revenge, never will do anything to, or with his creatures, save from the dictates of infinite and unchangeable benevolence." The great problem of evil forces itself upon the attention whenever the character of God is being considered. In this the author, starting from the postulate that we must take the world as it is, not as we may imagine it ought to be, argues the goodness of God from the fact that evil is the occasion of good. The following extract from page 25 considers the question of moral evil : "If there had been no error or sin in the world, we should have known nothing of Jesus the Christ, that loftiest exhibition of perfected humanity, that single bright star in the mingled firmament of earth and heaven, whose light was never dimmed. We should have known nothing of his deeds of love and mercy in return for hate and cruelty; nothing of that life of his, always so serene and beautiful, amid the storms of temptation and bigotry and persecution, and closed at last with that sublime prayer of forgiveness and blessing, the very record of which even now thrills the souls of the millions with unutterable emotions of reverence and joy. And so one of the most instructive pages in the history of humanity would have been left totally blank, with not a single bright word of heaven's language to catch the eye, or quicken the thought. And of God, also-if there were no sin, we should loose sight of half the glory of his character, and of the beautiful and tender relations which he sustains to us. We should know him as a God of almighty power, of infinite wisdom, of perfect holiness; but of his saving grace, of his mercy, of his patient and watchful care for his wayward children, of his longsuffering and pardoning love, of his blessed promises of redemption-if there were no moral evil, no error nor sin, what should we know of these glorious exhibitions of the divine character ? How could they have been at all? How could we have loved and adored, in spirit and understanding, the affectionate Father and the perfect God, as we love and adore him now?" The relations of human free-will to the Divine omnipotence are happily illustrated by reference to the call of the first disciples and their free response, as follows: "Look at the following record: And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.' (Matt. iv. 18-22.) 'And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting on the Receipt of Custom, and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up and followed him.' (Luke v. 27.) 6 "Now were these men compelled to leave all and follow Jesus, in any sense that implied unwillingness on their part? Was their free agency' violated, or did they follow their own wishes and preferences? Of course the last. They were just as free, acted just as entirely out of their own hearts, when they became the disciples of Jesus, as when they followed their former occupations. God had a new and higher work for them; and when the time came, and the work was ready for them, they were ready for the work. And Peter and Andrew and James and John went into the ministry of the Gospel, as cheerfully as they ever went out upon the Lake of Galilee to fish. And Matthew, the tax-gatherer, even celebrates his abandonment of the customhouse, and his conversion and obedience to the call of Christ, by a joyful gathering of his former business associates and friends." (Luke v. 29.) The most plausible argument in favor of the doctrine of the vicarious sufferings of Christ, is based on the language of Isaiah liii. 4-6, 10, compared with 1 Peter ii. 21-24. "Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all." We shall make our closing extracts from the author's exposition of these passages: "This is as strong language as can be cited from the Scriptures, and yet a moment's examination will show the impossibility of a literal interpretation. How could Christ bear the grief, or carry the sorrow of sin, who knew no sin? It is not possible he could feel the remorse of the criminal, the murderer; or the agony of shame and degradation, and the physical torment of the drunkard. But in a figurative sense he may be said to bear our griefs and sorrows as John Howard bore the griefs and sorrows of the prisoners and the wretched whom he visited and comforted, and, by incessant toil and effort, relieved from the cruelties laid upon them. "So Christ bears our sorrows and our sins in his own person on the tree,' by living, and laboring, and dying, to deliver us from them. And thus we are healed by his stripes, our peace is secured by his suffering, we are redeemed from sin by the power of truth and grace revealed in his death. Hence he says, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.' John xii. 32. "Matt. viii. 16, 17, is a perfect commentary on Isaiah and Peter. 'And he cast out the spirits with his word, and he healed all that were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.' Now, in what sense did, or could, Jesus take the infirmities of those who were diseased, or bear their sicknesses? What did he do in their case? We are told in the preceding words: He healed all that were sick.' This is the equivalent of the phrase, he bear our sicknesses;' which, in a physical sense, is the equivalent of the phrase,' he bear our sins, in a moral sense. Christ bore the infirmities and sicknesses of the people by healing them; and he bears our sins in the same way, by restoring us to spiritual health.” 2. The American Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1861. Embracing Political, Civil, Military and Social Affairs; Public Documents, Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1862. We gladly welcome this new work-admirable in its plan and purpose, and most timely in view of the lasting importance of most of the events which it records. We cheerfully give the plan of the work in the words of its compiler. We quote from the preface: "The conflict in the United States forms an important part of this volume. It embraces the political principles involved, with the arguments of their respective advocates and opponents; the movements of the leaders of secession, from their first acts to the close of the year, including the proceedings, step by step, in each of the Southern States until they had resolved themselves out of the Union, and their subsequent efforts; the organization of the Confederate States; the principles upon which that organization was founded; the civil and commercial regulations of the Confederacy; the movements of its Government to fill its treasury, and organize and equip vast armies; the counteracting movements of the United States; the organization of its armies, with the details of the weapons for the infantry and artillery, and for the batteries of the ships and gunboats; together with all the original documents, from the Messages of the respective Presidents; the instructions of Cabinet officers; the Messages and proclamations of Governors; the important acts of the United States and Confederate Congresses; the acts and resolutions of State Legislatures; the proclamations and orders of commanding officers; the contributions of men and mo ney from each State, North and South; the details of every battle and every skirmish involving a loss of life. So ample have been the resources from which its details have been prepared, comprising publications both North and South, that it is believed no important public measure of the Federal or Confederate Governments, or of any of the States, has been overlooked or valuable document omitted. The efforts of the Confederacy to secure the co-operation of foreign powers, and of the United States to prevent it, are summarily presented in the letters and instructions of the respective diplomatic agents. The developments of science during the year, as presented in this volume, were of much interest, especially in relation to agriculture. The geographical explorations; the ingenious and important inventions in mechanical industry, with illustrations; the commerce, and the stupendous military, naval, and financial resources of the United States, brought out by her difficulties during the year; and biographical notices of the virtues and services of the distinguished men who closed their career in 1861, form also an extensive portion of the volume." If the thoroughness evinced in those portions of the volume which we feel competent to pronounce judgment upon, is a true index to the merits of the whole, the work amply sustains the above-named promises. It is in form, style and mechanical execution, uniform with the New American Cyclopædia. Subsequent volumes will be issued about the first of March. 3. The New American Cyclopædia: a Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge. Edited by George Ripley and Charles A. Dana. Volume XV. Spiritualism-Uzziah. New York: D. Appleton & Company. Boston: Elliot & White. 1862. The article "Universalist" in this volume was the first to attract our attention. It was evidently written by a Universalist, for it is a fair, comprehensive, and systematic statement of the theology, the history, and the working instrumentalities of the denomination. We could not expect or desire a more impartial representation, than the publishers and editors have thus given us in the "Cyclopædia." As the work will go into the hands of multitudes who have got their notions of Universalism and Universalists from unfriendly sources, we trust they will improve the opportunity to learn what we do actually believe and teach. We take the occasion to repeat what we have said in our notice of former volumes, that strict impartiality characterizes every thing that appears in the work, so far as we have examined it and are able to judge. Over a hundred solid pages are devoted to the "United States of America "--by many degrees the most valuable feature of the volume, and in point of immediate practical use, equal to anything that has heretofore appeared in the work. The thirty-six tables of statistics have a value that we hardly know how to estimate. We know not where else to find so much available information pertaining to our country. The subject of United States Literature also receives ample treatment. It will be seen that the work is nearly completed. We trust the publishers will find the enterprise profitable in a business point of view. Their energy and risk are certainly entitled to patronage; for they have reflected honor on the literature of their country. 4. The New Gymnastics for Men, Women and Children. By Dio Lewis, M. D. With Three Hundred Illustrations. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. 1862. 66 We had some knowledge of Dr. Lewis' system of gymnastics before the appearance of his book. We had heard him lecture, and seen him give illustrations; and further we had practiced a few of his lessons under the guidance of one of his pupils. We are confident that our opinion is not wholly immature, that the new gymnastics" have decided advantages over the old―omitting much that is faulty, and adding much that is valuable as well as new. The essential improvement, as concisely stated by the author, is that, in "dispensing with the cumbrous apparatus of the ordinary gymnasium, its implements are all calculated not only to impart strength of muscle, but to give flexibility, grace and agility of movement." The author's theory is sound, that physical development, as well as mental, needs system, method and practical guidance. The ample illustrations make the new gymnastics clear, even to the reader. The book will do timely service now that attention is directed to the subject of physical education. 5. The Poems of Arthur Hugh Clough, with a Memoir by Charles Elliot Norton. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. 1862. We had known of Arthur Hugh Clough as a classical scholar of extraordinary attainments; and as the editor and in part translator of a new edition of Plutarch's Lives-an edition "that must remain the standard version of this most popular of ancient authors." But we had known little of him as a poet. We have been most agreeably entertained with the chief poem of the collection"The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich "—a vacation Pastoral, full of humor, of fresh incident, and noble suggestions for the attainment of a higher ideal of life, expressed in [quaint and sometimes not very musical verse. The poet's sympathy with the Roman people in their struggle for liberty, finds utterance in an exquisitely wrought poem, "Amours de Voyage." Several minor Poems are embraced in the collection. The edition is worth the mechanical garb in "blue and gold." |