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cause is not in ourselves, nor in any thing we do, or can do, but in God, in his good will and pleasure. Therefore, whatever shall have moved and excited and conciliated that good will and pleasure, so as to have procured that offer to be made, or shall have formed any part or portion of the motive from which it was made, may most truly and properly be said to be efficacious in human salvation. This efficacy is in Scripture ascribed to the death of Christ. It is attributed in a variety of ways of expression. He is a sacrifice, an offering to God, a propitiation, the precious sacrifice foreordained, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the Lamb which taketh away the sin of the world;' we are washed in his blood,' we are justified by his blood,' we are saved from wrath through him,' &c. &c.

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Still it is true that a man will not obtain what is offered, unless he comply with the terms; so far his compliance is a condition of his happiness. But the grand thing is the offer being made at all. That is the ground and origin of the whole. That is the cause.' pp. 313, 314, 315, &c.

The Doctor himself is fully aware that this view of the subject, notwithstanding every precaution in the statement, every admonition of unworthiness, every representation of the magnitude of the promised felicity, and every eulogium of the generosity of the divine Benefactor, will yet have a strong tendency, as the human mind is constituted, to cherish notions of high desert after all. He has taken pains, and made a very plausible representation of a parallel case, to prevent this obvious consequence. But we think it would so infallibly result, as to destroy that estimate of the Christian economy as a system of pure absolute mercy, which is so often expressed in the New Testament, and to preclude that feeling of boundless obligation which animated the gratitude and devotion of the apostles.

In the way of shewing the incorrectness of the theory, it will be enough just to notice the very imperfect conception and definition of salvation with which it sets out. If any one thing be evident in the New Testament, it would seem to be, that salvation, as there described, does not consist solely in a final preservation from punishment and attainment of the heavenly felicity, but includes essentially that sanctified state of the mind and character, which forms a preparation for that final happiness. This purified state, we apprehend, is represented not as a mere antecedent circumstance of salvation, but as a part of its very essence. But it would be strangely incorrect to call that a condition of salvation, which is an essential part of it.

Again, the Christian Scriptures state, we should think, with the utmost distinctness, that the sanctity of mind which is the operating principle in all practical Christian virtue, and but for which not one act of true Christian virtue would ever be performed, is just as much a free gift of the divine mercy,

and just as impossible to have been otherwise obtained, as that final felicity which is the completion of salvation; but it would be strange to call that a condition, of which the substance is to be effected by the very Being who prescribes it. There are in the volume several sermons on the influences of the Holy Spirit; but they do not lay down a very defined doctrine on the subject. In some passages the preacher seems very anxious to avoid representing those influences as of purely arbitrary operation, on the part of the Divine Being, and to maintain that they are determined toward their object by some favourable predisposition in that object; or that they are not often granted till after they are requested. In other passages, the theory of the divine operations on the mind appears to us to go very nearly the whole length of the doctrine denominated Calvinistic, particularly when the Doctor adverts to the sudden conversion of very wicked men. On this topic he speaks in much stronger terms than are probably ever heard from the greater number of the pulpits of our established church; in such terms, indeed, as from any other man would be deemed most methodistical and fanatical. He expresses (and every page of the book bears the most perfect marks of sincerity) his delight and his thankfulness to Heaven, on account of those instances of a sudden change of mind and character,-in consequence perhaps of hearing a sermon, or reading a passage of the bible, or hearing some casual observation,-which many official divines are attempting to scout, in language of ridicule or rancour, as the freaks or fancies of a pernicious enthusiasm. The Doctor had too much of the spirit of a true philosopher, to reject an important class of facts in forming his theory; and too little of the bigot, to be indignant that notorious sinners should become devout Christians and virtuous citizens, because they became so in the mode and the precincts of Methodism. For this contempt of the ignorant, bigoted, and irreligious rant which prevailed around him, we honour him too much, to be willing to make any of the remarks which we intended on some parts of his sermon on The Doctrine of Conversion,' founded on that expression of our Lord, 'I am come not to call. the righteous, but sinners, to repentance;' on which he observes, It appears from these words, that our Saviour, in his preaching, held in view the character and spiritual situation of the persons whom he addressed; and the differences which existed among them in these respects; and that he had a regard to these considerations, more especially in the preaching of repentance and conversion.' (p. 116.) We would only just ask, Who were the righteous among our Lord's hearers? the Scribes, Pharisees, and Rulers? Or were they the Sadducees? Or were they the publicans and sinners? Plainly who and

where were they? Can any thing be more evident, than that it was of the very essence of our Lord's mission and ministry to adjudge them all unrighteous, absolutely every one, excepting those who were become his converts and disciples? Could any of his hearers reject him and be righteous? But it is plain that the epithet was not in this instance applied by him to his converts and disciples, as it had been absurd to say, 'It is not my object to convert those whom I have already converted.' If therefore the term was applied to any class of his hearers, it must be to those who rejected him. And how could it be applied to them? How but evidently in the sense in which the text has been so often explained, as a severe irony on the proud self-righteous Pharisees? Or if such a mode of expression be thought inconsistent with the solemn simplicity of our Lord's character, the passage may be interpreted as this simple proposition,-that it was because these persons, in whose company he was so often found, were sinners, that he frequented their company; that to be in the society of sinners was the sole object of his sojourning on earth, for that, if men had been righteous, they would not have needed a Saviour.

As the sermons are nearly forty, we do not give all their titles. A considerable proportion are entirely practical. A very able one, on the Destruction of the Canaanites*, ought to have been four times its present length.

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It would be ridiculous in us to affect to recommend a volume written by Dr. Paley. It will be extensively read; its readers will receive many useful and striking thoughts; and we earnestly wish they may study the New Testament enough, to be saved from any injurious impression of what we cannot allow ourselves to regard as unimportant errors.

Art. II. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, for the Year 1807. Part I. 4to. pp. 132 and 26. Price 10s. Nicol.

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Tis unnecessary to enumerate the causes which have so long delayed our intended critiques of the successive volumes of the Transactions of the Royal Society of London. In consequence of the arrangements we have now made, we trust that no such omission will occur in future; and we propose giving an account of one Part of these Transactions in each of our following numbers, till we have overtaken and described the Part last published.

In the half volume now before us, there are six papers; which we shall describe in their order.

* A good summary of the arguments on this subject will be found in a recent Number of the " Pantologia," Art, Canaanites.

I. The Bakerian Lecture, on some Chemical Agencies of Electricity. By Humphry Davy, Esq. F. R. S. M. R. I. A. Read Nov. 20, 1806.

This most interesting and valuable memoir, occupying 56 pages, is divided into ten sections. 1. An introduction, in which Mr. Davy points out some errors of other inquirers, and shews by what means they have been misled. 2. On the changes produced by Electricity in Water. 3. On the Agencies of Electricity in the decomposition of various compounds. 4. On the transfer of certain of the constituent parts of bodies by the action of Electricity. 5. On the passage of acids, alkalies, and other substances, through various attracting chemical menstrua, by means of Electricity. Some general observations on these phenomena, and on the mode of decomposition and transition. 7. On the general principles of the chemical changes produced by Electricity. 8. On the relations between the electrical energies of bodies, and their chemical affinities. 9. On the mode of action in the Pile of Volta, with experimental elucidations. 10. General illustrations and applications of the foregoing facts and principles.

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We cannot pretend, in the narrow limits we are pelled to assign ourselves, to follow the Professor through the whole train of his reasonings and experiments. It must suffice to state generally, that as, in the Voltaic contacts of metals, copper and zinc appear in opposite states, so Mr. Davy finds that acids and alkalies possess naturally, with regard to each other and the metals, the power of affording opposite electricities; being, as this acute philosopher expresses it, in states of negative and positive electrical energies; and are, of consequence, attracted by bodies in contrary states. Conformably with this, he finds that a decomposition of many bodies, particularly by those containing alkalies, acids, alkaline earths, and metallic oxydes, is effected by the Voltaic circuit; all acid matter arranging itself about the positive point, and the alkaline matters and the oxides round the negative point: the acids and their bases being thus separated, even in their stony neutral compounds. By means of these attracting and repelling powers of the different electricities, acid and alkaline matters are transported, even through menstrua, for which they have a strong attraction. On the principles deduced from his accurate and ingenious experiments, Mr. Davy satisfactorily explains several curious chemical and Galvanic facts; such as the decomposition of muriat of soda between the plates; the appearance of acids and of alkaline or metallic bases, at the different poles of the pile; the separation of water into oxygen and

hydrogen; and the obtaining of acid and of alkali from water which is apparently pure. The latter part of the paper consists of a series of detached remarks, suggested by the whole inquiry; and from this we shall extract a few paragraphs.

Many applications of the general facts and principles to the processes of chemistry, both in art and in nature, will readily suggest themselves to the philosophical enquirer.

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They offer very easy methods of separating acid and alkaline matter, when they exist in combination, either together or separately, in minerals; and the electrical powers of decomposition may be easily employed in animal and vegetable analysis.

A piece of muscular fibre, of two inches long and half an inch in diameter, after being electrified by the power of 150 for five days, became perfectly dry and hard, and left on incineration no saline matter. Potash, soda, ammonia, lime, and oxide of iron were evolved from it on the negative side, and the three common mineral acids and the phosphoric acid, were given out on the positive side.

A laurel leaf treated in the same manner, appeared as if it had been exposed to a heat of 500° or 600° Fahrenheit, and was brown and parched. Green colouring matter, with resin, alkali, and lime, appeared in the negative vessel; and the positive vessel contained a clear fluid, which had the smell of peach blossoms; and which, when neutralized by potash, gave a blue-green precipitate to solution of sulphate of iron; so that it contained vegetable prussic acid.

A small plant of mint, in a state of healthy vegetation, was made the medium of connection in the battery, its extremities being in contact with pure water; the process was carried on for ten minutes: potash and lime were found in the negatively electrified water, and acid matter in the positively electrified water, which occasioned a precipitate in solutions of muriate of barytes, nitrate of silver, and muriate of lime. This plant recovered after the process: but a similar one, that had been electrified for four hours with like results, faded and died. The facts shew that the electrical powers of decomposition act even upon living vegetable matter; and there are some phænomena which seem to prove that they operate likewise upon living animal systems. When the fingers, after having been carefully washed with pure water, are brought in contact with this fluid in the positive part of the circuit, acid matter is rapidly developed, having the characters of a mixture of muriatic, phos phoric, and sulphuric acids; and if a similar trial be made in the negative part, fixed alkaline matter is as quickly exhibited.

The acid and alkaline tastes produced upon the tongue, in Galvanic experiments, seem to depend upon the decomposition of the saline mat ter contained in the living animal substance, and perhaps in the saliva.

• As acid and alkaline substances are capable of being separated from their combinations in living systems by electrical powers, there is every reason to believe that by converse methods they may be likewise introduced into the animal economy, or made to pass through the animal organs and the same thing may be supposed of metallic oxides; and these ideas ought to lead to some new investigations in medicine and physiology.

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