ny of them did, no doubt, but feveral of them have expreffed the greatest contempt for logical fubtilties. Seneca especially has wrote an Epiftle in express derifion of them, and has particularly ridiculed that quibbling fyllogifm. Mus eft Syllaba; Mus autem Cafeum rodit; Syllaba ergo Cafeum rodit. O Pueriles Ineptias! fays the Philofopher, Pudet me. In re tam feria Jenes

ludimus.

But notwithstanding thefe trivial objections, it is with pleafure we acknowlege, that there are fewer faults than could be expected, or perhaps ever were feen in a work of this nature and length. No human compofition was ever free from imperfections, and it is the part of a Critic to be equally juft and generous. He who applauds every line, renders his fincerity fufpected: For, as Cicero obferves to his friend Atticus, they are moft likely to be fincere in their approbation of the whole, who freely express their diflike to particular parts.

We are glad to fee fo many perfonages of diftinction as Subfcribers to this work. It proves that the Nobility and Gentry are not blind to merit, nor backward to encourage it: and we do not doubt, but that every well-wifher to Literature, every friend to Virtue and Religion, will be zealous to promote its fuccefs. They who read with attention, will not fail to receive both profit and delight; and the precepts of Philofophy and Religion cannot be more advantageoufly inculcated: for, when thus inftructed by a female Preceptor,

We hear with pleasure, and with pride obey.

R...d

Fifteen Difcourfes, devotional and practical, fuited to the use of families: with a proper hymn annexed to each. To which is added, by way of Appendix, an hiftorical Differtation, on the analogy between the behaviour of God's people towards him, in the feveral periods of the Jewish and Chriftian church; and his corref pondent difpenfations towards them in those respective periods. By John Malon, A. M. 8vo. 5 s. Noon, Buckland, &c.

HESE fifteen Difcourfes, as they are entitled, are rather

mon, or that should exempt them from being ranked among the middling kind of pulpit-compofitions. Why they should have the epithet devotional applied to them, we are allo at a lofs to understand. We cannot well fuppofe that Mr. Mafon, whofe writings have been generally rational, and free from the extravagancies of enthufiafm, meant by this term to recommend his book to perfons of a peculiar caft of mind. Certain it is,

there

there is nothing in the fermons themselves, except a fhort ejaculation or two, that partakes of the spirit of devotion; so far from this, the subjects are treated, for the most part, in a cold and unanimated manner. Perhaps the hymn which is annexed to each discourse, may be thought to give fome fmall propriety to the abovementioned epithet; we could wifh, however, these had been omitted, as they are neither likely to gain the worthy Author much credit as a poet, nor (which we doubt not is of more weight with him) fo likely as his profe compofitions to answer the profeffed defign of this publication, viz. to direct the zeal of Chriftians into a right channel, and promote the genuine fpirit and practice of pure Christianity.' The subjects are, our Ignorance of God, Job xxvi. 14. The Gospel fuited to all our spiritual wants and defires, John vi. 35. The Nature and Danger of an inordinate Love of the World, John.ii. 15. The great Danger of Inconftancy in Religion, Hofea vi. 4. The Danger of Profperity, and Benefit of Adverfity, ibid. Divine Mercy pleading with impenitent Sinners, ibid. Our lofs in Adam abundantly repaired by Chrift, Rom. v. 15, 16. The Chriftian's Rule of Life, Acts xx. 24. Chrift the perfect image of the invifible God, 2 Cor. iv. 6. The Danger of contracting unallowable habits, Rom. xiv. 22. The Chriftian's Mark and Prize, Phil. iii. 13, 14. This world not a State of Happiness, Micah ii. 10. Our great Concern in this World, is to prepare to leave it, ibid. True Happiness to be found not in the World, but in God, Jer. ii. 13.

The historical Differtation at the end of the book, we are informed in the preface, was published at the defire of a friend, to whofe judgment Mr. Mason profeffes an high regard. The defign of it is to prove, that, however ready we may be to cenfure and condemn the temper and behaviour of the antient people of God towards him, yet that of Chriftians has been much the fame, or very like it, in the feveral periods of the Chriftian Church: and to point out fome remarkable inftances of analogy, or refemblance, between his dealings towards them, and his difpenfations towards us; in confequence of that fimilarity between their conduct and ours.

In pursuance of this defign, he gives a fhort sketch of the hif tory of the Jews, from the vocation of Abraham to their total extermination in the reign of Vefpafian; which period, of about two thousand years, he divides into fix leffer periods, briefly reviewing their character, circumftances, and behaviour in each, and comparing these with the character and behaviour of Chrif tians in fuch periods, from the birth of Chrift, as he has diftinguifhed by their apparent fimilarity of circumftances to thofe preceding it. As our Author's chief view in this Differtation is

Q93

pro

profeffedly the fame with that in his devotional and practical Dif courfes, nothing very curious, new, or particular, can be expected on the fubject. The following extract, however, may not be unacceptable to many Readers, as comparisons of our own times and manners with the preceding, generally meet with a welcome reception. The laft thing I fhall • obferve on this period of the Jewish hiftory, (from the ⚫ departure of the Ifraelites out of Egypt, to the finishing Solomon's Temple) is, God's behaviour towards this perverfe and • provoking people, which was exactly that of a wife and tender father towards a froward child. When they finned, he punished them; when they repented, he forgave them: when they renewed their rebellions, he repeated his corrections; but they no fooner returned and humbled themfelves, but he forgave them again. In a word, the hiftory of this period, from their coming out of Egypt, to the time of Solomon, is little ⚫ more than a continued detail of their rebellions, fufferings, and ⚫ deliverances; and the many fruitless methods God made ufe of to reclaim them and keep them stedfast in their allegiance.

• Well, if we look back to a few years paft, we may observe, that the conduct of God's providence towards us in this land, has been precifely fimilar to that which he obferved towards his antient chofen people, whofe temper and fins we have fo much imitated.

No fooner did the nation recover its tranquility after the dif traction and confufion it was in about the middle of the last • century, but it rufhed into every excess of levity, riot, and profanenefs, in the fucceeding reign; for which God feverely threatned, and began to punith us, by fetting a popish monarch over us. We repented, and humbled ourselves; and by means not much lefs than miraculous, he fent the Prince of Orange (afterwards our most gracious Sovereign) of bleffed memory, for our deliverance. But as we most ungratefully abufed the bleffings of the Revolution, in little more than twenty years we were threatned again. Our fears and anguish returned upon us. We fought the Lord, and at the very brink of ruin were again delivered, by the happy fucceffion of the prefent Proteftant Family to the throne of these realms: which presently quafhed the viper's egg that had been hatching at the clofe of the preceding reign. For thirty years after this, we en⚫joyed uninterrupted peace; but ftill retaining our old ungrateful, murmuring temper, our licentioufnefs and impiety, fpurning at our bleffings, and abusing the hand that brought them to us, we were threatned and punished again. Whilft a formidable enemy was about to invade us, an army of popifh rebels penetrated into the very heart of our country. We then mourned

• and

< and fasted, and fought the Lord, and he heard us, dispersed • our fears, restored our peace, and at our most earnest and, • humble requeft, tried us once more. But continuing for ten years after this unreclaimed, as ftupid and unreformed as ever (both by the judgments that befel us, and the much greater that ⚫ befel others for our warning) he is now coming out against us in a more awful manner. The tempeft threatens, and the ⚫ clouds blacken all around us. Happy the man, whose humble, • fervent, undiffembled piety gives him an interest in the Almighty's favour, and a refuge in the secret of his pavilion.'

D

Effays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion, in two Parts. Second Edition, with Alterations and Additions. 12mo, 3s. Hitch, &c.

HA

AVING carefully compared the two editions of these Effays, and found the following account of the present one, which has been fent us by a Correfpondent, faithfully and judiciously drawn up, we shall make no apology for presenting our Readers with it.

• This new edition of the Effays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion, is not merely a republication of the former. I observe material additions and alterations; efpecially in the Effay on Liberty and Neceffity. The Author has there beftowed several new illustrations on his idea of Moral Neceffity (from page 132 to page 136), and in order to guard against mifconftruction, has diftinguished betwixt it and that Phyfical Neceffity which would be fubverfive of all virtue and religion. Moral Neceffity he fhews to be, in his fenfe of it, always a voluntary neceffity; amounting to no more than the fixed connection between a motive, defire, and action: the first always exciting the fecond, and the fecond uniformly leading to the third.

But this is only an illuftration of the Author's former doctrine. In another place of this Effay is a remarkable alteration. In the former edition he held, that although under a moral neceffity in all our actions, yet we were endowed with a delufive feeling of liberty of indifference, or of power to counteract all motives. This delufive feeling was, inopinion, made a part of our nature, in order to raise the moral

For an account of the First Edition, fee Review, Vol. V. p. 129.

ideas of praife, blame, remorfe, &c. and abftracting from this delufive feeling, he thought that these moral feelings could not exift. This doctrine was excepted to, as appearing to weaken the foundation of morals. The Author having now cleared up more fully, the nature of moral or voluntary neceffity, finds that all the moral sentiments, and all the operations of conscience, are perfectly confiftent with this fort of neceffity; and therefore abandons his former opinion of a deceitful feeling of liberty.

This alteration in the Author's fyftem leading him to account for the manner in which moral neceffity is reconciled with our ideas of guilt, remorse, praise, &c. occafions a pretty long addition, from page 141, to page 149. The Author's reafoning here turns in the main upon this; that the fenfe of power requifite to the rendering man a moral agent, is phyfical power only, or a power of acting according as he pleases; which is perfectly confiftent with moral neceffity; not a power of acting in contradiction to his own choice; which is a chimerical idea, and never enters into any man's thoughts, in reasoning upon moral fubjects. The Author endeavours further to fhew, that by the fyftem of liberty of indifference, morality is fo far from being affifted, that it is, in his opinion, overthrown; because the connection betwixt the motive and the action is the effential circumstance to its morality; and the lefs any man is influenced, either by virtuous or vicious motives, fo much the lefs virtuous or vicious he truly is. This argument he pursues farther in an appendix now added to this Effay, wherein he attacks the liberty of indifference, as not very confiftent with religious principles; and fhews, that his notions of moral neceffity are the fame with thofe entertained by the most eminent Divines of the Calvinistic perfuafion. He is, perhaps, the only Philofopher of the age who has ventured to revive the exploded doctrines of Calvinifm; and who has made an attempt to fhew, that the philofophical principles of virtue and morality coincide with the principles of predeftination: an attempt, which, as that doctrine is finking into oblivion, may probably not be very popular. Some other alterations are obfervable in this edition, which feem calculated to remove the objections that had been made to the Author's manner of expreffing himself, in his Effay on the Knowlege of the Deity, and other parts of his book.'

To what our Correspondent has remarked, we shall take leave to ére, that in this laft edition, the Author has, with great propriety, made abundance of alterations, as to ftyle and language. With regard alfo to our Author's abandoning his former opinion of a deceitful feeling of liberty, as his own words are a remarkable