John Mills, jun. Fell. of Pembroke Coll. LICENTIATE IN PHYSIC. Geo. Edw. Wilmot Wood, Trinity Coll. BACHELOR IN CIVIL LAW. Chas. Wentworth Dilke, Trinity Hall. BACHELORS OF ARTS. Francis Edw. Arden, St. Peter's Coll. William Pratt, St. John's Coll. PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. A meeting has been held, Dr. Clarke, one of the Vice-Presidents, in the chair. A memoir was read by the Rev. J. Challis, containing new researches in the Theory of the Motion of Fluids. The Rev. Temple Chevalier described experiments which he had made on the polarization of light by the sky. The general results were, that light is polarized by the clear sky that the effect begins to be sensible at points thirty degrees distant from the sun, and that the greatest quantity of polarized light proceeds from points at ninety degrees distance from the sun; a fact which seems to indicate that the reflection, which occasions the polarization, takes place at the surface of two media as nearly as possible of the same density. It was also stated, that though the light of the moon or of clouds shows no trace of polarization, a fog, when on the point of clearing off, lets polarized light through, when its breaking up has not yet begun. Mr. Chevalier remarked that he had not detected any appearances of polarization by transmission, though, as was mentioned by another member, Mr. Arago has stated, that he had observed, within a certain small distance of the sun, the light was polarized in the opposite plane to that at a greater distance. A meeting was held on March 17, Professor Airy, one of the Vice-Presidents, being in the chair. Mr. Power gave an account of his views concerning the cause of the phenomena of exosmose and endosmose, which it appeared by his calculations may be accounted for by the effect of forces similar to those which produce capillary phenomena. Professor Henslow gave an account of the speculations of Mr. Braun, respecting the spiral arrangement of the scales on the cones of pines, illustrated by drawings and additional observations. -Professor Airy gave an account of experiments on the polarization of light by the sky. It appeared that the light was polarized in a plane passing through the sun, and that the plane of polarization was not reversed in approaching the sun, as had been formerly suggested by M. Arago. Professor Airy found that he could observe the polarization within nine degrees of the sun, in a horizontal direction, but that above and below the sun the traces disappeared at a distance considerably greater. It was found, in the course of these experiments, that very rough surfaces, as a stone wall, a gravel walk, a carpet, produced some polarization by reflection; and that the plane of polarization in all cases passed through the point of reflection, and the source from which the light came. This communication gave rise to observations from other members. ERRATA. In the article containing observations on Mr. Binney's Address, which appeared in our last number, at p. 174, line 27, for Black Book' read Black List:' and in our number for January, at p. 7, line 26, for Black Book' read 'Black List.' NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. The complaints against our parochial psalmody, by an "Old Psalm Tune," we have long felt to be too just, and have, for some time, been arranging a Selection of Psalms, Hymns, and appropriate Tunes, which, we trust, will, in some measure, supply the deficiency so universally deplored. Many thanks for the Sarum scraps. Most of the books named in the Theological List, by "An Unknown Hand," have already been recommended; but as the author would probably like to see his own List in print, we will give it before our own, which has long been in type. THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER. MAY, 1834. REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. ART. I.—Sermons. By HENRY MELVILL, M.A. late Fellow and Tutor of St. Peter's College, Cambridge, and Minister of Camden Chapel, Camberwell. London: Rivingtons. 1833. 8vo. Pp. 379. 66 THAT a 66 late Fellow and Tutor" of a college, should publish a volume of sermons like this, is, we confess, a source of some amazement to us; and we can only take these harangues as evidence of the pitiable sacrifice of taste and judgment, which even clever men sometimes condescend to offer to the idol-Popularity! Our author tells us that he has a difficult part to perform in ministering to the congregation which assembles within the walls" of, and “ throngs his chapel." (Pp. 373 and 374.) In this confession we learn the important fact, that this preacher's sense of difficulty originated in the fastidiousness of the numbers that " thronged his chapel :" and hence, no doubt, the gaudy licentiousness of style, hence the enormous exaggerations, hence the novel epithets,-hence the freaks of imagination, -hence the rhetorical gewgaw of this volume of sermons. 66 66 Let us not be misconstrued. We are not of the number of such as delight to brawl about words," *. we would not make any man an offender for a word." Mr. Melvill might have written of his " shewings" (p. 9); of "ongoing conflicts" (p. 23); of "upbearing" interpretations (p. 38); of "acting faith on the head of the ministry" (pp. 47, 289, 293); of "the sunniness" in men's eyes testifying to their feeling an emotion of delightsomeness (p. 62); of "the stilliness of the unmeasured expanse (p. 82); of our Saviour's "staunch" humanity (p. 110); of " the millions who have fallen in the battletug (p. 136); of an "on-coming day" (p. 157); of “the for ever and for ever of Godhead" (p. 141); of the "harbourage of expectations" (p. 331); of "out-putting of faith at the last moment of life" (p. 285); of "sepulchring" greatness (p. 307). Mr. Melvill, we repeat, might have indulged in these puerile and * Homil.-Third Part of the Sermon of Salvation. pedantic affectations with perfect impunity, as far as we (his reviewers) are concerned; but when he so discolours the doctrines of revelation, by statements exaggerated for mere effect, that even truth itself assumes, in his hands, a strange appearance; we owe it to our readers to warn them against the peculiarities, to say the least, of the volume before us. Indeed, we raise our official voice against these pulpit speeches with more determined censure, because we believe our author to be capable of better things, and are free to confess that many portions of his sermons prove him to be a writer of no mean talent. The volume contains twelve sermons from the following texts, and upon the following subjects: Sermon. 1. The First Prophecy 2. Subject. Christ the Minister of the Church . 3. The impossibility of Creature-merit 4. The humiliation of the Man, Christ Jesus 5. The doctrine of the Resurrection viewed in connexion with that of the Soul's immortality 6. The power of wickedness and righteousness to reproduce themselves 7. The power of religion to strengthen the human intellect 8. The provision made by God for the poor 9. Saint Paul a tent-maker 10. The advantages of a state of expectation 11. Truth as it is in Jesus 12. The difficulties of Scripture Had Mr. Melvill remembered the injunction, Text. Heb. viii. 2. 1 Chron. xxix. 14. Phil. ii. 8. Jolin ii. 25. Gal. vi. 7. Psalm cxix. 130. Psalm lxviii. 10. Acts xviii. 3. Lament. iii. 26. Eph. iv. 20, 21. 2 Pet. iii. 16. him speak as the oracles of God," he would not have indulged in surmises, however ingenious,-in conjectures, however plausible, as to the external change brought upon the serpent by the curse; as to his beauty and his splendour, by which Satan was led to choose it "as the vehicle of his approaches," and Eve was attracted" to become the victim of his seductions. Had he been versed in the cunning devices by which infidel interpreters of prophecy have endeavoured to lower our esteem for God's word, especially in this solemn curse upon the tempter and his instrument, he would not have made allusion to the supposed enmity existing between men and serpents, as if it were consistent with the dignity of prophecy, or fitting the awful crisis when the curse was pronounced, to predict that whilst the former should knock serpents on the head, these should bite men by the heels!* If, indeed, the fact were true, that "6 every man instinctively recoils at the sight of a serpent,” "with a natural and unconquerable aversion,”—we should find it difficult to reconcile it with the worship of the serpent throughout the world, as an emblem of divinity, a charm, an oracle, or a god. But these * See Boyle's Lecture, by the Bishop of Durham. + See Deane on Serpent Worship. objections we would not urge harshly upon points of minor importance, when the author before us is obnoxious to graver charges, even in the first of the sermons under review. We willingly allow the possibility that Satan, ejected from heaven, might have "liberty to traverse the vast area of creation, and that far-off stars and planets might be accessible to his wanderings;" we allow the possibility that, subsequently to our fall, God might chain Satan" to the earth, on which he had just won a victory :" but, in default of scriptural evidence for these hypotheses, we think them forbidden topics to the pulpit, and are sure that they have no force in illustrating the text (Gen. iii. 15.) of our author's discourse. Mr. Melvill interprets these memorable words as nothing less than an unwearied conflict of which this earth shall be the theatre, and which shall issue, though not without partial disaster to man, in the complete discomfiture of Satan and his associates," (pp. 6, 7): so that the prophecy is applicable to others as well as to the Redeemer, who was peculiarly "the seed" of the woman, and in whom, therefore, this prediction was primarily and chiefly fulfilled. Our author contends that " as the seed of the serpent is to be interpreted spiritually and symbolically, so also is the seed of the woman." 66 The true church of God in every age,-whether you consider it as represented by its head, which is Christ; whether you survey it collectively as a body, or resolve it into its separate members,-this true church of God must be regarded as denoted by the woman and her seed.So that the representation of the prediction is simply that of a perpetual conflict, on this earth, between wicked angels and wicked men on the one side, and the church of God, or the company of true believers, on the other; such conflict, though occasioning partial injury to the church, always issuing in the discomfiture of the wicked. -Pp. 12, 13, 14. It is important that we weigh the statements by which our author would establish this interpretation. His argument rests upon the dictum that "Eve was the figure or type of the Church.” (P. 12.) We must gravely demur to this unsupported assumption, because the word of God affords no evidence to its truth. How often must we repeat the statement that " as a type must have been designed from the beginning to prefigure its antitype, (the connexion between them being preordained), the reality of such previous design must depend upon the authority of Christ and his apostles? When they have shewn us the existence of the type, we may consider its prophetic character; for when two distant events are designedly connected, the one being by ordination indicative of the other, the one is no less prophetic of the other, than a verbal declaration that the thing which forms the antitype, would in due season be accomplished."* In the case before us we have no scriptural testimony that Eve was a type of the Church; and therefore we repudiate the assumption of it by our author as an untenable CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER, No. VIII. Vol X. p. 480. conjecture. The foundation being sapped, the superstructure necessarily falls. But we have yet somewhat more to urge against the first sermon of the volume upon our table. Our author argues from the phrase," I will put enmity," that God specially interfered to implant hatred between man and Satan; "introducing a new principle into the heart, he causes conflict where there had heretofore been peace, inclining and enabling man to rise against his tyrant." (P. 9.) If the doctrine of God's converting grace, without which we continue Satan's willing captives, had no better support than this tortured interpretation of our author's text, would be a fruitless attempt to enter upon its defence; for the phrase in question is a Hebrew idiom, by which the fact of the intervening enmity is emphatically declared, without meaning to ascribe it to the agency of the Deity. Oriental scholars will at once acknowledge the correctness of our remark; for confirmation of which we refer our readers to Professor Lee's Hebrew Grammar, pp. 112-119. We crave yet another observation upon the sermon under review. Our author tells us that the prophecy of the text has been verified by the history of all ages, for that no man serves God without uniting against himself evil angels and evil men. He then proceeds to assure us that this conflict between the serpent and his seed and believers in Christ is certain to have its issue in the triumph of the last; for that however the power of Satan may bruise the believer's heel, it touches not his head! It is certain, (Mr. Melvill writes) certain as that God is omnipotent and faithful, that the once justified man shall be enabled to persevere to the end.—And therefore the bruising of the heel is the sum total of the mischief. Thus much, undoubtedly, the serpent can effect. He can harass with temptation, and occasionally prevail. But he cannot undo the radical work of conversion. He cannot eject the principle of grace, and he cannot, therefore, bring back the man into the condition of his slave. Thus he cannot wound the head of the new man.-P. 28. Ingenious defence, truly, of the doctrines of the final perseverance of the saints, and the indefectibility of grace! For our parts we welcome such defences as one sure means of exposing these pestilent notions to the rejection, which they merit, though we sorely lament the rashness with which the preacher has ventured to urge them upon the attention of his audience, who might be ill qualified to detect the sophistry of his ingenious hypothesis, though too liable to pervert his dogma to purposes everlastingly ruinous and deplorable. Is it for one thus rioting in bold statements of polemical articles which have no connexion with the subject of his text, to decry controversy, or to speak contemptuously of the "battling about election and non-election,” (p. 269) when he is racking his brains to find support for the most objectionable |