Page images
PDF
EPUB

We are concerned to observe that the last argument, which the present controversialist uses to prove that St. John was the author of the Apocalypse, is extremely weak. In chap. i. 13. he who is ordered to write the book beholds in the vision "one like unto the Son of Man." Now, who but an eye-witness of our Lord's person upon earth could pronounce from the likeness that it was be? As well might this writer argue that Nebuchadnezzar was acquainted with the Son of God, because he remarked, on looking into the fiery furnace, that he saw four men, and that the form of the fourth was like the Son of God.

After a laboured dissertation, we are finally referred to the diligence of future inquirers, and to the actual accomplishment of the apocalyptic prophecies. Certainly, if these predictions are ever understood and accomplished, all doubts will be removed: but, in the mean time, it is admitted that all is now involved in thick darkness; and it seems therefore of little moment to Christians of the present day, whether they admit or reject this writing, whether it be an authentic or a spurious composition.

ART. VIII. An Historical and Political View of the Disorganization of Europe: wherein the Laws and Characters of Nations, and the maritime and the commercial System of Great Britain and other States, are vindicated againt the Imputations and revolutionary Proposals of M. Talleyrand and M. Hauterive, Secretaries of State to the French Republic. By Thomas Brooke Clarke, LL. D. Secretary for the Library, &c. to H. R. H. the Prince of Wales. 8vo. pp. 208. 58. Boards. Cadell and Davies.

THAT

HAT the prominent features in French politics have been military conquest, and an ambitious lust of dominion, is a principle established by a long series of historic facts; and Dr. Clarke has properly appealed to this evidence, in order to fix on the French system those imputations of a disorganizing tendency, with which M. Hauterive labours to stigmatize Great Britain and other states. In his encomiums of Peter and Catharine of Russia, and of the Great Frederick of Prussia, he is not more animated, than in his condemnation of Louis XIV.; by whose wars of aggrandizement, surrounding powers were disturbed and plundered. It is certainly true that the first violator of the system established by the treaty of Westphalia in 1648 was France; and that by her immense acquisitions, she obtained a preponderance, which broke the mutual relations and dissipated the general harmony' established by this celebrated treaty. So far Dr. C. has refuted M. Hauterive: but we should have been more satisfied, if, instead of detailing transactions in remote Germanic wars, he had taken a view of

[ocr errors]

the state of Europe immediately preceding the French Revolu tion, and had particularly noticed the unprincipled partition of Poland; an event more atrocious than any recorded act of Louis XIV.; and which, by annihilating a vast kingdom, at one stroke, more completely broke the mutual relations subsisting between the states of Europe, than any plunder with which France can be charged, previously to the revolutionary war. What a fatal precedent was this measure to France! Dr. C. should have weighed it in his political scales, even though it should have obliged him to lower the extravagant praise which he has lavished on the late Empress Catharine of Russia, After such a wanton stretch of power, could any of the high contracting parties in this treaty of Partition protest with a shadow of reason against the disorganizing violence of France, or against her blotting kingdoms from the map of the globe? How long will it be a source of lamentation, that the lawful sovereigns of Europe afforded her such an example!

With considerable ability, Dr. Clarke exposes M. Hauterive's contradictory assertions, developes the motives in which the French secretary's publication originated, and endeavours to counteract those advertisements for confusion and division' which it contains. Great Britain being the object of M. Hauterive's spleen and animosity, a considerable part of the work, before us is employed in correcting his mis-statements and erroneous reasoning, and in unfolding the consequences which would result to Europe from the actual adoption of the French theory. Dr. C. ridicules that writer's proposition of a new public law of Europe, as intended to create rights to inflict wrongs; and he enlarges on the general benefits of the maritime system, as at present understood and established. It is here observed that a conspiracy in Europe against Great Britain. would be a conspiracy against itself; that it is this maritime power which has resisted the subjugation of the continental states; and that it is by commerce that the improvement of nations is promoted. The Doctor thus explains the manner in which trade was delivered from the degrading oppressions of the feudal system, and the comforts and blessings which soon resulted:

Peter the monk pointed out to the Barons, these heroes by profes. Bion, the way to gain heaven on soldier like terms. Thus inspired with an epidemical phrenzy, all the hosts of idle warriors throughout Europe went to conquer heaven in the Holy Land. These frantic crusades soon taught them that a supply of necessaries was wanting; in which they were attended by swarms of females of quality. Such pilgrims never thought, in the first paroxysms of this fashionable zeal, of hunger and illness: or they supposed that food and medicine would REV. DEC. 1804.

Сс

Come

come down from heaven. They soon learned, however, that it was better to possess magazines than expect miracles, In order, therefore, to purchase supplies, little societies of tradesmen were emancipated for small sums of money, and hence the origin of their charters. During two hundred years, the phrenzy of the crusades and the extravagance of the barons continued to augment the privileges of towns and cities. Freed from oppression by these charters, the trading places soon grew up into opulence through commerce, and hence they were thought worthy of sending representatives to parlia ment. Thus commerce gave property, and out of property grew the right of the people to vote at elections and to sit in parliament. Previous to this important effect of commerce, the nobles and the military voted at the elections of knights of the shire, but the people never. This class of human beings, far from being considered as citizens previous to this time, were estimated as so many heads of cattle, or live stock upon the land. The fifth article of Magra Charta, which forbids" the waste of men or things on an estate," demonstrates in what class of comparative consideration they stood.

Thus

The artificers and tradesmen of England, having thus gradually purchased freedom, and increased their opulence, were enabled to give larger sums to their lords; and hence the origin of long leases. By such important results from commerce, the merchant moving forward both in rank and wealth, felt a new stimulus which roused his industry and exertions. Thus commerce was extended, and the arts and luxury appeared. The high lords now began to feel more enjoy. ment in convenience, and the growing softness of personal indulgence, than in the rapine, revelry, and disorders of their dependants. The manufacturer and the tradesman, soon taught the baron that he could gratify his own appetites of vanity or voluptuousness, with what he had dissipated before on the noisy feasts of thousands. the retainers, who had paraded with lance and javelin, the pride and terror of tumultuous fairs, gave way to the baron's self-love, which manifested itself in the splendour of domestic life, or the dazzle of dress. And now arms retired before frivolity. The baron being initiated in pomp and pleasure, and the merchant in the profits of commerce, luxury advanced, refinement followed, and industry kept pace. But while they went on together, the trader became the rival of the noble in opulence, and roused others to become his own rival in commerce. Hence rivalry in luxury, and rivalry in trade, multiplied and improved the arts; and the great, always more voluptuous, and always more expensive, exceeded their revenues, sold their domains to the merchant and mechanic, and ruined their fortunes. Thus commerce levelled the proud baron, freed kings from slavery, and people from oppression.'

Since the beginning of time knowledge has kept pace with wealth, extended with industry, and flourished with commerce. Such has been its progress since creation over the globe: it has thus pervaded Europe; always abandoning the poor or impoverished, and uniformly abiding and flourishing with the nations rich and commercial; but wherever there is poverty, there will be ignorance; where there is ig. nerance, there will be error; and where there are poverty, ignorance,

and error, there will eternally be misfortunes and vice. Make the people happy, and they will be virtuous; let the great be virtuous, and they will be happy. This is the invincible shield against disorganization and revolution: and this shield is formed by commerce. It gives industry and promotes happiness among the people below; it punishes, by pulling down laziness and vice from their seats above, and by exalting services and virtue. Commerce effectually encourages, by rewarding industry with ease, happiness, and civil independence, which utterly destroy all moral abjection; and this is a great corner stone of civil virtue.'

As Dr. C. is an enthusiastic admirer of commerce, he contemplates with exulting satisfaction the trading prosperity of his own country, and predicts its growing strength and happiness for ages to come. He tells us moreover that we are prepared for war, without one farthing of further increase of our taxes:' -we wish that the minister would confirm the truth of this statement.

ART. IX. Testacea Britannica, or Natural History of British Shells,
Marine, Land, and Fresh-water, including the most minute :
systematically arranged and embellished with Figures. By George
Montagu, F. L. S.
4to. pp. 606. and 16 Plates. 41. 4s. co-
loured, or 21. 2s. plain. Boards. White. 1803.

THE appearance of this very respectable volume, after the
interval of only a single year from the publication of the
author's Ornithological Dictionary, is a most substantial tes-
timony of his diligence and perseverance; and his adoption of
a systematic delineation, in preference to the alphabetical ar-
rangement, enables us to state with facility and precision, the
extent and importance of his present undertaking.

At a period in which every department of Natural History has become an object of minute and philosophical investiga tion, it might be expected that the testaceous mollusca should be classed according to the characters of the living animals. Yet the most ingenious attempts to realize such an arrangement have hitherto failed; and the extreme difficulty of procuring the various species in the living state may, perhaps, prove an insuperable bar to the accomplishment of such a laudable design. Hence the methodical naturalist of the present day is compelled, like Linné himself, to acquiesce in that arti ficial distribution of shells, which is suggested by the varieties of their figure and structure. Mr. Montagu, who chiefly follows the Linnéan distinctions, is very careful to note the sup

• See M. R. N. S. Vol. xl. p. 137.

Cc 2

plementary

Moy.

plementary genera and species included in his limited range of conchology, and has considerably augmented the valuable descriptive catalogues of Lister, Pennant, and Da Costa. Through the kind offices of the late indefatigable Mr. Boys of Sandwich, he was, moreover, enabled to make many additions to the list of microscopic shells, published by Mr. Walker in 1784.-A careful inspection of the whole work warrants our assent to the following statements, which may therefore be regarded as conveying our opinion of its general merits:

The descriptions are as concise as possible, consistent with the necessity of giving a full and perfect idea of each species; and figures are given of such only as are entirely new, or have not appeared in any English work, except in such cases where it was thought requisite for the purpose of comparison. To which, in many instances, is add ed a short description of the animal inhabitant, a circumstance of no small importance in aid of discriminating some nearly allied species s though of no generic use in conchology. An attention to this alone, could have induced us to refer, in many instances, to Muller.

The synonyms are drawn from some of the best authors, and most topographical writers omitted, except in a few cases, where the ob jects were in obscurity.

Should the following sheets be deemed to possess any small share of merit, the public are indebted to the labours of a friend, who not only undertook the engraving, but in part also the colouring of the figures; executed from the objects themselves, they are a faithful representation, unadorned with the gaudy, high-coloured tints, which too often mislead.

But for this assitance, so necessary in the smaller species, this work might never have seen the light; and it is only to be regretted, that it was found too large an undertaking for the hand that gave it existence, to figure all the shells that could have been wished.

[ocr errors]

As this friend of science, however, may not undeservedly feel the shafts of the critical artist, it may be right to disarm them, by observing that the feminine hand of the engraver was self-taught, and claims no other merit in the execution, than what results from a desire to further science by a correct representation of the original drawings, taken by the same hand; both equally the works of amusement, not labour for emolument. Further, it was not originally intended that any but coloured figures should be given, and that only to a few copies, printed on superior paper; but overpowered by the desire of particular friends, plain impressions are suffered to go into the world with the inferior copies, though executed only for the purpose of colouring.

To the naturalist therefore, and not to the artist, an appeal is made; if the representations are correct outlines of the objects, the design is accomplished; and we trust science will be considered as having reaped more advantage from such, than from highly finished engravings devoid of correctness and character.

The species herafter described, with a few exceptions, are in our own cabinet, and have chiefly been collected from their natives places by ourselves, or by the hands of a few friends, whose conchological

knowledge,

« PreviousContinue »