hope for more happiness in his faireft fituation. But this is no proof of Mr. G.'s pofition, that Henry willingly acceded to the terms which Louis prescribed.

The truth of the cafe feems plainly this. Philip the Auguft, and his defcendants, either had a right to all the provinces of the English in France, in confequence of John's forfeiture, or to none of them.

Though the poffeffion of fome of these was obtained, during Henry's minority, by Louis VIII. or IX. yet, if the original confifcation was good, Louis IX. had a right to them all; if wrong, to none of them. But this Louis IX, who was made a faint afterwards (and feems to have wished for the title), pretended to examine the matter in point of confcience †, and determined with that fort of prejudice which moft men have in their own cafes. He kept what he could have no right to, if he had not a right to the whole, and made a merit of what he restored. Henry was in a bad fituation, ill-ferved, and incapable of acting with firmness, and therefore was weak enough to feem, or really to be, pleased with what was left him, and with appearance of gratitude paid his homage as duke of Guienne, renouncing the dukedom of Normandy, alfo Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poitou.-In fhort, a pretended faint prevailed over a weak debauchee. He is called a bad politician for giving up any thing, by one fet of men, and a faint by another!

We thought it our duty to close our review of these two yolumes, with this boneft ftate of the cafe of right between two princes of the rival nations, that our Reader, who is (we hope) a cofmopolite, may judge whether Mr. G. does not fometimes remember too well, that the Author of this hiftory of "The Rivalfhip of England and France" is a Frenchman.

[The account of the 3d volume to be given in another article.]

AR T. X.

C.

Piatura Etrufcorum in Vafculis, nunc primum in unum collectæ Ex-' plicationibus, et Differtationibus illuftrate, a JOH. BAPTISTA PASSERIO, Nob. Pifaur. Regiarum Academiarum Londinenfis, Olomucenfis, &c. &c. &c. Socio.-Pafferius's Etrufcan Paintings, &c. Vol. I. and II. Romæ 1767 & 1770. Price 4 1. 10 s. Vol. half-bound. per

TH

HIS fplendid publication is to confift of four volumes in folio, two of which are before us. The firft volume contains five Differtations, viz. I. Prolegomena. II. Vindicia

+ P. Daniel fays, "Le roi de France avoit toujours des fcruples fur la justice de la confifcation, faite par fon aicul, des domaines du pere de

Henri.

Etruria.

Etruria. III. De Laribus Etrufcorum. IV. De Re Veftiaria Etrufcorum. V. De Pictura Etrufcorum: together with one hundred plates of Etrufcan vafes, with the paintings upon them coloured after the originals in the Vatican, and fome other mufeums in Italy, with explanations of each plate.

The fecond volume contains one Differtation, De Arcana Etrufcorum Philofophia, and another, De Mufica Etrufcorum; with the fame number of plates, and explanations of each plate, as in the former volume.

Since Dempfter's Etruria Regali was published in 1723, the learned have been prefented with many volumes of Etrucien antiquities, tending to illuftrate the origin, history, religion, manners, and arts, of that once great and flourishing people; but none of these works have excited the public attention fo much as that collection which was drawn from the curious and choice cabinet of the honourable Mr. Hamilton at Naples, and of which we have given fome account in the Appendix to the 42d volume of our Review.

In that work, men of tafte, and artifts, were interefted as much as the antiquary; as it exhibited the forms of many fine vafes, ornamented with curious paintings; and fhewed the effects, in fome measure, of a fpecies of encaustic painting, effentially dif ferent from modern enamel painting, generally allowed to have been discovered by John Toutin, a French goldfmith, in the year 1632;-the ancient Etrufcan encaustic painting, being of the nature of terra cotta, or burnt earth, perfectly fmooth, firm, and durable, but without any glaffy luftre, according to the defcription of these encauftic colours by the learned Bonareta: Licet perfecte fint levigati, non tamen in iis vitreus ille niter elucet; and the French enamel painting being of the nature of glass, and never efteemed perfect in its kind, unless all the colours are vitrified, and fhine with a glaffy fplendor.

The manner of preparing and applying the old encauftic colours has, it feems, been loft for ages. Monf. D'Hancarville fuppofes this art had been fo totally loft, even in Pliny's time, that nobody could imitate it; and it is chiefly with a view to its revival that Mr. Hamilton's book, as well as the work before us, have been published: both containing ingenious conjectures on the fubject, which may furnish useful hints to the practical artift.

Men of tafte have always been disgusted with the unnatural varnish of paintings; and would rejoice to fee any method of rendering them at the fame time chafte and durable. The ancient encaustic paintings have two excellent properties, which unite in no other fpecies of painting-They represent objects with truth and fimplicity, without dazzling the eyes with false lights; and the Etrufcan vafes amply prove them to be literally

are perennius, as they have furvived almost all the other monuments of that nation.

Had the ancients happily discovered the art of fhadowing before they loft that of encaustic painting upon earth; or had they applied this art, if it was not then loft, to the noble ufe of copying the pictures of ancient Greece; the works of Apelles, and many other illuftrious artists of those remote ages, would not now have been loft to the world.

Imperfect, however, as the Etrufcan paintings are, without the advantage of light and fhade, they have nevertheless preferved to us the outline, the drawing, that is the foul, of many a beautiful figure, which modern painters may clothe with bodies, and, by the affiftance of this fine art, lately revived and brought into ufe in our own country*, restore and render them immortal.

This work of Pafferius contains many good forms of vafes, and a great variety of curious paintings; but there are fewer beautiful figures in this collection, and more grotesque ones, than in Mr. Hamilton's: nor are they in general fo accurately drawn, or fo well-coloured,-though the work is much more methodical, and better digefted, each plate being explained in the volume to which it belongs; and, upon the whole, it may be confidered as a valuable acquifition both to taste and science, which in this, and in many other late publications of this kind, are happily united.

We do not imagine that any extracts from the Differtations would be entertaining to the generality of our Readers; and we apprehend that the learned will be fufficiently excited by this account, to apply to the work itself, for further fatisfaction on the fubject. B-nt-y.

We may, farther, venture to obferve, and to predict, that the revival of encauftic painting is an era in the annals of genius which will be of great confequence;-in connection with which, the names of Wedgwood and Bentley will be held in the highest esteem by all lovers and promoters of the fine arts, not only in this country, but in every other civilized nation in Europe. Nor, in faying this, fhall we be charged with partiality to our countrymen, fince we have already paid the just tribute of respect to the fair fame of count Caylus, and other ingenious foreigners, who have gone before them in the fame delightful path.

G.

ART.

AR T. XI.

Obfervations Phyfiques, &c.-Phyfical and moral Obfervations on the Inftinét of Animals, on their Industry, and Manners. By Hermann Samuel Reimar, Profeffor of Philofophy at Hamburgh, and Member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at Petersburgh. Tranflated from the German, by M. R** De L***. 12mo. 2 Vols. Amfterdam and

Paris. 1770..

HE Editor of the prefent work, which has already quick

Tly paffed through two editions in the German, was in

duced to undertake the tranflation of it, from a perfuafion that no one had yet explained the nature of the inftincts of brute animals fo particularly, and with so much exactness, as M. Reimar ; whofe fyftem on this intricate fubject, he affirms, is much more fatisfactory than any of those which have yet been offered to the public. In a fhort advertisement prefixed to this tranflation, M. de L. represents his Author as overturning and deftroying all the fyftems, both of the ancients and moderns, on this fubject; and, though furrounded by the ruins of these goodly edifices, difdaining to employ any of the materials; but, constructing a new hypothefis, founded on the moft exact obfervations of the actions and habitudes of animals. We have not yet had fufficient time to attend properly to this production, but shall take an early opportunity of confidering and communicating to our Readers its contents. B.-J.

ART. XII.

Lettres Atheniennes.-Athenian Letters, extracted from the Collections of Alcibiades. By M. De Crebillon. 12mo. Paris. 1771.

T

4 Vols.

HESE Letters treat of love, and their Author appears to be intimately acquainted with his fubject. Loofe and inmodeft ideas dreffed up in the chafteft language, are the entertainment he prefents to his Readers. It is with real regret, that we observe so much tafte and ability exercised in giving ornaments to vice.

AR T. XIII.

St.

Les Vrais Quakers; ou, Les Exhortations, &c.-The true Quakers; or, The Exhortations, Harangues, and Productions of the true Servants of the Lord, to a wicked Brother; particularly on the Subject of his Maxims on Luxury, and his Perfecution of a Brother in Diftrefs; a pofthumous Work. To which is added, A curious Parallel of two celebrated Men of

Letters,

Letters, and feveral Pieces, critical, moral, and philofophical, under the Title of a Correspondence between an Uncle and his Nephew. 8vo. 1771.

E mention this medley, only to acquaint our Readers,

WE

that it is not worth their attention; and that the reason of its being noticed here at all is-its having been imported, and fingly advertised, by a London bookfeller.

AR T. XIV.

L.

Le Poefie di Georgio Baffo, Patrizio Veneto.-The Poems of George Baffo, a Venetian Nobleman. 8vo. 1771.

TH

HERE have been crimes in fociety for which civil juftice could find no adequate punishment: and there have been abuses in letters which it was not in the power of language fufficiently to chaftife. The book before us ranks with the latter. It is replete with the most unparallelled obfcenity, the most shocking blafphemy; is moft abominably beaftly, and most audaciously profane. How it found its paffage from the regions of unnatural brutality into this purer climate, can be known only to some member of the Beef-fteak Club or the Macaroni, fome fhameless Peer, moft probably, who, loft to all the decencies of fociety, brought over this dirty work, to ftimulate the languid prurience of himself and his brethren. It is fome fatisfaction, however, that it will not be generally understood, as it is not written in the Tufcan dialect, the almoft only one known to the English in general.

We fhould not have mentioned this publication, had we not taken it for granted that our Readers would expect from us some information concerning an article which hath been imported hither, and fingly advertifed by a bookfeller, who, probably, is not only ignorant of its contents, but of the language in which it is written and who, we hope, will think himself obliged to us for fuppreffing his name.

G

ERRATA in this Volume.

P. 114. par. 3. 1. 2. for fecuring, read secured.

188. 1. 2. read 'This he had promised to Dr. P. in one refpe&; and there can be no doubt, but that in others Dr. F.'s accurate, judicious,' &c.

334. Art. 24. 1. 11. for intimately unacquainted, rea intimately acquainted.