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The new fyftem of education, female inftruction, foreign alliances, and the liberty of the prefs, contributed to extend the literary views of the Pruffians, and add to their information. The changes made in the courfe of ftudies, and in the use of languages, had their influence; and the abbe explains at fome length the progrefs of national literature, and the German language.

The author next adverts to the state of each science in different periods, and points out the gradual progrefs. To Wolff the abbe attributes much of the fcepticifin which, under the aufpices and guidance of the late Frederic, gained fo ftable a foundation. That author had connected his moral and philofophical fyftem without attending to the prophets and the fathers; what, therefore, their mafter had overlooked, the fcholars were not very attentive to, and the German divines became rather metaphyficians than theologifts. But every excefs carries with it its peculiar remedy; and as in the prefent ftate of theology in England, where the unitarians are balanced, perhaps more than balanced, by the methodists, fo in Pruffia the indecifion of the greater number introduced a ftricter fect, denominated indifcriminately Pietifts, the illuminated, free-mafons, &c. who are fuppofed to be fecretly catholics, but whom we fhould rather fufpect to be Moravians. They must strive for the maftery' among themselves.

Jurifprudence flourishes in Germany like a tree in its favourite and native foil. Its foliage is luxuriant, and its influence is extenfive. The foundation is the civil law. Medicine owes much of its fame to the univerfity at Halle, where Hoffman and Stahl flourished. Since that period, other univerfities have eclipfed the Pruffian by their fplendor; yet our own annals have often borne a chearful teftimony to the merits of Walter, Selle, Meckel, Eller, Gleditfch, and Meyer; neither should their predeceffors Pott and Margraaf be forgotten.

In works of imagination, poetry, the drama, and mufic, the Pruffians, under Frederic, have ftepped far beyond their anceftors in the time of the great elector. But thefe writings are fufficiently known: one paffage we are tempted to tranflate. 'However interefting, well-written, or pleafing, the Sorrows of Werter, Guilelmina, and Sophia, may appear, they are inconfiderable in comparison of the works of other nations. London and Paris furnish more in fix weeks than Germany in fix years. The English, before they traverfed the globe with their fleets, and collected in their island the productions of the two worlds, had a theatre, but no romances. It is probable that, if the Germans had more opportunities of travelling and extending their knowledge, they would be as rich in this department of literature as they are already in works of erudition."

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On the German language, as a poetical and a dramatic one, the abbé's remarks are much too uncivil and partial.

The progrefs of history and geography is next confidered. But history was in the hands of Frederic, and no one dared" to rival the man who had 200,000 men under his command. In geography, the names of Hubner and Bufching are alone confpicuous; and in this country the fame of either is not very confiderable. To the former, indeed, we must allow the merit of vaft and extensive research; but we must add, that his work is heavy, ill-arranged, unpleafing, and uninterefting. In the military art, Frederic alfo bore no brother near his throne; and among the numerous generals in the Pruffian fervice, we can only diftinguith three or four who have written on their profeffion. Frederic's fecret military inftructions were betrayed either by accident or by treachery, and he was oppofed in war by armies trained by his own methods.

The Pruffian preachers are not entitled to confiderable ap plaufe; but our author refcues fome names from oblivion, apparently with juftice. In tranflations, the Germans have been forward and generally able: in works of cool difcuffion and grave reflection they have excelled. Of typography they are faid to have been the inventors. Let us tranfcribe note on this fubject from our author:

"The count Torre Rezzonico, efteemed by all the learned in Europe for his extenfive knowledge and accurate tafte in the fine arts, found at Lyons among the books which a merchant had bequeathed to the library of a convent, plates with names and whole words, engraved by a Nuremberger, anterior to the year 1380. M. de Rezzonico has given us reafon to hope that he will publifh his reflections on this fubject.' If, however, Germany claims the firft invention of printing, fhe has been greatly excelled by other nations. The continued ufe of the old Gothic characters, the badnefs of the paper, and imperfection of the types, occafion fome enquiries into the caufes and reafons of this predilection, and fuch imperfections: each is feverely reprobated. Few beautiful editions are the production of Germans: the abbe's work is, however, printed very neatly, but the type and the paper are evidently not German.

The fine arts, architecture, painting, and engraving, did not greatly flourish in Pruffia; and, in general, thofe arts in which Frederic excelled, have failed more than the others. It is rivalhip and competition which give them force, vigour, and activity; and to the king no one would be a rival. Frederic alfo was a great ceconomist. He would not penfion ftudents in foreign countries; and having exhaufted his models on paper, without greatly adding to his own tafte, his later works were often defective. Cafting ftatues is ftill understood, and a late

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one of Catherine II. was executed at Berlin: defigns in miniature, as fubfervient to the porcelain manufacture, were alfo fuccefsfully ftudied.

The work itself is an alphabetical collection of lives of different authors, either born in, or remotely connected with, Pruffia. Many of thefe are unheard of, or unknown to this country, and it is only in our power to felect a fpecimen or two of the most interefting accounts. We shall first choose that of the present czarina, whom we thould fcarcely have expected among a fet of German literati.

'Catherine II. emprefs of Ruffia, born at Stettin, in 1729. It may be confidered among the many fingular circumftances in the life of Frederic, that this great princefs, whofe reign has been as brilliant as his own, fhould have drawn her first breath in the dominions of his father. She was alfo the only fovereign admitted into the academy of which he was the chief, and in fome meafure the colleague. We fhall only speak of her here as her hiftory is connected with our work. Her father, Chriftian-Auguftus, prince of Anhalt Zerbft, had been educated at Berlin under Frederic 1. in a college of princes and nobles, the original of the "academy of nobles, or the military school,' founded by Frederic II. in 1764. The prince of Zerbft ferved in the Pruffian army, when he left the college, and foon after married a princess of Holftein, a relation of Elizabeth-Sophia, third wife of the duke of Brunfwic. The marriage was celebrated at Feckeln, a villa of the dukes of Brunfwic. Duke Ferdinand, to whom the houfe at present belongs, preferves the chamber where the ceremony was performed with a fort of veneration. The prince was governor of Stettin when his wife was delivered of SophiaAuguftina-Frederica, who afterwards affumed the name of Catherine. This auguft emprefs always fhowed a confiderable affection for the place of her birth, and has given fome folid proofs of her attachment. She feems to have an equal regard for Brunfwic, where she was educated with the duchefs who had negociated the marriage of her mother. It was not at that time the custom in Germany to allow inftructors for the princeffes: the ladies who attended them taught them what was thought proper they fhould learn. A countefs Gioannini, a Silefian, of an Italian family, had the greatest share in the early inftruction of the young princefs of Zerbft; and the young ladies of the families of the French refugees taught her the language of their country. Some clergymen of the Lutheran perfuafion were employed to inftruct her in the principles of their religion; and this did not prevent the Lutherans from afterwards defending her adoption of the Greek religion, when the was married to the grand duke. In confequence of this change, the must have become equally tolerant to the three principal Chriftian

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fects, for the must have known that there was only a flight variation between the Lutheran and the Greek faith, and itill lefs between the latter and the Roman Catholic religion. On the other hand, born in a country where the reformed religion was that of the fovereigns, fhe could not confider Calvinifts as in a ftate of utter reprobation. In fact, when the mounted the throne, the equalled Frederic in tolerance, though for different reasons. But what is more to our purpose, fhe drew up with her own hand the plan of the code which Ruffia is ftill in expectation of and which the firft Peter had not time to attempt. The auguft author who could compofe the moral tale of Chlore Czarewitz, might furely write the hiftory of her empire, or at least of her reign, as Frederic has written that of his ancestors and the hiftory of his wais. If the German literature fhould ever contend with the French for the extent of empire, it is to Catherine that Germany will be indebted for victory, fhould fhe obtain it. Under her reign, a crowd of German literati have been employed, and written books in Ruffia. The correspondence of Frederic and Catherine is fpoken of, and will be celebrated among the most remarkable works in that department; and Catherine will be commended for having paid that refpect to her country which Frederic refufed. For, though Catherine had literary correl pondents in Paris as well as Frederic, the learned Germans, if we except the Swifs only, have not received fuch attention from the late king of Pruflia, as fome of them have from the empress of Ruffia.'

We shall add fome other remarks relating to the czarina from the Supplement. Catherine II. has not only compofed the works already mentioned, and the Library for the Great Dukes Alexander and Conftantine,' but has published in 1786, 7, many other works, written with much spirit and tafte, par ticularly Obadiah, an oriental Tale, and a comedy entitled the Siberian Schaman. A letter from her to the prince de Ligne has lately appeared, written in a tone of pleafantry which would have done honour to Frederic II. This great and fortunate princefs writes, with the fame cafe and elegance, German, French, and Ruffian.'

We thall add no reflections on our author's opinions, or his religious remarks, but proceed to felect another article, which we have chofen as a fpecimen of his pleafing and agreeable manner. We may add, that his French is of the modern kind, nervous, energetic, and approaching to the English idiom. A trandator who could with to give an English verfion of the volumes before us, would have little trouble, and be in little danger of offending by foreign idioms, even though his verfion fhould be literal.

Jani (Chriftian David), born at Glauche in the neighbour

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hood of Halle, educated in the fame village; first appointed codirector of one of the schools, and afterwards rector of the great school at Ifleben, dependent on the church of this city: a town famous for giving birth to Martin Luther, and for the mines of copper in its neighbourhood. The edition of the first part of the Odes of Horace has established the reputation of the rector Jani; but it is doubted whether he will ever finish this work: the enthusiasm which he felt for the pretended Offian seems to have feduced him from the ancient poets and the Latin language. He tranflated, however, the Eneid of Virgil, after publishing fome philofophical works from the English, and the Memoirs of the Pere Niceton from the French. He gave alfo fome apologetical works on the literary establishments of Halle. The rector of Eifleben-fchool has, at the age of 40, a third wife, having loft the two former. He is not, therefore, of the opinion of other rectors, who think that, to educate properly the children of others, the rector should have none of his own. But confti tution may have fome influence on the fyftems in these respects.

We fhall conclude this article, but we mean to resume the work, by an account of professor Kant. His new system, of which the abbé takes no notice, is becoming fashionable, and is likely to change the state of philofophy and metaphyfics in Ger many. As we may at fome future time give an account of it, this fhort life of the author will be a fuitable introduction.

Kant (Emanuel), profeffor of philofophy in the university of Konigfberg, where he was born in 1724, is the most celebrated metaphyfician in Germany, perhaps in Europe. He is not lefs of a philofopher in his life and manners than in his difcoveries in the most abftrufe points of philofophy. His parents left him by no means a competence, and he fupported himfelf by private lectures. The place of second librarian of Konigf berg scarcely brought him enough to pay the rent of two chainbers; and he was almoft without neceffaries when he loft an old friend, an English merchant, with whom he usually dined. Yet it was impoffible to draw him from Konigsberg to place him in any other fituation: his love for his country kept him in Pruffia, and he is one of the few authors who have never left their native places. Indeed his peculiar ftudies require less tra velling to extend and to perfect them than any other. His first work was Thoughts on the Eftimation of living Forces? printed in 1746, and it proves that this doctrine was fashionable in the centre of Germany, as well as at Bologna in the centre of Italy; for F. M. Zanotti wrote on this fubject in the fame year. Ten years elapfed before Kant appeared again as an author. In 1755 he publifhed his Univerfal Hiftory and Theory of the Heavens, according to the Principles of Newton.' The En glish merchant, his friend and hoft, engaged him probably to compofe

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