Come ye with the gifts of Kings, With the spoils of conquer'd lands? From the sable Indian tree? From the branching trees that grow 'PRIESTS, WITH BENINA. With a fairer gift we come To the God's majestic home Than the pearls the rich shells weep In the Erythrean deep. All our store of ebony Sparkles in her radiant eye. Whiter far her spotless skin Than the gauzy vestures thin, Bleach'd upon the shores of Nile; Whence the gale its sweetness sips, 'PRIESTS, LEADING HER IN. Mid the dashing fountains cool, In the marble vestibule, Where the orange branches play, • ALL THE PRIESTS. • Bridelike now she stands array'd ! Welcome, welcome, dark-hair'd maid! Lead her in, with dancing feet, With thine high unbending brow, Sacred maiden, enter thou.' pp. 69-72. Art. VIII. Supplementary Pages to the Second Edition of an Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. By Thomas Hartwell Horne, M.A. 8vo. Price 3s. London. 1822. THESE pages contain all the additions to the third edition of Mr. Horne's Introduction, which admit of being detached, so arranged and printed as to allow of their being inserted in the respective volumes of the former edition to which they belong. The Author accompanies them with the intimation that it is not his intention to make any further additions to the work. From a multifarious Addenda, we can only select a few of the more striking passages. The following illustration of a term occurring in the Book of Acts, which has perplexed commentators, is extracted from Part VI. of Bishop Marsh's Lec tures. In Acts vi. 9. the sacred historian "speaks of a synagogue at Jerusalem, belonging to a class of persons whom he calls Aßprvo,?" (in our version rendered Libertines,) "a term which is evidently the same with the Latin Libertini. Now, whatever meaning we affix to this word, (for it is variously explained)-whether we understand emancipated slaves, or the sons of emancipated slaves,-they must have been the slaves, or the sons of slaves, to Roman masters: otherwise the Latin word, Libertini, would not apply to them. That among persons of this description there were many at Rome, who professed the Jewish religion, whether slaves of Jewish origin, or proselytes after manumission, is nothing very extraordinary. But that they should have been so numerous at Jerusalem as to have a synagogue in that city, built for their particular use, appears at least to be more than might be expected. Some commentators, therefore, have supposed that the term in question, instead of denoting emancipated Roman slaves, or the sons of such persons, was an adjective belonging to the name of some city or district; while others, on mere conjecture, have proposed to alter the term itself. But the whole difficulty is removed by a passage in the second book of the Annals of Tacitus;" from which it appears that the persons, whom that historian describes as being libertini generis, and infected (as he calls it) with foreign, that is, with Jewish-superstition, were so numerous in the time of the emperor Tiberius, that four thousand of them who were of age to carry arms, were sent to the island of Sardinia; and that all the rest of them were ordered, either to renounce their religion, or to depart from Italy before a day appointed. This statement of Tacitus is confirmed by Suetonius, who relates that Tiberius disposed of the young men among the Jews then at Rome, (under pretence of their serving in the wars,) in provinces of an unhealthy climate; and that he banished from the city all the rest of that nation, or proselytes to that religion, under penalty of being condemned to slavery for life, if they did not comply with his commands. We can now, therefore, account for the number of Libertini in Judæa, at the period of which Luke was speaking, which was about fifteen years after their banishment from Italy.' pp. 742, 43. Some other additional Biblical illustrations are given from the same source. The addenda to the first volume contain also some supplementary remarks on the Evidences of Christianity; they relate chiefly to the objections of infidels. A note at p. 743 refers to Wagenseil and Schoettgen as authorities for the assertion that Joseph was the son, (not the son in law) of Heli. This is in opposition to the explanation of the two genealogies, given by the Author under the head of apparent contradictoins, and is, we are persuaded, an erroneous correction. The account of Manuscripts of the Bible and printed editions, receives some important additions. Mr. Horne has given a new plate, containing fac-similes of a Codex Rescriptus of the Gothic version of St. Paul's Epistles, discovered in the Ambrosian library, and of the Codex Cæsareus of the Book of Genesis at Vienna; likewise a specimen in wood of the Codex Argenteus, in place of the plate given in the second edition. He has availed himself of Mr. Hamilton's Codex Criticus, in some remarks on the Common Version; and has also, we are glad to notice, introduced the excellent observations of Dr. Cook on the design and plan of the Evangelists, which will, we hope, be the means of drawing the attention of his readers to the valuable work from which they are taken. The Addenda to the third volume consist chiefly of oriental illustrations of Scripture terms or allusions, obtained from the recent publications of Dr. Richardson, Mr. Jowett, Mr. Buck, ingham, Captain Light, and others. This is an exhaustless source; and as the accumulation of materials will be constantly going forward, the best plan the student can adopt, will be, to devote a common-place-book to such exrtacts, taking care not to be led astray by fanciful illustrations, which throw no new light or beauty on the sacred text. We do not observe that Mr. Horne has availed himself to the extent he might have done, of the labours of Burckhardt. The observations on 1 John v. 7. have undergone considerable modification in the new edition; and some of the points before omitted to be noticed, are stated in the addenda. A valuable article inserted in the Quarterly Review, and Part VI. of Marsh's Lectures, have supplied Mr. Horne with more correct information, by which the arguments of Bishop Burgess and Dr. Hales are completely demolished. Nor can any force be allowed to attach to the consideration of the thousand Greek manuscripts uncollated, in some of which, it is argued, that the spurious verse may possibly be found. Were we to allow ourselves to reason, or rather to speculate in this way, we might with equal propriety reserve our opinion of any other spurious reading or corruption of the text. Nay, some material point of doctrine might be conjectured to lay concealed within the rolls of these uncollated manuscripts. This attempt to keep open the controversy, is not less injudicious than futile. The uncertainty and fluctuation attending the form in which the verse appears in the Latin manuscripts, is, in itself, a most suspicious mark of interpolation. It is not, ⚫ therefore,' remarks Bishop Marsh, a matter of mere conjecture, that the seventh verse originated in a Latin gloss upon the eighth verse: it is an historical fact, supported by ⚫ evidence which cannot be resisted.' At the same time, this account of the manner in which it obtained insertion in the text, obviates the supposition that it originated in a wilful interpolation. Augustine's gloss upon the verse, in his treatise contra Maximinum Arianum, both shews that the seventh verse was unknown to him, and accounts for its subsequent introduction. Augustine thus quotes the words of the eighth verse, Tres sunt testes, spiritus, et aqua, et sanguis; et tres unum sunt.' He then makes various remarks on the words, spiritus, aqua, sanguis, and proceeds thus: Si vero ea quæ his significata sunt velimus inquirere, 'non absurde occurrit ipsa Trinitas, quæ unus, solus, verus, summus est Deus, Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus, de quibus verissime dici potuit, Tres sunt testes, et tres unum sunt: ut nomine spiritûs significatum accipiamus Deum Patrem, nomine autem sanguinis Filium, et nomine aquæ Spiritum sanctum.' Mr. Horne has given in an appendix, a concise dictionary of the prophetic or symbolic language of the Scriptures, drawn up from the works of Sir Isaac Newton, Bishop Lowth, William Lowth, Dr. Woodhouse, and other authorities. Yet, some of the explanations are fanciful or gratuitous; others far from correct; and though it appears to have cost Mr. Horne considerable pains, we question its utility. In many instances, its direct tendency is to mislead. For instance, Beast is said to signify, 1. a heathen kingdom; 2. wicked, brutish men; (2 Pet. ii. 12.) and 3. the papal anti-christ. (Rev. xiii. 2.) But in the original, the words are different-wa, bruta animalia, and To Onpsov, fera, bellua; and the idea meant to be conveyed is different also. Again, under Bread, we have a forced and erroneous explanation of Matt. iv. 4, as if the word of God was termed bread; whereas the sense is, "but by every ordinance "of God," or, " by whatever he may appoint," as the manna to which the passage in Deuteronomy refers. Under Brethren, we have the following note. 2. Two brethren, the elder and the younger. The Jew and Gentile. Luke xv. 11-30.' This is not illustrating the symbolic language of Scripture; it is spiritualizing. The most judicious commentators have questioned the propriety of such an exposition. 'Qui putant,' says Calvin, sub primogeniti filii typo Judaicum populum describi, tametsi ratione non carent, mihi tamen videntur non satis • ad totum contextum attendere.' A very common source of the blunders of commentators. Under the word Cup, occurs a positive misstatement. Our Saviour did not bless the cup, nor does the word bless occur in the cited passage. Garments is explained, in reference to Rev. iii. 4, to be symbolic of souls; and this is but an instance of converting a mere metaphorical expression or simple comparison into a symbol. White raiment in the same passage, has been supposed to allude to the custom of investing the priest, on his being found "worthy," with a white robe. This allusion, which greatly heightens the beauty of the passage, is not noticed. Tares should not have been given without an explanation of the original word improperly rendered by that term in our Translation. We really think that Mr. Horne would do well to reject this dictionary' altogether in his next edition: if not, it will require a most diligent critical revision. We commend his anxiety to make his work as complete and as valuable as he can but a student may be perplexed with help, and Mr. Horne has in this instance, and in some others, been evidently misled by a deference to great names. Art. IX. The Wonders of the Vegetable Kingdom displayed. In a Series of Letters. By the Author of Select Female Biography. 12mo. PP. 244. Price 7s. London. 1822. THIS HIS is a very pleasing and elegant introduction to Botanical science, better adapted than any work we have yet seen, to render the study subservient to moral improvement, by en |