There is alfo a pretty large appendix, the firft, fecond, and third numbers of which contain an abstract of the evidence concerning the reading of 1 John v. 17. In this we find an ample and impartial statement of all the copies and authorities which may ferve to fix the credit of this long-difputed paffage. We are ready to admit the impolicy of bringing forward this questionable paffage, when there are fo many others more to the purpose, and while we highly approve Dr. Knowles's omiffion of it, we cannot fee very clearly what neceffity there was for an elaborate confutation of it in a work intended to answer the doctor.

Number IV. of the appendix contains an historical account of the first introduction of the word Trinity among Christian writers; No. V. a review of the arguments derived from the baptismal form. In the firft of these there are a few original thoughts. The laft number is an extract from the works of the author's friend, the late Dr. J. Jebb, on the doctrine of the Trinity, and of worship to Chrift.

ART. III. The Life of Scipio Africanus, and of Epaminondas; intended as a Supplement to Plutarch's Lives. With Notes and Obfervations on the Battle of Zama, and Remarks critical and biftorical on the principal Battles of Epaminondas, by M. de Folard. To which is prefixed a Differtation on the Distinction between a great Man and an illuftrious or eminent Man, by the Abbé de St. Pierre, of the French Academy. Now first tranflated into English from the Original French of the Abbé Seran de la Tour, by the Rev. R. Parry, Rector of Kemerton, Gloucestershire. 8vo. 2 vols. 8s. boards. Richardfon. London, 1787.

JHETHER Plutarch ever compofed the lives of Scipio

Africanus and Epaminondas, it is impoffible now to determine; but they were subjects highly worthy of being related by that excellent biographer. The former of thofe illuftrious characters ftands almoft unexampled in hiftory for the glorious atchievements which he performed when he scarcely had reached the age of manhood; and the latter for the wonderful abilities which he had long concealed, until at last they were called forth into exertion by the exigencies of his country. Each of them affords a fignal example of the extraordinary powers of the human mind, when actuated with vigour and alacrity. The prefent narrative was undertaken by M. de Folard, with the view of fupplying the deficiency in the work of Plutarch; and he has collected for the purpose all the information which can be obtained from ancient writers.

Publius

Publius Cornelius Scipio, furnamed Africanus, was born at Rome in the 517th year of the city, and 335 years before the Christian era:

The Cornelian family, of which he was the head, had ever joined abilities and virtues to the glory of a pedigree, which loft itfelf in antiquity. Publius Cornelius his father, and Cneus his uncle, loft their lives at the head of the armies of the republic. The fequel of this history will show how worthy Scipio was to inherit the name of these heroes.

Scipio was but eighteen when he had the happiness to distinguish himself by one of those fingular actions which do as much honour to the man as the hero.

Publius Scipio his father permitted him to attend him in the first campaign he made against Hannibal in Italy; the Carthaginian and Roman armies met on the banks of the Tefinus, and the generals immediately joined battle. The Romans gave way on all fides, and nothing could rally them. Scipio, who commanded in quality of conful, in vain attempted every thing that could be expected from an able general; he was himself on the point of being made prifoner, when his fon, whom he had placed on a neighbouring eminence with a fufficient guard, perceived his fituation. The danger his father was in, would not fuffer him to obey the injunction he had laid upon him, not to mix in the action; he rushed down at the head of his guard, whom he obliged to follow him, fell upon the enemy with all the impetuofity of that courage which nothing could refift, got to his father, difengaged him from the hands of the Carthagi nians, and received from him, with embraces of the most lively tent derness, the glorious name of his deliverer.

• The conful ordered a civic crown to be presented to his fon the young Scipio, fufficiently rewarded by the action itself, refufed to receive it. It is on occafion of this refusal that Pliny makes this beautiful reflection on the materials of that crown, which consisted only of oaken branchés. Other crowns were, for the most part, fays he, either compofed of, or enriched with, the most fine and pure gold. The Romans thought it an affront to humanity to offer any other reward than that of glory to a man who faved the life of a man, they would have blushed at mixing views of intereft with an action fo natural.

This event was fufficient to roufe the ambition which a young Roman patrician would feel, and one of a name which encouraged him to afpire to every thing. It was to Scipio only an incitement to seize every occafion of fignalifing himself, however dangerous.",

The noble conduct of Scipio, in refigning the beautiful Spanifh captive to her lover Allucio, has been univerfally cele brated. Allucio, wishing to record his own gratitude and Scipio's generofity, caused alvotive shield to be made, on which he was reprefented receiving from the Roman general's hands the princess to whom he was engaged. The biographer informs

us that he has feen this memorial, as remarkable as it is valuable, in the French king's cabinet of medals. It had lain almoft nineteen hundred years in the river Rhone, where we know that Scipio's baggage was loft on his return from Spain to Italy. This fhield contains forty-fix marks of pure filver, and is twentyfix inches in diameter. We are told that the plain uniform taste which reigns through the whole defign, in the attitudes and the contours, fhews the fimplicity of the arts in those days, when they avoided all foreign ornaments to be more attentive to natural beauties.

The ferocity of the people of Astapa broke forth at this period into, an act of fuch defperate refolution that we shall give a place to the following account of it from the work now before us:

1

Aftapa was a small town, erected on a mountain, without either fortifications or garrifon. Lucius Martius, he who acquired fuch reputation before the arrival of Scipio, and who commanded a separate corps of troops, fummoned it to furrender; to which no attention was paid. The inhabitants, accuftomed to pillaging, were unwilling to fubmit to a power, under which they must have lived peaceably and on a good footing with their neighbours, without being allowed to commit any violence or injuftice. They held the Romans in abborrence, and fancying themfelves fufficiently ftrong by their hatred alone, refolved to perish rather than furrender. They were not ignorant of the Román ufage towards towns taken by affault; they knew that all in them were either put to death or condemned to flavery, and that the places which they ftormed were immediately given up to pillage. They had heaped together at Aftapa the plunder of the whole country, and amaffed immenfe riches by rapine and murders. Martius offered them their lives and liberties if they would give up their wealth; but it was dearer to them than life itself; they therefore refused it at fuch a price, and could not bring themselves to affent that the fruit of fo many years employed in injuftice and robbery, fhould pafs into the poffeffion of their mortal enemies. They caused their gold and filver money, and whatever they had of value, to be brought into the market-place; then, with a firmness worthy of a better motive, they placed upon this heap their old people, their wives and children; they enclofed them with a circle of faggots ready to be lighted, and placed a guard of fifty young men, with orders to fet the whole on fire, and not fuffer a fingle person to efcape if they were beaten in the fally they were then going to make upon the Romans.

Having taken thefe fatal precautions, they all devoted themfelves to death by the moft horrible imprecations, and fwore to kill themselves if they were worsted in the combat, rather than fubmit to the republic. Full of this terrible refolution they brifkly fallied out: Martius, who never thought them capable of this rafhness, was furprifed; the firft pofts were carried; they obferved no order in the action, but fought with fuch fury that at first nothing could

1

withstand

withstand them. Martius, towards whofe lines they refolutely advanced, had time to form a body of veterans, who knew not how to retreat or give way, though death stared them in the face; they attacked them like men in defpair, and, not being able to conquer, were all killed, fo that not a fingle man remained.

The news of this defeat foon reached Aftapa, and produced in that town a moft cruel tragedy: the fifty young men, being informed of the lofs of their fellow-citizens, fet fire to the pile, which inclofed all that thefe wretched men had left that was most dear and valuable, a vast number of women and children, who were rafh enough to fubfcribe to the barbarous refolution of their husbands and. parents, yet had not conftancy enough to bear the terrible attacks of the devouring flame; but the young men had the inhumanity to drive again into the blazing pile their half-burned bodies, and to cut in pieces thofe they were unable to force back. After fo great a carnage, tired of living themfelves, as well as of killing their fellow-citizens, reeking with the blood they had fhed, they threw themselves into the midst of the flames' to avoid the Romans. Thus perished the Aftapians, by fuch an excess of pride and fury as makes humanity fhudder at the relation. They fhewed, in thus facrificing themfelves, the immoderate antipathy they bore to a nation which had loaded all their country with acts of kindness, and the exceffive tranfport the human heart is fufceptible of, when inflamed by its paffions.'

M. de Folard's opinion, with refpect to the motives which actuated the great Fabius in his oppofition to Scipio, is candid and fenfible. The conduct of that celebrated commander has been generally ascribed to envy; but our author fuggefts the poffibility of its having proceeded from prudence. He obferves that all the advantages which were gained against Hannibal in battle, only excited Fabius's fears left there fhould happen a reverfe of fortune that might prove dangerous to the republic. Scipio, on the other hand, convinced that the driving of Hannibal out of Italy would afford the Romans nothing more than a temporary respite from war, uniformly perfevered in recommending to his countrymen the utter extinction of Carthage. Thus different principles,' fays our author, make the greatest < men think and act differently, who yet aim only at the fame object, the good of their country. We acknowledge that, confidering the cool temper, and particularly the great age of Fabius, it seems more reasonable to impute his oppofition to a conviction of judgment than to perfonal animofity.

In compiling the life of Epaminondas, as well as that of Scipio, M. de Folard has availed himself of all the information which could be derived from the ancient hiftorians; nor has he omitted any opportunity of rendering the narrative more interefting by his own incidental reflections. He feems, however, to have been more ambitious of giving a faithful than an ele

gant

.

gant hiftory, both of the Roman and Theban commanders. His obfervations on the battle of Zama are judicious, and discover him to have been particularly attentive to the fubje&t. In refpect of the tranflation, it is executed with perfpicuity, and we may add with juftnefs: but we cannot avoid mentioning, that, in the perufal of it, a few obfolete English expreffions, and a few Gallicifms, have presented themselves to our observation; which an indulgent reader will overlook in fo long a work as the lives of Scipio Africanus and of Epaminondas.

ART. IV. Mathematical Effays on several Subjects; containing new Improvements and Discoveries in the Mathematics. By the Rev. John Hellins. 4to. 7s. 6d. Davis. London, 1788.

THE

HE firft of thefe Effays has been already published in the 70th volume of the Philofophical Tranfactions. It contains fome new theorems for the computation of logarithms, in which Mr. Hellins appears to be particularly converfant. The utility of those artificial numbers is established beyond difpute; and therefore every attempt to improve the conftruction of them is justly entitled to approbation.

The fecond Effay relates likewife to the computation of lo garithms, containing not only feveral new theorems for that purpose, but a new method of conftructing a table of those arti ficial numbers. All the feries which our author gives converge very fwiftly; but fome of them about twice as faft as any of the kind hitherto publifhed. The approximations to the values of thofe feries have different degrees of accuracy, each of which is afcertained; and the method recommended by Mr. Hellins, of computing, examining, or enlarging a table of logarithms, is, we acknowledge, very easy.

The third Effay treats of the reduction of equations that have two equal roots; and contains an inveftigation of the common methods, with fome remarks. The method advised by our au thor is different from any other we have feen; and it seems, from its facility, to be well adapted to the capacity of learners.

The fourth Effay is employed on the refolution of equations that have two equal roots; and contains fome new theorems for calculating the values of thofe roots. In the preceding Effay the author had demonftrated that, when an equation has two equal roots, it may be very eafily reduced to a lower dimenfion. In that now before us, he fhews that fuch equations are easily reducible to any dimenfion defired, even to a single one. We find that both thefe Effays are part of a new fyftem of algebra, in which the author's plan is to treat diftinctly of equations that have two, as well as thofe that have three, equal roots; and to apply those equations to fome new uses,

The