eminent Prelate at the head of our ecclefiaftical polity, fo ftrangely inefficient upon a point, without the establishment of which, fo many of our public forms of doctrine and worship muft lie under the fufpicion of error and unfcriptural decifion. Some people perhaps may think his Grace had done wifely to have abstained from meddling with the subject at all.' In chap. xxviii. our Author exhibits a writer of far fuperior abilities, one who was completely qualified to do juftice to any fubje& he undertook to handle, and to whose remains a kind of veneration is due, even though they are only the fcriniorum quifquilia, which zealous friends to deceafed geniufes fometimes expofe to public view, with lefs judgment than affection.' This juftly extolled writer is the late learned and truly ingenious Dr. Fortin; among whofe pofthumous fermons is one upon the fubject of a future ftate: of which our Author gives us a critical review; and an excellent reviewer of these subjects our brother B. undoubtedly is.-We have no room for the par ticular criticisms; and muft, therefore, content ourselves with a tranfcript of the two laft paragraphs,-in which this judicious Critic and Hiftorian has, in few words, done justice to the merit of the excellent JORTIN. I am in fome doubt how far the Pfychopannychifts will think themselves obliged to Dr. Jortin for efpoufing their party. They will, no doubt, approve his interpretations of fcripture; but when they confider, that he labours only for the probability of his opinion, that he is inclinable to a compromife with his opponents, on feeing the confequences of admitting intermediate mifery for the fouls of the wicked, that he more than hints at the poffibility of a transmigration of wicked fouls, to keep things upon a par with the intermediate content and happiness of the righteous, and lastly, his candid conceffion, that the righteous lofe nothing, and the wicked gain nothing, by their intermediate fleep; when these things, I fay, are confidered, there may be room to doubt, whether the Patrons of a confcious intermediate ftate will be much edified by the Doctor's operations on the queftion, and whether they will not rather chufe to abide by their trong hold of a natural immortality on philofophical principles, than accept of his aid on the terms he offers it. Be that as it may, let the Hiflorian praise his candour in expreffing his diffidence in a manner which thews, that he did not defire his interpretations of the texts he builds upon, fhould pass for infallibilities. Would to God I had the talents to perpetuate the rest of his excellencies to the lateft pofterity. But he reits from his labours, and heareth not the voice of the oppreffor, nor of the petulant fcorner. His works will fufficiently fpeak for him, while there are any remnants of piety, learning, and good fenfe among the fons of Britain, and will follow him to thofe marfions, where neither envy, malevolence, nor the dogmatical arrogance of ignorant fuper. cilious criticism, will deprive him of his reward. Dum juga mentis aper, fluvios dum pifcis amabit, In his conclufion the Writer points out the proper, inferences which are to be drawn from the whole of his Hiftorical View, and fhews the advantages that are given to the Papifts by the groundless conceffions of Proteftants; which, we fuppofe, is not one of the smalleft ends aimed at by this learned, and, we may add, entertaining publication. ART. XII. A Philofophical Effay on Man; being an Attempt to inveftigate the Principles and Laws of the reciprocal Influence of the Soul and Body. 8vo. 2 Vols. 10 s. 6d. Ridley, &c. 1773. T is obferved by this Author, in his preface, that man is but little known, because improperly ftudied; the reason of which is, that no one, who has made the attempt, has followed nature. Instead of taking experience for their guide; instead of proceeding by just observations to lay down a general system, of which every phænomenon was a neceffary confequence, philofophers have acted directly the reverfe: they have invented fyftems, wrested the phænomena to conform thereto, and forced nature to submit to their opinions.' If this has been univerfally the cafe, as he feems to intimate, we could never have expected any juft acquaintance with human nature, as to either of its conftituent parts: but we are of opinion, that this Writer is not the first, who has ventured to enter into a free and impartial examination of this important fubject: and we with, that he had not pronounced fo pofitively as he does on the infufficiency of all the writers who have gone before him in his peculiar walk. After enumerating a few of the French writers, to whom he feems to have paid the greatest attention, and omitting others who ought to have been mentioned with respect and commendation, in an introduction, in which he profeiles to give a general account of authors in this department, he obferves thefe are the principal authors who have written on this subject; and who may justly be claffed among the foremost in point of reputation. There are others, who have engaged in the fame purfuit: but, except the mall number already mentioned, none are worthy of notice.' It occurred to us in reading this paragraph, and a few more of a fimilar kind, in which he treats very celebrated writers with feeming neglect and disain, that he paffes a poor compli ment on the great names who have diftinguished themfelves by their ftudies and publications on this fubject, and that such a reflection comes with a very ill grace from an anonymous writer. But though this general and indirect cenfure needs a little limitation and correction, we are not difpo'ed to prepoffefs our readers with an unfavourable opinion of our Author's undertaking, or, upon the whole, of bis manner of executing it. Rev. June 1773 LI Some E Some time ago he prefented the public with a fpecimen of this Work (fee Review, vol. xlvi. p. 254.) and we are glad to 'find, that he improves upon us by a farther acquaintance. The Treatife on the human Soul, which now makes the fecond book of this Eliay is altered for the better; though we think there is ftill room for amendment. What he means by the foul's fenfibility, as a diftinct faculty, we are at a lofs to determine: and infi net feems to have been taken up as a meer name for fomething unknown. When we cannot account for the springs of certain volitions or actions, we are apt (as a disguise of our ignorance) to afcribe them to inftinet; and we are fatisfied with this nominal caufe, much in the fame manner as the vulgar afcribe profperous incidents to luck or fortune. When he enumerates the different powers of the foul, page 146, we think he is mistaken; and we have no idea of what he means in that connection by underflanding; especially as in page 150, he diftinguishes the underflanding into reafen and imagination: and then aflerts that reafon and imagination are the fame faculty; when they feem to us to be as diftinct as thofe which he has diftinguifhed. Our Author's definition of ideas, in page 152, is very obfcure and ill-expreffed,-where he fays the knowledge of the properties and relations common to dif ferent individuals, are called ideas:' and his explication of ideas in the fequel of that fection is very vague and unphilofophical. The will (he fays, page 164.) is always fubordinate to fenfation. This is much too lax and general an affertion; and nceded particular explanation and reftriction. The diftinction in page 173 between paffions and likings is needles and trifling. The obfervation in page 187 with the reasoning on which it depends, will be allowed by few, who maintain the diftinction between the foul and body, as the Author himself has done in many parts of his Effay. Hence, though poffeffed of the faculty of perceiving, judging, recollecting, and chufing, the fou! could neither perceive, recollect, judge nor chufe, unless united to an organized and fenfible body; it would not even be confcious of its own existence, for it is only by reflecting on its fen. Tations, it acquires this confcioufnels. The Author's reflection en Newton in page 222 is altogether unjuftifiable; Newton, (fays he) whofe fagacious mind foared to heaven with a bold and rapid fight, and difcovered the fyftem of the universe, was as ignorant in religious matters as any among the vulgar.' The first book and the whole of the laft volume are new, and contain many obfervations, that well deferye attention. We are at a lofs, however, to conjecture the reafon, why he thould cla's the foul as well as the body under the head of com found fubftances; and he has given us a very unfatisfactory explication of his meaning in the note fubjoined to this para graph graph.Ifay compound, and defire the reader not to be alarmed. The foul is undoubtedly a compound being, although metaphysicians maintain it to be a fimple one, but not compound in the fame fenfe with the body; its component parts are the different faculties. Moreover obferve, that the term compound does not imply materiality, nor any way contradict the spirituality of the foul.' Our Author has been very attentive and industrious in tracing the mutual influence of the body and foul on each other, but in endeavouring to explain the various phenomena that occurred in this part of his enquiry, he has, in our opinion, attributed much more to the organization of the human body than is either neceflary or justifiable. The caufe (he fays) of the diverfity of minds has been ineffectually fought but if any one fufficiently attends, he will difcover this, as well as the character of the heart, to proceed from the difpofition of the corporeal organs. The impetuous Eschylus, the agreeable Horace, the fublime Milton, the judicious Bacon, the profound Newton, the fagacious Montefquieu, in a word, every man owes the turn and character of his mind, to the constitution of his body. And in another place, when he fums up his general reafoning, he obferves from what has preceded, it is certain, that the propenfities, the affections and character of the -foul, folly, wifdom, ftupidity, prudence, reafon, imagination, recollection, remembrance, penetration, delicacy, fublimity, depth, fagacity, and genius, are not qualities inherent in the mind, but modes of the foul's exiftence, depending on the ftate of the organs of the body.' And he adds, every thing in nature is influenced by phyfical laws. Corporeal fenfibility, the regular of difordered course of our fluids, primitive or organic elafticity, the rigidity or relaxation of the fibres, the force or volume of the organs, are the causes of the furprising diversities in fouls, and the fecret principles of that great influence of the foul on the body, and of the body on the foul, hitherto deemed an impenetrable mystery.' The following quotation from the Preface will give our readers a general idea of the plan of this Work. As the body is an extremely complicated machine, to form a found judgment of a fingle fpring, make a juft eftimate of the influence of one part upon another, and of every part upon the whole, difcover the true relations between effects which appear remote, and connect particular phænomena with their general principles, we must firft be acquainted with the structure of the whole machine. The anatomift, therefore, muft lay the foundation of the edifice; he alone can inveftigate the fecret fprings which act upon the foul, affect it fo ftrongly, and of whole existence the generality of mankind have no idea. I therefore begin by introducing my reader to the phyfical knowledge of the human body. I defcribe man as an hydraulic machine, and as a com pound of veffels and fluids; I then enter into a particular examination of thefe veffels, of thefe fluids, and of the action of the organs. I afterwards confider the body in its different mechanical relations, relatively to the nature of its functions; carefully avoiding a minute and disgusting display of anatomical erudition, that I may prefent to thereader eflentials only,with fome additional obfervations equally folid and interefting. The defcription of the animal machine and the explanation of its mechanism every where. fucceed each other; and I demonstrate in what manner this ftudy conducts the intelligent obferver to the folution of many curious problems." As the anatomift muft lay the platform of one part of this edifice, the metaphyfician muft erect the other. From the exami nation of the ftructure of the body, therefore, I proceed to enquire into the nature of the foul. Firft, I confider its different powers, and then trace its progrefs in the unfolding and exercise of them. I enter into none of those fubtile and ridiculous metaphyfical difquifitions, in which fo many writers have wafted their time and labour; I offer none but folid observations, and fuch as are fufceptible of an equal degree of evidence with the most unques tioned phyfical truths. After we have confidered the foul and the body independently of each other, we must confider the two substances as united, and examine their relations, to be able to folve the wonderful phænomena arifing from their reciprocal influence. I therefore confider man in this view; but as it has often happened, that authors have composed long and grave differtations on the caufes of effects which never exifted, I begin with establishing facts. Befides, as the great number of groundless opinions and erroneous fyftems have rendered truth itself suspected, when not founded on clear and evident facts, I reafon only from conftant and repeated obfervations; from obfervations univerfally admitted and eafily afcertained, and fuch as establish my `fyftem on the firmest foundation. After collecting a fufficient number of facts, I confider them in all their different afpects, account for every phænomenon from known phyfical laws, and by an attentive examination of them, attempt to draw fufficient light to difcover the principles of the reciprocal influence of thefe two diftinct fubftances, and the natural explanation of their relations: that is, I endeavour to replace in the clafs of fimple effects, thote phænomena, which have occafioned fuch wonder amongft phi Jolophers.' The diffidence and modefty with which the Author concludes his preface will give pleasure to every candid reader, and plead his excuse for fome nafty expreffions, which are lefs guarded in this refpe&The plan of my Work is too comprehenfive for me |