to which your attention is directed, are truths as old as the Bible, which have been topics of discussion from chairs and pulpits from the first ages of our religion. It cannot be supposed that, in a field which has been so often and so carefully surveyed, there is any thing left to be gathered by the persons who shall walk over it again. Our purpose is gained if we are able to impart to the rising race the knowledge which was imparted to ourselves by our predecessors: and the utmost at which we could reasonably aim is to suggest some small matter which has been overlooked; to propose a new argument, or a better statement of an old argument; or, it may be, to throw some light upon a portion of the Scriptures not yet fully understood. In human sciences, discoveries may be made by superior penetration, and more patient inquiry; and their advanced state in the present age is a proof of the success of modern philosophers in the investigation of the secrets of nature. Discoveries might have been made in religion while revelation was in progress, and its light was increasing like that of the morning; but as seventeen centuries have elapsed since it was completed, and during this long interval it has engaged the attention of the wise, the learned, and the pious, there is every probability that we have been anticipated in all our views." The Edinburgh edition was published under the superintendence of a son of the author, Andrew Coventry Dick, Esq. The present edition is an exact reprint of the former, and in the course of publication has been under the supervision of one who was formerly a pupil of Dr. Dick, and heard a considerable portion of them read. The appendix, containing observations on the atonement of Christ, belongs properly to the fifty-eighth lecture; and it was the original design of the American editor to have inserted them in their proper place in the body of the work; but as he was at a loss, upon examination, to determine the precise place in which their author would have wished them to come, he has judged it best to allow them to be published in their present shape. In the preparation of the memoir prefixed to the first volume, the editor has made much use of the Life of Dr. Dick by his son A. C. Dick, Esq., and of a short sketch of his life and writings of his son-in-law, Rev. W. Peddie, of Edinburgh. Philadelphia, 1835. J. F. MEMOIR OF THE REV. JOHN DICK, D.D. THE subject of the following memoir was the son of the Rev. Alexander Dick, of Aberdeen, Scotland. His father was descended from a very respectable family in the county of Kinross, and connected with the church of Scotland. He pursued his literary course at the University of St. Andrew's, and prepared for the ministry at the Theological Seminary of the Secession Church at Glasgow, then under the care of the Rev. James Fisher. Shortly after his licensure he was installed pastor of a church in Aberdeen. At the time of his settlement in that city, the spiritual condition of the north of Scotland generally, and of this city in particular, was lamentable indeed. Beside himself, there was not known to be another minister who preached the gospel in its purity in that place or the immediate neighbourhood. Mr. Dick was not distinguished for his extraordinary talents nor his extensive literary attainments; but he was eminent for what is far better-holi ness, and devotion to the cause of Christ, for primitive simpli city of character, and unwearied diligence in the duties of his office. "His life," according to the inscription on his monument, "was a perpetual commentary on the purity of his doctrine." After labouring in that city successfully for thirtyfour years, he died in 1793, universally lamented. His memory, as the writer of this memoir can testify, is still precious in Aberdeen. His eldest son, JOHN DICK, was born in Aberdeen, on the 10th of October, 1764. Mrs. Dick, who possessed a remarkably vigorous and well-cultivated mind, and who seems to have been fully aware of the extent of maternal influence and responsibility, watched with much anxiety the progress of his early education. And if the excellence of the scholar is any proof of the qualifications of the teacher, we may be certain that his education could not have been committed to better vii hands. Dr. Dick always dwelt with peculiar delight on her memory, and never spoke of her but with enthusiasm. It is but proper to add, that she was permitted to reap the reward of her labours, as she lived to witness the distinction and the eminent usefulness of her son. Dr. Dick received his early education in the grammarschool of Aberdeen; and there, at a very early age, gave proof of those abilities by which he afterwards rose to eminence. There is an incident connected with his entering the university of Aberdeen, and in proof of this, which is worthy of being related. At the commencement of the session he presented himself, without the knowledge of his father, as a candidate for a scholarship, which was to be determined by open competition. The exercise prescribed to the candidates was to translate two passages, the one from a Latin and the other from an English author, into the opposite languages respectively: and to preclude the possibility of unequal aid, each candidate was sent to a room by himself, without books or any other assistance; and though by much the junior competitor, he carried off the prize. He was then only in his twelfth year. While at the university, the late Rev. Robert Hall of Bristol, Sir James Macintosh, and the eminent Greek scholar, Dr. Charles Burney, were among his fellow students. With the former he at that time became but slightly acquainted; the two latter gentlemen were among his intimate associates and friends. It is rather an uncommon coincidence, that three such men as Robert Hall, Sir James Macintosh, and Dr. Dick should have been brought together to the same college at the same time; and still more, that they should have been all spared to a good old age, and cease from their labours within little more than a year of each other. Dr. Dick was a particular favourite with all the professors whose classes he attended. Professor Ogilvy, under whom he studied Latin, entertained a very special attachment for him and was very desirous, knowing that his pupil was designed for the ministry, that he should enter the Established church. As he could not conscientiously unite with the Establishment, he resolved to connect himself with the Secession church, of which his father was a minister, although strongly urged also by family relatives belonging partly to the church of |