here that shall be orphaned by your going, and many waiting hearts there that shall be gladdened by your coming. Charles H. Parkhurst. PILGRIMAGE. A SILENT monk, in cloister gray, They march on, singing, undismayed, They hold their course right towards the sea, And forth it flies so merrily, The monk stands at his window-sill, "I am a pilgrim like ye still, Though here at home I stay. "Life's journey on through seas of rage And burning wastes of sand, Is verily a pilgrimage Unto the promised land." From the German of Leitner. VIA VITE. I HAD a message from the Lord : He set me in a shady road, That bloomed with beauty and with grace. I wandered on, from flower to flower; C. H. How sweetly passed each sunny hour! Till almost I forgot that I Was but a traveler on the road; Then colder grew the azure sky; The night came down, the flowers were gone. "Thou foolish child, press on, press on!" C. H. THE DOCTRINE OF SACRED SCRIPTURE.1 THE two large volumes before us are themselves an illustration of an incidental observation made by the author. When speaking of the modifications of the post-Reformation theory which have been brought about by critical study of the Bible, he remarks that "the practical uses of the Bible, and the dissemination of its facts and truths, have been nearly in the inverse ratio of the currency given to the former theological conception." As the theory of the perfect infallibility and equal authority of all parts of the Bible has been slowly yielding its untenable ground, the Bible itself has been more widely read, more intelligently studied, more spiritually applied to Christian life, more confidently taught and preached to all nations. Not only are translations and commentaries multiplied for popular use, but also books concerning the Bible are pouring from the press: books on the canon, books on the text, books on the authorship, books on the science, on the history, on the miracles, on the prophecies of the Bible; extended treatises on Inspiration, on the characteristics of Revelation, on the higher criticism, and even on the methods of studying the Bible. Here is a book of fifteen hundred pages entitled "The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture," and discussing the claims and facts of the Bible, in order to frame a theory of its origin. It has been known for 1 The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture. A critical, historical, and dogmatic inquiry into the origin and nature of the Old and New Testaments. By GEORGE T. LADD, D. D., Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy in Yale College. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1883. Vol. I. pp. xxii. and 761. Vol. II. pp. xiii. and 765. considerable time that Professor Ladd was preparing such a book; its publication has been awaited with much interest, and it has been read, or will be read, by nearly all critical students of the Bible. That there is a demand for so exhaustive a treatment of such a theme justifies the remark which has been quoted. The study of sacred Scripture from every point of view goes quietly on. Exact knowledge accumulates, and existing theories are modified correspondingly. In some respects investigation abates, in some respects exalts, current opinions, but ever carries us to a more intimate knowledge of the facts upon which consistent theories must be built. Such a book as Professor Ladd's- and this gives .it large part of its value- brings discussions and conclusions down to date, and marks the point already reached in the progress of enlightened research. Its significance is that enough has already been gained by critical and historical studies to warrant the attempt to construct or to reconstruct the doctrine of the inspiration, authority, and infallibility of sacred Scripture. And it is safe to predict that the main lines of conclusion followed by the author and by those scholars who substantially agree with him will not be widely departed from, but that future modifications will be almost exclusively of details, proportions, and emphasis. The first impression received on glancing over these numerous pages is of patient research and exhaustive learning, - an impres sion which is confirmed by the actual reading. There is scarcely a page but has its foot-note of reference to English, German, French, Greek, Latin, or Hebrew sources of information. The results of German scholarship and the conclusions of German dogmatics, both conservative and radical, the author has well in hand. The criticism may perhaps be fairly made that he is somewhat too generous in his quotation and citation, and that the literary method of his book follows too much the German in accumulating vast masses of materials from every quarter, and in saying all that can possibly be said on all branches of the subject. To this criticism the author would doubtless reply that if his readers only knew how many quotations have been omitted which he intended to make, and how much material has been laid aside which it was in his heart to use, they would pronounce these one and a half thousand pages a marvel of condensation. Notwithstanding, it may justly be said that the treatment borders on diffuseness, and that much would have been gained both for the circulation of the book and for the weight of its opinions by compactness and incisiveness. The approach is at times so gradual, there are so many preliminary state ments, there are so many promises of what is coming later (all of which are faithfully fulfilled), that one becomes somewhat impatient, and either incontinently skips a page or two, or wishes the author had adopted for his literary work the philosophy of oratory laid down by Mark Antony, "I only speak right on." It is so necessary, however, in such a discussion to prevent all misunderstanding, even that of supposing that a question or objection has been overlooked, although it is to be discussed later, that some diffuseness and repetition may be pardoned. Besides this criticism, and the observation that some sentences are circuitous and labored expression of the thought, there is little unfavorable comment to be made. Interest centres in the conclusions which the author claims to have established. It may be said, then, with almost unqualified emphasis, that the treatment of the questions under discussion is judicial throughout. There is no special pleading. When facts are plainly in conflict with received opinion, their bearing is honestly indicated; and when they are not in conflict, even if some insist that they are, the integrity of the accepted view is maintained. He is careful to remain well within the lines of moderation, and not to claim more, but rather to claim less, than might be claimed by insistent pressing of facts. The perspective is well preserved, so that recent discoveries and inferences which from their present interest are close before the eye are not allowed to be magnified into undue importance. The tone of the writer is conservative. The caution which is characteristic of the book adds all the more weight to conclusions which are deliberately accepted. Above all, while there must, in the nature of the case, be much destructive criticism, the spirit of the book is thoroughly evangelical. The views presented concerning the supernatural in revelation, concerning miracles, and concerning the Person of Christ, are all that could be desired by the most cautious of Christian believers. The method adopted is natural and effective. The first part, covering about two hundred pages, treats of the claims the Bible makes for itself. What did the historians, law-givers, prophets, and apostles claim concerning the inspiration and authority of their writings? What does the New Testament imply concerning the Old? What is the impression made by Christ's quotation, application, and qualification of the Old Testament? How did He distinguish the essential from the temporary in the Hebrew Scriptures? What promises did He make his disciples concerning the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their utterances and writings? The second part, including four hundred and fifty pages, deals with the facts of the Bible. It is a critical study of the phenomena of the Bible, such as its statements concerning creation and the laws of physical nature, its historical records, its account of miracles, its predictions and their fulfillment, the imperfection of some of its ethical contents, the authorship of the several books, the language and style of the writers, the formation of the canon of Scripture, and the variations of the text. The third part, occupying two hundred pages, is an historical sketch of the development of the doctrine of sacred Scripture, with special attention to the period succeeding the Reformation, as furnishing the only distinct theory . of the origin and infallibility of all parts of the Bible which has ever been held. The fourth part, embracing the remaining five hundred pages, is an induction from the facts thus studied, the several chapters, one after another, carefully tracing the characteristics of revelation as historical, gradual, progressive, original, and organic, in a complete unity; reverently inquiring concerning the agency of the Holy Spirit in the formation of Scripture; minutely analyzing the mental and spiritual activity of the writers of the Bible in receiving and recording the truths revealed by the Spirit; cautiously combining glimpses of the visions, dreams, ecstasies, visits of angels alluded to in the Old Testament with the calmer moods of mental quickening implied in the New Testament to frame a consistent theory of inspiration in its many grades and forms; discriminating broadly between the Word of God and the writings in which that Word is contained; clearly recognizing the mutual dependence of the Bible and the Church, while subordinating the Christian consciousness of the ages to the Word of God; carefully defining the authority of the Bible as residing in the ethico-religious sphere, and always gaining a response from a living faith; and at the end dwelling with some glow of fervor on the spiritual uses of the Bible for the individual and for society. Is there, now, any concise and comprehensive statement of the author's conclusion? His theory is, and is repeatedly styled, Christo-centric. The value and the authority of the several parts are determined by their relation to the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. The Word of God, as distinguished from the sacred writings, is all that pertains nearly or remotely to the Person and work of Christ. All that was preparative in the history of Israel and of the world to the kingdom of redemption; all movements, however insignificant in themselves, which converge towards Christ; all the record of the sacred life, the precepts, the deeds, the |