RELIGIOUS.

Art. 47. The Study of the Scriptures recommended. An Attempt
to illuftrate the Beauty of fome Parts of Scripture; particularly
the Song of Mofes in the 32d Chapter of Deuteronomy, and the
Epifle of St. Paul to Philemon. With an Endeavour to vindicate
that Paffage in the oth Chapter of Romans, where the Apofle
fays, "He could with himself accurfed from Chrift for his Bre-
thren." To which is added a fhort moral Essay. By Crito. 8vo.
2 s. Coventry printed. London, fold by Rivington.
This pamphlet is written, to ufe the Author's own words in his odd
preface, in an unconnected and digreffory manner. When he fub-
mits it with all its faults to the candour of the good-natured,' he
adds a promise (as fome amends for what might not be approved),
of a little moral effay at the end, that fhall afford both profit and
pleafure; this moral effay, he fays, is not my compofition (as the
reader will eafily perceive), but what I accidentally met with. Af
ter all this, when we come towards the end, we find the moral effay,
from which fuch high expectations were to be formed, wholly omit-
ted; and the Author farther tells us that a learned friend informs
him, that this, which he intended as a principal ornament of bis
publication, has been before printed. His tract on the Song of
Mofes prefents us with feveral obfervations from different writers,
particularly from Dr. Smith's Longinus. Dr. Fordyce comes in for
very high praifes, for this Author fays, he took the hint of his pre-
fent attempt from a fermon which he beard the Doctor deliver.
The illuftration of St. Paul's Epifile to Philemon contains remarks
which have been often made on that beautiful compofition. In con-
fidering that particular paffage in the Epistle to the Romans, as
mentioned in the title page, our Author opposes an interpretation
offered fome time ago by Dr. Bandinel, and endeavours to efta-
blish what has been more generally received. We are at a lofs to
conjecture what should have induced this writer to publish his lucu-
brations; but, no doubt, he had his motives. He wanders often
from his immediate fubject, but he properly recommends the study
of the Scriptores, and fpeaks very july of their excellence.
Art. 48. A Letter to the Clergy of the Church of England. 8vo.
1 S. Baldwin. 1781.

Something-but we hardly know what-about fectaries, heretics, infidels-defigns to undermine the Church by maligning its miniAers, feducing its partizans, diffolving the tics of fubordination and fellowship which connect them: dangers arising from the abuses of religious freedom; the neceflity of a firm union among the clergy, who are to repel all attacks on their office and character; who are to confider themselves, both feparately and collectively, as the guardians of the truth, and whofe office it is to prevent any violences being committed against it.

What thofe formidable attacks are, and how the enemy is to be repelled, is left to the Reader to find out if he can!

• Vide our Review, vol. LXIV. p. 97.

H.

B...k.

Art.

7

Art. 49. A Short Plea in Favour of Infant Baptifm; and of ad-
minttering it by Sprinkling. By Samuel Bottomley, of Scarbo-
rough. 8vo. 6d. Leeds, printed. 1781.

The fubject of this pamphlet has fo often fallen under our review
in different forms, that it is unneceffary for us now to add to our for-
mer remarks. We fhall therefore only obferve that this treatise ap-
pears to proceed from an honeft mind, and to be written with can-
dour and attention.

Art. 50.

Sea Sermons: or a Series of Difcourfes for the Use of the Royal Navy. By the Rev. James Ramfay. 8vo. 4 s. bound. Rivington.

1781.

It would contribute not a little towards increafing the usefulness of pulpit-difcourfes, if preachers would not content themselves with general harangues on virtue and vice, and general views of the principles and obligations of religion, but would adapt their difcourfes to the prevailing character of the times, and the particular circumftances of their hearers. Such a plan of preaching would furnish them with an endlefs variety of interefting matter, and give an air of originality to their difcourfes, never to be obtained in the way of common-place declamation. It would at the fame time bring home the precepts of morality to every man's bofom, and render preaching, much more than it is at prefent, the means of promoting public order and happiness.

We obferve with pleafure this plan of preaching attempted, and executed with great fuccefs, in thefe Difcourfes. They were drawn up for the ufe of His Majesty's fhip Prince of Wales, and are particularly adapted to the circumstances and characters of feamen.

The fubjects treated of are,-Virtue the Foundation of Succefs.The Duty of exerting ourselves in the Caufe of our Country,-The Sinfulness of Mutiny,-The Sinfulness of Defertion.-On Drunken. nef,-On common Swearing, -View of Man's Duty, in Six Difcourses.

If fome of these Difcourfes were printed in a cheap form, and circulated at the public expence among our feamen, poffibly fome good effect might be produced.

FAST-DAY SERMON s.

I. Preached at the Parish Churches of Belaugh, and Scottow, in
Norfolk. By the Rev. Lancaster Adkin, M. A. 8vo. 6 d.
Baldwin.

The Author affects the pathetic; but his declamation is too ge.
neral and too diffufe to excite any emotions of the tender kind;
and as for inftruction, this difcourfe gives us juft that fpecics of it
which any school-boy might have given in a theme upon a fat-day.
It is trite, jejune, and fuperficial.

II. What mean you by this Service? A Queflion propofed and dif-
cuffed in a Sermon preached on the late Falt. By John Martin..
8vo. 6d. Backland.

Treats of the nature and objects of a faft, with ferioufnefs, can-
dour, and plainness. The deftruction of our national enemies
(fays this good man), is I fear the ardent with of fome. I cannot,

however,

H.

E.

B-k.

I wish their conversion, not

however, indulge a defire like this. their deftruction. I defire it both in a civil and in a moral fenfe. I ardently with that rebellion, both to God and man, might ceafe; and that envy and ambition, pride and oppreflion might at once expire! Till then may our enemies abroad or at home be unable to injure us, and we unwilling to injure them. Continuing to be what they are, may they be fubdued, but not deftroyed.' We love the principle which excites fuch generous withes. But the politician will afk the preacher, -What must be the alternative, if enemies cannot be subdued without being destroyed? Can conquest at all times be feparated from flaughter?--The humane heart is flaggered by the question. Chriftianity filently withdraws from the groundless contention, and leaves the dispute to be decided by other judge».B-k

CORRESPONDENCE.

A very flight attention to the nature and limits of our plan might have convinced the Author of "Principles of Law and Government,” of the impoflibility of our inferting his Obfervations upon our Criticifm of that work. We are more difpofed to fmile at the modefty of bis requifition in demanding the infertion of a letter of twenty pages quarto, than to be angry at the peremptory tone in which the demand is made. This gentleman feems to have fo lofty an opinion of his own powers and performances, that we doubt not he will find other channels of communicating his thoughts to the Public. The prefs is open to him, but we must beg leave to decline the honour of being his publishers,

We are obliged to our Correfpondent S S. for his hint; and from it take this opportunity of apprizing our Readers of a circumflance proper to be noted, viz. That the old words in Rowley's Poems are to be found (at least for the greater part) in the common

avo edition of Bailey's Dictionary, and not in the folio, publifhed either by him or Scott; for we are informed, that many perfons who have the latter (and naturally fupponing that it contained all that was in the former) have searched for thofe words in vain in that edition, and have been led to imagine, that the Reviewer was not fo accurate in his authority as he ought to have been.

ERRATA in the Review for APRIL.

64

P. 286. (In the account of Tatham's Sermons) for and the Writers of them have been capable," read to have been capable," &c. 292. 1. 1. (Art. Belle's Stratagem) for "the characters are not all difcriminated," r. not il difcriminated."

T

B

300. In the title of Art. 14, for “war of ports," r.." posts. 320. In the Note concerning our late Correfpondence relative to the rot in sheep, 1. 7. and 8. r. thus, "From our general rule of admitting nothing that has not relation, either immediately of remotely, to literature, we deviated in the first inllance, &c.'

66

ERRATA in laft Month's Review.

P. 353. par. 2. 1. 1. for cast, r. cafts.

35 Note

for Perdinand, t. Ferdinand. 361..1. 10. take away the comma after fides.

APPENDIX

TO THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

VOLUME the SIXTY-SIXTH.

FOREIGN LITERATURE.

ART. I.

Effai fur la Phyfiognomie defliné à faire connoitre l'Homme et à le faire aimer, i. e. An Effay on Phyliognomy (or the Art of Reading Faces) deftined to promote the Knowledge and Love of Man. By JOHN GASPARD LAVATER, Citizen of Zurich, and Paftor of that City. Printed at the Hague. In large 4to. Firft Part, 290 Pages, illustrated by a great Number of curious Engravings.

WE

E formerly made mention of the very ingenious, fingular, and entertaining German work, of which this now before us is a tranflation, or rather a new modification. The German effay appeared to us fuch a ftrange mixture of genius and enthusiasm, fense and jargon, taste and oddity, that we fcarcely knew what to make of it. Diffident of our own tafte and fagacity, as well as of our knowledge of the language in which it was written, we did not prefume to enter largely into an account of its very fingular contents. We were alfo afraid to do or fay any thing incompatible with the high and fincere respect we have for the piety, virtue, and great talents of the worthy and ingenious author, who is efteemed by the wife, half-deified by the myftical, though beheld with a farcaftical leer by a number of obfervers, who are not initiated into the fecrets of Facereading, and only ftand profanely peeping at the outer-gate of the fanctuary, to the great offence of feveral good men, and elect ladies.

M. LAVATER, informed of the expediency of rendering his work legible by those who do not underftand the German language, and alfo of making fome changes that might render it more intelligible to thofe who do, undertook to clothe his ideas APP. Vol. LXVI, I i

in

in a French garment, which has been trimmed and embellished by the elegant hand of one or more affociates in this commendable undertaking. This emboldens us to approach once more to the work, and to make it farther known to the English reader than it has hitherto been. The translator or tranflators feem to have done their business with spirit, taste, and intelligence. Their ftile is both elegant and expreffive.

This FIRST PART confifts of two prefaces, an introduction, and twenty fragments. Thofe who think they have compofed a complete and regular fyftem of any fcience, divide it ufually into books and chapters; but as our author, however adventurous in point of genius, is modeft enough to look upon the science of phyfiognomy as far from being completed, and judges a perfect treatife upon the subject to be neither the work of one man, nor one academy, nor even of a whole century, he only pretends to give here fome members of a beautiful body, which may be one day affembled, and form a WHOLE; and therefore he calls his chapters Fragments. It is thus that the meteorologifts (if we may be allowed the comparifon) give us from time to time fcraps and fractions of the features of the atmosphere, in the pleafing expectation that they will one day bring us to a complete acquaintance with the whole face, and enable us to predict and prepare for its changes Who fhall fee the end?

The Introduction exhibits fome poetical effufions concerning the dignity of human nature, which may be read with utility as an antidote against Swift's villanous defcription of the Yahoos. We have here a fublime account of the original state of man, when his mind was a pure image of the Deity; and his body, as yet uncorrupted, was the beautiful mirrour and reprefentative of his mind. This is followed by the first Fragment, in which M. LAVATER informs us of the occafion that led him to researches of this nature. He had arrived at the age of five and twenty, before he had either read or thought upon the fubject; he had often, indeed, been feized with an emotion, and even farted at the first fight of certain faces; which agitation continued for fome time after the departure of the perfon, without his knowing the caufe, or even thinking of the face that had produced it. Thefe fudden impreffions led him fometimes to form judgments; but, fays he, my decifions were laughed at. I blushed at them myself, and became more prudent.' He was, however, very fond of drawing, and he delineated frequently fome of the lines that he found the most ftriking in the countenances of his friends, which he ftudied with attention. This occupation opened to him interefting views of human organization, and its reprefentative powers or characters. But the epocha of his application to phyfiognomical researches, was a strong impreffion he received from the countenance of a foldier, who was paffing with his

2

troop