On Sex in the World to Come: an Essay.
Haughton. London: Boone.

By the Rev. G. D.

1841.

THERE is very much in this essay that will well repay an attentive perusal, and we shall probably recur to it again on some future occasion. The author's idea, and one, too, which he defends with much skill and great beauty of language, is, that the difference between the sexes is not bodily merely, but mental: "It has been often said that the mental characteristics of sex arise from a difference of physical organization. We hold a converse opinion. It is our belief that the Almighty designed to create two contrasted spirits, each to imbibe the excellencies of the other, and to impart its and it was His subsequent care to enshrine each of them in such a bodily temple, as would best shadow forth the nature of the indwelling thought, that all eyes might admiringly see—

own;

'The soul's translucence through her crystal cell.'

In our theory, mind was first, and matter followed as its symbol. Hence we conceive that the peculiarities of the two divisions of our race are quite indestructible, and that as they arose not from the formation of the body, so neither will they be affected by its dissolution. In the language of the Platonic philosophy, they are ideas, and not things; and, as not involved in the fate of nature, must be held secure in their existence. It is, of course, not our intention to deny that body reacts on mind, for of that truth we have only too plentiful experience.

"The Great Father clothed each spirit in its befitting robe-a robe which half hid and half revealed its brightness. His imagination conceived the plan, and then he gave to it an outward shape and manifestation. Compared with this conception, how base, how grovelling is the creed, that the various qualities of mind are evolved from a certain material form and texture!"

These words occur, not at an early period in the book, but the idea is maintained from the beginning. We have also some very able and very eloquent chapters on angels, to whose existence the same argument is applied. The book is addressed to a class, who, perhaps, are but small, and the manner in which the author presents it to them may deserve notice :—

"They whose theology is limited to a narrow list of prosaic abstractions, and who resist all approach of further enlightenment-who conceive the more tame and emasculated the character is, the meeter does it become for glory (i. e., the more inglorious it is)—who overlook the magnificent poetry of the Bible, and fasten, by choice, on its most abstract and least interesting points-whose Gospel is all contained in the Epistles, aye, and a very small portion of them, which, moreover, they do not understand, but twist into a narrow pedantic interpretation, in flat contradiction to the rest of the sacred volume, and to its pervading spirit—whose pass-word at the celestial gates is not the assuming a godlike nature, but pronouncing the Shibboleth of a party-who

VOL. X.-M M

conceive that Christianity is a dogma, whereas it is a spirit—whose idea of heaven may be gathered from the old hymn

Where congregations ne'er break up,

And Sabbaths have no end;'

-who conceived that the Almighty has given to man imagination, only that he may not soar; and fancy, only that it might be crushed; and affections, only that they may be tortured, denied, and finally eradicated: these, and such as these, may not relish our views; but with these we have no sympathy, nor desire any communion.

"But come, the gentle, the pure, the devout, the Catholic in spirit, to whom fanaticism is a horror and a crime, and see whether we do not unfold much which may nourish your hopes, and open out to your view the most consolatory prospects.

"Ye, to whom nature's radiant smile is a full assurance that your own brightest anticipations must be in accordance with the plan of the all-bounteous Creator-ye, to whom, without love, the garden of Eden would be but a wild: by that, too, you mean, not an unimpassioned universal benevolence-an equal regard for all that breathe; but love, of that more special kind which alone deserves the name.

"It is your suffrages we desire to win-it is your approbation that we alone covet."

There is something theatrical in this; there is a mixture of earthliness and heavenliness, which somewhat jars upon the mental ear; but we pass on, and we find from time to time the same string out of tune. The facts stated are true, and the theories advanced are probable, and we like the book as a whole; yet with all this there is a want of spirituality of mind about it, which may with many persons neutralize its good effects. Such a passage as the following, though true in the main, is angrily, unkindly written, and should not have been written at all:

"The spirit of that book and congenial traditions, in the way both of precept and of usages, would naturally generate a noble and stately system, lofty in its aims, and prodigal in its generosity. And such is, in truth, the system of the Holy Catholic Church; and such would more fully be acknowledged to be the features of that purest branch of it-our own Establishment-if, unhappily, it had not been shorn of its fair proportions, and surrounded by the malign influences of a religious democracy. The counter system is no genuine emanation of the Gospel, but an abortion of the last three hundred years; and does it follow no tradition? Why, its whole interpretation of the Bible is traditional! But it is a tradition derived from those impure and fanatical sectaries of the middle ages, who were expelled from the bosom of the Church for their errors, and who, as might naturally be expected, retorted upon her the foulest abuse; or perchance it flowed from the ignoble authority of Calvin, the burner of Servetus, or of Knox, that ruthless ruffian of the Scotch Reformation. The prevalence of these views is only one among a thousand illustrations of the maxim, that

'extremes meet'—a maxim which, Coleridge tells us, would exhaust philosophy in its application."

We extract one other passage, on the resurrection of the body, which is well worth the reader's attention :

"We have, doubtless, taken for granted, in the above remarks, that the celestial body offers no obstacle to the operations of spirit, but is, on the contrary, its supple instrument and efficient minister. We apprehend that none will be found in these days to revive the ancient Manichean doctrine, if it be not one which even now pervades the East, that matter is essentially malignant, and that perfect freedom or purity of mind is inconsistent with it.

"And yet it appears to us that there must be some such lurking idea in the creed of the generality of Christians, for they seem to nullify their profession of belief in the resurrection of the body, twice repeated every Sabbath-day in the service of our National Church, by the airy and unsubstantial shape which the future life assumes in their imaginations. And let us remember that it is not reason, but imagination, which is the prime mover in religion, by exciting our sensibilities, and kindling devotion.

"It is from inattention to this fact that our chief mistakes proceed. It is from a full knowledge of it, and from carrying out the principle firmly, though much too far, that the Romish Church has obtained so vast a sway, and so extended a reception. In this she has shown a rare acquaintance with human nature, and therefore has acquired a mastery over it. And, among other instances of her so potent art,' we may well select that of angelic power and guardianship. In calling to her aid this doctrine, and arraying it in its most engaging form, and even enthroning in the heavens, in the person of the Virgin, a sweeter and gentler influence, she has employed resources of a most seductive kind."

Illustrations of the End of the Church. By the Rev. Augustus Clissold, M.A. London: Simpkin and Marshall. 1841. MR. CLISSOLD is a disciple of Swedenborg, and has come to the conclusion that the Church has come to hers-in short, that if there be any Church now, there will not be one long. We are afraid for Mr. Clissold's theory, that it will not bear the test of sound criticism. When our Lord said to Peter, "On this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," he, by anticipation, refuted all that is between the two boards of Mr. Clissold's book. Yet we see clearly enough that the author is a man of considerable intellectual power, and we trust that he is also a good man; many passages in his volume lead us to believe that he is so; and we see, therefore, how little talent, and even goodness, will suffice, as theological guides, without the teaching of the Church. Of all the theories which have been put forth of late years, this is the strangest; but, thanks be to God, one of the most untrue.

Conferences of the Reformers and Divines of the Early English Church, on the Doctrines of the Oxford Tractarians, held in the Province of Canterbury, in the Spring of the Year 1841. Edited by a Member of the University of. London Seeleys. 1841.

WE are of opinion that critical severity is rarely very useful in deterring men from writing trash. If they are that way given, they will console themselves with the conclusion, that prejudice and bad taste prevail to a most astounding degree, and they themselves, alike condemned to the censure of critics and the neglect of readers, the only eminent poets, profound theologians, or practical philosophers of their day. It is, however, possible to write that which, though in a certain degree and under certain circumstances good, becomes useless when otherwise exhibited. The papaphobia-may we be allowed such a word, which now prevails among many-is a very different thing from that wholesome horror of Popery which ever distinguishes the member of a Reformed yet Catholic Church. Now the book before us is one which is evidently written with good desires and Christian intentions, yet we conceive that the whole is one mistake: it is an attempt to prove that the Oxford Tractarians are wrong, by adducing against them a host of Anglican authorities. But as they have published a catena of their own, this book is but arraying bishop against bishop, doctor against doctor, and very often the same individual, as exhibited by the "Member of the University of," against himself, as cited by "members of the University of Oxford." One of our objections to the Tractarians is, that they do make such a catena: for the opinion of many men, though it may strengthen our belief, or overcome our judgment, cannot make that true which is false, or that false which is true. We have to refer to the authorized formularies of our Church as authoritative; and to Cranmer, and Ridley, and others, only so far as, in our judgment, they rightly interpret those Articles. The Church is the interpreter of Scripture-the Fathers the witnesses of the Church: individually, each man's opinion is worth only what his own personal wisdom and learning makes it worth; and as to collective opinion, we have already spoken of that. We object to this book, too, because the author puts it forth, not merely anonymously, but as the member of some unnamed University. Candidly speaking, we must consider this quackery: we have, over and over again, expressed our dissent from the Tracts and their followers; and we grieve to say, that very few of their opponents are there who do not write less skilfully, less learnedly, and less charitably.

A Treatise of the Necessity and Frequency of Receiving the Holy Communion. By the Right Rev. Simon Patrick, D.D., sometime Lord Bishop of Ely. Edited by the Rev. William Bentinck Hawkins, M.A., F.R.S., of Exeter College, Oxford; Chaplain to H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. London: Rivingtons. 1841.

THIS is one of the very best works we have ever met with on the holy communion. It comprises everything that could be wished for on this important subject. In addition to a complete account of the nature and design of "the most comfortable sacrament of the body and blood of Christ," to use the language of Mr. Hawkins's admirable Preface, "it discusses, in the most convincing manner, a portion of the subject which has not always been treated at sufficient length-the objections, namely, by which various persons are deterred from partaking of this most sacred ordinance and institution, whether arising from conscientious scruples, or, as it is to be feared is the more frequent case, 'from motives of a less innocent character.' The venerable bishop has investigated the real nature of every one of these, and has torn off the specious disguise which they sometimes assume." Indeed we do not know of any work more perfectly suited for the use of communicants in general, or which may be employed with more advantage by the clergy in their ministerial labours.

The editor's task has been performed with great accuracy and fidelity, and the typographical part of the work is executed in a tasteful and beautiful manner.

A Series of Original Designs for Churches and Chapels, in the AngloNorman, Early English, Decorative English, and Perpendicular English Styles of Ecclesiastical Architecture. Including also Designs for Rectory Houses and Schools, in the Domestic, English, and Tudor Styles. By Frederick J. Francis, Architect, Author of "Physical and Fossil Geology." London: Weale. 1841.

MR. FRANCIS has, in the superb work before us, conferred a boon upon church builders, which they will not be slow to appreciate. The taste of the antiquary will not be here offended by the grotesque combinations which sometimes deform the face of our villages and towns, where a "Mr. Compo" has been employed to build a "cheap church." At the same time the designs are practicable ones. No one about to build a church will regret the money laid out in the purchase of this book, nor should rectory houses be built without consulting it. We say thus much only on the present occasion, as we purpose, when the book is complete, to examine it at considerable length, with a view to investigate the principles on which what is commonly called Gothic architecture can be applied to buildings not immediately sacred in their character.