Art. 20. The Candidate, a Poem. By C. Churchill. 4to. 2s. 6d. Flexney. This is fuch a virulent libel throughout, that our Readers will readily difpenfe with our making any extracts from it, when we affure them, that we could not do it confiftently either with good nature or good manners. With refpect to its poetical merit, it will juftly come under the fame predicament with all the reft of Mr. Churchill's productionsSome paffages here, are not unworthy of our beft Poets; and others, that would difgrace the honelt Journeyman Shoe-maker, whofe poetical labours are mentioned in the next enfuing article. Art. 21. POEMS, by James Woodhoufe, a Journeyman Shoemaker. 4to. 38. Dodfley. Mr. Woodhouse, when the inconveniences of his humble ftation are confidered, has a claim to fome poetical merit; but as a man, and a citizen, he is entitled to much higher praife,, when we are told that he is the induftrious father of no fmall family, diligent to provide his houfehold their portion of meat in due feafon. He was patronized by the late generous and ingenious Mr. Shenftone, in whofe neighbourhood he lived: and he has written a poem on his Patron's beautiful feat, in no contemptible verfe.Thole who are inclined to encourage genius and virtue, oppreffed by poverty, and fequeftered in obfcurity, may fend their benefactions to Mr. R. Dodfley in Bruton-street, and they will be immediately conveyed to Mr. Woodhoufe. Art. 22. The Fourth Satire of Boileau imitated, with a Dedication to R** M**rr**s, Efq; of O**1 C*ll**& 4to. 6d. Flexney. A poor imitation of an imitation ! Art. 23. A Paftoral Puke.-A Second Sermon preached before the People called Whigs. By an Independent. 4to. is. 6d. Hinxman. Our Readers had a fpecimen of this droll Preacher's talent, in page. 96, feq. of our XXVIIIth volume, where we gave an account of his Firft Sermon. The prefent performance is equally ludicrous and witty. When Triftram Shandy went to France, he certainly left his mantle with this his natural brother in jocularity. Art. 24. Clodius, a Poem. Addressed to Mr. Churchill, and the Art. 25. Wilkes and Liberty; or the Univerfal Prayer. 4to. Reviles the Scotch, and prays for the King. The former, we believe, will not be very angry at fuch fatire; nor is it difficult to conceive what his Majefty would think of fuch praife-if verfes like thefe could poffibly find their way to the throne. MISCELLANEOUS. Art. 26. The Right of Appeal to Juries in Caufes of Excife, afferted. 8vo. Is. Towers. This fenfible and spirited Writer establishes the right in question upor clear and undeniable principles; and expofes the late Cyder Act with a good deal of humour and pleafantry. We entirely agree with him concerning the Right; and we think it highly expedient, that an appeal fhould lie open, as it may be a neceffary refort in particular cafes. Nevertheless, we believe that, in general, offenders against the excife laws would reap no advantage from a trial by jury for it is well known, that the Commiffioners themfelves, when they are inclined to inflict an exemplary punishment, inftead of exercifing their fummary jurisdiction, refer the matter to be tried by a jury, as the most expenfive and grievous proceeding, against which the Delinquents themselves have frequently petitioned. Art. 27. The Hiftory of the Rife and Progrefs of Poetry, through its feveral Species. By Dr. Brown. 8vo. 3s. 6d. Davis and Reymers. It is thought proper to inform the Purchafers of the Differtation on the Rife, Union, &c. of Poetry and Mufic, that the fubftance of this volume is contained in that; which is now thrown into the present form, for the fake of fuch claffical Readers as are not particularly converfant with Mufic.' AUTHOR'S Advertisement. It is unneceffary for us to add any thing to the above, as we have given a full account of the whole work, in fome very late Reviews. * The Reviewers acknowlege the receipt of a LETTER figned W. "wherein they are civilly reminded of the Moderation of our Eftablished Church. If the Writer thereof will be kind and candid enough to favour them with his real Addrefs, he may depend on receiving an ANSWER. The Letter figned HONESTUS, is also thankfully received. +++ We think it our Duty to acquaint the Reader, that in our Account of Lord Chief Justice Holt's Life, in the Review for February last, we committed an Error in applying a Note to his Lordship, which, according to the Biographer's Reference, related to Lord Herbert. We acknowlege ourselves much obliged to a candid Correfpondent, who gave us an Opportunity of rectifying this Mitake: and fhall always hold Ourselves indebted to any friendly Critic, who ufes the fame Freedom with us, which, for the Advancement of Literature, we prefume to take with others. ERRATUM in our laft. Page 296, In the Price of the Compleat Paradigms of the Hebrew Verts, inftead of 1 s. reaď 6 d. The Advantage and Neceffity of the Chriftian Revelation, fhewn from the State of Religion in the ancient Heathen World: Efpecially with respect to the Knowlege and Worship of the One true God: A Rule of moral Duty: And a State of future Rewards and Punishments. To which is prefixed, a preliminary Difcourfe on Natural and Revealed Religion. By John Leland, D. Ď. Author of the View of the Deiftical Writers*. 4to. 2 Vols, 11. 10s. Dodfley, &c. D R. Leland, who hath written largely on the deistical Controverfies, with much reputation to himself, and advantage to the public, here prefents the world with the farther fruits of his labours in the fame caufe. We cannot help expreffing our fincere fatisfaction, that this able Advocate for the Chriftian Faith, in a very advanced period of life, and under the preffure of many bodily infirmities, ftill retains the vigour of his mind in fo confiderable a degree; of which we have fufficient evidence in the vivacity and fpirit with which he hath carried on, and the attention and pains wherewith he hath compleated, the great and extenfive work before us. The Doctor tells us, in his preface, that he had been fometime ago follicited by the late Bishop of London, (Dr. Sherlock) Dr. Wilson, Prebendary of Weftminster, and fome others, to collect in one treatife, a regular feries of those arguments in favour of revelation, and anfwers to the principal objections, which were scattered up and down in his several writings on that subject. We cannot but think that fuch a performance would have been at least equally useful with the prefent, which extends See Review, vols. X. and XII. in which an account of that work may be found. VOL. XXX. Ee only only to a very finall part of the controverfy. But in answer to this he tells us, that he could not fatisfy himself in putting a work upon the public, which would be little more than an extract and abridgment of what he had publifhed before in another form. He adds likewife, that the Deiftical Writers place their chief ftrength in afferting the abfolute fufficiency of natural reafon to all the purposes of religion. This, it is true, they are obliged to affert, to make the withholding a revelation confistent with the moral perfections of God: and yet this is the fide on which Deism has always been moft easily attacked; perhaps there is not one of the many Anfwerers to Tindal, who has not, to the fatisfaction of most candid Readers, refuted all that has been faid in favour of the all-fufficiency of Reafon. Accordingly it has frequently occurred to us, to obferve that the more modern Deifts touch upon this part of the controversy as tenderly as poffible, chufing here to ftand rather upon the defenfive: or granting that reafon has been infufficient for giving the generality of mankind right notions of God, and their duty, they have endeavoured to thew, that neither has revelation been able, in any confiderable degree, to accomplish this end: and the many ridiculous opinions, and hurtful practices, chargcable on large bodies of Chriftians, from. very early times, have given fome fhew of reafon to what they have faid on this head. But the topics on which they declaim moft plaufibly, and by which they make the greateft number of profelytes from the half-thinking part of mankind, are the fuppofed want of evidence for the facts on which Chriftianity is built; and the fuppofed abfurdities in its facred books; or, at least, of those doctrines which the generality of Chriftians have imagined are contained there. But tho', perhaps, we may differ from our Author, as to the degree of importance of this Enquiry into the State of Religion in the ancient Heathen world, we would by no means be underftood to infinuate, that we thought it an ufelefs Enquiry: on the contrary, we are fully perfuaded, that it is a very proper preliminary to the proof of Chriftianity itfelf; fince could it be proved, that a Divine Revelation was needlefs, we might be fure, that God never made any. - -Now the high expediency, if not abfolute neceffity of a Revelation, the Doctor has, we apprehend, with much learning and judgment, proved with full evidence in the work before us: the method in which this important Enquiry is conducted, is as follows. The three capital articles of Enquiry mentioned in the titlepage, naturally refolve the work into three parts, the fubjects of which are, the State of the ancient Heathen world with respect to the knowlege and worship of the one true God-A Rule of moral Duty-and A future State of Rewards and Punish ments. ments. The former of thefe take up the whole firft, and the two latter the fecond volume; the leading fentiments of which we shall endeavour to reprefent, in the order in which they arife, and in as few words as we can; from whence our Readers twill be able to form a clear judgment of the general train of the Doctor's reasoning; and what expectations the work itself affards in point of importance and utility. Our learned Author opens his enquiry relating to the knowlege and worship of the one true God, with fuch obfervations as thefe; That man in his original conftitution, and the defign of his Creator, is formed capable of religion; that at his first formation he was not left to work out a scheme of religion for himself; but received all neceffary inftruction by repeated revelations from God: the knowlege of which derived from the firft parents of the human kind to their pofterity thro' the chan nel of tradition.' ' He obferves, That the firft religion of mankind was not idolatry, but the knowlege and worship of the one true God; that the firft, inoft ancient, and general fpecies of idolatry, was the worship of heaven and the heavenly bodies; that this was early fucceeded by the worship of deified men, and that the Dii majorum Gentium were dead men.' This he illuftrates by fhewing, that the na mes and peculiar attributes, originally belonging to the one Supreme God, were applied to them; particularly to Jupiter, to whom at the fame time were afcribed the moft criminal actions; that Jupiter Capitolinus of the Romans was not the one true God, but the chief of the pagan Divinities; and that the pretence, that the pagan polytheism was only the worshipping the one true God, under various names and manifeftations, is by no means fufficiently fupported.' As this laft is a point of confidera ble importance in the controverfy, our Readers will doubtlefs bevell pleased to hear our Author peaking for himself. He fays, If this plea be extended, as fome of the Apologists and Refiners of Paganifin pretended, to all the popular heathen deities in general, as if they were all no other than fo many different names of the one Supreme God, it would follow, that they acknowleged, and worshipped no Hero Deities at all; than which nothing can be more contrary to truth and fact. Accordingly thefe pretences of the Philofophers made little impreffion upon the people, who had been used to worship them as fo many perfonal diftinct Divi, nities, and knew very well, that the public religion regarded them as fuch. Tertullian puts the cafe very ftrongly to the Pagans, th, it they themselves were fenfible, that their Gods had once been m en. "Appellamus et provocamus a vobis ad confcientiam veftran. illa nos judicet, illa nos damnet, fi potuerit negare omnes iftos 'cos veftros homines Ee 2 fuifle." |