ÆT. 70.]

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475

could he be satisfied without doing much to render his examination useful to others who might come after him, by inserting, as he has done, in the fly-leaves, or on the margin of the page, tables of contents, indexes, and a variety of notes, biographical, bibliographical, critical, commendatory or the contrary. Had the Volumes been dispersed upon which he exhausted his slender strength during this season of appointed relaxation, his learning and leisure thus voluntarily applied might have appeared little better than thrown away; but as the Library which was at Homerton is now included in that of New College, Dr. Pye Smith's principles and skill as an Annotator and a Critic-instead of being confined within the limits of his printed Works-may be seen developed upon a wider scale; and are furthermore rendered permanently available for the example, instruction, and entertainment of precisely that class of persons-Students for the Christian ministrywhom he was ever well-pleased to serve, irrespective of any earthly recompense of reward.

But this self-imposed undertaking may not improbably be numbered among the signs of that failure of power for the old and long-accustomed literary pursuits, which was now beginning to be observed by his friends. He could neither read continuously nor closely as he had done; and writing, as we have seen, was becoming more and more irksome; conversation also, and accordingly social intercourse, was subjected to a heavy drawback. In the midst of the kindest circle of relations, his sense of isolation was often visible, and therefore must have been extremely painful to himself. Hence, when he began his work in the Library, from which he could not be persuaded to desist, it was as though he had been silently meditating and maturing his purpose, with a view to secure not only occupation for his time but interest for his thoughts, just at that period when, by the absence of the Students, he would be left very much more alone than usual. It is instructive to notice how the native impulse, which still seemed to crave an object on which to exert itself, was found going out in this new direction, at an age when it could not pursue the older tracks: and that perhaps, as the result of this wise provision of a Divine economy, the failure of all power for action and service did not occur as early as it might have done, had this vacation been passed without any such employment. With many persons, and especially

CHAPTER XXVI.

RENEWED HEALTH-ECLECTIC REVIEW: PASCAL'S THOUGHTS: DR. HENRY EDWARDS, MODERN PRETENSION-CONTRIBUTIONS TO BIBLICAL CYCLOPÆDIA-TRANSLATIONS OF PASSAGES FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES— METHOD OF QUOTING AUTHORS-DESIRE FOR DEFINITE INFORMATION -MYTHIC THEORY-SOCIAL AND PRIVATE INTERCOURSE WITH THE STUDENTS-LETTER TO THE NEW YORK

INTELLIGENCER-ATTENDS BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT CAMBRIDGE-LETTER TO MRS. PYE SMITH— VISIT TO SHEFFIELD, ETC.-LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN-LETTER TO REV. THOMAS THOMAS.

WITH evidently renewed strength Dr. SMITH was permitted to enter upon the year 1845. His sense of the Divine benignity, and his thoughts and desires for the future, were thus expressed at the beginning of a new Sermon Book:-"Infinite Mercy has brought me to this point of time. Beyond my expectation, I have to commence another book. Surely the probability of its being the last is greater than at an earlier point of time. O that it may contain more indications of faithfulness to my Lord and Saviour and his people, my beloved, patient, and affectionate flock!"

In the January number of the Eclectic Review for this year, an article appeared which was written by Dr. Smith on M. Faugère's edition of Pascal's Thoughts, published in Paris in 1844. "As a man of profound thinking "—says the Reviewer -"and sublime soarings of the soul, yet even deeply humble, we put Pascal in the rank of Bacon, Boyle, Milton, Howe, Edwards, Coleridge, Robert Hall, and John Foster." Ec. Rev. 1845, vol. i. p. 64. Again: "Notwithstanding the deplorable impregnation of submission to the false church and the papal usurpation, which from his educational and other circumstances had been put into Pascal's mind, he with his fellow-confessors

ÆT. 71.] DR. HENRY EDWARDS-MODERN PRETENSION. 479

and fellow-sufferers, were wondrous witnesses to the gospel of the GRACE of God, and its proper fruits. His Thoughts and other pieces contain a multitude of evidences and illustrations of the essence of doctrinal Christianity, SOVEREIGN, FREE, ELECTING LOVE acting through a DIVINE REDEEMER and a DIVINE SANCTIFIER; and the essence of practical Christianity, LOVE TO GOD because HE IS LOVELY, and LOVE TO HOLINESS because it is HIS IMAGE." And the following striking passage from the Augustinus of Cornelius Jansenius-" obtained," as the Reviewer is careful to state, "through the medium of Theophilus Gale's True Idea of Jansenism-will give an insight into the style of piety which Dr. Pye Smith was ever inclined to cultivate:"The Spirit of God in the most salutary manner indicates to us, that there is no love of ourselves more true than that whereby we love GOD with all the heart. And because the most refined and noble love of God consists in a man's being abstracted from the reflection and consideration of himself, it thence followeth, that by how much the more a man forgets himself, he has so much the more noble and exact regard to himself. Thus, by an admirable kind of competition, the more a man denies himself the more he seeks himself; the more he is emptied of himself the more he is filled with God. To relinquish God is to embrace nothing." Ib. p. 66.

Dr. Smith's last contribution to the Eclectic, which he had served with great fidelity, learning, and zeal from its commencement in 1805, appears to have been a short paper of about three pages in the July number for the present year; which by a singular coincidence, when the well-known temper and habits of the Reviewer are considered, was written not only without any intention to give an estimate of the works at the head of the article, but with manifest indications that they had not even been read. The object was to put down the Author; and that object appears to have been very completely as well as very summarily accomplished. One Henry Edwards announced himself in the title-page as the writer of a certain number of volumes variously styled - Christian Humility- Elementary Education-Poem on Providence-Piety and Intellect Our Female Servants-Poem on Marriage: but as though works with such attractive designations could not be trusted to their own merits, the author had also used the printing press with

profuse liberality in annexing the most winning figures of speech to his own name; for he was-at least as far as mere printer's ink could make him-Ph. D., D.D., F.R.S., F.A.S., F.S.A., &c. &c. The paper in the Eclectic is thus gravely opened:

"Our duty as the servants of the public, in subordination to the claims of truth and fidelity, is important and solemn. The functions of our Review are to sift the barn-floor, to separate the chaff from the wheat, to honour that which is worthy of honour in letters and in moral principle, and to protest against errors in science, bad taste in literature, and whatever is unscriptural in religious doctrine, or unholy with respect to practice; to point out, and to recommend works of real excellence, which are always distinguished by unaffected modesty, and to strip off the veil from assuming ignorance and unblushing imposture. We feel that we lie under a weighty responsibility to man and to God. The giving of commendations, or censures, to books and their authors, is a case of morals, to which the rule repeatedly laid down in the Word of God applies: 'Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment,'-' He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.' While it is our desire to maintain a conscientious obedience to this Divine command, we cannot but feel ourselves aroused from any temptation to remissness when titles of books are laid before us with such announcements as the following:"-A series of extravagant commendations are quoted, just as a sample of a larger quantity. The Reviewer then goes on to say :—

"These flowers we have culled from nearly two pages of similar matter, subjoined to the name and the books at the head of this article. In these fifteen recommendations, purporting to be from various newspapers, there is a similarity of matter and manner, a fulsome ridiculousness of praise, and characteristic idiotisms"-[yes, truly, idiotisms in more senses than one,] “of expression, so marked, as to make it almost impossible to avoid believing that one person is both the object and the author of them all." . . "Here is a man, exhibiting himself to the astonished world, blowing his own trumpet, and proclaiming his wondrous merits as 'the pure moralist,—the pious doctor,'-for the inculcation-' in a manner every way worthy of his theme,'-of humility, piety, and of all other moral excellence ;-and yet at the same moment branding his own forehead with FALSEHOOD and FORGERY. We shudder to write it! We could not have thought it possible! But here is the printed evidence before our eyes." Ec. Rev. 1845, vol. ii. pp. 96, 97.

The printed evidence is then given, consisting of the enumeration of sundry abbreviations, the well-known symbols of fellowship with some of the most illustrious Scientific and Literary Societies in the land; which Dr. Henry Edwards, the author of the "Nature, Grounds, and Claims of Christian Humility!" had just as good a right to appropriate, as he had to annex to his name M.P., or even K.G. To those who knew Dr. Smith, this brief and conclusive

ET. 71.]

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exposure of literary" Falsehood and Forgery" will not appear at all surprising. The simplicity and humility of his personal character, and his high sense of honour and veracity, must have rendered such a matchless parade of the opposite qualities peculiarly offensive to his sensitive nature. And as the pretender to so many titles professed to be a Christian, and was withal numbered among Protestant Dissenting Ministers, it seemed proper in itself, and would also weigh with Dr. Smith, that the unwelcome task of laying bare the deception, in order to remove if possible the reproach from the Denomination and even from Christianity, should be undertaken by one whose services in the cause of Science and Religion had not only been long continued, but had been crowned with such marks of public respect and distinction as clearly showed, that there was a pathway to literary and scientific honours open to all without regard to party-and that therefore the titles which might be earned, and which were in some measure the recompense, as well as the symbols of success, ought never to be allowed by an upright and virtuous community, to pass current in any instance in which it became known that they were the wildest false pretences.

The venerable Author of many articles in the Eclectic, distinguished by high moral as well as literary worth,-had he foreseen the future-could not have concluded that department of his labours with greater characteristic propriety, than by leaving his protest against ambition, and parade, and a desire to deceive, as he has done in this brief paper entitled "Dr. Henry Edwards-Modern Pretension." May an exposure alike just and kind have, widely, the effect of a warning! The individual offender can be safely forgotten; but not so the ever-springing infirmities of our common nature-wrecks do sometimes occur even within sight of beacons; but if the latter were not set up, the havoc would be far greater, and in every way more disastrous!

The Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature, edited by Dr. John. Kitto, was published in 1845. As the plan of that large work included the contribution of articles by authors of celebrity in Scripture learning, irrespective of party and even of national distinctions,-England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and America may be said to have their Biblical and Literary