Essays an Sacred Subjects. By the Rev. W. RusselL (Blackwood
and Sons.)—Mr. Russell writes clearly and forcibly, and draws his arguments from abundant stores of knowledge. Nothing could be more lucid than his summary of the philosophical views of Kant, Schelling, Fichte, and Sir William Hamilton. Indeed, the first essay, with its powerful refutation of what may be called without, offence the Agnosticism of Hamilton and Mansel, is a valuable contribution to natural theology. But we get into a different plane of thought when we come to the second, dealing with the subject of "The Unity and Divergence of Human Speech," and to the seventh, on "The Unity and Divergence of the Races." Surely the theory of Noah partitioning out the world among his sons is one that is scarcely tenable ; and the story of the Confusion of Tongues can hardly be taken in its literal meaning. An elaborate attempt to reconcile the Scriptural and scientific records of Creation seems to us in a great degree wasted labour. It is simpler to regard Genesis i. as a "Psalm of Creation" directed against Polytheism and Nature-worship. There is much that is valuable in Mr. Russell's volume, but it does not seem altogether suited to the present state of the controversy.
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