their escape, which he fortunately afforded them the means of accomplishing, by assisting them over a wall eight feet high into an adjoining garden, in the house belonging to which they were concealed, until the departure of the Priests drew the greater portion of the mob from the scene of action. When the rioters reached the platform, and found that their intended victims had escaped, no descrip: tion can give an adequate idea of their fury. Father O'Connell mounted the pulpit, and having declared the Bible to be a most per: nicious book, gave God thanks for the triumph obtained by him and his party. Thanks were voted to Col. Rochfort by acclamation.' pp. 1–3. : The proceedings at Carrick on Shannon were unattended with any disturbance, but it had been deemed necessary to have a party of the police in readiness, owing to the disgraceful outrage which had previously taken place at Loughrea on Oct, 19. Two ways of proceeding, it seems to us, now present them selves: the one is, to attack Popery by all the means which education, the press, the pulpit, and the Bible Society afford us, calling in the civil police, only when necessary to prevent or suppress tumults excited by the Priests; the other is, to prohibit all public discussions, discountenance the Bible Society, hang some half dozen priests and orators, and trust to a standing army for the peace and security of His Majesty's Irish dominions,—in other words, to leave Popery alone, and content ourselves with keeping down the Papists. The alarmists will be for the latter, as the more summary and established method; and the Church and State men, whose abhorrence of the Bible Society is to the full as strong and sensitive as their hatred of Popery, will be glad of any pretext to put an extinguisher on the proceedings of the Bible men in Ireland. The Chancellor in this country, and Sir Harcourt Lees in the Sister Island, will be the great patrons of this line of policy. "The more manly, humane, and Christian method might,' nevertheless, prove eventually the safest. It is that which we are happy to see advocated in the publications before us. It is fortunate,' it is remarked, · for the Protestants of Ireland, and for the interests of the country at large, that this recent proof of the real disposition of the Catholic Priesthood has thus been given. Nothing will satisfy them but the revenues and stations which their predecessors forfeited by their unrelenting, persécutions. As they inherit the spirit of their ancestors, and distinctly tell us that the Scriptures shall not be circulated, let us also have the spirit of the Reformers, and resolve that this light shall blaze amid the darkness which it must at last disperse. And now we distinctly know that the Popish Priests only seek for power that they may employ it against our principles and our persons, our lives and our fortunes, let it be our endeavour to arm the whole country against them, -not by political or military associations, but by the diffusion of knowledge. The Bible conquered Popery at the Reformation—the progress of the Reformation was the downfal of Priestcraft, and the emancipation of the People. Let every Protestant in the Sister Country understand his Bible, imbibe its principles, and evince in his own conduct its purity, justice, and bene. volence; with this, let him also make himself thoroughly acquainted with the doctrines of Popery, as they are the corruptions of the true religion ;-let him, at the same time, be zealous in propagating the unadulterated Gospel of the Saviour and the worst evil of his country will at length vanish before him. When Popery dies in Ire. land, liberty, wealth, prosperity, and happiness will revive. the MORAL curse, and you at once achieve the civil freedom of your country.' p. iv. We have not thought it necessary to give any extracts from the admirable speeches of the Protestant Clergymen who nobly stood forward on these occasions, because we hope that every one of our readers will put himself in possession of these most interesting publications. Art. VI. Horæ Romane : or an Attempt to elucidate St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, by an original Translation, explanatory pp. 88. Price 3s. London, 1823. WRITERS who propose to explain or to remove the diffi culties of an author, seldom satisfy themselves with the simple statement of them: they not only enumerate, but they also exaggerate them. Hence the prolixity of many commentators, and the perplexity which the readers of their expositions so often find in them. Wishing to succeed where others have failed, they are not willing that their skill and labour should be lightly estimated, and are therefore careful to describe the impediments which may have checked their progress in at. tempting to clear the text of their author, and delayed them in proceeding with their illustrations of its meaning. Translators and Expositors of the Bible partake of this feeling in common with other literary labourers. The Epistles of the Apostle Paul, particularly the Epistle to the Romans, have furnished Commentators with the occasion of displaying much of this kind of acumen, and of exercising their critical faculties in explication of the difficulties which they have exposed. The peculiarities of the Apostle as a writer, the involutions of his style, the disposition of bis arguments, the abruptness of his transitions, and other causes of obscurity, have been largely insisted upon, as rendering the study of his writings a work of labour. * Ne quid nimis would not, however, be an inappropriate motto for an Expositor ; and we have often thought, that if, instead of prolix commentaries on the Scriptures, a well executed translation were made use of, as the means of understanding them, many of the difficulties which perplex a reader of the Bible, would vanish, and his acquaintance with its import would be more correct and more extensive. Many of our readers, we apprehend, will be of this opinion after perusing the work before us, which has afforded us very great pleasure, and has impressed us so strongly in favour of the Author, that we should be much gratified in receiving from his pen, other portions of the epistolary writings of the New Testament similarly treated. While possessing merit of a high order, it is entirely free from display. The simplicity of the Author's plan, and the extremely judicious manner in which he has executed it, entitle him, indeed, to a measure of our praise which we have not often an occasion of awarding. The following paragraphs from the Author's preface will sufficiently explain his design. • The Writer of the present work has endeavoured, by a serious collation of the different parts of the Epistle, and an unbiassed reference to the writings of the most eminent commentators, to ascertain the state of the persons to whom the Epistle was originally addressed, and the main design of the Apostle in composing it. Having, as he trusts, in some measure, ascertained these preliminary circumstances, he has next endeavoured, in his translation, to present to his readers, a fair, unambiguous, and accurate representation of its inspired Author. When this could be done by a literal version, it has always been more agreeable to his feelings; but where the idiom of the two languages, or the peculiar mode of the Apostle's expression, if literally rendered, would give an indistinct meaning, or an uncouth phraseology, he has adopted a somewhat paraphrastic translation; but he is not conscious of ever deviating from the sense of the Apostle's argument. Explanatory words are occasionally introduced, which are distinguished from the text by being enclosed in brackets. • In order to convey to the reader a general idea of the Apostle's design and mode of argument, a brief analysis of the Epistle is prefixed to the work; and for the same purpose, the whole Epistle is divided into parts, and these again into sections, at the head of which such portions of the analysis are placed, as are severally contained in them. The notes which are annexed, it is hoped, will be found to cast considerable light upon the Epistle. Their number is not great ; as it was not so much the intention of the Writer to make practical observations and improvements on the various parts of this Epistle, as to give such illustrations and information as might present to the reader a distinct and forcible view of the object and feelings of the great Apostle.' As a specimen of the Translation and Notes, we shall give the section entitled, 'CAVILS OF THE JEWS ANSWERED. III. “What then [it may be enquired] is the pre-eminence of the Jew? Or what is the advantage of circumcision?" 1-Much in every respect but principally, indeed, that they have been intrusted with the oracles of God. 2 " "But what if some of them have been unfaithful? Shall their unfaithfulness render God unfaithful [to his covenant with Abraham]?" 3-By no means: rather let God be acknowledged to be true, though every man be false; as it is written, Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, And done this evil in thy sight;" "So that Thou wouldst be just in passing sentence, And clearly right in executing judgment." 4-Psa. li. 4. "But if our unrighteousness render the righteousness of God more illustrious, what shall we say?"-I speak as if I were discussing a matter between man and man.-" Is God unrighteous in inflicting punishment?" 5-By no means: otherwise how shall God judge the world! 6 "But if the veracity of God is rendered abundantly more glorious Chap. III-Verse 1.-What then is the pre-eminence of the Jew?] The Apostle having shewn that the Jews were more wicked than the Gentiles, and that consequently their boasted profession of relationship to God was no evidence of their acceptance with Him, introduces a sort of dialogue between himself and a Jew, in which the objections they might make to what he had advanced are fully stated and satisfactorily answered. Verse 2.-The oracles of God] This expression is important, as being the apostle's testimony to the inspiration of the Old Testament. Verse 3, 4.—But what if some of them have been unfaithful] Tɩ yzp, when introduced in a dialogue after the Socratic manner, intimates that a new query or objection is advanced. The objector here refers to the promise which God had made to Abraham, that He would be a God to him and to his seed after him, and give them the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession; (Gen. xvii. 7, 8.) and hence intimates that if, from any cause whatever, God should fail to fulfil this engagement, He would Himself be chargeable with unfaithfulness. To this the apostle replies, that it was blasphemy to attribute unfaithfulness to God; and then shews, by a most appropriate quotation from the penitent Psalmist, that God's promises to the Jews at large are to be considered as conditional, and therefore might justly be retracted on account of their infidelity and wickedness, even as David acknowledged they might have been in his own in consequence of my unfaithfulness, why am I notwithstanding arraigned as a sinner?” 7 –And why do you not add, what we are slanderously reported [to practise], and what some affirm we maintain, “ that we may do evil that good may come?" The condemna. tion of such is just : 8 [their horrible folly needs no refutation, or God's veracity any argument in its favour.]' The comment on the former part of the Thirteenth Chapter, is so excellent, that we shall lay it before our readers in proof of the sound judgement which the Author manifests as an Expositor. Chapter XIII ... Verse 1, 2.—Let every soul be in subjection to the powers in authority] The Jews, on the plea of their being the peculiar people of God, and the special subjects of his kingdom, submitted with extreme reluctance to heathen rulers. And even many believing Gentiles, from the consideration of the Gospel's having freed them from the law of Moses, and also afforded them a sufficient rule of conduct, were hastily led to infer that they were under no obligation to revder obedience to idolatrous governments, or to pay taxes in support of them. Nothing therefore could be more appropriate than for the apostle to represent civil government in general as a Divine institution, graciously designed for the protection and welfare of mankind; and hence to inculcate upon Christians the duty of their yielding reverence and obedience, in all lawful things, to those who were invested with authority. • Verse 3—7.-For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to such as are evil.] Nothing can exceed the address of the apostle in handling the delicate topic of the duty of rulers to their people. Had he treated this subject in a direct manner, disgust, if not violent opposition, would have been the probable result; whereas by unfolding the foundation, nature, and end, of civil authority, in connection with the responsibility of the magistrate, he has, while professedly pleading his cause, expressed himself in so forcible and unexceptionable a inanner, that even Nero himself, had this epistle fallen into his hands, could not fail of seeing his duty clearly stated, without finding any thing servile on the one hand, or offensive on the other. • It may not be irrelevant to observe that the apostle speaks of civil government in general, and not of any particular modification of it, whether monarchical, aristocratical, democratical, or mixed, as of Divine appointment; and that while he condemns in the strongest terms that restless spirit which engenders discord, and propagates Verse 8.-That we may do evil that good may come] This impious sentiment, which had been unjustly attributed to the apostles, St. Paul does not condescend to refute. He merely declares that the condemnation of all who maintained it was evidently deserved, and thereby plainly points out that things which are in theniselves evil are never to be done on the pretence of promoting what is good.' |