compare themselves and their friends to Chrift, as they who, in a theological fenfe, deny Chrift. The reason is obvious; we think the comparison prefumptuous; they put themfelves on a level with their Redeemer, and all is easy. ART. 32. A Difcourfe on the Lord's Day; or Chriftian Sabbath. In which the Points of Doctrine on that Subject and the correspondent Line of Practice are briefly and diftinétly flated. Published in addition to three Sermons for the Feftivals and Fafts of the Church of England. By Jofeph Holden Pott, M. A. Prebendary of Lincoln, and Archdeacon of St. Albans. Very fmall 8vo. 27 pp. 6d. Rivingtons. 1794. The title to this difcourfe is not delufive. More plain, distinct, and concife statement of doctrinal points, cannot eafily be found.The reflections are in the fame ftyle; practical and fimple. The author points out why we should hallow the Chriftian Sabbath by abftinence from bufinefs and amufement, and properly exhorts to the obfervation of these rules. ART. 33. Charge given at the Primary Vifitation of the Archdea This charge prefents to our obfervation the pleafing picture of an Archdeacon truly ftudious to execute the duties of his office, for the benefit of religion, with prudence as well as with propriety. He particularly adverts to the repair of parish churches, and to the cafe of refidence, fuggefling the means which may tend to make the latter more ge neral. The very neceffary enquiry how far the want of refidence is the misfortune rather than the fault of the Clergy, is carried on by means of judicious calculations from the Liber Regis, &c. The author concludes by faying, what we truft will be found true, that" an inftitution fo friendly in its general intention, and fo mild in its general adminiftration," as the establishment of our church," can receive but little injury from the mifapprehenfions or mireprefentations with which it may occafionally be affailed." ART. 34. A Liberal Verfion of the Pfalms into Modern Language, according to the Liturgy Tranflation; with copious Notes and Illuftra tions, partly original, and partly felected from the bft Commentators; calculated to render the Book of Pfalms intelligible to every Capacity. By William Robert Wake, Vicar of Backwell, Somerset, and Curate of St. Michael's, Bath. 2 vols. 8vo. 75. 6d. Crutwell, Bath. Rebinfons, &c. London, 1793. "There is neither fpeech nor language, but their voice is plainly audible"-" Amongst them has he constituted a receptacle for the fun, &c. Is this rendering the verfion more intelligible to every capacity than it was without alteration? Exactly the contrary. This fault per vades the book, which, in other refpects, is well executed. The arguments in general are well drawn up. and the notes appear to be ju dicious. The tranflation of the Palms contained in the Liturgy is by many confidered as the beft, though the most ancient. At all events, as it is used fo much, it ought to be duly explained. This book will, we doubt not, be well received among perfons of fome education. A very fingular fpecies of Erratum ftands in the Preface. p. xi. in which the four first lines require to be read in this order, 1, 3, 4, 2. Befides that, en of entangled is twice repeated. We prefume that this leaf has fince been cancelled, if the error was detected in time. ART. 35. The Affect and Duty of the Times; a Sermon preached at the Lock Chapel, and St. Mildred's Church, Bread-freet, on Friday, February 28, 1794, the Day of the late General Faft. By Tho. Scott, Chaplain of the Lock Hofpital. Svo. 6d. Jordan. 1794. The author appears to be very converfant with the bible, particularly the Old Teftament; not indeed as a critic, but as a ready citer of texts, with various degrees of pertinency to the cafes in hand. The difcourfe is very plain, pious, and practical; but is not diftinguished by much power either of oratory or of reasoning. ART. 36. National Calamities, Tokens of the Divine Displeasure; a Sermon preached at the Meeting-houfe, Dean-ftreet, Tooley-freet, Southwark, on Feb. 28, being the Day appointed for a General Faft. By William Button. 8vo. 6d. Trapp. 1794. The purpose of this and fome other Faft Sermons of the fame tamp, cannot easily be mistaken. Our conftitution is praised flightly and generally, p. 20; while the evils infeparable from the juft and neceflary war in which we are now engaged, in defence of that Conflitution, are fet forth with all the Preacher's powers of amplification, p. 9. "What dreadful effects has it produced!At what an expence is it carried on! Millions have been already expended, and millions more are wanted. Trade and commerce declines; our manufacturers are deftitute of employment; the once wealthy are become reduced; the poor, with their families, are brought into the moft diftreffed fituation; and, O, tremble! I fhudder at the mentioning of it! thousands have fallen in battle, have perished by the fword." To this is added a whole page of interjections, in the fame emphatical strain, Certainly fuch evils do, in fome degree, attend this and every war and all men who have not cast off humanity, are deeply affected by them. But the queftion is, whether we shall support a war against the French, which they have forced upon us; or whether the prefent ftate of France fhall be the state of Great Britain. The general account of this difcourse, as a compofition, can, with justice, be no other than this:-It is a mere declamation; poor in ideas, and mean in language, ART. ART. 37. A Sermon preached at the Chapel in Prince's-freet, Weft minster, on Friday, February 28 1794. By Andrew Kippis, D.D. F. R. S. and S. A. Published by request. 4to. Is. Rubinfons. 1794. This is a very fenfible, temperate, and well-appropriated difcourfe. The fentiments it breathes are those of unaffected piety and univerfal philanthropy. Dr. Kippis felects for his fubject Pfalm xxvi. v. 10. Surely the wrath of man fhall praif thee: the remainder of them shalt thou reftrain."He fets out by confidering war as one of the most dreadful calamities to which the children of Adam are fubject, and although (he continues) in the prefent late of things, where there are fo many jarring interes, and where fo much injuftice is often practifed, hoftilities, in the course of human events, will arife among the nations of the earth: och an evil doth exift, is a fad prooff the degeneracy of man. For did real goodnefs flourish among cur race, no fach method would be requifite to fettle the pretenfions and difputes of public communities." P. 1. Taking, therefore, war for one of thofe fcourges which will inevitably afflict mankind in this their imperfect hate, Dr. K. reforts to thofe principles which may explain its operation on the great fcheme of Providence. In the difcuffion of this point the Doctor exercises a confiderable portion of judgment and candeur; and ad duces, in fupport of the propofitions he advances, fome pertinent obfervations from hiftory and experience. ART. 38. A Difcourfe delivered at St. Saviour's Southwark, on Sunday Morning, March 2, 1794, on occafion of the Vacancy for a Chaplain of that Parish. By David Giljon, M. A. Curate, Southwark. Rivingtons. 15. More egotism and fpiritual confequence we have not often met with in a fingle difcourfe. That a teacher of Chriftianity fhould entertain a dignifiec fenfe of his fpiritual funiors, is at once commendable and ufefel; but to affil the ears of a congregation with a tiffue of felf-eulogies, and a recitation of clerical fervices, can in our judgment, anfer no virtuous end. The hints thrown out in that addrefs to the parition rs with which this Sermon is prefaced, leads us to fuppofe, that the inhabitants of St. Saviour's, Southwark, will not entertain a very dillerent judgment from ourselves of this four Philippic. MISCELLANIES. ART. 39. The Tranflator of Pliny's Letters vindicated from the Objections of Jacob Bryant, Efq. to his Remarks re pecling Trojan's Perfcution of the Chriftians in Bithynia. By William Melmoth, Eq. 8vo. pp. 39. 15. Dodfley. 1794. The chief point of controverfy between thefe most respectable opponents is, whether the Christians of Bithynia were perfecuted under Trajan, on the ground of the ancient laws of the Roman State, or by the arbitrary decree cf the Emperor. The former affertion had had been made by Mr. Melmoth, in his notes to Pliny's Letters, but was ftrongly denied by Mr. Bryant in his Treatife on the Truth of the Chriftian religion. Mr. Melmoth here takes up his firft pofition, and defends it modeftly but firmly. As the merit of the first Chriftians is not affected by the question on what law they were perfecuted, it certainly is not required of an advocate for Chriftianity to prove that a new law was made against them; and to Mr. Bryant's queftion, "How could the police of Rome, and its ancient inflitutes, affect the people of Bithynia and Pontus ?" the answer feems most obvious. Because they were become fubject to Rome, and all its general laws." Mr. Melmoth, with the greatest refpect for the learning and character of his antagonist, has here brought forward the learning neceffary to fupport his point; with that elegant fimplicity of manner, which renders all his writings claffical and interesting. ART. 40. Familiar Letters on a Variety of Subjects. Addressed to a Friend, by the Rev. Edward Barry, Author of Theological, Philofophical, and Moral Effays, c. c. &c. 12mo. pp. 170. 55. Payne. This little volume is dedicated to Mrs. Mary Meftayer, of Profpect Hill, in the County of Berks, and the author informs us, in a preliminary Addrefs, that when he directed the letters, from his Cure in the country, to a Lady for whom he must ever feel the deareft regard, and exactly in the fame form as they now appear, he little expected that there fhould fince have occurred reafons for making them public; he adds, that as these are irrelative to public animadverfion, and wholly of a private concern, he prefumes, that he fhall not be blamed for omitting to exprefs himself more largely on that, head. The public have only to question him as to the production itfelf, and not the caufe of it, and to their tribunal he again commits himself; if in general what he has now written shall discover any usefulness of thought or aptnefs of expreffion, he is not, under thefe circumstances, guilty of a prefent intrusion: but if altogether devoid of fuch apologies for its appearance, the author, no doubt, will hear of it in proper time, and will not further trespass by fending out what he has in contemplation-a fecond volume. Certain it is, that in this firit volume there is nothing which will induce the generality of readers to be very folicitous for the appearance of a fecond. The fubjects are generally familiar; the thoughts, though usually juft, are not placed in any new or striking point of view: the style, though not laboured, is fometimes a little affected, and the letters, though they might be amusing to the perfon who received them, cannot much intereft or entertain the public. ART. 41. The Shrine of Bertha; a Novel, in a Series of Letters. In Two Volumes. By Mils M. E. Robinfon. 12mo. 6s. Lane. 1794. It is the duty of a critic to be no refpecter of perfons; and his na. tive proneness to gallantry must be checked by a fuperior attachment to to fincerity and truth. The Shrine of Bertha we understand to be the production of a very youthful author; and far be it from us to chill the genius of Mifs Robinfon by any cold or unkind ftrictures: but we mult acknowledge ourselves unable to prognofticate, from the work before us, that degree of celebrity for the daughter, which the Public has been willing to beftow upon the mother. The incidents in this novel-like the letter prefs-are but thinly fprinkled; the ftyle, however, is animated, and fuitable to the characters; and the reader is often relieved from an uninterefting correfpondence, by the poetical talents of Mrs. Robinfon. ART. 42. Maxims of Gallantry; or, The Hiftory of the Court de Verney. 8vo. 55. pp. 198. Parfons. 1793. This wears fo much the appearance of iffuing from the French school, that we were much inclined to think it a tranflation. Whether it be original or not, we are unable to recommend it either for its good writing or moral fentiment. It contains many tales of gallantry, whofe beginning, progrefs, and conclufion, cannot be accufed of difappointing curiofity, for they do not excite it. ART. 43. A Picture of the Isle of Wight, delineated upon the Spot, in the Year 1793. By Henry Penruddocke Wyndham. 8vo. pp. 152. 5s. Egerton. 1794. The picturefque beauties of the Ifle of Wight have, in particular of late years, as they well indeed deserve, excited the attention of our countrymen. This island certainly comprehends within a very small compafs all the varieties of fcenery which can either excite aftonishment from their boldness and fublimity, or fatisfy the fofter or more complacent feelings, by the lefs obtrufive, but no lefs powerful, claims of filent and folitary beauty. Few, we apprehend, will choofe to vifit the Ifle of Wight without Mr. Wyndham's book, which might easily have been rendered perfect in its kind, by the addition of a map. Without this, the traveller must be perpetually at a lofs to judge both of the fidelity of the author, and of the expediency of the advice which he communicates. This omiffion will, however, probably be fupplied in a future edition, for which there feems likely to be a fpeedy call. The more prominent features of the inland are defcribed by Mr. W. with an agreeable vivacity, and the distances from place to place are marked with an accuracy which cannot fail of contributing to the traveller's conve nience. ART. 44. 4 Gazetteer of the Netherlands; containing a full Account of all the Cities, Towns, and Villages, in the Seventeen Provinces, and the Bishopric of Liege; with the relative_Diftance of the Cities and great Towns from each other and from Paris; and the Distances of each Village from the nearest City or Town in their respective Pro |