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Mistaken Liberality and Licentiousness of the Age.

Mr. URBAN,

TH

Jan. 12.

HE liberality of the age in which we live is too proverbially known to require definition; it runs, however, sometimes into a licentiousness which even Fashion dare not recognize without a blush,-and Toleration itself, that triumph of reason and true wisdom over superstition and bigotry, is now extended not only to the prejudices, the errors, and the follies of men, but to their very blasphemies and impieties. It is a very common thing to hear very good men say, "It is this man's creed, and that man's misfortune to hold opinions, and to encourage habits absolutely abhorrent to reason and common sense, but then it is to be hoped they are still conscientious in principle, and do really believe them selves to be right in principle, and venial if not strictly correct in practice, and therefore they must not be condemned." Nay, it is a matter of so much indifference, now-a-days, what a man's religious opinions may be, or whether he have any or no faith whatsoever, provided only he preserves the decencies of social life,-is obedient to the laws of etiquette, and to those of the land, without offending his neighbour by grossness in his outward deportment, or by any overt act of treason against the Statute Books,-that a universal licence is given to him to be in all religious matters as careless and indifferent as he will; and as to the hallowed considerations of Gospel Truth and pure Christian holiness of life, through faith in a Redeemer, these may be bartered with impunity for the creed of Brama or the absurdities of Johanna Southcote.-This, Sir, is strong language, but it comes of experience, and let saints or sinners augur as they will, it speaks a sad and lamentable truth. There is doubtless much apostolic goodness yet amongst us, and there is, I believe, an honest, tho' it may be a misguided sincerity in the dissent of thousands,—but what are units or thousands to the mass of an irreligious and graceless population?— and it is only necessary for a man in his sober senses to enter into the ways of social life, the domestic or the public haunts of the wise, or the foolish, or the wicked, to take his station on the heights of fashion, or in the vallies where illiterate vulgarity and shameless ignorance take up their abode, to perceive that as enthusiasm

[Jan.

and superstition run wildly into one extreme, so indifference and irreligion, under the sheltering privilege of universal toleration, throw themselves most criminally and most fatally into the other.

I have been led to say so much by an impression made upon me through the medium of feelings painfully alive to the dangerous condition in which we all are placed, by the overwhelming advances of sectarian enthusiasm in some, and of a very general apathy and indifference to moral and religious principles and practices in almost all the world.

Let it not, however, be supposed for a moment, that any member of the Protestant Church, as it is established in these realms, would restrain the conscience, or limit the right of any man to worship God according to the faith that is in him. Religious Toleration is man's most sacred birth-right. But where is the privilege, where the right, which man in his folly or his wickedness may not and will not violate. There is indeed a practice to which I will now draw your attention, dreadfully proving how dangerous is excess, even in the exercise of the greatest good. It is only reasonable to presume that no man, be his persuasions dark and gloomy as the grave of absolute annihilation, or bright as the Christian's hope of everlasting life, will sanction or tolerate a direct insult put upon the name of God in the broad and open face-I must not say of day, because some silly jester may ridicule the anachronism, but before large assemblies of Christian people.

It matters not the purpose for which men meet, for devotion or for entertainment,-in the Temple or in the Theatre, every good man will listen with religious reverence, and an awful sense of his immediate presence, whensoever the name of God but touches upon his ear; and if the sound shall come with unhallowed and unmeaning levity, with circumstances of irreverence and vain and idle application, he will, as every Christian must, stand appalled with fear and trembling. Corah and his company offer an instructive lesson, and without straining the point of just and proper feeling,-if we believe the Scriptures, we may reasonably fear the consequences of blasphemy, and of taking the name of God in vain.

Amongst the various ways in which

the

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Mockery of Religion on the Stage.

the Almighty is insulted by a vain and sinful deprecation of his name, there is not one more offensive or more dangerous in its effects on the public mind, than that in which dramatic writers so constantly indulge. Indeed it is most painful to hear the invocations made to the Deity with all the solemnity of hallowed adjuration and prayer, by persons tricked up in the mummery and mimicry of real life, prostrate on their knees, and with their hands and

eyes lifted up to Heaven, and their lips uttering with all the energy of devotion, and in the very spirit of absolute adoration, that form of words and those expressions of religious reverence which should be put up to God in silence from the heart, or only when we commune with him in our chambers and alone. It is most disgusting and fearful, too, to witness and to hear this mockery of hallowed rites and sacred services on that stage where, by the shifting of a wire, the fall of a curtain, the ludicrous mistakes of a fool, or the pantomimic revolutions of a harlequin, the temple of God is changed into the cavern of a necromancer, or the palace of Pandemonium.

The Stage inay and should be made a school of useful instruction and rational entertainment; but let it be the lyceum of moral philosophy, and not the temple in which idolatrous representations of the Deity, or blasphemous imprecations of his name, insult the decency and the dignity of his religion. I can remember the time when my young heart throbbed with delight at the anticipation of witnessing in the Theatre the mimic_representation of things as they are; I have enjoyed the changing scene, have wept with Siddons, and have roared in very climax of mirth and merriment at the buffooneries of Edwin; and when all was done, have left the schools of Shakspeare and of Colman with my heart warmed by the better charities of nature; my understanding improved by lessons of admirable morality, and the whole inward man made better and more social by the contemplation of virtue exalted and vice detected and despised. And even now, at an advanced time of life, I could be pleased with the same anticipations, warmed by the same scenes, and instructed and improved by the same reflections. But things are not as they should be, and that propriety of acting, which

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substituting less offensive terms for the literal version of the prompter, did away the guilt of many a blasphemous expression, is now forgotten, or sacrificed to the public taste; and our ears are insulted by a wanton profanation of God's holy name in places wherein it should be regarded with that reverence with which the great Jewish historian speaks of it, as the name whose sanctity was so great, that his Religion forbade him to utter it.

There is a note to a passage in one of the plays in Bell's Edition of Shakspeare, which observes that the Courts of Law have determined the use of such expressions and invocations on the Stage to be legally justifiable; but on what plea, or where the record of such adjudication may be found, are not set forth; and it is scarcely possible, I think, to credit an assertion which could sanction and encourage a practice contrary to the principle of all laws, human and divine.

Colley Cibber was called in his day a puritan, an enthusiast, a man overscrupulous, and, as in modern times we should say, ultra righteous, because he corrected the ribaldry, the indecency, and the indelicacy which had so long disgraced the Stage, though under the authority of fashion, and with the sanction of public approbation. He triumphed over custom, and purified the corruption of ages: and every man of sense, of right feelings, and sound moral and religious principles, will crown with just commendation this rational reformer, and rejoice in the decorum which at the least clothes a double meaning in a decent garb.

But how far superior will be his claim to praise and honour, who, in defiance of long-accustomed privilege and deep-rooted prejudices, shall renovate the purer spirit of dramatic language, correct a style and character by time grown vicious and disgusting, and put down a practice now "much more honoured in the breach than in the observance?"

The wisdom of Government, by appointing a public censor to license or to forbid the representation of all dramatic compositions, before they have been submitted to the arbitrary dicta of interested criticism and jealous power, seemed to have placed a bar against these dreadful inroads of offence: but modern liberality and a species of poetic toleration have super

seded

30

Moore's "Loves of the Angels."—Church at Chunar.

seded the intended good, and daily ex-
perience shows how possible it is to
blind or to evade the vigilance even of
despotic authority. To suppose that
authority and power in the hands of
Government will slumber or sleep, or
that they are capable of corruption, or
subject to infirmity, like other vices in
other hands, may betray much weak-
ness in judgment, and a degree of scep-
ticism and infidelity very justly to be
condemned and censured. But so it
is. In defiance of all restraints, the
laws of the Statute Book, the re-
proaches of conscience, the influence
of moral feeling, and the Command-
ments of God; very abominable blas-
phemies are uttered on the boards of a
Theatre, which would not be endured
in
any other place, although there they
are listened to without any sense of
shame or fear; and there also very
great impieties are practised and ap-
proved under the insufficient and ab-
surd plea of mere poetic licence.

may

If by any means these sentiments of mine are congenial with yours, as they are with those of thousands beside, who can do no more than I can, but only buffet with airy shadows, and "tell our anger to the winds;" it chance that through the Press at Westminster my complaints may meet the ear or eye of some one, having power to redress the evil; at all events they may thus become known and acknowledged by the public, and so challenge the sympathies and influence the general voice of the people.

John Bull is in every stage of his life, and in every condition of it, a rational being; and although somewhat rude and rough at times in the expression of his feelings, he very generally feels as a man should feel, and speaks as a Christian should speak.

Since writing the above, I have read "The Loves of the Angels," by Mr. T. Moore; and here I find a melancholy proof of that vicious taste of the times, in which the evil custom of lightly and irreverently playing with the character and the name of God, finds too ready sauction. It is a very beautiful poem, and if neither so brilliant or so pleasing as his Lalla Rookh, still it abounds in sweets and flowers of a delicious beauty. But then the subject! It is not a sacred poem; is not a paraphrase of Holy Writ; it is dictated by all the feelings of a niere man, upon a matter in fact merely hu

it

[Jan.'

man. For the very angels here are by
their earthly loves brought down to
the standard of mortal imperfection.
The appeals, therefore, so forcibly and
in many cases so beautifully made to
the Deity, are most irreverent and dis-
gusting; they appal the Christian, and
make the truly pious reader tremble at
the cool and daring boldness with
which the Poet measures to his pur-
pose the earnestness of devotion,
prayer, remonstrance, and complaint.
The Author has done no more by his
subject than perhaps his subject re-
quired; but it is to be lamented that
so rare a talent should be thus exer-
cised, or that the public taste should
authorize or invite such open viola-
tion of the most sacred offices of Reli-
gion, and such irreverent trifling with
the name and attributes of God.
Yours, &c.

D.

CHURCH AT CHUNAR. THE HE following cautious attention to scruples of the natives in attending public worship according to the Church of England, is worthy observation.

During the past year (1821), the Church has been finished, and it is now conveniently fitted up for the double purpose of English and Hindoostan worship. The middle aile is pewed for the accommodation of Europeans, and such native Christians as have adopted European manners; and a considerable space round the pulpit is left open and matted, to admit of natives sitting in their usual posture; while the side-ailes are supplied with moveable seats.- — ( Church Missionary Report for 1822, p. 119.)

MISSION HOUSE AND SCHOOLS AT

CALCUTTA.

At the suggestion of the Church Missionary Society, an institution similar to that in progress at Madras has been formed at Calcutta, comprising a Mission House, and Church, a seminary, and printing department; and so conducted as not to interfere with the Bishop of Calcutta's College, but rendered subservient to it.

An estate having been on sale in the native town, has been purchased, at the sum of 40,500 rupees, but a considerable further expenditure will be necessary to render the premises available: there will be room for two Mis

sionary

1823.]

Mission House and

sionary families, besides excellent accommodation for the students, and a school: the whole comprises about three acres of ground. The house stands in an enclosed square, comprehending about half an acre, with a broad piazza all round, and an open area in the centre, after the model of a College square, with a pond of sweet water; and the situation is considered as highly desirable for the purpose intended, especially that of fixing Missionaries on their arrival at once in a situation where they will have a view of their work. They will have ample opportunity to reflect on the new scene on which they have entered, of being introduced to new converts entertained on the establishment, and thus their missionary feeling will be brought into exercise, and every human encouragement afforded them to persevere.

The late Bishop of Calcutta accepted with cordial acknowledgments the Society's grant of 5000l.; and in consequence of his Lordship's just and forcible appeal for support to the College, they placed at his disposal 1000l. as a contribution from the Society for 1822. The following testimonies to the character of the late venerable Metropolitan of Calcutta, are extracted from the letters received by the Church Missionary Society, and stated in their last Report.

"The Metropolitan is a man deserving of all honour; not only from his rank, but from his character: he is a wise man, and an humble man. He is the head not only of the Syrian Church, but of the Mission. Nothing takes place within the Mission without acquainting him with it, nor is any thing allowed to which he at all objects.

"It is not remarkable that such a close and indissoluble union should subsist between us and the Metropolitan, a man of remarkable wisdom, dignity, judgment, and humility."

This happy co-operation cannot fail to strengthen the cause of Church Missions and of Christian instruction among the natives. A female teacher was sent thither to superintend the instruction of native females in India; and their progress has been such that their examination has since shown that the female sex in India might be benefited, if the people would consent to have their female children instructed. They displayed not only a great

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desire for learning to read and write, but some shewed considerable talents. From this foundation a most favourable anticipation has been justly formed, that other similar schools will be founded, wherein females shall at length be raised to the rank which they are well entitled to hold in the scale of human beings.

Our new schools in Calcutta (says the Rev. Mr. Corrie in his last letter) are bringing us acquainted with the native population here; already a petition, signed by 14 residents, has been presented, praying us to give them a school. The temporal circumstances of our Committee I see clearly give us a ready access to the natives, &c. Two more schools are to be opened, and (he adds) as many more are to be added as we can procure funds to support.

Mr. Schmid continues his labours in translations; he has lately translated select portions of the Liturgy into Bengalee. The Collects have also been carefully rendered, and are now ready for publication. He has likewise translated from the Bengalee, a tract against the prevailing system of Hindoo Idolatry." The author, who is since dead, was Brajomohun Majmoodar, a native of Bengal, and an intimate friend of Rammohun Roy, who revised the translation, and printed it at his own expence. This piece has excited much attention in Calcutta. It seems, from the correspondence from India, that there are more sanguine hopes from the establishment of schools, than from any efforts for the conversion of adults.

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By a return brought to the 30th of September, of the scholars in the English and Tamul schools, the Tamul schools separately, and the country schools for the Tamul children, it appears that the Brahmin were 76, the Soodras 1171, the Mussulman 69, the Roman 37, the Protestant 166, and the girls 72, making a total of 1591 young persons; of whom the three latter being Christian, about one-seventh of the whole, leaves the work of conversion to be effected upon all the rest,a work of great magnitude, which no means can accomplish without education. The heathens in general seem much attached to their superstitions; and the Brahmins, in particular, avoid entering into conversation on religion, and probably do all that they can to stifle any good desire which here and there may

32

Signification of Female Christian Names.

arise among the people. "We trust
(say these pious Missionaries) that the
Lord will in due time prosper the work
of our hands. What is now crooked
he may easily make straight; what is
now hard and stiffened, he can soon
soften and bend; what is now barren,
may, by his powerful influence, soon
become fruitful! Upon his promises
we would labour,-may he guide us
by his counsel, and at last receive us
to glory!"
A. H.

Mr. URBAN,

ON

Jan. 7. N reading a note in page 506, of your Number for December, a thought occurred that few people are acquainted with the meaning of what are called their Christian names.

The names of families have been frequently illustrated in your Magazine, particularly in vol. XLII. by the learned Dr. Pegge, under the signature of " T. Row," and more recently in vol. xc. p. ii.

We learn in Chambers's " Encyclopedia" (and the information is copied in that of Dr. Rees), that

"Camden takes it for granted, that names, in all nations and languages are significative, and not simple sounds, for mere distinction. This is the case not only among the Jews, Greeks, Latins, &c. but even the Turks, among whom Abdalla sig nifies God's servant; Soliman, peaceable; Mahomet, glorified, &c. And the savages of Hispaniola and throughout America, who in their languages name their children Glistening Light, Sun Bright, Fine Gold, &c.; and they of Congo by the names of precious stones, flowers, &c.

"To suppose names given without any meaning, however by the alteration of languages their signification may be lost, Camden thinks, is to reproach our Ancestors, and that contrary to the sense of all ancient writers."

Since the chief of our Christian names are derived from languages not understood by the generality of people, it shall be my endeavour to present to those who have before overlooked this important knowledge, the meanings of some of the most common of their ap pellations. Mr. Urban will perhaps excuse the intrusion, and allow me to present his readers with the following, thus alphabetically arranged. I begin with the Ladies, not only out of due politesse, but because they may be supposed to be the least informed on the subject.

[Jan.

Agnes, derived from the Greek, means Chaste.

Anne and Hannah, Hebrew, favoured (with any excellence or mercy), Barbara must be an exception to the rule that names have arisen from the good wishes of parents; if derived from the Latin, it is a name not very much to be coveted. In the Dictionary we find its meaning, unpolished, foolish, cruel, savage; it may, however, as Peregrine, have been given to a stranger, Blanch, French, fair.

Catherine, Greek, purified, pure. Caroline and Charlotte appear to be the feminine of Charles.

Clara, Latin, almost explains itself in its English sense; it may be understood as signifying fair, noble, illustrious.

Dorothy, Greek, the gift of God. Elizabeth, Hebrew, God hath sworn. Esther is a Persian name. Esther, the Jewish captive, whose history is related in the Holy Scriptures, was named in her own country Hadassah (Esther II. 8), but, as was customary, lost her name with her liberty. Ster, says Scaliger, is Persian for a star, as arp is Greek.

Helen has been derived from the Greek word aw, to draw, because the beauty of the famous Helen attracted so many admirers; and from Hellas, the ancient name of Greece.

Jane. Janus is by Macrobius used as a name of the sun; thus Jane or Jana may, as Phoebe, mean the moon. The different derivations of Janus are too uncertain and numerous to parti- cularize.

Isabella is Spanish for a bright bay

colour.

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Lucy, from the Latin prænomen Lucea, from Luceo, to shine, syno nymous with Clara, or from the child being born prima luce, early in the morning. Luce is also an old name for a pike or jack, from the Latin Lucius, or French lus; I mean not to say the Christian name has any connection with this, but the family, bearing that sirname, of Charlecot, co. Warwick, certainly bore for arms three Luces hauriant Argent, on a field sprinkled with crosslets, as may be seen in Dugdale's "Warwickshire," of which family was Sir Thomas, supposed to be personified in Shakspeare's

"Justice

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