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Pope, and many other distinguished persons, who sometimes assembled at her house; and she has been frequently heard to say that this was a society of pure deists: but that Swift, in his quality of Dean of St. Patrick's, was only a little more reserved than the others, though at bottom his opinions were the same? Few persons, we apprehend, will believe this of Swift; though the good Queen Anne, "the Church of England's glory," was sagaciously convinced that none but an atheist could have written the Tale of a Tub, and though Queen Caroline's favourable intentions towards him were afterward defeated by the insinuation of a narrow and doting prelate. Swift's writings contain innumerable proofs of a firm belief in the great truths of Christianity, of the highest regard for its sanctions, and of a mind perfectly orthodox in regard to discipline, though chargeable perhaps by his brethren of the sacred order with indifference as to the sublimer mysteries of theology. Another proof is to be found in the letters of Bolingbroke, who always imposes considerable restraint and even disguise on himself, when addressing his reverend correspondent.

Such an imputation on the Dean of St. Patrick's is, however, rather less whimsical than the circumstance of his friend Bolingbroke being revered in his life-time, or at least during his possession of power, as the leader and champion of the high-church party, against the claims of the dissenters from the establishment. His infamous schism-bill, defeated by the timely death of Queen Anne, was a step towards rekindling the fires of Smithfield. It is truly edifying to peruse his letters which condemn the latitudinarianism of his political adversaries, and deprecate all concessions to those who differ in opinion; insisting that bare toleration is the utmost favour which they ought to receive, and that even this shall be conferred under the title of indulgence, not of toleration. In a letter to Dr. Robinson, Bishop of Bristol, and afterward of London, he devoutly subscribes himself" a true son of the Church;" and we believe that the Church has always had a numerous and dutiful family of the same description.

On the subject of Lord Bolingbroke's philosophy, his biographer assumes a bolder tone than we ever before observed in the boasts of infidelity; and falsely claims for him as the highest merit, what has often in different terms been as falsely imputed to others as the blackest stain, that he was the first to penetrate that Egyptian darkness of the mind, which, it is to be hoped, will never return, &c. &c. The detailed exposition of his doctrines is, however, so extremely loose and imperfect as to offer nothing to our examination; it occupies less

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space than an elaborate defence of his consistency: which was called in question by Dr. Sheridan, on the ground of his bequeathing his sceptical works to Mallet for publication, after having condemned, in a letter to Swift, all those free-thinkers, stigmatized by him as "scourges of society," whose "endeavours are directed to break its bonds and to remove a powerful curb from that ferocious animal, man, who rather requires the additional restraint of many others."-(We translate the French translation of that letter.) To have failed in removing this charge is not very discreditable to the ingenuity of any advocate.

We have expatiated perhaps too long on the contents of these volumes; in which, though the editor has laboured to throw the bright veil of indiscriminate panegyric over a chequered character, his facts and documents have presented a more correct idea of it than he contemplated. Bolingbroke is one of our most distinguished statesmen, but he is far from ranking with the most estimable. An ardent imagination, uncontrouled passions, great vanity, and insatiable ambition, betrayed him into numberless contradictions; and they exhibit him as an unbeliever fighting the battles of the High Church, -as a Whig in principle endeavouring to restore the Pretender, as placing his chief glory in the negotiation of a peace. which he allowed to be inadequate, and which he never ceased to slander Walpole for preserving, — and, lastly, as a moral philosopher, hurried away by extreme violence of temper, and indulging all his passions with unbridled licentiousness. His classical and striking countenance is prefixed as a frontispiece : but the French engraving is much inferior, in spirit and expression, to the sketch which generally accompanies his letter to Sir William Wyndham. It probably is taken from a likeness painted at a more advanced age.

We should add that, in course, a number of interesting particulars respecting eminent persons of Bolingbroke's time occurs in the notes to these volumes, some of which are derived from known sources, and some are referable to the Editor's researches. Among others, will be found a curious anecdote relative to D'Alembert, and to his connection with Mademoiselle de l'Espinasse, which we shall detail in our report of that Lady's Letters, in Art. VII, of this Appendix.

APP. REV. VOL LX,

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ART,

AKT. II. Essai sur l'Influence, &c. ; i. e. An Essay on the Influ ence of the Crusades; a Work which shared the Prize on the following Question, proposed April 11, 1806, by the Class of History and Antient Literature in the Institute of France; "What has been the Influence of the Crusades on the Civil Liberty of the People of Europe, on their Civilization, and on the Progress of Knowlege, Commerce, and Industry ?" By A. H. L. HEEREN, Professor of History in the University of Gottingen, Member of the Royal Society of Sciences in the same City, &c. Translated from the German by Charles Villers, Correspondent of the Institute of France, Member of the Royal Society of Sciences of Gottingen, &c. 8vo. pp. 535. Paris. 1808. Imported by De Boffe. Price 12s. sewed.

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THAT the Deity brings good out of evil, and in the course of his Providence converts the mad and wicked proceedings of his creatures to purposes that are not in the contemplation of the agents themselves, is a truth which is sanctioned by the experience of history, and from which the wise derive consolation on observing the immediate effects of folly and misrule in the nations of the earth. We know not, however, of any instance which more strikingly illustrates this remark, than the singular fanaticism which was first excited in Europe by Peter the Hermit in the eleventh century; and which enflamed the minds of Monarchs and their subjects with a desire of rescuing the Holy Land, the theatre of our Lord's birth, ministry and passion, from the hands of infidels. The wildness of the project was even surpassed by the enthusiasm with which it was prosecuted; all considerations of policy seem to have been lost in religious zeal; and the population of Europe was drained in a war which was at once ludicrous and disastrous. Yet, notwithstanding the contempt which we entertain for the chief actors in this unreligious war of religion, and the concern which we feel for the deluded multitudes who became its willing victims, we are led to contemplate it as a most powerful exciting cause of European civilization, and to regard its consequences as beneficial in several points of view.

Between those two great events, the Crusade and the Reformation, this difference subsists, that the benefits which accrued from the former were neither intended nor foreseen : but that in the latter the wisdom and the fortitude of the projector are both conspicuous. When we speculate on the blessings which have flowed from the annihilation of Papal despotism, we are ready to acknowlege our obligations to Luther but, as M. Villers observes in his preface,

That commerce, agriculture, and certain branches of knowlege, obtained some progress in Europe by means of the Crusades; that the

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feudal system there found the principle of its ruin; that powerful cities arose, within the walls of which were prepared the general abolition of servitude, the freedom of the people, and the establish ment of a third-estate which became the focus of true civilization; -certainly for these consequences we owe no thanks to Peter the Hermit, to Urban II., nor even to St. Bernard. Their object was to deliver the holy sepulchre from the hands of Mohammedans, and the Popes joined in the scheme to advance their own authority: but whatever were the motives which led to the undertaking, the Crusades produced an universal and terrible convulsion, which shook all the parts of the social edifice, overturning some, giving stability to others, obliging others to be re-constructed, and producing, as well for states as for individuals, a new mode of existence. The effects, then, which were caused by it were like the unforeseen effects of an earthquake; which, overturning rocks, substitutes in their place fertile fields; or which, tearing open the bosom of a mountain, discovers veins of gold which had remained till then concealed.

These considerations will enable us to perceive the reason why the work of M. Villers* is intitled An Essay on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation, while that which is now before us has only for its title An Essay on the Influence of the Crusades. The Refor mation was in truth the product of mind: but the results of the Crusades were the effects of chance, or rather of circumstances al. together foreign to the thoughts and intentions of the Crusaders."

Though this Essay is announced as a translation, the original work (as it should seem) has never appeared; of which the following explanation is given.-M. HEEREN having politely declined to contest the prize with M. Villers, on the first question respecting the Reformation by Luther, which was proposed by the Institute in 1802, though he had in some degree prepared himself for the discussion, M. Villers returned the compliment by withdrawing himself from the lists on the second question; in order that M. HEEREN might have an opportunity of gathering laurels equal to his own. Not contented, however, with merely retiring from the contest, M. Villers afforded the Gottingen Professor every assistance towards obtaining the prize; and he persuaded the latter to compose his memoir in German, to transmit the MS. to him in sheets, and to entrust to him the charge of translating it. Hence it happened that the Members of the Institute formed their judg ment of M. HEEREN's work from M. Villers's manuscript, and the translation became as it were the original. While the translator makes this seeming boast, he takes care not to abridge his friend's fame. He apologizes for haste, and assures us that he has rarely made any alterations in the German memoir, and still less frequently subjoined any additions of

* For an account of which, see M. R. Vol. xlix. N. S. p. 190.

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According to M. Villers's report, the original Essay required little emendation; the subject having been treated with the gravity, simplicity, and spirit of critical research, which belong to the true historian: but to us it appears that the whole has now more the cast of a French than of a German work.

Some pertinent general remarks, on the effects of emigration, or of the transmigration of large bodies of men from their native region to new and distant countries, form the introduction to this Essay. In this light the author considers the Crusades, the period of which he not improperly calls the heroic age of Christianity. The distance of this æra from the present, and the obscurity which envelops it, may render a perfect history of it impracticable; yet sufficient evidence remains to prove that the influence of the Crusades has been immense; that their conscquences have embraced the West and the East, from the shores of the Tagus (the writer might have said from the Thames) to those of the Nile and the Euphrates; that they have decided the condition of many nations and empires; and that they have prepared for subsequent generations the most important modifications in the social state of Europe for several ages. We should no doubt exceed the truth, were we to assert that this actual order of things in politics and civilization resulted immediately from the Crusades but no one can deny that they have powerfully contributed to this end. What a wide field is here opened to our researches: but how great are the difficulties, how dark is the obscurity, with which it is enveloped !'

To qualify us for this interesting discussion, the author first presents a view of the chronology, the geography, and the organization of the Crusades ; under each of which heads, as much of the history of the Holy War is developed as is neces sary for his object. If we include the several expeditions of the European Christians to Palestine, for the purpose of delivering it from the hands of the infidels, the duration of the Crusades will be found to extend nearly through two centuries; which M. HEEREN divides into four periods: the first crusade conducted by Godfrey of Boulogne reaching from 1096 to 1146, in which the Holy City fell into the hands of the Christians: the 2d, extending from 1146 to 1187, was occasioned by the loss of Edessa, (which was taken by the Saracens from the Christians in 1142,) and was excited by the famous Abbé of Clairvaux, St. Bernard: the 3d, from 1187 to 1246, was undertaken to oppose the victorious Saladin, in which our Richard Coeur-de-Lion bore a part; and the 4th, from 1246 to 1291, was led by St. Louis,

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