ten, they will be acknowledged by all and honoured by all; even those, who persecute the men who tread in their steps, and denounce their opinions as another gospel,' will speak of them with reverence as lights of the world. Those that have no language too vile for Priestley, are continually loud in the praise of Newton, who held his most obnoxious tenet; and they that think a short creed to be little better than infidelity in disguise, place Locke, who wrote in defence of that same short creed, among the most eminent of believers. When Christianity is to be urged upon the sceptical, or the authority of great names is for any reason important, the appeal is always made at once, by Christians of every name, to Locke and Newton. This is as it should be; it is a joyful circumstance that it is so. It is the tacit consent of Christendom to our favourite maxim, that the gospel is a simple thing; it shows the folly and inconsistency of vehement outcries against heretics; for it assures us, that time will bring differing good men into fellowship, and that present distinctions shall be no wall of partition in heaven.

[The following "Lines suggested by a visit to the tomb of the late Rev. Samuel Cary in the Burial-ground belonging to the Unitarian Church at Hackney," are from the Monthly Repository, a British Unitarian publication. To those of our patrons in whose minds they revive the image of the respected pastor or friend, they will probably have a value independent of any poetical merit.]

Cary! to bid thy native shores adieu,
In distant lands to find a mortal's doom:
The plaintive tale shall Pity oft renew,
As sad, she lingers near the stranger's tomb.
And oft the love, that vainly strove to save
A life so dear, by meddling memory led,
Shall pass, in thought, the vast Atlantic wave,
Where Fancy paints these dwellings of the dead.
Nor clos'd thy day by fondest cares unblest,
Nor meets thy corse the angry bigot's scorn;
Midst scenes that Priestley loved, thy ashes rest,
And wait, in hope, the promised rising morn.

J. T. R.

REVIEW.

ARTICLE I.

A Vindication of certain Passages in the common English version of the New Testament, addressed to Granville Sharp, Esq. author of the "Remarks on the uses of the Definitive article in the Greek New Testament." By the Rev. CALVIN WINSTANLEY, A. M. Cambridge, Hilliard & Metcalf, 1819. 8vo. pp. 55.

THIS able little work, which we are glad to see republished amongst us, is designed to vindicate the correctness of the translation of a few verses in the New Testament, from a proposed amendment of Granville Sharp, who insists that they should be so rendered as to declare Jesus to be God. This gentleman, in the year 1798, published what he thought he had discovered to be rules in the use of the Greek article, according to which he asserted, that, in the texts in question, the writers designed, instead of a distinction between God and Christ, to intimate that they are the same being. By the establishment of these rules it was thought that an unanswerable argument was obtained in favour of the doctrine of the trinity; and the exultation with which they were hailed, may not unfairly be supposed to indicate a conscious weakness in the old arguments. And it must be acknowledged in truth, that if the rules and their application were unquestionable, a strength is gained to the other presumptive proofs by which that doctrine is supported; and therefore, however it might seen, at first thought, rather astonishing and incredible that a fundamental doctrine of divine revelation should depend for one of its most plausible supports on a grammatical nicety, which lay almost unregarded and unapplied till the close of the eighteenth century-and that the apostles, natives of Judea, who are known and acknowledged to have written by no means in classical Greek, should be perfect adepts in the use of a particle, which in all languages is a matter of great delicacy-notwithstanding this, we say, yet, since the assertion has been confidently made and pertinaciously persisted in,-so that many trinitarians even in their sermons and other publications for the mass of the people, have not hesitated to say, that the

common version is altogether unfaithful, that these texts DEMAND another rendering-therefore, we cannot but esteem it a duty, in all who have the ability, to give the question a fair examination. Such an examination may be made without great difficulty, and will satisfy any candid mind, that the argument cannot be insisted upon; that the rule is liable to so many exceptions and limitations, that it is impossible to argue from it in any given case, without taking into view other circumstances, and considerations of a wholly different nature.

It is not our design to enter into any discussion of this subject, but simply to recommend to those, who are desirous of being satisfied in regard to it, the tract of Winstanley, which is now easily to be obtained; and which not only examines and refutes the argument with learning and skill, but, what may be of weight with some, was written by a Trinitarian, who had every motive to wish to find it true.

An appendix follows, containing a brief, but very lucid and acute examination of Middleton's doctrines upon this subject, and some extracts from the remarks of the Monthly Review upon Middleton's work. The whole will well repay a careful perusal, and be found satisfactory to the inquiring scholar.

ARTICLE 11.

A Sketch of my Friend's Family, intended to suggest some practical hints on Religion and Domestic Manners. By MRS. MARSHALL, Author of Henwick Tales.

"In every work, regard the Writer's end." Boston: Charles Ewer, 1819.

THIS is a pleasant book, and, we think, well calculated to do good. Its object is sufficiently made known by the title page, and is accomplished by the account of a gentleman's short visit to the family of a friend, in which he finds religion the handmaid of order, cheerfulness and happiness, and diffusing a charm over all the intercourse of a delightful circle. The mistress of the house, Mrs. Clifford, is an accomplished woman, of fine understanding and cultivated taste, who attends to the education of her own children, and makes her accomplishments and piety work together for their improvement. She is a sober, rational, and consistent christian; and being blessed with a husband of similar views, tastes, and feelings, is enabled to render all the arrangements of her household subject to the great principles

of duty and conscience. We might perhaps make reasonable objections to some of their notions respecting the discipline of children, and might say that his conversation with them is not always the most discreet; especially in one remarkable instance, near the commencement of the book, in which he talks in a very strange and bewildering style about total depravity, with the intention of persuading his daughter-“a sweet girl of fifteen years old"--that "she is by nature a child of wrath even as others;" with one or two other similar misapplications of scripture language. This, however, is the only passage of the kind in the work; all the rest, with the exception of a few insulated phrases, is quite innocent and inoffensive, and for the most part very judicious. And the dialogue just alluded to appears to have been written merely to unbur den the author's conscience, by declaring that she was sound in that article of the faith; and as there is nothing more of it, we presume it to have been inserted from a mistaken sense of duty contrary to her better judgment. Indeed she has no great zeal for the doctrine; for she makes Mr. Clifford abandon it as soon as possible, and speak of human nature and human duty in a strain of sober good sense, utterly inconsis tent with it. If our readers are not too much displeased with this commencement of the book to go on, they may find an antidote in the following sentence. Mr. Clifford had just spoken of the happy death of a friend.

"You mean, I suppose,' said I, that Arthur before his death, had the same views of religion, as you have.' My dear Bentley,' he answered, with the earnestness of one, who feels it to be impor tant that he should be rightly understood; it is in vain to talk of views and sentiments in religion. I will venture to affirm that the religion which goes no farther, is little better than practical atheism.'

There is a fine scene exemplifying religious dissipation, which cannot fail to gratify and instruct our readers, and therefore we quote it entire.

"We had not risen from the breakfast-table one morning, when a female, rather young, and fashionably dressed, entered the room. After a few common place civilities she turned to Mrs. Clifford, saying, 'I called to tell you that Mr. S- is in town, he preaches today at and you must positively put on your things, and go with me to hear him.' 'Could I consistently do so,' replied her friend, 'I should be very happy to accompany you; but, excuse me if I say, that were this excellent man to see the dear little group by which I am surrounded, he would be the first to forbid my leaving them to listen to his sermon.'

"Perhaps the conscious recollection of some duty unperformed at home, just then stung the feelings of our fair devotee; or it might be purely a misguided zeal, which reddened on her cheek, as she retorted somewhat sharply, When, like Martha's, the heart is careful and troubled about many things, it is easy to find a pretext of duty to prevent our listening to the words of Jesus.'

"Mrs. Clifford mildly answered, I hope I am aware of this plausible deception, but in the present instance I am not conscious of meriting the rebuke. You may remember, my dear, Mrs. Hammond, that Martha was not censured for a necessary attention to her ordinary and relative duties; but for an undue anxiety, an ostentatious and ill-timed desire of providing "things, more than hospitably good." Perhaps too, I may remind you that there subsists a visible difference between her ueglecting to hear the words of the Redeemer, when he honoured her roof with his sacred presence, and my declin. ing to attend the discourse of one of his servants, when such an attendance would necessarily involve a neglect of duties, more strictly enjoined upon me.' 'You have always a great deal to say about duties, my dear,' resumed the lady; but if I read my bible aright, no duties are so acceptable with God, as an affectionate reception of his gospel, and a desire to see his kingdom advanced in our own hearis, and in the world around us.' She then magnanimously declared her resolution to persist in her attachment to the "word preached," although it continued to expose her to many domestic sacrifices and involved her in several petty persecutions."

"I believe Mrs. Clifford could have evinced to her fair friend, that she had not read her bible aright;' but as a spirit of recrimination certainly was not the temper by which she sought to maintain the honour of religion, she thought it better to drop the subject, than to expose her visitor to the imminent risk of losing her temper.

"A short silence therefore ensued, till Mr. Clifford inquired of Mrs. Hammond, Whether she had yet had an opportunity of visiting the sick woman, whose case he recommended to her? No, really,' she replied, I have not had one moment of leisure since you named her to me. On Monday, I was at a bible society's meeting; Tuesday, I went to hear Mr. preach; Wednesday, I dined at Mrs. Nelson's, where a select number of serious friends were assembled to meet the Rev. Mr. H—; all Thursday I was occupied in endeavouring to procure subscribers to our Dorcas society; and to-day I shall hardly have time to swallow my dinner, on my return home, before the arrival of a lady, who has promised to go with me to hear a sermon for the benefit of our Sunday school.'

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"As Mrs. Hammond paused, I asked my friend, in a low voice, 'Is it possible to be religiously dissipated?' 'I fear it is a possible, though not, I should hope, a very frequent case,' he observed; then turning to the lady who had given birth to the supposition, he said, 'As your engagements are already so numerous, I fear your intended charity will come too late for poor Susan. Our Emma saw her on Wednesday, she was then almost incapable of receiving any nourNew Series-vol. II.