an explicit denial, and join issue upon this question. Let the Romanists rake up all the names of Protestant sects that he can collect, with the help of Evans's Sketch, sects existent or non-existent, that have sprung up in the Church since the Reformation, in those countries where the Holy Scriptures have been circulated; and we will engage to produce a catalogue quite as long, and exhibiting aberrations quite as ridiculous or melancholy, that had their birth in the golden age of the Church of Rome, before the art of printing had been invented, or the morning star of the Reformation had risen above the horizon. We will undertake to prove, that heresies and schisms have never been multiplied, except in the destitution of the Holy Scriptures, and where the community have not had access to them; and that the Protestant Church has always been more truly united in doctrine, notwithstanding the absence of outward uniformity, than the pseudo-Catholic Church. The Holy Scriptures, which are falsely represented as occasioning the variety of religious opinions, furnish the only remedy for that evil; and it is found by experience, that in proportion as they are freely circulated, heresies give way, differences are softened down, and truth, left to its proper evidence, finds its way to the understanding and the heart.

The causes which have led to the increase of infidelity on the Continent, (or we should rather say, to the new disguise which it has there assumed,) have been treated at length so recently in our pages,* that we shall not now enter further into the subject; but shall content ourselves with remarking, that the return to better principles and more scriptural doctrines, which is extensively taking place, is attributable to nothing so much as the increased circulation of the Holy Scriptures in those countries among all classes of the community. Dr. Drummond tells us, that abroad, Unitarianism is spreading like the light of heaven. The mountains and valleys of Switzerland are re-echoing her hallelujahs, while Malan and his fanatics are howling a funeral dirge over the lifeless carcase of Calvinism. We can inform him that Unitarianism is not spreading; but that the doctrines of the Reformation, blessed be God, are regaining their ascendancy.

The error of the Socinian, which has been so ignorantly or so malignantly confounded with the Protestant principle, consists, not in his exercising the independent right of private judgement, which is his unquestionable birthright, but in his refusing to bow to the evidence which the Word of God supplies, with

* Eclectic Rev. July, 1827. Art. German Neologism.

regard to the truths that he impugns. He brings to the Holy Scriptures the prejudices of an unbeliever, and he wrests the Scripture in order to countenance his unbelief. He rejects that sufficient evidence of the truth which God has been pleased to vouchsafe, and in our acceptance or rejection of which, an important part of our moral probation consists; and it is absurd to suppose that any human testimony could compel his belief. No authorized interpretation of the Scripture can have attaching to it that evidence of its truth, which belongs to the infallible dictates of inspiration; and he who refuses to believe on the authority of St. Paul and St. John, can hardly be expected to believe on the fallible testimony of Ignatius or Justin. We are far from commending the Socinian for rejecting the lower species of evidence which is supplied by the historic testimony of the Church; but his rejecting it, is but the consequence of his resisting the Divine testimony contained in the clear and simple declarations of Scripture. To believe or not to believe, to obey or not to obey, to choose good or evil, God has put into the power of every one; and on the right exercise of this inalienable and awful prerogative, our salvation depends. The exercise of private judgement in the choice of our religion, Mr. Faber himself allows; and the Romanist appeals to this private judgement in insisting upon the claims of his church; but both, strange to say, refuse to allow, that the legitimate, probationary exercise of the judgement and conscience can have for its proper object, the revelation which God has given to man, the witness which he hath testified of his Son, and the message of his of his grace.

The length to which this article has already extended, will not allow of our entering upon any fresh topic; or it would be profitable to look a little more closely into the claims of the self-constituted depository of that authority which is supposed to supersede the exercise of private judgement in all doubtful matters. On this point, Mr. Faber and the Bishop of Aire would not accord. Though agreeing to treat private judgement as their common enemy, theirs is by no means a common cause. On some future occasion, this subject may come more distinctly before us. In the mean time, we must remark, that, while both the Romanist and the Semi-Protestant contend for the necessity of an authorized interpreter of Scripture, and respectively put in their claim on behalf of that which they deem the true church, they will be found to differ most essentially as to the real organ of that authority which is supposed to be so necessary a check and restraint upon private judgement. The authority which the Church-of-England-man contends for, is at least defined and intelligible, being embodied in

the form of creeds and articles, and tied down by them, so that it cannot trench any further upon the right of private judgement, cannot extend its jurisdiction over the conscience. The organ of that authority is in effect the State. It is otherwise with the mysterious, indefinite, all-pervading authority of the Romish Church. The matter in truth', remarks Mr. Pope, ⚫ resolves itself into this: that the priest is the infallible organ of the Church in the estimation of the people.' Mr. Maguire endeavours to parry off this remark by saying, that the priest is the organ of infallibility, as long as he teaches the true doctrine of the Catholic Church.' His teaching the truth, however, would only make him the organ of truth: he is the organ of infallibility, because he is invested, in the eyes of the people, with an authority over their consciences which pretends to be infallible. Whether he teaches the true doctrine of his Church or not, the people have no means of ascertaining, nor are they permitted to decide. To him, to the Holy Church in his person, they are bound implicitly to surrender their minds. It is thus, as we have shewn on a former occasion, that the Church of Rome is not only the author, but the object of that faith which it demands from its votaries, and that not simply as an abstract object, or as a political authority. The Church of Rome, that is to say, the spiritual power pretended to by that Church, and vested in the person of every priest, is as truly the ultimate object of faith to every consistent Romanist, as Christ is the object of faith to every true Christian. Upon the power of the priest hinges the whole system of Popery,that plenary authority flowing down from its infallible head, Our Lord God the Pope,' to every ordained divinity in the Romish priesthood; by virtue of which they transubstantiate, absolve from sin, vend indulgences, dispense grace, loose from the pains of hell, and confer eternal life. Transubstantiation, Purgatory, Confession, Indulgences, the four pillars of Popery, rest upon the common foundation of this ghostly authority, of which the Pope is the chief corner-stone. It is from this au

thority, that, in the exercise, not of a mere right, but of a bounden duty, Protestants appeal to the Word of God. Against this authority we protest in toto, whether claimed by Papist or Protestant; in every disguise which it may assume, whether dominant and avowed, as in the Romish Church, or lurking in the dark places of the English service-book. The boast and base' of the Reformation consisted in the overthrow of this spiritual authority, in order to make way for the Bible only, and the right of private judgement in matters o' faith upon the authority of the Bible, as the foundation of the religion of Protestants. We rejoice that after all, though Mr.

Faber seems, in common with many of his class, to disavow that principle, owing to a mistaken view of it, yet, when he comes to grapple more closely with Popery towards the close of the volume, he makes the noble avowal, worthy of a Protestant clergyman- MAN, FOR HIS RELIGIOUS OPINIONS, is ANSWERABLE TO GOD ALONE.'

We shall have further occasion to advert to the contents both of Mr. Faber's work and of Mr. Mendham's volume, which we have left ourselves no room to notice. They contain much curious and valuable information, and we recommend them to the attention of our readers. We shall be happy to think, that we have, in the present article, contributed in any humble measure to vindicate that great principle which seems to be so little understood, and which even the antagonists of Popery seem ready to abandon.

Art. II.-1. Death-bed Scenes, and Pastoral Conversations. By the late John Warton, D.D. Edited by his Sons. Two Vols. 8vo. pp. 1046. Price 24s. London, 1826, 1827.

2. Sermons and Miscellaneous Pieces. By the Rev. Robert Wynell Mayow. 12mo. pp. 453. Price 7s. 6d. London, 1821.

THERE is no circumstance of a pastor's duty, that makes a

greater demand on his discretion, than the adaptation of his ministerial offices to the condition of the dying. An awful responsibility surrounds him at all times; but, in these seasons, it besets him with anxieties and difficulties of the most harassing and oppressive nature. Where the thread of life is straining upon its last fibre, it seems the very act of desperation, to throw the pressure of a burdened conscience upon its yielding strength, and thus to give a termination assuredly fatal to the strife which as yet is in suspense. Nevertheless, since there is something infinitely beyond the interests of an earthly existence, that turns upon the mere point of time which is thus given, it would be guilt and madness to pause upon the hazard. It becomes then a most important question, whether there is no medium between an abrupt disclosure of danger, and a criminal attempt at concealing or palliating it; between a violent appeal to a sleeping conscience, and a heartless prophecy of smooth things. Such a medium will, we believe, always present itself, even in the most difficult cases; nor will it be otherwise than easily found, by the man who, in a spirit of mingled tenderness and fidelity, endeavours to make the patient acquainted with himself, his condition, his danger, and his refuge. Although to probe a deep wound must of necessity

be painful, the pain itself will be salutary when it is known to be remedial; and when the disease and the cure, the curse and the promise, sin and the Sanctifier, condemnation and the Saviour, are placed before the dying criminal in their right bearing and aspect, we are sure that the effect must be, in every way, for good, and not for evil. At the same time, it is not to be concealed, that, in a matter of such peculiar delicacy, there is danger of error; nor is there any line of pastoral service, in which it is more desirable to be in full possession of all the knowledge that personal circumstances and the experience of others can suggest.

The volumes before us will not supply that knowledge. They are blind and halting guides, leading to lame and impotent conclusions. Concerning the history of the first, we know nothing but from the information afforded by the preface; and we confess that we have strong misgivings respecting its correctness. It is there stated, as from the Author himself, that thescenery'-meaning, we suppose, the details and personages-of the work, is strictly conformable to truth and nature.' The dialogue, moreover, is affirmed to be substantially the transcript of what actually passed between the Writer and certain individuals whom he was called on to visit in the discharge of his professional duties. We have, from the Editors, the further intimation, that, although it is judged expedient to conceal the name and situation of the parish where the Author resided, it was not thought necessary to withhold his name, because it is so common. Now, we apprehend that, admitting Warton to be a much more frequently occurring surname than we should, from our own observation, have supposed, we shall still have room to ask, how such a reason can be made applicable to the present business. There are not, we imagine, so many John Wartons, D.D., in the situation of rector over a parish in the immediate neighbourhood of a large town and a navigable river, but that a reference to the Clerical Guide of a few years back, would give the desired information to any one who might wish to acquire it. In addition to this, the book itself has all the appearance of an artificial composition, got up for specific purposes, and arranged with special regard to effect. The scenes' may have occurred, certainly; but they strike us as being suspiciously scenic. The conversations' may be natural; but, in our view, they are palpably dramatic. The histories' may be verity itself; but with us, they savour strongly of romance. They have, at all events, an obvious design. They take a ground which is, in our opinion, most weak and dangerous, while there is an anxious and elaborate adjustment of circumstantials to the principles thus injuriously