XII. The Bulgarians diftinguished, who had before been known only under the general name of Scythians.

XIII. First appearance of the flaves or Sclavonians on this fide the Danube.

XIV. The Huns employed by Juftin II. in his expedition against the Perfians. Geographical obfervations on Colchis and Lazica.

XV. New account of the fituation of the Sclavonians. First appearance of the eastern Turks, under the name of Cha

zares.

XVI. Contests of the emperors with the Bulgarians and Scla vonians. Divers remarks on the Cherfonites and Bofphorians. Geographical obfervations on the Taurica Cherfonefus.

XVII. Origin of the Athingans or Bohemians. Converfion of the king of the Bulgarians, which gives rife to the fchifm of Photius. Various remarks on the Sclavonian language, being adopted by the Bulgarians.

XVIII. Firft incurfions of the Ruffians towards the South. Invafion of great Moravia by the Turks.

XIX. The war between Conftantine Porphyrogenetes and Si meon king of the Bulgarians. Geographical obfervations on the navigation of the Ruffians, and on feveral parts near the Boryfthenes.

XX. Continuation of the hiftory of the Turks, Bulgarians, and Ruffians. Incurfion of the Patzinacites into Hungary. Destruction of the Bulgarian monarchy by the emperor Bafilius.

XXI. Revolt of the Bulgarians. War between Conftantine Monomacus and the Patzinacites. Invafion of Bulgaria, Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece, by the Uzes. War in Croatia under Michael Duc. Parap.

XXII. Continuation of the hiftory of Croatia and Dalmatia, under Alexis and John Comnenius. War between John and the Patzinacites. Revolt of the Servians. War between John and the Hungarians.

XXIII. Continuation of the hiftory of Servia, Croatia, and Dalmatia. First appearance of the Comanians. Geographical obfervations on the countries inhabited by those barbarians in Afia. War between Manuel Comnenius and the Hungarians. Rife of Genghis Kan.

XXIV. Origin of the Walachians. Several incurfions of the Walachians and Comanians, on the territories of the empire, until the death of Baldwin. Irruption of the Tartars into Europe, under their prince Batou Kan. Converfion of the Comanians.

XXV. Walachia divided from the kingdom of Bulgaria, and formed into a feparate ftate. Establishment of the principality of Moldavia, Succeffion of princes till Stephen the great. APP. vol. xxxiv. Nn

Such

Such are the principal fubjects of thefe hiftorical obfervations, in which the author hath, as far as might be confiftent with his plan, generally conducted himself by the fucceffion of emperors. The limited nature of his argument, prevented him from procceding fyftematically; fo that his obfervations are generally topical, and while he was confined to one tract of country, he could not purfue his inhabitants to the extent of their migrations, or enter into the interefts of their new fettlements: yet the more regular hiftorian may from hence receive important lights and ufeful intimations; for fuch works as thefe may be confidered as a kind of common-place-books, or treasuries of hiftorical anecdotes and inftructions, ufeful to be referred to on every occafion.

In the latter part of his work, Mr. Peyffonnel entertains us with an account of his travels to M. gnefia, Thyatira, Sardis, &c. and relates whatever he met with worthy of curiofity in antique monuments, and variety of fignificant infcriptions, most of which have hitherto been unobferved: with historical and geographical remarks.-Thefe he addreffes to the members of the royal academy of infcriptions and belles lettres. They are really a valuable collection, and, as they are accompanied with plates, they muft afford the moft exquifite entertainment to the lovers of high antiquity.

De la Prédication. i. e. On Preaching. 12mo. A Londres, (à Paris) 1766.

TH

HE defign of this performance is to fhew that preaching has contributed very little, in any age of the world, to the reformation of mankind, and that it is in the power of government alone to produce this happy effect. The author appears to be a man of fenfe and genius, a friend to virtue, and a lover of mankind; his manner of writing is fprightly and agreeable, and though many will, no doubt, look upon every thing that is faid in regard to improving the manners and morals of mankind, as idle and visionary, yet the difcerning reader, who is acquainted with the nature and history of man, will be convinced of the weight and importance of many things which he advances.

He fets out with obferving that men, ever fince they have formed themselves into focieties, have been preaching to on another, though with little fuccefs. He fhews briefly from the history of the Old Teftament, that the preachers both before and after the flood made few converts. When he comes to the time of our Saviour, he fays, It is not for us, worms of the earth, the children of darknefs, blind in the book of life, ti

afk

afk, why the light of the world did not purify the world by the fire of his word; why, after his death, both Jews and Gentiles continued what they were before? We know that he fent his apoftles to preach to the nations; but we know likewife that the nations, inftead of attending to the apoftles, put them to death, and that, till the days of Conftantine, preaching made few profelytes.'

Here we must carefully diftinguifh between the converfion of the understanding, and that of the heart; the eftablishment of a new worship, and the establishment of manners. This is an important diftinction, and I fhall have occafion to return to it by and bye.'

Conftantine fpread chriftianity over thofe extenfive countries that were fubject to the Roman empire. Clovis introduced it into Gaul, Charlemagne into Germany, Ethelbert into Great Britain, &c. A fine triumph for the ecclefiaftical historians! Methinks I hear Gregory of Tour fay to me--Caft your eye over Gaul, and behold in the temples which are rifing every where in honour of the true God, thofe altars, that cross, that facrifice, thofe facraments, thofe public prayers, thofe humiliations, thofe marks of penitence, that hierarchy of pastors to preferve the facred depofitum of the faith.'

I fee them, but I fee at the fame time kings and queens with crosses on their foreheads, and crimes in their hearts. I fee a Clovis, with the crofs on his face, fhedding the blood of five princes, his own relations, in order to invade their little territories; I fee &c. &c.'

The number of preachers, fince the early ages of chriftianity, is prodigioufly increafed, together with the number of the faithful. At a certain hour of a certain day of the week, fifty thousand preachers, in the different countries of Europe, affemble the people, and fay to them whatever they please; and to thefe preachers fovereigns truft the important business of manners. In reading the Roman hiftory, it is obfervable, that the magistrate alone fpoke to the people jure regali. In the days of Conftantine, the magiftrates was filent, and the priest spoke.'

Our author goes on to obferve, that the prefent manner of preaching is ill calculated to warm the imagination, or reach the heart; that the preachers of other religions have been as unfuccefsful as thofe of the true; and that preaching, in every age and country, has been more fuccefsful in recommending evil than good. He then proceeds thus:

But there have been preachers of another fort, who, withcat attending at the altar, have preached good morals; let us fee what fuccefs they have had. I begin with the poets, the firft inftructors of mankind, who have the beft claim to the attention

Nn 2

tention of their hearers, as they always fpeak a divine language, os divina fonans. We have nothing left of the works of Orpheus, who fang his morals before the days of the prophets. But if fable, in order to give us a high idea of them tells us, that he tamed the fierceft animals, and even foftened the heart of Pluto, it tells us at the fame time, that he could not calm the amorous rage of the women of Thrace, who tore him in pieces on account of his indifference: a bad omen for those poets who were to preach virtue after him.'

Among the poets we are acquainted with, some have preached in heroics, fuch as Homer, Virgil, Lucan, Taffo, Camoëns, Milton, and the author of the Henriad. When the Iliad appeared, Greece was divided into as many parties, as there were frates in it. They were continually attacking each other, and inteftine convulfions fhook the general conftitution. Homer forefaw the fatal confequences of their divifions, and employed the voice of reason, the force of example, the majefty of ftile, the pomp of words, the charms of poetry, to fhew them the danger of difcord; but union no where appeared. Never perhaps was the Iliad more read, or more admired, than in the days of Pericles; because at that period, the tafte and genius of the Greeks were at their height; even the vulgai were ftruck with the beauties of poetry and eloquence. It is not neceffary to cite the paffages, where Homer, always attentive to the great point he had in view, paints Difcord in the form of a famifhed monfter, feeding on blood and carnage. I is fufficient for my purpofe to obferve, that the Greeks, whil they were finging the verfes of Homer, extolling his poetry and the moral he inculcated to the fkies, were tearing one anothe in pieces.'

The wife Virgil, whilft he flattered the Romans in hi Aneid, propofed to himself, no doubt, to rekindle expiring virtue in the breafts of his countrymen. Accordingly he fing of a hero ever juft, ever patient, ever brave, ever full of piet towards the gods. This is the principal character with whic he marks him; pius Æneas, &c. and in order to infpire th greater horror of irreligion, and those other vices which wer haftening the ruin of Rome, even under her own triumph arches, with what dreadful noife, with what horrid apparatu does he open the infernal regions to their view? In that aby of tortures, nine times deeper than the distance between ear and heaven, he fhews profane mortals thofe mifers, who acc mulated wealth without fharing it with the indigent; brothe who lived in enmity with brothers; fubjects who took up an against their rightful fovereigns; traitors who fold their cou try for money, magiftrates who enacted or abolished laws fro

views of intereft; fathers guilty of inceft, and children of parricide.'

Was Auguftus, was Tiberius, was Caligula, was Nero, were the grandees of their courts, was that multitude of corrupt wretches who difgraced all the different orders of the empire, frighted at the fight of this picture of Tartarus? Did they change their conduct? alas, no! Was Virgil himself ftruck with the picture he drew? Three lines in his Georgics incline me to doubt of it,

Felix qui potuit rerum cognofcere caufas;

Atque metus omnes, et inexorabile fitum,

Subjecit pedibus, ftrepitumqu A herontis avari.

I might fay a great deal upon the Henriad; what a fermon! name to me a fingle moral virtue; a virtue beneficial to fociety; a real virtue which is not there placed in its strongest light. Valour, juftice, humanity, generofity, obedience to the laws, loyalty to the prince, appear in their most beautiful and affecting forms; the fame true and ftrong pencil draws, in the most terrible colours, thofe follics which ruined our fathers; that fanaticifm, for example, that blind and ftupid fury which reafon never tamed.-This poem has now been preaching to us for the fpace of forty years; what impreffion has it made? Our theological difputes, wherein our divines pelt one another with the ftones of the fanctuary; what has lately happened in a great city, where public clamour, furprising the attention of justice, made an innocent old man be put to death; the annual thanksgivings that are offered up to Almighty God in the fame city for a religious maffacre, fhew that fanaticism is still cherished in our breafts, and that this monster would ftill commit dreadful ravages, if the wifdom of government did not chain it down.'

But of all the epic poets, Milton has chofen the grandeft fubject, and the fittest for a preacher: His plan is immenfe! it comprehends the counfels of the Almighty, and the whole creation; those torrents of light and pleasure which flowed for the angels, whilft they continued in their allegiance; that fea of fire into which their rebellion hurled them; their rage against man when innocent and happy in the garden of Eden! It comprehends their efforts to ruin him, and their fatal fuccefs; the terrible confequences of his tranfgreffion, the air covered with black clouds, winds let loose, storms, tempefts, volcano's; earth refufing her fruits, war preparing her fcourges, force, tyranny, famine, with numberlefs plagues; and this horrid fcene not even terminated by death itfelf: heaven fhut and hell opened for the miferable, who are born only to fuffer, and to fuffer, becaufe defcended from a guilty progenitor.'

*Tholoufe.