THE LATE DR JAMES HAMILTON. He is now a ktema All his influence for WE cannot allow the present number of our Review to go forth without a passing tribute to the memory of this distinguished and lamented minister of Christ, who, among the various spheres which he occupied and adorned, was one of our most valued contributors. Fain would we give expression to the feelings of poignant regret, with which, in common with lovers of the truth, in all quarters and in all parties, we mourn over the loss of a friend, a pastor, and an author, so well beloved and so fondly prized. This, however, we cannot now attempt; and, amidst the numerous testimonials with which pulpit and press are teeming, we feel it would be little better than a work of supererogation to add ours to the number. We prefer selecting, from the Edinburgh Daily Review, the following reflections, which appeared at the time of his death, and which, in point of literary composition, as well as heartfelt appreciation of the genius and worth of the departed, deserve a place in our columns :"With the fall of the yellow leaf, and at the close of a harvesthome, a good man has fallen like the leaf, to which even a Pagan poet could compare the fleeting generations of men, and has been gathered into the great garner, like the sheaf that is fully ripe. The Free Presbyterian Church in England possessed no loftier spirit than Dr Hamilton; the Church universal possesses him now, and men of every way of thinking will weep at the grave of James Hamilton, for he reminded them all, by the catholicity of his sympathies, that there is a church wider than the denominational, and that there are works in which every Christian, whatever his earthly name, may and ought to take part. His death, then, does not so much take him from us, it rather gives him to us for ever. cis aici, a possession that passeth not away. good will remain among his flock by a thousand imperishable rccollections, and in the world by things so written, that even the world will not willingly let them die. Without affecting to ignore, without even ceasing to lament, the differences and distractions and heartburnings which sometimes render it so difficult for those who are all, though each in a way and with a will of his own,-pursuing the same end, he taught others to forget the difference, and turned envy into emulation. And the close of his gentle life was in keeping with its kindly tenor. He went quietly down into the clear deep waters, knowing whither he was going and in whom he had placed his trust. No paroxysm of pain appears to have distracted his mind. He received the privilege which Johnson prayed for with such an agony of earnestness, the privilege of dying with an unclouded mind, of looking into and through the darkness, and falling asleep with open eye. In all this, amidst the grief of the mourners, there is room and reason for an equal thankfulness. The stone that marks a good man's grave is always an Ebenezer; and it is set up to mark a victory which assuredly is not the grave's. James Ilamilton will be laid in the "narrow house" with the consciousness and conviction of all, that it is the only thing narrow that will ever be coupled with his name. "Such a man was a great help, and now that he rests from his labours we cannot but recall how manifold and excellent the works are which, as the promise says, do follow him. We do not speak of the pulpit services, of which there must still, among his manuscripts, be many valuable memorials, but of those to which all the world can bear witness. In addition to his numerous original writings, it was The Late Dr James Hamilton. 209 no slight task to undertake, and it was no small service to project, the editorship of such a serial as "Excelsior," in which he has been the means of lifting many an ingenuous youth up to take higher views, both of his pleasure and of his duty. We are not sure that we can enumerate the works he was ever sending through the press, all-and almost alike-distinguished by the same clearness of statement, the same felicity of illustration, the same sweetness of tone, and breathing the same genial piety. He gave us his "Lessons from the Great Biography," and he gave us, in a series of most beautiful biographies, examples of the kind of life produced by taking those lessons. His Life in Earnest' has alone, we believe, gone through from ninety to a hundred editions. With him life was very earnest, though at the same time very gentle,-never breaking a bruised reed or quenching a feeble spark. We must also number by the hundred thousand those who have clomb with him the 'Mount of Olives,' to commune with their hearts and with heaven. The 'Royal Preacher' he preached over again, and brought out divine light from both 'the Lamp and the Lantern.' The 'Happy Home' has made many homes happy, by helping to make them virtuous and wise, and his 'Emblems of Eden' glow with an 'Elysian beauty, melancholy grace, Brought from a pensive but a happy place.' His biographies are peculiarly genial. In addition to the numerous sketches of life and character dispersed through the four volumes of extracts from 'Our Christian Classics,' dedicated to the Bishop of London, he wrote the memoirs of Lady Colquhoun of Luss, the life and adventures of Richard Williams, who went out as surgeon to the Patagonian mission, and the memoirs of a man singularly like himself, our distinguished townsman, James Wilson of Woodville, the brother of Christopher North. They had the same love of natural science, and saw in the meanest thing that crawls a creature of the living God. They had the same genial pleasantry, the same stingless wit, the same love of quiet fun. When, during the illness that has just terminated, and after he knew that he was dying, Dr Hamilton was presented with a water-bed, stretching his limbs out on it comfortably he remarked, Ah, there is nothing I see after all like unlimited lie-ability!' His were not only among the most numerous, but the most popular writings of the day. So seldom was his bow unbent; so seldom did the sword of the Spirit in his hand come back from the spoils empty. His life was one long, healthful, cheerful, manly piece of exertion. He found the fields white for the harvest, and the Lord of the harvest's work was never wrought more honestly. No living man did better service to the Presbyterian cause, by exhibiting in his life and writings the groundlessness of the prejudices against it. It is for this service that he will chiefly be missed in England. There are many able Scotsmen in London, but none with so much of the national character, combined with so few individual angularities, as good Dr James Hamilton. Elsewhere will be found some personal details. Here it only remains for us now to pronounce over his grave the pathetic lines from Rogers, with which he himself inscribed that of his friend James Wilson : 'When by a good man's grave I muse alone, VOL. XVII.-NO. LXIII. XI.-FOREIGN LITERATURE. Theologische Studien und Kritiken. Jahrgang 1868. Erstes Heft. This is one of the oldest, and in many respects the best, of the German theological quarterlies. With the number before us it enters on its forty-first year. It was originally founded, and for a long time edited by, Drs Ullmann and Umbreit. It is now edited by Drs Hundeshagen and Riehm, assisted by Drs Nitzsch, Müller, and Beyschlag. Under such an editorship we are justified in expecting a periodical of the highest order of merit. Since this journal began its useful career, there have sprung up around it from time to time other journals, devoting themselves specially to one or other of the many fields of theological investigation. Among these we may mention the Jahrbücher für deutsche Theologie, edited by a brilliant staff, consisting of Dr Liebner of Dresden, Dr Dorner of Berlin, Drs Ehrenfeuchter and Wagenmann of Göttingen, Drs Landerer, Palmer, and Weizsäcker of Tübingen; the Zeitschrift für Protestantismus und Kirche, edited by Drs Von Hofmann and Schmid; the Zeitschrift für Wissenschaftliche Theologie, edited by Dr Hilgenfeld; the Zeitschrift fur die Historische Theologie, edited by Dr Joh. Chr. Wilh. Niedner of Berlin, and Dr Kahnis of Leipzig, in association with the historico-theological society of Leipzig, founded by E. F. Illgen; the Zeitschrift fur die Gesammte Lutherische Theologie und Kirche, conducted by Drs Delitzsch and Guericke. But among all these its rivals, the Studien und Kritiken, with a sort of aristocratic dignity, holds on its honoured course. 4 As a general rule, the articles to be met with in this quarterly are distinguished by such a masterly thoroughness in their production, that, whether we can agree with the writers or not, we cannot but admire the skill and learning which they display. 66 The first article in the present number is entitled, "Calvin's Institutio nach Form und Inhalt, in ihrer geschichtlichen entwicklung, (The Form and Contents of Calvin's "Institution of the Christian Religion," in their historical development). It is from the pen of Dr J. Koestlin. The following sentences will sufficiently exhihit its design: Almost without number," says Calvin's most recent biographer, E. Staehelin, "is the circle of scholars, of all ranks and nations, that increasingly gather around Calvin's book, the 'Institutio;' altogether immense the labour to which, in the course of years, it has given rise; the number of editions of it which have been published is quite beyond all reckoning; and one may, without exaggeration, affirm, that no work of such a scientific character, and of such extent, has ever had so wide a circulation." That it is worth while to examine anew a book having such an historical importance, Koestlin says no one will doubt. He then enters into a most elaborate and deeply interesting investigation of the relation of the different editions of the "Institutio" to one another. In doing so he takes advantage of the Foreign Literature. 211 splendid volumes of the Corpus Reformatorum,* published under the editorial care of the Strasburg Professors. In Vols. xxix. and xxx. of the "Corpus," the different editions of the "Institutio" are brought together, and printed side by side. The changes the book underwent, and the additions made to it at different periods, from the first edition of 1536, till it received its final revision at the hands of Calvin in the year 1559, are compared together, and much valuable information is thence obtained regarding the progressive development of Calvin's own views in their relation to the different controversies in which he took a part. To this subject we hope to have the opportunity of again returning more fully when the remainder of Dr Koestlin's dissertation is published. Vorlesungen ueber die Christliche Dogmengeschichte. Von Dr F. C. BAUR, nach dessen Tode herausgegeben, Von F. F. BAUR. Leipzig. (Lectures on the History of Christian Doctrines). The first part of this comprehensive work appeared in 1865, and the second in 1866, bringing down the history to the end of the sixth century. The volumes are edited by the author's son. In 1858 the author published his Handbook of the History of Christian Dogmas, in which he gave scope, as far as the subject admitted, to his rationalism. The volumes before us enter more into detail, but the Hegelian philosophy vitiates the views which are developed. It is gratifying to find that the Tübingen school of theologians are distinctly losing ground in Germany. It is not likely that Baur's book will attract much attention. Die Lehre vom freien Willen und Seinem Verhältnitz Zur Gnade in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung dargestellt. Von C. E. LUTHARDt. Leipzig. 1863. For some considerable time this valuable work has been lying on our table for review. The author has recently been brought into notice in this country by the publication by Messrs Clark, Edinburgh, of a translation of his " Apologetische Vorträge ueber d. Grundwarheiten d. Christenthum," which is a work of great merit, and worthy of being widely studied in these times.A fifth edition of the original was published at Leipzig last year. In the department of the history of Christian Dogmas, we know no work so thorough and so satisfactory as the one mentioned above, "The Doctrine of the Free Will and its relation to the Doctrine of Grace, presented in their historical development." Our space will not permit us at present to do justice to this work. It deserves a separate and full consideration. The ever varying and never ended controversy, as to the precise relation between the doctrine of the freedom of the will and the doctrine of divine grace, is traced Corpus Reformatorum. "Joannis Calvini opera quae supersunt, omnia ediderunt Gulielmus Baum, Eduardus Cunitz, Eduardus Reuss, theologi Argentoratenses." with great ability by Luthardt. from the earliest down to the present times. Sometimes the one side is seen in the ascendancy, and sometimes the other. But the strife is not fruitless. The truth is, by reason of this very controversy, the more distinctly brought to light. Zeitschrift für die gesammte lutherische Theologie und Kirche 1868. Pp. 216. Erstes Quartalheft. Leipzig. This quarterly, now entering on its twenty-ninth year, is the recognised organ of the old Lutheran theology. It is under the direction of the distinguished theologians Drs Delitzsch and H. E. F. Guericke. It is very ably conducted, having among its contributors the most energetic and learned divines in Germany of this tendency of thought. It is well known that from the time of the Reformation the German Church consisted of two parties-the Lutheran and the Calvinists, or Reformed. In 1817, King Fredrick William III. published a declaration of his wish to unite the two branches of the church. In many places the king's idea of a union was enthusiastically received. There were many, however, who were violently opposed to it, particularly on the side of the Lutherans. In 1821, the king re-issued his declaration, making it more explicit and imperative. He commanded the union to take place. The Lutherans were not permitted to form themselves into a separate ecclesiastical body. Fines and imprisonments, and other forms of cruelty, were inflicted on those who would not fall in with the royal plan of union. In 1840, the late king issued an edict permitting the "old Lutheran party to form themselves into a separate community. These antinnionists have gradually increased, both in numbers and in the bitterness of their tone of hostility against the union, and against Calvinists and Calvinism. Hengstenberg is one of the chief of this "old Lutheran" party; and he does all in his power, by means of the Evangelische Kirchenzeitung, of which he is editor, as well as by other means, to promote its interests. The journal now before us is on the same side, and has done much to stir up animosity between the adherents of the Evangelical and of the Lutheran Confessions in Germany. The articles in the present number, which has just come to hand, are:-(1) On the import of Faith in the Old Testament; by Kübel, of Tubingen. (2) The design of the Epistle to the Romans, with a review of Mangold's "The Epistle to the Romans, and the origin of the Church at Rome," Marburg, 1866; by Dr C. J. Riggenbach of Basel. (3) On the Law of Development in the sphere of the life of Faith; a study by E. Paret of Würtemberg. Part first. (4) On the construction of the words of the Third Article of the Creed, "I believe in the Christian Church, in the forgiveness of sins, in the resurrection of the body," &c.; by H. N. Hansen. (5) On the Phaedo of Plato; by F. Mezger. (6) The third of a series of articles on the question "What have been the results of the Union in Prussia;" by Uhden of Kotelow. (7) The second article on "The Lutheran Church in Prussia"; by G. L. Plitt of Erlangen. Then follows a letter from the Evangelical |