scholar, "have you never heard of the admirable Brandellius, or the ingenious Mogusius? one the eye and the other the heart of our university, known all over the world?" "Never," cries the traveller; "but pray inform me what Brandellius is particularly remarkable for ?" "You must be very little acquainted in the republic of letters,” says the other, “to ask such a question. Brandellius has written a most sublime panegyric on Mogusius." "And, prithee, what has Mogusius done to deserve so great a favour ?" "He has written an excellent poem in praise of Brandellius." "Well! and what does the public, I mean those who are out of the university, say of those mutual compliments ?" "The public are a parcel of blockheads, and all blockheads are critics, and all critics are spiders, and spiders are a set of reptiles that all the world despises."

XXIII-GOGUET ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF LAWS, ARTS, AND SCIENCES.

[From the Critical Review, 1759. "De l'Origine des Loix, des Arts, et des Sciences; et de leurs Progrès chez les Anciens Peuples. Par M. Le Président Goguet. (1) 3 Vols. in 4to. Paris."]

THERE is a prettiness, a neatness, and symmetry of parts in the plan of most French books, which we admire, even while we hold the abilities of the author in contempt. Their specious manner we often mistake for solid erudition, and the superficial elegance of a gentleman frequently passes for the depth, labour, and judgment of the scholar. Such is the happy genius of this lively nation, that the most pro

(1) [Antoine-Yves Goguet was born at Paris in 1716, and died there in 1758.]

found speculations are treated by them with the freedom of a novel; and Descartes and Newton so refined and polished, as to make no ungraceful appearance in the drawing room. This has its good as well as bad effects; it gives lustre to the other accomplishments of the man of fashion, but it banishes true science into cells and cloisters. We should gladly see their writers studied by our beaux, but less closely copied by our authors. It is the privilege of a Frenchman to usher his solemn trifles with the grave visage of philosophy. Their very bagatelles have in them something pleasing, that arrests the judgment, and leaves the reader in suspense whether most to applaud or condemn. This art we may admire, but never imitate. The British writer, who affects formality and method, without profound learning, betrays his ignorance and becomes ridiculous. Nor is he more successful in his attempts to be lively, without a native fund of humour. But the Frenchman, with no great share of either, is sure of being agreeable in both. Energy, accuracy, and industry would seem to characterize the one; beauty, and elegance of drapery, with a certain happiness of design, are the distinguishing marks of the other. By the former, a thought is scrupulously examined in every light; by the latter it is placed with little trouble in the most striking. The one separates, compares, and pursues his subject with pain; the other playfully skims over the surface, but with an eye so piercing, as, without removing the veil, seems at one glance to dive into the the deeps of science. Here a writer is strained and tortured into all the distortions of the Pythian goddess, to utter what he knows; there he talks with a decisive dignity and a graceful eloquence, upon subjects of which he is totally ignorant; nay, he almost persuades us that his facility arises from his knowledge. (1) The author before

(1) We would here be understood to speak of the general characters of writers; which supposes numberless exceptions on both sides.

us will, in some measure, illustrate the truth of these remarks.

M. Goguet appears to us rather a writer of genius than of erudition; yet by dint of the former we would imagine him possessed of the latter. He has spread his learning with so light and masterly a hand, that no part of the performance seems wanting, although in the aggregate it is little more than a shadow or phantom of knowledge. His subject requires depth, and his plan proposes it: but alas! in the execution we find only the skeleton, draught, outlines of his design remaining to be filled up by some future artist. In three volumes octavo, Mr. President Goguet has comprised a subject, which, in the hands of some writers, would have swelled to ten times the number in folio. If it should please God to turn the heart of a certain learned gentleman to so useful an undertaking, we may soon expect to see Dr. Ratcliffe's library replenished with much profound learning, and this stupendous monument of pride converted to better purposes than being the object of stupid admiration of every head as empty as its walls, that now visits alma mater.

Our author has here given a history of the rise and progress of science, which, as he justly observes, may be termed a history of the human mind from its infancy to its maturity, full growth, and perfection. When we first set about reading our historian, when we perused his preface, where he professes to give an accurate view of facts, as first principles; to trace the origin of laws, arts, and sciences, in the manner most agreeable to these principles; and lastly, to connect the variety of different objects in so regular a chain as at one glance to shew their mutual influence, we doubted not but the wish of our great Lord Verulam was accomplished. But we reckoned without our host, our author's performance falls infinitely short of the big idea of that

noble sage: for with vast pomp of method, and an almost disgusting parade of erudition, (having quoted near four hundred authors ancient and modern) he appears to have taken many facts upon slight authority; to have rejected others which are well attested; to have misrepresented some; and, upon the whole, to be injudicious in his choice of facts, and superficial in his reflections. He complains, and with reason, that those who have hitherto pursued this path, have failed in the attempt, through want of ability or industry to examine facts with the necessary minuteness. This seems to be the rock, on which he likewise has split ; and we fear that such as may henceforward work on the materials he has collected, will have no less cause of complaint. In short, his prefatory promises are performed with the integrity usual in such introductory pieces, and we need not scruple to apply to him what he says of the diligent Paracelsus: "Tout y est hazardé. Les faits les plus faux, et les contes les plus apocryphes y sont adoptés aveuglément. Cet ouvrage prouve une parfaite négligence, joint à une démangeaison extrême de faire un livre." Indeed, this itch of book making, this cacoëthes scribendi, seems no less the prevailing disorder of England than of France. "Scribimus indocti, doctique.”

M. Goguet, after a short sketch of the state of mankind before the flood, begins his history with that great æra, which he continues to the death of Jacob, making this period the first division of his performance. Here he treats of the establishment of positive laws under two classes, the last of which he calls the civil law. He gives a short view of the constitution, government, and laws of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks, in the earliest ages. He touches upon their agriculture, and arts necessary to the support of life; shews their origin and gradual progress, but is sparing in his reflections on the causes of their growth

and rise. Then he proceeds to the origin of weaving, dyeing, architecture, metallurgy, etching, embossing, carving, sculpture, and designing in general. Under this head he includes the first use of writing, and its progress to the year 1690 before the birth of our Saviour. Hence he proceeds to the sciences, under which he ranks surgery, anatomy, botany, and pharmacy, which in our opinion, he ought to have placed under the arts. His next division of science consists of arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, mechanics, and geography. Mechanics he treats of after geometry, because to it they owe their perfection. For the same reason astronomy ought to be placed after geometry and mechanics. It is true, that to geometry they both owe their high degree of perfection, but not their birth. The spade, the mattock, and balance were used, and many observations on the heavens made, before geometry came to be applied to discover the powers of the wedge and lever, or the distance and magnitude of the planets. To deep speculation, indeed, they owe their progress; but their discovery seems to be the result of accident, of necessity, and that sort of observation peculiar to the human intellect. Next follows the art of war, upon which M. Goguet has spent more pains in being explicit, than upon any of the former topics. Then he comes to the manners and customs of Asiatics and Europeans, without descending to the sub-distinctions of each particular nation; the whole historical part of this period concluding with critical remarks upon it.

Having finished this barren disquisition, he proceeds to the second period, viz. from the death of Jacob to the establishment of monarchy among the Hebrews. This he has treated in the same order and method as the preceding. The third period contains a space of 560 years, that is, from the end of the former to the return of the Hebrews