frequent excurfions of George I. and I. were certainly not beneficial to the kingdom. A Letter on the Practice of Boxing, addreffed to the King, Lords, and Commons. By the Rev. Edward Barry, A. M. and M. D. 8vo. 15. Bew. If boxing is to be made a spectacle to diffeminate idleness, dilipation, and gambling, magiftrates have interfered to fupprefs it with great propriety. But we would no more object to a fchool of boxing than to one of fencing or of riding: in reality, we are degenerating faft to a race of petit maitres; and, uniefs fome fathionable rage brings back the old English spirit, hardihood, and customs, another age may fee us a prey to a more bold and intrepid nation. Strictures on Duelling; feleted from the most authentic Authors: with Additions, by a Gentleman, late of the Univerfity of Ox ford. 8vo. 15. Walter. The very able and benevolent author of these Strictures deferves the banks of mankind for his judicious arguments against a practice, which could only have arifen in the rudeft. æras. Yet we fear he has written in vain. If the fource of duelling be cowardice, will argument render a man brave enough to refufe a challenge? If the leffer morals, the decorum of fociety, be guarded by the existence of a custom which corrects what laws are inadequate to, will his reafons cool the mind agitated with indignation at folly, indecency, perversenefs, or brutality? In fhort, while we allow the custom to be bad, yet it is a barrier against, perhaps, worse evils; and its real inconveniencies, in this age, are not fo numerous as to alarm the religious man or the moralift. A Review of the Pamphlet, entitled,' A Difcourfe on the Love of our Country, by Richard Price, &c. 8vo. 15. Faulder. Our brother-reviewer attacks Dr. Price in every fiep of his late fermon, which he affects to confider as a political, perhaps a feditious pamphlet: he attacks him, however, by affertions and by declamation, rather than argument. To that part of the fermon which relates to the king's being the servant of the people, his replies are not conftitutional or juft: to oppose Dr. Prike with more fuccefs, he afcends the opposite end of the beam, and contends, that kings are fupreme, and independent of the people. We have already explained our opinion on this part of the question, and need not iefume it. By the law, he fays, the fucceffor has a right to demand' the crown; but he forgets that rights of this kind are reciprocal; and, if the Lew king does not act conftitutionally, the people have a better right, as they have more power, to hurl him from the throne.' Liberty or Death. ATract. By John Lowe, Jun. 4to. 15. Harrop. Mr. Lowe does not speak in warm terms of the inhumanity of the flave-trade: its great crime is that it is unprofitable. Elephants' teeth have neither yaws nor fmall-pox; gold-duft is fubject fubject to none of the accidents in the middle paffage, and the ornamental woods will not jump over board from de pair. • Call you this backing your friends ?' Suicide. A Differtation. 4to. 15. Hayes. This oppofition to fuicide is a laboured and ftrenuous one ; but it is too concife in fome parts, and farcely perfpicuous in any. Befides, that the opponent of fuicide acts always difadvantageoufly, he combats infanity with argument, defpair with religion, and difappointment with reafon. Of course he is feldom fuccefs ul; for when the conftitution is inaccellible to the remedy, the poifon muit exert its whole virulence. CORRESPONDENCE. THE author of the following ingenious letter, on the infcrip. tion on the pig of lead noticed, from the Archeologia, in our Review for February, will excute our having in fome measure shortened it: the whole was too long for this department of our work. I agree with you, that the latest correction, changing TUT for LUT, does not authorife the ufc of the word "poreitate," and thus to confitue it, "tribunitià poteftate," as there are no numerals. Independent of the circumftance of Claudius having never obtained the appellation of Britannicus; I think BR, without a T, is not to be always contidered as standing for that title. Is it not more properly placed to fignify Bonerum? I have not at prefent any authority to cite, but I appre hend I am correct. To fuppofe that Claudius, to perpetuate the memory of his fuccefs in Britain, ordered all the pigs of lead to bear the infcription of the medal which was ftruck on that occafion, is eally far-fetched, I would read it, as it originally food, without any alteration, TI. CL. TR. TUT. BR. EX. ARG. and render it, Tiberius Claudius tribunus tutelaris bonorum ex argentifodinis," which appears to be the lamp which the evardens of the mines placed upon every pig of lead finelted. The name of the warden, for the time being, happening to have been Tiberius Claudius, has given rife to the conjectures that it was smelted, in the reign of the emperor of that name, about the year 49; whereas you very aptly obferve that, from the uncertainty being fo great, a little ingenuity might bring it down even as low as the year 745. The letters TR. TUT. BR. have been the ftumbling. blocks, and I flatter myself, that, if my conltruction be not the right, it is at least as probable as the "Tribun. poteft. Britannicus;" there being no connection between the trib. pot. and the enfuing letters, EX. ARG. These letters being on a pig of lead, although they relate to filver mines, is I think no objection. The fame-officer was warden of the lead mines as well as filver mines; argentarius was the term for a banker, of money-changer, although they did not deal in filver only. • There There is fome probability that the officer's name might have been T. C. Trebonius, or any other name beginning with TR. in which inflance, initead of Fribunus turelaris, it would have been tutelarius, wareen; but I rather incline to my firit pofition, and fuppofe it to be tribunus. We have tribunus ararius, a tax-gatherer; and even with us we have a warden of the flannaries, which office, from this infeription, appears to have been derived from the Romans, and is fomewhat a cofroborating proof of my conjecture.' WE have looked at those paffages of Mr. Locke's Effay, pointed out by our kind Monitor,' and perceive that we were mistaken in fuppofing Mr. Locke of opinion that the mind was always thinking. We were led into the error by recollecting fome parts of Mr. Locke's reafoning on this fubject in the fecond book, which might be easily converted to fupport the oppofive fyftem, when connected with the fubject then under our contideration. As our Correfpondent confines himself to our mis take, and does not fupport either opinion, we fhall not enlarge on the fubject; but we think we could fhow, that a mind not always thinking, is no mind at all; and that apparently, in the mof thoughtless moments, a little attention will discover a real exertion of the mental principle: like our involuntary motions, this exertion becomes habitual, and is confequently unperceived. WE find Mr. Afhdowne's work occurred in our Review of Jaft December; and we are forry that he thinks we have given a wrong idea of it. In thofe Articles confined to the Caralogue, we cannot engage in, or examine every argument; we in general take the leading idea, and give our opinion of the whole. In this inftance, the firft text which occurred to us was fo decifive in favour of the divine nature, that we argued on it as the principal hinge. We meant not, and we hope our readers did not fufpect, that Mr. Ashdowne, from this text alone, fupported the oppofite opinion. Our Correfpondent afks, if it implies an impoffibility or an abfurdity to fuppofe that a mere man was begotten in this way? We would apply neither term to the works of God; but, as in this world, he appears to act by second caules, by the most fimple means, and with the moft regular uniformity, when he departs from this plan, we mult fuppofe the production not of this world.' Mr. Afhdowne may be however affured, that we meant no difrefpect to his work; but, as one text fo frongly fa voured our opinion, we thought that we need not proceed far ther. The Holy Ghoft fhall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest overshadow thee.' THE CRITICAL REVIEW, For MAY, 1790. Oeuvres Pofbumes de Frederic II. Roi de Pruffe, en 15 Tomes. 8vo. Berlin, Voss et Fils, Decker et Fils. A Oeuvres Pofthumes de Frederic II. Roi de Pruffe. (Continued from Vol. LXVIII. p. 306.) FTER a long intermiffion we return to this interesting and. important work with much pleasure, and we resume it at that period where the tranfactions are lefs generally known, and less accurately understood; the partition of Poland and the Bavarian war. At the peace of Hubertsburg, the king obferves, that Pruffia was left alone bleeding at every pore, weak, defencelefs, exhaufled, and only without open enemies." Its finances were to be recruited, its army re-established, towns rebuilt, the peafantry to be fupported, and even the nobility to be affifted. In this unfortunate fituation, the Polish war, in which Ruffia engaged on the fide of the Diffidents, and the Porte appeared in the defence of the grandees, changed the appearance of affairs. A new career being opened, adds the king, he must have been without addrefs, or buried in stupid torpor, who should have neglected to profit by fo advantageous an opportunity.' He,.therefore, took time by the forelock,' and indemnified the monarchy for its former loffes by incorporating Polifh Pruffia' with his hereditary dominions; this was effected by dint of negociation alone.' We have preferved the king's own words in the preface, as a cool apology for what cannot perhaps be defended on the footing of morality;, fince to plunder the weak because it can be done with impunity, is the apology of the highwayman, and even of the meaner criminal; and the rank of the robber or the value of the plunder makes no alteration in the offence. In the views of the politician and the conqueror, this conduct has affumed a different appearance it is fplendid and fafcinating; and while we feel as moralifts, we own that we attend with fome intereft to thofe fcenes where Frederic is an actor VOL. LXIX. May, 1790. LI and and a witness,' and where the princes of Europe were attentive though timid spectators. The first chapter contains the state of politics from the year 1763 to 1775; and in the beginning the king explains at fome length the difficulties of his political fituation: we are chiefly interefted by what he fays of England; and though we have some reason to think the account exaggerated, yet even when the adventitious parts are feparated, the reft forms one of the worst features of the most weak and inglorious adminiftration of this country. • When Mr. Pitt quitted the helm his place was bestowed upor ford Bute, a Scotch earl. This English minister broke off all the connections which fubfifted between the two courts. England, as we have before faid, having concluded peace with France, had facrificed to her the interefts of Pruffia; and had offered the conqueft of Silefia to the houfe of Auftria; that, by favour of this fervice, the ancient ties between the Imperial court and that of Great Britain might be renewed. As if these proceedings had ftill been infufficient, lord Bute had fet every engine at work, at Petersburg, to embroil the king with the emperor Peter III. in which attempts however, he was unfuc cefsful. Ill faith fo repeated had interrupted all the friendship which had before exifted between Pruffia and England; and, to that alliance which reciprocal wants had produced, malignity the most potent, and hatred the moft violent, fucceeded. Thus it happened that the king remained fingly on the field of battle; where indeed no one care to attack him, but neither did any perfon prefent himself for his defence; a fituation only fupportable by being fhort, and which could not long endure; for which reafon it prefently underwent a change.' The political horizon began to clear, when the king of Poland died, and the emprefs of Ruffia wanted the king's affiftance to fix a new monarch on the vacant throne. Frederic's forward zeal before the treaty was figned conciliated in a greater degree the favour of the emprefs. The affairs of Poland, in which Ruffia was foon embroiled, and the little at tention which the new king paid to the power which established him on the throne, led Frederic into difficulties. The Poles united with the Turks against Ruffia; and the king, keeping a watchful eye on the court of Vienna, was with difficulty able, notwithstanding all his addrefs, to avoid partaking in the conteft, In the war the Poles were foon vanquished; and the unskilful Rufians, opposed to the more unskilful Turks, were in that quarter alfo fuccefsful: it was, fays our author, men with one eye beating the blind. In this interval, the interview between Frederic and the emperor took place at Neifs. • The young prince, remarks our able veteran, affi8 |