that, if there be any truth in what he advances, there never was a time in which the exhortation of his text (Matthew iii. 2.) could come with more propriety. The Doctor is induced, by comparing the circumftances of the times with the language of prophecy concerning the kingdom of Chrift, or the kingdom of heaven, to conclude that the whole of Europe,-our own country in particular,is in the moft awful fituation. While he reminds us that calamities of a peculiar magnitude and extent are foretold as preceding that happy ftate of things, "when all the kingdoms of the world will become the kingdom of Chrift," he gives it as his opinion that it is not improbable that the prefent difturbances in Europe are the beginning of these calamities. Various paffages are adduced in fupport of this fentiment, and especially to prove that, previously to the millenium or the fecond coming of Chrift, (which, it should hence feem, cannot be far diftant,) all the civil eftablishments of religion will be overthrown; which, he fuppofes with Sir Ifaac Newton, is to be effected by the prevalence of infidelity. He concludes by exhorting his hearers and readers not to overlook the hand of God in the great fcene (great, indeed, if his conjecture be well founded!) which is now opening on us, but to contemplate it with tranquillity, and to prepare, by repentance and virtue, for its glorious termination.

In an appendix, Dr. P. acknowleges himself indebted to Dr. Hartdey for the leading ideas of this difcourfe; and from his Obfervations he makes feveral curious extracts; adding one from a fermon preached in the chapel of Trinity college, Cambridge, Dec. 13, 1793, of which we shall fhortly take fome notice.

The preface, which is intended to juftify the Doctor's refolution of emigrating to America, contains a plain ftatement of the circumftances by which his mind and the minds of his family have been irritated, and their peace deftroyed. That perfecution fhould be directed against the retirements of philofophy, and that injured Priestley should be forced to bid the ifle farewell, is a blot on the public virtue and liberality of the age: but, if his fermon contains true doctrine, it affords much stronger reafons for his quitting Europe, than those which are affigned in his preface; and we ought rather to congratulate than to condole with him on the refolution which he has taken, and to regard his flight as a great event in the order of Providence. Times of trouble, he fays, will make men ferious; and, with alarming impreffions on their minds, many will fly to diftant countries; they will carry the knowlege of the gofpel with them; and, it may be hoped, in greater purity, and confequently more worthy of their acceptance than it has hitherto appeared to them.' Dark as our political profpect is at prefent, we flatter ourselves that our calamities will not be fo overwhelming as Dr. Priestley, writing under the impreffion of his own fufferings, has painted them: indeed he feems himself to have difcarded thofe very melancholy probabilities which he had deduced from prophecy refpecting Europe in general, and England in particular, when he indulges the hope of yet finding his grave in his native land..

The prefent fermon, with fome difcourfes on the Evidences of Divine Revelation, (now published, or publishing,) he tells us, will be his laft labours in this country.

SINGLE SERMONS.

Art. 43. On St. John, xx. 23. Whofefoever fins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whofefoever fins je retain, they are retained: Preached before the Univerfity of Oxford, at St. Mary's, Nov. 24 1793. By Henry Beft, M. A. Fellow of St. Mary Mag. Coll. Oxford. 8vo. Is. Rivingtons.

It is here ftated, as a ground of grievous lamentation, that the clergy of the church of England are guilty of inexcufable and prefumptuous negligence, in tacitly receding from their just claim of a power of remitting and retaining fins; and hereby encouraging the people in calling in queftion the power of abfolution in the priesthood, and in imagining that no fpiritual benefit is derived from these forms, when pronounced by the priest. The preacher feems earnestly defirous of reftoring to the priesthood the power of the keys, by perfuading the people to refume an opinion to which nothing but the groffeft ignorance, or the most abject fuperftition, could ever have given credit, that their future happiness muft depend, in part at least, on the will of men fallible and peccable as themselves; a man's perfonal reform not being fufficient for his falvation, without a formal abfolution from the facred lips of a confecrated minifter of holy myfteries. However convenient fuch notions of prieftly authority may have been to those who have exercised it, the objects of this fpiritual tyranny have fuffered too many and grievous inconveniences, to be eafily perfuaded again to fubmit their necks to a yoke from which enlightened reafon has happily fet them free.

Art. 43. Preached at High Wycombe, Bucks, for the French Refugee Clergy: June 2d, 1793. By the Rev. William Williams, A. B. of Worcester College, Oxford. 8vo. 15. Rivingtons. The parable of the good Samaritan, which the preacher has here chofen, is excellently adapted for recommending charity to frangers. We have read with fatisfaction his comment on the context, and his literal account of the parable: when he proceeds to a mystical application, we cannot concur with him, even though it is fupported by fuch authority as that of St. Auftin. This part is however short; and Mr. Williams proceeds very earnestly and properly to plead for the charity which he had undertaken to affift. In a note, he modeftly intimates a sense of inferiority in the difcourfe, and hopes the reader will confider that it was compofed at short notice, and that it is published by request, and for the benefit of the unfortunate.

Art. 44.

Preached at the Parish Church of Hanwell, Middlefex,

June 16, 1793, after reading his Majefty's Letter in favour of the French Emigrant Clergy. By George Henry Glaffe, M. A. Rector of Hanwell. 4to. IS. Faulder.

While we admire the catholicism and philanthropy which have been fo eminently displayed in this proteftant nation toward the unfortunate exiles of the Romish church, we must also render all due praise to the various exertions of Chriftian eloquence which have been made by our clergy on their behalf. Among thefe, Mr. Glaffe is perhaps entitled to the foremost place. This fermon is an excellent specimen of that kind of popular harangue which powerfully addreffes the paffions,

without

without fuffering itself to tranfgrefs the limits prefcribed to a correct and claffical tafte. We will not, on this occafion, enter into a critical examination of every remark and fentiment contained in Mr. G.'s compofition, refpecting fome of which we may perhaps differ from him.

Art. 45. Tranflation of a Sermon in the Malabar or Tamulian Language, compofed and preached by SATTIANADEN, on the 26th Day of December, 1790, when he received Ordination, according to the Rites of the Lutheran Church, in one of the Congregations of the Million on the Coast of Coromandel, connected with the Society for promoting Chriftian Knowledge. 4to. s. Rivingtons. 3792,

When we read above of the 'miffion on the Coromandel coaft, connected with the Society,' &c. we conclude it is to be underflood of the Society for propagating the Gospel in foreign Parts, fo long established in this kingdom. What connection this fociety has with the Dani million we know not; however, it is to the latter alone, as far as appears, that Sattianuden is indebted for his inftruction and attainments in Chriftian knowlege. The defign of this publication is faid to be, to draw the attention of thofe who are difpofed to the promotion of this pious work and labour of love; yet we do not perceive the name of any member of this lociety recommending the difcourfe, except it be that of Dr. Gafkin, treasurer, who attefts the hand-writing of a Mr. Schwartz, afferting its authenticity. Of Danish missionaries in Malabar, we have heard in former years, and at different times: but whether any thing like the prefent has before been produced by a native of that country', educated in heathenim, we are not certain. As to the fermon now under our notice, it is chiefly remarkable as proceeding from fuch an author; in that refpect, it is a curiofity; otherwife, it is merely in the manner of fome old neglected divinity writings, which for many years have been among us deemed methodiftical. However, if Christianity be preached, and its excellent fpirit and practice really promoted, all good men will rejoice. The honeft Malabar appears affected with his own fituation, and earnestly defrous of promoting the caufe of virtue and piety. Two prayers, one preceding, the other following, the fermon, are printed with it.

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the MONTHLY REVIEWERS.

GENTLEMEN,

IN a note at the foot of p. 415 of your Review for December laft you mention Roger Bacon's treatife De Nullitate Magia, as wanting in Mr. Collinfon's lift of the works of that great man apprehend that this tract is connected with another, and that the whole title of the work is, De fecretis Operibus Artis et Naturæ, et De Nullitate Magie. It will be worth the reader's while to confult the Biographia Britannica for farther information concerning this eminent man. The account of him in that work is remarkably well drawn up. I am,

Gentlemen, your conftant Reader,

CRITO."
We

*. We thank Edinenfis for informing us that the tranflation of the verfes from the ift and 2d chapters of St. Matthew, which we quoted from "The Perfian Interpreter," are not tranflated by the author of that work *, but are extracted from vol. v. of the Biblia Sacra Polyglotta Waltoni. We have not, at prefent, Walton at hand to confult: but, seeing no reason to question our correfpondent's information, we can only fay that we are forry to observe so bad a specimen of that celebrated voluminous production.

Many a learned Englishman might be able to turn a chapter of the English bible into Hebrew, and yet be totally incapable of reprefent ing, in English characters, the true found of any one Hebrew word: which is all that is meant in that part of our criticism on Mr. Moifes's performance which ftates him as incapable of fo reprefenting Perfian words-but Perfian being a living language, the proper pronunciation, or at least an approximation to it, is a great object of acquirement to the learner; and certainly an English learner, in England, ought to be affifted (as he is in Jones's Grammar,) by a repetition of the Perfian words in English characters. This affiftance Mr. M. has omitted; and we fear that we too rightly conjecture the reason.

Edinenfis fays, according to Richardfon's Dictionary, the criticifms on that tranflation of Matthew are not accurate.' As we shall abide by the criticifm, until its errors be fairly ftated and proved, it remains with our correfpondent to make a more explicit objection.

Edinenfis affirms that more than fixteen pages of the Perfian Extracts are taken from Sir W. Jones's Poefeos Afiatica Commentarii, and his Life of Nadir Shab :-can a ftronger confirmation be required of our juft appretiation of the merit of "The Perfian Interpreter ?" Much of our opinion refpecting the extent of Mr. M.'s' Afiatic Literature arofe from the circumftance of his appearing to have referted fo freely to printed books, and to printed books only; which opinion our correfpondent has contributed not a little to ftrengthen and confirm.

++ We have received a letter, bearing the fignature C, but poffibly it comes from our Friend B.: fee CORRESPONDENCE for December, 1793, P. 479. Be that as it may, we are much obliged, as well as informed, by the contents of C.'s letter, and are only forry that it is too long for infertion in the Review.-This correfpondent refers us, for an account of the celebrated George Fox, to his Life written by William Penn, and to Gough's Hiftory of the Quakers, from which works he gives us extracts that are highly honourable to Mr. Fox's character. Of that of the truly venerable PENN we had always a very advantageous idea.

* Referring to p. 231. of our laft Number, in which we mentioned Camille Defmoulins's remarks on the theft of the three diamonds, the Regent, the Pitt, and the Sancy, T. B. S. exprefles his apprehenfion that The Regent and The Pitt are names given to one and the fame ftone; from the circumftance of the Regent Duke of Orleans having purchased the Pitt diamond for Louis XV. We had, and ftill

See our laft Review, p. 132.

have, our doubts on this point. On firft reading the paffage, it ftruck us in the light in which it appeared to T. B. S.-but a faint idea occurred to us that we once heard that they are diftinct ftones. The name Sancy is a corruption of Cent Six (one hundred and fix,) that being the number of carats which this diamond weighs.

+*+ Our thanks are due to Veritas for the polite manner in which he introduces his remarks on two paffages in our laft Review; and we can fincerely affure him that we are ever ready to correct any error, either of the pen or in typography, of which a friend may inform us : neither are we unmindful that fas eft et ab hofte doceri. In the first of thefe inftances, (pointed out below,) the error arofe from merely a flip of the pen in the fecond, the terms the one and the other feem to have occafioned the obfcurity mentioned by our correfpondent: but, if by the one we understand flavery, and by the other, liberty, the paffage will be right for, though we grant that there is then an apparent incongruity and perverfion' of the fenfe, be it remembered that it is this incongruity of principle which the paffage is intended to manifeft, and to reprehend: becaufe, knowing that Mr. G. did not wish that liberty fhould fhiver within the frigid zone, we did not fee how he could defire that flavery should glow within the torrid zone.

tit We would gladly give to our correfpondent A the defired information, were it in our power: but the work in question was reviewed by one of our affociates on the continent, and we know not that any copy of it can be had in England.

‡‡‡ An old Friend' acquaints us that the propofed new translation of Livy, mentioned in our Review for January, p. 120. is set afide, on the information that such a work is already in a Dublin prefs. The learned friend of our correfpondent, however, whose intentions have been thus fruftrated, has turned his thoughts to a tranflation of Salluft for which he had formerly made confiderable preparations.

* It appears to us that it would be improper, and now out of feason, were we to avail ourfelves of the obliging permiffion granted by H. L-x.’

tt We regret that Dr. W-d's work has been accidentally overlooked: but we will foon pay attention to it, and to his polite letter.

¶ Mr. Hervey's Elementa Chriftiana were reviewed in our tenth vol. p. 113.

q. The letter from a friend at Hamburgh, dated Dec. 19, 1793 did not come to hand till the 24th of this month.

In the last Review, p. 122, 1. 10, from the bottom, for 1791' read, 1771.