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freedom of speech? Catinat confenting, he replied, that his mafter had indeed, for felf-defence, taken up arms against the King of France, and had entered into alliance with heretics, fuch as the English and Dutch; nay, further, that his master was for doing fomething worfe, and had fent to Conftantinople, to negotiate a league with the Turks; but his Moft Chriftian Majefty had been unluckily beforehand with him there. Catinat laughed at the officers who had forced this keen repartee from Santena, faying, this might teach them never to infult brave men under misfortunes.'

In this pleafing manner Mr. Simes leads his readers through the most effential parts of tactics.- We have but one piece of advice to offer him, and that is, to cancel his title-page, &c. and call this the Second Volume of his Military Medley.

ART. II. Eight Effays, or Difcourfes, &c. Tranflated from the Spanish of Feyjoo, by a Gentleman. 8vo. 5 s. Boards. Payne, Dilly, &c.

TH

HIS Volume of Effays on hiftorical fubjects confirms us in the opinion we have already formed, and had frequent occafions to exprefs, concerning the good fenfe and learning of this refpectable Writer. A great variety of curious hiftorical facts are here collected, with a view to illuftrate and fupport the Author's ingenious obfervations on the fubjects enumerated in the title.

The first Effay treats of the difficulties which attend the writing of hiftory; contains examples of the principal faults in hiftorical compofition, taken from the most eminent authors, ancient and modern; and examines feveral hiftorical incidents and events, which, in the opinion of the vulgar, pafs for indifputable, in order to shew that they are either falle or doubtful.

The principal object of the fecond Effay, on the Divorce of History from Fable, is to prove that the ancient fables are not, as many have maintained, to be traced up to the events recorded in the facred hiftory.

In the Effay on Books of Inftruction, with refpect to politics, Feyjoo maintains, that books can be of little ufe in teaching the practical art of government; fince the variety of coincident circumftances is fo great, that the fame combination can never be expected to occur in any new cafe in politics, which has already been described in hiftory;-and that where policy has for its object the good of the community, the requifites are, a nobie innate difpofition, a clear understanding, and inflexible virtue; and where its end is power, cunning and hypocrify will be of

more

more avail than the most complete knowledge of the science of politics, as taught in books.

In the apology for, or vindication of, the characters of fome perfons who have been famous in history, we find a great variety of judicious obfervations, concerning the celebrated ftory of Empedocles cafting himself into Mount Etnathe true characters of Democritus and Heraclitus-the philofophy and conduct of Epicurus-the value of the writings of Pliny the Elder, and of Lucius Apuleius-and concerning the political and perfonal character of Tamerlane, particularly withreference to Bajazet.

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In a Letter concerning the Writings of Lord Bacon, the Author endeavours to prove, that he was the firft philofopher who brought into difcredit the method of fyftematizing on the ground of conjecture, and who pointed out the track which philofophers ought to purfue in their refearches into nature.

The concluding Letter, on the fubject of The Wandering Jew, contains many curious particulars concerning the perfons who have appeared under that name, from the year 1229 to 1699, pretending to have been alive from the time of our Saviour and affords one of the moft ftriking proofs of the height of credulity to which the human mind, under the influence of fuperftition, and practifed upon by the artifice of impofture, is capable of being carried.

On the whole, this volume abounds with judicious remarks on hiftorical fubjects, which will amply repay the labour of an attentive perufal.

*

**Since writing the above Article, we have obferved, in the public prints, an advertisement of the whole of this Gentleman's Tranflations from Feyjoo, in 4 vols. 8vo, containing 29 Difcourfes; price 11. I s. in boards. The Tranflator's name ftands in the advertisement, viz. John Brett, Efq;

ART. IV. Joannis Brunonis, M. D. de Medicina Prælectoris, Societatis Regiæ Medica Edinenfis Præfidis, Elementa Medicina. 12mo. 6 s. Boards. Edinb. 1780. Sold by Dilly in London.

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ND who is Joannes Bruno? We have read of a Saint Bruno, the founder of the Carthufian Order; but we fcarcely think our prefent acquaintance any way related to him. Bruno! We remember to have heard of a John Brown at the Univerfity of Edinburgh, a celebrated Latinift and Thefiswriter; and if we were fure that Bruno is good Latin for Brown, we fhould from feveral tokens conclude this to be the man. Whoever he be, let us fee what he has to fay to the Public.

He

He begins with telling us, that he has spent more than twenty years in learning, teaching, and diligently examining every part of medicine. That the firft luftrum was paffed in hearing, believing, and treafuring up; the fecond, in looking over, ordering, and furbishing his ftores; the third, in doubting whether they were good for any thing, and deploring that he had spent so much time to little purpose. It was not till the fourth lucky period, that light began to dawn; at first, faint and obfcure," Quale fub luce maligna eft iter in fylvis ;" but now, we may prefume, fhining in full meridian luftre, capable of illuminating, not only this favoured votary of Apollo, but the whole medical world.

We shall attempt to give our Readers fome little glimpse of this new light; though, for want of perfect illumination in ourfelves, we defpair of communicating any great degree of it to others; and must refer those to the original fource who wish for a more thorough irradiation.

The property, by which animated is diftinguished from inanimate matter, of being put into action by external things, as heat, air, food, &c. is by this Author termed incitability, and the things themselves, inciting powers.

The effect produced by the action of inciting powers upon incitability, he calls incitation.

In proportion as incitation has taken place, incitability is exhaufted, and inciting powers lofe their effect. On the contrary, the less incitation has been produced, the more incitability remains within, and inciting powers exert the greater effect.

There are two terminations of incitation; 1ft, The exhauftion of incitability from too violent an action of the inciting powers, which brings on indirect debility; 2dly, Excefs of incitability, from a deficiency of inciting powers, bringing on direct debility.

A due degree of incitation confers health; its excess, or deficiency, produces difeafe. There is no other fate of the living body than what is comprifed within thefe diftinctions; and no other caufe of difeafe.

The difeafes proceeding from too great incitation are the phlogistic; thofe from too little incitation, are the afthenic. The former, this Writer tells us, were tolerably understood, with respect to their cure, by Sydenham; the latter, by nobody.

So far we proceeded in the Author's fyftem with fome degree of clearness of conception; but on coming to the application of thefe principles, the exceffive perplexity of the language (evidently owing to a ftudied elegance), and the want of precision in the fundamental ideas, foon involved us in fuch darkness, that we were obliged to lay afide the book, in defpair. The Writer, as appears by the title-page, is alfo a lecturer. To those who have the advantage of hearing his doctrine in its en

larged

larged form, it may, doubtlefs, appear more intelligible; for our own parts, we confefs we are not able to go along with him in this fummary.

But

One thing it is obvious to remark from the flight view we have taken of this fyftem. It is founded on a fancied fimplicity, whereby a fhorter road to the acquifition of the healing art is supposed attainable. For by making only two claffes of difeafes, totally oppofite in their natures, it would feem that we can never be at a loss to afcertain the clafs of the disease prefented to us, and the confequent method of treatment. it has been justly obferved by the illuftrious Baron Haller, that very fimple views of nature are fcarcely ever juft ones. Though the main fprings of the animal machine may be few, were we capable of feeing them; yet as far as our limited faculties can penetrate, it is a machine extremely complicated in its structure, and various in its action: and when out of order, we must not venture to interfere in rectifying it, without attention to a numerous train of circumftances, a neglect of any of which may overthrow the beft laid plan of operation. That the art of medicine is tedious, and difficult of attainment, and uncertain in its efficacy, is as true now, as it was in the days of Hippocrates; and we apprehend will remain fo, notwithstanding all attempts like the prefent to fimplify it.

This work is a first volume, containing only the MORBI PHLOGISTICI, divided into Phlegmafia, Hæmorrhagia, Exanthemata phlogistica, and Apyrexiæ phlogifticæ.

ART. V. A Complete Phyfico-Medical and Chirurgical Treatise on the Human Eye: and a Demonftration of Natural Vifion. The whole illuftrated with a Variety of fine Engravings, &c. on a new Plan. By Peter Degravers, M. D. Profeffor of Anatomy and Phyfiology. Tranflated from the French. 4to. 11. 1s. Boards. Law, &c. 1780.

HE firft thing that ftrikes the Reader, on opening this

THE performance, is an Apology-and never was one more ne

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ceffary-for the flyle of this tranflation; which, it seems, was executed by the Author, who declares himself too conscious of his deficiency, not to ask his Reader's pardon beforehand, and give him warning of the fact, before to trefpafs on his time.' He always intended, he adds, to tranflate it into English, and afterwards to have it reviled by a perfon able to the task; but found himself obliged to defift, having met with none who could keep to the fenfe, in reforming the ftyle.' This apology will not be admd by any English Reader; who can

not but

greffior

part

cater part of the numerous tranfom, which occur almost in every have been correed even by a

perfon

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perfon unacquainted with the subject; not only without injury to the fenfe, but to the improvement and elucidation of it; especially under the infpection of the Author. Such expreffions as thofe above quoted from the Apology, and others equally offending againft idiom, might have been corrected by the most unlettered Englishman;-fuch as letting tunics macerate into the water-performing a little hole' in a body :- practising a hole at a window fhutter,' &c. &c. And though, in such paffages, the Reader cannot be at a lofs to understand the Author's meaning; it will eafily be conceived, that there must be many others, in which, from the fame caufe, it will be rendered obfcure, or abfolutely unintelligible.

The Author commences his work with an anatomical defcription of the human eye, and the parts immediately connected with it. This defcription is illuftrated with feveral plates, which appear to be very well executed; and is followed by obfervations on the nature and properties of light,' and on fimple and natural vifion.' On this fubject, he obferves, that natural and fimple vifion is not yet known, or at least explained as it ought to be, and that no author has given any phyfical reasons concerning it.' In fhort, he finds fault with the fyftems of preceding philofophers and writers on optics; and frankly tells us, he rejects them all.' But his own obfervations, at least as they appear to us through the opaque medium of this tranflation, are fuch, that we cannot perceive that he has given us any thing better, or even fo good, in their room. This part of the work is fo very trifling, that the whole of it might with great propriety have been omitted; notwithstanding the plausible apparatus of diagrams and demonftrations.

The Author next proceeds to treat of the disorders of the eyes in general; and afterwards of the lacrymal ways,' and of the harmony which exifts between the productive lacrymal ways, and the abforbent ones; or, in other words, between the excretion of the tears from the glandula lacrymalis, and their abforption into the puncta lacrymalia. On this fubject, he affirms, that though anatomifts have in general maintained, that the immediate fource of the tears came from the glandula lacrymalis; he is convinced that the excretory ducts of the cornea furnish much more of that fluid, than the gland to which they have exclufively attributed that faculty; and that the excretory ducts of the carcuncula lacrymalis, of the conjunctiva, and those of Meibomius's glands, furnish at least as many tears as the excretory ducts of the cornea: fo that it is very eafy to prove, that the glandula lacrymalis does not furnifh one third of them.

The Author lays great ftrefs on this obfervation; not merely as a matter of anatomical curiofity, but as it indicates the true cause of several difeafes of the eye, originating from an in

creased

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