21 OCTOBER 1871, Page 24

A History of Christian Councils. By C. J. 'Miele, D.D.,

Bishop of Rottenburg. (T. and T. Clark.)—Mr. Clark, Vicar of Taunton, himself known for theological works of value, has done good service to the Eng- lish reader by bringing within his reach Bishop Hefele's work, a work of profound erudition, and written in a most candid spirit. It deals with the history of Christian Councils as far as and inoluding that of the great Council of Nice, to which, indeed, about half the volume is devoted. In so rich a choice of matter, it is not easy to select anything for mention ; but we may say that the account of Arius and his views is peculiarly valuable and interesting. The book will be a standard autho- rity on the subject. Protestant readers will Ilnd, of course, that Bishop IlefoIe regards his subject from a Roman point of view ; but they may be satisfied that ho puts thorn in a condition to form an independent judgment by an exhaustive and scrupulously fair statement of the facts.