Jesus Christ did not make his appearance, "till the Greek letters and the Roman sovereignty were extended through the world."

"I will not trace the historical action of Christianity, or show how it has subordinated and wrought in all other causes, such as I have named." Every one knows that it has pervaded and moulded every department of society, and, after reigning for eighteen hundred years, "has made us what we are in art, literature, commerce, law, and liberty." "I will only point you to a single symptom of the times: all the old rules of morality which hung upon the colder principle of justice, are suffering a revision, to execute the principle of love, and every thing in public law and private duty is coming to the one test of beneficence." "Here I will rest my argument. I undertook to show you that human history ascends from the physical to the moral, and must ultimately issue in a moral age. What stupendous events and overturnings are, hereafter, to come pouring their floods into the currents of human history, we can not know or conjecture :" but the "three great moral forces already described-the Greek, the Roman, and the Christian, being indestructible, must roll on down the whole future of man, and work their effects in his history." "I anticipate no perfect state, such as fills the overheated fancy of certain dreamers. The perfectibility of man is forever excluded, here, by the tenure of his existence." "But a day will come when the dominion of ignorance and physical force, when distinctions of blood and the accidents of fortune will cease to rule the world. Beauty, reason, science, personal worth and religion will come into their rightful supremacy, and moral forces will preside over physical, as mind over the body." Then liberty and equality will be greatly advanced. Policy will give place to equity and reason. Wars

will be discontinued. Temperance and better habits will much improve the physical man, and the comforts of life will be multiplied. And the era of genius will begin. "The old leaden atmosphere of a physical age will be displaced by an intellectual atmosphere." "But what is the greatest pre-eminence, it shall come to pass, that, as the ideal of the Greeks was beauty, and that of the Romans law, so this new age shall embrace an ideal more comprehensive, as it is higher than all, namely, Love: a love embracing all that is beneficent, pure, true, beautiful— God, man, eternity, time."

The discourse concludes with an address to the Alumni, exhorting them to have faith in the future, to look away from the past, to foster all attempts to improve our race; and, as scholars, to strive "to be lawgivers, bringing forth to men the determinations of reason, and assisting them to construct the science of goodness."

This brief summary of the leading positions in the discourse, can give but an imperfect view of its many new and original thoughts, which, whatever may be thought of the correctness of a portion of them, must be acknowledged to be expressed with all the fascinations of style for which the ingenious author is distinguished.

Pictorial History of the United States, from the discovery of the Northmen in the Tenth Century, to the present time. By JOHN FROST, A. M., Professor of Belles Letters in the High School of Philadelphia. Embellished with three hundred engravings, from original drawings, by W. Croome. Published by E. H. Butler, Philadelphia.

THE typographical execution of this work is very neat, and the pictorial embellishments as far as we have examined them, are well de

signed. The only part of the history, which we have read, is that in which an account is given of the first settlement of the colony of New Haven. It is contained in the two following paragraphs:

"Settlements were constantly forming, and new emigrants arriving from England. In the summer of 1637, John Davenport, a celebrated London minister, arrived at Boston, accompanied by several merchants and other persons of respecta

bility. But they did not find in Massa

chusetts sufficient room for the many emigrants they expected to follow them, and therefore requested of their friends in Connecticut to purchase for them, from the natives of the soil, all the land lying between the Connecticut and the Hudson rivers. This purchase was in part effected, and in the autumn a journey was made to Connecticut by some of the com

pany, who erected a hut at Quinnipiack, where several men passed the winter. The rest of the company sailed from Boston in the spring following, and soon reached the desired port. They kept their first Sabbath under a large spreading oak, April 18th. In November, the colonists received the land from Momanguin, sachem of the country, in consideration of being protected by the English from hostile Indians. Davenport promised to protect him and his tribe, and obtained a sufficient quantity of land to plant, on the east side of the harbor. The next month,

the colonists purchased another tract to the north of the former; and soon after laid out a town in squares, on the plan of a spacious city, to which they gave the

name of New Haven.

"The colonists at New Haven at first acknowledged the authority of Massachusetts: but as they were evidently without the limits of that colony's patent, they convened an Assembly early the next year, (1639,) and established a constitution of independent powers. The same year, the colony at Hartford formed a constitution similar to that of New Haven and the two colonies remained distinct until

1661, when they were united under the new charter. The union thus effected

rendered the colonies formidable to the

Dutch, and the Indians, and also secured greater harmony and peace among themselves." Vol. I, pp. 202, 203.

This short narrative is somewhat remarkable for the number of errors which it contains; some of which we will notice. It is said, that "the colonists of New Haven at first acknowledged the authority of MassaVol. I.

76

chusetts." This is a mistake. It was the object of these colonists, when they left Massachusetts, to establish themselves without the jurisdiction of any previous English settlement; and neither they nor the people of Massachusetts, ever supposed that Quinnipiack was within "the limits of that colony's patent." So far were the colonists at New Haven from acknowledging the authority of Massachusetts, that they maintained an entirely independent government from the first planting of their colony till a tardy acknowl edgment of Charles II, after his restoration. We are told, that "the colonists received the land from Momanguin, sachem of the country, in consideration of being protected by the English from hostile Indians." This consideration is, indeed, mentioned in the deed conveying the territory of Quinnipiack to the colonists; but what the Indians probably considered as a substantial part of the compensation, consisted of articles of clothing, and various utensils to be used for domestic purPoses, or in agriculture. The name of the sachem was not Momanguin, but Momauguin, or Momaugin.

The historian says, that "Davenport promised to protect him [the sachem] and his tribe, and obtained a sufficient quantity of land to plant, on the east side of the harbor." The fact is, that the colonists covenanted, that "if at any time hereafter, they [the Indians] be affrighted in their dwellings assigned by the English unto them as before, they may repair to the English plantation for shelter; and that the English will there, in a just cause, endeavor to defend them from wrong. But in any quarrel or wars which they shall undertake, or have with other Indians upon any occasion whatever, they will manage their affairs by themselves, without expecting any aid from the English.' This was all the protection promised. It was the Indians, not the English, who

were to have land to plant "on the east side of the harbor." The land acquired by the English was west of the river Quinnipiack. We are told, that the colonists "kept their first Sabbath under a large spreading oak, April 18th." April 18th, 1638, was Wednesday. There is in Trumbull, in the account of this fact, a typographical error. It should be April 15th.

It is further stated, that "the two colonies [Connecticut and New Ha ven] remained distinct until 1661, when they were united under the new charter." The charter was not granted till April, 1662, and the union took place in 1665. Judging from this specimen of the history, we should infer, that in the compo. sition of it, the proper authorities had been but rarely and very imperfectly consulted.

A Sermon delivered before the Pastoral Association of Massachusetts, in Park street Church, Boston, May 30th, 1843. By MARK HOPKINS, D. D., President of Williams College. Published by request of the Association. Boston, Tappan & Dennet, 1843.

THE terms of high commendation in which this discourse was spoken of by those who heard it, and by the press, was not an extravagant tribute to the taste, wisdom, and piety which beam out on every page. After explaining with much simplicity and truthfulness the meaning of his text-God is a Spirit; and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth-Dr. Hopkins proceeds to exhibit the characteristics of acceptable worship, and the best means of promoting it. To worship God acceptably, we must worship him in spirit, and in truth. To worship him in spirit, we must worship him as a Spirit-we must worship him as a holy God-and we must worship him with the spirit. To worship him in truth, we must

worship him with sincerity. Ac ceptable worship not only includes these distinguishing views and affec tions, but excludes "every species of superstition," as that "of place, of forms, of priestly intervention, and of the substitution of offerings, and bodily sufferings for moral qualities." "The simple words of the text, received by the church, would sweep away at once every form and vestige of superstition, and all hypocrisy. pocrisy. Superstition and hypocrisy-these have always been the great sources of corruption to the church." Such being the characteristics of spiritual worship, how may it be best promoted?"The answer to this question," says Dr. Hopkins, "must be drawn either from the Bible, or from the constitution of man. But these conspire in teaching us that the worship of God in spirit and in truth, can be promoted only by presenting to the mind the character of God, as a spiritual and holy being, as a Father, a Redeemer, and Sanctifier, in such affecting lights as to call forth suitable emotions, and a right course of moral action toward him. All truly religious emotion must be called forth in view of some manifestation of the character of God, and it is only as that is presented either directly or indirectly, that any thing can be done to improve the religious character, or to promote acceptable worship." "But here the question arises, are we required by the Bible, or by the nature of man, to address these faculties alone? May not other faculties and principles of our nature be cultivated in connection with them, not merely incidentally, as many of them must be, but systematically?" May not religion be promoted "by addressing the senses and the imagination by means of forms and ceremonies; or secondly, by an appeal to the imagination, and to taste, through the fine arts; or thirdly, by an appeal to the principle of association; or fourthly, to

the social principle and the affections?" How Dr. Hopkins treats these inquiries may be seen from the following specimen: "We next inquire whether we may not take advantage of the principle of association to aid devotion, and especially of that well-known fact, that our ideas of things invisible, become more vivid and affecting, when they are associated with sensible objects. Has not our Savior himself, taken advantage of this principle in instituting the sacraments? and may we not follow his example and carry out the same principle in other things? Will not a cross, erected or represented in the church, remind us of our Savior's sufferings? Will not consecrated water at the door, remind us of our need of purification? Will not incense ascending, give us an affecting sense of the efficacy of prayer? Will not a relic of some ancient saint, remind us of his virtues, and lead us to imitate them? May we not use fully set apart, as they did under the old dispensation, a particular form of vestment in which the ministers of religion shall officiate, and which shall be associated in the minds of the people only with the solemn services of religion? May we not in these and many more ways, employ this principle to aid true devotion? It is not surprising that this should have been attempted. Probably it has been done in most instances from good motives, but the result has shown that the foolishness of God is wiser than men.' might have seemed to the wisdom of man that to have the body of their great prophet buried among them, and a monument erected over it, would remind the ancient Isralites of their deliverance from Egypt, and of the law he gave. But God buried him where no man knoweth of his sepulchre till this day. He left no relic or vestige of him to be a source of superstition in other days. This shows his estimate of the principle,

It

and the results where this has been attempted, are such as to make us feel, that though it may be sometimes innocent, it is always dangerous, and to lead us to observe only those forms which the Savior instituted as necessary to the visibility of his church. When we see at this day, a whole city moved because a bone of a good man who died some 1400 years ago, is, or is supposed to be found; and when we see the dignitaries of a church performing over it ceremonies, and carrying it in pompous procession; and when we see the same people burning Bibles, and persecuting those who would enlighten the people, we feel that we can not be too careful how we take the first step towards a degeneracy, and a perversion of the gospel so awful. The question is, not whether the principle of association shall operate in connection with religion. It will, and must do so in connection with the visibility of the church in any form, and around that church associations the most tender, and hallowed, and enduring, will cluster. But it is, whether we are to adopt the principle and act upon it as a system. No doubt it gives the church a strong hold upon the people. the people. It enables her to fix a stamp early and firmly on the minds of the young; but that stamp is the mark of the beast, and not the seal of the spirit. It is one great instrument by which the systems of heathen superstition are sustained and riveted. It always has led to superstition, and it always will.” This discourse can not have too wide a circulation-it ought to have the widest. It is emphatically a "word in season"-an able and well-timed argument in favor of spiritual Christianity.

Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petræa, and the Holy Land. By REV. Stephen Olin, D. D., President of the Wesleyan University.With twelve illustrations on steel.

In two volumes. Published by Harper & Brothers, 82 Cliff st., New York, 1843.

DR. OLIN, traveled for his health. Leaving home in the spring of 1837, he spent his first year abroad in Paris, then six or eight months in London, then after a journey through Belgium and France, three months in Rome. The decease of his wife soon after at Naples, determined him to visit the East, "chiefly with the hope of finding in the vicissitudes of travel, and in communing with scenes consecrated by great events, some relief from this overwhelming calamity." He embarked at Trieste, for Athens, in November, 1839, visited Syra, then Alexandria, Cairo, Thebes, Memphis, and other ancient cities of Egypt. From Cairo he proceeded to Petra, by the way of Suez, Sinai, Akabah, at the head of the gulf of the same name, and thence to the Holy Land. After visiting almost every locality, made interesting by the events of sacred history, he embarked at Beyroot for home, taking Smyrna, Constantinople, and Vienna, in his way, and proceeding through France and England to this country. Dr. Olin seemed to be fully conscious of the difficulty of contributing any thing new to the general stock of information respecting the East, which is to be found in the writings of a long succession of travelers. He therefore wrote not for the benefit of oriental scholars, but as he informs us in his preface, for "a sphere of usefulness in a circulation more strictly popular." He modestly remarks, that "peculiarities of manner, or in his relations to society, will sometimes enable a writer, otherwise of no high pretensions, to cross the circumference of the fashionable literary circle, and address a new audience." This is certainly a sufficient apology if any was required in his case, for giving to the public a new work of travels in

these countries. Such are "his relations to society" that his book will find thousands of readers, who will derive their first knowledge of many of the antiquities and customs of the East from this source; and by creating a taste for reading enlarge the "literary circle." But no such apology was needed. The book contains things new and valuable, enough to entitle it to a respectable place among the contributions to ori ental literature. Although a journal of travels along well-known routes, must necessarily consist chiefly of familiar descriptions, yet to these Dr. Olin has added his own observations, characterized in general by strong sense and discrimination, and embodying every thing of much interest to intelligent readers.

Congregational Order. The Ancient Platforms of the Congregational Churches of New England; with a Digest of Rules and Usages in Connecticut, and an Appendix, containing Notices of Congregational Bodies in other States. Published by Edwin Hunt, Hartford.

THIS work comes from the General Association of Congregational Ministers in Connecticut. It embraces the Cambridge and Saybrook Platforms, with a Digest of Rules and Usages in Connecticut, and the Constitutions, Rules, and By-Laws of the principal Congregational bodies in other States of the Union. The new parts of the work were written by a committee appointed for the purpose by the General As sociation-the Digest of Rules and Usages, by Leonard Bacon, D. D.

the Historical account of the ori gin and progress of the ecclesiasti cal system of the Congregationalists of Connecticut, by D. D. Field, D. D.-and the account of the degree in which their ecclesiastical order is now conformed to the principles of the Saybrook Platform, by the Rev.