876 Retrofpedt of Domefic Literature. —Theology. 
Emprefs of Ruffia forthe Roman Catho- 
lic Prelates of that Empire. 
“© An Irifh Country Gentleman” has m- 
Hlituted ‘¢ An Enquiry into the Caufes of po- 
talar Difcontents in Ireland.’ ‘This 1s a 
very able and well-written pamphict, and 
ane which has every claim to atiéntion 
vthich goed fenfe and public {pit can con 
fers 
‘Having dwelt fo long on po litical pub- 
lications, we mutt, wichove de! aying to 
notice fome vague declamatory, anfwers 
which have been offered to Lord ArcH1- 
BALD HaMILTON’s §§ Thouglits on the 
Forivation of the late and prefent Admini- 
firaiton,” proceed to the next divifion of 
our compendium, 
THEOLOGY ; 
On which fubjeét we have very few new 
works to notice. 
Ay Abjirad of the avbole Doérine of 
the Chrifiian Religion, by J. A. Frey- 
LINGHAUSEN. Froma MS. in her Ma- 
jefiy’s PcYefion.” This work, part of 
which is printed at Lord Stanhope’s fte- 
reotype preis, makes its appearance un- 
der the patronage of the Queen of 
Great Britain; and the editor, who 
36 no lefs celebrated a divine than the Bi- 
fnop of London, has gone fo far as to 
fay, that. he does not recollect any fum- 
mary of all the doétrines of the Chriftian 
religion, in the Englith language, com- 
prefled into fo fhort a coripafs, and ar- 
ranged in fo fyftematic aad {cientific a 
form. This is a very forry compliment 
to the labours of our Engiifi theologians, 
who certainly need not fhyink from fub- 
mitting their works to a comparifon with 
the Eeaenicd metaphyfical jargon, the wild | 
fpeculaticns and incompre'ienfible difqui- 
frtions. which are fcattered through the‘e 
pages. The editor confiders Mr. Frey- 
hinghaufen’s work as excellently calculat- 
ed to be an elementary buck for the reii- 
gious inftruction of the youth of both 
fexes. Let any one resd, among many 
ethers, the article on D::tine Iiiumination, 
the Spiritual ard My) Rical Urion with 
God, Juftification, FjeGion, Reproba- 
tion, &c. &c. and fay/ferioufly, whether 
tnefe fubjeéts, thus freated, would not 
perplex, confound, a‘ almoft ftupity the 
acateft theologian of the times, 
A dilciple of the Jate Baron Sweden- 
borg has publifhed ‘** Three Sermons on 
the Lord’s Prayer, end dedicated them to 
the Lifbop of London?’ They evince piety 
and tandour, 
Tue title of the following work is fuf- 
ficierttly AD of its contents; we 
cann pt pals it by, however, without flat- 
ing that the feleétion is excellent: Sas 
cred Hours, or Extras for private De- 
votion and Medtiation : comprehending the 
Pfelms arranged under various Heads; 
together -with Prayers, Thank/grvings, 
&e. principally felecied jrom Scripture.” 
“Mr. Cooper, bas publithed a volume 
of ** Sermons,” chiefly deligned to eluci- 
date fome of the leading doctrines of the 
Gofpel. They are written in an arga- 
mentitive and impreflive manner. 
The Bihhop ot St. Afaph’has publifhed 
a Sermon (intended to. form part of the 
Appendix to his fecond eJjttion of The 
Hotea)' On Chrif’s Defcent into Hell, 
and the intermediate State’ ‘Fine object 
of this fngular difcourie is, to fhew that - 
the aflertion in the Apofiles’ Creed that 
“* our Lord defcended into Hell,”’ is to be 
taken as a plain matter of faét, in the 
literal meaning of -the words; to fhew 
what proofs we have of this faét in holy 
writ; and to fhew the good ufe and im- 
portance of the fact as a point of Chriftian 
doctrine, - 
The learned prelate’s idea of the nee 
Hell, difters from the ufual acceptation of 
it: he by no means confiders it as a place 
of torment, but contends for its being un- 
derftood as the place or region under 
ground, deftined tor the reception of {pi- 
rits feparated by death from the body ; 
where all fouls, their nature being fimilar, 
are placed together in the fame element ;”’ 
the difengaged fpirits of the righteous and 
thevwicked pafiing to different fubterra- 
neous receptacies.. Hence it 1s argued, 
that the human Gouil of Chrift, in the in- 
terval between his death and the.refurrec- 
tion of his body, obtained its appropriate 
receptacle among. the goed fpirits 5 and 
that their region 1s. the paradife to which 
he alludes in his promile to the penitent 
thief on the Crofs. To prove the doftrine 
-of the Chriftian’s agtual defcent into hell, 
or the place f fafe-k zeping, and bis preach. - 
ing unto the * {pirits in prifoo,”” the right _ 
reverend preacher adduces three texts, in 
addyion to the premife of our Lord to 
the penitent thief. The firft is the text 
of the Pialmit (PL xvi. ro.) quoted by 
St. Peter in his Sermon on the Day of 
Pentecoft (Aas, 11. 29, 31). ‘The fecond” 
is (Eph. iv. 7,10); and the third is the 
text which is chJen for the prefent dif- 
courfe, (I. Pet-1 iti. 18, 19,20). In or- 
der to obviate the difficulty of imagining 
Paradifeto be a prifon for departed {pirits, 
_ the Bifhop obferves, that ‘as a place of 
confiiement, though not of punithment — 
it may well be cal! eda prifon.”” The orl 
giral word, however, in this text of the - 
‘Apottle, 
4 
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