Unless the date on the titlepage (1832) be a printer's
error, Mr. Evita's Illustrations of St. Paul must have travelled as far as the great Apostle whose obscurities they would explain, before they reached us; and now they have arrived, we can scarcely give them a hearty welcome. The object of the author is to present " the opinions, arguments, and doctrines of the Apostle, in such a man- ner as to be intelligible to plain but thinking men." The mode in which he proposes to accomplish this, is to take up the original text, and to expand it, paraphrase it, or to " interweave much illus- trative matter," as the particular case may require. Whether, as regards the meaning., this " is only to present St. Paul to readers of the present day in such a manner as he would himself were he living choose to be presented," it is of course impossible to say ; though we have very strong misgivings upon the point. With respect to style, there can be no question that had Paul con- veyed his doctrines is the language of Mr. EYRE, he might have preached at Athens until his tongue could no longer wag, and no effect have resulted from his discourses, save the climax which marks a somniferous sermon.
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