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above all the highest conceptions of GOD contained in hisown, even his purest and most philosophical system. The Gnostic of every school must part with his notions, that vainly try by a vain yvwσis," which puffeth up" but does not "build up," to reconcile the heathen philosophy about GOD with the Divine Revelation about Him: he must put away his phantom CHRIST, and behold a true "Man CHRIST JESUS" walking in flesh and blood, yet the Word from the beginning. The Eutychian must cease his theories, which drive men to the conclusion that JESUS is only GoD: the Arian his which persuade them that He is only Man. All the upgrowth of heresy and wrong opinion that has sprung from these roots must be cut down and consumed; and with it the deductions and inferences and conclusions that branched out from them. Only when this has been accomplished can the truth be universally established-so comprehensive is it that JESUS is the CHRIST, the Son of GOD. And conversely its comprehensiveness may also be seen: for as a denial of this article contains the substance of nearly all misbelief that has ever been since the Birth of CHRIST, so its perfect acknowledgment contains the confession of all Christian truth. But this requires much fuller space for development than can here be given. To revert then to the words of the Divine, and apply them to our present argument; if the destruction of all the misbelief that has been thus slightly indicated is involved in the full belief that " JESUS is the CHRIST, the SON of GOD," it is plain that when he says to all, "These are written that ye may believe" this one truth, he claims for his Gospel the widest possible authority; and implies also that it contains the elements of conviction, so far as conviction is attained by evidence and argument, for every misbelief in every age.

We are thus prepared to look for a kind of theology in S. John's writings which will be of a very fundamental and also of a very comprehensive character. We might even expect to find the Gospel a methodical treatise on the subject with which it deals. And though we would not overstrain the idea that it is a methodical treatise, a careful student of the Evangelical Theologian of the Church will always acknowledge that if he sat down to the perusal of this Gospel with such expectations, he did not rise up again disappointed. The comprehensive character of the Gospel depends much upon that characteristic of adaptability of which we have before spoken, a characteristic which we conceive to belong to this and other portions of Holy Scripture solely by virtue of their inspiration, and the purpose for which they were inspired. Its fundamental character must be allowed by all who are not so warped by the prejudice of mere modern system that they cannot see revelations of the Incarnation and the Sacraments such as are nowhere else given to us in the Bible. Its title to the name of a methodical treatise may perhaps be called in question because its construction is not one that immediately commends itself to the mind

as regular. It seems to us, that the plan of S. John must clearly develope itself to any attentive reader; but if it does not, it may be suggested that the most evident method is not always the best, and that while we are sure Divine method is the best, so we may expect that the plan of an inspired treatise will differ from that of an uninspired theologian on account of its perfection, and not of any imperfection in its method. Moreover, a comparison between what a modern theologian would do in setting forth a methodical treatise, and what S. John has done in setting forth his Gospel would be-on lower grounds-unfair; inasmuch that the modern writer would necessarily be methodizing materials accumulated in the past, while S. John was originating his materials as well as his method. Nor must we look upon this Gospel with reference to its structure as if the thing in hand had been to methodize and arrange a great amount of detailed history or explanatory matter. S. John suggests in every line, but explains seldom. He seems to have copied his Master in this more than any New Testament writer, laying open by a word or two a train of thought which might well expand into a volume of reasoning, and a lifeful of practical holiness.

This suggestiveness must always be expected in Divine revelation because the wisdom of the all-knowing Revealer being infinitely profound, and being incapable of any admixture or contamination with what we can call by no better name than unwisdom, even the shortest phrases that are used by Him, and those which would be least expressive in the mouth of a man, are and cannot fail to be used in the fulness of that knowledge which, knowing all, embodies what It knows to a greater or less extent in all Its revelation. There is no light which is so unobservable in its effects as that of the sun. But there is no other light which can penetrate so far, which contains in each single ray such large powers of illumination, or which can impart such abundant and varied beauty. And what we should suppose a priori is also confirmed by experience, especially of our LORD's words recorded in the Gospel. As the very touch of His garment healed the sick, or the upraising of His pitying glance upon Peter smote the Apostle into the depths of a bitter repentance, so the words of JESUS carried with them a vast volume of power for love and for judgment. "Follow Me " drew disciples away from their homes and all they loved to go after their Master in toil, sorrow and privation to their lives' end. Sententious expressions-"He that is not with Me is against Me:""He that is not against us is on our side:" "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her :". none ever attempted, or thought of attempting, as it would seem, to cavil at or call in question such apothegms; for they came with the power of the "two-edged sword" upon the heart, developing their meaning in all its intensity according to the appropriateness

of the soil upon which the wise Sower cast His Word to germinate.

Of this penetrating, this expansive and suggestive character is the writing of that Apostle, Evangelist, and Divine, who drank deeper, perhaps, than ever mortal before or since at the fountain of unerring and all-knowing Wisdom. And thus, we dare to say, does the Divine more nearly represent his Master's mind for these "last days" of cavil and incredulity than any other of the holy servants who are joined with him in the company of the Apostles. We can imagine to ourselves the whole Bible succumbing to the wrath, and violence, and unbelief, and wilfulness of men, and the writings of the beloved disciple standing erect among the ruins (as he himself remained still in life when all other Apostles had followed their Master) to sustain, as it were, the whole burden of maintaining and re-edifying the faith. And when we see painters always representing the aged Evangelist of Ephesus as the beardless Apostle he was when he heard the Ecce Agnus Dei of his namesake at Bethabara, we seem to trace an unconscious symbolism by which men are led to know that in one sense at least "this man "shall never die: that as the theologian who is ever to train the mind of the Church, and give her intellectual weapons wherewith to withstand successive errors and misbeliefs, S. John in an exceptional way, a way such as cannot be predicated of any other Apostle, was to realize his Master's words, "If I will that he tarry till I come."

REVIEWS AND NOTICES.

The Good Shepherd; or, Meditations for the Clergy upon the Example and Teaching of CHRIST. By the Rev. W. E. HEYGATE, M.A. Rivingtons.

It is no new idea to take the words of the PASTOR BONUS as the foundation of counsels to the Clergy in their discharge of the pastoral office. Mr. Heygate has gone beyond this, and treated our LORD's "example" as well as His teaching with a special reference to the functions of the clergy. The subject is indeed a most suggestive one; and those who know the devotional character of Mr. Heygate's writings will feel persuaded that he has turned it to good account. We will give one or two brief examples. Thus, on JESUS going up to the Temple at twelve years old, he meditates :

"JESUS being catechised! what a thought for teachers and learners! who shall despise, who neglect an exercise honoured by such a sanction as this? "Moreover, I observe that this was my Master's way of instructing His dis

ciples. Thus He elicited S. Peter's grand confession, and thus He instructed him in His Divine nature."

Then again, on " JESUS absolving sinners :"

"Three times, my Shepherd, my Priest, my King, didst Thou commit the power of absolution to Thy Church: to S. Peter first, in token of unity; and twice to the Twelve, in token of diffusion."

At the same time, it hardly appears to us that the author has bestowed sufficient pains in the development of his subject. Some of the Meditations are too short. And we notice one very important omission -we mean the omission of the LORD's consecration to the office of Messiah, which S. Paul tells us (Heb. v. 5) took place at the conclusion of His Baptism, and which is a circumstance that has a most direct bearing on the pastoral office. We shall hope to see this inserted in a new edition.

Evenings on the Thames; or, Serene Hours and what they require. Longman and Co.

REMEMBERING the pleasure with which in former times we read the "Mores Catholici" of this well-known author, we gladly opened the two closely printed volumes before us, in the hope of experiencing a similar enjoyment. Nor have we been altogether disappointed. We find the same classical style, the same refined and contemplative mind, the same exuberance of quaint and graceful fancies, rendered in singularly pure English, and above all, the same almost overwhelming multiplicity of quotations, proving that the "serene hours" of the author's own life must have been dedicated to a very extensive course of reading. But with all these points of resemblance there is a change-a change induced no doubt for the most part by the lapse of time, which, while it has left the superficial decorations of the mind untouched, has failed to supply any fresh aliment to the underlying material of thought from which he drew abundantly in his former works; and has also deepened, as it too often does, his prejudices, and narrowed the limits of all he holds divine and good more hoplessly to the circle of his own faith and experience. There is, however, so much that is gentle and charming in the work, that we would wish to award it all the praise we can, while in justice to ourselves and to common sense, we must protest against some really unworthy puerilities.

Each chapter is supposed to be a record of an excursion on the Thames, and under that simple machinery proposes some one element in the formation of serenity of mind.

In these contemplations, which possess something of the meandering character that may have been suggested by the idea of an excursion on a river; we, for the most part, agree, though we must profess our inability to understand how the worship of the Virgin can specially conduce to this blissful state of mind.

Our English Home: its early history and progress, (J. H. and J. Parker,) is a carefully compiled monograph on the houses and furniture in use by our ancestors. Its more natural form, however, would be that of a glossary or dictionary, and the author has not succeeded in imparting to his work much more interest than attaches to such useful books of reference. Indeed in one respect they possess an advantage over an essay of this kind, inasmuch as they are broken into multitudinous divisions, whereas the work before us denies us the ordinary relief (we do not understand why) even of chapters.

We warned the Scotch Bishops, some months since, that they could not possibly maintain the Sentence against Mr. Cheyne, with any show of fairness, after the acquittal of the Bishop of Brechin. Indeed this conclusion is so patent, that we almost regret that Mr. LEE and Mr. MAC COLL should have been in such a hurry to remind their Lordships publicly of the inconsistency with which to the world at large they must appear chargeable. We seriously doubt if the step is a politic one. Mr. Mac Coll's Letter goes much more into detail than Mr. Lee's; and if there be any who believe that the Bishops have not sacrificed strict justice to a supposed expediency, we earnestly recommend them to read what is here set forth.

We are more often able to agree with Dr. WORDSWORTH in his conclusions than in the arguments by which he maintains them. His Letter to a Friend, (Rivingtons,) against giving up the 29th Canon is a case in point. Two grounds are stated by him for maintaining the Canon, which are of themselves quite sufficient: one is, that we ought to endeavour to raise our practice up to our standard, rather than lower our standard to our practice. The other is, that in parishes where it is impossible to find sponsors, the impossibility is itself a sufficient dispensation to the clergy. It is quite unnecessary to introduce other considerations.

The Rev. R. W. NORMAN has published a Volume of Sermons, (Shrimpton, Oxford,) preached to the boys at S. Peter's College, Radley, which may be designated as practical and moderate in their tone. We do not understand why they are called " Occasional," as they seem to have been preached at the ordinary services of the College chapel.

Cottage Homes; or, Tales on the Ten Commandments, (Masters,) is an attempt to bring home the spirit of the great Decalogue to uneducated minds in a simple and practical form. Some of these little tales are fairly successful, but others, as the fifth and seventh, are rather wanting in point. The latter, indeed, would seem to convey a warning rather against the eighth than the seventh commandment.

When we have admitted that Reminiscences by a Clergyman's Wife, (Rivingtons,) is a book written with good intentions, by one who is clearly a very amiable person, we have said all that can be urged in its favour. Recollections of the poor ought to be both useful and interesting when they are genuine, as these undoubtedly are. But the crude and fragmentary style in which they are written, one subject constantly jostling another, renders them a mere statement of ordinary facts containing nothing suggestive of new ideas.