the charge against our Universities, "that the mode of education pursued in them has too little practical bearing upon the formation of the ministerial character," seasonably adding that "it would not be in the power of" those concerned in the government of St. David's College, "to urge the same pleas in mitigation, if they fall under the same reproach." We have heard the same regret expressed by those whose affectionate veneration for our Universities cannot be exceeded, who view them, with Mr. Ollivant, as having "diffused sound learning throughout our land, and transmitted to us, at this distant period, the faith once delivered to the saints." We have also heard a hope expressed that some plan may be devised, by the intelligence and piety which preside in those seats of learning, to secure a two years' course of professional study for young academics intended for the Christian ministry, between their Bachelor's degree and the full age for Deacon's Orders. This is a consummation devoutly to be wished, for it cannot be less true, when applied to the Universities as nurseries of our Clergy, than to this clerical seminary, that

To the cultivation of personal piety, and the formation of habits conducive to ministerial usefulness; to the attainment of those graces, rare in their separate excellence, and still more rare in their combination, which are essential to the perfection of the clerical character, should our principal efforts be directed; and while we pray that all, who bear office in their own body, may remember the important duty to which they are called, to train up Ministers to Christ, we would urge it upon all who may repair hither for instruction, to reflect that they are not invited to the groves of the Academy to imbibe the lessons of philosophy, or hang upon the lips of a merely human teacher, but to prepare for the arduous task of making men wise unto salvation, to listen to the lessons of inspiration, and submit themselves to the teaching of the Son of God.-Pp. 18, 19.

If we are to express our opinion without any reserve of Mr. Ollivant's production, we must be allowed to regret that the appropriate merits of Bishop Burgess, in the erection and endowment of this College, should not have been distinguished. Throughout the Diocese of St. David's (as a separate Address from each Archdeaconry expressed, at the period of his promotion), he is venerated as the giver of this great boon, and to the latest posterity his memory must be blessed and revered in connexion with so glorious an Institution. Twenty-two years of zealous exertion, and a munificence princely in amount, especially with reference to the revenues of the See, effected the good work. His exemplary successor has shewn, in every way now possible, that such a work was after his own heart, and whatever remains to complete its efficiency will be promoted aud secured, as many most important points have been, by his pious zeal. But the peculiar merit of having founded the College attaches to Bishop Burgess; and no one would lament more than the present Bishop that this truly Christian laurel should adorn any other brow, or be otherwise than distinctly and prominently visible on that of his predecessor.

[We gladly annex the following extract from the Address presented by the Clergy and Laity of the Archdeaconry of Carmarthen to Bishop Burgess, on his promotion to the See of Salisbury. Its simple detail of facts is highly honourable to the good Bishop, and eminently instructive.-EDITOR.]

Your Lordship found the diocese of St. David's in the year 1803 in a most dilapidated state, in every view. The Churches and ecclesiastical buildings were generally in a ruinous condition, many of the Clergy were incompetently educated, and disgraced their profession by inebriety and other degrading vices; but your Lordship, by requiring a strict attention to duty from the Commissaries General, and Rural Deans, has succeeded in restoring the Churches, in some districts, to a state of exemplary neatness; and, by submitting to become your own examining Chaplain, and requiring superior learning and theological knowledge from the candidates for Holy Orders; enforcing the law against irregularities, and withholding institution from all who were not competently skilled in the language of their parishioners, your Lordship has gradually furnished the whole diocese with a body of Clergy much superior to what we ever possessed before.

Your Lordship's enjoining that all candidates for Orders should have passed seven years at one of the licensed grammar schools, contributed materially to this reform; and your having succeeded, against many difficulties, in founding a College for the future education of candidates for the Church, has crowned your Lordship's public services.

But this is not all. While your Lordship was indefatigably engaged in these laborious undertakings, and in attending to the detail of the various minor, yet harassing duties of this too extensive diocese, with a degree of mental activity that can scarcely be equalled, you were incessantly engaged in composing learned works in answer to the heretical cavils of the enemies of our Church establishment; and, though possessed of deep learning which qualified you to figure in the first rank of literature, with an unparalleled literary condescension, you wrote numerous familiar religious tracts and catechisms for the instruction of the youth of your diocese.

It must also not be forgotten, that, instead of confirming only in the county towns, your Lordship confirmed in almost all the market towns in the diocese, and thus brought Confirmation, in a manner, to every man's door.

These are such important services that can never be forgotten; and if to these we add your Lordship's liberal and princely subscriptions towards building the College, Churches, Chapels, and towards every useful undertaking, and, in a most disinterested manner, running out the Episcopal leases, with the view of improving the revenues of the See; the aggregate will form such an accumulated mass of public service as can scarcely be paralleled in any period of the Church.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ON THE RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE MAHOMETANS.

Difficulties of a Missionary.-Arabic New Testament.

In every part of education, success is found to depend, in a great degree, upon the power which the teacher has of measuring the extent of his pupil's knowledge, and of penetrating into the workings of his mind at each stage of his advancement: for the most difficult part of teaching is to remove false impressions, and prevent the operation of

VOL. X. NO. II.

prejudice; and this is most eminently true of religious instruction, which consists chiefly in overthrowing error, subduing pride, and curbing passion. Our Clergy often find these difficulties enhanced by not being able to address the poorer classes in a style that is familiar to them, nor knowing exactly the course of argument most likely to prevail with them: and yet their language, political institutions, and domestic duties are the same, and the people acknowledge the authority of that religion in which they are instructed. How vast then must be the impediments which obstruct the success of our missionaries among nations who disbelieve what is proposed to their acceptance, and who are under the influence of customs and opinions of which the missionaries have very little knowledge. It is probably to this cause, rather than to any fault in the pious labourers, or any invincible obstinacy in the unbelievers, that we must ascribe the very little progress which has hitherto been made among the nations of the East. And those who are entrusted with the important office of sending out missionaries, should take care that they are first taught the language, religion, laws, history, and philosophy, of the people whom they undertake to instruct: for it is much to be feared, that some have rather been confirmed in their errors by what they thought ignorance in those who attempted their conversion.

The leading doctrines of the Mahometan religion, for instance, are well known; and because we find no difficulty among ourselves, in shewing its errors and the fallacy of the evidence upon which it rests, we suppose that our arguments must be clear and conclusive with those who hold that faith. But we forget that our conclusions are drawn from premises which they deny; that we sometimes use terms which they take in a different sense; that their history, philosophy, and metaphysics are in opposition to ours; and that their minds are formed to a habit and train of thought, inconsistent with that course of reasoning in which we are prepared to address them. We would press them with conclusions, while they differ from us upon first principles. Logic is, perhaps, the only ground where we can meet them with a mutual good understanding; and that they use with so much subtlety in defence of their own definitions and opinions, and are so firmly persuaded that every argument must be fallacious which leads to what they think an absurdity, that we shall scarcely be able to convince them of their errors in religion till we have first taught them to feel their mistakes in history and philosophy.

Nor will the same method be equally successful with all. There are some among them who are so zealous, that they despise all knowledge which is not connected with their religion: in Persia, there are philosophers who doubt the truth of their religion; and metaphysicians who believe in nothing at all: and there are every where large numbers who follow the religion of their country, while all their thoughts are engrossed in providing the necessaries of life. With the philosophical parties we might expect to gain some advantage, but it can only be done by first enlightening their minds and instructing them in the true principles of science; and in order to accomplish this end, we must begin by ascertaining how much they know that is right, and what they believe that is wrong.

It is an unfortunate thing that they have no authentic history prior to the age of Mahomet: for the Arabs do not appear to have possessed any written records, except some poems, and perhaps genealogies and when Persia was conquered by them, the writings of that nation were destroyed as idolatrous abominations; and the remnants which escaped the first fury of this zeal were never employed to any useful purpose, and have been gradually allowed to perish. While, unfortunately for the truth, Mahomet has given the sanction of religious authority to many Jewish traditions and historical fables; out of which a history of the world has been framed, to which even the freethinkers are attached from early habits and from national pride; and it would be extremely difficult to persuade any class among them that what they believe is untrue. It is in this manner only that we can account for their utter neglect of Grecian history, while they carefully translated their philosophy. It is this confident belief in the truth of their own histories, that makes it impossible for us to convince them that our Scriptures have not been corrupted; which must always be the first step in arguing with a Mahometan. And perhaps one of the most useful measures which could be adopted, would be to furnish the Persians with translations of short treatises on antient history, and the lives of those eminent men with whose names they are familiar.

Their law should be known by those who undertake to instruct them in divine truth: for it is not confined to those cases to which the laws of Europe apply; but extends to the regulation of their conduct in the most minute particulars: it is one of the most powerful elements in their education, and insensibly makes a lasting impression on the minds of those who afterwards doubt or reject its sacred authority; so that a man may deny Mahomet and neglect his ordinances, but he will still retain the Mahometan character. It is not possible to form a just estimate of their temper, feelings, and character, without a knowledge of that law which provides them with specific rules of conduct in the various circumstances and relations of life, instead of leaving them to learn their duty by applying general principles to particular cases. There is a common opinion, which may almost be classed among vulgar errors, that the Koran contains the law of the Mahometans; yet any one who reads that book may perceive that it is very defective, even as a compendium of the principles of those laws which are necessary in a civilized state of society. The fact is that the Koran is but one, and that the smallest though the most revered source of their law : they have three others; viz. the Traditions of the Acts and Sayings of Mahomet; the Concurrence of the Faithful; and Analogy :-and their Treatises on the Principles of their Laws, with the Commentaries upon them, and their volumes of the Decisions of their early Doctors, would form a very respectable law library. These works are but little known in Europe; a further acquaintance with them would throw considerable light upon the early habits and manners of the East; and might frequently serve to elucidate the customs of the Jews, from whom it is probable that much of the Mahometan law has been borrowed.

Neither should their poetry be overlooked by any one who hopes to exercise a beneficial influence over their minds: it is deficient, indeed,

in works of that class to which we ascribe the highest degree of merit ; while the barrenness of the land, the dangers of a country life, and the seclusion of the women, deprive them of the poet's favourite themes. Still it contains much that deserves our admiration, and would afford us pleasure: it is full of just conceptions, forcibly expressed, of the attributes of the Deity, and of our weakness and entire dependence upon His mercy; and abounds in short rules of conduct which are often founded upon sound morality, and generally shew an accurate observation of human life and in many of their epigrams there is great force of thought, and conciseness of expression. Too much of their best poetry is indeed devoted to the mystical and metaphysical points of the Sufy philosophy, and is neither to our taste nor comprehension: yet we shall never know the true state of their minds till we have unravelled these subtleties with which they are possessed; nor can we become acquainted with the genius and character of a people till we are familiar with their poetry, which is the warm expression of their sentiments.

In science and medicine, and the various branches of natural history, they have rather gone back than advanced; for learning has not met with much encouragement since the days of the Caliphs: and their knowledge on all those points is perhaps about equal to that of the Moors in Spain. But there are many who are eager for further instruction, and to whom our later discoveries would afford delight; and this seems to open a way for the safest and most successful attack. Experience is daily teaching them the superiority of Europeans in all the arts; and they would be unable to resist the evidence of a course of experimental lectures: and if once they can be brought to give up their old opinions on one subject, we shall find less difficulty in persuading them to receive our instruction upon others.

The greatest obstacle to our success will perhaps be met with in their Sufy philosophy, which it is almost impossible to describe. It appears to be founded upon the doctrines of Plato, and mixed up with the notions of the Gnostics, Mystics, and in short of all the various sects which have prevailed in the East: but there are no didactic works on the subject, and the doctrines are conveyed in allegories and allusions, which are capable of any mystification that may suit the fancy, and the elucidation of which is the secret which unites the different societies of Sufies. There are at present two great sects among them; one which hold to their religion, and accommodate their philosophy to their faith; the other reject their religion as a fable. All the early Sufies were of the former description; and their leading doctrines were love to God, or the longing of the soul to return to God; abstraction from the world, and meditation upon the divine attributes, whereby the soul becomes united with God even in this life; and the exemption of the enlightened from obedience to the ordinances of the law; and they taught these doctrines as the spiritual part of their religion, which had come down by tradition from Mahomet. The utter absence of every thing, in their religion, which can soften the heart, or interest the affections, seems to have led them to adopt these opinions. But the Sufies of modern times have gone further, and rejected the religion of Mahomet altogether; though they have a great respect for his talents,