divifion, advanced with all speed to its affiftance, and, on the 3d, came up with Buonaparte, who, expecting him, was prepared for battle. The Auftrians had fome advantage at first, through the rafh impetuofity of an advanced corps of French, which was furrounded and taken; but the centre, forming into a compact body, charged them with fuch vigour, that they foon gave way, and were broken on every fide. A divifion of them endeavoured to make good its retreat to Salo; but that place was already occu pied by the left wing of the French; and this divifion, in attempt. ing to gain the mountains, towards the Tyrol, fell moftly into the hands of the French. General Augereau, who commanded the right wing, affailed the left of the Auftrians pofted at Caf tigliona. Here a furious fight was maintained the whole day be tween both parties. The French, at length, prevailed, and the Auftrians fuftained an entire defeat. Between two and three thousand fell in the field, and about four thousand were made prifoners, among whom were three generals, The French also loft a confiderable number, and fome officers of great note, "On the 4th, a divifion of the French attacked a large body of Auftrians, who were pofted at Gavardo, towards the wef tern fide of the lake. The conflict was warm, but the Austrians were again worsted, with the lofs of near two thousand men. "Notwithstanding the fucceffes of the 3d and 4th, Buonaparte was not yet affured of a fortunate termination of this obAinate difpute. Marfhal Wurmfer had drawn together all the troops that could be rallied, to which he added a part of the gar rifon of Mantua, now relieved from the fiege, and every other corps within his reach. When affembled, they formed an army formidable enough to renew the conteft with Buonaparte, who was fully convinced that the most dangerous and difficult part of the business ftill remained to be decided. "He collected the whole of his force, and made the most advantageous arrangements to meet the enemy, whofe attack he hourly expected. He vifited every poft, in order to afcertain the numbers that could be fpared to reinforce his main body. Re pairing for this purpofe to Lonado, he found it occupied by no more than twelve hundred of his troops, while a divifion of the Auftrians, confitting of four thousand men, had encompassed it, and fent an officer to fummon the French to furrender. Buonaparte concluding, from certain circumstances, that this body of Auftrians belonged to the defeated part of their army, and was endeavouring to make good its retreat, with remarkable prefence of mind, told the officer, that he was mistaken in thinking that he had met only with detachment of the French army, the main body of which was there with Buonaparte himfelf, who now fpoke to him, and required him immediately to return to his general, and require that he fhould furrender inftantly. The commander of the Auftrians, ftruck with aftonishment, requested a parly, to fettle fettle conditions. But Buonaparte, aware of the danger attending the leaft delay, infifted that they fhould directly furrender themselves prifoners of war. On their ftill demanding time to confider, Buonaparte gave orders for a body of chofen grenadiers and artillery to advance against them. This decided the matter, and they all laid down their arms, without attempting to make the leaft refiftance. "Efcaped from this eminent peril, in fo extraordinary a manner, the French general determined to lofe no time in bringing the conteft to a final iffue. Feigning to be defirous of avoiding an engagement with Wurmfer, he ordered a retrogade motion to be made by his army, in order to induce him the more readily to advance. This order was executed on the morning of the 5th, with fuch dexterity, that while the Auftrian general, deceived by appearances, was approaching the French army to attack it, the right wing of the French, under General Serrancier, an officer of great ability, turned the left of the Auftrians, and affailed its rear, while another divifion attacked a redoubt in its front. The left of the French, in like manner, moved with unexpected rapidity, against the right of the Auftrians, and their centre was charged at the fame time with fuch impetuofity and vigour, that, furprised at movements fo contrary to their expectation, they were in a manner taken unawares. They made, however, a refolute defence, but fortune declared for the French. The Auftrians were thrown into confufion; and, notwithstanding the skilful dif. pofitions of Wurmfer, were not able to ftand their ground. They retired with all expedition, after lofing two thousand men: and would certainly have loft many more, had not the French, from the exceffive fatigue of fo many fucceffive conflicts, been difabled from a purfuit. "This victory was completely decifive of the conteft be. tween these two rival generals. The battle might be faid to have lafted five days, as there was no intermiffion of fighting during that time. The loffes of the Auftrians, precluded all hopes of keeping the field; they amounted to feventy pieces of cannon, all the carriages belonging to his army, more than twelve thoufand prifoners, and fix thousand flain*." P. 528. The reader will be well pleafed with the author's judicious preface, in which, among other things, he examines and refutes Marfhall Turenne's affertion, that, in battles, God Almighty, for the moft part, declared on the fide of the moft numerous battalions. He thinks that the victory is rather decided by the momentum of the different contend * "DodЛley's Annual Regifter, continued for the proprietors, 1796.-Hiftory of Europe, cap. vii.". ing forces, that is, the velocity multiplied into the quantity of matter. The letter alfo to the editor from Mr. Glenie, is very able, containing many excellent obfervations on battles, &c. and is well calculated to infpire Englishmen with the most animating courage and conftancy in cafe of invafion. The whole forms an interefting and entertaining perform ance, the greater part of which we have perufed with confiderable fatisfaction. ART. VII. An Effay on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation of Luther. The Work which obtained the Prize on the Queftion propofed in 1802, by the National Inflitute of France; What has been the Influence of the Reformation of Luther on the Political Situation of the different States of Europe, and on the Progress of Knowledge By Charles Villers. Tranflated and illuftrated with copious Notes. By James Mill, Efq*. 8vo. 490 pp. 93. Baldwin. 1805. THIS HIS is most undoubtedly a very curious and interefting work, upon a very important fubject. There is fomething alfo certainly very curious in the circumftances of its publication, and the reward affigned to it; but what precise judgment we may be allowed to form of thefe circumftances, we are not able exactly to fay. If it may be at all confidered as the work of a Roman Catholic, or the prize it obtained from the National Inftitute, may be confidered as a pledge of the approbation given by a fociety of Roman Catholics, to the fentiments contained in it, then indeed the work is a great curiofity. The learned tranflator and editor confelles, that it appeared to him "a memorable proof of the extraordinary progrefs of reafon and liberality, when a learned affembly in a Catholic country, propofed to eftimate the beneficial effects which have arifen from the great revolt against the Catholic church." But this ceafes to be fuch a phænomenon, if the country and fociety are to be confidered as only nominally Catholic; and it is no curiofity at all, if religion has but little concern in it; if it is to be regarded only as an exercife belonging to the hiftorical class of the There is another tranflation of this effay, by B. Lambert, published rearly at the fame time, for Hatchard, at 9s. National National Inftitute of 1802, the profeffed object of whose refearches and labours was, we believe, at that very period, "all the moral and political fciences, in as far as they relate to hiftory." This we take to be the true ftate of the cafe. We are from many circumftances, and for many reafons, more difpofed to regard it as an historical exercife, approved and rewarded by a learned fociety, than as a conceffion on the part of real Romanifts, as to the good effects of the reformation, and the wholefome tendency of Proteftantifm. As an hiftorical effay, it is unquestionably, upon the whole, a very able one. and juftly deferving of the notice of any literary fociety. Nor will Proteftantifin, we think, fare the worfe, though it fhould not be confidered as entirely an act of conceffion on the part of real Papifts; for what is here faid of Proteftantifm and Popery alfo, is in general fo true and juft, that it may at all events be received as a very refpectable teftimony on the part of a philofophical hiftorian, not only to the merits of the reformation itself, but to the good intentions of the first reformers. Many evil things having been alledged of both, which deferved to be cleared up: but we muft, once for all, freely confefs, that "the founder of Chrif tianity," the Chriftian religion itself, and the facred books, are not in general fo fpoken of, as we fhould hope every true Roman Catholic, as well as every true Proteftant, would fpeak of them. We fhall not enter into any particular objections on this head, for there is certainly nothing in the fubject, that can entitle us to examine too clofely into the private religious fentiments of the author; our only apprehenfion is, that if this effay is particularly to be regarded, (as the editor in one place inclines to think) as an eminent proof of the progrefs of reafon and liberality," it may be thought, from fome expreffions of the author, that reafon and liberality require, in his opinion, that Chriftianity should be confidered more as a philofophical fyftem, than as a revealed religion. This appears to us to be the tendency of the effay, and we truft we fhall not be thought uncandid in thus ftating our opinion. We were pleafed, indeed, to find fome exceptions of the fatne kind in the notes of the learned editor, which, generally fpeaking, form a very valuable addition to the original work, This effay is divided into chapters and fections. Some of the heads of which we fhall give, as a fpecimen of what the reader is to expect. After a statement of the question, (not fo free from faults, nor by any means fo clear as the reft of the work) the author proceeds to confider firft," the effence of reformations in general," and next, that of Luther 66 in particular, where, in three parts, he gives us an able sketch of the Politics, Religion, and Literature of Europe at the beginning of the fixteenth century. Then follows a section entitled, conjectures regarding what would have happened in Europe, if the reformation had not taken place; whether the fpirit of the hierarchy would have changed?" Though this may be thought fomewhat of a digreffion from the main queftion, we cannot but regard it as an important section; because it tends to prove that the fyftem of an infallible Church, and confequently the fpirit of the Roman Catholic religion, is effentially inimical to the advancement of knowledge; as it is to that freedom of thought, and exercise of right reason, which have been the glory and happiness of so many flates fince the reformation, and very eminently of our own. This is a point, which at the present moment particularly requires to be cleared up; becaufe, among the moft modern vindications of popery, we have feen an attempt made to prove, that the fyftem of infallibility is the only fecurity against that licentioufnefs of opinion, which has been the cause of all the fatal events of the French Revolution. It has been argued, therefore, that those effects have_not only been entirely owing to the reformation, but that Proteftantifm is always likely to lead to the fame evils, and therefore is unfriendly to regal government and focial order. This, we think, is to plead the caufe of Catholicifm against Proteftantifm upon ground fo totally mistaken, that the very contrary is actually the truth. The Proteftant religion appears to us, beyond all doubt, to be the best security against fuch violences and convulfions; and that of the Romish Church the most likely to cause and provoke them. Mr. Villers feems to be entirely of our opinion. It was not, in the first instance, according to him, the licentiousness of Proteftants that gave rife to the ftruggles of the reformation, but the defpotifm and [pretended] infallibility of the Pope," which gave the offence, and which, leaving no alternative, rendered the ftruggle fo convulfive. "The fpring of oppreffion, too violently bent, (thefe are Mr. Viller's own words) had produced the reaction of the fpring of liberty. The efforts employed to fubdue her tended only to make her unfold more rapidly the whole of her powers.' Here certainly was the evil. Proteftantifm was then the friend to true liberty, both of thought and action, and is fo ftill; it encourages not the licentioufnefs of either, nor does it provoke fuch violences, by any extravagant pretenfions, or oppreffive dominion. It acknowledges the holy Scriptures to be infallible, but it leaves men to their own interpretation 8 |