such circumstances, out of honor and reverence for their instructor, they would be unable to withstand.* The time, however, has now arrived in which those who dare not deny themselves to be Christians, should begin to live according to the will of Christ; and those things, which were conceded, in order that they might become Christians, should, since they have become such, be utterly repudiated.

I then gave them an exhortation, telling them that we should imitate those transmarine churches in which these errors had, in part, never been received; and in part, by means of good rectors, in connection with obedient people, had been corrected; and as examples of daily drunkenness were adduced from the church of the blessed apostle Peter, I told them, in the first place, that we had heard that this custom had often been prohibited there; but that, as the place is remote from the observation and inspection of the bishop; and, as in so large a city the number of those devoted to sensual pleasures is very great, strangers in particular, who first visit it from time to time, retaining the custom with a violence proportioned to their ignorance, this outrageous pest had, as yet, not been stayed and assuaged; but that, however, if we would honor the apostle Peter, we must listen to his precepts, and pay more earnest heed to his epistle in which his will stands recorded, than we do to his church, in which there is nothing of it to be discovered.

I immediately took the book and repeated that passage in which he says: "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries."

These things having been done,-finding all those present unanimously joining in the good resolution to treat this wicked custom with contempt, I felt anxious to have them present at the sacred lections and psalms, at twelve o'clock, that thus they might please to celebrate that day with more than ordinary integrity and propriety of conduct, knowing that it could readily be ascertained with all certainty, from the number of those convening, who would act under the influence of reason, and who would give himself up to his appetite. Here every thing having been read, my discourse was terminated.

In the afternoon, however, a greater number were present than there were in the forenoon, passing the time,-even to the hour for us

* It would seem that many of these changes and accommodations were not made with as great caution, nor with as good motives; it being clear to most unprejudiced persons, that many things in Catholicism are nothing more nor less than baptized heathenism, even to some of the statues usually exhibited, as those of the Virgin Mary. See, in particular, Bishop Middleton's Popery Unmasked; a work which (or at least something like it), accompanied with notes, would bear to be republished, in this our day.

† 1 Pet. 4: 1 sq.

to go forth with the bishop,-alternately in the exercises of reading and psalmody; and two psalms were read, when we went forth. Then the old man desired me to say something to them, which being unwilling to do, as I was anxious to have this dangerous day brought to a close, he laid his commands upon me to this effect. Accordingly I made them a short address, in which I gave thanks to God; and as we heard that the usual feasts were celebrated in the church of the heretics, and that even at the time in which such things were transacting among us, they were (as on former occasions) engaged in their cups, I observed, that the beauty of the day is heightened on being compared with the night; and that white appears more agreeable when contrasted with black; and that, in like manner, our union in this spiritual celebration would perhaps have been less pleasant if not brought into comparison with the carnal ingurgitation of the opposite party; and I exhorted them, if they had tasted of the kindness of the Lord, to give evidence thereof, by earnestly desiring to participate in such feasts,-assuring them at the same time, that those who pursue that which will ultimately be destroyed, as of prime importance, have great occasion for fear; since every one becomes a companion of the object of his worship; and the apostle Paul has derided such persons, when he says, "whose God is their belly;" .""* as the same apostle has also said in another place, "meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but God shall destroy both it and them;"† from all which it follows, that we ought sedulously to endeavor after the attainment of that which cannot be cast out into the draught; but which, removed as far as possible from carnal affection, can be retained by the sanctification of the spirit. And when, in support of the same sentiment, those things had been spoken, so far as the time would permit, which the Lord deigned to suggest, the usual daily evening services were performed, and we withdrew in company of the bishop, while the brethren engaged in singing a hymn, not a few of both sexes remaining behind engaged in psalmody, even to the twilight of the day.

From the preceding extracts and remarks, the reader, I trust, will be able to obtain some correct conception of Augustine's preaching and oratory. That he had many of the native qualities of a good speaker, must certainly be admitted; nor is there any room to doubt that he attracted great crowds, and often produced uncommon effects.

With all these and other facts before us, however, respecting Augustine as a sacred orator, it may be questioned, with Du Pin, whether his sermons would attract many hearers at the present day; and Schmid even affirms that they have done as much injury as good. "He is certainly," says this latter critic, "in no respect to be considered as a pattern for a sacred orator.

* Phil. 3: 19.

† 1 Cor. 6: 13. I follow the English here, as elsewhere, not regarding the deviation of the Vulgate worth notice.

Few religious discourses are to be found which contain so many imperfections. There is no want in them, indeed, of subtleties and playful wit. Extremely deficient, however, are they in respect to thoroughness of investigation, appropriateness of illustration, a useful treatment of subjects, a correct interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, and an easy and agreeable style and manner of address."

In treating on dogmatical topics, the author runs out into all their learned distinctions and definitions, without giving them any practical application; while, at the same time, the proofs he employs, are very artificial; and the illustrations which he introduces are exceedingly inappropriate. He, on all occasions, stands forth as a violent opposer of the heretics, especially of the Arians, the Manichæans, the Pelagians, and the Donatists. Of course these discourses were nothing more nor less than very dry and barren treatises.

His moral discourses are of a much better character. They are not free, indeed, from the faults and the corrupt taste of the age; nor are they carried out in a manner sufficiently regular, substantial and convincing. At the same time they exhibit much prolixity; and abound in playful wit. In the recommendation of single virtues, however, they are by no means destitute of good moral argumentation and a proper array of

motives.

His biblical discourses are the most imperfect. They are full of subtle, allegorical and typical representations; they abound in play upon words; and contain abstruse questions, with learned answers. In his discourses on the Psalms, he makes an allegorical application of every thing to the New Testament. In his discourses on John, on the other hand, he everywhere presents us with allusions to the affairs of the Old Testament. The art of huddling together a multitude of quotations from Scripture, by way of proof, without any appropriate selection whatever, is peculiarly his own.

In his discourses on the Saints, we meet with many fabulous and superstitious narrations; and in the 71st, quite a long and full discussion of the doctrine of a purgatory.

The style is very dry,-destitute, indeed, of all charms, being made up solely of short and broken sallies, or of long, intricate and very obscure periods; or else of short questions and answers, arranged in the manner of a dialogue. In particular, the author is very prolix, spending much time in turning a thought over and over by the aid of quibbles, so that he never descends

to the bottom of any thing he says. Sometimes he tries to catch the attention of his hearers by a few pertinent remarks; but in general he seems altogether indifferent in this respect.

He is, take one discourse with another, without an introduction; and often without a formal conclusion. Sometimes, however, he closes with a doxology, and sometimes with a prayer, which begins: "Conversi ad Dominum." They are, for the most part, very short. Some few of them, on the other hand, are remarkably long.

To the above critique, drawn chiefly from Schmid,* it may be added that his style, in many respects, resembles that of the facetious Thomas Fuller, of the 17th century; or nearer still, that of our own Cotton Mather. Sometimes it exhibits fullness of thought. In general, however, it is rendered full by alliteration. or verbal play; and if we find any thought in him that is splendid,-which is often the case, for he was unquestionably a thinker and a man of genius, it must be hewn out of a mass of rocks, or cleared of a vast amount of useless rubbish, and abundantly trimmed and pruned, before it can be employed. His piety seems every where unquestionable. His talents were probably such as would have conformed him to the age in which he might live, and thus have always rendered him, in many respects, an interesting and attractive preacher.†

In concluding this article, I will only add, that Augustine died in troublesome times; but his death was that of a Christian. Hippo, which was the strongest fortress in Africa, had become a refuge for various persons, and was undergoing a siege of the Vandals, in the year 430; when, in about the third month of the siege, Augustine was seized with a fever, which he doubted not, from the very first, would prove fatal. He had often looked forward to death in his meditations; and he found himself peaceful and happy as it drew nearer. Indeed, "he was not able to contain within his breast the desires of his soul, in which he sighed after the glorious day of eternity. He calmly resigned his spirit into the hands of God, from whom he had received it, on the 28th of Aug. 430, after having lived 76 years, and spent almost 40 of them in the labors of the ministry."

*Anleitung, u. s. w. Th. III. p. 149 sq.

Compare what Erasmus says of him, as quoted in the Biblical Repos. 1st series, Vol. III. p. 570.

ARTICLE VI.

ELEMENTS OF LITERARY TASTE:-THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROSE AND POETRY.*

By Rev. Charles B. Hadduck, Professor of Intellectual Philosophy and English Literature, Dartmouth College, N. HI.

ONE of the first inquiries to be made, in relation to a book, is, To what class does it belong? Is it Prose, or Poetry? Is it Philosophy, or History, or Fiction? On the answer given to these questions depend, in important points, the standard by which the work is to be judged, and the feelings with which it should be read. The different kinds of composition have each its appropropriate objects, and are executed each on its peculiar principles. Each has much that is common to the rest, and that lays the foundation for the common name of Literature. But, under this common name, works of extremely dissimilar structure and spirit are included; human thought and feeling are embodied in a common language, and yet in forms as unlike as those of material nature, and with aspects as varying as the colors of the sky.

* The reader should be apprised that this article constitutes a chapter in a work prepared by Professor Hadduck, and soon to be published, entitled Esthetics, or the Elements of Literary Taste. It is therefore, though complete in itself, but part of a more general discussion. This will account for the occasional references which it contains to associated topics elsewhere considered. The scope and design of the work will be more fully stated under our head of "Literary Intelligence," where we shall announce its proposed publication. In the mean time we have obtained the author's permission to enrich our pages with this interesting chapter. It may be regarded as at once a specimen and an earnest of the character of the entire work. As such we commend it to the attention of our readers, and especially to the officers of colleges and to other teachers, who have felt the want of a Text-book, on this subject, of an elevated character and adapted to the demands of taste and criticism in our educated circles.-ED.