Oxford, on the day of the Faft, on the fame text as was chofen by Dr. King for his two fermons above-noticed. He handles the subject differently. Confidering war as a divine judgment against all parties concerned, whether on the juft fide or the unjuft, he directs us to examine ourselves, that we may difcover, for what prevalent fins this chaftifement now falls upon us. On the fubject of humanity, he warns us, very properly, not to deceive ourfelves with a falfe opinion of it. Humanity," he says, "that generous virtue, denominated from man, is almost another name for Briton; and would God it might "increase a hundred fold, and that the Lord would pour forth abun"dantly the spirit of charity in [into] our hearts! But is this boast"ed excellence always what it feems to be? Do we never mistake, "dazzled by its luitre, the falfe gem for the brilliant, the counterfeit "for true coin, the fhadow for the fubftance." Noticing then the inftances of remote humanity which are difplayed with fome oftentation, he asks," but is then the heart, thus tremblingly alive to distant forrows, always equally touched with nearer woes? equally folicitous "to relieve want, and alleviate mifery lying at the door? is not the "fame perfon who fy pathizes fo feelingly with tranfatlantic fufferings, "often seen as a lion in his houfe, and frantic among his fervants?" There is no doubt that it is often fo, and it is right to warn men against fuch inconfiftency. It is eafy to declaim about humanity, when the actions of others are called in queftion; but the real trial of the heart is in the daily intercourfe of life. Adverting, then, to the other faults of the time, Mr. Churton does not fpare the university itfelf; and concludes, with a more particular view of our political ftate, and with the following well chofen citation from Deuteronomy: "When the hoft goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing;" which would have made an admirable text for the occafion. ART. 50. The story of Abimelech, a Leffon to Confpirators; a Discourse delivered on Occafion of the General Faft, April 19, 1793, At St. Magnus, London Bridge, in the Morning; and at St. Saviour's, Southwark, in the afternoon. By David Gilfon, M. A. Curate. 4to. 24 pp. IS. Rivingtons. This Sermon very juftly combats the too extended pofition "that religion has nothing to do with politics.". Certainly, if all power, as the gofpel teaches, be derived from God; " If," as this author fays in the term politics be implied the care of human govern"ment, as refting on fettled principles, and including the exercise "of the relative and focial duties, tending to render men as good "and as happy as their prefent ftate of being admits;" religious admonition on the fubject of political duty, is as proper as on any other human duty, and as important. The ftyle of this writer, though it may have a better effect when affifted by the artifice of the voice in public recitation, is too broken and parenthetical, to be commended in point of compofition. The effect of low artifice in feducing a people, is well exemplied in the history of Abimelech. FOREIGN CATALOGUE. FRANCE. ART. 51. Le paffé, le préfent, l'avenir, Comédie, par L. B. Picard, 30 fous. à Paris. E intention of the author was to prefent in three acts fo many a THE were before the revolution, what they are now, and what they will hereafter be. From this defcription, it is evident that this drama, which as a firft at empt poffeffes no inconfiderable merit, cannot however be perfect in all its requifite forms. It muft likewife have been found particu larly difficult to reprefent thofe events, which have not yet taken place, in a dramatical way; fuch pictures, being of neceffity arbitrary, inafmuch as they are copied only from the imagination of the Author, may very poffibly not coincide with the ideas of the fpectators in general, or, at leaft, with the opinions of more competent, becaufe more impartial judges. The execution of the firft part, whose object it is to fhow the pernicious effects of defpotifm, was more eafy. The following extract is part of a converfation between a Marquis, whe expected foon to become minifter, and his brother, an Archbishop: LE MARQUIS. de temps, Ah! ça, mon cher prélat, ne perdons pas L'ARCHEVEQUE. Bon! écarter du Roi tous préfages finiftres, LE MARQUIS. A merveille; mais moi je fuis noyé de dettes. L'ARCHEVEQUE. Je le fuis comme vous, mais réflexions faites, In the interval between the first and second act, which is called temps préfent, we are to understand that the revolution has taken place, which fuppofes a lapfe of time too confiderable for the regular drama, Perhaps the author may now believe himself to have been mistaken, when he afferted, in the perfon of Henriette, 66 que les projets de l'Aristocratie Ne font bons aujourdhui, qu'à mettre en Comédie." In the third act we enter on a futurity (l'avenir) which in the author's opinion cannot be very diftant, as the fame actors are employed in it. Voltaire had expreffed a wish : "Dans fa verte jeuneffe De voir notre faint père, au fortir de la messe, Accordingly Mr. P. introduces on the theatre the grand Lama, fuppofed to have been actually driven from Thibet by his subjects, and on whom the French nation had fettled a penfion of 1000 crowns, accompanied by the Mogul and the Sophi, who were defirous of being eye-witneffes at Paris of what he calls the fédération de l'univers. Mercure François. ART. 52. Abrégé de Géographie pour fervir de préparation aux leçons élémentaires de géographie, par N. B. Halma, profeff. de Mathém. à Sedan, 1792. In the introduction to the prefent treatife calculated for the use of children, every article ferves as an answer to a question proposed in the margin, on the form of the earth, the manner of meafuring the dif tance of the different portions of its furface from each other, and fuch other matters, as the author fuppofes it neceffary that the ftudent in geography fhould be acquainted with before he proceeds further in the work. On the fubject of the motion or repofe of the earth he is filent, judging thofe queftions to be above the capacity of children, and unconnected with the doctrines refpecting its furface, which would remain the fame in either cafe. The plan of the work is the fame, as that adopted by the author in his elementary lectures. He divides the furface of the earth into land and water, and the former into five parts, Europe, Afia, Africa, America, and the Southern or Antarctic regions. Then proceeding from the firft meridian eastward, he defcribes all the countries which are extended north and fouth, and thus makes the tour of the globe, without omitting any of its divifions, or indeed any remarkable place. In his own country the author has retained the ancient partition of France into its several provinces, pointing out, in the margin only, the departments into which it is now fubdivided. The whole is interfperfed with curious and entertaining obfervations and anecdotes, concluding with an account of the death of the celebrated Capt. Cook, who had contributed fo much to the extenfion of geographical knowledge, tranflated from the work of Dr. Kippis. Journ, Encyclop ART. ITALY. ART. 53. Syftema bramanicum, liturgicum, mythologicum, ex monumen▪ tis Indicis Mufei Borgiani, per F. Paulin, de St. Barthélémi. fig. Romæ. 4to. The feven firft plates reprefent the religious cuftoms of the Bramins, fuch as their facrifices to the fun, to the planets, to fire, to evil genii, and to the manes of the dead; their expiations, ablutions, pilgrimages, initiations, and many other fingularities of their philofophical fects, accompanied with full and fatisfactory explanations. These are followed by an account of the mythology of the Indians, together with a defcription of their idols Brama, Viffan, and Schiva, their wives, and children. The author proves that all thefe divinities are nothing more than the celeftial bodies, and the different elements: and that the religion of the Bramins has its foundation in aftronomy and natural history: this part is illuftrated by twenty plates. The third divifion has for its object the civilization of the Bramins, their diftinction into four tribes, their military establishments, finances, and money. In the supplement, the author difcuffes many topics of Greek and Egyptian mythology, which he deduces from the religion of the Bramins, that is, the ancient Sabæifm. He likewife difcovers the etyma of many Greek words in the Shanfcrit language, from which he derives all the Indian dialects at prefent in ufe. He obferves also, that the tradition of an univerfal deluge is general among all the people of India, fo that a confiderable part of the human race bear teftimony to the truth of facred hiftory, without having ever had the least knowledge of the Mofaic writings. Giornale Encyclop. d'Italia. ART. 54. Cabinetio mineralogico del Collegio Mazareno, per il P. Petrini. 8vo. 2 vol. Romæ. The first volume of this work, containing a courfe of mineralogy, appeared in 1791. The fecond, now publifhed, completes an undertaking, which is the more interefting, as Italy abounds with many mineral productions, lefs common in other countries. SPAIN. Efemeridi di Roma. ART. 55. Madrid. This very extenfive and important work comprehends an aftonishing collection of materials, relative to the fituation, inhabitants, government, natural productions, manufactures, and commerce, as well ancient as modern, of the different provinces of Spain, which, though not fufficiently compreffed, and ill-digefted, are, however, taken from the best accounts, both printed and in MS. We must likewife add, that the author entertains proper notions on the subject of commerce, and that he expreffes himself with a degree of freedom refpecting even fome of the the latest ordinances for its regulation, and the Juntas generales de Cósmercio, de Moneda, y Minas, which could hardly have been expected from a native of Spain. ART. 56. La Iliada de Homero, traducida del Griego, por D. Ignacio Garcia Malo. Tom. I. 339. Tom. II. 357. Tom. III. 356. pp. 8vo. Madrid, 1792. The author, who has acquired confiderable reputation among his countrymen by this attempt, has, however, fallen greatly short of the beautiful fimplicity of his original, to which, perhaps, neither the language, nor the feelings of the Spaniards, may at present be adapted. From the annexed fpecimen, taken from b. 1, the reader will obferve, that he has admitted rhymes only in the concluding couplet of each Hanza: "Dixo afi, y el Saturnio mover hace Y hace tiemble el Olympo en efte instante. Y en fu trono fe fienta el Dios Tonante. Por lo que habia pafado anteriormente." PORTUGAL. ART. 57. Veftigios da lingua Arabica em Portugal, ou Lexicon etymolo gico das palavras e nomes Portuguezes que tem origem Arabica, compofe por ordem da Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa, por Fr. Joao de Souza, interprete de S. Mageftade para a lingua Arabica. 4to. Em Lifboa. 180 pp.-Traces of the Arabic Language in Portugal, &c. This work, written by a person who had already diftinguished himfelf by the publication of an excellent Arabic grammar, will be found nfeful to thofe who are defirous of obtaining an accurate knowledge of the Portuguefe language, as it is more complete than that of Duarte Nunes de Leao, first printed in 1606, and again in 1781, on the fame fubject. The Arabic words, from which the Portugueze are derived, are printed in their own character, with their pronunciation, explanation, and fuch remarks on them, as the author judged to be neceffary, in Portuguese. A&T |