fit every way for yt purpose as this Gentleman, one who I beleeve in a short time would be able to doe them as good service as Mr. Ascan. This, my Lord, I write sinccerely, without any other end than to performe my dutey to ye publick, in helping them to an able servant; laying aside those jealosies, and that emulation, web mine owne condition might suggest me, by bringing in such a coadjutor; and remaine, to "My Lord, "Yor, most obliged, and "JOHN MILTON. Feb. ye. 21. 1652." Pp. 163, 164. To Mr. Todd we do not wish to impute blame. He could not publish what he did not find; but his title-page must mislead every reader. His account of Milton professes to be derived principally from documents in his Majesty's State Paper Office, now first published." So far from this being the fact, nine-tenths of the information contained in the book was known to every reader of Milton before Mr. Todd was born. The only portion of the volume which is taken from the documents in the State Paper Office is Section III.; extending from page 107 to page 183, and including the life of Milton only from his appointment as Secretary of Foreign Tongues to the restoration of Charles II.; and a considerable part even of that section is made up from other documents. All that Mr. Todd has brought together we are truly glad to see; but we cannot say that we know the life, or character, or genius, or times of Milton much better than we did before. His biographer has exercised a most praiseworthy diligence in research, but he has not produced a readable book. The public cannot take interest in a volume consisting of fragments of minutes of council, even though that council be the council of state. Extracts of wills, grants of pensions, and dolorous petitions, may all supply matter for the historian to work upon; but if his work itself is made up of such things, he must look for other readers than those which this country furnishes. Toland's resolution, when he wrote the first life of Milton, we think a that Mr. Todd did not profit by it. very wise one, and are surprised "I shall not be too minute in relating the ordinary circumstances of his life, and which are common to him with all other men. Writings of this nature should, in my opinion, be designed to recommend virtue and to expose vice, or to illustrate history and to preserve the memory of extraordinary things. That a man, for example, was sick at such a time, or well at another, should never be mentioned, except in the causes or effects, cure or continuance, there happens something remarkable, and for the benefit of mankind to know. I had not, therefore, related Milton's headaches in his youth, were it not for the influence which this indisposition had afterwards on his eyes; and that his blindness was rashly imputed by his enemies to the avenging justice of God." There is much good sense and discrimination in these observations, and which, as they partly refer to Milton's blindness, induce us to give Milton's own account of the commencement and progress of this sad calamity, in a beautiful letter to Leonard Phalaris, of which Mr. Hayley has furnished no less beautiful a translation, which Mr. Todd has copied into his volume. "As I have cherished from my childhood (if ever mortal did) a reverential fondness for the Grecian name, and for your native Athens in particular, so have I continually persuaded myself, that at city a very signal return for my benevolent some period I should receive from that regard: nor has the ancient genius of your most noble country failed to realize my presage; he has given me in you an attached to me. Though I was known to Attick brother, and one most tenderly you only by my writings, and though your residence was far distant from mine, you first addressed me in the most engaging terms by letter ; and afterwards coming stranger, who had no eyes to see you, unexpectedly to London, and visiting the continued your kindness to me uner that calamity, which can render me a more eligible friend to no one, and to many, perhaps, may make me an object of disregard. Since, therefore, you request me not to reject all hope of recovering my sight, as you have an intimate friend at Paris, in Thevenot the physician, who excels particularly in relieving ocular complaints, and whom you wish to consult concerning my eyes, after receiving from me such an account as may enable him to understand the source and symptoms of my disorder, I will certainly follow your kind suggestion, that I may not appear to reject assistance thus offered me, perhaps providentially. "It is about ten years, I think, since I perceived my sight to grow weak and dim, finding at the same time my intestines afflicted with flatulence and oppression. "Even in the morning, if I began as usual to read, my eyes immediately suffered pain, and seemed to shrink from reading, but, after some moderate bodily exercise, were refreshed; whenever I looked at a candle I saw a sort of iris around it. Not long afterwards, on the left side of my left eye (which began to fail some years before the other) a darkness arose, that hid from me all things on that side;-if I chanced to close my right eye, whatever was before me seemed diminished. In the last three years, as my remaining eye failed by degrees some some months before my sight was utterly gone, all things that I could discern, though I moved not myself, appeared to fluctuate, now to the right, now to the left. Obstinate vapours seemed to have settled all over my forehead and my temples, overwhelming my eyes with a sort of sleepy heaviness, especially after food, till the evening; so that I frequently recollect the condition of the prophet Phineus in the Argonauticks: • Him vapours dark 'Envelop'd, and the earth appeared to roll 'Beneath him sinking in a lifeless trance.' But I should not omit to say, that while I had some little sight remaining, as soon as I went to bed, and reclined on either side, a copious light used to dart from my closed eyes; then, as my sight grew daily less, darker colours seemed to burst forth with vehemence, and a kind of internal noise; but now, as if every thing lucid were extinguished, blackness, either absoabso lute or chequered, and interwoven, as it were with ash-colour, is accustomed to pour itself on my eyes; yet the darkness perpetually before them, as well during the night as in the day, seems always approaching rather to white than to black, admitting, as the eye rolls, a minute portion of light as through a crevice. "Though from your physician such a portion of hope also may arise, yet, as under an evil that admits no cure, 1 regulate and tranquillize my mind, often reflecting, that since the days of darkness allotted to each, as the wise man reminds us, are many, hitherto my darkuess, by the singular mercy of God, with the aid of study, leisure, and the kind conversation of my friends, is much less oppressive than the deadly darkness to which he alludes. For if, as it is written, man lives not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, why should not a man acquiesce even in this? not thinking that he can derive light from his eyes alone, but esteeming himself sufficiently enlightened by the conduct or providence of God. "As long, therefore, as He looks forward, and provides for me as He does, and leads me backward and forward by the hand, as it were, through my whole life, shall I not cheerfully bid my eyes keep holiday, since such appears to be His pleasure? But whatever may be the event of your kindness, my dear Philaras with a mind not less resolute and firm than if I were Lynceus himself, 1 bid you farewell. "Westminster, Sept. 28, 1654." Pp. 149-152. We have left ourselves little room for further remark on this extensive and interesting subject. It will be evident, from what we have said, that we do not mean to except Mr. Todd from our general observation, that Milton has not yet found a biographer worthy of him. Mr. Todd is too much a book-worm, and too closely connected with York or Canterbury, to appear as the impartial and decided historian of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the first poet of the world. He speaks of his political writings like a man` who is questioned about stolen goods, and is evidently ashamed of most of the associates of Milton. His language about Milton's pen being dipped in the gall of Puritanism," is illustrative of his school and his feelings, and, we may add, of his judgment. It is proof of his unfitness to estimate the man and his times. has made some additions to the brief which some future pleader is yet destined to employ with more 66 He powerful effect. We are not sanguine, and yet we will not despair. Should the writer of the splendid article which lately appeared in the Edinburgh Review, on the theological work of Milton, devote a few years of his life to the subject, we will venture to say they would not be thrown away; and we would express our hope, that a work might be the result, only inferior in genius and execution to the mighty effort by which Milton has obtained imperishable renown. The field is large and rich; it only requires the hand of a skilful and diligent cultivator to yield an abundant harvest. The Miltonic period is without controversy the most interesting of English history; it was fruitful in extraordinary characters and uncommon incidents; and though much has been done of late to illustrate it, it is still far from being exhausted. Even the religious character and sentiments of Milton, we indulge the hope, are destined to undergo a more accurate investigation than they have yet experienced. He was, a man, on every subject, perhaps, sui generis; but we want the key which may probably unlock some of the intricacies which belong to his religious views. We are no apologists for his errors. We love the man, and admire the poet; but we do not choose to sink Christianity in our admiration of genius. Perhaps he was one of those mysterious examples furnished by the. providence of heaven, to show that the utmost extent of human genius and talent, when unassisted by the influence which is from above, and fostered by pride of understanding, be left, in the affairs of religion, to manifest the greatest weakness and folly. How important to cultivate the spirit of his own admirable advice may Be lowly wise: Think only what concerns thee and thy being: Contented that thus far hath been revealed, Not of earth only, but of highest heaven. On Scripture Difficulties. Twenty Discourses preached before the University of Cambridge, in the Year 1822, at the Lecture founded by the Rev. J. Hulse, M. A. By C. Benson, M. A. &c. London, 1825. Baldwin, 8vo. 12s. SOCRATES is reported to have said, concerning the writings of Heraclitus, that so much of them as could be understood, must be pronounced excellent and admirable; and that that portion might be believed to be so, which could not be understood. It is very certain, that the objectors to the sacred Scriptures, in resting their opposition upon a few obscure places and apparent contradictions, have displayed little of the wisdom, and none of the candour of that amiable heathen; and our modern deists, at least, appear very unlikely to be benefited by an example of modesty and fairness, which the malignity and vulgarity of their minds disqualify them to appreciate. They have disdained no artifice, however mean, and withheld no railing, however violent and unjust, by which they could excite the very lowest and worst passions of human nature against revelation. An awful spirit of blindness and rashness is fallen upon them, and their attempts to make good their argument, resemble any thing rather than that dispassionate and serious spirit of inquiry, which alone becomes so grave and momentous a question, or which could lead to its satisfactory termination. Nothing can be more strikingly contrasted than the temper of some late deistical works, and the calm, benovolent, and dignified tone of reasoning maintained, for instance, in such a work as the one before us, and the one from the pen Mr. Davison, which we had last month the pleasure of introducing to our readers. of This is one valuable purpose which, in God's economy of the by the continuance of infidelity in its various grades-the opportunity it affords the Christian advocate for exhibiting the amiable spirit, and displaying the argumentative resources of Christianity. "In meekness instructing them that oppose themselves -if God, peradventure, will give them repentance, to the acknowledging of the truth"-is a principle which cannot be too closely followed, in all attempts to meet the enemies of the Gospel. The genuine exhibition of the spirit of revelation will do infinitely more towards the suppression of infidelity, than legal prosecutions. Thoroughly convinced, as we have long been, of the impolicy, as well as sinfulness, of employing such weapons in the defence of the Gospel, we cannot but hail with delight the numerous and important accessions of reason and learning, which almost every day brings to the cause of Christianity. For the great body of the people, such works as the present may be unnecessary; but, so long as the human heart, especially with some degree of light, lies under temptations to disbelieve, and so long as the enemies of faith hold themselves in hostile guise, and watch to make the young, the public, and the ignorant, their prey-the duty of Christians is imperative, both to fortify their frontier at every point, and to pursue the conflict till every foe is subjugated to the yoke of Christ. church, appears to be answered thing material might be done in this line,) as to bring together, into one compressed form, what lies scattered over long leagues and tracts, we might almost say, deserts of learning. It is by no means to be admitted, that upon the solution of doctrinal, historical, philological, or philosophical difficulties, depends the question at issue between the infidel and the Christian. The main body of the Christian evidence stands quite independent of the imperfections in the text, or the obscurities in the contents of Revelation. Let the question of external evidence be first settled, before the book itself be scrutinized; then let the Christian advocate avail himself of the benefits of the first stage of proof, through which he has advanced; or, let him require, before he proceeds to the solution of the difficult places, what he has a right to assume, that the book is of divine origin, and is to be estimated fairly by this pretension, as being placed, by the very fact professed, in circumstances altogether different from any human composition. As it regards some parts of the argument in favour of revelation, the Scriptures must be judged by the ordinary rules applied to all other compositions; but there might arise an ternal suspicion of their false ness, if every part and department of their contents were explicable by the same laws, and reducible to the same processes of thought, as are universally applicable to human writings. The compositions of uninspired men would be as unfairly tried and condemned, upon the supposition of their being divine, as the inspired writings are, upon a supposition of their being human-a supposition which contradicts the first principle on which they rest, and denies what they every where assume. In the controversy, G Mr. Benson has encountered a subject of great importance, and of no small difficulty. It is one which, we have long thought, has invited the labours of some learned and discriminating friend of Revelation; or which might more properly employ the minds and pens of several; not so much to discover new solutions, (though someN. S. No. 25. in rational and consistent theist, the friend of revelation may soon bring the controversy to a close. Let the words of revelation be received as the production of that same mind which gave being to the universe, and law to the rational intelligences, and then the congruity, in the nature and extent of the mysteries and difficulties, discernible in all the separate departments of his works, becomes rather a seal of unity, than an argument of contradiction, and should be construed into an identity, rather than into a discrepancy, of authorship. It is to be admitted that there might be difficulties of such a nature as completely to cancel and set aside the claim to inspiration. It is not every difficulty or mystery, however, that can, even by infidels, be supposed to annul these pretensions. They seem, by the very effort of exaggeration to be conscious, that every difficulty, and every mysterious page in revelation, do not amount to a forfeiture of its claims. Hence the laborious artifices, the special pleadings, employed to magnify some of these hard places into absurdities; some into philosophical impossibilities; and others into a violation of the moral principles of human nature and hence, too, the grosser and more vulgar artifice of construing the vices, or the occasional lapses of the leading characters of Scripture, to the discredit of revelation, or even of its Author himself. Now that there are hard sayings-absolute difficulties of explanation-and mysteries of impossible solution to finite minds-may be frankly admitted. The disciple of revelation need not care to deny the fact; the discrimination in the nature and extent of these difficulties, is the point he has to maintain, and that none of them amount to an invalidation of the alleged charac therefore, it should always be clearly understood, that there are but two points on which the question can fairly be debated. The infidel must either dispute the evidence and disprove the facts which attest the authority of the revelation, or he must take the revelation upon its own assumption, and proceed to show that its contents cannot be worthy of God to impart, nor of man to receive. It is but very rarely that infidels attempt any thing more than to carp at the mysterious and obscure parts of the sacred volume. These they endeavour to isolate as much as possible, from all its sublimer and less questionable portions; they pass over in silence the great mass of its contents, and fix, with malicious subtilty, upon a few hard sayings, which they endeavour to wrest from their connexion, or to pervert to an import altogether foreign; and which, by being placed together, repeated with disingenuous exaggerations, and, in their condensed form, surrounded with the murky and distorting atmosphere of hostile matter, present a far more formidable appearance than really belongs to them, or than they are ever felt to possess, when they are casually met with in the fair and honest perusal of the sacred volume itself. It is, therefore, a work of vital importance to reduce, as far as possible, both the number and the force of these difficulties; at all events, to show that whatever is their number and their nature, there is not one that can fairly be construed into an invalidation of the primary claim, which revelation sets up for itself, of being the word of God. The departments of nature and of providence, supply so many analogous difficulties, and, in many respects, difficulties of a more mysterious and less tractable character, that, with any |