must often take place; and the virtues of chastity and conjugal fidelity, of filial and parental affection, which are the grounds of domestic happiness, could not exist.

66

5thly. Plato commands women to procure abortion in certain cases; acquits a man by law who kills his own slave; and only subjects him to a fine, if he kills the slave of another. 6thly. These laws allowed creditors to exercise cruelties on debtors, limiting the weight of chains with which they were to be loaded.

66

"Whilst the Hebrew code abounds in benevolence, as instances:

66

1st. It enjoins humanity to beasts, and forbids the killing the young one under the eye of its dam, or an animal that was pursued and took refuge in a house, Deut. xxiii.

"2dly. The Hebrew law forbids to engage in war, unless for self-defence, or to obtain satisfaction of [for] injuries; or to enter an enemy's country, until restitution had been refused; to cut down fruit trees, or to commit unnecessary waste. Deut. xx. 3dly. In the Hebrew code there are many urgent solicitations, and even commands, to relieve the poor, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow; not to be paralleled in the laws of ancient states. Thou shalt not vex the stranger nor oppress him, nor afflict the widow, and fatherless child. Thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother.

"When ye reap the harvest, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, nor gather the gleanings of thy harvest; thou shalt leave them to the poor and the stranger. Levit. xix.

"So that upon the whole it might well be said, 'What nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous,' Dent. iv. 8; and the best judges in modern times have been of this opinion.

"Sir Thomas Ridley, a learned civilian, affirms, that if the laws of all other nations (except the Jewish) were put together, they are not to be compared to the old Roman laws in gravity, equity, sufficiency. And yet the Jewish laws thus distinguished by this author, Voltaire has presumed to censure as barbarous because the motives of some of them he did not understand. "But Voltaire makes no scruple throughout his works to sacrifice his judgment to his wit."

s;

We were highly gratified with the "Collection of the Proofs of the Trinity" at the close of this volume, The author has shewn considerable judgment in forming this summary of evidence for a doctrine of the greatest magnitude.

On the whole, we shall not scruple to say of this " Catechetical Explanation," what a great critic and moralist remarked on another excellent work for young persons,

"Whoever

"Whoever has the care of instructing others, may be charged with deficiency in his duty, if this book is not recommended."

A Charge delivered at the Visitation of the Rev. the Archdeacon of Sarum, on the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th of June, 1806. By the Rev. CHARLES DAUBENY, Archdeacon of Sarum, 8vo. pp. 36.

A

FTER some excellent observations on the proper limits of religious toleration, the zealous Archdeacon proceeds to a particular consideration of the celebrated plan for the general instruction of the lower orders of the community, set on foot by Mr. Lancaster. This is a subject, certainly, which calls for the serious attention of all real friends of the Constitution in Church and State: and we are glad to see that writers of considerable ability have entered upon the examination of it. The performances of two of these we have already noticed; and it is with pleasure that we now lay before our readers, the weighty reasoning of the judicious author of the "Guide to the Church," upon an institution, which, however specious it may be in appearance, is, in fact, nothing less than a covert attack upon revealed religion.

Mr. Lancaster's plausible pretext is, "not to violate the sanctuary of private religious opinions in the mind, with the view, as it should seem, that the mind when arrived at a certain state of maturity, unpossessed of every religious prejudice, may be in a condition to think and determine for itself."

Upon this Mr. Daubeny makes the following sound ob

servations:

mon sense.

"If this be liberality, my brethren, it is liberality at the expence of Christianity, of approved experience, and even of comFor when we trace man from the earliest period of his history, down to the present day, whether Patriarch, Jew, or Christian have been his instructor, we find that a system of education very different from that now under notice, has at all times been adopted. Early instruction has at all times taken care to secure the power of prepossession on its side, in favour of what was considered to be the true established religion of any

country.

country. With this view, those revealed facts on which religious doctrines are built, have been industriously impressed on the youthful mind, long before it can have attained to a capacity for speculating or reasoning on the doctrines themselves and on this judicious principle, that prejudice and habit are of much quicker growth than reason or judgment, those who have been entrusted with the education of youth, and were themselves established in the truth, have ever felt it to be their duty to secure to truth, that bias in the minds of those entrusted to their charge, which would otherwise have been employed against it. And in so doing, they followed the general plan upon which all education proceeds in the course of which, many, perhaps most things, are required to be implicitly received on the authority of the teacher; of the reasonableness or utility of which the pupil may at the time be totally unqualified to judge. "Indeed, should this idea, so contrary to the plan on which religious education has hitherto been conducted, be suffered to prevail among us; namely, that of leaving the human mind to itself, till it is qualified to reason and determine on the choice of its own religious tenets, the event would be, that we should soon find few scholars disposed to learn in the Christian School, and of course, in process of time few masters qualified to teach in it; consequently, so far as such an eccentric mode of thinking is capable of extending its influence, so far must Christianity in proportion decline."

Some excellent remarks follow, on the plea that in this proposed system, Religion forms a part, and a Religion which takes the Bible for its acknowleged basis.

"We need only," says the Archdeacon, "to ask what book, considered as a religious text-book, the Bible must be in the hands of a teacher, who professedly rejects the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, which it reveals; and, should he retain the originally distinguishing principles of his sect, considers, moreover, his own immediate revelation of authority sufficient to supersede the letter of it? What, I say, must the Bible be in such hands, should the teacher act consistently with his own principles, but a book subject to continual perversion and misinterpretation? Whilst those, whose unhappiness it may be to sit under such a teacher, unacquainted, from his ignorance of the Christian system, with the natural condition of the parties whom he undertakes to teach, (whatever advantage they may derive from him in other respects,) will in their religious character be any thing but Christians.

"An anecdote occurs to me in point; which, because it has been well authenticated, I take leave to introduce.

"In conformity with that generalizing plan, which is considered to be peculiarly caracteristic of the liberality of the pre

sent

*

sent day, a Sunday School, which had originally been set on foot. by members of the Church of England, was thrown open for the purpose of admitting all who might be disposed to unite in the promotion of the same good cause. The consequence was, that religionists of every description were to be found in the number of its managers. Among these, a Quaker, of excellent moral character and known philanthropy particularly distinguished himself. One day, however, after visiting the school, he took away the catechism-book; which, on his return the following day, he brought back and laid on the table. A clergyman soon after his departure, visiting the same school, on taking up the catechism-book, found a blank paper pasted over the creed. The information gained from the mistress on the subject was, that the Quaker in question had taken away the book with him yesterday, and returned it that morning; since which it had not been in use. The clergyman in the course of the day took an opportunity of remonstrating with the Quaker on the impropriety of his conduct; from whom he received the following answer: Friend, thou wouldest not have the children learn what thou dost not believe.'

This story is extremely to the point, as Mr. Daubeny justly observes, and he farther adds upon it:

"If, my brethren, one individual Quaker, engaged with other Christians of a different persuasion in the production of a certain established plan of education, could not refrain from thus manifesting his prejudice against the peculiar doctrines of Christ ianity; it is surely not necessary to enquire what will be the religious lessons taught in schools, entrusted to the sole management of professors of that description."

The archdeacon, at the close, gives this particular reason for his discussion of the subject:

1 "The system of education here referred to, has, under the influence of distinguished patronage, been introduced into that division of this diocese, which has been committed to my superintendence. It might have been considered, therefore, as some dereliction of duty, had I suffered it to pass unnoticed. From the information, however, that has been received, should that information be correct, I have reason to think, that much time will not elapse, before it will be demonstrable, that neither the system in question, nor its projector, are entitled to that attention, by which, from the most amiable motives, they have been so eminently distinguished"

This excellent charge concludes with the following solemn and impressive reflections addressed to the clergy:

Be

"Be the judgment of others what it may, ours cannot fail to be determined. As ministers of Christ, we are in a manner wedded to the Christian cause; from which no system, it is presumed, with whatever promising aspect it may look toward society, will ever be able to effect our separation. However tolerant of the opinions, charitable to the errors, and indulgent to the prejudices of others, we may be, (for we presume to judge no man) still, when the cardinal articles of Christianity, for the preservation of which the creeds of the church have been promulgated, are attempted to he set at nought; we, my reverend brethren, shall never, I trust, have a charge to bring against ourselves, in our ministerial character, similar to that which the great *Roman orator heretofore brought against his consular brethren, when, after enquiry into the cause of those bold attempts that Cataline and his confederates made upon the commonwealth of Rome, he thus emphatically concludes: "Nos (dico apertè) nos consules desumus."

A Sermon preached in the Parish Church of Grantham, on Saturday, May 25th, 1805, at the Visitation of the Rev. the Archdeacon of Lincoln; and in the Parish Church of St. Martin, in Leicester, on Wednesday, June 19th, 1805, at the Visitation of the Rev. the Archdeacon of Leicester. By GEORGE GORDON, B. D. Precentor of Exeter, and Rector of Sedgebrook in the county of Lincoln, and of Gumley in the county of Leicester. 4to. pp. 26.

HIS is a sound, seasonable, and well-written discourse on Colossians, ii. 8, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit."

Various delusions, which in this eventful period assail the faith of the Christian and the interests of the Church, are here ably reviewed and exposed. The prevalent spirit of latitudinarianism, so destructive of religious and even moral principle, is drawn with great accuracy and force of colouring. This leads the preacher to a consideration of the inroads made upon the church by enthusaists and sectaries, against whose efforts the clergy are strongly exhorted to exert themselves. The address to those who are either indifferent to the progress of secta

* Cicero.

rianism,