ftandard of its excellence? Would he fet up natural and human knowledge as a judge of what is fupernatural or divine? This might become a mere naturalift, but certainly ill-becomes a profeffed theologue. We think it juft as ill-judged and imprudent in him, as an advocate for Chriftianity, to expofe the weak fide of Mr. Jenyns's reafoning, in points that do not affect the main argument. He may think, with the author of his borrowed preface, that Chriftian controverfialifts may go on fecurely and harmlessly in detecting and expofing the falfe arguments of one another; but if their end be that of propagating the belief, and fupporting the credit of Chriftianity, they fhould be more cautious of thus expofing one another; as they cannot do it without expofing themfelves at the fame time to the criticifm and contempt of deifts and infidels. It is thus, in our opinion, by no means prudential in Dr. Maclaine to difprove the afferted fingularity and total novelty of the Chriftian doctrines. But, perhaps, our author meant himself to sneer at the doctrine of the Trinity, in controverting Mr. Jenyns's affirmation that no other religion has ever reprefented the fupreme Being in the character of three perfons united in one God. Let our readers judge. "Many learned Men have pretended to find a Trinity in the Divine Effence clearly expreffed in the facred Books of the Chinese, Perfians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, and Grecians: (not to fpeak of the Writings of the Old Teftament, whofe Declarations on this head I suppose you blend with those of the Evangelifts and Apoftles :) Thus Plutarch tells us, that the Perfian Oromafdes thrise augmented, or triplicated himself, De Ifide & Ofir; and the Perfian Magi celebrate, to this very day, a folemn festival in honour of the Tenacios, or Threefold Mythras. It appears, moreover, from the teftimonies of learned Men, that what the Perfians called Oramajdes, Mythras, and Mythra, were called by the Chaldeans Life, Intellect, and Soul; by the Chinese Hi, Yi, and Ouei; by the Egyptians Eilon, Emepb, and Ptha; and the Hebrews Ab, El, and Ruach. It is alfo well known that Orpheus, Pythagoras, and Plato, had like ideas of a Divine Trinity. How far this Tri-union refembled what you reprefent as the Chriftian Doctrine on that fubject, I cannot determine; because you have not thought it expedient to tell us whether you confider the unity of the Three Perfons in one God, as an Unity of Countel, Equality, or Effence; but it is evident, that the tenets of Eastern Nations, above mentioned, are far from being totally unlike the Doctrines of the Trinity in our Theological Systems; and they are fufficient to prove your precipitation, in afferting, that no other Religion, except the Chriftian, "has even reprefented the Supreme Being in the Character of Three Perfons united in one God." We fhould be forry to mifconceive and fill more fo to mifreprefent the meaning of any ingenuous writer; but we do not 3 perceive perceive the marks of much ingenuoufnefs in the above quotation, particularly in the marginal notes; the Thank Heaven! at the clofe of the laft, refembling too much the profane cant of the Rationalifts, who want to get rid of all fuch religious tenets as are too myfterious for the comprehenfion of the human understanding. As mere philofophers we join them, but as Chriftians we differ, toto coelo, in religious opinion, and fhall, totis viribus, oppose every attempt, that falls under our cognizance, to confound characters fo diametrically oppofite, and doctrines fo effentially different, as are thofe of the naturalift and the divine! W. A Voyage towards the South Pole, and round the World. Performed in His Majefty's Ships the Refolution and Adventure, in the Years 1772, 1773, 1774, and 1775. Written by James Cook, Commander of the Refolution. In which is included, Capt. Furneaux's Narrative of his Proceedings in the Adventure during the Separation of the Ships. Illuftrated with Maps and Charts, and a Variety of Portraits of Perfons and Views of Places, drawn during the Voyage by Mr. Hodges, and engraved by the most eminent Mafters. 2 Vols. 4to. 21. 2s. Strahan and Cadell. It is obferved by Mr. Forfter, that the Hiftory of Captain Cook's firft voyage round the World was eagerly read by all European nations, but incurred univerfal cenfure and almoft univerfal contempt. This he imputes to its having been compiled by a perfon who had not been on the voyage; and to the frivolous obfervations, the uninterefting digreffions and fophiftical principles of the compiler t. We mean not to apply to Mr. Forfter the reflections he cafts on Dr. Hawkefworth; but cannot help congratulating the public on its being favoured with, what appears to us, to be a genuine relation of this fecond voyage by captain Cook himself. Mr. Forfter, indeed, rather invidioufly hinted that we were ftill to converfe with that active and intelligent commander by means of an interpreter. Of this, however, there are few figns in the work before us; altho' it may be true, as Mr. Forfter infinuates, that fome few facts, obnoxious to Government or uneffential to the main defign of the voyage, are fuppreffed. But thefe would be of as little confequence to the reader as are many of the frivolous ob * See Mr. Førster's account of Capt. Cook's voyage.-Also the London Review for March, p. 219. The late Dr. Hawkefworth. Y y 2 fervations fervations and uninterefting digreffions of either Dr. Hawkefworth or Mr. Forfter. We congratulate alfo the proprietors on their having an opportunity of making amends to the public, for the impofition, they were inftrumental to, in their former unequally-executed and therefore equally paltry and pompous, publication; by now prefenting the purchafer with, perhaps, the most authentic and beft embellished production of the kind that ever was published *. As most of the facts and deferiptions contained in these volumes are nearly the fame in fubftance with those we meet with in Mr. Forster's and even the anonymous publications, we fhall. make no other extract than a fhort one, difplaying the ingenuoufness of the Voyager in retracting the errours, fallen into in his former account. Speaking of the famous Otaheite, and its neighbouring Islands, he fays, The produce of the islands, the manners and customs of the natives, &c. having been treated at large in the narrative of my former voyage, it will be unneceflary to take notice of these fubjects in this, unlefs where I can add new matter, or clear up any mistakes which may have been committed. "As I had fome reason to believe, that amongst their religious cuf toms, human facrifices were fometimes confidered as neceffary, I went one day to a Marai in Matavai, in company with Captain Furneaux; having with us, as I had upon all other occafions, one of my men who fpoke their language tolerably well, and feveral of the natives, one of whom appeared to be an intelligent, fenfible man. In the Marai was a Tupapow, on which lay a corpfe and fome viands; fo that every thing promifed fuccefs to my inquiries. I began with asking questions relating to the feveral objects before me, if the plantains, &c. were for the Eatua? If they facrificed to the Eatua, hogs, dogs, fowls, &c. to all of which he answered in the affirmative. I then asked, If they facrificed men to the Eatua? he anfwered, Taata eno; that is, bad men they did, first Tiparraby, or beating them till they were dead. I then afked him, If good men were put to death in this manner? his anfwer was, No, only Taata eno. 1 aiked him, If any Earces were? he faid, they had hogs to give to the Eatua, and again repeated Taato ene. I next afked him, If Towtows, that is, fervants or flaves, who had no hogs, dogs, or fowls, but yet were good men, if they were facrificed to the Eatua? his anfwer was, No, only bad men. I asked him several more questions, and all his anfwers feemed to tend to this one point, that men for certain crimes were condemned to be facrificed to the gods, provided they had not wherewithal to redeem themselves. This, I think, implies, that, on fome occafions, human facrifices are confidered as neceflary; particularly when they take fuch men as have, by the The two volumes containing upwards of fixty plates, all uniformly executed, and that in fo mafterly a ftile, both as to defigns and engraving, that the impreffons of the plates alone may be juftly valued at more than three imes the price of the book. laws laws of the country, forfeited their lives, and have nothing to redeem them; and fuch will generally be found among the lower class of people. "The man of whom I made these inquiries, as well as fome others, took fome pains to explain the whole of this cuftom to us; but we were not mafters enough of their language to understand them. I have fince learnt from Omai, that they offer human facrifices to the Supreme Being. According to his account, what men shall be so facrificed, depends on the caprice of the high priest, who, when they are affembled on any folemn occafion, retires alone into the houfe of God, and stays there fome time. When he comes out, he informs them, that he has seen and converfed with their great God (the high priest alone having that privilege) and that he has afked for a human facrifice, and tells them that he has defired fuch a perfon, naming a man prefent, whom moft probably the priest has an antipathy againft. He is immediately killed, and fo falls a victim to the priest's refentment, who, no doubt, (if neceflary) has addrefs enough to perfuade the people that he was a bad man. If I except their funeral ceremonies, all the knowledge that has been obtained of their religion, has been from information; and as their language is but imperfectly understood, even by those who pretend to the greatest knowledge of it, very little on this head is yet, known with certainty. "The liquor which they make from the plant called Ava ava, is expreffed from the root, and not from the leaves, as mentioned in the narrative of my former voyage. The manner of preparing this liquor is as fimple as it must be disgusting to an European. It is thus: feveral people take fome of the root and chew it till it is foft and pulpy; then › they fpit it out into a platter or other veffel, every one into the fame; when a fufficient quantity is chewed, more or lefs water is put to it, according as it is to be ftrong or weak; the juice, thus diluted, is ftrained through fome fibrous ftuff like fine fhavings; after which it is fit for drinking, and this is always done immediately. It has a pepperifh tafte, drinks flat and rather infipid. But though it is intoxicating, I faw only one inftance where it had that effect; as they generally drink it with great moderation, and but little at a time. Sometimes they chew this root in their mouths, as Europeans do tobacco, and swallow their fpittle; and sometimes I have seen them eat it wholly. "At Ulietea they cultivate great quantities of this plant. At Otaheite but very little. I believe there are but few islands in this fea, that do not produce more or lefs of it; and the natives apply it to the fame ufe, as appears by Le Mair's account of Horn Ifland, wherein he fpeaks of the natives making a liquor from a plant in the fame manner as above mentioned. "Great injustice has been done to the women of Otaheite, and the Society Ifies, by those who have reprefented them, without exception, as ready to grant the laft favour to any man who will come up to their price. But this is by no means the cafe; the favours of married women, and also the unmarried of the better fort, are as difficult to be obtained here, as in any other country whatever. Neither can the charge be understood indifcriminately of the unmarried of the lower clafs, for many of these admit of no fuch familiarities. That there' are are prostitutes here, as well as in other countries, is very true, perhaps more in proportion, and fuch were thofe who came on board the fhips to our people, and frequented the poft we had on fhore. By feeing these mix indifcriminately with thofe of a different turn, even of the first rank, one is, at first, inclined to think that they are all difpofed the fame way, and that the only difference is in the price. But the truth is, the woman who becomes a prostitute, does not feem, in their opinion, to have committed a crime of fo deep a dye as to exelude her from the esteem and fociety of the community in general. On the whole, a stranger who visits England might, with equal justice, draw the characters of the women there, from those which he might meet with on board the ships in one of the naval ports, or in the purlieus of Covent-Garden and Drury-Lare. I muft, however, allow that they are all completely versed in the art of coquetry, and that very few of them fix any bounds to their conversation. It is, therefore, no wonder that they have obtained the character of libertines." In the general Introduction, containing a very concise account of former circumnavigations, Captain Cook takes an opportunity to retract what he had afferted, in his firft voyage, relative to the inhabitants of the Ifland of St. Helena; in contradiction to which, he now fays, they are far from exercifing a wanton cruelty over their flaves; and they have had wheel-carriages and porters knots for many years.-On this occafion we cannot help obferving that, as it becomes travellers to be very cautious of too haftily forming notions of men and things, of which they have time only to make a curfory obfervation: fo nothing is more commendable in them than fuch open and ingenuous confeffion of their mistake when they are themfelves undeceived. W. Biographia Literaria; or, a Biographical History of Literature: containing the Lives of English, Scotifb, and Irish Authors, from the Dawn of Letters in thefe Kingdoms to the prefent Time, chrom nologically and claffically arranged. By John Berkenhout, M. D. 4to. 18s. Dodiley. Dr. Berkenhout, to whom the Public is indebted for feveral ingenious publications*, befides thofe in the line of his profethion, hath here published the firft volume of a work, which has not only been had in private contemplation by many other writers, but hath been more than once publicly hinted at, as a Particularly an elegant tranflation of Count Teffin's Letters to the King of Sweden. Dr. B. if we are rightly informed, had alfo no inconfi derable hand in our Colleague's [Dr. K's] celebrated vertion of Rouficau's Eloita. Various alfo, we are told, are his original tracts, interspersed anoymoully in our numerous periodical publications, defideratum |