His hiftory is written with great perfpicuity, and with no inconfiderable degree of knowledge and accuracy; fo that those who are competent judges of its merit, will receive no fmall pleasure from the perufal of it. His method of tracing each of the sciences hiftorically, from its origin to that point of perfection to which it has been carried, by the fucceffive labours of men of genius, feems likewife well calculated to give young perfons, and those who have little or no acquaintance with the fciences, a taste and relish for them. Curiofity is not only ftrongly excited, but kept alive, and the fciences, in our Author's hiftory of them, have nothing of that disagreeable and forbidding appearance which they have in thofe treatises that are written on the particular branches of them. To his hiftory of the sciences he has fubjoined a short account of the lives of thofe celebrated perfons, who have contributed moft to the improvement of them. Variations de la Monarchie Françoife, dans fon gouvernement politique, civil, et militaire; &c. That is, the changes which the French Monarchy has undergone in its political, civil, and military Government, with an Enquiry into the Causes which produced them: or, A Hiftory of the Government of France, from Clovis to the death of Lewis the fourteenth. By M. Gautier de Sibert. 12mo. 4 vol. Paris, 1765. T HERE is fcarce any ftudy from which perfons of every rank and condition of life may derive greater advantages, than from the study of hiftory. The fovereign, the minifter, the magiftrate, may learn from it the wifeft and most falutary maxims of civil policy; and thofe in the lower walks of life may learn the happy art of conducting themselves with fafety and honour in their refpective stations, to be happy in themselves, and useful to the community. To a reader of a philofophical turn, nothing can be more entertaining or inftructive, than to trace, in the history of a great and flourishing nation, the several steps of its progrefs, from its first feeble efforts in policy and legislation; to obferve ignorance refining into knowledge, and barbarity into politenefs; to attend to the influence of laws upon manners, and of manners upon laws; and to watch the flow but certain operation of thofe leading principles and caufes which contribute to the grandeur of the ftate, or threaten its deftruction. A reader of this turn will look upon every different fyftem of laws and government, as a different experiment made upon mankind; he will carefully mark the truths which arife from this experiment, and thus improve in the knowledge of human nature. By ob 2 ferving ferving the different characters of nations, and how they arise from their different fyftems of education and civil policy, he will naturally be led to conclude, that man is capable of being formed a much more perfect and happy creature than he has ever yet appeared, and that, if kings and heroes would relinquish their ambitious views of conqueft, and cherish the much nobler ambition of forming good men and good citizens, of raifing the human fpecies to that degree of perfection of which it is certainly capable, the most beneficial effects might be produced, and a new turn given to human affairs. But this train of reflection would carry us too far; we were naturally led into it, however, by the perufal of the work now before us, which, to a reader who has a previous acquaintance with the hiftory of France, will afford both pleasure and inftruction. The Author appears to be a man of fenfe and obfervation, well acquainted with his fubject, and more impartial than the generality of French hiftorians. He writes in a clear, eafy, and flowing ftyle; his reflections are generally just, if allowances are made, as they ought to be, for national prejudices; and they are fuch as naturally arife from his fubject. He divides his work into nine epochs or periods, each marked by fome interefting event. His principal defign in the history of each period, is to give an adequate view of the internal and external government of the French nation, of its fundamental laws, both civil and political, of the feveral objects that are related to them, fuch as commerce, arts, fciences, &c. with an account of the progrefs of each of thefe objects, of the changes that have happened in regard to them, and an examination of the causes that have produced thefe changes. That his work may be a regular whole, uniting, in one point of view, the most important parts of his fubject, he gives, in his account of each period, a fketch of the general hiftory of the monarchy. Many of his notes are curious; they contain illuftrations of his text, and fometimes additions to it. In fome of them too, he gives an account of the laws and ufages of other nations, in order to compare them with thofe of the French nation, or to fhew their refemblance. ATreatife for the Service of Chemistry in general: exhibiting the univerfal and specific Principles of Body; the fimple and uniform Procedure of Nature, in Petrification, in producing Minerals, and the Generation of Gold. To which is added, the most accurate Process for dulcifying Corrofives. The Medicine of Wedelius, and and Paracelfus, for the Gout. Medicines for the Scurvy, the Stone, and the Palfy. Confiderations on the Lues Venerea, with its Cure without Mercury. Together with feveral curious philofophic Experiments, the Reafon why the fulminant Gold ftrikes downwards, and the true Bohemian Pafte for precious Stones. By J. Grofman, M. A. of the University of Prague. London, 4to. 10s. 6d. Millan. WER ERE we to call Mr. J. Grofman a Jacob Behmen in chemistry, we apprehend we should pay him no small compliment: He is every whit indeed as myftical; but then in his extravagancies, flights, and abfurdities, he is not quite fo clever as his brother Jacob. Let him speak however for himself.-Treating of the univerfal and specific principles of body, our adept thus instructs us: • Principles are fimple, or refide in unity, therefore are they univerfal; they are called the ftone of Siphus; a point multiplied or continued on, produceth a line, and a line by junction of the two extremes a circle, and all the neceffary confequences. From a line arife length and breadth, or furface and depth which three are indivifible. To thefe if you add a centre, an equilateral triangle is produced. These figures are not manifefted to our fenfes but by means of external accidents. Unity multiplies itself by addition of even or uneven numbers. Unity doubled gives binity, or the number two, 2; that doubled produces the quaternion or number four, 4. Trinity, or the number three, 3, and binity, or number two combined, form the number five, 5; double that, and you have the denary, or number ten, 10. The denary, or number ten, is confidered as the principle of all compound things, as it confifts of odd numbers combined an even number of times, The trine, or number three, or the firft imparity, the effence of every thing. Five, or the laft imparity, ftands to exprefs the refult of the various combination or union of things in every individual body produced, which is called exiftence. Body owes its origin to created unity, through the natural diftinction of more and lefs, of rare and compact, and of other fenfible accidents; and refolves again into the original unity. It becomes fenfible, or multiplies itfelf outwardly of itself, and again destroys itself, when it ceafeth to be what it was. But fince body thus compounded, would be inert and impotent, a fpecific feed is added by the Deity. • In man this is the living foul. This bears the fame relation to a fimple point, and to an even number, that is to fay, it is expreffed expreffed by a circle, which contains the fquare; by this manner of expreffion, we understand, that it is more noble than body; for it alone hath the power to produce effects: but becaufe it is weakened by being united with body, both the interior and exterior principle ftand in need of help from that created fubftance, which is the last result or quinteffence of all things; which is called all in all, and is fpirit and falt, or acid and alkali, conjoined by mediation of moisture. These bestow faculties and powers; to them therefore is affigned the name intelligence; or the interior alligation, or bond under the second circle, which contains the first: than this nothing among created things is more perfect, and is called man.' So much for our Author's general philofophy :-Another extract, from that part of the work where he comes to particularize bodies, may poffibly be more than enough for our Readers.- Acid and alkali are thus characterifed. Alkali without any acid, or in its most pure ftate, freed from all mixture of foreign bodies or particles whatever, that did adhere to it, becomes a fixed body, abounding with pores, and therefore easily admits acid of any kind, not excluding even light itself, the moft fubtile acid; which appears by the different forts of phosphorus. Acid confifts of particles luminous, moft fubtile and penetrating, fermenting and attenuating alkalies. So acid is the mover, the informer, director, actor, and husband. The alkali is the wife, the patient, faithfully accommodating herself to his direction in all things. Thefe two joined by the mediation of moisture, enrich the feveral bodies with the life-giving power of producing fruit. Light or fpirit, contains an acid, and this chiefly volatile, for it returns into its chaos, as a body aërial, firy, volatile. • Darkness, as fomething obfcure, and more corporal, conftitutes alkali; for as this is more proper to body than light, it more intimately adheres to bodies, as is plain from alkali; for this is not so easily reduced into its chaos, as acid; because with water it obtains a body, fo very folid, that it cannot be separated but with great difficulty. For thus we fee that every alkali, calcined to the laft extremity, cannot be refolved into any other body, but an aqueous one. It remains true, therefore, and may be proved from innumerable arguments, that the first and laft matter of concrete bodies is water: that the form or efficient, is light or darknefs, or fprit and falt, or alkali and acid; and the fpecific feed, is particles given from above, by the word of creation, the almighty fiat, and deduced into action by that general and divine command,Increafe and multiply.' We remember not to have met with a greater impofition upon the public, than the prefent work; whether we confider the the manner of the publication *, the extravagance of the price, or the jumble and jargon of the moft wretched philofophy.— Mr. Grosman however has the modeft affurance to inform us ; That his view in this undertaking is, by adminiftring to the common good, to deferve well of the public; and to manifeft to all, who fhall make use of it, a really benevolent difpofition.'. He adds, Let no one be offended, that in explaining and treating chymical fubjects, I generally use common and obvious expreffions; the very genius of chymiftry requires it; and I have endeavoured to deliver it in a style fimple and clear, rather than affected, figurative, and involved.' Is it poffible that Mr. Grosman can be fo little known to himself! **This article may, poffibly, be thought mifplaced among the foreign publications, as the book appears in our own language, and was printed in London; but we fuppofe it can be of no great confequence in what part of our collection it is inferted. Befides, as being the work of a foreigner, there can be no impropriety in its taking place with other articles of imported literature. In fome parts we have a fuppofed Latin original without tranflation; in others only a tranflation; and in others again both original and tranflation. Thus, by a fingular kind of contrivance, the book, or rather pamphlet, is eked out to the length of 106 pages, and through the abundant benevolence of a confcientious author, or more confcientious bookfeller, is advertised at [Ten fhillings and fixpence, unbound.] Abrege Chronologique de l' Hiftoire D'Espagne et de Portugal, divisè AN N advertisement prefixed to this work informs us, that it was planned by the illuftrious Henault; that he is the Author of fome few paffages in it, but that not having time for fo extenfive an undertaking, he trufted the execution of it to fome men of letters, who had applied themfelves, under his eye, to this fpecies of compofition. Such of our Readers as are acqainted with the Chronological Abridgement of the Hiftory of France, will readily entertain a very favourable opinion of any work that is planned by the Author of it, and written under his direction; and if they have a general APP. vol. xxxiv. acquaintance M m |