was no accuser, condemner, or political reformer. John 8: 7. John 5:45. John 3: 17. John 8: 11. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord. Matt. 10: 25.

A disciple of Jesus should not be burdened with the cares of this life. In the main, the footsteps of the flock are not in the high places. Heb. 11: 36-39. The Lord only knoweth whether it be best for him to wear Paul's chain, 2 Tim. 1: 16; or belong to Cæsar's household. Phil. 4: 22; to be thrown from the Tarpeian rock, or to die under a canopy of state. To one who looks upon things unseen and eternal, 2 Cor. 4: 18, what are human rights and wrongs, human wo and glory? To-day Nero has Paul bound, the horse of Caligula is first consul, the beggar is at the rich man's gate full of sores, Dives is fed sumptuously; to-morrow the emperors are before God the Judge, Rom. 14: 12, the first consul is cast to the eagles, Paul beholds Jesus as he is, 1 John 3: 2, Lazarus is in Abraham's bosom, Dives in hell. Luke 16: 23. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Psalm 34: 19. The fashion of this world passeth away.

All men are by nature free and equal!

We have said something about their native freedom: the question of original equality is resolvable in a matter of fact. Here is an Indian babe on the prairie, as free as the wild ass's colt; there a slave in the cabin of his master; one an heir to riches, honor, and republican independence; another a serf of Russia, "catenatus glebæ;" this is a laughing cupidon the breast of beauty; that a deformity too hideous to be beheld, a birth too monstrous for the titles of humanity; one has a mother Eunice, and a grandmother Lois; 2 Tim. 1: 5, another hangs upon the dugs of a tigress: here is an eye full of genius and the brow of hope; there the loathsome head of the slavering idiot: one rests in the peaceful slumbers or sports in the frolic of buoyant health; another is gasping for fever's burning breath, or convulsed with dying agonies. Isa. 58: 8. There is no true sense of native equality but one. There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Rom. 3: 22, 23.

[To be continued.]

ART. II.-REVIEW OF BACON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSES.

Thirteen Historical Discourses, on the completion of Two Hundred Years from the beginning of the first Church in New Haven, with an Appendix. New Haven, Durrie & Peck. 1839. By Leonard Bacon, Pastor of the First Church in New Haven.

A CELEBRATED writer has observed that history is philosophy teaching by example. The observation is so evidently just, and condenses so much truth into a single clause, that it has now almost passed into an adage, and is a universally received maxim. It discovers to us precisely that by which history differs from mere statistics or annals, and also what labors are devolved upon the historian with which the mere annalist has no concern. The annalist has discharged his office, when he has fully and accurately stated all the events or facts, pertaining to the subject of which he professes to treat, in the order of their occurrence. This also the historian is bound to do, but his office does not terminate here. He must also combine with his narration of events, a development of their causes, connexions and consequences. This is philosophy exemplified in living realities, teaching by example. It is not therefore the only, or the chief duty of the historian, to be accurate in his statement of particular events he who fails to any considerable extent in this matter, whatever other excellencies he may possess, forfeits his credit both as an historian, and as an annalist. Errors of this nature are easily made palpable, without laborious criticism, and are therefore suicidal. The work containing them becomes its own antidote, and is disarmed by its own self-annihilation of all power to mislead and pervert the public mind. It is unnecessary to waste our time or our labor in computing the fallacies of works which thus rob themselves of the first condition of all access to mankind, and influence over them. But when a historian, by a correct narration of dates and events, gains a foothold on which he can speak with authority, and enjoy a deferential hearing; then he has a power, by means of those speculations with which we may interlard his narrative, and which con

stitutes the philosophy of history, to accomplish an amount of good or evil proportioned to the magnitude of his subject. He may assign real or unreal causes, attribute real or unreal consequences to particular events, justly or unjustly connect real events with each other; he may intermix with them endless reflections, allusions and insinuations; he may falsely or truly institute or intimate analogies between them and concerns of the present day-and by many other methods of perversion cause his history to teach falsely as well as truly, by setting forth an imaginary instead of a real example. Need we refer to Gibbon and Hume as illustrations of our meaning?

We esteem the moral turpitude of intentional falsification by an historian, in the way of thus misrepresenting the proper meaning, relations, and nature of an event, as far greater than that involved in a direct misstatement of the fact itself. For it is far more crafty, covert, pernicious, and difficult of detection, exposure and counteraction. It will go much further to mislead the unlearned multitude, whose ultimate sources of information on the subject will generally be no other than the book itself which contains it, and it is chiefly in this department that it becomes necessary to arraign many histories at the bar of thorough and impartial criticism.

In the book before us, while we witness a laudable industry in the collection of facts, in rescuing from oblivion many documents of historical value and interest, and in arraying them in the attraction of an easy, vivacious, and idiomatic style, it is the author's avowed object to derive from the past lessons of instruction for the present. His narrations of events evidently receive a coloring, and are accompanied with manifold inferences, declarations and inuendoes to this end. Whatever other motives induced him to write the book, that one chief end of it is to subserve the interests of the theological party with which he fraternizes, and disparage their opponents, is too apparent to admit of disguise. Some of the allegations and pretexts by which he attempts this, we shall first examine, and when these are disposed of, other matters can be handled if space is left.

The New-Haven metaphysicians appear to have accounted it of no small importance to their cause, to foster a belief in the community that Edwards, Bellamy, and the other burning and shining lights of the church in past VOL. VI.

21

time, are virtually on their side of the question, and against their opponents. Their object in this endeavor they best understand. Whether it is to illustrate their vaunted "independence of human authority," of "great names," and of thetraditions of the elders," as they are pleased sneeringly to style the opinions of illustrious orthodox divines of other days, or because they wish to "stand on the solid foundation of Edwards,"† we leave to them to decide.

*

But be this as it may, a great problem with them has been by some means to get the authority of these old divines on their side. And we know of no part of the discoveries with which these gentlemen have astonished the world, in which they have shown greater versatility and inventiveness of mind. The first method of solution which we find, is an attempt to show by actual quotations from their writings, that they taught the peculiarities of the New Haven system, and reprobated the sentiments of their antagonists. The second is, by alleging that had these men been excited to attend particularly to the points now in dispute, they would doubtless have given up the opinions which they unthinkingly imbibed in common with the men of their age, and come over to the New Theology. The reviews of Bellamy and Strong in the Christian Spectator give out such intimations. A third, if we understand it, is this: that they who now immovably stick fast in the doctrines of Edwards, are destitute of his spirit, and not his true followers, because he was ever laboring" to throw new light" upon these great themes, and therefore, by this time, had he lived, he would have got off from the ground he then held.§ But the latest and boldest solution of this mighty problem is given by Mr. Bacon in this book, (Discourse XI.,) which relates to the divisions of the Church in New Haven in the year 1742, in consequence of a difference of sentiment respecting the great revival and the doctrines connected with it, which distinguished that period, and which spread a similar contention

* See Christian Spectator, Vol. X.

† Id. Vol. I. p. 371.

pp. 621-2.

See review of Taylor and Harvey, Ch. Spec. Vol. I. pp. 367-71 et elia passim.

See Ch. Spec. Vol. X. p. 616, Art. Who are the true Conservatives?

throughout the country. The separating party sympathized with this revival, and assigned as their main reasons of discontent, the opposition to this work, together with the coldness and doctrinal looseness in preaching of Mr. Noyes, the minister of the Old Church, now under the pastoral care of Mr. Bacon. The author observes:

"While the ecclesiastical affairs of New Haven were in this unhappy condition, the general controversy, originating in the great religious excitement of the age, was becoming more complicated. In a few years from the beginning, it was plain that there were three distinct parties in the field. First, were those who went all lengths for itinerancy and lay preaching, for outcries in worship and bodily agitations, for denunciation of ministers, and separation from the regular churches, for enthusiastic impulses as the rule of judgment, and for every otber extravagance. Another party included all those who, with Edwards and Bellamy, acknowledged the hand of God in the revival of religion, and endeavored to convince all that the work was indeed of God, and that its effects and results, however they might come far short of what had been hoped for, and however they had been marred by the workings of human imperfection and folly, were greatly to be rejoiced in; but who at the same time felt themselves bound to bear testimony as they had occasion, though I cannot but think that some of them testified too sparingly,-against the extravagances and errors which had been so disastrously mingled with the work of God, whether by their own agency or that of others. This was the middle party; and this was continually gaining ground, especially in Connecticut.

*

"A third party was that of which Dr. Chauncey, of Boston, may be considered the leader. * With this third party, Mr. Noyes appears to have had too much sympathy. If I mistake not, his sense of personal injury, his love of old steady times, and his disgust, had made him too much like one of those Old School men of this day, whose discourse is ever of the degeneracy of the times, and who are alive only with anxiety and panic about the progress of extravagance and error." pp. 229, 30, 31.

Here we see the followers of Davenport so described, as to be parallel to the Finneyism, Burchardism, and Oberlinism of our day-the Edwards and Bellamy party so described, as to correspond with that numerous class, in which Mr.