This may be a probable reason why writers of this clafs fhould be the more prodigal growth of Italy than of any other foil; and they seem to have been at no period fo numerous as in the 16th century, when scarce a perfon of eminence appeared amongthem, but, foon as ever he left the stage, next to the marble buft, and monumental infcription, fucceeded the Panegyric to his Memory, though under the lefs flattering denomination of The Hiftory of his Life.' As no account hath ever been given of Beccatelli, who wrote the panegyrical history of his friend and patron Cardinal Pole, our Tranflator hath collected a few anecdotes concerning him, from his own writings, and other memoirs in the collection of Cardinal Quirini: of thefe we fhall give a very concife abstract. Beccatelli was a native of Bologna, and had his education at Padua; where he became acquainted with Pole, at a fecond vifit made by the Cardinal to that univerfity. The intimacy and friendship in which they engaged, may be traced, fays our Author, through the progrefs of both their lives, for more than 20 fucceeding years, till Pole's promotion to the fee of Canterbury, and Beccatelli's fettlement in that of Ragufa. But this intimacy, continues our Author, was not cemented by any particular connection till after the death of Cardinal Contarini in 1542, during which interval Beccatelli was his immediate fecretary and domeftic, and spent the feven last years in which that cardinal lived, chiefly in his family, who expired in his arms at Bologna, Auguft 24, 1542. Upon this misfortune, he feems to have paffed over immediately into the houfhold of C. Pole, carrying with him the grateful and affectionate remembrance of their common friend; and as he had oftentimes before been his companion and attendant in his journies and his embaffies, he became now the chearful partner of his happier hours in his elegant retreat at Viterbo. Here he indulged his natural bent to poetry, the most delightful amufement of a difengaged mind, in the fociety of the gay and lively Flaminius, who has addrefled him in an ingenious copy of verfes published by Mr. Pope, in the fecond volume of the Poemata Italorum. When C. Pole was called away from his repofe at Viterbo, in 1545, Beccatelli accompanied him, in character of fecretary, to the council of Trent: here we find him extremely bufy in the duties of his office, and pofting to and fro between Rome and Trent, to receive frefh orders from the pope as new difficulties arofe in the council, and to communicate to him minutes of all the bufinefs which paffed there. After this time he feems to have continued a domestic of the English cardinal's; and it has been faid (though not by Beccatelli Beccatelli himfelf) was one among the vaft fhoal of Italians who attended him into England, to fhare in the bounty of a bigoted queen, and in the penfions of a very opulent metropolitan." Our Tranflator, not conceiving himself obliged to follow his Author to the grave, drops him at the council of Trent, in 1562; and proceeds to characterize him, as the panegyrift of Cardinal Pole. He has dwelt upon, fays Mr. Pye, and em-' bellished, every incident of his flory that can throw a luftre round his favourite character; and expunged, or caft into fhades, whatever might feem to blemish or obfcure it.-And yet, notwithstanding this avowed partiality, either through a natural candour in his temper, or rather through a strong prepoffeffion of the unblameablenefs of his hero's conduct, he has developed fome actions of the cardinal's life with a freedom and unrefervedness uncommon in the writers of the papal party, which his copyifts both in Latin and English, A. Dudithius and T. Phillips, have either diverfified or difguised. As a foreigner, he is very deficient in his knowlege of the hiftory, cuftoms, revenues, and even fituation of our country; infomuch that I fhould apprehend (if no evidences appear to afcertain it) he never fet his foot upon the island; but if he did, the very fhort stay he certainly made here, will intitle him to pardon for fome not very material inaccuracies. As a minute biographer, he has entered into a petty detail of every the most familiar circumftance of Pole's domeftic economy and converfation: he has taken pains to bring us acquainted with his air, his perfon, and his countenance; and has even defcended to a frivolous repetition of his table-talk, his fallies of mirth, and his repartees; which they, who can admire the like in Plutarch, may not difapprove in Beccatelli.' Beccatelli's original work, we are informed, in a note, is in the 5th volume of Cardinal Quirini's Collections, intituled, "Epiftolæ Cardinalis Poli, & aliorum ad ipfum,"-and was published from two MSS. in the library at Brefcia in 1757; one taken from the original MS. in the Vatican at Rome, the other communicated to him by a family of the name of Beccatelli, at Bologna.' The ufe made by Mr. Phillips, of this work of the Italian archbishop's, is confidered by our Tranflator, as a downright plagiarism; the English writer having, as Mr. Pye ftrongly afferts, mangled and disguised, and fent it abroad into the world, as his own perfonal property.As to the intrinfic merit of Beccatelli's compofition, he thus fpeaks of it, in the conclufion of his preface. Let, fays he, this elegant piece of flattery of Beccatelli's have its true merits, and let it ftand in the first rank of the many ingenious compofitions of the fame kind, which REV. April, 1766. employed X employed the pens of the literati in the 16th century; and let its characteristic title be, Splendide Mendax. But let not this fenfible nation, ever intent on manly truth, both in historical as well as philofophical inquiries, fuffer writer to have any fhare of credit or commendation here, whofe boafted history is but the fpuricus offspring of a fpecious panegyric." We think it inexpedient to give any fpecimen of this life of Cardinal Pole; our Readers having, probably, been fufficiently entertained with the fubject already: we fhall therefore juft mention the Tranflator's Appendix, and conclude the article. This Appendix is divided into eight parts. In the first, we have 14 pages employed to exhibit our Tranflator's proofs of Mr. Phillips's plagiarisms from Cardinal Quirini's Diatriba; in the fecond, we have a collection of Mr. P.'s falfe tranflations and falfe references, &c. The third divifion contains Falfe Tranflations, &c. of Les Ambaffades de Noailles.' In the 4th we have Plagiarisms from a noted papiftical work, printed by the king's printer, entitled Hiftorical Collections, &c.' written, adds our Author, by fome infidious papift, the P-ps of his time." Next come Plagiarifms from Collier's Church-hiftory.' Sixth, • Plagiarisms from Father Paul, Meff. Bayle, Moreri, &c.' Seventh, Canons of plagiarifm;' and laftly, Specimens, ungrammatical, unintelligible, and nonfenfical." With refpect to the charge of plagiarifm, fo often urged against Mr. Phillips, it will be but justice to him, in this place, to lay before our Readers what he has, very lately, faid in his own defence, on that head. The paffage we fhall quote, is taken from a little tract of his, entitled An Answer to the principal Objections which have been made to the History of the Life of Cardinal Pole;' and added to a third edition of his Difcourfe on the Study of Sacred Literature, juft printed. The charge of plagiarifm, fays he, is fubmitted to the decifion of every equitable and intelligent reader, when he has collated the paffages; but not to the fpleen of a determined adverfary, who fets out with no other view than to find fault. But, if the language, the defcriptions, the images, the drawing of the characters, and what the French term, l'ordonnance du tableau, the difpofition of the whole piece, be the author's genuine product, he does not fee how he can be treated as a plagiary. He gives a hiftory of facts which happened 200 years ago, and, confequently, muft have been related by others, and, fometimes, very differently. He has not only confulted original documents, but, alfo, intermediate writers, whofe authority appeared warrantable and he has not fwelled his notes with endless and unneceffary references to books and authors fufficiently indicated throughout the whole work.' How SHARPE's Sermon at the Temple, &c. 299. How far this apology will be deemed fatisfactory, to those who have collated the paffages in queftion, especially to Mr. Pye and his readers, we must not ftay to enquire; and therefore fhall only add, what every candid perfon will readily allow, that, of all kinds of writers, the compiler fhould be moft tenderly ufed with respect to the charge of plagiarism. G. The Want of Univerfality no Objection to the Chriftian Religion. A IN N the dedication to Sir Jofeph Yates, the learned Author obferves, that the ufual objections to Christianity are, that it is deftitute of demonftration, perfpicuity, and univerfality.— The first of these imputations, he fays, is entirely removed by the argument from prophecy, which is a continued miracle and an increafing evidence: and as to the charge of want of perfpicuity, arifing from the mistakes, failings, and difputes of fome who have profeffed the Christian religion, he thinks it should no more be objected against Chriftianity, than the most unrighteous and fanguinary judgments of the Auto de Fes against the most benevolent fyftem of piety and virtue ever communicated to the world. The prefent difcourfe is offered as a reply to the third charge, that Chriftianity is not univerfal.-And here it must be acknowledged, as he fays, that the Chriftian religion cannot be proved to have been [yet] univerfal from these words of the text- The gofpel was preached to every creature which is under heaven.' Col. i. 23.-The creature, or more exactly, the creation under heaven is [here put, he fays, for] the earth or world. And that the earth in fcripture often means [only] the holy land, and the world the extent of the Roman empire; he proves from a variety of texts and in this fenfe, the gospel has undoubtedly been published to the ends of the world; though the time for its becoming univerfal is not yet arrived, -as it seems to have been the grand object of Providence in this conftitution, that a gradual conveyance of its falutary benefits fhould be vouchfafed in different ages and nations, fo that before the kingdom of the Meffiah fhould terminate, effectual means fhould be used for the moft extenfive propagation of truth and righteousness.' The places of the ancient and latter fcriptures, relating to the gofpel, ought [therefore] to be confidered as prophefies to be gradually fulfilled in fucceffive feries of timeş and feafons, and not as facts which have already taken place' ་ He then proceeds to inquire whether all knowledge of Chrift is, in fact, confined to fo few men, as fome are pleased to maintain: and thinks it evident, from a variety of authorities produced, that the Perfians, Indians, Tartars, and Chinese, are not intirely ftrangers to the hiftory, doctrines, and inftitutions of our Lord, though intermixed with pagan notions, and very grofsly corrupted; and thence concludes, that Chriftianity is more univerfal than many have imagined it to be. But, whether this part of his argument may be generally adopted, or not; it muft, however, be allowed by all fair reafoners, that it does not follow that Chriftianity cannot be true unless universally known to all men at the fame time. It is fufficient that falvation is univerfal, and that all may be faved, that the remedy is as general as the disease, " For as in Adam all die, even fo in Chrift fhall all be made alive." After treating his fubject with great clearnefs, candour, and precifion, our Author fhews an amiable fpirit of true Christianity, by devoutly praying- That the adverfaries of divine truth and wifdom may be converted from the errors of their ways, and feel the genuine energy of thofe principles which they have fo induftrioufly misreprefented and difdainfully rejected." P. A Sermon preached before the University of Oxford, May 19, 1765. By Benjamin Kennicott, D. D. Fellow of Exeter College, With and one of his Majefty's Preachers at Whitehall. Notes on the Sermon, on Pfalms 48 and 89, and on some late Reflections of the Ld. Bp. of Gloucefter. 8vo. Is. 6d. Rivington. TH HIS fermon, we are told in the dedication to the vicechancellor and heads of houfes in Oxford, was prepared to be preached in Whitehall-chapel on Chriftmas-day 1764, when the Author thought he could not difcharge his duty, before fo refpectable an audience, with more propriety, than by endeavouring to explain that celebrated prophecy of Ifaiah, Bebald a virgin fhall conceive and bear a fon; and to vindicate St. Matthew's application of these words to the Virgin Mary, and her fon Jefus Chrift. Concerning the words of the text, viz. Ifaiah, ch. vii. ver. 13, 14, 15, 16; the Author fays, there have been four different opinions. I. That the whole paffage relates only to a fon of Ifaiah. An opinion ftrenuously contended for by Jews and Deifts. II. That the whole paffage relates only to Chrift. the words (he fays) cannot wholly be applied to an event, diftant But by |