be made; that all men were impoftors; that they fhould feek the gratification of their benevolence to no purpose; and that the principle itself must be unnatural, romantic, and useless. Greater wisdom, greater experience, and a greater knowledge of the world would inftruct them in a general truth, which is fufficient to obviate all thefe difficulties-that art and imposture are attended with affurance, indolence, and profligacy; and that merit is modeft, diffident, and induftrious; that the wicked offer themselves, and form the foremoft phalanx, through which you must penetrate, and behind which you must seek and folicit the truly deferving. However, we are by no means to adhere even to this general rule. Diftrefs, brought on by vice, is often artful and impofing. When we are even affured of this, it is not always a reafon for withholding our beneficence. A human creature in mifery is an object of beneficence, whatever may have been the caufe of that mifery. It is the part of wifdom to judge what relief we can afford them, confiftent with the obligations we are under to ourselves, and more deferving objects in real diftrefs."

That a human creatures in mifery is an object of beneficence," we give our unfeigned affent. This duty is ftrongly enforced and recommended in the New Teftament. And here we will ask Mr. Williams, what was the practice of our great and divine mafter? To this we anfwer for him, that his darling principle was "to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to give unto to them that mourn, beauty for afhes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praife for the fpirit of heavinefs." He paid attention to the piteous cries of every object in mifery, and made this heart-reviving reply: "What wilt thou that I fhall do for thee?" To ufe the words of a late writer,

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Mercy, with a heavenly voice, fpoke in all he uttered; Charity poured forth her ftores in all he did."

We will fubmit the following paffage to the confideration of our readers, and leave them to draw fuch conclufions as they shall think suitable and convenient. Mr. Williams is addreffing himself to his audience,

To have your faculties in their natural order and vigour; to hold your place as a member of fociety; to act uprightly and well in it; and to find your happiness in the happiness of the whole-these are the views of a man:-it is not poffible for a human being-for an angel with reverence be it fpoken-for Almighty God himself to have noble motives of action. Offer these to the degraded, though proud and haughty, votaries of religion, as motives to virtuous actions; you will not gain their attention. Tell them they will be damn'd, if they do not perform certain rites- Ay, that's a motive!" they'll fay-It is the afs's whip, and they'll move only while they tingle with the pain. It is

time

time to be ashamed of these things. It has ever been the language of impofture and of tyranny, that men are to be held in this degraded and difhonourable view; and in order to enflave and govern them as brutes, they have ever been spoken of and treated as fuch. Our business is with men, and our pleasure their happinefs; kings and priefts only have an intereft and delight in the ignorance and mifery of mankind.-We must regret, however, that when we speak to men as men, delineate their duties, and fhew the best reasons and motives for them, we have a chance of being understood or attended to by very few perfons. The process of causes and effects, in the natural world, are not more regular and methodical than in the moral world. Nothing happens, nothing arifes but in the order of nature, unless it be now and then a monfter; and that is only an apparent and trifling deviation: nothing can come to pafs without its affigned and proper cause.

"Moral happiness, the highest poffible object of human wish, defire, and aim; which not only renders our actual existence worth having; but infpires us with poetic frenzy; makes us create imaginary worlds, and extend our existence into Paradife, Elyfium, and Heaven, to perpetuate our enjoyments-this univerfal idol, and universal motive of purfuit and action, wants only to be understood to be enjoyed. We do worse than lofe our time, if we feek it at a distance and in imaginary regions; for it is with us, and every moment is facred to its pleasures. It is the effect of order, vigour, activity in the principles of our minds, which constitutes our virtue it is the refult of a natural and just difpofition of men and principles in fociety, which conftitutes public virtue; and this refult is the effect of caufes, as regular, as certain, as necessary as thofe which produce day and night, and fummer and winter. If all men were capable of comprehending the order of nature in the moral world, all men would be virtuous. Rewards and punishments are the expedients of ignorance and vice; and they will as foon produce day and night, and fummer and winter, as they will true and genuine moral happiness in any one instance. You are not to wonder that when I tell you temperance or moderation is neceffary to the right arrangement of all your faculties; to that natural order of your principles and affections which makes you virtuous; to fit you for your proper ftation in fociety, where all the principles which unite you should be fo reftrained and tempered to harmonize, coalefce, and produce an effect, which alone is real happiness you are not to wonder, when I fay this, I fhould fuppofe myself entitled to your attention: for I hold before you the utmost attainment of man, in its proper and only place, where alone it is poffible to obtain it: nay, I hold it be fore you when your minds are calm; when reason, unmolested by hopes and fears, can clearly fee and judge; and when 'alone the mind should chufe and determine. The delirium of the paffions, like intoxication from liquors, is unfriendly to the judgment; and those who canvass for heaven, merely by the hopes and fears of men worked into frenzies, are juft fuch moralifts, and just fuch honest

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honest men,, as thofe politicians, who intoxicate their conftituents, to enable them to make a right and judicious choice of fenators and legiflators. As the caufes are the fame, we fhould expect that the effects would be the fame; and that heaven, like fome fynods, conclaves, and public affemblies, would, on their plan, be occupied principally by fuch perfons as no honeft and virtuous man would wish to keep company with."

We fhall conclude our account of this ingenious, but impious performance, with an extract of a paffage containing observations on true and false wit.

"Reafon and philofophy have relieved the world of abundant quantities of that trash which has gone under the name of wit; and they will proceed until only what is genuine remains; that fprightly, enchanting quality, which is one of the inftruments of prudence and virtue, in heightening the felicity of life. Here a distinction obviously arifes between true and false wit, as well as between true and falfe prudence. Falfe wit is the talent of producing ftrong and grotefque fimilitudes, which may tempt fools to laugh at virtue; may make murder grin, and tyranny unfold its brows. This, it must be confeffed, is a talent; and this is the kind of wit which has moftly distinguished modern theatres. We are not to wonder, then, that this is not in alliance with reason, or prudence, or virtues and that it has fought all occafions to difhonour them. But we have obferved, there is a prudence, a fervile caution, which it has ever attended to, and by which it has obtained its infamous and wretched fupport. True wit is the art of combining ideas apparently unlike; and forming fimilitudes which give pleafure to virtue, by fingularity, novelty, and furprise. The fenfations excited by falfe wit, in a bad man, are violent and convulfive, and attended by languor and pain; those of real wit, in a good man, are lively, exquifite, and delightful, fucceeded by tranquility and pleasure. We fee the reason that the former is at enmity with prudence, and that the latter is its chearful and happy inftrument. Falfe wit knows nothing of reafon and virtue, but from their restraints. Genuine wit feels none of those restraints; for the directions of reafon and goodness to real genius are, like the hand of God in the univerfe, unperceived and unfelt. Bad men only are fettered and fhackled by prudence: in good men it points out and regulates, butnever restrains or gives uneafinefs. A ftate of knowledge and virtue only is a state of freedom; the dominion and tyranny of other principles, whether wit, humour, love, avarice or ambition, is abfolute and wretched : flavery.

"I thought it neceffary, in a difcourfe on prudence, to begin with its most forward and plaufible enemy, falfe wit that talent for exciting laughter in weak and bad men, at the expence of their real intereft and happiness; that talent, which fome perfons carry about them, like an offenfive weapon, to wound the reputation and peace of their acquaintance; which, when unaccompanied, as VOL. XI.

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it always is unaccompanied, with real wisdom and genuine benevolence, makes a man feared and hated for the mifchief he can do ; and gives him only that fuperiority and confequence given to a venemous ferpent, which men make way for to avoid, and which they obferve and watch only to destroy.

"The ufe of real wit, like that of all the fecondary and inferior talents, fhould be regulated by prudence. Genuine wisdom, extenfive and folid knowledge, an enlightened benevolence, and benign virtue: these great, these fupreme attainments of humanity, are not liable to abuse-but the minor faculties of wit and humour; the talents by which we sport and play, are those which require guidance and direction. And it is of very serious importance to the happiness of life, that they fhould be ufed with prudence. Brilliant and lively men, who have the faculty of giving every thing a laughable appearance, though we do not think them of importance enough to take them into our councils and our friendships, they are the orchestra of our feftive entertainments, and we efteem them according to the effect of their performance, in making us laugh. The judgment we are to exercife is in the choice of the objects which we are to facrifice to our diverfion. Vice and folly we are allowed to make free with; but we are to be very fure we mistake them not. For as it is a maxim in criminal justice, that an hundred villains should escape rather than one innocent man fuffer; fo fhould it be in intellectual justice : it is even better that there fhould be no wit in the world, than that one virtuous or good man fhould be facrificed by it. The talent of giving pleasure, of making a man agreeable, or of rendering others ridiculous, is a dangerous one; it often makes a man ridiculous, when marked out as in poffeffion of it; it is detestable when used at the expence of decency, of friendship, of truth, or of any moral virtue; and though it be not a common topic of religious differtations, it is of fo much importance to the happiness of fociety, that it fhould be fubject to the care and regulations of prudence."

Erratum in the above article, page 151, line 6 from the bottom, for noble read nobler.

The Hiftory of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, from the Death of Philip II. King of Spain, to the Truce made with ... Albert and Isabella. By William Lothian, D. D. one of the Minifters of Canongate. Dodfley and Longman, London; Dickson, Edinburgh. 4to. 18s. boards.

Revolutions in ftates and empires are very proper fubjects for history. Though when fudden and unexpected, they may excite furprife, yet when more gradual, the pleasure we feel in obferving the progrefs is great, and the inftruction we thus obtain ufeful and important. A variety of charac

ters are introduced upon the ftage; oppofite paffions give life to the scene; and while the cataftrophe is in fufpenfe we are kept awake. In fuch a field the virtues and vices are exhibited in a confpicuous light; and we learn from the effects what may be the probable confequence of any measures which policy may dictate, ambition propofe, or power attempt to purfue. When in any government one branch of the conftitution ufurps the prerogative of another; when unalienable rights are invaded, or the liberties of a people are in danger, opportunity is then afforded for the exertion of talents and the operation of paffions, which in other circumftances would not have appeared. The importance of the object calls forth fingular exertions, and other confiderations befides the intereft of the ftate, influence the conduct and mingle in the difpute. If the parties are equally balanced as to the force they can exert, and the ftruggle is long maintained, we wait the conclufion with anxiety. If power is on one fide and juftice on the other, our fears are excited. If, notwithstanding many difadvantages, the conteft is fupported; if the weaker party acquire ftrength, and, in every exigency, finds out refources, we hope for a favourable iffuc. In fuch fituations almoft every occurrence becomes material, and the history of fuch tranfactions yields ample matter for obfervation and reflection.

In the hiftory of the Netherlands, during the reign of Philip II. to whom these countries devolved by the refignation of his father the Emperor Charles V. we have a striking inftance of a misguided policy, and of a fuccessful oppofition to arbitrary power. Philip, though endowed with many talents for government, foon difgufted his fubjects in the Netherlands, and raised fufpicions of a defign to deprive them of rights they had enjoyed from the most ancient times, and which he himself had, according to eftablished ufage, folemnly swore to preserve inviolated. It was impoffible that any encroachment could either pafs unobferved, or be viewed with indifference by a people accustomed to hold a large fhare in the adminiftration, and to confider their prince as invefted with very limited authority. Their fituation rendered them quick-fighted in difcerning any breach of their privileges, and perhaps jealous where there was no bad defign. Philip's conduct, however, was neither reserved nor ambiguous. His bigotted principles in matters of religion were ill fuited to the difpofitions of a people who, from their intercourse with ftrangers, had acquired a more liberal fpirit; his haughty manners difpleafed those who formerly lived in familiarity X 2

with