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PRINTED BY D. WILLISON, CRAIG'S CLOSE,

FOR ARCH. CONSTABLE & CO. EDINBURGH,
AND T. N. LONGMAN & O. REES,
LONDON.

1804.

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THE

EDINBURGH REVIEW,

APRIL 1804.

N°. VII.

ART. I. Traités de Legislation Civile et Penale; precedés de Principes Generaux de Legiflation, et d'une Vue d'un Corps complet de Droit ; terminés par un Effai fur l'Influence des tems et des lieux relativement aux Lois. Par M. Jeremie Bentham, Jurifconfulte Anglois. Publiés en François par M. Dumont de Geneve, d'après les Manufcrits confiés par l'Auteur. 8vo. 3 tom. Paris, an X. 1802.

THE

HE title-page of this work exhibits a curious inftance of the divifion of labour, and of the combinations that hold together the literary commonwealth of Europe. A living author confents to give his productions to the world in the language of a foreign editor; and the fpeculations of an English philofopher are published at Paris under the direction of a redacteur from Geneva. This arrangement is not the most obvious or natural in the world; nor is it very flattering to the literature of this country; but we have no doubt that it was adopted for fufficient reafons.

It is now about fifteen years fince Mr Bentham first announced to the world his defign of compofing a great work on the principles of morals and legislation. The fpecimen which he then gave of his plan, and of his abilities, was calculated, we think, to excite confiderable expectation and confiderable alarm in the reading part of the community. While the author difplayed, in many places, great originality and accuracy of thinking, and gave proofs throughout of a very uncommon degree of acuteness and impattiality, it was eafy to perceive that he was encumbered with the magnitude of his fubject, and that his habits of difcuffion were but ill adapted to render it popular with the greater part of his readers. Though fully poffefied of his fubject, he fcarcely ever appeared to be mafter of it, and seemed evidently to move in his new career with great anxiety and great exertion. In the fubordinate

FOL. IV. NO. 7.

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