tellectual and moral character, but on account of the greatly increased number of facilities for doing good. Considering the attitude which this country now sustains in the view of other nations, considering her immense extent, her rapidly increasing population, her political and moral relations, we do not believe that there is any part of the world, or that there has ever been a period since the beginning of time, in which a good influence would be more likely to be extensively and powerfully felt than in the period, and in the country, in which our lot is cast. There is every thing to encourage men of all ages and professions, and especially our young men of the clerical profession, to bring all their powers into exercise in the prosecution of their work; for it were scarcely too much to say, that a faithful minister of the gospel can hardly open his lips in the delivery of his message, or in any effort to advance the cause of Christ, but he speaks ultimately to people who dwell in the ends of the earth. Let this thought be impressed upon the mind of every minister and every christian; and let it be accompanied with a conviction that to be comparatively idle, or to be only half awake at such day as this, were enough to forfeit for any one the character of a disciple of Christ.

ART. IV.-REVIEW OF THE LIFE OF REGINALD HEBER, D. D. The Life of Reginald Heber, D. D. Lord Bishop of Calcutta. By his Widow. With selections from his correspondence, unpublished poems, and private papers; together with a journal of his tour in Norway, Sweden, Russia, Hungary, and Germany, and a history of the Cossacks. In two volumes. New-York.

Or Bishop Heber we can speak only with respect and kindness. We make this declaration with so much sincerity, that in expressing our dissent from some of his principles and religious views, we hope to do it with a spirit, such as he himself generally manifested, and with a full consciousness of our own liability to error. To be explicit at the outset, we are aware that this eminent individual was, while living, the delight of his personal friends; and now that he is dead, his memory is cherished with no ordinary veneration, by most of those, who have become acquainted with him through his writings. As an author he has honorably distinguished himself both in prose and verse. To the lovers of sentiment and song he has rendered a highly acceptable service, in many of the effusions of his fancy and the religious public will long feel under obligation to him, for several of his sacred poems, particularly for his delightful little hymn,

From Greenland's icy mountains."

there is a call for severity, he sometimes deals off his blows with the strength of a giant. We are at a loss where to find any polerical writings in our language, in which the argument is more thoroughly sustained, and the whole subject dispatched with more dignity and effect, than in his tracts on open communion, and his apology for the freedom of the press.

We have already had occasion to remark, that such a man as Robert Hall must be destined to exert a powerful influence on the character of the age. To ascertain the extent of that influence were at present, and perhaps will always be, impossible. Before concluding our remarks, however, we will notice some of the most prominent ways in which he is likely to assist in molding the destinies of his country and of the world.

It cannot be questioned, that Mr. Hall's influence has been, and is destined to be, extensively felt in elevating the standard of preaching. We are aware, that there are those who are not prepared to appreciate his labors in this respect, from the fact that they regard every thing beyond the mere commonplaces and technicalities of theology, as involving a departure from the simplicity that is in Christ; and some there are who tremble almost as if the ark were in danger, when along with the simple truths of the gospel, there happens to be an exhibition of intellectual greatness, and especially of cultivated taste. For ourselves we confess, that we have no sympathy with any prejudices of this kind: we do not care how much taste or eloquence may be exhibited in a discourse, provided only it is made subservient to the great end of preaching, and does not serve to blunt the edge of the sword of the spirit. But whatever our own opinion may happen to be in reference to this subject, it is certain, that there is a large class, (and in the progress of society, it must be expected to be constantly increasing,) who require preaching of an elevated character; who rather than sit down quietly under a ministry which has in it little or nothing intellectual, will choose to stay at home, or perhaps go still more quietly to sleep. It may be said, that this is a wrong taste, and that it ought not to be humored; but without stopping to inquire how far such demands are reasonable, it is obvious that to a degree at least, they must be met, or a considerable number of the class to which we have referred will rarely, if ever, be brought within the influence of the preaching of the gospel. Far be it from us to recommend to a preacher in any circumstances, the least attempt at compromise with the feelings of worldly men, by a partial concealment of the truth; we insist that he shall always preach the simple gospel of Christ; but we are willing that he should do it, if he can, with the eloquence and dignity of Robert Hall; because we well know that there is a class with whom such preaching is more likely per

haps than any other, to prove the power of God; and we are quite confident that such a man will find his right place.

Now it seems to us, that Mr. Hall has probably done more towards forming a style of preaching adapted to men of a high order of intellect, than any other man of the age. While there is in his sermons no covering up of evangelical doctrine,—nothing which indicates that timid and miserable policy, which would conciliate the great at the expense of ministerial fidelity, there is an originality, and depth, and grandeur of conception, which cannot fail to chain every admirer of intellectual greatness. While Mr. Hall's personal ministry has been a source of edification and delight to many of the most distinguished of his countrymen, it has no doubt served to form and elevate the taste of many a young preacher, who is now following in his brilliant track, though it must be confessed haud passibus æquis. This influence on the English pulpit may be supposed to have been more decisive from the fact, that during a considerable part of his ministry he has resided in the immediate vicinity of one of the great universities of the country, or else has been connected with an institution designed to educate young men for the christian ministry. Even in our own country, his published sermons are probably more read, as fine specimens of that kind of composition, than any other in the language; and we have no doubt that they are destined to hold the same precedence for a long time to come.

It is impossible to compare the sermons of the present day with those of past ages, without perceiving, that there has been in some respects at least, a manifest improvement. We say in some respects; for in regard to extent of thought, copiousness of scripture illustration, and deep and earnest piety, we shall look in vain for those who have risen higher than some of the English divines of the seventeenth century. The improvement to which we refer relates more particularly to the art of making sermons, and consists in the greater simplicity of method, in the absence to a considerable extent of technical phraseology, and in the combination of those qualities which are fitted to make a more single, and of course, a deeper impression. But we do not suppose, that the church has yet, in this respect, seen her best days. In her onward march towards the millenial glory, as the ministry is to be chiefly instrumental in directing her destinies, and as the preaching of the gospel is the principal means by which the ministry operates, we have a right to expect, that preaching as an art will be better understood, and that the sword of the spirit will be wielded with more skill and effect. While Mr. Hall will have contributed to form one class of preachers, which the exigences not of the present generation only but of posterity will demand, other distinguished men will have ex

erted an influence in forming a different class; and thus we have reason to believe that the standard of preaching will, on the whole, constantly rise higher and higher, while there will still be that variety in the manner of exhibiting truth, which is adapted to the various orders and classes of society. It is by no means an improbable supposition, that those who listen to the preaching of the gospel on the morning of the millenial day, will hear the servants of God proclaim their message in a nobler, bolder, holier style of eloquence than uninspired nien have yet been able to reach. And may it not even be regarded as an indication, that our lot is cast near that most glorious day of the church, that young men enjoy so many more advantages than formerly for becoming accomplished, able, efficient preachers; and that the word of truth is actually proclaimed to the men of this generation, probably with more skill and higher effect, than it has been to any generation that has pre

ceded it?

Not less is the influence which Mr. Hall is destined to exert in sustaining the cause of truth against the advocates of error and skepticism. Every one knows, that infidelity with its twin brother Socinianism, has always been fond of claiming a monopoly of the talents and learning of the age. That there has sometimes existed a monstrous union of great talents with great errors and vices, it were in vain to deny; though the claims which skeptical men have made on this subject are not only without foundation, but ridiculous in the extreme; for where infidelity can point to a single great name, we. hesitate not to say that christianity can produce its scores, if not its hundreds. And who does not know, that a certain sect in our own country which has sprung up within a few years, was wont for a long time to make the same arrogant pretensions; claiming all the biblical learning, and nearly all the intellectual greatness of the times; and we confidently believe, that if the whole truth were known, we should see that not a small proportion of those who have gone over to this fatal heresy, were drawn into the snare by the bait that was spread before them, in these unfounded and ridiculous pretensions. Even admitting the alledged fact, that the larger proportion of men of great minds are unfriendly to christianity, or are the advocates of some false form of christianity, it is manifest that this would make nothing against the truth of the gospel; because the evidences on which the gospel rests its claims, together with the doctrines which it reveals, require nothing more than an ordinary mind to examine and estimate them; and considering the pride of intellect by which most great minds are distinguished, and the natural tendency of this to blind the eye against the light of God's truth, it may well be questioned whether the opinion of an individual of common intelligence, who has faithfully examined the subject of

christianity with an honest and tractable temper, is not as much to be valued as that of a more gifted mind, with no more than a common exemption from the pride of opinion. But inasmuch as men naturally love darkness rather than light, and are glad to find an apology for the rejection of truth and the admission of error, it is an occasion for gratitude when God is pleased by employing the noblest talents of the age in defense of evangelical christianity, signally to confound those who have the impudence to exhibit it as the creature of weakness or fanaticism. For ourselves, we attach but little importance comparatively to any argument that is drawn merely from human authority; nevertheless, as the abettors of error and skepticism are pleased to make much of it, we are willing to confront them with weapons of their own devising. When they talk of Hume, or Bolingbroke, or Rousseau, or any other of their champions, whether among the living or the dead, we point them to Robert Hall as a man whose intellectual powers are probably not exceeded by those of any other man of the age, and yet one of the firmest defenders of christianity which the world has seen. And we doubt not, that the union of intellectual power and moral excellence which his character presents, may stand in the place of many arguments, with a multitude of youth, to keep them from entering the broad road of open or disguised infidelity. In referring them to such a character as Mr. Hall, we accomplish a double purpose; we not only show them genuine christianity in alliance with one of the noblest intellects, but also as exerting its benign and choicest influences on the heart and life. If it were admitted, that infidelity has sometimes been found associated with an equally vigorous and powerful mind, we have still the advantage in the argument from authority, as it can never be shown in unison with the same high standard of moral excellence.

But Mr. Hall has exerted a still more direct influence in favor of the cause of evangelical truth by his writings, than by his character. His masterly sermon on infidelity, to which we have already more than once alluded, was peculiarly demanded by the exigencies of the period at which it was published; but its influence has been felt ever since on both sides of the Atlantic, and no doubt is destined to be felt with undiminished power, until the monster whose deformities it was designed to expose, shall hide his head in the dark corners of the earth. Perhaps he has published nothing in which he has aimed so heavy or so efficient a blow at Socinianism, as his review of Belsham's life of Lindsey; in which not only the author whom he reviews gets an exemplary chastisement for his gross misrepresentations, and his ridiculous attempts well nigh to canonize a man of only a common mind, but the arrogant claims of thesect to which the biographer belongs (we should ra