Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust,
To them I may have owed another gift,
Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,
In which the burthen of the mystery,
In which the heavy and the weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world,

Is lightened: that serene and blessed mood,
In which the affections gently lead us on,
Until the breath of this corporeal frame
And even the motion of our human blood
Almost suspended, we are laid asleep
In body, and become a living soul:
While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things.

Now, it cannot fail to strike one, upon reading this introduction to a poem of singular interest and beauty, that the mind producing it was thoroughly subjective in all modes of conception and of feeling, and that this had been, for years, the distinguishing characteristic. But, that there might be no possibility of mistaking the truth in this matter, the poet proceeds to tell us how his mind, once imparting a glorious light to the beautiful and grand, has now attained, in natural process of imaginative development, to intimate, mysterious communion with the inward spirit of nature:

For I have learned

To look on nature, not as in the hour
Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes
The still, sad music of humanity,

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power

To chasten and subdue. And I have felt

A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man :
A motion and a spirit, that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things.

These lines, we think, settle the question. When we re

member that they were written in July, 1798, and reflect that

their author, thus early, recognized in nature "something far more deeply interfused," something lying aback of all the forms, hues and sounds of the material universe, and which, undiscovered by the external senses, and appreciated only by the soul, defies analysis, we cannot but believe that their intense spiritualism was the growth of long years of supersensuous thought.

In thus claiming for Wordsworth the precedence to Coleridge in the utterance of a spiritual philosophy, we do not disclaim the admission that the former was greatly indebted to the latter in attaining just and profound views of truth. We have not the slightest doubt in this regard; indeed, it is Wordsworth's own acknowledgement. But we doubt whether, in the early stages of their intimacy, Coleridge did not receive from Wordsworth, even in respect of the principles of a spiritual philosophy, much more than he imparted. The first prose work of Coleridge, in which the sensational philosophy was attacked, appeared June 1st, 1809, or twelve years after his intimacy with Wordsworth began. It is well known, too, that the process by which Coleridge reached his mature, philosophic opinions, was a slow one. It was not until the later years of his life, nor before various systems of ingenious but erroneous speculation had been received and rejected, that he finally came out upon that high ground of a christianized spiritualism, where death surprised him. But whilst with unremitting toil he was working his way to the serene atmosphere and resplendent light of a higher philosophy, Wordsworth, with not less toil, and with equally generous devotion to truth, was filling the English mind with thoughts utterly subversive of sensationalism, and thoroughly promotive of an antagonistic system. We refer to his works, especially to the Excursion, and still more especially to its fourth book, for ample justification of our

statement.

We cannot hesitate, therefore, in expressing our belief that Wordsworth was the pioneer, in English literature, of that philosophy, in the statement and defence of which, Coleridge displayed an ability, entitling him justly to an imperishable fame. We think it also much more than a matter of high probability, that the very entertainment of the Coleridgean philosophy by many of the most cultivated intellects of the present

day, is strictly referable to that peculiar and powerful spiritual element, which Wordsworth infused into modern modes of thought. Nor can we fail to express our decided conviction, that the study of the works of the poet, equally with the study of the writings of the philosopher, is admirably adapted to counteract the objective tendencies of our age, and to lead all earnest thinkers to those lofty views of God and man and human destiny, which, in the turmoil of practical life, and in the absence of spiritual conceptions, are so readily overborne and overlooked.

No better helps for the study of the poet could possibly be desired, than those furnished by the volumes whose titles we have placed at the head of this Article. The fine edition of his complete works is greatly indebted to the careful supervision and scholarly annotations of Professor Reed, to whom every thorough Wordsworthian will be prompted to offer a hearty tribute of thanks. We are glad to know that the demand for this edition is steadily increasing. We anticipate nothing but good from the widest circulation of the pure, vigorous, spiritualized verse of him whose aim and glory were,

To celebrate the thoughts that make

The life of souls; the truths for whose sweet sake,

We to ourselves and to our God are dear.

ARTICLE V.*

1. Old and New Theology. By REV. JAMES WOOD. Presbyterian Board of Publication.

2. Old and New Schools.

3. Institutes of Theology.

By REV. N. L. RICE, D. D. Cincinnati.

By REV. THOMAS CHALMERS, D. D.

4. Discourses and Sayings of our Lord. By REV. JOHN BROWN, D. D. Professor of Exegetical Theology to the United Presbyterian Church, Scotland.

5. Exposition of the Epistle to the Galatians. By REV. JOHN BROWN, D. D. Professor of Exegetical Theology to the United Presbyterian Church, Scotland.

IN placing at the head of this Article the above list of publications, it is not our purpose to review each one minutely and separately. This, indeed, would be a task, the performance of which would neither be pleasant to ourselves, nor profitable to our readers. The character and design of the works are so widely different, that there would be no propriety in associating them together, excepting with the view of developing from them a subject, which, under existing circumstances, demands a candid and thorough investigation. The first two works have a common object. Both are designed to exhibit what the writers believe to be serious doctrinal errors, as held by prominent divines in the Constitutional Presbyterian Church, and thus to justify the measures adopted by the General Assembly, in 1837, which resulted in the division of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Wood's book has the imprimatur of the Board of Publication, under the control of the Assembly of the New Basis. Dr. Rice's work, though it has not been issued by that Board, is regarded by his Church with favor, and is considered by

* The author of this Article, beside the usual advantages for theological training in this country, studied divinity at Edinburgh, under the instruction of Dr. Chalmers. Having since read Scottish theology, con amore, he is peculiarly well-qualified for the comparison here instituted.

EDITORS.

his brethren as a fair exponent of their views on the subjects of which it treats. These books have been most industriously circulated. New editions have been issued. They have been put forth for the express purpose of showing that our Church. has departed from its standards, as interpreted by the Fathers of American Presbyterianism, and by the most eminent divines of Scotland. In various portions of the country the most strenuous efforts have been made, by means of these volumes, to disparage the orthodoxy of our ministry, and to bring into disrepute the Church, whose advancement, we believe, is essential to a pure and liberal American Presbyterianism. This has been the policy of our brethren of the other branch of the Presbyterian Church, ever since the division in 1838. They have sounded the alarm of heresy. The timid, the wavering, and those who have not the time, or the capacity to investigate for themselves, have heard the cry so often, and from those who have occupied important positions in the Church, as to have received the impression that there must be some foundation for these charges. Such do not inquire whether these accusations are not attributable to party associations, or to the desire of ecclesiastical power, or to the perversion of the Calvinistic theology by those who make them. It is sufficient to know that influential men in the Church regard them as true, and hence they are believed and propagated, with a diligence worthy of a better cause.

We have no desire to keep up a warfare with those who have gone out from us, with whom it was once our privilege to be associated in diffusing a common Christianity, under the banner of American Presbyterianism. As we are distinct denominations, with no prospect of a reunion as ecclesiastical bodies, we should prefer the cessation of a controversy that is only calculated to engender feelings not consistent with the charity that thinketh no evil. But if our brethren of the exscinding branch of the Church think proper to continue their assaults upon our orthodoxy and ecclesiastical practice, a regard for the truth and for the permanent interests of American Presbyterianism, will prompt us to expose the injustice of their charges, and to vindicate the Church we love, against their attacks upon its purity in doctrine and order. We believe that no branch of