New-York tribune., 1903-03-26


ing vouth the snring8ng heart Of the chi.o.
-.he,, ,..Irvsnstas and recreates for itself new
World with every turn OF its history. such
,,.orIa ,,arpt original ehAra acters-men VINO are
bsrred with spiritual visions and are NV
,rg ever with face toward the future; and VINO
49, ~ them the virtues and the sins OF nat
ure's own vitality
. 49,, this Characterization of the Jews as =
,sce given to foTtify his reasons TOR cnoosne Aor
studv these great peFeonaSes OF tneir H'sNc'''
DR. Matheson proceeds TO series eI skeHNss" .,1
of Biblical characters. ADAM type OF tn7 VIZ
-btahood. does not here appear In the ttt]o'-
go, character Of an innocent soul overtaken
~, tAr,ntstIon but as a man whose latent IN
aao,,t,- ~ his contract with God at length oe-
x,AIooa into the expression of long cherlsheU
breach of moral order, the potencies OF "hicH
had been growing in his character Wnhe nc
daIIisd with the tempter. Abraham Is the eOS
mopolitan missionary, going out 10 deSeFop new
Righteousness In . strange land. Moses u ."e
practical type of man. who did not need 70 n'lA1n
h,. .nbItton by crossing the Jordan. Elijah is
the man Of Impulse. carried on oy 'he pO"V'
his vast ethical imagination and his strong ana
,,oried moods There are sixteen Of these IN
tsrnretations developed with touches CT por-
traiture on the whole highly satisfying. Ane
charaeterixations are often so far on the oeAtoh
track that they are likely to be disputed AHeie
fs however in all of them q cearne2S Oh to0o
that makes the reader see character, ana hASS
the mind upon actual realities OF faieh' iheS
will Also furnish homileticai material for preach-
ers The devotional touch is given by the aoui-
ton of a prayer to each sketch
We NAV appropriately mention here The Age
of the Fathers'' GongTuans, Green Cob wv"
volumes by the late William Bright D. d. treat
ING NJ the history of the Church during the
FoI,-+h and nth centuries. Though, as the title
indicates they deal with patrtstic characters
and literature they give ciear and interesting
history both Of the ecclesiastical events ana the
theological progress Of the fourth ana nrth cen
turies These two centuries mark the settle
ment of the great disputed funeanentals Oh
Christian theology. The Work under reN'e"
carries the reader through the four great con-
troversies by means of which the Catholic the
oIosv established itself over against the historl-
cal heresies arrayed in opposition. These are
the Arian the PeIagiau, the HISTORIAN and the
Eutychian conflicts. the outlines and results OF
which are succinctly portrayed The nfst'
through the action of the Nicene Council aeter-
mined the Christology of the Church; the sec
ond chiefly by the powerful argument or Au-
gustine fixed its anthroPolegy, and Its doctrine
Of sin: the third. at the Council Of Ephesus' de-
termined the orthodox doctrine OF the tworold
of Christ and the place III tueOIOSS W
the Virgin Mary; the fourth. termina ting in the
Council of ChaIcedon confirmed not only the
Nicene faith as to the nature and rank or
Christ but fixed the form Of Catholic pofity.
The portraite Of the important personases
studied by DR.. Bright are drawn with a skilfui
hand We have outlines that are never vague,
and frequently more detailed analyses OF char
acter that bring these forcefully and vivid
Iy before u.s. There are characterizations' more
or less extended, OF AFius. Athanasius, Ambrose,
Basil Augustine Cyril, EutycheS, Julian. Theo-
desius and the other dominant ecciesastics and
potentates who fill these centuries with the
echoes OF their vast theological wrangie, as they
endea vored to settle for all time the dfalecdc
of the Christian faith. In describing their in
teectual combats Dr. Bright has not been
mere spectator and narrator. He sums up the
merits of their controversies from the stand
point of the orthodox theologian. with q relish
for dialectical truth, clearly Disseminated. He
concludes on the whole, for instance, that the
Nicene victory for the AthAnaSan positions
was a triumph for truth that prevented Chris
tionity from suffering fatal decfenslon; and
again, that Plagiarism was a threat to sound
faith, the aScendency OF which would have
amounted to an !Fretrievable recession Of Chris
tian morals As q careful etudy. and brilliant
exposition Of Church doctrine and Church his-
tory these volumes should easily become clas-
sizes in their field.