without controul; the wicked triumph, and the virtuous (if any remain) are infulted and oppreffed. This is the iffue of that one great mistake of fuffering the practical and moral parts of religion to be feparated from its revealed doctrines. Every Chriftian virtue is intrinfically amiable, and admits of being inculcated on the ground of its own worth; but while it is inculcated as a moral law of natural or focial obligation only, its real fanctions are gradually fuffered to vanish, and while we fee it perhaps exalied to the fkies by the infidious praises and commendations of these pretended friends to mankind, its foundation is all the time undermined, and on the first trial it gives way without remorfe. The venerable author of this work long ago forefaw these fatal effects, as fure to flow from the fyftem fpreading widely and rapidly on the continent, of keeping back all religious inftruction from young people, under a pretence that their reafon could not be fufficiently matured to comprehend the great truths of revelation. In the year 1777, he was led into a regular correfpondence upon this fubject by the following circumitance. In a tour he had just been making, for the exprefs purpofe of examining the internal ftructure as well as the fuperficies of our continents, in order to combat thofe emiflaries of the Encyclopædifts, whọ had been exprefsly fet to work to invalidate the Mofaic history, by bringing Nature herfelf to bear evidence against it*, he happened to be prefent on a Sunday at the mines of Claufthal in the Hartz, and being ftruck with the folemnities of their fabbath, and the detail that was given him of the religious education of the children employed in the mines, he was induced to infert an account of it in his Letters to the Queen, and which were afterwards published under the title of "Lettres Phyfiques et Morales fur les Montagnes, et fur l'hiftoire de la terre et de l'homme." A young friend of his, to whom he was in the habit of communicating his writings, objected to this part, upon the very principle above-mentioned, of the incapacity of children to comprehend divine truths. The fe objections were the fubject of the correfpondence which is now given to the public, in nine Letters; wherein fome very strong and interefting arguments are brought forward in fupport of the contrary opinion. Mr. De Luc proves, that to wait for the confent of the reafon is very hazardous; reafon at the last being incompetent to a clear apprehenfion of the Divine Perfections, but that fo foon as ever the exiftence of a Deity and superin *One of their deepeft plots to overthrow religion. See the Abbé Barruel's Hift. of Jacobinilin. tending tending Providence is prefented to the mind as a fact, it acquiefces fully and willingly. He is for engaging the heart rather than the reafon on the fide of revelation, and therefore very fenfibly propofes that its truths fhould be interwoven with the very earliest affections and defires, that can have force to fway and influence the mind. In answer to an objection urged against him, that unfkilful tutors may inculcare wrong notions, he takes occafion to prefs the ufe and neceflity of approved Catechifms; and well expofes the hazard parents run, who think it poffible to keep children from all knowledge of the Deity till their reafon is inatured. Even the common addreffes of beggars, he observes, would bring them acquainted with the name of God, and if quite uninftructed in his nature, they may form a thousand wrong notions, not afterwards to be eradicated. Thefe Letters conflitute the first part of the work; and, before we proceed to notice the fecond, we fhall lay before the public fome extracts from the Letters, which, as the work has not appeared in English, we fhall tranflate. In the Third Letter, he advifes, "That we should anticipate the development of the paffions, and the feduction of external objects, in order to guard the youthful mind from the fnares and dangers that await it. From the earliest moment raife round it the impregnable rampart of religion. Then, when you have taught your children that the world did not make itself; that there is a fuprême Creator to whom it owes its exiftence, who upholds it, and to whom we are indebted for all the good things we enjoy ; that men are deftined to another life, wherein they will reap the reward of their actions and conduct here, it will not be difficult to make them comprehend, that fince God would be obeyed, he muft needs have given men exprefs laws; and thus will they gradually be introduced to the knowledge of God's word." To thofe who are fo inadvertent as to expect that the progrefs of reafon is ever likely to bear any proportion to the developement of the paffions, the following obfervations on the fecurity of the moft interefting part of our fpecies, may afford fome wholefome inftruction. See the happy effects of modefty in women: this is not a natural fentiment+; yet chastity was necefiary to fociety for the encouragement of matrimony; a pofitive inftitution of revealed religion; defigned to promote the mutual attachment of parents one to the other, through the common bond of their children, and of thefe latter. among them. felves; and thus to establish thofe domeftic ties and relations, without *We withheld extracts, in our account of Mr. De Luc's Lettre aux Juifs, in hopes of feeing a tranflation, which, to our regret, has never appeared. This feems to be faid rather too abfolutely. Rev. which the fociety itfelf could never long fubfift or hold together. Hence therefore modefty may well be made an object of education, and we find it fubfifting among all civilized people of every age and country. Let us fee how it operates. How many young women would have been hurried into vice, if, in fome unexpected moment, feducers had not found this barrier in their way, which, by turning the first affault, gives them time for reflection, to contemplate their danger, and to put them better on their guard! So is it, in all refpects, with young people, who have been taught in time, that to give way to vice, is to offend a fupreme Being! The first attempts of the wicked to shake their faith, offends them; and, before this happy difpofition can be got the better of, they have time to inform themselves more fully, by expérience and inftruction, that God has given laws to man only to promote his own good and happiness." In the Fourth and Seventh Letters, the learned author has fome excellent remarks on the difficulty of checking a difpofition to falfehood in children, after it has once fucceeded, without teaching them to believe, that there is a Being above, capable of knowing their moft fecret thoughts. From the former of thefe Letters we fhall make one more extract, because it contains an anecdote of no fmall importance in the prefent ftate of the world. Speaking of the fuperior efficacy of pofitive laws comparatively with the mere precepts of any fyftem of moral philofophy, Mr. De Luc tells us, "Some time ago I was converfing upon this fubject with a very celebrated man (the late Sir John Pringle) who had been Profeffor of moral Philofophy in the University of Edinburgh; he was then advanced in years, and had lived much in the world. At that time, I was fill rather a friend to the teaching of rational morality, thinking it was ufeful to bring men acquainted with their duty in every poffible way. I had just read a new work of this nature, entitled "Of an Univerfal Moral, or Man's Duties founded upon Nature;" and as he had not read it, I offered to lend it him. I cannot exprefs to you the tone in which he refused this offer, but you will have fome idea of it, when you come to know the motives upon which he did it; "I have been," faid he, "for many years Profeffor of this pretended science; I had ranfacked the libraries and my own brain to discover the foundations of it; but the more I fought to perfuade and convince my pupils, the lefs confidence I began to have myself in what I was teaching them, fo that at length I gave up my profeffion, and returned to medicine, which had been the firft object of my studies, I have nevertheless continued from that time to examine every thing that appeared upon this fubject, which, as I have told you, I could never explain or teach fo as to produce conviction; but at length I have given up the point, moft thoroughly affured that, without an exprefs divine fanction attached to the laws of morality, and without pofitive laws, accompanied with determinate and urgent motives, men will never be convinced that they ought to fubmit to any fuch code, nor agree among themfelves concerning it. From that time, I have never read read any work upon morality but the Bible, and I return to that always with fresh delight." In the fecond part of the work before us, we have an account of a correfpondence which took place between the author and the late Dr. Zimmerman of Hanover, relative to fome opinions of Baron Knigge. This writer was a great promoter of what he called Practical Christianity, as well as one of those who have long made no fcruple of feparating the Old from the New Teftament, whereby many people lofing fight of the neceffary dependance of the one upon the other, are the more easily brought to renounce the divinity of the Chriftian revelation, thus robbed of fome of its strongest proofs. The author, therefore, in his cenfure of the Baron's opinions, naturally returns to the favourite fubject he has fo often and fo ably handled before, that of the defence of the Old Testament and the Mofaic Hiftory, as illuftrated by the Natural Phenomena of the Earth. Other objections however are touched upon, and very ingenioufly answered. In a Poftfcript, the author makes a reply to fome obfervations that appeared in two foreign literary journals upon his ftrictures, in answer to the memoir prefented by the Jews to M. Teller, alluded to before. We cannot with any juftice to the author attempt to make any extracts from this part of the work, be caufe our limits will not admit of our entering at large into any of the queftions particularly controverted. We shall only fay that, in our judgment, the learned author feems moft adroitly to defend himself against the prejudices and uncandid cenfures of his adverfaries. As thefe difputes, however, relate to the authenticity of the facred writings, every Christian reader will naturally conclude, that, the difcuffion it felf is both interefting and inftructive. Greatly are we obliged to this most respectable advocate for revelation, for his affiduity in endeavouring to rescue his fellow creatures from the gulf of perdition, into which the errors of the times threaten to lead them. Long may he live to purfue his truly philanthropic labourst. The work is dedicated to the King of Pruffia, who, as * Whose frivoloufnefs we very juftly characterized in our last number, p. 325. Knigge, it feems, is dead. See pp. 97, &c. +We learn with great pleafure from this work (p. 131) that Mr. De Luc intends to publish at Gottingen, where he is Profeffor of Philofophy and Geology, a regular work on the foundations of the latter fci"Si je tarde," fays he, "à m'acquitter de ce devoir, c'est pour. travailler à le mieux remplis Dans ce but, j'ai employé encore le ence. as we learn with pleasure from the conclufion of the Dedication, has taken fome important fteps to fecure a religious education to the children of his foldiers. Had the author written in England, there is another monarch to whom, with ftill greater propriety, or to his royal confort, as living examples both of pious regard to religion, and practical obfervance of its precepts, as well as from his own connection with those ilJuftrious perfonages, his work would doubtlefs have been prefented. ART. IV. Antonio; a Tragedy, in Five Acts. By William Godwin. 8vo. 73 PP. 2s. 6d, Robinfons. 1800. THIS Tragedy, in which there is nothing to intereft, nothing to afflict, and, what is yet more extraordinary, nothing to' exhilarate, from the first page to the laft, has yet left an impreffion of melancholy on our fenfes. We had heard much from Mr. Godwin of the progrefs of matter, and the rapid approaches of mind to a ftate of perfectibility; and though we did not give full credit to those brilliant reveries, we were ftill fimple enough (fuch is our bonhommie) to indulge a kind of fatisfaction in the idea, that they might not be altogether fallacious. Accordingly we took up this production, in the pleafing hope of witneffing the advances which the matter, or, what feems to be the fame thing in the modern creed, the mind of the author had made towards perfection. But how are we difappointed! Every step is retrograde; and, to add to our mortification, Mr. G. has taken fuch terribly long ftrides backward, that we are abfolutely at a lofs to know in what age to look for him. If this be the fuccefs of the Coryphæus of the new doctrine, what must be that of his humble followers? We frankly declare that we expect no good from them; and we renounce for ever all truft in the " endless perfectibility of the human fpecies." mois de Septembre paffé (1799) á un voyage d'obfervations en Saxe, en Bohème, et dans le pays de Baireuth; comme j'avois paffé une partie de l'été de l'année précédente, en Luface, et en Siléfie, et fait, dans les intervalles, d'autres voyages en différentes parties de l'Allemagne." Whoever knows, from the Geological Letters, formerly publifhed in the British Critic (vols. iv. and v.) or from other fources, the great accuracy of Mr. De Luc in this fcience, and the vaft importance of its application, will join with us in the repeated with, that his life may be prolonged for the completion of his admirable defigns. Ta |