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NEW BOOKS. Gulielmi Bellendeni Magiftri Supplicum Li. bellorum Augufti Regis Magna Britanniæ, &c. De Statu Libri Tres. 8vo. 12s. Sewell.

A Free Tranflation of the Preface to Bellendenus; containing Animated Strictures on the Great Political Characters of the Prefent Time. 800. 4 5. Payne and Son. Remarks on the New Edition of Bellendenus; with fome Obfervations on the extraordi nary Preface. 8vo. I s. Stalker.

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E hardly recollect an inftance in which the attention of both our learned and political circles has been fo powerfully engaged (fo powerfully, it might even be faid, fafcinated) as by the recent republication of the long-loft, though ineftimable work of Bellendenus De Statu." But before we inquire into the particular merits of that truly claffical performance, (or rather affemblage of performances), it may not be improper to prefent our readers with a few anecdotes of the author, felected from the Preface now annexed to it by the editor, which is in itself a treafure of modern latinity.

From the preliminary account alluded to we learn, that Bellenderus was by birth a Scotchman, and (fo far as conjecture may determine) defcended of an ancient and honourable family. Of his particular fituation, and habits of life, we have little certain knowledge. Dempfter indeed tells us, in his " Lives of the Scottish Writers," that he was Profeffor of Humanity at Paris, in 1602; and it is an established fact that he enjoyed the office of Master of Requests* to James VI. of Scotland, of whom he was a particular favourite. Whether James conferred any other mark of diftinction upon him, we are entirely ignorant. Certain it is, however, that this monarch, who poffeffed no mean portion of learn ing himself, took a delight in patronifing men of science; and certain is it also, that to his munificence Bellendenus was indebted for a life of honourable retirement at Paris; where he permitted not * "Magister Supplicum Libellorum." In explaining the nature and meaning of this title, the editor tells us, that the inhabitants of Sicily had a Magiftrate termed Libellenfis, the fame with the Magifter Libellorum of other countries; whofe bufinefs it was to receive petitions, and to make a report of them, after examination, to the Sovereign.

his abilities to languish, nor was forgetful of the welfare of his country.

In the year 1608, he there published the "Ciceronis Princeps :" a work fraught with admirable inftructions for the private, as well as public conduct of princes, and exprefsly calculated to demonftrate this grand and immutable truth, that no government can be permanently fecure which has not for its bafis the mutual felicity of the Sovereign and the people. To this firft edition of the "Ciceronis Princeps" was annexed a valuable prefatory difcourfe, entitled, "De Proceffu et Scriptoribus Rei Politicæ."

It was not till the year 1612 that the first edition of the "Ciceronis Conful, Senator, Senatufque Romanus," made its appearance. This book-the longeft of the three, in our opinion too the most valuable, and the one which Bellendenus finished with most care-confists of fifty-fix chapters; in which (while they contain political doctrines effential to the prosperity of every mixed government, together with an account of the inftitution of the confulfhip, of the original extent and gradual diminution of its authority, and of the qualifications neceffary to the due discharge of the confular office) we find the origin and conftitution of the Roman Senate, and the various matters, both civil and religious, that were fubject to its cognifance, defcribed with truth, and enforced with energy

In arranging the books, or tracts, before us, the learned editor has preserved the order which Bellendenus himself preferved in the first edition; of the titlepage to which, as it flood originally, we fhall prefent our readers with a copy.

"Gulielmi Bellendéni Magiftri Supplicum Libellorum Augufti Regis Magnæ Britanniæ, &c. De Statu Libri Tres. 1. De Statu Prifci Orbis in Religione, Re Politica et Literis. 2. Ciceronis Princeps; five de Statu Principis et Im perii. 3. Ciceronis Conful, Senator, Se

In 1616, thefe two books were re-publidhed, with the addition of the tract entitled, "De Statu Prifci Orbis;” a work abounding in curious and important information from Jofephus, Eufebius, Ariftotle, Plato, Clemens Alexandrinus, and Cicero, refpecting the religion, the politics, and the literature of the an cient world, and enriched with remarks that redound alike to the fame of the author as a scholar and as a philosopher.

natufque

patufque Romanus; five de Statu Reip. et Urbis imperantis Orbi. Primus nunc primum editus; cæteri, cum Tractatu de Proceffu et Scriptoribus Rei Politica, ab Auctore aucti et illuftrati. Parifiis, apud Herveum du Mefnil, via S. Joannis Latteranenfis, fub figno Bellerophontis Coronati, M.DC.XVI. Cum Privilegio Regis."

After having published the pieces here enumerated, our author began, but was prevented by death from finishing,another work, entitled, "De Tribus Luminibus Romanorum." It was to have confifted of three tracts, defcriptive of three of the moft illuftrious characters of antiquity; namely, Cicero, Seneca, and the elder Pliny. The only one he lived to publish, however, was that which had Cicero for its object; and highly muft it ever be lamented by the learned, that the other two tracts were not permitted to come into exiftence, when it is confidered how admirably in the one that did appear, the author has selected from the works of the great Roman Orator, and exhibited in one comprehenfive point of view, his moft valuable remarks and opinions-exhibited them too in the very words of Cicero, with the addition merely of connecting fentences; which fen tences, however, are written in a ftyle of latinity that would have done honour to the pen of Tully himself.

On this occafion the editor-evidently with extreme reluctance, but evidently alfo with a manly deteftation of literary plagiarism and ingratitude-has held up to fcorn the character and conduct of Middleton, the celebrated, but, as it now appears, the difingenuous, biographer of Cicero; whom he afferts, in the most unqualified terms, not only to have been indebted to Bellendenus for many useful and fplendid materials, but to have made a meretranfcript of his work, where-ever it might answer his purpose t

With refpect to the three books more immediately before us, our opinion would differ widely indeed from that of † Before the period alluded to, the work of Bellendeaus was known but to very few; nor had any perfon, Mr Warton excepted, ever been at the pains to compare it with the performance of Middleton. Our editor himself, however, has fince taken the trouble to collate the two productions; and on this ground it is, that, fpeaking on the fubject decifively, he has-fo to exprefs it damned to everlafting fame" the very name of Middleton.

the learned world in general, if we did not declare, that they require no apology for their re introduction to public notice beyond what is to be found in their own intrinfic merit; nor have we a doubt but that to every enlightened mind they will come with ample recommendations, not merely from the dignity of the fubjects they difcufs, but from the perfpicuity of argument, the beauty of fen timent, and the varied elegance of diction, which, more or less, illumine and adorn every page of the work.

In the First Book, Bellendenus-at length providentially rescued himself from the "gloomy regions of obfcurity”— brings to light from thofe regions many facts, not lefs curious than important, concerning nations of the most remote antiquity. With a diligence, equalled only by the exertions of a mind uncommonly penetrative and acute, clearly does he in the execution of this part of his work unfold every thing relative to the primitive difcipline of the Persians and Egyptians, obfcure as it was in itself, and variously as in its effects it had been diffufed. In the like fatisfactory manner, and with not lefs precision and brevity, he defcribes the primary origin of nations in general; points out the fteps that conducted them to profperity or grandeur; and elucidates the various means by which they differed from each other.

In this, as in all his other tracts, philofophy owes much to Bellendenus. The fabulous details which encumbered, while they perplexed, the HISTORY of Greece, he elucidates, he refutes, and renders ultimately ridiculous. The wild and extravagant notions, or fyftems as they have been ftyled, that prevailed on the fubject of RELIGION, he has also admirably expofed-exposed too by unanfwerable arguments, derived not from philofophy merely, but from revelation.

Amidst all this gloom of antiquity, however, in no inftance does Bellende. nus discover any thing of that coldness and infenfibility which we are generally taught to confider as the effential characteristics of an antiquarian. Never does he degrade his talents by an investigation of theological points which are accompanied with mystery, or which, whether mysterious or not myfterious, are in themselves idle, and unproductive of happiness to mankind.

In truth, we hardly know an`author who has more powerfully, or more irre

fiftibly

vernment.

To this point, in all his works the fen timents of Bellendenus have a dignified tendency; and accordingly in the Second Book, beautifully do we find him illu Atrating thefe fundamental, though high ly neglected truths: That whoever defires to exercife authority over others, fhould previously learn the government of himfelf-fhould remember, and be ever ready to obey, whatever the laws command-should, on all occafions, be eager to liften to the fentiments of the wife, with a perfect difdain of flattery, and abhorrence of corruption-sh uld, in attempting to extend his dignity, be cautious, but in preferving it tenacious -fhould, in fine, diftinguish himself by the purity of his morals, and the moderation of his conduct; nor ever direct his HAND, his EYE, or his IMAGINATION to that which is the PROPERTY OF ANO

THER.

In his Third Book-which, as already intimated, relates chiefly to the duties of a fenator-our author, whofe learning and virtue were formed to keep with other an equal pace, feems to foar above himfelf. In every fenfe, indeed, the book in question is literally and truly a chef. d'oeuvre; nor do we know whether to admire it more for the purity of the moral and political doctrines it contains, than for the claffical energy of language in which those doctrines are inculcated. To Britons-and not to Britons only, but to all nations that enjoy, or that wish to enjoy, the bleffings of liberty resulting from law, uncontrouled by the will of a defpot, it must ever have charms.

It is remarkable-in fact, to the repu. tation of our literature it is disgraceful— that, till the republication before us,there were but three complete copies of the work exifting, or known to be exifting, in the kingdom. Of neither of the three have we been happy enough to obtain an infpection; but, from the high fenfe we entertain of the veracity of the editor, we are freely difpofed to believe, that the prefent edition* is more correct than that which paffed from the hand of Bellendenus himself.

The one before us is the fecond which contains a lift of corrigenda, to be had feparately of the bookfellets by the purchafers of the first edition.

After all, however, it may be askedand, if we mistake not, repeatedly has it been afked already-Why, and for what purpose, is Bellendenus reftored to the world at this particular period? —Queftions like these it becomes not us to anfwer; but firmly are we of opinion, that his imputed editor, though borne away by a torrent of prepoffeffions and preja dices refpecting what vulgarly we call the Outs and the Ins of the present government of our country, is a man who glories in his integrity, moral as well as po litical, and who would perish rather than utter a word inconfiftent, in either sense, with the mens fìbi confcta reci of a real pa triot.

With an allufion, fufficiently fanciful it must be confeffed, to the unfinished work of Bellendenus, "De Tribus Luminibus Romanorum," he has affimilated, or attempted to affimilate, the characters of our great Ex-Minifters, Mr Burke, Lord North, and Mr Fox; to Whom the feveral treatifes before us are refpectively inscribed-inscribed, however, not in the fervile language of adula. tion, but in terms of a panegyrical enthufiasm, which, could Cicero rife from his grave, Cicero would not blush to own t

Thefe diftinguished statesmen-who in their political career have certainly fuffered more by invective, and been honoured more by panegyric, than any other public characters in the kingdomhe delcribes as the Three Luminaries of Great Britain; and, as fuch, of each of them he exhibits an admirable portrait.

it does not appear, however, that either in the delivery of his own fentiments, or in the republication of the works of Bellendenus, he had the most diftant in

To the

tention

tention of making either himself or them fubjects of popular animadverfion. The fize of the volume, though increased by the preface, has not been fuffered to in creafe its price; and the editor declares he did not think of writing it till he had pofitively agreed with the printer about the whole expence of the impreffion, the copperplates, and the price of the book. This being the cafe, it seems to give him but little concern, (and, in fact, but little does it concern the public at large) whether he has done well or ill in difcuffing points fo full of difficulty and danger as thofe which occupy his mafterly preface, provided, by the trouble he has taken in pablishing the work itself, Bellendenus be but restored to that rank in literature, in philofophy, and in politics, of which he has fo long and fo unjustly been deprived.

In noticing the tranflation of this famous preface, we are sorry that, relinquishing the language of panegyric, we mut, if we speak of it at all, fpeak with contempt. In the title-page, it is boldly pronounced a ferr one; and yet it is fervile to an extreme, confequently to an extreme inelegant. One more unworthy of the illuftrious original we conceive to be hardly poffible. In the language there is no animation, no nerve, no dignity; but there is an abundance of puerile affedation, of scholaftic pedantry.

What a pity that the learned editor did not himself prevent a compofition,fraught with fuch refplendent beauties of claffical diction, from being thus disfigured in an English drefs!-If credit may be given to the voice of Fame, he poffeffes the are, and truly-wonderful talent of writing Latin better than English, and Engglish better than most other men in the kingdom. For the honour of our language, then, let us hope that the period is not very diftant, when, ftooping to become his own tranflator, he will favour the world with a verfion into his vernacular tongue of one of the most admirable and admired Latin productions that ever flowed from the pen of an English

man.

with thofe of the editor himself. Europ. Mag.

Relation Abrégée d'un Voyage à la Cime du Mont-Blanc, &c. Abort Narrative of a Fourney to the Summit of Mont-Blanc. By M. de Sauffure. 8vo. Geneva. AMONG the ftupendous mountains in

Savoy, the top of Mont-Blanc was deemed inacceffible, before Dr Paccard, a phyfician at Chamouni, made the daring attempt to reach its fummit, which, attended only by a fingle guide, he happily accomplished in August 1786. [ Vol. 48. p. 526.]

M. de Sauffure no fooner became acquainted with the practicability of the journey, than be refolved to undertake it. He arrived at Chamouni, fituated at the foot of the mountain, in the beginning of July 1787, but bad weather prevented him from afcending until the 1ft of Auguft, when he began his expedi tion, accompanied by a fervant and eighteen guides, who carried his philofophical and other apparatus. His fon was left at the Priory in Chamouni, and was employed in making meteorological ob fervations, with which thofe made cn the top of the mountain might be com pared.

Although it is fcarcely fix miles and three quarters, in a straight line, from the Priory of Chamouni to the top of MontBlanc, it requires nevertheless eighteen hours to gain the fummit, owing to the bad roads, the windings, and the great perpendicular height of the mountain. That he might be perfectly at liberty to pass the night on what part of the moun tain he pleafed, he carried a tent with him, and he and his company slept in it, the first night, on that eminence which is firft met with, and which is on the fouth of the Priory, and about a mile * perpendicularly above the village.

Hitherto the journey was free from danger, or even difficulty, the road being either rocky, or covered with grafs ; but thence, upwards, it was either wholly covered with fnow, or confifted of the most flippery ice.

The fecond day's journey was attended with many difficulties. The ice valley on the fide of the hill must be paffed, in order to gain the foot of that chain of rocks bordering on the perpetual foows which cover Mont-Blanc. The paffage We have reduced all the French mea❤

fures to the English standard.

D

through

through this valley is extremely dange rous, fince it is interfected with numerous wide, deep, and irregular chafms, which can only be croffed by means of bridges naturally formed of fnow, and thefe often very flender, extended as it were over an abyfs. One of the guides had almost perished here the evening before, as he, with two others, went to reconnoitre the road. They had the precaution to tie themselves together with a long rope, and he in the middle had the misfortune to have the fnow-bridge, over a wide and deep chafm, break under him, fo that he remained fufpended between his two comrades. M. de Sauffure and his retinue passed very near the opening through which this man had fallen, and fhuddered at the danger in which the poor fellow had been involved. The difficulties they had to encounter in this valley, and the winding road they were obliged to take through it, occafioned their being three hours in croffing it, although, in a ftraight line, its breadth is not above three quarters of a mile.

After having reached the rocks, they mounted in a ferpentine direction, to a valley, filled with fnow, which runs from north to fouth, to the foot of the highest pinnacle. The furface of the fnow in this valley has numerous fiffures, which penetrate fo deep, that their bottom is no where to be feen, although they are of considerable breadth. The fides of thefe fiffures, where the fnow is broken perpendicularly, afford an oppor. tunity of obferving the fucceffive horizontal layers of fnow which are annually formed.

The guides were defirous of paffing the night near one of the rocks on the fide of this valley; but as the loftieft of them is at least 1400 yards perpendicularly lower than the fummit of the mountain, M. de Sauffure was defirous of afcending higher; in confequence of which it would be neceffary to encamp on the fnow; but he found it difficult to convince his companions of the prac ticability of the plan. They imagined that, during the night, an infupportable cold prevailed in thofe heights which were eternally covered with fnow, and they were seriously afraid of perishing. By proper encouragements, however, he induced them to proceed; and, at four in the afternoon, they arrived at the fe cond of the three plains of fnow which they had to pals. Here they encamped

at the height of 3100 yards above the Priory of Chamouni, and 4250 yards above the level of the fea, which is about 200 yards higher than the Peak of Teneriffe. They did not proceed to the last plain, on account of the day having been far advanced; and they were also apprehenfive of expofing themselves to the Avalanches *, which are frequently tumbling from the fummit of the mountain. They dug a deep hole in the snow, sufficiently wide to contain the whole company, and covered its top with the tent cloth.

In making this encampment, they began to experience the effects of the rarity of the atmosphere. Robust men, to whom feven or eight hours walking, or rather climbing, were an abfolute nothing, bad scarcely raised five or fix fhovels full of fnow before they were under the neceffity of refting and relieving each other, almoft inceffantly. One of them, who had gone back a small distance, to fill a cafk with fome water which he had feen in one of the crevices of the fnow, found himself so much disordered in his way, that he returned without the water, and paffed the night in great pain. M. de Sauffure, who is so much accustomed to the air of mountains as to fay,." that, in general, I feel myself better in fuch air than in that of the plains," was exhaufted with the fatigue of making his meteorological obfervations. The principal inconvenience which the thinness of the air produces, is an exceffive thirst. They had no means of procuring water but by melting the fnow; and the little ftove which they had carried with them, afforded but a feeble fupply for twenty

men.

This region of the mountain prefents to the view nothing but fnow of the pureft and moft dazzling whiteness, forming a very fingular contraft with the sky, which appears remarkably black. We fhall let M. de Sauffure speak for himself.

"No living creature is to be feen in thefe defolate regions, nor is the least trace of vegetation to be difcovered. It is the habitation of cold and filence! When I reflected that Dr Paccard and his guide, Jacques Balmat, who firft vifited these deferts, arrived here at the

• Snow-balls, that roll down the hills: fome of them are about zoo feet diameter; being fragments of the ice rocks which break by their own weight from the tops of the precipices.

decline