till an inextinguishable desire is enkindled of acquiring in the pursuit of literature and the arts, the same distinction which mankind had formerly attained in the tumultuous and destructive career of arms! This pleasing task has Mr. Berington undertaken; and we have a pleasure in stating that he has performed it with success, thereby supplying a desideratum in English literature.

Mr. Berington opens his subject with a sketch of the state of letters in the Augustan age; and examines the causes of their rise, of their progress, and of their decline. He marks three distinct periods of this decline-the first from the age of Augustus to that of Adrian; the second from the reign of Adrian to that of Constantine; the third from the accession of Constantine to the fall of the Western empire. He then proceeds to consider the sepa rate causes of the decline of Eloquence, Poetry, History, Philosophy, and the Fine Arts. On these various subjects he displays no small share of critical acumen; so forcibly, indeed, have we been struck with the portrait he has drawn of Lucan, that we cannot with-hold it from our readers:

"Lucan died when in his twenty-seventh year, and in the reign of Nero. He had imprudently contended with the Tyrant himself for the poetic crown, and more imprudently engaged in a conspiracy against his life. The immature age of the poet readily accounts for the imperfections of his work; and he might have approached nearer the excellence of Virgil, had he not aspired to eclipse his fame. By Quinctilian he is described to be ardent and impetuous; great in his sentiments, but more fit to be ranked among orators than poets. The praise is feeble. The ardour, however, and impetuosity of his mind communicate so much energy to his expressions, and so much grandeur to his images, that he sometimes rises to the sublime. But he knows not where to stop; and his judgment is not sufficiently strong to control the extravagance of his imagi nation. His glare of coloring fatigues, and the natural interest of his subject is weakened and destroyed by the prolixity of his details. Impelled by the fire of youth, Lucan sits down to compose an Epic poem which shall leave the Eneid behind it. But how can this be effected? I seem to see a young and inexperienced sculptor, before whose eyes stands a Grecian statue of exquisite workmanship. He will form another that in beauty shall surpass it. But in the model there is a proportion of parts, a force of expression, a grace of attitude, which no art can exceed. What then must be done? He has recourse to the forced and gigantic; and behold a colossus comes forth, of which the members are vast, but void of that proportion from which beauty springs; of which the attitude has energy, but an energy out of nature; and if the expres sion has force, it is a force which indicates violence and distortion. The rude or unlettered spectator, whose admiration is increased by the physical magnitude of the object, views the form with wonder, while the man of taste turns away from it with disgust. Such is the Pharsalia, when compared with the Eneid!"

We are next presented with an interesting account of the state

of the public libraries at that period; after which Mr. B. asks the important question, How far was literature affected by the establishment of Christianity? In our opinion he does not answer this question satisfactorily. He seems to lean to the opinion of those who imagine that Christianity was one of the causes of the neglect and decay of general literature. On the contrary, there isno want of arguments to prove that Christianity has, on the whole, had the most auspicious influence upon literature, and that the weak and perverted state of the human mind during the riod under review, is to be attributed to causes of quite a different nature. The first book concludes with a view of the state of Grecian literature.

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The second book comprises a view of the state of letters and arts, from the fall of the Western Empire in 476, to the commencement of the reign of Charlemagne in 774. It details the settlement of the barbarous tribes of Goths and Huns in Italy, Spain, Gaul, Africa, Germany and Britain. In the estimate which Mr. Berington makes of the character and learning of the Goths, we are called upon to think much more favorably of these bold invaders than we had before been taught to do. He paints them as an active, vigorous and persevering nation; full of curiosity and freedom of inquiry. The reign of the Lombards with a view of their character and attainments is next exhibited to the reader, and a short account given of contemporary writers. We pass over the interesting account of the early literature of France, Spain and Germany, in order to profit by our author's remarks on the writers of our own country. Theodore, a monk and a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, well instructed in secular and divine learning, as also in the Greek and Latin languages, a man besides of exemplary probity as well as venerable for his age, was appointed to preside over the Saxon church. The appointment of an Asiatic prelate, whose chief counseller was an African, to such a situation, was a curious occurrence; yet when we look to its effects we see that it proved singularly fortunate. Theodore had brought with him many Greek and Latin books, among which were a beautiful copy of Homer, the Homilies of Chrysostom and other learned works. He deemed it not beneath the dignity of his sacred office to endeavour to excite a taste for letters. Contemporary, or nearly so, with this great man was Bede, who from his superior learning and admirable virtues, received in his life-time the appellation of venerable. His first instructor was Bennet Biscof the interpreter of Theodore. The proficiency of Bede in all the branches of learning and in the Greek and Latin languages was considerable; and NO. VI. Aug. Rev.

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while we admire his acquirements, we are inclined to believe that there were others among his brethren who had pursued the same course; and that the late primate and his African friend had been able to excite a desire of intellectual cultivation, the beneficial effects of which were extensively diffused.

The third book describes the state of learning from the reign of Charlemagne, 774, to the end of the tenth century. Of this prince our author observes that he was himself ignorant, but he had talents, and a mind susceptible of every liberal impression.' From such a prince much was to be expected. The ninth century opened with very flattering prospects, and the following reasons are urged why no success followed. • The teachers whom Charlemagne appointed, though endowed with the natural powers of intellect, knew not how to excite attention, or to rouse into action the latent capacities of the mind. The subjects called sciences, or the seven liberal arts-grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomywere so taught as to disgust by their barbarous elements: the first rudiments of education, as of reading and writing, were neglected in the higher orders of society; they were too fondly attached to martial exercises, and to amusements that kept up the image of war.' The successors of Charlemagne now pass in review before us, and we are presented with an account of the state of learning in Rome, and other parts of Europe.-A king and a philosopher is next introduced to our notice, whose name must fill every Englishman's breast with respect. Both natives and foreigners, contemplating his virtues and mental endowments, regarded Alfred as the greatest prince, who, after Charlemagne, had appeared in Europe; and posterity has ratified the encomiums which they pronounced. The heroic actions, and the noble exertions of this distinguished character in the cause of letters are everywhere well known; so that we pass on to the fourth book which details the state of learning and the arts in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

After some severe, but just strictures on the profligacy and ignorance of the Roman court and its adherents, as well as on the fictitious donation of Constantine, quoted by Leo IXth with an audacious temerity of imposture, the author describes the settlement of the Normans in Italy, and in England after the conquest. This leads him to consider the political and literary state of our country.

"We pass with a sigh," says he, "over the turbulent reign of Stephen, to come to that of Henry Plantagenet, who in 1154 ascended the English throne. He had passed his youth in France, and had not neglected the

opportunities of instruction which that country afforded. His talents were great, and his love of letters auspicious; and through the whole course of his reign, as often as the cares of government would allow an interval of recreation, he was fond of passing it in the society of learned men. Under such a prince, and during a reign of little less than forty years, the arts of peace prospered as far as the taste of the times gave encouragement to their progress; the seminaries of learning were protected, teachers abounded, and came over to this from less tranquil countries; the convents furnished an undisturbed retreat to the studious; and in short, letters were generally patronised and cultivated." Some interesting particulars respecting Oxford, together with a sketch of the rise and progress of Cambridge, are followed by remarks on the writers of that age. Of John of Salisbury he speaks with particular satisfaction, as a man whose elegance of learning was above the level of his age, and who was its principal ornament. After some observations on the foolish object of the crusades, and combating, with much plausibility, and perhaps truth, the idea of the benefits derived to Europe from them, we are presented with an account of the introduc tion of scholasticism, and of the memorable contention between St. Bernard and the famous Abeillard, the lover of Heloisa. Here we cannot but admire the modesty of Mr. Berington, who, in this short abstract of the lives of those celebrated but unfortunate characters, never once alludes to the elegant production he some years since gave to the public, containing their lives in full, with a spirited and faithful translation of the letters that passed between them. Some observations on the architecture and other arts of this period close the fourth book, and introduce us to the fifth, which makes us acquainted with the state of learning in the thirteenth century.

The most remarkable features of this period are the formation of the modern languages, and the introduction of a new species of poetry by the Trouvers or Troubadours. The history of these itinerant minstrels is familiar to most readers, and our reason for gravely mentioning their apparently trifling and uninstructive productions is, to show the influence they had upon the advancement of letters. To see any thing diffused in their vernacular tongue, to hear the exploits of their favorite heroes chanted in verse, which they could easily commit to memory, was a novelty too attractive not to make a lasting impression. The motives to improve this new and familiar language were numerous and powerful, and it was soon dignified by being rendered the vehicle of loftier and more important ideas. Upon this subject our author is copious, and abounds with just and appropriate remarks. Intimately connected with

this topic is the history of the Saxon and early language of Britain; accordingly we are presented with a full detail of the poetical, and rhetorical attainments of our rude ancestors, as well as with hints respecting their historical compositions. Mr. B. thus speaks of Mathew of Paris :

"For sincerity of narration, truth of coloring, and extent of information the Historia Major may justly be esteemed as valuable a work as this or any other age had produced. His style is, however, unequal. It is sometimes remarkable for its spirit and elegance, at others for its inflation and insipidity; in other words, it is ever in unison with the character of the age. He was ever a warm advocate for justice and for truth: while abuses, from whatever quarter they might proceed, provoked his inexorable enmity: Trojan and Tyrian equally smart under his lash. It is with strong approbation we see, that when either monk, prelate, prince, emperor or pope, has deviated from what he deems the line of rectitude, he is unreserved in his censure, and his language is that of vigour and intrepidity. Those who have been too servilely devoted to the Roman court, have blamed this undaunted freedom of the English monk, whom they represent as ill-affected towards their bishop; and have seized with avidity every opportunity of aspersing his fame and loading him with invectives."

With the same energy of language and justness of criticism are reviewed the works of Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, Albertus magnus, Roger Bacon, and Robert Groteste, writers who flourished during this period.

The sixth and last book describes the state of learning from the beginning of the fourteenth century, to the invention of the art of printing, about the year 1450. This period commences under the most happy omens. After the long and dreary night of ignorance that has enveloped the western world, it is not a little cheering to see the clouds beginning to disperse; the human faculties, enfeebled either by disuse or by a vitiating exercise, recovering energy and assuming a judicious direction; religion, which vain controversies had disfigured, casting off its adscititious coverings, and appearing in the charms of primitive simplicity: to behold a system of ethics by which the heart might be improved and the understanding invigorated, taking place of legendary tales, of fancied miracles and imagi nary virtues; and the rights of man in the different orders of society, ecclesiastical and civil, ascertained with more distinctness; in a word to see the lamp of science relumed and leading by its steady beams to the most happy and glorious results. Italy was the first to catch the irradiations of the sun of science; and it is astonishing to what a perfection even at so early a period, the Italian language attained. Dante and