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of Houghton, the bishop collated him to the rectory | eleven volumes published after his death. He left of Ryton in 1727, and also to a prebendal stall in • Durham Cathedral.

Through the influence of Dr. Sherlock he was appointed chaplain to the king in 1732; and in 1733, not being of sufficient standing to take his doctor's degree in divinity, he did so in civil law, and preached on Act Sunday a sermon "on the advantages of a right education," which is thus spoken of by Dr. Doddridge "the wisest I ever read, considered in the view of a philosophical essay," and which is supposed to have led to his promotion to the see of Bristol, in Dec. 1734. It was printed by especial request of the heads of houses, and went through several editions.

He had just been presented to the important rectory of St. James', Westminster. It was while rector of St. James' that he delivered his well-known lectures on the church catechism. In 1737 he was translated to the sce of Oxford. In 1748 Mrs. Secker died of =gont in the stomach. Bishop Secker was appointed dean of St. Paul's in 1750, when he resigned his stall at Durham, together with the rectory of St. James', to the great grief of his parishioners, who lay under many very great obligations to him. The affairs of the parish were in great disorder when he became incumbent, especially with respect to the maintenance of the poor; but, to use the language of his biographer, “it was their spiritual welfare which engaged, as it ought to do, his chief attention. As far as the circumstances of the times, and the populousness of that part of the metropolis allowed, he omitted not even those private admonitions and personal applications which are often attended with the happiest

effects*."

What was the fearful character of those times? The archbishop himself tells us. "In this we cannot be mistaken, that an open and professed disregard to religion is become, through a variety of unhappy causes, the distinguishing character of the present age, that this evil is grown to a great height in the metropolis of the nation, is daily spreading through every part of it, and, bad as in itself any can be, must of necessity bring in anon, others after it. Indeed it has already brought in such dissoluteness and contempt of principle in the higher part of the world, and such profligate intemperance and fearlessness of committing crimes in the lower, as must, if this torrent of impiety stop not, become absolutely fatalt."

behind him a variety of manuscripts on biblical literature, and similar subjects, which were deposited in the library at Lambeth; and was the anonymous author of "an answer to Dr. Mayhew's observations on the charter and conduct of the Society for Propagating the Gospel, 8vo., 1764." It is known also that he carefully revised many of the papers of his friends, before their being committed to the press.

The archbishop had been for many years a great sufferer from gout, which materially marred his usefulness. He died in August 1768, from a caries in the thigh-bone, which had been the cause of much acute agony. He was succeeded in the archdiocese by Dr. Frederick Cornwallis, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and dean of St. Paul's. In the character of the archbishop there were many very delightful traits; his unwearied anxiety to serve his friend, Butler, forms not one of the least of these; for it by no means always follows (alas! it is too frequently the reverse) that the friendships (may we not designate them spurious?) which are formed in early life, are remembered when one of the parties is enabled to bask in the sunshine of prosperity. The fact is, between bishop Butler and himself there was a sincere and mutual regard; each was anxiously desirous for the welfare of the other. His conduct towards Mrs. Talbot and her daughter was most kind and affectionate; he left them by will the interest of thirteen thousand pounds, which, after their decease, was to be given to certain specified religious institutions.

Patience under great bodily pain formed another important trait in the archbishop's character, and he, who has witnessed the rackings of excruciating pain in the frame of others, or experienced them in his own, must know how frequently the agony of the flesh causes the spirit to complain, and gives rise to hard thoughts respecting the goodness and forbearance of God. It would appear, however, that explicit resignation to the divine will was beautifully exemplified by the archbishop, by which he taught the great support which Christian principles afford in those dark and dreary hours to which the mortal flesh is not unfrequently exposed; when slow, painful, lingering disease is doing its work. He was unwilling to grieve those around him with any details of his sufferings, though to his physicians he frequently expressed that human nature must soon sink under them.

The period in which the archbishop filled his various offices in the church (apart from the gross pro

Bishop Secker was, subsequently raised to the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury in 1758, on the death of archbishop Hutton. In this situation, not by in-fligacy of manners adverted to) were certainly not terest, but by personal merit, now raised to the highest degree of ecclesiastical dignity, metropolitan of all England, is it not reasonable to predict that he would support that elevated station with dignity and propriety? Here the most sanguine expectations were perfectly answered. He was industrious and indefatigable in the execution of his high trust; equally ready with heart and hand in the support of the cause of religion, virtue, and literature. Though the duties of his public station might be supposed to consume most of his time, yet, by a proper distribution of it, he found leisure to compose many valuable works, besides the

* See Life by Bishop Porteus who became his chaplain in 1762. + See First Charge,

distinguished for deep spirituality of sentiment, or clearness of doctrinal views, either within or without the pale of the established church. He felt, indeed, as many others did feel, that spiritual religion had almost reached its lowest ebb, that Christianity had become but an empty sound, and that the reformation of man was attempted by the inculcation of mere moral precepts, rather than by setting forth the necessity of sanctification by the operation of the Spirit of God; and his sentiments he publicly and fearlessly declared at a time when there was a very nervous dread of any. thing approaching to what was usually regarded as fanatical, or, in other words, a clear and faithful setting forth of the truth "as it is in Jesus."

Comparing, indeed, the episcopal charges of the present day, with those delivered in the middle, or even to the close of the last century (may we not say the commencement of the present?) we cannot fail to be struck, in many instances, with the greatness of the difference of tone, sentiment, and feeling-a difference marking the progress amongst us of more scriptural views, more deep feeling as to episcopal and ministerial responsibility. The change may be hailed as a token for good, and will be so, by all who rejoice to find our church extending her influence,-not her influence over the rights and consciences of men, but because, wherever she goes forth, she carries with her the gospel message of reconciliation, and points out the only name through which the sinner can be saved. T.

The Cabinet.

is by submission to the righteousness of God, with a thankful reliance of the heart upon the atonement of Christ, who suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. There is no other way to the Father. There is no other way to peace with God; "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name, under Heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved." On this subject, we shall find, upon inquiry, that most persons are ignorant, and prone to err; or else that their knowledge is too confused and superficial for profitable use. And, at the same time, this is a subject on which ignorance and error must inevitably be fatal. Whatever may be the professed creed, in most cases, the practical reliance-the real trust of the heart-is upon some false ground of hope towards God. On no part of our message, therefore, is it more necessary that we should be clear and explicit. This is emphatically that "ministry of reconciliation" which is committed to us, and in which "we are ambassadors for Christ." The ground on which we are to beseech sinners to be reconciled to God, is this: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who POWER AND EVILS OF SATAN UTTERLY IMPO- knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousTENT AGAINST THE CHOSEN ONES OF CHRIST.ness of God in him." And if the only way by which The counsels of Christ Jesus work in, and work for, a sinner can flee from wrath, and return to God, and every one of his redeemed. They lead the children of receive his saving mercy, is by exercising an intelligent God into all truth; and they preserve them safely affiance in him, and placing the sure confidence of the from (what is worse than any outward pestilence) heart upon the atonement of his death, as the ground the pestilence of error. The great Ahithophel, the evil of that saving mercy; of what essential importance counsellor, and arch-deceiver of the world, is con- must it be, that in all our warnings-in all our exhorttinually defeated by the superior wisdom of Jesus;ations to repentance-and as often as we beseech sinand all his cunning devices, against the happiness and safety of his people, are perpetually brought to nought. No knowledge, but the knowledge divine, could elude so many stratagems, could defeat so many wiles, and disappoint so many snares, which that great enemy of souls is indefatigably framing, and artfully placing in the way. The fertile genius of Satan, and of Satan's hellish bands, becomes not only absolute idiotism and folly, opposed to the wisdom of Jesus, but even subserves those very purposes which it eagerly meant to destroy. No weapon formed against the redeemed can prosper; the wit and the malice, the rage and the strength of devils, only serve, like a hedge of thorns, to keep the sheep of Christ within the fold, and have no effect or operation but what is absolutely contrary to their own design. Thus Satan is not only a fool, compared with the wisdom of Jesus, but a mere tool to accomplish, towards the faithful, the discipline of Jesus.-Serle's Horce Solitariæ.

ners to return to their offended Maker, we should take care and pains not to be misunderstood by even the poorest and most illiterate; but with the most studied plainness and perspicuity, set before the people, this only, but all sufficient ground, of pardon and peace with God.*

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.-In the persecutions in the primitive church, the martyrs, who were hurried to tumultuary executions, and could not be heard for the noise, in excusing themselves of treason and sedition, and crimes imputed to them to make their cause odious, did use, in the sight of the people (who might see a gesture, though they could not hear a protestation,) to sign themselves with the sign of the cross, to let them know for what profession they died. So that the sign of the cross was, in that time, an abridg ment and a catechism of the whole Christian religion. -Dr Donne.

THE RESURRECTION. Let not man presume, TRUE WAY OF SALVATION.-Under the gospel it who withereth like the green herb; but then, let not is not enough that we should preach repentance and man despair, whose nature, with all its infirmities, the remission of sins; and say "Let the wicked man for- Son of God hath taken upon him. The flower which sake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; fadeth in Adam, blooms anew in Christ, never to fade and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have again. The mercy of Jehovah in his Messiah is evermercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abun-lasting, and of that everlasting mercy poor frail man dantly pardon." The Christian scriptures set forth the whole plan of redemption. They shew for whose merits, and through whose mediation, God grants mercy. "It behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, among all nations." We must, therefore, preach repentance and remission of sins in the name of him who was "delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification." "The righteousness of God," the appointed method by which he pardons sin and justifies the ungodly, "is now manifested;" and it is

by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them that believe." "God hath set him forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood;" and thus are we "justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ." So that the appointed way of return to God, and of reconciliation with him,

is the object. It extendeth to all generations of the
faithful servants of God. Death shall not deprive
them of its benefits, nor shall the grave hide them
from the efficacious influence of its all-enlivening
beams, which shall pierce even into those regions of
desolation, and awaken the sleepers of six thousand
years. Man must pay to justice the temporal penalty
of his sins; but mercy shall raise him again, to receive
the eternal reward, purchased by his Saviour's righte-
ousness.-
s.-Bishop Horne.

* From a Visitation Sermon, by rev. T. Best, of Sheffield, preached before the archdeacon of York. We can recommend this to the notice of our readers, as well as four sermons, by the same author, on "Faith, Hope, and Charity," lately published, and which were kindly offered to us for insertion in our pages, but an accumulated quantity of M.S. on hand rendered it impossible for us to do so.-Sheffield, Ridge and Jackson: London, Hamilton & Co. 8vo. p. 86.

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CHURCH OF ENGLAND MAGAZÍNÉ.

SATAN'S SUBTILTY IN LAYING HIS TEMPTATIONS. An enemy before he besiegeth a city, surroundeth it at a distance, to see where the wall is weakest, best to be battered; lowest, easiest to be scaled; ditch narrowest, to be bridged; shallowest, to be waded over; what place is not regularly fortified, where he may approach with least danger, and So Satan walketh assault with most advantage.

about, surveying all the powers of our souls, where he may most successfully lay his temptations; as whether our understandings are easier corrupted with error, or our fancies with levity, or our wills with frowardness, or our affections with excess.-Fuller's Meditations.

With rapture strong the breast shall swell,
The eye shall beam in love,

When we are like him and caught up

Exeter.

To dwell with him above.

ANNE ELLIOT.

RUTH'S ENTREATY.

BY THE REV. JOHN HILL, M.A. Curate of Broughton, Flintshire. (For the Church of England Magazine.) "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried," &c.-Ruth i. 16, 17.

JUSTIFICATION.-If we suppose a man to act, not by his own natural strength, but by the grace of God, and that, influenced thereby, he performs ever so DAUGHTER of Moab ! thro' whose sacred line many good works-what then? He does no more The world's Redeeemer sprung-what lofty thoughts than it was his duty to do. How then can he deserve Are these, which, kindling hallow'd passions, thrill any thing for them; and, least of all, that God should Thro' ev'ry fibre of thy tender frame! for these account him a righteous man, notwithstandAffection's chain-that golden link of loveing the many evil works he has been guilty of? Besides, if he has done good works by the grace of God, God is not indebted to him, but he is indebted to God Temper'd by Power invisible, on forge for them. But, did any man ever pay his debts, by Of an unearthly mould-binds in its clasp merely owing more?-Suppose he has done innume-Thy noble spirit, and its hold retains rable good works, and suppose too, what cannot be truly supposed, that they are all perfectly good; yet so long as he has been guilty of any one sin, the man is still a sinner, and, therefore, cannot be accounted righteous, or justified, by any thing he himself does, "for whohowever great or good it may seem to be; soever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all;" and if guilty, the law condemns him. How then can he who is guilty of any, much less "guilty of all," be justified before God? Can a man be guilty and not guilty at the same time; condemned and justified; a sinner and yet no sinner, but righteous, and that too in the eyes of God himself?-Bishop Beveridge.

Poetry.
STANZAS.

(For the Church of England Magazine:)

"Now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is."

IT is not yet made manifest,

Nor shall be till we see

The Saviour in his glorious form,

What we his saints shall be.

But this we know, when we shall view
Our Jesus as he is,

We shall be like him, and shall be

Co-partners in his bliss.

And well shall we be satisfied,

When we his likeness wear,

For O! 'twill need his soul of strength
Such weight of joy to bear!

We look upon a mirror now,
And on its surface trace,

In lineaments a second self

Air, figure, garb and face.

But when our gaze shall fix on him,

When he shall look on us,

No breathless phantom, cold and dim,
Shall he be imaged thus.

More firm, than ivy belts the knotted oak.
Exalted soul! from whose expiring breath,
On heavenly pinions borne, immortal words
Glanc'd down-to shine on inspiration's page.
Hear, widow'd parent, thy sad daughter's voice
Invoking fond regard-hear, while in tones
Of sweet, tho' mournful cadence, ev'ry chord
Responsive vibrates, to thy stern behest,--
"Intreat me not to leave thee, to return,
And bid adieu to thee, my chiefest care,
My staff-my hope-my greatest earthly joy!
Oh! send me not away, elsewhere to seek,
Apart from thee, a friend, I ne'er shall find-
Hence, vain belief, that I can sojourn still
Where erst I dwelt or could again enslave
My soul to idols, and dishonour God.
To thee I fondly cleave, and wheresoe'er
Thou goest, there I will go-thy lodging mine.
In Bethl'hem's land thy people I will own,
And dwell amongst; the God whom thou ador'st,
Him will I worship, honour, and adore ;
What time-what place, Death calls, and to himself
Secures thee, as a tenant of the grave,
That die on me be cast-Death, wing me hence
To that same tomb-my mother's last abode!"
Thus, like a long pent torrent bursting forth,
And bearing down its flood-gates, spoke the maid
From the o'erflowing of her swollen heart.
Lord! be it mine, thro' ev'ry stage of this
Brief remnant of my days, on higher ground,
To trace, and tread Ruth's virtuous steps-emblem
This heart, with impress of true love to thee;
Mine be the firm resolve, the wish, to walk
Faithful to thee-a Father to us all.
Forsake me not*, O Lord, my heart thou know'st-
Thou know'st I love thee well, and am prepar'd
The things of time, and sense to yield, and run
The course thy footsteps trod-yea, c'en to death!
"Twas when within thy harrow'd breast, the sword
Of anguish sank-and angry billows, heav'd
From lowest depths, dash'd o'er thy aching heart;
'Twas when in venom'd gall, man's heinous guilt,

* John xxi. 16.

Man's foul transgression dipp'd her bearded shaft,
And with unerring aim, thou spotless One!
Fasten'd the iron 'neath thy inmost soul,-
'Twas then the LORD Jehovah heard thy prayer
From heav'n's high throne, and o'er thy darken'd

brow

Shot from his count'nance streams of light, and joy!
O! may that God be mine! whose fiat sways,
Whose mighty arm controls, the heav'ns above,
And earth beneath, and all created things!
With thee to dwell this trembling spirit pants,
Thro' ev'ry change, and chance of life-in pain,
In sickness-yea, in adverse times, not less
Than when thy choicest gifts around me shine,
Soon as thy mandate cites, this shackl'd soul
Shall spring aloft, freed from its prison'd hold-
And this frail flesh inhears'd shall rest, until
The trumpet sound, and wake the slumb'ring dust!
Then ransom'd from the tomb, Lord, let me rise
On seraphs' wings, to meet thee, and to dwell
Before thy throne-there mingle with the saints,
And in sweet melody, on golden harps
Strike heav'nly music-chanting, in full choir,
The everlasting praises of my God!

* Ps. xxxviii., 2. ev. 18. Job vi. 4.

Miscellaneous.

We believe, therefore, that there is a philosophy in the
cosmogony of the Hebrew prophet, the fall merits of
which time alone can unravel, but which clearly de-
termine that the original source of all the wonders of
creation must also have been the source of a communi-
cation of God to man. It is certainly curious, that
such a marked distinction should be expressed be-
tween fish, "which the waters brought forth abun-
dantly;" and cetacea," and God created great
whales:" now whales, seals, the dugong, &c., are not
fish-they belong to mammalia, and suckle their young
from mammæ; they breathe by lungs, and not by
bronchiæ, and are warm-blooded and animals. The
line of demarcation is at once philosophical and just,
and belongs to a refined physiology in zoology. In
like manner, the distinction of what have been trans-
lated "
grass, the herb yielding seed, and the tree
yielding fruit, whose seed is in itself," is, when con-
sidered agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, not a little
remarkable. It contains the elements of what modern
botanists are at length adopting as the true system of
an unchangeable arrangement. The reference to seeds
as the characteristic distinction is truly wonderful,
and may correspond with the a-cotyledons, mono-
cotyledons, and di-cotyledons of the botanists of the
times in which we live. The late professor Burnett's
remarks are apposite, and may be cited as confirma-
tory of these observations. "These seedless or spore-
bearing, these grain or simple seed-bearing, and these
seed-vesseled or fruit-bearing plants, which have
been shewn to be equivalent to the a-cotyledons,
mono-cotyledons, and di-cotyledons of Linnæus, Jus-
sieu, and all modern botanists, are at the same time
most peculiarly coincident with the three primary
divisions hinted at by Moses." "It is curious that a
system, which it has taken centuries to mature, and
which successive botanists have laboured age after
age to advance towards perfection, should be identical
with that enunciated by Moses, and from which, for
so many thousand years, naturalists had wandered
more and more, and to which their return was wholly
unpremeditated, as the identity was not recognised
until after the return was made."

PICTURE WORSHIP.-This is still exhibited among the Greeks, and, on entering a church, the first ob

HARMONY OF THE MOSAIC NARRATIVE WITH THE DISCOVERIES OF MODERN SCIENCE.-The whole phenomena of creation, as detailed in the annals of the Mosaic cosmogony, are fraught with wonder, and display a remarkable harmony, when compared with the facts which modern science has substantiated, which, therefore, may be adduced in evidence of the truth of these oracles of heaven. None but Omniscience could have described, at this remote era of antiquity, a structure and conditions that should per-ject attracting notice is the multitude of pictures. No fectly correspond with the discoveries effected by mental sagacity, in a more mature stage of its existence, and which could be only, at best, obscurely conjectured by intervening ages, now, however, become palpable as the evidence of the senses and of science. All this may well make us wary of sporting our scepticism on some other questions, which, though we may not fully comprehend at present, a higher measure of intellect, in the progress of time, may entirely explain.

* From "The Truth of Revelation, demonstrated by an appeal to existing monuments, &c. By John Murray, F.S.A.; F.L.S.; F.G.S. London: Smith, Fleet Street, 1840." There are many interesting facts collected in this book, but they are thrown together without much notion of arrangement, and buried under such an encumbering weight of incorrect style, that few will endure the painful search necessary to dis-inter them. We cannot refrain from asking Mr. Murray what could induce him to pen such sentences as the following :-"Idolatry is the chameleon of cruelty; it may change its hues, and adapt itself to idiosyncrasies of clime, but it is not less the dagon for its silver shrines. Satan can transform himself into an angel of light,' and even idolatry may have its counterfeit virtues, that the vigilance of the moral watcher' may be lulled by the circe charm, while the poisoned chalice does its work," p. 94. Writing of this kind, of which numerous examples might be given, and an extraordinary quantity of strange and uncouth words, will render the book unintelligible to those in whose hands we would most wish to see it. It has further the disadvantage of having been printed at a provincial press. Typographical errors are therefore frequent; and occasionally Mr. Murray himself is inistaken in his assertions. We have dwelt the more on the defects, because we especially lament to see them in a work which contains so much valuable matter, and which we should have been glad, in the most unqualified manner, to recommend. The coincidences which Mr. M. notices, may many of them appear, separately, but slight; taken together, however, they furnish a body of proof of the most convincing character.

statues are seen, and the absurd notion is entertained, that, whilst orthodoxy and devotion sanction picture worship, idolatry stands connected with the worship of statues. Greeks, on entering a church, vow before and kiss them. The profession of a painter, under such circumstances, is lucrative. A friend spent a night with a picture-seller near Smyrna, when a peasant came to purchase a picture of St. Nicholas. "What kind of picture do you want?" inquired the painter; "is it a miracle-working St. Nicholas, or a plain St. Nicholas?" The peasant asked to see both, which were exhibited; and, in answer to inquiries, the painter informed his customer that the miracle-working picture had leaped, the evening preceding, from the station it occupied, marched along the floor to a considerable distance, and then assumed its original position. The price of the picture was, in consequence, nearly double that of the plain St. Nicholas. The purchaser seemed anxious to obtain what appeared so valuable a treasure, but his poverty only permitted him to buy the plain St. Nicholas.-Researches in Greece, by the Rev. John Hartley.

London: Published by JAMES BURNS, 17 Portman Street, Portman Square; W. EDWARDS, 12 Ave-Maria Lane, St. Paul's; and to be procured, by order, of all Booksellers in Town and Country.

PRINTED BY

JOSEPH ROGERSON, 24 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON.

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THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S LIBRARY. By the Rev. E. B. RAMSAY, M.A., F.R.S.E.,

Minister of the Episcopal Chapel of St. John the

66

Evangelist, Edinburgh.

"GIVE attendance to reading," was an injunction of St. Paul to his disciple Timothy; and, though it is probable that the word reading" applies, in the first instance, to reading the holy scriptures, still I do not consider it is taking any unwarrantable liberty with this text to make it, as a general precept, applicable to any reading which may tend to explain and illustrate the word of God, or to general attainment of Christian knowledge and edification in godliness. The question of religious reading, in these days, has become a matter of no small importance. Books on serious topics are so multiplied as to distract rather than to assist the student; a selection must be made; it is impossible to read all; and there are many which it may be more advisable to read than others-many which may be little profitable-some, perhaps, which, although they present a specious appearance, may be absolutely injurious. It is a matter of considerable moment, therefore, for the Christian inquirer, to receive some advice and direction, both in regard to his mode of reading, and to what he should read, in regard to his plan of study, and his forming a library. If in this short essay I shall succeed in furnishing useful hints to any young Christian into whose hands they may fall, so as to stimulate his reading of good books, and give him some method and order in his studies, I shall be more than repaid for the time I have devoted to it. Let not our young students be alarmed at the use of the word "library," as conjuring up ideas of vast collections of folios, or as implying large and extensive purchases of books I refer to a small and select collec

VOL. VIII. NO. CCXXX.

PRICE 1d.

tion of volumes, attainable at a moderate price, and suitable for the use and study of any person possessing an ordinary measure of perseverance in reading, and a proper desire for sound knowledge and information on those subjects which it is a calamity and a disgrace to be ignorant of.

I. Let me first observe on the principles to be kept in view, upon entering on a course of religious reading or study-and here I would wish to impress two observations on the youthful mind-1st. Whatever is read should be read well, i. c., should be thoroughly understood, digested, and made the subject of thought and frequent meditation. Superficial reading is the bane of improvement; it begets a habit of mental carelessness and listlessness, the tendency of which must be to perpetuate incorrect and defective knowledge. It is a fault encouraged, I fear, by the multiplication of books. People get into a way of skimming over a great number of volumes, and thus learn nothing in a solid and distinct manner. To correct this fatal tendency, I would recommend the plan of studying well and thoroughly a few good books of a sound elementary character-making a conquest of them, and having their method and view of the subjects clearly imprinted on the memory. In this way far more sound progress will be made in knowledge, than by a superficial reading of ten times the number of volumes. After a clear system of religious knowledge has been fixed in the mind by such a study of good authors, there is the less danger of distraction of thought from reading in a more desultory or miscellaneous manner: the mind can arrange the ideas presented to it, according to its own method and previously adopted system. The other observation I wished to make on this part of the subject is, that all

[London: Joseph Rogerson, 24 Norfolk-street, Strand.]

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