oceanum accolens, omnem modum feritatis excedit. The fame writer reprefents them as almost always on horseback, curabant Hunni omnia negotia equis infidentes, et vix flare firmiter fola poterant. Thefe defcriptions which the poet and hiftorian have left us, would do extremely well for the modern Tartars, and particularly the Nogaefe, who are an ugly, filthy, indefatigable people, almoft always on horseback, and hardly capable of acting in any other fituation, expert in rallying their forces after a defeat, and in unexpectedly re-attacking their enemies. In all these things there is a perfect refemblance; yet notwithftanding this fimilarity of manners, and though their origin in the remoteft times might be the fame, they muft nevertheless be confidered each as a diftinct people, becaufe their refpective languages have not the least affinity.

Mr. De Peyflonnel, from his refidence in quality of consul to the Khan of Tartary, was enabled to inveftigate, with great care and fuccefs, the topography of thofe countries, fo little known where he refided, and his accuracy and elaborate attention in this respect, conftitute the moft valuable part of his work. Of the Taurica Cherfonefus in particular, He has given a large and curious account.-But the origin and connections of the feveral barbarous nations that broke in upon the Roman empire, and overfpread the north and the weft, form the principal object of his work.-The first part of his book, to which he has prefixed a large and learned differtation on the Sclavonian language, is divided into twenty five chapters, containing the following heads.

Chap. I. On the geography of those countries that lie to the north and the fouth of the Danube.

II. On the languages that are commonly spoken in those

countries.

III. The first incurfions of the Scythians on the western banks of the Euxine fea.

IV. The oriental barbarians under the Perfians and the Macedonians.

V. The first invafion of the western barbarians.

VI. Of the western barbarians, from the deftruction of the Macedonian empire, until the time of Dioclefian.

VII. The first incurfions of the northern barbarians.

VIII. Fresh incurfions of the eastern Scythians. Origin of the Bulgarians.

IX. Grants of countries made to the barbarians by the emperors. Chriftianity introduced amongst the Scythians. X. The first appearance of the Huns.

XI. Discoveries concerning the Nomadian Scythians. Migration of the Goths weftward. Expedition of Attila inte Italy.

XI. The

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 eaftern Turks, under the name of Cha

zares.

XVI. Contests of the emperors with the Bulgarians and Sclavonians. 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. First incurfions of the Ruffians towards the South. Invasion of great Moravia by the Turks.

XIX. The war between Conftantine Porphyrogenetes and Simeon king of the Bulgarians. Geographical obfervations on the navigation of the Ruffians, and on several 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 history 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 observations 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. N n

APP. vol. xxxiv.

Such

Such are the principal fubjects of these 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 Magnefia, 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 hiftorical 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 most exquifite entertainment to the lovers of high antiquity. L.

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 one another, though with little fuccefs. He fhews briefly from the hiftory of the Old Testament, 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 earch, the children of darknefs, blind in the book of life, ta

alk,

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 sent his apostles to preach to the nations; but we know likewife that the nations, instead of attending to the apostles, put them to death, and that, till the days of Conftantine, preaching made few profelytes.'

Here we must carefully diftinguish between the converfion of the understanding, and that of the heart; the establishment of a new worfhip, and the establishment of manners. This is an important diftinction, and I shall have occasion to return to it by and bye.'

• Conftantine spread 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 hiftorians! 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, those altars, that crois, 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 croffes on their foreheads, and crimes in their hearts. I fee a Clovis, with the cross 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 increased, together with the number of the faithful. At a certain hour of a certain day of the weck, fifty thousand preachers, in the different countries of Europe, affemble the people, and fay to them whatever they please; and to these preachers fovereigns truft the important business of manners. In reading the Roman hiftory, it is obfervable, that the magiftrate alone fpoke to the people jure regali. In the

days of Constantine, the magistrated was filent, and the priest &

fpoke.'

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 unfuccessful 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, with-out attending at the altar, have preached good morals; let us fee what fuccefs they have had. I begin with the poets, the At inftructors of mankind, who have the best claim to the at

tention of their hearers, as they always fpeak a divine language, os divina fonans. We have nothing left of the works of Orpheus, who fung 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 amorousrage of the women of Thrace, who tore him in pieces on account of his indifference: a bad omen for thofe poets who were to preach virtue after him.'

Among the poets we are acquainted with, fome 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 states in it. They were continually attacking each other, and inteftine convulfions fhook the general constitution. Homer forefaw the fatal confequences of their divifions, and employed the voice of reafon, the force of example, the majefty of file, the pomp of words, the charms of poetry, to thew 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; becaufe at that period, the tafte and genius of the Greeks were at their height; even the vulgar were ftruck with the beauties of poetry and eloquence. It is not neceflary to cite the paffages, where Homer, always attentive to the great point he had in view, paints Discord in the form of a famished monfter, feeding on blood and carnage. Is is fufficient for my purpose 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 another in pieces.'

The wife Virgil, whilft he flattered the Romans in his Æneid, 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 piety towards the gods. This is the principal character with which he marks him; pius Encas, &c. and in order to inspire the greater horror of irreligion, and those other vices which were haftening the ruin of Rome, even under her own triumphal arches, with what dreadful noife, with what horrid apparatus, does he open the infernal regions to their view? In that abyf3 of tortures, nine times deeper than the distance between earth and heaven, he fhews profane mortals thofe mifers, who accumulated wealth without fharing it with the indigent; brothers who lived in enmity with brothers; fubjects who took up arms against their rightful fovereigns; traitors who fold their coun y for money; magiftrates who enacted or abolished laws from