heart, the same rebellious spirit, the same disorderly will and affections. Such as the father was, such was the son, and such are all descended from him. Who amongst us, when he reflects seriously, does not know and deplore this? Who has not felt within his breast, a consciousness of universal proneness to evil continually? Who has not experienced the struggle between inclination and duty, the burnings of a rebellious heart, the vicious incentives of a proud understanding? How happens it, that "the good which we would, we do not, but the evil which we would not, that we do?" Whence, that perpetual conflict between our passions and our conscience? Whence, that fatal compliance with the suggestions of the former, in spite of the repeated admonitions and awful warnings of the latter? These are the sad indications of the inherent corruption of our nature; these the melancholy proofs that we are far gone from original righteousness. Would men but reflect more frequently on this important subject, how would it dash to the ground every feeling of pride and self-sufficiency; how would it banish from their minds the idea that they are able of themselves to help themselves; how would it bring them to the cross of Christ, and teach them to feel and acknowledge, with humility and gratitude, the mercies of redemption! For where, but to a Saviour, can we look for salvation? where can we ground our hopes of pardon, but on the merits of a crucified Redeemer? Christ was that spotless and exalted Being, by whose obedience many were made righteous, and by whose most precious death alone we are justified: "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." But let us examine more minutely into the actual state of human nature: unblessed by the doctrine of the atonement, let us see what rational hope it can have of acceptance with God, from any other source than that brought to light by the Gospel. St. Paul declares, that "the Scripture hath concluded all under sin;" and in another place he says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." In this situation how are we to restore ourselves to the favour of that great Being," who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity," who has declared that sin is most odious to him, and shall not go unpunished? The truth and justice of God demand the punishment of the offender: how then shall he escape his righteous condemnation? Shall he plead his own merits, and rely upon his own works for acceptance, when he must know, that, after he has done every thing in his power, he is still an unprofitable servant, and that his sins are more in number than the hairs of his head, or the sand upon the sea-shore? Shall he trust to the intercession of saints? Oh, no: those blessed spirits needed the blood of a Saviour to blot out their own transgressions, and have no superfluous merit to plead in behalf of their brethren in the flesh. Shall he pray to the angels of God, and flatter himself that they will gain him admission into the kingdom of heaven? He knows not how far they can even hear his prayers; and is assured that no reliance can be placed upon them, of whom some fell, like his first parents, from their original state of innocence and happiness. Whither then shall he flee for succour? On whom shall he confide in sure and certain hope? Where shall he find a Mediator able by virtue of His own righteousness to satisfy the justice of God, and make an atonement for his transgressions? He must turn with faith, humility, and gratitude, to his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, both perfect God and perfect man, by whose obedience alone he can be accounted righteous in the eyes of his Almighty Creator. He must view the Son of God, descending from the right hand of the Majesty on high, where he had reigned from all eternity, and assuming the nature of weak and sinful man. With lowliness of heart he must follow his footsteps on earth, and see him solicited by temptations more powerful than any to which we are liable, subjected to every danger and difficulty with which our path is beset, and yet not once yielding to the weaknesses of mortality, nor for a single moment overcome by the allurements of sin. He must behold him healing the sick, instructing the ignorant, and doing all things well. But chiefly must he gaze upon him in the close of his earthly career, when he offered himself a willing sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He was the only sacrifice, which, consistently with the divine justice, could be accepted, because he alone was without spot and blemish. Nothing but the blood of an immaculate Being could wash away the guilt of a polluted sinner. "Behold, then," my beloved brethren, "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." Behold him submitting for your sakes to a cruel and ignominious death, that you, through his sufferings, might be made righteous. Behold him expiring in agonies to save your guilty souls and at the foot of his cross lay prostrate every emotion of pride and self-sufficiency, and abjure for ever those sins and rebellious passions which nailed your Redeemer to the accursed tree. : Such was the price paid for man's redemption, such the all-sufficient sacrifice which was offered for the sins of the whole world and on this rock alone,-on the merits of the Son of God,-must we build all our hopes of everlasting salvation. But while, with fervent and heartfelt gratitude, we rely upon the efficacy of his atonement, let us ever remember that there are certain terms and conditions to be observed, on our parts, to render us fit objects of our Lord and Saviour's intercession. We cannot for a moment imagine that he descended from his kingdom of glory and assumed our weak nature, that he might exempt us from the fatal consequences of presumptuous and unrepented sin, and enable us to persevere in wickedness without the fear of eternal punishment. Such an idea would be both blasphemous and delusive. No; the same Divine Being who has delivered us from the burden of original sin, has given us the precepts of the Gospel by which to regulate our lives and actions; and it must be according to our conscientious endeavour to obey the commands of Christ, that we can have any well-founded hope of partaking in the benefits of his most precious blood-shedding. The Christian, therefore, must remember that his life is not to be passed in listlessness and inactivity, but that it must be a state of continued warfare, and strenuous exertion of warfare, against the attacks of the world, the flesh, and the devil; of exertion in the cause of charity and brotherly love. The true disciple of the blessed Jesus will strive with meekness to imitate, as far as he can, the matchless perfection of his heavenly Teacher. The same triumph over sin, which adorned his Lord, will be the highest ambition of the soldier of Christ. He will refer every action which he performs to the standard of the Gospel, and consider whether his life and conduct are actuated solely by the precepts therein contained. Before every undertaking he will pause and consider whether it be such as his Lord sanctions; and he will abstain from any scheme, even though it should promise him unbounded riches and honour, if he find it inconsistent with his duty to his God. Did we all act thus, -did we in every thing we said, thought, and performed, take the Gospel for our guide,-how changed would be the face of society, how different the intercourse between man and man from what we find it at present to be! Did we daily consider the misery of our lost condition, that we are incapable of ourselves to help ourselves, and that we must have perished for ever, had not our Saviour Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law,-how would it kindle in our hearts every feeling of affection and love, how would it incite us to give evidence of our gratitude by a life of holiness and obedience! Thus have we seen that our nature, in consequence of the sin of our first parents, is originally corrupt and universally prone to evil: how, then, let me again ask you, is it to be restored to the image of God in which it was created? How is it to be admitted into the presence of a Being of infinite purity and justice? The answer is short and decisive wholly and solely through the merits of a Redeemer. To these merits every descendant of sinful Adam must owe his salvation; and without these no man can see the Lord. But here arises another important question:-How are we to entertain a well-grounded hope and belief that we have an interest in these merits of Christ, and that we may plead them in our behalf at the great day of judgment? The answer is equally obvious when we find that the spirit of the Gospel is pervading our lives and influencing our actions;-when we feel with lowliest humility how deeply we are sunk in sin, and the consequent necessity of a Redeemer ;-when we confess that there is none other name given among men, save the name of Jesus, whereby we may be saved. He was that seed of the woman which should bruise the serpent's head;-He, that descendant of Abraham, in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed ;-He, that Paschal Lamb which should deliver us from a greater than Egyptian bondage. "O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" O! let us adore the tender attribute of mercy so conspicuous in the Divine character, which could devise so stupendous a plan for the redemption of fallen man and whilst we tremble at God's justice, let us learn to confide in his goodness. Let us confide in it, not with a feeling of presumption and arrogance, but with unfeigned humility and unwavering faith. Let us believe, that if we are faithful in our several callings here on earth, we shall, when we go hence, be accepted of the Lord; and cleansed, by the blood of our Saviour, from our earthly corruption, be admitted into the courts of heaven, "where there are pleasures at God's right hand for evermore." E. D. MISCELLANEOUS. NNNNN ON THE EARLY FATHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. No. XXI. Τῶν ἀπὸ παιδείας ἀνὴρ ἐνδοξότατος.—Euseb. Hist. Eccl. v. 9. CLEMENT of Alexandria, in a work which is now lost, mentions Pantanus by name, as his preceptor in scriptural and traditional knowledge (Epì 'YπоTντwσéшv, ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. VI. 13.); and in the first book of his Stromata, he speaks in the highest terms of praise of one among his instructors under whom he had studied in Egypt. There is some little confusion in the construction of this last passage, which unquestionably refers to Pantænus among others; so that it does not distinctly appear, whether the individual, whom he there states to have been born in Palestine, was Pantænus or not. Eusebius is plainly of the former opinion; and an attentive consideration of the passage seems to identify the master last named with the Jew of Palestine, whom he states to have been a Hebrew of very long descent. In the next sentence, indeed, Clement styles him a Sicilian Bee; from which it has been surmised that he was a native of Sicily. The expression, however, seems to be strictly proverbial, and alluding solely to the "apis more modoque," the epithet being conventional rather than properly applied. Be this as it may, Alexandria was the scene of his education; and he there attained to the greatest proficiency in literature, both sacred and profane. At this seat of learning, enriched by the library which had been there established by the Ptolemies, philosophers of all denominations had their schools; and, as far as mere philosophy was concerned, Pantanus attached himself to the sect of the Stoics (Euseb. ubi supra). Though the acquirements of Pantanus, in general knowledge, were confessedly great, and much of his time was dedicated to the pursuit of it; still his main object was an improved acquaintance with the principles and practice of Christianity. According to Eusebius, a catechetical school had been established, from a very early period, in Alexandria; and Jerome speaks of it as being in active operation from the time of St. Mark.* Here he prosecuted his Christian inquiries; but it is uncertain to whom he was indebted for his first conversion to the faith. Photius affirms (Cod. 118. c. 297.) that he had been a hearer of the apostles, and was brought up under their immediate successors; but the known date of his ministry completely refutes this statement. He survived the reign of Severus, and part of that of Caracalla (Jerome ubi supra); so that we must be content to deprive him of the benefit of such exalted instruction. Such, however, was his progress in theology; and so great his zeal in extending the knowledge of the Gospel; that in the beginning of the reign of Euseb. Hist. Eccl. V. 10. Ἐξ ἀρχαίου ἔθους διδασκαλείου τῶν ἱερῶν λόγων παρ' αὐτοῖς evverT@Tos. Jerom. de Vir. Ill. § 36. Juxta quandam veterem in Alexandria consuetudinem, ubi à Marco Evangelista semper ecclesiastici fuere doctores. Commodus, he was placed at the head of the school at Alexandria. About the same time Julian entered upon the See of Alexandria, and Pantænus retained the catechetical chair during the whole of his episcopate. From the fact that he is the first individual on record, who held the appointment, it may be inferred perhaps that he was more earnest in the diffusion of scriptural knowledge, and more successful in his endeavours than those who had preceded him in the office. It may seem, indeed, from the account of Philip Sidetes, that he was the immediate or early successor of Athenagoras; but little reliance can be placed upon his authority. About A. D. 190, Julian was succeeded in the bishoprick of Alexandria by Demetrius; to whom a deputation from India almost immediately applied for the assistance of some able and enterprising minister in propagating the Gospel in that country. Pantænus was accordingly selected as the most fitting person for the task; and neither the difficulties nor the dangers of the undertaking, nor his reluctance to quit the scene of his present duties, deterred him from engaging in the mission. The apostles, Bartholomew and Thomas,* had been occupied before him in planting the religion of the cross in certain parts of the vast continent of India; and he found there, as Eusebius relates, a Hebrew copy of St. Matthew's Gospel, which had been left there by the former. Jerome says, but solely (as far as can be ascertained) upon his own authority, that Pantænus brought this treasure with him to Alexandria. Of the success which attended his mission, and of the time which he remained in India, no account has reached us. Lardner, indeed, arranges him under the year 192, as being then in the height of his celebrity, about the time of his probable return to Egypt; but he has assigned no reason for the conjecture. On his return he resumed the catechetical chair, in which his pupil Clement had been locum tenens during his absence; and he persevered in the discharge of his official duties for the rest of his life.+ The precise time and manner of the death of this Father is unknown; but the seventh of July is consecrated to his memory in the Roman calendar. It has already been stated that he was still alive at the beginning of Caracalla's reign, A.D. 211. In a fragment of a letter, preserved by Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. VI. 14.), in which Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, speaks of him as the person who introduced him to Origen; it is manifest that he did not die before the commencement of the third century. There is extant, also, a part of an epistle of Origen himself, wherein he alleges the example of Pantænus, in defence of the study of Greek authors as subservient to theological study. With all his acquirements, however, Pantænus See Le Bas' "Life of Bishop Middleton." In the Vetera Monumenta of Ciampinius (Pt. I. c. 4. p. 38.) is the subjoined epigraph:Ο ΑΓΙΟΣ ΘΩΜΑΣ ΑΟΧΙ ΥΠΟ ΗΝΔΙΑ ΤΕΛΗΟΥΤΕ. For AOXI read AOPI. : + Euseb. Hist. Eccl. V. 10. τοῦ κατ ̓ ̓Αλεξανδρίαν τελευτῶν ἡγεῖται διδασκαλίου. Lardner translates TEλEUTŵv nyeîral, he was at last made president; and argues therefrom a contradiction in the former statement of Eusebius, that he was first appointed in the reign of Commodus. |