Water by Thy power benign Sing the heavenly Song of Songs. This Hymn may be most appropriately sung to the first tune (Air by Mendelssohn) assigned to No. 43, "Hark! the herald angels sing," in Hymns Ancient and Modern. December, 1869. E. H. B. CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the Christian Observer. DEAR SIR,-Allow me to refer to a Note at p. 849 of your Nov. Number, which is there appended to a very friendly Review of my little book of Confirmation Lectures. In it the Reviewer questions the cogency of my argument for fixing the date of St. Paul's arrival at Rome in the spring of A.D. 59 or 60, and that of having thence written his Epistle to the Colossians prior to October, 60. My argument is based on the fact of the apostle's direction that that Epistle should be read in the Church at Laodicea, compared with what is told us by Tacitus, that in the sixth year of Nero, or between Oct. 13, A.D. 59, and Oct. 13, A.D. 60, Laodicea was overthrown in an earthquake." Yes, but," argues in reply my Reviewer, “we know also from Tacitus that its restoration began very soon after the earthquake. So that there seems nothing very improbable in the supposition of St. Paul's arrival in Rome in the spring of A.D. 61, agreeably with Bishop Pearson's and Canon Cook's date, and of his having written his Colossian Epistle a year or so later; at which time the restoration of the city may have so far advanced as to allow of the resumption of intercourse between the Christians at Colosse and those at Laodicea; and, indeed, to render any notice of the earthquake by him superfluous." On fuller examination, however, I think that all the probabilities on the question between us will be found to lie with myself, not with my Reviewer. The passage in Tacitus (Ann. xiv. 27) is as follows:-" Eodem anno (the 6th of Nero) ex inlustribus Asiæ urbibus Laodicea tremore terræ prolapsa, nullo a nobis remedio, propriis opibus revaluit.” In which sentence there is to be observed, first, the extent of the overthrow, as involving the whole city: secondly, as to the restoration, that from Tacitus, speaking some thirty or forty years after of its having been rebuilt from the resources of its own citizens, it seems by no means a necessary, or indeed a probable inference, that this began so immediately, and went on so rapidly as to have made entire silence about the catastrophe quite natural to the Apostle when communicating, scarce two years after, with the Christian Church there. Had Brighton been overthrown by an earthquake, would my friendly Reviewer, when first communicating with me within two years after it, and this in a letter dictated by the heart's warm affections, feel it natural to pass over such an event in total silence? Or, again, would it be likely that by that time the restoration would have made such advance as to render all expression or feeling of sympathy superfluous? Let the analogy be considered of the cities on the East Coast of South America, which some five or six years ago were overthrown by an earthquake. Have they even yet been restored? There are two or three quite different monumental or historical illustrations that throw light on the probable time of the completed restoration of Laodicea. One is an inscription, in large Greek characters, on the moulding of the entrance-gate to the still existing theatre among the ruins of Laodicea, which fixes the date of its completion and dedication as in the year of Titus' Seventh Consulship, that is, A.D. 79. Another is the fact that there is a gap (so far as has been hitherto ascertained by numismatic science) in the Laodicean imperial coins from Nero to Titus, the reign of which latter emperor began A.D. 79. Further it appears from a passage in Pliny, N. H. v. 29, 30, that there was a Roman tribunal at Laodicea ere the close of the reign of Vespasian; a reign which, as all know, lasted from 70 to 79 A.D. All thus seem to unite in giving probability to the opinion that it was not till Vespasian's reign had advanced some few years that Laodicea could have completed its restoration. I should add, that Eusebius (Chronicon) speaks of the three cities of Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Colosse having fallen in an earthquake in the tenth year of Nero; a chronological mistake, as there can be little doubt, for the sixth of Nero. Supposing which to be the case, and that Colosse too fell in the earthquake of the sixth of Nero, my argument is of course only thereby made the stronger. I have only further to observe, that I think my Reviewer can hardly have considered the bearing of the question under discussion on the identification of the vision spoken of by St. Paul in 2 Cor. xii. 2-7, with that spoken of in Acts xxii. 17-21, as what was vouchsafed him on his first return to Jerusalem after conversion near Damascus. To myself, and indeed I may say to many others also, this (supposing it established, as I doubt not it is) appears to be one of the most interesting and important of coincidences in the Pauline history. And, with the date of March or April, A. D. 59, for the Apostle's arrival in Rome, all the various conditions involved in the particular hypothesis of this identification will be found to be satisfied, and, indeed, the whole Pauline chronological scheme, as I have shown in my Chart, to be consistent with itself. Zigzag as you please from any one of the five or six columns to any other, all will be found fitting, in regard of times, places, circumstances, as in the case of a dissected map after reconstruction. On the other hand, with the date 61 A.D. for St. Paul's arrival at Rome, the identification of which I have spoken will be more than imperilled; as my reviewer will easily see on considering the three several chronological periods connected with it that are mentioned in Gal. i. 18, ii. 1, 2 Cor. xii. 2.-Yours, dear Sir, faithfully, E. B. ELLIOTT. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. The Confessional: an Appeal to the Primitive and Catholic Forms of Absolution in the East and West. By the Rev. M. Hobart Seymour, M.A. London: Seeleys. 1870.-We would very heartily recommend this little treatise of Mr. Seymour to the attention of our readers. It deals, in a very interesting and convincing manner, with a subject which is just now attracting a good deal of attention, and which has been most unscrupulously dwelt upon by Romanizers and Romanists. In his introductory chapter, Mr. Seymour specifies sundry reasons why the Confessional proves attractive to weak and worldly minds. He then goes on to describe what primitive confession was, contrasting it with the medieval and modern notions upon the subject. His view is, that "the primitive idea was one that referred the whole procedure only to such sins and offences and scandals as members of the Church had committed against the Church; while the medieval and modern idea refers the whole procedure to the sins of the penitent which he has committed against God, and thus it assumes the appearance of the priest having power to pardon sins committed against God." He emphatically asserts that in primitive times there was nothing like sacerdotal absolution, and that "in all the formularies of all the Churches, there are only two things -prayer to God for the forgiveness of the penitent, and the reception of the penitent to the Communion. The former was prayer for the forgiveness of God, and the latter declared the forgiveness of the Church—that is, of the congregation." This he copiously illustrates by adducing the forms of absolution employed in the Churches of the East and West, and especially of our Anglo-Saxon Church, previous to the introduction of the liturgy known as "In usum Sarum," about the time of the Conquest. He then comments upon the language of Holy Scripture, and the forms of Absolution in the Ordinal of the Church of England and in the Service for the "Visitation of the Sick." He shows, upon the authority of Morinus, that "the words of our Lord, Receive ye the Holy Ghost,' &c., never had any part in the ordination of ministers of any one branch of the Church of Christ for the first twelve hundred years of Christendom.” He argues, consequently, that these words are not necessary or essential to holy orders, and suggests a very natural and satisfactory solution why such an innovation was admitted in the Western Churches, while it is still unknown in the Eastern. We must refer our readers to the work itself for this and for the mode in which he deals with the Absolution in the Service for the Visitation of the Sick. The book concludes with some most painful statistics, carefully compiled, exhibiting the relative morality of Protestant and Catholic countries, demonstrating conclusively the dangerous and demoralizing influence of the Confessional upon the masses of the population. Inasmuch, however, as the hideous crimes which are adduced mostly involve those who frequent Confessionals, the result is that the book is not throughout one "Virginibus puerisque," despite all the author's care. We regret this, for all the earlier portion might most profitably be studied generally, and we would gladly, but for this, see it in the hands of those weak and ignorant young persons who are especially likely to be misled by idle and arrogant pretensions, and need information presented in an interesting and intelligible form. A Charge, delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of St. David's, at his Tenth Visitation, by Connop Thirlwall, D.D., Bishop of St. David's. London, Oxford, and Cambridge: Rivingtons. 1869.-In this Charge Bishop Thirlwall freely discusses the recent legislation affecting the Irish Church, and the consequences likely to flow from it. English Churchmen generally will differ from the principles which he lays down and the conclusions at which he arrives, and will not deem with him that "there are stronger grounds for hope and confidence than for painful anxiety" (p. 31); but very many will peruse his statements with interest, and admire the ability with which he upholds his convictions. We are so far at one with him, that we think the principal danger to the Church of England does not so much arise from the measure of last session, as from the unfaithfulness and wild caprices of her ministers within her; and without endorsing all the Bishop's statements, we would heartily commend his scathing exposure of Ritualism and Romish practices in the Church, especially of the doctrine " now propounded under the name of the Real Objective Presence," which he denounces as foreign to the faith of the primitive Church, and argues against with ability and real learning. The Lambeth Conference is dismissed in a paragraph, and the remainder of the Charge is devoted to reflections on the Ecumenical Council. In the able comments which he makes upon the recent proceedings of the Pope and his advisers, we heartily sympathize, and rejoice that so much vigorous thought and solid information should have been supplied to the clergy over whom Bishop Thirlwall presides. (1.) The Leisure Hour. London: Religious Tract Society. 1869. (2.) The Sunday at Home. London: Religious Tract Society. 1869. (3.) Our Own Fireside. London: William Hunt and Co.; The Christian Book Society, &c.—We do not doubt that most of, probably all, our readers are already familiar with the admirable miscellanies published by the Religious Tract Society. The volumes for 1869 amply sustain the reputation of their predecessors, both for the ability and diversity of their contents. The papers contributed by Dr. Tristram, on the "Seven Churches," seem to us full of interest. We much rejoice at the dissemination of such wholesome literature throughout the country. It might have been the case with the late Lord Brougham that, after a fatiguing day in the Law Courts, he could return home and unbend his mind over a treatise on Optics; but such instances are rare, and humbler mortals will not be sorry to have more congenial resources for spare moments within their reach, such as these volumes supply. The engravings are admirable. With those in the "Leisure Hour," reproducing the familiar features of Dean Milman and Sir Herbert Edwardes, we have been much struck. "Our Own Fireside" is not equal in merit to the volumes put forth by the Religious Tract Society, but deserves commendation as an effort in the right direction; it contains a good deal of interesting reading, and its handsome exterior will recommend it as a drawingroom book. (1.) A Rose and a Pearl. By C. C. Fraser Tytler. London: Hatchards. 1870. (2.) Echoes of the Past from a Retired Hamlet. By Una. London: Hatchards. 1870.-The scene of "A Rose and a Pearl" is partly laid in the Tyrol, partly in England. It is written with a good deal of vigour, and will be read with interest. We infer from the tone of her work, that Miss Tytler is not a sympathiser with Romish doctrines or practices; but we could have wished that, in these days, she had been explicit in her condemnation of them when the circumstances of her tale required the introduction of such topics. "Echoes of the Past" might almost be described as a story of the Indian Mutiny, the fortunes of the characters are so linked in with that disastrous event. It is stated to be founded on fact. Neither of the two tales professes to inculcate any direct religious lesson; but both are pervaded with a religious tone, and we dare say will be acceptable to young readers. Jesse the Tinker and his Children. By S. E. P., Author of "Lucy Smith," ""The Music Governess," &c. &c. Edinburgh: W. Oliphant and Co. 1869.-The incidents are well told, but the writer does not inform us how far they are founded upon facts. The description of the sermon by John West, a Methodist preacher; of the gift of the favourite Bible to Sarah Manable, the Tinker's wife, and its destruction by her husband; of the wreck, with the loss of all the lives on board, just as the last words of the hymn, "Jesu, lover of my soul,' were borne to the shore by the boisterous North wind,—are related in a manner well calculated to produce a salutary impression. We do not think the second part of the book equal in interest with the first. Four Years in a Cave. A Tale of the French Revolution. Edinburgh: W. Oliphant and Co. 1869. This is an interesting little book, but its interest would be greatly increased if read as history, and not as fiction. The concluding pages contain a short but graphic description of "The Reign of Terror," copied, by permission, from one of the publications of the Religious Tract Society. Sunday Evenings at Brocklegh Hall. London: Hatchards. 1869. -This is a well designed attempt to supply material for the pleasant and profitable employment of Sunday evenings. We suppose that it is almost impossible to make conversations such as are recorded in this little book altogether simple and natural; but the writer has evidently aimed at adapting her style (for we presume that we are reviewing the work of a lady) to the capacities of young children. It would be unreasonable to criticize too minutely the contents of an elementary book like the present; but we think it hardly too much to expect that one who undertakes to expound Holy Scripture even to young children, should be aware that the words of dying Jacob were not the first of the most remarkable prophecies relating to the advent of the Messiah after the Fall; or that a Psalm which makes mention of "the former loving-kindnesses which the Lord sware unto David," and which is expressly ascribed in the title to Ethan the Ezrahite, cannot be correctly referred to as a Psalm of David. Many of the lessons, however, which this little book inculcates are such as are needed by readers of all ages; and we sincerely trust that the objects proposed by the writer may be attained. |