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DICTIONARY OF DOCTRINAL AND HISTORICAL THEOLOGY

BY VARIOUS WRITERS.

EDITED BY THE

REV. JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A., F.S.A.

EDITOR OF THE ANNOTATED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER."

One Volume, Imperial 8vo, 42s., or half-bound in Morocco, 52s. 6d.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

We

"Taken as a whole the articles are the work of practised writers, and well informed and solid theologians. know no book of its size and bulk which supplies the information here given at all; far less which supplies it in an arrangement so accessible, with a completeness of information so thorough, and with an ability in the treatment of profound subjects so great. Dr. Hook's most useful volume is a work of high calibre, but it is the work of a single mind. We have here a wider range of thought, from a greater variety of sides. We have here also the work of men who evidently know what they write about, and are somewhat more profound (to say the least), than the writers of the current Dictionaries of Sects and Heresies."-GUARDIAN.

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"Mere antiquarianism, however interesting, has little place in it. But for all practical purposes its historical articles are excellent. They are of course, and of necessity, a good deal condensed, yet they are wonderfully complete; see for example such articles as 'Atheism, Cabbala, Calvinism, Canonization, Convocations,' 'Evangelical,' 'Fathers, Infant Baptism,' &c. &c. But the strength of the book lies in the theology proper, and herein more particularly in what one may call the metaphysical side of doctrine-see the articles on Conceptualism, Doubt, Dualism,' 'Election,' 'Eternity, 'Everlasting Punishment,' 'Fatalism, and the like. We mention these as characteristic of the book. the same time other more practical matters are fully dealt with. There are excellent and elaborate papers on such words as Eucharist, Confession, Blood,'Cross,' Antichrist, to say nothing of the host of minor matters on which it is most convenient to be able to turn to a book which gives you at a glance the pith of a whole library in a column or a page. Thus it will be obvious that it takes a very much wider range than any undertaking of the same kind in our language; and that to those of our clergy who have not the fortune to spend in books, and would not have the leisure to use them if they possessed them, it will be the most serviceable and reliable substitute for a large library we can think of. And in many cases, while keeping strictly within its province as a Dictionary, it contrives to be marvellously suggestive of thought and reflections, which a serious-minded man will take with him and ponder over for his own elaboration and future use. As an example of this we may refer to the whole article on Doubt. It is treated of under the successive heads of,-(1) its nature; (2) its origin; (3) the history of the principal periods of Doubt; (4) the consciousness-- or actual experience of Doubt, and how to deal with its different phases and kinds; (5) the relations of Doubt to action and to belief. To explain a little we will here quote a paragraph or two, which may not be unacceptable to our readers. variety of the references given in the course of this article, and at its conclusion, show how carefully the writer has thought out and studied his subject in its various manifestations in many various minds, and illustrate very forcibly how much reading goes to a very small amount of space in anything worth the name of Dictionary of Theology.' We trust most sincerely that the book may be largely used. For a present to a clergyman on his ordination, or from a parishioner to his pastor, it would be most appropriate. It may indeed be called a box of tools for a working clergyman.' LITERARY CHURCHMAN.

66

The

Seldom has an English work of equal magnitude been so permeated with Catholic instincts, and at the same time seldom has a work on theology been kept so free from the drift of rhetorical incrustation. Of course it is not meant that all

these remarks apply in their full extent to every article. In a great Dictionary there are compositions, as in a great house there are vessels, of various kinds. Some of these at a future day may be replaced by others more substantial in their build, more proportionate in their outline, and more elaborate in their detail. But admitting all this, the whole remains a home to which the student will constantly recur, sure to find spacious chambers, substantial furniture, and (which is most important) no stinted light."-CHURCH RE

VIEW.

"The second and final instalment of Mr. Blunt's useful Dictionary, itself but a part of a more comprehensive plan, is now before the public, and fully sustains the mainly favourable impression created by the appearance of the first part. Within the sphere it has marked out for itself, no equally useful book of reference exists in English for the elucidation of theological problems. Entries which display much care, research, and judgment in compilation, and which will make the task of the parish priest who is brought face to face with any of the practical questions which they involve far easier than has been hitherto. The very fact that the utterances are here and there somewhat more guarded and hesitating than quite accords with our judgment, is a gain in so far as it protects the work from the charge of inculcating extreme views, and will thus secure its admission in many places where moderation is accounted the crowning grace.".

CHURCH TIMES.

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"The writers who are at work on it are scholars and theologians, and earnest defenders of the Christian faith. They evidently hold fast the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and have the religious instruction of the rising ministry at heart. Moreover, their scheme is a noble one; it does credit not only to their learning and zeal, but also to their tact and discretion."-LONDON QUARTERLY REVIEW. 'Infinitely the best book of the kind in the language; and, if not the best conceivable, it is perhaps the best we are ever likely to see within its compass as to size and scope. Accurate and succinct in statement, it may safely be trusted as a handbook as regards facts, while in our judgment, this second part still maintains the character we gave the first, namely, of showing most ability in its way of treating the more abstract and metaphysical side of theological questions. The liturgical articles also in this part deserve especial mention. The book is sure to make its own way by sheer force of usefulness." -LITERARY CHURCHMAN.

"It is not open to doubt that this work, of which the second and concluding part has just been issued, is in every sense a valuable and important one. Mr. Blunt's Dictionary is a most acceptable addition to English theological literature. Its general style is terse and vigorous. Whilst its pages are free from wordiness, there is none of that undue condensation which, under the plea of judicious brevity, veils a mere empty jotting down of familiar statements (and mis-statements), at second or, it may be, third hand from existing works. Dean Hook's well-known Dictionary makes the nearest approach to the one now before us, but Mr. Blunt's is decidedly the better of the two."--ENGLISH CHURCHMAN.

"It will be found of admirable service to all students of theology, as advancing and maintaining the Church's views on all subjects as fall within the range of fair argument and inquiry. It is not often that a work of so comprehensive and so profound a nature is marked to the very end by so many signs of wide and careful research, sound criticism, and wellfounded and well-expressed belief."-STANDARD.

Rivingtons: London, Oxford, and Cambridge.

The Annotated Book of Common Prayer

BEING AN

HISTORICAL, RITUAL, AND THEOLOGICAL COMMENTARY

ON THE

DEVOTIONAL SYSTEM OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

EDITED BY THE

REV. JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A., F.S.A.

VICAR OF KENNINGTON, OXFORD.

WORKS BY THE REV. J. H. BLUNT.

The Reformation of the Church of England: its History, Principles, and Results. A.D. 1514-1547. Second Edition. 8vo. 16s.

The Doctrine of the Church of England, as stated in

Ecclesiastical Documents set forth by authority of Church and State, in the Reformation Period between 1536 and 1662. Edited by JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A. 8vo. 7s. 6d.

Directorium Pastorale: the Principles and Practice of Pas

toral Work in the Church of England. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d.

The Sacraments and Sacramental Ordinances of the

Church being a Plain Exposition of their History, Meaning, and Effects. Small 8vo. 4s. 6d.

A Christian View of Christian History, from Apostolic

to Medieval Times. Crown 8vo. 7s.

Household Theology: a Handbook of Religious Informa

tion respecting the Holy Bible, the Prayer Book, the Church, the Ministry, Divine Worship, the Creeds, &c. & `. New Edition. Small 8vo. 3s. 6d.

A Key to the Knowledge and Use of the Holy Bible.

New Edition. Small 8vo. 2s. 6d.

A Key to the Knowledge and Use of the Book of Common

Prayer. New Edition. Small 8vo. 2s. 6d.

A Key to Christian Doctrine and Practice (Founded on

the Church Catechism). Small 8vo. 2s. 6d.

A Key to the Knowledge of Church History (Ancient).

Edited by JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A. Small 8vo. 2s. 6d.

A Key to the Knowledge of Church History (Modern).

Edited by JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A. Small 8vo. 2s. 6d.

The Book of Church Law: being an Exposition of the

Legal Rights and Duties of the Parochial Clergy and the Laity of the Church of England. Revised by WALTER G. F. PHILLIMORE, B.C.L. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d.

Rivingtons: London, Oxford, and Cambridge

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