gracious intention towards them;-and that if the prefent fyftem were not on the whole on the fide of virtue, we could not obey its laws, in this world, without living in the continual violation of the firft law of nature, and we fhould want the ftrongest natural argument to convince us that it will be rewarded hereafter? If the Great Being who governs all, did not approve himself the friend of his creatures, and the rewarder of virtue, in the general tendencies of things in this world, where could we discover a glimpfe of hope that he will be fuch in another ?

Of God above, or man below,

What can we reafon, but from what we know?

Nor would it, in this cafe, be any folution of the difficulty to refer us to revelation: for there can be no fatisfactory proof of revelation, which doth not reft upon the principles of natural religion and if there be not in nature fome rational grounds for our belief in Providence; if it be not manifeft from fact and experience that the general tendencies of things are favourable to virtue and happiness; natural religion is a term without meaning. To give up the prefent moral government of the Deity, and affert, that to be good is not the way to be happy in this world, and at the fame time pretend to vindicate the ways of God to man, is an affront to the common-fenfe of mankind. After fupporting fuch liberal opinions, with what face could the Writer cenfure the freethinkers of the age (and particularly the philofopher who has ridiculed the doctrine that the prefent is the beft poffible fyftem) as deferving the indignation of every honeft man?'

But it is unneceffary that we should undertake the refutation of the doctrine which this Writer has advanced. It has been already repeatedly refuted, on the moft folid grounds, and in the most scientific manner, by feveral writers on morals, whose works do honour to our age and country; and it is daily refuted by the general experience of mankind. We will therefore only remark farther, on this part of our Author's system, that after having endeavoured to take away the beft fupport of the human heart which this life affords, the doctrine that to be good is to be happy,' he places even that doctrine, from whence he profeffes to derive his only confolation, in a ludicrous point of view, by contending for the immortality of brutes; not in the calm language of philofophy, nor with the seriousness which becomes a Chriftian believer, but in the ftyle of low humour and buffoonry.

Look, Madam, upon your favourite-how harmless! how affectionate!-would it not hurt you to confider, that in a few years, the poor creature muft putrify in the duft, and, mixing with it, foon become common earth, without hope of refur

114

rection?

rection for my part, nothing could give a keener fhock to my fenfibility than the horrid idea of universal annihilation prevailing over the animal world. I proteft, Madam, I am almost ready to fhed a tear to the very fentiment. Muft my dear Tabythyetta-my demure Grimalcena-my merry Scugypugifawith that great traveller Tripfea, fink into nothingness! into oblivion into dirt!

"O horrible, horrible, moft horrible!"

We must trepass upon cur Readers' patience a little longer, while we make them acquainted with another fet of liberal epinions, which our Author has admitted into his work. He introduces a clergyman, inftructing the young adventurer, that education is all in all; that both our belief and manners are the confequences of our fituations and connections; that virtue and vice are properties not more hereditary than adventitious and artificial; that property was originally the offspring of violence; that its diftinctions, obtained by rapacity and ftrengthened by force, were afterwards fanctified by political inftitutions; that the idea of property, thus rendered facred and general, has daily become more venerable by time; and that therefore every man now gives up the point, and makes the moft of his fituation.-The Author's idea of property may be farther feen in the following paffage :

Poor Benignus thought much of robbing an orchard. His idea might be right, but I must confefs to you that, for my part, though I had a pretty early knowledge of meum and tuum, I was not quite fo fcrupulous as to this particular, Benignus was likewife frequently infulted for his benevolence-now I avoided infult, by the only way to efcape it- either in a school or in the world-for I was one of their own fort-did as they did, and was as thoughtlefs and as trickful as the beft, or ra ther the worst of them-the evils of life did not seize me so soon as they feized Benignus.'

faid

We shall make no comment on this part of the work; and fhall only detain our Readers while we obferye, that we perfectly agree with the Author in thinking that he has enough to fhew his intentions;' and that, if he should hereafter think fit to finish the picture of which he has here only given the outlines-if, as he elegantly expreffes himself, the boldness -the graces the proportions-the retouchings and the finifhings are to be the bufinefs of feveral fedate, cautious, and careful future opportunities;'-there is one part of the proposed tafk of correction, about which we think he needs give himfelf little trouble-for the piece is already, in our opinion, fuf-, ficiently bold.

E.

ART. III. A Complete and Univerfal English Dictionary on a New Plan: Including not only I. A full Explanation of difficult Words and technical Terms, in all Faculties and Profeffions, whether in Algebra, Anatomy, Architecture, Arithmetic, Aftronomy, Botany, Chemistry, Dialling, Divinity, Gardening, Geography, Geometry, Grammar, Heraldry, History, Husbandry, Hydroftatics, Law, Mathematics, Mechanics, Military Art, Mufic, Natural Hillory, Navigation, Optics, Painting, Perspective, Philofophy, Pneumatics, Poetry, Rhetoric, Sculpture, Surveying, &c. But II. A Pronouncing Dictionary; in which the proper Sounds of English Words are given in a Manner so plain and fimple, that both Natives and Foreigners may correct an improper, or acquire a right Pronunciation of the English Language. III. The Origin of each Word; its different Meanings or Applications explained; and illuftrated by Authorities, and properly accented; as alfo followed by initial Letters, denoting the Part of Speech to which it is appropriated. IV. The Difference between Words efteemed fynonimous pointed out; and the proper Choice of them deter mined, V. An Epitome of the History of England, including every remarkable Event from the Time of Egbert to the Conclufion of the Peace of Verfailles, in 1763, arranged alphabetically under each King's Name, and including the Character of each Sovereign, with the State of Arts and Sciences during his Reign. VI. An historical and geographical Description of the various Em. pires, Kingdoms, States, Republics, Provinces, Cities, and chief Towns of the known World. VII. A fhort Account of the primitive and modern Sects and Divifions of the Chriftian Church; their Opinions and Practices; together with a brief History of the Prophets and Apottles. VIII. An authentic Account of the Counties, Cities, and Market Towns, in England, Wales, and Scotland; as alfo the Villages with Fairs; the Days on which they are kept according to the New Stile; as well as the Cattle, Goods, and Merchandize fold thereat; and the exact Distances from Lon. don, carefully corrected from the latest Measurement. To which are prefixed, a free Enquiry into the Origin and Antiquity of Letters; an Effay on the Origin and Antiquity of the English Language; a Sketch of the Conftitution, Government, and Trade of England; a new compendious Grammar of the English Language: : And to the Whole is added, an Outline of ancient and modern History: Including a chronological Series of remarkable Events, Discoveries, and Inventions, from the Creation to the prefent Time: Together with a complete Lift of the Grecian, Roman, and English Claffics. The Whole comprising feveral Thoufand Articles not to be found in any other Dictionary. By the Rev. James Barclay, Curate of Edmonton in Middlefex, and many Years Maiter of an Academy in Goodman's Fields, and at Tottenham, and others. 8vo. 6. Richardson and Urquhart, &c. 1774

HE Public being already fupplied with portable dictionaT ries for common ufe, by Bailey, Dyche, Fenning, &c. and by the octavo abridgment of Dr. Johnson's folio English dic

tionary:

tionary; it might be thought we were in no great need of another work of this nature, which, as the preface declares, was • principally intended for the ufe of boys at fchool, and of those perfons who are no profound fcholars and under fuch flight pretenfions allowing the Rev. Mr. Barclay but the common credit of being equal to the talk of giving a dictionary, aided as he is by plenty of former able lexicographers, it would appear invidious to defcend to minute criticifms and comparisons. He may therefore, on this ground, ftand a fair candidate for preference among his many competitors, undisturbed. But we have copied a title-page of moft unreasonable length, which ftates his pretenfions in a far different ftyle, from the tranfient modefty expreffed in the preface. We are told with a fufficiency that never fails to difguft, becaufe it cannot be true, that the work is complete and univerfal: and notwithstanding the performance is declared to be complete, that declaration is followed by a moft pompous detail of its contents, in the ftyle of à quack bill. Though we do not intend to fcrutinize every excellence which the Writer afcribes to his dictionary, yet it may be remarked that there is fo clear a diftin&tion between accenting and pronouncing, that fetting foreigners afide, it is prefumptuous in any man to pretend to teach even natives to correct their provincial modes of utterance by the dead letter, however crouded with arbitrary marks: and we find none in this dictionary befide the common accent. The Author has thought proper that this dictionary fhould be in fome degree, (but we ought to afk pardon for fpeaking lefs confidently than he chufes to do) a dictionary of science, as well as of words; and his propofal for exercifing fchool-boys in the English historical part, may undoubtedly be of profitable ufe to initiate them in the hiftory of their own country; but however many articles it may contain in geography and ecclefiaftical hiftory, we have found it far from being either complete or even uniform under those heads. Thus though Mr. B. jay and his nameless assistants fay that the geographical articles we will venture to pronounce to be more copious, better arranged, and more uniform, than in any other dictionary of this kind; yet we have met with many difappointments in confulting it. By the fixth divifion of the title, we are affured of finding the various ftates, provinces, and cities of the known world; why then could we not find Aquitaine, Britany, Burgundy, Normandy, Courland, Moravia, Tyrol, Dalmatia, Raguja, Vienna, Patagonia, &c? If we have Efeurial, why not Verfailles? If the Orkney, why not the Shetland, ifles? If Mount Etna, why not Vefuvius? If Corfice, why not Minorca? If Borneo, why not Sumatra? If we have the river Humber, why not the Thames, Seine, Tyber, Nile, Daube, Plata, Euphrates, and Ganges? Of fects and parties in re

ligion,

1

ligion, why have we not the Janfenifts among the Catholics, the Moravians among the Proteftants, or Mahomedans and Gentoos among the Orientals? These are natural questions, when we are promifed every thing; and though they might be extended, the task is left for others, who, confiftently or not, are invited by the Authors of the Complete Dictionary, to point out the errors and defects of this edition, that they may be rectified in the next.' On fuch an opportunity it is recommended not to defcribe a buoy as tied to a cable faflened to the bottom of the fea; left landmen fhould be puzzled to conceive how it is faftened there nor to describe cards as pieces of pasteboard cut into oblong fquares, for fear mathematicians fhould object to the

terms.

TH

N.

ART. IV. Continuation of the Account of Bryant's new Syftem, or Anadyfis of ancient Mythology. See Review for Dec. 1774. THE fecond volume of this curious work opens with a differtation on TEMPLE RITES in the firft ages; and the Author begins with obferving, that he muft continually put the Reader in mind, how common it was among the Greeks, not only out of the titles of the deities, but out of the names of towers, and other edifices, to form perfonages, and then to invent hiftories, to fupport what they had done. When they had created a number of fuch ideal beings, they tried to find out fome relation: and thence proceeded to determine the parentage and filiation of each, juft as fancy directed.-The words Purathus, and Puratheia, were in the language of Egypt Pur-Ath, and Por-Ait, formed from two titles of the god of Fire. Out of the one of thefe the Grecians made a perfonage, which they expreffed Пgostos, Proetus, whofe daughters, or rather the priestefles, were the Protides. And as they followed the Egyptian rites, and held a cow facred; they were in confequence of it fuppofed to be turned into cows.-Proteus of Egypt, whom Menelaus was fuppofed to have consulted about his paffage homeward, was a tower of this fort, with a purait. It was an edifice, where both priests and pilots refided to give information; and where a light was continually burning to direct ships in the night.-Proteus was an Egyptian title of the Deity, and he was the fame as Ofiris, and Canobus. He was particularly the God of Mariners, who confined his department to the fea. From hence, Mr. Bryant thinks, may be unravelled the mystery about the pilot of Menelaus, who is faid to have been named Canobus, and to have given name to the principal feaport in Egypt; a ftory which was juftly ridiculed by the priests of the country. The hiftory of Menelaus in Egypt, if fuch a perfon ever exifted, amounts to this: In a ftate of uncertainty