proceedeth out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb." But the measure in which these are taken in by the mind, will depend, in a great degree, on the soil in which it was planted; that is, on the stated habits of thinking, to which it is formed, whether they are deep, or shallow; whether they are like the sand, which is pervious to every influence, and shifting with every blast; or, like that fertile mould, which is neither too loose, nor too tenacious. Solicitous that your son should be "rooted and grounded" in all that is excellent, I would fain assist in fixing him, where every thing concurs to constitute the best and deepest soil, and where all experience proves that beautiful picture of the Psalmist to have been realised: " they that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in their age, and shall be fat, and well-liking.” In a word, to use another metaphor, I merely wish to take your son out of a confined space, where he must ever be encircled with high-built walls, obstructing every view, and compelling him, through very necessity, to pore on the objects immediately around him; I wish, I say, merely to bring him out of this imprisonment, to a rising ground, where he shall have some little command of prospect, and be able to judge, whither (if he moves) he may move with most safety, and where (if he rests) he may rest with fullest comfort.

Since I began to write this letter, I have met, in my friend Dr. Clarke's preface to his Comment, what I cannot but deem a corroboration of my ideas; I mean, in the testimony he gives to Calmet's commentary. "It is," says he, "without exception, the best comment ever nublished on the sacred

writings; and has left little to be desired for the completion of such a work." After lamenting its scarceness and high price, and adverting to the too general prohibition implied in its language, he adds, that it will ever form one of the most valuable parts of the private library, of every biblical student, and divine. You will believe I read this with some private and personal pleasure, when I state, that I myself was, at the moment, using Calmet, as my companion, in going through the Epistle to the Hebrews. Since I knew this work, I have considered it above all comments yet published; but the question is, what made Calmet so very superior? I dispute not any one quality Dr. C. has assigned to him; only, I am not sure I should have attributed deep piety. I, also, particularly admire, the candid use he makes of Protestant commentators; but my conviction is, that his profound acquaintance with the fathers (directed, as it was, by peculiarly solid judgment) laid the foundation of his excellence: I am persuaded, that, without this, he never would have merited Dr. Clarke's praise; and I especially think, that his deep piety" comes, directly, from that matchless store, of energetic thoughts, and glowing sentiments.

It is the peculiar property of the fathers, to give, every now and then, compendiums of religious truth, at once the briefest, and most luminous. When they reason, they seldom excel; when they. treat of external facts, they discover the prejudices incident to their respective circumstances; but, when they treat of piety itself, of the substantial life of the inner man, they rise above all, except the sacred writers. Let me just exemplify what

I now assert, by a sentence or two from St. Augustine.

"Two kinds of love, divide the whole world into two cities: the love of God, constitutes Jerusalem; the love of the world, forms Babylon: therefore, let every one interrogate himself, and ascertain, of which he is a citizen."

"As there are two faculties in the medical art, one, by which malady is healed, the other, by which health is preserved, so are there two gifts of grace; one, by which carnality is overcome, the other, by which the soul is preserved in virtue."

"Every command of God is light, to him that loves nor is that saying, My burthen is light,' to be otherwise understood, than as the effect of love, shed abroad in the heart, by the Holy Spirit. For what we do through love, we do freely; while, what one does through fear, he does as a slave. The mind never is upright, when it would rather that (if it could be) that which is right were not commanded."

"There are two lives; one of the body, the other of the soul. As the soul is the life of the body, so the life of the soul is God; and, as the body dies, when deserted by the soul, so the soul dies, when deserted by Christ."

"True wisdom is to be sought after, during the tranquillity of peace; since it is not easily discovered, during the hurricanes of affliction. We cannot expect to find places of shelter, in a storm, which we did not look for, while it was calm."

These, I own, are plain sayings; but they contain in them the solidest principles of practical religion; and, sure I am, it is only by adhering to these, and such as these, that the heart can be established ;

and that it is only by recurring to them, that one can escape the strife of tongues.

I shall speedily endeavour to write to Mr. Parken'; to whom I pray you to convey my sincerest respects.

Believe me,

Most truly yours,

ALEXANDER KNOX.

1 An eminent barrister; and editor of the Eclectic Review.

236

LETTER TO JOSEPH HENRY BUTTERWORTH, ESQ., ON

THE LINE OF STUDY TO BE PURSUED BY HIM.

MY DEAR JOSEPH,

June 28. 1810.

Ir is not, I assure you, through neglect, that your letter of the 29th of May has remained so long unanswered: it found me moving from Dublin; afterwards, a still farther movement occurred; and I have, also, been more than usually indisposed: these have been the causes of my silence. I now sit down to say something to you, though I cannot report myself perfectly well yet. I do not, however, very much regard my complaints, except as to present uneasiness they are nervous; arising, I believe, from the unusual sickness of the season. More persons, within the circle of my acquaintance, have died, than I have recollection of, within the same space of time.

I was obliged to you for your letter; and cordially agree with you in what you say about our worthy friend, Mr. S— I assure you, I consider him an invaluable man. I regret, only, that any thing should occur to sadden such a mind; or to weaken the tenour of so interesting a life. But Divine Providence cannot err; and, therefore, what happens unavoidably, will, assuredly, prove beneficial in the issue, if we ourselves be not blameably deficient.

It would give me sincere pleasure, to communicate any thought of mine, that could be serviceable to you; but there is great difficulty in marking out a plan of reading. There are few books, especially in our language, the whole of which deserves to be read.