from the Church of Scotland found him; and, as that movement had from the first possessed his hearty sympathy, he was prompt to obey the summons which called him to resign his preferment, and join his brethren who, for conscience' sake, were relinquishing their ecclesiastical connection with the State. Nearly the whole of his congregation followed him, and he continued to labor among them up to the period of his death, as minister of the Free High Church. In prospect of the approaching sacrament, in October last, he was engaged in preparing a sermon to be delivered on that occasion, when he was seized with a stroke of paralysis, which terminated fatally. It is worthy of notice, that, just before laying down his pen, the last words he wrote were: "O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory?"

Dr. Gordon presented, in the constitution of his mind, a union but rarely exemplified, of strength with gentleness, of compactness with discursiveness. In early life his pursuits were, by choice chiefly, in the department of the exact sciences. His genius was essentially mathematical; and there is reason to conclude, from his earlier essays, that, had he devoted himself to mathematical and scientific studies, his place might have been among the foremost of those who are eminent in these departments at the present day. But considerations higher than those of natural inclination, had led him to devote himself to the service of religion; and, for excelling in this sphere, he was also remarkably well fitted. With his taste for exact science, there was combined a breadth of reflectiveness, an ardor of feeling, and an apprehension of the force of moral reasoning, which are too often wanting in those who have addicted themselves to mathematical studies. There was nothing dry or merely formal in his modes of thought. He did not insist upon seeing everything under a particular angle. He did not bring everything to be measured by a given line. He could appreciate and estimate truth, even though it was not of a kind to be demonstrated. His mathematical tendencies and pursuits but served to give precision to his views in other departments, and to preserve him from the looseness and inconsequence of thought too often characterizing the harangues of undisciplined teachers.

As a preacher, Dr. Gordon was distinguished by the closeness and consecutiveness of his reasoning, the energy of his elocution, the pathos and solemnity of his appeals, and the rich vein of Scriptural sentiment and practical elucidation which pervaded his discourses. In his published sermons we do not mark any peculiar indications either of the scientific theologian or the learned interpreter. But, viewing them as pieces of sacred oratory, designed to persuade men to piety and virtue, they seem to us to occupy a foremost place in the department to which they belong. In all of them a definite purpose is kept in view; argument, persuasion, entreaty, are brought to bear with admirable skill and effect upon the securing of that purpose; the reader is borne along as on a swift rushing stream; and the whole is wound up with a sudden abruptness that seems to cast him with irresistible force on the point at which the preacher has all along been aiming. When to the sequalities of matter and method were added, in delivery, the dignified

aspect, the solemn tone, the earnest gesture, the pleading look of the preacher, we can well believe that it was oftentimes with a sort of hushed awe that he was listened to, as if one of the old prophets had risen from the dead, and was pleading with men in the name of their God.

In private life, Dr. Gordon drew to himself alike the love and reverence of all who knew him. Sternly inflexible, where the interests of truth and integrity were concerned, he was, in all other respects, “gentle and easy to be entreated." In general society, he united to the manners of a gentleman a certain scholarly simplicity, which was unspeakably charming.. In the eye of the public, he stood forth a thoroughly honest man; and, in the circle of intimate friendship and family affection, his gentleness, meekness and lovingkindness, made all hearts his. The memory of such a man is blessed.

During his lifetime, Dr. Gordon published but little. Immersed in parochial and pastoral duties, he had but little time for the labors of the press; nor does he seem to have had either any of the cacoethes scribendi, or any great ambition to be distinguished as an author. A volume of sermons and a few minor pieces constitute the whole of his previous contributions to literature. In the volumes before us, he appears still as a sermon-writer. No attempt is made here to investigate critically the amount of knowledge possessed by the ancient church concerning the person and work of Christ. The author contents himself with a purely homiletical development of the elements of spiritual knowledge enunciated in the historical books, involved in the historical events, or adumbrated in the institutions of the Old Testament. In a theological or exegetical point of view, the work makes no pretensions to distinction; but, in richness of evangelical thought, in closeness of practical application, in cogency of doctrinal inference, and in high-toned spirituality of sentiment, few works of modern authorship will, in our opinion, be found to possess higher claims. It is eminently a book for the closet of the meditative Christian; and to such it will open many fields of fruitful and pleasant thought. There is a breadth and power about the author's mode of dealing with his subject which, to minds of a reflective cast, cannot but prove eminently attractive. If he seldom stops to solve minor difficulties, it is that he may unfold large and comprehensive views in the domain of sacred knowledge; and over that domain he treads with the firm step and commanding mien of one to whom all its parts are well known, and its richest treasures unlocked. Two volumes are to follow on the more direct Messianic announcements of the prophets.

VIII. COLEMAN'S HISTORICAL TEXT-BOOK AND ATLAS OF BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY.'

WE have, in a former number, called the attention of our readers to Dr. Coleman's "Historical Geography of the Bible," the first edition of which

1 An Historical Text-book and Atlas of Biblical Geography. By Lyman Coleman. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. 1854. 8vo. 319 half pages.

appeared in 1849, and which contains a great amount of valuable matter condensed into a small space. The present work fully sustains the author's well-established reputation for indefatigable industry and accurate research. In the preface he tells us, that, while the general plan of the book is the same as that of the Historical Geography of the Bible, it is not an abridgment of that work, but "a separate, independent treatise, which has called the writer to a new and extended course of reading, preparatory to the task of constructing this Text-book and Atlas." The descriptive portion, combining the two elements of history and geography, and arranged in successive periods, is less full than in the Historical Geography, the author having aimed to compress it "into the narrowest limits that seemed compatible with the design of presenting a satifactory compend of the wide range of Biblical geography, chronology and history, without reducing it to a barren, repulsive series of isolated statistics." The maps, on the other hand, are far more full and valuable. These are beautifully engraved on steel on the basis of Kiepert's Bible Atlas, compared with that of Wieland and Ackerman, and also the maps of Robinson, Wilson, Lynch, Layard and Chesney; thus giving the result of the most recent researches in the department of sacred geography. The subject of sacred chronology has received special attention, and the result of the author's investigations are embodied in a valuable Chronological Table. The General Index, at the close of the volume, is not the least among the helps which it offers to the Biblical student. It contains a full list of Scriptural proper names with references to the passages where they occur.

In his statements of conflicting opinions, Dr. Coleman shows great candor, his aim being to lay before his readers the different points at issue as fully as it can be done in so concise a treatise. In respect to some of the judgments which he expresses concerning them, there is room for diversity of opinion. With our present light we should not always coincide with him. In the present state of Biblical geography, one may well reserve to himself the right of dissent from an author on certain points, without disparagement to the general excellence of his work. The treatise deserves, and will, we doubt not, receive an extended circulation. It is a convenient manual for schools of all grades.

IX. HUGHES'S OUTLINES OF Scripture GeoGRAPHY AND HISTORY.1

THIS work is both historical and geographical in its character. In the historical portion, the author has strictly adhered to Coleman's Historical Geography of the Bible, a work which has been some years before the public,

1 Outlines of Scripture Geography and History: Illustrating the Historical Portions of the Old and New Testaments. Designed for the use of Schools and Private Reading. Based upon Coleman's Historical Geography of the Bible. By Edward Hughes, F. R. S., F. R. G. S., etc., etc. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea. 1854. 12mo. pp. 342.

and in which a great amount of valuable information is condensed into a small compass. In republishing the work in the United States, Messrs. Blanchard and Lea announce that they act by the permission of Dr. Coleman.

To those who are familiar with Coleman's Historical Geography, it is unnecessary to say, that the present work is arranged in successive periods: the Antediluvian, the period from the Deluge to the Call of Abraham, from the Call of Abraham to the Descent into Egypt, Egypt, etc. The geogra phical features of each country come up for consideration, and are discussed in connection with the history of God's chosen people. Thus we have a condensed and comprehensive account of Egypt, in its boundaries and divisions, soil and climate, political history, and antiquities, in that part which belongs to the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt. In the same way the physical features of the Arabian desert, with an account of its most noted places, are given in connection with the ascent from Egypt to Palestine; and the geography of Palestine itself is connected with the conquest of Canaan under the guidance of Joshua.

Of the abundant materials which have been collected by modern travellers and antiquarians, our author has made a diligent and judicious use. Chapters have been added on "the Crusades," and "Modern Syria;" and the illustrative maps, twelve in number, have been carefully reduced from the large maps of Kiepert, Robinson and Wilson.

Those who are unable to command the time or the means necessary for the examination of the numerous, and often expensive, works on sacred geography, that have appeared during the present century, will find, in this manual, a great amount of valuable information compressed into a small space; and they will do well to make it the constant companion of their Biblical studies.

X. CHALYBAEUS'S HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY.1

WE are glad to see so good a translation of these lectures. The inaccuracies of expression are few in number, while the style is remarkably free from foreign idioms. The translator has succeeded in giving a faithful rendering of his author, without sacrificing that vitality of language which is commonly lost in translating thought from the German to the English tongue.

The work itself is well known in Germany, and is recognized as one of the best of the many Introductions which have been prepared to lead the inquirer to a knowledge of the recent speculative philosophy. It has the uncommon and well-nigh impossible merit, of being brief and lucid without

1 Historical Survey of Speculative Philosophy from Kant to Hegel; designed as an Introduction to the Opinions of the Recent Schools. By Heinrich Moritz Chalybäus, Professor of Philosophy in the University of Kiel. Translated from the fourth edition of the German by Alfred Tulk. Andover: W. F. Draper. 1854. 12mo. pp. 397.

gaining these qualities at the expense of scientific thoroughness. Of course, the perusal of a work like this, will not render the reader versed in the systems which are described. It is what it purports to be, "a Survey," and will help the student in pursuing more thorough studies with a view to attaining a complete mastery of this difficult subject.

Of the importance of such an attainment to all educated men, and especially to educated clergymen, it ought to be unnecessary to speak. The speculative philosophy of Germany is a monument of the most original and powerful effort which the philosophic mind in modern times has put forth. If for no other reason, for this alone, the course of recent speculation in Germany is entitled to a profound attention. But, for the clergyman and theologian, a special interest is attached to this field of inquiry. Here are the armories out of which the heaviest and sharpest weapons of infidelity are drawn. Strauss and Parker are mere inferences from schemes of philosophizing which can be refuted as soon as they are fairly and fully understood. But, for the understanding of them, a persevering and candid study is requisite. The means for such a study to those who do not read the works of German writers in their own language, have been heretofore wanting. It is gratifying to know that this deficiency is to be supplied.

XI. SCHMITZ'S ADVANCED LATIN EXERCISES.1

THIS is one of the numbers of Schmitz and Zumpt's Classical Series. It consists of Progressive Exercises, English to be turned into Latin alternating with Latin to be turned into English; the whole arranged with reference to Schmitz's abridgment of Zumpt's Latin Grammar. After the Ollendorff mania, which has prevailed in some parts of this country for a few years past, it is gratifying to see a return to order and system; to a recognition of the fact, that language is not an arbitrary conglomeration of disconnected details, but an organic whole, bound together by laws of internal necessity. The grammars and exercise-books made on the Ollendorff plan are of doubtful utility, even when employed for the practical acquisition of a modern language. Applied to the ancient languages they are worse than useless; they defeat the very purposes for which those languages are studied.

The examples presented in this collection are in part taken from the exercise books of Krebs and Dronke, in part immediately from the works of Cicero. The American publishers have employed a competent editor to make such changes in the body of the work as should be necessary to adapt it to the wants of the American public. As the changes made consist entirely in additions, the purchaser of the American edition need not fear that he is using a garbled copy of the original. A large part of these additions is made up of the quotations from Schmitz's Grammar; the rule to be exem plified being in the American edition given in full, while in the Edinburgh

1 Advanced Latin Exercises, with Selection for Reading. American edition, Revised, with Additions. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea. 1854.