wise to govern, rich to recompense. He says, 'thy King,' in that He created thee; thine, in that He quickens thee; thine, in that He defends thee from the devil; thine, in that He has redeemed thee from death; thine, in that He has loved thee unto death; thine, in that He will give thee an everlasting kingdom, if, finally, thou wilt but be thankful. Therefore He saith, Behold, thy King cometh, or rideth up, to thee, 'righteous,' in that He will give to each according to his desert; a Saviour,' for He came to save, as He said Himself: 'So God loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life; for God sent not His son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.'

"Lo! now thou hast His testimony, that He was sent by the Father into this world, not to judge the world, but to save the world, that is, the people chosen for salvation out of the world; for these He will not sentence to everlasting destruction. Therefore saith the prophet to the Holy Church, 'Behold, thy King cometh to thee, righteous and a Saviour;' and 'He is poor,' that He may enrich thee with that poverty, as St. Paul saith: Christ was made poor for our sakes, that we, through His poverty, might become rich,' (2 Cor. viii. 9,) that is to s3y, now in virtues and hereafter in heavenly bliss; for this was the reason why He came poor, riding on a young ass, as the Gospel testifies; a thing which I do not intend to explain now; for it seems to me better to keep it for Palm Sunday, for at that time it happened, and not to prolong my discourse now.

"Therefore, dearly beloved, let this suffice, and prepare yourselves for His second and third visits, by lamenting your sins, making progress in virtues, fulfilling penitence, and heartily longing for His

visits."

We trust that the above will contribute in some measure towards drawing the attention of the countrymen of Wycliffe, the "Master of deep thoughts," (Mistr hlubokych smyslów,) to the poor and struggling nation that formerly produced his disciple Huss, and successfully defended scriptural truth and Christ's ordinance against the whole power of the Germano-Roman empire, wielded by the wearer of the triple crown in the city upon seven hills.

HURST'S "HISTORY OF RATIONALISM."

CORRUPTIONS of religious thought, like diseases of the body, assume new forms and complications in the course of time. In consequence, it becomes necessary to subject them to careful analysis; to inquire into their origin, trace their history, and carefully mark their effects. The methods which scientific men adopt in dealing with disease, have been employed by orthodox Christians in relation to modern unbelief. Dr. Hurst has recently published a "History of

Rationalism," of which we give the full title at the foot of this page.* His qualifications for the work he has accomplished, seem to be of no common order. A scholar, a sound Protestant, and for years a resident in Germany, he appears to have been well prepared for his task. It has not been his chief aim to discuss what may be called the philosophy of Rationalism,- -as that had been done by other writers,-but to give a clear and comprehensive statement of the rise, progress, and present state of the Rationalistic movement, and of the effect it has produced on Protestant theology; and in this he has been very successful. Our readers will thank us for calling attention to a work of such sterling worth from the pen of a Methodist writer.

The following paper, adapted to the neat English edition of Dr. Hurst's History, published by Trübner and Co., was written by the Rev. Dr. M'Clintock for the New York "Methodist Quarterly Review."

The aim of this work is indicated by its twofold title. It is not simply a history of Rationalism, but also a survey of the state of Protestant theology.

Rationalism, properly and historically, is the name of a movement in German theology in the eighteenth century. The essential principle in this movement was, that the human mind is the standard and measure of truth in religion, as in other things. It did not, in the beginning, deny Revelation, but held that Revelation must not only address itself to reason, but must submit to be judged by reason. Its professed aim, in fact, was to reconcile Revelation and science. Starting with the apparently harmless maxim that the Bible must be studied and interpreted on "rational " principles, it began its career by what seemed to be only a peculiar method of interpretation, namely, that of proceeding historically and not dogmatically in the exegesis of Scripture. The movement of which we have spoken lay, it will be observed, entirely within the domain of theology, or rather of theologians. Men who absolutely rejected Christianity were not called Rationalists, but infidels, deists, or atheists. The name soon came to be a term of reproach; and that the more rapidly, as the progress of the new school of "theologians" toward downright infidelity became more and more obvious.

It is clear that the principle of Rationalism tends naturally to the rejection of Christianity as an authoritative system of faith and morals. Yet to class all infidels as Rationalists, without discrimination, leads not only to historical confusion, but also to confusion of thought and argument. Mansel defines Rationalism as "that system whose final test of truth is placed in the direct assent of the human consciousness, whether in the form of logical deduction, or moral judgment, or religious intuition, by whatever previous process those faculties may have been raised to their assumed dignity as arbitrators."+

* "History of Rationalism: embracing a Survey of the present State of Protestant Theology. With an Appendix of Literature. By John F. Hurst, D.D." London: Trübner and Co. 1867.

"Limits of Religious Thought," Lecture i,

Speaking generally, then, the Rationalist in theology is one who, professing to adhere to Christianity, yet receives the Christian Revelation only so far as it agrees with his own notions.

Historically, the development of this spirit, since its first decided manifestation in the eighteenth century, may be summed up as follows:-The first declared aim of Rationalists was to interpret the Bible, as has been said, on rational principles; and by this they really meant to find nothing in the Scriptures beyond the scope of human reason. Not supposing the sacred writers to be impostors, nor denying the Sacred Record to be a legitimate source of religious instruction, they sought to free it of everything supernatural. Gradually they came to regard it, not as a direct revelation from God, but as a product of the human mind under the general guidance of Divine Providence, but in no miraculous or supernatural way. The miracles of Scripture, therefore, had to be explained away; and this was done in any mode that the ingenuity or the philosophy of the expositor might suggest. But even the most elastic exegesis would not explain every case; some parts of the narrative were stubbornly unyielding. For men who had gone so far, it was easy to go further; the text itself was attacked; this passage was held to be doubtful; that was corrupt; a third was spurious. Still the Rationalists agreed with the orthodox Supernatu. ralists in admitting that there was at the bottom a basis of substantial truth in the records. The admission was a fatal one. It was soon shown that the vaunted "criticism" of the Rationalists was not only rash, but arbitrary and absurd; that the chief objections, which it brought against the Gospel history, were as old as Porphyry, or, at least, as the English Deists, and had been refuted again and again; that the errors of interpretation into which the older expositors had fallen, might be avoided without touching the truth and inspiration of the Evangelists; and, in a word, that there could be no medium between open infidelity, and the admission of a supernatural revelation. It was at this point that Strauss brought out his mythical theory. His book gave the coup de grâce to Rationalism, properly so called, by its masterly exposure of the paltriness of the so-called Rationalistic criticism, in its application to the text and interpretation of Scripture. Strauss drove the old Rationalism out of the field, to make way for his myths. Neander, Ebrard, and others, in turn exploded the myths; so that nothing remained but a return to honest, candid, and believing criticism.

The object of the work before us is to unfold at length the history which we have thus summarily sketched.

But Dr. Hurst's field has necessarily been widened still further by the bearings of Rationalism proper upon infidelity on the one hand, and upon orthodox theology on the other. The theological Rationalists are not the only class of writers and thinkers who claim to obey reason, and reason only, as the supreme guide. The principle of the absolute supremacy of the natural faculties of man is common to all classes of infidels. They all agree that truth, so far as man is capable of reaching truth, can be reached by unassisted reason. In this view, Semler and Renan, Bretschneider and Comte, though

wide as the poles asunder in many respects, may be classed together, in a general way, as Rationalists.

The double title which Dr. Hurst has prefixed to his work binds him to trace the origin of Rationalism; to follow its progress, marking its steps of development and degradation; and to show its results within the whole field of theology.

After an introduction, comprising various definitions and descriptions of Rationalism and of the various classes of Rationalists, he gives a rapid sketch of the controversial period in German theology, succeeding the Reformation, and of its unhappy effects in the decay of vital religion, as seen in the condition of the Protestant church at the Peace of Westphalia. This is followed by a brief history of the Pietistic reaction against dry and lifeless orthodoxy; of its spiritual and philanthropic triumphs, and of the causes of its decline.

In the fourth chapter the speculations of Descartes and Spinoza are described in their influence on the rise of modern European Rationalism. The next chapter treats of the philosophy of Wolff, and of the importation of English and French Deism into Germany. The spirit of the age found its representative man in Frederic II., so called, the Great, King of Prussia. The general ferment of the intellect of the age affected, of course, the spirit of theology and the life of the church. The period from 1750-1810 is fixed by our author as the limit of the range of the "destructive" theological Rationalism, beginning with Semler, and ending with Schleiermacher, who, in fact, though to a certain extent unconsciously, inaugurated the renovation of the theology of belief.

The next prominent figure in Dr. Hurst's picture is Lessing. While in charge of the great Ducal library at Wolfenbüttel, he published certain so-called "Fragments," professedly found in manuscript in the library, but now known to have been the work of Professor Reimarus, in which the principles of the English Deism were substantially taught. The effect of the work was electrical; the theology of the age, both Rationalistic and Christian, seemed to spring into new life in a moment. The " Fragments were answered from the press in journals and pamphlets; and the pulpits soon rang out from one end of Germany to the other. What Lessing did for the literature of the age, Kant accomplished for its philosophy. He wrought a change in that domain, which not only affected the current philosophy in Germany, but also gave tone and tendency to modern thought throughout Europe.

Dr. Hurst's sketches of Herder, Schiller, and Goethe, in his eighth chapter, though brief, are spirited, and bring out well the points at which their influence impressed theology. The Rationalistic scheme of popular education, first fully set in motion by Basedow, and under which a whole generation of German children were trained, is clearly set forth, both as to its methods and results.

But Rationalism, not content with its mastery of the philosophy, the literature, the theology, and the education of the age, undertook also to reform the worship of the common people, by corrupting the very hymns in which they praised God in the great congregation. Even the music

which had so long been the medium in which the eternal harmonies of Divine truth found utterance in sound was not spared; "and the period of coldest scepticism in Germany, like similar conditions in other lands, was the season when the congregations, the common people, and the children sang least, and most drowsily."

To Schleiermacher is unquestionably owing the revival of spiritual religion in Germany; and Dr. Hurst does not fail to render him due honour. He was born in 1768, and died in 1834. Speaking of his "Discourses on Religion," Dr. Hurst says, "His labour was inestimably valuable. Since his pen has been stopped by death, those very Discourses have led many a sceptic in from the cold storm which beat about him, and given him a place at the warm, cheerful fireside of Christian faith.” (P. 185.)

The twenty years that followed the publication of the Discourses included the fair opening of the great battle between Rationalism and Supernaturalism, in which, as in all the strifes in which Christianity has been arrayed against infidelity, from the time of Celsus until now, truth has vindicated her supremacy. In all this period Schleiermacher is a central figure in the strife, easily pre-eminent as philosopher, theologian, and preacher. In his theological opinions he was, indeed, in many respects far away from what we hold to be the true line of Christian belief; yet the man who, in the midst of infidels all his life, so strenuously upheld salvation through Christ as the real and essential centralpoint of the Gospel, could not but belong to the "fellowship of saints." While doing ample justice to the splendid gifts of Schleiermacher, and his great services to theology, Dr. Hurst does not fail to note his grave errors with regard to inspiration, the Trinity, and other doctrines: "It is astonishing that we find so much truth and error corcentrated in the same man." Nevertheless he cites with approval the words in which Neander announced the death of the Professor : "We have just lost a man from whom will be dated a new era in the history of theology." In brief, the supremacy of Rationalism, as a doctrine, was overthrown by the labours of Schleiermacher and his school. The crisis for that form of error arrived in 1835, with the publication of Strauss's "Life of Jesus." Two things of great moment for modern Christianity were accomplished by that book, and by the studies to which it gave rise. First, the old Exegetical Rationalism (such as that of Eichhorn and Paulus) was completely driven from the field of theology; and, secondly, the critical study of the Gospel history was entered upon anew, with better aims, better apparatus, and more complete results, than ever before.

Thus far we have accompanied our author only over the field of German Rationalism. We cannot dwell at length upon his excellent chapters on Holland, France, and England, although it is in these perhaps that the merits of the book are most conspicuous.

Dr. Hurst devotes several chapters to the history of Rationalism in England. He remarks that 'the present condition of Anglican theology is an illustration of intellectual repayment. Two centuries ago England gave Deism to Germany, and the latter country is now paying back the debt with compound interest." (P. 366.)