consequence, to proceed a step further, and to hazard some Critical observations on various passages which either obviously required, or easily admitted of them. In many instances the writer has cheerfully availed himself of the lights furnished by esteemed Authors, his obligations to whom are uniformly acknowledged; and, to prevent the Notes from extending to an undesirable length, he has frequently referred, on subjects of moment, to Critics and Divines who treat them fully. Such references, he presumes, may perhaps be acceptable to pious and intelligent youths, who delight in biblical and theological researches. It has been his earnest wish, not only to direct the attention of such Students and Ministers of the Gospel as may have hitherto neglected them, to these instructive Dissertations of WITSIUS, but also to render them intelligible and useful to those classes of Christians, who have no pretensions to literature. For their sake he has inserted a number of Notes, which would otherwise have been unnecessary; and principally for their accommodation, too, an Index is appended of nearly all the Authors, ancient and modern, quoted in the course of the work, containing short notices of the character and history of most of them. The useful Indexes subjoined to the original are also preserved. A few immaterial alterations, it may be right to mention, have been made in the form of the work. The numerous references to the Book, Chapter and Verse, in which the quotations from Scripture are to be found, are removed from the text to the bottom of the page. A few sentences, also, in different parts of the book, consisting chiefly of verbal criticisms, which the English reader might not well understand, are transferred to the bottom. When short Notes are added in the course of the work, instead of being subjoined at the end of the Volumes, they are carefully distinguished from those transposed sentences which occur in the original.* A MEMOIR of WITSIUS is prefixed, the materials of which are collected principally from the Oration delivered on occasion of his funeral by the celebrated Dr JOHN MARCK. It necessarily coincides, in a great measure, with " the Life of WITSIUS" prefixed to the Translation of the Economy of the Covenants, and with the account of him which appears in the fourth Volume of Middleton's "Evangelical Biography:"the substance of both of which is avowedly extracted from the same original and authentic source. That this attempt to render more extensively useful a highly valuable Work, may, by the blessing of God, be rendered, in some degree, conducive to the glory of the Saviour, and to the best interests of men, is the prayer of THE TRANSLATOR. The distinctive mark of the Translator's observations in the places referred to, is the subscription of the letter T. RECOMMENDATIONS. "WE have perused part of Mr FRASER'S Translation of WITSIUS's excellent and instructive Work on the CREED, and compared it in various places with the Original; and we do not hesitate to pronounce it a good Translation. It is faithful, not more free than the genius of the two languages requires, and conveys in good English not only the sense of the Author, but a considerable portion of his spirit and manner. WITSIUS is known to the mere English reader, only by a very indifferent translation of his Economy of the Covenants, and by his Irenical Animadversions translated a few years ago by the late Mr Bell of Glasgow. His Treatise on the Apostles' Creed is not inferior to either of these; and we feel much satisfaction in the prospect that a work which has so long benefited the student and divine, and which is so well calculated to give instruction and delight to every class of Christians, is now about to be given to our countrymen in their own tongue. JAMES PEDDIE, D.D. DAVID DICKSON." EDINBURGH, January 1st, 1822. "WE have perused, with much pleasure, a part of Mr Fraser's Translation of WITSIUS on the CREED, and consider it as a faithful expression of the sense of the original. We recommend the work to the public as a scriptural, luminous, and pious exposition of that short summary of the Christian faith. JOHN DICK, D.D. JOHN MITCHELL, D.D." GLASGOW, November 15th, 1821. "To all who are in some measure familiar with the writings of the orthodox continental Divines, it must often have been the subject of regret, that, from their being composed in a dead language, the stores of theological learning and evangelical truth with which they are so liberally replenished, are in a great measure inaccessible to Christians in this country. Among these theologians, few occupy a higher place than WITSIUS —who, to profound learning and fervent piety, added a taste for classical elegance, in his days rather uncommon among his countrymen. Of his voluminous and valuable works, none, so far as we know, have ever been translated into English, except his ŒEconomia Fœderum and his Animadversiones Irenica, both of which have been favourably received by the religious public. His work on the Apostles' CREED appears to us to have at least equal claims on a kind reception. It is learned, perspicuous, pious and practical, and free of that tediousness which often characterises the Dutch divines. In Mr Fraser, (part of whose Manuscript we have had VOL. I. с 1. the satisfaction of perusing,) Witsius has met with a Translator, capable, in no ordinary degree, of transfusing not merely the meaning, but the spirit of his original into his version. Though not a slavish, he is a faithful interpreter; and while the reader is furnished with the sentiments of Witsius, he is not frequently reminded by the foreign turn of expression, that he is not reading an original work. We have no hesitation in saying, that the original work of Witsius is equally worthy of the public patronage as any of that Author's treatises which have yet been translated, and that the Version is superior in merit to that of either of his works which have appeared in an English dress. JOHN BROWN, Whitburn. WHITBURN, November 12th, 1821. |