The Autobiography and Diary of Samuel Davidson, D.D., LL.D. Edited
by his Daughter. (r. and T. Clark, Edinburgh.)—The sub- ject of this interesting and, in many places, pathetic book, who died last year at the great age of ninety-one, was known in the couriu of his long life as one of the most erudite and thoughtful oi Biblical scholars that Great Britain las produced to compete with Continental students. But be will probably be remembered most for tho controversy which ended in his ejection from the Chair of Biblical Criticism in tbe Lancashire Independent College in 1857 in consequence of his having, in a theological work, surrendered the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch and accepted the theory of its evolution in the course of centuries by a process of growth, selection, and combination. This old story is retold with judgment and moderation by Mr. Allanson Picton, and of course it will always be interesting to theo- logical students. But we _confess to being much more inter- ested in the story of a simple, loveable, pious scholar as told by himself in the autobiography which he began on the day that his devoted wife died. His daughter,, who has edited this
work, says in her preface that "the rectitude, sweetness, and simplicity of his character can be most fully estimated by those who knew him best." A very good idea of these virtues, and of the extent of a Biblical scholarship which Matthew Arnold declared to be "unique of its kind in England," may, however, be gathered from this autobiography than which in all prob- ability a better, more modest, or more transparently sincere book of the kind never was written. Dr. Davidson's life cannot be considered eventful in the ordinary sense of the word, even if he had his trials which he faced courageous]y, and his bereavements which he submitted to meekly, although he felt them profoundly. It is, however, of the highest value as a self-revelation. Many of Dr. Davidson's judgments on his con- temporaries are marked by sagacity and judgment. Take, for example, what he says of Jowett :—" Though the professor's influence bordered too much on the world to manifest a self- sacrificing type of piety, we must, however, remember that natural temperament affects the feelings even of a true Christian." This volume is a valuable contribution to the history of British theological scholarship.
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