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for the less learned and cultivated adherents of it. He probably thought that none of the then existing manuals were altogether fitted for their purpose. When he began it was doubtless without any thought of imitating or rivalling the best known of all treatises of the kind, "The Imitation of Christ:" but before he had got to the end of his first "Century" he must have seen that his work was resolving itself into a somewhat similar production. He must have been well acquainted with the "Imitation," since he makes at least one quotation from it: but it can hardly be doubted that he thought it was too exclusively Romanist in its tone and teaching to be fit for use by members of the English Church. Certainly he might justly have thought so: for with all its merits that work, if regarded as a manual for general use, and not merely for the cloister, has at least one serious defect. Instead of pointing out that defect myself—since it might be thought that I am not in this case an impartial judge—I will quote two passages from writers who cannot reasonably be accused of having any undue bias against the book. And first I will quote from the Rev. T. F. Dibdin's Introduction to his fine edition of the "Imitation"

"The ‘Imitation’ is clearly the production of a writer deeply versed in holy writ; but it is also the production of one who has applied that knowledge more exclusively to the purposes of private meditation, confession, and prayer. It is beyond all doubt a work of great singleness of heart and simplicity of character; but its

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