But whatever might be the occafion of fo favourable a change in this affair of Picus, certain it is, that he received an exprefs indulgence from Innocent, countermanding his journey to Rome, and permitting him to take up his refidence in the vicinity of Florence. His final acquittal however, from this complicated charge of herefy and perjury, and from all the inquifitorial profecutions, pains, and penalties annexed to thefe crimes, was referved for a bull of Alexander VI. which bears date die 18. Juni: 1493." P. 240. The Letters of Picus occupy a confiderable part of thefe Memoirs; and fome fpecimens of his other compofitions are given. Picus died Nov. 17, 1494, at the early age of 35. The high ellimation in which he was held in his own age is fufficiently proved by his famous epitaph, attributed to Hercules Shozza. Johannes jacet hic Mirandula, cætera norunt Et Tagus, et Ganges: forfan et Antipodes. A copy of his verfes, which had the honour of being trans fated by Sir Thomas More, is inferted in p. 363, with the tranflation fubjoined. They begin with great dignity : Alme Deus! fummà qui majeftate verendus, Verè unum in triplici numere numen habes. We do not hesitate again to recommend this work, in an age when biography, and learned biography in particular, is fure to meet with attention. ART. XI. Sermons preached to a Country Congregation; to which are added, a few Hints for Sermons; intended chiefly for the Ufe of the younger Clergy. By William Gilpin, M. A. Prebendary of Salisbury, and Vicar of Boldre, in New Forest. Vols. III. and IV. 8vo. 456 and 423 pp. 16s. Cadell and Davies. 1804 and 1805. THE by the truffees for the benefit of a Charity School, founded by the author at Boldre. The correction of them was among his very laft efforts, and the 22d and 23d of the hints were dictated only two or three days before his death. Of the former two volumes we gave fome account, with deferved commendations, in our 47th vol. p. 21, and in vol. 18, p. 529. The fubjects of the Sermons in Vol. III. are thefe: "1. Glory to God in the higheft, &c. 2. Let every one that nameth the name of Chrift, &c. 3. What is a man profited, if he fhall gain the whole world, &c. 4. The children of this world, &c. 5. Receiving the kingdom of heaven as little. 004 children, children. 6. Except your rightcoufnefs fhall exceed that of the Scribes and Pharifees, &c. 7. In the night I commune with my own heart. 8. The widow's mite. 9. The poor in fpirit. 10. The falt of the earth. 11. On the late fcarcity. 12, Faith, Hope, and Charity. 13-24. Twelve fermons on the Chriftian religion. 25. Never man fpake like this man." In the fourth volume, the following topics are handled :— "1. Comparing fpiritual things with fpiritual. 2. On the fimplicity of the Gofpel. 3. Then was Jefus led up of the fpirit into the wilderness, &c. 4. Leaving us an example, &c. 5. Take no thought for the morrow, &c. 6. Though I fpeak with the tongue of men and of angels, &c. 7. And Nathan faid unto David, thou art the man. 8. The Lord is King, the earth may be glad thereof, &c. 9. But I fay unto you, fwear not at all. 10. The prodigal fon. 11. And fo when even was come, the Lord of the vineyard, &c. 12. Whatsoever a man foweth, &c. 13. Redeeming the time, &c. 14. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, &c. 15. Hereafter ye fhall fee heaven opened. 16-24. Nine Sermons on St. Matthew's Gofpel; 25. Whither fhall we go, thou hait, &c.” Two Vifitation Sermons, which appear as the two firft in the fourth volume, have been printed before. The hints in Vol. III. are 58; in Vol. IV. 23. To which are added, an Analyfis of St. Paul's Epiftle to the Romans, and an Account of the Illuftrations ufed in St. Paul's Writings. When we confider the variety of fubjects handled in these volumes of Sermons and Hints, we cannot but admire the fertility of the author's mind. There is often alfo an originality in his thoughts, which makes the matter interefting, though the ftyle is ftudioully plain. To circulate a few fpecimens, will be to do godd wherever they may reach. We felect from Vol. III. the following account of the nature of miracles:- "Every thing we fee is, in one fenfe, a miracle; it is be yond our comprehenfion. We put a twig into the ground; and find, in a few years it becomes a tree: but how it draws its nourishment from the earth, and how it increafes, we know not. "We look around us and fee the foreft fometimes fhaken by ftorms; at other times juft yielding to the breeze; in one part of the year, in full leaf, in another, naked and defolate. We all know the feafons have an effect on these things; and philofo phers will conjecture at a few immediate caufes: but in what manner thefe caufes act, and how they put nature in motion, the wifeft of them know not. When the form is up, why does it not continue to rage? When the air is calm, why roufes the ftorm? ftorm? We know not-but muft, after our deepest researches into first causes, reft fatisfied with refolving all into the power of God. "Yet, notwithstanding we cannot comprehend the most common of these appearances, they make no impreffion on us, because they are common--because they happen according to a ftated courfe, and are feen every day. If they were out of the common courfe of nature, though in themfelves not more dif ficult to comprehend, they would ftill appear more wonderful to us-and more immediately the work of God. Thus, when we fee a child grow into a man, and when the breath has left the body, turn to corruption-we are not in the leaft furprifed, because we fee it every day, But were we to fee a man restored from fickness to health by a word-or raifed to life from the dead, by a mere command-though these things are not really more unaccountable, yet we call the uncommon event a miracle, merely because it is uncommon. We acknowledge, however, that both are produced by God, becaufe it is evident, that no other power can produce them. "This is then, in fw words, the nature of that evidence which arifes from miracles. The ordinary course of nature proves the being and providence of God: thefe extraordinary acts of power prove the divine commiflion of that perfon who performs them. Thus Elijah, in his controverfy with the priefts of Baal, refts the matter on a fair iffue: "The God that anfwereth by fire, let him be God:"of courfe, you must confider me as acting under his authority. "Now it was to thefe uncommon events, or what we ufually call miracles, to which Chrift appealed. "The works," fays he, which I do, bear witnefs of me, that the Father hath fent me." As if he had faid, thefe works you fee, are not according to the order of nature: they are fuch as could only be performed by that power, which can command nature. As you Ice me therefore perform them, it is plain, I act under that power. And thus Nicodemus, in his conference with Jefus, properly ftates the cafe. "Rabbi, we know, that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do thefe miracles that thou doeft, except God be with him."-And thus many of the Jews allowed, that if "this man were not of God, he could do nothing." "Now that Jefus did perform thefe works, which are recorded in the New Teftament, depends on what we have already proved the truth of the New Testament. The only remaining difficulty is, that fome deceit might have impofed on the fenfes of fpectators. With regard to the miracles of Mofes, it appeared, this could not poffibly have been the cafe. And it was just as impoffible with regard to the miracles of Chrift. All people who wish to impofe on others, act as privately as they can. the miracles of our Saviour feem to have been performed with a But ftudied Audied view to lay them open to inquiry.-And indeed every inquiry was made, which always ended in the conviction of the inquirers. "Only confider how you yourself would have acted, if you had lived at that time.-Suppofe, for instance, you had heard of the miracle of giving fight to the man who had been born blind-you would not have given credit to fo furprizing a relation, till you had inquired who the man was, on whom this miracle was faid to have been wrought? Whether, in fact, he had been born blind? Whether he actually was blind at the time when our Saviour met him? and, whether it afterwards appeared, that he was really cured?All thefe inquiries, you would certainly have made yourfelf, or have been well informed they had been made by credible people, before you would have believed the miracle.-And if you would have made thefe in. quiries, can you reafonably fuppofe they were not made by thofe who lived at that time? or that they would have admitted that wonderful fact on eafier evidence than you fhould have done? "By the Scribes and Pharifees indeed we know these inquiries were made, and ended in a full proof. But the Scribes and Pharifees were not to be convinced by a full proof. Facts, which they could not deny, through hardened malice they afcribed to the devil. "With regard to the greatest of all miracles, our Saviour's refurrection from the dead, you would certainly have acted in the fame way, and never have been fatisfied, till you had gotten fufficient evidence of the truth. The apoft les did act in this cautious manner. At first we know they paid no credit to what they had heard. But their making it the continued fubject of their preaching afterwards, was in itself a fufficient evidence of its truth. They would certainly have been filent on the subject, if they had not been affured the fact was well known in the country. "In fine, if a man be determined, like the Scribes and Pharifees, not to believe in miracles, we prefs him no farther. It would be folly. But if he have a mind candid and open, one fhould think he might, on this point, find evidence enough to convince him." Vol. iii. p. 176. In the fourth volume are nine fermons on St. Matthew's Gofpel (p. 205, &c.). They were intended by the author to exemplify a mode of explaining the fcriptures in fermons, which he thought, and furely with reafon, might be extenfively ufeful. It may be of advantage alfo to compare thefe fermons with the valuable lectures of the prefent Bifhop of London, on the fame Evangelift. They are fhorter, and lefs finished, but certainly have merit. The firfl of them inculcates the neceflity and the mode of ftudying the fcriptures; and here this paffage may be noticed. " In In the first place, when you open your Teftament, confi. der, it is God that speaks―confider that he gave you this holy book with an intention to make you happy, both in this world, and the next. If a perfon in high authority were to speak to you, you would receive what he faid with great refpect; how much more should you ftand attentive, when God fpeaks! With the utmost reverence and fubmiffion, therefore, you should receive every thing you read in the fcripture, The truth of this book is more fully proved, than that of any other book in the world; every thing, therefore, you read in it, fhould be received with the deepeft humility, faith, and fubmiffion. When we read the hif tory of our Saviour's life and death, we fhould receive it as truly as if it were acting before our eyes. And when we read the precepts which the fcriptures contain, we should frictly confider them as the commands of God. We may indeed find the precept, hard, perhaps, and against the bent of nature; and may wish to make it a little more commodious for common ufe: but when we endeavour to force fcripture to fide with our inclinations, we are, in fact, guilty of a wicked attempt to deceive God, When we read feripture, therefore, we have only to fay, God hath ordered. us to do this; or, forbidden us to do that. And, where the precept and the inclination differ, it is evident which is to give way.. Refifting our own bad inclinations, is indeed the only proof we can give, that we are ready to fubmit our will to the will of God, Again, when we read the promifes and threatenings of God in fcripture, the rewards laid up for the righteous, and the terrors in ftore for the wicked, we ought to confider them as objects, in a manner, realized before our eyes. They may be at some distance; but as it is the great God of heaven himself who threatens, and promifes, they fhould appear to us as immediately before us; we are well affured they will fpeedily be fo, The "word doth not profit," as the apoftle fpeaks, "unlefs it be thus attended with faith in them that hear it." "The fecond rule I fhall give you, is, that when you read the holy fcriptures, you should not only confider that God speaks, but that he peaks immediately to you. We should apply every thing we read to ourselves, or our reading will anfwer little end. Moft men are excellent judges of the cafes of others; and can eafily fee where the fcripture touches the fins of a neighbour; while their own fins, which are all they are really concerned with, lie in fome other page they are neglected and forgotten. This is exactly the cafe, which St. James reprefents, of a man "beholding his natural face in a glafs: he beholdeth himfelf, and goeth away, and ftraightway forgetteth what manner of man he was: while he (the apoitle adds) who looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be bleffed in his deed. You read the fcriptures, therefore, to little purpose, unless you conftantly confider them as fpeaking to your own cafe." P. 207. Among |