cife of one of the most difficult Chriftian virtues, even the loving them that do not love us.—God Save the King!

N. B. A tranflation of this ELOGE in English is published: See our laft Month's Review.

III. Verfuch einer Gefchichte Carls des Groffen, &c. i. e. An Effay on the Life and History of Charlemagne. 8vo. Leipfic. The early Writers of the life, and exploits of this great Prince have disfigured their relations by a multitude of dubious facts, ridiculous ftories, and difgufting oblations of adulatory incense. All this indeed might naturally be expected from these hiftorians, who were almoft all Monks (the only fcholars of thofe times), fattened by the liberalities of their Sovereign, whom they accordingly reprefented as the moft illuftrious Saint of the Ka lendar, and the greatest man of the age. Time has difcovered truth, and truth has appealed from their decifions; and the Monarch in question, though fuperior perhaps to all the Princes of his time in valour and knowledge, ftands juftly charged with the most flagrant acts of iniquitous ufurpation, ingratitude, and perfecution. Charlemagne was certainly one of the most barbarous and bloody conquerors, that the records of hiftory, at leaft modern hiftory, exhibit to our view, and he seems to have been almost always under the empire of the most turbulent and tumultuous paffions. The Author of this Effay has drawn his portrait, if we are not much miftaken, in truer colours than any preceding hiftorian: he examines facts with a scrupulous attention; he has eftimated without prejudice, the exploits and actions of this famous Prince, and has made the moft judicious reflections on the political revolutions that happened in his reign, and which were directly or indirectly the effects of his activity and counfels, The Introduction, or Preliminary Difcourfe, prefixed to this work, contains a great number of new and judicious remarks on the ancient history of the Franks, and combats with great ftrength and plaufibility of argument, the account given of them by Dr. Robertfon, who reprefents them as a favage and bar barous people. He gives alfo an interefting account of the education of Charlemagne, in which he discovers the causes of two propenfities that appeared early in this Prince, and adhered to him in the whole courfe of his life; the firft was an enthufiaftic zeal for the interefts of the church, which, nevertheless, he had the art of reconciling with his ambitious views, and the fecond was his determined and habitual tafte for fhow, pomp, and mag nificence. His wars with the Saxons, his campaigns in Lombardy, and many other important tranfactions of his reign, are judiciously difcuffed by our ingenious Author, who likewife refutes the opinion of the Abbé De Mably, that Charlemagne had totally changed the political conftitution of the Franks, and had REV. Feb. 1779. granted

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granted to the Tiers-etat the privilege of a feat in the Imperial Diets.

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IV. D. HENR. FRID. DELII, Adverfaria Argumenti PhyficoMedici. i. e. Mifcellanies relative to Medical Science and Controverfy. By M. DELIUS, Counfellor to the Court of Brandenburg, and Primarius Profeffor of Phyfic. 4to. Erlang. 1778. This learned man, whose medical erudition is well known, and whose dietetic maxims muft give pleasure and comfort to all his patients who are of a convivial turn, has mingled in this Volume, with his own labours, feveral Academical Differtations. These contain a variety of excellent obfervations on the Hiftory and Theory of Phyfic,-Philofophical, Chymical, Anatomical, and Phyfiological refearches and difcuffions relative to Diet, the Practice of Phyfic, and the Materia Medica.

V. Hiftorifche Nachricht von dem ersten Anfange der Evange lifch-Reformirten Kirche in Brandenburg and Preuffen, &c. i. e. A Hiftory of the first Commencement of the Reformed or Calvinistical Church in Brandenburg and Pruffia, under the reign of the Elector Sigifmund, by Mr. HERING, Paftor of the Reformed Church at Breflaw. 8vo. Halle. 1778. The caufes, beginnings, progrefs and prefent ftate of the reformed churches in Brandenburg and Prufia are circumftantially related, and accurately represented in this learned work. The Author has drawn his materials, not only from writers of the firft credit, but alfo from feveral valuable manufcripts. The Reader will find in this hiftory, many facts little known, with an ample account of the learned men who were concerned in the tranfactions here related. M. HERING has fubjoined to this hiftory the three Confeffions of Faith, which contain the fundamental doctrine of the reformed churches of Brandenburg, viz. the Confeffion of Faith of the elector John Sigifmund,-the Conference of Leipfick, which fhews the particular points on which the Lutherans and reformed (i. e. the Calvinifts) are divided, and those on which they are agreed, and the Declaration of Thoren, made in the year 1645, together with certain edicts, which fix the measure of indulgence and toleration, to be exercifed by the two communions' towards each other.

VI. Sammlung Ruffifcher Gefchichte, &c. i. e. Memoirs relative to the Hiftory of Ruffia, collected by M. MÜLLER, Counsellor at Mofcow, and digefted into a better order than they were in the first Edition. 8vo. Offenbach-on-Mein. 1778. The first edition of these Memoirs was printed at Petersburg; and the fplendour of the prefs-work drew it out to ten volumes; it was also defective in the arrangement of the materials, which, by. being published fucceffively, at diftant intervals, were difperfed, and thrown out of their natural order, In this fecond edition

the

the number of volumes is reduced from ten to four, and their contents are digested into a better order. The first volume contains all the memoirs that relate to Livonia, the fecond thofe - which treat of Ruffia, properly fo called-and in the the third and fourth, we have the journal of Soimonow's navigation on the Cafpian sea, with every thing which relates to the hiftory of Siberia.

VII. Beyträge zur Kriegskunft und Geschichte des Krieges, &c. i. e. Memoirs concerning the Art of War, defigned also as an Hiftorical Account of the War, which commenced in the year 1756, and ended in 1763, accompanied with Plans and Maps. By M. DE TIELKE, Captain of Artillery in the fervice of the Elector of Saxony. 4to. Freyberg. 1778. This work is much applauded, and if the judgment and impartiality of the Author are fuch as they are generally reprefented, it must be, in reality a valuable prefent to the fons and fchools of Bellona. It confifts of three volumes, in which more especially the Austrian and Pruffian manoeuvres, during that remarkable war mentioned in the title, are related and examined; his journal of the campaign of the year 1761, in Silefia (in which the king of Pruffia difplayed fuch illuftrious inftances of generalfhip, in preventing for a time the junction of the Ruffian and Austrian armies, and in rendering it useless, when he could prevent it no longer), is fingularly interesting, and was compofed (as the Author himself informs us) from two Imperial and three Pruffian journals,

VIII. Analytische Dioptrik, &c. i. e. Analytical Dioptrics. By GEORGE SIMON KLÜGEL, Profeffor of Mathematics at Helmftadt. 8vo. Leipfic. 1778. This Author follows excellent guides, and he follows them with intelligence and judgment. His work confifts of two Parts. In the first he treats of the fimple refraction of the rays of light, which pass through one or more glaffes; alfo of their aberrations, and the theory of telescopes. In the fecond, M. KLÜGEL applies his principles to all forts of optical and dioptrical inftruments. In the whole of his work we see a truly philofophical spirit,

IX. Verfuch einiger pracktischen Anmerkungen über die Muskeln, c. i. e. An Effay, containing fome practical Remarks concerning the Mufcles, by which various diforders and feeming accidental ailments are explained, as to their rife and principle. By JA. FR. ISENFLAMM. M. D. 8vo. Erlang. 1778. After having laid down the preliminary notions, relative to the mufcles, to their conftituent parts and properties, and fhewn how they contribute to the beauty and proportion of the human body, and to the facility, vivacity, variety and vigour of its motions, this Author enquires into the defects and indifpofitions, which may intercept the action and effect of the muscles, not only in their

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principal

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From the best French and nd Supplement to the Course of .. 8vo. Paris. 1778. eaturai hiftory of infects, aqua

At the head of the first volume , weil compofed, in which the ature of animals, the diverfity of vidout of that law, inftinct, and sy e qxcited to prey upon each endphication of certain claffes may be vera eit is well compiled, and conCoskom nig y Crails, lefcriptions, and dif11 tar-creation. This is one of

of the decifions and remarks of the Author, we fufpect there is more wit than judgment; we think them fpecious, and we feel that they are not true. His preference of the Italian mufic to the French, which latter he calls, with much reason, a mufic that is null and without phyfiognomy, is juft in every respect. His account of the eloquence of mufic, which confifts in touching by melody, and not in furprifing by the concurrence of inftruments, is written with judgment and tafte. His eftimate of the eminent Italian compofers fuch as Porpora, Vinci, Corelli, Pergo lefi, is, in general, juft, and it is expreffed in fuch a fpirited manner, and illuftrated by fuch lively images and allufions, as discover a very agreeable enthufiafm, and an uncommon vivacity. of imagination. We do not however think that he fufficiently laments the palpable decline of true tafte in musical compofition, fo notorious in Italy. This decline, this corruption of true taste is become fo univerfal, that the confervatorios of Venice are the only places which keep up the spirit of pristine melody, and genuine mufic; to which we may add a very, very small number of modern compofers, if the accounts we have received from fome eminent connoiffeurs, who have been on the spot, may be depended upon. Prince BELOSELSKI acknowledges, indeed, the defects of the Italian mufic; which defects, he fays, are covered with graces; but he has entered too deep into the spirit of mufical faction, excited at Paris by those two famous rivals the German Gluck, and the Italian Piccini, and his attachment to the latter has, no doubt, more or lefs warped his judgment in favour of modern compofers; for he be-praises several of them in extravagant terms. Upon the whole this is really an ingenious and elegant work; and it must excite fpeculation when we confider, that the Author is a Ruffian. It is fold by all the Bookfellers of Paris, and among others by Solfatier at the sign of the Bear and Fiddle.

XIX. Eloge Hiftorique de Philippe Duc d'Orleans, Regent du Royaume: i. e. An Hiftorical Panegyric on Philip Duke of Orleans. 8vo. Amfterdam. i. e. Paris. 1778. This is one of those laborious efforts to wash the Ethiopian, or (if we may use another metaphor) to file the rugged body of hiftorical truth in order to render it smooth and gloffy. Our Author fucceeds indeed very well in refuting the calumnies, and removing the fufpicions, which the death of the Dauphin, his confort, and his eldeft fan, in fo fhort a time, had excited against the Duke of Orleans: calumnies and fufpicions, which the want of principle in this ambitious man, and his paffion for Chymistry, nourished confiderably. The event indeed fhewed the falfehood of these calumnies; for when the Regent was at the helm, and faw only one tender ftripling between him and the throne, he made no ufe of his power to remove this obstacle to his ambition. The piece

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