ing to Eve the contemptible nature of the animal by whom she had been tempted, not cursing the animal for the unintentional effects of its conduct. Upon the whole, view this account in which ever way you please, it is impossible to discover any thing like a supernatural wicked being concerned in the transactions recorded, either out of the serpent or in the serpent. But I know Christians are in the habit of explaining this account by the twentieth chapter of Revelations, where an angel is represented as coming down from heaven. "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan," &c. and chained him; but it is evident the being here spoken of is the same that in the 12th chapter is represented as fighting in heaven, and being cast, out upon the earth; whereas the Devil, whom Christians suppose tempted Eve, has been on this earth actively employed in all manner of wickedness from the commencement of the creation. The dragon here spoken of, is represented as visible on this earth; whereas the being Christians designate by the term Satan or Devil is considered as an invisible fallen angel. But let the candid enquirer examine the scriptural meaning of the Dragon, and 1 have no doubt he will find it designate those worldly powers which have supported idolatry, and persecuted the saints of God. To conclude, I would impress upon the minds of your rea ders, that wherever the word Devils in the plural occurs in the English translation of the Bible, it uniformly refers to Demons, i. e. departed heroes or men, whom the heathen deified and worshipped; of course, were there such a being as the Devil, these passages do not refer to that being, consequently 1 shall pass them unnoticed; secondly, that the words Devil and Satan are not proper names, but appellatives to describe the moral qualities of, the person or taing to which they are connected, or signify the being adverse or in opposition to the thing spoken of, whether it be good or bad; thirdly, that throughout the Mosaic account of the Fall, a ser pent is represented as the seducer, neither any fallen angel or Devil being mentioned. And now, Sir, not being able to find any foundation for the belief in a fallen angel, who goes about seeking our destruction; and the words Devil and Satan not being proper names of such a being, I shall in my next examine some of the passages where those words occur, and endeavour to offer a rational solution of them. I remain, your's, &c. CRITO. THE CHRISTIAN'S REVIEW OF THE POLITICAL WORLD. "If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the faith and patience of the saints."-REV. xiii. 9, 10. THE events of the last few weeks, so many and so important, have, to the superficial politicians of this country, been the cause of unbounded exultation-to the philanthropist of the keenest anguish and commiseration, for the sufferings and follies of his fellow creatures-and to the Christian of the deepest reflection as to what all these things tend. Ranking ourselves among the two latter classes, we shall not need an apology for laying before the public our feelings and reflections upon the occasion; yet we feel most forcibly the difficulties of drawing the line between such reflections, and an interference with politics, with which our publication disclaims all interference. But as the people of England profess to be Christians, and the great men of the nation are anxiously distributing the Bible among the common people-a book in which the affairs of na tions are largely spoken of, though never considered as a poli tical book-we may perhaps be excused in treating of the present affairs of the world, when, like that book, we have no par ty views, but merely hope to draw moral instruction from passing events, and shew to our countrymen the "signs of the times" in which we live. And as it is allowed by all Christians that the Bible contains prophecies descriptive of the fate of all nations, to the very end of time; that it foretells a period of very great calamities--of the destruction of all anti-christian and tyrannical governments in church and state-ofa time when men shall" beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks-when the nations shall learn war no more, but the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the water covers the place of the seas-and when there shall be one king, even Jehovah, over the whole earth"-we say, under these circumstances, it cannot be objected to by any Christian, our attempting to shew them the state of things as connected with prophecy-to warn them of their danger, and point out the path in which they ought to walk that they may be (Rev. iii. 10) kept from the hour, c temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth." " We think it will not be disputed that there never was a period in which so much cause for anxiety existed, as it repects the prosperity and happiness of our own country, as the present. Even those who think the most highly of our re sources, consider our greatest security in perpetual war with France, while her present power continues; and that to make peace with its present ruler would be signing the death warrant of our country; if then our dangers are so great from peace, it may not be unprofitable to inquire what ground we have for hope or fear from a continuance of war? For a nation, under such circumstances, to hope for final success, it requires that the people be perfectly satisfied with the government and their own condition; that they be united as the heart of one man; that their resources be undiminished, their government and revenue administered with integrity and economy, and above all that the cause they are engaged in be just, and such as can entitle them to look for the protection of heaven. But this latter they can never do, if they have themselves been, or are now, the oppressors of others-if they have been the first aggressors, or if the people and government are corrupt. The ways of God are equal, and he will not sanction injustice; if we have erred as a nation, he has shewn how we may recover his favour. (Ezek. xxxiii. 15)—“ If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live--he shall not die." But has our country done this? We fear not. Look at our corrupt press, where the grossest falsehood and deception is propagated in the sight of heaven for base lucre, and when those among them who speak the loudest for reform are themselves convicted of corruption! Look at the motion of Sir F. Burdett for an Address to the Prince, complaining of grievances, when not one man in the House of Commons had sufficient virtue to second itto give it even an opportunity of being discussed. If its assertions were false, discussion would have exposed them; if true, the men who profess to be the guardians of our liberty ought to have demanded their redress; but sorry are we to say, these things prove too fully the truth of his assertion, "that a boroughmonger faction tyrannizes over both king and people, and that till this faction is rooted out we never can hope for peace or success.' Look also at the corrupt and debauched characters about the Court-the inconsistency of all our councils-and the extreme blindness of the men who hold the reins of government. When success crowns our endeavours, it is not the time to make peace-when we are humbled before the enemy, it is equally improper-neither war or peace with them are proper times for reform, and it is our duty (they tell us) to spend our last pound note to support a Catholic nation, while it would be the height of folly to admit our Catholic countrymen to participate in the common rights of men and citizens! Can these things be just! Can a country so governed ever hope for success! If to this we add the increase of taxation, driven almost to its last shift-the high price of provisions, rents, &c.-the want of employment for our manufacturers, and the probable establishment of those manufactories on the Continent and America-the picture becomes so alarming as to make the friend of his country sicken at the thought. But, to increase our wretchedness, we are now plunged into a war with America, through the folly of our rulers in their Orders of Council, which they have revoked too late, and other pretensions, which those who know not the resources and energies of a people enjoying the blessings of liberty, imagine will soon be ended. God grant that it may ! but however ardent our wishes, our fears, we confess, preponderate. Our only hope of peace depends upon concessions almost too great for the proud heart of a blinded and bewildered government to make; yet in their unwillingness to strike, when challenged to the fight, they shew some mark of conscious recollection, and seem to say as Macbeth to Macduff "Of all men else I have avoided thee: But get thee back, my soul is too much charg'd But the hopes of the government are elated by the war between France and Russia, and they tell us that Buonaparte is now drawn into a trap-that Russia will give a deadly blow to his power-and that all their plans are successful, while ruin and despair alone await the French emperor-that defeated by Alexander, his retreat will be cut off by our faithful ally Bernadotte, who will completely annihilate his army! If obtaining a country containing several millions of people enthu siastically attached to him for restoring their nation, and sworn to avenge themselves on his enemy and their despoiler and tyrant-if overrunning the Russian territory, driving all before him, and seizing or destroying all their works and ma gazines be defeat-then is Napolean most wretchedly unfortu nate; and if flying before the enemy with all these sacrifices is victory, then is Alexander most prosperous! But, alas! he flies not alone before the arm of Napoleon-it is also before the arm of justice, avenging the murders and injuries of the heretofore insulted and oppressed, but now renovated Poland! But in these cases, We still have judgment here; that we but teach i Prussia has drunk deep of it before, and no doubt all who participated in the crime must be partakers of the punishment. As it respects Bernadotte, let our country beware; no sooner will he have gotten our gold than he will find an excuse for making peace with his old master. I believe it is proverbial on the Continent, or ought to be, if experience can make men wise, "that no child can be more easily duped, than can the English government." But a fresh gleam of hope has now flushed upon this benighted nation-a victory has been obtained in the Peninsula of Spain, which has filled the government with the most intoxicated and extravagant exultation. Wellington, with a superior army to Marmont, has gained a victory, and thousands of our fellow-men, creatures of the same God, and who ought to live in love and amity with each other, are, butchered on the field of battle-their wives made widows, and their, children orphans! eleven pieces of cannon have been taken, and 7000 prisoners; for which there have been illuminations for three successive nights, and a prayer and thanksgiving offered up in churches, which is no doubt the production of our pious bench of bishops. In this prayer the Deity is thanked for the success of our armies in Spain and Portugal, and the victory is ascribed to him. If God is, as they say, the only cause of their success, to whom is the victory to be ascribed when it is given to our enemy? "Let not my weak and erring hand Or deal damnation round the land ས་ In this said prayer, which may be seen in the Port-folio of this Magazine, it is said, "and of thy great mercy, O God! open the eyes of our blinded and infatuated enemies, that they may see and understand the wickedness they are working. Touch them with the spirit of remorse; awaken their justice; and correct their inordinate ambition." Not a word is said of the possibility of any blindness, infatuation, injustice, or ambition, on our own part; not a word of the East and West Indies, and the millions of human beings enslaved, oppressed, and kept in ignorance, by this nation-not a word respecting the miseries entailed upon the Irish, or of the corruption of our rulers, and their injustice and ambition! Thus it is, that the people are deceived to their ruin; not only persuaded that they are engaged in a righteous cause, but compelled to tell the Deity what, to say the least, they do not understand. How forcibly does this remind us of the complaint of the Almighty by the mouth of Jeremiah, respecting the Jewish nation (Jer. v. 30, 31)," a wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land, |