Remarks on the three firft Chapters of the Revelation of St. John. By Thomas Reader. 8vo. 1. 6d. Buckland.

The defcriptions in the Apocalypfe are fo fublime, and fo little discriminated, that every vifionary commentator may turn them to his peculiar purpose. Mr. Reader understands the three first chapters very exactly, in his own opinion, for his interpretations are decifive; and he has prefixed four Letters on different paffages in other chapters. We have already faid, that the Revelations fhould be touched with a cautious hand; but Mr. Reader is not cautious; he proceeds with all the confidence of certainty. We cannot enlarge on particular parts: as ufual, he fees popery in almost every inftance, and he sees other reve lations, in which we think he is mistaken. Take a fpecimen of his manner, and tell us, gentle reader, if it looks like a found, wholesome commentary.

By the glaffy fea, like crystal before the throne, Rev. iv. 6. by which the conquerors of the beast stood exulting, chap. xv. 2. I should, with fome others, have understood Christ himself, if he had not been perfonally prefent, in this grand fcene, as a lamb that had been flain, chap. v. 6. which feems to imply the water of purification, as well as the blood of atonement; therefore it may rather reprefent gofpel ordinances, or the church of God, for whose use they are inftituted. Either of these might be typified by the laver of brafs in the tabernacle, and the molten fea in Solomon's temple; Exod. xxx. 18. 2 Chron. iv. 2-6. Both of thefe may be faid to be before the throne ; where nothing can dwell but what is holy, and of heavenly original: both of these are clear as cryital; to which nothing but heavenly things are compared in Scripture; Ezek. i. 22. Rev. xxi. 11. xxii. 1. And the triumphant company, who had gained the victory over the beaft, over his mark, image, and the number of his name, might ftand exulting, either by the ordinances, or the church, both of which they faw fecured. As, therefore, thefe ideas agree either to the church or the ordi nances, I understand this fea of glass of both; for they are correlates.'

There are many marks of ingenuity and knowlege in this work, and we withed to have feen them engaged in a better employment.

An Appeal to Scripture, Reafon, and Tradition, in Support of the Doctrines contained in A Letter to the Roman Catholics of the City of Worcester, from the late Chaplain of that Society. By the Rev. John Hawkins. 8vo. 45. 6d. Gardner.

In our last Volume, p. 396, we gave a fhort account of a Few Remarks on an Addrefs to the Roman Catholics of America. The author, as we fufpected, was the Rev. Mr. Hawkins, to whom we are indebted for the prefent Appeal. In this work, Mr. Hawkins appears as a coadjutor to Mr. Warton, who before published his reafons for leaving the Roman Catholic commu

nion,

nion, and attacks Mr. Pilling, the author of a Cavcat,' in which he oppofed Mr. Warton's doctrines.

Mr. Hawkins' Appeal is fenfible, candid, and liberal: fome parts of his conduct he explains with great propriety. The Roman Catholics, he thinks, will confider his view of their opinions as unfavourable; but he obferves, that it is this difference that has feparated them; for Mr. Hawkins was once a Catholic. They fee the fame fubjects in a different light, and their reprefentations must confequently vary.

Others of my readers will, on the contrary, perhaps be induced to believe that, out of tenderness to a fociety in which I had received my birth and education, I have, on fome occafions, exhibited their tenets in too partial a light, and endeavoured to throw a veil over the more objectionable parts of their belief and difcipline. To fuch I have only one request to make, which is, that they will fufpend their judgment till they have perufed the whole of my Appeal. Having been for many years a member of their church, it cannot be fuppofed that I am unacquainted with its prefent doctrines. But, as I have never brought any charge against them which I do not think fairly fupported by the various arguments which I have adduced, fo alfo I am not afraid to aver that I have no where omitted any fingle objection against their prefent principles or practices, which a regard for truth and equity would permit me to bring forward. What formerly have been their doctrines, it is not my purpofe to inquire; though I think I have fufficiently proved that a fecret reformation in faith, as well as difcipline, has long, though filently, been gaining ground amongst them. But it would be equally ridiculous and unjuft in me to charge them with doctrines and opinions, which, when a member of their community, I have ever heard rejected with derision and contempt.'

We have given our reafons for not engaging at any length in controverfies of this kind; it is enough, in our department, to mark the tendency and general character of each work. The Worcester controverfy is alfo, in a great degree, local: it is little known or attended to in other parts of England. It has not, however, on every fide, been conducted with liberality. Perfonal reflections have been too freely ufed; but, from afperfions of this kind, Mr. Hawkins must be acquitted. Petulance and illnature are the common effects of disappointment; and the most fuccefsful candidate will always beit preferve his temper unruffled. To a mind wavering between the contending dogmas of the two religions, Mr. Hawkins' Appeal' may be read with great advantage.

Remarks on the Fourteenth Section of Dr. Priestley's Difquifitions on Matter and Spirit. By Richard Ormerod, A. B. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Cadell.

The author's fhort Introduction explains his reafon for entering the lifts against our literary Goliah.

As

As most of the other parts of the Difquifitions on Matter and Spirit have occafionally been animadverted upon by authors of reputation, it might naturally have been expected that fome perfon diftinguished in the literary world, would have taken the 14th fection alfo into confideration; efpecially as the hypothefis, which Dr. Priestley attempts to fupport, muft neceffarily give way, if his arguments in that section fhould appear to be ilfounded.

As no one, however, has, Í believé, profeffedly engaged in this part of the work, the following pages have been drawn up, with a design to fhew what ftrefs is to be laid on the texts, produced from Scripture, in fupport of his opinion.

For, had it remained unanfwered, Dr. Priestley might probably have concluded, that the public acquiefced in his interpretation.'

Mr. Ormerod profeffes to fhew, that the notion of the foul being a fubftance or principle diftinct from the body, has a much better foundation in the Scriptures, even in those of the Old Teftament, than Dr. Priestley is willing to allow. He has confined himself to the examination of the moft material of those rexts produced by Dr. Priestley from the Old Testament. He appears extremely well verfed in the Hebrew language, and poffeffing confiderable acuteness of ratiocination, has engaged the doctor at his own weapons with fpirit, and we may add, with no contemptible fuccefs, as far as he has ventured on the attack.

Mr. Ormerod concludes his pamphlet with the following obfervation, and a note worth Dr. Priestley's attention.

The paffages that might be adduced from the New Teftament, are ftill more cogent and more decifive against Dr. Priestley's opinion. But they are in general fo clear and obvious, and have been fo frequently cited and enlarged upon by much abler writers, that they seem not to require from me any farther illustration.'

An Anfwer to the Rev. Dr. Pricftley's Objections to the Do&rine of Atonement, by the Death of Chrift, in his Hiftory of the Corrup tions of Chriftianity. By G. Hampton, M. A. 8vo. 25. Dilly. This answer contains a clear, and, in our opinion, a fatisfac tory answer to Dr. Prieftley, who, in his Hiftory of the Corruptions of Chriftianity, has confidered the doctrine of atonement, as one of the deviations from the paths which the Scrip

There is one text in particular, which is inftar omnium, and contains, in itself alone. an effectual confutation of Dr. Prieftley's doctrine.

It is Matth. x. 28.- Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the foul: but rather fear him which is able to deftroy both body and foul in hell.”

Here the two component parts of man, the foul and body, are in fo precife and pointed a manner diftinguished from each other, that Dr. Prieftley, with all his ingenuity and acuteness, has not been able to explain away, in the fmalleft degree, the force of this remarkable pailage.'

tures

tures pointed out. He views the facrifice of Christ only in a figurative and allufive fenfe: Mr. Hampton, on the contrary, thinks it a kind of fin-offering, an expiatory facrifice for man. kind, though he attempts not to explain what was the defign' of the Almighty, in requiring this expiation. The author candidly tells us, that this is not an express treatife on the doc trine, but an answer only to the hiftorian of the Corruptions; for many things very nearly connected with it are omitted, becaufe Dr. Priestley's obfervations did not lead to them. It is proper to add, that he has materially illuftrated this doctrine; cleared it from the difficulties with which fome outrageous zealots had overwhelmed it; and, except to thofe who think they muft explain the whole council of God, rendered it fufficiently intelligible.

That God, he obferves, could not poffibly, if he had fo pleased, have pardoned penitent offenders without a facrifice for their fins, is what no one is warranted to affert, either from fcripture or reafon; nor does the doctrine of atonement require it: It is fufficient for us, without confidering what he might, or might not poffibly have done, if we have reason to believe, that he has actually judged it expedient to difpenfe or display his mercy to man in fuch a way. And that this is really the cafe, is to me very evident, as from other paffages of the New Testament befides thofe already mentioned, fo, particularly, from what our Lord fays at the inftitution of his fupper, Matt. xxvi. 28. and Mark xiv. 24.'

Other illustrations are then added from the Old Teftament; and the author next clearly states his opinion to be,

• That all mankind are under a difpenfation of grace, fuch as is suited to their state as finful and imperfect creatures; that God has graciously made them promifes of the most important bleffings, and particularly the pardon of their fins and eternal life; that, however, for wife reasons, he has judged it expedient, that his fon fhould be a fin-offering for them, as a proper foundation for the exercife of his merciful and favourable difpofition towards them; at the fame time that he requires of them, as neceffary to their obtaining thofe bleffings, though not a perfect and finless, yet a fincere compliance with his will, i. e. repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift, with all the genuine fruits and natural effects of it: fo that the appointment of our Lord's death, as the foundation of the new covenant, as it does not, when fo understood, degrade nor detract from the divine mercy, fo, neither does it, in any wife, weaken our obligations, or tend to leffen our regard to the duties either of religion, or moral virtue.'

The particular anfwers and obfervations we cannot enlarge on: they in general are pointed, exact, and difcriminated. The language, through the whole, is plain, precife, and fufficiently elegant, without any misplaced, or adventitious ornament. On VOL. LXIII. April, 1787.

X

the

the whole this appears to be a very useful work, on an intricate fubject: it difplays the acuteness of a polemic, without his illiberality or ill-nature. Mr. Hampton differs with candor; and opposes with temper and firmness.

MEDICAL.

An Effay on the Medical Character, with a View to define it. By Robert Bath. Small 8vo. 2s. 6d. Laidler.

This Effay was reviewed in our Fifty-ninth Volume, p. 74; and we were somewhat furprised at feeing it again without the title-page being adorned with the word, fo pleafing to every author and book feller, the fecond edition, corrected and enlarged.' On locking over the work, we perceived, however, an addition relating to the treatment of asthma and dropfy. We find nothing very particular in these new obfervations. The directions are trite, and often trifling. We fhall transcribe our author's specific for the dropfy, which he tells us, very properly, is only a fpecific when accompanied with a proper plan of diet and management. We fufpect that no great dependence can be placed on the medicine.

The medicine I have to recommend is from twenty to fixty grains of the powder prepared of the dried fibrous root of leeks, twice in the twenty-four hours, drinking with it from a quarter of a pint, to double the quantity of an infufion, prepared in the following manner: take two ounces of rufcus aculeatus, or butcher's-broom, and four ounces of juniper-berries, broken; pour upon them a pint and a half of boiling water; let them ftand in infufion twelve hours, then ftrain and prefs out the liquor, to be used as before fpecified.'

He tells us it has never failed; we hope it will not fail him in the prefent defign, viz. to bring his work forward, and again to attract the attention of the public.

Caution concerning Cold Bathing, and drinking the Mineral Waters. By William Buchan, M. D. 8vo. 6d. Cadell.

Dr. Buchan, in the full zenith of popular fame, fhould be cautious of a fall. On the fubject of cold bathing, almost the only thing in which we can agree with him is, that it is little underflood. We are certain that he knows little about it. He is apprehenfive of its effects on the bowels in nervous cafes. Cold bathing does not always relieve hysterical patients, but that is because there is not active power enough in the fyftem to reftore the glow. If the bath acts properly, it has no injurious effects on the bowels: old diarrhoeas are relieved by it, and recent ones, from cold, are at least not injured. There is another great effect of the remedy that Dr. Buchan does not feem to be aware of, that is too great a glow, the frequent confequence of one immersion only, which he recommends. The effects are a languor and chillinefs, which come on in a few hours, and continue the whole day; fo that whenever the glow has been

very