leave Leipsic, the nobleman made opinions may be, and are neither in- ANECDOTE FROM GILPIN'S WESTERN TOUR. Mr. Tilly, once the owner of Pentilly House, was a celebrated atheist of the last age; he was a man of wit, and had by rote all the ribaldry and common place jests against religion and scripture, which are well suited to display pertness and folly, and to unsettle a giddy mind, but are offensive to men of sense, whatever their *Situated on the Cornish side of the river Tamer, near Plymouth. view, in ridicule of the resurrection, he obliged his executors to place his dead body, in his usual garb, and in his elbow chair, upon the top of a hill, and to arrange on a table before him, bottles, glasses, pipes, and tobacco. In this situation he ordered himself to be immured in a tower of such dimensions as he prescribed, where he proposed, he said, to wait the event. All this was done, and the tower, still inclosing its tenant, remains as a monument of his impiety and profaneness. The country people shudder as they go near it. "Religio pavidos terrebat agrestes Dira loci:-sylvam, saxumque tremebant." REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. CXXXI. Milner's History of the tentions, and in a manner which Church of Christ. (Continued from vol. ii, p. 751.) In our last number, we took a general view of the corrupt state of the Romish Church, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, at which time it pleased God to employ Martin Luther as his instrument in effecting an extensive and radical reformation. Mr. Milner introduces his readers to that wonderful man in the following manner: "Not many years after the commencement of this century, the world beheld an attempt to restore the light of the gospel, more evangelically judicious, more simply founded on the word of God, and more ably and more successfully conducted than any which had ever been seen since the days of Augustine. Martin Luther, whom divine Providence raised up for this purpose, was evidently the instrument rather than the agent of this reformation. He was led from step to step, by a series of circumstances far beyond his original in might evince the excellency of the power to be of God and not of man. Even the reformations which took place in several other parts of Europe, besides Germany the scene of Luther's transactions, were in a great measure derived from the light which he was enabled to diffuse among mankind; and as the peculiar excellency of the revival of Godliness, now before us, lay in this, that it was conversant in fundamentals of doctrine, rather than in correction of mere abuses of practice, hence the history of Lutheranism recommends itself, in an especial manner, to the study of every theologian." p. 276. Mr. M. follows Seckendorf, as his principal guide, and a more able and authentic guide he could not have selected, for the period which intervenes from the origin of the reformation to the death of Luther in 1546. That portion, however, of the history, of the reformation, which the reverend and learned editor has now presented to the public, comprizes only the short space of time from the rise of the controversy concerning indulgences, about the end of 1517, to the Leipsic disputation between Luther and Eckius, in 1519; which in fact is barely setting foot within the threshold of Lutheranism. This portion is divided into four chapters-the first of which is entitled preliminaries. The chief object of this chapter is to shew the importance of the reformation, by a view of the state of the Christian world at the time of Luther's appearance. The author arranges his observations under four heads.-1. The Popish doctrine concerning indulgences.-2. The gross ignorance that prevailed, respecting the doctrine of justification.3. The debasing superstition that enchained the minds of men.-4. And the predominance of the Aristotelian philosophy; "a philosophy which knew nothing of original sin and native depravity, which allowed nothing to be criminal but certain external flagitious actions, and which was unacquainted with the idea of any righteousness of grace, imputed to a sinner: how many" adds the pious and judicious author, "in this age, who neither know nor value Aristotle, do yet altogether follow his self righteous notions of religion!" p. 207. We beg leave to subjoin to Mr. Milner's observations on this last head, that Aristotle was not only the great oracle at that time in the university schools, but had also taken possession of the pulpit, and we have it upon the authority of Melanchthon, that during his residence in the university of Tubingen, Aristotle's Ethics were commented upon in one of the Churches, by a monk of that place. Let us bless God for the Protestant Reformation, in consequence of which the word of the Lord is freely declared amongst us. The second chapter is entitled, "The beginning of the Controversy concerning Indulgences." The doctrine of the Church of Rome, concerning indulgences, is contained in the famous decretal of Pope Clement the sixth, published in the 14th century, wherein the faithful are taught to believe, that the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, and the superabundant good works of the saints, were entrusted to St. Peter and his successors, to be dispensed by them for the remission of sins committed after baptism, and for deliverance from the pains of purgatory. The first pontiff who appears to have asserted this imaginary and extravagant claim, with a view of enriching the coffers of the Holy See, was Urban the Second, in the eleventh century, who offered a plenary indulgence to all who might enlist under the banner of the cross, for the conquest of Palestine. The same grace was afterwards extended to such as hired substitutes for the purpose of fighting against the infidels; and in process of time the Pontiffs had recourse to this fruitful expedient for the advancement of any project which their ambition, avarice, or vanity suggested. Leo the Tenth, well known as an encourager of letters and the fine arts, was advised by his courtiers to publish a sale of indulgences, in order to be relieved from the embarrassments in which his profusion had involved him; although the pretence was to complete the fabric of St. Peter's Church at Rome. But this expedient, of which his predecessors had often availed themselves with great success, now proved a fatal policy to the interests of the Romish See, and was productive of consequences, which neither the abettors nor the opposers of that measure could have foreseen or apprehended. Mr. Milner, has given an accurate account of the manner in which the papal agents executed their commission in Saxony,* as well as of *One of these "John Tetzel, boasted that he had saved more souls from hell, by his indulgences, than St. Peter had converted to Christianity by his preaching." by his own hand, he said, I, by the authority of Jesus Christ, through the merits of his most holy passion, and by the authority of his blessed apostles Peter, Paul, and of our most holy Pope, delegated to me, do absolve thee first from all ecclesiastical censures however incurred: secondly, from all sins committed by thee, however enormous, for so far the keys of the sacred church extend: and I do this by remitting to thee all the punishments due to thee in purgatory, on account of innocence and purity, in which thou thy crimes, and I restore thee to the wast when baptized, so that the gates of punishment may be shut to thee when dying, and the gates of paradise be opened? In regard to the effect of indulgences, in delivering persons from the supposed torments of purgatory, the gross declarations of Tetzel in public are well "In the usual forin of absolution written the opposition they met with from Luther, who at that time officiated as a pastor at Wittembergh, and filled the theological chair in the university. We are then presented with an interesting and highly edifying sketch of Luther's life, previous to that period; whence it evidently appears that he had made considerable advancement in the divine life, before he publicly raised his voice against the corruptions of popery; and "that the Saxon Reformer was not induced to act the part which has given so great a celebrity to his name, from motives of personal malice, or of ambition, or of avarice; but purely from the fear of God, from a conscientious regard to evangelical truth, from a zeal for the divine glory and for the profit of the souls of his fellow creatures." p. 306. If our limits would admit of it, we should gladly have enriched our pages with copious extracts from this part of Mr. Milner's work, but we must content ourselves with recommending the perusal of it to our readers. The remainder of the chapter is occupied by a careful investigation of Luther's character, from the various testimonies of friends and adversaries, a task which the author has executed with discrimination, ability, and candour. The result appears to be, "that his learning, genius, and capacity, were of the first magnitude," and "that his life is allowed to be without blemish." His faults were a disposition to anger, and an indulgence in jesting, blemishes which are allowed to throw a shade over his, in other respects, truly admirable writings. With the exception of these defects, Mr. Milner has no hesitation in affirming, "That it is not easy to find a more blameless, or even a more excellent character. No man, since the apostles days, had penetrated into the sacred oracles with such singular felicity. He was endowed known: The moment the money tinkles in the chest, your father's soul mounts up out of purgatory"." placable, he was rarely diverted from the path of equity; and notwithstanding the uncommon vehemence of his temper, he was often submissive and condescending. With an exquisite sensibility and readi ness of conception, with a zeal and an ardor for a single moment, he was most imagination which never remitted their perfectly free from enthusiasm; and with a great capacity and unparalleled intrepidity, he seems to have been devoid of ambition, and contented to live all his days in very moderate circumstances. ONLY the wise disposer of all events, for the glory of his own name, and for the revival of true religion in Europe, by the effectual operation of his Holy Spirit, could have produced at the season when most wanted, so faithful a champion, and possessed of so much vigour of intellect, and Christian like a temper » (p. 309.) of so daring a spirit, and of so truly humble In the third chapter we have an account of the controversy occasioned by Luther's Theses against Indulgences, in 1518, and of the conferences at Augsburgh with Cardinal Cajetan the Pope's legate, which serves to illustrate the character and views of this great reformer, and the gradual progress, which bis mind, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, made towards a complete emancipation from the errors of the Romish Church. In the fourth and last chapter an account is given of a fruitless attempt, in 1519, to bring Luther to submission by the arts of negotiation, and of the memorable disputation at Leipsic, between Eckius, the most renowned champion of the papal cause who had hitherto appeared, and Luther, concerning the divine original of the Pope's spiritual supremacy. In this disputation both parties boasted of having obtained the victory, but we agree with our author, in thinking its consequences, the cause of the rethat from the contest at Leipsic, and formation derived many advantages. The celebrated Melanchthon, then. only twenty-three years of age, and professor of Greek at Wittemberg, was actually present at these conferences, and they "seem to have had a mighty effect in determining him to logy." He published an account of employ his talents in the study of theothis theological combat, which is extant, and proves that his abilities were not inferior to his zeal in the cause of Luther, with whom he became henceforward linked in the ties of the most confidential friendship. Mr. Milner concludes the chapter with the following just reflections concerning that great man. "Already, indeed, he had favoured Luther's intentions of teaching pure christianity, and of delivering it from the reigning darkness and superstition; but his wishes in this respect had hitherto originated in the native candor and benevolence of his temper, and in his abhorrence of all disguise, artifice, and tyranny, rather than in any distinct insight which he bad acquired into particular instances of the corruption of christian doctrine, or of the shameful practices of ecclesiastical domination." "The solid reasonings of Luther, supported by constant appeals to the scriptures, effectually convinced his mind of the soundness of the principles of his industrious and persecuted friend; and determined him to embark in the cause of religious liberty with zeal and fidelity. From the period of this famous public disputation, he applied himself most intensely to the interpretation of the scriptures, and the defence of pure christian doctrine; and he is justly esteemed by Protestants to have been, under divine providence, the most powerful coadjutor of the Saxon reformer. His mild and peaceable temper, his aversion to schismatic contention, his reputation for piety and for knowledge, and above all, his happy art of exposing error and maintaining truth in the most perspicuous language; all these endowments concurred to render him eminently serviceable to the revival of the religion of Christ. Little did Eckius imagine that the public disputation, in which he had foreseen nothing but victory and exultation, and the downfall of Lutheranism, would give rise to another theological champion, who should contend for christian truth, and christian liberty, with the primitive spirit of an Apostle." (p. 409.) In the appendix we are favoured with the substance of a biographical account of Luther, the production of Melanchthon's pen, after the death of his friend, which we regard as one of the most valuable papers in the work. The important doctrine of justification by faith is there stated with a clearness and precision worthy of the renowned author of the Augsburgh confession. In the appendix there are likewise some remarks concerning Erasmus, which are calculated to raise considerable doubts respecting the orthodoxy of his faith, and the honest simplicity of his intentions. This point will be placed in a clearer light, by transcribing a passage from the preface, wherein the learned Editor has drawn a comparison between this elegant scholar and his contemporary Martin Luther. "Erasmus skirmished as it were, and with great success, against many of the auxiliaries of popery, but never once in his life did he look in the face what, according to Luther's judgment, was the real efficient enemy of Christ and his religion: never did he' lay siege to the strong holds of self-righteous ness. To pull down these with all his might was both the object and the practice of the Saxon reformer. Erasmus said many excellent things in an elegant way, concerning Christ and the Gospel, concerning piety, purity of life, Christian charity, meekness and peaceable temper. exquisite humour, and, it may be truly He exposed with great ability and with added, with much advantage to the refor mation, the ambition, covetousness, and luxurious excesses of the clergy. Luther, who cordially agreed with him in all these just animadversions, went to the root both of the evil and of the good. The depraved nature of man he taught as the root of the evil; contrition and humility, with a lively faith in the Redeemer, as the only cure of the reigning evil, and the only source of future good. While the former courted Popes and Cardinals, and temporized with them, fancying that reformation of ecclesiastical abuses might be brought about by mild and prudential management, the latter refused to make any sinful compromises, boldly opposed all antichristian notions of the merit of works, defended the important doctrine of justification by faith, and committed his cause to God. The doctrine of justification by faith was the article which, of all others, this great man had most at heart. If that were preserved, he conceived nothing could go materially wrong: if that were lost, nothing would go right: and in no great length of time he was convinced, that this fundamental doctrine could be established only on the ruins of popery. The opinions of Erasmus and Luther on this subject were substantially different, and in some important views the reverse of each other.” (p. xvi― xviii). Having thus given a copious account of the contents of the work before us, we proceed to state, according to promise, our general opinion of its merits. In forming an estimate of Mr. Milner's labours, it must be kept in mind, that the design of his history was entirely new; and that he had therefore to contend with the various difficulties which must be encountered by those who pursue a path hitherto unattempted. It was necessary that he should be thoroughly acquainted with all those materials which had oc cupied the attention of former writers of Church History, with a view to ascertain their bearing upon the particucular objects of his research. But it was also necessary, that, taking a wider range, he should penetrate recesses of private history unexplored by his predecessors; and that, in order to form a true judgment concerning the sentiments and character of individuals, he should peruse with attention original writings, which before had been almost consigned to oblivion; a task far more laborious, and less amusing than commonly fall to the lot of authors. The works of other ecclesiastical historians exhibit indeed, in splendid characters, the lives of men who bore a distinguished rank in the Church; they record the actions of the great and honourable of the earth-of kings, and bishops, and councils in the work before us, names "unknown to song," but inscribed in the book of life, are drawn from their obscurity; and, anticipating that day in which a true and impartial judgment of merit will be formed, and in which the righteous only shall be had in everlasting remembrance, they are held up to the regard and admiration of mankind, as monuments of the transforming power of divine grace. But it is not only on account of his patient industry, and unwearied research, that Mr. Milner deserves the grateful thanks of the Church of Christ, but likewise for his strenuous endeavours to correct the opinions of mankind on many important points, by leading them to form their decisions according to truth, and not according to the false criterion of worldly estimation. We deem those parts of his work by no means the least valuable, where he has combated, and always, we conceive, with success, the artful and insidious misrepresentations of Hume and Gibbon, by which a general currency had been given to sentiments tending greatly to the depreciation of christianity. We think that Mr. Milner particularly excels in accuracy of discrimination, and soundness of judgment; and we are disposed to attribute his superiority in this respect to his invariable practice, a practice in which we fear that as an historian he will be found to stand nearly alone, of estimating men's characters and actions by the unvarying standard of the word of God. His knowCHRIST. OBSERV. No. 25. ledge of the human heart was deep, his views of religion and of its influ-, ence just and extensive; he possessed also an originality and independence of mind which prevented his servilely copying the plans or adopting the sentiments of preceding writers. His remarks on the different characters which pass under his review, manifest a more than usual share of acute observation, while they exhibit a pleasing spirit of christian candour and charity. In the impartiality with which he notices the faults and defects of Christians, whose lives in the main were excel lent, we recognize an imitation of the fidelity of the sacred writers, whose historical details describe men as they are, while their precepts point out what they ought to be. Our author's appreciation of the merits and defects of Wickliff, Luther, Erasmus, &c. will exemplify this remark. We mean not to assert, that Mr. Milner has in no instance erred in the view he has given either of facts or characters; or that he has been in no instance biassed in his judgment by his peculiar sentiments in theology; but thus much we feel ourselves justified in asserting, that, in general, we may, safely rely not only on the representation he has given of facts, but on the estimate he has formed of characters. The love of truth evidently constituted a striking feature in our author's mind. That sterling integrity which dares not flatter, and will not deceive, is very conspicuous in his work; nor can any one who reads it with care, entertain a doubt that the object of its author was, not to gratify his own vanity by composing a book. which should enhance his literary fame, or to obtain popularity by accommodating himself to the prevail ing taste; but, with simplicity and plainness, to set before his readers the genuine principles of the Gospel of Christ, and to exemplify their effects on the spirit and conduct of such as: cordially embraced them. The strong and uniform attachment shewn by Mr. Milner to those truths which are peculiarly entitled to the appellation of evangelical, ought not to be omitted in the enumeration of his merits as the historian of the Church of Christ. With respect to some religious opinions, there will always be much difference of sentiment among even the true followers. F |