after welcoming me with a cordiality which I felt to be sincere, told me we would have time, he thought, to look over the grounds, or see the garden, which he said was better worth seeing than I might anticipate. Just at this moment his father returned, and he introduced us to each other-I never in my life beheld any aged man whose personal appearance impressed me with stronger sentiments of veneration and respect. He was, like the son, tall and in no degree bent with his years; though slender and feeble, his erect commanding person and the highly intellectual cast of his pale features, gave an uncommon air of dignity and thought to his face. These, however, were tempered by the same peculiar sweetness of expression, which characterized the countenance of the son; his hair was thrown back from his forehead, and fell down in snowy ringlets on his shoulders. When he came in, the son took his hat and cane and hung them on two brass hooks, which I could perceive were used for that purpose alone: he then changed the old man's shoes, the latchets of which with his own hands he lifted on his feet, lest in his walk he might have sustained any injury by the damp. The father, though clear and intelligent in conversation with strangers, was nevertheless habituated, by the force of affection, to a childish simplicity of manner towards his son, which any man unacquainted with their domestic life and the loneliness of their situation, would have thought inconsistent with the courteous and reasonable tenor of his conduct to others. At breakfast he knew not the degree of sweetness or the quantity of cream necessary to mellow his chocolate, until the other pronounced it right, for even the functions of his own senses he surrendered in these heart-fixing attentions, to the tenderness of that loving and beloved son. When breakfast was over, the old man said, " James, as you will be engaged with Mr. for some time, I will stroll down to the reapers, and you may expect me in a couple of hours, but James, when I return I will not disturb you"-"Very well, my dear father," said the other"I will not stir out till your return." As the old man was going out, the son observing the pin which fastened the breast of his shirt to be loose, went over and adjusted it himself-he then got his father's hat and cane, helped him on with his gloves, and settled the white locks in their proper position on his shoulders. During all this time the good old man stood with an air of that tender passiveness which rests upon the countenance, and renders us so amenable under the touching offices of sympathy and affection. When he was prepared for his walk he turned round and looked upon his son-it was with a smile of pride-but there was a tear in his eye which he wished to conceal but could not.-"God bless you, James," said he, addressing the son as he went out-" God bless you, my dear"-but his voice lost its firmness whilst pronouncing these words "Alas, Sir," said he to me, in a tone which was inaudible to the son, on whom his eyes were then fixed, "you see I will not have him long; but I have one hope, and that is, that I myself may go before him, and not live to feel what his loss would occasion me to suffer." When he was gone, I followed young Butler to his study, which was small, but neat and well furnished with iiterature. As soon as we were seated, he gave me the following account of himself, which I write nearly in his own words But, having already occupied so much room, I must defer entering upon the narrative to another opportunity. (To be continued.) WILTON. QUERY ON THE NICENE CREED. TO THE EDItor of the CHRISTIAN EXAMINER. MR. EDITOR-You or some of your readers may, perhaps, be able to inform me why it is that the Nicene Creed, in our Liturgy, is not conformable to the original, with respect to the characters given to the Church-We call it "one, catholic, and apostolic," omitting the epithet "holy," which occurs in the original. A CHURCHMAN. ON THE DATE OF THE TITLE "UNIVERSAL BISHOP." TO THE EDITOR of the CHRISTIAN EXAMINER. SIR-I perceive that Doctor Grier, in his valuable "Epitome of the General Councils," has given 606 as the year in which Phocas conferred upon Boniface III. the title of "Universal Bishop." I know that this is the date commonly assigned to that event; but there must surely be some mistake, as it seems indisputable, that Boniface III. did not commence his Pontificate until the 19th of February, 607. How this mistake originated I do not know. The date is of some importance, at least to those who determine the commencement of the 1260 years, by a reference to it. At the same time it must be acknowledged, that the authority upon which the fact itself rests is doubtful: nor can we say, with any certainty, that Phocas ever formally conferred upon Boniface the title of "Universal Bishop." One thing, however, is, I believe, certain, that Boniface III. could not have received the title till the year 607, as he was not Bishop of Rome until then. Perhaps some of your numerous correspondents can tell how the year 606 happened to be substituted, as it generally is, for 607. I am, Sir, yours very truly, T. K. REVIEW. An Epitome of the General Councils of the Church from the Council of Nice, A. D. 325, to the conclusion of the Roman Council of Trent, in the year 1563; with incidental Notices of other Councils; and an Appendix containing some observations on the first four General Councils, Jewel's Apology and Nowel's Catechisms. By the Rev. Richard Grier, D.D. M.R. I.A. 8vo. pp. xxi. and 338. Dublin, W. Curry, jun. and Co.; London, T. Cadell, and Hamilton, Adams and Co.; Edinburgh, W. Blackwood. It has been questioned whether the Church of Christ has suffered more from the persecution of enemies, or from the studied corruption of the truth, generated within her bosom by her own children; while, on the one hand, history witnesses that the blood of the martyrs has ever proved the seed of the Church, that the more the earth was watered therewith, the more the faith which is in Jesus has risen purified, beaming with greater force under trials, and triumphing even to death; a fearful picture is, on the other side, presented to us, of the gradual progress of error established by the most unworthy means; ecclesiastical records teem with proofs of the impostures and fictions successively brought forward to pervert and cloak "the faith once delivered to the Saints;" the very proceedings of Councils exhibit melancholy signs of the length to which the best advocates of the Church of Rome will go in support of their tottering supremacy, and of an infallibility which is altogether imaginary; but, with the growth of Papal dominion a corresponding extension of its ground-work has also taken place, while the seeds of Roman ambition have sprouted forth to bulk, due attention has been ever paid to perfect the foundation by which it was to be supported in its upreared form; under the fostering influence of ignorance in the dark ages, the genuine works of the most eminent Fathers have been corrupted; the inquisitorial power of the Index Expurgatorius was never established without a view to its sufficient use; and, as the brightest truths were before blackened, and the grossest absurdities countenanced, so now the most refined sophistry is brought to work upon the whole system, in order to uphold the ambitious practices of the Church of Rome, and to persuade the world that the iniquities and follies at present advocated, were the doctrines and discipline of early Christianity. To trace this system in all its bearings, however interesting, would be inconsistent with the compass of our present limits; it is the object of Dr. Grier's work upon the Councils to pursue it in its meandering course, and to press into notice, for the student's examination, such circumstances amidst the great mass of facts, (furnished, indeed, by our great libraries, but lying buried in the massive folios in which they are accumulated,) as may be most successfully employed against the Romish Priesthood of this country in the controversy which is daily acquiring additional importance. We may, however, as well state the learned Author's views in his own words: "To obviate the necessity, to which the student must be exposed, of undertaking a labour so Herculean, as that of exploring the ecclesiastical records of more than fifteen centuries ;-a labour likely to be abandoned, as soon as entered on, is the prime object of this Epitome. Having this object in view, the Author does not enter into a detailed account of any particular Council. He merely exhibits a summary of the facts and incidents belonging to each; while he points to the source from which more enlarged knowledge may be acquired, and whence he derived his own materials. With such a limitation, it is hoped, that his Epitome will be found a useful guide to the labours of others, without pretending at the same time to supersede their use..... A chronological arrangement, at once perspicuous, and calculated to assist the memory, is adopted, and each century designated by an appropriate title, illustrative of the characteristics peculiar to it. The precise period also, at which those Popish novelties were introduced into the Christian Church, which mark the departure from the Primitive faith, and which may be considered as so many excrescences on the Roman branch of the Apostolic tree, is noted down with great exactness. At the end of each chapter, which comprises the history of a century, a short review is taken of the sentiments of discordant Popes and Councils, in order to demonstrate that no foundation exists for the idol of Papal infallibility."—p. xii. xviii. That an intimate acquaintance with the acts of the successive Councils is of unquestionable utility, is, we think, a truth which will be allowed by all, even those who have hitherto derived least assistance to the Romish controversy, from an acquaintance with their vacillating, self-condemnatory, and contradictory proceedings; as Doctor Grier justly observes, they possess an interest which entitles them to the highest consideration: "Through them may be traced the Romish departure from the Primitive faith, and the gradual encroachment of a power, which though weak and lowly in its first aspirations, ultimately came to be established by the unprincipled, and despotic Hildebrand, over the lives, liberties, and consciences of European Christendom in the eleventh century............... A greater falling off is discoverable in the Ephesine Council and so on; each succeeding General Council, down to that of Trent, betraying the imperfections and weaknesses of the individuals of which it was composed. As to the Council of Trent, the best criterion by which we can judge of its pretensions to infallibility, will be found in the contradictions which exist between it, and the Councils which preceded it ; and in a comparison of its Decrees and Canons, with the simplicity, piety and charity of the Gospel."-p. viii. and p. 38. It is by a comprehensive view, (to be obtained alone by patient study) of the various and varying Decrees and Canons of the Councils, that the controversialist can hope to obtain a practical, and, therefore, a useful knowledge, of the absurdities which characterize the assertion, set up, of their infallibility. In this point of view, no work which, by presenting a synopsis of the subject, tends to lighten the labour of investigation to the theologian amidst his many other pursuits, can be without its use; and we think Dr. Grier eminently entitled to the thanks of the community for presenting us with the fruit of his studies upon the subject. It is not, however, altogether correct to say, that nothing of the kind ever made its appearance before in the English language;' a treatise, published by the learned Laurence Howel, in 1716, entitled, "The History of the Pontificate," furnishes us with much the same information; and we may remark, by the way, that Dr. Grier, in the copious notice given in his preface, of authors who have commented upon, or reduced the Councilseither enlarging them or bringing them below their original bulkhas omitted all mention of Mr. Howel's former work upon the Canons, published in 1708, and entitled, "Synopsis Canonum S. S. Apostolorum et Concil. Œcumen. et Provinc." a work unquestionably the most serviceable of all the treatises which had preceded it; it gives in a small compass the most material of the Canons in full, alluding at the same time to others not equally essential, and is enriched with the annotations of the Patriarch Balsamon, of Zonaras and Aristenus; the only fault we know in it is, that it is not be met with. As to his As to his "History of the Pontificate," (published in English,) a mass of information is there concentrated concerning the corruptions of antiquity, the conduct of Councils, and the encroachments of the Church of Rome, very similar, both in extent and in nature, to that furnished in the volume now before us; in the one case the lives of the Popes form the warp, through which is interwoven the tissue of extravagancies, absurdities, and impieties, which disgrace the Papal See, while the observations of Dr. Grier are carried forward by centuries; his book besides, has the advantage of being adapted to the present state of controversy, comprising a constant reference to the more modern publications; but in no one feature do they more resemble each other than in their continued attacks upon the Papal infallibility, a point upon which, we believe, the author's former work, in answer to Dr. Milner, was considered somewhat deficient. Infallibility is, indeed, the strong hold of Popery, which must be continually battered till it falls from beneath those enemies of the truth which have reared upon it their unholy fabric; it is the hinge upon which our whole controversy will be found ultimately to turn; not a doctrine which defaces the once pure Church of those "in Rome," but radiates from Infallibility as the sun and centre of their system, while to it each error again converges as to one common receptacle for the support of the entire mass; fong and pertinaciously as it has been claimed-and it was claimed long before a facility was allowed for its exercise-our efforts against it must not, therefore, be slackened; no victory can be expected to crown our exertions against Popery in general, while this delusion is allowed to maintain its force; whereas, if once disproved, the peculiar dogmas of Rome must stand or fall in the proportion in which they find support or repudiation from the word of God. Such we consider to be the importance of the doctrine of infallibility; and, as modern Popery has thought fit to lodge the attribute in the hands of a General Council, we shall avail ourselves of the present occasion to examine the title exhibited by such Councils either to its possession or its exercise. If a General Ecumenical Council, as it is termed, be infallible, it may, we should suppose, be proved so either from a special promise made to those bodies, or from the manifest results of its operation; as to the latter point, we shall, by and by, prove that they have left no VOL. VII. 2 E |