest, and most genial among English writers of our time, on religious subjects; and, much as we regret his serious deficiencies on some vital points, yet we cannot but be thankful that, in his case, a soul of such various and exquisite endowments was so deeply swayed by genuine and unsectarian piety.

Yet it must not be forgotten in reading his writings, that Hare, with all his excellences and accomplishments, with all his wisdom and eloquence, and Christian feeling, was seriously defective in his views of those doctrines which constitute the very heart of Christianity. Strength of intellect was his; yet was his mind not so strong as his spirit was genial, nor was his insight so profound as his apprehension was quick and subtile. His perception of

analogies and harmonies was wonderfully quick, because sedulously, we might almost say, passionately, cultured; but for a philosopher, and theologian especially, the faculty of perceiving and discriminating differences is not less necessary. This faculty Hare seems to have cultivated with little diligence; hence the incautious and indiscriminating praise which he has bestowed upon such writers as Coleridge and Maurice, not to refer to certain German philosophers and theologians of a very dubious character. That Hare, by his writings, has been a benefactor to his race, is not to be doubted, at least by us; but, at the same time, it must be acknowledged that he has added weight and authority to opinions, to writers, and to a school of theology, from which great and vital danger is to feared to the best interests of Protestants. Perhaps, between the prevalence of semi-Popery, on the one hand, and an uncritical and narrow evangelism on the other, with neology, unchecked and unanswered by either party, but making its inroads upon both, we should rather be thankful than surprised that the Broad-Church school, heterodox as are many of its tendencies, has attained to its present influence. and development in the Anglican Church. We trust it will force Tractarianism to give up its blind hold of tradition, and the evangelical school to apply themselves to a profound and critical study of Scripture and theology. But, in any case, it is a thing to be noted, how rapidly this school has advanced in power and public influence during the last twelve months. Had Hare been living now, he might have found organs easily, in which to express his views. Both the great English Quarterlies may now be considered Broad Church, besides minor magazines and reviews. A strange amalgam the party seems to be, of semi-infidelity, High Churchism, social benevolence, and real religious liberality and zeal, not without some considerable leaven, here and there, of evangelical truth and feeling. Out of it will come forth good and evil, not a little. Meanwhile, let the orthodox watch it, in a spirit at once wary and liberal; equally ready to learn from what is good and to contend against what is evil. Assured we are that the noblest and best of the party has gone from the strife of time to a peaceful land of truth and love. Had he lived longer, he might have receded more and more from his friends; and have still more fully outgrown the anti-evangelical prejudices and tendencies of the philosophy to which he had addicted himself.

ART. II-THE CHINESE LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT FUH CHAU.

BY REV. M. C. WHITE, M. D.

THE Chinese language is, in theory, a language of monosyllables; but, owing to the paucity of distinct syllables, two monosyllabic words having, in the language of books, the same signification, are often joined together in the spoken language to represent a single idea. Other varieties of compound words are used to express ideas which, in other languages, are represented by a simple word. Some words which are generally regarded as monosyllables, contain two or more vowel sounds, which are pronounced so distinct and separate as to constitute real dissyllables, as, kiang, hiong, sieu, which are pronounced ki-ang, hi-ong, si-eu.

There are in the Fuh Chau dialect but ten vowel sounds, and they are generally reckoned as only nine, and the elementary consonant sounds are only ten, hence the number of syllables must also be small. Many combinations of consonants found in other languages are unknown to the Chinese, and the structure of their language is unfavourable to the formation of many polysyllabic words. To compensate for these restrictions upon the formation of words, they have adopted the use of a variety of tones to distinguish ideas expressed by what we should call the same word.

The tones used in different dialects vary both in their number and intonation.

In the court dialect, spoken at the Capital, and by public officers in all parts of the empire, there are five tones. In the Tiechu dialect there are said to be nine tones. In the several dialects spoken at Canton, Amoy, and Fuh Chau, there are reckoned eight tones; but in the Fuh Chau dialect there are really but seven tones, for the second and sixth are identical, and in their books, the words referred to these two tones are all arranged under the second.

In the Fuh Chau dialect there is a native work, called the Book of Eight Tones, and Thirty-six Mother Characters. In this book all the characters in common use are systematically arranged, according to their sounds. Three of the mother characters are mere duplicates, and are not used in the body of the work. All the syllabic sounds of this dialect are, therefore, arranged in thirty-three genera, under mother characters, having the same final sound as the

characters arranged under them. Each genus (containing the same final sound) is again divided into fifteen classes, in reference to the initial sounds with which they are severally connected.

The Chinese have not carried their analysis of vocal sounds to the nice elementary distinctions recognised in Western languages; but each simple word is divided by their analysis into two parts: a final part, or "mother sound," which gives body to the word, and a "leading part," or initial sound.

The initial sound consists of a single consonant, or of two consonants combined, but no vowel ever acts as the "leading part," or initial.*

The final part, or "mother sound," consists, essentially, of a vowel or vowels, followed, in some words, by a single consonant, but never by two consonants. Ng, which is found at the end of many Chinese words, represents, as in English, but a single elementary consonant sound, unlike either n or g when used alone, and not compounded of the sounds of n and g combined. This is a distinct elementary sound, and is used both at the beginning and end of Chinese words. This consonant sound, which we represent by ng, is one of the initials, and in some cases it is used alone, without the addition of a final, but only as a prefix to other words, giving them a negative signification; as, hò2, good; ng7-hò2, bad; k'ò3, to depart; ng-k'ò3, will not depart.

Each class of syllables is again sub-divided, according to the distinctions introduced by the tones.

The thirty-three final sounds, multiplied by the fifteen initial sounds, give four hundred and ninety-five primary syllables. These again, multiplied by the seven tones in actual use, give three thousand four hundred and sixty-five different monosyllabic words, which may be distinguished by the ear; to which may be added the semi-vocal initial, ng, used in a single tone without a final, as mentioned above.

Though there are in theory this number of simple words, many of them are distinguished from others by very slight shades of difference, and there are (so far as known to the writer) only sixteen hundred and forty-four in actual use.

To supply the defect which this paucity of words occasions in the spoken language, two or more words are frequently combined into one, to express a single idea. This practice is so common, that the

One of the (so called) initials has merely the force of the Greek spiritus lenis, and denotes the absence of any initial consonant, in which case the word begins with the vowel of the final or "mother sound.”