In a word, the Hebrew gentlemen defend themselves with great ability, and difcufs feveral points relating to facred history with much erudition and judgment. ART. XXII. R. Anecdotes Angloifes, depuis l'établissement de la Monarchie jusqu' au English Anecdotes from the Foundation of the Monarchy to the Reign This work differs from the generality of thofe that are published under the title of Anecdotes. It is a regular hiftory in a chronological order, and a kind of medium between a dry abridgment, and a general hiftory. The Authors, without entering into any detail concerning treaties, battles, fieges, marches, encampments, &c. give an account of the most remarkable events, of the revolutions both in religion and government, of uncommon inftances of valour, military ftratagems, peculiar ufages, and celebrated characters.-The work is intended for those who have neither time nor inclination to read a great deal, and in this view it is undoubtedly useful.-The public is indebted for it to a fociety of men of letters, who have already published Italian, German, French Anecdotes, &c. and who intend to publish the history of all nations, both ancient and modern, in the fame manner. ART. XXIII. Hiftoire Littéraire des Femmes Françoifes. R. A Literary Hiftory of French Ladies. 8vo. 5 Vols. Paris, 1969. - We are indebted for this very entertaining work to a fociety of men of letters, who have prefented us witl: whatever is most pleasing, ingenious and agreeable in the works of fuch French ladies as have diftinguished themselves in literature. The number of them is very confiderable, amounting to near four hundred, many of whom are eminent for their tafte, their agreeable talents, their fprightly imagination, their graceful, easy, and natural manner of writing. There are a few, likewise, who have treated abstract and mathematical sub jects with great precifion and accuracy. In the advertisement prefixed to their work, the Authors tell us that no lady is omitted, from the celebrated and unfortunate Eloifa, with whom they begin, to the prefent times.-They first give us a fhort account of each lady's life, with fuch anecdotes as may render it most agreeable and interefting, and then lay before us the most ingenious parts of her writings; if he is a writer of novels, they abridge them, ftrip them of all their fuperfluities, and only infert the most striking paffages. By this means, a long, tedious novel, often becomes a pretty, little, moral or philosophical history; and if there are any epifodes that deserve attention, they are rendered short entertaining tales. In regard to poetical productions, they felect fuch parts as are most highly finished, such parts as the lady's literary reputation depends upon, apon, and fupprefs what the author herself, for her own fake, and for that of the public, ought to have fuppreffed. Such, in general, is the plan of this performance; a performance. not written with equal care and accuracy throughout, but, upon the whole, of confiderable merit, and well calculated to please the generality of readers. ART. XXIV. Dictionnaire Theorique et Pratique de Chaffe et de Peche. R A Theoretical and Practical Dictionary of Hunting and Fishing. 8vo. 2 Vols. Paris, 1769. There are many very curious and entertaining articles in this dictionary; the terms of art are not only explained, but a great variety of animals are defcribed, the manner of catching and killing them pointed out, directions given about horfes and dogs, the manner of making all forts of nets, &c. &c. The Author has prefixed a differtation upon hunting and fishing, wherein he enquires into their origin, what right men have to kill animals, what knowledge the antients had of hunting and fishing, and concludes with a lift of fuch authors as have treated on the fubject. ART. XXV. R A Treatise on Fruit-trees, by M. Duhamel de Monceau, of the Royal Academy of Sciences, &c. 4to. 2 vol. Paris, 1768. This work muft add to the reputation which the Author has fo defervedly acquired by the many ufeful performances for which the public is indebted to him.-It is not intended for the use of botanists, nor does it contain any nice or curious enquiries :- Nous nous bornens, fays the Author in his preface, aux inftructions indifpenfablement nécessaires à un Jardinier, ou à celui qui ne dedaigne pas de le devenir, foit pour conduire lui-même fes arbres, foit pour juger s'ils font bien conduits, afin d'étre en état d'inviter fes amis à venir partager avec lui des dons que le travail obtient de la nature, et que l'industrie multiplie, perfectionne et embellit. We fhall only add, that the work before us is very handsomely printed, and that the engravings are executed by the most eminent artists. AR T. XXVI. Logique et Principes de Grammaire. R Logic, and the Principles of Grammar. By M. Du Marfais. 8vo. Paris, 1769. In his advertisement prefixed to this work, the Editor gives us the Following account of it.-The public, fays he, has not an entire confidence in pofthumous works, and its fufpicions, in this refpect, it must be acknowledged, are often too well founded. Such works arc are frequently printed from incorrect copies; nay, it fometimes happens, that a book, which was a good one when it came from the author's pen, proves a very poor performance after the corrections of another. It flatters an editor to add fomething of his own to the original; but it is dangerous to mix one's own ideas with thofe of a writer whofe reputation is established. In order to remove any doubts that might arife in regard to the two works of the late M. du Marfais, which are here offered to the public, I think it incumbent upon me to acquaint the reader how I came into the poffeffion of them. About the year 1745, M. du Marfais formed an intimacy with M. de Rochbrune, (Commiffaire au Châtelet) which was afterwards confirmed and ftrengthened by the conformity of their taftes, and their fondness for the fame kind of ftudy, and the philofopher was defirous of testifying his affection for his friend by a present which should be analogous to the motive which united them. This prefent, which was often talked of, and long expected, was made in 1750.- I flatter myself, faid M. du Marfais to M. du Rochbrune, when he gave him his treatise upon logic, that this work will afford you a good deal of pleasure; be pleased to accept of it as a pledge of my esteem for you :-difpofe of it as your own property.'-The other piece, entitled, Fragmens fur les Caufes de la Parole, the Author likewise prefented of to M. de Rochbrune, upon another occafion. The intimacy between these two friends continued till the death of M. du Marfais, which happened in August 1756. During this interval they frequently revifed the manufcript which contained the treatife upon logic, and the Author made what alterations and improvements he thought neceffary. M. de Rochbrune, fays the Editor, made me a prefent of this manufcript, and from it the work which is here offered to the public is printed. We have feen that M. du Marfais was very well pleased with this treatise, and those who were acquainted with him, and who know how nice he was in his compofitions, and what difficulty he found in pleafing himself with refpect to them, will very readily pay great regard to his teftimony. Those who were not acquainted with him, will - not be difpleafed with us for laying before them the fentiments of a 'celebrated writer, of a philofopher whom the north envied us, and who refifted the flattering temptations of honours and fortune in a foreign country, and preferred the glory of being useful to his own. He had compofed, fays M. d'Alembert, in his Eloge de M. du Marfais, for the ufe of his pupils, or for his own, fome other works which have never been published. I fhall only mention his Logic, or Reflections on the Operations of the Human mind. This treatise contains all that is useful in the art of reasoning, and all that we are permitted to know in metaphyfics.' Such is the account given of this work by the Editor, and fuch the character of the treatife upon logic given by M. d'Alembert, who must be allowed to be an excellent judge. We cannot, however, agree with him; there is confiderable merit, we readily acknowledge, in our Author's treatise; much perfpicuity and knowledge of his fubject; but there is nothing original in it, and it is far from contain ing ing all that is useful on the art of reafoning. Whoever will take the trouble of comparing it with Duncan's Elements of Logic, not to mention fome other treatises on the fame fubject, will be at no loss to know which is the most useful and accurate performance. Our Author's abilities as a grammarian are well known; moft, if not all the articles upon grammatical fubjects in the first volumes of the Encyclopedie were written by him, and many of them are excellent. The principles of grammar, which make the most confiderable and the most valuable part of the work now before us, are taken from the articles in the Encyclopedie, and other pieces upon grammatical fubjects published during the Author's life. Such of our Readers as are not acquainted with the character or writings of M. du Marfais, and have not an opportunity of confulting the Encyclopedie, will be much pleased with this part of his work; it contains many ingenious obfervations, and is written with accuracy and precifion. See an account of this work in the feventh volume of our Review, p. 467. R. ART. XXVII. Thefaurus Differtationum. Programmatum, aliorumque Opufculorum felectiffimorum, ad omnem Medicine ambitum pertinentium. Collegit, edidit, et neceffarios indices adjunxit Eduardus Sandifort, M. D. &c. 4to. Vol II. Rotterdam, 1769. We gave some account of the first volume of this valuable collection, in the Appendix to the 39th volume of our Review. Of this fecond volume, which is but just come to our hands, we shall give our Readers a more particular account, as foon as we have had time to perufe its contents. Antiquitès Etrufques, Grecques et Romaines. Tirées du Cabinet de M. Hamilton. A Collection of Etrufcan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities, from the Though this work was published at Naples in the year 1766, yet it has but lately reached us. The London bookfellers have delayed the publication of the firft volume till they receive the fecond, which they expect daily. We flatter ourselves that we shall be able to give a diftinct account of both volumes in our next Appendix; at prefent, we fhall only fay, that fo fine a collection of designs from Etrufcan, Greck, and Roman vafes, muft give great pleasure to all the lovers of antiquity and the arts. The defign of the work is not confined merely to a collection of exquifite models, or an explanation of figures prefented to the eye; the Editors have a nobler end in view, viz, the advancement of the arts. They endeavour to fhew what fyftem the ancients followed in order order to give their vafes that elegance which is fo univerfally ac knowledged and admired, and to affign exact measures for fixing their proportions; in order that the artift who would invent in the fame tyle, or only copy the monuments he thinks worthy of being copied, may do it with as much truth and precifion, as if he had the originals themselves in his poffeffion. Their principal view is to follow the fteps of the human mind in the pursuit of those arts which embellish fociety and render life more agreeable; in a word, to establish certain principles, and exhibit good models. The greateft part of the vafes are ornamented with paintings, the fubjects of which are taken from the hiftory, the mythology, the religious, civil, or political customs of the ancients, which render them very interefting to the learned: the compofition of thefe paintings, the elegance of the attitudes, the beauty of the expreffion, and the fingularity of the out-line, make them very valuable for painters, fculptors, and all the lovers of defign. The Editors do not trouble their Readers with learned differtations upon the antiquities they exhibit, but leave this talk to the antiquaríans; fometimes, indeed, they give us their fentiments upon particular pieces, and endeavour to fupport them with appofite paffages from antient writers, &c. but they leave it to the learned to decide. Those who collect prints and drawings will be pleased to find copies, in this collection, of the moft antient defigns extant; and as the Editors obferve, it is upon the vases of the antients only, that we fee the traces of their defign. This work must likewise be an agreeable prefent to our manufacturers of earthen ware and china, and to those who make vases in filver, copper, glafs, marble, &c. as it will furnish them with a great variety of beautiful models, the chief part of which must be new to them. Of all the collections that can possibly be made, either in marbles, bronzes, medals, or engraved ftones, theirs alone, the Editors tell us, is capable of fhewing the fucceffive progrefs of painting and defign; fo that by means of it, the man of taste and letters, may fee, as in a kind of geographical chart, the whole progrefs, and count, as it were, every step of human industry, in the most agreeable art it has invented. We must not omit mentioning that the colours of the vafes, and the ornaments that furround them, are preserved in the plates. The dif covery of the manner in which the plates are printed, the Editors acknowledge, is not owing to them, but to Mr. Joseph Bracci, an able and ingenious artist. We shall conclude, at prefent, with acquainting our Readers, that this collection is to be compleated in four volumes, after which the Editors propose writing the ancient and modern hiftory of Sicily, and collecting in it all the monuments of the antients, and every thing remarkable in that delightful country, where the arts once flourished with so much splendor. R • We have seen an advertisement, wherein the subscription for the whole work, in four volumes, is propofed, at Nine Guineas, for the fet. ART. |