The third chapter has for its title, the Foundation of the Law of Nations; and our law of nations is at once very much narrowed at the base; for it now appears to be not the law of all nations, but only of fuch fets or claffes of them as are united together by fimilar religions, and fyftems of morality." Thus the poor Turk, who has dominions in Europe, and once made loud complaints against the chriftians for certain violations, as he thought them, of the laws of honour, and of nations, is driven out of the pale of this political church.

It was not difficult to bring inftances in abundance, to fhow that the pretended law of nations is not, nor ever has been, the law of the world; and the different customs of different nations in different ages of the world, which form a series of entertaining anecdotes through the remainder of this volume, if they add little to the knowledge intended to be communicated by this treatife,-may ferve to revive, in the moments of leifure, the impreffions made during a course of hiftorical reading.

In the fecond volume is given an account of the influence of christianity, and ecclefiaftical establishments,-of the influence of chivalry,—of the influence of treaties and conventions, -of the rank and claims of the nations of Europe,--and the last chapter but one gives the hiftory of the law, continued from the fifteenth to the feventeenth century. The laft chapter is dedicated to the age of Grotius, whofe treatife is naturally panegyrised, though Puffendorf and Vattel come in for their respective enco

miums.

And thus (says our author) I have done with the account of this interefting law, after having endeavoured, poffibly with too great minuteness of attention, to trace its progrefs in Europe through all its various revolutions. We have feen it, comparatively regular, though cruel, under the morality of the Greeks and Romans. We have marked its annihilation under the followers of Odin, and a barbarous religion: we have beheld it reviving under the influence of chriftianity! At the fame time I have attempted to point out the effects of all local circumstances upon that part of it which is positive; to trace the account of the uncertainty of the doctrines concerning it, till it is to be found refting at laft upon fure ground, under the pilotage of the great jurift of the last century. The vast body of materials which has been brought together, has fpun out the work to a length far beyond my expectation; yet I have purpofely paft afide a variety of interefting topics, and fome very noble questions. I have done this, as well from the want of leifure from other occupations, as from the fear of fatiguing the reader; nor am I infenfible how little qualified in many points I have been, for the execution of a work, whofe fubject at leaft muft for ever be of confequence to mankind. Yet am I not totally without the hope, that those who are fond of

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investigating the nature of their species as it is to be found in their actions, or who, not content with what is, are willing to be told what was, and how it came to be, will not abfolutely throw away their time in perufing what is now with great diffidence committed to the world,' Vol. i. r. 627..

Though the author now and then puzzled us with his phi lofopher of Delft, and philofopher of Erenada, and he appeared to us to be frequently, according to a vulgar faying, beating about the bufh, we will not fay that our time was abfolutely thrown away, in perufing what is now with fo great diffidence committed to the world.

Sermons, by George Hill, D.D. F. R. S. Ed. Principal of St. Mary's College in the University of St. Andrew, one of the Minifters of that City, and one of his Majefty's Chaplains in ordinary for Scotland. 8vo. 6s. Boards. Cadell and Davies. 1796.

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HE writer of thefe Sermons is a minifter of the eftablished church in Scotland: and the reader must bear this in mind, or he will be in danger of mifapprehending, in many places, the meaning of the term eftablished church, which occurs much oftener than neceffary; and will fuppofe, that certain inftitutions were intended to flourish under a bench of bishops, instead of a Scotch prefbytery. On the other hand, when the writer speaks in praises of the conftitution, he certainly must mean the conftitution of England, not that of Scotland; for it would be an infult to the understanding, to fuppofe that he could allude to the state of the reprefentation of Scotland, when he talks in the following manner

This is the end of government: the measure in which this end is attained, forms the standard by which the excellence of every government ought to be tried; and we are happy as a nation, becaufe this end is completely attained under that constitution, to which the favour of heaven hath conducted us. The fecurity of our rights does not depend upon the caprice of any of the fons of men. Our perfons and our good name are protected by laws which have been enacted with wildom, and which are interpreted and executed with impartiality. Our property is fecure against the violence of our neighbour; and it is not extorted for the public fervice by any arbitrary mandate, but is collected in the manner fixed by thofe who are the reprefentatives of the people, who are bound by every tie to confult the interests of the people, and who bear their own fhare of every burden.' P. 402.

In a series of difcourfes addreffed to the members of Chrift's

Christ's kingdom, (for the Scotch church pretends to look up to Chrift as their head) we cannot fee the propriety of alluding fo much to politics, and particularly to talk of impartial juftice, when late occurrences have occafioned, on this fide of the Tweed, fome very fevere animadverfions on the system, both in theory and practice, of their jurifprudence.

We did not know before that Edinburgh was fo deficient in its accommodations for the religious inftruction and worship of the poor: but, by this author's account, there feems to be a confiderable defect in their police or their prefbyteries

When, amidst the other improvements of this great and flourifhing city, thofe who are entrusted with the management of its affairs, fhall find leifure to erect churches, in which the lower orders of the citizens may procure convenient accommodation at a rate fuited to their circumftances, all the gracious and wife purpofes of the day which was made for man, will be here attained with regard to the poor. While they are furnished by this fociety, or by other persons actuated by the like benevolent fpirit, with the means of making this day of reft a day of recollection, they will hear the form of found words, and that doctrine which is according to godlinefs, from men who minifter by the authority and under the infpection of this established church. They will not only be put in remembrance of thofe things which, from private inftruction, they know and believe, but they will receive, in the most effectual and impreffive manner, thofe leffons of peace, of honefty, of good order, and of every domeftic duty, which form one great branch of our public difcourfes; and by all who fhall obferve its falutary influence upon their conduct, the preaching of the gofpel will be esteemed both the wifdom of God to the falvation of the individual, and a bleffing to the community. P. 392.

We recommend our preacher to read with attention the general letter of James, particularly the part in which he reproves the Chriftians of his days, for paying a much greater degree of attention to a well-dreffed than to a poor brother; and then, perhaps, he may be able to convince his prefbyteries, that one of the great faults among Chriftians is the diftinc tlon which they make in their affemblies between the rich and the poor,-a diftinction not only not authorised by, but totally contrary to, the temper and precepts of the gospel.

In the first fermon from the words in 2 Pet. i. 12, the first head of the difcourfe informs us that

The words of the apoftle fuggeft, in the first place, that it is riot to be fuppofed the preaching of the gofpel will contain any thing that is new to the hearers.'

P. 3.

Now we can fee nothing in the apoftle's language which CRIT. REV. VOL, XVIII. Sept. 1796.

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can poffibly fuggeft fuch an idea; and the preacher feems to have taken up this notion from a mistake, not uncommon, of the meaning of the words' preaching the gofpel.' Thus in London we have a denomination of minifters of the church of England, ignorantly called by their followers (for we fhould hope that none of the clergy could fanction the epithet) gofpel preachers: and these minifters are fuppofed to preach the everlafling gofpel, in oppofition to others, whofe fermons do not contain the fame unction, but explain the good tidings of our Saviour with greater propriety. The mistake consists in this, that the words' preach the gofpel' have an appropriate meaning, namely, to proclaim good tidings or good news to perfons who have not heard them; and confequently the preaching of the gospel does always contain fomething new to the hearers. The apostle, in writing his letter, had not need to proclaim anew thefe tidings: the thing was done; it was his part only to keep them in remembrance of the duties. confequent upon hearing these tidings. The term now used, 'gofpel preacher,' is particularly improper ; for there is no need of preaching the gospel to a Chriftian church: the members are fuppofed to have heard and received the gofpel; but the explanation of the fcripture, and the doctrines of our Saviour and his apoftles, muft always form an effential part of the fervice of a Chriftian community. Again, the gofpel preachers among us are diftinguished by an epithet fingularly ill applied for a gofpel preacher is a meflenger of good tidings; but thefe falfely-called gofpel preachers are diftinguished chiefly by the very bad report they make to their audience; and inftead of good news and confolation, their difcourfes run chiefly upon hell, the devil, and eternal mifery.

In the two other heads, equal precifion is wanting, and confequently we are not surprised at being told, that—

If we keep in view the great end of preaching, we will feldom choose to introduce into our difcourfes from the pulpit, the various controverfies which have difturbed the peace of the Chriftian world.' P. 9.

In the next page, our author gives a curious reafon for avoiding controverfies in the pulpit—

Our church, by the standards which the requires her ministers to fubfcribe, hath wifely provided for the uniformity of teaching, and for the peace of your minds. Thefe ftandards contain the prefent truth, in which you have been educated, in which we trust you are established, from which we with not to depart, and within the limits of which are contained numberlefs fubjects of useful preaching. P. II.

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The articles of the Scotch church contain a fummary of the controverfies which had prevailed for many hundred years; and as it is of importance that the minifters fhould. believe in this fummary, it fhould feem that their hearers alfo had an intereft in them, and confequently should fome-: times be made acquainted with the arguments on which the article was founded. It is certain alfo that Paul, a very diftinguifhed preacher, did not think controverfy of fo little consequence; for we read of the frequent difputes which he had with great men, both in and out of the church.

We will, however, do our author the juftice to say, that his preaching is confined entirely within the limits fet down in his firft difcourfe. He troubles his hearers with neither novelty nor controverfy. The records of the church are not difturbed, nor are any difficult paffages in fcripture elucidated. Each fermon moves on the harmlefs tenor of its way, and, except the continued miftake of fhall for will, and will for fhall, feldom fuggefts any thing to arreft the attention of the fcholar, the man of tafte, or the divine.

The Influence of Local Attachment with respect to Home, a Poem. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Boards. Johnfon. 1796. THERE is no fpecies of poetry which has fo much en

larged the bounds of the art, as the didactic. Through its medium, fubjects the most abftrufe and metaphyfical are prefented to the mind, adorned with the charms of fplendid dictions and the pleasure we take in the ornaments of ftyle, is, on the other hand, heightened by the intereft we feel in the difplay of important facts, or the artful arrangement of elaborate fyftem. The Local Attachment, founded on the great law of affociation, feems to be not unhappily chofen for a poem of this kind, either from the importance of the prin ciple, or the pleafing illuftrations of which it is fufceptible. In no country can the fubject be more interefting, as the very term of home is peculiarly English; the Englishman, from his retired and domeftic difpofition, requiring more, perhaps, than the inhabitant of most other countries, the comforts fuggefted by the term, and which are but aukwardly and imperfectly fuggefted by the mon chez moi, which our neighbours have Lately adopted through pure neceffity. Nor do we hesitate to pronounce that the poem is executed in such a manner, as to do credit to the author, and give pleasure to his readers. The verfe is always elegant, often brilliant; a great deal of pleafing defcriptive poetry is happily introduced in the various illuftrations which prefent themfelves; the ftanza is well ma

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naged,