tribute, at a large expence, by taxation: fhe must raife a navy, which must be maintained, not by Great Britain, as heretofore, but by herself; her debts due to France and other powers must be paid; and ye muft help to pay them: a large army must be kept; and for want of coals and wool of a good ftaple, he has not, and cannot, have much of a manufacture to defray the expences the muft contract. If happiness be attainable from any local circumftances, it is yet attainable in Great Britain, much more eafily than in America, where every thing is in the most unfettled ftate, with regard to her internal policy, her form of government, her foreign connections, her finances, future wars, and almoft every thing respecting her. Whither then, my dear countrymen, are ye going in such an hurry?'

D

There are many circumftances to which we might raife plaufible objections, particularly on the inclofure of lands; but, on fairly confidering every part of the fubject, we are convinced that, on the whole, it would be generally beneficial. The large farms are perhaps with less reafon the object of his cenfure; for it is now pretty well understood, what are the proper fizes for different purposes. Our author's arguments are chiefly directed to those which are kept for tillage; and fo far have undoubtedly confiderable weight. We are forry to find, that he hints at difficulties under which he labours; but he will permit us to fuggeft, that activity is of as much fervice as abilities. It is not enough to have the power of being ufeful, he muft alfo shake off the fupinenefs which prevents its being known.

1

Two Introductory Lectures, delivered by Dr. William Hunter, to this last Gourfe of Anatomical Lectures, at his Theatre in Windmill-Street as they were left corrected for the Prefs by himself. 4to. 6s. in Boards. Johnfon.

THESE Lectures, as we have already mentioned in our ac

count of the life of Dr. Hunter, were correctly tranfcribed by himself, and contain a concise History of Anatomy, the chief intentions of the teacher, with fome hints of what he expects from his hearers. They refemble, in every refpect, Dr. Hunter's. other works; and are eafy, clear, and correct. The manner of our author fpreads a foftnefs round every fubject which he confiders, and difarms even the operations of furgery of their terrors. Gentle in his own manners, timid and apprehenfive, both from his difpofition, and at last from his age, he was accustomed to view every thing in its easiest and molt agreeable form; so that where he could not relieve, he was enabled to foóth and encourage his patient with the most

con

confummate addrefs. In his writings, from the fame fource, his plans were distinguished rather by a prudent forefight, and attempts to palliate, than by a refolute and decided activity. The Hiftory of Anatomy, which is adapted for an introductory Lecture, is not the fubject of criticifm, because it is neceffarily fuperficial and concife: it can fcarcely afford any room for extracts, as it is very generally known. The moft remarkable part of it is rather a longer account of the Arabian phyficians and their patrons, than we fometimes find even in more extended histories. He remarks too, with juftice, that the Saracens ought not to be accused of having destroyed learning. They found Europe funk into a torpid infenfibility, ignorant in the midst of immenfe libraries, and indolent even under the power of the ftrongeft incentives. Yet the Saracens deftroyed the feeds of future knowlege, by burning the books; and prevented a fubfequent harveft, though there were no immediate expectations of it. The following paffage is however new and curious; we fhall confequeatly tranfcribe it.

In tracing the great revolution of learning, which happened in the fifteenth century, I am enabled to carry the hif tory of the improvement of anatomy farther back than has been generally done by our own writers; and to introduce into the annals of our art, a genius of the first rate, Leonardo da Vinci, who has been overlocked, because he was of another profeffion, and because he published nothing upon the subject. I believe he was, by far, the best anatomift and phyfiologift of his time; and that his master and he were the very first who raised a spirit for anatomical study, and gave it credit: and Leonardo was certainly the first man we know of who introduced the practice. of making anatomical drawings.

Vaffare, in his lives of the painters, fpeaks of Leonardo thus, after telling us that he had compofed a book of the anatomy of a horfe, for his own ftudy, He afterwards applied himself with more diligence to the human anatomy, in which study he reciprocally received and communicated affiftance to Marc. Antonio della Torre, an excellent philofopher, who then read lectures in Pavia, and wrote upon this fubject; and who was the first, as I have heard, who began to illuftrate medicine from the doctrine of Galen, and to give true light to anatomy, which till that time had been involved in clouds of darkness and ignorance. In this he availed himself exceedingly of the genius and labour of Leonardo, who made a book of ftudies, drawn with red chalk, and touched with a pen, with great diligence of fuch fubjects as he had himself dif fected; where he made all the bones, and to thofe he joined, in their order, all the nerves, and covered them with the muf cles. And concerning thofe, from part to part, he wrote remarks in letters of an ugly form, which are written by the left

Ff4

hand

band backwards, and not to be understood but by those who know the method of reading them; for they are not to be read. without a looking-glass. Of these papers of the human ana tomy, there is a great part in the poffeffion of M. Francesco da Melzo, a Milanefe gentleman, who, in the time of Leonardo, was a most beautiful boy, and much beloved by him, as he is now a beautiful and genteel old man, who reads those writings, and carefully preferves them, as precious relicts, together with the portrait of Leonardo, of happy memory. It appears impoffible that that divine spirit fhould reafon fo well upon the arteries, and muscles, and nerves, and veins; and with such diligence of every thing, &c. &c."

Thofe very drawings and the writing, are happily found to be preserved in his majefty's great collection of original drawings. Mr. Dalton, the king's librarian, informed me of this, and at my request procured me the honour of leave to examine, them. I expected to fee little more than fuch defigns in anatomy, as might be useful to a painter in his own profeffion. But I faw, and indeed with astonishment, that Leonardo had been a general and a deep ftudent. When I confider what pains he has taken upon every part of the body, the fuperiority of his univerfal genius, his particular excellence in mechanics and hydraulics, and the attention with which such a man would examine and fee objects which he was to draw, I am fully perfuaded that Leonardo was the beft anatomift, at that time, in. the world. We must give the fifteenth century the credit of Leonardo's anatomical ftudies, as he was fifty-five years of age at the clofe of that century.

In due time, as I doubt of not being honoured with the. permiffion of the king, who loves and encourages all the arts, I hope to engrave and publish the principal of Leonardo's anatomical defigns. They will be a curious and valu able acquifition to the hiftory of anatomy.'

Dr. Hunter has been frequently accused of having depreciated the merits of Harvey; and, in this work (indeed he had frequently repeated it in his Lectures) he endeavours, with particular earneftnefs, to defend himself. He usually obferved, that so many previous fteps had been already taken, fo many parts of the difcovery had been before made, that little more was required than to lay afide prejudice, and to connect those circumstances which were already known. This is indeed ftrictly true; and even the discoveries of Columbus and Copernicus, with which our author contrafts that of the circulation, may, by the fame means, be farther diminished than he is willing to allow. Truth, as ufual, lies between the two extremes. Harvey has been too much extolled; but, when we confider the importance of his difcovery, and the few very fplendid triumphs which have been obtained in this field, we shall allow him greater merit than that of a lucky con

jecturer,

jecturer, or the fyftematic collector of the experiments of others. Great part of the value of his difcovery really depends on the clearness with which it is delivered, and the very pointed and appofite experiments by which it is fupported. His firft work is almoft, at this moment, one of the best of the kind; and this merit, which has added to the reputation of Newton and Copernicus, fhould not be withheld from Harvey. The ardour of the difpute has led Dr. Hunter into a little contradiction. Dr. Harvey,' fays he, page 43, as appears by his writings, was certainly a first-rate genius for fagacity and application.' Again, page 47, he obferves, none of his writings fhew him to have been a man of uncommon abilities."

That we may at once difmifs the disagreeable task of remarking blemishes, we fhall juft mention a few colloquial expreffions, which difgrace a work of fcience. This blow their fuperftitious brutality gave with a vengeance.-The Italian who had any foil in his body' are inftances of this. kind which we fometimes meet with and regret; but we ought to add, that they are not very numerous. The printer, by inferting a comma, has occafioned an error of some importance. To diftinguish Kaw, Boerhaave' in this manner, throws the cenfure on the celebrated Leyden profeffor; but it is evident that Kaw Boerhaave is intended for one person only. We believe he was the nephew of the Profeffor.

The fecond Lecture is by no means fufficiently interesting to induce us to enlarge on it. We shall felect only Dr. Hunter's account of himself. It is a fubject on which few can speak with propriety, and our author used to be remarkably fuccefsful; but our readers must judge.

In my fituation, and at this time of life, it cannot be fuppofed that I fhould take the trouble of giving lectures, if I did not confider it as a duty that I owe to the public. Every man should be held as a criminal who locks up his talent, whatever it may be. Mine, from nature was fmal; but, by application and perfeverance, it has grown to be confiderable. Hitherto it has been diligently employed for the advantage of others; and at the fame time it has brought to myself, all the advantages which I have been ambitious of gaining. I have collected fuch an anatomical apparatus, as was never brought together in any age or country. The fpecimens of difeafes, efpecially, are ineftimable, and muft render a course of lectures here inftructive and useful to any man, wherever he may have ftudied, or whatever he may have feen. And, it may be prefumed, that, from knowing my own collection beft, and from long experience in demonftrating them, I am better qualified to. make them ufeful to the world, than at this time, any other man can be. That confideration has induced me to go on

with my lectures: and, with that view, I am much more ambitious of a few ftudents, who will attend with diligence, and with a fincere defire of improvement, than of a great number. The firft will give me fatisfaction and credit; the laft would only bring in a larger fum of money, which could be no equivalent for the vexation of feeing young men throwing away their time, when fuch an opportunity is offered. For the future, money can be of no ufe to me, but for acquiring and communicating science; which shall be my object, as far, and as long as I can pursue it.'

We perufe with regret, at the end, Dr. Hunter's very munificent propofal for eftablishing a permanent and noble school of anatomy. It was loft by the neglect of Mr. Grenville, whofe administration was in general plaufible, weak, and inefficient; and we regret it more, fince this establishment might have contributed to raise fimilar inftitutions in other branches of medicine in this metropolis.

Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the late Rev. Thomas Baker, B. D. from the Papers of Dr. Zachary Grey, with a Catalogue of his MS. Collections. By Robert Mafters, B.D. and F.A. S. 8vo. 45. in Boards. White.

BIOGRAPHY always interefts the curiofity; fometimes it inspires an honeft emulation, inftructs the judgment, or amends the heart. The Life of Mr. Baker is not however calculated to answer all these purposes. A man of abilities and learning, exhaufting his efforts in plans and preparations, is fcarcely an object of imitation. We may admire his inflexible integrity, and ftrive to imitate the virtues of his heart; but can neither look up to, or recommend, the literary indolence which contracts the mind, or the timid procrastination which diminishes the refolution, and in fome degree depraves it. The Life of this eminent antiquary might indeed have been more extenfively ufeful, if his confcience had been more fashionably flexible. He could not take the oaths to George I. while James was alive; and, after his death, another obstacle, the oath of abjuration, was foon added, which had the fame effect. But this fhould by no means have confined him to the walls of a college, or limited his efforts, when there, almoft exclufively to collections. An active spirit would have defpifed these inconfiderable fhackles, nor have funk into liftJeffness, though he was excluded from one path.

The more important events of this unvaried Life have been already published in the Biographia Britannica, and the anecdotes of Bowyer. The materials were collected by Dr. Grey; and, after his death, put into the hands of the present editor. He lent them to Richard Gough, efq. who made fuch ex

tracts