ABSTRACT

18 December 1875, viii, 618–19

Réville (1826–1906), French Protestant clergyman and theologian, accepted the job of pastor at the Walloon church in Rotterdam in 1851. His ‘Essais de critique religieuse’ were published in 1861. In 1873 he wrote a review of ‘Literature and Dogma’ which so pleased Arnold that he wrote to the editor of the ‘Academy’ saying, ‘I think so highly of Reville and his opinion that I should have read with interest even the most hostile judgment from him; how much more a judgment which is in many respects so favourable!’ However, Réville’s enthusiasm for Arnold’s theology had visibly waned by the time he wrote his review of ‘God and the Bible’ for the ‘Academy’. He consumes a great deal of space in a lacklustre summary of Arnold’s ideas, most of which he dislikes. Here we omit the summary, reprinting only the first two paragraphs, which adequately characterize his response.