and vice, of a good or a bad citizen, change with the revolution of ages; not in proportion to the alteration of circumftances, and confequently conformable to the common good; but in proportion to the paffions and errors by which the different law-givers were fucceffively influenced. He will frequently obferve, that the paffions and vices of one age are the foundation of the morality of the following; that violent paffions, the offspring of fanaticism and enthusiasm, being weakened by time, which reduces all the phenomena of the natural and moral world to an equality, become by degrees the prudence of the age, and an ufeful inftrument in the hands of the powerful or artful politician. Hence the uncertainty of our notions of honour and virtue; an uncertainty which will ever remain, because they change with the revolutions of time, and names furvive the things they originally fignified; they change with the boundaries of states, which are often the fame both in physical and moral geography. Pleasure and pain are` the only fprings of action in beings endowed with fenfibility.. Even amongst the motives which excite men to acts of religion, the invifible Legislator has ordained rewards and punishments. From a partial diftribution of these, will arife that contradiction, fo little obferved, because fo common; I mean that of punishing by the laws, the crimes which the laws have occafioned. If an equal punishment be ordained for two crimes that injure fociety in different degrees, there is nothing to deter men from committing the greater, as often as it is attended with greater advantage.And yet the wife legiflators of this kingdom have thought fit to inflict the fame punishment on him who robs me of a farthing, and the villain who murders his nearest relation, or greatest benefactor!

in chap. 7. our author proves, that crimes are only to be measured by the injury done to fociety, and not by the inten tion of the perfon by whom it is committed, nor by the dignity of the perfon offended, nor yet by the degree of fin. If, fays he, God hath decreed eternal punishment for those who difobey his will, fhall an infect dare to put himself in the place of Divine juftice, or pretend to punish for the Almighty, who is himself all-fufficient?-The degree of fin depends on the malignity of the heart, which is impenetrable to finite beings.*

If this reafoning be juft, what shall we fay of thofe daring religionists, who prefume to punish men, not because they have injured fociety, but because they have offended God?

In chap. 8. in which the marquis treats of the divifion of crimes, we find the following ftriking paragraph. The opinion, fays he, that every member of fociety has a right to do any thing that is not contrary to the laws, without fearing any

other

other inconveniencies than thofe which are the natural confequences of the action itself, is a political dogma which should be defended by the laws, inculcated by the magiftrates, and believed by the people; a facred dogma, without which there can be no lawful fociety; a juft recompence for our facrifice of that univerfal liberty of action, common to all fenfible beings, and only limited by our natural powers. By this principle our minds become free, active and vigorous; by this alone we are inspired with that virtue which knows no fear, fo different from that pliant prudence, worthy of those only who can bear a precarious exiftence.' What Englishman can read this paffage, and not feel his heart warm towards a man, who, notwithstanding the principles in which he was born and educated, is capable. of uttering fuch fentiments of liberty? He thus proceeds: • Attempts, therefore, against the life and liberty of a citizen are crimes of the highest nature. Under this head we comprehend not only affaffinations and robberies committed by the populace, but by grandees and magiftrates, &c.'

Chap. 16. of torture, is a very excellent one, and abundantly fufficient to convince those who ftill continue it, of their error; but as it is happily abolished in this nation, we fhall pass it by.

In chap. 19. we find the following powerful argument against our conftant practice of transportation, in doing which we feem to confider nothing farther than the peopling our colonies. • Crimes, fays our author, of lefs importance are commonly punished either in the obfcurity of a prifon, or the criminal is tranfported, to give, by his flavery, an example to focieties which he never offended: an example abfolutely ufelefs, because distant from the place where the crime was committed.'

Speaking of crimes of difficult proof, Adultery, fays the marquis, is a crime which, politically confidered, owes its existence to two causes, viz. pernicious laws, and the powerful attraction between the fexes. This attraction is fimilar in many circumstances to gravity, the spring of motion in the universe. Like this, it is diminished by distance; one regulates the motions of the body, the other of the foul. But they differ in one refpect; the force of gravity decreases in proportion to the obftacles that oppofe it; the other gathers ftrength and vigour as the obstacles increase. If I were speaking to nations guided only by the laws of nature, I would tell them, that there is a confiderable difference between adultery and all other crimes.. Adultery proceeds from an abufe of that neceffity, which is conftant and univerfal in human nature; a neceffity anterior to the formation of fociety, and indeed the founder of fociety itfelf; whereas all other crimes tend to the deftruction of so

ciety, and arise from momentary paffions, and not from a natural neceffity, It is the opinion of those who have studied history and mankind, that this neceflity is conftantly in the fame degree in the fame climate. If this be true, useless, or rather pernicious must all laws and cuftoms be, which tend to diminish the fum total of the effects of this paflion. Such laws would only burthen one part of fociety with the additional neceffities of the other; but on the contrary, wife are the laws, which, following the natural course of the river, divide the ftream into a number of equal branches, preventing thus both fterility and inundation. Conjugal fidelity is always greater in proportion as marriages are more numerous and lefs difficult. But when the intereft or pride of families, or paternal authority, not the inclination of the parties, unite the fexes, gallantry foon breaks the flender ties, in fpite of common moralifts, who exclaim against the effect whilft they pardon the caufe. But these reflections are useless to those, who, living in the true religion, act from sublimer motives, which correct the eternal laws of nature.' This is a bold stroke at those who pretend that religion was intended to counteract the laws of nature, or, in other words, of Providence, or of God. In the fame chapter, The murder of baftard children, fays he, is, in like manner, the effect of a cruel dilemma in which a woman finds herself, who has been feduced through weakness or overcome by force. The alternative is, either her own infamy, or the death of a being who is incapable of feeling the lofs of life. How can the avoid preferring the last to the inevitable mifery of herself and her unhappy infant? The beft method of preventing this crime would be, effectually to protect the weak woman from that tyranny which exaggerates all vices that cannot be concealed under the cloak of virtue.'

We shall pass over the remainder of this effay in order to give our readers a few extracts from the commentary attributed to M. de Voltaire. We cannot proceed, however, without firft expreffing our approbation of the word attributed in the title, which is a proof of honefty highly commendable, and rarely practifed. There are few tranflators who would not fo far have availed themselves of common report, as to omit the word attributed, especially as common report is the only authority we have for many of Mr. Voltaire's pieces, and more particularly, as this commentary bears very ftrong marks of the style and manner of that author: as for example, in his chapter On the punishment of hereticks.

Maximus, fays he, having caufed the emperor Gratian, the colleague of Theodofius, to be affaffinated at Lions, meditated the deftruction of Valentinjan the second, who, during his

infancy,

infancy, had been named fucceffor to Gratian. He assembled at Treves a powerful army, compofed of Gauls and Germans. He caused troops to be levied in Spain, when two Spanish bishops, Idacio and Ithacus, or Itacius, both men of credit, came and demanded of him the blood of Prifcilian and all his adherents, who were of opinion, that fouls were emanations from God; that the Trinity did not contain three hypoftafes; and moreover they carried their facrilege fo far as to fast on Sundays. Maximus, half Pagan and half Chriftian, foon perceived the enormity of these crimes. The holy bishops, Idacio and Itacius, obtained leave to torture Priscilian and his accomplices before they were put to death. They were both prefent, that things might be done according to order, and they returned, bleffing God, and numbering Maximus, the defender of the faith, among the faints. But Maximus being afterwards defeated by Theodofius, and affaffinated at the feet of his conqueror, had not the good fortune to be canonized.

• As to Prifcilian, he had the confolation, after he was hanged, of being honoured by his fect as a martyr His feaft was celebrated, and would be celebrated ftill, if there were any Prisciiianifts remaining.

This example made the entire church tremble; but it was foon after imitated and furpaffed, Prifcilianifts had been put to death by the fword, the halter, and by lapidation. A young lady of quality, fufpected to have fafted on a Sunday, was, at Bourdeaux, only ftoned to death. These punishments appeared too mild; it was proved that God required that hereticks thould be roafted alive. The peremptory argument, in fupport of this opinion, was, that God pun fhes them in that manner in the next world, and that every prince, or his reprefentative, even down to a petty conftable, is the image of God in this fublunary world.'

After reading the above quotation, fuch of our readers as are well acquainted with Mr. Voltaire's extraordinary talents for ridicule on these subjects, will hardly doubt that this commentary is the produce of his pen. Among many extraordi nary anecdotes related in this piece the following is not the leaft remarkable. It makes part of the chapter under this title, viz. On the crime of preaching, and of Anthony.

The hiftory of Anthony, fays the author, is one of the moft fingular which the annals of phrenfy hath preferved. I read the following account in a very curious manufcript; it is in part related by Jacob Spon. Anthony was born at Brieu in Lorrain, of catholic parents, and he was educated by the Jefuits at Pont-a-Mouffon. The preacher Féri engaged him in the proteftants religion at Metz. Having returned to Nancy,

he

he was profecuted as a heretick, and, had he not been saved by a friend, would certainly have been hanged. He fled for refuge to Sedan, where, being taken for a papist, he narrowly efcaped affaffination.

Seeing by what ftrange fatality his life was not in fafety either among papifts or proteftants, he went to Venice and turned Jew. He was pofitively perfuaded, even to the last moments of his life, that the religion of the Jews was the only true religion; for that if it was once true it must always be fo. The Jews did not circumcife him, for fear of offending the ftare; but he was no lefs internally a Jew. He now went to Geneva, where, concealing his faith, he became a preacher, was president of the college, and finally what is called a minifter.

The perpetual combat in his breaft between the religion of Calvin, which he was obliged to preach, and that of Mofes, which was the only religion he believed, produced a long illness. He became melancholy, and at laft quite mad, crying aloud that he was a Jew. The minifters of the gospel came to visit him, and endeavoured to bring him to himself; but he answered, that he adored none but the God of Ifrael; that it was impoffible for God to change; that God could never have given a law, and inscribed it with his own hand, with an intention that it should be abolished. He spoke against Christianity, and afterwards retracted all he had said, and even wrote his confeflion of faith to escape punishment; but the unhappy perfuafion of his heart would not permit him to fign it. The council of the city affembled the clergy to confult what was to be done with the unfortunate Anthony. The minority of these clergy were of opinion, that they should have compaffion on him, and rather endeavour to cure his difeafe than punish him. The majority determined that he, fhould be burnt, and he was burnt. This tranfaction is of the year 1632. A hundred years of reafon and virtue are fcarce fufficient to expiate fuch a deed!'

These few extracts, we prefume, will be fufficient to give the reader an idea of the entertainment he may expect in the perufal of this performance, which we recommend as being one of the most original books which the present age hath produced. As to the tranflation, we have compared it with the Italian, and find it not only juft, but, in many places, fuperior to the original in point of perfpicuity. This teftimony we think due to the tranflator, efpecially as it is fo feldom in our power to fpeak thus favourably of tranflations from foreign books.

VOL. XXIII. April, 1767.

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III. The