is terrible, but who will fay it is the picture of Christianity?

When we confider the ages, which have elapfed fince the introduction of Christianity, and the events attending its propagation, how wonderful is the history we contemplate! We fee a mighty light fpreading over all mankind from one fpark kindled in an obfcure corner of the earth: An humble perfecuted teacher preaches a religion of peace, of forgiveness of injuries, of fubmiffion to temporal authorities, of meeknefs, piety, brotherly love and univerfal benevolence; he is tried, condemned and executed for his doctrines; he rifes from the tomb, and, breaking down the doors of death, fets open to all mankind the evidence of a life to come, and at the fame time points out the fure path to everlasting happiness in that future state : A few unlettered difciples, his adherents and furvivors, take up his doctrines, and going forth amongst the provinces of the Roman empire, then in its zenith, preach a religion to the Gentiles, directly ftriking at the foundation of the moft fplendid fabric Superftition ever reared on earth: Thefe Gentiles are not a rude and barbarous race, but men of illuminated minds, acute philofophers, eloquent orators, powerful reafoners, eminent in arts and fciences, and

armed

armed with fovereign power: What an undertaking for the teachers of Chriftianity! What a conflict for a religion, holding forth no temporal allurements! On the contrary, promising nothing but mortification in this world, and referring all hope of a reward for present sufferings to the unfeen glories of a life to come.

The next scene which this review presents to us, fhews the followers of Chriftianity suffering under perfecution by the heathen, whom their numbers had alarmed, and who began to tremble for their gods: In the revolution of ages the church becomes triumphant, and, made wanton by profperity, degenerates from its primitive fimplicity, and running into idle controverfies and metaphysical schisms, perfecutes its feceding brethren with unremitting fury; whilft the Popes, thundering out anathemas and hurling torches from their throne, feem the vicegerents of the furies rather than of the author of a religion of peace: The prefent time affords a different view; the temper of the church grow milder, though its zeal less fervent; men of different communions begin to draw nearer to each other; as refinement of manners becomes more general, toleration fpreads; we are no longer flaves to the laws of religion, but converts to the reason of it; and being allowed to examine

the

the evidence and foundation of the faith that is in us, we discover that Christianity is a religion of charity, toleration, reafon and peace, enjoining us to have compaffion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous, not rendering railing for railing, but contrariwise bleffing; knowing that we are thereunto called, that we should inherit a bleffing.

N. LXXXIV.

ASTE may be confidered either as fenfi

TA

tive or mental; and under each of thefe denominations is fometimes fpoken of as natural, fometimes as acquired: I propose to treat of it in its intellectual conftruction only, and in this fenfe Mr. Addifon defines it to be that faculty of the foul, which difcerns the beauties of an author with pleasure, and the imperfections with diflike.

This definition may very properly apply to the faculty which we exercise in judging and deciding upon the works of others; but how does it apply to the faculty exercised by those who produced thofe works? How does it ferve

to

to develope the tafte of an author, the tafte of a painter or a statuary? and yet we may speak of a work of tafte with the fame propriety, as we do of a man of taste. It should feem therefore as if this definition went only to that denomination of taste, which we properly call an acquired taste; the productions of which generally end in imitation, whilst those of natural tafte bear the stamp of originality: Another characteristic of natural taste will be fimplicity; for how can nature give more than she poffeffes, and what is nature but fimplicity? Now when the mind of any man is endued with a fine natural tafte, and all means of profiting by other men's ideas are out of the question, that tafte will operate by difpofing him to select the fairest fubjects out of what he fees either for art or imagination to work upon: Still his production will be marked with fimplicity; but as it is the province of tafte to separate deformity or vulgarity from what is merely fimple, fo according to the nature of his mind who poffeffes it, beauty or fublimity will be the result of the operation: If his tafte inclines him to what is fair and elegant in nature, he will produce beauty; if to what is lofty, bold and tremendous, he will strike out fublimity.

Agreeably to this, we may obferve in all lite

rary

rary and enlightened nations, their earliest authors and artists are the most fimple: First, adventurers represent what they fee or conceive with fimplicity, because their impulfe is unbiaffed by emulation, having nothing in their fight either to imitate, avoid, or excel; on the other hand their fucceffors are fenfible, that one man's description of nature must be like another's, and in their zeal to keep clear of imitation, and to outftrip a predeceffor, they begin to compound, refine, and even to distort. I will refer to the Venus de Medicis and the Laöcoon for an illustration of this: I do not concern myself about the dates or sculptors of thefe figures; but in the former we see beautiful fimplicity, the fairest form in nature, felected by a fine taste, and imitated without affectation or diftortion, and as it should seem without even an effort of art: In the Laöcoon we have a complicated plot; we unravel a maze of ingenious contrivance, where the artift has compounded and diftorted Nature in the ambition of surpaffing her.

Virgil poffeffed a fine taste acccording to Mr. Addifon's definition, which I before obferved applies only to an acquired tafte: He had the faculty of difcerning the beauties of an author with pleasure, and the imperfections with VOL. III. diflike: