shaped glory of a smaller size. But in the Strozzi Chapel of S. Maria Novella she kneels, robed in white, at the right hand of Christ, as if pleading for mercy. In Fra Angelico's 'Last Judgment,' and in later versions of the subject, she is seated with hands folded meekly on her breast, at the side of the Apostles, but nearest to our Lord, while St. John the Baptist is placed on the other side. The angels, whether they are represented sounding the trump of doom, wielding the scales, or parting the sheep and the goats, are always prominent actors in the scene. In the Campo Santo fresco the mighty Angel of Judgment stands erect, displaying in either hand a scroll inscribed with the words Venite, Benedicti Patris, and Ite, Maledicti. Two other seraphs, on either side, blow the trumpets to wake the dead, and at his feet the Angel of Mercy cowers with his face half hidden at the awful sight. In Fra Angelico's 'Last Judgment' angels circle in mystic dances on the flowery meadows of Paradise, and clasp the happy dead, just waking out of sleep, in their embraces. In Luca Signorelli's magnificent frescoes at Orvieto they are strong-limbed, joyous beings, who dance on the clouds of heaven, with long yellow locks streaming on the breeze, or bend from their heights of bliss to crown the blessed souls whose wondering eyes have opened on the vision of God.

Archdeacon Farrar concludes with a final chapter on the Ideals of Christ in Art, and avails himself of this opportunity for a parting attack on those days, when art was misled by perverted religious teachings-Gloom, Asceticism, Wrath, Fear, Effeminacy, Pharisaism, Priestcraft.' He repeats,' These have been the most powerful and the most deadly corrupters of the true ideal of the Lord of Life and Love' (p. 482). From the eleventh to the sixteenth century, he tells us, the images of Christ are always severe and sad, dominated by that spirit of exaggerated, unchristian, and unspiritual asceticism borrowed from the East' (p. 484). But it is to these very ages of darkness and superstition that we owe the sculptured figure on the west front of Amiens Cathedral which adorns the title-page of his book, and which Mr. Ruskin selects as the noblest ideal of our Lord. In that Beau Dieu d'Amiens we see Him surrounded by the great company which no man can number as the Incarnate Word, as the present Friend, as the Prince of Peace on Earth, and as the Everlasting King in Heaven. He holds the Book of the Eternal Law in His left hand; with his

right He blesses, but blesses on condition. thou shalt live."

"This do, and

This was the message which the art of Italy had to give from the time of Cimabue to that of Raphael. The life and death of Christ, the Incarnate God, was the subject which the artists of the Renaissance set forth in the eyes of successive generations, the theme which they sought to represent with ever-increasing knowledge and widening vision in those days when the faith of Christ was still a living power. And, in spite of the crudeness and imperfections of their work. they have left us a goodly heritage, and their mosaics, their frescoes, their pictures have become, not only the Biblia pauperum of their own day, but the school and the treasurehouse of the wise in every age.

'The Life and Gospel and the Power of it are all written in the mighty works of its true believers . . . on the rocks of Orvieto, and by the sands of Arno. . . . Believe it or not, reader, as you will; understand only how thoroughly it was once believed, and that all beautiful things were made and all brave deeds done in the strength of it.' 2

ART. VII. THE SCIENCE OF CHURCH MISSIONS. 1. Reports of the Boards of Missions of the Provinces of Canterbury and York on the Mission Field. Published under the direction of the Tract Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. (London, 1894.)

2. The Official Report of the Missionary Conference of the Anglican Communion on May 28, 29, 30, and June 1, 1894. Edited by GEORGE A. SPOTTISWOODE. (London, 1894.)

3. Essay on the Prevailing Methods of the Evangelization of the Non-Christian World. By ROBERT NEEDHAM CUST, LL.D. (London, 1894.)

THERE can be no doubt that we are entering upon a new phase in the history of the foreign missions connected with the Anglican Communion. The causes which are leading to this development are various; some of them are distinctly ecclesiastical, others are resultants of the material and social advance of a civilization which is progressing with unexampled rapidity; others again arise from the inevitable extension of 2 Ib. p. 58.

1 The Bible of Amiens, p. 52.

an empire which is ever spreading beyond the utmost ambition of its rulers. For good or for evil the English Church and nation is touching at almost innumerable points the commerce and the creeds of every quarter of the world outside the continent of Europe; and lands a century ago utterly inaccessible, continents then unknown, islands then, some dense with pirate hordes, others scattered in groups over the enormous area of the Pacific, have been made the homes of the English missionary, and at least a fraction of their people have been brought within the fold of the Anglican Communion. Simultaneously with this wondrous outward expansion the Anglican branch of the Church Catholic has been providentially led to a fuller and deeper sense of its corporate life and its consequent responsibilities than it could have felt three generations ago. Can any thoughtful person fail to recognize a Divine purpose in the contemporaneous occurrence of things so utterly dissociated from each other as that extended application of steam and electricity which annihilates time and space on the one hand, and the revival of Convocation, the marvellous extension of the colonial episcopate, and the decennial meetings of the Lambeth Conference on the other? Hackneyed and self-evident as these observations may appear, they must be borne in mind if we would realize the actual position of the missions of the Church. The whole subject is advancing from the stage of isolated effort to that of united thought and action, and the works named at the head of our paper are striking indications of the fact. It is hardly too much to say that they mark an epoch in the history of Church Missions.

There is no necessity to recount the well-known origin of the boards of missions of the provinces of Canterbury and York. They were appointed in compliance with resolutions passed by both Convocations; and although independent of each other, they act in entire harmony, and divide the Church mission field between them. The first-fruits of their united labours are now before us, and it would be difficult to exaggerate their value. The boards of missions have taken a broad and comprehensive view of their duties, and the Reports here presented include statistics of the progress made by all other religious denominations, as well as by the Church of England. The area, population, and languages of each of the seven regions into which the entire mission field is divided are first set out; the organization, education, and discipline of the several Church provinces, and of the dioceses which they include are next concisely but adequately described; the special problems of each country, with the encouragements or discouVOL. XXXIX.-NO. LXXVIII.

EE

ragements which it suggests, are then detailed, as well as any openings for further missionary effort. In a series of appendices information of the highest interest, which has hitherto been scattered through a multitude of volumes, is gathered together in a convenient form, and a practical acquaintance with the contents of many missionary reports and papers enables us to speak in terms of high commendation of the manner in which the committee have accomplished their most laborious task. We question whether any other volume of 250 pages contains an account so full, so varied, and so well put together of Christian Missions throughout the world. Of the sections embraced in the Reports, that which treats of India is the most ample, that assigned to Africa seems to us proportionately the most meagre. Of course it is not claimed for these Reports that they are final or complete. But few will venture to question the Bishop of Durham's assertion in the preface that they supply a solid foundation for future labour, and afford as a whole a comprehensive and impressive view of the foreign missions of the English Church.

The Missionary Conference of last May, whose Report stands second on our list,' was designed as a consultative congress by the boards of missions; and although similar conferences of a mixed character have been held both at home and abroad, this was the first meeting of Anglican missionaries from all parts of the world to confer with one another on their work. Upwards of 2,500 members were enrolled, yet the importance of the Conference is not to be measured by the number, but by the standing, of those who took part in it. It was essentially a gathering of experts, of those who have practical acquaintance with missions in their home administration and on the foreign battle-field of the faith; of the leaders of thought on the episcopal bench, both home and foreign, and of the workers who have borne the burden and heat of the day. Such a combination was absolutely unique, and would assuredly cast new light on questions that demand all the highest powers of Church statesmanship.

Almost simultaneously with the Report of the Church Missionary Conference, there appeared Dr. Cust's Essay on the Prevailing Methods of the Evangelization of the Non-Christian World. The author of this elaborate indictment claims public attention to his views by announcing on his title-page that he

1 The skill, ability, and zeal which Mr. George Spottiswoode that most indefatigable of Churchmen-has shown in editing this portly volume demand the most grateful and cordial acknowledgments of every well-wisher to the missionary cause.

is an observer in the field, a member of committees, an allround teacher of missionary literature in five European languages, and one whose heart and intellect have been devoted to the subject for fifty years, independent of Church, denomination, or nationality. Of Dr. Cust's transparent honesty of intention we entertain no question. That he is a devoted friend of missions, a generous and warm-hearted man, of untiring industry and wide experience, all will admit, yet we venture to question the judgment of publishing the Essay before us. Does one of the three mottoes printed on his title-page really represent Dr. Cust's deliberate verdict upon existing missionary methods-Sunt bona, sunt quædam mediocria, sunt mala plura? If so, amongst all the friends of English missions we are persuaded that he stands alone. No doubt faults and blemishes sadly mar work in the mission field, as they do work in every other branch of Christian effort. No doubt human weakness and folly sully the records of the planting of Christianity in the nineteenth, as they did in the first and second centuries. No doubt, now as then, some preach Christ even of envy and strife, and occasionally those that rule 'have to be blamed,' and a weary heart, saddened by suffering, may be tempted to think and to say, 'all seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's.' No doubt healthy and timely criticism, however painful, like the faithful wounds of a friend, may be absolutely necessary under certain critical conditions. But our misgiving is whether Dr. Cust's criticism is altogether healthy or timely. Much that his book of 300 pages contains is matter of fair open discussion, wherein difference of opinion is to be expected, and its utterance cannot wound any sensibilities. Much again is of considerable value as the result of wide experience as an Indian ruler and statesman, expressed with all the vigour and directness of one who has the courage of his opinions. On many important points hereafter to be mentioned we are entirely in accord with Dr. Cust, and have to thank him for the singular lucidity with which he maintains his conclusions. But when so much has been allowed, there remains a considerable portion of the Essay which we can only regard with serious regret. Was it absolutely necessary -and nothing short of necessity could justify it-after sitting so long in the seat of a staunch supporter, and having there set down all the little faults he observed, thus to publish them urbi et orbi? Upon very many of the points he raises-mere questions of taste and phraseology-would not private remonstrance, even though ineffectual, have sufficed? On others