in which Mr. B. hath afferted that the mufic of the old English and Scotch ballads fearce deferves the name of music at all!

-To think

of refuting fuch a declaration as this, would be almost as abfurd as the declaration itfelf.There is fuch a piece as THE BEGGAR's OPERA: turn to that juftly admired† performance, Mr. B. then turn to thy own Daphne and Amintor,-and be dumb for ever!

+ We intend this epithet only for the ballads: for as to this cele brated burlefque opera, confidered as a dramatic compofition, we do not think it entitled to any commendation: its very plan having an immoral tendency,

Art. 22. The Merry Midnight Miftake, or Comfortable Conclufion : A new Comedy. By David Ogborne. 8vo. 15. Chelmsford printed; and fold by Williams in London.

We never before met with any thing in the dramatic form fo mean, low, and stupid as this Chelmsford Comedy. As we never heard of Mr. David Ogborne before; fo we heartily wifh we may never hear of him again, or meet with any more of his miferable productions.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Art. 32. The Entertaining Instructor: In French and English. Being a Collection of judicious Sayings, finart Repartees, short Stories, &c. Extracted from the most celebrated French Authors, and particularly the Books in Ana. By the Author of the Hiftory of England by Queftion and Answer; the Roman Hiftory, &c. Intended chiefly for the Use of Schools. 12mo. 3s. Millar.

As the mere English Reader will, probably, be at a loss to know what Mr. Lockman (the compiler and tranflator of these anecdotes, &c.) means by the books in Ana,' we fhall give our Author's own account of thefe Anas.

But as

ANA is a word of no fignification in itfelf, and merely a Latin termination of noun adjectives plural, of the neuter gender. of late years, these kinds of adjectives have been made titles to books, and even to fome writ in French, which form a collection of wife fayings, fmart repartees, &c. of certain learned and ingenious men ; fuch compofitions are called books in Ana. Wolfius has given us the hiftory of thefe books in his preface to the Caufaboniana. He therein obferves, that though this is a new fort of title, yet the thing itself is of very remote antiquity: that the books of Xenophon, concerning the fayings and actions of Socrates, form a Socratiana that the apophthegins of the philofophers collected by Diogenes Laertius, the fentences of Pythagoras, thofe of Epictetus, the works of Athe næus, Stobæus, and feveral others, are books in Ana.- The Scali gerana was the first of the Anas, it being drawn from the papers of Vaffant and Verthunian; who, we are told, took the whole from the mouth of Scaliger.Afterwards appeared Perroniana, Thuana, Naudrana, Patiniana, Sorberiana, Menagiana Anti-Menagiana, Fureteriana, Cherreana, &c. down to Arlequiniana.which books the Menagibna is leoked upon as the belt.'

Of all

With

With regard to the prefent collection, the induftrious Author hal himself given a very fair and impartial account of it in his preface. Some of the articles, fays he, are of a ferious, and others of a jocofe turn; but certainly none of a loose or immodeft caft: for as they are intended principally for our youth, of both fexes, the compiler would have thought himself highly criminal, had he introduced even a fingle thought which might contribute to deprave their morals. The variety is very great; and the compiler himfelf perceives a wide difference in the materials of which this book is compofed; fome ar ticles having infinitely more merit than others. However, he hopes that the whole will not be rejected on that account; but that fuch as are of real value, will compenfate for those which may be judged otherwife: In a repofitory of jewels, every ftone is not a diamond.Some of the articles introduced here are found in other books of the fame fort; but a greater number, he believes, never, appeared in English before.The original here is the French, all the English being tranflation. This the compiler has fometimes attempted in a free manner, and fo as, 'if poffible, to give his verfion the air of an original; except on fuch occafions as he judged it of more utility to the pupil, to keep close to the French idiom.-Altho" this fall pet. formance is calculated more immediately for youth, yet it may be judged noways unfit for the perufal of perfons of riper years; as containing reflections and obfervations on men and things, worthy the notice of the graveft and most intelligent perfons. Some will perhaps think that many of thefe maxims may be useful to schools, for making of Latin exercifes.'- -Thus far our honeft Compiler; to whose account we have only to add our opinion, that his book feems very well calculated to anfwer, in general, the ufeful purpofes above-mentioned.

SERMON S.

The Wfdom and Righteousness of the Divine Providence, illustrated from the Character of Job.-At Honiton, Aug. 25, 1765; being the firtt Sunday after the late dreadful fire. By Richard Harrifon. Backland, &c,

The profits arifing from the fale of this difcourfe, are to be applied toward the relief of the fufferers.

1. Baptifm a Divine Commandment to be obferved. At the bap tifm of the Rev. Mr. Robert Carmichael, Minifter of the Gospel at Edin burgh; Ca. 9, 1765. By John Gill, D. D. ́. Keith.

CORRESPONDENCE.

The Remarks on Voltaire, figned PHILALETHES, are more proper for a Magazine than the Review. We are far from thinking them impertinent, or unworthy of a place in any mifcellaneous pub lication; but we should deviate too much from the immediate bufinefs of a literary journal, were we to admit every original effay that may be fent us.

The fecond letter from Tamworth, figned alfo Philalethes, is acknowledged. The Reviewers are obliged to the Writer for his kind hints; to which they will pay all due regard; but beg leave to decline the continuance of the little controverfy they have had with him: the rther pursuit of which would lead them too far beyond the boundsof their plan.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For NOVEMBER, 1765:

8888

Continuation of the Account of Mr. Maclaine's Tranflation of Dr. Mofheim's Ecclefiaftical Hiftory.

H

AVING, in our Review for Auguft laft, given a general account of the plan of this valuable work, together with fome extracts from the learned Author's history of the first century of the Chriftian church; we now proceed, without pretending to perform the laborious talk of giving a regular abftract of fo elaborate a compilation, to lay before our Readers fome farther extracts from fuch parts of the work as we think are both entertaining and inftructive, in order to enable them to form a juft idea of the abilities and judgment of the Author.

In treating of the fate of letters and philofophy during the fecond century, our Author obferves that, under the reign of Trajan, they came forth from the retreat where they had languifhed during the favage tyranny of his predeceffors, and, by the auspicious protection of this excellent prince, were, in fome meature, reftored to their former luftre. This happy revolution. in the republic of letters, was, indeed, but of a short duration, as it was not fupported by the fucceeding emperors, who were, for the most part, averfe to literary purfuits. Even Marcus Antoninus, who furpafled them all in learning, gave protection and encouragement to the ftoics alone, and, after the example of that fupercilious fect, treated the arts and fciences with contempt. And here we fee the true reason, the Hiftorian says, why the writers of this century are, in general, fo much inferior to those of the former, in point of elegance and purity, eloquence and taste.

This degeneracy of erudition and tafte, however, did not amount, we are farther told, to an utter extinction of them; for, even in this century, flourished men of genius and abilities. who fet off, in the most advantageous manner, the learning of the times in which they lived. Among the learned Grecians VOL. XXXIII,

Ꮓ

the first place is due to PLUTARCH, a man of vaft erudition, whofe knowlege was various but indigefted, and whofe philofophical tafle was corrupted by the sceptical tenets of the academics. There were, likewife, in all the more confiderable cities of the Roman empire, rhetoricians, fophifts, and grammarians, who, by a variety of learned exercises, feemed zealous in forming the youth to the arts of eloquence and declamation, and in rendering them fit, by their talents and their acquifitions, to be ufeful to their country. But the inftruction acquired in these schools was more fpecious than folid; and the youth who received their education in them, diftinguished themselves at their entrance upon the active ftage of life, rather by empty declamation, than by true eloquence; more by pompous erudition, than by wifdom and dexterity in the management of public affairs.

The ftoical fect, the Author obferves, was not in the highest esteem, during this century; the rigour and aufterity of its doctrines being by no means fuited to the diffolute manners of the times. The Platonic fchools were more frequented for feveral reafons; and particularly for thefe two, that their moral precepts were lefs rigorous and fevere, than those of the Stoics, and their doctrines more conformable to, or, rather, lefs incompatible with, the common opinions concerning the gods. But of all the philofophers, the Epicureans enjoyed the highest reputation, and had the greatest number of followers; because their opinions tended to encourage the indolent fecurity of a voluptuous and effeminate life, and to banish the remorfe and terrors that haunt vice, and naturally incommode the wicked in their fenfual pursuits.

Towards the conclufion of this century, fays our Author, a new fect of philofophers arofe of a fudden, spread with amazing rapidity through the greatest part of the Roman empire, fwallowed up almoft all the other fects, and was extremely detrimental to the caufe of Chriftianity. Alexandria in Egypt, which had been, for a long time, the feat of learning, and, as it were, the center of all the liberal arts and sciences, gave birth to this new philofophy. Its votaries chofe to be called Platonics, though, far from adhering to all the tenets of Plato, they collected, from the different fects, fuch doctrines as they thought conformable to truth, and formed thereof one general fyftem. The reason then, why they diftinguished themselves by the title of Platonics, was, that they thought the fentiments of Plato, concerning that moft noble part of philofophy, which has the deity and things invifible for its objects, much more rational and fublime, than thofe of the other philofophers.

What gave to this new philofophy a fuperior air of reafon and dignity, was, the unprejudiced fpirit of candour and impar

5

tiality

tiality on which it seemed to be founded. This recommended it particularly to thofe real fages, whofe inquiries were accompanied with wifdom and moderation, and who were fick of thofe arrogant and contentious fects, which required an invariable attachment to their particular fyftems. And, indeed, nothing could have a more engaging afpect than a fet of men, who, abandoning all cavil, and all prejudices in favour of any party, profeffed fearching after the truth alone, and were ready to adopt, from all the different fyftems and fects, fuch tenets as they thought agreeable to it. From hence alfo they were called Eclectics. It is, however, to be obferved, as we hinted in the former fection, that though thefe philofophers were attached to no particular fect, yet they preferred, as appears from a variety of teftimonies, the fublime Plato to all other fages, and approved of the most of his opinions concerning the deity, the universe, and the human foul.

This new species of Platonifm was embraced by fuch of the Alexandrian Chriftians as were defirous to retain, with the profeffion of the gofpel, the title, the dignity, and the habit of philofophers. It is alfo faid to have had the particular approbation of Athenagoras, Pantænus, Clemens the Alexandrian, and all those who, in this century, were charged with the care of the public fchool which the Chriftians had at Alexandria. Thefe fages were of opinion, that true philofophy, the greatest and moft falutary gift of God to mortals, was fcattered in various portions through all the different fects, and that it was, confequently, the duty of every wife man, and more especially

every Chriftian doctor, to gather it from the feveral corners, where it lay difperfed, and to employ it, thus reunited, in the defence of religion, and in deftroying the dominion of impiety and vice. The Chriftian Eclectics had this alfo in common with the others, that they preferred Plato to the other philofophers, and looked upon his opinions concerning God, the hu man foul, and things invifible, as conformable to the fpirit and genius of the Chriftian doctrine.

This philofophical fyftem underwent fome changes, when Ammonius Saccas, who taught with the higheft applaufe in the Alexandrian school, about the conclufion of this century, laid the foundations of that fect which was diftinguished by the name of the New Platonics. This learned man was born of Chriftian parents, and never, perhaps, gave up entirely the outward profeffion of that divine religion, in which he had been educated. As his genius was vaft and comprehenfive, fo were his projects bold and fingular. For he attempted a general reconciliation or coalition of all fects, whether philofophical or religious, and taught a doctrine, which he looked upon as proper to unite them all, the Chriftians not excepted, in the most perfect harmony. And

Z 2

herein