"BAXTER, RICHARD, a celebrated Nonconformist; born 1615; died in 1691. A Paraphrase on the New Testament, with Notes, doctrinal and practical. 1685. 4to. 1695. 8vo.

"This work is rather of a practical than a critical nature. It is de signed not so much for the use of the learned,' as of religious families in their daily reading of the Scriptures, and of the poorer sort of scholars and ministers who want fuller helps.' To such, the work is fitted to be useful; but even others will find occasionally some very important suggestions, and the true meaning of a difficult passage pointed out with no parade of learning. Sometimes the author's love of controversy, and his peculiar sentiments respecting grace and redemption appear, but there is little that can do any one injury, and much that is calculated to do good to all. For some harmless political sentiments in a few of the notes, the excellent author was tried before the infamous Jeffreys, fined severely, and imprisoned for two years.

BELSHAM, THOMAS, a Socinian Minister of London. The Epistles of Paul the Apostle translated; with an Exposition and Notes. 1822. 4 vols. 8vo.

"This is one of the most elaborate performances on the Bible, which for many years has issued from the Unitarian press. Mr. B. has been long known as one of the chief leaders of that party in England, and as one of the principal authors of the Improved Version of the New Testament. The translation of the Epistles of Paul is constructed on the visionary scheme of interpretation adopted and illustrated by Dr. Taylor, of Norwich. The tendency of the work is to subvert all those sentiments respecting sin, which are calculated to affect the mind with pain, and those views of the Deity and atonement of Christ, which are fitted to afford relief. Mr. B. uses great freedom with the readings of the original text, and still greater with the principles of enlightened interpretation. He shews rather what the New Testament should be, in the opinion of a Socinian, that what it really is. The work is full of erroneous doctrine, incorrect learning, affected candour, and forced interpre

tation.

"BUTLER, CHARLES, of Lincoln's Inn, a learned and industrious Roman Catholic layman. Hora Biblica: an Historical and Literary Account of the original text, early versions, and printed Editions of the Old and New Testament. London, 1799, 8vo. ; Ibid. 1807, and 1812, 2 vols. 8vo.

"This elegant work was originally printed for private distribution, and is the production of the leisure hours of Mr. Butler. It does great credit to his learning, research, candour, and good sense. It supplies in a narrow compass a large portion of useful information, on all the topics of which it treats, and directs to the sources whence it is chiefly drawn. In an appendix, the ingenious writer gives a literary outline of the disputes on the authenticity of 1 John v. 7., in which the evidence on both sides is stated with great candour and accuracy. The fifth edition of the Hora Biblica is inserted in a Collection of Mr. Butler's Philological and Biographical works. 1817. 5 vols. 8vo.

VOL. I. NO. I.

L

"CALVIN, JOHN, a celebrated Reformer; was born in Picardy in 1509; and died at Geneva in 1564.-Opera-Amst. 1671. 9 tom. fol. -Calvin wrote commentaries, remarks, or prelections, on the greater part of the Scriptures, which were first published in a variety of forms separately, and afterwards collected together in his works. These appeared first at Geneva, in twelve volumes, fol. in 1578; in 7 volumes, folio, at the same place in 1617; and in 9 volumes, fol. at Amsterdam in 1671. This last is the best Edition of the Opera of the Reformer. The first eight volumes of this Edition have each a fine profile of the Reformer on the title page; one half of which looks to the right, and the other half to the left. In front of the title to vol. 1, is a beautiful full length portrait of him in his professional dress, reading his Institutes, and surrounded with books.-Calvin,' says Mosheim, surpassed almost all the doctors of the age in laborious application, constancy of mind, force of eloquence, and extent of genius.' He might have added, that he surpassed most of them in learning also. ·His acquaintance with the. Scriptures was extensive and profound; his knowledge of Hebrew was limited: but he was well acquainted with Greek, and capable of expressing the finest thoughts in the purest Latinity. His dogmata prejudice many against his writings, who might derive profit from sitting at the feet of the Genevese Reformer. His peculiar sentiments, however, it ought to be remarked, are by no means forced into his expository writings; he was too judicious to do this. He is seldom a verbal critic; yet Scaliger, who was by no means liberal of praise, declares' that no commentator had better hit the sense of the prophets than Calvin.' Mosheim, or rather his translator, speaks of him as shining with unrivalled lustre in the learned list of sacred expositors.' Walch praises his commentaries for the judgment and erudition which they display; and Bishop Horsley assures us, that in the study of the Holy Scriptures he was one of the commentators he most frequently consulted. Calvin was unfriendly to the double sense of prophecy; and was not very cautious in expressing himself on several important points. Poole, though he speaks in the strongest manner respecting the learning, acuteness, and solidity of Calvin, makes little use of him in his Synopsis; for which he assigns satisfactory reasons in the preface to his first volume.”

We have extracted the above account of Calvin, in order that we may guard our readers against the great partiality apparent throughout the work in favour of the friends and doctrines of this Reformer :-it is to be presumed that Mr. Orme belongs to a Church which, in its " Confession of Faith," adopts the tenets of Calvinism as consistent with the mercy, justice, and benevolence of the Almighty.

"WARBURTON, WILLIAM, D.D. Bishop of Gloucester; born 1698, died 1779.-The divine Legation of Moses, demonstrated on the prin'ciples of a religious Deist, from the omission of the doctrine of a future stare of rewards and punishments: in Nine books.-Lond: 1738

.

1741. 3 vols. 8vo. This work, in which, it has been said, learning appears in her natural character, supplying such arms to genius as only genius could wield, was enlarged and altered in all the subsequent Editions published during the author's life; but was never completed. It is deserving of attention, both on account of the learning and acuteness which it discovers; and also because it led to one of the most extended controversies of the last century. It occasioned the publication of a multitude of books, many of which are noticed in this work, and elicited much interesting illustrations of the meaning of the Bible. Warburton's love of paradox is well known. His levity, dogmatism, and surliness, have often been exposed. His love of notoriety, and of the marvellous, was certainly stronger than his attachment to truth; while his talents will always be admired, his character will never be respected. His services to theological science are of a very doubtful nature; and connected with religion they have been decidedly injurious. Parts of his system are true, and important, and well supported; but his main principle is a fallacy, unfounded in itself, and incapable of demonstrating the divine legation of Moses, were it even true. Had he maintained and illustrated the Jewish theocracy on proper principles; had he perceived its bearings on the Christian economy, and acted consistently with its spiritual prerogatives, he could not have written his Alliance, nor would he ever have been Bishop of Gloucester. The ablest recent view of the Warbutonian controversy will be found in the Quarterly Review, vol. ii. p. 401.-Its literary history is given by D'Israeli in his Quarrels of Authors. Warburton's whole works were published by Bishop Hurd, at London, in 1788, in 7 vols. 4to."

Under the several heads of English Translations of the BibleConcordances-Polyglots-Septuagint-Novum Testamentum Græcum, the reader will find well arranged lists of the various editions of the Holy Scriptures, with interesting particulars concerning each. Our limits will not permit us to give so full an extract as we could wish, but the following account of the Complutensian Polyglot may serve as a specimen.

"BIBLIA SACRA POLYGLOTIA, Complectentia_Vetus Testamentum, Hebraico, Græco, et Latino idiomate; Novum Testamentum Græcum et Latinum, et Vocabularium Hebraicum et Chaldaicum Veteris Testamenti, cum Grammaticâ Hebraicâ, necnon Dictionarió Græco: studio, operâ, et impensis Cardinalis Fransisci Ximenez de Cisneros. Compluti, 1514-1517, 6 vol. fol.

"This great and valuable work was begun and carried through the press at the expense of Cardinal Ximenes, whom it is said to have cost about 50,000 ducats. It was begun in 1502, and finished in 1517, but not published till 1522; the church of Rome being doubtful for a considerable time whether the work ought to be allowed to come abroad. It is curious that even Ximenes himself seems to have had no great inclination to encourage sacred literature; for when it was proposed to translate the Bible into Spanish to convert the Saracens, he opposed it,

as he thought men might become Christians without reading the Bible. The Complutensian Polyglot contains in the first four volumes the Hebrew, Vulgate, and Greek texts of the Old Testament, in parallel columns; and the Chaldee paraphrase at the bottom of the page, with a Latin translation. The Latin Vulgate is placed between the Hebrew and Greek, which the Cardinal in his prologue ridicuously and impiously compares to Christ crucified between two thieves. The fifth volume contains the Greek New Testament and the Vulgate Latin version. The last contains a Hebrew and Chaldaic vocabulary, and some tracts of an introductory and grammatical nature. This is among the scarcest of the large Polyglots; only six hundred copies having been thrown off. It is now valued chiefly because it contains the first printed edition of the New Testament in Greek."

Clavis Pentateuchi: sive Analysis omnium Vocum Hebraicarum suo Or dine in Pentateucho Moseos occurrentium, una cum Versione Latina et Anglica; Notis Criticis et Philologicis adjectis, in quibus, ex Lingua Arabica, Judæorum Moribus, et doctorum Itinerariis, plurium Locorum S. S. Sensus eruitur, novaque Versione illustratur. In usum Juventutis Academica Edinburgence. Cui præmittuntur Dissertationes duce; I. De Antiquitate Linguæ Arabicæ, ejusque Convenientia cum Lingua Hebræa. II. De genuina punctorum Vocalium Antiquitate. Auctore JACOBO ROBERTSON, S. T. D. Ling. Orient. in Academia Edinburgena Professore. Editio altera: ex Recensione JOSEPHI KINGHORN; cum ejusdem notis, necnon ultimis Animadversionibus Auctoris doctissimi. 8vo. 714pp. 11. 8s. Rivingtons and Cochran. 1824.

THAT the Hebrew Scriptures have not been studied by Christians, in general, with the attention they deserve, is a fact which every one acknowledges, and many lament. The absolute necessity of having a knowledge of the language in which a writer expresses himself, before we can perfectly understand his meaning, is as obvious with respect to the Sacred Books as to any other; and it is evident that this can never be accomplished by consulting a translation,-for, as has been well observed, "Qui versiones tantum norunt, aliorum oculis vident, et cum plebe. in atrio stantes e longinquo Sacra contuentur."

That all the European languages, through the medium principally of the Greek and Latin, are indebted to the Hebrew and the other Oriental tongues for a great part of their vocables, many of their best idioms, and some of their finest poetical diction; is a position that will not be controverted.

Hinc veteres dixerunt, Hebræos bibere ex fontibus, Græcos ex rivulis, Latinos ex lacunis: and thus Saint Jerome says,-" Cogimur ad Hebræos recurrere, et scientiæ veritatem de fonte, magis quam de rivulis quærere." Melancthon speaks thus: "I prefer the knowledge of the Hebrew before all the wealth of a kingdom." Martin Luther expresses himself in this manner: "Although my knowledge of the Hebrew language is but small, yet I would not exchange it for all the wealth of the world." The ingenious and elegant Anthony Blackwall, in his "Introduction to the Sacred Classics," observes, that "it would be no difficult matter, for a man of diligence and good taste, to prove that the Hebrew Bible has every beauty and excellence, that can be found in all the Greek and Roman authors." Henry Ainsworth, the translator of the five Books of Moses, and the Book of Psalms, observes in his Preface, that "the literal sense of Moses's Hebrew, is the ground of all interpretations." The learned Dickenson observes, that "the Hebrew language, though it abounds not with words, yet it is above all others, remarkable for those passages that are significant and expressive." Another author has these striking assertions: The Hebrew is so pregnant, and rich in sense, that no translation can do it justice."-" An idea, which, in the Hebrew, is expressed in two or three words, requires many in the English; as several pieces of copper are required to equal the worth of the same weight of silver or gold."

It may perhaps be said, therefore, with Rabbi Tobias Good, man, that,

"In an age like the present, when literature is, perhaps, more universally cultivated, than at any former period, it is difficult to determine the cause why the treasures, the peculiar advantages, and captivating sublimity of the Hebrew language, are not more eagerly sought after, more highly valued, and more extensively admired. Was this language (which bears evident testimony, and affords the most decisive evidence of being the original tongue, and consequently forming the base on which every other language is founded) more generally known, and more extensively understood, it would afford the highest satisfaction to the scholar, and exhibit, to the moralist, the richest fund of instruction. Of the justice and propriety of these remarks, the biblical student is firmly persuaded and so must every rational being, when he reflects that the sacred code, the volume of divine inspiration, containing the will of the Most High, was conveyed to man through the medium of the Hebrew language; and that its characters were formed by the Deity himself, on the tablets of stone delivered on Mount Sinai *.

"Preface to or Investigation of the World.” ”