our conquefts in the Weft Indies, and it will be afferted, that this not only augments their trade as a maritime power, but gives them the balance against us in the fugar-trade, and reftores to them thofe iflands greatly enriched and improved, not only by their having carried on a free, uninterrupted, advantageous trade, under the protection of the British flag, but a fure dead gain of all the money expended upon our troops during the time we have had poffeflion of them.-Reftore them to their poffeffions in the Eaft Indies, and it will be urged, that they are thereby restored to the full poffeffion of all their former influence and power in those parts; that this trade, added to their fugar-trade and fifh-trade, will fuddenly enable them to extend their naval power to what defireable heights they pleafe; and that, by uniting with our good friends the Dutch, in their inveterate and enterprifing plans against us, they may even. effect our expulfion in the time of profound peace, and leave us as deftitute of any importance there, as they themselves now are before the figning of this peace. In fhort, we may expect to hear that the laurels gathered under one adminiftration, have been torn and blafted under another; that a glorious, fuccefsful, and advantageous war, has been wound up in an inglorious, unprofit able, and difadvantageous peace; and that the nation, from being enriched by the art of war, is ruined under the burthen of an unsupportable debt by the peace.- Notwithstanding all this, a peace may take place; but it is to be dreaded, that it will be a peace, attended with fuch a national difcord and ferment of fpirit, as will enfeeble and weaken the British government, and reduce it to the fame placid, timid, temporizing conduct, that rendered the Walpolean fyftem fo odious at home, and ridiculous abroad, whilft the morals and fpirit of the people fuffered an almost total diffolution under univerfal corruption." C. Elements of Criticism. [143] IN the preceding article [143. we had occafion [fays the Critical Reviewers] to admire the genius of this excellent writer; we are now aftonifhed with the variety of his reading, the novelty of his reflections, and the propriety of his desifions. To refcue criticilin from the hackles of authority, fix its bafis on naqure, and difclofe thofe principles which ought to govern tafte, by the strict law of philofophy, is an attempt that certain ly merits the acknowledgments of the t learned. Lord Kames hath clearly demonftrated, to our apprehenfion, from a beautiful investigation of the pallion, what objects will neceffarily excite certa feelings and emotions; whence he ded ces an infallible rule for judging of work of art, by referring to the effects they produce. By thefe means he hath bei enabled to point out a great variety a beauties and blemishes, in the most cele brated writers of ancient and modern a ges, which either paffed unnoticed, a were misunderstood by former critics Hence he has united philofophy with tafte, exhibited a juft ftandard of f compofition, and fhewn what is beautif fit, and becoming in the arts, with t fame precision as if he had been treating of ethics. We entertain no kind of doubt be the Elements of Criticism may one day fuperfede the critical labours of the St gyrite. Our author has tried by h rules a variety of paflages in Virg. Horace, Livy, Salluft, Tacitus, Swift, Bolingbroke, Addifon, Pope, Hume, and proved them deficient in the arrange ment, uniformity, and perfpicuity of the periods, the harmony of constructiet, or in fome other particulars eflential to fine writing. It is here that his Lord has indulged in a fine vein for accurate criticifm, by a ftrict application of the beautiful theory laid down in the begin ning of his work; which, if we mista: not, will render him, in the critical art what Bacon, Locke, and Newton, are in philofophy, -the parent of regulate tafte, the creator of metaphyfical crit cifm, the first interpreter of our feelings and of the voice of nature, and the law giver of capricious genius, upon pr ciples too evident to be controverted Such are the Elements of Criticism, offer ed to the public by the truly learned, legant, and accomplished Lord Kame upon which we fhall venture to bestow farther encomiums, from a conscioust that the fubject will be cherished and mired, when perhaps the critique may forgot and annihilated. It would be prefumptuous in us point out what is wanting to the compe tion of this great defign. The fame ventive genius that sketched the plan, a mafterly hand that reared it to its p lent height, can beft difcover the defect = Oct.1762. Elements of criticism. and finish the beautiful fabric. Yet we cannot expect that all readers will accede to many of his criticisms, which appear capricious and arbitrary. C. WITHIN the circle of human fcience ffay the Monthly Reviewers] there is no fubject fo comprehenfive and interefting as that of criticism, and yet none perhaps has been treated with fo little extent and precifion. It was reserved for the learn ed and acute author of the volumes before us, to trace it to its genuine principles, and to establish the laws of nature on the ruins of authority. Former writers have confidered criticifm merely as an art, and have prefcribed flavish rules for the regulation of tafte, as if a critic were to be formed by directions purely mechanical. But criticifin, taken in its enlarged fignification*, is improperly termed an art; for the principles of criticifm, which conftitute a part of our fenfitive nature, are not to be acquired by rule, though they may be improved by habit. We may, it is true, judge of language from the inftructions of grammarians; but no precepts whatever can enable us to judge of fentiment. Philofophy indeed can, in many inftances, explain the causes of our feelings, but no human skill-can teach us to feel. The effects produced by fentiment proceed principally from the original frame of the mind, whereby men are made fufceptible of various impreflions in very different degrees. What will fcarcely raife the flightest emotion in one man, will, in another, excite the most lively fenfations. But these feveral effects do not depend altogether on the difference of original difpofition, but arife, in a great meature, from the prefent tone of the organs, which occafions one and the fame man, at different times, to be very differently affected by the fame fentiment. When, by any adverse accident, the mind is depreffed below its ordinary tone, it is readily difpofed to diffolve at the flightest fentiment of diftrefs; fo on the contrary: for the force of fympathy is never moved in a juft degree, but when the fentiment accords with the present tone of the mind. And this is a circumftance which every candid critic fhould, before he prefumes to judge, weigh with the nicest attention. The caufes, however, which vary the effects of fentiment, are almost infinite. Criticifm fignifies no more than the faculty of judging in general, as is expreffed by the verb zpvw, from whence it is derived.. 537 It would not be difficult, perhaps, to explain why their influence is fainter, or ftronger, in proportion to the different periods of life, and to unfold many other principles which operate imperceptibly to a common eye. But fuch nice and fubtile difquifitions would lead us beyond the limits of our prefent defign; and we have only premnifed thefe leading obfervations, in order to diftinguith where criticilin may be directed by rules of art, and where it is governed by principles independent of, and antecedent to, all given rules. Where fentiment is not concerned, we may indeed, as has been intimated, be taught to judge by fixed and invariable rules; but the judgment which we pals on any fentiment, correfponds with the impreffion which we receive from the fubject affecting us; and though men accuftomed to abstract reflection may be able to trace the original caufe of thefe impreflions, yet the principle, when difcovered, will not conftitute any uniform standard, fo as to enable us hereafter to form the like judgment, on the fame, or a fimilar fentiment. For when the mind is affected or difgufted, the affection or averfion takes place, as it were, by impulfe, and gives no time for the formal application of given principles to influence the judgment. We have been the more earnest in eftablishing this difference, fince, for want of accurate and conftant attention to this diftinction, even our author has not always exprefled himself with that precision which fo nice a fubject requires.- In exemplifying the particulars which ferve to unfold the principles of the fine arts, the author difplays very extenfive and various erudition; and the many nice and acute criticilins interfperfed throughout, fhew with what clofe attention and refined tafte he has perused the most admired authors, both ancient and modern. He has opened many beauties, and detected several blemishes, in the best writers; and, from the various effects refulting from the illuftrations referred to, he has endeavoured to establish the rules of just criticifm. But though the application of these rules may, in fome measure, enable a reader to discover blemishes, yet. they will never teach him to relish beau ties; which produce no effect, unless the fufceptibility of the reader is congenial with that of the writer. It is well known, that the poetic excellence of our incom parable Milton was, for a long time, hid under. under the veil of obfcurity, till Mr Addifon unfolded his beauties to the public eye; yet, even now, we may venture to affirm, that they who affect to admire him moft, build their admiration on authority inftead of fentiment. In fhort, to recur to the distinction which we have endeavoured to establish, the principles of criticifm, fo far as they regard the fenfitive part of our nature, are not to be acquired by rule. Nevertheless, this work must afford a most elegant entertainment to readers of fine taite, who will here perceive what an intricate combination of caufes, perhaps hitherto unnoticed, have contributed to produce those striking effects which they have fo frequently experienced. In the concluding chapter, his Lordship enters into a curious difquifition concerning the Standart of Tafle. The proverb, he obferves," That there is no difputing about tafte," may be admitted fo far as it regards individuals. Nature, he remarks, in her scale of pleasures, has been sparing of divifions: fhe hath wifely and benevolently filled every divifion with many pleafures, in order that individuals may be contented with their own lot, with out envying the happiness of others. In our prefent condition, happy it is that the plurality are not delicate in their choice. But if we apply this proverb, in general, to every fubject of tafte, the difficulties to be encountered are infuperable. Independent altogether of experience, men have a fenfe or conviction of a common nature or ftandard, not only in their own species, but in every fpecies of animals. This conviction of a common nature or ftandard, and of its perfection, is the foundation of morality; and accounts clearly for the remarkable conception we have, of a right and a wrong tafte in morals. It accounts not lefs clearly for the conception we have, of a right and a wrong tafte in the fine arts. A perfon who rejects objects generally a greeable, and delights in objects generally difagreeable, is condemned as a monster: we difapprove his tafte as bad or wrong; and we have a clear conception that he deviates from the common standard. Having endeavoured to establish this ftandard, his Lordship inquires by what means we fhall prevent mistaking a falfe ftandard for that of nature. He admits, that if we endeavour to afcertain the fandard of nature from opinion and practice, we are betrayed into endless perplexi ties. He agrees, that viewing the matter hiftorically, nothing is more various than tafte in the fine arts.-The fame contradictions, he allows, occur with refpect to morals. But he folves the diffi culty, by oblerving, that, "In neither can we fafely rely on a local or tranfitory tafte; but what is the most universal, and the most lasting among polite nations." In this very manner, he continues, a standard for morals has been esta blifhed, with a good deal of accuracy.The standard of taste in the fine arts is not yet brought to fuch perfection.They who are qualified to be judges in the fine arts are reduced within a narrow compafs. Many circumstances are necef fary to form a judge of this fort: There must be a good natural tafte; this tafte must be improved by education, reflec tion, and experience; it must be prefer ved alive by a regular courfe of life, by using the goods of fortune with modera tion, and by following the dictates of improved nature, which give welcome to every rational pleafure, without deviating into excefs. Laftly, his Lordship obferves, that by means of the principles that conftitute the fenfitive part of our nature, a wonderful uniformity is preserved a mong the emotions and feelings of differ ent individuals; the fame object making upon every perfon the fame impreffion; the fame in kind, at least, if not in degree. The uniformity of tafte, here ac counted for, is the very thing that in other words is termed the cenumon fenfe of mankind. As the declared purpose of these volumes is to lay a foundation for forming a Standard of Tafte, we could wifh that his Lordfhip had been more particular and precife on this head; for, after all that has been faid, the Standard of Taste still remains extremely vague and unfettled. We are told, that it must be regulated by what is most universal, and the mott lafting among polite nations: and, even among fuch, the judges are reduced within a narrow compals. If we appeal to what is most univerfal among polite nations, what fhall we fay to the custom in France, where, "defpifing the modeft colouring of nature, women of fashion daub their cheeks with a red powder? In fhort, if we appeal to this standard, we fhall find a number of prevailing practices among the politeft nations, which are totally inconfiftent with all ideas of refined talle. Perhaps લ 2 Perhaps the Standard of Tafte, in the Fine Arts at least, is founded more on authority, custom, or fashion, than on principles of nature. Men readily contract a relish for thofe objects and pleafures which accident first threw in their way. We have known the rules of Tafte to undergo fucceffive variations among the politeft nations, and yet, at each period, the reigning fashion has been appealed to as the only true ftandard. Among nations likewife equally polished, the rules of taste are extremely different. A French air is grating to an Italian ear; an Ita lian cantata is grave and infipid to a fprightly Parifian; and an English tune is the redicule of both. The fame may be faid with respect to other fine arts. Be fides, what is called the taste of a nation, if nicely traced to its origin, is perhaps nothing more than the caprice of one man, who by means of extraordinary talents and capacity, has acquired fuch reputation and influence, as to make a peculiarity of his own become by degrees a reigning principle.-To tell us, that the Standard of Tafte is to be found among judges of a good natural tafte, improved by education, &c. is, with deference to his Lordship, faying no more, than that," Taste is to be found among people of tafte." It is explaining the difficulty by the term to be defined: for we are fill at a lofs to determine what are the effential properties which conftitute what is called tafte: and till they are known, it is in vain to reason about a Common standard; which, in truth, is much easier conceived than expreffed. That men are born with different degrees of fenfibility, cannot be denied: but the impreffions they receive, and their affections and averfions which are derived from thofe impreflions, are, for the most part, perhaps, owing to accident. Nay, it fometimes happens, that men of the fame natural endowments, with the fame benefit of education, and in all refpects equal, as far as human difcernment can judge, do nevertheless differ, with refpect to fubjects of tafte, not only from each other but at fucceffive periods from themfelves. Therefore, though it cannot, without abfurdity, be contended, that every man's tafie is, to himself, an ultimate standard without appeal; and though there are fome circumftances by which all men will be alike affected, in kind, if not in degree; yet when we come to establish an univerfal Standard of Tafte, we are in-, 539 volved in endless contradictions and per plexities: and nothing can be a stronger proof of the intricacy of this inquiry, than that even Lord Kames has not beex able to ascertain the standard in question, in a clear and fatisfactory manner. Nevertheless, his Lordship has given abundant proofs of extraordinary talents, and has difplayed a rich and valuable fund of acquired knowledge. His very errors, are mostly the errors of genius, and proceed from an over-nice refinement, which, in too many instances, renders his arguments rather fubtile than folid. Impartiality, however, obliges us farther to confefs, that his Lordship is not fo accurate in the divifion of his matter, as might be expected. The chapter concerning Gardening and Architecture, which comes in as it were per faltum after the Three Unities, might certainly have been better arranged; and the whole, perhaps, might have been more accurately difpofed. With refpect to the language, we muft obferve, that though it is correct and nervous, yet it wants that eafe and harmony which feem requifite in fo liberal a difquifition. There is one fault, however, which runs throughout these volumes, and which we are amazed to discover in a writer of his Lordfhip's delicate feeling: we mean that eternal egotism which occurs, with no fimall dictatorial pomp, in almost every paragraph. But, with all its defects, this is a most valuable acceflion to the stock of literature. And as the authority of Lord Kames will ever be refpected, we thought it incumbent on us, to point out the blemithes in thefe volumes; not merely with a view to find fault, but to warn future writers, who may not be able to attain his Lordship's excellencies, to be careful left they fhould copy his imperfections. M. Twelve fermons, preached upon several oc cafions. By the Hon. and Rev. Walter Shirley, A. B. Rector of Loughrea in the county of Galway. Dublin printed: London reprinted. 12. 25. Johnson, HE fubjects of these discourses are, Gofpel-repentance; The ministry of the gofpel; The great importance of time; The way to eternal life; Salvation by Chrift for Jews and Gentiles; Man not to be feared, * but God; Man's fulvation complete by the death of Chrift; I he resurrection of Chrift; Juftification by faith; The new birth; On right hearing, - If the reader of these fermons fits down with an expectation of being entertained with elegance of compofition, fine writing, new fentiments, great extent and refinement of thought, or with a view to enlarge his acquaintance with critical and theological knowledge, it is probable he may be difappointed. Instead of the above-mentioned qualities, we can encourage him to expect a good deal of orthodoxy; but together with this, many marks of a grave, ferious, and honest mind, devoted to the important duties of his ftation, and defirous of fulfilling the worthy ends of his profeffion. In his fecond fermon, defcribing the duty of every gospel minifter, he expreffeth himself in the following plain and honeft manner. "I come now to the fecond general head propofed, namely, to inquire, what my duty, and the duty of every gofpelminifter. And I the more chearfully enter upon this head, my honoured hearers, because I would have every one of you informed what he has a right to expect from me; and that where-ever I am known to fail, the meaneft here may reprove me, with a free, generous, and noble Chriftian liberty." is This fhould be the language of an humble and modeft mind, by no means elated with the felf-fufficiency of priestly pride; and is an inftance too uncommon in gentlemen of that order, to be paffed by unnoticed. He goes on,- "It is my duty then, in the first place, conftantly to preach the gofpel of Chrift; that is, to make known to you the fpirituality of the gospel-covenant; to reprefent to you the fall of man, with its inconceivably awful confequences, in the ruin of the whole human race; and from thence to fhew the great mystery and abfolute neceflity of our redemption, In the next place, it is my duty diligently to attend the fick; and endeayour to awaken, comfort, and exhort, as refpective occafions may require. Further, it is my duty to be compaf fionate, merciful, and charitable. If the poorest object, therefore, in my parith, fhall ever find me indulging myself in eufe, in indolence, and affluence, whilft he, alas! is groaning in the bitterness of want, he may with juflice upbraid me, as a falfe feward of God's goods; as a robber and tief, who cruelly detained from him what he has as much fight to, from the law of God," as Phave to the emoluments of my miniftry, from the laws of the land." Would to God! for the honour of Chriftianity, and the happiness of mankind, that the fame worthy fentiments poffeffed the heart of every clergyman, and especially those who enjoy a large fhare of the good things of this world. Our author concludes this paragraph with a paffage which is, at the fame time, an evidence of no mean understanding, and of a good heart. "If ever there fhould come an age (we would gladly hope the prefent is not that age) when the minifters of God's word are found not to be holy perfons, and entirely given up to God; if, on the contrary, they fhould be found worldly, proud, covetous, felf-feeking, indolent, tipplers, given to company, full of obfcene and profane converfation, liars, perfecutors of the truth, and oppofers of God's Holy Spirit; I fay, ifever there fhould come fuch an age, I will venture to foretell, without the fpirit of prophecy, that in that age Chriftianity will be treated as prieftcraft, and men will endeavour to trample it under their feet." With these fermons are bound up two divine odes, the one intitled LIBERTY, the other, THE JUDGMENT, which are not without fome fhare of merit. M. Inoculation for the small pox confiderea, and proved by the word of God to be finful. In a fermon preached at Burwell in Cambridgeshire, Feb. 28. 1762. By Jofeph Maulden. Keith. F this ftrange fermon's being replenish ed with many incoherent and horrible mifapplications of fcripture against the practice in queftion, does not procure the preacher the cognomen of conjurer, which, doubtless, he detefts, the preface will gain him the reputation of a true prophet, which he must approve. It will alfo de monftrate, that he has fome intervals, however fhort, of fenfe and reflection; as it affirms, p. v. exprefsly, I am very fenfible of the meannefs of this performance. I have not the vanity to think it will be applauded by any body. I have more realon to think it will be ridiculed by many, than to imagine it will be applauded by any." There is not only fenfe and reafon, but ferious prediction in this. And as Mr Maulden, after all this prefcience, has published the fermon, he may have done it, perhaps, as an exercite of mortification, as a monk embraces his own lathing. A different motive, indeed, is profefled for it, p. vi, viz. "that it has been |