to be mentioned with refpect; they have done well. But valuable as their works may be, they are too voluminous, they are too expensive to become the property of great numbers of people. A work of the fame kind, reduced within a narrower compaís, and of eafier purchase, was wanting; and bids much fairer to be generally useful. This is what the Proprietors of the prefent publication have attempted; and in what manner they have executed it, we fhall now reprefent with all the impartiality in our power.

The Gentlemen of the Trade in this town, need not be informed by us, with what a fufpicious eye the Public in general look upon all their fchemes to oblige the world: a Bookfeller's Jobb, is a popular term of reproach and odium, fufficient to prevent the acceptance of the most valuable production. But whatever foundation there may be for a jealoufy of this kind, there are inftances in which it is moft unwarrantable and injurious we think the prefent is one. The perfons concerned, as proprietors, in this work, we are well informed, have taken great pains; and have been at very confiderable expence to render it truly worthy the public attention it was their defire that it might be fuch; and upon the whole, we think it no hazarded Judgment, to fay, that it merits encouragement. That it is very unequally done, will foon appear to thofe who examine it with attention; and this may indeed be generally expected, where many hands are employed, of different principles, fentiments and abilities; and where the materials of the whole are fo various and diffimilar. Some of the first volumes are by much the worst in many refpects; as the work proceeds, it improves upon us greatly, and is evidently conducted with fuperior judgment and ability.

The prefent collection is a very numerous one, containing not lefs than two thoufand different lives: it extends to all ages and countries; but, which would naturally be expected, pays particular attention to 'thofe of our own countrymen, who have rendered themselves remarkable: it gives us the history but of few Princes; in which omiffion we think there is a good deal of propriety; as the private lives and characters of fuch perfonages are little known; and are but of inferior confequence, when compared with their public character, which we may better expect from the general Historian, whose particular province it is. Of those who have diftinguifhed themselves in the polite arts, or learned profeffions, the reader will find very few of any importance omitted: Scholars and learned men make up a large part of the collection; and, which will often be found extreamly ufeful to be confulted upon particular occafions, a catalogue of their writings, with the dates of their publication, is added in

the

the notes, or at the conclufion of the memoir. The narrative is in general fhort, clear, eafy and natural; nor will the attention of the Reader be frequently fatigued with uninterefting circumftances, minute criticifms, or tedious digfeffions. It is only in fome of the more important lives, that the memoir is extended to any great length; the variety of the materials in fuch inftances would naturally lead to it; but the importance of them generally makes us ample amends. As to the fources from whence our compilers have derived their materials, they have themselves informed us in their preface; " In the execution "of this plan we have not had recourse merely to dictionaries, "nor contented ourfelyes with fupplying the defects of one "dictionary from another, and cutting off the redundancies of "all, but we have collected from every performance in every "language that had any relation to our defign. For the lives "of authors we have had recourse to their works; and for the "lives of others, to the best memoirs that are extant con"cerning them." The particular authorities on which any facts are fupported, and the writers from whom any quotations are made, are generally inferted in the margin.

Upon the whole, the public have now before them a very useful Biographical Dictionary, reduced within as fmall a compafs, and propofed at as eafy an expence, as, confidering the extent and univerfality of it, can reafonably be expected. It is well calculated to promote the progrefs of ufeful knowlege: the man of learning may read many articles of it with pleafure; to the young ftudent it may be very advantageous; and to thofe ufeful focieties, commonly known by the title of Book Clubs, or Circulating Libraries, we cannot help recommending it as a very proper and entertaining fet of books.

But before we conclude this article, we must take the liberty to throw out a hint or two, for the propriety of which we could not only refer to the publication now before us, but would fubmit them to the confideration of thofe, who may hereafter have the direction of a new edition of this, or any other work of the fame kind.

We cannot conceive how it hath happened, that in all the Biographical Dictionaries we have any knowlege of, the Alphabetical order fhould always be observed in the arrangement of the Lives: a more unnatural one can hardly be imagined. It jumbles time and things, and perfons and events, together, in the ftrangeft manner, with fcarce any one advantage whatfoever arifing from it; as indeed what advantage can be expected from fuch confufion? For the first page or two we are entertained with the Rabbinical Hiftory of Aaron the Jewish high-prieft; from him REV. Jan. 1763.

D

we

we make a long tranfition to Archbishop Abbot; and after parting with the grave Bishop, we are brought back a few centuries to the pretty story of Abelard and Heloifa; it fometimes creates fuch an odd ridiculous kind of confufion, that one can hardly avoid fmiling at it. The only advantage that can recommend the order of the Alphabet, is the cafy method it affords of turning to any particular life we want; which would be done with equal eafe and convenience by a fimple index referring to the page and volume; and even where this method is used, an index is generally thought neceffary to inform the reader whether the life he wants be in the collection or not.

The arrangement we would beg leave to recommend is a Chronological one; difpofing the lives according to the order of time in which they arofe after each other. This is a natural order, would be pleafing to every reader, and would be attended with many fingular advantages. A General Biographical Dictionary from the earliest accounts of time, would then contain a most agreeable and diftinct reprefentation of the progress of Knowlege; it would be, if we may be allowed the expreffion, the natural History of Knowlege and the Arts, not only in a particular country, but the great world in general. In the very early ages it might be fufficient to divide time into longer periods, as is done in our beft Chronological Tables, when the number of remarkable perfons is fewer, as well as the events worthy to be preferved. As we come lower down, as materials increase, and knowlege and the arts advance, the century then feems to be the proper divifion, and every remarkable perfon fhould appear in his proper century. Upon fuch a plan as this it would be eafy to see what advance any art or fcience had made at a particular time: who were a man's predeceffors in the fame art or profeffion; and what advantage he enjoyed from them. It would likewife exhibit all a man's contemporaries at one view; and we should be at once entertained with the particular history of each, the friendships that fubfifted, the fchemes formed, and the common tranfactions which paffed among them.It is farther fubmitted whether it would not be an improvement upon this plan, not only to dispose the lives in their proper centuries, but to collect together all who have excelled in the fame art or profeffion, and lived at the fame time, as Hiftorians, Phyficians, Philofophers, Divines, Poets, Painters, all in their proper claffes. Upon fuch an arrangement as this, how highly fhould we be delighted with a group of characters that would pafs in review before us, in the period, for inftance, from fixteen to feventeen hundred? Amongst the Hiftorians, we fhould have CLARENDON, BURNET, ROLLIN, RAPIN, VERTOT; amongst the Phyficians, SYDENHAM, BOERHAAVE,

FRIEND,

FRIEND, SLOANE; amongst the Philofophers, DES CARTES, BOYLE, CASSINI, NEWTON, FLAMSTEAD, HALLEY; at the head of the Divines and Moralifts, LOCKE, SHAFTSBURY, WOLLASTON, LE CLERC, Dr. SAM. CLARKE, LEIBNITZ; and in the clafs of Poets, MILTON, COWLEY, DRYDEN, CORNEILLE, MOLIERE, RACINE; with PRIOR, ADDISON, SWIFT, POPE, and many other celebrated names, who were the admiration and ornament of that illuftrious age.

It is much to be defired, and fhould always be an object of attention to those who are employed in writing the lives of eminent perfons, or in compiling materials from the works of others, to felect fuch of their actions, as are most characteristical of their genius and difpofition. A trifling, and seemingly inconfiderable action; an expreffion; a word in a man's unguarded moments, undisguised, at home, or at ease amongst his intimate friends, perhaps fometimes conveys a more perfect idea of his genius and character, than many of the greatest and most important actions of his life. The happy ufe which PLUTARCH, that Prince of Biographers, hath made of thefe circumstances, and how agreeably he hath worked them up into the body of his Lives, is known to every one; and could not but fuggeft this remark to us. And if these inferior indications of a man's temper and character ought not to be omitted; much less the greater and more important. It was therefore matter of wonder to us, that in fuch remarkable lives as those of CALVIN and Archbishop LAUD, two of the most notorious instances of their conduct, and which above all others fhew us the true spirit and temper of the men, are not so much as mentioned. Had we written the life of JOHN CALVIN, we fhould moft certainly have held up the horrid story of his burning SERVETUS, with all its cruel circumftances, before the whole world, as the true index of that Reformer's character *. Or had we drawn up the memoirs of WILLIAM LAUD, we fhould not have forgot his inbuman and execrable treatment of the learned Dr. ALEXANDER LEIGHTON; who for writing his Appeal to Parliament, against the oppreffions of the Prelates of that time, in the Spiritual Court and Star Chamber, was, at the instigation of LAUD, committed to the Fleet Prifon for life; fentenced to pay a fine of ten thousand pound; to be degraded from his miniftry; to be fet on the pillory at Westminster, while the court was fitting, and whipped; after that to be fet upon the pillory again, and have one of his ears cut off, one fide of his nofe flit, and be

The Compilers have indeed mentioned this, under the article Ser vetus, but not with fuch expreffion of indignation, as fo violent an act of perfecution deferves.

D 2

branded

branded in his face with S. S. as a Sower of Sedition; a few days after to be pilloried again in Cheap fide, there to be whipped, have the other fide of his nofe flit, his other ear cut off, and then to be shut up in clofe Prifon, for the remainder of his life. There furely ought not to be a Biographical Dictionary in any language under heaven, with the name of Laud, without this story in it; and with this addition," that when this pious, merciful, and truly chriftian Archbishop heard this horrible fentence was pronounced, he pulled off his cap, and gave God thanks for it."

There is another thing we will add by way of hint, to future adventurers in a work of this kind, that they would be careful to preferve an uniform confiftency throughout, with refpect to their fentiments of things in general: it has an odd appearance to fee perfons in fome places, (peaking of men and things, like friends to the public liberties of mankind; and upon other occafions expreffing themselves dubiously, ufing equivocal terms, or parhaps laying artificial colours upon the characters of those who have acted in oppofition to them. Where a work of this nature is conducted by many hands, of unequal abilities, perhaps of different and oppofite fentiments, and the materials of which the whole is to be made up, are of a heterogeneous kind, it is very poffible that fuch articles as Milton, Locke, and Middleton, and Laud, Bolingbrook, and Atterbury, may not perfectly correfpond with each other. So difagreeable a circumftance as this, and in a work upon the whole valuable and refpectable, fhould by all means be prevented; and which we think might eafily be done by the whole finally paffing through one hand, with authority to correct irregularities of this kind.

A good Biographical Dictionary hath neither improperly nor inelegantly been reprefented as a TEMPLE OF HONOUR, facred to the piety, learning, valour, public-fpirit, loyalty, and every other glorious virtue of our ancestors; and ready alfo for the reception of the WORTHIES of our OWN TIME, and the HEROES of POSTERITY*. To celebrate the virtues of good men, who have been the ornaments of human nature, and the public bleffings of mankind; and to contribute a part to hand down their illuftrious names with honour to future ages, is furely one of the moft delightful fervices in which an ingenuous mind can poffibly be employed and it is a fervice as highly ufeful as it is delightful. But as there have been men illuftrious for their worth and virtue; fo have there been EMINENTLY BAD MEN, the difgrace of human nature, and the plagues and curfes of mankind, for whom there fhould be fome provifion, to perpetuate and im

* Vid. Preface to the Biographia Britannica.

mortalize