their infallible Rule, do not think alike on all subjects. "This I have proved," says the writer, "to be the case with the present subject of debate." I did not know that infallibility was the subject of debate. My copy of the British Controversialist has nothing like that in it, but the pages are headed with—“ Is the Bible alone a sufficient Rule of Faith ?" But with respect to unanimity of opinion, our Lord appears to have had most at heart the absolute unity of His Church. He prays that they (His followers) all may be one, "as Thou, Father, in me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me," St. John xviii. 21. Our Lord in this declares that unity of sentiment will be the proof of His having sent His apostles. In St. John x. 16, our Lord says, "There shall be one fold, and one shepherd." St. Paul says, Rom. xii. 5, "We being many, are one body in Christ:" and that, as there is but "one body, one spirit, and one Lord," so is there but one faith." The Romans are warned against "those who cause divisions contrary to the faith they had learned" of the apostles, and are commanded to "avoid them." 66 Yet, in the face of all this, Protestants declare that unity is of no moment, and that the hundreds of jarring Protestant sects, which the world contains, are, although each believing almost totally different doctrines, in the actual possession of "the faith once delivered to the saints," the "one faith" which our Lord himself taught. I am quite sure, that if I saw two persons, professing to be followers of the same teacher, quarrelling about what he taught, and each declaring the other to be wrong, I should undoubtedly conclude that either the teacher had taught contradictory doctrines, or that one of the disputants was wrong. And few, I think, would dispute my conclusion. But these inconsistencies do not seem to trouble Protestants. Further on, in the course of his article, he tries to get out of a difficulty by retorting upon his opponents. He says that "Gregory" and "Ignatius" contradict each other. I transcribe what he has quoted, and leave it to the reader to decide whether there is any contradiction. Gregory" says, "Had the Bible been intended as the only Rule of Faith, we should have found some record of the fact in the Book itself." "Ignatius" says, "No proof" of its inspiration " can be drawn from the New Testament, since it cannot bear witness to itself." Ignatius" seems to me to be merely developing the argument of "Gregory." 66 "Theophylact" wisely does not attempt to cope with the demand of "Ignatius," which would settle the whole question:-From what source do Protestants obtain their Bible? Who guarantees its inspiration? Who informs them of the number and names of the books which compose it? Not the Bible itself. And if they are dependent for this primary information upon something besides the Bible, do they not therein stultify themselves, and practically admit the truth of the proposition, that the Bible alone is NOT a sufficient Rule of Faith P AUGUSTINE. Philosophy. IS THE POETRY OF TENNYSON AS HEALTHY IN ITS TENDENCIES AS THAT OF LONGFELLOW? AFFIRMATIVE ARTICLE.-II. IN entering upon this discussion, we would say, that though an advocate of Tennyson, we admire and love the poetry of Longfellow, therefore we hope our opponents will believe that we are actuated by no blind and unmeaning devotion to any poet, and that we can appreciate beauty and goodness in those who may not be our favourite authors. The question now before us is of such a nature, that it may be variously understood by different individuals; and it will, in many cases, not be looked at per se, but will be amalgamated with other questions which ought to be kept distinct from it. The question itself is rather one-sided, for it assumes a test in which one poet has already the advantage, and acknowledges as an axiom the healthy quality of the poetry of Longfellow. The question is of vital import; for on it depends, in a measure, the utility of one of the greatest powers with which any man can be entrusted. Whether that gift shall be employed by him on behalf of mankind, in opposition to vice and tyranny, in aid of the heavenward aspirations of struggling humanity, in cherishing a love for the beautiful and true, in affectionate sympathy with the sorrowful, in infusing hope into the hearts of the wronged and oppressed, inspiring a vigorous, manly, and genuine patriotism, and in achieving something which will help to bring nearer the advent of that better time for which we all long,-is truly of incalculable moment; for he who wastes it on frivolities, dissipates it in sensuality, or misuses it in the cause of vice, is worthy of universal reprobation. Truly, poetry is a mighty agent for good or evil; and Lamartine speaks rightly when he says, that it "is the guardian angel of humanity in every age." True poetry can be distinguished from spurious and valueless imitations by its purity, morality, and manliness; and all poetry that is lasting and durable must have these qualities welded, as it were, into its very substance, impossible to be detached or divided, except by its own destruction. Poetry that is of a wholesome, vigorous, and manly cast, is sure to live; while that which is only the medium for expressing a vapid, sickly, and morbid sentimentality, like a plant springing into existence in the dank and dark regions, will surely fade and die. The poetry of Tennyson is adorned with all the beauties and embellished with all the graces of the poet's art, thus appearing more complex than that of Longfellow; yet its being so surely does not cause it to be of a less healthy tendency than his. The products of these poets may be likened to two marble pillars, the one simple and unadorned in character, and the other of a more elaborate design and intricate workmanship. One of the things that strikes a student of Tennyson is his truth to nature, which is painted with a clear eye and unerring pencil; for he seems intuitively to grasp and picture forth all its beauties, causing you to love them almost as fervidly and as truly as Tennyson himself. The elevation of humanity by inculcating the noblest maxims, by teaching the soundest philosophy, by instilling the purest morality, is the principle which runs like a framework through all his poetry, as he attempts "To keep down the base in man, To teach high thought and amiable words, And love of truth, and all that makes a man." He also raises the standard to an eminence not attained before, and fights the battles of womankind, and truly shows the right relation in which the sex should stand. In Locksley Hall is some of the truest teaching the world has ever listened to; and in it is explained, with an accuracy which is the result of close study and intense thought, the moods and changes of woman. Some of his lines, in their terseness and conciseness, equal any that have ever been penned, many being texts from which a volume might be written. His poetry is full of subtle thought, the depth of which cannot be sounded by careless observers, who, because they cannot see through the grossness of their intellect, the hidden meaning of his poetry, have at once concluded that it was mystical and morbid. There is an intense earnestness pervading all Tennyson's poetry; his own soul, the very essence of his being, finds vent in his verses, which, at times, rise to such a glorious eminence as can only be attained by poets of the highest order. His soul is so attuned to nature, that he instantaneously pictures forth the image that arrests his attention, not in a dim and indefinite manner, but with each portion instinct with its own beauty and loveliness, clear and sharp like the statue that grows under the hand and chisel of the sculptor: gorgeous and grand, as one of those scenes which seem to rise like a vision before the ardent gaze of the traveller under a cloudless sky and burning sun, and where the foot of man has rarely trod : picturesque and sublime, even as the arctic solitudes, with their awfulness and desolation-their surface diversified by massive icebergs, rugged cliffs, and snow-encircled mountains, whose hoary summits seem ever to be desirous of attaining the seat of the Infinite; and withal, with every detail so accurately and delicately displayed, with every portion wrought and fashioned with such minuteness, that a moral microscope only can show their exceeding truth and beauty. With such an affection for all that is beautiful in nature, a poet cannot be placed in a rank below that which is occupied by the masters of song, and surely cannot be branded with the charge of a diseased fancy; we understanding the word morbid to signify a state of mind which is pervaded with thoughts and fancies that are not in accordance with, but are contrary to, nature-where one particular feeling or fancy is magnified or diminished into a semblance which causes it to be as much a monstrosity as if it never had been connected with that from which it presents such a strange diversity. If it be contended that the muse of Tennyson creates wild, voluptuous feelings, and stirs up the wayward and animal passions of our nature, we would point to one instance which conclusively shows that Tennyson is one of the purest poets that have ever breathed, and in whom the imagination is disciplined to such a degree, that though his descriptions and imagery are at times of the most gorgeous kind, he can at will paint a picture like one of Claude's landscapes, than which nothing can be richer, and yet at the same time more refined and chaste. The instance pointed to is the legend, Godiva, which, while waiting for the train, he dreamed into poetry of such an elevated cast, moral tone, simple beauty, and chastity, as could never have been attempted but by a poet of lofty powers. An artist of a coarser mould could not have dealt so circumstantially with the incidents, and have succeeded in producing a poem which all may read without even raising anything like an impure thought or feeling. Tennyson's muse does not simply warble exquisite melody, it also urges on the laggard soul in the march of progress, and teaches the performance of life's duties. The true use of power, and the end and design of life, he thus dilates upon : "Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control, And because right is right, to follow right, Encouraging those who have met with undeserved disaster, he shows that energy and perseverance can work wonders, and commends the "One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." He wishes in his heart to help his fellow-man in his search after the Beautiful and Good; to urge him forward "Through a life of shocks, Dangers, and deeds, until endurance grows No poet inculcates more clearly and nobly the duty of the aged,— of the man whose head is whitened with the snows of time, and whose heart should be yearning for a place of rest and peace: but in no maudlin tone does Tennyson sing! No, he says firmly and without hesitation, "Old age hath yet his honour and his toil; Death closes all; but something ere the end, Some who can appreciate Beauty will, in their eagerness "to hook it to some useful end," undervalue it, and will look at all poetry that is ornate and profound as but of little worth, in comparison with simple verse, teaching duties and rights in the plainest manner. Let those of this idiosyncrasy turn to Clara Vere de Vere, and see that "Howe'er it be, it seems to me, 'Tis only noble to be good; Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood." The duties of the wealthy and highborn are also plainly incul cated in the same poem, in which he also asks "Are there no beggars at your gate, Again, there are some who appear firmly to hold the idea that our present existence is to be passed in suffering and misery; that all the loveliness in which this earth abounds is to be shunned; that it is a constant temptation, and is provided not for man's enjoyment and delectation, but as an ordeal through which he must pass, and in which he must not be allured into admiration and love. Now Tennyson, on the contrary, holds the balance fairly, and shows that there is no evil without its corresponding good; that for the apparently useless there is a use, were it only for the purpose of a contrast: "Let there be thistles, there be grapes; If old things, there are new; Ten thousand broken lights and shapes, He is the poet of our age; for while singing of Progress, of Beauty, of Freedom, and of Goodness, he never degenerates into a party poet, with a narrow creed. He deplores the evils of the present age, and chastises those who would interpose a hindrance to the fulfilment of any scheme by which their dire effects might be ameliorated. Listen to him as he chants of those days of happiness which, though seemingly far distant, will assuredly come, and notice |