plaint. It was thought proper to take off the limb fo high, because the periosteum of the tibia was observed to be thickened.

The femoral artery where it was tied," the author obferves, p. 264," was ftudded with feveral offified points, and appeared to have loft much of its contractility, as it did not retract after the operation." The cure feemed to go on well for about fourteen days, at the end of which time inflammation, fpreading up the limb, and feeming to threaten fresh mortification, came on. As bark and opinm had done little fervice in the beginning of the complaint, he author had recourse to bleeding, and the antiphlo iftic plan, and with fuch fuccefs, he fays, that the ftump healed, and the patient was at length, namely, by the February following, completely cured. From the fuccefs attending the cooling and evacuating plan in this cafe, and from the author's experience of the inefficacy of bark and opium in ftopping mortification in aged perfons, which he thinks rarely, if ever fucceeds, he is difpofed to give them up, and adopt his new mode. The refult, however, of a fingle cafe, will hardly be thought to afford sufficient ground, upn which to found the abolition of a practice recommended by the first furgeons of the age, and which has certainly fucceeded in many cafes, although those treated by the author of this paper may not be of the number.

Obfervations on Carbuncle, by Mr. Young, Surgeon, Shifnal, Shropshire.

Through the courfe of this tedious complaint, the author had frequent opportunities of obferving the fuperior efficacy of cold water, over all other applications in relieving pain, and ultimately difpofing the carbuncle to heal.

"The heat of the integuments," the author fays, " on the 11th of August, when the difeafe feems to have been at its height, was 106; but its rapid evolution and diffufion, impreffed the fenfe of a much higher degree. The hand, when fwept gently over, at the dif tance of three or four inches from the furface, received a fenfation fimilar to that which a heated andiron would have given at the same dittance, and water by flowing over the tumor in drops, acquired fifteendegrees of heat. The compreffes were warmed fo much as to be no longer ufeful in four or five minutes, and if by accident the regular fucceffion of thefe was interrupted, pain, heat, and redness, certainly increafed." P. 301.

There are many ingenious obfervations,, in the courfe of this paper, well deferving the attention of practitioners,

Next follow mifcellaneous obferyations on the refpiration of gafes and vapours; on the cow-pox, tending, as far as their accuracy goes, to difprove the opinion, that perfons who have at any time been infected with the cow-pox, are fecured from

receiving

receiving the infection of the fmali-pox; on the nitric acid, which the editor fays he has found to be fingularly efficacious in relieving nausea and vomiting. It is to be given, from twenty to forty drops, diluted with water and sweetened. Doctor Luke, of Falmouth, relates the cafe of a dropfical patient, who was apparently cured by the fame inedicine. The remaining communications, of which we fhall give little more than the titles, are, by Mr. Scott, of Bombay, on the use of the nitic acid bath; by Mr. Clayfield, on several veins of fulphate of ftrontian, found in the neighbourhood of Briftol; by Mr. Smith, on a methed of whitening bones; by an anonymous correfpondent, who brought on very dangerous fymptoms in two patients, by giving the muriate of quickfilver, without curing the gonorrhoea for which it was prefcribed. Two cafes of phthifis pulmonalis, cured by the digitalis purpurea, by Dr. Drake; and obfervations by Dr. Fowler, and by the editor, on the fame fubje&t. Although the editor appears not to have been fo fuccefsful as his correfpondents, in exhibiting this powerful medicine, yet it feems probable, that it may be found ufeful in fome symptoms attending this too generally fatal difeafe.

From the view we have given of this volume, our readers will perceive the communications are miscellaneous, and of various merir. The obfervations on carbuncle, and on the digitalis, feem most deferving of notice. The long quotation from Dr. Barnard, on temperature, might have been omitted. The hypothetical conjectures on light and heat, confidered as the product of a young man, are ingenious, though not solid; but as leading to materialism, they are evidently and highly objectionable. The fecond volume, which the editor announces as nearly ready, will, we hope, be more felect.

ART. VIII. Hore Biblica; being a connected Series of mifcellaneous Notes, on the original Text, early Verfions, and printed Editions of the Old and New Teftament. 8vo. 270 PP. 5s. Oxford printed; fold by White, London. 1799.

THIS ufeful and comprehenfive manual of biblical literature,

is the work, not of a theologian by profeffion, but of a very refpectable barrifter, Mr. Butler, of Lincoln's-Inn, who, during several years, has laudably devoted his leifure hours to the study of critical divinity. It is the refult of a connected feries of notes, which the author committed to paper, during

U u 2

the

the courfe of his reading, to affift his own memory; but a pr vate edition having been prefented about two years ago to his friends, who were of opinion, that it contained much valuable information, he has thought proper to deliver it to the public, with various corrections, and confiderable additions. As the work lays claim to no other title, than that of a compilation from the most approved authors on the refpective fubjects which are difcuffed in it, we must examine ir folely in this pint of view; and we can have no reafon to complain, if it contains not original'difquifitions, fuch as might be expected in the writings of a Michaelis, or an Ei horn. The manifold fubjects of critical theology lie fcattered in fuch a multiplicity of volumes, to which few have access, and not many know even by name, that it is undoubtedly a meritorious undertaking, merely to colle&t and arrange thofe fubjects, fo as to render them familiar to common readers. Manuals of this defcription are of real utility; for, on the one hand, they furnish, at an eafy rate, much useful knowledge to thofe, who have neither leifure nor inclination to study the originals; and, on the other, they fupply thofe, whofe profeffion leads them to a deeper inveligation, with a clue, which may direct them in their future inquiries. We must acknowledge, therefore, our obligations to Mr. Butler, for the comprehenfive mifcellany now before us, in which the fubjects have, upon the whole, been selected with judgment and fidelity, and which, when we confider that it was written, as he himfelf fays, "in the bits and fcraps of time, which a very laborious difcharge of the unceasing duties of a very laborious profeflion left at his command," must certainly excite our admiration.

The book is divided into eighteen chapters, which are again fubdivided into fections. In the firft chapter, which relates to the history of the Hebrew language, Mr. B. obferves, that its claim to high antiquity cannot be denied; and adds, though without acceding to the opinion, "that many refpectable authors have fuppofed it to have been the original language of mankind." We alfo have inclined to the fame opinion. But the question, what language was first paken upon earth, it is at prefent perhaps impoffible to determine; all that we can affert is, that the Hebrew is probably the oldeft language, in which any work now extant was written. But whether it was The elder branch of the Oriental languages (Hebrew. Chald e, Syriac, Arabic, Samaritan) or not, it ceafed to be a living language much fooner than even Chaldee and Syriac, for after. the captivity of the ten tribes, the latter was introduced into the northern part of Palcitine, and, the colony of Jews, who returned from the Babylonifh captivity, brought with them the

lauer

latter into the fouthern part of Palestine. The Chaldee and Syriac, or, as they are called, Eaft and Weft Aramaan, which were, in fact, only different dialects of one and the fatne lan-guage, were fpoken by the Jews of Palestine, in the time of Chrift and his Apofties. Accordingly, Mr. B. very properly, fays, p. 8, that Aramean was fpoken by Chrift in his familiar. inftructions and converfations. Ifaac Voffius indeed contended, that Greek was fpoken at Jerufalem in the time of Chrift; and Diodati, in a little tract published at Naples, in 1767, afferted the fame. But the arguments of Ifaac Voffius have been fully confuted by Simon and Michaelis; and Ernefti has fatisfactorily replied to Diodati

Chap. II, contains fome juft obfervations on the formation of what is called the Hellenistic language, or the language used by the Jews, who lived in Greek countries. Mr. B, then pro cecds to give fome account of the Septuagint, and obferves, p. 21, that it is the version generally cited by Chrift, and by P. the Apoftles," Now it is true, that in many of the fpeeches of Chrift, as recorded in the Greek Teftament, quotations from the Old Teftament are given in the words of the Septuagint, even when the Hebrew text differs from it. But we mult not therefore conclude, that Chrift bimfelf quoted from the Septuagint. He converfed with the Jews of Palestine in the lan guage of their country, that is, in the Aranean; his quota tions therefore were in that language, and, if he did not use the words of an eftablished Targum, which however is not improbable, he must be fuppofed to have given his own Aramæan tranflation, not of a Greek verfion, but of the Hebrew original. On the other hand, in Greek Golpels, written for the use of Greek Chriftians, quotations from the Old Teftament, even fuch as had been made by Chrift himself, were frequently delivered in the words of the establifhed Greek verfion, in the fame manner as an English tranflator, in rendering a German thenlogical work, would ufe the words of the eflablifhed English verfion of the Bible, where his author had quoted that of Luther. Mr. B, further obferves, p. 22, "that the Greek version was fometimes used in the fynagogues of Judæa." That it was fometimes ufed is certainly true, and Buxtorf in his Lexicon Chald. Talmudicum, p. 104, has quoted from the Talmud of Jerufalem, a pallage to that purpofe, namely, "Rabbi Levi ivit Cæfarcam, audienfque eos legentes lectionem, Audi Ifrael,. Deut. VI, Helleniftice, voluit impedire ipfos." But from this paffage, it appears only that the Greek Bible was read at Cæfarea, a fea-port town, the refort of strangers from Greek countries; and the and the very furprife and difpleafure expreffed by Rabbi Levi, proves that he had not been accustomed to hear the Greek

Bible read in other fynagogues of Judæa. In fact the Targum, or Chaldee verfion, was to the Jews of Jerufalem, what the Septuagint was to the Jews of Alexandria.

Chap. III, contains many ufeful remarks on the language of the New Teftament. In Chap. IV, is given an account of the biblical literature of the middle ages; of the industry of the Monks; and of the induftry of the Jews in copying Hebrew manuscripts. Chap. V, relates to the Masorah, or Jewish fyftem of criticifm, a difficult and confufed fubject, on which it cannot be expected, that full light fhould be thrown in a fhort manual. No one has examined the Maforah with fo much perfpicuity and critical fagacity as Eichhorn, in his Introduction to the Old Teftament, vol. i, p. 255-309Walton likewife (Prol. VI) has difplayed great learning on this fubject. In Chap. VI, is given fome account of the controverfy on the antiquity of the Hebrew vowel points, which, as is well-known, was defended by Buxtorf, and attacked by Cappellus. As far as we can judge, neither party appears to have viewed the fubject in its proper light. It may be admitted, that the figns, &c. were the invention of the Maforites; and yet the Jounds, which thofe figns were intended to denote, may have exifted a thousand years before the age of the Maforites. It cannot be fuppofed, that thefe critics gave totally new founds to the Hebrew language; but that they endeavoured, by the introduction of certain figns, to fix the pronunciation of it as then already fpoken, and to prevent (fince it was then become the language only of the learned) any confiderable deviation in the pronunciation of it at a future period. As long as the Hebrew was a living language, every Jew knew what vowel found belonged either to the confonants, or the matres lectionis, merely from the form of each word; in the fame manner as every Frenchman, though the vowel e, in the French language, has not lefs than five different founds, knows, even without any particular directions, which of thofe five founds is to be applied, merely from looking at the word felf and even at this day, when a learned Rabbi reads a Hebrew Bible without points, he pronounces the words in the very fame manner, as he would if the Maforetic points were annexed to them. With refpect to Mafclet's fyftem of punctuation, it certainly facilitates the ftudy of the Hebrew language; but it is not to be recommended to any man, who would acquire a profound knowledge of Hebrew, 'as ic destroys the analogy of this language to the other Oriental languages, and, as Arabic is ftill a living language, it cannot be compreffed into the Mafclefian mould.

Ch. VII, contains fome general remarks; ift, on the Hiftory of the Jews, after their return from the Babylonish capti