ARTICLE XII.-NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

THEOLOGY.

PRESIDENT WALKER'S SERMONS.*-These sermons have more than satisfied the high anticipations with which we sought for them. In their way they are admirable. To say that they are characteristic of their author, would be to say that they are shrewd, sagacious, devout, and yet so modest and unpretending as not to reveal in any single paragraph, or any single sermon, the full strength or reach of the intellect which lies behind. The manner of Dr. Walker is eminently quiet and unimpassioned; but this gives him great power, especially with an academic audience, and in the treatment of the practical themes to which the most of these discourses are devoted. Even upon the hasty reader the conviction must silently impress itself that the writer has observed the human heart with a penetrating eye, and that he has watched the beginning and progress of the religious life with a cool but sympathizing insight.

These discourses are chiefly ethical, and so they were designed to be with a wise discretion. They are, however, not vaguely ethical, but they treat of those subjects with which students are most concerned; for example, such topics as these. The student's Sabbath. Prayer. Conscience. Conscience. Motives. Character. Government of the thoughts. Difficulty, struggle, progress. Sins of omission. No hiding-place for the wicked. Thou shalt say, No. The heart more than the head. Compromises. Conditions of success in life. On the choice of a profession. The end not yet. Faith and works. Salvation by hope. These are the titles of seventeen out of the twenty-five sermons.

Of the remainder a few are devoted to the defense of revelation from the suspicions and objections that are likely to spring up among thoughtful young men. One or two only have slightly theological character, which is not at all offensive.

Sermons preached in the Chapel of Harvard College. By JAMES WALKER, D. D. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. 1861. 12mo. pp. 397. (For sale in New Haven by T. H. Pease. Price $1.50.)

As an example of the simple yet effective style of these sermons, we quote the following:-"To ask whether a man can be religious without prayer, is like asking whether a man can be sociable without the use of speech. It is bringing together incongruous, irreconcilable ideas. Besides, for other reasons, I do not admit that any form of religious thoughtfulness or meditation is as likely to bring about a devout habit of mind as prayer. The very posture which the soul assumes in prayer opens it and predisposes it to the reception of divine influences. In private prayer especially, supposing it real and not mere form or routine, when the soul is alone with its Maker, this is felt to be no time nor place for dissembling or vain parade, or side purposes." Again, "Prayer, to have much effect on ourselves, must be believed to have an effect on God. It is too solemn a transaction by far to be made use of as a kind of spiritual strategy. No; make not our prayers to seem one thing and be another. Strike not our devotions dead by the sceptical sophism that they can only have an effect on ourselves. They will have an effect on God; for he has said that they will, and the promise has been ratified and confirmed in the experience of holy and devout men in all ages. They will have an effect on God, for He who is in the bosom of the Father' has said that they will."

There are many more striking passages which we have marked for quotation, but we must forbear.

It will of course be understood that we could wish that these discourses recognized distinctly and enforced earnestly some important Christian truths. Their absence we regard as a serious defect, in the matter and manner of some of these sermons. But notwithstanding this defect, the theme is of rare value, and we recommend it especially to those who despise the reading of sermons, as a book which cannot fail to instruct and do them good. To preachers these sermons are fine examples of a kind of preaching which in too many pulpits is sadly and shamefully neglectedthe practical enforcement of the duties of the Christian life.

ELLICOTT'S LIFE OF CHRIST.*-The object which the author had

Historical Lectures on the Life of our Lord, Jesus Christ, being the Hulsean Lectures for the year 1859; with Notes, Critical, Historical, and Explanatory. By C. J. ELLICOTT, B. D., Professor of Divinity, Kings College, London; late Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge; Author of Critical and Grammatical Commentaries on St. Paul's Epistles. Boston: Gould & Lincoln. 1862. 12mo. pp. 382, (For sale in New Haven by T. H. Pease. Price $1.25.)

in view in these Lectures, is best set forth in his own language"to arrange, to comment upon, and, as far as possible, to illustrate the principal events in our Redeemer's earthly history; to show their coherence, their connection, their varied and suggestive meanings; to place, as far as may be safely attempted, the different divine discourses in their apparently true positions, estimated chronologically, and to indicate how they both give to and receive illustration from the outward events with which they stand in more immediate connection; all this, however, subordinated to the desire to set forth in as much fullness and completeness as possible not only the order and significance of the component features, but the transcendent picture of our Redeemer's life, viewed as one divine whole." It has seemed to us, in looking over the volume, that, while the author has very successfully accomplished his design, so far as the limited space-six or eight lectures allowed him to do so, yet by reason of this very limitation his work is, of necessity, rather suggestive to other minds and calculated to awaken them to extended study, than of the nature of a complete treatise on the whole subject. When considered in this way, we think no one can doubt its usefulness and value; and, indeed, if one can excite the minds of readers or hearers to enthusiasm and independent investigation, in any kind. of discourse, it must be admitted that one of the highest, if not the very highest end of all writing or speaking is attained. Professor Ellicott has shown himself in this, as in all his other books, to be a true scholar, and he has laid open before us the field, upon which he has entered, in such a way as to interest us and to invite us onward. The style of the work is of the lecture rather than of the treatise order, of course; but the use of language is admirable, and shows that the author must be well adapted for the duties of a preacher, as he has before proved himself to be for the greater retirement of the student. He is, doubtless, among the very first of all English-speaking scholars of the present generation, and, as he is still comparatively young, we may look forward to many valuable fruits of his learning in the coming years. We cheerfully

commend this volume to our readers.

CHRYSTAL'S HISTORY OF THE MODES OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.*

* A History of the Modes of Christian Baptism, etc., etc. By Rev. JAMES CHRYSTAL, A. M., a Presbyter of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston. 1861. 8vo. pp. 324.

This little work, by an Episcopal clergyman of Delaware, is an historical account of the mode of Baptism originally practised in the church, and of the changes which that primitive mode has undergone. As to the subjects of Baptism he does not profess to inquire, although he holds that scripture and antiquity justify the administering of this ordinance to children. His view is that the original and proper mode of Baptism is trine immersion, at the same time that he does not deny the validity of Baptism by sprinkling. That part of his view, especially, in which he holds that the subject of baptism in the primitive church was thrice dipped in the water, will not secure the concurrence, as we think, of most of his learned readers, although such was undoubtedly the custom in Tertullian's day (early in the third century) in the North African Church. In respect to his general argument upon the mode of Baptism, however, we are bound to say that it is characterized by fairness and thorough learning. As a repository of passages from ancient and later authorities on the subject discussed, this little work is extremely valuable. We will simply remark here that the historical question as to the mode of Baptism in the early church, in whatever way it be decided, does not determine that only one method is allowable, nor does it determine which method is preferable under the different circumstances of the church at present. We recommend Mr. Chrystal's work to the attention of our clerical readers.

NOYES'S TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK OF JOB.*-The "new translation" of the Book of Job, which Dr. Noyes, of Harvard University, first gave to the public in 1827, is now universally known and prized among scholars. Whatever difference of opinion there may be with respect to the interpretation of particular passages which he has been led to adopt, all admit that his translation displays the results of the ripest scholarship and the most careful and conscientious consideration of the views of all who have made this remarkable book the subject of their studies. At the same time, the style is marked by a simplicity, a dignity, and a felicity of expression, which rivals that of the Common Version, and is in most happy contrast with the baldness, and stiffness, and insufferable vulgarism which have characterized some recent translations.

* Noyes's Translation of the Book of Job. Third Edition. Boston: James Munroe & Co. 1861. 12mo. pp. 212.

Dr. Noyes informs us in his Preface:

"I had made an arrangement to publish a revised edition of the New Translation of the Hebrew Prophets in connection with the present work. But the death of the late Mr. Munroe has caused it to be given up. I take the liberty, therefore, to mention that I have carefully revised the New Translation of the Hebrew Prophets, made a considerable addition to the notes, and written a new and enlarged Introduction, containing an essay on the Prophetic dispensation among the Hebrews, including the Messianic predictions, in which I have aimed to leave no important question unanswered. Though necessarily compressed, I hope it will be found sufficiently comprehensive and complete to be a guide to such as have a desire to know the truth in relation to a difficult subject, upon which no satisfactory treatise exists in the English language. Whenever any publisher will undertake the printing of the work, the manuscript will be ready.”

HEBREW AND ENGLISH PSALTER.*-Mr. W. F. Draper of Andover has published a handsome edition of the Book of Psalms, which will be quite a favorite with clergymen and theological students. The Hebrew text of Hahn and the Common English Version are placed side by side on the same page, in such a way that "the corresponding members stand opposite each other." The arrangement is in parallelism, and in the main is that of Rosenmüller.

BELLES LETTRES.

CECIL DREEME.t-The name of Theodore Winthrop has already secured for this tale many readers who would not otherwise have been likely to purchase and peruse it. To those who have known the author from boyhood it has an additional interest. Born in New Haven of a family that fondly cherished its direct connection with the first and second Governor Winthrop, carefully educated by his devoted mother, ever retaining his interest in the place of his birth and the home of so many friends and kindred, his remains were fitly returned to New Haven for burial. The laurel wreath, freshly woven, that has lain upon his grave since his interment, witnesses that the heroism and the fate of one of the first martyrs in this our stern time of trial will not be soon forgotten, even though hecatombs of as noble spirits shall be offered in bloody sacrifice on the altar of our national life.

*The Book of Psalms in Hebrew and English; arranged in Parallelism. Andover: Warren F. Draper. 1862. 12mo. pp. 194.

+ Cecil Dreeme. By THEODORE WINTHROP. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. 12mo. pp. 362. (For sale in New Haven by T. H. Pease. Price $1.00.)

1862.