mission, should work in more thorough accord and union-should actively associate with themselves, and in their work, the sympathies of their fellow-Christians, both clerical and lay; avoiding the hindrances which must arise where men, engaged in a special work, become so engrossed in it, and so bonded with those similarly engaged, as to form sometimes almost a Christian caste. The missionary must be in the van, leading the efforts, and commanding the help, of all Christian men. His must be the common enterprise and interest of all; and he must be the first to make it so. Then, in the united effort of all, the work must go forward and prosper.

No. XIII.

On xviii. 37.

IMPORTANCE OF A LEARNED MINISTRY.

It would seem scarcely necessary to point out that, though Christianity owed so much, in the earliest ages, to the efforts of "unlearned and ignorant men,” who were miraculously aided by many excellent gifts of the Spirit in their evangelistic labours, it should owe little now to men so disqualified to meet the trained wisdom of the world, except the example of a godly life in the position assigned to them by Providence.

But yet the argument is sometimes advanced, in the present day, that the plain speaking, of plain and unlettered men, is most convincing and acceptable to the masses; and that the clergy of the Church of England, or any other learned ministry, are, to a certain extent, unfitted to deal with the ignorant, in consequence of their superior knowledge; which, it is affirmed, unfits them to understand the ways of thought of ignorant men, and to apply telling arguments to those who are so far below them in cultivation and intelligence.

This is really a fallacy. The plain ministrations of an uneducated man may attract a certain attention, and cause excitement for a time; in itself an unwholesome substitute for deep religious conviction. The impression, however, must be chiefly personal, owing its strength to the individuality of the man himself. It is not a part of a combined and sustained effort; it is, therefore, only under very exceptional circumstances that the effect so produced could be at all permanent. Earnestness always carries weight; but earnestness wanting proper authority, liable to all the errors of uninformed zeal, and stepping outside its own proper sphere of influence, is not likely to work much lasting good-it only excites a craving for such irregular ministrations.

On the other hand, inexperience of the habits of life and thought of the labouring and working classes, may, for a time, and to a certain extent, disqualify a very young clergyman for his pastoral work; but assuredly not to the extent alleged. Any one who casts his mind back upon the experience of his early years in the ministry of Christ's Church, will remember much more of the kindness, forbearance, sympathy, help of these uneducated classes, than of their distance from him; of their giving the right hand of their simple fellowship to the young labourer, rather than of their standing aloof from him because of his superior learning.

And does ever, can ever training in argument, science, learning, disqualify a cultivated mind from fathoming depths of which he has as yet no practical experience? Cannot sound argument, wielded by a trained and cultivated mind, be applied in plain language, and urged by homely illustrations; and so be brought exactly within the comprehension of the unlearned? It surely cannot be of necessity (however it may suit presumptuous persons of inferior powers to assert it) that learning should be unable to descend into the ways of common life, without the adjuncts of scientific phraseology; and be powerless to express and circulate itself effectively, without a previous preparation on the part of those to whom it addresses itself. The truth is, that sound learning, and the advantages of a cultivated mind, are thoroughly appreciated by those of lower estate, very many of whom are endowed by God with as excellent natural gifts of intellect, and as much natural ability, as those of the classes above them. They may not, indeed, be able to define the laws of thought and argument; but they are well qualified to understand sound argument, and lofty thought, when addressed to them in familiar terms, and with unaffected earnestness. There must be intelligence of each other between those who are studying each other in sympathy of heart; although the one may come from his college hall to preach, and the other from his fields, or his shop, to listen.

The author remembers the disgust with which, in his early service amongst such classes, he heard that a "ranter" of local notoriety, a small butcher, who left his week-day stall to go and "preach the Gospel" on Sundays, used to boast, "Thank God, I never read a Commentary!" and he remembers, too, how those who told him shuddered also at the man's pride, self-sufficiency, violence, and errors, and at the way in which he was misleading foolish and ignorant men, whilst glorying in his own ignorance.

But arguments of this nature against an educated, and in favour of an unlearned, ministry for uneducated people, should be carried into other provinces. It should be shown that superiority of education unfitted the ruling classes to govern; but that the best man to govern the labouring classes was one of themselves, the man of the people. It should be proved that the leaders of thought, invention,

and social progress, as well as those of religious instruction, should be deposed in favour of some demagogue from the ranks of those for whose welfare they think and plan. The truth is, that the masses of the people appreciate, and canvass keenly, the most brilliant projects and successes of the politician; that they are ready to apply, and can intelligently use, the most subtle developments of science and of mechanism; and that they rise at once to meet, intelligently and gratefully, the hand which is extended to raise and improve them, in whatever of their life's difficulties it may greet them. To themselves, the real "man of the people" is not one who presumptuously pushes himself out of his proper sphere, into one for which he is by nature and education unfitted, but one who studies to use the brightest intellectual gifts, the most cultivated intelligence, and even the highest advantages of birthright, for their best interests.

No! there can be no learning which, in itself, unfits a man to cope with ignorance, and to dispel it. And if, in the most sacred of all earthly callings, the learning of this world is applied in subordination to that which is from above, it cannot but be useful and fruitful in the cause of Christ. In days when miraculous powers are withheld, and supernatural aid is not granted, those who work for Christ can afford to dispense with no natural advantages or powers which God has given; and with no cultivation and training of these, which can give influence, and command success, in dealing with men. It is not without reason that both Scripture and history are silent upon the subject of the successes and labours of those "unlearned and ignorant men," who were first chosen to propagate the gospel of faith. With one or two exceptions, their evangelistic labours are unrecorded, and their arguments are not produced, their method is not detailed, for the imitation of Christ's ministers who succeed them. The record of the apostolic age is mainly the life, labours, preaching, and teaching (with little mention of miraculous agency) of the polished and learned Paul, the scholar and the gentleman, the trained and experienced disputer; who could wield the world's wisdom against those who were equally versed in its schools of thought, and who was yet the Apostle of the uninformed barbarians; and whose writings are equally the textbook of the scholar, and the standard and study of those untaught and unversed in the subtleties of schools.

Most communities of those who are not in the communion of our Church, feel this necessity of learning, and its power amongst the people, in the present day; and they take praiseworthy pains in the training of their ministers; and we feel how this their care is, in itself, helping to bridge over the chasm which separates us. It gives them a truer information of the grounds on which rest the claims of the Church, and of their own differences; and thus is paving the way, under the providence of the God of unity, for that union

which is the very principle of Christianity, and the dear object of all who embrace the cause of Christ.

One other advantage to the nation, derived from the learning and social position of the clergy, must not be overlooked; namely, the force of their example, in the country towns and villages of the land, upon thought, conversation, and actions of the classes below them. It is impossible to calculate, but not difficult to conceive, the advantage to public morals, and also to the cause of godliness, which is derived from there being, at any rate, one resident family of intelligence and position in every such community, which may set the example of an household regulated by the standard of the Bible; and the example gains strength from the fact that there is known to be, in every neighbouring community, the same example under the same circumstances. It is a matter of notoriety that the example set by the sovereign, and members of the royal family (circulating through the local influence of the nobility and large landowners who have access to the Court, and who retire from scenes of public life and metropolitan society into the seclusion of their country homes), does very materially affect the moral and religious life of all classes of the people, down to the lowest. And alike, where his influence strengthens the good example of the great landlord, or where there is none other resident of high education and position than himself, the social example of the parish clergyman and his family is of very great importance.

No. XIV.

On xviii. 115; II. iv. 17.

POWER OF THE KEYS.

The doctrine of the Church of England on this point has been fully stated in the notes referred to; but the want of space there obliged the omission of any counter statement to the claims which Rome has founded upon the original grant of our Lord, and also any citation of authorities (and here they must be few) as to the nature of that absolution which is still valid in the commission of the Church.

1. The testimony of the ancient Fathers is strong and general as to the equal sharing of the Apostles in this power, which S. Peter, on his confession in their name, obtained for all; he being thus (as S. Cyprian shows) a figure of the Church in her unity; and also as to the point of its transmission, through them, to the later Church. The following quotation of S. Augustine is very striking, as it shows the opinion of the ancient Church in his own, and from earlier days, as to the claims of S. Peter:-" The declaration, 'I will give thee the

keys of the kingdom of heaven,' includes the whole Church, which in these days is shaken by various trials, but falls not because it is founded upon the Rock (Petra), whence Peter (Petrus) derives his name. For the Rock (Petra) does not take its name from Peter (Petrus), but Peter from the Rock; just as Christ is not from Christian, but Christian from Christ. Therefore, since the Lord says, Upon this Rock (Petra) will I build My Church,' because Peter (Petrus) had declared, 'Thou art the Christ the Son of God,' he says, Upon this Rock (Petra) which thou hast confessed will I build My Church. For that Rock (Petra) was Christ; upon which foundation even Peter (Petrus) was built, for no other foundation can any man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.' Therefore the Church, which is founded on Christ, has received from Him, in Peter, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that is, the power of binding and loosing sins."

This passage is a very valuable comment on the original text; in which the Church of Rome misses the grand distinction, so clear is the original between the word Petra (the living Rock) and Petrus (the stone, hewn from it and built upon it); and, meanwhile, certainly places herself in the false position denounced in the verse with which S. Augustine concludes his statement of doctrine.

II. With regard to the extent in which the Church still claims this power originally conferred on the Apostles, the following few quotations from authors of repute, will be useful in support of the statement made at considerable length in the notes above referred to :— From Hooker, vi. 6, 5, 8:

"The sentence of ministerial absolution hath two effects; touching sin, it only declareth us free from the guiltiness thereof, and restored unto God's favour; but concerning right in sacred and divine mysteries whereof through sin we were made unworthy, as the power of the Church did before effectually bind and retain us from excess unto them, so upon our apparent repentance it truly restoreth our liberty, looseth the chains wherewith we were tied, remitted all whatsoever is past, and accepteth us no less, returned, than if we had never gone astray.

"For inasmuch as the power which our Saviour gave to His Church is of two kinds, the one to be exercised over voluntary penitents only, the other over such as are brought to amendment by ecclesiastical censure; the words wherein He hath given this authority must be so understood, as the subject or matter whereupon it worketh will permit. It doth not permit that in the former kind (that is to say, in the use of power over voluntary couverts), to bind or loose, remit or retain, should signify any other than only to pronounce of sinners according to that which may be gathered from outward signs; because really to effect the removal or continuance of sin in the soul of any offender, is no priestly act, but a work which far exceedeth their ability. Contrariwise, in the latter kind of spiritual jurisdiction,