followers. Nor do we heed the cavil that men, seriously and prayerfully studying the Scriptures, differ upon the interpretation. Let those who urge this objection, and therefore refer us to antiquity as the umpire, first settle their own differences about the right interpretation of the Fathers. But we deny that persons, carefully and prayerfully consulting the oracles of truth, will differ upon points inseparable from the salvation of the soul (as Chillingworth has largely shewn in his reply to the Romanists on the subject.) Such readers of the Bible will harmonize with each other respecting the work of Satan as the seducer of Adam and his posterity, and the work of Christ as the restorer of all who humbly and penitently seek a refuge in His cross; and also as to the necessity and power of the operations of the Holy Spirit in the soul of man; our justification by faith only; our obligations to live to Christ however they may be divided as to the great mystery of Election, an agreement upon : which is not essential to salvation; or whether Episcopalians, or non-Episcopalians. Dr. Pusey and his friends, by their approach to Romanism, have disturbed the peace of our national Church, and that at a period when (as the pious Dean of Salisbury has shewn in his excellent Charge, delivered to the clergy of his district in 1839) just notions of ecclesiastical discipline were rapidly increasing in the land, and, we may add, when many dissenting ministers themselves were entering our communion, as being more pure and more efficient than their own. Whatever may have been their intentions or expectations, they have inflamed instead of closing the wounds of our Church and nation: and we should be unfaithful to our readers, especially to the young and inexperienced, if we did not finally remind them, that on the great day of account, the secrets of all hearts will be judged, not according to the Fathers, but according to the Gospel. (Romans ii. 16.) OBITUARY. DR. OLINTHUS GREGORY. Few names have for nearly half a century been more extensively known, or more highly respected, than that of Olinthus Gregory, LL.D., F.R.S., &c., late professor of Mathematics in the Royal Military Academy, Wool. wich. He was born at Yaxley, in Huntingdonshire, in 1774; and received the best education his native place could afford. He began very early to exhibit an extraordinary taste and ability for mathematical pursuits; and distinguished himself as a contributor to some of the scientific publications of those days. When a very young man he settled in Cambridge, where he taught mathematics, both in the town, and to some of the gownsmen. In 1802 be was invited to the military college at Woolwich; where he resided up to his decease, diligently engaged till his recent relinquishment of his professorship, in the arduous duties of his academical office, and in the well-known and valuable labours of his pen. He was an author of nearly half a century standing; his "Lessons Astronomical and Philosophical," having been published as far back as 1793. Many of his scientific works were the fruit of much toil. He contributed nearly three fourths of the articles, in the thirteen volumes of the Pantalogia; and his papers in other works were numerous and laborious. But amidst his scientific and his academical engagements, he found time for Scriptural studies; and several of his publications, especially his valua ble and justly popular "Letters on the Evidences, Doctrines, and Duties, of the Christian Religion," published in 1811, and his more recent memoirs of his highly esteemed friends, Dr. Mason Good and Robert Hall, shew how solid, spiritual, and correct, were his religious attainments. But his religion was not confined to an intellectual acquiescence in the doctrines and precepts of the Gospel. It was deeplyembedded in his heart; and shone consistently in his life. But all that we might say on this subject; all that we might narrate of his piety and humi. lity; his zeal and benevolence, and of the grounds upon which they rested, his love to God, his faith in his Saviour, and his renewal of heart by the lifegiving influences of the Holy Spirit, is so correctly and usefully exhibited in the funeral discourse preached by his friend and pastor, the Rev. H. Molyneux, minister of Trinity Episcopal chapel, Woolwich, that we have much satisfaction in presenting his remarks to our readers: "In contemplating the character of Dr. Gregory, we can of course only touch on a few of his leading excellencies, and those but briefly. Yet they are such as bespeak no ordinary degree of grace and attainment-such therefore as cannot fail to induce an exalted idea of the efficacy of the principles he professed, and the measure of glory he now enjoys; and such too as may, in many respects, be proposed for our imitation, whose course is not yet run, and whose duty and privilege it is, to be followers of them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises.' "1. The first special and admirable peculiarity of character to which I would advert, is, the combination which was seen to exist in him of high intellectual powers, with exalted piety. The combination, observe; for had it not been so, had the latter not accompanied the former, no mention had been made of him in this place. Valuable as may be such powers in themselves, and in their exercise in the fields of philosophy and science, unfolding and bringing to bear principles of practical utility, yet, unsanctified by the grace of God, and unconnected with a heart moved by the love of the Saviour, and the desire of his glory,. they are, in reference to their possessor's moral state-his state in the sight of God-his state as a good man-as nothing. "No! it is not because he of whom we speak was a great-minded man, but because with that, he was a god-minded man that we testify of him; and make mention of the one characteristic, because accompanied by the other. Such a combination, when it does exist, is worthy our remark and admiration; and rarely, I believe, has it been manifested in a greater degree than in our departed friend. "What a conclusive and valuable testimony did he afford, that true philosophy and true religion are not incompatible; that Gospel principles are not repugnant to sound reason; and that evangelical piety is not that poor and sickly thing some would represent it, commending itself only to the shallow minded and fanatical, but that there is that sterling worth in it which can command the approbation of the most sober judgment, and triumphantly satisfy the calmest investigation. 2. In Dr. Gregory's character there was great humility. In proportion to his great mental superiority, this was observable. It displayed itself in remarkable affability, and true condescension; we are too apt, in our apprehension of what the latter term involves, to limit it, most improperly, to the stooping, in acts of kindness or familiar intercourse, of a superior in rank or position, to those below him; doubtless this is one kind of condescension, very beautiful and admirable; but there is a another kind, of a far higher order, and more admirable nature; the stooping of a great mind to put itself on a par with a comparatively little mind-the man making himself the child, to meet the child on its own ground; thus winning its confidence, in order to impart somewhat of his own greatness. This was Doctor Gregory's condescension; evinced uniformly, and on every occasion. Instead of depressing by the greatness of his talents, he encouraged the diffident, and elicited their capabilities by the most judicious and considerate management of his own. His powers were never exercised to manifest his superiority; whenever the improvement of others, or their welfare in any way, could be furthered by their instrumentality, they were exerted to the utmost; he spared neither pains nor labour, but then it was for the good of others, and not for his own glory,- display was studiously avoided. There was less ostentation, and more real condescension of character in him, than I ever witnessed in one similarly gifted. And this, while it redounded to the praise of the glory of that grace' whence it arose-accounted in a great measure for his deserved popularity and extensive usefulness, especially among the young. Many such remember him with ardent affection, and will rise up and call him blessed. he had hoped-had life and ability been spared-to complete and send forth to the world." "How much more might I add concerning that good man: how much of the ordinary graces of the Christian life, so beautiful, so abundant, in him; how much of his deep and unfeigned love of the Saviour; his profound sense of absolute obligation to grace, and of that wondrous, free, and unmerited exercise of it, which involved the sacrifice of incarnate Deity, for the sin of the world! Feelingly alive was he to these things, and deeply affected in their contemplation; scarcely could such subjects be adverted to during his last and lengthened illness, without moving him to tears; and, in short, his heart was, with its best affections, absorbingly given to "Him whom, though not having seen he loved.' "3. His love for the simple truth of God's word was supreme; and the deference he paid to it absolute. His religious principles and I was intimately acquainted with them-were simply deduced from the oracles of God. He valued human opinions and man's judg ment, on such matters, just so far as they accorded with the mind of God therein revealed, and no farther. Whatever he found there, he implicitly received. It was enough that God said a thing, to cancel at once all the difficulties, and overthrow all the objections, that human ingenuity could urge against it. This was a splendid triumph of grace. With a mind naturally so constituted as to take nothing for granted, but to require demonstration and proof before any proposition could be admitted-yet, in reference to the contents of the Bible, to look for nothing, to require nothing of the kindto believe a thing and receive it as absolute truth, because-and only because it was found there,-this, I say, was a splendid triumph of grace; an admirable instance of its power, in subjecting man's mind to the mind of God;-human wisdom to divine !" "4. He was a man of unbounded Chris--and to our own feelings, great was tian charity. And as this confessedly is the most beautiful, comprehensive. and influential of Christian graces, so was it of all others most conspicuous in him; there was no one thing in his character that so forcibly struck, so deeply impressed me with a sense of its excellence, as this; nothing I admired so much, and so invariably remarked in it. By Christian charity I mean of course Christian love in its true sense-the love of Christians, of all true believers, of all really good men, without distinction of party, sect, or name." "He regretted beyond any thing the absence of this spirit in so many of God's children, and the exceeding detriment to the cause of Christ, and to the extension of the Gospel, consequent on it; he longed to remedy it; and to induce union among Christians, was one of the thoughts and desires uppermost in his heart; a favourite text of his, was that memorable prayer of our Lord, for its accomplishment, That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.' And I have reason to know, from his own lips, that he contemplated, and had mentally framed the sketch of a work on this subject, which "His death itself, with its attendant and peculiar circumstances, speaketh; and words too of much import, and useful admonition. Deprived we were, by reason of the nature of his malady-an affection of the brain-of that expression of peaceful assurance, and testimony of the brightness of his expectation, which we should otherwise, no doubt, have been privileged to witness the deprivation; painful too was the spectacle of one so highly endowed, intellectually and spiritually, lying in a state of mental prostration, and thus passing through the gate that opens on the heavenly Jerusalem; but yet how salutary the lesson it taught! how profitable the meditations engendered by it! What is man, we ask, in view of it, at his best estate? What his wisdom, his power, his greatness, even intellectual and spiritual? God holds it in his hand; he speaks, and man is prostrate all is seemingly vanished; he becomes, in appearance, a thing of nought. Who would be proud, vain, self-sufficient, with this lesson before his eyes? Who would lean on the creature, when he sees to what the highest order may, if God will, be reduced? And how strongly did that sight ad. monish us of the supreme folly of procrastination, whether in reference to the sinner's repentance, or the saint's advancement! "But now all is well; he lived an eminent believer, and he died one-he is in glory! that is enough for him; and the excellence of his life, and the affecting character of his last illness and death, remain; the one for the example, the other for the admonition, of those who survive; that is enough for us; all is well!" 320 VIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. THE last accounts from China were more favourable than the preceding. The island of Hong-Kong has been ceded to the British crown, for an emporium; six millions of dollars are pledged to be paid to the British government in six annual instalments; the official intercourse between the two countries is to be on an equal footing; and the trade at Canton was to be reopened. We trust that the result may be ultimately beneficial to China itself, especially in opening a way for the admission of the Sacred Scriptures, and missionary labours; but we cannot think that we were justified in bombarding China becaue it destroyed the justly confiscated property of the opium smugglers. The arrangement between the Porte and Mehemet Ali does not appear to have been finally concluded. The allies acted incautiously in fighting the Sultan's battles without first receiving a distinct pledge as to the terms of the settlement; but they seem determined that the choice of the successor to the government of Egypt shall not be subject to the control of the Porte, which would render the boon a mockery. The British Government, and its allies, we are happy to add, are interesting themselves to prevent the oppression of the Christians and Jews in Syria. The last accounts from the United States assume an amicable tone. The trial of Mr. M'Leod has been postponed, and there is no reason, we should hope, to apprehend otherwise than that this affair, and also the boundary question, will be peacefully arranged. The Archbishop of Canterbury has convened a public meeting to establish a fund for endowing additional bishoprics in the colonies. Our sheet will be at press before the day, but we cannot doubt that his Grace's appeal will be zealously and munificently responded to; and we greatly rejoice that the highly important duty of adding largely to the number of bishoprics in our colonies, which we repeatedly urged many years ago, when the proposal was reprobated as unnecessary, and as "making bishops too cheap," and lowering their secular dignity, has now strongly commended itself to the rulers, the clergy, and the laity of our Church, so that before long, we trust, every Bri tish colony will enjoy the benefits of confirmation, local ordination, and episcopal jurisdiction. Among the topics of the month, we might mention the stirring discussions at Oxford, and throughout the kingdom, respecting the Tracts for the Times;" but of this we have already treated in our review of Professor Sewell's "Christian Morals." Mr. Newman is hardly used by some who approve of the doctrines of the Tracts, without venturing to inform the world how they contrive to hold them with the Thirtynine Articles. He has boldly answered this oft-proposed question; which they prudently shrink from encountering. His extraordinary quibbling upon the explanation appended to the Communion Service, which declares that Christ's natural body and blood cannot be "in heaven" and "here"too, is no more than is necessary to reconcile the formularies of our Church with any doctrine which asserts more than a spiritual presence, whether as taught at Ryde, or Leeds, in the writings of Mr. Dodsworth, or by Dr. Pusey. Mr. Newman's solution, that Christ's actual body is here "really though not locally!" though palpable nonsense, is less strikingly inconsistent than to maintain that it is here, and yet to sign a declaration that it cannot be here because it is in heaven. The slightest deviation from the doctrine of a merely spiritual presence by faith, involves all the difficulties of Tridentine transubstantiation. And so of all the other Tractarian peculiarities of doc. trine. There is no tenable half-way position between us and Rome. Sir Herbert Jenner is expected very soon to pronounce his judgment in the important question arising out of the Gedney case, relative to the burial of persons who (like Archbishop Secker himself) were baptized by persons not episcopally ordained. The postponement of the decision shews the great importance which the Judge of the Court of Arches most justly attaches to it; and it is the more pressing, because many of the clergy have expressed a determination not to bury persons thus circumstanced; and at this moment there lies, it is stated, unburied at Basingbourn in Cambridgeshire the corpse of a person who died more than a year ago, the burial of which is postponed till the decision. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. LAMBDA; J. R.; S. S. D.; W. W.; T. T.; Laicus Anglicanus; An Affirmationist; Nemo; Laicus; and W. M., are under consideration. IN RECIPROCAL INFLUENCE OF INFIDELITY AND VICE. N stating to the careless and ungodly the humbling doctrines which Revelation proposes to their faith, or the uncompromising precepts which it offers to their practice, you are often met with this self-satisfying reply, that such doctrines are incredible, such precepts impracticable; and therefore that they cannot believe (even though the recorded sentence of infallible truth lies before them) that a just and merciful God will visit with His eternal vengeance a refusal to believe and to do that from which the understanding and the heart revolt. The fact and the principle which this reply involves, St. Paul fully answers, when he says to the Romans, "Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient." Speaking, as he there does, not of Christians, but of heathen,-of those to whom the Scriptures of revealed truth were not vouchsafed, and who could know God only as exhibited in his works: and assuming (as from the previous verses it plainly appears that the Apostle does assume) that the invisible things of God were sufficiently discernible in the things that are made to leave those to whom even this comparatively dim light alone was afforded, without excuse,—with how accumulated and irresistible a force does the same sentence issue against him who has not been left to wander throughout creation to seek the God of nature in His works, but to whom the God of grace has clearly revealed Himself, in the more sure word of prophecy, and by the manifestation of his Son. Thus it answers to the fact, by plainly shewing that men will be visited by the Divine vengeance, for omitting to believe and to do that which they cannot believe to be required of them. The principle it answers by shewing that they cannot believe, because they will not: and that they are given over to an undiscerning mind, because they do not like to retain God in their knowledge. It opposes to it the principle which our Lord expressly taught, "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God." So are we morally constituted, that, until palpable and stubborn facts render it impossible, we can, without difficulty, persuade ourCHRIST. OBSERV, No. 42. 2 T |