plea, considering that the law was given to Noah after the earth had been purified, before his descendants had begun again to corrupt themselves. But he takes no notice of the remarkable words of St. Paul, any more than he does of the two striking passages in the New Testament, which have always been looked upon as reiterations of the law given by God to Noah. Put up thy sword into his place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. And He that killeth with the sword must (Seî) be killed with the sword.' And what scripture does he bring against the doctrine of civil punishment being retributive? This only; 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.' Yet this passage, as he himself observes, is quoted by St. Paul from the Book of Deuteronomy, the very book which sets forth with the utmost plainness the retributive nature of the Jewish law. If, then, vengeance was God's,' although civil punishment was retributive, then, why may it not be so now? Mr. Gatty says, somewhat mistily,— Unless we can prove our national laws to be distinctly the edicts of Almighty God, that we live in the same personal communication with him that the Jews and still earlier families of the earth enjoyed, and therefore that we draw the authority of existing laws from an infallible source ... all the authority we have in such matters is derived from the expediency of the case.' What? Is there no medium? Is no authority from God that is not directly from Him? Are human instincts not God's voice within men? May not we Christians say of our laws, at least, what the heathen could say of theirs? νόμοι . ὑψίποδες, οὐρανίαν δι αιθέρα Or again, may we not draw our laws from an infallible source, the law of blood for blood for instance, from the three passages we have quoted, without miraculous personal communication' with Almighty God, such as the Jews and earlier families of the earth enjoyed?' Finally, is there no such things as mediate authority, derived powers, deliverance from man to man of the right to represent God? May not 'kings reign by God, and princes decree justice,' without receiving their commission, as Moses, or Saul, or David did? Vengeance is God's,' none the less because he works by instruments; nor does it matter one straw whether they * Sophocl. Æd. Tyr. 865. be sentient or no. "God repays' equally, whether it be the lightning that blasts, or the just judge that condemns, whether his minister' be the 'flaming fire,' or the avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.' 6 Such But we are exceeding the limits of a Short Review.' as desire further satisfaction on this point we refer to Mr. Prichard's valuable Prize Essay on the doctrine of punishment, and to an article in our own periodical (No. xii. Art. vii.) on the same subject. With the exceptions upon which we have commented, we are happy to express our approval of Mr. Gatty's volume. The Ship of Glass, or the Mysterious Island, a Romance; and Atcherly, a Tale. 3 vols. By HARGRAVE JENNINGS. London. NEWBY, 1846. 6 A work, as its author states, of some pretension. The Ship of Glass' especially is an attempt at a species of fiction of the most difficult kind. Few Englishmen have either experience or delicacy enough of imagination to succeed in pure romance. Mr. Jennings' attempt, we fear, must be pronounced a failure. Having formed a single extravagant conception, the construction of a ship of glass, in the rest of his tale he has given a mere common-place fiction of the most ordinary kind. Apart from this one marvel the supernatural has no place in the story-we are brought into no presence of the spirit world-we have no mystery, no strangeness-in a word, no romance. A jealous old father, who keeps his fair daughter secluded from the world, a foolish prosy duenna, an angel of a young lady, and a bold lowborn lover, these are the materials out of which the tale is, we will not say wrought, but put together. Now that the English public has become familiarised with the exquisite productions of the modern German School, especially of Tieck and La Motte Fouqué, such a tale as Mr. Jennings' can scarcely be received with much favour. It is not wanting in spirit, and the descriptions are good, though spun out to a most extravagant length, but this is the most that we can say in its favour. Ateherly is a tale of more promise, but disfigured with unexplained improbabilities. An Easy Introduction to Chemistry. By GEORGE SPARKES. 2nd edition. London. Whittaker, 1846. We are not surprised that this little treatise has already reached a second edition. We certainly know of no work which the student is likely to find so useful to him at the commencement of his chemical studies. The adoption of the analytic in preference to the synthetic method is a great help to learners; and the directions with regard to experiments are all that could be wished. We strongly recommend the work in preference to any other to all who have not yet made themselves acquainted with the alphabet of chemical science. Colton Green: a Tale of the Black Country. By the Rev. WILLIAM GRESLEY, M.A., Prebendary of Lichfield. Londou Masters, 1846. This, which forms the fifteenth volume of the Juvenile Englishman's Library, is a tale possessing the usual merits of Mr. Gresley's fictions. The subject of the tale is Church Building. We only regret that so much excellent advice on so important a matter should not have been brought forward by the author in a graver form. Few will guess that Colton Green: a Tale of the Black Country,' is a treatise on the building of churches. Ignes de Castro: a Tragedy in Five Acts. By the Author of Rural Sonnets.' London. Hurst. 1846. We are glad to see this striking drama presented to the public in a less fugitive form than that in which it has already become known to them.* We trust that one day it will receive what it so well merits, at least a trial, on the part of some judicious manager. That it would, be effective we have little doubtindeed stage effect is perhaps somewhat too constantly aimed at. It is less pleasant to read than it would otherwise be, on this account. Conic Sections, their principal Properties proved Geometrically By W. WHEWELL, D.D., Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.. Newton's Principia. Book I., Sections I. II. III. In the Original Latin, with Explanatory Notes and References. Edited by W. WHEWELL, D.D., Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. London. Parker. 1846. We notice these publications simply for the purpose of contributing, so far as lies in our power, to make them generally known. Dr. Whewell's name is of itself sufficient recommendation of the works to all students. We will only venture to express our high approval of his recalling students to the ipsissima verba of the great Sir Isaac. The wretched 'modernization' system which in one university ruins Aldrich, in the other Newton, has long needed to be exposed, and will, we trust, ere many years are gone be exploded. UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE. OXFORD. The following Degrees have been conferred :B.C.L. C. C. Clifford, All Souls. J. W. Slegg, New Inn Hall. M.A. C. W. F. Glyn, Christ Church. B. A. VOL. III. J. Addams, St. John's. C. Holland, University. T. A. Strong, Grand Comp., Exeter. Rev. J. W. Distin, Pembroke. Rev. R. Palairet, Worcester. Rev. J. Lloyd, Worcester. Rev. E. T. Waters, Worcester. Rev. T. P. Nunn, St. Mary Hall. S. Lucas, Queen's. Rev. H. C. Godby, Lincoln. Rev. A. P. Forbes, Brasenose. R. T. H. Griffith, Queen's. Thomas Stainton, Wadham. T. B. Macnamara, St. Mary Magd. Hall. H. F. B. Ffolkes, University. F. R. Perry, University. E. R. P. Bastard, Grand Comp., Balliol. E. Eade, Grand Comp., Baliol. G. A. K. Howman, Balliol. R. G. M. Sumner, Balliol. 3 B |