subvert-not by causing a rupture in the substance of the rings-but by precipitating them, unbroken, on the surface of the planet. For the attraction of such a ring or rings on a point or sphere excentrically situate within them, is not the same in all directions, but tends to draw the point or sphere towards the nearest part of the ring, or away from the center. Hence, supposing the body to become, from any cause, ever so little excentric to the ring, the tendency of their mutual gravity is, not to correct but to increase this excentricity, and to bring the nearest parts of them together. (See Chap. XI.) Now, external powers, capable of producing such excentricity, exist in the attractions of the satellites, as will be shown in Chap. XI.; and in order that the system may be stable, and possess within itself a power of resisting the first inroads of such a tendency, while yet nascent and feeble, and opposing them by an opposite or maintaining power, it has been shown that it is sufficient to admit the rings to be loaded in some part of their circumference, either by some minute inequality of thickness, or by some portions being denser than others. Such a load would give to the whole ring to which it was attached somewhat of the character of a heavy and sluggish satellite, maintaining itself in an orbit with a certain energy sufficient to overcome minute causes of disturbance, and establish an average bearing on its center. But even without supposing the existence of any such load,—of which, after all, we have no proof,-and granting, therefore, in its full extent, the general instability of the equilibrium, we think we perceive, in the periodicity of all the causes of disturbance, a suíficient guarantee of its preservation. However homely be the illustration, we can conceive nothing more apt in every way to give a general conception of this maintenance of equilibrium under a constant tendency to subversion, than the mode in which a practised hand will sustain a long pole in a perpendicular position resting on the finger by a continual and almost imperceptible variation of the point of support. Be that, however, as it may, the observed oscillation of the centers of the rings about that of the planet is in itself the evidence of a perpetual contest between the conservative and destructive powers-both extremely feeble, but so antagonizing one another as to prevent the latter from ever acquiring an uncontrollable ascendancy, and rushing to a catastrophe.

"This is also the place to observe, that, as the smallest difference of velocity between the body and rings must infallibly precipitate the latter on the former, never more to separate, (for they would, once in contact, have attained a position of stable equilibrium, and be held together ever after by an immense force ;) it follows, either that their motions in their common orbit round the sun must have been adjusted to each other by an external power, with the minutest precision, or that the rings must have been formed about the planet while subject to their common orbitual motion, and under the full and free influence of all the acting forces.

its bulk 80 times that of the earth. It is attended by satellites-two at least, probably five or sixwhose orbits (as will be seen in the next chapter) offer remarkable peculiarities.

"If the immense distance of Uranus precludes all hope of coming at much knowledge of its physical state, the minuteness of the four ultrazodiacal planets is no less a bar to any inquiry into theirs. One of them, Pallas, is said to have somewhat of a nebulous or hazy appearance, indicative of an extensive and vaporous atmosphere, little repressed and condensed by the inadequate gravity of so small a mass. No doubt, the most remarkable of their peculiarities must lie in this condition of their state. A man placed on one of them would spring with ease 60 feet high, and sustain no greater shock in his descent than he does on the earth from leaping a yard. On such planets, giants might exist; and those enormous animals, which on earth require the buoyant power of water to counteract their weight, might there be denizens of the land. But of such speculation there is no end.

"We shall close this chapter with an illustration calculated to convey to the minds of our readers a general impression of the relative magnitudes and distances of the parts of our system. Choose any well-levelled field or bowling green. On it place a globe, two feet in diameter; this will represent the Sun; Mercury will be represented by a grain of mustard seed, on the circumference of a circle 164 feet in diameter for its orbit; Venus a pea, on a circle 284 feet in diameter; the Earth also a pea, on a circle of 430 feet; Mars a rather large pin's head, on a circle of 654 feet; Juno, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas, grains of sand, in orbits of from 1000 to 12,000 feet; Jupiter a moderate-sized orange, in a circle nearly half a mile across; Saturn a small orange, on a circle of four-fifths of a mile; and Uranus a full-sized cherry, or small plum, upon the circumference of a circle more than a mile and a half in diameter. As to getting correct notions on this subject by drawing circles on paper, or, still worse, from those very childish toys called orreries, it is out of the question. To imitate the motions of the planets, in the above-mentioned orbits, Mercury must describe its own diameter in 41 seconds; Venus, in 4 minutes 14 seconds; the earth, in 7 minutes; Mars, in 4 minutes, 48 seconds; Jupiter, in 2 hours 56 minutes; Saturn, in 3 hours 13 minutes; and Uranus, in 2 hours 16 minutes."-pp. 284 to 287.

REVIEW.-Essays on the Church, with some reference to Mr. James's Work, entitled "Dissent, and the Church of England." 12mo. pp. 179. Seeley and Sons. London. 1833.

which lie above their enlightened sides, as vast arches spanning the sky from horizon to horizon, and holding an invariable situation among the stars. On the other hand, in the regions beneath the dark side, a solar eclipse of fifteen years in duration, under their shadow, must afford (to our ideas) an inhospitable asylum to animated beings, ill compensated by the faint light of the satellites. But we shall do wrong to judge of the fitness or unfitness of their condition from what we see around us, when, perhaps, the very combinations which convey to our minds only images of horror, may be in reality theatres of the most striking and glorious displays of beneficent contrivance. "Of Uranus we see nothing but a small round uniformly illuminated disc, without rings, belts, or discernible spots. Its apparent diameter

of "modes of faith" and the ceremonies of worship.

But here is a dispute of an entirely different character. Not content with merely dissenting from the church, and following the dictates of his own conscience in the service of God, Mr. James some time ago published a small work entitled " Dissent, and the Church of England," in which he attempted to undermine the very foundations of the Establishment, and to prove that a national church is unchristian and

to the smallness of our orbit in comparison of its own. Its real diameter is about 35,000 miles, and

From the specious nature of its arguments,

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the power and elegance of its language, and its extended circulation, the work seemed likely to produce an effect on the public mind far from favourable to the existence of a national establishment. counteract this, the author of the essays before us came forward, and recorded his thoughts in a series of papers published in "the Christian Guardian,' which having met with general approbation, have been sent forth in their present form for more extensive perusal.

We are much pleased with the spirit in which this work is written. The author betrays no acrimony or bitter feelingnothing but what is in accordance with the dictates of Christianity; and though all his arguments may not be equally convincing to all men, his evenness of temper, liberality of sentiment, and judicious remarks will not fail to command the respect of his readers. To us he appears to have the advantage of Mr. James on most points, both in strength of argument and closeness of application.

Having refuted several of Mr. James's propositions, the author says :—

"But Mr. James will permit the sovereign to 'patronize religion,' as he calls it, by a good example, and also by his " private resources.' He may, nay he ought, to serve God in his family; and further, he is at full liberty to subscribe, if he pleases, to the Missionary and Home Missionary Societies.

"This, however, is nothing to the point. The question before us concerns his duty as a king. St. John says that the kings of the earth shall bring their honour and glory into the new Jerusalem.

"Now, the honour and glory' of a king means something more than his privy purse. It is not his private example nor his private resources,' that the Apostle thus describes. It is his regal power and dignity and influence. This, St. John says, they shall devote to the service of the church. But Mr. James says that they may not do so. In his view they are actually forbidden thus to act. And this brings us to our second head; namely, to shew,

"That there is no one passage of Scripture which forbids the establishment of Christianity by rulers and legislators.

"Mr. James says that there is. He tells us that Christ expressed in one short but comprehensive sentence, all that is necessary on this important subject;-' MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.'

"What can we think of a cause, which rests itself almost entirely upon a half sentence,-upon the perpetual repetition of seven words, being a part only of a text, dragged from their context, and then presented to us in capital letters, as quite decisive of the question. If the half of a verse, without any reference to its bearing, and without any consideration of the general tenor of holy writ, is to be taken to be decisive of an extensive question, then there is nothing so absurd, nothing so wild, as not to be capable of support from some such fragment of the words of Scripture. The Roman pontiff who laid by his mitre and crozier, assumed the helmet, and marched in full armour at the head of his troops, might have quoted the verse, I am not come to send peace upon the earth, but a sword;' and his warrant would have been even clearer and less subject to doubt than the authority thus cited by Mr. James.

"In fact, every heresy or perversion of the faith 2D. SERIES, No. 31.-VOL. III.

with which the church has ever been infested, has been grounded upon some such isolated fragment of Scripture. The Papist may adopt Mr. James's own words, and say, of his main and chief abomination, the mass, that Christ expressed, in oneshort but comprehensive sentence, all that is necessary on this important subject,' when he told his disciples distinctly, This is my body.'

"The passage of St. John's Gospel which is thus perpetually misused by dissenters, is as follows:Pilate having asked Jesus, Art thou the king of the Jews?' Jesus answers him, 'My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered unto the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.-(John xviii. 36.)

"Can any thing be more clear than the meaning of these words, when dispassionately viewed, in connexion with their context. Jesus was brought before Pilate, charged with rebelling and conspiring against Cæsar, and setting himself up as a king. In answer to this charge, he does not attempt to deny his regal character, but he explains to the Roman governor that the kingdom which is his inheritance is not to be founded, like most earthly dynasties, upon war, conspiracy, or successful rebellion; and that the sword had no power to aid in its erection. 'My kingdom is not from hence;' -it will be built on other foundations, and raised by entirely different means.

"But what is there in all this to decide, or in any way to affect the question, whether rulers and legislators may or may not take measures to provide religious instruction for the people entrusted to their care. To such measures as were adopted by the Spaniards in South America, in effecting the nominal conversion of the natives, in tens of thousands, by the sword,-this passage might perhaps apply. But any man in the possession of his senses, and unbiassed by party feeling, can decide without difficulty, whether the words,-My kingdom is not of this world, else would my servants fight, but now is my kingdom not from hence,can possibly mean that it is unlawful for Christian kings and governors to build churches or provide pastors for their people.

"But Mr. James has one other text, which, being in great want of scriptural authority, he would fain press into the service. It is this: 'Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and to God the things which are God's.' Still less connexion, however, has this passage with the subject, than even the preceding. The expression was drawn from our Lord by the inquiry whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Cæsar. It was not, therefore, originally intended to apply to the present question. As to its general bearing, it may be conceded at once, that it implies that what is due unto God is not to be paid unto Cæsar, and that it is therefore clear against the coercive imposition of a creed by human authority. But our present inquiry is, Is it unlawful, on Scripture grounds, for Christian rulers to provide religious instruction for their people? And with reference to this inquiry, it is most obvious that the text says absolutely nothing."-p. 11 to 14.

The following paragraph, though unconnected with the preceding quotation, bears upon the point.

Poli

"The doctrine of the Bible, and the response of conscience, is simply this; that every man is bound, in every situation in which he can possibly be placed, to use all the means in his power to promote the knowledge of God, and the temporal and eternal welfare of his fellow-creatures. tical power and influence constitute one of these means; being a talent entrusted to him by his Maker, and for the use of which, as well as for all others, he will be held responsible. And he who should, at the last great account, appear before his Lord and Master, and reply, Thou saidst that Thy kingdom was not of this world, and I therefore held it wrong to do aught, as a ruler, to spread thy kingdom;' will have reason to fear being classed 175.-VOL.

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with him, 'who went and digged in the earth, and hid his Lord's money.'"-p. 25.

Mr. James brings forward America in testimony of the extent and prosperity of religion, unaided by the government of the state. The fallaciousness of this our author shews by a reference, not to the towns, but to the community at large; to the villages, agricultural districts, and obscure places; and observes:

"But to know the real utility of an endowed church, we must not look to the thousands collected in our cities, but to the millions scattered over our villages; and which latter could never be expected to raise and support for themselves a permanent Christian ministry.

"Now, how stands this matter in America? Let us call in the evidence of an unquestionable witness, a minister, himself an American, who thus describes what his own eyes had seen. We quote from the narrative of the Rev. Samuel J. Mills. "Never will the impression be erased from our hearts, that has been made by beholding those scenes of wide-spreading desolation. The whole

country from Lake Erie to the Gulph of Mexico, is as the valley of the shadow of death. Darkness rests upon it. Only here and there, a few rays of gospel light pierce through the awful gloom. This vast country contains more than a million of inhabitants. Their number is every year increased by a mighty flood of emigration. Soon will they be as the sands on the sea-shore for multitude. Yet there are at present only a little more than one hundred Presbyterian or Congregational ministers in it. Were these ministers equally distributed throughout the country, there would be only one to every ten thousand people. But now there are districts of country containing from twenty to fifty thousand inhabitants, entirely destitute. how shall they hear without a preacher?'

'And

"Sweep away, then, the Establishment,' says he, in another place, and what will the voluntary churches do for our ten thousand agricultural parishes? These parishes contain, on an average, one or two gentlemen, eight or ten farmers, and a few score of cottagers. In how many cases would these little communities be able to raise, by private subscription, their own chapel, and their minister's annual stipend? Would not the picture of Western America soon be realized at home; would not our country soon become as the valley of the shadow of death?' Might it not soon be said, of many of our counties, Darkness reigns over them, with scarce a ray of light to break through the awful gloom?'" -p. 37.

The author is by no means blind to the faults of his own church, nor does he excuse her guardians for not having provided for the spiritual wants of the people. He gives the Wesleyan Methodists and others their due share of praise, and acknowledges the good that has resulted from their labours.

With the following extract we must conclude, recommending the work (at this juncture especially,) to the attentive consideration of both churchmen and dissenters.

"We have little complaint to make of Mr. James on the score of any proposal to attack the property of the church. On this point he preserves a laudable silence. Whether from a consciousness that such propositions would come with most propriety from laymen; or from that wish which he so distinctly avows in his preface, of retaining the friendship of the clergy of his own neighbourhood; he entirely abstains from advocating, or even countenancing in the least degree, any of those schemes

of ecclesiastical spoliation which have become, of late years, so popular with dissenters generally. At the same time he appears to have been unable to help falling for a moment into the absurd style

of talking so common among them, touching the 'sacrifices and persecutions' endured by dissenters, with a glance even at the 'crown of matyrdom.' And while boasting, in one page, of the numbers, power, and wealth of the dissenting body, he tells his reader in the next, that our principles cost us much money and much respect :' a sort of assertion which writers of his class are very fond of making, but which is not very consistent with the assumption which immediately precedes it, of their riches, and influence, and popularity.

"In truth, taking into consideration the large expense incurred by every clergyman of the establishment, (probably averaging nearly £1000) in the necessary education and preparation for the ministry; and remembering too, the prospect held out to a large proportion of these individuals, of a simple stipendiary Curacy, of, perhaps, £80 or £100 per annum for the remainder of life;-the idea of the vast sacrifice made by dissenting preachers, in not entering so lucrative a profes sion, strikes one as pre-eminently ridiculous. And still more so does it appear, when we look back for a moment on the course and the position of those who thus talk of the much money,' they have lost by ranging themselves on the side of the dissenters. Educated, not as the churchman, at a great expense to themselves or their friends, but at some academy maintained by charitable contributions; taken immediately from his two or three years' schooling, and set up in a pulpit, probably, like Spencer, Fletcher, or Collyer, before he had numbered his twentieth year; then speedily settled in a popular chapel, with an annual income of three or four hundred pounds, and leaving it before the second year had elapsed, for another more fashionable or more opulent, which offers him six or eight hundred; and lastly, soon finding himself, without any trouble on his part, pushed into an union with the wealthiest damsel that can be selected for him; fixing him, before his thirtieth year has opened, in ease and opulence, extensive influence and respect;-is it not absolutely ludicrous to hear such persons, as we frequently do hear them, expatiating in eloquent and melting cadences, on the sacrifices' they have made, and the crosses' they have taken up, on the score of principle alone. being also frequently very well known to those acquainted with their early history, that circumstances, and not principles, threw them among the dissenters; and that, could they have found means of access into the church, they would have taken quite another course than that which has since proved to them so excellent a speculation."— p. 110, 111.

It

REVIEW.-Biographical Recollections of the Rev. Robert Hall, A. M. By J. W. Morris. Wightman, London. 1833. 8vo. pp. 536.

THIS volume is the most recent of a long series of biographical notices which have professed to gratify public curiosity, respecting one of the greatest men of the past, or of any preceding age. To approach, with respect to the late Robert Hall, what appears to us to be the highest excellence in biography-to delineate his matured character, and to note the steps of that process by which it was formed-is certainly a task of the utmost difficulty. It would not only require for its performance the most thorough acquaintance with that character

through the greater part of his life, but also such a sympathy with it as can only result from a degree of similarity for which we look in vain among his surviving friends and admirers. Nor does this opinion involve any disparaging reflection upon them. The character of that extraordinary man was a perfectly unique combination. It exhibited the distinguishing faculties of the human mind in such admirable harmony and equipoise, as we never could have conceived, had he not embodied them before us. It presented such an appearance of undisturbed order reigning amidst vast elements, and dependent on the nicest adjustment of forces and restraints, as reminds us rather of the sublime processes in the material universe which philosophy discloses, than of any thing suggested by our ordinary observations on mankind.

So far, indeed, as Mr. Hall's mental character was developed in his ministerial exercises, it has been analysed by the eye and the hand of a master; and the analysis forms a part of that valuable addition which Dr. Gregory has made to our literature by his recent volumes, containing the works of his deceased friend, and his own admirable memoir of him. Those who have acquainted themselves with the previous writings of Mr. Foster, will not be surprised to observe in the conduct of that analysis, such profound acquaintance with human nature, and with his subject in particular, such sublimity and beauty of illustration, and such enchanting eloquence, as will remind them of no author but himself.

deserted the simplicity of style which characterized his life of Mr. Fuller; he has, in our humble opinion, failed to convey a correct notion of Mr. Hall's character. We cannot, however, refuse our tribute of respect to the tone of piety which pervades the volume, and which is in such perfect harmony with its subject.

It has been frequently and very justly charged as a fault upon works of this order, that they bring to light, and give publicity to events of private occurrence, and of the most trifling character. In this respect we must say we think this work exceedingly culpable: nor is it one of minor magnitude. There is a species of sacredness in the privacy of domestic life, which no man has a right to violate; and we are persuaded that the author has not only incurred the charge of indelicacy, but has utterly neglected the wishes of Mr. Hall, and the feelings of his family and friends, in many of the disclosures which he has made. They only serve to gratify the idle curiosity, and furnish the gossip of a class of persons whose amusement it is beneath the biographer of such a man to contemplate. Some of these the author attempts to justify in the following sentences which we extract from his preface :

"Some of the anecdotes and minor circumstances may to a fastidious taste appear too trivial for public notice; and apart by themselves, they would have been so; but nothing pertaining to so great a character can properly be considered as unimportant, if it tends to elucidate the peculiar tact and genius of the individual; nor has it appeared necessary wholly to suppress the painful part of the narrative relating to Mr. Hall's mental malady, which in pure and generous minds could produce no other feeling than that of the deepest sympathy, and of devout gratitude to that wise and merciful Providence which prevented its recurrence, and lengthened out a long unclouded day of usefulness and peace. Hayley's censurable folly in attempt

on the other hand, we sincerely congratulate him on the vicinity of his book to another, which will doubtless serve as an excellent foil, and which to name is to condemn. Nor must we omit to observe, that it lays a powerful claim to the candid notice of Mr. Hall's friends, by the character of its pretensions, which we will give in the author's words: "Its leading design being to exhibit his religious character rather than his intellectual greatness, and to furnish a memorial for that part of the community which held him in veneration chiefly on account of his eminent piety." In the prosecution of this design, Mr. Morris has unquestionably contributed some very interesting and affecting details: at the same time we must be allowed to say, that when he has deserted the professed object of his book, and more especially when he has

quainted with, and the consequences it produced, are a sufficient warning against the affectation of imitating such an example."-Preface, pp. vi. vii.

But how, we may ask, do the minute details of Mr. Hall's derangement "elucidate his peculiar tact and genius?" and as to the sympathy and gratitude of his friends, surely the one needs not to be excited afresh, and the other we should hope can dispense with any such stimulus. A moment's reflection must convince our readers of the indelicacy of such statements, and of the utter want of analogy in the case cited to justify them. For our own part, we can only indulge the hope that the volume before us will not meet the eye of Mr. Hall's family, until at least the pages referred to are expunged.

We are somewhat surprised to find a work whose defects can scarcely be excused by the plea of extreme haste, marked by a m