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to wait for the performance of this promife. If the reader knew how I have been fettered and shackled in exhibiting the history of a free people, he would think I lived in a barbarous country. We profess it impoffible for us to understand what M. CERISIEK means by thefe complaints. An unheard of incident obliged him to write on, without waiting for the materials he expected! What can this have been? It could not be pecuniary perplexity; for this is neither new nor unheard of among a certain clafs of writers. Perhaps he may have employed his pen under the iron sceptre of a greedy and defpotic bookfeller. Whatever was the cafe, it was undoubtedly hard, to be obliged to write, and nevertheless to be fettered and fhackled in writing. He tells us, moreover, that he was under a certain constraint in relating the events of former times, from a defire of managing the delicacy of the defcendants of those who were actors in them. This the hiftorical mufe forbids: for, while her votaries mingle candour and judgment with veracity, they may boldly follow her effential mottone quid veri non audeat, particularly in a free country like HolJand. In a word, as M. CERISIER calls his work a Tableau or Picture, he has fometimes affumed the licence granted by Horace to painters; and we cannot look upon his hiftory as an accurate portraiture of men and things in the Belgic provinces.The feventh volume carries this work down to the conclufion of the peace of Nimeguen, in the year 1678, between France and the Republic.

VI. GODOFERDI PLOUCQUET Commentationes Philofophica, Selectiores, &c. i. e. Select and Philofophical Meditations, formerly published in separate Difcourfes, but now collected, revifed, and improved by M. G. PLOUCQUET, Profeffor of Logic and Metaphyfics in the University of Tubingen, and CorrespondentMember of the Royal Academy of Berlin. 4to. 592 Pages. Utrecht. 1781. The hideous jargon by which the ancient fchoolmen degraded metaphyfical fcience, and rendered it dif gufting to many in modern times (who cannot, or will not, fee through the dirt that covers it), has done real detriment to true philofophy. For all fcience is reduced to a motley mafs of unconnected facts, where metaphyfics does not come in with her effences, and logic with her rule and compafs, axioms and definitions, the guides to evidence and demonftration; in short, the whole ideal world come within the jurifdiction of metaphyfics, and all sciences depend upon this for the foundation and method that must ascertain and direct their progrefs. Accordingly we may fay of metaphyfics, what Horace faid of Nature,- Expelles furca tamen ufque recurret ; or in, other words,-Turn it out at one door, and it will come in at another. Why, even our common converfation is always metaphyfical; for we are perpetually talking of relations, properties, neceffity, contingence, caufes,

and

and effects; and if there were more metaphyfics and logic in the eloquence of fenators, and the heads of rulers,

but

let us not lofe fight of our object; which is to fay a word or two about M. PLOUCQUET's book, a work certainly adapted rather to deep proficients, than to young beginners in metaphyfical science.

We shall not attempt an analysis of the pieces contained in the prefent volume; for this would require a large article for It will be fufficient to indicate the fubjects here treated, and to obferve, that they are difcuffed in a very mafterly manner. The cosmogony of Epicurus, and the philofophical ideas of Pythagoras (which latter it is fo difficult to afcertain with precifion amidst the confufion of ancient records), are the fubjects of the two firft pieces. The third relates to the epocha of Pyrrho, or the refufal of his affent to any pofitive doctrine or propofition; in the fourth, from the hypothefis that fomething exifts, our author demonftrates the existence of a Supreme Being, the fource of all exiftence; and fhews, with great evidence, that the definition which Spinoza has given of fubftance, overturns the whole fyftem of that fophiftical Pantheift: In the fifth, M. PLOUCQUET examines the cpinions of Helvetius concerning the nature of the human mind; and afferts, against Locke, the impoffibility of matter's being endowed with the faculty of thinking. The law of continuity, or gradation, maintained by Leibnitz, and an account of the controversy it has occafioned, are to be found in the fixth Differtation, where there are curious difcuffions relative to the plenum, which the German philofopher fuppofed to exift in the material world. In the following, we find ingenious remarks on a differtation publifhed by the learned Kantz in 1763, and defigned to prove, that, from the mere poffibility of any thing, a demonftration of the existence of a Supreme Being may be evidently deduced. The eighth contains a critical and philofophical examination of the ideas of Thales and Anaxagoras concerning the cofmogony or origin of the univerfe. The ninth is one of the most interefting Differtations we meet with in this work. The author examines here feveral things advanced in a fceptical book, publifhed fome years ago by M. Robinet, under the title of Traité de la Nature, or a Treatife concerning Nature *. The opinions, advanced in this book, relative to the quantity of phyfical and moral evil in the world,-the incomprehenfibility of a Supreme Being, the phyfical theory of fpirits,-and the fenfitive, intellectual, and volitive fibres, which this author fuppoles to exist in the brain, are judiciously examined and refuted

* The reader must not confound this work with the fyftem of Nafære, which latter is an open and avowed, as the former is an indirect and occult System of Atheism.

by

by M. PLOUCQUET, as alfo the notions of the fame author con cerning the origin of nature, which terminate in the dark and gloomy fyftem of a blind neceffity. Robinet is one of those men, not few in number in our enlightened age, whofe genius, foaring beyond the sphere of common fense, carries him into the clouds, where he mutters the moft foolish things imaginable in a quaint, and feemingly ingenious jargon, which our author exposes with a very exemplary degree of gravity and patience. We think he: would be more fuitably exhibited in one of Stevens's Chapters on Heads. Intellectual and volitive fibres would have been a rare difcovery for Mr. Bayes, who would have imbellished with it the philofophical reigns of the Kings of Brentford. Intellectual fibres are the fiddle-ftrings of a certain modern philofophy, and ftrange founds do they fend forth!

The fyftem of Democritus, as it has been transmitted to us by the ancients, is treated in the tenth Differtation, where we find a view of all the arguments for and against the eternity of the world, and the eternity of motion. The author resumes this fubject in another Differtation, whofe title is De rerum ortu, duratione, alteratione et interitu, in which he fhews, that the poffibility of fucceffive motion, without a final term, furnishes a. proof of the impoffibility of its exifting without an initial term, or without a beginning.

In the five following Differtations, our author treats of the origin of language (which, he thinks, preponderating reasons evince to be divine, though he does not deny the poffibility of forming a language, slowly and laboriously, by human effort),— concerning the nature and measure of quantities, concerning ancient and modern hylozoifm, or the doctrine of those philofophers who confider matter as endowed with life, concerning the principal fymptomata, or characteristical qualities of the human mind, concerning primitive powers or forces,-concerning the queftion, Whether good and evil are abfolute or relative? which he determines in favour of the former, upon this principle, that God is not the free and efficient caufe of the effences of things,

(a knotty point, and of momentous confequence in metaphyfical theology!) M. PLOUCQUET treats the interefting fubject of good and evil in another Differtation, and refumes it in a third, where he points out the influence of speculative philofophy on practice -(De momentis philofophiæ contemplativæ in practicis). There are curious things in this piece, relative to the famous argument of Defcartes in favour of the existence of God, drawn from the idea of infinite, an argument which was elucidated by Mallebranche, combated by Leibnitz, Huet, and others, and is here stated by our author in a manner which is defigned to free it from the objections of the two laft mentioned philofophers. This is followed by a Differtation, in which M. PLOUCQUET examines

the

the various arguments which may be employed to fupport or to invalidate the doctrine of the foul's immortality. The laft piece in this important collection is, a Difquifition concerning the famous ars characteristica univerfalis (IMAGINED by Leibtnitz); to which is fubjoined, a Method of Logical Calculation, invented by our author, who is undoubtedly a learned man, and a deep thinker.

VI. Frederici Wilhelmi Peftel Commentarii de Republica Ba tava. i. e. A Treatife concerning the Republic of the United Provinces. By FREDERICK WILLIAM PESTEL. 8vo. Leyden. 1782. It appears, from this work, that its learned Author is Profeffor of the Law of Nature and Nations in the University of Leyden; and the capacity and industry discovered in its compofition fhew, that he was well qualified for the very difficult tafk he has undertaken. His merit, as a Latin writer, is rather inconfiderable. We even apprehend, that his stile will be found defective in perfpicuity and fimplicity,-qualities which are highly defirable in a work of this kind. As to the materials that enter into this treatife, they have been fought with laborious investigation, chofen with judgment, and they certainly ex-. hibit an extenfive view of the Belgic Republic; but too compendious, perhaps, in the defcription of the parts, to inftruct. those who are totally ftrangers to the fubject. We cannot appreciate the merit of the accounts which Dutch writers may have given of their country and government, in their own language, but we have met with no author, in a language intellible to us, that treats more judiciously than M. PESTEL this. ample and complicated fubject; in which the unavoidable precipitation of the first founders of the Belgie conftitution (who huddled it up in a hurry), and the timid prudence of their defcendants (who let it ftand as they found it), have occafioned much obfcurity and confufion. A fecond edition (which we. have reafon to expect from the merit of the work, and from our author's candid declaration of his defire to correct the errors, or fupply the omiffions with which competent judges may find it chargeable) will undoubtedly render this work ftill more accurate, clear, and complete. In the mean time we fhall lay before our readers a sketch of the Treatife, fuch as it now appears.

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It is divided into four parts. In the firft, our Author treats of the country and its inhabitants. Here he confiders the origin of the Republic, the fteps by which it has proceeded to its prefent ftate,-the extent of territory that is fubject to its jurifdiction, including its colonies in the East and Weft Indies,-the nature of its foil and productions,-the character, manners, liberties, and privileges of its inhabitants,-its religious eftablishments, academies, police, commerce, manufactures, fisheries, and navigation. In the fecond part we have an account of the form of government, and its administration, in each province (hic labor, hic

opus

opus eft), and more especially in the Province of Holland (the moft refpectable, by far, and the most extensive of them all), of the different departments or colleges to which the different branches of the fovereign power are affigned,-of the puplic taxes, and the manner of raifing and collecting them.-In the third part our author confiders the rights which the confederated provinces referved for themselves by the union of Utrecht, and the obligations which they incurred with refpect to the confederacy. Here we have a defcription of the functions and authority of the States General, of the Council of State, of the Chamter of Accounts which regards the union, of the offices of Stadtholder, Captain-General and High Admiral, that are united in the perfon of the Prince of Orange, of the naval force of the Republic, of the functions of the admiralties, and of the government of that part of the territory of the Republic over which the States General exercise a fovereign power.-The connections of the Republic with foreign nations are treated by our author in the fourth, and, certainly, the most imperfect part of this work. Of this M. PESTEL feems himself to be fenfible, as appears from a paffage in his preface, in which he tells us, that the nature of the times, and his anxious apprehenfion of tiring the patience of his students and his book feller, by delaying longer the publication of his work, had engaged him to enlarge lefs than he at first intended on this part of the fubject. These reasons would not have been in any weight with us, who fhould defire ardently to see this most important object more amply treated by fuch an able pen, had he not given us the hopes of feeing it refumed by him in a future publication, with respect to which we fhall fupprefs the fuggeftions of impatience, by the defire of full and fatisfactory inftru&tion. The prefs-errors in this work are so numerous, that they embarrass the reader in almost every page.

MONTHLY CATALOGUE, For JANUARY, 1783.

POLITICAL.

Art. 17. A Dialogue on the Actual State of Parliament. 8vo. I S. Stockdale.

IN

N this dialogue between an intelligent foreigner, and a well-informed Englishman, we have a very judicious reprefentation of the component members of the British government; calculated to fhew, that our prefent conftitution was not formed upon fpeculation, but grew, and received its improvement from events springing from the alteration of national circumstances: Confequently, that being fo nicely fuited to our circumftances, we should beware of the danger of

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