valuable intereft of mankind, the principal object of his care and application. He ought to promote the eternal, as well as the present and temporal happiness of his fubjects this is therefore a point properly subject to his ju rifdiction.

Fourth proof. In fine, we can in general acknowledge only two fovereigns, God and the prince. The fovereignty of God is a tranfcendent, univerfal, and abfolute fupremacy, to which even princes themselves are subject : the fovereignty of the prince holds the second rank, and is fubordinate to that of God; but in fuch a manner, that the prince has a right to regulate every thing which inte refts the happiness of fociety, and by its nature is fufceptible of human direction..

Having thus endeavoured to establish the right of the fovereign in matters of religion, our author proceeds to examine into the extent and bounds of this right; and fhews, that the fovereign can order nothing impoffible in its nature, as believing contradictions, &c. and that he cannot lawfully aflume to himfelf an empire over confciences, as if it was in his power to impofe the neceffity of believing fuch or fuch an article in matters of religion. Nature itself, fays he, and the divine laws are equally contrary to this pretenfion. 'Tis therefore no less foolish than impious to endeavour to constrain confciences, and, as it were, to extort religion by force of arms, The natural punishment of those who are in an error is to be taught. As for the reft, we must leave the care of the fuccefs to God.'

In the two laft chapters of this part, he confiders the power of the fovereign over the lives and fortunes of his fubjects in criminal cases, and his power over the BONA

REIPUBLICÆ.

In the last part he confiders the different rights of fovereignty with refpect to foreign eftates: the right of war, and every thing relating to it; public treaties, and the right of ambafladors: but we fhall leave our readers to judge of the whole by what has been already said of it, as it would be impoffible without tran/cribing the greatest part of the book, to give them a diftinct and connected view of wla is faid on each of the various fubjects that are handled i. it.

ART.

ART. XXXIV.

Letters on the study and ufe of Hiftory. B the late right honourable Henry St. John, lord viscoun Bolingbroke. 8vo, 2 vol. 10 ́s. Millar.

HIS noble author appears to us to have had a much larger proportion of the etherial fpirit, to ufe an expreffion of his lordship's, than what the generality of mankind poffefs. Whoever has perufed his writings with impartiality and a moderate share of attention, must have ob-` ferved a nobleness and elevation in his fentiments, a large and comprehenfive view of his fubject, and a masterly manner of treating it. The most common fentiments, acquire a kind of dignity and gracefulness from his lordship's manner of expreffing them; fo peculiarly happy is he in his ftile, which, as far as we are able to judge, is for elegance and strength, equal, if not fuperior, to that of any English writer whatever.

The fubject of the greatest part of this work is hiftory, with which, efpecially that of modern times, his lordship appears to have been extremely well acquainted. Before he comes to give a sketch of the hiftory and ftate of Europe, he fhews the great importance of the ftudy of hiftory, points out the proper method to be obferved in the profecution of it; and confiders briefly the state of ancient hiftory, both facred and profane. In perufing this work, the attentive reader will find more occafions than one to obferve his lordfhip's consciousness of his own fuperior abilities, and will, no doubt, be apt to think that he has, in fome places, been too fevere in his reflexions upon his own country: but candor will make favourable allowances for human frailties, and every good-natur'd reader will forgive the imperfections of the man, for the fake of the beauties of the writer.

As to what his lordfhip has advanced concerning the hiftorical part of the old teftament, though we cannot but look upon it to be highly exceptionable, to fay no worse, and can scarce perfuade ourselves, that a perfon of his lordhip's penetration and difcernment could reft fatisfied with the diftinction he mentions between the hiftorical and doctrinal parts; yet to charge him either with difingenuity or deifm, as has been publicly done, on account of what he had faid on this fubject, is inconfiftent both with candor and charity.

The letters contained in the first volume are addreffed to a lord who is not named *. In the first letter, which is a very fhort one, and is dated from Chantelou in Tou*Lord Cornbury. raine,

raine, November 6, 1735, his lordfhip confiders the different motives that carry men to the study of history. He obferves, that fome intend nothing more than amusement, and read the life of Epaminondas or Scipio, juft as they play a game at cards, or as they would read the ftory of the feven champions; and that there are others who read in order to talk, to fhine in converfation, and to impofe in com pany; who having few ideas to vend of their own growth, ftore their minds with crude un-ruminated facts and fentences, and hope to fupply by bare memory, the want of imagination and judgment. But thefe, fays he, are in the two loweft forms. The next I fhall mention, are in one a little higher; in the form of those who grow neither wifer nor better by study themselves, but who enable others to study with greater eafe, and to purposes more useful: who make fair copies of foul manufcripts, give the fignification of hard words, and take a great deal of other grammatical pains. The obligation to these men would be great indeed, if they were in general able to do any thing better, and sub-. mitted to this drudgery for the fake of the public; as fome of them, it must be owned with gratitude, have done, but not, later, I think, than about the time of the refurrection of letters. When works of importance are preffing, generals themselves may take up the pick-axe and the fpade, but in the ordinary courfe of things, when that preffing neceffity is over, fuch tools are left in the hands destined to use them, the hands of common foldiers and peasants. I approve therefore very much the devotion of a ftudious man at christchurch, who was over-heard in his oratory entering into a detail with God, as devout perfons are apt to do, and among other particular thanksgivings, acknowledging the divine goodness in furnishing the world with makers of dictionaries! These men court fame, as well as their betters, by fuch means as God has given them to acquire it: and Littleton exerted all the genius he had, when he made a dictionary, though Stephens did not. They deferve encouragement, however, whilft they continue to compile, and neither affect wit, nor prefume to reason.'

A fourth clafs he mentions, which confifts of those who employ their time in compiling fyftems of chronology and hiftory; and concludes his letter with telling us, that he had rather take the Darius whom Alexander conquered for the fon of Hyftafpes, and make as many anachronisms as a Jewish chronologer, than facrifice half his life to collect all the learned lumber that fills the head of an antiquary,

In

In the fecond letter, after faying fomething of history in general, and fhewing that the love of it is infeparable from human nature, his lordfhip confiders the true ufe and advantages of it. Hiftory, he tells us, is philofophy teaching us by examples how to conduct ourselves in every ftation of 'public and private life. He obferves, that fuch is the, imperfection of human understanding, fuch the frail temper of our minds, that abftract or general propofitions, be they everfo true, appear obfcure or doubtful to us very often, till they are explained by examples; that the wifeft leffons in favour of virtue go but a little way to convince the judgment, and determine the will, unlefs they are enforced by the fame means, and we are obliged to apply to ourselves what we fee happen to other men; and that inftructions by precept have the further difadvantage, of coming on the authority of others, and frequently require a long deduction of reafoning. When examples are pointed out to us, fays he, there is a kind of appeal, with which we are flattered, made to our fenfes, as well as our understandings. The inftruction comes then upon our own authority: we frame the precept after our own experience, and yield to fact when we refift fpeculation. But this is not the only advantage of inftruction by example; for example appeals not to our understanding alone, but to our paffions likewife. Example affuages thefe, or animates them; fets paffion on the fide of judgment, and makes the whole man of a piece, which is more than the strongest reafoning and the cleareft demonftration can do: and thus forming habits by repetition, example fecures the obfervance of thofe precepts which example infinuated.'

In the fubfequent part of this letter he ftates the account between the improvements to be made by the ftudy of hiftory, and thofe improvements which are the effect of our own experience; fhews the abfolute neceffity of preparing ourfelves for the converfation of the world by converfing with hiftorians; and illuftrates the whole, in a very beautiful manner, by examples taken from antient and modern.

times.

His lordship introduces his third letter with removing an objection against the utility of hiftory. Were thefe letters, fays he, to fall into the hands of fome ingenious perfons who adorn the age we live in, your lordship's correfpondent would be joked upon for his project of improving men in virtue and wisdom by the ftudy of hiftory. The general characters of men, it would be faid, are determin

ed

ed by their natural conftitutions, as their particular actions are by immediate objects. Many very converfant in hiftory would be cited, who have proved ill men or bad politicians; and a long roll would be produced of others who have arrived at a greater pitch of private and public virtue, without any affiftance of this kind. Something has been faid already to anticipate this objection; but fince I have heard feveral perfons affirm fuch propofitions with great confidence, a loud laugh, or a filent fneer at the pedants who prefumed to think otherwife; I will spend a few paragraphs, with your lordship's leave, to fhew that fuch affirmations (for to affirm amongst these fine men is to reafon) either prove too much, or prove nothing.

If our general characters were determined abfolutely, as they are certainly influenced, by our conftitutions, and if our particular actions were fo by immediate objects; all inftruction by precept as well as example, and all endeavours to form the moral character by education, would be unneceffary. Even the little care that is taken, and furely it is impoffible to take lefs, in the training up our youth, would be too much. But the truth is widely different from this representation of it; for what is vice, and what is virtue? I fpeak of them in a large and philofophical fenfe. The former is, I think, no more than the excefs, abufe, and mifapplication of appetites, defires, and paffions, natural and innocent, nay ufeful and neceffary: the latter confifts in the moderation and government, in the use and application of these appetites, defires and paffions, according to the rules of reafon, and therefore often in oppofition to their own blind impulse.

• What now is education? that part, that principal and moft neglected part of it, I mean, which tends to form the moral character? It is, I think, an inftitution defigned to lead men from their tender years, by precept and example, by argument and authority, to the practice and to the habit of practifing thefe rules. The ftronger our appetites, defires and paffions are, the harder indeed is the talk of education: But when the efforts of education are proportioned to this ftrength, although our keeneft appetites and defires, and our ruling paffions cannot be reduced to a quiet and uniform fubmiffion, yet are not their exceffes affwaged? are not their abufes and mifapplications, in fome degree, diverted or checked? Tho' the pilot cannot lay the ftorm, cannot he carry the ship by his art better through it, and often prevent the wreck that would always happen without him? If Alexander,