1847.] Notices of Recent Publications. 145 for each Map, and accurate local Descriptions in the Gazetteer; a colored Missionary Map of the World; a Dictionary of the Natural History of the Bible, with Engravings; Tables of Time, Weights, Measures, and Coins, Tabular Views, etc. By the REV. WILLIAM JENKS, D. D., Editor of the Comprehensive Commentary on the Bible, etc. For the Use of Families, Clergymen, Teachers of Bible Classes, of Sabbath and other Schools, Theological Students, and Biblical Readers generally. Boston: C. Hickling. 1847. 4to. pp. 157. We have given this formidable title at length, though we are not quite sure that it will not awaken in the reader expectations which the work itself will fail of completely fulfilling. Yet the volume contains a great deal of information in a condensed form, and drawn from authentic sources, on subjects interesting as well to the general reader as to the Biblical student and teachers of Sunday schools and Bible classes, information which, as the compiler observes, has been hitherto "scattered through many expensive volumes," some of which are "found only in costly libraries." From these the author, who is one of the most indefatigable of students, has extensively and faithfully gleaned. Of course the work cannot be expected to prove a very attractive one; it is a work to be consulted rather than read, but, properly used, will be found exceedingly useful. It is one the need of which has been often felt, and the merits of which, as they become known, the public will duly appreciate. The volume contains seventeen maps, which, as we are informed, were drawn expressly for it from the latest and best authorities "; they are distinct, well engraved, and present a beautiful appearance to the eye. There are also engravings of the principal plants and animals mentioned in Scripture, accompanied with an explanatory index. The Gazetteer adds to the value of the work, though it should have been so prepared as to have precluded the necessity of the "Addenda." We should have preferred, too, to have seen the long quotations frequently given in the literary portion of the volume credited to the authors. Still, we think well of the work as it is, and, notwithstanding some minute blemishes which the critical eye may detect in it, we heartily commend it to the attention of the public. 66 L. The History of Sunday Schools, and of Religious Education, from the Earliest Times. By LEWIS G. PRAY. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 1847. 12mo. pp. 262. THIS is an attempt to supply a manifest deficiency in our re4TH S. VOL. VIII. NO. I. 13 VOL. XLIII. ligious literature. The author's desire to avoid making a large book has doubtless led him to study brevity on some points, in regard to which a fuller discussion would have been more satisfactory. There is hardly a chapter that would not offer to a practised author a temptation to book-making. We think Mr. Pray deserves credit, not only for adhering closely to his subject, but also for bringing so many important facts and profitable suggestions within so brief a space. We cordially commend the book to teachers and superintendents, and to all persons interested in the Christian culture of the young. The last chapter especially, on the arrangement and instruction of a Sunday school, deserves and will well repay an attentive study. It exhibits the result of long and successful experience in Sundayschool teaching, the ripened fruit of more than twenty years' faithful labor. It is distinguished by great sobriety; Mr. Pray's feelings do not mislead his judgment. He takes a practical view of his subject. His expectations are chastened by extensive and intimate knowledge of the difficulties that beset the path of even the most earnest and diligent laborer. Hence his book may be used profitably. Its principles and methods are immediately applicable to the existing conditions of Sunday schools, and are calculated to elevate and improve it. Nor need we add, for the information of those acquainted with the author, that his work is characterized by a devout spirit, and by an earnest solicitude for the moral and religious prosperity of the rising generation. M. Printed for the Use Society, Buffalo, New 1847. pp. 48. 18mo. Progressive Lessons for Sunday Schools. of the Sunday School of the Unitarian York. Buffalo: O. G. Steele. THIS little book contains five different parts, from the very juvenile exercises of the Portsmouth "First Book for Sunday Schools," up to doctrinal questions, with Scripture references, upon God, Christ, regeneration, judgment, etc. Each part closes with an appropriate selection of hymns, and, all together, costs no more than a common catechism alone. The second part consists of the catechism prepared by Dr. Channing and Mr. Thacher; the third part contains brief questions upon Christianity; the fourth part is made up of studies in Old Testament history; and the closing portion gives sixteen doctrinal subjects to be inquired into in designated passages of the Bible. For those who are conducting small Sunday schools, at a distance from Boston, this too-concise manual might be made to take the place of numerous expensive works. An intelligent teacher would be more encouraged to a free interchange of thought with the pupil 1847.] Notices of Recent Publications. 147 by this, than by almost any other text-book, while the more advanced portions would perhaps stimulate a teacher accustomed to a servile dependence on printed questions and answers to a more hearty, living, and profitable communion on such kindling themes. The Words of Christ, from the New Testament. 1847. 16mo. pp. 150. H-d. Boston: In this little book an attempt is made to present to the reader, under eight general heads,-viz. "The Messiah," "The Teacher," "The Comforter," "The Sufferer," "The Betrayed," "The Crucified," "The Risen," and "The Redeemer,” — all our Saviour's recorded sayings, separate from the accounts that the Evangelists have given of the incidents and circumstances in the midst of which he uttered them. Whatever may be thought of the compiler's method of arrangement, which to us seems somewhat arbitrary and imperfect, he has certainly, in the execution of his plan, given proof of skill and fidelity; and though for ourselves we must confess that our Lord's teachings always impress us most deeply when we study them in their original historical connections, yet we doubt not that many will find this volume a very useful manual. B. Scripture Proofs and Scriptural Illustrations of Unitarianism. By JOHN WILSON. Published by the Unitarian Association of the State of New York. 1847. 12mo. pp. 183. WE are pleased to see this reprint of the first part of Mr. Wilson's "Scripture Proofs and Scriptural Illustrations of Unitarianism," by the Unitarian Association of the State of New York. "The present volume," it is stated in the Preface to the American edition, "is an experiment upon the interest of the public mind in the subject. It will speedily be followed by others, if it shall obtain a general or considerable circulation." The project is a good one, and we hope it will succeed. There is much need of a more extensive circulation of works of this kind among us, more especially as what is called doctrinal preaching has of late years become rather unfashionable in the Unitarian churches. " will induce many per We hope the perusal of this " tractate sons to purchase the whole volume of which, in the English edition, it forms a part, and copies of which are for sale in this country. L. The Library of American Biography. Conducted by JARED SPARKS. Second Series, Vol. XIII. Boston: Little & Brown. 1847. 16mo. pp. 434. THIS Volume contains two lives. The first is that of the celebrated Daniel Boone, the "Pioneer of Kentucky," who has been made a sort of hero of romance, and about whom many fabulous anecdotes have obtained currency. The present life, by John M. Peck, we have reason to believe authentic, and we commend it to the attention of those who may wish to know who the real Daniel Boone was, how he lived, and what he performed. The other life is that of Benjamin Lincoln, major-general in the army of the Revolution, by Francis Bowen, who is accustomed to do well whatever he does, and who in the present case has, without overlooking other sources of information, drawn his materials principally from the letters and private papers of General Lincoln himself, which, he informs us, "have been preserved in a state of great completeness, and which throw much light on some of the most interesting passages in the history of the American Revolution." Little use has heretofore been made of these documents. L. Morning and Evening Meditations, for every Day in a Month. Boston Wm. Crosby & H. P. Nichols. 1847. 16mo. pp. 294. WE noticed the original English edition of this work in our number for November, 1845, and then expressed a hope that it would be republished in this country. We now notice its appearance from an American press, merely to call the attention of our readers to a book which they will find profitable in quickening or enriching their religious sentiments. G. A System of Moral Philosophy, adapted to Children and Families, and especially to Common Schools. By REV. D. STEELE and A FRIEND. Boston: J. Munroe & Co. 1847. 12mo. pp. 80. WITHOUT Stopping to comment on the title of this publication, which is a little too high-sounding to please our taste, we very cheerfully recommend it as containing many just views of the moral laws of our being, well illustrated, and expressed in language adapted to the capacity of children, without being childish. L. 1847.] Notices of Recent Publications. pp. 30. 149 A Sermon of the Dangerous Classes in Society, preached at the The Triumphs of War. A Sermon preached on the Day of the True Patriotism. A Discourse delivered on Fast Day, in the White Slavery in the Barbary States. A Lecture before the Letter of Joseph Richardson, Pastor of the First Church in Hingham, to his Parish, on the Subject of Exchanges of Pulpit Services with the Ministers of the other Religious Societies in said Town; the Reports of a Committee, and the Record of the Votes of the First Parish thereon; and a Correspondence with four of the other Religious Societies in said Town. Hingham. 1847. 8vo. pp. 44. Pages from the Ecclesiastical History of New England, during the Century between 1740 and 1840. Boston James B. Dow. 1847. 12mo. pp. 126. An Inquiry into the Original Import and Scripture Use of the Terms Sheol, Hades, Tartaros, and Gehenna; addressed to Elder David Millard, Professor of Biblical Antiquity, etc., in the Theological School of Meadville, Pa. By ISAAC C. GOFF, Minister of the N. T. Honesdale, Pa. 1847. 8vo. Pp. 20. |