ftates which furround it with the exception of Spain: that block would become too formidable by changing its form; it is proper, for the general tranquillity, that it should remain as it is.

"But our governors must be taught, that a revolutionary war cannot be terminated by treaties; but that, in fuch circumstances, what is called peace can only be produced by the total exbauflion of our enemies. It is by exbauftion, · Citizens, that we must fubdue England, during the truce on the Continent.

"Let all powers unite, in order to keep her in a state of perpetual alarm. Let her be kept in continual dread for her own fafety. Continually out of breath, and ftruggling with the ftorm,

"Il faut qu'il tremble, et n'apprenne à nous voir,
Qu'armes de la vengeance, ainfi que du pouvoir.”

"A favourable moment will come, when a defcent which has been long prepared may be carried into effe&t.-Once mafters of the enemy's territory, Frenchmen, demolish Albion; fill up the ports of Great-Britain with the ruins of ber towns, and let the proud Thames be rendered unnavigable. For the fafely of the world, England fhould only be inhabited by a few berdsmen and femen. Any kind of peace with her would be a political error, and moderation towards her would be treafon against the world.

"This nation of traders has no produce of her own foil to export; it is with the produce of their manufaories; it is with the produce of their colonies, that the English lay us under contribution. For more than a century, their exiftence has been a general calamity, and, in order to increafe their odious power, their agents brandish the torch of difcord in eyery quarter.

They formed and paid the impious and depopulating coalition; they occafioned the misfortunes of our revolution, by driving us to extremes; and they fomented the troubles of the weft and paid for all the maffacres. Every widow, in France, has an husband to claim from them; every a fon; every family a citizen.

father

"O eternal juftice! will the annihilation of Englaud fuffice to expiate her crimes!.... All the inhabitants of the globe are interested in promoting it; that political monster fed with their difafters! If the had money enough, the would coolly caufe one half of the population of the earth to be murdered, in order to drink the fweat and the blood of the other. Delenda Cartbago."!!!

Lettres fur l'Education Religieufe de l'Enfance. Letters on the Religious Education of Infancy, accompanied by Historical Obfervations. Delicated to the King ;* by J. A. De Luc, Reader to her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, &c. &c. 8vo. Pr. 219.

T muft afford the most lively fatisfaction, to every friend of hu manity and virtue, that a ftand is at length made against the feeptical philofophy of the age; that, if men thould ultimately become the victims of this miferable and degrading fyftem, they will not have to plead their ignorance of its tendency; nor of the views and

withes of its promulgators. Among those pious and enlightened individuals who have laboured to inveftigate the fources of modern infidelity, and to arrest its progress, none appears to have been more fuccefsful than the author of these Letters on the Religious Education of Infancy. So early as the year 1768, M. De Luc had the mortification of perceiving the afcendancy of thofe opinions, which, for ten years paft, have nearly deluged the civilized world with the blood of its most illuftrious inhabitants. "M. Bafedow," fays the author, "opened the scene, at Altona, in 1768, by publishing the plan of a feminary, to which he invited the concurrence of the Philanthropists" and, in 1774, having collected fome pupils, Bafede de livered to the world his Elements of Education. Such is the origin of a fect which, under the fpecious veil of philanthropy, foon engroffed the attention of those weak, but well-meaning people, whofe credulous morality, in the language of Mr. BURKE, is so invaluable a treasure to the crafty politician.

M. De Luc informs us, that he found no difficulty in combating this plan of education among those of his friends who were defirous of training up their children in the Chriftian faith; but he "faw a great difference in the views of parents themfelves. There was, already," he obferves, "confiderable talk of a religion effential to man, of reafonable chriftianity; the affent of reafon was deemed indifpenfible; and when the caufe of this change was explored, it was difcovered among many, that, feduced by the arguments of thofe who had abandoned Revelation, and not thinking that it could long maintain itself in the opinion of men, they considered it neceffary to fubftitute what they regarded as natural religion, conformable nevertheless with what they had hitherto confidered immediately revealed." The letters before us embrace this important fubject in every poffible point of view. Natural religion is fully investigated, and is fhewn to be incapable of imparting to man, either the infor- ' mation neceffary to him as a moral agent, or the motives calculated to restrain his paffions within the bounds of humanity and virtue. The author very juftly remarks, that civil laws derive their whole importance from the power of governments to enforce them; and that, in this refpect, the injunctions of morality are exactly in the fame predicament. Here, then, is the vice of all natural religion--the want of that fanction which can alone accompany a pofitive and immediate revelation from God. So far, indeed, trom allowing that any thing like a natural religion, as it is called, could anfwer the purposes of fociety, M. De Luc affirms that there is no one general and fundamental principle of morality on which men are univerfally agreed: he adds, that even the idea of a Supreme Being must have been an object of revelation to the human mind.

"We find, among the heathen nations, a confufed notion that the universe was created by a Supreme Being; a notion to which they certainly did not attain by themfelves, fince an idea, of which the foundation is to fublime, could not refult from their extravagant fictions. If," adds the

author, we study man, divested of all acquired ideas, we cannot discover any way by which, without language, and with fo many wants to fatisfy, he could ever have come at the idea of a Being, whom he must not only fail to comprehend, but of whom he could not conceive the action. From this confideration alone, we feel the neceffity that the existence of a Creator of the world fhould have been taught to men by that Creator himself, not as a thing which they could comprehend, but as a faƐt.”

In the following paffages, M. De Luc pointedly exposes the folly of attempting to educate children by meré abftract reafonings upon philofophical morality.

He

"Say to a child, that he must be true, juft, benevolent, grateful? will believe you, without doubt, till his little pallions begin to interfere with your doctrine, if you then conduct him by thofe principles, it must be because you have infpired him with a mixture of love and fear, &c. But, you will know, that, fo far, you have only impreffed him by your authority; and I like much better, that you fhould have produced the fame effect by love and fear towards God, than towards yourself; because, the first of thefe fentiments will accompany him through life, in whatever fituation he may find himself, while, fooner or later, you will fail him.

After, therefore, having inftructed children, that the world was not made by itself, that there is a Being to whom it owes its exiftence, and to whom we are indebted for all the bleffings we enjoy; that men are defigned for another life, and that it is then they will affuredly reap the fruits of their conduct in this world: there will be no difficulty to make them underftand that, fince God will be obeyed, he must have given his laws to mankind; and thus will you introduce them to the ftudy of our Sacred Books. "To reafon with your pupil, it is requifite that you should have fome principle in which he is obliged to acquielce, and from which, as neceffary confequences, fhall flow the duties you prefcribe to him. But, although I have already lived long enough, and reflected much, I confefs to you that I know not fuch a principle. Let us take, for example, as our maxim, a point of the highest importance in Chriftian morality, that we must not do unto others what we would not they fhould do unto us. Give this law, as a principle, to your pupil! If he admit the principle, you poffefs a great influence over him as to his conduct towards others; for, on every occafion, where he would conduct himself improperly, you have only to afk him, Would you that they fhould do fo unto you? But, either he will not understand you, and then you can regulate him only by your authority; or, he will understand, but will not admit your principle. He will eafily judge, in doing to others that which would not be pleafing to himself, neither would he please them; but he will not fo readily perceive why he may not difplease them, when it would be agreeable to himself.

You will infpire him with a deteftation against Lying: you hope to convince him, that he fhould not lie. Lying is hideous, truth is beauti ful; we may talk of this with much warmth, and reduce it to action in our little hiftories for children; but thefe are not arguments, and you pretend to convince if once, by their little experience, they find that lying may fucceed, they will think it convenient, and your precepts will appear to them no more than advice, of the propriety of which they will make themfelves the judges. What a difference is there between the confiderations by which, contrary to their partial interefts, you would lead them to deteft lies,

and

and the positive affertion, on your part, that they were the command of that Being from whom all things proceed, to whom all is known, who will recompence, in another life, those who obey his laws, and will punish the difobedient!-Do not tell me, that a child will fail to enter into this motive; for you speak contrary to experience. I have frequently overheard the little dialogues of children, and have heard them press this confideration to each other, with all the ftrength you can give to it, and that efficaciously.

"Such, then, is the basis on which I would always reft with my pupil, before perfonal convenience fhould prefent itself to his mind. Since you have taught him that it is God who made man, he will never difpute with the Deity a right to impole his laws on mankind; and, as you will also have inftru&sed him, that men continue to exist after this life, and that their happiness hereafter will depend on the fentence of that Being, from whom nothing is concealed; you will have over him the only motive which can habituate him to the fulfilment of his duties, &c.

"In order to make a child understand, by just reflection, that the common Father of men must have given them pofitive laws, to protect the weak against the powerful, the timid against the daring, the good against the wicked: I would take him to a poultry-yard, and direct him to throw fome grain to the poultry. A conteft quickly enfues; the stronger and more daring fowls devour all, at the expence of the weakly, whom they drive away with their beaks. Probably, my little fcholar will revolt at fight of this tyranny; but, if he do not fufficiently attend to it, I direct his attention to it; and he will endeavour to employ his fuperior ftrength in chacing away the voracious fowls, that the others may eat in their turn. I fhall eafily induce him to fee, afterwards, that the wildom and goodness of God has raised a barrier against the fuperior avidity, ftrength, and address, of fome men, by giving his laws to mankind; and, by accompanying them with fuch motives as fhould produce, on men, the fame effect which my pupil intended, by his interference, to produce among the fowls. What, in comparison of this foundation of our duties, are the arguments to be derived from mere moral philofophy; I do not lay for children only, but for man ?"

Religion, fays M. De Luc, fhould be an object of the heart; and, in this point of view, the only beneficial one under which Chriftianity can be contemplated-it cannot, he contends, be too foon impreffed on the affections of young people." I am, therefore, so far from thinking," obferves our author," that we should wait the full developement of the understanding, in order to speak to children of God, his acts, and his laws; in a word, of religion, as immediately revealed to our first fathers; that I fhould be extremely forry not to have accomplished this duty towards a child committed to my care, before the age of five years." Contrary, alfo, to the maxim which has led fome perfons to defer a religious education, left their children might imbibe false notions of religion, the author remarks, with confiderable felicity-That it is most fafe to converfe with children of God, of goodness, and of religion, precifely that they may not contract erroneous fentiments on those important fubjects."

We fhall conclude our extracts on the subject of religious educa

tion, with the following excellent observation :-"It is fo evident to all thofe who believe in Revelation, that its duties may, and ought, to be inculcated among men during their infancy, in order to form the heart to the love of God, and to refpect for his laws; that it must be prejudice, against Revealed Religion itfelf, which would change the opinions of fo many ages in this point.'

A large portion of the prefent volume, though not in fact irrelevant to the fubject of religious education, adverts but lightly to this topic; it is, however, interfperfed with many valuable morfels of cri ticifm, and will be thankfully received by the real difciples of Chriftianity. We regret, that we cannot follow the author in his valuable details; and have only to hope, that he will, ere long, favour the English public with that edition of his work which he only, comparatively speaking, is qualified to give.

For our part, we feel particularly grateful to M. De Luc, for his mafterly and manly defence of the Pentateuch. We know not how it has happened, that, latterly, fome, even religious characters, have been but too much in the habit of depreciating, as it were, the value of the Old Teftament, as if ignorant of its immediate connection with the New. A modern writer, who has written much that is good, much that is bad, and little that is indifferent, obferves, on this topic-"Of all ancient heretics the most extraordinary was Marcion. One of his tenets was the rejection of the Old Testament, as proceeding from an inferior and imperfect Deity; and in purfuance of this hypothefis, he erafed from the New, and that, as it fhould feem, without entering into any critical reasons, every pasfage which recognifed the Jewith Scriptures. He spared not a text which contradicted his opinion."

This fpirit of Marcionifin feemed, fome time fince, to have spread a little over this quarter of Chriftendom. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, in her Rights of Woman, called the whole account of the creation, and fall of man, as delineated in the Book of Genefis, a mere poctical cofmogony, which the would not believe, if an angel were to defcend from heaven to affure her of its authenticity. Grave men, alfo, in the Chriftian Church, diffi:aded their pupils from the ftudy of the earlier parts of the Bible; Dr. Geddes arraigned the infpiration of thofe parts; and the Monthly Reviewers were loud in their praifes of the Doctor, his erudition, his piety, his liberality!

Voyage Pittorefque. A Picturesque Journey to Switzerland and Italy. By Citizen Cambry, Prefect of the Department of the Oife, of the Academy of Cortona, and Member of the Agricultural Society of the Department of the Seine. 2 Vols. 8vo. 1800. Paris.

THE HE account of this defcriptive and fentimental tour, is contained in a feries of letters.--When our readers are apprised, that its author is one of thofe reftlefs fpirits, whofe perfeverance in