fore the queen and council, between the two ecclefiaftics, Pole and Gardiner; when the arguments for and against toleration were canvaffed. The hiftorian has obliged us with the topics. by which each fide fupported, or, as he fays, might have supported, their schemes of policy.

The practice of perfecution, faid the defenders of Pole's opinion, is the fcandal of all religion; and the theological ani-" mofity, fo fierce and violent, far from being an argument of men's conviction in their oppofite tenets, is a certain proof, that they have never reached any ferious perfuafion with regard to these remote and fublime subjects. Even those who are the most impatient of contradiction in other controverfies, are mild and moderate in comparison of polemical divines; and wherever a man's knowledge and experience give him a perfect assurance of his own opinion, he regards with contempt, rather than anger, the oppofition and mistakes of others. But while men zealoufly maintain what they neither clearly comprehend, nor entirely believe, they are shaken in their imagined faith, by the oppofite perfuafion, or even doubts of other men; and vent on their antagonists that impatience which is the natural result of so difagreeable a state of the understanding. They then embrace eafily any pretence for reprefenting opponents as impious and prophane; and if they can alfo find a colour for connecting this violence with the interefts of civil government, they can no longer be restrained from giving uncontrouled scope to vengeance and refentment. But furely never enterprize was more unfortunate than that of founding perfecution upon policy, or endeavouring, for the fake of peace, to fettle an entire uniformity of opinion, in questions which, of all others, are least subject to the criterion of human reafon. The univerfal and uncontradicted prevalence of one opinion in religious fubjects, can only be owing at first to the ftupid ignorance and barbarifm of the people, who never indulge themfelves in any fpeculation or enquiry; and there is no other expedient for maintaining that uniformity, fo fondly fought after, but by banishing for ever all curiofity and all improvement in fcience and cultivation. It may not, indeed, appear difficult to check, by a teddy feverity, the first beginnings of controverfy; but befides that this policy expofes for ever the people to all the abject terrors of fuperftition, and the magiftrate to the endlefs encroachments of ecclefiaftics, it also renders men fo delicate, that they can never endure to hear of oppofition; and they will fometime pay dearly for that falfe tranquillity in which they have been fo long indulged. As healthful bodies are ruined by too nice a regimen, and are thereby rendered incapable of bearing the unavoidable incidents of human life; a people who never were allowed to imagine, that

their principles could be contefted, fly out into the most outrageous violence when any event (and fuch events are common) produces a faction among their clergy, and gives rife to any difference in tenet or opinion. But whatever may be faid in favour of fuppreffing, by perfecution, the firft beginnings of herefy, no folid argument can be alledged for extending severity towards multitudes, or endeavouring, by capital punishments, to extirpate an opinion, which has diffufed itfelf through men of every rank and station. Befides the extreme barbarity of fuch an attempt, it proves commonly ineffectual to the purpose intended; and ferves only to make men more obftinate in their perfuafion, and to encrcafe the number of their profelytes. The melancholy with which the fear of death, torture, and perfecution infpires the fectaries, is the proper difpofition for foftering religious zeal: the profpect of eternal rewards, when brought near, overpowers the dread of temporal punishment: the glory of martyrdom ftimulates all the more furious zealots, efpecially the leaders and preachers: where a violent animofity is excited by oppreffion, men pafs naturally from hating the perfons of their tyrants, to a more violent abhorrence of their doctrine and the fpectators, moved with pity towards the fuppofed martyrs, are naturally induced to embrace thofe principles which can infpire men with a conftancy that appears almost fupernatural. Open the door to toleration, the mutual hatred relaxes among the fectaries; their attachment to their particular religion decays; the common occupations and pleasures of life fucceed to the acrimony of difputation; and the fame man, who, in other circumftances, would have braved flames and tortures, is engaged to change his religion from the fmalleft prospect of favour and advancement, or even from the frivolous hopes of becoming more fashionable in his principles. If any exception can be admitted to this maxim of toleration, it will only be where a theology altogether new, no way connected with the ancient religion of the ftate, is imported from foreign countries, and may eafily, at one blow, be eradicated, without leaving the feeds of future innovations. But as this inftance would involve fome apology for the ancient pagan perfecutions, or for the extirpation of chriftianity in China and Japan; it ought furely, on account of this detefted confequence, to be rather buried in eternal filence and oblivion.

Though thefe arguments appear entirely fatisfactory, yet fuch is the fubtilty of human wit, that Gardiner, and the other enemies to toleration, were not reduced to filence, and they ftill found topics on which to fupport the controverfy. The doctrine, faid they, of liberty of confcience is founded on the moft flagrant impiety, and fuprofes fuch an indifference among

all

all religions, fuch an obfcurity in theological doctrines, as to render the church and magiftrate incapable of diftinguishing, with certainty, the dictates of heaven, from the mere fictions of human imagination. If the Divinity reveals principles to mankind, he will furely give a criterion by which they may be afcertained; and a prince, who knowingly allows thefe principles to be perverted, or adulterated, is infinitely more criminal: than if he gave permiffion for the vending of poifon, under the fhape of bread, to all his fubjects. Perfecution may, indeed, feem better calculated to make hypocrites than converts; but experience teaches us, that the habits of hypocrify often turninto reality; and the children at leaft, ignorant of their parents. diffimulation, may happily be educated in more orthodox tenets. It is abfurd, in oppofition to confiderations of fuch unspeakable importance, to plead the temporal and frivolous interefts of civil fociety; and if inatters be thoroughly examined, even that topic will not appear fo certain and univerfal in favour of toleration as by fome it is reprefented. Where fects arife, whofe fundamental principle on all fides, is to execrate, and abhor, and damn, and extirpate each other; what choice has the magiftrate left but to take party, and by rendering one fect entirely prevalent, reftore, at leaft for a time, the public tranquillity? The political body, being here fickly, mutt not be treated as if it were in a state of found health; and an affected neutrality in the prince, or even a cool preference, may serve only to encourage the hopes of all the fects, and keep alive their animofity. The proteftants, far from tolerating the religion of their anceftors, regard it as an impious and deteftable idolatry; and during the late minority, when they were entirely mafters, enacted very fevere, though not capital, punishments against all exercise of the catholic worship, and even against fuch as barely abftained from their profane rites and facraments. Nor are inftances wanting of their endeavours to fecure an imagined orthodoxy by the most rigorous executions: Calvin has burned Servetus at Geneva: Cranmer brought Arians and Anabaptifts to the ftake and if perfecution of any kind is to be admitted, the most bloody and violent will furely be allowed the most justifiable, as the most effectual. Imprifonments, fines, confifcations, whippings, ferve only to irritate the fects, without difabling them from refiftance: but the ftake, the wheel, or the gibbet, mult foon terminate in the extirpation or banishment of all the heretics, who are inclined to give difturbance, and in the entire filence and fubmiffion of the reft.'

In the ftate of this argument, the writer difplays great depth of thought, ftrength of reafoning, and energy of expreffion. It mult, indeed, be acknowledged, that the hiftory of thefe reigns,

upon

upon the whole, affords fuch evident marks of conspicuous merit in the hiftorian, as cannot fail to engage the approbation of the intelligent and difcerning reader. Though we have, in fome inftances, reluctantly pointed out the author's defects, and controverted his opinions, nevertheless, we are not blind to his excellencies, or backward to commend them. We are actuated by the spirit of free inquiry, not the malevolence of criticism: and it is with pleasure we obferve, that even his errors are generally the mistakes of genius, ever ambitious to be fingular. The fecond volume affords us more ftriking inftances of this fingularity; and in that, we fhall have occafion to take our hikorian's political principles into farther confideration.

R-d

A Voyage to Senegal, the Ifle of Goree, and the River Gambia.
By Mr. Adanion. Tranflated from the French.
Nourse.

T

8vo. 6s.

HIS piece is extracted from Mr. Adanson's Hiftoire naturelle de Senegal, &c. which work having mentioned in a former review, under the head of foreign literature, we should have but little to say further on the article before us, did not our readers, in general, expect a more particular account of those books, which appear in our own language, than it is poffible for us to give of others. We fhall not, however, trouble them with needlefs repetitions; but enter at prefent on the merits of the translation, and endeavour to give some notion of the entertainment the perufal of the book may afford.

We know not whether the bookfeller or translator is moft to be blamed, for omitting the fpecimen of a natural history of fhells, which, in the original, accompanied the relation of this voyage; and, for want of which, the reader will be more than once difappointed, in being referred to it, for the description and figure of the curious fhells our voyager occafionally met with. The tranflator, indeed, appears, in feveral refpects, to be unequal to his undertaking; the familiarity of his ftile degenerating frequently into a meannefs and puerility, that, added to the many trivial circumstances of the narrative, render it extremely difgufting. Thus, we are told, there is never a river in the ifle of Tenerif.' The French have never a factory at Portudal;' trees and ferpents are fo much broad;' (inftead of

In page 24 it is mentioned as actually annexed to the prefent tranflation.

thick) and again, the rain poured down with fuch violence, that it seemed as if heaven and earth were coming together;' with many other expreffions of the like stamp.

As to the narrative, we prefume, the moft entertaining parts of it are those which relate to the nature of the country, the manners of the people, and the climate in general; thofe particulars in which chiefly confifts the merit of the author's study and affiduity, being adapted only to the fatisfaction of the curi ous naturalist.

Of the foil and face of the country Mr. Adanfon gives no very inviting defcription; burning fands, impaffable forests, and rivers abounding with crocodiles, and other dangerous animals, being common to this part of Africa.

Of the fuperftition and extraordinary customs of the inhabitants, let the following inftances fuffice.

I was fitting, fays our Author, on a mat in the middle of a court yard, with the governor of the village, and his whole family; when a viper of the mifchievous kind, after winding round the company, was drawing near to me. This familiarity I did not at all relifh; and, to prevent any accident, I thought proper to kill it, directly, with a ftick I had in my hand. Inftantly, the whole company starting up, made loud outcries, as if I had committed murder; and they all flew away, fo that the place was foon deferted. As the affair grew ferious, and the report thereof was fpread over the village, I laid hold of this opportunity, now that I was by myfelf, to put the viper into my handkerchief, and to hide it in my waistcoat pocket. This was the beft method to make fure of this animal, which is fo difficult to be had in that country; and at the fame time the way to calm their minds, by removing it out of fight. I was not very fafe upon that fpot; and, perhaps, they would have done me fome mifchief: but the mafter of the village, a man of good sense, in whose house this whole affair had paffed, foon reflected that both his honour and intereft called upon him to quiet the tumult, and to filence the report. This he did effectually by means of his authority as governor; though his prudent conduct, and his character as marabou, were of no fmall affistance to him. This specimen fhews how zealoufly the negroes are attached to their religion, and to their superftitious observances.'

At another time, a young woman having been killed by one of their ferpents, Mr. Adanfon thus relates the ceremony used on the occafion. One night when I was faft afleep, I was wakened by a horrid fhrieking, which threw the whole village into an uproar. Immediately I inquired what was the matter; and was told, that they were bewailing the death of a young woman,

I