every thing, not by appealing to the Creator, but by abftract rea fons of philofophy. A clergyman, whole character is highly refpected, lately attempted to prove to a common audience, that war, peftilence, earthquakes, &c. which a grovelling fuperftition magnifies into providential warnings or punishments of our fins, are the fimple effects of a fettled courfe of nature, which has been appointed ages before we were born, and will go on uninterruptedly without regard to us or to our conduct. Without entering into any difpute on this momentous subject, one cannot help wondering at the infolence of the man, who thus dares pofitively to determine what lies fo far beyond the reach of his judgment and experience. If he believes the fcriptures, he ought to believe a Providence, which admonishes, rewards, and punishes us; for nothing is more plainly inculcated; if he believes the freedom of the human will, and that man is a moral creature, in a state of probation; he ought of confequence to believe, that nature is fo contrived, as to minifter, if abused, to the vices, and if properly used, to the virtues of man. Even if the meddling curiofity of man muft determine things of fuch mighty importance, and we conclude, that he who created all things arranged their courfe for ever, and that war, famine, peftilence, and earthquakes, and a variety of other circumftances, are the natural effects of this arrangement, they ftill have been fo contrived by the infinite wisdom of the moral governor of the univerfe, as to minifter to the moral regeneration, or to the punishment of thofe moral agents who shall then be in existence. But what need is there for a Chriftian clergyman to bewilder his fimple hearers or himself, with fo difficult a subject ? Or why will he dare, by idle and ufelefs fpeculations, to deprive man of the greatest comforts which religion affords him; of which humanity is fufceptible? By fuch difputes nothing is, nothing can be, determined by the utmoft ingenuity of man; but the very doubts thus excited in the mind of the weak and unthinking, are productive of the most baneful confequences. If we judge from the conduct of the Germans of every class, even in the smallest towns and villages, we fhall not have much occafion to admire the effects of a philofophical fyftem of religion, which its partizans wish to maintain as a step towards the perfection of human nature; but experience proves, if their pofition be juft, that this increase of perfection is preceded by an increafe of corruption. There are a fet of men in the prefent age, who are conftantly talking of philanthropy, or affection for the whole human race, who are yet notoriously deftitute of affection for those to whom they more immediately owe it; and who, in fpeaking with fublimity of the whole, neglect the duties they owe to individuals. The objection has been often made to them, and they have had the confidence to answer that in the progreffive perfectionment of man, nature, forgetful of the individual, attends only to the fpecies-that individuals perish, but the fpecies continues, and, of confequence, that true philofophy comprises the whole fpecies, compared to which a few Andividuals go for nothing. Thus Robespierre was a philanthrophist,

and

--

your

and laboured for the good of the fpecies, to which the infulated individuals, whom he murdered for the good of the whole, bear no kind of proportion. This pofition has been seriously maintained by a German philofophift; and thus, by propofing, or pretending to propofe, any ideal end, which is eafy to reprefent as you please, you may not only defend but fanctify any means, to which intereft, ambition, or your paffion may prompt you. How long will man choose to wander in obscurity and error, when light and truth furround him on every fide? How long will he choose to wander in the labyrinths of an abfurd philofophy, an idle unfounded fpeculation, when the moft important practical truths, when a philofophy of divine origin, but equally fimple, majestic, and interefting, as the other is obfcure, cold, and disgusting, lies open before him, and requires only humanity and docility to be fully perceived, and to produce the fulleft and happiest effects. To ufe the fublime and impreffive language of St. Paul to the philofophers of Athens, it would be equally happy to themselves and for the world, if the philofophers of our day, throwing off the trammels of a philofophy, falfely fo called, would feek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live, move, and have our being. It may readily be fuppofed, that your Jacobins of England do not neglect to improve the advantages to be derived from the Jacobins in Germany. I cannot inform you, whether the plans of communication have become fyftematic and extenfive; but I have accidentally met with feveral individuals who refide in Germany, and travel through it in order to acquire the means of enlightening their country. About eight months ago, a young difciple of Philofopher Godwin happened to país through the town where I then As he was extremely proud of his profeffion, and extremely talkative, his principles and views were very readily communicated." He began by ridiculing his father, who had been long dead, and reprobating his prejudices; on suggesting to the young Philanthropift the vulgar, but juft proverb, that he must have very little to fay, who tells his father was hanged, he began a differtation on prejudice, afferting, that man is free and independent, and as little fubjected to the authority of a father as of a defpot. Without entering into any dispute, it was contended, that every child owed his parent respect, a position, however, which the Godwinian hero was by no means disposed to grant. He mentioned that he had travelled on foot through Ruffia, Poland, and the greatest part of Germany, fearching for useful information, and for the means of enlightening the human mind, and comforting fuffering humanity. Yet, what knowledge he could poffibly acquire it is difficult to conceive, as by his own account he travelled from place to place with as much rapidity as poffible, and a friend of mine, who met him in a town of Germany, perhaps of all others the most remarkable for the number of learned men, told me, that he arrived in the evening, faw no-body but the gentleman in question, and one or two other persons, by accident, and fet off next morning,

was.

In

In paffing through a neighbouring Univerfity, he called on fomé perfons, prefented himself as a friend of fuffering humanity, demanded pecuniary aid to puríue his philanthropic journey, and afferted, that he travelled entirely by means of the benevolence of the friends of fcience and humanity, getting letters of recommendation from the philofophers of one place to those of

another.

I heard lately, too, from a friend, of 'two gentlemen, formerly well known at Cambridge, who, feeling the restraints of law and religion fomewhat irk fome, left the University and became philofophers. It feems thefe worthy men finding the climate of England totally unfit for them, agreed with four others to go to America, and put their philofophy in practice. It was agreed that each of the fix fhould engage a woman to accompany him, and that these women fhould be common to the whole. An actreís, who acceded to this philofophic arrangement, was engaged for one; but the voyage to America failed, and the delicate lady remains, or at least remained fome time, the mistrels or wife of him who engaged her. Two of these gentlemen, who, it seems, were the projectors of this admi rable colony for America, and who are writers for the Morning Chronicle, and other publications of Jacobinical notoriety, came afterwards to Germany, to enable themfelves, by acquiring the language and philofophy of this favoured country, to enlighten more compleatly the ignorant people of England.

I have occafionally alfo myself met with young Englishmen who had been educated in German Univerfities; fome, for example, at Gottingen, who have totally loft every sense of delicacy, every notion of morality and religion, and every emotion of patriotifm, and whofe converfation is uniformly filled with obfcenity, or ridicule of what they denominate the prejudices and flavish opinions of their country. There is nothing more certain than that a German University is in every poffible refpect the worst school for Englishmen; as they are certainly expofed, when their judgment is yet unformed, to principles, which, if generally adopted, would quickly lay the pride of England, and the glory of her conftitution in the duft.

A correfpondent informed me fome time ago, (but without mentioning particulars, fo as to enable me to fpeak circumftantially on the fubject, though the fact may be pofitively depended on) that in one of the large Universities, whether Gottingen, Halle, or Jena, I cannot fay, there happened to be one or two Englishmen, who entered into no fociety with the other ftudents, who visited the Profelfors, but were very guarded in their conduct. It was immediately conceived and currently reported, that they were the spies of Pitt and Profeffor Robiion:-We have heard the cry of Pitt and Cobourg-more recently fill of Pitt and Suwarow, and in this cafe, amongst thele men it was Pitt and Robifon. They were very eager to prove that the fociety of Illuminati exifted no longer, and that they had nothing to do with it. A fufpicious perfon might, from their very anxiety to impress a belief of the contrary, when

it was not fufpected, have drawn indirect proofs that they were really members of that fociety, and that it still exifts. This, how. ever, it would be unjust to affert, because it is impoffible to find folid proof of it, and I know there are many refpectable men in Germany, who were members of the fociety of Illuminati, but who were totally ignorant of the ultimate views of its directors, and who were as much struck with horror when thefe came to be known as any of its warmeft opponents. There are even many of the Literati of Germany who might have been made the inftruments of much evil (without intending evil themfelves) by the leaders of that diabolical fociety, who, I fuppofe, would not readily commit themselves in a fimilar inftitution again. It is much to be lamented however, that well-intentioned, but weak, and in many respects, with all their learning, ignorant men, have not fince taken a more decided part on the fide of virtue, religion, and civil government, which have been fo evidently menaced with deftruction, by open force and fecret influence. If the statements of the Abbé Barruel and Profeffor Robifon, are in any respect false or erroneous; it was by no means fufficient, in a cafe of fuch importance, to treat the labours of fuch men as Barruel and Robifon, particularly the latter, with contempt, or to deny the facts in a fhort letter, without proof, and filled with ingenious language and unmeaning reproach. They ought to have come forward manfully, and related all they knew; they ought to have candidly acknowledged the atrocity of fome of the leading members, and the extreme danger of all fuch fecret machinations; and then, to have mentioned in what particu lars the two authors in queftion have erred, and how unjustly Barruel has treated fome characters in the highest degree refpectable, who were guilty indeed of grofs, perhaps criminal, imprudence, in committing themselves as inftruments of the machinations of a fecret fociety, or, who were utterly incapable of committing any crime or approving of any atrocity. It would have been equally honourable for them, if they had united themselves to oppofe that torrent of falle principles which illue from the German preffes, which confound right and wrong on every fubject, and which are equally injurious to found learning, good tafte, and even to rational liberty, on which so much has been laid and written for fome years back, and the real nature and limits of which are fo little known, even by thofe who clamour for it with the greatest violence. Whether the writings and conduct of fo many German fcribblers and pretended philofophers, are the effects of a formal confpiracy, I am by no means entitled to affert. But these writings are fo extenlive and fo uniformly dangerous, that the confequences to the public must be the fame, and therefore it is most devoutly to be wifhed, that all the real lovers and true philofophers of Germany would follow the example of Genz, and fome few others, and unite in ftemming the torrent of falfe philofophy and revolutionary politics. I hear it earnestly reported, and I hope it is true, that M. Mounier, (fo honourably diftinguifhed among the members of the firft affembly in France, and who report fays, is no les honour

ably

ably diftinguished as the head of an Academical Institution at Weimar), intends foon to give the world a treatife on the Illumi nati, and on the influence they are supposed to have had on the French Revolution. When it appears I have taken every means of fecuring a copy of it as foon as poffible, and I fhall enable you to give an early and full analyfis of it in your truly valuable Review. I am, and I fhall endeavour to be, Mr. Editor,

AN HONEST BRITON.

Mr. BOETTIGER to Mr. WALKER,

In Anfwer to the Letter which appeared in our Review, Vol. VI. p. 342.

I

Weimar, May 17, 1800.

SIR, am very forry that the affertions in the laft Mercury, which were' extorted from me by a string of mifreprefentations and afperfions thrown out against my deceased friend, Mr. Bode, and my own honour, have given you any offence, as I fee by your letter which I found on my return from Leipzic. Whatever I faid of Mr. Robifon was founded on good information, which I received from Edinburgh, and as Barruel's falfehoods could never have found their way to the fouls of generous Britons, without the perpetual references he could make to Robifon's proofs of a confpiracy, it seemed neceffary for me to attack, with a fingle ftroke, the purity at least of the fountain head itself, before I told my mind about Barruel. But you are much better acquainted with profeffor Robifon, and give such evidence to his character, that I cannot doubt of my having been lead into false opinions respecting him. I ho nour your veracity, Sir, and am fully perfuaded you would not come forth in his defence, if you did not know that injury had been done to one of the fineft characters of the University of Edinburgh. However I need not tell you that he may be an excellent man and free from all felfish views and flattery, though he may have done great mischief by spreading false reports and founding the alarum bell against such characters, both living and dead, as did not merit to be numbered among the most wicked proffi gates, thofe Jacobins of terror and regicide fanatics. Such was Mr. Bode here at Weimar, who, when living, was my dearest friend, and whose ashes I cannot fee, without indignation, trampled on and infulted by foreigners, who have not guarded themselves against the groffeft and most abfurd impofitions. But as you affure me, Sir, that profeffor Robifon has never been actuated by any other views than thofe of true (but mifguided) patriotism, you shall

be very welcome to infert a letter in vindication of him, almoft to the fame purport as that you have written to me, in behalf of that gentleman, in the next Mercury, done into German, by Mr. Mat thiae, or any other gentleman you choose. This reparation I am ready to give you, dear Sir, as I fincerely esteem you, and shall be

glad