and our mighty arsenals, and our countless navies, whether of commerce or of war, and to think that these are treasured up only as a rich and mighty spoil for the great Destroyer! And yet it is a reflection which should never be absent from the thoughts of those who are conversant with the administration of our vast and various interests. And what is there which can give such sacredness and such solemnity to the thought, as a recurrence to the fate of Babylon, of Egypt, and of Tyre? Truly, if their destiny has been written in vain, and if it teaches us not the lesson of humility, it shall be more tolerable for them, in the day of judgment, than for us.

What was Tyre?-"the crowning, merchant, joyous city; the mart of nations; whose antiquity was of ancient days, whose merchants were princes, and her traffickers the honourable of the earth.-She built herself a strong hold," and heaped up "fine gold as the mire of the streets," and her navy gloried in the costly spoil of foreign lands, and all the ships of the sea were in her " to occupy with their merchandize." But in the hour of prosperity did she forget her infirmity, and her "heart was set as the heart of God; by reason of her beauty her heart was lifted up, and because of her brightness she corrupted her wisdom, and her sanctuaries became defiled by the iniquity of her traffick." Wherefore hath the Lord of Hosts blown upon the pride of all her glory. His commandment went forth against the merchant city, and our eyes yet behold its terror; he hath "broken down her towers," and "scraped her dust from her," and made her "like the top of a rock." Behold! to this day it is a barren waste for the spreading of the fisherman's net, and "her stones and her timber and dust are laid in the waters," and she hath "died the death of them that are slain in the midst of the sea." Thus hath it ever been His holy pleasure, in mercy to raise up, and in wrath for their manifold provocations to lay low again, the kingdoms of the world; because, in the hour of success, they knew not wherein they should glory.

We hear, methinks, from all corners of the earth, a mighty and concurrent sound of voices yielding attestations to this awful truth! Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of Chaldees' excellency," for this cause "is fallen and broken to the ground." "The Lord of Hosts hath swept it with the besom of destruction," and not even does "the Arabian pitch his tent there," or "the shepherds make their fold." The Lord hath purposed it, who hath disannulled it? His hand was stretched out, and who hath turned it back? Palestina! thou, too, for the same besetting sin, art dissolved wholly! Moab is laid waste and brought to silence, her fields have languished, and the gladness of her lands is gone! Damascus is a ruinous heap! and the spirit of Egypt has failed in the midst of her, and her counsel is destroyed, and that because she hath forsaken the God of her salvation, and not been mindful of the rock of her strength.

And who shall vainly think that "God hath forgotten," that the book of remembrance is closed, or that we are less accountable than these?-What heart so deceived as to say within itself," he will not require it?"-No! it is for us to "mark the old way which wicked men have trodden, and how they were cast down out of time, and their foundation overflown with a flood." And thou, Britannia! in whom God's mightiest works are done, if thou, who art exalted unto heaven, trustest in thine own beauty and brightness, and forgettest God, and art stayed on aught but Him, thou, too, shalt be brought down to hell, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre than for thee!-P. 14-17.

We cannot dismiss this impressive extract, without begging the writer to accept a friendly caution against the use of such apostrophes as that which he has introduced here-(" And thou, Britannia," &c.)

They are a figure of speech which it requires the nicest taste and judgment to introduce with effect in all compositions, but in sacred compositions more especially. They are often fated to exemplify the well-known apophthegm of Napoleon, that, from the sublime to the ridiculous, there is but a single step; though we by no means mean to assert that such is the infelicity of the instance under consideration.

There is one particular which renders this Sermon interesting, perhaps, beyond all its predecessors: and that is, the allusion it contains to one formidable cause of future danger to our commercial prosperity.

What if He, in whose hands we are, "cut off every helper that remaineth," and smite our power in the sea, making of us "perpetual desolations!" Or, what if the proud river, on whose banks we stand, refuse to waft the merchandize of nations into the bosom of our land, and the joyous metropolis of England cease to be fostered and nourished by our trade!-P. 17.

He then adds,

These are topics to be enforced with more than common boldness, because, what naturalists have proved of other lands, your own memorialist has stated of the Thames. Alluvial accumulations are year by year increasing the obstructions of this river to such an extent, that, he tells us, notwithstanding all efforts, its utility will in time be materially impaired, if not wholly destroyed.-P. 18.

The danger here hinted at is more fully explained in an Appendix, which gives the following extract from a Memoir of the Origin and Incorporation of the Trinity House, by Joseph Cotton, Deputy Master, 1818. After exhibiting a comparative view of the depth of water in the Thames in 1680, 1732, and 1805, and noticing that 300,000 tons of ballast have of late years been annually raised from the bed of the river, the Memoir adds,

It is, however, with great concern remarked, that all these efforts are likely to prove unavailing to preserve the requisite depth of water; and that, from the immense extension of the metropolis, and the usage, of late years, of carrying all the sewers into the Thames, such has been the accumulation of mud and other soil (which formerly was taken for manure), that, instead of a navigable river up to London Bridge, it is likely to become only a cess-pool, or main sewer to the capital; for there is now, in many places, ten or twelve feet depth of mud over the bed of the river, which has been noticed long since in a representation to the Home Department.-Pp. 28, 29.

We mention this as a curious fact, which is almost unknown; certainly very little noticed. The subject is, in the highest degree interesting to all, except those who adopt the contemptible and selfish principle of remaining content with every thing, that will last their time without inconvenience or danger. What was done by the "Home Department" in consequence of the representation, we do not learn. Neither are we informed whether the opinion of able engineers was taken as to the possibility of any remedy for the evil. If the mischief is beyond the reach of human power, it may, indeed, in the hands of

Providence, be made an instrument for hastening the ruin and decay of our commercial grandeur. But yet, on the other hand, we can hardly persuade ourselves that even the gradual and entire loss of the navigation of the Thames would necessarily be fatal to the prosperity of this empire. Surely the foundations of that prosperity lie too deep to be wholly broken up by the sole operation of such a cause, however destructive it might be by the dislocation of the existing system of things, and by the necessity that would be imposed for its partial reconstruction.

ART. III.-The Connexion of Christianity with Human Happiness. By the Rev. WILLIAM HARNESS, A. M. 2 Vols. 12mo. Pp. 290 & 348. Murray.

INTERESTS SO varied in their nature, as those of Christianity, yet always conducing to one end, the salvation of mankind; so extensive in operation, affecting the welfare of every age, sex, and condition; so important in their present effects, as well as their future consequences, can furnish appropriate employment to talents of the most varied and opposite description; and perhaps there is no mode of exertion in existence which may not be skilfully directed to promote the benevolent purposes of Revelation.

Thus the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty are manifested not only in the dispensation of the Gospel, but by the numerous channels he has provided for the wide distribution of the sacred streams which flow from this fountain of light and life to a world lying in darkness, and dead in trespasses and sins. The fences too of the sacred vineyard are more effectually maintained, and the foes who would invade and destroy the holy inheritance, are repelled with vigour and success: the great Husbandman, by employing his servants in a diversity of operations according to their several talents, causing each to contribute to the perfection of his service and ministry. Hence in the religious as well as in the natural world a division of labour has been most beneficial to the welfare of mankind.

The Honourable Robert Boyle, whose piety, learning, and ability were so constantly exerted for the support of Christianity, felt and appreciated this principle, and provided for the operation of it by founding a Lecture, the object of which should be, the "proving the Christian Religion against notorious Infidels."

The Author having been appointed to this duty, very judiciously fulfilled the intention of the Founder, by selecting for the subject of his Course of Lectures the Connexion between Revealed Religion and Human Happiness; and, generally speaking, he has ably and faith

fully executed the task he had undertaken. The volumes before us do not contain the Lectures in the form in which they were delivered; the texts and original arrangement are suppressed or altered, so as to give the whole the appearance of a connected treatise; yet the materials are the same, and the alterations are only those which might render the same instruction which had been useful from the pulpit, more forcible and impressive in the study. The plan he has adopted, is thus

stated:

In preparing the MS. for the press, so many alterations, both of addition and omission, were adopted, that the work imperceptibly acquired another character; and it became necessary to dispense with the original divisions. My design has been of a general nature; to prove the necessity of the Christian revelation, rather than to disprove any particular mode of unbelief. It is the practice of the modern school of infidelity and licentiousness to pourtray religion as the enemy of man. In my present attempt to execute the intentions of the learned and pious and amiable Robert Boyle, I have endeavoured to exhibit the fallacy of so unjust and wicked a representation; and to demonstrate, on the contrary, that an inseparable connexion subsists between the reverence of the Word and the happiness of the Creatures, of God. It has been my aim to embody my reflections in a form that might not deter the young or intimidate the indolent reader from following my course of thought. It has been my wish to give a popular interest to a subject of universal and everlasting importance.-Pp. vi. vii.

It is not my object to engage with open infidelity, by again detailing the conclusive evidences by which the gospel is supported. This has been already done so often, and so well, that no honest heart, or unprejudiced understanding, can enter on the inquiry, without being convinced of the supernatural origin of our belief. My aim is of another nature. It will be my endeavour, by a just and candid statement of the necessity of the Christian revelation to the happiness of man, to awaken the devotion, and arouse the gratitude, of those, who look coldly upon the faith, as upon a thing of inconsiderable worth. I wish to inspire my readers with a fair appreciation of those lessons of eternal truth, which have been communicated by the revelation of the Messiah. In this attempt I shall direct their reflections to the following propositions :

1st. That Christian opinions are essential to human happiness.

2d. That those opinions could not have been established by the unaided powers of the reason.

3d. That, in the absence of those opinions, the reason could suggest no substitutes which could supply their loss.

The first of these heads I shall treat of at considerable length, the other two I shall dismiss more briefly. In the prosecution of my task, it is my intention to support myself, as far as possible, by the authority, the admissions and the examples of those who have been most celebrated among the ranks of unbelief. If I should succeed in establishing the propositions that I have advanced, the conclusion is immediate. Unless all the better feelings of the heart have become extinct, under the overwhelming growth of the worldly passions, it is impossible not to be convinced of the wickedness of that indifferent and ungrateful feeling, with which the revelation of the Messiah is so extensively regarded. And while we learn to love the faith, by contemplating its holy ministrations of joy and peace, we may also derive from the consideration another, and an emphatic, testimony to its divine authority and truth. If Christianity has conferred a happiness on man, which he had not the means of creating for himself, it is the strongest internal proof of its super-human origin. "It is the good tree that bringeth forth the good fruit." This is one of those indisputable axioms to which infidelity itself has granted its assent. "If in the profound night by which my reason is surrounded," says Maupertuis, "I find a system, which is the only one that can gratify the natural desire after happiness, can I fail to acknowledge it

as true? Must I not confess that that which conduces to happiness is that which cannot possibly deceive?" P. 10–13.

In the prosecution of this inquiry, Mr. Harness has carefully explored the operation of false principles on the public and private conduct both of states and individuals, contrasting their influence with that of Christianity, and illustrating his discourse by numerous references to facts which his extensive reading readily supplies, and which give a very pleasing interest to his work. The utility of this undertaking, particularly to youthful classical students, is evident. Initiated in heathen morals, and familiarized to their practices before those of the Gospel are sufficiently understood to be felt or approved, their minds are liable to receive a bias very different from that which every pious parent or judicious instructor would desire. The blaze of glory thrown by the Greek and Roman historians and poets over the transactions of their heroes and statesmen, can hardly fail to dazzle youthful readers; and Mr. Harness has rendered them a most important service in thus exhibiting a picture of the boasted liberty of these states of antiquity, their loose morals and corrupt practices, whilst he satisfactorily proves that the religion of Jesus can alone produce true poli. tical wisdom, moderation, or patriotic exertion.

It is terrible to contemplate the barbarities to which this system naturally conducted. I would take Athens for the example. It was acknowledged to have been the most lenient government of antiquity. The mind that is refined to gentleness and pity by the spirit of the Gospel, can scarcely bear to dwell on the ruthless exercise of dominion, which is exhibited in the pages of its history. The tyranny exercised by the Athenian people over those who were subject to their control, surpasses description or belief. No accumulations of reproachful epithet, or opprobrious metaphor, could compass their savage abuses of authority. The despotism of one is bad; but the despotism of many is incalculably worse. Not to mention their wanton acts of cruelty, of caprice, of aggression, and of injustice, which were as familiar with them—perhaps more familiar-than with any of the most sanguinary tyrants, whose names are infamous in the annals of mankind; but to confine myself strictly to the enormities, which originated in their political morals, we shall find, by looking at the conduct of that brilliant people, that the vaunted democracy of Athens was animated by all the selfish passions, was directed by all the narrow principles, was supported by all the ignominious arts, and iniquitous precautions, which characterize the dominion of the despot. No Dionysius or Agathocles ever exhibited a more timid and ungenerous suspicion of their subjects, or followed up their suspicions with more of the oppressive vigilance of terror.-Riches were the objects of jealousy: they might be made the means of obtaining too commanding an influence in the republic; and the wealthy existed therefore, in a state of constant persecution and alarm. "While I had riches," says Charmides, " was obliged to caress every informer. Some imposition was continually laid upon me; and I was never allowed to travel or be absent from the city. Now I am poor, I look big, and threaten others; the rich are afraid of me; I am become a kind of tyrant in the city."*-Fame was an object of jealousy: nothing of excellence

• Xenophon, Banquet of Socrates." Whether a man was a citizen or a stranger among that people, it seems, indeed, requisite, either that he should impoverish himself, or that the people should impoverish him, and, perhaps, kill him into the bargain." HUME'S Essays, Part ii. 11.