the Scriptures, or of any other branch of our religion which may he attacked, be conftantly recollected. Let it be remembered, that upon every point, however clearly and undoubtedly proved, it is eafy to find eavils and difficulties; and that to thefe cavils and difficulties there muft be fatisfactory anfwers, although they may not occur to the mind, or have not fallen within the reading, of every perfon. Above all, let recourfe be had upon all fuch occafions to this general principle, that when the truth of any propofition is eftablifhed upon juft and legitimate grounds, or when any doctrine is revealed in the written Word of God, no weight whatever is due to objections founded in probable reafoning, metaphyfical fpeculation, or conjectural criticifm; and we may fately pronounce, that no other have ever been brought to oppofe the conclu fons which we have feen derived from facts, by arguments obviously refulting from thofe facts, and confiftent with each other, in favour of the Authenticity and Infpiration of the antient Scriptures." P. 76.

It is impoffible not to be highly gratified with the animated defeription of St. Paul's manner of writing at p. 374, as well as with the abridged account of the hiftory of the New Tefta

ment.

"Such is the history of the New Teftament; and that the books which contain this hiftory were written, and immediately publifhed, by perfons contemporary with the events, is fully proved, as we have feen in the preceding chapters, by the teftimony of an unbroken feries of authors, reaching from the days of the Evangelifts to the prefent times; by the concurrent belief of Chriftians of all denominations; and by the unreferved confeflion of avowed enemies to the Gospel. In this point of view the writings of the antient fathers of the Chrif tian church are invaluable. They contain not only frequent references and allufions to the books of the New Teftament, but alfo fuch nume rous profeffed quotations from them, that it is demonftratively certain, that these books exifted in their prefent ftate a few years after the ap pearance of Chrift in the world. No unbeliever in the apoftolic age, in the age immediately fubfequent to it, or indeed in any age what ever, was ever able to difprove the facts recorded in these books; and it does not appear, that in the early times any fuch attempt was made. The facts therefore related in the New Teftament must be admitted to have really happened. But if all the circumftances of the hiftory of Jefus, that is, his miraculous conception in the womb of the Virgin, the time at which he was born, the place where he was born, the family from which he was defcended, the nature of the doctrines which he preached, the meannefs of his condition, his rejection, fufferings, death, burial, refurrection, and afcenfion, with many other minute particulars; if, I fay, all thefe various circumftances in the hiftory of Jefus exactly accord with the predictions of the Old Teftament relative to the promifed Meffiah, in whom all the nations of the earth were to be bleffed, it follows that Jefus was that Meffiah.And again, if Jefus really performed the miracles as related in the Gospels, and was perfectly acquainted with the thoughts and defigns of men, his divine miffion cannot be doubted.-Laftly, if he really foretold his own

death

death and refurrection, the defcent of the Holy Ghoft, its miraculous effects, the fufferings of the Apoftles, the call of the Gentiles, and the deftruction of Jerufalem, it neceffarily follows that he spake by the authority of God himself. These and many other arguments, founded in the more than human character of Jefus, in the rapid propagation of the Gofpel, in the excellence of its precepts and doctrines, and in the conftancy, intrepidity, and fortitude of its early profeffors, incontrovertibly establish the truth and divine origin of the Chriftian religion, and afford to us, who live in these latter times, the most positive confirmation of the promife of our Lord, that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." P. 529.

Thus concludes the first volume; the confideration of the fecond we fhall defer till next month.

(Tobe continued.)

ART. III. Elays on the Picturefque, as compared with the Sublime and the Beautiful; and on the Ufe of ftudying Pic tures for the Purpose of improving real Landscape. By Uve dale Price, Efa. Vol. II. 8vo. 432 pp. 6s. Hereford printed; for Robfon, London. 1798.

THAT, in roufing and delighting the imagination, the wild grandeur, and the perpetually diverfified beauties of nature furpass the most laborious and the most skilful efforts of art, is a truth deeply felt by every cultivated mind. To feel it is, in fact, only to feel that the works of man are inferior to those of God. Man however is, by the appointment of his Creator, connected and encircled with art. His habitation, in civilized fociety, is not the natural fhelter of a hollow tree or a cavern, but an artificial, a regular, and an ornamented edifice. The rude and broken ground contiguous to his door, he perhaps difcerns to be more beautiful, if confidered as an independent object, with all its varied tints, its contrafted inequalities, and its native bufhes and thickets, than it would be if thrown into any new form within the powers of his fancy or his fpade. Yet he perceives that it cannot remain as it is. In the first place, utility demands a change. Some portions, but these may be out of fight, fhe requires for purpofes purely domestic. She requires too that every other part be rendered eafily acceffibe, by dry, firm, and durable paths. Art in the next place prefers her claims. Regarding the manfion as a structure of her own, the advances on the plea, the just plea of congruity,

her

She asks

her title to the command of its immediate environs. whether the refidence of the owner is to stand disjoined from every adjacent object; whether it is fo to ftand that, if by magic. it could be inftantaneously removed, no chafm, no deficiency, in the general scene fhould refult; or whether it ought not to be fo blended by connecting accompaniments into union with the furrounding difplay of nature, as at once to appear to the spectator's eye, an effential part of one accordant whole? She affirms that architectural decorations, in harmony with the principal structure, may be repeated in its vicinity; that the abrupt tranfitions in the furface of the ground may be foftened; that the wild herbage may be replaced by a neater verdure; that the native thickets may give way to flowering fhrubs, even of. foreign growth; and that although the beauty removed by each of these alterations fhould intrinfically exceed that which is fubftituted in its ftead, the lofs is more than compenfated by: the relative congruity of the latter. But in the midst of her pretenfions the uniformly owns, unless fhe prefumptuously forgets the limits and the objects of her powers, the inferiority of the works of her inftrument, man, to thofe of the creator. Hence the regards it as an incontrovertible truth, that in arranging her materials of earth, wood, and water, her highest praise is to produce as clofe a refemblance to the neighbouring beauties of nature, or of the beauties of other natural fcenes, which would accord with the fpot which the decorates, as is compati ble with the vicinity and the character of the prefiding manfion : and that in proportion as the parts of the fcene recede from the manfion, the traces of her hand fhould fade away.

Such we apprehend to be the rational and fundamental principles of the science of Landscape-Gardening; to which the work now under confideration relates. In the application of thefe principles to practice there is room, within due limits, for diverfity of opinion and tafle; without approaching too nearly towards either the one or the other of the oppofite extremes, rudeness and formality. Yet it feems evident that the error likely to prevail, is that of excefs on the fide of artificial fmoothness and oftentatious polish. The inherent bias of ornament is towards doing too much rather than too little. To fhow that in every part fomething has been done gratifies vanity, and indicates that expence has not been fpared. Defective tafte has always manifefted an undue fondness for regularity; and though it can no longer perfuade us to be in raptures with mathematical ponds and ftaircafe cafcades, it ftill difpofes numbers to delight in the unbroken fameness of cir cular and oval clumps, of naked lawns, of bare and similar K k flopes,

BRIT. CRIT. VOL, XIV. NOV. 1799.

1

flopes, and of ferpentine curves applied alike with perpetuat recurrence to the courfe of the gravel walk, the outline of the wood, and the fweep of the lake and of the river.

Mr. P. while he reprehends with frequent, but not unmerited feverity, the uninterefting monotony which has thus been diffused over many places ornamented by the hand of modern improvement, judiciously diftinguishes between the proper use and the entire profeription of fmoothnefs, continuity of furface, undulation, ferpentine lines, and diftinctness of boundary. He fates that the paspofe of his firft volume, as of the prefent, is to fhow,

"not that thefe qualities are by any means to be abandoned of meglected, but that there are striking effects and attractions in those of a totally oppofite nature: and that both must be mixed in various-degrees, in order to produce that beauty of combination, which is dif played in the choiceft works of art and of nature." P. xvi.

This purpose, with others collateral to it, he now profecutes in three feparate Ellays.

The firft Effay is on Artificial Water and its Banks.

"The art here confits," Mr. P. obferves, "(by no means an eafy art) in preferving a general play and connection of outline, yet varied By breaks and inlets of different heights and characters: it confiits in avoiding famenefs, and infipid curves, yet in no lefs carefully avoiding fuch frequent and diftinct breaks, as from a different cause, would di gure the outline," P. 36%

For the study of the varied tints of broken foil, the half Ancovered ftones, the ledges of rock, the twifted roots, the overhanging margin, the combination of foreft-trees with underwood, and all the other irregularities, by a happy mixture of which with each other, and with gentle flopes,, and smooth vegetation, the banks of natural lakes and rivers are decorated, herefers the landscape gardener to the great prototype, Nature.

"Where the profeffed aim is that of imitating a river, furely thofe circumstances which give fuch effect, variety, and naturalness to rivers, ought not to be profcribed. On the contrary, the improver ought to make them the object of his fearch, his ftudy, and his imitation, nog only on lakes and rivers, but wherever there are rich and varied banks; for we must be fure that water and reflection would double their beauics. All fuch banks afford ftudies for painters, either alone, or combined with water; but without fome variety of tint in their accompaniments, rivers, either in nature or painting, would be most infipid objects." P.36.

Refpecting the conftruction of the banks of artificial water, Mr. P. fubjoins many practical obfervations worthy of the attention of the improver, he justly condemns the common cuf

tom of regarding the extent of the water rather than its accompaniments; and interfperfes useful remarks on picturesque Amplicity, richness, concealment, and connection."

We muft, however, mention two points ftated in this Effay, concerning which we cannot accord with the writer.

"In one opinion," fays Mr. P. I am more and more confirmed; namely, that the character of a lake, and not that of a river, fhould in most cafes be the object of imitation." P. 88.

We admit that an imitative lake, well fituated and formed, and of an adequate extent, poffeffes charms fuperior to thofe of an imitative river; and if the grounds to be improved afford the opportunity of floating fome fortunate hollow, where two or more wooded vallies meet, a lake, difappearing in different parts as it winds round the feet of the hills, will be equally beautiful and appropriate. But in ordinary fituations a decent refemblance of a principal reach, with one or two fubordinate revivals of a river, is much more eafily attainable, and ufually inore in character. Unless you are particularly favoured by Jocal circumftances, the expence neceffary to elevate your lake above the rank of a mere pool is extreme; and the difgufting formality of an immense head, generally fets picturesque difcipline at defiance. Again, Mr. P. seems to recommend (p. 112) the planting of flags and bulrushes fome way into the lake, as a method of gradually obfcuring its termination. We'remember too well the exquifite lines,

Non illic canna paluftris,

Non fteriles ulvæ, nec acutâ cufpide junci,

to be advocates for an ambiguous mixture of a fpecies of vegetation, which fuggefts the ideas, not of the fparkling pebbles and lucid chryftal of natural lakes, but of a muddy bottom, of impure water, of a pool degenerating into a plafhy fwamp.

The fecond and fhortelt of the Ellays is on Decorations near the Houfe. In the outfet, and elfewhere, Mr. P. without reafon, condemns the author of the English Garden, for making fimplicity the arbitrefs of improvement. The tenor of Mafon's rules, and the practical illuftration of them in his fourth book, fhow that the arbitrating power of fimplicity was not inended to exclude the utmoft richnefs of proper ornaments judicioufly placed; but was wifely intended to be a fecurity against ambitiofa ornamenta, ornaments exceffive in degree, or incongruous in kind or in fituation. Mr. P. in avowing his error, real or fuppofed, in deftroying an antique garden of his own, exhibits candour. We cannot extend this praise to the fucceeding political remarks (p. 152). The introduction of

Kk 2

them