they to live? All the planets, and suns too, of ten solar systems, would not hold them. On the very face of it, then, such a theory exhibits, enstamped upon it in high relief, the inscription of absurdity.

Why does Paul, who has said so much about the restoration of the Jews in Rom. xI., say not a word about their literal return? Why does the Saviour, John, Peter, say nothing of this matter? The obvious answer seems to be: Because they thought nothing of it, and believed nothing in it. It is all built on assumptions contrary to the very nature, soul, and spirit, of the gospel-dispensation, and subversive of the glorious freedom and equality of the sons of God.

At all events, the exegesis that proves the literal return of the Jews and the earthly Messianic reign, must, if consistent, admit the literal David to be king, the Levitical priesthood and sacrifices to be renewed, and that all men must go up, even from the most distant parts of the earth, every Sabbath to Jerusalem, for the purposes of worship. There is no stopping short of this, without entire and absolute inconsistency. And I will only add, that whatever proves too much too much in such an immeasurable degree-proves NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING.

Let any man of common sense, either educated or uneducated, open his Bible now, for a single moment, at Jer. xxxiii. Here, beginning with v. 15, he finds the coming of the Messiah most clearly foretold. What follows? That a son of David shall sit on the Jewish throne forever; that priests and Levites shall offer burnt-offerings, and kindle meat-offerings, and do sacrifice forever. All this, too, is to take place with the most absolute certainty. "The covenant with day and night" shall be sooner broken, than this covenant, vs. 15-22. Here then, according to the scheme of interpretation before us, we must give a literal exegesis; and of course we must find visible and palpable historic facts in this representation. Christ, then, did not come, according to Paul, to abolish, but to reform and complete, the ritual of Moses !

The son of

There is no avoidance of such a conclusion. David, here, must of course be a son in the ordinary acceptation of that word; and priests and Levites and offerings and sacrifices must all be literally understood; and all these must be eternal. I have only to add, then, that a man may as well ask me to trample under foot the epistle to the Hebrews, and

with this a large portion of the New Testament also, as to ask me to believe in such a scheme of interpretation. No principles of hermeneutics can be sound, which make the Bible to contradict itself; none can be sound, which degrade the glorious liberty of the children of God under the Gospel, into a state which Paul most significantly names a yoke of bondage," and again, “a bondage under the elements of the world," Gal. 5: 2. 4:3.

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But it is time to withhold my hand, if I intend to preserve the character of HINTS, for this little work. And although it were easy to say things that would occupy as much space as Mr. D.'s treatise, I hope it is not necessary. At all events, it does not come within my present design.

The reader must not for a moment suppose, that the leading features of Mr. D.'s scheme are new, or the product of long continued and accurate investigation, on his part, of the Scriptures. They are far from this. Changes have been rung upon the same tocsin, ever since the close of the first century. Papias, whom Eusebius thinks to be somewhat shallow, seems to have been a pretty full believer in the visible coming and kingdom of Christ. Then we have (probably) Justin Martyr; and, as I have before mentioned, near the close of the second century, Tertullian and Irenaeus. Lactantius wrote part of a book on the subject of the Millennium, at the beginning of the fourth century. Ever since that period, although sometimes there were long intervals, individuals have made their appearance as advocates of the like sentiments. In Germany and Switzerland, since the Reformation, not a few writers of the same class have appeared; but it seems to have been reserved for England to be the main field to produce such a crop. For some 30 or more years the number of such writers has been on the increase. Some of them have equalled, or perhaps even outdone, Mr. Duffield himself. In our own country also, we have occasionally witnessed some phenomena of the same kind. David Austin at one time led the van; and an impetuous and magniloquent leader he was. He was so full of the faith, as actually to build a store-house, upon the wharf at Newhaven, 250 feet long, for the service of the Jews, as a place of deposit when they should embark for Palestine. Finally, however, Mr. Austin made quite a speculation out of the store-house, by selling it for Gentile use. Mr. Duffield has indeed, so far as I

know, built no edifice of timber and clap-boards, like Mr. Austin; but he has been long and busily engaged, in my humble opinion, in building castles in the air, more magnificent, it must be confessed, and more imposing to the sight, than Mr. Austin's fantastic edifice, but destined, beyond all reasonable doubt, and at no very distant day, to something less honourable than even Gentile occupation.

Sed-manum cohibendam. There is no end of the history of such efforts. Corrodi has drawn it out to four volumes; and yet has told his story tersely and briefly too, in his Geschichte des Chiliasmus. The curious may easily consult him, if they want further satisfaction.

The reader will remember that I have promised him, more than once, some specimens of opinions, among the early advocates of the visible and personal reign of Christ on earth, during the primitive ages of Christianity. He will also call to mind, that Mr. D. has occupied nearly 100 pages in giving us the traditionary history of the Millennium; being desirous to persuade us, that the ancients, who lived nearer to the apostolic age than we, must better understand the meaning of the New Testament Scriptures. On this appeal to the Fathers I have already made some strictures, and do not intend here to resume the topic. My intention is merely to lay before the reader some delicate morsels of "traditionary history," which will enable him to judge for himself, whether what is early, is of course credible and authentic.

I begin this exhibition with a simple reference to Lactantius, in the first quarter of the fourth century. In his Institutiones, Lib. VII. § 14 seq., he has exhibited his views at length. He draws from Hystaspis, from the Sybilline Oracles most copiously, and from the Apocalypse; and thus he makes out, for future time, a paradisiacal state of the world, by interpreting the Scriptures now literally and then figuratively, and sometimes both ways in the same passage, just as suits his favorite object. He is rhetorical, and visionary, and very imaginative; but he still shuns many of the absurdities into which Mr. D. has fallen.

Tertullian has given us only one short paragraph in Lib. III. advers. Marcionem, § 24. In this he tells us, that he had written a book De Spe Fidelium, in which all his views about the Millennium were exhibited. But this is now lost. Still, in the paragraph above referred to he tells us, that the resur

rection of the just is gradual, during the 1,000 years; and that, at the end of the world, the present earth will be destroyed, and the saints be changed into angelic substance, and transported to heaven. For one I deeply regret the loss of his millennial book. It would be in itself an interesting, if not a complete, history of early opinions on this subject.

As to Justin Martyr, even the text of the so-called millennial passage in him, and the only one, (Dial. cum Tryphone, p. 306 ed. Colon.), is not settled. The probability seems rather to be, that he was a Millennarian. But his views are no where given at large. What he has given, amounts to mere hints.

Irenaeus is the store-house from which I shall select the material for the closing part of the entertainment, (I would hope that what I select will be for the instruction too), of my readers. At the close of his great work Contra Haereses, Lib. V. c. 33. § 33-36 he has given us his arguments from Scripture in support of a visible and terrestrial reign, the ingathering of the Jews, etc. Here, for the most part, so far as he quotes Scripture, he quotes the same passages which Mr. D. also produces, and interprets them in the same literal way. On these I need not dwell, since enough has already been said in relation to this subject.

But there are one or two pieces of "traditionary history" presented by the venerable Irenaeus here, to which I am earnestly desirous of drawing the attention of my readers, and specially of all who may be in any way advocates for the traditionary authority of the Fathers. I shall thus, by exhibiting these, redeem the pledge I have given, to furnish the reader with some specimens of patristical interpretation and tradition. I ought, moreover, to produce these, in justice to myself, and in confirmation of my views respecting the conceits and superstitions of the Fathers. Mr. D. has indeed carefully suppressed the specimens which I am about to produce. The' reader will, however, be at no loss in conjecturing the reason of the suppression.

The invaluable relics in question are selected by Irenaeus, as he himself tells us, from the fourth book of Papias, an auditor of the apostle John, and a most diligent and eager collector and recorder of traditionary sayings. The book of Papias was entitled λογίων κυριακῶν ἐξεγήσεις, i. e. Narratives of our Lord's Sayings.

The book itself has perished; but Eusebius

and Irenaeus have preserved some relics; and through the latter, I am enabled to present my readers with a portion of them.

Papias says, that the specimens in question were gathered by him from persons who were auditors of the apostle John; and that John assured them, that he himself heard Jesus, when speaking of his future and visible kingdom on earth and its abundance and fruitfulness, make the following declarations:

"A grain of wheat will [then] produce 10,000 heads; and each head will yield 10,000 grains; and each grain will yield ten pounds of clear fine flour; and other fruits will yield seeds and herbage in the same proportion. And all the animals, which subsist on the productions of the earth, will be peaceful and harmonious, and obedient to man with the most entire subjection." Iren. V. c. 33. § 3.

So much for the nutriment of those, who are to live in the new Eden which is hereafter to arise. But they will need drink, as well as food. Of this Papias, it will be seen, is by no means unmindful. The provision, according to him (Iren. c. 33. § 3), will be made in the following manner:

"The days will come, in which vines will grow, each having 10,000 branches; and on each branch, 10,000 clusters of grapes; and in each cluster, 10,000 grapes; and each grape, when pressed, will yield 25 metretae (μɛroñ1αι) of wine. And when any one of the saints shall take hold of a cluster of grapes, another [cluster] will cry out: I am a better cluster, take me, and on my account give thanks to the Lord."

The 25 metretae, which each grape is to yield, amount to about 209 gallons; and the amount of the produce of a single grape vine, therefore, is something more than one hundred and eighty thousand BILLIONS of gallons. Here then is somewhat ample provision for drink in the days of the temporal and visible reign of the Messiah. It would seem, indeed, that the promise to the disciples, that, at some future period, they should no more hunger, and no more thirst, is to be fulfilled with an amplitude that they never could have even dreamed of. One vine on each of the Continents, will make a reasonable supply at least, for all the inhabitants; and the people of those days will need to give themselves very little trouble about carrying on agricultural labours.

Alas! however, for Temperance Societies, and specially for