and accredited integrity. Of this individual it is reported to Dr. Legge by an American Missionary-"I took up a copy of Mark's Gospel, and asked him to tell me what Chinese word meant the same as he learnt God to mean in America. He pointed to Shang-Te, saying with much emphasis, That means God.' I then told him that some sixty or seventy good men from England and America had come to China, and learned the Chinese language and letters, but they were not agreed what Chinese characters, or term, meant God, or was the nearest to mean it. Some said Shang-Te, some said Shin. He replied, 'Shang-Te means God; he made the sky, ground, and all things. Shin all a same good man die, go up to heaven. Shin no mean God. Shang-Te no father, no mother, live long, long time.""

Without, then, entering into the more erudite and learned parts of Dr. Legge's volume, which must secure for him a distinguished place among Chinese scholars, and in general literature, surely what we have adduced as lying on the surface of the question-as blending with the earliest and most widely-diffused notions of the entire empire of China, must be sufficient to lead every dispassionate and thinking man to admit, "that the Chinese do know the true God, and have a word in their language answering to our word God." Every scholar, we are satisfied, who is competent to enter into the niceties and complex questions of criticism and philological investigation, will, after a careful perusal of this learned treatise, unhesitatingly assent to the words Dr. Legge: "It would be endless to cite all of the interpreters, of all ages, and of great name, in whom is found the meaning of the terms Te and Shang-Te, and at the same time to collect all the texts of the authentic and ancient books about Shang-Te, who knows all things, even the most secret-who is omnipotent, perfectly just-who punishes the bad and rewards the good-who is the Cause and Author of all things, and alone understands their nature, &c. I may say, in brief, concerning the proper, obvious, and literal sense of the terms Shang-Te, there is no difference among the Chinese. By these words, the interpreters understand the Lord and Governor of the world, and the common people do the same."

In his second chapter, Dr. Legge proceeds to show "that Elohim and God are relative terms," and adduces "further proof that the Shang-Te, par excellence, of the Chinese is the true God." In this part of the discussion, which may be perfectly comprehended without any acquaintance with the structure and peculiarities of the Chinese language, Dr. Legge evinces varied scholarship and great skill in meeting and exposing the fallacies and tortuous reasonings of Dr. Boone. Not only

are abundant and convincing proofs presented of the position, that the word God is a relative term, and must of necessity be rendered into Chinese by a corresponding term; but we are greatly mistaken if an impression will not be left on the mind of the reader, unfavourable at once to the discrimination, the scholarship, and the ingenuousness of Dr. Boone. It is, indeed, to us, altogether incomprehensible how any man, capable of understanding the simplest elements of language, and of distinguishing the provinces of the absolute and the relative,—of the generic and the specific, can dispute the position, that the word God is a relative term, or can contend that a generic word, without any adjunct to indicate characteristic or differentia, may be employed in a specific sense. And, singular as it must appear to every school-boy who understands the difference between a genus and a species, this is the glaring absurdity for which Dr. Boone pleads in advocating the employment of Shin,-which simply signifies spirit,-as the proper term for rendering the Divine name into Chinese. A generic term is equally applicable to every individual of the genus or class; and hence, to employ Shin in the translation of the Scriptures into Chinese, as the name for God, will be to divest Him, in the eyes of the millions of China, of all that is distinctive and peculiar,-to strip Him of the honours and claims of sovereignty, and to reduce Him to the attitude of dependence and subordination,-to give to Him, in the estimation of the more thinking and enlightened, nothing better than an ideal or fictitious existence,-to preclude the possibility of that "reverence and godly fear" which He demands as the King immortal, eternal, and invisible ;"-and thus for ever to prevent the progress and ultimate triumph of Christianity among the most numerous nation under heaven.

And

In the course of this most interesting and valuable chapter, Dr. Legge very clearly shows that his view of the word God, as a relative term, is sustained by the analogy of language, and abundantly corroborated by the highest authorities. So satisfactory and conclusive, indeed, is his treatment of this part of the subject, that we are convinced there can be no difference of opinion among his readers, where they are not warped by prejudice, or committed to a foregone conclusion. having thus made triumphantly good his views respecting the term God, and its corresponding Chinese term Shang-Te, he proceeds to show that the scholars, philosophers, and people of China, reason up, to the supreme and universal Ruler, whom they designate Shang-Te, from design as exhibited in creation, from providential arrangements, from the capacities of the soul, and from the moral nature of man, just as philosophers, theolo

gians, and all sound-minded men in Europe, do. What, then, is the conclusion to which we are conducted? It is simply this:-If the Chinese have no conception of the true God, it follows that all arguments based on the four-fold ground of creation, providence, metaphysics, and morals, are idle fancies, and that natural theology is nothing better than a mockery, a snare, and a delusion. If Dr. Boone, and those who agree with him, are prepared to adopt this monstrous conclusion, we can assure him that there is no enlightened scholar, philosopher, or theologian, that can possibly concur with them; and that in denying to the Chinese all knowledge of the true God, they undermine the foundations of religion, and join issue with all good men and sound thinkers. The preposterousness and absurdity of the conclusion to which Dr. Boone's opinions conduct, furnish one of the most triumphant arguments against them. When a man's views fly in the face of obvious and universally admitted principles, we need give ourselves little trouble to inquire as to his intelligence, clear-sightedness, or candour.

Dr. Legge devotes his third chapter to an examination of the Greek term Theos-the term used for God in translations of the Scriptures in the north of India-and the terms used for God in China by Roman Catholics, Mohammedans, and Jews. His object is to show that the Greek word Theos-the word employed by Missionaries to render the Divine name into the language of northern India and the words used by Catholics, Mohammedans, and Jews, to translate the term God into Chinese, are all relative terms. And that he has succeeded in clearly establishing this point, cannot be disputed by any one who reads the chapter. But if Elohim, Theos, and God, and all the renderings of these words into Chinese and other languages, are relative terms, no course consistent with truth and established usage was open to Dr. Legge but that for which he contends. On the other hand, it must be evident to every dispassionate mind, that the course pursued by Dr. Boone, in contending for the generic term Shin, as a fit rendering of the Divine name, involves a violation of the principles of grammar, philology, and theism, and is an outrage on usage sanctioned by the authority of a "host of Indian Missionaries, Jesuits, Dominicans, and Franciscans,-all the servants of the Roman See, Mohammedans, and Jews." If this be deeply and prayerfully pondered, in connexion with all the other solemn bearings of the subject, we do not despair of finding the whole Mission brotherhood, not excepting Dr. Boone himself, prepared to adopt the language of Dr. Legge:-"I must use for God a relative term, and a term conveying the idea of rule. With an absolute generic term, I shall be building up the sys

tem of error and sin, against which the Bible warns its readers. I shall be placing a stumbling-block in the way of the obedience of faith. I had better, a thousand times, never again write a Chinese character, or speak a Chinese word. But with a relative term -with the term Shang-Te, or even the simple Te-I can teach the whole truth of revelation; and, through the gracious and merciful blessing of God, both save myself and them that hear me."

The last chapter is a very able and interesting discussion of the claims of "the different Chinese terms used by Protestant Missionaries for the word spirit—namely, Shin, Ling, and Fung. By a full and dispassionate examination of these terms, Dr. Legge shows it is universally admitted that Shin alone signifies "spirit;" whilst his references to Chinese definition and usage incontestably demonstrate the meaning of Ling to be "energy," "efficaciousness," "intelligence," or some similar word expressing a spiritual quality;—and that of Fung to be the "wind"-the material breath of nature-a literal sense beyond which it never rises to signify "the inscrutable operation of spirit." To employ, then, the term Shin as a rendering of the name of the Third Person of the Trinity, is to make the Scriptures clear and intelligible to the Chinese mind on a most vital point; whereas to adopt Ling or Fung for that purpose is to involve the whole question of the personality of the Spirit in a cloud of error, or to expose it to ridicule and contempt. Let Ling be adopted, and the Chinese will be inevitably conducted to the denial of the personality of the Spirit, and to the adoption of the errors of Socinianism, by terms presenting to their minds conceptions similar to those conveyed to us by such phrases as, "I will put my intelligence within you."-"I will pour out my energy upon all flesh."-"Jesus saw the efficaciousness of God descending like a dove."-" Except a man be born of intelligence."-"Quench not the efficaciousness;"-and let Fung be adopted, and one of the great and fundamental doctrines of Christianity-that which enters as essentially into it as the doctrine of the atonement-will be made a subject of merriment and mockery among the Chinese, by presenting to them such grotesque and absurd images as are suggested to us by the words: "The wind of God is upon me."-"The love of the wind.""Hear what the wind saith unto the churches." -God giveth not the wind by measure unto him."-"The fruit of the wind is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth."-The very idea of the Holy Scriptures being thus perverted or travestied among a third part of the population of our globe, is shocking in the extreme, and will, we trust, stimulate all who have any influence in the matter, to strive and pray that such a dreadful calamity may be averted.

Into this remarkable volume, and the grave questions which it discusses, we cannot enter more fully. Had our space allowed, there are many important points on which we should like to have touched. But we think we have done enough to satisfy and convince every sound-minded English reader. To this, indeed, we have purposely confined ourselves, assured that all scholars, who are interested in the question, will not rest contented without perusing the volume for themselves. Let this be done by them, and the question is settled.

In concluding our notice of Dr. Legge's book, we cannot refrain from quoting his eloquent and striking words on the point that appears to us to lie at the foundation of the whole matter:-"How large the proportion of the human race which has lived and died in this empire! The mind recoils, shuddering, from the thought, that generation after generation has descended to the grave without one individual ever having had the thought of God in his mind, or the name of God on his lips. It is not possible that the nation should have subsisted so long without the knowledge of God. It is at the present day essentially the same in its religious notions, maxims of morality, and principles of government, as it was three thousand years ago. Subject to a Tartar tribe for the last two hundred years, it has yet subjected its governors by its moral and intellectual force. The example of Græcia capta, which captured its fierce conqueror, is more than realized in this extreme east. Moreover, in receiving Buddhism from India, China has admitted none of its indecencies. Let its moral state be compared with that of the Roman empire. Its temples are not places of abominable lust. Its people crowd to no such shows and games as those of the gladiators. I do not wish to eulogize Chinese virtue, or to exhibit the nation as a model to others. But it occupies a place all its own among the other heathen kingdoms of the globe. The extent of its duration, the numerousness of its inhabitants, its regard to decency, the superiority of its people, in strength of character, to the other nations of the east, all these are facts which I cannot reconcile with the assumption that it has been all along, and continues to be, without any knowledge of God."

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF LIFE. A Sermon preached in Surrey Chapel, before the London Missionary Society, on Wednesday, May 12th, 1852. By JOHN STOUGHTON, of Kensington. 18mo. Sixth Thousand.

Jackson and Walford.

ous action, under the vitalizing power of faith in the Son of God. It is just the sort of stimulant that the churches need in their present cold and torpid state. The religious life, in all its outgoings of purity, devotion, and zeal, must be fed and nourished from the fountain. That fountain is actual relationship to Christ, and habitual communion with him. Christian Missions, and all other good things, will prosper and be in health as the spiritual life is truly and largely developed among those who have placed themselves under the responsibilities of the Christian profession. Declension in Missionary zeal and self-sacrifice in our churches, has been in exact proportion to the prevalence of domestic languor. The Missionary spirit was born at a time when many great and good minds were stirred to intensity by the power of a mighty faith; and only by the growing life and power of that faith can it be sustained and carried forward to its ultimate and grand consummation.

Mr. Stoughton has touched the right chord; may it, by a special influence from above, vibrate in thousands and tens of thousands of consecrated hearts, to quicken them to a new sense of the responsibilities which press upon them in this remarkable age, when wide and effectual doors are everywhere thrown open to Missionary zeal and enterprise in the heathen world.

We believe that there exists, in many circles, a dearth of spiritual life and energy; and we know of no tract so peculiarly fitted to rouse the sincere friends of Jesus from the lethargy which all must deplore, than the Discourse which we now earnestly commend to the attention of all our Pastors and Churches. We are happy to learn that a public-spirited friend of the Missionary cause has consecrated a handsome sum, to aid in giving a wide circulation to this most powerful appeal to the picty of the church. May the effect be extensive and hallowed!

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR THE REV. THOMAS LEWIS, Minister of Union Chapel, Islington; consisting of the Funeral Oration, by the Rev. J. WATSON, Theological Tutor of Hackney College; "A Good Minister of Jesus Christ," a Sermon, by the Rev. J. LEIFCHILD, D.D.; and "The Ministry of the Dead," a Sermon, by the Rev. HENRY ALLON, published at the request of the Church. 8vo. pp. 76.

John Snow.

the tenacity of an affectionate respect. He had so much of gentle love in his character, connected with so large an amount of practical wisdom, that we can never think of him without being reminded of the beloved disciple. Had he been one of the twelve, we feel assured that to him the dying Saviour would have committed the care of his mother.

We have much pleasure in introducing to our readers the very interesting funeral discourses which were delivered on occasion of the decease of our venerable and beloved friend, and which will amply repay a careful perusal.

The oration by the Rev. J. Watson, Mr. Lewis's former colleague, is a very beautiful composition, in which the mental and moral peculiarities of the late minister of Union Chapel are depicted with a nice philosophical discrimination; and with a tenderness and delicacy very soothing to the hearts of survivors.

Dr. Leifchild's sermon, from 1 Tim. iii. 6, is, in all respects, a weighty composition, worthy of the preacher's years and standing, and of the occasion which called it forth. Both the doctrinal discussion of the text, and its application to the leading features of the character of the deceased, have struck us as excellent and appropriate in the highest degree. We could wish to see this discourse in the hands of every Christian minister throughout the land,-it is so suggestive of the temper of mind and habits by which all the faithful servants of Christ ought to be distinguished. It, moreover, contains some most touching records of the dying hours of our departed friend.

The Rev. Henry Allon's discourse is very creditable to him, both as it respects its power, and the spirit by which it is pervaded. It is a rich and beautiful composition, and breathes a tender love and regard to his departed and venerated colleague. The text, "He being dead, yet speaketh," is handled with great ingenuity and force of illustration. These funeral services, we trust, will circulate far beyond the scenes amidst which they were delivered with so much acceptance and hallowed impression.

WHY ARE WE DISSENTERS? Three Lectures

on the Principles of Evangelical Nonconformity. By EUSTACE R. COnder, M.A. 18mo. pp. 134.

John Snow.

We have been so much delighted and edified by the perusal of this most interesting little volume, that we could wish to see it printed in letters of gold, and circulated in the length and breadth of Great Britain and her Colonies. It is so calm, respectful, logical, and devout in its tone, that it must conciliate, even where it does not con

vince. By such modes of defence, Evangelical Nonconformity is likely not only to be upheld, but to be extended. Most thoroughly do we agree with the amiable author in the following remarks: "We need not," says he, "fear that a thorough study of our principles as Dissenters will make us illiberal as Christians. If they are the principles of the New Testament, they must be the principles of true catholicity. Properly understood, they are the surest antidotes to bigotry, sectarianism, and schism. Their defence ought not to be attempted in a bitter, angry spirit, and need not engender it. Deep convictions can afford to be calm. Vehemence is the disguise of conscious weakness. It is the shallow stream that lashes itself into foam against every opposing pebble. He whose house is built on the sand is naturally roused to anger if his neighbour do but root up a weed, or spill a bucket of water near the rickety edifice; but he whose foundation goes down into the living rock can smile at the dash of the swollen torrent, and the roar of the tempest raving impotently round his secure abode."

WE well knew and greatly loved Captain Watt. He was an ornament to his profession, and did much to make seafaring life the contrast of what it ordinarily is. In the command of his vessels, he did all in his power to further the best interests of his crew; and obtained for himself the reputation he so richly deserved. His life was one of great benevolence and usefulness; and it was truly affecting to find that he who had braved many a tempest, should perish in the act of bathing on his native shores.

The Memoir by Mr. Smith, of the Glasgow Examiner, is most interestingly drawn up; and will prove, by the Divine blessing, a very useful and popular Christian biography. We recommend it with much cordiality; and refer our readers to the touching preface from the pen of the venerable and beloved Dr. Wardlaw.

THE FOUR GOSPELS COMBINED; or, the Life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as narrated by the Four Evangelists, being a Chronological Arrangement of the Gospels. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.; Evans and Co. THIS is a very ingenious and useful volume, the result of the most careful and thorough examination of the history of our Lord.

The design of the work is to present one

continuous narrative of the Life of Christ, without deviating from the language of Scripture; thus the four evangelists are harmonised, deficiencies are supplied, breaks in the narrative are filled up, difficulties and apparent contradictions are removed, and a completeness is given to the evangelical history of the most unbroken and satisfactory kind. It is the production of a devout student of the New Testament, and of a ripe scholar, and to ministers, Sunday-school teachers, parents, and all intelligent and inquiring young persons in particular, will be very valuable. The volume has been highly commended by the Archbishop of Canterbury, as a very useful one, on a plan not struck out before;" and Dr. Wardlaw terms it, "The most complete and satisfactory harmony of the gospels." The work is got up with much elegance, and is a permanent addition to our stores for the clear and complete explanation of the gospels.

66

THE BIBLE CLASS MANUAL OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST ; or, a Harmony of the Gospels, in a continuous Narrative, with Notes and Questions. By ANDREW G. FULLER. 12mo. pp. 182.

London: Benjamin L. Green. THIS manual is worthy of the name which it bears on its title-page. Andrew Fuller, the revered father of the author, was mighty in the Scriptures; and we are happy to trace, in this admirable work, decided marks of his honoured parent's deep insight into the meaning of God's word. As a Bible-class assistant, in making plain and impressive to the young the facts connected with the history of Jesus of Nazareth, it will be found invaluable to the higher class of teachers in our Sunday-schools; and even ministers, in their Bible-classes, will find it a most available aid. The harmony of the gospels has been executed with great care, upon the best and soundest principles.

VOICES FROM THE DEAD. A Sermon, occasioned by the Death of the Rev. William Rooker, late of Tavistock. By ELIEZER JONES.

John Snow.

THERE are few men who have died so generally respected and beloved as the Rev. Win. Rooker, late of Tavistock. His holy life, his stedfast adherence to evangelical doctrine, the lengthened service he was permitted to render to the church of Christ, the usefulness of his labours, and his peaceful end, all combine to render his memory fragrant.

The death of such a man is an event from which many important lessons may be learned. Hence, we are very pleased to find that the Rev. Eliezer Jones, to whose church our de

ceased friend latterly belonged, has been induced to print the excellent sermon which he delivered on the Sabbath following the funeral.

The former part of the sermon graphically describes the influence which all individuals, and especially heads of families and pastors of churches, exert, not merely whilst living, but after their course on earth has come to a close. "Being dead, they yet speak." In the latter part, the chief lessons taught by the life and death of our venerated friend are impressively set forth. The whole sermon deserves, and will repay, an attentive perusal. It is especially adapted to excite parents, and all who hold stations of influence, to feel the responsibility of their position, and to stir up the young to value good instruction and pious example. Only let it receive the circulation it merits, and, with the blessing of God, it will materially promote both individual and family religion.

The appended Memoir is also exceedingly interesting and instructive, particularly that part which details the experience of our venerated brother in his last illness, and the words of wisdom which fell from his lips. The following extracts deserve the attention of all young ministers and students. "," he said, "if I could have begun my ministry with the knowledge I have acquired here! How I wish our young ministers knew, at the outset of life, how solemn and awful a thing it is to be a minister of Christ, a steward for Christ! What a mercy, if, for Christ's sake, I, who have deserved to be cast out, should be accounted faithful! It will be for His sake, and His alone. It is a solemn thing to look back on sixty years spent in preaching the gospel. God has blessed me, I cannot deny it; there have been many at Tavistock who were living epistles of Christ. I have been honoured to build up saints; but woe, woe, woe is me, that I have not more fully preached the gospel, the glorious gospel of the blessed God, committed to my trust! Ministers little know, they can have no idea, till they stand on the threshold of eternity, with their commission in their hand, just ready to give it up, what the gospel is, or how awful is their trust. It must be either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death.""

May we all find mercy of the Lord in that

day!

BLACKADER'S CHRONOLOGICAL NEW

TESTAMENT.

WE are happy to find that this truly valuable work is offered, by the publisher, to Sunday-school Teachers, at five shillings, and sent to any part of the kingdom, five and sixpence. We hope that all who are able to avail themselves of this offer, will not fail to