equally uncertain about the time-having the phrase 'And it came to pass on a certain day.' He then, first, describes the paralytic being brought, in a similar style to Matthew's; but immediately adds, And they sought to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitudes, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.' Knowing the structure of oriental houses, which had a flat roof, to which an opening led to the upper story,-we could not understand anything more from Luke's account but, that the bearers-who, either by means of stairs leading directly thither from the street, or from the roof of a neighbouring house, gained access to the roof of the house in which Jesus was,-let down the sick man with his bed, apparently by cords, through the opening already existing in the roof. Mark, however, while he agrees with Matthew that the cure was performed in a house in Capernaum, piles still more remarkable circumstances the upon narrative: he tells us that the bearers of the deceased man were exactly four; and adds, 'When they could not come nigh him (Jesus) for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.' Mark's narrative thus diverges into the extravagant and uncalculating nature of legend-for how could the roof be broken up without danger to the heads and limbs of those beneath? Suppose we knew who the writers of this graduated narrative were, and had thus historic testimony for the real occurrence of the event, we might then ask whether this were not the sympathetic cure of a nervous man, by means of action on his idea that his disease was a punishment of his sin. But since we do not know who the writers were, and they present the marks of legend, by gradations of the wonderful, reason compels us to account for the relation, either by a probability that it has some foundation in a fact-the sympathetic cure of a nervous individual by Jesus; or, that it is one of the legends formed by Messianic expectation,-since in Isaiah (35 ch.) the Jewish people would find striking passages on which to build their secondary interpretations: Then the eyes "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. . . . . . . of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing," &c. The Evangelists describe Jesus himself as applying such 'prophecies' to himself; and if, in this and other cures we have examined, we have found ground for concluding that the accounts are legendary-the Evangelists thus show us the sources of the legends: the tendency of their minds to regard it as certain that Jesus must have performed all that was expected of the Messiah-even although the expectations were founded on merely secondary interpretations of the language of the prophets. (To be continned.) SIR,-Although differing entirely in theological opinion from the "Critical Exegesis," permit me to suggest to you what appears an oversight on your part (page 106) viz., That Luke "a taxing of all the relates as the occasion of the journey of Christ's parents to Bethlehem, world by Augustus Cæsar." This is decidedly a misquotation, as the cause given by the Evangelist is a decree for such a taxation. You will instantly see the difference is the same as between condemning a man to death, and the putting such a sentence into execution. The one does not necessarily follow the other immediately; perhaps not at all. It may, or may not, do so. However, it is not my wish to attempt anything like argument on the subject; but merely to request that you will rectify the error. You will please observe, Luke makes two distinct statements: First, "That a decree went forth from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world (or land) should be taxed;" Secondly, that "this taxation took place when Cyrenius was governor of Syria." This is all; and I am not aware that either statement is hostile to Matthew's account. There is no contradiction, as you affirm. The first took place in Herod's time; the second some years afterward. History gives a reason for such an unusual occurrence; as, of course, you are aware, therefore I need not advert to it. I am Sir, yours, most respectfully, MR. THOMAS COOPER. T. E. B. [I have the full address of the writer of this letter; but, since he has only appended his initials to the letter itself, I print them there. Let me, first, remind him that, if instead of quoting page 106 of this Journal-where there is merely an allusion to the subjects of the two former discourses--he had procured No. 2. of the Journal, and dealt with the investigation at pages 27 and 28, he would have felt how unsatisfactory it would be to write the above letter. The first and second verses in our second chapter of Luke are not separated by brackets (or a parenthesis) in Greek manuscripts. That is an emendation of scholars in later times. Let not T. E. B. say "it is not my wish to attempt anything like argument on the subject; but merely to request that you will rectify the error." I cannot be so complying, for mere courtesy's sake. Let us have the argument; and then we will talk about rectifying "the error." Besides, T. E. B. must not suppose, that in so important a matter, his mere affirmation respecting the decree' and the taxing,' is to be taken for absolute truth: "the first took place in Herod's time:"-Let T. E. B. prove that—not from Luke, but from History; or, let him shew it to be barely possible from History, "The second some years afterward. History gives a reason for such an unusual occurrence; as, of course, you are aware, therefore, I need not advert to it:"-Of course I am not aware; and shall be glad if T. E. B. will quote the "reason' which "History gives for such an unusual occurrence."-THOMAS COOPER.] Review. EASTERN LIFE, PAST AND PRESENT. By Harriet Martineau. THE great philosophical value of this book has led me to make much greater use of it for quotation than some readers may approve. But I knew that its price would prohibit the reading of it to thousands of working- men, and was unwilling to lose the opportunity of introducing them to some knowledge of its contents. I select, as a farewell extract, a passage proving that Miss Martineau, for one, could not disapprove of the spirit of the Critical Exegesis of Gospel History,' portions of which have appeared in this Journal. The following reflections are penned by the authoress, as introductory to the sights she saw in the Holy Land : "We hear much complaint from travellers of their pain from the superstition on the spot; but little or nothing of their perplexity or disturbance from the superstition they have left behind or brought with them. The superstition I refer to is the worship of the Letter of the Bible, to the sacrifice of its spirit. As to the comfort and pleasure of the traveller in the Holy Land, it may truly be said that “the letter killeth, but the spirit maketh alive." I had opportunity to see the difference between those who were in bondage and those who were free. One of the best things that Coleridge ever said was that our idolatry would be succeeded by bibliolatry. When I saw abroad, as I continually see at home, the curse of this bibliolatry, I thought it hard to say which was the worst of the two. In idolatry, Christian or pagan, there is always some true idea involved, however much corruption may be associated with it: but in the awful error of mistaking the Records of the origin of Judaism and Christianity for the messages themselves, there seems no redeeming consideration. The error of bibliolatry is the more gratuitous of the two. There is no declaration in the Records themselves that they are anything more than records: and if the writers could have foreknown that the hearts and minds which ought to be occupied with the history and the doctrine would be enslaved by a timid and superstitious regard to the wording of the records, they would have been as much shocked at the anticipation as any of us can be at the sight of it.We all know, as well as Coleridge did, that this is only a temporary form of an evil which took other shapes before, and will take other shapes again. We know that there was far more freedom of religious imagination, reason, argument, and, I may say, knowledge among our Protestant divines a century ago than there is now. This corruption of bibliolatry has so increased upon us, our faithless and irreverent timidity has so grown upon us, even in that time, that it would be an act of great courage in divines of our day to publish what divines of a century ago were honoured for publishing. It is difficult now for philosophers to make known,-in England, for the incubus presses chiefly there-what can be proved to be scientifically true, in geology and some other directions, and it is much more difficult for philosophers and scholars to make known what can be proved to be historically true or false. Of course, our generation loses terribly by this, both in knowledge and in health of mind. But the evil will pass: and, though it is to be feared that it will only pass into some new form of idol homage, we will hope that men may ere long lift up their heads, and use their powers freely, as those should do who believe themselves sons of God, and heirs of Christian liberty, and not slaves or infants under the bondage of the Law or the Letter. "No one at home could feel all this more strongly than I did before I went to the East: and I think no one who has felt it at home can help being full of sorrow and pity there for those who go through the scenes of Palestine with the timid heart, and narrow, anxious mind of superstition. Instead of looking before and after," and around them in the broad light of historical and philosophical knowledge, which would reveal to them the origin and sympathy and intermingling of the faiths of men, so that each may go some way in the interpretation of the rest;-instead of having so familiarised themselves with the wants and tendencies of men as to recognise in successive faiths what is derived and what is original;—instead of being warned that any faith becomes corrupted within a certain length of time by the very zeal of its holders; instead of having the power of setting themselves back to the time when Christ lived and spoke, so as to see and hear him as if he lived and spoke at this day, our travellers may be seen,-even clergymen of the Church of England,-getting leave from the Bishop of Jerusalem to carry wax candles in Passion Week in the processions in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and making obeisances to the priests, candle in hand. Travellers may be observed throughout doing one of two things;-overlooking, more or less consciously, the incompatibilities of the Scriptural narrative, the absolute contradictions which can by no means be reconciled; or so fastening their whole attention upon one narration, to the exclusion of the parallel ones, as to escape the necessity of the recognition of variance. I met with one devout pilgrim who was actually unaware of any incompatibilities in the different narratives of the birth and infancy of Jesus; and who declared, previous to inquiry, that there could be none, because-not the facts or doctrine-but the narrative was the Word of God! I saw repeated instances of a groveliing superstition, a formal observance of days and places, which made me wonder whether, if the groves and altars of Baal and Ashtaroth had now been standing in their old places, there would have been much to choose between such homage paid to them and to the actual holy sites of Palestine. -How different is the truer reverence of those who go enlightened by knowledge, and animated by a higher faith-who believe that the history of man is truly the Word of God and that the reason why the gospel is especially called so is because those Glad Tidings are the most important event in the history of man. How infinitely venerable to them are the great religious Ideas which they know to have been the guiding lights of men from the remotest past, and which Christ presented anew, purified and expanded! What an exquisite pleasure it is to stand where Jesus stood, and lood around upon the old faiths and sectarian tenets of the world, and bring forth from them all a faith and hope which should, notwithstanding dreadful corruptions, elevate mankind through many future ages!-to have insight into the sacred mysteries of Egypt, and the national theology and law of Sinai, and the ritual morality of the Pharisees, and the philosophical scepticism of the Sadducees, and the pure and peaceable and unworldly aspirations of the Essenes, and to see how from all these together come the ideas, and from the unseen world the spirit, of the religion which Jesus taught! While the devotee looks for traces of his footsteps, the disciple finds everywhere traces of his spirit. While the devotee listens timidly to traditions, the disciple hears everywhere the echoes of his living voice. While the devotee pores over the text of the narrative, not daring even to bring parts to bear on each other, which may throw light on the whole, the loving disciple so opens his entire mind and heart as to perceive the Holy One with all his powers; with his understanding receiving the doctrine,—with hope accepting the promise, with his conscience adoring the spirituality,-and with his imagination accompanying the Teacher in all his haunts,-in the wilderness, and in the Temple courts, and by the shores of the Lake. On the spot, one hardly believes that it can be the same faith that takes one man through the land, holy guide-book in hand, with the timid, tentative gait of the devotee, and another man, confiding in his guiding instincts, with the free, joyous step of the disciple who has found his Lord. "As for the superstition of the region,—the Christian superstition,-I need say nothing in advance of the pain which it causes. The merest mention of what was shown to us is enough. I do not think that travellers can be right in avoiding the Christian establishments in Palestine. The spectacle answers the same purpose as the reading of the Spurious Gospels. The spectacle and the reading are both painful; but they are very useful and enlightening, and stimulate to a great deal of wholesome thought. Feeling thus, I saw everything that any one offered to show me, except the mummeries of Easter Week in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem." WORKS OF THOMAS COOPER, To be had of JAMES WATSON, 3, Queen's Head Passage, Paternoster Row. THE PURGATORY OF SUICIDES. A Prison Rhyme. In 10 Books.. (To be had also in 18 numbers, at 2d each; or in 6 parts at 64.) 8. d. 3 6 WISE SAWS AND MODERN INSTANCES. A series of Tales illustrative of Lincolnshire and 5 0 THE BARON'S YULE FEAST. A Christmas Rhyme. In 1 volume, sewed,.. 1 6 THE MINSTREL'S SONG AND THE WOODMAN'S SONG. The Poetry and the Melody by 0 6 10 0 6 Two Orations against taking away Human Life under any circumstances,. Eight Letters to the Young Men of the Working Classes. (Collected from the 'Plain Speaker,') PART II. of" COOPER'S JOURNAL," containing the 4 Nos, for February, 1850, and Part I., containing the 4 Nos. for January, stitched in a wrapper, Price, each, 4¡d., may be had of the Publisher. 66 Also, now Publishing in Weekly Numbers, at One Penny, OR CAPTAIN COBLER; THE LINCOLNSHIRE INSURRECTION:" Now ready, Price 6d., No. II. of THE PEOPLE'S REVIEW, EDITED BY FRIENDS OF ORDER AND PROGRESS. The PEOPLE'S REVIEW will be upon the plan of the Six Shilling Quarterly, but at a price within the compass of the many; and it is intended that the PEOPLE'S REVIEW shall contain articles expository of the popular interests which are daily attracting more and more the notice of statesmen and the thinker-articles which shall be recognised as well-advised and dispassionate expressions of that portion of the people who believe in reason as the true agent, and in kindness as a power for progress. Contents of No. II. for March : The Thirty Years' Peace. Politics and Prospects of the German People. London: C. MITCHELL, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. The March No. of the Democratic Review contains an important article on THE TEN HOURS' BILL. Now ready, with the Magazines for March, No. 10 of OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN POLITICS, HISTORY, AND LITERATURE. EDITED BY G. JULIAN HARNEY. The Penny Stamp Tax on Newspapers. The Ten Hours' Question. A Glance at History. Part. 2. Fourier's Theory. CONTENTS: Anniversary of the French Revolution. Letter from Germany. FORTY PAGES (in a coloured wrapper), PRICE THREEPENCE. London: Published by JAMES WATSON, 3, Queen's Head Passage, Paternoster Row. SOCIAL REFORM LEAGUE. unday Lectures to the Working Classes, at Farringdon Hall, King's Arms Yard, bot tom of Snow Hill: Sunday evening March 10th, at 7, Mr. Walter Cooper, on "Working Men's Associations as a means for elevating their moral.condition." Admission 2d. Free discussion invited. Persons desirous of enrolling themselves as members of the League, can obtain cards of membership at Farringdon Hall, after the lectures; at Mr. E. Truelove's, 22, John-street, Fitzroy Square; and at the office of the League, 11A, Wellington-street North, Strand. HENRY A. IVORY, Sec. London: Printed by WILLIAM SHIRREFS, 190, High Holborn ; and Published by James Watson, 3, Queen's Head Passage, Paternoster Row... OR, UNFETTERED THINKER AND PLAIN SPEAKER FOR TRUTH, FREEDOM, AND PROGRESS. "AND though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple! Who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?"-Milton's Areopagitica. No. 11. Vol. I.] FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1850. [Price One Penny. DOING NOTHING, THE SEASON FOR MISCHIEF. "I like a holiday, said bearded Peter; And I, said shaven Paul, in accents sweeter, Hold by the goodly proverb, to the full That all work and no play makes bright boys dull. A VISITOR from a distant country, unacquainted with the nature of our government, might very sensibly ask, just now,-What is the use of your Parliament? He would see troops of soldiers moving about with shouldered muskets and bayonets fixed, and crowds of loiterers waiting at the gates of Hyde Park to stare at the Queen coming by in her carriage, and would natu rally conclude that he had then penetrated the secret of 'order' in England. Fixity, stamps our institutions: the morning papers boast of it; and he could not have any idea that it is not so. As for the theory, that our representative legislature affords the means of perpetual revision of the Constitution,' the leading journal' disowns it; and the traveller would behold, at this precise period, no proof of it. Nothing, is to be the business of the Session, in the House of Commons. The Times declares there can be no change, this year the Premier says that he and his colleagues have conferred together about the Franchise, and they have sagaciously determined that nothing ought to be done this year. The House of Commons, says the Times, merely resolved itself into a Debating Club when Mr. Hume's motion was brought on. The discussion was simply ideal. No rational man there supposed the proposition to be practical. And the debate was relinquished so soon, by Mr. Hume and his coadjutors, that they, also, plainly believed it to be ideal. In the meantime whole nights are consumed in fierce contests as to whether a man may marry his deceased wife's sister, in one House; and, in the other, whether stupid Lord Roden has not been egregiously insulted by a common sense reprimand for playing the fool, and encouraging others to play the fool, at Dolly's Brae. The only consolatory thought is, that the trading and operative part of the community are sufficiently well employed, to be disposed to let Lords and Gentlemen' amuse themselves in the most childish way they please-so long as they do no harm. But there are two considerations which the thoughtful at least, cannot fail to bear in mind. The most important is, that while play is going on, the work that ought to be done, and will have to be done, is accumulating until it may be impos |