the first observations of this character were made upon the sun. The history of this subject is an interesting one, and shows the gradual development of great discoveries.

As early as 1802, Wollaston, an English physicist, observed that when the solar ray was passed through a narrow slit, and then decomposed by the prism, the spectrum was a continuous one, but was also crossed by many dark bands or lines. He seems to have had no idea of the wondrous germ of science so nearly developed, and never perhaps seriously attempted an explanation of the strange phenomenon whose interpretation was to be withheld from the world more than half a century. Twelve years later a German optician, Frauenhofer, noticed the same lines. He studied them with great interest, and mapped about six hundred, giving to some of the more prominent ones the names of the letters of the alphabet, which will be noticed in several of the figures, and known as "Frauenhofer's lines."

It remained for the renowned Heidelberg scientists, Kirchhoff and Bunsen, in 1859, to give an intelligible meaning to the absorption bands in the solar spectrum. The discovery of Kirchhoff and Bunsen consists in the experimental demonstration of the principle illustrated by fig. 5, in definitely locating the bright lines which are given by the spectra of most of the chemical elements, and in proving that many of these lines coincide precisely in position with solar absorption lines, thus showing the presence of quite a number of elements in the sun which are found upon our globe. The theory which Kirchhoff originated of the physical constitution of the sun must ever be regarded as one of the most ingenious and profound in modern science, although some of its points. recent investigations seem to modify. According to this theory the sun is a solid or liquid body in the most intense state of ignition, and is surrounded by an atmosphere of lower temperature, containing in a gaseous form the elements whose absorption lines appear in the solar spectrum. The more intense rays of light from the center must pass through this cooler and less luminous atmosphere; and, by referring to the experiment upon absorption bands, it will be seen that the inevitable result of such an arrangement must be the production of absorption bands, if the elements corresponding

to these bands occur in the sun's atmosphere. For the rays that vibrate with such wave lengths as to produce bright bands, or lines, of a certain refrangibility, will strike down those very rays if passed through it from another source, and will produce black or absorption bands if the light from the latter source be the more intense. It is only necessary, then,, to observe the position, distinctness, and number of the absorption bands formed by solar light to determine the presence of certain chemical elements in the solar atmosphere. The following may serve as a summary of the results of the investigations thus far made upon this point: Iron is found in the sun. The probabilities of its presence, as deduced by Kirchhoff from the calculus of probabilities, are more than 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 against 1; since more than sixty absorption bands of the sun correspond precisely in position and distinctness with bright lines known to be formed by the incandescent vapor of iron.

Fig. 7 shows the coincidence of a portion of the bright and solar absorption lines of iron. I represents the absorption bands in the solar spectrum; II, the bright lines in the spectrum of iron. But if the probabilities, as deduced from Kirchhoff's masterly investigations, seem to reduce the probability to a practical certainty, the more recent studies of Angström and Thalen place the fact still further beyond the reach of cavil. These savans have proved recently the coincidence of more than four hundred and fifty bright iron lines, with as many of the absorption lines of our luminary. With regard to the presence of other elements the evidence seems conclusive. One hundred and seventy bright lines, which are known to be caused by titanium, are found to correspond to as many solar absorption bands; seventy-five of calcium, fifty

seven of manganese, thirty-three of nickel, nineteen of cobalt, eighteen of chromium, eleven of barium, nine of sodium, seven of copper, four each of hydrogen and magnesium, and two each of zinc and aluminum. Investigations made since Kirchhoff's discovery have very fully confirmed his conclusions respecting the chemical elements found in the sun, while some diversity of opinion exists with regard to his theory of its physical constitution.

ART. VII.-THE RHEMISH NEW TESTAMENT.

The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Translated out of the Latin Vulgate; Diligently Compared with the Original Greek. And first Published by the English College of Rhemes, Anno 1582. Newly Revised and Corrected according to the Clementine Edition of the Scriptures; with Annotations to clear up the Principal Difficulties of Holy Writ. As approved by the Rt. Rev. JOHN HUGHES, Catholic Bishop of New York. New York: D. & J. Sadlier. 1847.

THIS is the presumptuous title-page of the edition of the New Testament approved by the late Archbishop of New York. It is designed, doubtless, to displace the common and more approved version among such Roman Catholics, in this Protestant country, as desire to read the New Testament. Though approved by high authority, very few copies are either circulated by Romish priests, or are sought and read by the laity of that hierarchy.* Professing to be diligently compared with the original Greek, it differs in many places, and widely, from the most obvious meaning of the sacred writers. Its style is doubtless better than is that of the Latin edition, but inferior to the standard. Its "annotations to clear up the principal. difficulties of holy writ" are few, often unscholarly, seldom in reference to those passages which are the more difficult to be understood, and are chiefly designed to confirm the papal reader in the more glaring errors of the Romish Church.

The Vulgate edition, of which this claims to be a translation, and the only one the Church of Rome acknowledges to be authentic, is very ancient. The author of it is not known. It

*The copy on hand was purchased of Mr. L. Donatus, a convert from Roman Catholicism.

was long known by the name of the Italic version, or Itala, because of its great antiquity in the Latin Church. Being the common or vulgar edition, it was named Vulgate.* The early Vulgate of the Old Testament was a nearly literal translation from the Greek Septuagint or Alexandrian edition. In A. D. 384, Jerome, under command of Pope Damascus,† made a new one from the Hebrew, with a few references to the Septuagint. The Vulgate of the New Testament was of course translated from the Greek, though evidently modified by ancient Latin versions. An edition made up, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, of the old Italic and of that by St. Jerome, and declared by the Council of Trent to be authentic, is that which is now known as the Vulgate. In harmony with the changeful character of certain features of Romanism and of authorities in that falsely-called infallible Church, Popes decreeing against decretals, and councils reversing the decisions of councils, even the authorized Vulgate was not generally approved, nor brought into public use by the Western Churches, until its authorization by the Council of Trent, held during the sixteenth century for the purpose of checking the Reformation, and then chiefly on the approbation known to have been given it by Pope Gregory I. in the sixth century.

The two chief Popish editions of the Vulgate are that of Sixtus V., printed in 1590, and that of Clement VIII., published in 1592, notwithstanding and contrary to a positive decree, from his predecessor, of excommunication against any and every person who should presume ever afterward to alter in the least the edition he had ex cathedra authorized and promulged. The edition of Pope Clement not only differed from that of Sixtus in some two thousand instances, but in some cases clearly contradicted it. And yet even this edition was declared to be the only authentic one, and was ratified and confirmed by a similar decree of excommunication against all who should say otherwise. When the Popes saw to what a degree of detriment their authority had fallen because of the accurate translation and the circulation of the Scriptures, which were being somewhat widely consulted by the people, *Vulgate, from the Latin vulgo, vulgatus, to scatter, to publish; whence vulgus, the common people, an edition for the Latin people.

Dr. Clarke's Commentary, General Preface.

Watson, Art. Vulgate.

they not only left no methods unemployed that might discourage the culture of sacred erudition, but as a last resort caused the Latin Vulgate, which abounds with many and great errors, to be declared by the Council of Trent an authentic translation.* Because of the approbation thus given to it the Vulgate of the New Testament is regarded by the Romanists as preferable to the original Greek, and is, therefore, used at the altar, in the pulpit, in the schools; and, so far as they give any circulation to the Scriptures among the people, or rather among a privileged class of the people, this is the edition which is stintedly meted out, accompanied by such annotations as shall guard the reader against much truth.† The recent discovery by Professor Tischendorf of a very ancient version of the New Testament gives greater relative value to the Greek and other editions than to the Vulgate or the Italic, because it is more authentic than the celebrated Greek Codex Vaticanus, so called because preserved in the library of the Vatican at Rome, and which originally contained the whole Bible, but is now imperfect in both Testaments. It is thought to have been written in the fourth century, before the time of Jerome. Mosheim, the historian, says that "the ancient Latin translation of the Bible commonly called the Vulgate abounds with innumerable gross errors, and in a great number of places exhibits the most shocking barbarity of style, and the most impenetrable obscurity with respect to the sense of the inspired writers." §

In evidence of the correctness of these learned opinions we cite the following passages, taken at random from the English edition under review:

"Then Herod... learned diligently of them the time of the star which appeared to them." Matt. ii, 7. "Having received an answer in sleep." Matt. ii, 12. "Killed all the men-children." Matt. ii, 16. "I indeed baptize you in water * Mosheim, vol. ii, p. 62.

According to Dr. A. Clarke the best Vulgate edition needs to be carefully collated with the most ancient MSS. before the boasting of the Latin Church shall be vindicated. Introduction to the Gospels.

Carpenter's Guide to the Study of the Bible.

$ Church History, vol. ii, p. 62.

The italicising is our own, to show wherein the translations are awkward, obscure, or inaccurate.