well of his country, let him place his courage, zeal, and constancy as a pattern before him; and think himself sufficiently applauded and rewarded, if he obtain the character of being like Andrew Fletcher, of Saltoun." (Vide Characters prefixed to his Works.)

Fletcher must be enrolled in the honourable fraternity of Utopians, having tried his hand at reforming the world in a "Conversation concerning a right Regulation of Governments for the common Good of Mankind." He had himself been a military man, and during his banishment served several campaigns under the Duke of Lorrain: but a principal object of his scheme was the abolition of wars, which he proposed to accomplish by so modelling governments, as to render them powerful in defence, but incapable or unfit to make conquests. His favourite idea was that of small, independent states in federal union. His political works contain, besides the "Conversation" referred to, two discourses on the affairs of Scotland, one on Spain, one on Government with relation to Militias, and several parliamentary speeches. All are characterized by powerful and philosophical reasoning, extensive information, sound patriotism, and nervous eloquence. Towards the close of Queen Anne's reign, he introduced a bill into the Scotch Parliament, the object of which was, to provide effectual limitations of the royal prerogative before the declaration of her successor. The first clause of this bill is curious, as it couples with a limitation of the duration of parliaments, now advocated by many, a change in their mode of proceeding, which, though sometimes pleaded for as to electors, has not been thought of by any modern reformer, as far as I know, for the members themselves.

The proposed enactment was, "that elections shall be made at every Michaelmas head-court for a new parliament every year; to sit the first of November next following, and adjourn themselves from time to time, till next Michaelmas: that they choose their own president, and that every thing shall be determined by ballotting, in place of voting." The collector of the pieces in this volume pithily observes, "Mr. Fletcher never wrote for a party; and his writings, therefore, ought to last."

NOTE (")-Page 241.

This and other references to Spain, and to the Inquisition, make it necessary to remind the reader that these Lectures were delivered in 1818. I leave such expressions as they were; there is something in their present incorrectness not unpleasant, nor unfavourable to the argument.

NOTE (")-Page 242.

To illustrate the several particulars of this progression would require volumes, and perhaps their compilation would not be either an uninteresting or an useless task. Were I to begin extracts, I know not where they would end, and a capricious selection would be worth nothing as proof. I must therefore content myself with a reference or two to books commonly accessible.

The historical views commonly prefixed to works of science, or to be found in Dictionaries, Encyclopædias,

&c. abundantly demonstrate the superiority of the moderns. Astronomy has most of the appearance of an exception, and, undoubtedly, great discoveries were made in this science at an early period, which afterwards sunk into oblivion. The more, however, that the claims set up for Egypt, India, and China, have been scrutinized, the less tenable have they appeared. Every concession that can be required, would still leave unrivalled the brilliant progress made since the time of Newton to the complete perfection of astronomy in the writings of La Place Besides that almost every science has received immense accessions by discovery and invention, as the mathematics by logarithms, the fluxional calculus, &c., two circumstances deserve notice: 1. They are generally cultivated; the degree of scientific knowledge which would once have conferred celebrity and immortality, is now, in this country, attained by thousands of obscure individuals. 2. The application of mathematical acquirements to the multiplication of the comforts of life has been wonderfully extended. The re-partition of the overflowed lands of Egypt, (if the common story of the invention of Geometry be true,) and the defence of Syracuse by Archimedes, seem to be the only degradation (as the old philosophers deemed it) of the pure sciences to useful purposes, in antiquity. Now they are chiefly and most successfully cultivated on account of their subservience to such objects.

Chemistry, with all its kindred studies, as Electricity, Galvinism, Mineralogy, Geology, &c. belongs solely to the moderns, and has already produced improvements in machinery, manufactures, and almost every department connected with the conveniences of life, beyond all calcu

lation, and continues to produce them without intermission.

In all that relates to facts, either as to number or certainty, or the use to be made of them, there can be no comparison. Geography, Chronology, Natural History, and even civil History, have partaken largely of the general improvement. However interesting and valuable may be the historical productions of antiquity, nothing can be more evident than that they abound in contradictions, obscurities, and falsehoods, from which extensive research accurate habits of weighing evidence, and the increased communication of different countries, render modern records comparatively exempt.

In Oratory and Statuary, the palm must be conceded to Greece. Their religion, government, and perhaps climate, led them to early excellence. But the nature of these arts precludes progression by their admitting something like absolute perfection, which may be soon attained, and can never be surpassed. Painting has limits, from the same cause, although it was reserved for a later age to reach them.

As to the general condition of society, Hume remarks that, "to one who considers coolly of the subject, it will appear, that human nature, in general, really enjoys more liberty at present, in the most arbitrary governments of Europe, than it ever did during the most flourishing period of ancient times." Some very brief extracts from his Essay on the Populousness of Ancient Nations must here be allowed me. "The custom of exposing old, useless, or sick slaves in an island of the Tyber, there to starve, seems to have been pretty common in Rome. The ergastula, or dungeons, where slaves in chains were

beat to work, were very common all over Italy. Nothing so common in all trials, even of civil causes, as to call for the evidence of slaves; which was always extorted by the most exquisite torments. In ancient history we may always observe, where one party prevailed, whether the nobles or people, that they immediately butchered all of the opposite party they laid their hands on, and banished such as had been so fortunate as to escape their fury. No form of process, no law, no trial, no pardon. Trade, manufactures, industry, were no where in former ages so flourishing as they are at present in Europe. The only garb of the ancients, both for males and females, seems to have been a kind of flannel, which they wore commonly white or grey, and which they scoured as often as it grew dirty. I do not remember any passage in any ancient author, wherein the growth of any city is ascribed to the establishment of a manufacture. commerce which is said to flourish is chiefly the exchange of those commodities for which different soils and climates were suited."

The

For ancient morals, both in theory and practice, see Priestley's Institutes, Part ii. Ch. i.; and, on the Improvement of Mankind, Part iii. Ch. v. "On the Future Condition of the World in general;" also, Law's Theory of Religion; Aspland's Sermon on the Power of Truth; Murray on the Character of Nations and Progress of Society; Price's "Evidence for a future Period of Improvement," &c.

NOTE (*)-Page 243.

The rude destroyers of the Roman empire reaped blessings which they little expected, or at first knew how to