had no superior in his time for fervid and picturesque eloquence. The latter, too, was eminent as a preacher, though not his equal in popular oratory, and stood even higher as a theologian, an adroit debater, and a leader in ecclesiastical affairs. The work before us is a "Memorial Volume," giving us eighteen of his sermons, with a brief biographical sketch. They deserve the name of sermons as being not mere essays, nor discussions in philosophy, nor poetic or dramatic delineations, but clear and cogent presentations of truth; evangelic in the themes and the expositions; practical, yet with a doctrinal basis that is distinct though not obtrusive nor dogmatic; and more attractive than we had expected to find them, indeed remarkable, we think, for combining in an unusual degree the excellences of written and spoken style, so that while read deliberately with pleasure, they seem to be addressed also to hearers as by a living, earnest preacher. We have the higher respect for the author's ability and candor from having read some years ago his work on the extent and efficacy of the atonement, which then seemed to us the happiest attempt we had met with to reconcile the doctrine of limited atonement with the universality and sincerity of the gospel invitations. As compared with other leaders of the Church of Scotland, he has not been here so widely known through his writings as he deserved to be; yet he is certainly another proof of that country's fertility in effective preachers, or in what Isaac Taylor called "the concionative element."

SEGNERI'S LENTEN SERMONS.*-The first volume of Lenten Sermons by Segneri was published in 1872, and the demand for them appears to have been so great as to call for the publication of a second volume. But who was Segneri? The name is not familiar to Protestants, though he appears to have some celebrity among Roman Catholics. The first volume of the Lenten Sermons informs us that Segneri was born at Nettuno, in Italy, in 1624; that he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus at the age of thirteen, and was ordained in 1653; that, twelve years later, he entered upon the missonary labors by which he is best known, and which continued till the year 1694, when he was appointed by Innocent XII. to preach in the pontifical palace. He retained that office about a year, when he was appointed Theologian of the Sacred Penitentiary, in which place he continued till his death in

* Lenten Sermons. By PAUL SEGNERI, of the Society of Jesus. Vol. II. New York: The Catholic Publication Society. 1874. pp. 314.

1694.

He is said to have been 66 a man of most eminent virtue and of great austerity of life."

These sermons were published in Florence in 1679. And we may say of them, in general, that they are sermons that it would do Italians, or any other people, good to hear. We fear there has not been much of such faithful preaching in Italy as is found in this volume. If there had been, Italy would have been in a better condition than it is now.

The sermons contain sound doctrine, applied, with great directness and force, to the conscience and the heart. Except for frequent quotations from the Apocrypha, and profuse illustrations from patristic literature, and accounts of miracles of saints, which, to the Protestant mind, are of doubtful credibility, we should not know they had been preached by a Roman Catholic.

There is one particular in which they differ greatly, we think, from the sermons of modern preachers of the Church of Rome. It is in the absence of reference to the Virgin Mary. We have not noticed in this second volume a single allusion to the Virgin. The sermons of Catholic preachers of the present day are full of ascriptions of praise to the Blessed Virgin, and in this respect are in marked contrast to those of Segneri, and indeed to those of the great French preachers, Massillon, Bourdaloue, and Bossuet. There has been, as adherents of the Roman Church must themselves admit, a marvelous development of devotion to the Virgin in that Church in modern times; a development which seems to us singularly inconsistent with its profession of immutability in doctrine.

We confess, we think the Roman Catholic sermons of the times of Segneri far superior to those of modern times, and we unite with the translator in earnestly commending these sermons to the Catholic clergy.

STRAUSS AS A PHILOSOPHICAL THINKER.*-Dr. Krauth has done the public an excellent service in translating from Fichte's Zeitschrift the criticism of Strauss' last work entitled "The Old Faith and the New Faith," with an ample Introduction on the materialistic philosophy. The author of the Review, Dr. Hermann

* Strauss as a Philosophical Thinker. A Review of his book, "The Old Faith and the New Faith" and a confutation of its materialistic views. By HERMANN ULRICI. Translated, with an Introduction, by CHARLES P. KRAUTH, D.D., ViceProvost of the University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Smith, English & Co.

1874.

Ulrici, is well known as an able and practised critic, especially upon questions of literature and philosophy. In his review of Strauss he does not write as a theologian but as a philosopher. The number of points which he notices may be learned from the table of contents. The treatise of Strauss may not unjustly be regarded as a confession of faith, by one of the most advanced of modern thinkers. The review of Ulrici is a faithful exposure of the inconsistencies and the meagreness of this starveling creed. The Introduction upon modern materialism by the accomplished translator adds to the value of the Essay by Ulrici.

WHAT IS DARWINISM ?*-Dr. Hodge's brief but comprehensive treatise, in answer to the question What is Darwinism? is remarkable for two things: first, the clearness and force with which it sets forth the fact that Darwin himself rejects the doctrine of design as an essential feature of his theory; and second, the abundant extracts from various writers by which he illustrates the atheistic spirit of the great majority of the naturalists of the Darwinian School. Dr. Hodge does not contend, as he might, that the Darwinian theory, as a theory of the actual development of the successive powers of organic existence, might be held by a scientific theist who should use it as requiring more imperatively than any other theory of the universe the prevalence of design, the more comprehensive thought, and the more varied skill of an intelligent originator. In this omission Dr. Hodge has failed to add a most important argument against the atheistic conclusions on which naturalists rest with such confidence, a confidence which, in our view, on their own showing is entirely misplaced. The abundant evidence against the theory of Darwin from the facts and analogies of natural history Dr. Hodge does not undertake to present, very wisely; and yet there are a few conclusions and facts which even a layman is competent to reach and to employ. The work does not, however, profess to be exhaustive. It is fitted to be very useful, and to leave a strong impression upon many classes of readers.

THE SACRED ANTHOLOGY.t-In this book the editor has collected, from various sources, moral and religious maxims and

* What is Darwinism? By CHARLES HODGE, Princeton, N. Y. New York: Scribner, Armstrong & Co. 1874.

The Sacred Anthology. A Book of Ethnical Scriptures. Collected and edited by MONCURE DANIEL CONWAY, author of "The Earthward Pilgrimage." New York: Henry Holt & Co. 1874. 8vo, pp. 480.

teachings from the sacred writings of different races and peoples. His design, as expressed in his preface, is to show what he styles "the sympathy of religions" and "the converging testimonies" of all nations and ages to great moral principles. In carrying out this design, he places these testimonies by the side of the words of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and probably with a special purpose that the reader may compare them and find the similarity of other teachings with those of the Biblical writers. He mentions no further purpose beyond such comparison-whether he intends to lead his readers to see the equal claims of other religions, or the superior claims of the Christian system. But whatever may have been his intention in this regard, it seems clear to us, that the latter impression will be produced on those who candidly examine the volume, and that the collection which the author has made is calculated to produce the same conviction, which all similar ones must make, of the divine elements in the teachings of the Bible. Mr. Conway has gathered a very large number of these passages from the eastern religious teachings and ancient books, and thrown them into a convenient form and classification for the uses of the reader.

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

MEMOIRS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.*-The second President Adams left behind him an almost continuous diary, stretching over a period of sixty-five years. His own public life extended through fifty three-years. His first public appointment was received from Washington; he was an active participant in the political contentions which preceded the war of 1812, and he lived to mingle as a leader in the anti-slavery contest of recent times. He had rare opportunities for education at home and abroad; he had the means of becoming acquainted with the great statesmen of his own country in the earlier period of our national history, and with eminent public men abroad. In many of the interesting events of which he was a spectator, he was also a prominent actor. His biography is, therefore, a history of political affairs, as well as a disclosure of the traits, the principles and the motives of its subject. Mr. C. F. Adams, who has already enriched the historical literature of the country, by the publication of his the

* Memoirs of John Quincy Adams: Comprising portions of his Diary from 1795 to 1848. Edited by CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Vol. I. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1874.

first President Adams's writings, accompanied by an excellent memoir, now undertakes the pious filial duty, as well as the public service, of presenting to the public the biography of his father, mostly in his own words, from the diary. To the editorial care, conscientiousness and judgment manifest in this first volume, the highest commendation is due. The narrative is carried as far as the appointment of Mr. Adams as Minister to Russia, by Mr. Madison. It covers his residence in Holland, and in Prussia, his service in the U. S. Senate, in Jefferson's administration, and his brief work as Professor of Rhetoric in Harvard College. The work has the peculiar charm that always attends the story of important events, when told by actors and eye-witnesses. It shows, on every page, the independence of thought which marked John Quincy Adams from his youth; the strong feelings, as well as just moral principles, by which he was actuated. The narrative of this volume leaves us just at the time of his separation from the Federal party, an act which some old Federalists never could forgive. The parts of his career which are touched upon are far less interesting than those which will form the theme of subsequent volumes. Yet the work has much historical value, and the continuance of it will be looked for with a high degree of curiosity and interest.

THE LIFE OF TIMOTHY PICKERING: Vols. II., III., IV.*—The first volume of Col. Pickering's Life, from the pen of his son, appeared several years ago, and was noticed in this Review. The death of the author has devolved upon Mr. Charles W. Upham the task of completing the unfinished work. To literary abilities and a literary experience which are uncommon, Mr. Upham adds the qualification of an intimate personal acquaintance with the subject of his biography. These volumes are well arranged and are written in an interesting manner. If to some readers they may appear in certain passages too copious, it must be remembered that pages which one reader may find no difficulty in passing over, may be, to another reader of a different taste, or more nearly connected with the subject of the memoir, fraught with interest. Col. Pickering took an active part in the Revolutionary war, being entrusted with a responsible office, and brought into close personal relations with Washington. As a member of the

* The Life of Timothy Pickering: Vols. II., III., IV. By CHARLES W. UPHAM. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. 1874.