church-and may consequently be readily discovered and thrown out. Subtracting all these tales and legends, there still remains a great amount of information in these volumes, from which the discriminating investigator may reproduce the very form, and pressure, of periods otherwise dim, distorted, and destitute of all interest.1 Perhaps we cannot better sum up the value of this work for purposes of science, than in the language of the discriminating though somewhat lenient writer in Ersch and Gruber's Encyclopädie, from which chiefly we have derived our statistics in the above account. The accounts of the martyrs, strictly so called, in the Acta Sanctorum, are not historically reliable in any degree; inasmuch as the original sources in these cases are entirely lost, and those portions of this martyrology which pretend to be taken from them, are interpolations. At the very most, only some slight hints or notices are gathered, which require to be treated with great caution and discrimination. But it is different with the accounts of the saints as distinguished from the martyrs. These are of two classes: first the more general compilations and accounts that were formed during the Middle Ages; and second, the individual biographies. With respect to the first class, it should be noticed that these had for their chief aim the pious edification of the reader, and did not pretend to be historical sources. On the contrary, they sometimes expressly refer back to original writings, from which they derived a modicum of truth and fact, to be expanded and decorated for what was regarded a legitimate purpose; resembling somewhat, in this respect, the religious novel of the present day. It would consequently be improper to judge these by the rules of strict scientific criticism. Still, though not valid as sources for the facts of external history — though not reliable for names, dates, and occurrences, they yet often throw a wonderfully bright light upon the inner history of the church, as it appears in the manners and customs of society, or in its own moral and literary condition. With respect to the second class,—of single biographies of saints,—a genuine historical value cannot be denied to them, provided they are taken in connection with other historical documents, and are examined with care and discrimination. For, first, the greater part of them were written by authors who are themselves well known from other sources, or perhaps by the his 1 Since writing the above, the following has come to hand: "The old times of England impress C(arlyle) much; he reads little," he says, "in these last years, but' Acta Sanctorum,' the fifty-three volumes of which are in the London Library. He finds all English History therein. He can see, as he reads, the old saint of Iona sitting there, and writing, a man to men. The Acta Sanctorum show plainly that the men of those times believed in God, and in the immortality of the soul, as their abbeys and cathedrals testify." Emerson's English Traits, p. 278. This is significant as coming from one whose merits in respect to philosophic history, it is true, are inconsiderable, but who is not excelled by any writer, either in the use of the biographic elements in history, or in graphic picturesque limning. tory of their own lives, and who sustained an intimate relation to the subjects of their monographs, as pupils, or confessors, as predecessors or successors in office, living with them in the same place or the same cloister. Secondly, these biographies, to whatever century they belong, all come from an age which was extremely careful to preserve narratives and accounts pertaining to itself. For this reason, the critic is not justified in rejecting a biography merely because composed by an unknown, or a later author. This is the case with the Vita St. Meinwerci (Acta SS. Antw. Jan. T. I. p. 508, sq.), and yet there is but one opinion respecting its value and credibility. Thirdly, the whole form and style of these biographies is, in general, so simple, artless, and natural, that it necessarily inspires confidence. The occurrences are arranged one after another just as they happened; pious reflections and applications are their only decoration. Fourthly, even when fictions and interpolations, relating to the historical facts themselves, are designedly introduced, the injury done is not so great as at first sight might appear. For they are interwoven with so little art, that they are immediately detected by the practised student, and recognized as alien and heterogeneous parts of the narrative. Fifthly, the belief in ecclesiastical miracles, which everywhere shows itself in these biographies, is not an insuperable obstacle in the way of their being used for the purposes of the historian. They generally constitute a section or vein by themselves, which can be removed, and the purely historical data are then left. And, after all, do the religious prejudices and misjudgments of the Middle Ages, work any more injury to the historical memorials which they have left, than do the philosophical or the political biasses and pre-judgments of other periods, to their contributions to history? Is there not something to be substracted or rectified in all historical materials? The Bollandists have been blamed for handing down such a mass of materials, without subjecting it to the final tests of the writer of history. But this was no part of their design. They were not writers of history, but compilers and editors of the stuff out of which history is to be made. For the penetrant and discerning eye of a genuine historical skepticism, there is no truer and more faithful mirror of life and manners in the Ancient and Mediæval church, than the Acta Sanctorum. At the same time some historical data have been furnished, which otherwise would have been entirely unknown. For example, the Vita St. Severini (Jan. T. I. p. 483) contains the only accounts extant of the Bavarian church in the 6th and 7th century; and Hensschen brought to light a Dagobert II., in the series of Merovingian kings, who had entirely escaped the notice of historians. The critical investigations to which this work gave rise, may be said to have given origin to that branch of historical inquiry which is denominated Diplomatics. The work of Mabillon sprang out of the studies of the Bollandists. The friends of good learning will be interested to know that a copy of the Acta Sanctorum, now exceedingly difficult to be obtained, has recently been added to the Library of the Andover Theological Seminary. It is the Antwerp edition, a fine copy, in good condition. PORTER'S FIVE YEARS IN DAMASCUS.1 THE author of these instructive volumes has been connected since January 1850, with the United Mission of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland and the Associate Reformed Church of the United States, at Damascus. It was in the capacity of a missionary, though at the same time in the spirit of an antiquarian and a scholar, that he explored the extensive terra incognita of which that anc ent and beautiful city is the centre; and the valuable observations and discoveries which he made in geography, natural history, and antiquities, are so many new and rich clusters of "those twelve manner of fruits," which are borne by the tree of Christian Missions. Besides his better command of the language, the missionary has an incalculable advantage over any ordinary traveller, in that constant intercourse with the people in the ordinary relations of life, and those repeated observations of the face of nature and the works of man, which are quite essential to entire accuracy. We are not surprised, therefore, to find Mr. Porter differing widely from many travellers in regard both to the geography of the country and the character of the inhabitants. He takes a less favorable view of Moslem character than that which is given by Urquhart and endorsed by Lane; and in this view he is confirmed by the testimony of those who have been longest resident especially in the cities of the Mohammedans. "The Moslems of Damascus," he says (Vol. I., p. 139 seq.), “may be described generally as feeble, licentious, and fanatical. The religion they profess, if, indeed, Islam deserves that name, places no restraint upon their passions; and experience proves, at least so far as regards this city, that polygamy has not the effect of restraining from worse conduct. Virtue, as a moral principle, is unknown to either sex in this land; and the disgusting obscenities of the harim, as well as the unnatural vices of the other sex, could not have escaped the notice of Mr. Urquhart, had he indeed studied the habits of this people or the effects of Moslem institutions. The filthiness of the conversation among all classes, of all ages, and of both sexes, is sufficient of itself to show the deep depravity in which this unhappy land is engulfed. Vice has spread over the nation like a flood, corrupting every dwelling, making wanton every thought and look, and polluting the very language which is the medium of social intercourse." Nor does he speak more favorably of their honesty and piety than of their chastity. "Moslems spend their time between indolence and indulgence, wandering with solemn step from the harîm to the bath, and from the bath to the mosk. They are emphatically a praying people, and so are they a washing people, and there is just as much religion in their ablutions as in their devotions. Prayer with them is a simple performance. 1 Five Years in Damascus : including an account of the History, Topography and Antiquities of that city; with Travels and Researches in Palmyra, Lebanon, and the Hauran. By Rev. J. L. Porter, A. M., F. R. S. L. In two volumes with Maps and Illustrations. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1855. The Moslem merchant will lie and cheat, and swear and pray, and lie and cheat and swear again; and these are, all alike, different scenes in the same drama, quite in their places." It requires no very prolonged experience of the bazaars, whether at Damascus, Cairo, or Constantinople, to convince one, "that this witness is true." "The Christians of Damascus," says Mr. Porter, "are enterprising and industrious, and a considerable proportion of the trade of the city is in their hands. They are rapidly increasing in number, wealth, and influence, and have almost entirely thrown aside that cringing and fawning demeanor which was the result of long ages of oppression." When Dr. King visited Damascus some twenty-five years ago we have heard a detailed and graphic account of the transaction from his own lips — he was ordered to stop as he was entering the city, compelled to dismount from his horse, and obliged to walk through the streets, with the humility which became a "Christian dog." Now, thanks to the advancing power of Christian civilization, and especially to the political and personal influence of the English consul, Mr. Wood, who has extended his shield over the Jews and Christians, they can hold up their heads like men, and their rights and privileges are even more secure than those of their Mohammedan neighbors. The progress of the Christians and the degeneracy of the Mohammedans are most manifest throughout the Ottoman Empire, and the sceptre must soon pass inevitably from the declining to the advancing race. In regard to the topography of Damascus and the geography of the surrounding country, Mr. Porter finds frequent occasion to censure most of the travellers who have preceded him. De Saulcy he flays alive, as he deserves to be flayed, convicting him beyond question not only of excessive credulity and a lying imagination, but of intentional deception and misrepresentation (Vol. I., pp. 267–270). Buckingham's sketches of Sulkhad (Salcah) and Kanawât (Canata), which have been copied in Keith's Land of Israel, he pronounces to be "purely fanciful and so utterly unlike the reality, that they never could have been taken on the spot or by any man who had ever seen it" (Vol. II., p. 178). Burckhardt is honest and accurate as far as he goes; but owing to want of time and opportunity, or the incomplete preservation of his notes, he not unfrequently misleads those who rely on him as authority. For example: "The topography of the north-eastern section of the ancient kingdom of Bashan has never hitherto been accurately described or delineated in maps. The nearest approach to truth is the map attached to Burckhardt's Travels in Syria; but even there the natural features are not given, and the positions of most of the villages are incorrectly laid down" (Vol. II., p. 65). Of Lieut. Lynch's description of the view from the summit of Hermon, Mr. Porter remarks: "Statements like these may be pardoned on the plea of poetical license, in such works as 'The Crescent and the Cross,' but in a professedly scientific work, undertaken for the advancement of knowledge, they are altogether inexcusable" (Vol. I., p. 297). The best account yet given of the geology of Lebanon, is that by Dr. Anderson, in Lynch's offi cial report of the United States Expedition (Vol. I., p. 7). Yet he calls in question the accuracy of Lynch's geological researches (Vol. I., p. 290). He defers most of all to the authority of Dr. E. Smith and Dr. E. Robinson, deeming it unnecessary to say anything of the history or antiquities, for instance, of Banias and its castle, because they had been "visited by Dr. Robinson during his recent journey in this land" (Vol. II., p. 307, note). Still there is no authority which is invariably reliable, in his estimation, but that of "Five Years in Damascus," and no maps or sketches perfectly accurate but those on which the name of " J. L. Porter, Del.," figures so conspicuously. This self-confidence, it must be confessed, appears somewhat excessive. Whether it is well grounded, it may not be safe to pronounce, "till his neighbor cometh and searcheth him," as he has searched those who have gone before him. There can be no doubt, however, of the patience, thoroughness, and general correctness of Mr. Porter's researches, nor of the great value of the results. Having had occasion to pass recently over a portion of the same ground, we take pleasure in bearing testimony to the minute accuracy of his itinerary and his descriptions. His map of "Damascus, Hauran, and the Lebanon Mountains," is unquestionably by far the most trustworthy as well as the most complete that was ever published. The plans which accompany his descriptions of Damascus, of Palmyra, of Bozrah, and of many other ruined cities, are drawn with great exactness, and give a definiteness to the reader's conceptions, which no mere words can convey. A considerable number of places mentioned in sacred and profane history have been identified, by Mr. Porter, for the first time; indeed, as he purposely avoids dwelling on localities and sections that have been fully explored, giving no account of the Ruins of Baalbec, for instance, or the Cedars of Lebanon, and enlarging upon the topography and the architectural remains of Damascus, only to supply particular information where most writers have dealt in vague generalities, the greater part of these two volumes, of nearly five hundred pages each, may be regarded as a clear addition to our previous reliable knowledge of the north-eastern section of the Holy Land. Our author indulges little in poetry or romance, as those who have read his Articles in this Journal will have seen, though we would not intimate that the whole book is so purely an itinerary as some of these Articles. A little more imagination and poetical enthusiasm would not be amiss; indeed, we wonder how he can manifest so little, in his visits to Tadmor in the Wilderness, the City of Palm Trees, and the Capital of Zenobia, and especially in his description of that great City of the East, which during forty centuries, has watched the growth and decay of empires, herself rejoicing in perpetual youth and beauty-that Island of the Blest, floating in a sea of living green-that earthly Paradise which Mohammed refused to enter lest thereby he should be barred admission to the Paradise above. But the reader who is content with valuable information and perspicuous description, accompanied often with suitable illustrations to the eye, will |