Lift of John Eadie, D.D. By James Brown, D.D. (Macmillan.)—
This is an admirable biography, of a man whose life and labours were indeed worthy of no common memorial. He was born in a humble station, nor did he attain to any position more distinguished than that of a pastor and professor of theology in the United Presbyterian body. But it is not too much to say that no man could have been more gener- ally loved and honoured within the circle which cares for the things to which he devoted his life. The world at large necessarily knows little of the labours of a Biblical commentator. But to those who are qualified to judge of excellence in this matter, Dr. Eadie's name sug- gested such a combination of learning and good-sense as is not often found. His appointment to be one of the "New Testament Company for the Revision of the Authorised Version" was a token of the high esteem in which, as a Biblical scholar, be was universally held. His exegetical works, one of which, "The Commentary on the Epistles to the Thessalonians," was lately noticed in these columns, are remarkable for sagacity and erudition, as well as for a candour which is not universally a characteristic of commentators. But the literary and social life of the man, apart from his special and distinguishing work, was such as to make his biography worth reading, and it is with no common satisfaction that we find it so well told by Dr. Brown. His early years, when a love of mischief, which seems to have afterwards changed by a gracious development into a kindly humour, caused his mother to describe him as "a causeway saint, and a hoose ;" the struggles of his youth, and the many and laborious employments of his manhood, are all told with uncommon effectiveness. And we have interesting notices of his books, especially of the processes by which they were produced, and notably among them of his "History of the English Bible." Nor must we forget to notice the pleasant letters which form a memorial of his Eastern travel. Altogether, this is a book well worth reading, we may say, possessing.
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