The son of God, he says, was perfectly well qualified, and every way fufficient, for the office of a mediator between God. and men, abstracted from the confideration of his death; tho certain circumstances, it is said, concurred to call for this laft condescension also, and render it necessary in the pursuit of his kind views towards mankind. He does not confider the death of Chrift as a vicarious punishment of fin, by way of fatisfaction to law and justice, but looks upon his facrifice as a gift offered up to God, by way of rendering his perfon perfectly acceptable, and his interceffion in behalf of men perfectly effectual. So that according to him, Christ's mediation and interceffion is the immediate ground of mankind's restoration to the divine favour, and of all our mercies and bleffings, howfoever conveyed to us.

The very end of his coming into the world, says he, 'of • his affuming the human nature, and of all his condefcenfions ⚫ and self-denials, was to fit himself for being a proper medi* ator of men with God, by rendering himself the holieft and * worthiest human person in all possible respects, respectively to whose relation to him, and his natural affection and concern for them, God would receive them into mercy."

But it is not our purpose to give a full and particular account of this author's work, which would, indeed, require more time than we think necessary to bestow upon it: what we have already faid will, perhaps, fatisfy the bulk of our readers. If there are any who defire further fatisfaction, they must have recourse to the author himself; who, tho' he gives a different account of the matter he treats of, from what -the generality of writers do, is far, we apprehend, from having removed ali difficulties relating to it, as he himself feems to imagine. In the fourth part of his performance he examines Mr. Taylor's scheme of Christ's atonement; and, in an appen. dix, Outram's treatise on sacrifices.

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ART. XX. An Introduction to Universal History. Translated from the Latin of Baron Holberg. With notes, historical, chronological, and critical. By Gregory Sharpe, L. L. D. Fellow of the royal fociety, and of the society of antiquarians.

: 8vo. 4s. Linde.

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F the several introductions to univerfal history that we have looked into, not one, in our opinion, is to be compared to this, either in regard to the general choice of N3 topics,

topics, the clearness of method, or faithfulness of narration. It includes all history, from the creation to the present time, and unfolds the origin, declenfion, revolutions, and deftruction of empires, kingdoms, and states, in an easy and perspi

cuous manner.

A brief account is delivered of the rife and progress of almost every empire, kingdom, or republic in the world; shewing how they arose from the ruins of one another. The work is introduced with an abridgment of antient facred hiftory, from the creation of the world, to the destruction of Jerufalem; after which the author proceeds to the history of the four monarchies; and then treats particularly of the kingdoms that started up out of their ruins, by which means the whole work is wrought up together like the history of one nation. To assist the memory of young perfons, for whom the performance is principally intended, he uses the method of question and answer, divides history into certain periods, and at the close of every period gives a sketch of the political, ecclefiaftical, and literary state of thing; that facred and prophane, political and literary matters might not be confounded with one another. There is likewife a short abstract given of the lives of those persons who were eminent for their learning or their virtue.

In regard to chronology, the work is defective; but this defect is supplied by the learned translator's notes, which difcover great knowledge of antient and modern history, and are equally useful and pertinent. The system of chronology which Dr. Sharpe adopts is that of the great Sir Isaac Newton, whose authority in this branch of knowlege having been difputed, the doctor, in his preface, gives his reasons for following it.

He confiders Sir Ifaac's system as the best, because founded not upon large conjectural numbers, but upon aftronomical observations, the genealogies of families, and the mean ratio of mens lives, as they succeed by generations, or in fucceffion to one another by eldest fons, or otherwife. Nor was Sir Ifaac, we are told, the first who reasoned concerning chronology from genealogies. Olaus Rudbeckius, in his Manheim, or Atlantica, has made several observations, it is said, which serve to confirm Sir Ifaac's system; for which reason, and because the book is very scarce, the doctor translates and inserts them. As they are very short, we shall lay them before our readers.

• Be events,' says Rudbeck, never so antient or memorable • relating to kings or heroes, in this or that writer, they will • find little credit, unless there be also recorded tranfactions • with other nations; such as marriages, treaties, alliances, ' wars; or fome other matters in common, that by comparing ' events, some dates may be thereby discovered and afcertained. -If we can bring facts from other historians to the Bible, they mutually support each other.-Antient writers not only neglected the years of each reign, but epochs. And there• fore subsequent authors affigned arbitrarily fuch dates as they thought proper to the lives and reigns of kings. And then • another evil arofe, for they often affigned to several bro⚫thers too great a number of years, as if they had been in • succession to one another, and so gave whole ages to one ⚫ generation of men. Some also have confidered tributary • kings, tho' living under subjection to one fovereign at one

time, as if they had been in a long train of fucceffion to one ⚫ another; and have assigned them their times in proportion ' to their number, making the age of the world some thou< sand years older than the truth. Some, to correct the errors ⚫ of other chronologers, have, in Egyptian history, taken kings • from one dynasty, and added them to another. --But I, folicitous to discover the true way, have determined first to enumerate the genealogies or families of certain kings and heroes, • particularly those to whose lives and reigns no chronological calculations have been as yet adapted: for fuch I think must needs be most free from corruptions, as having never been practised upon by others to establish a foundation for con• jectural chronology; and then to confider the connections that kings of different nations must have with each other, ⚫ by intermarriages, wars, and treaties.'

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But then,' (says Dr. Sharpe) nor Rudbeck, nor any other author before Sir Ifaac Newton, ever made the neceffary • distinction between generations and reigns, or fucceffions, or 6 ever affigned the proper numbers, on a medium, for the na•tural duration of each of them: and as these numbers are ⚫ taken from the general course of nature, his Chronology may • be faid to stand upon as firm a basis as his Principia.

After offering these reasons for adhering to Sir Ifaac's fyftem of chronology, the doctor concludes his preface with obferving, for the fake of those who are strangers to the character of Baron Holberg, author of this introduction to univerfal hiftory, that he was a learned and ingenious man; a Dane by birth; the author of many works, in prose and verse, but almost all of them in the Danish language; that he wrote twenty five plays; a metamorphofis, the reverse of Ovid's, relating the changes of flowers, trees, and animals, into men; that he was the author of several fatyrs in verse; of the entertaining

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voyage under ground, of Klimius, in Latin called Iter fubterraneum; of some epigrams; of his own life; of an excellent ecclesiastical history; another of the Danes, and one of the Jews; with feveral moral, historical, and other pieces; and that he was always infirm and studious, had travelled much, and loved and imitated the manners of the English.

We shall close our account of this performance with observing, that it is not only an excellent introduction to univerfal history, and confequently fit to be put into the hands of young persons; but that the notes added to it by Dr. Sharpe render it worthy the perusal of those whose advanced knowledge and maturer judgments have left the rudiments of hiftory far behind them.

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ART. XXI. An Argument in Defence of Chriftianity, taken from the conceffions of the most antient adverfaries, Jews and Pagans, Philosophers and Historians. In which is shewn the different state of infidelity in those early times, from what it now is. To which is added, An Apology for some of the first Christian fathers; with some remarks upon the genuineness of the four gospels. By Gregory Sharpe, L. L. D. fellow of the royal fociety, and of the Society of antiquarians. 8vo. 35. 6d. Millan,

N this work our learned author purfues one entire and diftinct argument for the truth of the Chriftian religion; and fuch an argument as removes the controverfy out of the hands of ignorant and unlearned infidels, and confines it to those only who are capable of enquiring into what was done in Paleftine and Rome, more than severiteen hundred years ago. He states the difference between the infidelity of the antients and the moderns, and shews that the latter have, without any authority, denied what the former, from the great notoriety of the facts, were forced to admit; and this, he thinks, affords a fufficient answer to the moderns, by oppofing to them the conceffions of their predecessors in infidelity, who were rather better judges of what was fact in or near their own times. His wenquiry being into facts, he brings his evidences along with him, and lets them speak for themselves in their own language.

The work confifts of two pieces, the first of which is a difcourse from these words, Alis ii. 22. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles, and wonders, and figns, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves aljo know

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know. This discourse he introduces with some general but just reflections upon the evidences of Chriftianity, and the conduct of modern unbelievers; after which he proceeds to shew, that many of the facts upon which Chriftianity is founded, are acknowleged by its enemies. He observes that the Jews, the first and most inveterate enemies of Christ, often speak of him in the antient writings of their rabbi's, as lifted up or crucified; call him Jesus of Nazareth, the fon of Mary; confefs that his difciples had the power of working miracles, and the gift of healing, in the name of their master; and acknowlege over and over again our Lord's power of healing leprous persons, and of raifing from the dead. From all this he infer, that so many gospel-facts would never have been admitted by the early Jews, if the gospel history had not been true; since they, of all adverfaries, would not have borne their teftimony to the miraculous powers of Chrift and his apostles, if they could have been denied. And what ever they may have faid on the other fide, against our Saviour or his mother, by mistaking Mary Magdalene for the mother of Jefus, and by charging her fon with the exercise of magic, and with other calumnies, is easily removed, we are told, by confidering the moral and religious character of our Lord, which is far greater than ever was represented in any other person in the world.

If we enquire of the Greeks and Romans, after what was done in Palestine, we shall find, the doctor tells us, much in favour of our religion, related by the Christian fathers; according to whose reports, Tiberius, informed by Pilate of the refurrection of our Lord, moved the senate for his reception into their Pantheon, or enrollment amongst their gods; Vespasian and Titus dreaded his power and influence; Adrian purposéd divine honours to him, and forbad the worshipping of idols; Severus and Antoninus Pius erected statues to him, and worshipped him.

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We have therefore, says our author, all the evidence from facts that can reasonably be expected; for we have the teftimony of some of the earliest and most inveterate enemics to the Chriftian cause, for the miraculous powers of its author, and his immediate followers; and the acknowlege-. ment at least of other adversaries, which is most unexceptionable evidence; and, when added to the other authorities from history, of prophecy fulfilled, and the harmony, and many • internal excellencies, of the scriptures of the New Testa*ment, will render it much more eafy to account for the fuc* cess of Chriftianity at first, than for the oppofitions that have • fince been made to it,

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