They may be excufable; but their excufe depends on the circumftances of their particular fituation. It is, then, the duty of all created beings, as fuch, to obey the will of their creator; and we need not, I think, proceed any further to be affured, that it is the duty of man, as a creature and dependent, to obey the will of God. The attempt to trace his obligation to virtue to any higher fource is, if I mistake not, as unneceffary, as it would be in vain. Diftinctions must be made, of course, according to the nature and capacities of the created beings. Of all created beings, with which we are here acquainted, man alone is endued with what can properly be called liberty of action. Confequently, he only is capable of voluntary obedience."

In the fourth chapter, (fays Mr. P.) " it is effential to my purpose to obferve, that whatever may be determined with respect to obligation in general, moral obligation, as I hope has been fufficiently made out in Chap. I. refults from God's will, and is conftituted by God's command. *"

"If, in fuppofed conformity (fays the author) to the fenfe of the 13th Article of our national Church, it be alledged, that the heathens could not act virtuoufly, or acceptably to God, without the grace of Chrift, and the infpiration of his Spirit,' it may be anfwered, that though, from the circumftances of their fituation," the heathens could not have actual 'faith in Chrift;' yet we have no authority for afferting, that the grace, which is here fuppofed neceffary to render actions pleafing to God, was not bestowed on many, before the appearance of Chrift on earth.* All that can

be

“* Thus, our fubmiffion to civil authority, when it is rendered from a principle of obedience to the will of God, becomes the difcharge of a moral duty. Accordingly, it is on this principle, that we are in Scripture exhorted to render that obedience. Be fubjet,' fays the Apostle, not only for wrath, but also for confcience fake;' not merely from fear of human punishment, but from a principle of duty to God. This point might be enlarged upon, efpecially in popular addreffes, with very beneficial effect. St. Paul, in a moft comprehenfive paffage to the purpose, furnishes an appropriate text. Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' See also Coloff. iii. 23,"

"* On this subject, I not unwillingly lead the mind of the reader to the Article of our Church, which relates to it; both because I think, that the confideration of the Article may throw light on the subject, and that what is here faid may tend to confirm the fenfe, in which, as I think, the Article itself ought to be understood. It will eafily be feen, that the general fenfe of it is at least reconcileable with what I have all along infifted on ; namely, that actions, of whatever nature or tendency they may be in themselves, are not to be esteemed virtuous, unless they are done in known or fuppofed obedience to the will of God. Thofe, who wifh for a fuller difcuffion of the Article, may confult the judicious explanation and comment of Dr, Hey, in his Norrifian Lectures.

"F, Mal

be justly expected of men is, that they fhould live according to the law under which they are placed; and God, we may be affured, always does what is right."

It appears, that Mr. Pearson is a difciple of the school of Butler and Balguy. Dr. Paley is of a different school. Their characteristic differences are fufficiently evident to those who have paid but a tranfitory attention to the late publications of Ludlam and Hey. We have only to lament, chiefly for the fake of academic youth, that the heads of the univerfity of Cambridge fhould be fo divided-fo notorioufly divided in their opinions, on fubjects of morality-that they fhould thus publith their difcordant fentiments, inattentive to the confequences. Indeed, we thought the adoption of Paley's "Principles of moral and political Philofophy," for a text-book for public Jectures on morality, an act of extreme indifcretion; the bad effects of which we, at that moment, foretold. Nor was the prediction any proof of extraordinary fagacity. It was easy to forefee "the heart-burnings, jealoufies, and fears," which now exist amongst the teachers of the Cambridge youth.

• There are

"F. Malbranche, whom I have quoted before, admits the juftnefs of the opinion, that grace, fufficient to enable men to act vir tuoufly, was bestowed before the coming of Christ. Though the whole of the paffage, in which this appears, is not appropriate to the prefent fubject, I tranfcribe it as curious and important. feveral reasons, why the law (the Mofaic law) did not promife the true bleffings; but one of the chief is, that, fince this fort of enjoyments cannot be the object of concupifcence, the knowledge and worship of the true God would have been foon loft among the Jews, and that chofen people reduced to a handful of men, belonging to Chrift, and fanctified in every age by inward grace. But it was neceffary, that the knowledge of the true God fhould be preserved with fome luftre among the Jews, a prophetical people, and an unexceptionable witnefs of the truths of religion, in fpite of all the power and artifices of the prince of this world, until, at length, the only begotten Son of God, for and by whom all things were made, fhould come down from heaven, to change the face of things over all the earth, and to open the furprizing and wonderful fcene of God's conduct. Still more directly to the purpofe does Archbishop Tillotson, fpeaking of Socrates, Epictetus, Antoninus, &c. allow, that they were not wholly deftitute of an inward principle of goodness. For though, fays that fenfible and amiable Divine, they had not that powerful grace and affiftance of God's Holy Spirit, which is promifed and afforded to all fincere Chriftians, (as neither had the Jews, who, were the peculiar people of God, and in covenant with him) yet it is very credible, that fuch perfons were under a fpecial care and providence of God, and not wholly deftitute of divine affiftance.' Sermon 209."

Mr. Pearfon, with great appearance of fincerity, ingenuoufnefs, and candor, obferves:

"For the full difcuffion of this important part of Natural Religion (the benevolence of God) fee the invaluable tract of the late Dr. Bal guy, entitled, Divine benevolence afferted, and vindicated from the Objections of ancient and mcdern Sceptics. How much is it to be lamented, that the work, of which that tract, printed in 1781, is faid by the author to be a Specimen, has not yet, ( I write in 1798) been published! In a pecuniary view, indeed, fuch publications, from the improbability of their becoming popular, may not answer to the publishers; but it is pity, that thofe, who are capable of under.. ftanding and relishing them, fhould therefore be hindered from their ufe. In the prefent cafe, however, I have no doubt, that the Syndics of the Cambridge prefs, ever ready to promote the interefts of foundlearning and religion, would afford their affiftance in bringing before the public fuch a work of such a son of their common alma mater, and would even efteem it an honour to do fo.

"To thofe, who have been informed of what paffed at a particular meeting of the Syndics, refpecting the prefent publication, it may feem, that the above paffage is intended to be understood in an ironical and Sarcastic fenfe. I think it neceffary to declare, therefore, that it ftands exactly as it did before the transaction referred to took place.” We are really much concerned at the conclufion of the note. Well may the young gentlemen, of Cambridge, ask :

"Who shall decide, when Doctors difagree?"

To fee the different lecture-rooms of the university converted, in a manner, into heathen schools, where each philofopher inftructs his difciples in virtue, according to his own preconceived notions, or according to the opinions of his own mafters in philofophy; is, in truth, a moft degrading spectacle, in a Chriftian country!" Would to God, that the Bible were the only text-book !"-was, in the fullness of the heart, our fpontaneons exclamation. But, alas! from the Bible have been formed, according to the conceptions of different minds, very different fyftems of morality: and fuch will be the cafe, to the end of the world. Still, however, we recur to our firft pofition-the unfortunate circumftance, that the inftructors of youth fhould be thus openly at variance— that the heads of houfes fhould be thus at war, in the face of the rifing progeny of the British nobility and gentry, whose opinions yet remain to be formed; and many of whom, probably, from the animofity of their fuperiors, will become sceptics on all religious fubjects. "I am of Paley !" cries one. "And I of Pearfon !" cries another: But others defpifing the difputatious folly of the Greybeards, will, in the gaiety of their hearts, exclaim; "We are of HUME!"

D 4

Travels

Travels in the interior of Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to Morocco, from the Years 1781 to 1797; through Caffraria, the Kingdoms of Mataman, Angola, Mali, Monomugi, Mufchako, &c. Likewife across the great Defert of Sahara, and the Northern Parts of Barbary. Tranflated from the German of Chriftian Frederick Damberger. Illuftrated by a Map and coloured Plates. 8vo. Two Volumes in one. PP. 522. 9s. Longman and Rees. London. 1801.

OUR

UR knowledge of the interior parts of the vast Continent of Africa has been confiderably extended of late years, by the publications of men of fcience, obfervation, and veracity. Still, however, from the nature of the country, that knowledge is, and muft neceffarily continue to be, extremely imperfect. The work before us may add fomething to the ftock, if dependence is to be placed on the author's affertion that he was an eye-witnefs to all he has related, and has adhered in all things moft ftrictly to truth." But they who have read the very interefting Travels of Mr. Park, reviewed in a former volume, will not derive much amusement from the perufal of Mr. D'Amberger's book, which is one of the most dry and tedious narratives which have fallen under our infpection. With great opportunities for the acquifition of moft ufeful information, the author has given a mere infipid journal, tiresome from its uniformity, and the eternal repetition of common-place remarks. He entered as a foldier in the fervice of the Dutch Eaft- India Company in May 1781, and failed for the Cape of Good Hope, in the following month. There he remained, part of the time as a foldier, and part as a domeftic in a Dutch family, till the end of the enfuing year; when, to avoid the importunities of his mafter's wife and daughter, both of whom, we are told, bad conceived a paffion for him, he refolved to defert; and to traverse the Continent of Africa in order " to return to Europe by land." He accordingly left the Cape on the 25th of December, 1782, and, after undergoing innumerable hardfhips, and incurring innumerable dangers, reached Morocco in May 1791, where he remained, in the capacity of a flave, until ranfomed by a Dutchman, in 1796, when he returned to Holland.

In his account of the Hottentots, and the nature and fituation of fome parts of their country, the author flatly contradicts M. Le Vaillant, and even goes fo far as to say that he never had feen many of the diftricts which he minutely describes.

The untrod path on which I now entered was extremely irkfome, for it lay among woods, precipices, and rocks, which rendered

it almoft impaffable. Yet this was the very fame which M. Le Vaillant pretends to have gone with his caravan; but I will venture to affert he never was there; for the whole country is fo rough and tracklefs, that the traveller muft work his way with extreme labour, and overcome the greatest obstacles." (P. 42.)

Again—

"M. Le Vaillant is miftaken in reprefenting the young women of this country as particularly virtuous and chafte. Adultery, indeed, on the woman's fide is punished feverely by the whole horde; but the men are allowed to keep company with girls when their wives are lying-in. M. Le Vaillant errs alfo as to the beauty and cleanliness of the Hottentot women. Among the baftard Hottentots, indeed, are many beautiful and cleanly women and girls, but I observed very few fuch among those who live in the craals; high foreheads, funken eyes, flat nofes, projecting lips, and woolly heads, are not constituent parts of beauty."

There are many flippant and indecent fneers at the Chriftian religion in different parts of the book, which can only be imputed to the author's ignorance; though, in fome other of our modern travellers, fuch fneers proceed from an affectation of philofophy. There are alfo fome contradictions and inconfiftencies which have excited fufpicions in our mind respecting the author, not unlike to those which he himself entertains of M. Le Vaillant; and certain it is that we have nothing like a fatisfactory account of the manner in which he kept his journal and preferved the names of all the countries, towns, and villages through which he passed, for fo many years. He tells us, indeed, towards the latter end of the fecond volume, that he had preferved his pocket-book by fastening it with thongs under his arm; but he forgets that long before he had informed is that he had been robbed and ftripped of every thing. Mr. Park had published, in the 22d chapter of his work, a very able and fatisfactory account of the ftate and fources of flavery in Africa. M, Damberger's account of the Slave Trade is of a different nature; and were the credit of his book to be estimated by the confiftency of his ftatement on this fubject, he would have but little caufe for triumph, on the score of veracity, over his predeceffor M. Le Vaillant. In a note to P., 175, he obferves, in confirmation of Mr. Park's ideas,

"The Europeans probably first acquired the idea of trading in flayes from the Africans, and in confeqnence of difcovering their coafts, for, with the exception of South Caffraria, the commerce of the human race is carried on by every nation I visited; and the unhappy flaves frequently pafs in a few years through the hands of feveral different patrons; the inhabitants of Matamun, for instance, exchanging them

for