of temper, in No. 3; the account of the annual plague in Lon don, No. 5; the projector's mode of feeing fights by proxy, in No. 8; the crimes of literature, in No. 12; the Megalanthropogenefia, in No. 17; the complaints of nine ladies, (the Mufes) in No. 24; all these are ftrikingly original, but yet are rivalled in merit, by many papers both intervening and following. We must therefore defift from the task of fpecifying, what are too numerous to be pointed out, the merits of these effays; and refer the reader to the volumes themselves, for a better amufement than we can poffibly give him at fecond hand. ART. XI. Sermons on various Subjects, Doctrinal and Practical, preached before the University of Oxford. By John Eveleigh, D.D. Provost of Oriel College, and Prebendary of Rochefler. 8vo. 431 pp. Cooke, Oxford; White, &c. London. 1810. THE difcourfes of Dr. Eveleigh are, as might be ex pected from his fituation and high character, fo fuperior to ordinary compofitions of this clafs, that we had hoped to dwell upon them with minute examination, and to call the attention of our readers completely to them. But a hope cherished among a multitude of avocations, is often fruftrated, and fo it has happened with this; and we find ourfelves already in the dilemma of either deferring our notice we know not how much longer, or of reftraining ourfelves to a more fummary account. The latter is clearly the preferable fide of the alternative, for many reasons, and more especially from the confideration that even to mention the name of an eminent writer, is to render him, perhaps, fufficient fervice. Enquiry will naturally follow, and approbation as certainly fucceed. The fermons here publifhed are eighteen in number, two of them, the fixth and thirteenth, having already appeared in the fecond edition of the author's Bampton Lectures. They are here probably reprinted, though it is not so said, for the benefit of thofe who bought the firft edition of that work. The fubjects of the difcourfes are generally important. They are thefe: • We should have been glad to fee alfo the two excellent fermons on the Trinity, with their Appendix, repeated here. "I. On preferring the Favour of God. II. The Objections to Free-will and Foreknowledge compared with thofe made againft the Trinity. III. On the Infpiration of the Old Testament. IV. On Faith, and its Influence. V. On the Part taken by the Holy Spirit in our Salvation VI. On the Exercife of Divine Mercy. VII. On the Refurrection of Christ. VIII. On Death. IX. On the Punishments of another Life, with prefumptive Proofs of them. X. On the Happiness of the Life to come. XI. On the Bloffings conferred by the Almighty. XII. On ftudying the Scriptures. XIII. On the Worthip of God." XIV. On the prefent Advantages of looking to God. XV. On Pride. XVI. On the prefent Happinefs of Man. XVII. On early Piety. XVIII. On the Efects, of a Difagreement between our Convictions and our Conduct.” Among thefe fubjects, it cannot be neceffary to point out how many are curious and important in themfelves, or how many peculiarly ufeful to be handled in the famous feat of learning for which the fermons were written. We are old' fafhioned enough, and rather proud than ashamed to be so, to feel a fincere fatisfaction in contemplating the idea of a refpected head of a College teaching to the youths under his care, and their contemporaries throughout the univerfity, the most important truths of religion; and illuftrating them with fuperior judgment, fagacity, and erudition. Such a picture is prefented to our minds in the perufal of this volume, which therefore we recommend to all who are capable of eftimating its contents.. But, that we may give a particular fpecimen, we fix more particularly upon the fecond fermon, which is at once of great intricacy in the fubject, and very new in the mode of handling it. It treats, as is more fully ftated in the table of contents, than by us in the former page. "On the free will of man, and the fimilarity of the objections urged against it from our ig norance concerning the foreknowledge of God, to thofe which are urged against the Trinity, from ignorance in us concerning the Divine effence." The text is Deut. xxx. 19, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have fet before you life and death, bleffing and curfing. The fermon begins thus. "There are no paffages of Scripture more interefting than thofe which defcribe the free ftate of probation, in which we are all at prefent placed, and which like the text, forcibly reprefent to us, that life and death, bleffing and curfing, are fet before us, and left to our own voluntary and unrestrained choice. Not indeed that in our prefent fallen ftate, we can of our felves choose the good and refufe the evil, much less can we of ourfelves perfevere in the conduct through which we are to bring our our choice of the good to a happy termination. In thefe refpects we must be affifted by the fuggeftions and continued influence of the Holy Spirit of God. But this divine affiftance has in fuch a manner been purchased by the atonement of Chrift for every human being, that it must be his own fault, if he be not rendered in the end eternally happy by its means." P. 21. Here we fee is no Calvinifm: but the genuine doctrine of a free offer of falvation. But, fays the preacher, from the idea of the fore-knowledge of God, difficulties arife; for we are apt to fuppofe, that what is foreknown is alfo predetermined. Hence in truth all the abfurd arguing about the divine decrees, which feems to have come from that place to which our great Milton banished it, the infernal regions. Dr. Eveleigh fuggefts that as the difficulty is not to be furmounted by human faculties, we ought to prove the fact, as we do that of the Trinity, on the ground of Revelation alone. He then points out by examples how perfectly incapable man is of reafoning confiftently on any attributes of God, whether moral, or thofe which have been termed natural. The impoffibility of our comprehending the divine fore-knowledge is pointed out with fingular clearness (for a matter fo abftrufe) in the following paffage. "That infinite wifdom, which, as we are informed in Holy Writ, has "every thing naked and open before it," and "which calleth things that are not as if they were;" or in other words, that infinite Wifdom, which at one inftant comprehends every thing that can be known, and which extends alike to every thing throughout all eternity, can scarcely be faid to admit, in its exertions, of any relation to time. That eternal Now (as hath been moft fignificantly expreffed,) under which every thing pre. fents itself to God, and is known to him, can scarcely be faid to be antecedent, rather than fubfequent, to any human exertion. Much lefs then can we comprehend enough of fuch knowledge to be able to pronounce, as in our perfect reafonings upon it we often do, that it influences of neceflity thefe exertions. The all-perfect Poffeffor of it may, as far as we can judge, more properly be faid to know things, becaufe they have happened, or because they do or will happen, than the things themselves can in any refpect be faid to happen in confequence of his know. ledge." P. 27. He concludes therefore, that "in judging concerning the freedom of our probation in this lite, we have in reality nothing to do with the infinite wifdom of God, as to its mode of foreseeing the actions of free agents," any more than we have with the exact mode of exiflence of the three perfons in the Godhead. We muft in both cafes go to Scripture for the truth, and upon that teflimony reft our confidence in The preacher then fhows at large that man is every where in fcripture treated as a free agent. He proves it both by texts and examples; and having thus demonftrated that the fcriptures pronounce man to be perfectly free in his actions, he draws from it this most accurate conclufion. "Nothing therefore which is faid by St. Paul, when fpeaking in his Epistle to the Romans concerning the rejection of the Jews as a nation, or concerning the rejection of individuals in a tem poral capacity; no declaration of fcripture, which in conformity with human language, defcribes God as the author of that which he fimply permits, or does not interfere to hinder; and no declaration of any predeftination to eternal happiness or mifery, in confequence of God's fore-knowledge, can invalidate in the least, the inferences here drawn from the explicit information concerning the infinite wisdom of God and the freedom of Man's will, which is fo variously and fo univerfally difperfed throughout the different parts of Revelation." P. 41. To those who cannot comprehend the clearnefs and cogency of this demonftration, for fo we cannot hesitate to call it, we recommend not to purchase this volume; to all others, of course, we give the contrary advice. That the flyle of thefe difcourfes is clear and manly is a fubordinate praife, hardly worth mentioning after the things which we have here pointed out. BRITISH CATALOGUE. POETRY. ART. 12. Sele Poems, &c. By the late John Daves Worgan, of Briftol, who died on the 25th of July, 1809, aged 19 Years. To which are added fome Particulars of his Life and Character, by au early Friend and Affociate. With a Preface by William Hayley, Efq. Crown 8vo. 311 pp. 75. Longman. 1810. Another volume of juvenile poetry, and pofthumous alfo : the laurel and the cyprefs inter-twined together. It is gratifying to fee in all these works of young poets, a ftrong impreffion of religion, and a pious refignation to the early fate which was allotted to them. Worgan thus clofes a pleafing poem entitled. "Recollections of a fummer's day." "Come, hallow'd Reason, and my courfe direct, Oh! teach my ftruggling heart, with heav'n fix'd choice, Eleft Bleft in the lot by guardian Wifdom given, And holy Hope inftruft me how to die." P. 164. Under the more immediate contemplation of approaching death, he seems to have written the following irregular fonnet, TO HOPE. "Ah! vifionary flatterer! why delude My fwelling fancy with thine airy dream? And fhort-liv'd rapture yields to lafting woe. "Tir'd of thy treacherous lures, my rescued foul On yonder ftarry plains my wifhes dwell." P. 236. There are forty-three fonnets in the collection, befides several other poems, of moderate length; feveral letters, and fome effays on vaccination, published originally in the Gentleman's Magazine. Among the praifes of Worgan, it must not be forgotten that he admired, and was approved by Dr. Jenner. Mr. Hayley alfo has praifed him. The sketch of his fhort life exhibits a pleafing picture of his character. ART. 13. Night, a Poem. Svo. 4s. Longinan. 1811. This is a poetical attempt in blank verfe to reprefent the va rious fcenes difplayed, and emotions excited by night. It is ftrongly marked by good feeling, good fenfe, and in every part of it recommends the practice of piety and virtue. Yet though with refpect to its didactic qualities, it is truly excellent, the writer does not feem to have caught that part of the poetic mantle, which is neceffary to excel as a writer of blank verfe. Many good and mufical lines might certainly be pointed out, but the great character of the rhythm is profaic. ART. |