fpicuous light.' Notwithstanding his profeffions to the contrary, it feems manifeft that his real intentions are rather to give a falte representation of the times in which Pole lived, than a true picture of Pole himself. With regard to the Cardinal, the incidents of his life are too few and inconfiderable to furnish matter for two biographical quartos. All that we learn of him is, that he was a man of good parts; that in his youth he was fober and ftudious; that he made a proficiency in the learning of thofe days, and, as he grew up lived in a degree of intimacy with the Literati of thofe times. In his public character, he was chiefly diftinguished by his oppofition to Henry the Eighth, against whom he wrote an abufive book, which recommended him to the favour of the Pope, who employed him in feveral idle commiffions, in which he did no fervice; and at laft fent him hither, in Queen Mary's time, on a ridiculous errand, which was attended with a great deal of mischief.

This is the fum of Pole's character. But Pole was an enemy to the REFORMATION, and this circumftance gives the writer an opportunity of difplaying his malicious zeal against that glorious event, which, in a great degree, refcued a brave and intelligent people from the fhackles of religious bigotry and fuperftition. In vain does our Author attempt to blacken the character of the royal Reformer; we may admit it to have been, as in truth it was, odious and deteftable: but this does no prejudice to the Reformation. We can now, thank heaven, judge of it from its effects. We know the connection there is between religious and civil liberty: And there cannot be a ftronger instance of the advantages of the Reformation, than the publication of this book. The writer, ungrateful as he is, would not have dared to have attacked the established religion, did not the mild and tolerating principles of the Reformation affure him of impunity.

We are at a lofs however to conceive what could encourage this Author, in fuch an enlightened age and country, to write in defence of the Pope's fupremacy and infallibility, with other nonfenfical tenets of the Romish church. While the rest of Europe are wifely withdrawing themfelves from the influence of the Whore of Babylon, does he hope to perfuade the people of England to give the fearlet jilt a welcome reception? Is he enthufiaft enough to imagine that this is a favourable opportunity to graft religious on the ftock of political innovations? Does he conclude that Toryifm, Jacobitifm, and Popery, are so closely interwoven, as never to be feparable ?

Whatever his inducements may have been, we trust that his ends will fail of fuccefs. At the fame time we must confefs,

that he is not deftitute of thofe talents which are calculated to impofe on credulity and inattention. His ftile is florid, clear, and animated: his obfervations, tho' feldom juft, are generally fpecious and artful; yet he wants that confummate art, which Horace fpeaks of, the ars celare artem; as we fhall have occafion to exemplify hereafter. It is with reluctance, however, that we enter into any particular criticism on the works of an author, whom, notwithstanding his abilities, we confider as an object of contempt an author, who writes in defence of the groffeft of all impofitions, and the bafeft of all fervility; and who confequently is a ftranger to manly fenfe and dignity of thought, which are the ifflue of a liberal mind, polished by the hand of freedom. Such abject writers fhould be treated as the Romans ufed their rebellious flaves, who, though they had often bravely withstood the edge of their mafters fwords, wefe nevertheless fubdued by the fight of the scourge.

It may be neceffary to premife, that this fame Mr. Thomas Fhilips has the prefumption to require his readers to take all he fays upon the credit of his bare affertion: for we do not remember that he condefcends to quote any authority throughout, except a treatife penned by Cardinal Pole, under the title of his Apology. Thefe memoirs, fays Mr. Thomas Philips, the faithful meffengers of his heart, afford an opportunity of making the most intimate acquaintance with him, and knowing him from himself.' It remains however to prove that these memoirs are the faithful meffengers of his heart; till that is afcertained, we may be allowed to doubt whether a man's own account of himself is the best opportunity by which we can become intimately acquainted with him. But fhould even this be granted, we might ftill reasonably distrust his reprefentation of others, against whom he ftood in open oppofition; and yet Mr. Philips does not fcruple to quote this treatife of the Cardinal's, as the fole authority from whence he draws not only the most interesting transactions of the Reign of Henry the Eighth, but likewise his character of that Prince.

Mr. Philips could not even get through the preface without difcovering his principles. After premifing that there is an imperfect sketch of Pole's life, drawn by one Beccatelli, who was his fecretary; and then paying fome flattering compliments to the English nation, in order to put his readers here into good humour, he prefumes to conclude with faying, He makes no doubt but they will difcover in the Cardinal's hiftory, not only every qualification of an all-accomplished churchman, but also, in the mcft exalted fenfe, the character of a nobleman of Great Britain.'

That

That they will find the Cardinal to have been an accomplished churchman, in Mr. Philips's fenfe of the word, we make no doubt; but we are perfuaded that no unprejudiced obferver will ever discover in Pole the exalted qualifications of a nobleman of Great Britain. Among the most effential properties of fuch a character, is the being zealous in the defence of the dignity of the crown and the honour of the kingdom, both which are debafed and injured by an abject attachment to the prepofterous and flavish tenets of the Roman church.

With the fame precipitation Mr. Philips expofes his fentiments in the second page of his hiftory. Speaking of the period at which it commençes, he obferves, that, By the acquifitions of the Spaniards and Portugueze, a gate was opened to Chriftianity in the remoteft parts of the Eaft and Weft Indies; at the fame time that Luther in Germany, and Calvin in France, began to oppose the antient faith, and set aside those principles of belief and practice, the neceffity of which was never more acknowledged, than fince their influence has ceafed to be felt."

The principles of belief here alluded to have indeed, thank heaven, in a great meafure loft their influence, yet we do not find that the neceffity of reviving them is any where acknowledged, unless among the shameless herd of Roman churchmen, who bafely proftrate themselves to kifs the toe of a dotard, that they in their turns may become the objects of a fenfelefs veneration, and live in luxury and indolence, by the fpoils of induftry and the perverfion of true piety. Except among such, the neceffity of these principles is fo far from being acknowledged, that on the contrary even the most bigotted parts of Christendom find the neceffity of withdrawing ftill farther from their influence. Hinc illa lachryma! As to the principles of practice, we do not know what practices Mr. Philips here refers to. Does he mean the practices of the ghoftly fathers with their fifters in the nunneries? Or does he mean their practices with one another in their own convents? Or does he mean the practice of roafting hereticks alive in Smithfield? We with Mr. Philips had explained himfelf: but he knows better than to come to particulars. Whatever practices are here intended, we will venture to say, that no truly rational, pious, and difinterested Christian acknowledges the neceffity of them.

We come now to the hiftory itself, which opens with the Cardinal's pedigree, as taken from the Herald's office. Reginald Pole received his birth at a caftle which takes its name from the river Stour, two miles diftant from Stourbridge, in Staffordshire. He was born in March, in the year 1500, which was the 15th of Henry the VIIth's reign, and the ninth of that

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Prince's age who fucceeded him. His father, Sir Richard Pole, was fon to Sir Geoffry Pole, knight, defcended of ancient gentry in Wales. A courtly behaviour, and great fweetnefs of difpofition joined to equal valour, which he fhewed in Henry's wars with Scotland, recommended Sir Richard to that Prince's faHe gave him large command in the country, from which they both derived their origin; created him Knight of the Garter, and appointed him chief gentleman of the bed-chamber, and governor to his eldeft fon, Arthur, Prince of Wales. These marks of diftinction were ftill heightened by allying him to a perfon of the royal blood, Margaret, Countefs of Salisbury, daughter to George, Duke of Clarence, Brother to Edward the IV th. and Sifter to the young Earl of Warwick, who was facrificed to the cruel and wicked policy of Henry VII. and Ferdinand of Aragon, father to Queen Catharine. This choice was intended by the wary Monarch, not only as a reward of his fervices, on whom it fell; but to quiet his own fears from a revival of the claim of the Plantagenets, by marrying the next in blood of that family to a perfon of an unambitious temper, and approved fidelity. From this marriage fprang four fons and a daughter; Henry, the first born, Geoffry, Arthur, Reginald, and Ŭrfula, who being all under age when their father died, were left to the guardianship of the Countess their mother.'

Mr. Philips then proceeds to pafs many encomiums on the Cardinal, on account of his diligent application to his studies at the university of Padua, and the early figure he made in literature, which he difplayed by collecting, during his stay at Padua, the various reading and emendations of Cicero's works, to which he added his own remarks, with an intent to publish a compleat copy of them, had not the exigencies of his country, as our author obferves, required more fubftantial fervices than claffic learning could yield,

The propriety of thefe encomiums may fairly be admitted. Indeed hiftorians agree in giving a favourable account of the cardinal's abilities and virtues: and he appears to have been qualified to have done honour to the higheft ftation, had not a narrow and injurious bigotry perverted the ufe of thofe excellent accomplishments.

From Padua, our Author follows the hero of his tale to Rome, whither he went in the jubilee year, and was, we are told, most graciously received, which we are not inclined to difpute. This being about the time of Luther's defection, as Mr. Philips calls it, he takes an opportunity of venting his fpleen against honeft Martin, whom he thus characterizes:

• Martin Luther had already began a defection from the fee

of

of Rome, which though inconfiderable at firft, foon made that progrefs, to which fo great a part of Germany, and other kingdoms and states, ftill bear witnefs. The tenets he advanced had not been known in any prior age of the Chriftian church; or, if ever they were fet on foot, had never failed of being condemned, as repugnant to what antiquity had always held. And his doctrine, under the fpecious name of Reformation, allowed a great latitude both in belief and practice, and gave rife to a variety of jarring opinions, which though they produced endlefs changes, they wrought no amendment. The character of the teacher was, in every refpect, anfwerable to his doctrine. He was an Apoftate Monk, who lived in an habitual violation of engagements confirmed by the moft folemn vows. A turbulent and furious fpirit appears through almoft every page of his works, which are numerous; and abound with fuch ribaldry and abufe, as decency and good fenfe equally difown. At length, being loft to every human fentiment, this diftemper of his mind tranfported him fo far, as to give us his Dialogues with the Spirit of Lies, and the arguments with which this inftructor furnished him against a capital article of the Catholic Religion. I fhould be wanting to the respect I owe the Reader, was I to put down what he relates of his execrable intimacies with thefe infernal inmates; it being enough for my purpose, to have obferved, that he acknowledges his converfion to one of them; and that he was his Master in a principal point of his Reformation.'

In thus attempting to blacken Luther, Mr. Philips acts in character; and in truth Luther's violence and impetuofity of temper, which are often fparks of integrity, have given his cool and crafty opponents fome pretence of impeaching the decorum of his conduct. But when Mr. Philips talks of Luther's intimacies with infernal inmates, the circumftance is fo laughable, that no man who was not at a great lofs for defamatory matter would have thought it worthy of ferious animadverfion. After all, were we to allow Luther's conduct to have been as bad as his enemies would reprefent it, were we to admit him to have been as black as the infernal inmates with whom he is fuppofed to have been fo familiar, yet how does this affect the principles of the Reformation? Is it neceffary that the author of an improved fyftem fhould himself be perfect in every refpect? Does not every man of fenfe feparate the principles from the perfon? and would it not be almoft as fair to quarrel with the Revolution, because our great Deliverer had a hooked nofe?

Mr. Philips, ever true to his end, takes this opportunity of cafting a reflection on Henry VIII. whofe zeal he tells us for the faith of his ancestors was exerted by a work, in which the principal errors which Luther had advanced, were refuted: of which the king either was, or defired to be reputed the author.