The Sun.
London, England, 1825-02-12 00:00:00

ITIIE PUBLIC LEDGER.)

Letters were received yesterday from Alalta,
dated the 15th ult. ; but they possess no other
interest, except that of confirming the intelligence
we published yesterday, respecting the complete
restoration of tranquillity in the Morea. They
likewise corroborated the report of Coloctroni
having been obliged to surrender himself, uncon-
ditionally, to the troops that were employed
against him. These letters speak of the pro-
spects of the Greeks in the most glowing terms,
and describe their independence as virtually
established already. The success of that people,
seeing the formidable enemy they have to con-
tend with, and the deep injuries they have sus-
tained from that enemy, is one of the most extra-
ordinary, as well as gratifying, phenomena of our
time, fertile as it is in wonderful apparitions.—
The mind that can contemplate the idea of their
restoration to the rank of independent nations
with a feeling of indifference, must have, indeed,
a singular construction. Amongst the other
wrongs to which they have been obliged to sub-
mit, is the charge of intellectual degeneracy; but
no imputation could be more unfounded ; and
from the specimens we have seen of them, we are
convinced they want only culture to establish
their right of inheritance to the genius, as well
as the blood, of that glorious race of men, who,
two thousand years since, irradiated humanity
by the surpassing lustre of their virtues and
talents.

The proprietors of the Levant Company as-
sembled yesterday. The President, Lord Git urr-
VILLE, took the Chair, and addressed the mem-
bers at some length on the dissolution of the Com-
pany. His Lordship returned them thanks for the
honour they had so long conferred upon him, as
President of their body ; and expressed his gra-
tification that, in dissolving the Company, Go-
vernment entertained no feeling of hostility
towards them, but that the liberal policy of
his Majesty's Ministers, in widely extending
trade, had alone led to the dissolution of the
Company.

A DEFENCE of the PROTESTANT CHURCH from
the ATTACK of the MODERN HISTORIAN of the
REFORMATION, W. COBBETT.

(No. IV.)

MR. Erwroa—PETEß may indeed, as one of
the early fathers says, be called the rock, be-
cause he first laid in the Gentiles the foundation
of faith, just as some of the Apostles, James and
John, were called pillars of the churcis, by whose
pious labours it was supported, after Peter, who
was the first to begin it, had taken upon him the
edifying of the church. But this is far from con-
ferring upon him any such pre-eminence as is
arrogated by his proud soi-disant successors, or
even any right of dominion above his brother
Apostles, who as Apostles were endowed with
the same privileges, as they were sent forth under
the same commission to preach the Gospel to all
nations : and it has been most satisfactorily
proved by those who have gone through every
passage in his life as it is written in the sacred
records,, that whatever privilege or commission
or title was given to him by our blessed Lord,
was also given to the others ; and that even in
allusion to this very epithet, which is made the
ground work of his Apostolical pre-eminence, he
has only given to him the same name with them
all, for the wall of Jerusalem. which came down
from heaven had 12 foundations on which were
inscribed the names of the 12 Apostles of the
Lamb. If there could be one text in scripture
clearer than another to this purpose, it is the
language of St. Paul to the church at Ephesus :-
44 We are all built upon the foundation of the
Prophets and Apostles, Christ himself being the
chief corner-stone ;" and again, " other foun-
dation can no man lay than that which is laid,
which is Christ Jesus." Than these texts from
his brodier Apostle, what language could be
plainer to prove that though Peter might he call-
ed the Corner-stone, or the Kock upon which the
church was to be built, as he took the lead in
its establishment, or as one of our own w riters
expresses it, was" the first and most eminent
part of its foundation,," yet he never took such a
lead, or was raised to any such pre-eminence
above the rest, who are also called the founda-
tion, as to be called by distinction the Head of
the Church. The expression upon which the
apostolical pre-eminence is founded, is a quota-
tion after the manner of our Lord, from one of
the Prophets, who now, that the Gospel is re-
vealed, speaks so clearly about Him, and about
his Church, to any one that will compare them.
As Peter was the first to proclaim the mysteries
of incarnation and his divinity, he natura ly calls to
the mind of his disciples the very words of Isaiah,
who says, "Behold thus saith the Lord God, I lay
in Zion for a foundation a precious corner-stone;
a sure foundation : he that believed! shall not
make haste." Hence the Disciples might know
who was that stone which lay in Zioo a sure
foundation, and wherefore that foundation was
so sure that it could never be moved or the
gates of hell prevail against it, because it was
not the creature hut the Creator himself—the
Son of God. Hence they would not under-
stand St. Peter to be the Rock in any other
sense than as taking the lead in the edifying
of the Church, and building it upon the true
Rock—the confession of the faith—by which he
had just announced Christ to he the Son of God ;
the very Corner-stone, which the builders refused,
but which is now become the head of the corner,
and " he who believed' in this shall not make
haste," the gates of hell shall not prevail against
the true church or body of true believers scat-
tered about the face of the earth. With these,
he promises to abide unto the end of the world
on another occasion, and on this he may be only
confirming his promise as an encouragement, not
only to the faith of those more immediate dis-
ciples who were so soon to go forth and encoun-
ter the prosecutions of that world, but also to the
faith of all in succeeding generations wheresoever
his gospel should be recorded, that his saints
might not faint in their hearts, or fail in their
just confidence, but persevere through all their
fiery trials, in the midst of an infidel and aban-
doned age, even unto the end.
Our Lord tells all the A postles as well as
Peter, not only to go teach all nations, but en-
courages them with this assurance " that he will be
with them always even unto the end of the
world." Every one of the Apostles had the same
commission to perform his office in any part of
the world,—as one of the early fathers says,
"the whole world was the province of each
Apostle ;" and another calls any one of the
Apostles an " CEcumenical judge and leader of
all men under the Sun,"—so far were they from
confining them to any particular district, or
ranking them all as subordinate to one universal
Bishop; nor did they ever raise St. Peter to he a
prince of the Apostles, who were supposed to
be endowed with the same titles and privileges
and the same authority over the different churches
which they established as that Apostle had over
his. One of them calls that very title a cory-
phipn of authorities in the church. In his com-
mentary upon a passage where St. Paul says—
" The Lord gave some Apostles, some pro-
phets," &c. ; and in other passages, where he
places the Apostles first in order, he says,—
"We have heard Paul himself enumerating
powers, and seating the apostolical in the high-
est rank ; whereas, if St. Peter or any one were
higher, and so high as some have placed him in
the latter days of the church, he never could
have omitted in his enumeration of the different
orders the highest and most pre-eminent of them
all. But not a word Is said either by him or by
any other of the sacred writers, or by the earlier
Fathers, of any such dignity, but all the Apostles
are placed upon the same level : and St. Paul
even declares, that he is " not a whit behind the
chiefest of the Apostles ;" and it can only be,
therefore, by the authority of man, and not by
divine right, that any such new order has been
substituted, which seems to invert the general
order, and dares to " rob Paul to pay Peter."
A PROTESTANT.
( 7'o be continued. )

COAL MARKET, FEB. 11.
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LITERARY NOTICE.

The SUNDAY SCHOOL PRIMER, or Child's First Book,

being an Introduction to reading the Holy Bible. By Mrs.

THADf AIL.

We are not afraid of the juxta-position of the
words 44 Literary Notice," and this unpretending
title ; for we little value those Readers who
would be disposed to ridicule us for calling the
attention of the Public to any thing useful, how-
ever humble the nature of its utility. if the edu-
cation of childhood be a task of great import-
ance and difficulty, whatever promotes its inte-
rests and diminishes its obstacles deserves to be
known and recommended, and we shall be well
content to endure all the consequences to which
a Notice like this may expose us from the
thoughtless, if we can be sure that the publica-
tion now before us will, by our instrumentality,
become appreciated and employed.
It cannot be disputed that, with much empi-
ricism and chicanery, the present age really far
surpasses all its predecessors in theextent of ed uca-
tion, and the reason of this is, in a great degree,
to be found in the improvement of books for
children. The object of these books formerly
seemed to be only to teach children to read ; the
use of reading itself never entered into the heads
of those who made them. When a child had, by
excessive toil, mastered the alphabet, every thing
was done; and he had only to study, as a praxis
the eloquent epics of Jack Sprat and Robert
and Richard, or those pathetic lyrical ballad's
which celebrate the fortunes of Horner and Long-
legs, and which have only been surpassed by the
great lyrical balladist of Johnny Foy. After a
due time consumed in these edifying exercises, the
Histories of the Bible, of England, and of Rome
were given to the child, which he laboured through
as his task, but which were always sufficiently
unintelligible to give neither instruction nor
amusement. Childhood thus half consumed, the
Eton Latin Grammar was committed to memory.
We have read of a schoolmaster who was so at-
tached to obscurity that when one of his scholars
was unable to construe his own exercise, he ex-
claimed,—" Tonto melius : ipse non intelligo."
We should suppose this gentleman employed the
Eton grammar. However, not to step beyond what
we are now treating, the whole system of what
was called education in the last age was to cram
a child with words, and leave the ideas to them-
selves. Very different is the spirit of the present.
A child of eight years old, who has read at all,
must now possess some real knowledge. The
first books which are placed in his hands contain
necessary or valuable information, and they are
written in such a language as is easily compre-
hensible by children, and amusing to them.

" Lectorem delectando pariterque inonendo."

Since this good has actually been effected by
the reform in the nature of children's books, we
are bound not to overlook any improvement in
their formation, nor to withhold the just tribute
of praise from those who contribute to these im-
provements, which certainly :Ire undertaken from
any motives but those of ostentation or pleasure,
except that pure delight alone which waits doing
good," In tenni labor, at tenuis non gloria." And
certainly none deserve a higher share of praise
(with all respect for the sages of New Lanark) ,
than those who make clear to children their cir-
cumstances and duty as redeemed and respon•
sible creatures, and follow the good course of the
Baptist, in making straight the paths of the Lord.
Our attention has been chiefly directed to this
little book from learning that Mrs. Thamar is the
authoress of the" Scripture cards, of which we
took occasion to speak some time since with the
most unqualified approbation. The "
First Book" may be considered as an introduction
to these : and although it may have been origin-
ally intended for the use of Sunday Schools, there
is nothing in it which restricts its utility to this
or any other institution. The object of the book
is to make religion the earliest business of life
and the first purpose of reading; and by means
of the Primer and the Scripture Cards a child
may attain a clear and safe knowl;,=lge of what
has been done for him, and what he is expected
to do.

We strongly recommend Mrs. THAMAR'S book
to all parents who wish to combine instruction
and interest with the acquirement of the first ru-
diments, and we cordially agree in the senti-
ments expressed in her Preface, on which she
has so conscientiously and successfully acted.
" As to what a child ought to read, every serious reflecting
mind, convinced of the treasure it contains, would say,.-the
Bible. But. .iis sacred volume ought never to be used merely
for the purpose of teaching children to read ; nor ought they to
be allowed to read it till their minds have been, in some degree,
prepared for the solemn truths they will find there. For this
purpose short and easy Bible Histories are very useful, as soon
as a child can read with tolerable ease ; and the following sub-
jects have been selected, as awakening a peculiar interest in
the feelings of children.

" It is much to be regretted, that many of our youth of
both sexes lay aside their Bibles when they leave school, and
spend the few hours they have to spare in reading books which
overturn all the serious impressions and good principles they
may have received there. Is this in any way to he attributed
to their not having received the word of God with pleasure and
delight in early life ? If so, how careful ought parents and
teachers to be, that religious instruction be made pleasing, and
that the first books which they put into the hands of youth are
such as will tend to their spiritual advantage, and incline them
to take the Bible for their guide through life."