The great principle which animated our brave and virtuous ancestors; which tinctured with fublimity the favageness of their virtues; impelled them to actions of difinterested patriotifm; and gave wifdom to their legiflation and policy, at which we are astonished-was religion. Their defcendants improved in all the arts of life; intelligent in the principles and interefts of fociety; with characters and names which fcience and philofophy will hand down to eternity-are advancing to a political decrepitude and deftruction-from a puerile and wretched irreligion.-Religion hath been laid hold of by the State as an expedient to ferve its purposes; not generally and nobly countenanced as the means of making men happy, by making them virtuous. A variety of fects have fprung up, who have not only relinquifhed the advantages held out by the ftate, but have withftood its power. Here genuine and virtuous Free thinkers might have hoped for fhelter, if they had not spirit enough to affert their own rights. No. All denominations of Diffenters have founded their claims on the nature of their faith; and no fect hath afferted the indifputable right of man, not only to think for himfelf, but to disturb the facred repofe of the public, fo far as to attempt its improvement and advantage. All religious contentions have been on the comparative excellence of theological tenets. An Arian or a Socinian might venture fome inconvenience from a Calvinist or an Arminian. Not merely because he felt himself entitled to a common right of human nature; but because his faith was more rational, or more fcriptural: more worthy to be the established belief, and to receive the dignities and emoluments of the church. Let any of thefe denominations be put into power, and we only exchange tyrants; and have new names and tenets to which we muft facrifice our integrity and liberty.-The warfare of religious fects has had one effect, however, in producing what they never intended-a fpirit of univerfal toleration.'

Thefe reflections are not unfupported by fact-or at leaft, ftrong analogy. We know how the Arians became perfecutors, in their turn, when the power of the ftate gave them an advantage over the Athanafians: and that Socinus difcovered more a want of power than a want of inclination to crufh the fects which tended to weaken his intereft. His conduct toward Francis Davidis hath met with apologifts, who, like the apologifts for Calvin in the matter of Servetus, have ftretched their ingenuity to foften and colour it. But whatever respect we owe to the goodness of their defign, we are not infenfible of the weakness of its execution. The great heads of fects always have hiftorians among their difciples, who are ever ready to glofs over what cannot be vindicated. Hence we are teized

and

and difgufted with a fophiftical apology, where we ought to have been informed by a fimple narrative. But it is become a fashion to give to, hiftory the drefs of philofophy. It is not confined to facts, it ranges for motives. And when the hero of the tale is the favourite of the author, motives will be created for him that he little thought of; and excufes will be formed for what he never meant to ask an indulgence, or to make an apology for.

From this digreffion we return with peculiar pleasure to our ingenious Author; and, for the entertainment of our Readers, we will present them with an extract from his fecond lecture "on Wisdom :"-not the wisdom which begins and ends in fciences, but that "wifdom which cometh down from above," and which ends, not in empty and useless theories of scientific fpeculation, but in moral practice; and like the wisdom of the apoftle, is "full of good fruits-without partiality, and with out hypocrify."

It is in confequence of employing our thoughts on the wifdom and goodness which are every where to be found in the works of God, that we acquire moral principles. Morality, the proper fcience of man, may therefore be truly faid to be wifdom, even in the estimation of the Deity. The sciences, commonly fo called, natural and experimental philosophy, mathematics, logics, and aftronomy, are fteps to the great and univerfal fcience of morals; which furnishes the only permanent principles of focial and civil inftitutions; and produces all the happiness that the world can enjoy. It is in confequence of drawing these channels from their proper and useful directions that the words of the apoftle [the wifdom of this world is foolishness with God] became applicable to the wisdom of this world. For even fciences which might be extremely useful and worthy of purfuit, become foolifhnefs when directed to no end; or when the perfons who are engaged in them, have no object but the fame which may arife from industry and fuccefs in their purfuits: or the fpurious, unnatural recompence, which is called fcientific pleasure. This however is the just reproach of modern knowledge; and the wisdom of this world may be truly faid to be foolishness with God.

In the more enlightened periods of antiquity, the most refpectable of all denominations, that of the philofopher, was never applied but to men who loved real wifdom; it was not prostituted to thofe mutilated monfters in the fcientific world, whose minds have but one faculty, that of memory, and who employ that faculty on the minutia of nature: and when they are gorged with facts from earth, and fea, and air, are hardly of any ufe in all thofe defigns for which a reasonable man muft

have been fent into the world. You will obferve I do not fpeak against all difcoveries of facts, and all the ufe of memory; but against the improper application of the words, philofophy and wisdom, to pursuits which are only the elements of science, and which are refpectable and useful only, when they contribute fomething to the improvement of that great and univerfal fcience, Morality, which alone can make men happy.'

Speaking of the state and progrefs of fcientific knowledge among the ancients, in his third lecture (which is a continuaation of the former on the nature and effects of true wisdom), Mr. Williams obferves, that it is very probable to a man who can trace events to their neceffary caufes, that in the time of Socrates, the feveral sciences were purfucd in the manner they now are, as feparate and distinct objects, and not as means leading to one univerfal and beneficial end. The flight and scanty informations of hiftory would confirm fuch an hypothefis. Thales had fpeculated and made experiments on water. He and his difciples drew it from all fubftances, and probably gave it feveral philofophic names, as it petrified into ftones, vegetated, into herbs, and flowers, and trees, affumed the form and fubftance of animals, fublimated into a human foul, and by undergoing infinite proceffes conftituted the nature and fupreme intelligence of the gods, and bleffed and ruled that univerfe, confifting only of various modifications of water. These form the first order of fpeculative philofophers: and modern fabricators of worlds, and aflayers of elements, muft ever look up to them with aftonifhment and despair.

The fpeculations and experiments of Anaximenes were upon air. He extracted it from every thing. He changed, and modified, and purified it, till he became fo enamoured, that he pronounced it to be God, immenfe, infinite, almighty, the foul of the univerfe, and the principle of all intelligence and all happiness. The difciples and followers of this philofopher were numerous, and continued in credit for fome ages.'

From air and water doctors, our Author proceeds to the third clafs, the philofophers of fire.

The general effect of philofophic fpeculation was the opinion, that the element which was anciently called ether, and which we now call the electric fire, was the univerfal principle. It was probably feen to pervade all parts of nature, and appeared like the immediate caufe of all motion and life. It was beneficent in the fun it was fometimes mifchievous in lightning. All the good and evil in the world was allotted by it. It was therefore pronounced to be God-called Jupiter, and adored by all the world. We accordingly find fire to have been the univerfal emblem of the Deity; and the fuccefs of the very ancient

Magi, or perhaps much more experimental philofophers, on fire to be much greater in raifing their element to be a deity, than that of thofe who applied themfelves to air and water.'

Our Author, after having remarked, that Philofophers of all defcriptions, who are not engaged in purfuits which will terminate in the moral benefit of the world, are only Monks and Friars, whofe fupport is a charge on the industry of the public,' obferves, very properly, that the fciences when they have diverged from a certain line, and their votaries are become diftinct claffes of beings, they gradually refine, till each terminates in fome fpecies of fophiftry, quackery, and mischievous impofture. Thus mathematics degenerate into ænigmas: chymiftry becomes alchymy; aftronomy, aftrology; and theology, mystery; and thus all fcientific means of improvement, convenience, and happiness, are the inftruments of mean imposture to corrupt and injure the people. It was to this kind of impofture that Socrates oppofed himself; and by the artifices of it he fell.'

Mr. Williams confiders the death of Chrift in the fame light with that of Socrates: He views it as a mere natural event, produced by fimilar caufes, and producing a moral effect by the operation of fimilar circumftances. In both these very remarkable cafes,' (fays he) the benefit to the public was derived from the death of the fufferer. If Socrates had been allowed to live the few years he had to remain, the effect of his converfation and inftructions would have been inconfiderable; and we should hardly have had his name tranfmitted to us. But being called up with injuftice and cruelty to fuffer and to die; and fubmitting to his fate with the fpirit and temper of a man; employing the folemn interval between his fentence and his death, in recapitulating the great principles of his favourite fcience, and the reafons of his ferenity, peace, and hope, every word he uttered was engraven upon the hearts of his friends: every one of whom became another Socrates; and by a fervid zeal, and enthufiaftic eloquence, fpread his philofophy through the world. So in the cafe of Chrift, the fuccefs of his doctrine, the enthusiasm of his difciples, and the prevalence of Chriftianity, was owing to his death; and fo fenfible were the early Chriftians of this, that by a ftrong figure, they faid, the world was washed in his blood, and faved by his crofs.'

We cannot avoid remarking, that this pofition is exceedingly injurious to Christianity. It degrades it to a level with the in stitutions of human wildom: and cannot be reconciled with the express defign of the death of Chrift, in those books which record it, notwithstanding our Author hath peremptorily afferted, in his ufual, unqualified ftyle, that no man who reads the Evangelifts as he would the writings of Plato and Xenophon,

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will ever imagine that the defign of Chrift was any other than to oppofe morality to the cabaliftic learning and fuperftition of the Jews.'-But if we read the Evangelifts according to the prefcription of Mr. Williams, we cannot but imagine, that Chrift had a farther defign than barely to inculcate the precepts of morality. Morality to its utmolt extent, and in its highest perfection, was doubtlefs one neceffary part of our Saviour's plan. But it was only a part of a fyftem that terminated in the great doctrine of immortality, which was brought to light by the Gofpel." This doctrine appears to be the ultimate object of the death of Chrift. For he died to rife again; and by his refurrection, he afforded, what could not have been gained by the deepeft researches, of human fagacity; and that was,--an undeniable conviction of our having been made for a future ftate, and that he who raised up Chrift from the dead will also quicken our mortal bodies." This is the uniform language of the New Teftament: and this doctrine appears to be the ruling principle of Chriftianity. Mr. Williams may conteft the truth of the doctrine: but then he must not talk of reading the books of the Evangelifts as we do thofe of Plato and Xenophon. They, at least, are directly, and literally, at variance with his affertion and were we inclined to adopt his pofitive and dog. matical mode of speech, we might with more juftness affirm, that no man, who reads the facred writings as he would those of profane Authors, can feriously adopt a pofition fo contrary to the obvious fenfe and letter of the Gospel.'

[To be concluded in our next.]

ART. II. The Plays of William Shakspeare, in Ten Volumes, with the Corrections and Illuftrations of various Commentators: to which are added Notes by Samuel Johnfon and Geo. Steevens. The Second Edition revised and augmented. 8vo. 10 Vols. 31. 10s. Bound. Bathurst, &c.

WE

E are here prefented with an improved and truly valuable edition of the Works of a poet who hath long been claffed among the most astonishing phænomena of human genius. Panegyric hath been exhaufted in his praise; and the invention of a Shakspeare only, could furnifh fresh topics of en

comium.

The first characters for ingenuity and erudition have not difdained, what Mr. Pope in one of his proud and fplenetic moments, called the dull Duty of Editors, in order to illuftrate the productions of this immortal Bard. But dull as that duty might

This mode of fpelling the name of Shakspeare is adopted out of refpect to an autograph of the poet affixed to his will preferved in the court of Canterbury. A fac fimile of his hand-writing is given in this edition.

appear