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The author of the Syfteme de la Nature, after having exhaufted every argument his fancy can furnish to prove that neceffity enchains, and abfolutely directs, men in all their actions, ought therefore to conclude that we are only a kind of machines; or, if you pleafe, of puppets, worked by the hand of a blind agent. He however is impaffioned against priests, against governments, and against education; he therefore believes that the men who fill thefe itations are free, at the fame time that he proves them to be flaves. What ab furdity! What contradiction! If every thing is moved by inevitable caufes, advice, inftruction, laws, punithment, and rewards, become as fuperfluous as they are ufelefs. This were but to fay to the man in bondage, break thy chains; as well might we preach to an oak to perfuade it to transform itself into an orange tree.

But experience proves that men are capable of being corrected. From this we must neceffarily conclude that they at least enjoy freedom in part. Let us abide by the leffons fuch experience gives, and not admit a principle which is inceffantly contradicted by our actions. Confequences the moft fatal to fociety refult from the doctrine of neceffity, by the admiffion of which Marcus Aurelius and Catiline, the prefident de Thou, and Ravaillac, would in merit be equal. We must not confider men as fo many machines, fome conftructed for vice and others for virtue, that are incapable of them. felves either of merit or demerit, and confequently of being punished or rewarded. This faps the very foundations of morality, purity of manners, and every thing on which fociety rests.

• But what is the origin of that love which men in general have for freedom? How could they become acquainted with it if it were only an ideal being? They therefore muft have experienced, must have felt, this freedom; for it would be improbable that they could love it, if it did not really exift. Whatever Calvin, Leib nitz, the Arminians, and the author of the Syfteme de la Nature may fay, they will never perfuade any one that we are mill-wheels, actuated by irrefiftible neceffity, according to its caprice."

In the third queftion, the author of the book examined, difclofes a vicious heart and a weak understanding, by the malicious confufion he endeavours to create between the precepts of Christianity, and the abufe of thofe precepts by the depravity of human nature. He infolently affirms that this religion has been the cause of all the miferies of mankind, as if the infirmity of our minds were imputable to that incorrupt fyftem, and as if the degraded morality of the priesthood were to be confidered as reprefentative of the holy inftructions of our bleffed Saviour. There is a generous fire in our critic's manner of arguing the fourth point, which gives him a peculiar advantage in this part of the examination, and his perfonal intereft not more than his erect and confcious value for his own merits, enabled him to make a dignified and gallant ufe of the arguments which his caufe fo abundantly supplied.

The effay on the innocence of the errors of the understand ing, contains few fentiments or remarks either new or ftrik

ing. It is no very difficult or useful talk to depreciate the human understanding: to fuggeft methods by which it may be improved, to unfold its properties and principles, and announce thofe dangers to which it is unceafingly expofed, is to employ our abilities nobly and profitably. Since inquiries of this fort infpire us with caution and diffidence in our progrefs, and teach us, by an expofition of the frame and texture of our minds to difcern those parts which are found, and those which are out of repair, what may with fafety be neglected for a season, and what needs immediate attention and conftant fupport? Our author, in maintaining the innocence of errors in reasoning, feems to be endeavouring to caft a reproach upon the original conftitution of our minds, and by intimating doubts respecting the truth of our greatest discoveries in philofophy, attempts to fhake the foundation of all human knowledge.

Any condition of the mind appears to us to be preferable to a ftate of hopeless, univerfal doubt, which induces a total ftagnation in all the springs of science and of truth. The barriers of prejudice may in time be broken by the potent confederacy of experience and demonftration; the illufions of credulous confidence difperfe on maturer reflection, and error corrected is the fafeft knowledge; but he who doubts of the moft abfolute, univerfal axioms of fcience, of the moft neceffary maxims of morality, and of the plaineft oracles of common fenfe, is for ever configned to a ftate of anxious ignorance and vacant folicitude; and has arrived at the great prerogative of living in perpetual fufpence in regard to his nearest interests, of experiencing continued uncertainty without indifference, and compulsory indolence without the confolation of eafe. We can hardly conceive, however, that fuch a character can exift in fociety; as without fome portion of implicit faith, no one can maintain and defend his doubts in argument, fince even in this endeavour he must refort to fome axiom for his hypothefis: and, indeed, without any proofs of this fort, experience convinces us that those who affect this univerfal firit of doubting, are yet obliged to act with uniform and implicit dependence on moral certainties in the daily concerns of life. Nor do we judge the human intellect to be at all worthy of the difefteem in which the author appears to hold it; a fufficient measure of understanding being affigned us for all that is connected with our true interefts, and all that promotes our innocent gratifications. The evil ufe to which it is perverted is principally to be complained of, and the melancholy feductions of pride, ambition, and arrogance. In matters of demonftration and fcience, the mind is guarded in its progress by a series of irrefragable axioms and eternal truths; and what opening there is for error is occafioned by the impotence. of memory alone. To correct this deficiency, or to obviate its dangerous

dangerous effects, various methods of proof are afforded us, and the judgment continually gains upon certainty by repeated trials. This is demonftrative or fcientific evidence. Moral evidence reposes on more fallible foundations, that is, upon principles we derive from consciousness and common fenfe improved by experience, and proceeding upon this general prefumption or moral axiom, that the courfe of nature will in future resemble the paft, it decides in regard to what is yet to arrive from what has already been witneffed, and concerning things unknown from things already understood. The fources of moral evidence are experience, analogy, which is an indirect experience, and teftimony, which is collective experience. All thefe, it is true, are fallible counfellors, but are continually correcting each other's reports and decifions, and thus are hourly acquiring confiftency and approaching truth. With these two engines of rational inveftigation, fcientific and moral evidence, we proceed in our search after hidden truths. Their junction and co-operation induce a degree of fallibility, which is more or lefs, according to the proportion in which they are mixt, in our refearches. Thus then is human knowledge fupported on one fide by a train of immutable truths, and promoted on the other by a natural and invincible tendency to improvement and perfection. Answerable to this character and constitution has been the progrefs of man; and however particular accidents and revolutions have debafed him for a time, it is clear to every one who confiders attentively and impartially the different afpects of the different ages of mankind, with enlarged and philofophic views, that the intellectual and moral order of the world is mightily and providentially advanced.

In nothing did our author worse fucceed than in his dramatic attempts. Nature had certainly thrown into the compofition of his mind a very scanty portion of humour; and of his small stock he is fo oftentatious as to render it of little value or effect. Indeed, it so happens, that most men are proudeft of their qualities for which the world gives them the leaft credit, and are apt to exhibit their follies and deficiencies in attitudes peculiarly ludicrous and contemptible, by affuming that air of confidence and complacency which accompanies the confcious exertions of excellence. The comedy of the School of the World, is miferably defectve in every point of view; we find in it neither plot, fentiment, character, or pathos: here is difplayed love without paffion, honour without elevation, argument without reafon, incidents without confequents, gaiety without fpirit, debauchery without intrigue, trick without contrivance.

In the play of Tantalus at Law, the idea of introducing the genius of the mifer, under the name of Mammon, fhut up in a bag, holding fecret converfations with his master, and comENG. REV. VOL. XIV. NOV. 1789. plaining

plaining bitterly from time to time of the clufeness of his con finement, is not deftitute of comic force and pleafantry.

Of his preface to the Henriade, we fhall only obferve that we are very far from acquiefcing in the praise he bestows upon it, nor do we conceive that the royal prefacer wrote the literal feelings of his mind; we conclude his commendation to mean nothing more than paribus me ulfcifcere donis.'

With refpect to the tranflator, it must be confeffed he has not done injustice to the work; and we confider ourselves, with the body of his readers, as not a little obliged to him for the very proper freedoms he has taken with the original, in giving to his fentences that uniform and historical air, to which little attention had been paid by the royal author, remarkable for his inattention to the ornaments and delicacies of ftyle. His own language is not deftitute of force and elegance; and, confidering that the mass of readers are apt, not merely to confound the merit of the tranflator with that of the author, but often to suppose the errors and delinquencies of the writer to be only the mifunderstanding and aukwardness of his interpreter; confidering also that the fame negligence about language, which is looked upon as the effect of elevation of thought in a great prince, is regarded as a proof of incapacity in a common man, we cannot but allow that Mr. Holcroft has difcovered both good tafte and good fenfe in the execution of his difficult undertaking. Yet, although we think the tranflator is well entitled to this general praife, there are a variety of particular inftances in which he is very culpable. In fome places his language is confused and harsh, and in others incorrect and unidiomatical. We will lay before our readers a few of thofe expreffions which appeared to us either inelegant or improper. Betokened refources, though with incertitude" impede catastrophies' to inforce them to neutrality' afcertained the aid' it is inconceivable to recollect the picture of poffible misfortune'-' combats that were ineffectual relative to the war'- Headlong cbftinacy'-they unpitying maflacre' advance their promotion I neither add nor diminish to.-There are many other careless and clumsy expreffions, which we will fuffer to occupy no more room, but shall take our farewell of Mr. H, with admonishing him to examine his fentences in future with more attention; for, fince the care and regulation of his language is the fole duty that devolves upon a tranflator, a more than common fhare of elegance and accuracy will always be required at his hands.

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ART. VI. A general System of Chemistry, theoretical and practical, digefted and arranged with a particular View to its Applica tion to the Arts. Taken chiefly from the German of M. Wiegleb. By C. R. Hopfon, M. D. 4to. Il. 7s. Boards. Robinfons, London, 1789.

THIS voluminous work contains a great number of chemical

facts and obfervations, which are undoubtedly of confiderable importance; but it requires fome fhare of judgment, as well as patience, in the reader, to be able to feparate the useful part of this publication from the ufelefs and fuperfluous.

The arrangement and technical terms, together with the different theories of the editor and author, cannot fail to bewilder a novice in the science, and imprefs his mind with the most difcouraging ideas of perplexity and obfcurity.

The editor, in his preface, informs us that he has omitted the greater part of the author's theory, as well as almost the whole of his introductory part, containing a fhort view of Natural History, in order to make room for the additions which are now made to the original. Among these we find a Differtation on Specific Heat, by Mr. Gadolin, forming a part of the editor's introduction. An account of the cases which follow, is chiefly taken from Fourcroy's Chemistry, excepting where the editor's theory differed materially from that of this author. The characters of the different earths are given from M. Weigleb himself, though with many alterations. All the reft, as far as page 65, as well as from p. 127 to 133, is furnished by the editor. The first chapter of the last book, (entitled Philofophical Chemistry,) as well as the general arrangement of the whole, is likewife by the editor; as are all the tables, which are exhibited in the course of the work, thofe only excepted that are annexed to the Analyfis of Mineral Waters.

We find, from the preface, that the editor lays claim to the doctrine of the generation of acids. It occurred to him, he tells us, as early as the year 1768; and that it was communicated by him to his late friend Dr. Price of Guildford.-How far our author may be justified in his claim, remains not for us to determine; the reader will judge for himself, from the evidence which he adduces. We fhall, at the fame time, refer him to the author's own words refpecting what he afterwards afferts relative to the doctrine of the formation of water.

This large work is divided into two parts; the firft is called pure, the fecond mixed chemistry.

Thefe different parts are again divided into chapters and factions. The title of the first chapter is, The Object of Chemistry. In this the definition of chemistry, and of a few of the technical terms, are given.

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