study. Educated in the Protestant faith, and at times appearing indifferent to all religions, she gave herself up to the degrading fetters of papal bigotry. Born to be the queen of a great kingdom, she preferred the title of queen of letters, resigned her crown after wearing it four years, and ended her days at Rome in the society of monks and pedants. The learned men, with whom Huet travelled to Christina's court, experienced her capricewhen they arrived, a French physician had gained an ascendancy over her, and contrived to infuse into her mind a temporary disrelish for literature. Bochart therefore was not received according to his merits; Vossius was unpolitely dismissed; and Huet found his chance of favor and emolument at the Swedish court so small, that he was glad to take the earliest opportunity of returning to France. Some years afterwards, Christina invited him to reside with her at Rome, and assist her studies; but his knowledge of her capricious disposition induced him to decline her offers.

Huet returned to France through Denmark and Holland. He afterwards divided his time between Caen and Paris, attending closely to his various studies, and maintaining a correspondence with most of the literary characters of those times. In 1670 (the 40th year of his age) he was appointed, conjointly with Bossuet, to the office of preceptor to the Dauphin, son of Louis XIV. and went to reside at Paris. This advanced him more into public life after spending ten years at court, he obtained permission to retire.

It was not till he reached the age of 46 that he entered into holy orders. On quitting his preceptorship, he was made abbot of Aulnai-and bishop of Loissons, which see he exchanged for that of Avranches. After holding the latter for about ten years, he resigned it, either from indolence, a feeling of unfitness for active business, or a wish for literary retirement. He was then appointed abbot of Fontenoy, which situation he retained till his death. He reached the very advanced age of 91; and in his latter days. gave vent to those feelings of regret, disappointment and mortification, from which men of literary habits and pursuits are certainly not more exempt than the rest of the world.

The impression of his religious character, left on our minds from these memoirs, is by no means favourable. Bigoted and superstitious to excess, he appears at times to have very little sincerity, and to regard only worldly emoluments and conveniences. very early life, he felt a disposition to enter into a society of Dominicans, which he attributes to divine impulse.

'I was so much captivated with the spirit of piety displayed by them (the Dominicans), that I became extremely desirous of being admitted

into the society. My own relations, affectionately, yet pertinaciously, detained me a sort of prisoner in their houses: and thus was frustrated a design undertaken, as I supposed, on the divine suggestion. And although it appeared to many to have been a movement of juvenile levity, and even to myself, after I had been persuaded to lay it aside, yet I might recognise in it the voice of the Almighty, graciously calling me to himself from the vanities and pollutions of the world. For, even from early childhood I was conscious of no obscure wishes to enter into the service of Christ and I frequently felt the sparks of this pious desire bursting forth in my soul, which were repressed by a vivacious disposition, obnoxious to the light inclinations and futile blandishments of the world; until at length conquering grace threw the rein over my reluctant spirit and entirely subjected it to its own dominion.' Vol. i. p. 25.

On visiting a Dutch town, where he finds a monastery suppressed by the Protestants, he expresses himself in the genuine spirit of a zealous Catholic.

We there saw a formerly splendid monastery of nuns, now converted to other uses by the Lutherans, except some dilapidated cells allotted for the habitation of a few virgins, who adhere to the rites of the Catholic church. It was gratifying to me, in this desolation of the Catholic religion, to discover some relics of a purer worship. In truth, it was no small grief to me to behold so many splendid monuments of ancient piety laid in the dust, and the pure and holy worship of God abolished by profane novelty; and to see that place made a sanctuary for error and impiety, in which divine verity had been honoured and patronised.' Vol. i. p. 126.

Notwithstanding the devout impulses which he felt in early life, he found himself able to combat them till he had reached his fortysixth year. He then discovered them to be absolutely irresistible, particularly as he might naturally cease to be a coxcomb in dress, and endure with tolerable equanimity the ecclesiastical habit. This is his account of the approaches which he made towards the important change.

'Whilst I was intent upon my studies, and was seriously engaged in my Demonstratio Evangelica,' the perpetual perusal of the sacred volumes, and assiduous meditation on holy things, rekindled in my breast with new warmth the devout ardour of my youth and my longings after the ecclesiastical profession. I was at length therefore compelled to obey the benignant and unceasing call of God to his peculiar service: not yet, however, so as to desire initiation into holy orders, for which I could not regard myself as mature: but only so as to testify my purpose by exterior tokens. But the manner of conducting the business and changing my dress appeared to require no slight deliberation. For Bossuet, to whose counsel I applied as one intimately connected with every thing relating to the church, strongly advised me to withdraw

some days from the court and public view, as if to the performance of certain pious exercises, while in the mean time he and others of my friends should make known that I intended to take orders, and had retired for that purpose, shortly to appear again in another habit. On the contrary, I was of opinion that I should not suddenly change my habit, but by degrees, daily shortening my hair, and bringing the rest of my dress to a more sober form. This was at length approved by Bossuet; and the matter was so dexterously managed, that, although I had hitherto appeared in a garb suited to a court life, and rather in the military mode, the alteration was scarcely perceived.' Vol. ii. p. 177.

Let the reader bear in mind, that the person, thus holding grave deliberations about the cut of his hair, and the fashion of his coat, was the greatest scholar of his time, and nearly 50 years of age: and he must think his conduct somewhat worse than ludicrous.

6

But it is his literary character which we must chiefly consider, for his eminence in various branches of learning places him in the very foremost line of distinction. When we reflect,' as Olivet says of him, that he lived upwards of 90 years, that he was an hard student from his infancy, that he had no interruptions from bad health, or extraneous business, that he had persons to read to him even at his meals, that, in a word, to use his own language, neither the heat of youth, nor any pressure of business, nor the love of company, nor the hurry of the world, had been able to abate his invincible love of letters; we must needs conclude him to be one of the greatest scholars that any age has produced.'He shewed great attachment to philosophical studies in early life, particularly to geometry. He acquired an accurate and critical knowledge of the three learned languages. To the study of Hebrew, he states that he applied himself two or three hours a-day regularly, during 30 years, and read through the books of the Old Testament 24 times. The purity of his Latin style has been particularly admired.

He seems to have had a great ambition of establishing as extensive an acquaintance as possible with literary men. The ostentation of this in the memoirs before us is at times disgusting :-he is invited to an intercourse of friendship with one person:-he receives demonstrations of regard from a second:-he is unexpectedly surprised that a third wishes to number him among his friends and so on. But undoubtedly, his reputation was very great, and he was fortunate in living at a time when his country boasted a brilliant constellation of learned characters. The names of Petavius, Bochart, of the Scaligers, Bossuet, Vossius, Du Cange, Boileau, &c. sound with no common distinction in the ear of every scholar. He appears to have been a friend to pursuits of solid worth and importance, and to have disdained scholastic pedantry and coxcombry, and an overstrained attention to minute trifles. Člassical criticism

was peculiarly cultivated in his time, and in his opinion, to a vicious excess.

At the period when I began to hold a certain rank among the votaries of sound literature, the art of criticism was particularly flourishing and all who aimed at the reputation of learning engaged in it with so much ardour, that all their diligence was expended on the emendation of ancient authors, the recovery of vanishing letters, the filling up of chasms, the restoration of faulty and dislocated sentences, and the discrimination of spurious and interpolated clauses. In these operations acute conjectures were applied, which flattered the understanding with an appearance of truth, and obtained credit, though often false and fallacious. It was certainly necessary to seek a remedy for the errors arising from bad copies, ignorance and negligence of transcribers, &c. But now, in this light of letters, after such long and assiduous toil in the emendation of ancient books, by which they have been restored to their pristine splendour, to spend a whole life in the same exercise, as I saw done by Gruter, Le Fevre, and others, who sought no other result of their labours, appeared to me an ignoble employment of the intellect, worthy only of a little mind—a task, necessary indeed, but mean -like that of the weeders whom I employ in freeing my garden from noxious plants, while I eat and store up the fruit.' Vol. i. p. 223.

The translator remarks on this passage, that, if such an observation were just a century ago, 'what are we to say now to the Valkenaers, Ruhnkens, Porsons, Griesbachs, &c. of our own times, whose learned labours have been chiefly of the kind above described, which they seemed to regard as the greatest possible service they could render to literature?' He asks, where is to be the termination of verbal criticism; whether there is reason to expect that the difficulties which remain in the text of many ancient authors will ever be cleared up; and whether they are worth the talent and labour often bestowed upon them?

In answer to all this, we are really at a loss what to say. On the one hand, we cannot help admitting, that the mere minutiae of verbal criticism have on some occasions, had too much importance attached to them; that learned discussions have been raised on very trivial points; and that much talent, industry and erudition have been wasted on petty discussions, which might have been turned to far better account. On the other hand, we feel the warmest admiration of the great acumen, ingenuity and learning which have been displayed in the various departments of classical criticism; and shall be unwilling to see any check given to the endeavour at elucidating ancient authors in the fullest possible manner, and restoring their text to its genuine purity. But, at all events, we must earnestly protest against including the labours of Griesbach in the same list with those of critics on classical au

thors. The importance of ascertaining the genuine readings of the New Testament, to every particle and syllable, is so great and commanding, that we can never consent to deem the most painful minuteness of investigation bestowed on such a subject, to be, in any sense of the word, superfluous.

We are tempted to give the bishop's remarks on the subject of acquiring languages, as another proof of his good sense, in wishing to direct literary labour to really useful ends.

'Not much more worthy of praise did I esteem that skill in languages, which likewise was at that time an object of high commendation among the learned, and was pursued to the verge of insanity. I am aware that this study has its use, and even necessity; and that a correct knowledge of antiquity, which is the best part of polite literature, cannot be obtained without the aid of those tongues which were spoken by the nations who have transmitted to us the arts and sciences which they invented or cultivated: but let them be regarded as handmaids, who are to be courted only as leading the way to their mistresses, which are those branches of knowledge themselves. Thus, languages are the keys by which the doors of learning are to be opened; and those who, content with the possession of them, stop at the threshold, and do not penetrate to the recesses, may be resembled to janitors, who, bearing the keys of many apartments, themselves sleep out of doors.' Vol. `i. p. 223.

The most important of Huet's works are his two books on Interpretation,' his edition of 'Origen's Commentary,' and his 'Evangelical Demonstration.' The first, his earliest production, composed in the form of a dialogue, discusses generally the laws of translation, notices rules for particular species of writings, enume. rates and criticises the most eminent translators in different departments and languages. It is a very learned work, written with chaste and pure latinity, and replete with sound criticism.-His edition of Origen's Commentary employed a considerable number of years. He transcribed a MS. of it, when he went to Stockholm in early life. He did not publish it till about sixteen years afterwards, when he had illustrated it with copious notes, and prepared a very full and elaborate dissertation on the life, character, and opinions of Origen.-His Evangelical Demonstration' was published in 1679. It has been said of this, that it demonstrates nothing but the extensive learning of the author. In fact, he shews himself ignorant of the true nature of evidence; for he pretends to be giving a mathematical demonstration' of the truth of Christianity; whereas its evidences only furnish that high degree of probability by which human opinion and belief are for the most part regulated, but which is totally distinct in kind from mathematical demonstration. Besides, he has deformed his work by