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    people . The authors style is indeed a bar to its popularity ; for he affects involved sentences and crabbed phrases , as if he wished to warn off the public liking , and to inscribe upon his composition as well as upon his sentiments the motto of Noli me iangere . Now this very character of Mr . Mitford as a writer enhances in our view the importance of the present work , which he wishes to be considered as supplementary to his historic volumes . We have here the reflections which he made and the conclusions which he drew in his long and laborious course

    of Greek reading . He is no reformer , but he is too aristocratic to submit to the dictation of the priest . He is not a student of theology , properly so called , and indeed confesses his unacquaintedness with some English books which we are too prone to regard as known of necessity to every man who is in any degree entitled to the name of a scholar . For this very reason , some

    of his observations are of more value : though not uncommon , they are original as to the writer , and from this circumstance serve to confirm more strongly the reasonings and conclusions of preceding writers . So far from wondering at this gentleman ' s little knowledge of theological works , we may well be astonished that , amidst the active duties of the military profession , he should have been able to acquire such stores of Greek learning , and to have

    digested his extensive reading into such profitable order , * and we are really surprised that with his occupations , and what we may , without offence , we hope , call his prejudices , he should , in so many instances , have formed such a rational scheme of scriptural interpretation and so liberal a system of religion . His is the testimony of a layman , and is on every account to be hailed by that large and happily increasing number of scholars and Christians wha place that which is agreeable to evidence and reason above that which is acceptable with the multitude , and who regard orthodoxy as lighter than air when placed in the scales against truth .

    Mr . Mitford ' s book is divided into two Parts , and these again into Sections . Following these , and in what is paged as another volume , are some Letters to a Friend , partly in apology for 3 and partly in explanation of , the preceding Observations .

    The First Section of Part I . is entitled , " Apology for the Undertaking—Foundation of Faith . " Here we find some remarks savouring of a truly Protestant spirit : the Bible alone is represented as the authority for matters pf faith , and the Bible only , as every one , with such instruction as he may obtain , can understand it . ( P . 4 . ) The author wishes to avoid offence both to sectaries and to many of the Church of England , especially ecclesiastics ,

    but this he fears is impossible : he avows himself a member of the Church of England , but disclaims the persuasion of her infallibility . ( Pp . 6 , 7 . ) He further makes up his mind to incur the disapprobation of those of our legislators that are in favour of Catholic emancipation , which in his judgment is wholly incompatible with the safety of our Protestant establishment .

    Why he should have thus deprecated the displeasure of liberal statesmen , we can hardly conjecture . Possibly , he felt that he was about to surprise some pf his admirers with his free private thoughts , and hoped that he should quiet their apprehensions in part by declaring beforehand that he reserved one at least of his former habits of reasoning . Then follow some sensible , or , as in the p h ^ se now in vogue they may be called , philosophical , reflections upon Theism .

    Section H . is " Of Creeds and Prayer . " Under this head the author makes some excellent remarks upon the Apostles' Creed . He points out the additions that have been made to this venerable symbol , which have he

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    212 Rtfview . — Mitjord ' s Observations on Christianity .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1827, page 212, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1794/page/52/