more than objectionable, that strong efforts are being made to bring about a change in the law. Children are seldom confirmed under the age of fifteen, and for about a year before hand (including, however, in many places a long winter interruption of from three to six months) are instructed at regular intervals by their pastor, who as text-book uses a work by the celebrated Bishop Pontoppidan (Pontoppidan's Forklaring).

Sunday schools, such as are universal throughout Britain, are quite unknown, at least in the country parts of Norway; the schools open on that day being for the teaching of the ordinary branches of education. Hence the young people receive little, if any, systematic instruction on religious subjects until they attend these classes. Each pastor confirms the children of his own parish on the first Sunday after Easter; this tends to prove what was stated above, namely, that in spiritual matters there is but one grade in the Norwegian Church.

The administration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper occurs usually twice a year in the country, and almost every Sunday in towns. Young people do not receive the sacrament immediately after being confirmed, but are expected to do so at the next ordinary celebration of the rite. In rural districts all, or nearly all, adults partake of the Lord's Supper at least once a year; in fact a man would be looked upon with some suspicion who was lax in this matter; hence the sexes attend in about equal proportion.

Any clergyman may, upon good cause shewn, refuse the sacrament to an applicant; in ordinary cases an appeal would lie to the rural dean, and from him to the bishop, but no further. Should a pastor, however, have acted harshly and imprudently, should he, for instance, without previous warning have passed over a man then and there kneeling at the "altar," it seems that a civil action for injury to character would lie.

It is customary for those who wish to partake of the sacrament to intimate their desire a few days before to the clerk, or else to one of the "elders." If the clerk or any of the elders know that an applicant is living in any open sin, they bring the matter to the notice of the clergyman, who, after exhortation and reproof, deals with the case as to him seems good.

As to ordinary observances at the celebration of the sacrament of the supper, in some parts husbands and wives kneel side by side around the altar rails; in others the men are on the right, the women on the left (this is the form prescribed by the authorised ritual); and in others the men of mature age, the young men, the matrons, and the girls succeed in the order given.

The Norwegian Church, being Lutheran, of course believes in consubstantiation; hence the consecrated elements are not

only treated with extreme reverence by the priest, but are not taken into the hands of the laity at all. The bread is prepared in the form of unleavened wafers, one of which is placed, by the pastor, in the mouth of the kneeling parishioner, and the chalice is held to the lips by the priest.

We cannot say positively whether the reception of this sacrament is regarded in a superstitious light, as a sort of charm to whitewash one from past sins, and as a passport to give one a happy entrance into the other world, but assuredly the private household administration of the rite is exceedingly common, and we understand that a clergyman is civilly answerable if he does not in such a case forthwith answer the call of a parishioner, be it by day or by night. It is not unusual also for bedridden people in no immediate danger to require their pastor to administer to them this rite at their own houses; and on such occasions it is not necessary that any one, save the invalid and the priest, be present.

Should any of the elements remain over unused, they are kept for the next celebration.

Owing to the view taken of the extreme necessity of baptism, this sacrament is very commonly administered immediately after birth by any adult male or female who is present. Should the child, however, live, it must be brought to the church, where the appropriate service (excepting only the actual formula) is read, the clergyman's hands placed as usual upon its head, and-the pastor's fee paid. I find that, according to the regulations, each child should have not more than five sponsors, of whom three are to be of its own sex ; but I believe that this number is frequently exceeded.

Marriage is invariably celebrated in church, either on Sunday or upon a week day; but of late there is a general desire to confine it to the latter, and so to avoid that desecration of the holy day which has hitherto been too common. In the country, marriages are frequently carried out much in the fashion of the old Scottish penny weddings, and this leads to so much dissipation, that many of the clergy are bestirring themselves to bring about a better state of things. The couple to be married must, of course, have been confirmed, and must have partaken of the Lord's Supper. The publication of banns is much the same as with us: no ring is used at the ceremony, and the women do not afterwards habitually wear that which is given on engagement.

Betrothal takes place in presence of the priest and friends, either at the parsonage or at the house of one of the parties. We understand that an effort,-which is of course opposed by the church,-is being made to declare mere civil marriage, as also the marriage of divorced persons, legal.

The church service books are two in number: first, the Altar Book, which contains the collects, gospels, epistles, and authorised prayers to be used on particular occasions; and secondly, the Ritual, which gives full directions for the ordinary services. Neither of these, however, seems to be much in the hands of the laity, who content themselves with a volume containing the gospels, epistles, and one of the three authorised sets of hymns; and, from what we observed, we very much fear that this book to a great extent takes the place of the whole Word of God, an effect which many years ago was pointed out by the clergy of Scotland as likely to follow the publication of a selection of Bible extracts to be read in churches.

On ordinary occasions, during public worship on Sundays, several of the prayers are of the clergyman's own composition, sometimes extemporary, sometimes (as is also usually the case with sermons) written out and repeated, so far at least as the former are concerned, month after month with little if any change.

In concluding these brief notes, we add a few miscellaneous remarks which may be found more or less interesting.

In accordance with eastern custom, the Norwegians, like the Scots of ancient days, reckon Sunday from six o'clock on the evening of Saturday; the system may be primitive, but assuredly it does not answer practically.* A man when out fishing on the Fjord (sea-loch) upon Saturday evening is almost sure not to come home till the Sunday has commenced, and then on the following day, after attending service, he begins early in the afternoon to think of the evening's work or sport.

As previously stated, Sunday schools, as the term is understood by us, are quite unknown in the country parts of Norway; the same may be said of prayer meetings; in fact, the only societies connected with religion in which the peasants are interested, are parochial missionary meetings, at which, after a short prayer and exposition, some account of the doings of Danish or Norwegian missionaries in foreign lands is read aloud. At these meetings any one selected by the members then present conducts the proceedings; if the pastor has shewn himself interested in the matter and is present, he will in general be appointed.

The clergy have no stated periodical meetings sanctioned by the Government. They do occasionally assemble, in considerable numbers, at missionary festivals; but such gatherings are not recognised by the State, have no legal existence, and their

In 1640, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ruled that Sunday was to commence at, and close at, midnight: previously it had been reckoned from sunset to sunset.

Religious Sects in Norway.

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decisions have no weight whatever. The pastors accordingly do not seem, on the whole, to be so well acquainted with what is going on in the religious world (even of their own country) as is desirable, a fact which will not appear surprising when we state that there is but a single religious magazine which has any circulation. All this is sure occasionally to induce a certain amount of sleepiness on the part of the clergy, some of whom are, however, doing what they can to bring about a salutary reform in this and other respects.

In Norway there is the most perfect liberty of conscience, and of the press; one may preach, or teach, or say, or print anything he pleases, so long as he does not offend good morals, or infringe upon the civil rights of his neighbours. Proselytism is, however, regarded as an injury for which the Courts of Law will award damages; and by proselytism is understood unbidden intrusion into the houses of others, or the abuse of an official position-such as that of schoolmaster-for the purpose of leading the young astray from their national faith.

In spite of this freedom, the number of dissenters is extremely, surprisingly small, being almost wholly confined to a little society of Quakers at Stavanger, and a few Roman Catholics in one or two of the larger towns.

About the close of last century, Hans Nielsen Hauge obtained a considerable number of adherents, who however continued to be obedient members of the Established Church, and seem to have been distinguished from others only by increased earnestness and spirituality in religious matters. They formed, in fact, the evangelical portion of the church, and a few disorders which broke out among them here and there, may be ascribed rather to the ignorance in which they had been brought up, than to anything wrong in the views of the new party. As a distinct sect, the Haugianers have, we believe, disappeared, but the general tendency of the church seems at this moment to be from rationalism to evangelical truth and earnestness.

In the "Fundamental Law" or "Constitution" of Norway, the only notices of religion are as follows:

"The public religion of the State shall be the 'Evangelic Lutheran;' subjects belonging to it are bound to bring up their children in that faith.

"Jesuits and monks are not tolerated, and Jews are not permitted to enter the country" (this latter restriction has, we believe, been removed). "The king must belong to the Established Church, and support it."

Again, in the Statute of 20th August 1842, it is laid down, that "if any one ridicules God's Holy Word or Sacraments, or mocks the established religion, he shall be liable to fine

or imprisonment; but if such be done in print, he shall be liable to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, in the fifth degree, that is, for from six months to three years.

Our task is done, its object being simply to ascertain and to record facts; the drawing of deductions is left to others.

As to the ordinary and extraordinary services, formularies, &c., these possess a considerable degree of interest, but to insert notices of them here, would extend this paper to an unreasonable length. A. O. B.

ART. IV.-Philo Judæus.

Philonis Judai Opera quæ reperi potuerunt omnia, THOMAS MANGEY, S.T.P. Canonicus Dunelinensis. London. 1742.*

The Works of Philo Judæus, the Contemporary of Josephus. Translated from the Greek. By C. D. YONGE, B.A. 4 Vols. London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854-5.*

N one point of view, greater interest attaches to Philo than

inasmuch as the former was what the latter was not-a contemporary of the blessed Saviour, Speaking of himself, Josephus says, "As was I born to Matthias, in the first year of the reign of Caius Cæsar."-(Life, § 1.) Caius, better known as Caligula, ascended the Roman throne in A.D. 37, or about eight years after the date generally assigned to the crucifixion. Consequently, Josephus did not come into the world till eight years after the death of Christ. The date of Philo's birth it is impossible to fix with certainty. When the Alexandrian Jews sent an embassy to Caligula, in or about the year A.D. 40, Philo, who was one of the ambassadors, could use this language of himself and his colleagues: "But I myself, who was accounted to be possessed of superior prudence, both on account of my age and my education" (Philo's Works, Yonge's Translation, vol. iv., p. 140). One whose years could thus inspire respect, was probably not much, if at all, under sixty. Assuming this

* Mangey's Greek and Latin edition of Philo, consists of two ponderous folio volumes, with the Greek type and contractions so much in vogue during last century. Yonge's translation, published as part of Bohn's excellent "Ecclesiastical Library," and which seems accurate in the parts of it which we have examined, constitutes four thick volumes, of convenient octavo size, extremely well worth the notice of theological students. It is from Yonge's translation that we have taken the extracts embodied in the present article.