· states which surround 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 hould remain as it is.

" But our governors must be taught, that a revolutionary war cannot be terminated by treaties; but tbat, in such circumstances, what is called peace can only be produced by the total exbaufiion of our enemies. It is by exbauftion, Citizens, that we must fubdue England, during tbe truce on tbe 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 safety. Continually out of breath, and struggling with the storm,

“ Il faut qu'il tremble, et n'apprenne à nous voir,

Qu'armés de la vengeance, ainsi que du pouvoir." * A favourable moment will come, when a descent which has been long pri pared may be carried into effect.-Once masters 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 safety of the world, England should only be inhabited by a few berdsmen and tiske men. Any kind of peace wilb ber would be a political error, and moderation towards ber 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 manufa ories; it is with the produce of their colonies, that the English lay us under contribution. For more than a century, their existence has been a general calamity, and, in order to increase their odious power, their agents brandith the torch of discord in eyery quarter.

They formed and paid the impious and depopulating coalition; they occasioned the misfortunes of our revolution, by driving us to extremes ; and they foniented the troubles of the west and paid for all the mafsacres, Every widow, in France, has an husband to claim from them; every father a lon; every family a citizen,

” ( eternal justice! 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 disasters! If she had money enough, the would coolly cause one half of the population of the earth to be murdered, in order to drink the sweat and the blood of the other. Delenda Cartbago,"!!!

Lettres sur l'Education Religieuse de l'Enfance. Letters on the Religious

Education of Infancy, accompanied by Historical Observations. Deilicated to the King ;* by J. A. De Luc, Reader to her Majesty the

Queen of Great Britain, &c. &c. 8vo. Pp. 219. 11 T must afford the most lively satisfaction, to every friend of hu

manity and yirtue, that a stand is at length made against the sceptical philofophy of the age ; that, if men thould ultimately become the viatims of this miserable and degrading system, they will not have to plead their ignorance of its tendency; nor of the views and * The King of Pruslia,

wishes

wishes of its promulgators. Among those pious and enlightened individuals who have laboured to investigate the fources of modern infidelity, and to arrest its progress, none appears to have been more successful 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 ascendancy of those opinions, which, for ten years past, have nearly deluged the civilized world with the blood of its most illuftrious inhabitants. “ M. Bafedow," says the author, " opened the scene, at Altona, in 1768, by publishing the plan of a seminary, to which he invited the concurrence of the Philanthropists; and, in 1774, having collected some pupils, Basedow des livered to the world his Elements of Education. Such is the origin of a sect which, under the fpecious veil of philanthropy, foon engrossed the attention of those weak, but well-ineaning people, whose credulous morality, in the language of Mr. BURKE, is fo invaluable a treasure to the crafty politician.

M. De Luc inforins us, that he found no difficulty in combating this plan of education among those of his friends who were desirous of training up their children in the Christian faith ; but he « faw a great difference in the views of parents themselves. There was, already,” he observes, “ considerable talk of a religion essential to man, of reasonable christianity; the affent of reason was deemed indispensible, and when the cause of this change was explored, it was discovered among many, that, feduced by the arguments of those who had abandoned Revelation, and not thinking that it could long maintain itself in the opinion of men, they considered it necessary to substitute what they regarded as natural religion, conformable nevertheless with what they had hitherto considered immediately revealed.” The letters before us embrace this important subject in every possible point of view. Natural religion is fully investigated; and is ihewn to be incapable of imparting to man, cither the infor: mation necessary to him as a moral agent, or the motives calculated to restrain his passions within the bounds of humanity and virtue. The author very justly remarks, that civil laws derive their whole importance from the power of governments to enforce them; and that, in this respect, the injunctions of morality are exactly in the same predicament. Here, then, is the vice of all natural religionthe want of that sanction which can alone accompany a positive and immediate revelation from God. So far, indeed, trom allowing that any thing like a natural religion, as it is called, could answer the purposes of society, M. De Luc affirms that there is no one general and fundamental principle of morality on which men are universally 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 he then nations, a confused notion that the universe was created by a Supreme Being; a notion to wiich they certainly did not attain by themlelves, lince an idea, of which the foundation is i fublime, could not relult from their extravagant fi&tions. ií," aids the Mm4

author, " we study man, diverted of all acquired ideas, we cannot discover any way by which, without language, and with so 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 consideration alone, we feel the necessity that the existence of a Creator of the world should have been taught to men by that Creator himself, not as a thing which they could comprehend; but as a fa&t.”

In the following passages, M. De Luc pointedly exposes the folly of attempting to educate childown by mere abstract reafonings upon philosophical morality:

“ Say to a child, that he must be true, juft, benevolent, grateful? He will believe you, without doubt, till his little pallions begin to interfere with your doctrine, if you then conduct him by thole principles, it must be because you have inspired him with a mixture of love and fear, &c. But, you will know, that, so far, you have only impressed him by your authority; and I like rnuch better, that you should have produced the fame effect by love and fear towards God, than towards yourself; becaule, the first of these sentiments will accompany him through life, in whatever situation he may find himself, while, sooner or later, you will fail him.

6 After, therefore, having instructed children, that the world was not made by itself, that there is a Being to whom it owes its existence, and to whom we are indebted for all the blessings we enjoy; that men are designed for another life, and that it is then they will assuredly reap the fruits of their conduct in this world: there will be no difficulty to make them under stand that, since God will be obeyed, he must have given his laws to mankind; and thus will you introduce theni to the study of our Sacred Books.

" To reason with your pupil, it is requisite that you should have some principle in which he is obliged to acquielce, and from which, as necessary consequences, shall flow the duties you prescribe to him. But, although I have already lived long enough, and reflected much, I confess to you that I know not such a principle. Let us take, for example, as our maxim, a point of the highest importance in Christian morality--that we must not do unto others what we would not they should do unto us. Give this law, as a principle, to your pupil! If he admit the principle, you possess a great influence over hiin as to his conduct towards others ; for, on every occasion, where he would conduct himself improperly, you have only to afk him, Would you that they should 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 easily judge, in doing to others that which would not be pleasing to himself, neither would he please them; bụt he will not so readily perceive why he may not displease them, when it would be agreeable to himself,

• You will inspire him with a detestation against Lying : you hope to convince him, that he should 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 histories for children; but these are not arguments, and you pretend to convinge; if once, by their little experience, they find that lying may succeed, 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 considerations by which, contrary to their partial interests, you would lead them to detest lies,

and

a

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 disobedient ! -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 confia deration to each other, with all the strength you can give io it, and that efficaciously.

“ Such, then, is the basis on which I would always rest with my pupil, before personal convenience should present itself to his mind. Since you have taught him that it is God who made man, he will never dispute with the Deity a right to impole his laws on mankind; and, as you will also have instručked him, that men continue to exist after this life, and that their happiness hereafter will depend on the sentence 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 positive 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 some grain to the poultry. A contest quickly ensues; the stronger and more daring fowls devour all, at the expence of the weakly, whom they drive away with their beaks. Probably, my little scholar will revolt at sight of this, tyranny; but, if he do not sufficiently attend to it, I direct his attention to it; and he will endeavour to employ his superior strength in chacing away the voracious fowls, that the others may eat in their turn. I shall easily induce him to see, afterwards, that the wisdom and goodnels of God has raised a barrier against the fuperior avidity, strength, and address, of fome men, by giving his laws to mankind; and, by accompanying them with such motives as should produce, on men, the same effect which my pupil intended, by his interference, to produce among the fowls. What, in comparilon 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, says M. De Luc, should be an object of the heart; and, in this point of view, the only beneficial one under which Christianity can be contemplated—it cannot, he contends, be too foon impressed 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 should be extremely sorry not to have accomplished this duty towards a child committed to my care, before the age of five years." Contrary, also, to the maxim which

, has led some persons to defer a religious education, left their children might imbibe false notions of religion, the author remarks, with considerable felicity-"That it is most safe to converse with children of God, of goodness, and of religion, precisely that they may not contract erroneous sentiments on those important subjects." We shall conclude our extracts on the subject of religious educa

tion,

tion, with the following excellent observation :-" It is fo evident to all those 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 respect for his laws; that it must be prejudice, against Revealed Religion itself, which would change the opinions of fo inany ages in this point."

A large portion of the present volume, though not in fact irrelevant to the subject of religious education, adverts but lightly to this topic ; it is, however, interspersed with many valuable ingrsels of crie ricism, and will be thankfully received by the real disciples of Christianity. We regret, that we cannot follow the author in his valuable details; and have only to hope, that he will, ere long, favour the Anglilh public with that edition of his work which he only, compasatively speaking, is qualified to give.

For our part, we feel particularly grateful to M. De Luc, for his masterly 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 Teltament, as if ignorant of its inimediate 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 pursuance of this hypothesis, he erased from the New, and that, as it should feem, without entering into any critical reasons, every palfage which recognised the Jewish Scriptures. He spared not a text which contradicted his opinion.”

This fpirit of Marcionisin seemed, some time since, to have spread a little over this quarter of Christendom. 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 Genesis, a mere poctical cosmogony, which she would not believe, if an angel were to defcend from heaven to affure her of its authenticity. Grave men, also, in the Christian Church, diffi:aded their pupils from the ftudy of the earlier parts of the Bible ; Dr. Geddes arraigned the inSpiration of those parts; and the Monthly Reviewers were loud in their praises of the Doctor, his erudition, his piery, his liberality!

Voyage Pittoresque. A Piauresque Journey to Switzerland and Italy. By Citizen Cambry, Prefect of the Department of the Oise, of the Academy of Cortona, and Member of the Agricultural Society

of the Depart.nent of the Seine, 2 Vols. 8vo. 1800. Paris. THE account of this defcriptive and sentimental tour, is conTHE

tainel in a series of letters.--When our readers are apprised, that its author is one of those restless fpirits, whose perseverance in