the old than to construct the new. We may make a few suggestions, with which, as individual opinions, our readers are not obligated to agree.

In the marriage ceremony the promise to obey on the part of the bride is quietly omitted. Some of the old clumsy expressions of which the form, though in general beautiful, was singularly full, are still retained. In its opening address the awkward phrase "gathered together here" should be "here assembled." A period should be put at the word "matrimony," and the then next sentence should begin with "This" in place of the present "which." We then might have, by a more careful adjustment, an elegant and easily-remembered sentence in three members ending at "all men." There are several other phrases requiring change. The introduction of the ancient symbolical ring we approve; but the completeness of the symbol should be retained. The ring should originate with the groom; it should be passed through the minister, as the mediator to the bride; it should return through her to the groom, to be placed upon her finger. The circle of entire consent is then beautifully symbolized.

And now that we have this suitable form, let it be always used, and always in the Church. Our ministry have, we fear, sadly concurred to demoralize the public mind by not discountenancing slight, thoughtless, and too little solemn performance of this rite, tending to reduce it to a mere civil contract which an alderman can mediate with a few trifling words. We fear that our people have too slight a conscience, because our ministry have thought too little deeply on the subject. We hope this ancient and yet renovated form will be ever used with an earnest view to an impressive effect.

We regret to see the slightest encouragement given to any mutilation of the Apostles' Creed. Next to the sacred canon this is the most venerable of documents. What call for the foot-note at page 23? The term catholic has become embodied in the creed in all the languages of Christendom. It is paying a poor compliment to the intelligence of our people to suppose they do not understand it, a still poorer compliment to the character of our instructions. We do not suppose that our laity are likely to become Baptists unless we erase the title of John the Baptist, or to become Presbyterians unless we expurgate the word presbytery from the New Testament. If the Romanists make a handle of the word it is a very poor one; and their handle of it is rather improved than obviated by our undertaking to slur it. The more effectual way, if any is needed, to neutralize all Romish argument, is to appropriate the word to its true use, and withhold its specific application to a particular denomination. But even this we think unnecessary. We do not withhold the term Uni

tarian from a particular sect, lest we should thereby concede to them the sole maintenance of the divine unity. We do not disparage our own baptism by calling another sect Baptists. We do not deny all method to other denominations by calling ourselves Methodists. No more do we concede all the catholicity to Romanists because we call them Catholics. We trust that no minister will in the utterance mutilate the Apostles' Creed.

We may be excused for adding that we should greatly desire the addition of a portion of Psalms, to be responsively read in the Sabbath morning service. This ancient and scriptural practice should never be abandoned for our present purely puritanic nakedness. Herein we stand for the privilege of our laity. We maintain the "laymen's rights" to their share in the sacred service. The whole service is now with the minister; nothing but patient waiting and hearing with the congregation. A responsive Psalter, an audible simultaneous utterance of the Lord's prayer, and congregational singing, are three desiderata to add life and full communion to our Sabbath service. Congregational singing could at least take place in the third hymn, if it were made the duty of the chorister to give at that time a hymn familiar to the congregation. We should prefer at that singing a tune consecrated by time and redolent with associations of the prayer-meeting poured forth "lustily," deluging the congregation with its own song of praise to Jehovah. If the congregation would sing loud enough to drown our voice completely, we should even dare to sing ourself!

Foreign Theological Publications.

Evangelische Glaubenslehre nach Schrift und Erfahrung. Von HERMANN PLITT. Gotha, 1863, Vol. I, pp. 443; 1864, Vol. II, pp. 416. 4 thaler. In March, 1778, SPANGENBERG issued, in the name of the Moravian Brotherhood, the "Idea Fidei Fratrum," the first Moravian System. of Divinity. Hermann Plitt, Professor in the Moravian Theological School at Gnadenfield, now issues, in his own name, the second. The two works, as they lie here upon the table before us, present a curious contrast. The one is small and dingy, and ill printed; the other clear, ample, and spotless from the famous press of PERTHES. The one direct, simple, ready to break out on every occasion in praise or exhortation; the other dignified, precise, philosophical. The one gives us a preacher's thoughts about the Christian religion; the other the ripe results of the trained academician. Still, the contrast admits of an equally striking similarity; for almost exactly as Spangenberg's book was related to the Lutheran theology of his day, so is Plitt's to

the orthodoxy of our time. That is to say, it is substantially identical with the type of doctrine prevailing among the more evangelical and "believing" party of "the Church," only warmer-toned, vitalized, and set forth with sole reference to the Bible and Christian experience.

Perhaps the most noticeable feature of the work is the support it gives to the theory of annihilationism. Few German theologians have deemed this notion worthy of any extended notice in their treat. ises of systematic theology. Some omit it entirely, others mention it only to briefly refute it by a passage or two of Scripture. Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of theologians and preachers in Germany have abandoned the old orthodox view, but not a half dozen since the Reformation have advocated annihilationism. Our author is not at all bold and dogmatic upon the point, but merely represents the theory as an "object of Christian hope." He acknowledges that there are almost insuperable difficulties in the way of exegetically establishing it, and contents himself with showing that the doctrine does no greater violence to the Scriptures than the so common belief in restorationism. So far as the biblical argument is concerned, the strictest believer will agree with him, we think, that the view is better supported than that of the Restorationists. Its philosophical argument, however, is weaker. But we are old-fashioned enough to deny that we are shut up to any such dilemma. However it may be with other types of doctrine, Methodism can believe in an eternal penal woe without doing violence to any perfection of God. It is a suspicious circumstance that Plitt winds up his discussion with a caution against preaching the new doctrine. The preacher must stick to the plain word of God. He is advised, therefore, in the last sentence of the book, on the one hand not to deal too largely in threats of hell-fire, but on the other to feel no delicacy in warning the sinner of his danger of "damnation," using the term by a kind of mental reservation to denote "absolute exclusion from the life-communion of God to all eternity." Comment is unnecessary. What God has revealed he designs to have published. Secret things belong to him, but the revealed, not to the theologians and preachers, but "to us and to our children." If he has told us that the devil and all his angels and wicked men are to be annihilated, it is the preacher's duty to tell men so; if he has declared a different fate, that is to be preached. The watchmen must not shun to declare all the counsel of God. The effect of believing one thing and seeming to preach another, of declaring a pretended "revealed will of God," yet furtively holding to a contrary "secret will," must be anything but beneficial to the preacher, and it is a pity it cannot remain an exclusive glory of old-fashioned Calvinism.

Philosophy, Metaphysics, and General Science.

First Principles of a New System of Philosophy. By HERBERT SPENCER. 12mo., pp. 508. New York: Appleton & Co. 1864.

The name of Herbert Spencer has within a brief period past acquired a rapid celebrity in the world of thought. There can be no denying that he possesses unusual powers of intellect, powers which are perhaps destined to leave permanent traces upon future opinions. His speculations are not only bold in character, but bold in the comprehensiveness of their range; including in their vast scope a grand system of physics, metaphysics, psychology, biology or science of life, and sociology. What that system is can be no matter of indifference to our readers; for, without professing any such aim, it is destructive to theology and religion not only as they at present exist, but in all forms, finally and forever. That destruction takes place not so much by direct polemics, as by the positive establishment of necessary science excluding them from existence.

To give some idea to our readers of his system as developed in the present volume, we will in some degree reverse his own order, and treat first of his physical or cosmological philosophy and then of his metaphysical.

The

Force is demonstrated to be persistent, that is, indestructible. same amount is always in existence, either manifest or latent. Motion is the action or manifestation of force; space and time are the conditions in which motion takes place. As matter manifests itself only as force, so the indestructibility of force includes the indestructibility of matter. This indestructibility is grounded in the absolute, and so is "persistent" for all the past and the future.

ance.

Motion, whether of body or mind, is in the direction of least resistMental operations are in fact like physical, a term in a series of causations, produced by the same forces, and according to the same laws, and effecting the same results. And all movement, material, mental, social, is governed by one great law, namely, that the original crude and indiscriminate mass shoots out into manifold particularities. Assuming the nebular hypothesis as true, the primordial matter develops into an illimitable variety of multiplicities which result in the present complicated and still complicating system of things. Crude ignorance in the individual thus develops into manifold and delicate refinements; crude barbarism in the mass into civilization with its infinite variety of ramifications. This process is much elucidated by one great law of causation, called by Mr. Spencer the law of Evolution, namely, that of every single cause the effects

are manifold. As the brittle lump under the stroke of the hammer disperses its fragments in a thousand directions, so of every single cause the effects flare out into infinite multiplicities. Under power of this universally developing law through ages, the massy and the indefinite are emerging into the most definite and delicate particularities. Avoiding the terms as teleogical in their import, Mr. Spencer would have us recognize that all going under the names of progress, advancement, improvement, refinement, are hereby explained as taking place under strictly necessary and irrespective Law. Next comes the consideration of the Instability of the Homogeneous. All masses, organic and inorganic, are undergoing the unequal operations of force upon their different exterior parts, as well as different amounts upon interior and exterior, by which, slowly yet surely, all undergo disintegration. All aggregates are crumbling. Nevertheless, under urgency of persistent force, agitating and diffusing through all things, the ultimate result will be an equalization. Force and matter will by necessary laws be so distributed that the struggle will balance and complete repose ensue. In the ultimate a final equilibration will take place; a universal stagnation, an omnipresent death. This process he assumes to demonstrate, basing its proof on selfevident truths. Of this death whether there will be any resurrection he modestly declines to affirm. But he conjectures that the finale will be a melting back into the original nebula; and then a new Evolution of the same kind will take place. And so the universe may revolve through an endless succession of cycles, urged by the power of ever "persistent Force."

So far we have stated, very imperfectly, Mr. Spencer's theory of the universe; now for his metaphysico-theological theory.

All knowledge is relative and phenomenal; but underlying these relations and phenomena is an unknowable Absolute. Of this absolute the universe and all its changes are 66 forms," "manifestations," etc. To ascribe to this absolute intelligence is a mere humanizing conception. The absolute may for aught we know possess not intelligence, but some inconceivably higher nature. The great merit of all religion past and future is its maintaining through all ages the exist ence of this Absolute. This pure, simple element, the faith in the existence of the unknowable absolute, is the sole truth in all religions from the grossest fetichism to the purest monotheism. Religion and science will arrive at complete reconciliation when science shall cease to conjure up causalities and substances, and confine herself to relations; and when religion will renounce her revelations, her invisible personalities, and her rituals and worships, and shrink to a simple recognition of the Unknowable. Mr. Spencer rejects with indignation