recreations, the worst features of the games of Spain are not visible amongst them. This is specially the case with their bull fights, as will appear from the following brief description :

A bullfight in California is far different from the brutal exhibitions of Spain and Mexico. Here, the bull is not killed, or lacerated; the object of the amusement being merely the exhibition of equestrian performances. All the young bachelors are expected to be present, which generally secures a full attendance of ladies, who stand on stages and platforms erected around the enclosure, ready to bestow their smiles and approbation on those of their choice; hence the waving of handkerchiefs and shawls is incessant.

'When a bull enters, (it being customary to admit only one at a time) he usually rushes in as if ready to attack anything before him, till the shouts of the multitude, and the confused fluttering of scarfs, shawls, and ribbons, disconcert the animal, and he retires to the least occupied part of the square, where he remains pawing up the earth. Presently, a horseman comes forth, with a scarlet cloak, or gaudy scrape,' which he waves toward the bull; the animal rushes at the object, and the skill of the rider consists in avoiding a collision. Sometimes a dozen riders are thus in the area at once, and in the confusion, it not unfrequently happens that a horse is gored, or a rider thrown. The more valiant appear on foot; and as they nimbly escape danger, or boldly throw themselves into it, the interest is exceedingly increased. When one bull is worn out with fatigue, another is let in to take his place; and occasionally a rocket or squib is thrown to excite his fury. The boys, on horseback, await to receive the harassed creature as he is let out, to drive him off outside of the town; and in his retreat he is sure to be overturned by them at least half a dozen times.'-pp. 208, 209.

The religious festivals of the country are accommodated to the ignorance and bad taste of the people. It is mortifying to observe how the most solemn facts and deepest mysteries of our religion, may be reduced by human folly to the level of the mean and contemptible. It would seem as if an evil agency were perpetually employing itself, with a potency scarcely to be resisted, in order to extinguish the light of revelation, and to surround the most solemn things with an air of ridicule. Unable to banish revelation, it seeks to change its character, to divest it of its august and awful import, to bring it down from its lofty and pure region, and to render it the plaything, the mere bauble at which manhood laughs. And all this is done under the semblance of respect, and with exquisite adaptation, in its form, to the special circumstances of the class addressed. In our own country it is seen in the pomp and pageantry with which the officers and ministrations of religion are associated, and in California it is witnessed in the yet more grotesque and

disgusting form described in the following passage. In both cases, however, the same spirit is essentially present :—

They were rehearsing night after night, till at length Christmas arrived, and I had an opportunity of beholding the ceremony of midnight mass and the subsequent performances.

At an early hour illuminations commenced, fireworks were set off, and all was rejoicing. The church bells rang merrily, and long before the time of mass the pathways leading to the Presidio were enlivened by crowds hurrying to devotion. I accompanied Don José Antonio, who procured for me a stand where I could see distinctly everything that took place. The mass commenced, Pádre Vicente de Olivia officiated, and at the conclusion of the mysterious 'sacrificio' he produced a small image representing the infant Saviour, which he held in his hands for all who chose to approach and kiss. After this, the tinkling of the guitar was heard without, the body of the church was cleared, and immediately commenced the harmonious sounds of a choir of voices. The characters entered in procession, adorned with appropriate costume, and bearing banners. There were six females representing shepherdesses, three men and a boy. One of the men personated Lucifer, one a hermit, and the other Bartolo, a lazy vagabond, whilst the boy represented the archangel Gabriel. The story of their performance is partially drawn from the Bible, and commences with the angel's appearance to the shepherds, his account of the birth of our Saviour, and exhortation to them to repair to the scene of the manger. Lucifer appears among them, and endeavours to prevent the prosecution of their journey. His influence and temptations are about to succeed, when Gabriel again appears and frustrates their effect. A dialogue is then carried on of considerable length relative to the attributes of the Deity, which ends in the submission of Satan. The whole is interspersed with songs and incidents that seem better adapted to the stage than the church. For several days this theatrical representation is exhibited at the principal houses, and the performers at the conclusion of the play are entertained with refreshments. The boys take an enthusiastic part in the performance, and follow about from house to house, perfectly enraptured with the comicalities of the hermit and Bartolo.'-pp. 67-69.

To our author's work there is appended a valuable addition, in the shape of a translation of Father Boscana's historical account of the Indians, which will be read with deep interest by all who are engaged in such researches. It forms an appropriate sequel to Life in California,' and in conjunction with it forms a volume to which the geographer and historian may refer with advantage.

448

Art. IV. Theological Essays; reprinted from the Princeton Review. 8vo. pp. 705. London: Wiley and Putnam.

THIS is a volume of sterling worth. We have seen no production of its class from the Western world that excels it. The articles of which it is composed are selected from the 'Princeton Review,' and go back some fifteen or sixteen years. The Review commenced in the year 1825, under the auspices of Professor Hodge. It has been mainly sustained by the pens of the leading men in the Presbyterian church, and is in the highest degree creditable both to their learning and acuteness. The subjects are nearly all interesting to the whole Christian church, and will be found to include the principal points in debate between the Evangelical theory on the one hand, and modern infidel philosophy, Popery, Socinianism, Pelagianism, Arminianism, etc., on the other. One highly valuable and long article, which has deeply interested us, is Professor Tholuck's History of Theology in the Eighteenth Century.' This essay, which occupies between eighty and ninety pages of close print, is a translation made in 1827 from a manuscript copy of a course of lectures, delivered by the author when connected with the university of Berlin. The translation, though made from notes taken in the lecture-room, has had the advantage of passing under the eye of the learned author. We would gladly transfer to our pages the whole of this deeply-learned, comprehensive, and most able essay. But as that is quite impossible, we shall select a portion of the seventh section, entitled— On the Influence of the New Philosophy.

The author, in the first or introductory part, states the bad effect produced upon the German mind by the excessive pretensions of Wolf's philosophy, which by asserting its ability to make even the doctrines of Christianity as clear and firm as any mathematical demonstration, had driven many profound thinkers into the extreme conclusion, that truth was utterly unattainable. Besides this, Wolf, though professing to hold Christianity, had separated so completely between natural and revealed religion, that many of his disciples contented themselves with embracing the former and rejecting the latter, as wholly beyond the sphere of demonstrative evidence. This gave rise to what was known as 'the popular philosophy,' and Wolf's disciples became divided into the two parties which would be known in this country under the name of Deists and Christians.

But then the great change came on which affected everything bearing the name of thought and philosophy. Kant

The

arose, excited, Dr. Tholuck thinks, by the scepticism of Hume, to investigate the capability of the human powers to attain to a knowledge of invisible things. The issue of Kant's philosophizing was the conclusion, that man was wholly incompetent to attain to a knowledge of invisible things by any species of demonstration like that which Wolf had worked. He therefore gave up what had been called metaphysics, and attempted to erect an entirely novel system on the postulates of practical reason. The hinge upon which the Kantian system turns is called the categorical imperative in man; that is, that we should be and do what the moral law (of our nature) requires. Dr. Tholuck goes on to show that this system tended directly to bring all the peculiarities of Christianity into contempt. standard of moral duty was sought in the pure reason, and only so much of Christianity was deemed estimable as approved itself to this standard, and just because it was deemed to have proceeded from that source. He then shows that another crisis of philosophy occurred when Fichte, one of Kant's pupils, overthrew the system of his master: proving, that if we know nothing of the essences of things, and that their predicates are altogether categories of our own minds, then we have no sort of evidence of an external world, and our conclusion ought to be that there is nothing out of ourselves. Thus he destroyed all distinction between matter and mind. No wonder, then, that he led the philosophers to the conclusion, that there exists nothing but spirit. From this point he proceeded to merge all the finite spirits of men in the infinite Spirit of God, or, which is the same thing, to identify God with the spirit of man. Take the proposition either way, and God becomes nothing but man-or man is the only God. Dr. Tholuck observes, that this system of Fichte's was more consequent than that of Kant, but it failed to solve the problem-the removal of the difference of matter and spirit; dualism therefore remains in this system as well as in the other. Dr. Tholuck describes the evils which this philosophy produced, as not only affecting theology most injuriously, but as extending to the physical sciences, which were despised, in comparison with abstract speculations. Man's reason became literally deified; and that sovereignty, freedom, and independence of action which belong only to the Deity, were predicated of human reason. Man was, in fact, made god by the pride and self-sufficiency of this impious philosophy.

Schelling followed Fichte. He proposed for his object the actual removing of all opposition between matter and spirit; according to his system, an existence is ascribed as much to the material as the immaterial world; the former being only a different mode of expression or manifestation. The spirit which thinks through these mate

rial objects, frees them from their bonds by freeing the spirit which is in them. In so far, however, as the laws of matter are the expressions of the spirit, the latter only finds itself again when it thinks through the matter, and appropriates it to itself. The only object, therefore, of speculation on the external world is, to come to a full knowledge or consciousness of ourselves. According to these views, God cannot be regarded as a mere èv, since this would be lifeless. If God be living, he must have an opposition in himself, the removal of which is his life; hence the unity of God has ever manifested itself in multitude and variety. The spirit manifested itself in matter, that the variety may reach the unity, and matter be freed and raised to spirit. This is the eternal activity of God. The whole business of philosophy is concerned with this point, the coming of God to self-consciousness.

This philosophy had the effect of spreading through Germany an element different from any that had previously prevailed. It produced a deep feeling and consciousness of a living and infinite principle in the world and in men, in nature and in spirit. It destroyed the lifeless idea of a God, who stood behind the world without having any real unity with it. It aroused men to strive after knowledge in a deeper and more effectual manner, because it did not employ itself with abstract speculation, but with intuitive views; in this respect it greatly exceeded the popular philosophy, or that of Wolf or Kant. Its influence on theology, therefore, was very great; whilst the popular philosophy and that of Kant sought to expunge everything above the reach of reason, that of Schelling again awakened the feelings for the infinite. Schelling's philosophical works were published together in 1809, including the treatise on human liberty.-p. 603.

Frederic Henry Jacobi opposed the speculations of Kant, Fichte, and Schelling. Holding fast his faith in human liberty, personal immortality, a personal God, and the objective nature of evil; he opposed to all the previous systems the inward consciousness we have of divine things, and maintained that it was impossible, by mere speculation, to arrive at a knowledge of these subjects. He accordingly insisted, that there must be an immediate and intuitive knowledge of them, whether the intuitive perception be called reason or consciousness. This intui tive feeling, he maintained, teaches us that there is a God, who stands as Thou before our ego-something different from man. He further argued, that this intuitive power leads to the knowledge of personal liberty, personal immortality, and the objec tive nature of evil.

Whilst Jacobi presented these views, he appeared at the same time in hostility against revealed religion. He said, that historical experience was as much mediate as speculation, and, therefore, history was as unfit as speculation to afford a true knowledge of