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here and hereafter, than a criminal attachment to an abandoned and unprincipled woman, more particularly in the early period. of life. It has been the fource of more mifery, and, befides all the guilt which naturally belongs to it, has led to the commiffion of more and greater crimes than perhaps any other fingle caufe that can be named.

"We have feen into what a gulph of fin and fuffering it plunged the wretched Herod. He began with adultery; and he ended with murder, and with the total ruin of himself, his kingdom, and all the vile partners of his guilt; for we are informed by Jofephus, the hiftorian of the Jews, that his marriage with Herodias drew upon him the relentment of Aretas, King of Arabia, the father of his first wife, who declared war against him, and in an engagement with Herod's army defeated it with great flaughter. This, fays the hiftorian, was confidered by the Jews themselves as a just judgment of God upon Herod for his murder of John the Baptist; and not long after this event, both he and Herodias were deprived of their kingdom by the Roman Emperor, and fent into perpetual banishment: their daughter Salome alfo met with a violent and untimely death. The fame has happened in a thousand other inftances; and there are, I am perfuaded, few perfons here prefent, of any age or experience in the world, who cannot recollect numbers, both of individuals and of families, whofe peace, tranquillity, comfort, characters, and fortunes, have been completely destroyed by illicit and licentious connexions of this fort. The world, indeed, treats them with indulgence: they are excufed and palliated, and even defended, on the ground of human frailty, of natural constitution, of strong paffions, and invincible temptations; and they are generally confidered and reprefented in various popular performances (efpecially in thofe imported from foreign countries), as affociated with many amiable virtues, with goodness of heart, with high principles of honour, with benevolence, compaffion, humanity, and generosity. But whatever gentle names may be given to fenfuality and licentioufnefs; whatever fpecious apologies may be made for them; whatever wit or talents may be employed in rendering them popular and fathionable; whatever numbers,

whatever examples, may fanction or authorise them; it is impoffible that any thing can do away their natural turpitude and deformity, or avert thofe punishments which the Gospel has denounced against them." This excellent Lecture was remarkably welltimed, being delivered on the 7th of March 1800, during a feffion of Parliament in which an alarming number. of divorces for adultery had been applied for at the bar of the House of Lords.

The fifteenth Lecture is on the Tranffiguration of Chrift; of which, and of all the other Lectures in this volume on the fublime mysteries of our holy religion, we fhall only oblerve, that mutilation by abridgment would injure the caufe of Christianity, which it always has been, and ever will be, our with to ferve, on all occasions, in our mifcellany; and that the Bishop's manner of expounding them, as far as our weak judgment can determine, has the Atrongeft tendency to convert infidels, and to ftrengthen and confirm the faith of well-difpofed Christians.

In Lecture fixteen, we have an admirable explanation, and fuitable applica tion, of part of the 18th chapter of St. Matthew, "Whofo fhall offend one of thefe little ones which believe in me (one of whom Jefus placed before his ' difciples), it were better for him that a mill-ftone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the fea." In order to comprehend the full meaning of this denunciation, the Bithop thinks it neceflary to explain the peculiar meaning of the word offence. "This expreflion in the prefent paffage, as well as in many other parts of the New Testament fignifies to caufe any one to fall from bis faith, to renounce his belief in Chrift by any means whatever." The pious Lecturer then briefly adverts to the feveral modes of making our brother to offend (that is, to renounce his faith), which are most com. mon and molt fuccefsful; and thefe are, perfecution, fophistry, ridicule, immoral examples, and immoral publications.

With respect to the first of thefe, perfecution, he obferves, that "during the first ages of the Gofpel, and for many years after the reformation (from popery), it was the great rock of offence; the chief instrument made ufe of (and a dreadful one it was), to deter men from embracing the faith of Christ,

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but in the next mode of making our brother to offend; that is, by grave argument and reafon, by open and fyftematic attacks on the truth and divine authority of the Chriftian revelation; in this, we have, I fear, a large load of refponfibility upon our heads." The Bihop then takes occafion to remark on the prevalence of Deifm firft in France, and afterwards in Eng. land; and expatiates on the works of D'Alembert and Voltaire; and on the regular fucceffion of anti-Chriftian writers in our own country, from the commencement of the feventeenth century to the prefent time. On Voltaire he fixes the next mode of making our brother to offend, or fall oft from the Chriftian faith-ridicule. "By no one has this weapon been employed with more force and with more fuccefs than by the great patriarch of infide lity, Voltaire. His writings have unquestionably produced more infidels among the higher claffes, and spread more general corruption over the world, than all the voluminous productions of all the other pbio-fophifts of Europe put together."

or to compel them to renounce it. of the mechanic: it falls into the With this fpecies of guilt our own hands of all ages, ranks, and condicountry cannot justly be charged-tions; but it is peculiarly fatal to the unfufpecting and unguarded minds of the youth of both fexes-to them" its breath is poifon, and its touch is death."-What then have they to anfwer for, who are every day obtruding thefe publications on the world, in a thousand different shapes and forms, in hiftory, in biography, in poems, in novels, in dramatic pieces; in all which the prevailing feature is univerfal philanthropy and indifcriminate beevolence; under the protection of which, the hero of the piece has the privilege of committing whatever irregularities he thinks fit, and while he is violating the most facred obligations, infinuating the moft licentious fentiments, and ridiculing every thing that looks like religion, he is nevertheless held up as a model of virtue; and, though he may perhaps be charged with a few little venial foibles and pardonable infirmities (as they are called), yet we are affured that he has, not. withstanding, the very best beart in the world. Thus it is that the principles of our youth are infenfibly, and almoft unavoidably, corrupted; and instead of being infpired, as they ought to be, even upon the ftage, with a juft deteftation of vice, they are furnished with apologies for it, which they never forget, and are even taught to confider it as a neceffary part of an accomplished character.

The mifchief of exhibiting to mankind, in our life and converfation, a profligate example, another mode of haking our brother's faith in the Gofpel, is concifely, yet fully, demonitrated.

The last method of producing the fame effects, nearly allied to the former, is "by immoral publications." Thefe have the fame tendency with bad examples, both in propagating vice and infidelity, but they are still more pernicious; because the fphere of their influence is more extenfive.

"A bad example, though it operates fatally, operates comparatively within a fmall circumference. It extends only to those who are near enough to obferve it, and fall within the reach of the poisonous infection that it fpreads around it; but the contagion of a licentious publication, efpecially if it be (as it too frequently is) in a popular and captivating fhape, knows no bounds; it flies to the remoteft corners of the earth; it penetrates the obfcure and retired habitations of fimplicity and innocence ; it makes its way into the cottage of the peafant, into the hut of the Thepherd, and the thap

"And, as if we had not enough of this disgusting nonfenfe and abominable profligacy in our own country, and in our own language, we are every day importing freth famples of them from abroad, are ingrafting foreign immorality on our native flock, and introducing characters on the stage, and into the clofet, which are calcu lated to recommend the moft licentious principles, and favour irregularities and attachments that deferve the fevereft reprehenfions and punishment."

We have often heard of the many beauties of Shakespeare, Pope, Sterne, &c. &c. &c.; thefe are fome of the many beauties of the Chriftian and Moral Lectures of the Right Reverend Beilby Porteus; for the felection of which we are certain no apology is neceffary, either to the good Bishop, who, doubtlefs, will have no objection to their being circulated, through the medium of our publication, perhaps

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as extenfively as the literary poifon to which they are an antidote, or to the generality of our readers, to fome of whom, though recommended to all, it may be inconvenient to purchafe the work. There are twenty-four Sexmons in this volume, on subjects taken

5

HOME. A Novel. Vols. 12mo. SIMPLE Occurrences in elegant and chafte language. Events which might take place in any family, form the ground-work of this pleafing novel,

in which there is much to commend and nothing to blame. The Author, who we conjecture to be a lady, in the title-page directs the reader to what is to be looked for by the following fentence. "Expect not a fory decked in the garb of fancy-But look at home." In this performance we find no improbable adventures, no hairbreadth efcapes. The characters are not marked with much variety, nor are their peculiarities very ftrongly impreffed, but in the courfe of the volume, difquifitions on feveral fubjects are introduced, which fhow obfervation on life and manners, and a cultivated mind. Probability is not outraged by any extravagant pictures highly painted, either virtuous or vicious, but the whole work is calculated to touch the heart without inflaming the imagination. As fuch it may be recommended, and will be perufed with pleasure and improvement.

Obfervations on the Increase and Decrease of different Difeafes, and particularly of the Plague. By William Heberden, jun. M. D. F. R. S. 4to.

This is a very laborious, curious, and useful work, which may be of great importance in the art of medicine. The body of it confits of two tables: the first containing the annual christenings and burials in London for

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A Sermon preached in the Parish Church of St. Michael's, Cornhill, London, on Tuefday, June 1, 1802. By T. R. Wrench, A. M. 8vo.

In this fermon the Preacher directs

the attention of his congregation to the extraordinary bleffings difpenfed to this nation, and to the glorious fruits of thofe religious and civil inititutions which have been planted and preserved among us by the guardian hand of Providence. The various topics of war, peace felf-defence, and morals, are difcuffed and brought forwards in a clear, temperate, and fatisfactory manner, worthy of the place from which they were delivered, and reflecting honour on the author as a Minifter of the Golpel. This fermon is worthy of notice. Subjoined to it is "A brief Retrospect on the subject of Popular Tumults and Loyal Affociathe fub tance of which was tions,' furnished by our late worthy affociate, Mr. John Sewell.

AN INSTANCE OF LITERARY IMITATION.

MR. EDITOR,

THE late Dr. Berdmore, an excellent fcholar, a judicious critic, and a very good man, favoured the Publick, through the medium of your agreeable Mifcellany, with fome elegant, learned, and amusing remarks on the fubje&t of

LITERARY IMITATION and CRITICAL PLAGIARISM. He has not passed over Pope in his literary pursuits, though he might have tracked him in many modern as well as ancient writers, but particularly Dryden, of whom Pope

Was

was very fond, and from whom he Jiberally borrowed.

The following paffage in a work by the ingenious St. Evremond, on Taste, fo obviously furnished a hint to Pope, that I fhall tranfcribe the words of both writers, for the amufement of your critical readers.

St. Evre mond fays, "Seeing that good Judges are as fcarce as good Authors, and that difcernment is as rarely found in the one, as Genius in the other, each perfon endeavouring to cry up what pleafes him; it comes to pafs, that the multitude give a reputation to fuch compofitions as fuit with their bad talte or mean capacity." Pope having, evidently, the first part of this obfervation running in his head, has the following paffage in the beginning of the Effay on Criticifm, which I cite

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Some Account of a HINDU TEMPLE, and a BUST, of which Elegant ENGRAVINGS are placed in the ORIENTAL LIBRARY of the HON. · EAST INDIA COMPANY, in LEADENHALL STREET.

[WITH TWO PLATES.}

THE Temple, which forms the chief object of one of the annexed Prints, has been raised by John Osborne, Efq. of Melchet Park, near Romfey, Hants, in token of the high refpect he enterrains for the public and private virtues of a patron and a friend. The original defign, after the chatteft models of Hindu Architecture, came, we underftand, gratuitoufly from THOMAS DANTELL, Efq. R. A. It was executed in artificial Stone by Mr. Rossi, and the original Drawing and Engraving (from which our own Plate has been copied) are the production of Mr. WILLIAM

DANIELL.

The Area of the Temple, including its Portico, is about 22 feet by 15 and its height nearly 20 feet. The Pillars and Pilafters, befides the ufual Decorations peculiar to this Order of Hindu Architecture, are adorned with 2 number of Mythological figures and emblems; particularly the principal incarnations of Vishnu, who, according to the belief of the BRAHMANS, has, from time to time, appeared, under various material forms, for the fupport of Religion and Virtue, and the Reformation of Mankind. The Figure of

Ganéfa, the Genius of Wisdom and Policy, has its appropriate place over the Portal; for he is the Janus of the Hindus.

The Court of Directors of the Hon.

Eatt India Company, has unanimously received the Print of this Temple, from the Drawing of Mr. William Daniell, as a Tribute to the Merits of Warren Haftings, Esquire, late Governor General of Bengal; and ordered that it might have a confpicuous place in the Company's newly erected Library. It has likewife been diftinguished by obtaining a Station ftill more exalted, which has given it a Luftre that it could not otherwife have derived.

Honours alfo, highly creditable to Mr. Hattings, have been paid to it by indivi duals, poffeffing, what alone can make berality, and a Love for Truth. men truly great, Magnanimity, Li

We were happy to obtain permiffion to adorn our MAGAZINE with a VIEW of this Building, believing that it would be gratifying to our numerous friends to fee, what we confider to be, not only an appofite demonstration of refpect by the Gentleman who erected the Edifice, due to the great and

amiable

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