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to it in univerfal nature. A parent of many children divides among them his honours and poffeffions, and does not give all to any one. But, to an only-begotten fon, a parent gives all that he has to give without exception. The name, therefore, only-begotten Son of God, intimates, that the glory of the Son is as great as that of the Father, and that all things whatsoever, the Father hath, are his. Poffibly to fome it may appear a fpeculative point of fmall importance, that he who came in the name of the Lord to fave us, was indeed the equal and fellow of the Almighty. But the fcripture lays upon this the greatest stress, as an evidence that Jefus is able to fave to the uttermoft, and an encouragement to rely on him for falvation. And faving faith accordingly views him as a perfon of infinite dignity, and therefore able to bear the weight of the Father's anger, to quench the fire of vindictive juftice; to begin, carry on, and complete the recovery of defiled and difeafed fouls; and to make two people conquerors, and more than conquerors of all

their enemies.

The fpirit takes from the fcripture, the grand evidence of faith which he had lodged there, and carries it to the hearts of the elect, and then the light and power of divine truth fo apprehends and overcomes the foul, that it can no longer refift.

That triumphant evidence, is no other than the glory and excellency of the gospel scheme of revelation, manifefted by the holy fpirit in fuch a manner, as produces full conviction, that a scheme fo glorious could have none but God for its author.

'The word of God's grace falls with fuch power and evidence on the foul of the enlightened finner, that he can no more withhold his affent, than one who has his eyes open and found, can hinder himself from feeing light at noon-day, or than a philofopher can reftrain his affent from a mathematical theorem, when his understanding is overpowered by demonstration. As even in these lower cafes, the foul is merely paffive, it must be much more fo here, when a divine power concurs with a convincing light, and wherever it comes, perfectly fubdues.

Saving faith may therefore be defined a perfuafion that Jefus is the Chrift, the Son of the living God, flowing from fpiritual views of fuch a glory in the gospel, as fatisfies and convinces the mind, that a fcheme fo glorious could have none but God for its author.'

If any our Readers are pleafed with this fpecimen, they will find a great deal to the fame purpose in the work itself, to which we refer them.

SERMONS.

I. Religio Medici, preached at a Vifitation holden in the Parish Church of All-Saints, in the Town of Huntingdon, Ap. 4, 1766. By W. Walton, M. D. Rector of Upton, in Huntingdonfhire. 4to. IS. Rivington.

Doctor Walton informs us that the principal motive for his preaching this difcourfe was to fupprefs an invidious fuggeftion of his having deferted his proper profeilion, and embraced principles of religion more

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agreeable to the notions of an ancient phyfician, than of a Christian & vine. If his fermon, therefore, answers this end, it is all that the Athor ought to expect; for, as to the reft, the best thing we can find in is, that the profits of the fale will be appropriated to the benefit of an indigent perfon.-From the Doftor's fourth propofition, that Chriftianity would at length become the univerfal religion, we did, indeed, expet: fome argument; but we were entirely disappointed.

II. The eternal Exiflence of the Lord Jefus Chrift confidered and improved,—at a Monthly Affociation in Grafton-ftreet, near the Seven Dials. By Benjamin Wallin. Buckland, &c.

III. At St. Mary's, Cambridge, at the Lent Affizes, 1766. By John Mainwaring, B. D. Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge. White.

IV. At the Asylum-chapel, before the Guardians, May 16, 1766. By the Rev. James Hallifax, D. D. Rector of Chedington and Vicar of Ewell, Surry. Dodley.

V. On Mufic, chiefly Church-mufic; occafioned by opening of the new Organ at St. Peter's Church in Liverpool, April 30; preached the Lord's Day following. By John Brekell, Waugh.

VI. At the Affize at Chefter, March 29, 1766. By Tho mas Hodges, A. M. Curate of Church-Hulme. Fletcher.

VII. Dying in Faith explained, and the Happiness attending it, at the Old Jewry, May 18, 1766; on Occafion of the Death of the Rev. Sam. Chandler, D. D. and F. R. and A. S, S. who died May 8, in the 73d Year of his Age. By Thomas Amory. To which are added, the Speech at his Interment, and a Catalogue of his Works. Buckland.

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E have been favoured with a letter from Mr. Ogilvie with regard to our review of his Solitude, or Elyfium of the Poets, (fee Revi for Feb. 1766) and are much obliged by the kind and candid manner in which he has been pleafed to exprefs himself.-Such an addrefs would certainly have drawn from us the readieft acknowledgments, had we, as he feems to think, formed too precipitate a judgment in certain objec tions which we took the liberty of making to that poem, and to Mr. O.'s writings in general; but, upon the most unprejudiced re-perofal of that article, we can really find nothing to retract.-Mr. O. objects our having made certain ftrictures of cenfure without exemplifying our reafons:-As thofe ftrictures were of a general tendency, that could not be done within the compafs of one article, nor would it have been com fiftent with the general plan and conduct of our Review.

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Hiftoire De L'Afrique et De L'Espagne, &c.

The History of Africa and Spain, under the Government of the
Arabs; compiled from different Arabic Manufcripts in the
Royal Library, and dedicated to the Dauphin. By M. Car-
donne, Secretary-Interpreter to the King in the Oriental
Languages, &c. 12mo. 3 Vols. Paris, 1765.

THE

HE rapid fuccefs with which the Arabic empire was eftablifhed in Afia, Africa and Europe, and the growing power of Mahomet and his fucceffors, form one of the most furprifing and most interesting events in the history of mankind. Religion had, undoubtedly, a leading influence in this; but enthusiasm alone, unattempered and unconducted with policy, could never have atchieved fuch extraordinary things:-yet not even the profoundeft policy, co-operating with the influences of a new religion, could have been fo generally fuccefsful, had it not been attended by a kind of ferocious valour, together with an unwearied affiduity, and long experience in the bufinefs of war. The Arabs, in the time of Mahomet, were the first people upon earth in horfemanfhip, and the fkill of the bow. The progrefs of their oriental conquefts has been frequently recorded and is well known, but their fucceffes in the weft have lain more obscure. Our countryman Echard, in his Roman History, has made the fame obfervation, and complains that, for want of cotemporary hiftorians, the iffue of their weftern wars was in a great measure unknown. Marmol is the only autilor who has thrown any light upon thofe events, but the facts he relates with regard to the African conquefts are but thinly fcattered through his works.

M. Cardonne has, however, almost entirely obviated this complaint, and has rendered the hiftory of humankind much APP. Vol. xxxiv.

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more perfect by filling up thofe vacant annals. The fources from which he has derived his information, concerning the Arabic conquefts in the weft, áre Arabic writers, whofe works were depofited in the king of France's library. He complains, indeed, that the drynefs and affectation of brevity peculiar to the historians of that nation, had left him ftill poor, had not afforded him all the light he could have wished to obtain with regard to their hiftories, and fome dynafties he found in which! the fucceffion of princes was difficult to difcover. This, however, might eafily be accounted for; as there were fome fultans who forbad, under pain of death, the annals of their reigns to be written and one of thofe actually put to death an author for difobeying the decree.

The principal revolutions in that part of Africa, where the Arabs prevailed, and the different dynasties, are recorded in this work with as much precifion as poffible. The epoch of those revolutions, and that of the establishment of the dynasties extend to that period when the African governors, fecure in their refpective powers, threw off the common yoke, and aspired to fovereignty.

The history of the Arabs in Spain is not lefs interefting than that of their African conquefts. Allured by the riches of that country, they came in vaft tribes both from Afia and Africa, and each of thofe tribes being defirous of obtaining those treafures undivided, they fell one upon another.

At the fame time there were revolutions in the dominion of the caft. The dynafty of the Ommiads was overturned by the Abbaffids, and Abdoulrahman-ibu-Moavie, who was of the former party, fled into Spain, where he was foon invested with all the power of the Arabs in that country, as they had always been attached to his party.

From that time Spain was detached from the government of the eastern caliphs, and had its diftinct princes, who likewife took upon them the name of caliphs, and, like thofe, mixed the civil with the facerdotal power. The fucceffors of Abdoulrahman, intoxicated with affluence and luxury, abandoned the cares of government to their habjeds, a kind of comptrollers, who invested themselves with abfolute authority. Thefe caliphs became at length fo contemptible that they were deprived of the crown; in confequence of which, fuch of the Arabs as had fuperior power, or credit, obtained the fovereignty of those provinces where their influence lay, and almoft every province had then its prince.

The ftrength of the Moors being thus divided, they became lefs formidable to the Chriftians. The latter gained feveral important victories over them; and had they not themselves fuffered from the fame divifion of power and dominion, they would,

have driven them effectually from all their fettlements in Spain. The progrefs of their conquefts, however, was rapid, and the Arabs, being reduced to the laft extremity, called in the Africans to their affiftance. Their new auxiliaries foon forgot the purposes that brought them to Spain, and, inftigated by ambition, inftead of defending their countrymen, meditated nothing less than their fubjection. This revolution threatened the Chriftians with the worst of confequences, on account of that innumerable multitude of enemies which it brought upon them. The whole continent of Africa feemed to have emptied itself of its inhabitants, that they might take up arms against the Spaniards; but the firmnefs and fortitude of the latter, notwithftanding the fmallness of their numbers, triumphed over all oppofition. The civil wars which prevailed in Africa and in the kingdom of Grenada, at length terminated the government of the Arabs in Spain.

This is a fhort sketch of the hiftory that our Author compiles from those manufcripts to which he had recourse. But these were not his only refources. The Arabic hiftorians, however copiously they expatiate on the fuccessful part of their own hiftory, become thrifty and indolent in thofe periods, where the glory of their nation declines, and their enemies have the advantage. For this reafon, M. Cardonne very judiciously determined to apply himself to the Spanish hiftorians for more perfect information, and this he chiefly drew from Mariana's Latin hiftory of Spain, except with regard to the conqueft of Grenada, of which he met with a long detail in a collection of Arabic hiftorians, entitled Hiftoria Lenazzadini Viziri. The fame collection furnished him with the fucceffion of the viceroys who held the government of Spain under the eastern caliphs. This was the more defirable, as he would not have found it fo exact in the Spanish Hiftorians, who often alter their names, or fubftitute others. Of this, and whatever elfe that collection, or the manufcripts of Novari, Tabari, and feveral other Arabic writers af forded him, refpecting the manners, the luxury or commerce of the æra under his review, the Author makes the best use; and he takes care all along to preferve the original orthography of names: by which means, indeed, they are hardly cognizable to readers who have only been converfant in modern historians -for inftance, Abderam, he calls Abdoulrahman, &c.

The following are the titles of the books and manuscripts from which this hiftory was compiled, and which we take the liberty to introduce for the fake of fuch of our Readers as are acquainted with the eastern literature.

Cheabeddin Aboul Abbafi, Pars 23. Hiftoria Univerfalis. Ahmed Ben Abdoulvahabi cognomine Novaiti, Hiftoria Ommiadarum, qui in Hifpania regnarunt.

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