The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-03-06 00:00:00

LITERAYLIRE.

'LECTURES IN DEFENCE .OF TUE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
By Samuel..lanies Allen, M.A., Perpetual Curate of
SaltoJary, hear' Blackburn; and Chaplain tri the Right!
Hoc. the Lord de Tablev, London:. O. J. G. and.F.'
•It iVingtons Stevenson; 'Cambridge ; D. A. Talb,oys,
.oford; and R. Pattiison and T. Kaye, Liverpool.
1834 • pp. 438. Svo. ' • •
'The attacks'-which are daily made opoit the eSta-
IliSlied ,church demand of all her ions "that they
Should be up and be doing." These are no. times to !
indulge 'in an apathetic indifference' to all arouncl'4ls. '
it is not sufficient for :us to be 'ourselves firmly-con- '
vinced of the excellence 'of that " form of sound Words"
established at the glorious reformation; Mir is it enough
that we ourselves are firmly convinced of the scriptural
authority which is delegated to our ecclesiastical rulers,
more than any such negative concurrence is required of
`the real friend, of the clunictf.- 'He Ought to be prepared
to show not merely the 6ibsoidd'inerit4Of our establish-
ment, but:he should also be well furnished with 'argu-
talents by whielt he may tirraintairi the comparative supe-
Tiotity which: the church of 'England possesses in• so
eminent a degree.
This being the case, we' think it will 'be admitted on
all hands that Mr. Allen has done, good service to the
church; in. whose' sanctuary he ministers, by the publi-
cation of the volume of sermons whose title heads. this
article. deserVes well 'tno of every friend of trath
and of sock/ ()icier, his able exposure of the sophis=
tria—not to use a harsh term—of those who have of
late assailed with so much virulence the ark of God's
representative; which now floats in such apparent din-
ger in this deluge of the pestilent waters of sectarian
strife.. - • • • •
The "defence" is made in twelve lectures. The sub-
-stance of the first, fourth, seventh, and eleventh lectures
having been preached before the University of Cam-
bridge, in -3otiary,:'lB34,
.r the author' being select
preacher .at St. Mary'S for that month. There is also a
very.valuable appendix. • Our limits will not:, allow us
to. treat 'bur 'readers with any lengthened extracts,' but
cse cannot refrain- from quoting •One•paissage. ' The ob•
jection.toa state provision for the clergy, grounded on
the plea (*)f the poverty of the early christian pastors, is-
-thus dealt

•,'A3 •reaseuably might a caviller hive objected in the days of
aavidorrSolomon, that the church then established bore no
4istinctive features of the Israel of:God: because •the servitude
of F.gypt, wis lit'. an end,—there -was no unreasonable task-
roster to eitact,—no Pharaoh to• pursue,—little to be observed
but a scene of peace and splendour, such as it could scarcely
have :entered into the minds of the earlier patriarchs to con-
ceive, and orwhicb but faint intimations were to be found in
thitlivkiie revelations at that time-imparted for their comfort;
• We might have 'quoVeil many pssagei more conspi.
Cuous for eluqUence of language and richness of thought,
but we recommend an attentive perusal of the whole
volume to 'our-readers, convinced that it is one of those
works which' only• requite to kii(rna iu ordeC that
they may be appreciated and valued. •

era ••=4l;

the .wished-for prize Theoscasions upon.which an English-+i '
'wciinan'lfaii'eaq a' necessity for speaking French, do not,.
English society, exceed, in general an 'hour in' a' twelvemonth.
r
'To speak it withouati ti§o.uta necsits., is a piece of vile' att..'
fectation in the worst liossible taste, and worthy only of zit): :!
taught eoverriess", or a silly cnilil. To devote; thereto' e, a very ,
•great deal' of xp.ense, or still more precious time, to the ac(Aui-
litirin and 'retention of sticoniparatively Useless an ,acconiplish-
tient, (we are towininz.ourselves ISolety to' the speaking
.oftbie
tonguz,l is likely to produee inthinking minds a veiy itiwlerde
opinion of the umlerstunding of the. person scho ha's done so.: A
man who is actuated tq a real spirit of 'patriotis4
this to the language as well as to the other institutions and con,:
rentional Eirrangetnents of his country." .
•