in Tpite of the importunity with which they court him to the acceptance of their dithonourable dignities, and of penfions. paid out of the plunder of their enflaved people. The hoftility of Marmontel to the Revolution, and the penitence of La Harpe, ought to be confidered as a fufficient atonement for the former compliances of thefe ingenious writers, with the faction calling itfelf Philofophical. The character of M. Anqueril is unftained by any connections with the Revolution, and his opinion of it may eafily be collected from the prefent performance. This work fcarcely admits the display of historical talents of the highest order. Critical difcuffion, or profound obfervation, or animated description, are not to be expected, and would perhaps be misplaced, in an abridgment of univerfal hiftory, confined within the comparatively narrow limits of nine volumes. It is chiefly an abridgment of the English Univerfal History, with the addition of those remarkable facts which have occurred, or historical discoveries which have been made, fince the appearance of that laborious and exact, though not very amufing compilation. The first volume, which comprehends the hillory of the Orientals and Greeks, till their conquest by the Romans, is very judiciously abridged; and it gives us pleasure to add that it proves the ingenious author to be untainted by the fashionable fophiftry of his age and nation. In a short but very fenfible account of the Mofaic cofmogony, and of the Jewish history, he is not deterred from profeffing his belief in the Scriptures, either by the perfecution of character, which the fophiftical confpirators carried on against every writer who dared to profefs religion for the last fifty years, or by that furious perfecution, even unto death, which raged against the Christian name throughout France, during the greater part of the time which he employed in the compofition of his work*. In the fame manner also, where this author, in the second volume, relates the history of our Saviour, and the diffufion of the Christian religion, his narrative and reflections are fuch, that his work may be fafely put into the hands of youth; which can very rarely be faid of any publication from the French prefs. *At this period the Atheift Le Queinet (one of the illuminators of the age, fince convicted of theft) boasted that he employed both reafon and the guillotine for the extirpation of prejudice, i. c. of a belief in God. He tells us that he found the guillotine a much more effectual inftrument of converfion than reafon; and this is almost the only fact that we should believe on his testimony. (See his Letters to the Convention.) It will not be expected that we fhould give long extracts from an abridgment, or make it the fubject of laborious criticilm. It appears to us, that the fpace allotted to different parts of the hiftory has not been measured according to their relative importance. Five volumes are allotted to the history of the world before Mahomet, so that only four remain for univerfal hiftory fince that period. This is a very injudicious change in the plan of the English Univerfal Hiftory. The author perhaps fuffered the ancient part of his hiftory, to grow infenfibly beyond its reasonable proportion, and was therefore compelled to comprefs the modern into an inconveniently fmall space, left the whole work fhould have become too voluminous. This is the disadvantage of writing without an exact plan. Every author who begins to write without a previoufly arranged plan, muft of neceffity abandon the fize of his work, and the proportion of its parts, to mere chance. This defect is peculiarly difadvantageous in abridgments, of which method and proportion are among the chief excellencies. In the ancient part of the hiftory there is also another defect, which has perhaps principally arifen from too clofely following our English compilation. Too much space is allotted to obfcure and even fabulous parts of hiftory, and to dynasties of Princes, of whom little is known but the name, and whofe very existence is not always eftablished by the clearest evidence. This defect is much more inconvenient in an abridgment than in an extenfive compilation. M. Anquetil's account of the French Revolution is fhort and cautious, but very clearly intimates his opinion of that most calamitous event. One paffage occurs in this account, which is fo fingular that we shall lay it before our readers. Many have endeavoured to difcover the origin of these commstions (i. e. the taking of the Bafile, &c.) and how they were organized. They arofe, as is believed, from a fpirit of revenge in the Duke of Orleans, who was difpleafed with the court; the malicious pleasure which he took in throwing it into embarraffment, and perhaps the hopes he had conceived of expelling from the throne his relation by whom it was occupied, and of citablishing himfelf in his room. It is faid that he devoted to the accomplishment of this project the greatest part of his property, which was immenfe. It is even fufpected that he was affted by Eritifh money to pay the populace; and this fufpicion becomes a certainty, when it is recollected that, at the commencement of our troubles, Pitt demanded from the Parliament a million sterling, under the head of money for fecret fervice." Vol. vii, p. 333. It is not neceffary to make any obfervations on this most ridiculous charge. No million for fecret fervice was voted in the year year 1789; and we fear that M. Anquetil is fo grofsly ignorant of English affairs, as to confound the annual million applied towards the gradual extinction of the public debt with money voted for fecret fervice. The belt excufe we can make for him is, that he affigned this English origin to the Revolu tion, in order that he might be more at liberty to condemn it without offending the national prejudices of Frenchmen. If he perfuades his countrymen to entertain a juft abhorrence of their Revolution, we fhall not think it worth our while to complain, that he employs for that purpose the most fabulous imputations against the English character. It is of far more importance to themfelves, to us, and to the whole world, that they fhould think juftly of their own Revolution than of the conduct of the British nation. Every Englishman must smile at fuch abfurd accufations. The character of Louis XVI. does honour to M. Anquetil's honesty and courage, when we confider that it was written and published during one of the fierceft periods of revolutionary defpotifm, when the murderers of that ill-fated prince were the mafters and oppreffors of France. We fhall extract the original and the tranflation, that our readers may have the means of eftimating the fidelity of this verfion. "ORIGINAL, pas "Louis XVI. etoit agé de trente huit ans et en avoit regné dixhuit. La pofterité ne le jugera fur le temoignage des ecrits que les factions enfantent dans le tems de revolution. Elle ne confirmera les noms odieux que ces ecrits lui prodiguent. Il etoit bon, humain, et defiroit fincerement de procurer le bonheur du peuple. Ceux qui l'abordoient fans qu'il s'y attendit le trouvoient quelquefois brufque et farouche. Il etoit bon mari, bon pere, excellent maitre, mais en general il etoit plus eftimé qu'aimé dans fa cour. Louis XVI. avoit des connoiffances, il aimoit la lecture. Avec beaucoup de bon fens dans les occafions importantes, il etoit timide et irrefolu. S'il avoit le courage de reflexion il manquoit du courage d'intrepidité qui plait aux Francois." "TRANSLATION. "Louis XVI. was thirty-eight years of age, and had reigned. eighteen. Pofterity will not judge of his character from the teftimony of thofe publications which are the offspring of faction during times of revolution. It will not confirm thofe odious names which were lavifhed upon him by thefe writings. He was of a mild, humane difpofition, and had a fincere defire to promote the happiness of his people. Those who accolted him bluntly*, found him fometimes blunt and auftere. He was a good husband, a tender father, and an excellent mafter; but in general he was more efteemed than beloved in his court. Louis XVI. poffeffed knowledge, and was fond of reading. * It should be unawares, Rev. With a great deal of good fenfe, he was obferved on certain important occafions to be timid and irrefolute. If he had that courage which arifes from reflexion, he wanted that intrepid courage which pleases the French." Upon the whole, it appears to us that this abridgment is ju diciously made; that it inculcates only pure principles, and may be fafely put into the hands of youth; and that it is perhaps better adapted to be used as a general guide to hiftory than any other book which is in the hands of the public. It would be very easy to make it ftill better calculated for that purpose, by adding authorities, by putting the date of the year, and the æra, in the margin of every page, and by fubjoining a few short and general tables of chronology. With thefe improvements, and perhaps a few maps, both of ancient and modern geogra phy, it would become a moft convenient fchool-book. ART. IV. The Syftem of the World. By M. Lambert. Tranf lated from the Freneb, by James Jacque, Efq. 12mo. 162 pp. 3s. 6d. Vernor and Hood. 1800. A SHORT Preface, of which the following paragraphs form the greater part, will manifeft the object of the tranflator, "Letters on Cofmogony, by M. Lambert, were but little known in France, except from an extract inferted in the Encyclopedian Jour nal for the year 1765, when I formed the defign of giving them a greater degree of publicity. I might either have tranflated or digefted them; but I preferred the latter method for good reasons, "Thefe letters have fomewhat of the freedom of arrangement which the epiftolary ftyle admits: the different fubjects are blended. together, and the train of ideas break off abruptly; circumftances which require frequent references to what has gone before, and a degree of attention not eafily commanded by the bulk of readers. But with the extract above mentioned before me, I have been enabled to fave them that trouble; in it each subject has found its proper place; and, as the whole is exhibited in a luminous point of view, I had only to purfue the fame order, and to work on a canvas already traced to my hand, I thought thefe advantages might compenfate the reader for the Jofs he would fuftain in refpect of the beauties of ftyle, which, befides, a tranflator but rarely fucceeds in transfufing from one language into another. It has been my chief ftudy to comprehend fully the ideas of my author, and to deliver them clearly and with precifion. As I had it not in my power to confult himself, I fubmitted my labours to the revifion of a philofopher and mathematician of the firft eminence, who 3 honours honours me with his friendship, and whofe name would fuffice to imprefs the public with fentiments favourable to my work." The contents are as follows: Chap. I. Comets-Permanent State of the Solar System. Chap. II. Principles of Cofmogony. III. The Population of the Universe. IV. The Inhabitability of Comets. V. Number of Comets. VI. The Comets compared with the Planets. VII. Why fo many Comets, and fo few Planets. VIII. The Table of Halley. IX. Parabolical and Hyperbolical Orbits.-Part II. Chap. I. Of the Motions of the fixed Stars. II. The fixed Stars at different Distances from the Sun. III. The Milky Way-The Figure of the Starry Firmament. IV. The Syftem of the Fixed Stars, V. Objection-Light of the Fixed Stars-At what Distance it is perceptible. VI. Motion of the Fixed Stars-Its Nature, its Velocity, its Direction-Orbits-Universal Motion. VII. Centres. VIII. Ellipfes changed into Cycloids.-Universal Motion. IX. General Conclufion-Recapitulation. The encomium, or rather the account of M. Lambert's life, Tuns through 38 pages. In it the reader is told, that John Henry Lambert, the fon of an honeft ftay-maker, was born at Malhaufen, on the 28th of April, 1728. He was deftined to follow his father's bufinefs, for which neither his inclination nor his health rendered him fit. His fondness for books and knowledge was manifested in various ways, and at a very early period of life; but it met with confiderable checks and obftructions, which principally arofe from the indigence of his parents. Perfeverance, however, got the better of all oppofition, and unremitted industry and application gradually inftructed his mind, and made him known to the world. He became a great linguift, a mathematician, a mechanic, an astronomer, &c. &c., and acquired the esteem and friendship of many perfons of science and diftinction. He was finally an Academician, published several very good tracts, and died on the 25th of September, 1776. After this encomium, in which the writer raises his hero to a very high level; and after the perufal of the titles of the Chapfers in the table of Contents, the reader may naturally be induced to expect a work of the very first kind in aftronomy, but his expectation will be rather difappointed on perufing the book; for, in general, he will find the contents of the Chap ters to be neither very extenfive nor very fatisfactory; the obfervations and conjectures are proper, but rather obvious; nor does the work contain any elementary introduction. In short, the contents of thefe Chapters may be confidered as a fort of familiar difcourfes, fuch as a man of learning would deliver |