cerning this difcontent of the Indians. How is it poffible to make it agree with all I had read of the manner in which they are governed? I fhould have quoted the laws of the miffions as a pattern of an administration instituted with a view to diftribute hap pinefs and wifdom among men.

Indeed, if one cafts a general view at a distance upon this ma gic government, founded by fpiritual arms only, and united only by the charms of perfuafion, what inftitution can be more honourable to human nature? It is a fociety which inhabits a fertile land, in a happy climate, of which, all the members are laborious, and none works for himself; the produce of the common cultivation is faithfully conveyed into public ftore-houses, from whence every one receives what he wants for his nourishment, drefs, and housekeeping; the man who is in full vigour, feeds, by his labour, the new born infant; and when time has confumed his ftrength, his fellow-citizens render him the fame fervices which he did them before. The private houses are convenient, the public buildings fine; the worship uniform and fcrupuloufly atiended: this happy people knows neither the diftinction of rank, nor of nobility, and is equally fheltered against super-abundance and wants.

The great diftance and the illufion of perfpective made the miffions bear this afpect in my eyes, and must have appeared the fame to every one elfe. But the theory is widely different from the execution of this plan of government.

Mr. Forster's judicious annotations, with the exactness and elegance of the charts, render this tranflation fuperior to the original; and we cannot help expreffing a defire, that a gentleman, whofe improvements in natural hiftory we have, on feveral occafions, perused with fo much fatisfaction, should, be induced to accompany his two congenial philofophers on the intended navigation round the globe. A perfon who has fo well illuftrated, and commented on the narrative of M. de Bougainville's voyage, must be eminently qualified to form a triumvirate upon an expedition of the fame kind.

XI, Zoologia Ethica. A Difquifition concerning the Mosaic Diftinttion of Animals into Clean and Unclean. Being an attempt to explain to Chriftians the Wisdom, Morality, and Use of that Infitution. In Two Parts. By William Jones, Rector of Pluckley, in Kent. 8vo. 25. Robinfon.

THE Levitical law, relative to clean and unclean beafts, has given occafion to various enquiries and conjectures among the learned

In the lift of clean animals we find oxen, sheep, and goats; all fishes with fins and fcales; all fowls, as larks, doves, and

M. de Bougainville's charts are given in loofe and disjointed parts; but Mr. Forfter has connected the whole track from the South Seas to Batavia, in fuch a manner, that the reader will find his ease and convenience confulted by an arrangement equally useful and agreeable.

F 4

the

the like, which are unexceptionable in their manners, and lofty in their flight.' On the other fide, there are dogs, fwine, wolves, foxes, lions, tygers, moles, and ferpents; eels and water.fnakes; vultures, kites, ravens, owls, and bats.

Thofe only are admitted into the clafs of clean animals, which divide the hoof and chew the cud. Thefe external characters, it is certain, are generally attended with a tractable, harmless, and profitable difpofition. But our author goes farther, and endeavours to fhew, that the characters themfelves are expreffive of moral endowments. Thus, fays he, an animal with a cloven hoof is more inoffenfive with its feet, than the several tribes of wild beasts, whofe paws are armed with fharp claws, to feize upon their prey or than the horse, whofe feet are applied by inftina as offenfive weapons; or the dog, who, though he is not armed with claws, like the bear or the tyger, has feet endued with great fwiftnefs, that he may pursue and deftroy fuch creatures as are gentle and defenceless. Again, quadrupeds with a divided hoof tread furer than thofe whofe hoof is entire; and fure-footing is expreffive of rectitude in moral agents. It is alfo worthy of remark, that animals of this clafs are more orderly and regular in their progrefs. Thus fheep have a natural propenfity to follow one another's fteps. In the fame manner the orthodox believer is content to tread in the fteps of his forefathers, while the rambling freethinker looks upon it as the privilege of his nature to deviate into by-ways, untrodden by those who were much wifer than himself.'

The other character of a clean beaft, continues our au thor, is that of chewing the cud; a faculty fo expreffive of that ad of the mind, by which it revolves, meditates, and difcourfes on what it hath laid up in the memory, that it is applied to this fenfe by the Greeks and Latins; and the word ruminate is well known to have the fame metaphorical meaning in English. A beaft thus employed hath likewise all the outward appearance of abftraction in its countenance, as if it were engaged in fome deep meditation. This character then, as it ftands in the Scripture, muft fignify a devout turn of thought, and holiness of converfation for the word of God is the food of the mind, which, being laid up in the heart, fhould be again revolved at all feafons; fo that being properly applied to the inward man, it may contribute to a daily increafe in grace and godliness.

If we defcend to a more critical confideration of their different natures, the moral heathen feems to have been cen

Αναμηρυκωμενον τη μνήμη τα βεβρωμενα. Luc.

fured

fured under the figure of the Camel, and the immoral Ifraelite under that of the Swine. Pride is apt to boast of moral goodness, as fufficient in itself, without the hearing of the word of God. The camel hath fhort ears, which appear as if they had been cropped; and the enormous fize of the creature, with his lofty carriage, and those vaft bunches of flesh which deform his body, exprefs the difpofition of him who is puffed up in bis fleshly mind; who in his own opinion hath attained to the firft magnitude of wifdom and perfection. But it is as impoffible for fuch an one to enter into the kingdom of heaven, as for a camel to go through the eye of a needle: he is as much too big for the narrow way of Chriftian humility and self-abasement, as a camel for the paffage of a needle's

eye.

The fwine is an image of him who holds the truth in unrighteousness. Of this error the Scribes and Pharifees of our Saviour's time were the greatest examples. For as the swine, if we judge by the print of his feet, and fome other of his properties, hath an alliance with the better fort of cattle, and is of a mixt nature: fo they were ftri&t in their adherence to the doctrines of the church, and valued themselves upon a punctual obfervation of the ceremonial law: but were inwardly full of extortion and excess; devourers of widows houses; an unclean infatiable herd, before whom the pearls of the Gofpel were not to be cast.'

What our author fays on the subject before us is very just, that in difquifitions of this kind, it is eafy for us to fall into groundless refinements, and to mistake fubtilty for folidity." And if we are not mistaken, many of our readers will be apt to conclude, from this fhort fpecimen, that our learned author has indulged himself in fanciful and problematical conjectures.

XII. Something New. 2 Vols. 12mo. 5s. fewed. Dilly. AMidft the many fpecious title pages to which the ingenuity

of authors and bookfellers has daily recourfe, for the allurement of the public, that of the performance now before us must be exempted from the cenfure either of impofition or impropriety. It raifed our expectation of novelty, and has not indeed difappointed it. We must own at the fame time, that the humorous manner in which this rambling and defultory author treats of all his subjects is a circumstance not more entertaining, than the great variety of matter which he has contrived to introduce into his two little volumes. He is equally fenfible and facetious on important topics; and his

very

very trifles, which are generally agreeable, are for the moft part not deftitute of fome utility. That our readers may judge for themfelves, we fhall give them the following chapters as a specimen.

t

Chap. IV. Venienti Occurrite.

I fhall now, and throughout, prefent you with my thoughts, juft as they happen fortuitoufly to arife in my mind, without order or connexion, appealing to the consciousnefs of my readers whether this is not the way that ideas occur to him or her, in spite of that defpotic philofophy that would attempt to make flaves of mankind, and not suffer even thought itself to be free.

Subjects, perhaps, may fometimes follow in a train, for aught I can foresee; and, if so, I shall not affectedly decline being their train-bearer. But all I mean to premife is, that I fhall add nothing to the fuite myself, nor endeavour to ftring ftories, one after another, like winter-evening tales, till my audience falls afleep about the fire-fide.

6

They are but dull fportfmen, methinks, who have the patience to attend upon cold hunting. Whenever the scent' begins to flag, I am always for ftarting of fresh game, instead of liftening to a yelp here, and a chop there, till the hounds are able to hit off the fault. I prefer courfing therefore to it, where the quarry is ftill in view, during the purfuit.

Chap. V. The Rebuke.

-Our friend Trivius is not merely a fentimental streetwalker; for the fame turn of reflection, with a notable spirit of moral and chivalry, accompany his character throughout.,

A profligate of fortune happening to be in his company once, and boafting of an amour he had lately had with a young woman, displayed the infidious arts with which he had contrived to circumvent her..

• The rest of the company feemed to confider him but as one of those bragging galants who have fo often been defervedly expofed on the ftage: but Trivius foon undertook to vindicate his veracity, by faying that nothing, except the most superstitious addiction to truth, could poffibly have induced any one to confefs fo vile and scandalous a ftory of himself.

Another young fellow affronted a lady once, before him, and he immediately refented her quarrel. His friends interpofed, telling him that they thought it rather too late in life for him to enter the lifts of knight errantry. He replied, I was born a man ;- and no age, but dotage, can ever make me forget my fex, or the protection due to hers.'

In the courfe of thefe prolu fions the author exposes several vulgar errors, and he has concluded each of the volumes with

a piece

a piece of mufic. We may venture to recommend this mifcellany as one of the most agreeable and fentimental of the lighter kind of productions.

XIII. Thoughts on Hofpitals. By John Aikin, Surgeon. 800. 1. 6d. Johnfon.

TH HE interefts of humanity are in a particular manner concerned in the judicious and falutary regulation of such establishments as either public or private benevolence has erected, for the benefit of those who labour under the combined oppreffion of poverty and difeafe. To the honour of England, no country can boast of so great a number of hospitals for the reception of perfons in diftrefs. But it is mortifying to be informed, that, for want of proper attention to certain circumfrances, the defign of those charitable inftitutions should be fo much fruftrated, as not only to render them, in many cafes, of little advantage, but even greatly prejudicial to the unfortunate objects, for whofe relief they were intended. That fuch, however, is the fact, is very clearly evinced by this judicious author, whofe reflections on the melancholy fubject afford equal proof of his physical fagacity and the moral fympathy of his heart. His firft animadverfion is on the common plan of an hofpital, which he obferves is generally quadrangular; a form which prevents an effectual ventilation of the wards, and caufes a collection of stagnating air, tainted by a variety of noxious effluvia, in the central space, which continually returns upon the rooms through the windows looking that way. The largeness of the wards is another circumstance which he justly confiders as greatly productive of bad air. He acknowledges that a different plan of constructing hospitals, especially in large cities, would be attended with a great increase of expence and lofs of room; but this confideration, he obferves, ought to be of no weight, when brought in competition with the public utility, which is the end of those inftitutions. The best plan, in his opinion, would be, a range of cells or fall rooms opening into a wide airy gallery, having a brifk circulation of air through it. He next points out what circumftances ought to be attended to, refpecting the admiffion of patients, for promoting the utility of hofpitals. The following are the objects of confideration which he mentions for that purpofe.

1. Whether they be capable of fpeedy relief; because as it is the intention of charity to relieve as great a number as poffible, a quick change of objects is to be wifhed; and alfo because the inbred difeafe of hofpitals will almost inevitably creep