536 



LITERATURE, AMERICAN, IN 1885. 



of the discussion between Frederic Harrison 

 and Herbert Spencer on " The Nature and Re- 

 ality of Religion," and its subsequent with- 

 drawal on account of Mr. Harrison's objections, 

 caused something of a sensation. The trans- 

 lated work of the Russian Count Leo Tolstoi, 

 " My Religion," has attracted a great deal of 

 notice. It seems a singular commentary on 

 the Christianity of Christians, that a book de- 

 scribed as " a plea for the direct application of 

 the teachings of Jesus to the affairs of life" 

 should be so fresh and original in its central 

 idea as to be startling, but this appears to be 

 the case. 



In critical study, we have a The Pentateuch ; 

 its Origin and Structure : an Examination of 

 Recent Theories," by Rev. Dr. E. C. Bissell ; 

 " The Hebrew Feasts in their Relation to Re- 

 cent Critical Hypotheses concerning the Pen- 

 tateuch," by Dr. W. A. Green ; " Christ and 

 Christianity: Studies in Christology, Creeds, 

 and Confessions, Protestantism and Roman- 

 ism, the Reformation," etc., by Rev. Dr. Philip 

 Schaff, who has also published an explanation 

 of " The Oldest Church Manual, the k Teaching 

 of the Twelve Apostles,' " by comparison and 

 illustration from other early teachings. Prof. 

 Francis Bowen has written of " Assyriology : 

 its Use and Abuse," pointing out the advan- 

 tages and dangers of the study to Old Testa- 

 ment students. In "The Blood Covenant," 

 Dr. H. C. Trumbull examines a practice of 

 great interest in connection with Scripture, 

 and not heretofore noted the primitive rite of 

 covenanting by the intertransfusion of blood. 

 A new translation of the Book of Esther by 

 the Lowell Hebrew Club is one of the notable 

 events of the year in this department ; and in 

 Scripture interpretation, "The Revelation of 

 St. John the Divine, self-interpreted," by Dr. 

 Samuel Fuller. " Ecclesiology," by Prof. E. 

 D. Morris, is a " Treatise on the Church and 

 the Kingdom of God on Earth." 



Books on evidences of Christianity are : "A 

 Primer of Christian Evidence," by R. A. Bed- 

 ford; "Reasons for Faith in the Nineteenth 

 Century," by J. M. Leavitt, and " Why we be- 

 lieve the Bible: an Hour's Reading for Busy 

 People," by J. P. T. Ingraham. Among book's 

 dealing with speculative questions in religion 

 are, the translation of Hermann Lotze's "Phi- 

 losophy of Religion," by Prof. Ladd, of Yale; 

 ' The Religion of Philosophy ; or, the Unifi- 

 cation of Knowledge: a Comparison of the 

 Chief Philosophical and Religious Systems of 

 the World," by Raymond S. Perrin; "Natu- 

 ral Theology or Rational Theism," by M. Val- 

 entine, D. D. ; "Evolution Christianity," by 

 Dr. Benjamin F. Tefft, and " Outlines of the 

 Future Religion of the World," by T. Lloyd 

 Stanley. ^ In reference to doctrines, controvert- 

 ed questions, and the like, may be mentioned : 

 " The Doctrine of Original Sin as Received and 

 Taught by Churches of the Reformation," by 

 R. W. Landis: "The Keys of the Kingdom," 

 by Rev. J. J. Moriarty ; " Dogma no Antidote 



for Doubt," by a member of the New York 

 Bar ; "Revelation, Universal and Special," by 

 Rev. AV. W. Oissen, and "Current Discus- 

 sions in Theology," by professors in the Chi- 

 cago Theological Seminary. 



Several important works in church history 

 and the histories of churches have been issued 

 the fourth volume, " Medieval Christiani- 

 ty," of Dr. Schaff's "History of the Christian 

 Church " ; " Church History in Brief," by J. 

 C. Moffatt, D. D. ; " History of Christian Doc- 

 trine," by H. C. Sheldon ; " History of the 

 American Episcopal Church," edited by Rev. 

 Dr. W. S. Perry; "A Short History of the 

 Episcopal Church in America," by Rev. W. 

 Benham ; " American Presbyterianism : Its 

 Origin and Early Growth," by Rev. Dr. C. A. 

 Briggs ; to which may be added " The Days of 

 Makemie," a pioneer of the Presbyterian Church 

 in Maryland, by E. P. Bowen, D. D. ; " History 

 of the Church known as Unitas Fratrum " (Mo- 

 ravians), by Edmund de Schweinitz, in connec- 

 tion with which may be placed a very interest- 

 ing chapter of the history of the Moravian 

 Church in America, "The Diary of David 

 Zeisberger, Moravian Missionary among the 

 Indians of Ohio, 1781-'98," translated from 

 the original manuscript by E. F. Bliss. Other 

 church histories are: " Universalism in Amer- 

 ica," by Richard Eddy, D. D. ; "A History of 

 the Catholic Church in Kentucky," by B. J. 

 Webb ; and " A Brief History of Mormonism," 

 by Mrs. E. E. Dickinson, a kinswoman of Solo- 

 mon Spalding, from whose stolen manuscript, 

 it is said, the Book of Mormon was made. 



Among the many devotional books and vol- 

 umes of sermons may be mentioned " Sermons 

 in Songs," by Rev. Dr. C. S. Robinson ; "The 

 Religious Life," by Rev. M. J. Savage ; " Bible 

 Characters," by the late Alexander G. Mercer, 

 I). D.; "Philistinism," by Rev. R. Heber 

 Newton; "Summer Sermons," by Rev. "W. 

 W. Newton ; " Divine Sovereignty and other 

 Sermons," by Rev. Reneu Thomas; "Evolu- 

 tion and Religion," by Rev. H. W. Beecher; 

 "Lectures on the Epistles for Sundays and 

 Chief Festivals," by J. A. Seiss, D.D.; "The 

 Heavenly Vision and other Sermons," by H. 

 M. Booth, D. D.; "Good-Friday," by Rev. 

 H. S. Holland; "Atheism and Arithmetic," 

 by H. L. Hastings ; " The Woman Friends of 

 Jesus," by Dr. H. C. McCook; "Sunrise on 

 the Soul," by Hugh S. Carpenter; "In His 

 Steps," by J. B. Miller; "The Coming of the 

 Lord," by J. C. Rankin, D. D. ; " Obscure Char- 

 acters and Minor Lights of Scripture," by I 

 Hastings; "The Young Men and the Churches," 

 by Rev. Washington Gladden; "Following 

 Christ," by J. B. Stratton, D. D. ; "Nature in 

 Scripture," by Rev. E. E. Cummings; "Meta- 

 phors in the Gospels," by Donald Fraser, D. D. ; 

 "The Possibilities of Grace," by Rev. Asbury 

 Lowrey : " Light on the Pilgrim's Way," from 

 the writings of the late Rev. C. A. Stork, D. D. ; 

 "The Sabbath," by Rev. Dr. W. W. Everts; 

 " The Lord's Day," by A. E. Waffle; and vol- 



