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    Sept. 20, 1851.] gflg- >*«>**? 899 ^

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    The Creed Of Christendom. The Creed Of C...

    as next in perfection the views which Christianity unfolds of God as a Father . " In the 'wo great points essential to our practical life viz ., ur feelings cowards God and our conduct tow ards man , the Gospels contain little about which men can differ—little from which they can dissent . He is our Father , we are all brethren . This much lies opsn to the most ignorant and busy , as fully as to the most leisurely and learned . This needs no priest to teach it , no authority to endorse it . The rest is speculation ; intensely interesting , indeed , but of no practical necessity . "

    Ocher tenets taught in the Christian Scriptures , however , Mr . Greg thinks open to grave objections . He urges , for example , that the New Testament assigns an efficacy to prayer incompatible with any elevated conception of Deity ; that it inculcates resignation , not as the result of a self-reasoning faith in the wisdom and justice of the supreme will , but on the narrow ground that sufferings are specially ordained for the benefit of the individual ; and that it appeals to the selfish motives—the

    desire for recompense , rather than to the highestthe love of the good for its own sake . He holds that the conception of the pardon of sin , or repentance and conversion , tends to contravene the system on which man is trained and disciplined , and the entire scheme of God ' s government—the conviction that every breach of the Divine law is attended with inexorable consequences , being essential to a healthy condition of the conscience and a just theory of Providence : —

    "Let any one look back upon his past career , look inward on his daily life , and then say what effect would be produced upon him , were the conviction once fixedly embedded in his soul , that everything done is done irrevocably , that even the omnipotence of God cannot uncommit a deed , cannot make that undone which has been done ; that every act of his must bear its allotted fruit according to the everlasting ] aws _ must remain for ever ineffaceably inscribed on the tablets of universal Nature . And , then , let him consider what would have been the result upon the moral condition of our race , had all men ever held this conviction .

    " Perhaps you have led a youth of dissipation and excess which has undermined and enfeebled your constitution , and you have transmitted this injured and enfeebled constitution to your children . They suffer , in consequence , through life ; suffering is entailed upon them ; your repentance , were it in sackcloth and ashes , cannot help you or them . Your punishment is tremendous , but it is legitimate and inevitable . You have broken Nature ' s laws , or you have ignored them , and no one violates or neglects them with impunity . What a lesson for timely reflection and obedience is here !

    << A ^ ain—you have broken the seventh commandment . ° You grieve—you repent—you resolutely determine against any such weakness in future . It is well ; but ' you know that God is merciful—you feel that lie will forgive you . ' You are comforted . But no—there is no forgiveness of sins—the injured party may forgive you—your accomplice or victim may forgive you , according to the meaning of human language ; but the deed is done , and ail the powers of Nature , were they to conspire in your behalf , could not make it undone ; the consequences to the bodythe consequences to the soul—though no man may perceive them , are there—are written in the annals of the past , and must reverberate through all time .

    44 But all this , let it be understood , in no degree militates against the value or the necessity of repentance . Repentance , contrition of soul , bears , like every other act , its own fruit—the fruit of purifying the heart , of amending the future : not as man hati hitherto conceived—of effacing the past . The commission of sin is an irrevocable act , but it does not incapacitate the soul for virtue . Its consequences cannot be expunged , but the course need not be pursued . Sin , though it i » ineffaceable , calls for no despair , but for efforts more energetic than before . Repentance is hi ill as valid as ever ; but it is valid to secure the future , not to obliterate the past .

    44 moral to be drawn from these reflections is iluti ; ( iod has placed the lot of man— -not ., perhaps , altogether of the individual , but certainly of the r ; iC ( i iu hi 3 own handn , by surrounding him with laws , on knowledge of which , and on conformity to which , his well-being depends . The study of these , and the principle of obedience to them , forms , therefore , the great aim of education , both of men and nations . They must be taught : —

    44 1 . The physical laws , on which God has made health to depend . 44 . The moral law * , on which Ho has made happiness to depend . " ; $ . The intellectual laws , on which He has made knowledge to dcpei . d . " 4 . Tho nocial and political laws , on which Ho has mado national ptoapority to depend .

    " 5 . The economic laws , on which He has made wealth to depend . " A true comprehension of all these , and of their unexceptional and unalterable nature , would ultimately rescue mankind from all their vice and nearly all their suffering , save casualties and sorrows . ' Mr . Greg also shows that Christianity teaches an ascetic and depreciating view of life , incompatible with that energetic devotion to the improvement of our races , and with that delight in the innocent adornment of our existence in this world , which are essential to a noble and well-balanced soul .

    In the concluding- chapter we have the author ' s reflections on " the great enigma—the question of man s future existence . " He applies himself , evidently with his utmost strength , to prove the invalidity and even futility of a conclusion which , after all , he himself holds . ' He labours to make clear that the belief in a future state is not demanded by any process of our intellect or any tendency of our moral nature , in order that he may fall back with the greater confidence on the assertion of his belief in it as an intuition on a par with our belief in the reality of an external world .

    We have endeavoured to give our readers a faithful idea of Mr . Greg ' s work . Though far from setting our seal to all his opinions , we think that the Creed of Christendom sets forth very powerfully much truth of which society is in urgent need , while it opens to us an acquaintance with an individual mind possessing a strong moral and intellectual charm . The deservedly respectful reception of Mr . Greg ' s work by the periodical press , compared with that given twelve years ago to a work of kindred character— Hennell ' s Inquiry concerning

    the Origin of Christianity—is no slight indication of advancement , either in plain speaking or in liberality of religious views . Though too distinct in their method , and to a considerable extent in their matter , for one to be regarded as superseding the other , both these works have the same object , to ascertain how far the popular idea of Christianity will sustain the test of impartial criticism ; they are alike animated by a spirit of candour and reverence , and they have substantially the same result . Hennell , it is true , holds that Jesus shared the common theocratic hope of his nation , and thinks there is

    strong evidence that , at the commencement of his career , he expected the Divine attestation to his Messiahship to be given in such a general adhesion of the people to his cause as would enable him to free his nation from the Roman yoke by insurrection , and efFect the political as well as the spiritual regeneration of Israel . He regards the character of Jesus as less exceptional than it appears under Mr . Greg ' s view ; but he estimates very highly the power and beauty of his nature and the value of his moral teaching . The Inquiry concerning the Origin of Christianity is evidently the production of a mind which has brought to the independent

    study of the New Testament the rare combination of analytic acumen with breadth of conception . Its merit was at onee recognized in Germany , where it was speedily translated . While in our own country it was welcomed by many distinguished minds , and has had an extensive , though latent , influence in promoting the intelligent study of the Christian Scriptures . That Mr . Greg has found it a valuable aid is not only evidenced in his text , but avowed by frequent references in his notes , though , doubtless through a temporary forgetfulness , he speaks in his preface as if he had no predecessor among laymen in the path of free but reverent inquiry into the claims of

    Christianity . Nevertheless , when Hennell ' s work first appeared , the Reviews dared not acknowledge the merit which it wan privately admitted to possess , and four years after the appearance of the second edition , it received , from a periodical which has recently bestowed elaborate praise on the Creed of Christendom , a rather contemptuous critic ] ue , the object of which was , obviously , to put down -the book by no fairer means than that of presenting details , adduced by Hennell merely in the light of cumulative evidence , aa if they formed the sole basis of his

    argument . In thin annus mirabilis of 1 K 51 , however , oi \ r reviewers have ttttained a higher standard of courage and fairness than could bo ascribed to them , in 1838 , or even , in 1845 . " Im terre tourne , " says Pascal , " malgrt : qxCon le nie ; et vous aussi , mes rdvdrends pares , vous tournez avec elle—The earth turns in upite of all denials ; and you also , my jeverend fathers , turn with it . "

    GOLDEN DREAMS A . ND WAKING REALITIES . Golden Dreams and Waking Realities ; being the Adventures a Gold-teeker in California and the Pacific Islands . By Wi ; Ham Shaw . Smith and Eldor . An interesting and graphic , because unambitious , work . Mr . Shaw has little or nothing of tho Litterateur . He tells his story plainly , without affectation , without rhetoric , without that curse of literature , " fine writing . " Such experien ce as he has to set before us he endeavours to express in the directest style . The consequence of this is that

    his book has a truthful air , wanting in the more ambitious accounts which we have seen ; and the story of his Californian expedition suggests curious trains of thought . As a warning and example it should be read by those who think of the " Diggings j" and as an amusing book of travels it should be read by all lovers of light literature . We shall best consult the pleasure of our readers by refraining from the indulgence of those trains of thought called up by the work ; and in lieu of a set criticism confine ourselves to such extracts as we can find room for . THE HAPPY VAM . EY . " Skirting the beach was a vast collection of tents , called the Happy Valley , '—since more truly designated the Sickly Valley ; where aith of every description and stagnant pools beset one at every stride . In these tents congregated the refuse of all nations , crowded together ; eight people occupying what was only space for two . Blankets , firearms , and cooking utensils were the only worldly property they possessed . Scenes of depravity , sickness , and wretchness , shocked the moral scene , as much as filth and effluvia did the nerves ; and such was the state of personal insecurity , that few ? Citizens ' slept without firearms at hand .

    " The constant wearing of arms by such a disorderly set , amongst whom quarrels were frequent , caused many disputes to terminate disastrously ; but the unsettled state of the country , and the many desperate characters prowling about , made it necessary to be armed for self-protection : the weaker party was only sheltered from oppression by a loaded revolver , as there was no assistance to be expected from others . Steel and lead were the only arguments available for redress , and bystanders looked on unconcernedly at acts of violence ; the cause of the dispute , or the justice of the punishment inflicted , being seldom inquired into .

    41 would be difficult to describe my sensations after the first day ' s ramble in Francisco . I had witnessed so many startling sights , that had I not been well assured of their reality , I might have imagined them phantasies of the brain . buildings were springing up * as at the stroke of an enchanter's wand ;' valuable merchandise was streAved about in every direction ; men of every costume and colour—Down-Easter ' s with sharp-set lace * , sallow Southerners ,

    gaunt "Western Squatters , vivacious Frenchmen , sedate Germans , sturdy English Colonists , Cidifornians and Chilians , Mexicans , Kanakas , and Celestials , hurried too nnd fio , pursuing their various avocations ; and business to an incalculable amount seemed to be transacted . I-ooking at the rud « signboards inscribed in various languages , glancing at the chaos of articles exposed for sale , and listening to the various dialects spoken , the city seemed a

    complete Babel . 44 Gold was evidently the mainspring of all this activity . Tables , piled with gold , were seen under tentH , whence issued melodious strains of music ; and the rnoHt exaggerated statements wore current respecting the auriferous regions . But amid scenes of profusion and extravagance , no sign of order or comfort was perceptible , nor did any one appear happy : wan , anxious countenances , and restless eager eyes , met you on every side .

    44 The aspect of personal neglect and discomfort , filth , rags , and squalor , combined with uneasiness , avidity , and recklessness of manner , — an all-absorbing selfishness , as if each man Avere striving against his fellow-man , —were characteristics of the gold-fever , at once repulsive and pitiable ; and , notwithstanding the gold I saw on every side , a feeling of despondency crept insensibly over me . "

    TUB SHXl'IKHNKflS nEVKI . OI'KO 1 » Y DANCIKIl . 44 Before leaving the woodland we scared several dusky-brown animals the size of a lurcher—wolves , or cayotas—in the ehaperal , or bush ; but they stealthily avoided us . About ten avc entered on tho plain : as fur at * the eye could reach wo saw Handlulls without u Hymptom of vegetation ; the hvtit had opened cracks and fissures in the earth , which emitted a fiery lu > at ; and pyramids of dust arose at intervals , KomotiincN

    borne with velocity through the air : appearing in the shape of tall columnH , sixty k-otm perpendicular height , moving majestically over tno plain . TIioho who have not walked on sand ankle deep cannot imagine how wearisome it in . At noon the heat of the blazin , ; sun wan literally acorchmg , the thermometer being at least 120 ' : the parching effect Of * California ,. Him i « most debilitating ; tho dazzling glare of the eand irritated « n . d inflamed tho

    Sept. 20, 1851.] Gflg- >*«>**? 899 ^

    Sept . 20 , 1851 . ] gflg- >*«>**? 899

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 20, 1851, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20091851/page/15/