Life and Times of John Calvin.-Translated from the German of Paul Henry, D. D. By Henry Stebbing, D. D., F. R. S. Vols. I and II. pp. 545, 460-8vo. New-York: Robert Carter & Brothers. We are gratified to see a work upon the great Genevan Reformer, worthy of his character. Calvin will ever be revered as one of the pioneers of that movement which burst the gloom of the dark ages and began to disenthrall learning and piety. He fearlessly bearded the lion in his den, and with his powerful compeers, Luther, Melancthon and others, caused the domains of ecclesiastical tyranny to tremble, and lighted up Christendom with truths which had been concealed for ages from the people. Calvin was truly a great man. He became distinguished, it is true, by the revolutionary times in which he lived; but, aside from this, his intellect was of the highest order. He was an original thinker and an able theologian. Dr. Henry, though an enthusiastic admirer of Calvin,gives an impartial memoir in the volumes before us, and, while he holds up his virtues for imitation, he does not conceal his faults and errors. This is probably the best memoir of the reformer which has ever been written. We commend it with the greatest confidence to our readers. The first volume is adorned with an elegant steel engraving of Calvin. A Commentary on the Book of Leviticus, Expository and Practical, with Critical Notes.-By Rev. Andrew A. Bonar. pp. 513-8vo. Same Publishers. We are happy to welcome another volume from the good and able Bonar. The author, in the work before us, makes Leviticus, which is usually considered dry and uninteresting, a precious book. He finds in all of those ancient sacrifices, types of the great sacrifice on Calvary's cross. He expounds each verse in course, and presents practical considerations of great importance. Explained as Leviticus is in this work, it is one of the most interesting books in the Bible. We commend the volume to clergymen and families as exceedingly valuable. The Design of Baptism Viewed in Relation to the Christian Life.--By Irah Chase, D. D. pp. 204--16mo. This is a valuable work, and will be received with special favor, we think, at the present time. It consists first of the substance of a discourse delivered by the author in 1828, before the Boston Baptist Association. Dr. Chase views baptism not as the source of the Christian life; but as the Divinely appointed acknowledgment of its source. The reasoning is logical and the language impressive. Following the discourse is an appendix containing several critical notes upon proselyte baptism, baptismal regeneration, clinical baptism, and other topics, in which he exhibits scholarship of the highest order. The author's celebrated article published in the Bibliotheca Sacra, in 1849, on the meaning of Irenæus, in the phrase, "regenerated unto God," follows. This article excited a spirited discussion in the papers, and is probably the most thorough refutation of the idea that Irenæus advocated Pædobaptism, which has ever been written. The volume also contains a valuable review of Dr. Robinson's Greek Lexicon of the New-Testament, by Prof. H. J. Ripley; the sufficiency of water for baptizing at Jerusalem, by Rev. G. W. Sampson; results of the latest criticism in regard to infant baptism, by Prof. H. B. Hackett; and finally, an able refutation of baptismal regeneration by the editor. This is really one of the most valuable manuals on baptism which we have ever seen. Drs. Chase, Ripley and Hackett, rank with the first scholars in this country, and their opinions may be relied on with the utmost confidence. We commend the book to all of our patrons. It is bound in paper, so that it can readily be sent by mail. We are authorized by the publisher of the Memorial to say that any one who will send fifty cents to this office shall receive a copy by mail, free of postage, two copies for one dollar, and five copies for two dollars." Variations of Popery.-By Samuel Edgar, D. D. pp. 606-8vo. New-York; Carter & Brothers. This volume has been before the public for some time, and as far as we know, universally admired, and regarded as one of the ablest works in the English language upon the subject on which it treats. The hydra-headed monster of Popery is thoroughly described, drawn from its thousand hiding places, stripped of its gaudy tinsels and a full exposure made of its many deformities. We trust that in the hands of its present enterprising publishers, the volume will have such a circulation as its merits deserve. PERSECUTIONS OF THE WALDENSES. BY THE EDITOR. WE scarcely know where to begin or how to describe the numerous and barbarous persecutions which that artless and apostolical people have endured in different ages of the world. The heart sickens at the revolting scenes which transpired on the plains of Piedmont, and in the caves and amid the craggy heights of the Alps, as the bloodhounds of Rome pursued their innocent victims from one fastness to another, until they shed the blood of thousands. After the close of the dreadful persecutions by Pagan Rome, during which undoubtedly, as we have before intimated, multitudes of Christians were driven by their oppressors into the secluded Alpine vales, and after Constantine the Great had ascended the throne, the simple inhabitants of those wild regions lived quietly for centuries, in their mountain homes, maintaining the truth in its primitive simplicity and practising those rites in religious worship which they had received from apostolic times. It was not till the Papal power had gained the ascendency in the northern parts of Italy, about the beginning of the ninth century, that their peace was disturbed. They wished simply to worship their Maker according to the dictates of their own consciences, without interfering with the rights of others. They loved religious liberty and were determined to enjoy it, if there was a spot on earth which they could find, where they should not be disturbed. They were willing that those who entertained different theological views from theirs, should enjoy the same privilege. The bishops of Milan, Turin, and those in some other parts of Italy, up to the time of which we speak, boldly maintained the primitive doctrines of Christianity and resisted the gradual encroachments of the "Man of sin." It was not till about the twelfth century that evangelical Christians, in northern Italy, were driven from stations of influence and power, and persecuted by Romish intolerance. When Peter Waldo, of whom we have spoken in a previous article, arose in France, to inveigh against the abominations of an apostatized and corrupt church, her rage was enkindled and she turned upon those humble followers of the Redeemer with revenge in her heart. Before the twelfth century this secluded people had not attracted the special attention of Rome. They were too far distant, too ignorant, and of too small importance to be noticed by the Mistress of the world, until they had begun to publicly denounce her principles and policy. Then she began to persecute them, and that noble band of witnesses were dispersed. Waldo fled to Picardy, then to Bohemia, and ended his days there. Many of his followers joined their brethren, the Waldenses, in the Alpine valleys, hoping that they could there again enjoy religious liberty. In the first of the following century, (13th,) the Albigenses in the south of France were fiercely pursued by the sword of the cruel Simon de Montfort, and tortured in the dark cells of the Inquisition. Some escaped these horrors and fled to the Waldenses, but they were soon tracked to their retreats and persecuted there. Whenever the Waldenses dared to go from the mountains upon the plains below, they were at once seized, imprisoned, tried before the ec clesiastical courts and condemned to death. The prisons of Turin, Susa, Saluzzo and Pignerol were often filled with those innocent sufferers. There were Inquisitorial spies constantly searching for heretics in Dauphiny, and on both sides of the Alps. But this was a slow process for the extirpation of error, and Rome determined to use more vigorous measures to make converts to her principles. The Pope called upon his faithful sons, the King of France, in the west, and the Duke of Savoy, in the east, to assist, and resolved to carry fire and sword into the most secret recesses of the Waldenses. Previously to this decision, the latter had quietly submitted to wrong, suffering and death, without resistance but now they felt that it was duty to defend their wives and children from the fury of those who were seeking to shed their blood, and determined to resist the armies of their oppressors by force of arms. The Waldenses were very numerous at that time. Archbishop Usher, in his book on the succession and state of Christian churches, says: "The Berengarian or Waldensian heresy, had, about the year 1120, generally infested all France, Italy and England." Mr. Fox, the Martyrologist, states, that, in the year 1158, "Two eminent Waldensian preachers, Gerherdus and Dulcinus came into England to propagate the Gospel." "Which sect," says W. Newbury in his History of England, "were called the Publicani, and who, being as numerous as the sand of the sea, did sorely infest both France, Italy, Spain, and England." Such were the numbers that the "Mother of Harlots" had determined to destroy. The first important attack was made, A. D. 1400, by an armed force of Roman Catholics from Susa, upon the valley of Pragela. The defenceless inhabitants had no warning of the approach of such a terrible foe. The enemy rushed upon them with fury, causing the greatest consternation. Many were slain on the spot, and others fled to the Alber |