Ideology Applied to Interpretation. 253 some sense from God. Between these extremes lie infinite degrees of rational and irrational interpretation. "It will be observed that the ideal method is applicable in two ways, both to giving account of the origin of parts of Scripture, and also in explanation of Scripture. It is then either critical or exegetical. An example of the critical ideology carried to excess is that of Strauss, which resolves into an ideal the whole of the historical and doctrinal person of Jesus; so, again, much of the allegorizing of Philo and Origen is an exegetical ideology exaggerated and wild. But it by no means follows, because Strauss has substituted a mere shadow for the Jesus of the Evangelists, and has frequently descended into a minute captiousness in details, that there are not traits in the scriptural person of Jesus which are better explained by referring them to an ideal than an historical origin; and without getting into fanciful exegetics, there are parts of Scripture more usefully interpreted ideologically than in any other manner,-as, for instance, the temptation of Jesus by Satan, and accounts of demoniacal possessions. And liberty must be left to all as to the extent to which they apply the principle; for there is no authority through the expressed determination of the Church, nor of any other kind, which can define the limits within which it may be reasonably exercised. "Thus some may consider the descent of all mankind from Adam and Eve as an undoubted historical fact; others may perceive in that relation a form of narrative into which in early ages tradition would throw itself spontaneously. Each race naturally-necessarily, when races are isolated-supposes itself to be sprung from a single pair, and to be the first or the only one of races. Among a particular people. this historical representation became the concrete expression of a great moral truth,-of the brotherhood of all human beings, of their community, as in other things, so also in suffering and in frailty, in physical pain and in moral corruption. And the force, grandeur, and reality of these ideas are not a whit impaired in the abstract, nor indeed the truth of the concrete history as their representation, even though mankind should have been placed upon the earth in many pairs at once, or in distinct centres of creation. For the brotherhood of race really depends not upon the material fact of their fleshly descent from a single stock, but upon their constitution, as possessed in common of the same faculties and affections, fitting them for a mutual relation and association; so that the value of the history, if it were a history strictly so called, would lie in its emblematic force and application. And many narratives of marvels and catastrophes in the Old Testament are referred to in the New as emblems, without either denying or asserting their literal truth,-such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire from heaven, and the Noachian deluge. And especially if we bear in mind the existence of such a school as that of Philo, or even the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, we must think that it would be wrong to lay down that whenever the New Testament writers refer to the Old Testament histories, they imply of necessity that their historic truth was the first to them. For their purposes, it was often wholly in the background, and the history valuable only in its spiritual application. The same may take place with ourselves, and history and tradition be employed emblematically without on that account being regarded as untrue. We do not apply the term untrue' to parable, or fable, or proverb, although these words correspond with ideas without material facts; as little should we do so when narratives have been the spontaneous product of true ideas, and are capable of reproducing them. "The ideologian is evidently in possession of a principle which will make him to stand in charitable relation to persons of very different opinions from his own, and of very different opinions mutually. And if he has perceived to how great extent the history of the original itself of Christianity rests ultimately on probable evidence, his principle will relieve him from many difficulties which might otherwise be very disturbing. For relations which may repose on doubtful grounds as matters of history, and as history is incapable of being ascertained or verified, may yet be equally suggestive of true ideas with facts absolutely certain. The spiritual significance is the same, of the transfiguration, of opening blind eyes, of causing the tongue of the stammerer to speak plainly, of feeding multitudes with bread in the wilderness, of cleansing leprosy,-whatever links may be deficient in the traditional record of particular events. Or, let us suppose one to be uncertain whether our Lord were born of the house and lineage of David, or of the tribe of Levi, and even be driven to conclude that the genealogies of Him have little historic value; nevertheless, in idea, Jesus is both Son of David and Son of Aaron, both Prince of Peace and High Priest of our profession; and He is, under another idea, though not literally, without father and without mother. And He is none the less Son of David, Priest Aaronical, or Royal Priest Melchizedecan, in idea and spiritually, even if it be unproved whether he was any of them in historic fact. In like manner, it need not trouble us, if, consistently, we should have to suppose both an ideal origin and to apply an ideal meaning to the birth in the city of David, and to other circumstances of the infancy. So, again, the incarnification of the Divine Immanuel remains, although the angelic appearances which heralded it in the narratives of the Evangelists may be of ideal origin, according to the conception of former days. The ideologian may sometimes be thought sceptical, and be sceptical or doubtful as to the historical value of related facts; but the historical value is not to him the most important; frequently it is quite secondary. And, consequently, discrepancies in narratives, scientific difficulties, defects in evidence, do not disturb him as they do the literalist. "Jesus Christ has not revealed His religion as a theology of the intellect, nor as an historical faith; and it is a stifling of the true Christian life, both in the individual and in the Church, to require of many men an unanimity in speculative doctrine which is unattainable, and a uniformity of historical belief which can never exist." With one sentence in this extract, explanatory of the applicaPp. 200-5. Prerequisite to a Right Exegesis. 255 tions of ideology to Scripture, we entirely concur, when the author assures us that, in the case of those holding this theory of interpretation, "liberty must be left to all as to the extent in which they apply the principle, for there is no authority through the expressed determinations of the Church, nor of any other kind, which can define the limits within which it may be reasonably exercised." It is quite plain that, with such a principle in his hands, ready to apply to any doctrine or fact of Scripture, it will depend mainly upon the length or shortness of his creed, or upon the particular school of rationalism to which he belongs, whether an interpreter of the Bible shall find in its teachings much or little of Divine truth and historical reality, or none at all. Carried out to its legitimate issues, and applied with fearless consistency to the sacred text, it would be quite sufficient to evacuate it of everything like dogmatic statement of doctrine or even exact narrative of authentic fact, leaving it with but the shadow and not the substance of positive truth. It can excite no surprise, that, repudiating a supernatural inspiration, and sympathizing with such views of the interpretation of Scripture, we should find Mr Jowett stating, apparently with approbation of it, that "a theory has lately been put forward, apparently as a defence of the Christian faith, which denies the objective character of any" of the doctrines of Scripture at all. The question of the inspiration of the Word must bear with immediate and decisive effect upon our method of interpreting it and our understanding of its teaching; and nothing but the cordial and unreserved recognition of the supernatural element, no less than the human, in Scripture, can lead to a sound exegesis, or furnish a secure foundation for a saving faith in its truths, bringing the soul into vital union with God through the medium of His own Word. 'P. 421. ART. X.-1. Periodicité des Grands Hivers. Par M. E. RENOU. In a previous article on "The Weather and its Prognostics," we endeavoured to give our readers a popular account of what has been done, and of what was then doing, on the subject of Meteorology. Our object in the present article is to notice briefly some of those speculations, or theories, if they merit the name, connected with meteorology which have lately attracted public attention, but especially the Periodicity of Severe Winters, which, on account of the peculiar severity of the one which is past, has excited much interest both in this country and elsewhere. As the Sun is the centre and source of all those influences by which climates are formed and seasons diversified, philosophers have begun to observe with care the spots and other phenomena on his surface, and to study their relation to the temperature and magnetism of the Earth. By the help of his powerful telescope, Sir William Herschel discovered a great variety of phenomena on the surface of the Sun which had never been previously seen, and he endeavoured to deduce from them "the causes or symptoms of its variable emission of light and heat." In order to ascertain whether there was any considerable difference in the quantity of light and heat emitted by the Sun, he recorded a series of observations, made between 1795 and 1800, in which there was a deficiency of what he calls the luminous or empyreal clouds, and no ridges, nodules, corrugations, or openings. In another period, beginning with 1800, he observed phenomena of a contrary nature, and he was led to believe that the character of the seasons may be greatly dependent on these phenomena. By appealing to La Lande's Astronomy for the solar phenomena, and to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations for the prices of wheat during the same periods, he found that the prices were low, and consequently the crops abundant, and the seasons warm, when the spots of the Sun were most numerous, as if the great central fire was stirred up for the benefit of man. These views, interesting though they be, did not excite the notice of astronomers, and no attempts were made either to con1 North British Review, vol. xxv. p. 173. Decennial Periods in the Solar Spots. 257 firm or refute them. Professor Henry, indeed, found that less heat was emitted from the spots than from the luminous disc of the Sun; but it was not till M. Hofrath Schwabe of Dessau had completed a series of continuous observations on the solar spots, that the views of Sir William were proved to be groundless. These observations are contained in the following table: '— From this table it appears that the solar spots have a period of ten years, the maximum number of groups occurring in 1828, 1837, and 1848, and the minimum number in 1833 and 1843. M. Schwabe does not believe that the spots of the Sun have any influence on the temperature of the year. Although he observed the barometer and thermometer three times a day, yet he "could trace no sensible connection between climatic conditions and the number of spots." If any minute influence is really exerted by the spots on our atmosphere, M. Schwabe states that his table would rather seem to indicate that the years when the spots were most numerous had fewer clear days than those in which spots were less frequent, a result not in harmony with the views of Sir William Herschel. The existence of a decennial period in the occurrence of the solar spots is a remarkable cosmical fact, indicating a periodical change in the causes which produce the light and heat of the 1 In almost every year, except those of the minima, M. Schwabe observed spots visible to the naked eye, their diameter being about 50 seconds. The largest appeared in the years 1828, 1829, 1831, 1836, 1837, 1838, 1839, 1847, 1848. |