phere grows darker, and there seems to be no consciousness of a bright and cheering outlook. We close the book with sadness, and feel as if we had been present at a tragedy—the tragedy of a noble, gifted, and fascinating spirit struggling bravely and resolutely, and though overweighted and overborne, still struggling to the end.

CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE.

The Supernatural in Nature: A Vindication by Free Use of Science. By JOSEPH W. REYNOLDS, M.A., &c. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, & Co., 1883.

The Mystery of Miracles: A Scientific and Philosophical Investigation. By JOSEPH W. REYNOLDS, M.A., &c. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, & Co., 1881.

We are glad to see that the first of these two books has reached a third edition. It deserves a still greater success. Of all the books which have recently appeared, it is, in its own line, much the most readable, and in every respect the most satisfactory we have met with. The learning and ability it displays are exceptional. The author seems to have read and mastered almost every thing of value relating to his subject, to have thought out his principles and ideas for himself, and to be quite at home both in the latest discoveries or hypotheses of science, and in the highest flights of speculative philosophy. The spirit in which he has written is deserving of the warmest commendation. He is neither fearful, declamatory, nor dogmatic; but full of a reverent confidence in the truth he handles, and of respect for those from whom he differs in opinion. If he hits hard, as he frequently does, he hits fairly, and writes with the frankness of a man who believes that his cause is so good that all it requires for its furtherance is that it should be known and understood. His aim is to show that religion has nothing to fear from science, that science need not be opposed to it, and that when rightly understood it is not. This he does by proving that the supernatural and the natural are in reality inseparable, that the one is implicated in the other, and that behind both there is the omniactive, wise, and omnipotent will of God. These ideas, Mr. Reynolds follows out at great length, making a free use of science with special reference to the earlier chapters of Genesis. To give anything like a fair idea of the contents of his volume is, in the space at our disposal, impossible; but when we say that he deals with such subjects as the Origin of Things, Evolution, Molecular Energy, Creation, the Sun, Light, the Origin of Language and Civilization, the Origin of Species, Human Progress, Parasites and their place in the Economy of the Physical World, the Connection between the Visible and the Invisible, Revelation, and the Kingdom of God, and that all these and many kindred subjects are treated from a scientific as well as from the theological standpoint, and in the most

phere grows darker, and there seems to be no consciousness of a bright and cheering outlook. We close the book with sadness, and feel as if we had been present at a tragedy-the tragedy of a noble, gifted, and fascinating spirit struggling bravely and resolutely, and though overweighted and overborne, still struggling to the end.

CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE.

The Supernatural in Nature: A Vindication by Free Use of Science. By JOSEPH W. REYNOLDS, M.A., &c. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, & Co., 1883.

The Mystery of Miracles: A Scientific and Philosophical Investigation. By JOSEPH W. REYNOLDS, M.A., &c. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, & Co., 1881.

We are glad to see that the first of these two books has reached a third edition. It deserves a still greater success. Of all the books which have recently appeared, it is, in its own line, much the most readable, and in every respect the most satisfactory we have met with. The learning and ability it displays are exceptional. The author seems to have read and mastered almost every thing of value relating to his subject, to have thought out his principles and ideas for himself, and to be quite at home both in the latest discoveries or hypotheses of science, and in the highest flights of speculative philosophy. The spirit in which he has written is deserving of the warmest commendation. He is neither fearful, declamatory, nor dogmatic; but full of a reverent confidence in the truth he handles, and of respect for those from whom he differs in opinion. If he hits hard, as he frequently does, he hits fairly, and writes with the frankness of a man who believes that his cause is so good that all it requires for its furtherance is that it should be known and understood. His aim is to show that religion has nothing to fear from science, that science need not be opposed to it, and that when rightly understood it is not. This he does by proving that the supernatural and the natural are in reality inseparable, that the one is implicated in the other, and that behind both there is the omniactive, wise, and omnipotent will of God. These ideas, Mr. Reynolds follows out at great length, making a free use of science with special reference to the earlier chapters of Genesis. To give anything like a fair idea of the contents of his volume is, in the space at our disposal, impossible; but when we say that he deals with such subjects as the Origin of Things, Evolution, Molecular Energy, Creation, the Sun, Light, the Origin of Language and Civilization, the Origin of Species, Human Progress, Parasites and their place in the Economy of the Physical World, the Connection between the Visible and the Invisible, Revelation, and the Kingdom of God, and that all these and many kindred subjects are treated from a scientific as well as from the theological standpoint, and in the most

varied character of its contents. A more profound, reasonable, or solid defence of Christian theism has not appeared. The only work we know with which to compare it is Ulrici's great work Gott und die Natur, and of the two we are disposed to prefer Mr. Reynolds'; for while not less profound and scientific, it has the great advantage of being written in our own tongue and in a much more popular and attractive style. The Mystery of Miracles is distinguished by the same rare and attractive merits as the Supernatural in Nature. Its scope and aim is of course more limited, yet it is none the less valuable as a contribution to the scientific theological literature of the day. Either volume goes far to redeem theology from the charge of being behind the age. They are admirably fitted to solve or illumine the doubts and perplexities of the many on whom the mystery of all this unintelligible world is now resting with heavy and weary weight. The City of God: a Series of Discussions in Religion. By A. M. FAIRBAIRN, D.D. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1883.

After reading Dr. Fairbairn's Studies in the Philosophy of Religion and History, his City of God is in many respects disappointing. There are signs of the same extensive reading, but some of its discussions are not at all up to the level of the Studies. Their thought is loose and inexact, and their style too rhetorical. The first is on 'Faith and Modern Thought,' and, to say the least, is tedious. The occasion on which it was delivered, offered the author a capital opportunity for instilling into his hearers a more charitable and tolerant spirit, and for leading them to look upon the new world of thought which is perpetually opening upon them with a less prejudiced mind; but for this or any similar purpose he does not seem to have used it. He begins by shaking his head in pious repu di ation of modern thought, and continues to shake it in the same spirit to the end. Notwithstanding his somewhat ostentatious definitions, so far as we can gather from the discussion itself, the 'Faith' championed by Dr. Fairbairn is his own opinions, and the 'Modern Thought' he denounces opinions which are not his own. 'The spirit of to-day,' we are told, 'is a spirit of restless inquiry, of ceaseless search, and of a search that is not always the parent of faith.' It would be a pity if it were. It is to be hoped that it is quite as often the parent of knowledge. That it is the child of faith, Dr. Fairbairn does not seem to be aware. According to Dr. Fairbairn, the men who do our thinking, who lead the march of living mind, are essentially seekers, and they pursue their quest after truth often not very certain what it is or where it may be-only certain that it is somewhere, and can be found.' Precisely so if they were at all certain what it is or where it is, their character as 'seekers' would be gone. The above sentences are from the beginning of the 'discussion.' The reader will be at no loss to divine the character of the rest. In the pulpit-and with one ex