651 Review. Life and Opinions of John de Wycliffe, D. D. diffuse new light through the gloom of darkness with which Europe had for ages been enveloped. By the advocates of popery, whose citadel he attacked, and beneath whose ramparts he lodged a mine which was afterwards destined to explode, the name of Wycliffe has always been viewed with execration. When living, he was detested by all the party; and when dead, his mortal remains, to gratify the cravings of ineffectual vengeance, were consigned to the flames. By protestants, and all the friends of the Reformation, he has, however, been viewed in a widely different light. They have hailed the glorious dawn of spiritual and intellectual day which beamed upon his mind, with all the triumphs of exultation; and venerated the man, who, as a distinguished instrument in the hand of God, was appointed to accomplish a work which at that period seemed to transcend the utmost exertion of human power. To delineate with accuracy the character of this extraordinary man, Mr. Vaughan has spared no pains in the volumes before us. In accomplishing this task, he observes in his preface— "It became my determination, in making my collections with a view to the present Work, to examine the Reformer's Manuscripts, so as to become immediately possessed of whatever information those voluminous productions might supply: To acquire this familiarity with writings which are so widely scattered, and where every sentiment is clothed in a character, and mostly in a dialect, so long since obsolete, was a point which demanded an exercise of patience. It was strictly necessary that considerable intervals should be passed at both universities; that access should be obtained to the manuscript libraries of Lambeth Palace, and Trinity College, Dublin: and that much time should be spent in consulting the valuable documents in the British Museum. Nor is it until more than two thousand miles have been traversed for this object, and some extended portions of time have for some years been devoted to it, that I have ventured to claim the attention of the public on a subject so important as the character of the Father of the Reformation.". Preface, p. 6, Having thus stated from what sources the materials of these volumes have been derived, Mr. Vaughan next proceeds to lay before the public the result of his inquiries, and the fruits of his investigation. The first three chapters may be considered as preliminary. The first notices the rise and character of the Papal Power; the second, the state of the Protestant doctrine in Europe to the commencement of the fourteenth century; and the third is devoted to an examination of ecclesiastical establishments, and the state of society in England, previous to the age of Wycliffe. In these chapters the author displays much industrious research, an intimate acquain 652 tance with his subject, and points out, with masterly precision, the influence of edicts and tyranny on the public mind, and unfolds the concurrent yet complicated operation of various causes to produce revolt, and accomplish the overthrow of their own dominion. These chapters are replete with luminous information, and are doubly valuable as an epitome of ancient ecclesiastical history, and as unfolding the causes which led to the Reformation, and justified the measures which were adopted. In entering on the life of Wycliffe, the author uniformly connects the man with the important work in which he was engaged, and places before his readers the trying occasions which called into active exercise the pious and masculine energies of his soul. In these connexions we are taught to contemplate the vindictive efforts of Papal power to extinguish the light which had just begun to dawn; the attempts that were made to blend the doctrines he promulgated with political intrigue, and to infer from this false, but imputed association, the fatal tendency of their publication. Hence, we are conducted to the cabinets of princes, and to the enactment of laws; to survey the ferment which every where prevailed; and amidst the conflicts arising from these and other causes, we are insensibly led to admire the man who singly braved the tempest, and finally triumphed in the victory which crowned his hardearned achievements. The life of Wycliffe may be considered, in these volumes, as a central point whence light irradiates, the rays of which dart their effulgence into every court in Europe, and in many places acquire vigour from the attempts that were made to prevent their propagation. In his courage, constancy, inflexibility, unremitting perseverance, and preservation amidst surrounding dangers, we cannot but acknowledge the constant interposition of an overruling providence, and admire the slow but effectual working of divine truth. Mr. Vaughan has set before us in these volumes an ecclesiastical compendium, which, with an eye to the Reformation, embraces the history of Christianity from the days of the apostles down to those of Wycliffe. Prior to his time, we behold almost one uniform and unbroken chain of despotism, pillage, and oppression, sanctioned by bulls, edicts, and councils, which at once imposed shackles on the mind, and fetters on the muscular energies. Some few efforts were indeed made to dispel the gloom, but the joint influence of superstition and tyranny instantly extinguished the dawning light, or prevented it from being propagated, and the chains were secured by additional rivets. Wycliffe at length arose, and brought to an eventful crisis the high pretensions and fulminations of the church of Rome. For him the thunders of the Vatican had no terrors which he was unable to brave, and the curses of the priests only tinkled on his shield of truth. The light, which through his instrumentality was diffused throughout Europe, could never be extinguished, and the mantle of previous darkness received from him a rent, which neither time nor ingenuity has ever since been able to repair. By the author of the volumes before us, these, and other equally important points, are placed in a conspicuous, and an interesting light. The style is luminous, without being inflated, and familiar without being deficient in dignity, or colloquial in its expression. The life of this patriarchal Reformer is not now for the first time brought before the public; but it was never placed in an attitude so worthy of its subject, or so deserving of public patronage. It has been reserved for Mr. Vaughan to explore new sources of information, and to bring long concealed documents from their almost unknown retreats. It is a work every way worthy of the author's name, and of the literature of the nineteenth century. REVIEW.-A Narrative of Memorable Events in Paris, preceding the Capitulation and during the Occupancy of that City by the Allied Armies in the Year 1814, being Extracts from the Journal of a Détenu, who continued a prisoner on Parole, in the French Capital, from 1803 to 1814. 8vo. pp. 318. Longman. London. 1828. THE author of this volume, having learnt "to catch the manners living as they rise," and to embody his thoughts and observations in the language of fidelity, while the impressions were vivid on his memory, has, though apparently without any design, produced one of the most interesting books that has ever given an account of these memorable events and transactions to the world. The scenes which the author delineates, are always full of life and energy, and we can scarcely cast our eyes on a single page, without finding ourselves surrounded by the agitations, commotions, and conflicts, peculiarly characteristic of a besieged city, with new intelligence arriving every hour, respecting the movements, force, and approximation of an invading army. In this state of things, all is confusion, consternation, bustle, and dismay. The changes introduced in the opinions of the people vary with the nature of the information which the messengers bring. The transitions from plaudits to execrations forcibly display the instability of the human character. Hosanna and Crucify, are uttered almost with the same breath, and he who promises undeviating attachment to Napoleon at eleven o'clock, proclaims his loyalty to the Bourbons at twelve. The ebbing and flowing of the political tide, and the waves of war, always produce a correspondent effect on the multitudes floating on their surface, and the cause may be detected in its operation, even when no other mediums of discovery are suffered to transpire. In national histories, the events which mark their movements are detailed through a succession of years, but in the journal now under review, they are recorded by days and hours; and sometimes even the decimal portions of an hour are distinguished by minutes, as giving birth to some eventful transaction which accompanied the auspicious or inauspicious moment in which it occurred. These me→ moranda of facts contain the seeds of history, which might easily be expanded into many volumes; but which the writer gives without any other note or comment, than is barely sufficient to render them intelligible. In looking over the multifarious events which this journal contains, we behold within a narrow compass, an awful picture of the miseries of war. We pause at the conclusion of each paragraph to reflect on its momentous contents, and immediately turn to the next in succession, which either unfolds a new scene of wretchedness and commotion, or creates an excitement that was unfelt before. It is painful to be thus familiarized to scenes of blood and carnage, to hear the groans of the dying, and to gaze on the mutilated bodies and ghastly countenances both of the living and the dead. But those who read this volume must prepare themselves for the brutalizing facts which it records, at the winding up of the great drama of the French revolution. By whom this narrative was written does not appear. It is sent into the world under the auspices of Mr. John Britton, of Burton-street, London, a gentleman well known in the antiquarian and scientific world. By this gentleman it is intro 655 Review.-Discourses on the Immateriality of the Soul. In 656 ality and Immortality of the Soul, the Character and Folly of Modern Atheism, and the Necessity of Divine Revelation, by Thomas Allen. 8vo. pp. 279. Hurst & Co. London. 1828. THE title of this volume indicates, that these discourses belong not to the common duced through a neat and appropriate | REVIEW.-Discourses on the Immateriaddress, in which he assigns the author's reasons for wishing to be concealed. these he relinquishes all pretensions to fame or profit, having devoted himself to the study of the fine arts, without professing to have any claims to literary honours. Whatever effect these reasons might have had on the narrator's mind, we suspect that they will be deemed quite unsatis-order of sermonizing; and we are led to factory by those who peruse his volume. In us they have produced a regret that diffidence and modesty should be so ill applied. During the short peace in 1802 and 1803, the author visited France in the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and had reached Calais on his return, when he was arrested and conducted to Paris, where he was detained a prisoner on parole, until the overthrow of Bonaparte in 1814. His diary of passing events was therefore written chiefly for his own amusement, and it is probable that the public are indebted to Mr. Britton for its having seen the light. expect in a perusal of them, a train of thought and argumentation, which will carry the mind of the reader into an unfrequented path. In these expections we have not been disappointed. They have been gratified to the full, and in some instances even surpassed. The region into which the author has entered is in a high degree metaphysical, argumentative, and abstract, but he has brought to the task a mind admirably adapted to the investigation, and, in support of his positions, has availed himself of the reasonings of others, whose names have always commanded respect, where the arguments adduced by them have failed to produce conviction. The more abstruse branches of investigation, he has indeed wisely reserved for the long and acute notes which are appended to each discourse. These may be considered as illustrative of what is advanced in the ser It is well known that works written under such circumstances are read with avidity, from a persuasion that they are free from national prejudice, and that their facts are detailed without disguise. Of this avidity many authors have availed themselves; and we need not be told, that pre-mons, and may be read at leisure by those tended private diaries have been written for the purpose of sale. In most publications, however, of this description, the cloven foot finds means to appear, and the paltry attempt at imposition meets the contempt it deserves. But no imputation of this kind can apply to the author of the volume before us. There is a freshness in the expression, and a vividness in the diction, which art would find it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to imitate. There is in all his style a nameless something, which shews that he must have recorded the facts near the moment of their occurrence; and were he to re-write his volume, with all its materials now before him, we doubt his ability to infuse into it that interesting life which distinguishes his present paragraphs. He might give it more of the hackneyed form of a book, but the efforts of art would be betrayed by the languor accompanying his more polished sentences. In its present state, while recording with ability the greatest event that has ever occurred in modern history, the narrative is greatly enhanced by the truth, simplicity, and fidelity, with which it appears to have been written. who can enter the vast profound, and trace in all its depths the coincidence between philosophy and revelation. The sermons indeed, independently of the notes, are in general too recondite for common hearers, and it is only on particular occasions that such discussions should ever be introduced into the pulpit. Of this fact the author seems well aware, and the objection to which he saw he should expose himself, he has anticipated and met in some paragraphs of his preface. The sufficiency of his grounds on the present occasion we most readily allow, but this does not remove the foundation of the objection, nor do we think that it can ever cease to operate until he can find a congregation composed of philosophers and metaphysicians. It has frequently been observed, that sermons in general are heard with more advantage than they are read. Respecting those before us, we think this order will stand quite reversed. They were probably heard with more admiration than comprehension; and had they not been committed to the press, it is probable that eight-tenths of their excellence would have been for ever lost. Placed as they now are in the hands of the reader, he may pause on the sentences and paragraphs as they pass under his eye, and re-examine the links that have occupied his attention, without fearing the chain will be broken by his retrospect, or by the advances of the preacher, while he is reflecting on the past. In listening to a discourse delivered, attention must follow the speaker, and, on subjects like those before us, the most trifling intermission is frequently attended with injurious consequences to both. With the volume, however, in his hands, he can at any point of difficulty call upon the author to repeat what he had stated, until its import and bearing are fully com.prehended, or desire him to suspend his discourse while he indulges in reflection, and then request him to proceed, with a full assurance of being implicitly obeyed. Discourses of this description, to be understood, should always appear in print. The author, we have been given to understand, is an itinerant preacher in the New Connexion of Wesleyan Methodists. Beyond this transient information, and what we gather from the volume, we know nothing of the writer; but we are assured from the perusal of his work, that he possesses talents which would do honour to any religious community. In those districts where the sophistries of Materialism, Atheism, and Infidelity are scattered, this work will be found of essential service in exposing fallacies assuming reason's garb, and in "putting delusion's dusky train to flight." Independently of those who may be exposed to the assaults of such as are enemies to God, it would be well for every friend of truth and virtue to be prepared with arms. This the volume before us will furnish at a comparatively trifling expense. It has nothing to do with the localities of creed. In these respects it is founded on a basis which all the contending factions acknowledge, and should rejoice to find it occupying a conspicuous place in every Christian and Infidel library. we ... the fate of every book must be finally decided. Fortunately for Mr. E. he has avoided a fatal error into which nearly all our sermonizing writers run, namely, that of spinning their thread until it becomes too attenuated to be seen without a magnifying glass, and too long to be measured with common patience. In webs like these, few readers like to become entangled; and hence, the productions of those who think they shall be heard for their much speaking, lie neglected on the shelf till a more convenient season, which probably never arrives. Contrary to the preceding plan, Mr. E. has, perhaps, adopted the only one which could gain him a patient and impartial hearing. He has selected subjects which all must admit to be important. Of these, he has caught the prominent features, expatiated on the great outlines, thrown open the doors which lead the reader to application and inference, and then retired to explore another region. These discourses are seventy in number, to each of which the author rarely allots more than four or five pages. This is wisely done, as multitudes can spare ten or fifteen minutes, to read a sermon, who, if the perusal demanded an hour, would perhaps never look through a single page. Short, however, as these discourses are, they are well stored with solid materials, in which the inquiring mind finds tangibility, and is never bewildered with the mists of uncertainty, or deluded by the language of equivocation. REVIEW.-The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, with Devotional Reflections, Critical and Explanatory Notes, &c. III. Vols. 8vo. Souter. London. 1828. THIS is a new work about to be published in small parts, of which No. I. only, commencing with the New Testament, is before us. It seems to be formed somewhat on the plan of Bagster's Bible, though in several respects it is essentially different. It is a work of great promise, and threatens and Antinomian heresies, with severe casthe church of Rome, the Unitarian, Arian, tigation. No author's or compiler's name, however, appears, nor are we informed whether any original matter will be found among the selections. These omissions we consider to be disadvantageous to its extensive circulation. The plan is somewhat novel, but it is one that we cannot but approve. 659 Review. Concise System of Self-Government. Paul Jones. In the centre of his page, the author gives the sacred text, leaving a wide margin on each side, in one of which he gives a running commentary, and in the other, marginal references, and a brief chronology. At the conclusion of a chapter, or section, he furnishes devotional reflections. He then states "Erroneous doctrines or devices of men. This is followed by three parallel columns, in one of which he places the propositions of heresy; in another, the pointed condemnation they receive from scripture; and in the third, the sanction which his own procedure receives from the authority of the church of England, and the language of the fathers. From a single number we can form but an inadequate estimate of what the volumes, when completed, will be. So far as this goes, we have been satisfied with its orthodoxy, and, continuing thus to the end, it will be a valuable work. It is neatly and closely printed; and, in the arrangement, the compiler displays much ingenuity, and places much useful information in a condensed and perspicuous form before the reader. REVIEW.-A Concise System of Self- 660 and that its ramifications extend to every department of life, whether we view man in his social, his domestic, or his individual character. It has already passed through two editions, and its merits promise many more. REVIEW.-Paul Jones, a Romance, by THIS work has been some time in our Paul Jones, during the American war which terminated in the independence of the United States, was a very celebrated character, distinguished on the ocean for courage, enterprise, and success; the boast of his associates in arms, and the terror of his enemies. These circumstances have induced the author of the volumes before us to place his name in the title, and to carry it onward at the head of every page, though in reality it has little more to do with the work itself, than if he had given it the name of admiral Rodney or lord Nelson. He has found, indeed, in the character of the real Paul Jones, the rough materials which he has wrought into the composition of his fictitious namesake, and from these resources he has drawn the heroism, ferocity, impudence, courage, injustice, baseness, and brutality, which he has interwoven in the garb of his imaginary commander. The three volumes furnish a series of romantic adventures, in which the ferocious propensities and passions of human nature, are called forth under their more forbidding aspects, and we are introduced to scenes that commit an outrage on probability, and which never could have existed but in an imagination like that of the author. He has, however, contrived to arrest his fugitive ideas as they presented the images of things before him, and has given to them as much order and consistency as the nature of his subject would allow. The scenery is generally on the ocean, and cannon, swords, pistols, cutlasses, and boarding pikes, enemies, tempests, lee-shores, rocks, thunder, lightning, the screams of sea birds, engagements, darkness, conquest, and profligacy, all mingle together, and rise and disappear before us, as we advance through the chapters. To those who are in love with wonders, who delight in groans, who can gaze with rapture on human gore, enjoy the smoke and fire of cannon, and witness with plea |