Scope of Mr. Rawlinson's Book.

31

genuineness and authenticity of the sacred documents, and the exhibition of certain parts of 'the external evidence to the truth of the Bible records, whether contained in monuments, in the works of profane writers, in customs and observances now existing or known to have existed, or, finally, in the works of believers nearly contemporary with any of the events narrated.' Of the Lectures which follow, Nos. II. to V. inclusive are devoted to the Old Testament history, which Mr. Rawlinson distributes into four great periods: 1. From the creation to the death of Moses, or the period of the Pentateuch. 2. From the death of Moses to the accession of Rehoboam, or the space covered by the Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and some portions of Kings and Chronicles. 3. From the accession of Rehoboam to the Jewish captivity, or the history contained in the remainder of Kings and Chronicles, with parts of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, and Zephaniah. 4. From the captivity to the reform of Nehemiah, or the events of which the Books of Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther treat, together with those of the contemporary Prophets. The last three Lectures are occupied with the history of the New Testament, regarded as forming a single period only. In both these sections of his work Mr. Rawlinson travels over a vast field of ancient and modern literature, and collects with admirable industry and judgment whatever can illustrate and add force to his argument. Not only the cuneiform inscriptions, but the monuments of Egypt, the native records of Phoenicia and Armenia, the annalists and historians of Greece and Rome, Josephus, the Church fathers, and a multitude of other witnesses, are made to contribute their quota to the cause he has in hand. The more than two hundred pages of notes, references, and quotations of authorities in full, which Mr. Rawlinson appends to his Lectures, are evidence at once of the writer's laboriousness, discrimination, and fidelity; and, if they offer no great attraction for the general reader, they will add much to the worth of the volume in the estimation of all Christian scholars. The cuneiform element of Mr. Rawlinson's book is that with which we have chiefly concerned ourselves; and we have already expressed our wish that this had been larger and more exclusive than it is. Let it not be supposed, however, that we undervalue those parts of his work to which our attention has been less explicitly directed. His discussions on the authorship and composition of the books of Scripture, and particularly of the anonymous books; his defence of the genuineness of the Pentateuch; the confirmation of the Bible chronology, and of the Mosaic account of the Flood, which he

draws from the writings of Manetho and Berosus, notwithstanding the absurdities and exaggerations with which they are disfigured; the light which he causes the researches of our Egyptologers to shed upon numerous points of Old Testament history; his vindication of the authority of the Books of Daniel and Esther; the manner in which he disposes of the à silentio argument, as used by Strauss and others, against the credibility of the contents of the four Gospels; the proof of the historical truth of the New Testament, which he gathers from what we know of the contemporary political condition of Palestine, and of the names, characters, and history of the civil rulers of the period; finally, the verification of the later Scriptures, which Mr. Rawlinson finds in the early Christian literature, and in those Roman catacombs, of which Dr. Wiseman fables so charmingly; these and many other features of the Lectures exhibit to great advantage the learning, acuteness, and candour of the writer, and are worthy of the close and earnest consideration of all who would know the certainty of the things in which they have been instructed.

Speaking generally, Mr. Rawlinson, throughout his book, has applied, with much force and consistency, the principles laid down in his introductory Lecture, and has handled the several points he undertakes to argue or illustrate with discrimination, precision, and vigour. Occasionally we have had reason to doubt whether he does not put a little too much into the mouth of his witnesses, and unwittingly stumble on that stumbling-stone of rhetoric, where so many theologians and philosophers before him have weakened their strength. At any rate, we have here and there remarked that he is less reserved than his gifted brother, Sir H. Rawlinson, in the statement of facts belonging to the cuneiform monuments. Now and then, too, we have met with inaccuracies in the quotations, which Mr. Rawlinson gives from his authorities. On page 48, for example, he makes Berosus attribute an action to Belus, which the historian represents to have been done by one of the other Babylonian gods. So, on the two pages following, several statements are attributed to Berosus, which belong not to him but to Abydenus; in one case, indeed, Berosus is represented as saying the very opposite of what his words imply. It would be hypercritical to notice blemishes like these, were it not that a rigid exactness, even in minute details, is indispensable in a work of the class of Mr. Rawlinson's. We feel bound to add, that for a book, the tone of which is, for the most part, so high and healthy in reference to the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures, the terms in which the sacred documents are spoken

Church Music.

33

of are sometimes, as we think, a little too human in their colouring. It is difficult to avoid this in dealing with questions like those which are discussed in these Lectures, and especialiy with the German atmosphere about one, which must, of necessity, be breathed, if 'the doubts of modern times' are to come within the range of our inquiries. But it was never more important than now, that Christian scholars, by their very diction, should pay homage to the majesty of the words of the Holy Ghost; and in this respect we cannot but deem Mr. Rawlinson to be now and then undesignedly wanting. What we regret even more, is the sanction which is given, in a note on the third Lecture, to the doctrine of Michaelis and others, who reduce the miracle of Joshua to a poetical painting of an every-day fact. What sense there can be in the declaration, that there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man,' if there was nothing extraordinary in the appearances of the heavenly bodies, we are quite unable to divine; and we must say we have no desire to be commended to any one, be he learned Hebraist' or other, who would argue in favour of such an hypothesis. One word more, and we have done. We could wish, for the sake of the cause Mr. Rawlinson represents, that the style of his book had been somewhat more attractive. We should be sorry to see a Bampton Lecturer surrounding himself with sparkles. But there is another extreme; and we fear even scholars will be ready to complain of want of animation in certain parts of the work before us. no slight drawbacks, however, take more than a very little from the high estimation in which Mr. Rawlinson's performance ought to be held. We heartily thank him for the good service he has been able to render to the cause of biblical learning and of catholic Christian truth. He has given us a sober, solid, earnest, and trustworthy book, which wise men will value the more they study it, which scepticism will find it more convenient to ignore or smile at than to answer, and which, we venture to predict, will continue to live in honour, when many of its more dazzling contemporaries have been long dead and forgotten.

Let

ART. II.-1. Reflections on Church Music; for the Consideration of Church-goers in general. By CARL ENGEL. London. 1856.

2. History of Music. Four Vols. 4to. By CHARLES BURNEY, Mus. Doc., F.R.S. London. 1776.

3. A General History of the Science and Practice of Music.

By SIR JOHN HAWKINS.

London.

Five Vols. 4to. 1776. 4. The Music of the Church, Choral and Congregational. By REV. P. LATROBE, M.A., &c. 8vo. London. 1831. 5. The Choral Service of the United Church of England and Ireland. By REV. JOHN JEBB, M.A., &c. 8vo. London.

1843.

6. Music in its Relation to Religion. A Lecture. By REV. JOHN CUMMING, D.D.

7. Quelques Observations sur le Chant Grégorien. Mémoire présenté à l'Institut, en Mars, 1855. Par C. J. PATU DE SAINT VINCENT, Membre de la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie et Couronné dans le Séance du 10 Août. Paris. 1856.

8. The Order of the Daily Service of the United Church of England and Ireland, as Arranged for Use in Quires, and Places where they Sing. By THOMAS TALLIS. Bishop's Edition. London. 1854.

9. A Collection of Anthems, as Sung in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Christ's Church, (Her Majesty's Chapel Royal,) in the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St. Patrick, in the Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle, and in the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin. By REV. JOHN FINLAYSON, M.A., Vicar Choral, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. Dublin. 1852.

10. Sacred Latin Poetry, chiefly Lyrical; selected and arranged for Use; with Notes and Introduction. By RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH, M.A., &c. (now D.D. and Dean of Westminster). London. 1849.

11. What to Do; and How to Do it. A Lecture on Congregational Psalmody. By REV. JOHN CURWEN. London. 12. Sacred Music. A Lecture. By REV. JOHN CUMMING, D.D. London. 1859.*

13. A Rational Illustration of the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. By CHARLES WHEATLEY, M.A., &c. London. 1857. (Bohn's Edition.)

14. Six Lectures on the Book of Common Prayer. By CHARLES PARSONS REICHEL, B.D. (now D.D.), Professor of Latin, Queen's College, Belfast. Dublin. 1857.

15. Music. A Lecture Delivered in Trinity College, Dublin, in Trinity Term, 1852. By JOHN SMITH, Mus. Doc., Professor of Music in the University, &c. (Newspaper Report.)

* Nos. 6 and 12 were Lectures delivered before the Young Men's Christian Association, in Exeter Hall,

The Revival of Musical Taste.

35

Ir is not necessary to offer any apology for bringing before the public a subject of such importance as Church Music. It is to be regretted that, notwithstanding the many improvements of the age in which we live, no science has been so little systematized as this; nor has the interest taken in its theory and practice at all kept pace with the advancement made in almost every other direction. When we remember that throughout the length and breadth of this great kingdom the public singing of the praises of God prevails almost universally, from the stately minster to the obscure country church,-from Mr. Spurgeon's meeting' at Exeter Hall, to the rudest and smallest country 'chapel, we must feel that its proper cultivation and performance is a theme which is or ought to be popular in the highest degree. For the most part, the writers on this subject have been those whose musical taste has so far mastered their better feeling as to lead them to treat all attempts to popularize Church Music with contempt; while the advocates for congregational singing have (it is to be regretted) often been narrowly and sometimes fanatically dogmatical about the whole matter. Such persons seem to have imagined that any sort of singing was good enough for God's house; and hence those very absurd and painfully ridiculous scenes in which parish clerks and choirs figure, whether in story or in fact.

But another day has dawned on the Church, and strenuous exertions are everywhere made to insure propriety in this department of public worship. Thousands of Englishmen yearly frequent every place of note in Germany; thence they bring with them a new taste in music, and some influence from the national knowledge of the art which the Germans possess. Again, masters for our public schools are now trained in corps, and music forms part of the training: by this means musical knowledge of a good class becomes widely extended throughout the country; and the rising generation possess advantages in the way of musical education which most adults now living never enjoyed.

In the present state of things, then, some few suggestions as to the better performance and cultivation of Church Music may not be out of place. To this end we shall first attempt a slight historical sketch of sacred music, from the earliest times to our own day; and then endeavour to deduce from the excellencies and errors of the Church Music of the past and present some practical suggestions.

It may be a matter of surprise to many in our day, to hear that at one period since the Reformation, the exercise of the