ENGLISH CHRISTIANITY IN ITS BEGINNINGS.
English Christianity in its Beginnings. By the Rev. E. H. Pearce. (S.P.C.K. ls. 6d.)—The four lectures which Mr. Pearce prints in this little volume deal with a period of which it is impossible to fix the beginning—possibly one of the soldiers to whom St. Paul was chained may have found his way into Britain—but which ends with the death of Augustine in or about 607 A.D. The first lecture is given to British Christianity, and contains a highly interesting discussion of its inde- pendent position,— whatever it was, it was certainly not Roman. This subject is continued in Lecture II., and we naturally pass from it to the time when Rome did unquestionably assert herself and to the mission of Augustine. The story begins, of course, with Gregory, of whom we have a very enlightening account. Here is a curious little anecdote which may be new to some of our readers. Gregory, it is known, made an early attempt to evangelise Britain himself. He was on his way, and spending in reading the time which his companions were giving to their siesta, when a locust alighted on the page. He saw its meaning. "Ecce locusta. !" he cried. " Loeusts means loco stn—stay where you are,"—very poor Latin, it is true. The appreciation of the work and of the man, his great qualities and his limitations, is excellent. There is not a suspicion of partisanship in it,—and partisanship can be hot about this matter, for does it not touch on Roman primacy and Anglican obedience? Altogether, this is a very welcome little volume.
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