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this volume, to justify re-publication, which, we firmly believe, can now be read with interest by the writers only. At the same time, we enter our protest against this custom of book-making, by which we are invited to purchase, at an advanced price, what we have already paid for. Should this volume succeed, it may operate as an encouragement for the revival of much deceased trash, and may awaken from the peaceful slumber of oblivion, the Gleanings of the Centinel, the Flowers of the Repertory, and the Beauties of the Palladium. We fear, that New-England wit can be relished only in New-England; and if M'Fingal is an exception, that exception only proves the rule. We excel more in judgment, than in imagination, like the inhabitants of Scotland, whom we are thought greatly to resemble, where wit is so rare a prodigy, as to have become almost proverbial. In the Echo there is some broad humour; a severe critick would say vulgarity, but no wit. We are not yet arrived at a sufficient height of civilization to write satire like gentlemen; as would be soon discovered, were Horace as well understood as he deserves to be :

Defendente vicem modò rhetoris, at-
que poëtæ ;
Interdum urbani,parcentis viribus,atque
Extenuantis eas consultò.'
HOR. S. 10. 1. 1.

ART. 27.

An account of the life and writings of James Beattie, L.L.D. late professor of moral philosophy and logick in the Marischal college and university of Aberdeen. Including many of his original letters, By Sir William Forbes, of

Pitsligo, Bart. one of the execu-
tors of Dr. Beattie.

Earum rerum omnium vel in primis, &c.&c.
CICERO pro Archia.

New-York, published by Bris-
ban & Brannan, No. 1, City-
Hotel, Broadway. 1807. 8vo.

THE rage for book-making seems lately to have vented itself by Memoirs, Lives, and Biographical Sketches. When a man, who has attained to any literary eminence, expires, the biographer anticipates the undertaker, and issues proposals for his 'Life,' before the publick have fairly received the intelligence of his death. It has been well observed by Mason, in his Life of Gray, that the lives of men of letters seldom abound with incidents. A reader does not find in the memoirs of a philosopher or poet, the same species of entertainment or information, which he would receive from those of a statesman or general. He expects, however, to be informed or entertained,' &c. &c. But of what consequence to the world is the domestick history of men, who have passed their days in studious seclusion, and who have taken no active part in the great drama of life? Would not that, which is most essential to be known, shine brighter through the medium of their literary labours? We do not mean by this to confine their names,' and their history,' to the " storied urn;' (the reader would, sometimes, be little bettered by this bargain); our only intention is to check the spinsters and the knitters of Lives, Sketches, and Memoirs, in their tedious tales, and in wearying us with the trifling anec dotes of men, whose works we view with as much delight, as we look upon their private lives with indif ference. Sir William tells us in

his appendix to this octavo, that
he intended to have inserted the
'Diary, which Dr. Beattie kept of
the number of days he was reading
Homer;' but finding upon calcula-
tion that it did not exceed what
any young man, with no extraordi-
nary degree of application, might
accomplish,' he thought proper to
withhold it; and thus the world
is deprived of the number of days,
and perhaps hours and minutes,
consumed by the Doctor, in his
'perusal of Homer.' We are very
glad, that we know in what state
his gown was, in which he was
wrapped while reading it; for he
tells us himself, in a letter to the
Rev. Dr. Majeudie, that it was
'very ragged, and, for that rea-
son, facetiously compares himself
to Socrates.

Of all the ways of presenting a man to the world, hitherto devised, that of publishing his private letters is perhaps the most unfair. It is like taking a man out of his bed, or pulling him from his closet, to thrust him into company, where it is indecent to be seen in an undress. Letters intended for publication are always dull things at best; and those meant only for the eye of a friend ought never to appear in print. The former commonly possess too little of that freedom peculiar to the epistolary style; the latter generally contain too much. Dr. Beattie himself was partly of this opinion, and probably would have heard with regret, that many of these letters were to be seen by others than those to whom they were addressed. In one of his letters to Robert Arbuthnot, Esq. to publish a man's letters,' says he, or his conversation, without his consent, is not in my opinion fair: for how many things, in friendly correspondence, does a man throw out,

which he would never wish to hear of again; and what a restraint would it be on all social intercourse, if one were to suppose, that every word one utters would be entered in a register.'

In this compilation of Letters, occasionally illustrated by Sir W. F., and which he has thought proper to entitle the Life of Dr. Beattie,' the Dr.'s thoughts and opinions on men and things, together with the state of his health at various times, are given with all the frankness of undisguised friendship. There are also some of a more dignified nature, inscribed to men, who, he well knew, would exhibit them to others; and in these the studied manner of the composition distinguish them from the rest. If the letter to Dr. Porteus is not in this class, it is one which seems to betray not a little art and vanity in the author. His opinion of Johnson as a critick, and his observations on the Tour to the Hebrides, must be taken with some indulgence; for it must not be forgotten, that Dr. Beattie was born in Scotland. The extravagant encomium, however, which he bestows on Mrs. Mon, tagu and her book, reflects but little credit on the author of the Essay on Truth :

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Johnson's harsh and foolish censure on Mrs. Montagu's book does not surprise me; for I have heard him speak contemptuously of it. It is, for all that, one of the best, most original, and most elegant pieces of criticism in our language, or any other. Johnson had many of the talents of a critick; but his want of temper, his violent prejudices, and something, I am afraid, of an envious turn of mind, made him often a very unfair one. Mrs. Montagu was very kind to him, but Mrs. Montagu has more wit than any body; and Johnson could not bear that any body should have wit but himself. Even lord Chesterfield, and, what is more strange, even

Mr. Burke, he would not allow to have wit! He preferred Smollet to Fielding. He would not grant that Armstrong's poem on Health,' or the tragedy of Douglas,' had any merit. He told me, that he never read Milton through, till he was obliged to do it in order to gather words for his Dictionary. He spoke very peevishly of the masque of Comus; and when I urged, that there was a great deal of poetry in it, yes, said he, but it is like gold under a rock; to which I made no reply, for indeed I did not well understand it.'

His observation on Swift, Voltaire, Rousseau, &c. his criticisms on the Henriade' and Eloise,' and various other works, if not delivered with more justice, are giv. en with more temperance.

We have reviewed this volume, as the Letters of Dr. Beattie; for it contains little beside of much value or importance. As to that part of it, which Sir William may probably call the Life,' it is but a meagre performance,possessing all the monotony of Boswell, without Johnson for its subject. As the

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'Letters of Dr. Beattie,' it has afforded us all that pleasure, which we expected from the author of the Minstrel.

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There are no less than eight paragraphs, which we have noted, and doubtless many have escaped us, in almost the same number of pages, beginning with it is very curious, and it is very singular,' and it is not a little curious,' in the illucidations of Sir William; from which we are inclined to give to his part of this performance the not a little curious' style. Sir William debated with himself, whether to print his notes at the foot of each page, or, in the manner of fashionable publications,' place them at the end of the vol

ume; he ultimately chose the for-
mer mode, as by far the most con-
venient; and in our opinion his
choice was assuredly most wise.
We cannot but admire a part of
note 1. §. 1.

It has been remarked by some, who
are fond of fanciful analogies, that the
Naples, was adorned with a laurel; the
tomb of Virgil, in the neighbourhood of
birth-place of Dr. Beattie was partly
covered with ivy, as if to denote that it
had produced a poet?'

in number, are of little conse
The other notes, though many
In the 3d of page 12,

quence.

From what the Dr. was heard to of Hiensius' edition of Virgil. Very say, c. he preferred the reading like he might; but this is merely hear-say evidence.

The typographical part of this volume is, like most of the publications from the press of Brisban & Brannan, of a clean type, on good paper, and generally correct.

ART. 28.

Twenty six sermons to young peo-
ple; preached A.D. 1803, 1804:
to which are added prayers, also
three other sermons. By James
Dana, D. D. Sydney Press,
New-Haven. 1806.

A NEGATIVE character is uni-
versally allowed to be of all others
the most difficult to be delineated.
Of pre-eminent excellence a man
may with the utmost safety ex-
press his opinion; for, though he
may not give to excellence its due,
yet will he always obtain credit for
what commendation he bestows;
and of indisputable worthlessness
his modesty may with equal safe.
ty permit him to speak; for whe-
ther he break out in direct abuse,
or utter but a gentle censure, the
one is always too much relished

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to excite disgust, and the other is invariably construed into candour. But it is hardly ever safe to express one's sentiments of those, who in common estimation are good, only because they are not bad. The remark applies with equal justice to literary productions. The task of reviewers is at no time so difficult, as when they have to deal with such works; especially when the slightest condemnation is regarded as the height of illnature, and the critick, who has the interest of literature at heart, is looked upon with an eye of jealousy, for assuming what he is entitled to by his office.

The volume of sermons now under review is the production of a man, whose reputation stands high, as a divine; and where he chances to be personally known, it may be perused with interest and profit. But the general character of the sermons is such, that we must first reverence the man, before we can be edified by them. They do not however exactly come under the class of negatives, though the author appears to have thought, as Goldsmith observes many preachers of excellent sense and understanding in England believed, that a prudent mediocrity is preferable to a precarious popularity.' But while he seems to have been studious to act up to his creed, his practice lies the wrong side of it. For he is positive in one point, and negative in another. He has many noted deficiencies, as a writer, but, should we judge from his sermons, is nothing remarkable, as a thinker.

His sermons, it is true, are characterized by plain good sense, but nothing more is attempted. It must be regretted, that they are not conducted in a manner better calculated to engage the at

tention of the young, to whom they are particularly addressed; to inform their heads, and to improve their hearts, by engaging their feelings and amusing their fancy. But this is far, very far from being the case. The style is truly a dry one. It is so senten tious, that every thing is forced, and there appears to be no contin uity in the ideas. The method too is not sufficiently clear, and by this fault the most important sentiments are degraded, and the finest style, though it may please for a moment, entirely loses its efficacy. To speak plainly of these sermons: if any one has had perseverance to peruse them, we do not say he will regret it, yet we may safely affirm he will have no desire to repeat his labour.

They compose an octavo vol. ume of about five hundred pages, handsomely and correctly printed on wove paper.

ART. 29.

Geography an amusement; or come plete set of geographical cards, by which the boundaries, situation, extent, divisions, chief towns, rivers, mountains, lakes, religion, and number of the inhabitants of all the countries, kingdoms, and republicks, in the known habitable globe, may be learned by way of amusement in a pleasing and satisfactory manner. By several persons, conversant with maps, and who have made the science their particular study. Burling. ton, N. J. published by David Allinson, sold by Brisban & Brannan, agents for New-York and the New-England states. Copy-right secured.

TO those, who consider the importance of education in general,

this method of blending amusement with instruction will be highly pleasing. There are but few of the sciences, which young people might not attain a competent knowledge of, in a way, that should render their most pleasing recreations a source of fruitful in formation. The compilers of these cards have ingeniously substituted the game to the purposes of improvement. They are correctly printed, with a neat type, in various colours, according to the divisions of the Grand Atlas.

Like the Family Budget,' and other ingenious inventions of this nature, it deserves the patronage of all parents and teachers, who would assist the memories of their pupils and smooth the rugged road of science.

ART. 30.

A sermon, preached in the second congregational church, Newport, Nov. 9th, 1806: the Lord's day succeeding the death of Miss Abigail Potter. By William Patten, A. M. Newport, R.I. printed at the office of the Newport Mercury. 1807.

Two months elapsed between the delivery and publication of this sermon. The author had there fore sufficient opportunity to weigh well its merits, and his auditors sufficient time for their feelings, however they might have been excited at the instant, to subside, and to submit that to the cool decision of judgment, which the momenta ry enthusiam might have led them to suppose was a performance of a superiour kind, calculated to edify the religious, and gratify the literary part of the community!

We do not say, that it falls below criticism; for, except in one

instance, there is no departure from common sense. Nor can the author expect a particular notice of his work; for the faults of style are so numerous, that the task of criticism would be endless. We meet with the most commonplace ideas, conveyed in the most common-place manner. There is nothing, which appears calculated to soothe and comfort an afflicted spirit; but all is cold, methodical, and unfeeling. If any one should take up this sermon with the hopes of meeting with consolation in his sorrow, he will only lose time by a perusal of it; and will derive much more comfort from the letters of the deceased lady, printed with it, which bespeak devotion of heart and propriety of reflection.

The instance of departure from common sense, to which we alluded, is the following. He says,

2dly. That for those who are pleasant to be taken away is distressing.— It is so

If we consider the event in relation to them, or the evil they have experithey suffered much affliction, and are enced. In being brought to death, subjects of a great change. Their soul is separated from their body, and their body lies in a state of ruin, incapable of performing or enjoying any good. They are separated from all their confulness, and have no more a concern in nexions and from all prospects of use. any thing that is done under the sun. As those are evils and have befallen those, in whom an interest was felt, it must cause great distress for them.'

the 2 Samuel, i. 26.
The text of this sermon is from
difficult to conceive what could
And it is
induce its publication, unless it
like the hangman in the days of
was charity for the printer, who,
Queen Bess, must
have been
'starving for want of a job.

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