prove a blemish and a hindrance to the main design, more harmful by far than in a promiscuous audience where such episodes are sometimes the redeeming feature of the wholethe only thing attended to or remembered.

But it may be easier to evince our meaning in the concrete than the abstract form; and we turn to consider, as illustrations of what we would inculcate, the specimens of University preaching named at the head of this article. We have there arranged them in the chronological order of the editions before us. Let us begin our review of them, however, with the second on this list, for a two-fold reason; in the first place, Dr. Arnold's instructive lectures contemplate and commence with a somewhat earlier period of life than the other volumes here enumerated; and then again, he has thoughtfully wrought out a fuller and more complete system than either of the others has presented. The course of Sabbath discourses to bis select assembly of two or three hundred students of the Rugby school, he has named "The Christian Life." Beginning with the ordinary status of youth in the transition period between childhood and manhood; his first sermon takes for its subject the consideration of our fallen humanity, as having come to know good and evil. The consciousness of evil within us and around us is the starting point. Next he considers the transitional period, calling for the putting away of childish things, on becoming men. In the close of lecture third, he thus answers the popular objection to youths becoming religious, because of its supposed incongruity with what is becoming to their age. We extract a paragraph here, not only as a specimen of the Doctor's manner, but for its intrinsic value. For such objections are widely prevalent. If not spoken out, they are thought and felt, and sadly influential, not only with inconsiderate youth themselves, but with their more inexcusable parents and seniors also.

"There may remain, however, a vague notion that, generally, if what we mean by an early change from childishness to manliness be that we should become religious, then, although it may not exhaust the powers, or injure the health, yet it would destroy the natural liveliness and gaiety of youth, would be unbecoming and ridiculous. Now, in the first place, there is a great deal

of confusion and a great deal of folly in the common notions of the gaiety of youth. If gaiety mean real happiness of mind, I do not believe that there is more of it in youth than in manhood; if for this reason only, that the temper in youth being commonly not yet brought into order, irritation and passion are felt, probably, oftener than in after life, and these are sad drawbacks, as we all know, to a real cheerfulness of mind. And of the outward gaiety of youth, there is a part also which is like the gaiety of a drunken man; which is riotous, insolent, and annoying to others; which, in short, is a folly and a sin. There remains that which strictly belongs to youth, partly physical-the lighter step and the lovelier movement of the growing and vigorous body; partly from circumstances, because a young person's parents or friends stand between him and many of the cares of life, and protect him from feeling them altogether; partly from the abundance of hope which belongs to the beginning of everything, and which continually hinders the mind from dwelling on past pain. And I know not which of these causes of gaiety would be taken away or lessened by the earlier change from childhood to manhood. True it is, that the question, “What must I do to be saved?" is a grave one, and must be considered seriously; but I do not suppose that any one proposes that a young person should never be serious at all. True it is, again, that if we are living in folly and sin, this question may be a painful one; we might be gayer for a time without it. But, then, the matter is, what is to become of us if we do not think of being saved?-shall we be saved without thinking of it? And what is it to be not saved but lost? I cannot pretend to say that the thought of God would not very much disturb the peace and gaiety of an ungodly and sinful mind; that it would not interfere with the mirth of the bully, or the drunkard, or the reveller, or the glutton, or the idler, or the fool. It would, no doubt; just as the hand that was seen to write on the wall threw a gloom over the guests of Belshazzar's festival. I never meant or mean to say, that the thought of God, or that God himself, can be other than a plague to those who do not love Him. The thought of Him is their plague here; the sight of Him will be their judgment for ever. But I suppose the point is, whether the thought of Him would cloud the gaiety of those who were striving to please Him? It would cloud it as much, and be just as unwelcome, and no more, as will be the very actual presence of our Lord to the righteous, when they shall see Him as He is. Can that which we know to be able to make old age, and sickness and poverty, many times full of comfort-can that make youth and health gloomy? When to natural cheerfulness and sanguineness, are added a consciousness of God's ever present care, and a knowledge of his rich promises, are we likely to be the more sad or the more unhappy? What reason, then, is there for any one's not anticipating the common progress of Christian manliness, and hastening to exchange, as I said before, ignorance for wisdom, selfishnes for unselfishness, carelessness for thoughtfulness? I see no reason why we should not; but is there no reason why we should? You are young, and, for the most part, strong and healthy; I grant that, humanly speaking, the chances of early death to any particular person among you are small. But still, considering what life is, even to the youngest and strongest, it does seem a fearful risk to be living unredeemed; to be living in that state, that if we should happen to die (it may be very unlikely, but still it is clearly Vol. xxviii.-7.

possible) we should be most certainly lost for ever. Risks, however, we do not mind; the chances, we think, are in our favor, and we will run the hazard. It may be so; but he who delays to turn to God when the thought has been once put before him, is incurring something more than a risk. He may not die these fifty or sixty years; we cannot tell how that may be; but he is certainly at this very present time hardening his heart, and doing despite unto the Spirit of Grace. By the very wickedness of putting off turning to God till a future time, he lessens his power of turning to Him ever. This is certain ; no one can reject God's call without becoming less likely to hear it when it is made to him again. And thus the lingering wilfully in the evil things of childhood, when he might be at work in putting them off, and when God calls us to do so, is an infinite risk, and a certain evil; an infinite risk, for it is living in such a state that death at any moment would be certain condemnation; and a certain evil, because, whether we live or not, we are actually raising up barriers between ourselves and our salvation; we not only do not draw nigh to God, but we are going farther from Him, and lessening our power of drawing nigh to Him hereafter."

Following up, in the two following lectures, the necessity of welcoming religious knowledge in youth, in order thereby to form a truly Christian character; and deploring the common indifference to it, he notices with proper sorrow the increasing prevalence of a taste for exciting fiction, its wide distribution by serial tales and light literature generally, just adapted to surfeit the young mind by its unwholesome sweets, and prevent a healthy relish for what is infinitely more important.

Going onward he comes to consider the state of moral impotence when one becomes awakened to a full sense of his inability, so that he cannot do the things which he would, which both conscience and scripture demand of him. And in just this painful condition there comes to his aid the proffer to those who prayerfully, perseveringly seek it- of the Spirit to help our infirmity. Hence the utter inexcusableness of all to whom the gospel comes, if they do not have the Spirit, and walking in it, do not escape that living after the flesh, whose sure end is destruction. Then comes the duty, enforced by a most solemn divine injunction, to take up our cross daily and dare to be singular, if we would truly follow Christ. Then follows this closing appeal:

"What is to be said to this? This is God's judgment, this is Christ's word; and we cannot, dare not, qualify it. They are evil, for God and Christ declare it, who judge and live after the maxims of the society around them, and not af

ter Christ; they are evil who are careless; they are evil who live according to their own blind and capricious feelings, now hot, now cold; they are evil who call evil good and good evil, because they have not known the Father nor Christ. This and nothing less we say, lest we should be found false witnesses of God. But if this language, which is that of Scripture, seem harsh to any one, oh let him remember how soon he may change it into language of the most abundant mercy, of the tenderest love; that if he calls upon God, God is ready to hear; that if he seeks to know and to do God's will, God will be found by him, and will strengthen him; that it is true kindness not to disguise from him his real danger, but earnestly to conjure him to flee from it, and to offer our humblest prayers to God for him and for ourselves, that our judgments and our practice may be found only after his example."

Then follow, in the following order, these several topics: The uses of the divine law; The solemn warning of a time coming when we may seek God in vain; The aspect of one not far from the kingdom, and how differently such an one may appear, viewed from different points, above him or below him before or behind him; The case of those called but not chosen; then The case of ingenuous and comparatively innocent youth, with hearts destitute of the love of God, like the house empty, swept and garnished; The practice of the majority no sure guide; and The lack of energy in our religious concernments; Inequality of religious advantages a lesson and stimulus to vigorous application, so that the last may be first; and Whosoever worships Christ truly, has eternal life.

We have thus summarily run over the first half of the earliest of these volumes on the Christian life. The subjects, rather than the texts are given, as not unfrequently these last seem infelicitously chosen, taken in some instances from the Scripture lessons for the day, which of course were fixed by the Canon without reference to the exigencies of his congregation. The preacher so far defers to the liturgy as to take his text, but not his theme of discourse from the lesson. Take as an instance the xxxviiith Lecture of the first volume. The text is "Isaiah v: 1: Now will I sing unto my well beloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard." The doctrine of the discourse is, that the Church of Christ consists not of the clergy only. This doctrine is true and important, but alas! what foundation of it can be found in that text. Similar instances occur in many places. We cannot but regard it

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a blemish, and a great fault. So is the frequent introduction of the infant sprinkling-miscalled baptism—which, in the altogether unscriptural use and reliance upon it, has led on to baptismal regeneration instead of being born of the Spirit as the beginning of the Christian life. But with these and some other affiliated faults, there are so many great and redeeming excellencies of adaptedness to the wants of young men that it may well be doubted whether elsewhere a similar amount of valuable homiletic instruction, for just that class, can be found. How perfectly correct, for instance, are his remarks in the XXVth Lecture, on forms of prayer.

We quote a few lines :

"How can we get Him (the Lord) to visit us? There is one answer - by prayer and watchfulness. By prayer, whether we are in our preparatory state or our fixed one; by prayer, and I think I may add, by praying in our own words. Of course, when we pray together, some of us must join in the words of others; and it makes little difference whether those words be spoken or read. But when we pray alone, some perhaps may use none but prayers made by others, especially the Lord's Prayer. We should remember, however that the Lord's prayer was given for this very purpose, to teach us how to pray for ourselves. But it does not do this if we use it alone, and still more if we use it without understanding it. If we do understand it, and study it, it will indeed teach us to pray; it will show us what we most need in prayer, and what are our greatest evils; but surely it may be said that no man ever learnt this lesson well without wishing to practise it; no man ever used the Lord's prayer with understanding and with earnestness, without adding to it others of his own."

In volume second the three consecutive Lectures on Christian Schools, that on Education and Instruction, and those on Christian Exertion, on Christian Fasting, on Repentance, on Conscience, and on Responsibility, are real models of their kind. The simple, unambitious character of the lectures, both in the themes chosen, and in their discussion, is one of their best and most useful features. It would be no marvel if some readers who have heard much of the great Dr. Arnold, the writer of many books, and the renowned conductor of one of the most important schools for young men of the highest ranks in England, should experience some disappointment in taking up these volumes, and reading a sermon here and there, without much regard to its special aim and adaptedness,