LIST OF NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY CHAPMAN, BROTHERS, (LATE JOHN CHAPMAN,) Booksellers and Publishers; and Agents for the Sale of CHAPMAN, BROTHERS, receive Orders for any Books published in the THE PROSPECTIVE REVIEW: EDITED BY The Rev. JAMES MARTINEAU, of Liverpool; THE PROSPECTIVE REVIEW is devoted to a free THEOLOGY, and the moral aspects of LITERATure. Under the conviction that lingering influences from the doctrine of verbal inspiration are not only depriving the primitive records of the Gospel of their true interpretation, but even destroying faith in Christianity itself, the Work is conducted in the confidence that only a living mind and heart, not in bondage to any letter, can receive the living spirit of Revelation; and in the fervent belief that for all such there is a true Gospel of God, which no critical or historical speculation can discredit or destroy. It aims to interpret and represent Spiritual Christianity, in its character of the Universal Religion. Fully adopting the sentiment of Coleridge, that "the exercise of the reasoning and reflective powers, increasing insight, and enlarging views, are requisite to keep alive the substantial faith of the heart,"-with a grateful appreciation of the labours of faithful predecessors of all Churches,-it esteems it the part of a true reverence not to rest in their conclusions, but to think and live in their spirit. By the name "PROSPECTIVE REVIEW" it is intended to lay no claim to Discovery, but simply to express the desire and the attitude of Progress; to suggest continually the Duty of using Past and Present as a trust for the Future; and openly to disown the idolatrous Conservatism, of whatever sect, which makes Christianity but a lifeless formula. THE PROSPECTIVE REVIEW, NO. VII., Will be published on the 1st of August, 1846. Price 2s. 6d. *** Works for Review to be sent to the Publishers or Editors: Advertisements in all cases to the Publishers. The American Christian Examiner, and Religious Miscellany. Edited by the Rev. Drs. A. Lamson and E. S. Gannett. Shakspeare's Dramatic Art, and his relation A Bi to Calderon and Goethe. Translated from the German of Dr. Hermann Ulrici. 8vo. 12s. cloth. Outline of Contents. 1. Sketch of the History of the English Drama before Shakspeare. - R. Greene and Marlowe. II. Shakspeare's Life and Times. III. Shakspeare's Dramatic Style, and Poetic View of the World and Things. "In two respects the present work seems to be calculated to meet a want in our present German literature. It proposes to make the scientific world of Germany acquainted with the results of the historical researches of Englishmen, and also to exhibit, in its historical foundation, development, and attendant circumstances, the great historical fact which lies eternally before us in the poetry of Shakspeare. And besides this, it was my wish to give an estimate of Shakspeare from the high points of view of modern Esthet cs-of Christian Esthetics, I would rather say, did I not fear that at this word many would begin to cry out Pietism! Pietism!' and begin to argue that I made of the great poet, who as such could be no Christian, a proselyte, or even a pietist, while others would say that I had made him out a poor sinner, before the tribunal of a religious and moral pedantry. But I have done neither, even because he was himself a good Christian, and so confessed himself a sinner. I have therefore confined myself to set forth the profundity and sublimity of his poetical view of life, which was simply on this account sublime and profound, because it was Christian, and Christian, also, even because it was profound and sublime...... I am too well aware that the philosophers par excellence will be able to see no depth in my book, either because it does not enter into the absolute profoundness of their own philosophy, IV. Criticisms of Shakspeare's Plays. v. Dramas ascribed to Shakspeare of doubtful Authority. VI. Calderon and Goethe in their relation to Shakspeare. or because it adopts a freedom from a strict philosophical form, or rather from what they at present call so. I would, however, beg leave to remind them, that the expression of æsthetical ideas must at least precede a system of æsthetics and I would also ask, whether an æsthetical system, which is not merely philosophically conceived, but also based on the firm foundation of history, is not preferable to every other?"-Preface. "A good translation of Dr. Ulrici's work on Shakspeare cannot fail of being welcome to the English tinker. It is, in fact, a vindication of our great poet from a charge which has lately been brought against him by critics on both sides of the Atlantic. Dr. Uirici boldly claims for him the rank of an eminently Christian author.... The present work is the least German of all German books, and contains remarkable novelty in its views of the subject and the arrangement of its topics. The pan adopted by Dr. Ulrici of contemplating each play in the light of a central idea is especially deserving of all praise... We recommend the entire criticism to the perusal of the judicious reader.... An ingenious treatise."-Athenæum. "We welcome this work as a valuable accession to Shakspearean literature. It comprises in one volume a vast body of facts and opinions concerning both the personal and artistic character of Shakspeare, which, previously, was not generally open to the English student. The information which, hitherto, was to be obtained only in costly editions of the great dramatist, or else to be gleaned from several independent, and often very rare, sources, is here brought together in a most accessible form And all this is accompanied with a general estimate of Shakspeare as a dramatic poet, and with a critical analysis of his several plays; and, lastly, to set before us more distinctly and palpably the universality of Shakspeare's genius, Dr. Ulrici enters upon a comparison of Shakspeare with Goethe and Calderon, the only two dramatists whose European reputation could place them in competition with him. It is the principal object of Dr. Ulrici's criticisms of the several plays, to trace and bring to light the fundamental and vivifying idea of each. In this difficult task we think he has been eminently successful. We cannot dismiss this very valuable work, which breathes a tone of pure and exalted morality, derived from a mind truly religious, and whose holy and chastening influence expresses itself throughout, without remarking how much we admire the excellent manner in which it is translated. When reading a translation, the less we are reminded of the fact the better; and, in the work before us, this is particularly the case. The style is lucid, smooth, and flowing, and yet leaves the impression of having been rendered from the original with scrupulous fidelity; and this, from careful comparison, we can testify to be true."-Inquirer. The Flight of Armida: a Poem, In One Thousand Prospective Cantos, by one of the surviving Whims of Ludovico Ariosto. Canto the First, fcp. 8vo. 2s. 6d. cloth; Vol. 2 (containing Cantos 3 to 7), 10s. The Life of the Rev. Joseph Blanco White. Written by Himself. sire for truth, which may remind the reader of Doctor Arnold."-Examiner. With Portions of his Correspondence. Edited by John Hamilton Thom. 3 vols. post 8vo. 1. 4s. cloth. "This is a book which rivets the at- | tention, and makes the heart bleed. It has, indeed, with regard to himself, in its substance, though not in its arrangement, an almost dramatic character; so clearly and strongly is the living, thinking, active man projected from the face of the records which he has left. "His spirit was a battle-field, upon which, with fluctuating fortune and singular intensity, the powers of belief and scepticism waged, from first to last, their unceasing war; and within the compass of his experience are presented to our view most of the great moral and spiritual problems that attach to the condition of our race."-Quarterly Rev. "There is a depth and force in this book which tells." Christian Remembrancer. "The Life of Blanco White contains the history of the varying opinions of a man made as remarkable by diversified associations as by his personal character. We have a bird's-eye view of the extremes of all the religious parties of Europe."-Tait's Magazine. "We have awaited this book with something more than curiosity-we have received it with reverential feelings, and perused it with a deep and sustained interest."-Inquirer. "This book will improve his (Blanco White's) reputation. There is much in the peculiar construction of his mind, in its close union of the moral with the intellectual faculties, and in its restless de "A man possessed of great intellectual power, extensive acquirements, and the highest moral qualities, who was throughout life animated by a sincere and fervent love of truth, is here represented as passing through the different conditions involved in a successive connexion with the Church of Rome and the Church of England, and a final renunciation of all Church authority whatsoever. "Your experience,' says Dr. Channing to him, 'is a type of the world's history. You have passed, in your short life, through the stages which centuries are required to accomplish in the case of the race.' The feeling with which we follow him from step to step of this progress is one of personal endearment"-Christian Reformer. "These volumes have an interest beyond the character of Blanco White. The first part, consisting of his Autobiography to 1826, exhibits an interesting view of a religious Spanish family towards the close of the last century; gives a very good account of the character of the education in Spain; and presents a picture of Spanish Roman ism and its priesthood, searching, critical, real, and curious. The second part, entitled by the author, 'A Sketch of his Mind in England,' contains a narrative of his religious feelings before and during his connexion with the Anglican Church, exhibited as they From with which it was published. arose by extracts from his journal, sub-relation to the biographical purpose sequently commented upon by his Unitarian lights. And although not without interest, intermingled as this section is with some accounts of his friends and his writings, it will be to many readers the least attractive of the book. The third part, extending from 1825 till his death, consists of extracts from his journals and correspondence, selected and arranged in chronological order by Mr. Thom, together with a brief narrative of his last days. And beside the intrinsic interest of his self-portraiture, whose character is indicated in some of our extracts, the correspond-pleasure of expressing the admiration ence, in the letters of Lord Holland, we feel for the courage, simplicity, and Southey, Coleridge, Channing, Norton, modesty with which Mr. Thom has Mill, Professor Powell, Dr. Hawkins, edited these volumes." and other names of celebrity, has considerable attractions in itself, without "We have seldom seen a work of this kind more ably edited. Mr. Thom possesses the rare virtue of sacrificing self to the full exhibition of the excellencies and the talent of his departed friend. never interposes between the author and the reader."-Atlas. He "We cannot deny ourselves the American Christian Examiner. A Retrospect of the Religious Life of England; Or, the Church, Puritanism, and Free Inquiry. By John James Tayler, B.A. Post 8vo. 10s. 6d. cloth. The object of this work is briefly indicated in the author's own language, as follows: "The idea which possessed my mind, when I first sketched out the plan of this volume, was the desirableness of embracing in a common point of view, the phenomena of the different religious parties, whose unintermitted strife, and sharp contest of manners and opinions, have given such a deep and varied interest to the spiritual history of England, especially during the three centuries which have elapsed since the Reformation. In pursuing this idea, I have tried to discover the governing principles-to understand the characteristic working of each party-to apprehend their mutual relation-to show how they have occasionally passed off into each otherand, out of their joint operation, to trace the evolution of a more comprehensive principle, which looks above the narrowness of their respective views, and, allying itself with the essential elements of the Christian faith, may in time, perhaps, devise some method of reconciling an unlimited freedom and variety of the religious life with the friendliness and mutual recognition of universal brotherhood."-Preface. "The work is written in a chastely beautiful style, manifests extensive reading, and careful research; is full of thought, and decidedly original in its character. It is marked also by the modesty which usually characterises true merit."-Inquirer. "Mr. Tayler is actuated by no sectarian bias, and we heartily thank him for this addition to our religious literature."-Westminster Review. "It is not often our good fortune to meet with a book so well conceived, so well written, and so instructive as this. It shows the origin of that religious torpor in the Anglican Church of the last century, which is now looked back upon with abhorrence by the Evangelicals as the age of "moral discourses." And it shows the circumstances which gave rise to that remarkable body of men, the English deists, who went into the learning of divinity with the zeal of divines, that they might attack the religion of their country; and who, forming a complete contrast to the light, laughing, French infidels who succeeded them and used the results of their labours, approximated more to the Protestantism of modern Germany;-with, however, this important distinction, that the German rationalists are professors with whom theology is a sort of metier, whereas the utterances of such men as Anthony Collins were spontaneous effusions of opinion. These various phases of the national mind, described with the clearness and force of Mr. Tayler, furnish an inexhaustible material for reflection. "Mr. Tayler himself is an Unitarian, and therefore belongs to the third class in his statement of sects; but we exhort our readers, of whatever persuasion, not to let this circumstance dissuadé them from the perusal of a work so wise and so useful. Not only does he avoid all that might give offence to the most tender conscience-this would be a mere prudential merit-but he regards all parties in turn from an equitable point of view, is tolerant towards intolerance, and admires zeal and excuses fanati cism, wherever he discerns honesty. | Nay, he openly asserts that the religion of mere reason is not the religion to produce a practical effect on a people; and therefore regards his own class only as one element in a better possible church. The clearness and comprehensive grasp with which he marshals his facts are even less admirable than the impartiality, nay, more than that, the general kindliness, with which he reflects upon them."-Examiner. "We find in this volume a more genuine warmth of devotional feeling, and a more prominent and central position in the divine economy assigned to our Redeemer, than we are prepared to expect in the writings of an Unitarian. The writer of this volume has all the calmness belonging to one who feels himself not mixed up with the struggle he describes. There is about it a tone of great moderation and condour; and we cannot but feel confident that we have here, at least, the product of a thoroughly honest mind." Lowe's Edinburgh Magazine. A Discourse of Matters pertaining to Religion. By Theodore Parker. Post 8vo. 7s. cloth. Book 1.-Of Religion in General; or, a Book 2.-The Relation of the Religious Book 3.- The Relation of the Reli- "There is a mastery shown over every element of the Great Subject, and the slight treatment of it in parts no reader can help attributing to the plan of the work, rather than to the incapacity of the author. From the resources of a mind singularly exuberant by nature and laboriously enriched by culture, a system of results is here thrown up, and spread out in luminous exposition. The work we have reviewed is the confession, at the threshold of a high career, of a great reforming soul, that has thus cleared itself of hinderance and girded up itself for a faithful future." Prospective Review. "That it is beautifully written is beyond question. It presents the author's thoughts in such a forcible manner, and with such rich and varied illustration, as to engage attention and confer pleasure. We would not proscribe this book, nor lose the benefit of its just sentiments and beauties of thought and language, but neither would we have it misunderstood; let the thoughtful reader go to first principles, and consider them well, and we have no fear for the result."-Inquirer. "This volume is the production of a highly-gifted mind, animated by the boldest spirit of tree inquiry. The author brings to his subject the richest stores of erudition, and a power of analysis rarely surpassed. In the comprehensiveness of his views, and the fearlessness of his deductions, there is nothing of the wildness of speculation, nor of the rash defiances of a vain phi reth; or, a Discourse of Chris- Book 4.-The Relation of the Religious or, a Discourse of the Bible. Book 5.-The Relation of the Religious "Mr. Parker is no ephemeral teacher. His aspirations for the future are not less glowing than his estimate for the past. He revels in warm anticipations of the orient splendours, of which all past systems are but the pre cursors. His language is neither narrow nor unattractive; there is a consistency and boldness about it which will strike upon chords which, when they do vibrate, will make the ears more than tingle. We are living in an age which deals in broad and exhaustive theories; which requires a system that will account for everything, and assigns to every fact a place, and that no forced one, in the vast economy of things. Whatever defects Mr. Parker's view may have, it meets these requisites. It is large enough, and promising enough; it is not afraid of history. It puts forth claims; it is an articulately speaking voice. It deals neither in compromise nor abatement. It demands a hearing; it speaks with authority. It has a complete and determined aspect. It is deficient neither in candour nor promises; and whatever comes forward in this way will find hearers." Christian Remembrancer. |