13. TOWNSEND'S BIBLE. The Old Testament, arranged in Historical and Chronological Order, (on the basis of Lightfoot's Chronicle) in such a manner that the Books, Chapters, Psalms, Prophesics, etc., etc., may be read in one Connected History, in the words of the Authorized Translation. With Notes and copious Indexes. By the REV. GEORGE TOWNSEND, M. A., Prebendary of Durham, and Vicar of Northallerton. Revised, Punctuated, divided into Paragraphs and Parallelisms, Italic words re-examined, a choice and copious Selection of References given, etc. By the REV. T. W. Corr, D. D., late President of Transylvania University. The New Testament, arranged in Historical and Chronological Order; with copious Notes on the Principal Subjects in Theology; the Gospels on the basis of the Harmonies of Lightfoot, Doddridge, Pilkington, Newcome, Michalis; the Account of the Resurrection, on the authorities of West, Townson, and Cranfield; the Epistles are inserted in their places, and divided according to the Apostles' Arguments. By the REV. GEORGE TOWNSEND, M. A. The whole Revised, divided into Paragraphs, Punctuated according to the best critical texts, the Italic words re-examined, Passages and Words of doubtful authority marked, a Choice and Copious Selection of Parallel Passages given, etc. By the REV. T. W. Corr, D. D. Boston: Perkins & Marvin. Philadelphia : Henry Perkins. 1837, 1838. Two Volumes, Royal Octavo. pp. 1212. 927.

THE enterprising publishers deserve great credit for bringing out these volumes. The work is one of great importance in itself; and the style in which it is published is an honor to the American press. The title, (which we have given in full,) is a pretty complete description of the nature and plan of the work, and indicates its peculiar advantages. Of the pre-eminent merit of Townsend's edition of the Bible, it is needless at this day to say any thing; but of the labors of Dr. Coit upon the American edition, it is but bare justice to say, that they have incalculably enhanced the value of the work. Of these labors, the title gives a general but not complete description: their variety, amount, and importance to a thorough acquaintance with the meaning, force, and spirit of the Scriptures, can only be adequately judged from a minute and careful study of the work itself. We attach the greatest value to the services which, as we believe, Dr. Coit has rendered to the cause of Biblical knowledge and of religion, in breaking up the old arbitrary division of the Scriptures into chapters and verses, and in restoring the order and divisions of nature and logic,-the method, too, which common sense applies to every other book. There is no important book in the world which would not suffer materially by being subjected to such a process as the common editions of the Scriptures; and from

the nature of the case, this process has been peculiarly unfavorable to the study of the Scriptures. These divisions, it is perfectly well known to scholars, are without any authority-being purely the work of man. The present division of the Bible into chapters is attributed to Cardinal Hugo, A. D. 1240, though this is not absolutely certain; the division into verses was at a much later period, though it is impossible to determine precisely when or by whom it was made. These divisions are not only without authority for us, but they have no advantage whatever, except for facility of reference; while their disadvantages are numerous and grave. We fully agree with Dr. Coit-and are glad, also, to have the authority of so eminent a biblical scholar as Professor Lee on the same side-that the obscurity and difficulty of understanding the Scriptures are, in a no small degree, attributable to these unnatural and arbitrary divisions, and that the Bible would become, even for common readers, quite intelligible of itself, if only put in an intelligible shape. Dr. Coit's Paragraph Bible, published a few years ago, was an exceedingly valuable contribution to the knowledge of the Scriptures; and we are glad he has followed the same plan in this edition of Townsend. He has indicated, in small figures, the divisions of chapter and verse of the common editions; so that this has the same advantage with them for reference, while at the same time the logical divisions and connexions are kept unimpaired. We could heartily wish this plan were adopted in every edition of the Bible for common use. We are sure it would contribute unspeakably to render the Scriptures intelligible and interesting.

Another important matter in the improvements made by Dr. Coit in this edition of Townsend's Bible, is his revision of the Italic words. The Italic words, occurring in the editions of the common version in general use, are obviously, in many cases, of no use to the scholar, or to the common reader, while to the latter they are not seldom a source of doubt and perplexity. On this point we give the following remarks from Dr. Coit's preface:

"In respect to the Italic words, it is well known to Biblical scholars, that in 1769, Dr. Benjamin Blayney, under the direction of the Vice-Chancellor and Delegates of the University of Oxford, thoroughly revised our Common Version, and among other things carefully printed in Italics every word for which there was not an identical representative in the original. But this was a needless, and in multitudes of instances, a useless labor; and in consequence, an attempt has been made to diminish his Italics. Had time permitted, they would all have been examined, and such only retained, as, taking into consideration the idioms of the original, might seem worthy of special notice."

In a note to this passage, Dr. Coit adds :

"Dr. Blayney seems to have quite forgotten, that the idioms of ancient tongues allow many things to be habitually understood or unexpressed, which it is, of course, no liberty in a translator to supply."...." Dr. Blaney seems to have regarded all such omissions, and others as easily accounted for, as matters for serious 50

NO. VI.-VOL. III.

observation, when the veriest novice could have been taught how to supply them. Evidently, then, he has most needlessly multiplied Italics, to the confusion and perplexity of unlearned readers, who are not aware that they are not used in the Bible for emphasis, as in other volumes, but to mark words supposed to be wanting in the original. Scores, and hundreds, and perhaps thousands of our present Italics, answer no valuable purpose, and deserve no more distinction in a translation, than would ille in a translation of dixit. The merest child in Latin understands that a verb in that language may, in ten thousand cases, as well be without a pronoun as with it."

To this we would add, as a still graver disadvantage of the Italics in many cases, that not only is "confusion and perplexity" occasioned, by mistaking them for emphatic words; but very often we have known "unlearned readers," who were informed of the actual intention of these Italic words, and yet were greatly perplexed by an inability to estimate their exact nature and value, and, because they were unable to see for themselves that these words were inserted merely in order to give an adequate expression of the original, were in doubt whether they were not unauthorized additions to the inspired word. On every account, therefore, we are glad that Dr. Coit has done so much towards removing this cause of perplexity; and we hope he will continue his labors, and give us a thoroughly complete revision of the common version, in this respect. We should rejoice, also, to have him take up the matter of marginal references, and free this department of Biblical elucidation from the cumbrous, fatiguing, and useless mass of merely cerbal references; and give us instead, a choice selection of such as are truly logical, and important to the explanation of Scripture by Scripture.

We add, contrary to our custom in regard to such matters, that Mr. Josiah Adams, the agent for this book in New-York, has his office at Gould & Newman's, corner of Fulton and Nassau streets; and we wish him great success in circulating so valuable and important a work.

14. The True Intellectual System of the Universe: wherein all the Reason and Philosophy of Atheism is confuted, and its impossibility demonstrated.— A Treatise on Immutable Morality; with a Discourse concerning the true notion of the Lord's Supper; and Two Sermons. By RALPH CUDWORTH, D. D. First American edition; with references to the several quotations in the Intellectual System; and an account of the Life and Writings of the Author. By THOMAS BIRCH, M. A. F. R. S. In two volumes. Andover and New York: Gould & Newman. 1837. 1838.

A YEAR ago, we announced the appearance of the first volume of this great and learned work. We have now the pleasure of seeing the second. This volume contains the Treatise on Immutable Mo

rality, not contained in Birch's edition. It was published in 1731 by Dr. Chandler, Bishop of Durham, but has for many years been so extremely rare as to be met with only in old collections, and was almost inaccessible to the American student. It is the most learned, critical, and complete vindication, any where to be met with, of the eternal and immutable distinction of right and wrong, against the old doctrine of Protagoras and other Greek philosophers, which in modern times was revived by Hobbes, and since then has been reproduced in various forms by different writers. In this volume, also, will be found the learned discourse on the true notion of the Lord's Supper, and the two admirable sermons which were published in Birch's edition of the Intellectual System. Of these two sermons, the one on the Knowledge of Christ, the other on the Christian's Victory-and particularly of the former, it is, perhaps, not too much to say, that they contain more rich,profound, and noble thought, than is to be found in any half-dozen volumes of modern sermons. The publishers deserve great credit, and the especial thanks of scholars, for bringing out this work in these times, when so many others prefer the more profitable business of catering to the vitiated taste that gorges itself on the cargoes of British trash, re-published and spread abroad over the country.

In this connexion we may add, that we have observed, with great satisfaction, an edition of the other ethical writings of Cudworth, left by him in manuscript, and which have remained in that state a century and a half, recently announced in England. They are edited from the original manuscripts, by the Rev. John Allen, Chaplain of King's College, London. The first part, containing the treatise of FREE WILL, has already appeared. What the other parts are to contain, is not stated. The other manuscripts left by Cudworth, which would come under the description of ethical writings, are the following: A Discourse concerning Moral Good and Evil-A Discourse on the Creation of the World and Immortality of the Soul

and an Explanation of Hobbes's Notion of God, and of the Extension of Spirits. We presume that all who possess the works of Cudworth, now published in this country, will be glad to complete their collection; and we earnestly hope the success of the publishers, in the present praiseworthy undertaking, will induce them to give us an American edition of the remaining writings of this most learned and profound critic and thinker.

15. Proof of the Genuineness of the Writings of the New Testament for intelligent readers of all classes. Translated from the German of DR. H. OLSHAUSEN, Professor of Theology in the University of Erlangen, etc. With Notes, by DAVID FOSDICK, JR. Andover and New York: Gould & Newman. 1838. 12mo. pp. 216.

MR. FOSDICK deserves credit for a number of valuable contributions to Biblical learning from German sources, which he has presented to American readers. He has done his part in general with judgment, good taste, and ability. This work, as expressed in the title, is not so much designed for Biblical scholars and theologians, as for intelligent readers at large. Its object is to present a clear, simple, and concise view of the present state of investigation concerning the genuineness of the New Testament; and the translator says he does "not know of a book upon the subject in any language, which combines so popular a cast, with so much comprehensiveness and justness of representation."

The object of this notice is simply to give a brief statement of the conclusions of this book-and even here we must limit ourselves to what is most peculiar or most noticeable :- In regard to the Epistle to the Hebrews, Dr. Olshausen distinguishes the question of its Pauline origin from that of its canonical authority; he admits the latter, and shows that it rests on decisive evidence; but he thinks the epistle was written, not by St. Paul, but, perhaps, by Apollos under St. Paul's superintendance.

The author holds that there is no decisive evidence either for or against the canonical authority of the second epistle of Peter, and that the want of historical proofs will render it probably always impossible to clear up the doubts that rest upon the question.

The epistle of James is attributed, not to James the Apostle, the son of Alpheus, but to James, the brother of our Lord. The canonical authority of the epistle the author considers unquestionable.

The epistle of Jude is ascribed, not to Jude the Apostle, but to Jude, the brother of James. He thinks the canonical authority of the epistle not certain.

Dr. Olshausen believes the Apocalypse to have been written by St. John, and long previous to his Gospel and Epistles. He maintains the doctrine of the future personal reign of Christ on the earth, which he regards as a point of belief inseparable from receiving the epistle as authentic. He agrees with most other writers, in maintaining that the apostolic origin of the epistle was never called in question till the millennial controversy began to

rage.

We have no space to go into the discussion of these opinions. We can only add, that notwithstanding the somewhat startling