of A.D. 1610' might be followed in arranging a union between the Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches. But have those who express their readiness to work on the lines of 1610 realized what in fact the result would be? It would be the turning of the Established Presbyterian Church into an Episcopal Church. If such a project were actually presented to the Established Church, would it meet with any other fate than summary and decisive rejection? Would a single Presbytery throughout the land agree even to discuss it? And are the results that followed the carrying out of the policy of 1610 of good omen? Should not a policy that ended only in failure and confusion be regarded rather as a warning than as an example ?

There is another school of divines in the Presbyterian Church who are interested in the question of union, men who may be called ecclesiastical politicians; these also earnestly desire union, but it is union, or perhaps rather alliance, with the Church of England on equal terms which is the goal of their desires. These divines have a not uninfluential following among the laity, especially among those noblemen and landed gentry who, in Scotland, appear as supporters of the Established Church. By these divines and their adherents the Episcopal Church is very generally regarded as a troublesome intruder, the existence of which complicates and embarrasses the possible carrying out of a much desired plan. A well-known divine, recently deceased, whose sympathies turned in this direction, could not be restrained even by the ordinary conventions of society from breaking forth into scornful vituperation when he heard the Episcopal Church or its bishops mentioned in conversation. From the men of this type, it is evident, no aid to the work of union on the basis of 1610 can be hoped; and indeed politico-ecclesiastical leaders of the Established Church are now too busy endeavouring to call into union the various branches into which Presbyterianism is divided to have time to pay much attention to Episcopalians.

As to the great majority of the rank and file of Presbyterian Churchmen, ministers and laity, the simple truth is that they are quite uninterested in the question of union

with the Episcopal Church; they do not see that it is wanted, or would serve any useful purpose, and there they are content to leave the matter; this may be very benighted, but it is certainly the general feeling. One hindrance in the way of union ought not to be left unmentioned. A great deal of fun was poked during recent educational controversies at those who maintained the importance of keeping up a certain moral and religious atmosphere' in schools; but in truth'atmosphere' is not a negligible quantity. In Scotland, when Presbyterians come into actual contact with the Episcopal Church in work or worship, they are often repelled by finding themselves in a wholly unfamiliar, and so an uncongenial, religious atmosphere. An experience of pastoral work in Scotland during more than forty years has assured the present writer that here is perhaps the greatest of all the influences that keep the two Churches apart. How is this difficulty to be met? It is hard to say: 'atmosphere' is one of those elusive influences which it is impossible to define, but which is nevertheless a power that may be felt.

A source of misunderstanding, and of consequent delusive hopes, sometimes arises from the congratulatory way in which Presbyterians speak of the improvements effected of recent years in their Public Worship. It is often taken for granted by Episcopalians that these improvements mean an approximation to the standard of the English Prayer Book, and therefore that they indicate a drawing of the one Church nearer to the other. This is a mistake. It is true that most Presbyterian Churches now possess fine organs, and more or less highly trained choirs, and that more attention is given than used to be the case to the literary composition of the prayers. But the atmosphere' of these improved rites is (with perhaps a very few exceptions) that of the ornamental services in English Nonconformist chapels, rather than that created by the use of the Book of Common Prayer.

To sum up. Those who would fain bring to realization the idea of ecclesiastical union or intercommunion between the Established Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches in Scotland find themselves at present in an impasse. It seems

impossible to formulate a programme of union that would at the same time respect the continuous integrity of the Apostolical Succession and also conciliate the just jealousy with which Presbyterians would regard anything that might seem to slight the traditions of their Church. Any (even temporary) tampering with the integrity of the succession would be a disaster of the first magnitude. It would cause a dangerous schism which would rend the unity not only of the Episcopal Church in Scotland, but of the Anglican Communion in all its branches; it would give the proselytizing agents of Rome the very opportunity they are waiting for. What would be the value of a union effected at such a price as this?

It is naturally hard for us to see that the Presbyterian Church would lose anything worth keeping by being brought into line, through its hierarchy and in other important respects, with Catholic and Apostolic tradition. Had we to deal with possibilities of union with a Church in which the influence of men of the Scottish Church Society' type was predominant a modus uniendi might soon be evolved; but (as they themselves would be the first to acknowledge) theirs is not the ruling influence in the counsels of their Church. At present the prevailing tone in the Established Church of Scotland is that of contentment with, or even pride in, the national Presbyterianism; in these circumstances no welcome could be expected to be given to any proposal for the introduction of an Episcopacy, even if the modified precedents of 1610 were followed.

The only wise thing that can be done by advocates of union at the present time is to wait; the times are not ripe for anything else. The least attempt to urge on the carrying out of a programme would be certain only to produce mischief. The Council of Florence is a standing warning in the history of Christendom of the miserable unwisdom of patching up a union before those who are to be united are ready for it and desirous of it. At present neither Presbyterians or Episcopalians are prepared for union. A famous Scottish lawyer of a past generation, when consulted by clients as to the best method of taking legal action in any contentious matter, is reported to have

generally replied by asking the question, 'Can't you let it alone?' This query may be pressed on those wishing for reunion- Cannot you be content at present to pray, to consult, to discuss? But do not formulate plans, put forth programmes, or try to force on practical action, for which no one is ready.'

There is a real danger that the desire for union may be degraded by becoming a craze; more than one noble ideal has been injured by incurring this misfortune. Anglican Churchmen are becoming more and more conscious of the isolation of their Communion, 'equally removed' as it is from all other phases of the Christian Religion. How their isolation (which is certainly to be deplored) may be wholesomely remedied is a large question, but only unwholesome results can accrue from getting into a fidget about it, and anxiously going the round of other Churches and denominations proposing schemes of union which apparently no one at present wants to have anything to do with. Our isolation is perhaps a punishment for the sins of our fathers; if borne in faith and patience, and with loyalty to the truth, it may yet be found that it had its valuable part to play in the working out of the destiny of the Church; but nothing save harm can come from pushing forward schemes of union which have to be supported by even temporary disloyalty to principle, or by slurring over the plain facts of history.

If one might suggest a motto to advocates of union it would be this-Donec effundatur super nos Spiritus de excelso.1 When it pleases the great Head of the Church to pour forth on His people in Scotland the Spirit of grace and of supplications, and when they confess and lament the sins of their Catholic, reforming, and Episcopalian forefathers, which have produced such bitter fruits of disunion and discord, then a burning desire to repair the evils past will draw all who are inspired by the heavenly afflatus into outward union in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. But until unity comes as the result of the work of the Holy Ghost in the hearts of Christians it had better not come at all.

1 Isaiah, xxxii. 15.

THOS. I. Ball.

ART. VI.-THE GREEK CONTRIBUTION TO

SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.

1. Religion in Greek Literature. By LEWIS CAMPBELL, M.A., LL.D. (London: Longmans, Green, & Co. 1898.) 2. The Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philosophers. Gifford Lectures.' By EDWARD CAIRD, LL.D., D.C.L., Master of Balliol College, Oxford. Two Volumes. (Glasgow: Maclehose. 1904.)

3. The Rise of the Greek Epic. By GILBERT MURRAY, M.A., LL.D. (Oxford: at the University Press. 1907.)

4. The Religious Teachers of Greece. Gifford Lectures.' By JAMES ADAM, Litt.D. (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark. 1908.)

I.

THE growing interest which is devoted at the present time to the religious ideas which may be found in Greek literature seems to belong to an appeal to the Greeks somewhat new in the spirit in which it is made. This searching demand that the classic heritage shall yield fruit for religious thought differs from the earlier attempts to connect Platonism with Christianity, and Christian theology with Greek metaphysics. It shews indeed not less than these the resolution and earnest determination to find, if possible, a relation between the highest thoughts of pre-Christian humanity and the message and teaching of Christ. But it is distinguished from former attempts not only by the more historical method which belongs to the present age, but also by the fuller recognition which modern scholarship has made of the Greek spiritual achievement considered in itself, the realization of Greece as forming in her best period a 'white-hot centre of spiritual life in a world of effortless barbarism,' to quote the words of Professor Gilbert Murray. As a result the modern interest is less in the metaphysical foreshadowings of religious doctrines and more in any concordance of moral and spiritual conceptions and tendencies that can be traced. Thus it has come about that

1 Rise of the Greek Epic, p. 1.