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Leader (1850-1860), 6th October 1860, Edition 1 of 2, Page 847, Untitled Article

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    • CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITS.*
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      Untitled Article

      their literary remains ; which we are nut sure that wu do not . If on the contrarj' , tradition is -wrong , how shall- we account for the wide prevalence of teetotal doctrine amongst the early Christians immediately after the apostolic age ? . Such doctrines .- and practices must have had some root and authority .. ^ . Oar doubts are critical as . well as historical . On glancing at the New Testament , and even at the original of one of the te . \ . ts cited by the Dean himself ( 1 Peter iv . 7 ) , wo find the most distinct and emphatic . " suggestion " and " recommendation " of Teetotalisni . So far as / cards and . pttnexcs ? : o , nothing can be plainer . " Be ye therefore sober ( in mind ) , and ( in body ) abstinent { n-c-p-ta-t <•) unto . prayer . " Now , mark * avo do not aliirm that . St . Peter at all means what he says ; our argument at present against tho Dean . is , that the Apostle certainly sags Avha ' t the Teetotaler means—" drink not . " Paul , in a / parallel passage (' 2 The . s . v . 0 ) , uses , the pioper word fbr nvr / r / f-in tl \ e sense of sober-in-mind , and , like Peter , adds— " drink not . Let us trtttr / i and abstain ; let us , who are ( sons ) of the day , drink not ( nephumen ) ; " . and this' was in direct connection with ' drinking-. " Those that are drunken tire drunken by night " ( 2 Peter y . 8 ) , is , if possible , . still more explicit . Turning to all our Lexicons—from old . Schrevclius to liretsehneider , and from Donneganto Scott and Liddell— -- \\ -e iind the word Neepho defined as " yiuo-abstineo , " — -to abstain from Aviuc . Plutarch , and Porphyry , explain it as' ' Avinele . v ; : " uiitlJosepbus , who wrote the same kind of Greek , and at the same time as the Apostles , actually uses the identical word of Paul ( neephomeii ) , to express the abstinont-r . of the Priests in the Temple-service . The word , as everj' tyro may . see , is a compound of nc " hot / ' iind / jt / io . - "to drink . " We have seen it sooie-wher . 'v alleged that in the Apostles' days this meaning had become obsolete ; . ; but an induction of usage shows that such was not the ease . AYJiat augments the absurdity of the supposition that the original and proper meaning of the Avord—so conspicuous , on the face of it—had bc'romo rare , or obsolete , in the age . of the Apostle , is the fact that from the times of Pythagoras aiid Epicurus , to that of the 'Esseues or Therapeuta ? , tlie ¦ j > raclit ? e and opinion expressed by the Avoid had j become more pervading , and more closely associated with cozicep- fc ' ions of moral purity and religious duty . The arg-unieiif , there- , fore , amounts to this—that us . the . fact became moru detiniU- and , distinct to the mind , the . phrase yrow inure lav andA'agaie in its . i signification . ; On the . seventh pagu the -Dean endeavours to rescue from the > Teetotalers , Paul's hypothetical doclaratioii of his willingnefis to . give Up flesh , or Avine ., or any thing whereby his brother stuinbleth " ( Rom . xiv . 21 ) . The letter of the argument is not worth follow- ing ; but the motive is vital . As Professor Jovrett says , Paul's method of dealing Avith 'Jewish scruples " may be described as absorbing < ( . he letter-hi i he . spirit . " The Dean ' s , as it-seems to u * , ; c . ms . ists in-eliminating the spirit , nud making , thy' letter ¦ useless , I by transferring it to the inapplicable cireumstaneos of the past . j Finally , on the tenth page , the Doau asserts that , abstinence is a Mohammedan device , while he searches the 2 few Testament " in A'ain , for any . such inviilcativit of the . doctrine of total abstinence . " We have expressed our candid opinion , that there aro at least a dozen texts whi . ch have a singular took of Teetotalism , whatever tlio fseii . se intended by the Avriters may ¦ have been . Of that seuse all men , who know the history of opinion in that ago , ure equally competent to judge . . So far the Dean ' s logic is invalid ; and we should like to see him attempt a now venture , better adapted to the facts and philosophy of the question . Voltairo , in his " Spirit of Xations , " observes that "it yvm from theMaji and their Jannat that Mohammed first took jus ideas of a Paradise . The prohibition of the drinking of wiuo was n <> . nno // tin // " ( i . p . S 5 ) . It should be remembered , however , that Mohammed did not prohibit all wine , but only the intoxicating species , a point Avluoh Mr . Lauo has made abundantly evident in Jus notes to the " Arabian Nights . " Mohammed ,, in all probability , had ueei'Ma to tho Now Tostament through , ho-iuo of tlie Monks on the Arabian border ; aad for ourselves , notwithstanding' the Dean ' s wry positive statement , wo caunot ignore a strong resemblance in thought and language between the following fragments : — 2 Tim . ii . 20 . Tlie Koran , v . 7 . " And they becontin ;/ . sober "O true believers , . surely (((/( tin . out of ' tlio . snare uf the trine and lots are an abomina-Oor / f , Avlio are taken oaptivo at tion , a mutrc t {/ ' ti « tttn , therefore his will . " avoid them . SaUtit acokvth to 1 Peter v . 8 , how dissuasion and hatred by " JDriuk not , bo watchful , for nicann ofn'iiu ? and lots ; will yo your adversary , t / te . Dciu't , walk- not , therefore , abstain . IVoju uth ubout . seokiiu / whom lu > thorn ? " may drink-down . * Iu eonoliirtion , let us recommend tlio clergy to moot the question of teinpuraaoo upou iU own iutrimio merits , instead of putting umbiguuiLS Heripturos iu . peril by a forced cunJILol ; with seiouou . Let them , by a Muioutillu and logical irentiiient of all nuu- questions , whether oi'teiuporauoo or ethnology , avoid the sonwiul , mistakes of the Churoh in past agoa , as ilhiHtrated iu the histories of As-. tronotny , Modioiue , mulCleology . ¦ ¦ f > ' Niiiw Wouics . —Wo umlorritund tlmt Mr . < Tnmos 131 uoU wood lias llio following works in pr-opmuiUon : —" Tliu Bialiop ' s Dftughtor ; u Slo »« y of tho JDfti-k AgoB . " Ey thonuthor of ' « Squires nnd l ^ awons . " "TJio Adventui'oa of Mr . Ainbiguous Law , an Artlulod Olovkj" being notoa awcl oketolios fotuulod upon ftvot . " Enoch i ov tho Woub of God nnd tho Sona of Men . " By l ' roibeeoi' llobi'rluon , Dublin .

      \ : | ! BOOKfc } associated with personalities , must necessarily be attractive ; and our chance associations * ¦ . with individuals frequently ' bring 1 tlie whole personality out in a ' manner scarcely to be described , but which must have been frequently felt . The bookbefore us consists of both these relations . The writer ( a lady ) records the impressions which she has received from accidental a ' c-| quaintance Avith celebrated characters . There are two dozen of I these , according 1 to the table of contents , but many more are inci-¦ dentally drawn in under each specific heading 1 . Our authoress j claims credit for her fidelity to the truth of fact in her sketches . It ; is impossible , . however , but in such notices as these errors must I abound . Indeed , we detected several on a mere cursory glance . i . Thus , for instance , she states the late Rev . Edward Irving * to have I been an extempore preacher . The statement is most explicit . ! ' " He preached quite ¦ ¦ extempore , without any notes ; and considering this— the variety of his language , embellished as it Was by the choicest and most prodigal imagery , Avas as extraordinary as the rushing-continuous torrent of Avords Avhich noAved from his lips . " Xoav at the time referred to , Mr . Irving wrote his sermons out at full , inserted them between the pages of his large Bible , read them with studied and elocutionary action , and afterwards published them i in successive volumes , Avhich appeared soon after their delivery . Enthusiastic persons -subsequently recommended him to extemporize , as tlie only Avay to be really efficient and , Aylieix the gift of tongues'delusion took place , Mr . Irving- g-ave up the practice of j writing-, and trusted to the inspiration of the inoinent . Our i authoress , also , heard him under these altered circumstances ; and ¦ then murk , the difference in her tone . The scene is in NeAvmanstrcet : — ' Irving preached , but not as iii the olden time . There was ; i vagueness and Avant of coherence in his sermon—a rambling- co ' nfu-; sion and discursiveness , quite different . from '' his' original style . . Even the- wonderful force andvig-our existed no long-er . At intervals I . th . ey would ilasli out , but at no sustained length . He was like some ; grand ruin : and if the mind had become shattered in the ¦ coiiflirt lie had passed through , the bodily frame ¦ showed alike the dev ' as-1 ; iting-. t nice of its ravag-os . " . . ¦ . ¦ The siiuplu fact is . 'that Mr . Irving- never became . a yroo . il extempev .-preacher or speaker . His ¦ p liitforj . n exhibitions Avc-re always failures . Our ludv contemporary had mistaken , on earlier occasions , a theatrical delivery for extempore power , and not noticed the manuscrip t , papers , Heating- between the leaves of the book . These being" loose we have known more thaia once to have been displaced by an accidental puff of wind . To secure them , ]\ li \ Irving- was accustomed to keep them down Avith the forefinger of his rig-lit hand . This , habifc necessitated the characteristic action of the left arm , which ] \ lr . Canning- regarded as a j ^ raee , and imitated soon ' after in his great spuei / i , in Avhich he said that he' had called hi the New World to rig'ht the balance of the Old . " Indeed , actors and orators will h ' n . l it of immense advantage to cultivate the use ami action of the left . arm . A similnr eri'or we note in the lady ' s account of Mr . Sheridan Knowles . She tells us that' he had written ' * The Wrecker ' s Daughter" ( which she confesses she has not read ) , for the debut of one of his pupils , a . line womuu named Miss Elphinstoiie , Avho became afterwards , by marriag"e , Mrs . Sheridan Knowles . " It Avas Mrs . Warner who ai ) pe » red ia " The Wrecker ' s Daughter . " The piece written for Miss Elphinstonc was called " The JMuid of Marituulornt . " In such hooks as these , however , mistake ' s of this kind Avill occur ; the authors , trusting too much to recollection , not being-always tlioroug-hly acquainted with ' the works of the celebrities whom they casually jnuet , and not being disposed to make the needful references . Perhaps , also , there is a certain charm in the fact of those blunder * occurring " . They suggest forcibly to the mind the real character of tho intercourse between the reminiscent and the celebrity , and time put the reader on his guard against implicit reliance , iiiul indues him to make allowance ibr occasional and unavoidable misapprehensions . One of the best sketches in these volumes in that of the Duke of Wellington . He is taken in two vory different and contrasted views . These are exceedingly interesting . Take tho first—the Iron Duko in a bad temper . ' IMy friend , when so unusual and important an event was to take p ' hu-e nsa visit to the world ' s greatest living hero , luul taken especial pnhis with her toilette—which , on this occasion , avus in ¦ faultless ttiHto , and of costly material ,. Who really looked so bewitching , that I told her , as Ave < lrovo along , that I was sure tho Iron Duko would find hor irresistible , nnd surrender a ready accordance to her petition . " We arrived at his well-known resideneo , at tho exact moment intimated—Imlf-pattt nine in the morning—mid wore shown into a large , of course handsomely-furnished , room , into which , as it was the depth of winter , sundry domestics wore constantly entering tu attend to and replenish tho live . Each time the door opened was » trial of iu'I'vo li » my poor vomitr friend , us she imagined it ushered in tlie Duke . Alter avo luul Availed what seemed to our iiii ]> iuii'uoe n eonijidcnihli ! lime , unannounced , unnttendecj , tho ! l | To of Waterloo suddenly sinful before us . " . , g ( , ' Tlie nJiniplnosM of his CMlninee comnli-U'l . v llnvw iik- oft niy ^• uard , nnd I i-xcluimod aloud , very wlupidi . y now I think , ' It is the Duke hiniNi'll' !' 1 Ho wiH ( Irosaod in full uniform , n » hi' wiih about to proeeod to Homo Court or military coreinonial , I / brgul which , hoH that ; liny , "TritUit if / 1 aitanwtur , bolnu X ' wimfti- . fliu- I ' mr * ' f . / trrtiri / « if ( l \> r » u , ml UwuHhq-Uvim . l » y ii-CimU'iniionnyi i < Vwle , lluwl niul JJI . u-K « ti .

      Untitled Article

      Oct . 6 , I 860 ] ' The Satiwckij / Analyst , and Leader . 847

      Contemporary Portraits.*

      CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITS . *

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 6, 1860, page 847, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2368/page/7/