piety. From this he removed to Orleans, and afterwards he was called to Tübingen to become the ornament of its newly founded University. In 1482, he was taken by his patron Eberhard of Wurtemberg along with him into Italy, when he pronounced a discourse before the pope in Latin, so pure and elegant, that he was declared equal to the best orators in Italy. On his return, taking up his abode mostly in Stutgard, his time was divided between the duties of the Court, the study of Greek, and the writing of his rudiments of the Hebrew language. In 1496, a great change came over his life by the lamented death of Eberhard, a prince whom he greatly loved, and who had shown him distinguished favour. But now Eberhard the younger, a youth whom the council feared, succeeding his father, Reuchlin was forced to flee his native state, and take refuge in Heidelberg. Here rising speedily into the favour of the prince, he was sent by him in 1498 on a mission to the pope, to endeavour to remove a sentence of excommunication under which the elector deemed himself unjustly laid. "Thou art appointed," said he boldly to the sovereign pontiff, "a priest of souls that thou mayest heal wounded hearts, that thou mayest pour soothing oil, not vinegar into the wounds, and mayest restore the members, not cut them off." Meeting here at this time with the celebrated Greek Argyropylos, he read the Greek language so fluently with him, that the latter, in astonishment, exclaimed, Alas! alas! Greece exiled and fugitive has gone and hidden herself beyond the Alps." Having after a year's stay negotiated this business favourably for his prince, he returned to Germany, and was permitted in 1499 to settle again in Stutgard. In 1502, Reuchlin was elected general judge of alliance in Swabia, an office which he filled with great faithfulness for eleven years, though it necessarily occupied much of his time which he had rather devoted to his loved work of studying the scriptures. Withdrawing now more from courtly life, and desiring to promote an enquiry after truth, he published in 1506 his great work, the labour of many years, a Grammar and Dictionary of the Hebrew language, and afterwards in 1512, his Commentary on the Seven Penitential Psalms, works which, laying open the stores of truth so long closed, eminently advanced the cause of the Reformation. "The whole scripture," said he in his preface, “is Christ, all relates to him and his work."

Weakened by these excessive public and private labours, he remained much at home, conversing and instructing inquiring youth who delighted to resort to him. Among these was a young relative of his own, the celebrated Melancthon. For this ingenuous and talented youth, Reuchlin contracted an almost unbounded affection, and from his pious and profound instructions, joined with the purely evangelical teaching of Johannus Hungarus, Melancthon was grounded in those principles, the advocacy of which subsequently made his name famous both as a scholar and a divine. It was Reuchlin, too, who, in 1518, when applied to by Frederick of Saxony, recommended Melancthon to the Greek chair in the university of Wittemberg. It was the consideration of these and subsequent most valuable labours on the part of Reuchlin, towards the cause of the Reformation, that drew forth from Luther, afterwards, his celebrated letter to him, in which, with characteristic warmth, he thus addresses him :-"God be with thee, thou brave man! I give thanks for the mercy of God mani

fested in thee, in that thou hast been able to stop the mouths of these blasphemers. Thou, though unconsciously, wert the instrument of the divine counsels, greatly desired by all friends of a purer theology. Thou and thy followers had thought to carry it on in one way, but God turned it to another. Thy force has no little broken the horns of these beasts; by thee the Lord has brought about, that the tyranny of the sophists has at last learned to withstand the true friends of theology more prudently and mildly, and that Germany has begun to breathe again, after having been for so many centuries oppressed, nay, almost annihilated, by the school theology," &c. &c.

These great efforts of Reuchlin to advance learning, and especially his success in laying open the Old Testament scriptures, had made him from the beginning the object of the monks' hatred and jealousy. Long had they watched for an opportunity of rendering him the victim of awakened public suspicion, and at last the favourable moment seemed to arrive. John Pfefferkorn, a Jew who had been baptised into the christian faith, to escape, apparently, the punishment which his crimes deserved from his countrymen, published several works to prove that all Jewish books should be burned, as containing blasphemy against Christ. Through his connexion with the inquisitor Hochstraten of Cologne, and the Dominican friars, an order was obtained in 1509, from Maximilian the emperor, to destroy all Jewish books, except the Bible. The order at first was apparently reluctantly given, and the strong representations of the Jews and others against the outrage, afforded the emperor an opportunity of referring the matter to Reuchlin, and several other learned men, for advice. Reuchlin alone complied, and gave it as his opinion that it would be flagrant injustice to burn these books, as many of them had no connexion with religion at all; others of them were the commentaries of learned Jews on the grammatical sense of the Hebrew scriptures; and as to the others, if they were destroyed, it would just confirm the Jews in their errors, and set them to write new arguments in support of their faith. "The best means," says he, "of converting the Israelites, would be to establish in every university two teachers of the Hebrew language, who should teach the theologians to read the Bible in Hebrew, and thus refute the doctors of that faith." These words of wisdom prevailed, and the Jews obtained a repeal of the order, and the restoration of their books. The enemies of Israel were thus defeated, and Hochstraten, with his minions, now turned all their enmity against Reuchlin, who had deprived them of their expected prey. They examined his writings, and having perverted several passages from their obvious meaning, they proclaimed him a heretic, accused him of a leaning to Judaism, and menaced him with the tortures of the inquisition. Pfefferkorn, in 1511, published his "Handspiegel" (hand-mirror), enforcing the necessity of burning all Jewish books, to which Reuchlin immediately replied in his "Augenspiegel" (eye-glass). Under the power of his irresistible arguments, the faculty of theology at Cologne stormed and threatened in fury, and Reuchlin at first trembled in fear, but ultimately his love and confidence of truth emboldened him, and in effect he returned answer to the demand for his recantation." Convince me, from reason and scripture, that I am wrong, and I will recant; but till then I dare not." Reuchlin was a man of peace, but now he was brought into a fierce warfare, and his

was one of those natures, gentle and pliant in a calm, but firm and unbending when the storm is felt.

He knew that his enemies would declaim against him for endeavouring to overturn the tradition of the fathers. But "to such clamours," says he," Iwill give this one reply, I am at liberty to do what the fathers did. Though I honour Nicolas de Lyra as a great teacher, and Jerome as a holy angel, I honour truth more; indeed, I reverence her as I do God himself." Hochstraten, his enraged foe, cited him before the court of the inquisition at Mainz. Reuchlin firmly declined his right of judgment, and appealed to the Pope, who immediately referred the case to the Bishop of Spires. This prelate decided against Hochstraten with costs; and he again in turn appealed to the papal chair, when a body of commissioners were appointed finally to settle the affair. The enemies of our reformer did not fail to use every effort to crush him, now assailing the judges with threats, and anon endeavouring to corrupt them with money, but to the unspeakable joy of the friends of truth, a majority of the judges, in 1516, declared in favour of Reuchlin, and condemned in severe terms the base conduct of his opponents. The contest thus so long and so fiercely carried on by the enemies of the reformation, though arising out of a comparatively trivial circumstance, was of vast importance. It discovered the spirit of the adherents of darkness, and called into exercise vigorous and combined efforts on the part of those who loved the truth.* Contemplating the zealous and * Under the name of Reuchlinists, the leading men of learning throughout Germany confederated, to support the cause of light against darkness. Public opinion was in their favour. 66 My zeal for thee," writes the faithful Pirkheimer to Reuchlin in 1517, "is sufficiently rewarded by my being able to call myself thy friend and a Reuchlinist, only be of good courage, the greater part of the burden rests already on our shoulders. I will continually fan the flame, and I hope it will break out vehemently. Do thou repose while I gather together troops, whose age and circumstance fit them for the battle." Not only in Germany, but in Italy, France, and England, a confederation was formed among the friends of learning. From our own country, such men as More, Fisher, Lynacre, Latimer, and Ammonius, joined the "army of the Reuchlinists," and while such productions were appearing as the "Sturmglock" (alarm bell), from the monks, one of the most powerful and tremendous satires ever written in any language, appeared, from an unknown hand, confounding the patrons of ignorance. This was the Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum." The nature of this lampoon may be stated in few words. Previous to the commencement of his persecution, Reuchlin had published a volume of letters from his correspondents, under the title "Epistolae Illustrium Virorum ;" and now Reuchlin's great enemy Ortuinus is supposed in this satire to print a volume of epistles addressed to him by his friends.

The object of the satire is thus, to make the enemies of learning represent themselves, and never were ignorance, stupidity, and immorality, more ludicrously exhibited. In this mirror of most withering ridicule, the conduct of the monks at the universities, is presented to the view. Here one, in spite of his ignorance, seeks to force respect by pedantic gravity; and there another, by cringing hypocrisy, aims at the good graces of the dignitaries; at one time, an M.A. puts a pompous scholastic question, and flourishes away in bad latin, and at another, a brother who is in danger of losing caste by some flagrant immorality, implores a neighbour to lend him counsel to cover his crimes. (Life p. 191.) This satire fell into the camp of the enemy like a bomb-shell in a besieged city, scattering consternation and ruin in its explosion, and covering all faces with blackness. We have said it came from an unknown hand, and there has been much discussion since as to who was its author or authors. (See Edinburgh Review for 1831.) Erasmus, who heard many of the letters before their publication, and could not therefore, but know the authorship, expressly states " Equidem non ignorabam auctores. Nam tres fuisse ferebanter. In neminem derivavi suspicionem." And if it be asked who were these three, we answer that it is next to absolutely certain, they were Ulric von Hutten-Rubianus Grotus, and Hermannus Buschius. The first is proved by numerous coincidences between modes of expressions in the letters, and his Triumphus Capnionis, not then published but prepared before -the second by the letter, addressed to him by Justus Jonas-and the last, by a body

of circumstantial evidence, in our opinion irresistible.

determined energy every where at work, of which his conflict with the Colognese was one leading cause, Reuchlin said in 1518, "I myself a veteran, contemplate these victorious youths, and praise them, but do not triumph." Luther was now in the field, and the still greater commotions caused by his far bolder conduct, drew off the attention, in a great measure, from Reuchlin. In the times of civil turmoil, which followed, Reuchlin had his share of poverty and distress. In 1520, however, he was appointed to the Greek and Hebrew chairs at Tübingen, where there shone a pleasant gleam over the close of his troubled life. He was honoured by the public, crowds of students flocked to him from all quarters, and every comfort afforded that could soften to him the path of an advanced age. But the work of the servant was done, and he was to be now called to his rest. Sickness interrupted his most useful labours, and he retired to Stutgard, where, in June 1522, he departed to be with the Lord. He was gifted by nature with a lovely and humble disposition. Early in youth he seems to have become the subject of grace, through life he served his generation according to the will of God," and the righteous shall be held in everlasting remembrance." While he lived, nobles, princes, and emperors, honoured him with their esteem and friendship. In acquaintance with oriental literature, he had in his times no equal. But his name is pre-eminently and especially dear to the church, for his ardent love to the truth as it is in Jesus; and for his unceasing and honoured efforts to dispel the spiritual ignorance which had for ages before settled on the nations. For these works of his faith, the generations of the upright as they arise, cease not to say, "Servant of God well done."

CRITICAL NOTICES.

The Highlands, the Martyrs, and other Poems. By the Rev. JAMES G. SMALL. Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co. 1843.

THE three principal poems in this volume of Mr Small's are prize compositions written during the author's attendance at college. As juvenile pieces they give very flattering proofs of early developed powers. The taste which, with few exceptions, they display, is chaste and cultivated; and the character of the whole, as a specimen of style, is that of easy and graceful versification. The author possesses, in a high degree, one marked feature of the poetical temperament a vivid sense of the beauties of nature; but to the higher attributes of genius it does not appear to us that he can lay much claim. His imagination is well disciplined, but not creative; and his reflections, though not trite, are not distinguished by depth and vigour. Mr Small's love of nature, too, is blended more than enough with sensibility to the childish superstitions and legendary marvels which still linger in the glens of the Celt. His invocation of those "gentle spirits," the "sweet fays," is mawkish, and his narrative descriptions sometimes flow too much in the strain of a poetized itinerary. The smaller pieces are tender rather than striking, but everywhere exhibit evidence of the author's talent for "building rhyme," in a style that is often elegant as well as correct and easy.

VOL. I. NO. I.

Historical Notices of the United Associate Congregation of Cambusnethan, in a Centenary Address. By the Rev. WILLIAM FLEMING, A.M., West Calder. With an Appendix. By the Rev. ANDREW SCOTT, Cambusnethan. Edinburgh: M. Paterson. 1843.

THE Congregation of Cambusnethan is one of the oldest in the Secession, application for sermon having been made to the Associate Presbytery so early as 1737, and granted same year. Till about twenty-five years since the congregation assembled in a moorland district, two or three miles from their present place of worship; but, though the scene had nothing in it of the beautiful or the picturesque, it was hallowed in the recollections of the people as having formerly afforded, in troublous times, a hiding-place to the Covenanters, where they found occasional opportunities to worship God without molestation. On attaining the venerable age of one hundred years, the congregation celebrated their centenary, on occasion of which the Rev. William Fleming of West Calder delivered this highly appropriate and well written Address, which is published at the request of the friends who heard it. It appeared first in our number for July 1843. To the statement by Mr Fleming, a variety of apposite details are added in an Appendix, by the Rev. A. Scott, the pastor of the congregation. In collecting these, great diligence, and even labour, must have been employed. Biographical notices are given of families and individuals for successive generations, who by works of faith obtained a good report in the congregation and vicinity. These notices are necessarily very brief-sometimes as scanty as if culled from a table of pedigrees and bills of mortality; but though little more than hints, they must possess much local interest, while they do not detract from the general usefulness of the publication, as showing the rise and progress of the Secession cause in that part of the country, and the leadings of Providence in giving it birth, and in furthering its advancement. The narrative would have been improved had the Address been prefaced by a few sentences explanatory of the

occasion.

Wilson's Clerical Almanack for Scotland, and Civil and General Register for 1844. Edinburgh: A. and W. R. Wilson.

THIS almanack fulfils the promise of its title-page, by giving full, and as far as we can judge, accurate lists of the ministers of the different religious denominations in Scotland, of patrons and members of the universities, together with population tables, and other statistical information commonly given in publications of this class. Within the limits to which it is confined, it is a neat and convenient manual.

Canaan; or the Land of Promise. A Friendly Response to "the Harp on the Willows," and "Farewell to Egypt." By a Member of the United Secession Church. London: Ward & Co. 1843.

THE tracts to which this one professes to give friendly response, with their somewhat quaint titles, present an interesting, though a rather one-sided view, the first of them, of the proceedings of the non-intrusion party in the Church of Scotland, at the famous convocation held in Edinburgh in the month of November 1842; the second, of the meeting of the General Assembly in May following, and of what is called "the departure of the