N the body of our work we review others, in our Prefaces we, in fome degree, review ourselves; for, turning our eyes back upon the pages of the preceding half year, we examine what Articles, among the number we have noticed, were truly worthy of our attention; and we then offer fuch a lift as we fhould probably form, were we allowed to choofe our collection, and to reject all books, from which we might expect or experience difguft. We occafionally do yet more; for modifying our own obfervations, if we find reafon to fuppofe that we have, in any inftance, been too cold in our praife, we contrive to heighten it in the general commendation; if we have been on the other hand too fevere, we can qualify or mitigate the fentence, by a very few words of recapitulation. We prefume not on being fo infallible as never to have occafion for fuch meafures; yet fuch is our general care, that this fecondary ufe of our Preface is very feldom exemplified. If the prefent age has been doomed to fee many impugners of the faith, it has produced alfo feveral zealous and very able defenders of it. The Rev. |