was really good, and that man, according to the expreffion of fcripture, was made in the form of God. It is not then true, that he lost this form, and that it is the end of religion to bring it back to its former purity. It is not true, that this happens when we lay afide the temper corrupted by irregular defires. No! the devil himself exifts in us: we have a radical depravity which the fcripture knows not, but which the philofophy of religion has invented. According to this philofophy, the baseness of man is not a departure from law; the good inclinations of men in themselves do not fall into diforder; there were no bad habits, no growing depravations of our race, from examples, allurements, or temptations, or from falfe maxims. No! the devil has crept into us; and radical evil adheres to us.

Of what use is the high moral law that I give myself, when another law and a radical power are within me to annihilate it? Pure inclination is a mere formulary, while the Satan in our nature is the mighty one by whom all our defires are enflaved. Even the Jews have not raised to fo great a height their jetzer hara, the bafe quality in men.

Dreadful is the power that fuch vifions have over the fancy and unguarded heart of thoughtless, diffipated men. The philofopher who reflects in folitude, can scarcely reprefent to himself the emotions which a mere found perfonified in fport, the radical evil, Satan the fovereign ruler of the world, the poffeffor of the human foul, &c. excite in those men who give way to fancy. Read the Jewish hiftories, or those of barbarous nations. Are you not often fhocked at the power of perfonification over lively tempers, and still more at the inclination for reprefenting and realifing the thing perfonified? Hence arofe the execrable belief in forcerers and witches; hence the custom of imputing to the devil that which arose from another fource; hence that negligence in expelling vice, which, by radical indolence, we fow and bring up in ourselves. Nothing plants itself so strongly as a dream of the imagination. is mixed with what is credible by education, by an inherited way of thinking; it becomes the prejudice of families and of nations; and, laftly, it is called common fenfe, that is, prevailing folly. Thanks are due to the holy one of Nazareth, for difpelling fuch phantoms. We, my brethren, will not labour to destroy his work, or introduce into his religion a phantom which may baffle the aim of all religion,'

It

From the extracts given, our readers will not be at a lofs in forming their opinion of the ftyle and fentiments of an author who is very popular in his own country, and whose

work is evidently formed to correct the difputatious theology with which Germany was over-run. For above two hundred years the Lutherans, the Calvinifts, and the Catholics, have in that country been vying with each other in producing large works to establish their respective opinions, and have been perfecuting each other on a variety of fubjects of little or no importance, while the plain fentiments of religion, as acting on the temper and disposition, feem to have been either neglected or misunderstood. The aim of this work is to reclaim men to a better mode of thinking, to teach them that faith is better than speculation, and love fuperior to both. At a time when the contending parties are attacked by a foreign enemy, and infidelity threatens all with indiscriminate ruin, they will be more inclined to listen to the foothing accents of the gofpel, to inquire into the real nature of thofe opinions which keep them at variance with each other, and to explode what has been introduced into the church by folly, ignorance, or fraud; and having their minds no longer diftracted by human inventions, they may, both by their principles and actions, lead even infidels to better notions of the chriftian faith. If this fhould be the effect of the work before us, it will give great joy to all who have a regard for christianity, or a due fense of religious and moral duties.

Hiftoire de la République Françaife, depuis la Séparation de la Convention Nationale, jufqu'à la Conclufion de la Paix entre la France et l'Empereur; par Antoine Fantin Des·Odoards, Citoyen Français. Paris. 1798.

Hiftory of the French Republic, from the Diffolution of the National Convention, to the Conclufion of Peace between France and the Emperor. 2 Vols. 8vo. 12s. fered. Imported by De Roffe.

To write a history of the French revolution, the greatest event of modern times, may be deemed an arduous task. M. Des-Odcards, however, was not difcouraged from the attempt by any confiderations of trouble or difficulty; and, as he had prepared himfelf for the undertaking, by engaging in the compofition of former volumes of Gallic history, he thought himself fully competent to the profecution of an extended task of the fame kind. He therefore published a Philofophical Hiftory of the French Revolution, from the Convocation of the Affembly of the Notables, to the Diffolution of the Convention. That work having met with a favourable reception, he has been induced to continue it and the fequel is now under our eye,

This part of the hiftory is introduced by a juft reproba tion of the atrocities of the Robefpierrian fway; and fome remarks follow, on the ftate of the public mind at the ceffation of the fanguinary system.

When the conftitution of the year 1795 began to take effect, both the jacobins and royalifts were diligently employed in oppofing it, the former being inftigated by a hatred of all regular government, the latter by a deteftation of republicanifm. The true republicans were the objects of the malice and invective of thofe two parties, which, while they hated each other, agreed in one point-that of haraffing inceffantly the new rulers of the nation. The jacobins were the more powerful of the two factions, as they had rifen on the ruins of the royalifts, and had become proprietors of the confifcated eftates of the privileged orders. The changes which appeared in many of thefe' obnoxious men are compared by our hiftorian with the metamorphofes defcribed by Ovid. Those vile robbers and affaffins, thofe filthy fans-culottes, with ftraight black hair, ferocious eyes, hideous afpect, and infolent demeanour, were transformed, as it were by enchantment, into polite gentle-. men, or rather into affected coxcombs. Their rags and wretched accommodations were replaced by rich apparel and coftly furniture: inftead of walking with thick knotted fticks, they rode in elegant carriages; and the barns in which they concealed their thefts under the veil of pretended indigence, were changed into' magnificent palaces. A groom occupied the hotel which had belonged to a duke; and a valet found himself incommoded even in the habitation of a prince.'

After the mention of fome fanguinary disturbances in the fouth of France, particularly at Marfeilles, the writer en ters upon military details. The affair of Quiberon arrests his attention for fome time. He will not allow that the neglect of a fcrupulous obfervance of the terms of the capitulation, granted to the royalifts of la Vendée, occafioned a renewal of infurrection, That, he fays, was a mere pretence: the real caufe may be traced to the perfidious art with which the English miniftry kindled on every occafion the revolutionary fire that devoured France.'

From his account of the Quiberon expedition, we will tranflate fome paffages relative to the termination of the enterprise. After the recovery of fort Penthièvre by the republicans, the Chouans commanded by Puyfaye, embarking in fat-bottomed boats, difperfed themfelves over the main land. The emigrants rallied under the conduct of Sombreuil, and endeavoured, by their resistance, to give

their wives and children an opportunity of taking refuge in the English veffels. One half of their corps, however, paffed over to the army of general Hoche, declaring their attachment to the republican government. The camp being forced, those who were driven from it re-affembled upon a rock at the extremity of the peninfula. The army marched against them in three columns. Two of these went to the right and left, near the fea, to cut off their retreat; while the central column advanced upon their front with a formidable apparatus of artillery. At this time, many women and children, eagerly throwing themselves into the chaloupes, perifhed in the hazardous attempt, prefenting a melancholy fpectacle amidst the horrors of war.-Several English corvettes had ftationed themfelves very near the fhore, not only to obftruct the operations of the republi cans, but also to favour the embarkation of the fugitives, The vanquished, fending forth cries of defpair, fignified a defire of capitulation. General Hoche ordered them to lay down their arms. While they were holding a parley, it was obferved that fome chiefs were taking advantage of the occafion to go on board. The fire of the French artillery instantly re-commenced; and the emigrants, having only the alternative of being drowned or pierced with the bayonet, furrendered at difcretion."

The author mentions, that he had feen an account publifhed in England, in which it was affirmed, that the emigrants received a promise of being treated as prifoners of war. This affertion he controverts on ftrong grounds, particularly alleging the extremity to which thofe unfor tunate men were reduced, placed as they were between fire and water; a fituation in which they could not prefume to infift upon terms, though an humane enemy, it might be thought, would have granted favourable con ditions.

Of the Vendéan chiefs, Charette and Stofflet, he thus fpeaks. Charette, whofe intelligent and active spirit fuftained for feveral years a very difficult war, was of an an cient parliamentary family at Rennes, which performed an important part in the affair of La-Chalottais, in the reign of Louis XV. It is probable that, if he had been appointed deputy to the conftituent affembly, the defire of being revenged upon the court would have thrown him among the minority of the nobles who coalefced with the commons. Intereft and ambition made him the leader of a party. His age amounted to thirty years: he was of a moderate stature, had a refolute look and a martial air, and was unpolifhed in his manners.- Stoffet had much more influence

over the minds of the Vendéans, than Charette; and he is faid to have been, in concert with a priest named Catherineau, the first author of the war of la Vendée. He had acted as chief huntsman to the count de Maulevrier; and he led the peasants to battle as he would his dogs to a boar-hunt. The contempt in which he affected to hold the nobility, his bold demeanor and boaftful difpofition, gave him a degree of perfonal authority which Roche-Jaquelin, Beauchamp, Delbée, Lefcure, and other commanders of the Chouans and Vendéans could never obtain: but he did not equal those chiefs in military talents.'

A copious hiftory is given of the transactions of the Italian campaign in 1796. Buonaparte, the director of that campaign, feems to be the favourite hero of this writer, who extols his penetration, his intrepidity, prefence of mind, and martial skill, applauds his affability and easiness of accefs, and speaks in a high ftrain of his extraordinary influence over his army, Some exaggerations appear in the narrative of the circumstances attending the fuccefs of the French beyond the Alps; but fuch partiality is not very furprising.

Various military details are followed by an account of the affairs of Corfica. The conduct of Paoli is cenfured as perfidious towards the French, who had reftored him with honour to his native country; and it is affirmed, that his partiality to the English met with that neglect which his treachery deferved. M. Fantin fays with a fneer, If Paoli found the English lefs generous, and lefs willing to confide in him, than the French were, he ought to have reflected that a nation of traders know how to calculate, and that, by having, in their favour, abufed the confidence repofed in him by the French, he had put them on their guard againft fimilar perfidy.

Of the ftate of the interior of France, in the fourth year of the republic, ending in September 1796, the hiftorian presents us with a sketch. Difcord and animofity, it appears, ftill prevailed in a high degree. Many of the provinces were agitated with alarming commotions; and the towns exhibited the rage of party, and the distractions of conflicting opinions. The roads were infefted with banditti; and a general want of order and tranquillity perplexed and difgraced the government.

Among the parties of that time, four were diftinaly marked. Thefe were, the republicans who were attached to the conftitution of the year 1795; those who wished to reftore that of the year 1793; the more moderate politicians who preferred a limited monarchy; and, laftly, the