The Press.
London, England, 1856-06-28 00:00:00

616

f, i ttr a t ur t.

A History of the Christian Church during the
First Three Centuries. By the Rev. J. T.
Blunt, B.D. London : Murray.
THIS is an able work of solid character and of
high utility, though addressed only to a
limited audience. Its style is smooth, not
showy; its tone is calm, not cold. It reads as
a connected history, and its chief value is the
argumentative force with which Gibbon's
attack on Christianity is encountered. It is
not professedly polemical, though its contro-
versial value is considerable. It is composed
in the spirit of an English philosophical
divine, without any rhetorical cant, or any of
that corrupting casuistry which meets us in
some theological works of the time. The
history was delivered as a series of lectures,
but it was originally composed as a connected
narrative; and we strongly recommend it to
those who would like to have an antidote to
Gibbonian poison upon the same shelves with
the "Decline and Fall." The full merit of
Mr. Blunt's work is to be felt only by trained
readers. We like its quiet energy, in which
there is no babbling enthusiasm. Its absence
of pompous display, and its freedom from the
pest of Germanised philosophy, are great
merits, in addition to its logical value as a
positive narrative of the progress of Chris-

tiani ty.
The history commences with the text, " Thou
" art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my
" Church,"—the author drawing attention to
Onr Lord speaking then of a future event,
only the foundation of the Church being laid at
the time. He fixes notice on the unity of the
Church, and reviews in succession the aposto•
lical teaching and the early organisation of
the Christians. He traverses the ground
often trod before by his predecessors, and yet
he arrests the attention of a thoughtful reader
by a certain practical treatment of his subject,
as if he wrote under the thorough conscious-
ness of sacred belief. He does not trifle with
his theme, or put us off with ambiguous lan-
guage. The work is thoroughly sincere,
and both the internal and external evidences
of the historical character of Christianity are
stated with lucid power.

Those familiar with Christian history will be
more satisfied with this performance than
general readers. For the latter class some of
the ablest passages are not sufficiently ex-
panded, and there is not even an attempt at
the art of word-painting. The work is an
argument as well as a narrative, and several of
its statements are abstracts of long reasonings.
One of the ablest portions is that in which
Gibbon's artifice in post-dating the early
,movements of the Gospel is exposed. In the
I ast century the study of the early Fathers
bad fallen into contempt. Gibbon's own
knowledge of them was limited chiefly to the
`Apologies," and the historian wrote under the
npression that he might take liberties with
is readers. Accordingly, Gibbon strives to
ave it supposed that the Gospel owed its
uccess to the secular arm, and that until
lonstantine declared in its favour it made
the way. He insinuates that opinion rather
tan affirms it openly. He says, with covert
kill, " A considerable pottion of the globe
still retains the impression it received from
the conversion of Constantine." Mr. Blunt
brings forward an overpowering array of wit-
nesses to the extension of the Church in the
three first centuries, and from an examina-
tion of the direct and indirect testimo-
nies of Justin, Theophilus, Tremens, Tertul-
lian, Hippolytus, Origen, and Cyprian, the
author proves the unfairness of Gibbon, and
establishes triumphantly the fact of the
strength of the Church antecedently to the
conversion of Constantine. Other artifices of
Gibbon arc also exposed ; and this volume
may be taken as an additional reply to Strauss
and German infidels, who dispute the histori
eat evidences of Christianity. An extremely
able analysis of the " Apology" of Tertullian
iq ineoiporated itli the text of this hiotory,
and the annals of persecution vre6seci jut"
nvvic9 of tho tvatuu.va.t.