Nkiitorlo Zak, Hormts.—A Scriptural, Ecclesiastical, and Historical view of Slavery, from the days of the patriarch Abraham, to the nine teenth century. Addressed to the Right Rev. Alonzo Potter, D. D., Bishop of the P. E. Church in the Diocese of Pennsylva nia. By John Henry Hopkins, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of the Diocese of Vermont. 4th thousand. New York : W. J. Pooley & Co. 12mo. pp. M. For sale by Jas. Challen & Son, Phila. Thie volume contains the "Bible view Slavery," by Bishop Hopkins, with ne documents which called it forth, and the protest of the Bishop and clergy of this State, (all the signatures being m) together with an elaborate and rued defence of the ground taken in e original pamphlet. The letter and defence are a disgrace to the age ,nd to the Christian Church. Not but iat they contain much that is true, much that is valuable and interesting in the past history of slavery; not that we mean to, deny that Moses clearly legislated under _divine guidance about a certain sort of slavery, or that Paul and the New Testament tolerated Ro man slavery as they did the despotism of Nero. The ineffaceable stain of the disgrace of writing and publishing the book at this time, lies in the defence of the system of American Slavery and in talking smoothly about a " willingness to abolish it with the consent of the South," when the slave-power of the South has revealed its supremely odious and infamous character, by choosing a bloody revolt against the national au thority, rather than accept the remote possibility of the restriction of its power. Sooner than yield an inch to the na tion, American Slavery is resolved that the nation shall be utterly broken up. The inch we would refuse to the propo gandism of Slavery, is worth more in the eyes of the masters than the whole life Of the Republic. And Bishop Hopkins and his assoCiates, while all this is going on, have the conscience to stand by and baptize the furious monster aS P. good Christian; and to vouch for the sacred I character of all his antecedents, and to endeavor to veil his hideqs ugliness under the opinions of Inspired Men and Fathers and Councils and Coramenta tors ! Did any one of these authorities write in the height of a rebellion against lawful government in the interest of slavery? Would Paul have ranged himself on the side of the Roman slave holders had they risen against the autho rity of the tyrant Nero in the interest of their institution ? Nay ! the Bishop's book proves one thing among many which it does not prove_; that the heart of the writer in this struggle is with the South, that he is wanting in duty to his imperilled country •in this great hour. For through this volume of 360 pages, upon a subject so nearly con cerned with the rebellion, there is not one word of censure of the course • of the Southern masters, and not one ex pression of patriotic sympathy with the nation. And we honor the noble Bishop, and so many of the clergy of this State, embracing most of the lead ing names of the church, as by their protest proved their discernment of the traitorous tendencies of the Bishop's letter- Till CRIPPLE' or ANTIOCH ' and other Scenes from Christian 'Life in Early Times. By the author of the " Chronicles of the Schoenberg-Cotta Family." New York:: R. Carter & Brothers. 16mo, pp. 426. For sale at the Presbyterian House. 1334 Chestnut Street. A work of unusual skill, ingenuity and interest. As in the larger, and Very captivating story of the Schcen , berg-Cotta Family, the author has wrought into the form of every day life, the manners, the spirit, the great excitements; and especially the religious movements of long past ages. Instead of the stately personages and great con flicts of history, we have an insight into the workings of' the individual heart, and the minutia) of domestic life, as they probably existed in the background of those times. " The Cripple of Antioch" belongs to the apostolic age; " The False Christ" to the age subsequent, " Wayside Notes in the Days of Cnrys ' ostom" sufficiently indicates its era. It is certainly a very delightful and 4" effective mode of reproducing former times • , in some respects, more true than history itself. And the author shows peculiar delicacy in , handling the sub ',.,jects. Many exquisite touches reveal the finest taste, and give the narrative Athat truth to nature which is—with a I,Bingle exception—its highest charm. It ` , 7 1. is the warm breath of evangelical piety pervading the whole, that gives it the highest value in the judgment of Chris tian readers, who will feel indebted to the author for the attractive form in t, which it is . .presented in, these stories. t et; Nisarrz. Busy Hands and Patient Hearts; of or the Blind Boy of Dresden • and his Friends. Translated from the German of 4 ° Gustav Nieritz. Philadelphia : .A.shmead & Evans. 18mo. pp. 168: • One of, the very best. recent tory books for children.- ThVordstrug 'gle of cheerful piety against want, mis '',4/Afortune, and trial and the final victory is told with simplicity, tenderness and discrimination. We commend it to families and Sabbath schools, who will always find a good supply of books in their line at the new store of •tfhe pub lishers, 724 Chestnut Street. PAMPHLETS MAGAZINES, .860 TusrxN. The Olive Branch, being the Report of Septimus Tustin D. clerical delegate from the General As sembly at Peoria, ill., to the General Assembly at Philadelphia, Pa, May 1864. Presented to the General Assem bly holding its sessions in Newark, N. J., May 1864. Both branches of the church are more indebted to Dr. Tustin, than perhaps either of them now know, for the aus_ picious manner in which ho was enabled to open the correspondence between the two assemblies; and it is a good service he has done in putting the transactions of that glad and heavenly occasion into so durable and handsome a shape as the pamphlet before us. Means should be taken to give it a wide circulation. THE FAMILY TREASURE for May. By David McKinney D. D., and I. N. Mc- Kinney, Pittsburg. Monthly, at $2 per annum. This is a very attractive and valuable number. All the articles are good and some are of high character. There is a great variety and the children are most carefully and bountifully provided for. We note in the list of PresbyOrian es tablishments given on the cover, that the "Presbyterian House, 1334 Chestnut Street," is handsomely mentioned. A LETTER to a Whig meMber of the Southern Independence Association. By Goidwin Smith. Boston : Ticknor and Fields. Americans need not suffer undue. anxiety for proper representations of our cause in England when such hearty and vigorous champions as the distiry guished author of this pamphlet appear in the lists. We had marked a great number of passages, but the whole pam phlet should be read. TIER BOOK FOR THE NATION. Phila. dei r ".l4 ; W, D. 4A. Martion, vig6roas and earnest appeal for national repentance and amendment We are refreshed in turning from Bishop Hopkins' sophistical arguments to the straightforward declaration of the pam phlet : " There is no small measure of guilt incurred by justifying slavery from the Bible, and at the same time refusing to try our slavery from the Bible." THE LADY'S FRIEND for June. Edited by Mrs. Henry Peterson. Published by Deacon & Peterson. 81-MONTHLY RET'ORT -of the Agricultu ral D.epartment for March and April, 1864. Washington : Government print ing office. From Hon. Wm. D. Kelley. torteopotlimot. FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT. LoxDoN, April 30, 1863. The Synod of the English Presbyte rian Church concluded its meetings on Friday last. In importance and inte rest and spirit it has, I believe, never been equalled by any former Synod of our Church. There was great progress to report, great prospects to look for ward to, and a good status in the pre sent. Tlie Mission in China has met with extraordinary success- With a staff of eight missionaries, the results have been most cheering and deeisive. Amoy is the principal station and here there is close co-operation with the Ameri can Mission. There are altogether in the Chinese Presbyterian Church at Amoy and other stations 456 members. Of these 146 are in the special charge of the English Presbyterian Church and the rest of the American Mission. It is interesting to know that the Gospel has'taken a firm hold in China and that it is found that men remain faithful to their vows, and active and earnest in • their endeavors to save others and pro pagate the truth. Dr. Stewart, a physi cian of high standing in London, made an admirable speech upon the Mission ark. Report, from which I extract a pas sage. "In regard to Sabbath; obser vance, there is a passage in the letters which is very interesting. Mr. Swan son writes, on the 6th November, .1863. Before I entered the village I saw something that I had not seen since I left my own dear. Scotland. There was perfect stillness; and on entering the village, I saw the oxen all tethered in a row, that the people might attend the worship. The Sabbath is said by some to be a Scottish institution, and that the mode of keeping it there is ab horrent to the people of England. I point to this example of China. Here, without the teaching of man at all, the converts of Christianity have so learned to prize and delight in that holy day, that of their own accord, they kept it in such a manner that Mr. Swanson says he saw such a picture as he had not seen, except in his own native Scotland. Our great dramatist has said that 4 One leach' of ;nature. makes the whs2lq . Norld kin.' We may say in a higher sense. One touch of SEWS makei the whole world kin. For in Christ Jesus there is nei ther Jew nor .Gentile, bond nor free, but Chist is all and in all." The village re ferred to bad n©t been before visited by narybe Gospel •had been car ried there by native converts. The Report•ef 'the Committtee of the Debt Extinction and Church Extension fund, which as I stated last week, has reached £25,000 0125,000) was intro duced by Dr. Hamilton in one of his brilliant, humorous speeches. As a specimen of classic wit, I have scarcely ever known of such a piece as the fol lowing spoken on the spur of the mo ment : -" We next (said Dr. Hamilton) turn ed'a wistful eye towards a great city of the West. For a long time the city of Manchester has been to English Presby terianism like the garden of the Hespe rides with its golden apples. And so we went. We found no dragon, but we were met by the genius and : guardian of the place, a giant, firm built and of keen countenance, who demanded what we wanted. A few of your golden apples' Golden _apples 1' says he ; we have not even greenbacks this sea son. Should be glad of mealy potatoes.' Luckily there was with us a ready-wit ted Irishman, who began to tell a story about Jupiter's advice to the frogs. ' That's .a nice story,' says the custos loci, 'let's hear it again.' A:nd tben he opened the gate; and as,, after we got in, we began to flail at the trees some what, vigorously--' Stop, stop,' he cried, that's not the way ; you'll spoil the trees.' And so he got np, and be gan a sort of enchantment, and presently down came an apple, and. then another, and presently a perfect shower, till the very ground was golden, and we had nothing to do but to stoop down and gather. And then from his own private tree he filled ,a basket with, beautiful pippins; and as he handed them to us there was a tenderness in his tone, as when a great heart fills to the brim. ' Take these,' he said,'' take these to your Arcadians, take them to my be loved brethren who feed their flocks on the hills and valleys of Berwick and Northumberland. Take them with my love to the pastors of London, and espe cially to the Tityrus of Marylebone, who pipes AO melodiously patuli sub tegmine foggi. And ever since the good giant keeps sending further supplies from his golden garden, till now there has'been received from Manchester the sum of 4,600£." Some eloquent speeches were made on Presbyterian Union, both by the depu tations from the Free and United Pres byterian Churches and by the members of the Synod. In the event, it seems pretty certain from the astonishing and unexpected strides which the Union idea is making, that a confederation of some kind will be established before many years are over our' heads. The general opinion seems to be that there will be an English and a Scotch Church; though I notice a stronger leaning than ever to the greater consummation of a British Church. An important announcement was made by Lord Ebury, on Thursday af ternoon, at the Meeting of the Associa tion for Promoting a Revision of the Prayer Book, &c. After condemning the present fall services of the church as "an absurd jumble of wearisome length," and deploring that the clergy must declare their unfeigned assent and consent to the prayer book, he spoke hopefully of the Royal Commission re cently appointed to examine' the ques tion of revision and uniformity, and remarked that as a member of it he ought not, perhaps, to state what bad taken place, but he might say this, that, unless he was very strangely mistaken, the days and even the hours of " un feigned assent and consent" were num bered. That declaration had very few defenders before, now it had none, and that odious remnant of ecclesiastical persecution and tyranny would at once be swept away. The announcement was received with loud cheers. The rapid phases of this English Church history are startling enough. The transition is swift, may she land event ually in some happier conclusion. Just now her fate is trembling in the balance. Her immense political and financial power must, hOwever, still maintain her, whatever vicissitudes may befal her theology, in the highest ecclesiasti cal position. At the meeting referred to, one of the speakers expressed his belief'that many non-conformists would join the Church if the Liturgy were re vised. I very strongly doubt this. • Al though there are many, doubtless, who, if that barrier were removed, would pre fer adding to their faith—fashion, the Essay and Review Judgment must in terpose an obstruction to every consci entious nonconformist. The great anniversary season has commenced with preliminary sermons and meetings. On Monday, as usual, the Wesleyan Missionary Society leads off at Exeter Hall, always the largest, most widely represented, and enthusi- I astic meetings of the course. About sixty ,meetings; - and .a -corresponding nuMber of 43ermens and soirees, are an nounced to take place during the month of May. • Politically, we are in suspense. The Conference on the Danish Question met here on Monday, at Lord Palmerston's official residence in Downing Street. England and France had agreed to de mand an armistice, before entering upon any other business. To this the German representative said, "No instructions," and the Conference was adjourned, ac cording to Sir George Grey's extraordi aaary explanation in the House last night, ) " not sine die, but it will meet ag,ain lupon an early day but that day has no been fixed I" Meanwhile a large and powerful Austrian fleet, sufficient to drive the Danes off the seas, is, we learn this morning ; on its way to the Baltie. Some time ago, Earl Russell used some oininouti* language regarding such a Contingency, and it is said that the British Government is in communi cation with the authorities at Vienna, as to the destination of the fleet, and that upon the answer that may be re turned, to their inquiries will depend the dispatch of a British fleet to the Baltic. We have stood by, - and seen, in this centu, as cool and savage_ a piece of conquest as ever was made; is it possi ble that even now, in the eleventh limp., the British Lion is feeling a sting of shame and is arousing himself to action, on the side of liberty and Pyotestantism? You will have heard ere this reaches you that Fi'ritssia has advanced into Den mark.CProper and that Fredericia has been hvaenated. It y is said to be in a critical state. The GovernMent must either reduce the armaments or go to war. These ar maments have only recently been in creaspd; what are the Italians going to do',? There is a great pause, some say it is like that which preceded the Crimean War. There is.a, deeper feeling of sym pathy with Denmark, than at the out break of hostilities; the evident inten tion of absorbing the whole of Denmark into qermany is kindling indignation. It looks sometimes as if it were about to flame gout, and again it dies , away. , Some morning soon we shall wake tip to .6d that the die is cast for peace or war. ADELPHOS. • LETTER FROM OHINA. ~.... THE NFLUENOE AND OPINIONS OF MENCIUS HIS VIEWS OF HUMAN NATURE. [ he writer only professes to give the) thoughts of 'the Rev. Dr. James Legge, of Hong Kong, which are em bodied in his Prolegomena to the transla tion of the works of Mencius, which comprise the second volume of the “ Chinese Classics," and his thoughts will be given generally in his own language.] Mencius' .doctrine of human nature and the force with which he advocates it, will not fail (if properly presented) to produce a high appreciation of him as a moralist and a thinker. It has been observed of Confucius "that he threw no light on any of the questions which haft, a world-wide interest." This Mencius did. The constitution of man's nature, and how far it supplies to him a rule of conduct and a law of duty, are inquiries than which there can hardly be any others of more importance. They were largely discussed in the schools of Greece. A hundred vigorous and acute minds of modern Europa . have occupied themselves with them. ; It will hardly be questioned in England that the palm for clear and just thinking on the subject belongs to Bishop Butler, but it will presently be seen that his views and those of Mencius are, as nearly as possible, identical. There is a difference of nomenclature and; a com bination of parts in which the advantage is with the Christian prelate. Felicity of illustration and charm of style be- long to the 'Chinese philogopher. The doctrine in both is the same. What gave occasion -to his dwelling largely on human nature was the pre- valence of wild and ingenious specula- tions about it. In nothing did the dis order of the age more appear. }lung. too, one of his disciples, once went to him and said : " The philosoper Kaou, says, 'man's nature is neither good nor bad.' Some nian't3 nature may be made to practice good and if may be, made to practice evil, and accordingly under Wan and, Woo, the people loved what was good; while under Yew and Le, they loved what was cruel.' Others say, the nature of some is good and the nature of others is bad. Hence it was that under such a sovereign as Yaou (who was very good), there yet appeared Seang (who was very wicked), and that with such a father as Koo-sou (who was very bad) there yet appeared Shun' (who was very virtuous). And yet you say 'the nature is good.' Then are all those opinions wrong ?" The nature of man is good,"—this was Mencius' doctrine. By many wri ters, it has been represented as entirely antagonistic to Christianity ; and, as thus broadly and briefly enunciated, it Sounds startlinrenough. As fully ex plained by himself, however, it is, not so very terrible. Butler's scheme has been designated, "the system of Zeno, baptized into Christ." That of Men cius identifying closely with the master of the Porch, is yet more susceptible of a similar transformation. The Philosopher Kaou was contem porary with Mencius, and they came into argumentative collision. Kaou's view went to deny any essential dis tinction between good and evil—virtue and vice. A man might be made to act in a way commonly called virtue, and in a way commonly called evil, but in the one action there was really no thing more , approvable than in the other. "Life," he said, " was what we meant by 'nature." The phenomena of be nevolence and righteousness were akin to those of walking and sleeping, eat ing and drinking. This extravagance afforded scope for Mencius' favorite model argument,the reductio ad absurdum. He showed in Kaou's principle, that " the nature of a dog was like the na ture of an ox, and the nature of an ox like the nature of a man." The two first conversations between them are worthy of particular atten tion, because, while they are a confuta tion of his opponent, they indicate clearly our philosopher's own theory. Kaou compared man's nature to a willow tree, and benevolence and righteousness to the cups and .bowls that might, be fashioned from its wood. Mencius re replied, that it was not the, nature of the willow to produce cups and bowls;: they might be made from it indeed, by bending and cutting and otherwise in juring it; but must, such violence be done to humanity in order to fashion the virtues from it? Kaou again com pared the nature to water whirling around in a corner—open a passage for it in any direction, and it will flow forth accordingly. ":Man's nature," said he, " is indifferent to good and evil, just as the water is indifferent to east and west." Mencius answered him: " Water ,will indeed flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down ? The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. There are none but have this tendency to good, just as all water flows downwards. By striking water and, causing it to leap up, you may cause'it to go over your forehead,and by damthing and leading, it, you may force it up a hill; but are such movements according to the nature of water? It is the force applied which causes them. When men are made to do what is not good, their nature is dealt with in this way." Mencius has no stronger language than this, as indeed it would be difficult to find any, stronger, to declare his be lief in the goodness of human nature. To many:Christian readers it proves , ; a stumbling block and offence. But the translator ventures to think that this is without sufficient reason. Mencius is speaking-pf our nature in its ideal and not asit actuallyis—as we may ascer tain from the study of it what it ought to be, and not is. made to become. Said he: " From, the feelings proper to it we see that it is constituted for the practice of what is good. This what I mean in saying ,that the : naNrs, is good. If men do what is not good,the ,blame cannot be imputed to their natural' Powers." Those who ,;find .. the most: fault with him will hardly question the truth of this last declaration. When a man does wrong, whose is the blame —the sin? He might be glad to roll the guilt on his Maker or upon his na ture—which is only an indirect charg ing of his' Maker with it—but it is his own burden which he must bear him self. The proof by which Mencius supports his view of human: nature as: formed only for virtue is,two•fold : First—He maintains that there are in man a natural principle of righteous ness, a natural principle of propriety, and a natural principle of apprehending moral truth. "These," he says, " are not infused into us`-from without. We are certainly . possessed of them, and a different view is simply from want of reflection." He illustrates this by say ing: " All men have a mind which can not bear to see the sufferings of others. My meaning may be illustrated thus : Even now-a-days, i. e., in these degene rate times, if men suddenly see a child abiiiit to fall into, a well, they , will without exception experience a feeling of alarm and distress. They will feel so not as the ground on which they may gain the favor of the child's, pa rents, nor as the ground on which they may seek the praise of their neighbors and friends, nor from a dislike to the reputation of having been unmoved by such a thing. s From this case we may see that the feeling of commiseration is essential to man, that the feeling of shame and dislike is essential to man, that the feeling of modesty and cora- - plaisance ie essential to man, and that the feeling of, approv r trand disapprot4 is essential to Man. Men have these four feelings just as they have their four limbs." "When men having these four principles, yet say of themselves that they cannot develope them, they play the thief with themselves." So• much for the first or preliminary view of human nature, insisted upon by Mencius, that it contains principles which are disinterested and virtuous. The second proof that Human Nature is formed for virtue : it is a constitution where the higher, principles should serve_ the lower. Human nature—the inward' frame of man—is with Mencius a system or constitution as much as with Butler. He says, for instance : " There is no part of himself which a man does not love; and as he loves all, so he must nourish all. There is not an inch of skin which he does not love, and so there is not an inch of skin which he will not nourish. For examining whether his way of nourishing be good or not, what other rule is there but this, that he deter mine by reflecting on himself where itshould be applied." " Some parts of the body are noble and some ignoble ; some great and some. small. The great must not be injured for the small, nor the noble for the ignoble. He who nourishes the little belonging to him is a little man, and he who nourishes the great is a great man." Again ; ".Those who follow that part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow that part which is little are little;men." The great part of ourselves is the moral elements of our constitution; the lower part is the appetites , and passions that centre in self. He says finely :-- '" There is a nobility of Heaven and there is a nobility of man. Beneyolence, righteousness, self-consecration and fi delity, with unwearied joy in what is good; these constitute the nobility of Heaven. To be a duke, a noble, or a great. officer ; this _constitutes the nobil ity of man." There is one passage very striking : "For the month to desire sweet tastes, the eye to desire beautiful colors, the ear to desire pleasant sounds, the nose to desire fragrant odors, and the four limbs to de sire ease and, rest; these things are natural : but there is the appointment of Heaven in connection with them; and the superior man does not say of his pursuit of them, It is my nature: The exercise of love between father and son, the observance of righteousness between sovereign and minister, the rules of cere mony between host and guest, the dis play of knowledge in recognizing the worthy, and the fulfilling the heavenly I course by the sage; these are the ap pointments of Heaven,; but there is an adaptation of our nature.for them; and the I superior man does not say, in reference to r them ' glt is the appointment of Heaven." From these paragraphs it is quite clear, that what Mencius considered as deserving properly to be called the Nature of Man was, not that by which he is,- a creature of appetites and pas sions, but that by which he is lifted up into the higher circle of intelligence and virtue. RETEGT Or LIGHT. `A3r. Modre, the metaphysician, thus apeaks pf the effect of light on body and -Mind: « .A. tadpole confined in darkness would never become a frog; and an infant deprived of heaven's free light, will only grow into a shapeless instead of a beautiful and respon sible being. Hence, in the deep, dark gorges of the Swiss ,Valais, where the direct sunshine never reaches,the hideous prevalence of idiocy startles the traveler. It is a strange, melancholy idiocy. Many citizens are incapable of any articulate speech; some are deaf, some blind, some labor under all these priva tions, and all are misshapen in every . part of the body. I believe there is in All places a marked difference in the healthiness of houses according to their aspect with regard to the sun; and those are decidedly the healthiest, - other things being equal, in which all the rooms are, during some part of the day, fully ex posed to the direct light. Epidemics attack inhabitants on the shady side of the street; and totally exempt those on the other side; and even in epidemics such as ague, the morbid influence is often thus partial in its labors." RELIGION A POLICE FORCE.—Probably all will concede that a sense of right and wrong is essential to the well-being of any community. The protection of char acter, property and. life is dependent not so much on police regulations, as on the sentiment of right and wrong. Phy sical force is with the multitude, and if they were released from all sense of moral responsibility, the propenty and life of every individual would be at their mercy; and there would be no internal motive to restrain them from fraud, theft *robbery, arson and murder. Laws, penalties courts and pri,sons may keep in check individual felons ; provided the mass, the core of society,' is sound; but, as , the mass make the laws and tribunals, no police can protect rights - against universal moral abandonment. .He, then, that..asks. fel personal Safety, for the protection ef hil family, has an interest in kening':up.t the community a sense of reli - gious art R Pti d counta,bility.— e r. raviter 161
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers