CONTENTS ART. I. The Ecclesiastical History of the Second and Third Centu- ries, illustrated from the Writings of Tertullian. By John, Bishop II. Mémoires inédits de Madame de Genlis, &c. &c. Memoirs of the Countess de Genlis, illustrative of the History of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Written by Herself III. History of the Commonwealth of England, from the Commence- ment to the Restoration of Charles the Second. By William God- IV. 1. An Inquiry into the Origin and Intent of Primitive Sacrifice, and the Scripture Evidence respecting it. With Observations on the Opinions of Spencer, Bishop Warburton, Archbishop Magee, and other Writers on the same Subject. By John Davison, B. D., late Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. 2. An Answer to the Rev. John Davison's " Inquiry into the Origin and Intent of Primitive Sacrifice," &c. By the Rev. John Edward Nassau Molesworth, M. A., Curate of Milbrook, Hants, and late of V. The Life and Correspondence of Major Cartwright. Edited by VI. Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a North-west Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific; performed in the Years 1824-5, in his Majesty's Ships Hecla and Fury, under the Orders of Captain Wm. Edward Parry, R.N., F. R. S., and Commander of the Expedition. Published by Authority of the Lords Commissioners VII. The Natural History of the Bible; or, a Description of all the Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, and Insects, Trees, Plants, Flowers, Gums, and Precious Stones, mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures; collected from the best Authorities, and Alphabetically 128 VIII. Travels through Russia, Siberia, Poland, Austria, Saxony, Prussia, Hanover, &c. &c. in the Years 1822, 1823, and 1824. By IX. 1. Observations on Italy. By the late John Bell, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, &c. &c. 2. A Journal of a Tour in Italy in the Year 1821, with a Description of Gibraltar, accompanied with several Engravings. By an Ame- - X. 1. Gaston de Blondeville, or the Court of Henry III. keeping Fes- tival in Ardenne; a Romance.-St. Alban's Abbey, a Metrical Tale; with some Poetical Pieces. By Anne Radcliffe, Author of The Mysteries of Udolpho," "Romance of the Forest," &c. To which is prefixed, a Memoir of the Author, with Extracts from her 2. Woodstock, or the Cavalier; a Tale of the Year Sixteen Hundred and Fifty-one. By the Author of "Waverley," "Tales of the 3. Brambletye House, or Cavaliers and Roundheads; a Novel. By XI. 1. The Political History of India, from 1784 to 1823. By Major-General Sir John Malcolm, G. C.B., K.L.S., F.R.S., &c. 2. The History, Design, and Present State of the Religious, Benevo- lent, and Charitable Institutions, founded by the British in Calcutta, and its Vicinity. By Charles Lushington, Esq. of the Bengal Civil XII. Coup-d'œil sur l'Etat actuel de l'Astronomie Pratique en France et en Angleterre. Par Alfred Gautier, Professeur d'Astronomie XIII. 1. Aids to Reflection in the Formation of a Manly Character on the several Grounds of Prudence, Morality, and Religion: illustrated by select Passages from our elder Divines, especially from Arch- bishop Leighton. By S. T. Coleridge. 2. The whole Works of the Most Reverend Father in God, Robert Leighton, D. D., Archbishop of Glasgow. To which is prefixed, a Life of the Author, by the Rev. John Norman Pearson, M. A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Chaplain to the Most Noble the Erratum. In the article on Gothic Architecture in our last number, the plates to THE BRITISH CRITIC, OCTOBER, 1826. ART. I.-The Ecclesiastical History of the Second and Third Centuries, illustrated from the Writings of Tertullian. By John, Bishop of Bristol. Cambridge, 1826. WE are not without hopes that the study of the Fathers is becoming more popular and more frequent in this country. It is true, that a Bibliotheca Patrum, in sundry folio volumes, does not present any very attractive appearance to the young divine. Even after the most critical precautions in rejecting spurious works, after making every reasonable deduction for Latin translations and redundant commentaries, enough remains to satisfy the most voracious, and to alarm the ordinary student. Added to this, so much has been said of the absurd notions, the false reasoning, the superstition and credulity of the early Fathers; so much abuse has been cast upon them by writers of all denominations and persuasions, that many persons begin their studies with a strong prejudice against them, and feel convinced that nothing is to be gained by wading through the pages of men who lived fifteen hundred years ago, whose style is uncouth and barbarous, whose interpretations of scripture are fanciful and unwarranted, and who, after all, are no better authority, upon matters of faith, than writers of our own country and our own times. Such is the tone in which it has been the fashion to speak of the Fathers; and such, perhaps, is the opinion entertained of them by many, who only see their ponderous works on the shelves of a public library. We are not prepared to affirm, that all the charges which are brought against their writings are unfounded the style of some of them is, undoubtedly, uncouth and barbarous; but we cannot seriously bring this as a reason for not studying them, if the matter contained in their works repay the labour. No person would speak of the lan will guage of the New Testament as a model of pure Greek; nor are the arguments of St. Paul always thrown into a form which would stand the test of modern criticism; but if this fact, which all are willing to allow, affords no ground for a neglect of the New Testament, we must not plead the style of Clement of Rome, Ignatius, or Polycarp, as being too barbarous to induce us to peruse them. It has been said, that Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and others, adopted many of the Platonic notions, and that the language of the Platonic school is deeply impressed upon their writings. This, perhaps, may partly be true; but no person would speak of all the dialogues of Plato as being remarkable for their good sense, or their edifying discussions; and yet we read them, that we may gather from them certain facts and principles of Grecian philosophy; and why, it may be asked, may not those who wish to ascertain the religious doctrines of the second and third centuries, consent to study Justin or Clement, although they are liable to meet with the subtleties and absurdities of the Platonic school? We have no hesitation in saying, without any reference to the doctrines which they contain, that the works of Clement of Alexandria are entertaining and full of information. The classical and the critical scholar will find something to engage his attention in every page, and if any person should lay them aside as wearisome and unprofitable, the defect is, perhaps, not in the book, but in the attainments of him who attempted to read what he was not qualified to understand. Hippolytus, Origen, and Dionysius of Alexandria, naturally had their attention directed to the heresies which were so rapidly multiplying in their days; and the reader must expect to find more polemical discussion, with less of miscellaneous information, in those early champions of our faith. But this, surely, will be no reason for neglecting their works, with those who expect to find a Christian divine treating of divinity; and if their style is objected to as barbarous and corrupt, we ask how many books are there extant which are written in good Greek? We have nothing to say against the Attic writers being made the models of composition in our schools and universities, nor would there be any objection to a single volume of Xenophon or Plato being used as the text-book for Greek lectures; but whoever is fond of studying the writers of Greece in their own language, will soon find that he must lower the standard of his criticism, and that he must consent to shock his ears and his taste with a successive variety of barbarisms and corruptions. No person treats Polybius with contempt because his style is bad; and whoever continues the perusal of Greek history, after he has finished Thucydides and Xenophon, must bid a final adieu to Attic elegancies. If the Byzantine historians are tolerated, we must put in a claim for the Fathers, both ante-nicene and post-nicene. We mean to confine ourselves in the present article to the former, but if we were to compare Chrysostom and the Gregorys with any writer of Greek who lived within a century of their own time, or, indeed, with any writer of the lower empire, we imagine that the homilies of the one will be decidedly preferred for language and composition, to the declamations or the histories of the other. We certainly cannot commend the earliest Latin Fathers as elegant or agreeable in their style. Of Tertullian and his African Latin we shall have occasion to speak presently; but Cyprian, who had taught oratory by profession, was allowed, even by the Heathens, to have an elegant mind, and to have been unfortunate only in his subject; and if we wish to see the absurdities and inconsistencies of Paganism powerfully exposed, we shall look in vain for anything more conclusive or more entertaining than the works of Minucius Felix, Arnobius, and Lactantius. Another charge brought against the Fathers is, that they interpret scripture erroneously, and apply passages in a manner which common sense and sound criticism reject as preposterous. We do not mean to enter into a defence of the allegorical and mystical interpretations of Origen and his school. Undoubtedly, in such systems, there is much which weakens the defence of Christianity, and the practice is dangerous in the extreme; but we contend, that the existence of such misapplications furnishes no argument against the study of the Fathers. Though Origen applied scripture unfairly, he must have believed the doctrines which he was labouring to establish; and to ascertain what these doctrines were is a sufficient reason for studying his works; to which it may be added, that his numerous quotations, with whatever view he introduces them, have a great intrinsic value, inasmuch as they preserve to us much more ancient readings than those of any manuscript which has come down to us. No person, indeed, can pretend to have a critical knowledge of the sacred text without being versed in the writings of the Fathers. The last accusation which we shall notice, is that of supersti→ tion and credulity. Upon this point there has been much misrepresentation and much begging of the question. The persons who are determined to reject all miracles except those of the apostles, must necessarily think that the Fathers were superstitious and credulous; but they must think more than this: they cannot acquit them of wilfully fabricating and circulating stories |