around him the scattered Presbyterian families, who were then a seed, but have now become a mighty tree, scattering seed of their own.

The Canadian ministers will entertain you the whole of their longest winter nights with stories of his rashness in his missionary tours, and in his discussion of public questions. But he did more good in Canada by his eagerness than any twenty of their wise men did by their prudence. While such men were sitting cozily by their stoves, Dr Burns was out in the snows of Canada when no other living creature was abroad but the wild animals, and on one occasion he was in danger of being shot by a farmer as he looked out from his door into the drift and saw a grizzly snow-clad figure before him and concluded it was a bear. They tell an awful anecdote of his speaking out rather plainly to the dignified representative of royalty, whom they honour in Canada. But he was such a man as the present President of the United States would have liked to listen to, all the more that as he did so, and felt the sincerity of the speaker, he would not have been himself required to say much. I believe the present Governor (the noblest of all their governors) of the Dominion would have rejoiced to hear him speak so knowingly and feelingly of the state of the country in which His Excellency feels so deep an interest.

Quite as much as any man of his age, he helped to make the Presbyterian church in Canada what it is, the largest Protestant church in the Dominion. The various scattered members of that church are now happily joined in one organization. I should like to see that one organization brought into closer relationship with the Presbyterian church or Presbyterian churches of the United States, say by a Pan-Presbyterian council or otherwise. I am not sure that you can find any where in the world a more intelligent and industrious class of farmers than in Upper Canada, men fitted both to face the cold of their winters, and to draw forth the fertility of their soil in summer. Let them, as they converse in their families and social gatherings, in the long winter nights, give the due meed of merit to the Presbyterianism and education which have made them and their children what they are; and let them hand down to the generation following, the names of the devoted men who set up the means of salvation, and of intellectual and moral elevation among them.

American Quarterlies.

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AMERICAN QUARTERLIES.

1. The New Englander. New Haven. January and April 1873. 2. The Bibliotheca Sacra and Theological Eclectic. Andover. April 1873. 3. The Presbyterian Quarterly and Princeton Review. New York. January and April 1873.

1. The New Englunder contains a very complete and accurate account of the personal history of Auguste Comte, and of the origin and character of his "System of Positive Philosophy," from the pen of Professor Adams, of Jacksonville. Comte was born in the south of France in 1797. While prosecuting his studies in Paris, he was deeply stirred by the revolutionary events and ideas that crowded the annals of those troublous times. He gradually formed the conception that he was called to the great mission of bringing to a peaceful consummation, through the reign of ideas, the political agitations which began with the Reformation, and culminated in the bloody drama of the Revolution. His great object was to effect a social and political regeneration. The first attempt he made in this direction was the publication in 1822 of. his Système de Politique Positive. This proving a failure, he proceeded to the formation of his "System of Positive Philosophy," as necessary to give to his social philosophy authority and influence. It was the "indispensable preamble" to the application of the laws of sociology to the questions of society and government. As a system of thought it thus originated in a raison d'être outside of itself. Comte's principal task, at which he wrought in the full faith that he was destined to accomplish great things for humanity, was the elaboration of his Politique Positive, as originally sketched in the brochure of 1822. This work appeared in three volumes which were published in successive years. The Cours de Philosophie Positive was published in six volumes. Though it contains many "dreary and verbose pages," this work has secured for its author a prominent place in the history of philosophy. Mr Lewes styles it the "grandest system which philosophy has yet produced." This is the testimony of an admirer of the system; but it must be confessed that Comte's aim being from the outset social rather than intellectual, his philosophy cannot be regarded as a well-considered effort to systematise the results of human thinking, but is simply an effort to narrow down the entire field of philosophical speculation to the standard of material facts and their observed relations, with the view of thereby reforming and reconstructing society and politics. Positivism, the new philosophy which he founded, is essentially antitheistic in its spirit and aim. Dr Adams shews, in his second paper in the April number, that Positivism is both illogical and inconsistent when it invades the province of theism and metaphysics; but that within the domain of the positive sciences, which deal with the material world by way of observation and experiment, its principles and rules possess a high degree of validity and utility. It recognises and makes clear the distinction between force and law, though VOL. XXII.-NO. LXXXV.

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it sets aside the former as not within the range of legitimate philosophical inquiry. This distinction is important. Comte brings it prominently out. and in doing so, he has done good service. It is a distinction not always observed by theologians and scientists. They sometimes argue as if law was a producing cause, and not simply an expression for the mode in which the Producing Cause acts. While Positivism forbids the attempt to account for the origin and order of the system of the universe by ascribing them to divine omnipotence and intelligence, giving no countenance to the theory of a personal Creator, yet it does not directly assail the doctrine of His existence. Comte is contented with the affirmation, that the belief in the divine existence is to be excluded from the domain of positive knowledge, and is to have no place in the motives and plans of human conduct. In the last section of his important paper, Dr Adams enters into a discussion of the "Scientific Basis of Theism," in which he ably criticises the views of Comte and his English followers, arriving at these general conclusions :

"1. By the admission of all, the theistic conception of natural agency rises spontaneously in the human mind, in the infancy of the individual and the race, and long stands as a sufficient and satisfactory solution of the existence and order of the universe.

"2 There is nothing in the intellectual evolution of the human race, or in the discovery of natural laws, which renders the existence of a personal God logically incredible.

"3. The primitive conception of and belief in divine agency in the universe enlarges its sphere of comprehension to grasp and embrace all laws of evolution and other laws of phenomena afterward discovered. To its original raison d'être it adds all the discoveries of science as corroborative proof.

"4. When science has observed its facts and generalised and co-ordinated them according to their relations of similitude and succession, or according to their laws of co-existence and sequence, it will have encountered, in the order of phenomena, especially in the organic kingdom, a class of facts which are luminous at all points with suggestions of intelligent personal causality, and which can be generalised and co-ordinated on no other basis than that of the assumption of such causality.

"5. Finally, religion does not need to go to science for the foundation of its faith; but science does need the help of religion in order to eoordinate and explicate the higher facts with which it has to deal."

Another admirable article is a review and criticism of Herbert Spencer's "Laws of the Knowable." The writer, Mr Bowne, ably grapples with the principles of Positivism, and shews them to be utterly untenable. It is refreshing to meet with a writer so competent to deal with the pretentiousness and absurdities of the new philosophy, which is little else than a compound of scientific terms and the purest romance. The other articles in the January number are an account of "Professor Hadley, of Yale College ;""Prison Discipline as a Science," a most valuable and interesting paper; a review of "Bushnell's Sermons on Living Subjects ;" "Casuistry;" "Name-Words in the Vernacular;" "American Landscape Painters;" and an important historical account by Dr Woolsey, of New Haven, of the now famous "Treaty of Washington in 1871," which is continued in the number for April. The April number contains also articles on "The

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The Bibliotheca Sacra.

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Religious Element of Education and the Public School System ;" "Moral Intuition v. Utilitarianism,” in which the writer (Mr Bowne) successfully assails the positions of the utilitarians-Bentham, Paley, and Mill. Professor Peabody, of Harvard, gives an account of the "Missions of the American Churches in Bible Lands" which is deeply interesting, not only in the historical facts, but also in the important principles which he adduces, illustrative of the true mode of Christian propagandism. Professor Fisher, of Yale College, author of a recent work on the "History of the Reformation," gives an account of the "Religious Character of Faraday," the distinguished chemist and man of science, who was never ashamed to avow his faith in God and in the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ.

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2. The Bibliotheca Sacra for April is an excellent number. Dr Harris, of Yale College, continues his dissertations on "Christ's kingdom in its various aspects." In the paper before us, he discusses the question of the Progress of Christ's Kingdom in its Relation to the Spirit of the Present Age." He grounds his argument on the principle that Christianity must meet the thinking and life of each age. Reform and progress require us always to go back to Christ and take the treasure of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Him for fresh application to existing life. The conditions and wants of different individuals and successive generations are varying and transient, and the application of Christian truths to varying and transient conditions are varying and transient, though the truth remains. unchanged. These are the key-notes of a really able and important essay. He presents with great breadth and distinctness of view, both the thinking and the practical life and character of the age; and, as the result of his survey, expresses his conviction that no age has presented conditions so favourable in all respects to the advancement of Christ's kingdom, and so encouraging to faithful Christian effort. Dr Barrows continues also his dissertations on "Revelation and Inspiration," and in the twelfth, which is the closing paper of the series, he discusses "The Quotations of the New Testament in their Relation to the Question of Inspiration." Dr Porter, of Belfast, contributes one of the best papers in the number on the subject of "Miracles," which he discusses in view of the sceptical reasonings and tendencies of the present time. By a process of calm and lucid argumentation he establishes the conclusions, "That miracles are not impossible, that they are not incredible, and that they are not incapable of proof by testimony; but, on the contrary, that they are established facts, and are therefore God's own infallible proofs of the divine commission given to His ambassadors, and of the divine message sent by them." Other articles are an account of "St Elizabeth of Hungary," a representation of the piety of the middle ages; "St Patrick's Purgatory, and the Inferno of Dante," from which it is seen how much Dante was indebted for his conceptions to old legends of medieval times; "The Chronological value of the Genealogy in Genesis v.," a suggestive short paper which we have transferred to our present number; and "John M'Leod Campbell's Theory of the Atonement," the main points of which are clearly stated. It is subversive of sound scriptural views of that all-important doctrine. It seems strange to us that this theory is finding favour in Scotland, and is openly defended

by leading men in its Established Church. This is by no means a hopeful sign.

3. The Presbyterian Quarterly and Princeton Review for January contains (1.) A review of Professor Fraser's edition of "The Works of George Berkeley," by Dr M'Cosh. The characteristic features of Berkeley's philosophy are well brought out, and the student who carefully peruses the paper will have reason to thank Dr M'Cosh for helping him to a clear view of so difficult a subject. (2.) "The Dispensation of the Fulness of Time," presenting an historical account of the external preparation for the advent of the Revelation which Christ was and proclaimed, and also of the inner life of the Jew and the Gentile, by Professor Millikin. (3.) "Woman's Place in Assemblies for Public Worship," is a very sensible article, shewing, according to the old-fashioned doctrine, that woman's proper place is to "keep silent in the church." (4.) "Outlines of Dr Dorner's System of Theology," translated from the German, continued from the last number, and concluded in the April one. (5.) "Catholic and Protestant Treatment of the Christian Evidences," by Dr Aiken, of Princeton. (6.) Dr Skinner, of Cincinnati, discusses the question, “Why are not more Persons converted under our Ministry?" an earnest thoughtful paper specially addressed to the ministers of the gospel. In this number we have also an encounter between Dr John Forbes, of Edinburgh, and Dr Hodge, as represented by a writer (Dr Atwater) who takes his side. Dr Forbes had through his Edinburgh publisher challenged the attention of Dr Hodge to his "Analytical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans," recently published. We fear that Dr Forbes has acted very indiscreetly in making such a challenge. From this paper it appears to us that he has by no means made good the positions he has taken up against Dr Hodge.

The number for April contains (1.) A discussion of "The Three Ideas" of the "True, the Beautiful, and the Good," by Professor Day. Proceeding on the principle that these ideas are the three categories under which every object that can be apprehended by the soul of man may be placed, the writer proceeds with great philosophical precision to determine the nature of these ideas, the character of the relationship between them, and also of the specific relation between each of them and the human soul as capacity to apprehend them. (2.) A paper on the question, "What was the immediate cause of Christ's death?" in which the writer reviews the four different answers that have been given, and decides in favour of that first propounded by Dr Stroud in 1847, viz., that the immediate cause of Christ's death was the rupture of His heart induced mainly by the inner agony of His soul. The remaining articles are: Crimes of Passion and Crimes of Reflection." An historical account of very great interest of the different steps taken by scholars in their attempts to read "The Persian Cuneiform Inscriptions," by the able orientalist, Dr Green, of Princeton. An obituary sketch of the "Life and Works of Dr Liebner," by Dr Dorner, translated from the "Jahrbücher f. d. Theologie." "The Remains of the Ten Tribes," by Mr Shedd, late missionary to Persia. This paper is worthy of a careful perusal, as a clear, calm, historical investigation of a somewhat difficult subject. The writer, we think, satisfactorily establishes the con