Pilate's Gift, and other Sermons. By the Right Rev. G.
A. Chadwick, D.D, Bishop of Derry. (R.T.S.)—Not for very many years has there been published a volume of more simple, "practi- cal," and yet thoughtful, sermons than these by the Bishop of Derry. Nor are they any the worse for a touch of what may fairly be considered Irish humour, as in the conclusion of this sentence : "The plain coat of an English Governor, the hardy self-exposure of English officers, are more wonderful to Eastern peoples than the royal state of Solomon which left the Queen of Sheba no more breath in her." Of the general character of the sermons, Bishop Chadwick says truly : "They profess no further originality than what comes of an honest attempt to Bee truth with one's own eyes, avoiding and distrusting alike more strange- ness and the kind of orthodoxy which one gets at second hand." Their style and temper may indeed be gathered from the first two, to which their author, taking for his texts "He gave the Body to Jesus" and "Ye are not your own, ye were bought," has given the titles of " Pilate's Gift" and "Christian Obligation." In the former Dr. Chadwick dwells upon latent and unregarded nobility, and speaking of the position of Pilate, "not discerning the Lord's Body," he maintains that " wherever sloth prevails against practical everyday duties, in- attention against the Word of God, wandering thoughts against the sanctity of prayer, there is a failure to discern Christ, and an unconscious parting with the invisible yet real presence of our Lord." The necessity for, and the moral beauty of, Christian obligation are enforced in the second sermon : "Who then is absolutely free P Say rather who is so base as to desire it ? The glory of our nature is that it is able, in a faithful love, to bind itself to a true and reciprocal service, wherein each says, 'I am not my own, I am thine. The beauty of childhood is depend.
ence. The strength of parentage is service Service is the truest friend of freedom; it is the only condition upon which it is either gained or kept." Among the other sermons which may be mentioned as specially deserving of notice and commendation are "The Eternity of the Unseen," "The Arrest of Souls," "The Transfer of Penalty," and "Christ Dealing Pru- dently." While Dr. Chadwick thinks clearly and writes simply, he has a iugular facility in illustrating his sentiments by poetical quotations.
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