would not leave this impression. It is, however, this elevated quality of diction that is one of the merits of the book. We have always seen and are now seeing more clearly than ever that archaic forms are necessary to the dignity and solemnity of public worship. The introduction of a proper liturgical diction however does not involve undue concessions to other liturgical elements that belong properly to other religious communions. The title of the book is therefore appropriate. It recognizes elements of worship that are becoming more or less common to all American churches. In this it is wisely conservative. Another point of excellence in the work is its method. It shows a thorough apprehension of the principles upon which an order of service should proceed. It presupposes a recognized and recognizable liturgical psychology. It takes into account the state and needs of the congregation in the movement of the services. This secures for it a liturgical progress and unity. The expressive corresponds to the impressive demands of the worship. There is therefore an advance in the impressional power. The service begins with the assumption that the congregation is in a relatively passive state. The organ seeks to evoke the feeling of worship; then comes selections of Scripture, at once recognizing revelation as the ground of Christian worship, and seeking still further to evoke by their sacredness and grace and majesty the feeling of all true Christian worship. There is an order in these selections. First the day is recognized, then the object of the worship, then the character of the worship, then the condition of the worshiper, then the medium of the worship. Christ as mediator in worship is abundantly recognized. After this comes a hymn of aspiration sung by the congregation, in which it seeks to rally itself, as it were, to the service. Then follows a pastoral salutation to the congregation, tending still further to evoke an emotional interest in the service. Then comes the pastor's summons to worship in the use of appropriate selections from Scripture. These selections are from the Psalms and are fitted to evoke the spirit of reverence and gratitude. Then follows a summons by the choir in the use of similar passages of Scripture, thus seconding the pastoral call. To all this the congregation. now responds in a hymn of praise. Then follows the invocation and the Lord's prayer in which all the congregation joins. And now, it is assumed, that the worship as an offering, as distinguished from a passive, receptive state, or an aspiration, has begun. Here is presented the offering of consecrated substance. From this point on, the service alternates between the receptive, as in the Scripture lesson and the preaching, and the active as in hymn, prayer, and confession. This method indicates a mastery of the subject. The fact is recognized, a fact too much ignored, that there is a science of Christian worship. This may suffice as indicating the thoroughness of the work. Another point of value is the catholic quality of the work. As already said there is not too large a concession to the distinctively so-called liturgical churches. These churches, of course, have a great advantage, for they have preserved for us the ancient forms of worship. This is of course abundantly recognized in the form of the work. But the largest concession is to the church catholic. It is difficult to see how any Protestant denomination would not find it an easy thing to make use of it in its public worship. It is based upon what is common in our Protestant Christianity. In this it is in line with the tendencies towards unification or at least harmony in belief, worship, and service among Protestant churches. To attempt a task like this involves no small difficulty. To successfully accomplish it is no small merit. Finally, the tone of the work is to be noted. That it is elevated and noble and reverential and without noteworthy aesthetic defect is evident from the fact that it has availed itself largely of the best liturgical sources. A considerable amount of material however is from the hand of the editor. Some of the litanies (a notable feature of the work) are his, and a large number of the prayers. Between twenty-five and thirty pages have been added. to the present edition and they consist wholly of prayers from the editor's own hand or adapted from the old church liturgies. Most of them are substantially his own. One on page 378, "For Fruitful Seasons," is by typographical error credited to the Book of Common Prayer. It is wholly his own. The work done here is marked by a devout and reverential spirit, by delicacy of tone, by a sympathetic spirit, by a knowledge of human want, by a recognition of what is characteristic in Christian experience, and by good sense. Even if not used in public worship as here presented, a familiarity with these forms of prayer will be found helpful both as regards the substance as well as the spirit of worship. The book will also be found useful for family use as well as for use in our colleges and other public institutions. It is greatly to be hoped that it will find wide circulation and accomplish a beneficent work in the much needed elevation and enrichment of our public worship. It should be noted in conclusion that the form of the book is admirably adapted by its convenient size and its faultless execution to the object for which it is designed. LEWIS O. BRASTOW. ABBOT'S CRITICAL ESSAYS.*-It is hard, even in a brief notice of a volume of Prof. Abbot's Essays, to avoid a reference to his noble and attractive qualities as a man. His indefatigable industry as a scholar, his unsurpassed accuracy, his unwearied willingness to give of his time, and his stores of knowledge, to other writers and investigators who sought help from him, are traits of which few who knew anything of him are ignorant. But Prof. Abbot was much more than a conscientious and laborious explorer in mines where comparatively few have the patience to delve. He was more than the self-sacrificing lover of learning, with a disinterested, self-denying zeal for its promotion, at whatever cost to himself. In addition to these forms of excellence, intellectual, and moral, which he possessed in a far more than ordinary measure, he had other characteristics of which strangers were seldom aware. He was no mere book-worm. He had a keen sense of humor, and fascinating social qualities which rendered him to persons of scholarly tastes a delightful companion. The volume before us, which is appropriately edited by Prof. Abbot's friend and associate, Prof. J. H. Thayer, opens with the essay on the External Evidence for the Johannean authorship of the Fourth Gospel-an essay equal to the best of all the numerous productions on this theme. Nineteen other critical essays follow. The indexes of the volume are full, and the typography is good. The volume is a worthy monument to its honored and beloved author. It will be of great service to students. GEORGE P. FISHER. SIGNS OF PROMISE. t-Dr. Abbott had won his reputation in other fields, before he attracted attention as a preacher. But the volume before us bears evidence that he will make himself felt in * The Authorship of the Fourth Gospel and other Critical Essays; selected from the published papers of the late EZRA ABBOT. Boston: George H. Ellis. 1888. + Signs of Promise. Sermons preached in Plymouth Pulpit, Brooklyn, 1887-9. By LYMAN ABBOTT, printed from Stenographic Reports. New York: Fords, Howards, & Hulbert. 1889. the pulpit as elsewhere. The sermons bear his mark throughout. Here we trace the same untiring industry, generous enthusiasm, and catholicity of spirit, the same mental range, fertility, and agility, the same power of concrete, lucid statement that characterize his best work. There is nothing that is particularly novel or striking about them, either with respect to quality of thought or style. They do not aim to be particularly instructive discourses. They bear the mark of rapid work and in their free and flexible movement suggest the editorial habit. But they are practical, and helpful in their suggestiveness, they deal with themes we wish to hear discussed in the pulpit, they discuss these themes with generous scope, with the ease that betokens a vigorous and incessant habit of thinking, and they can not fail to furnish incentive to the cultivation of generous habits of religious thought, to noble Christian feeling, and practical living. LEWIS O. BRASTOW. We THE SERMON BIBLE.*-By this title is meant the Bible as interpreted and illustrated by expository sermons. The work will consist of twelve volumes, and will cover the whole Bible. have seen the second and third volumes of the series. The third volume ends with the Song of Solomon. That the first volume covers so large a portion of the Old Testament indicates that the Old Testament is less used in the pulpit in our day than formerly. The selection of texts from the different books is judiciously made the outline of some expository sermon by a modern preacher is given; and, in addition to this, references to other sermons, published either in volumes of sermons or in homiletic journals. The value of the work is that we are brought thus into connection with some of the best modern preachers through material which does not appear elsewhere or which is not easy of access. LEWIS O. BRASTOW. * A Sermon Bible: 1 Kings to Psalm lxxvi., and Psalm lxxvii. to Song of SoloNew York: A. C. Armstrong & Son, 714 Broadway. 1888-89. mon. ARTICLE I.—UNCONSCIOUS "NATIONALISM" IN OUR "NATIONALISM is a fad like Fourierism, and it will be forgotten after the book 'Looking Backward' has had its run. Americans are not quite ready to sign away their individualism and the healthy stimulus of competition." This is the opinion of a well-known New York editor. But, after all, is Bellamy's book such a fad? or, is it the reflection of a state of things? If "nationalism" were the vogue of one season, it would not make the stir it does among serious-minded men and women. Every staunch republican is bound to examine into the vitality of "nationalism" or to make that capitulation to prejudice which turns a party of principle into a partisan league. One will not be forced to journey far to realize the growth of socialistic sentiment, or to find an explanation of it. A prominent republican of Central New York had occasion, during the campaign of 1888, to inquire into the political sentiment of one hundred and fifty men in his employ. These men were the printers, pressmen, and clerks of a newspaper establishment. A majority of them had been republicans; and |