fcenes, for which we cannot here find room; but the speech of WISDOM, which draws it to a conclufion, we must not omit: "Attend, Ye fons of men! ye children of the duft, O'er the fair lawns, the heaving mountains raise With burning brimftone;-I preferibe their ends. "I gave to man's dark search Superior light; "Nor lefs in life employ'd, 'tis mine to raise Of Virtue. What though fcreen'd from mortal view Of Life, and to the general Good direct Th' obfequious means to move.- -O ye, who tofs'd Its killing blaft no more." In confequence of that exalted ftyle of imagery, and that ab ftractedness Atratedness of fentiment, which characterise this poem, we apprehend that its Readers will confift chiefly of the diftinguished few, who are capable of tafting thefe fine efforts of art: for, though works of imagination bid the fairest for being popular, those that fucceed the beft, generally addrefs more to the paffions than to the intellectual powers; and the reafon is obvious, fince they who are capable of feeling, are many more in number, than those who are able to think. If we have any objections to Mr. Ogilvie's execution in this poem, they are there; that we think his imagery, in fome places, too diffuse, and that his compound epithets are sometimes planted too near each other. By fhunning the track of common expreffion, he has, though rarely, become obfcure; and in the pursuit of metaphor, he has fometimes loft fight of fimplicity. The minuter faults that we have obferved, we think it not worth while to enumerate, nor to object against the proportion of a nail, when the whole figure is so nobly executed. We have been favoured with a letter from Mr. Ogilvie, in which he has obligingly informed us, that we did not take the note on ver. 107. b. I. in the light he meant it*. We are entirely ready to believe, that Mr. Ogilvie did not intend to countenance the doctrine of a suspended, or an occafional, Providence; and only with that he had expreffed himself in a manner fomewhat more explicit in that note; and that, instead of faying, Thefe apparent irregularities are only mentioned as feeming evidences that Providence does not conftantly superintend the government of the world,' he had faid, “These irregularities in the frame and oeconomy of Nature, fo many feeming evidences that Providence does not conftantly fuperintend the government of the world, are only mentioned here, that the objections generally derived from them, may be obviated in the fucceeding part of the book."-This, or fomething to the fame purpose, we are willing to believe, was what he meant. See page 136, of laft month's Review. MONTHLY CATALOGUE, For MARC H, 1764. CH, RELIGIOUS and CONTROVERSIAL. Art. 1. The Progrefs of a Female Mind in fome interefting Enquiries; containing, 1. a Soliloquy; 2, a Letter to a few, on the the Evidences of Revelation; 3. a Letter to a Chriflian Divine, on the Gospel System, with fome References to a late Free Enquirer; 4. a Remark on the Importance of the Hebrew Language. By a Lady. 8vo. 1 s. 6d. Corbet. B EHOLD a Lady floating on the furface of Theology! The, Aretch out a pitying hand to fave her-fhe's gone!--Seriously, this female Mind, if it is really a female Mind, would have been much better employed in attending the progrefs of Pickles and Conferves, than in pursuing thofe abftrufe enquiries, which require a depth of erudition, and a reach of thought, that few Ladies can attain. Art. 2. Paradife Reftored; or, a Teftimony to the Doctrine of the Bleffed Millennium. With fome Confiderations on its approaching Advent, from the Signs of the Times. To which is added, a fhort Defence of the Myftical Writers, against fome Reflections of the Bishop of Gloucefter, in a late Work intitled, The Doctrine of Grace, &c. By T. Hartley, M. A. 8vo. 5s. bound. Richardfon. The title-page is enough! Art. 3. Serious Reflections on the Rev. Mr. Tafwell's Vifitation Sermon, lately preached at Bristol-in a Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend. 8vo. 9d. Kearfly. As we gave no particular account of Mr. Tafwell's difcourfe, which was inferted in our laft lift of fingle Sermons, neither fhall we enter into any farther detail of this anfwer to it, than briefly to mention, that the anonymous Author, conceiving the Diffenters to have been attacked in the vifitation-fermon, has here entered warmly into their defence; and, in his turn, has vigorously affailed the established Church :-buc this controverfy was happily exhaufted about twenty years ago, in the celebrated trial of skill between the Rev. Mr. WHITE and the DISSENTING GENTLEMAN. Art. 4. The Chriftian's New-Year's-Gift. Containing a Companion for the Feafs and Fafts of the Church of England, Prayers and Meditations for the Ufe of the Holy Communion, and a Ma nual of Devotions for the Clofet and the Family. By a Clergyman of the Church of England. 12mo. 2s. Newbery. Fine fpiritual pap for the fucklings of grace in our Church by law established, and for all who place their religion principally in feafts and fafts, the obfervance of days, and the commemoration of faints! We find St. Paul reprimanding the foolish and fuperftitious Galatians, in these terms: How turn ye again to the weak and beggarl, elements, whereunto je defire again to be in bondage: Ye obferve days, and months, and times, and years !I am afraid for you, left I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Our Author does not feem to know this paffage, nor to be aware, that it was in condefcenfion to the religious prejudices and and infuperable ceffoms and habits of the common people, that our first wife reformers fuffered certain weak and beggarly elements to remain in our Cherch.—So zealous is he to fupport and revive fuch kind of fuperftition, that he has mot carefully and induftriously collected traditionary ftories mentioned by fome antient writers concerning the apoitles, but of no authority that can be fafely relied on, and fome of them that bear marks of forgery in their very countenance. "St. Peter, fays our Author, towards the latter end of his life, and in the reign of Nero, fettled at Rome. In this city he found the people strangely deluded with the infernal arts of Simon Magus, whom they fo much honoured, that, according to Justin Martyr, they erected a ftatue to him, with this infcription, Simoni Deo fanto, To Simon the holy God." (By the way, this part of the story, taken from Juftin Martyr, has been fully refuted by the late Dr. Middleton) "Peter, being highly provoked by this prefumptuous arrogance, made it his bufinefs to unmak the vile impotor, and lay open his prevaricating tricks and delufions. For effecting of which there foon happened a very fit occafion. There was, at this time, at Rome, an eminent young man, and a kinfman of the Emperor's, lately dead; and for the recovery of him to life, there was a contelt between St. Peter and Simon Magus. The Magician being the challenger, our Apoftie, ftrong in faith, readily accepted it; and effected that by the power of God, which the other could not by the power of the Devil. [We never knew before that the Devil was ever fo filly as to pretend to raise the dead to life.] The Sorcerer was extremely mortified at this defeat, and to recover his reputation, pretended to fly up to heaven, from the mount of the Capitol ; by the prayers of St. Peter, the wings he had made [Quere, What did he make them of] began to fail him, [Quere, How high was he got before they began to fail him?] and falling, he was fo bruifed, [Amazing that he was not killed outright!] that, in a fhort time, he died." This ridiculous ftory is recited by our Author fo feriously, that we do not doubt but that he believed it himself, and thought it a very proper fubject to exercise the faith of the vulgar, upon St. Peter's Day! We feriously, however, beg leave to inform our Author, that we are concerned to find fuch a mixture of trash in a book which contains fo many well-compofed forms of devotion. But what has moft of all offended us is, his inculcating upon Proteftants fuch a low and gross superstition in their receiving the facrament, as we hoped had been peculiar to the Roman Catholics, viz. a profound reverence for the materials which they are to swallow! We humbly conceive, that neither bread nor wine can ever become, by virtue of any confecration, the proper objects of our reverence: and that the attention and reverence of the worshipper in that act of devotion ought to be withdrawn, as much as poffible, from material objects, and directed to the wifdom and virtue, example and authority, of that great person whom he profeffes to commemorate. POETICA L. Art. 5. A Poem on the Peace. 4to. Is. 4to. Is. Fletcher. Here is a poem fpoiled by the most unfortunate circumftance in the world. The Author wrote this piece, he tells us, to amuse fome heavy hours.-Heavy hours!-the most improper he could have found to court the the Mufe in! She is like a mere mortal Mistress in that refpect, and whoever folicits her favour, fhould come as gay and lively as an Alderman to a turtle-feaft. By neglecting this rule, and by addreffing her in your heavy hours, you fee, Sir! what fad work you have made of it! Why here are verfes that are enough to make a dog howl to hear them repeated; fuch as Crevelt, indeed, one may bring into rhyme, But Wilhelmftahl will hardly come in time. Kirch-denckern runs ftill rougher in the verse, Alike the Mufes and the Frenchman's curfe. But when the Sage tells the ambitious Pyrrhus, that Epire can fatisfy each just defire That with can form, or appetite require : Little do you think, perhaps, that this couplet is abfolute nonsense- "All his country's painted in his eye," you are not lefs incomprehenfible. A little farther we obferve, Each tender wife now clafps her warlike Lord, Dwells on his lips, and hangs on every word. This is almost as ftrange as the reft: how should the wife hang upon her husband's words, while fhe was dwelling on his lips?All this comes of your writing verfes in your heavy hours. But we were chiefly struck with the following marginal note. The Author forbears at present to refer the Reader to a specimen of his fatirical talent, but he has fome thoughts of printing fome trifles foon." Now, in fober fadnefs, if this be true, we are forry to hear it. Print trifles! Sir-Why! you had better make baskets, mend fhoes, cry Jerufalem artichokes, or drive a duft-cart.- -Befides, there is no novelty in doing what you have already done. In fhort, we hope, both for your fake, and for our own, that you will not print your trifles :-Be advised, good Sir! and let us have the fatisfaction of turning one Author, at least, from the error of his brain! Art. 6. The Remonftrance. A Poem. 4to. Is. Burnet. The Author remonstrates against some few of Mr. Churchill's enormities, in fuch verfe as the following: Men are made the victims of your sport, Only as means to furnish a support! Poor Scotland thus may help you to regale, With care he feeks out every weed and thorn, And |