We are concerned at being obliged to rank the present attempt among thofe unfortunate products of prefumption and ignorance, which can reflect no reputation on its Author, nor afford initruation to the Reader. The following quotations, which we have made without felection, merely by opening the book at random, wil fully Juftify our cenfure: The learned Gaubius, treating on the Nature of Disease, begins (fect. 3) by defining what is understood by the fate of body; which be makes to comprehend all the defects, exceffes, and changes of thofe things in the body, and its parts, which are required for the due exercife of the functions. To this he adds, "Nec facile quis impedimenta externa huc retulerit, nifi qui ludere in re feria velit." By impedimenta externa, he certainly means thofe external circumflances which may, for a time, prevent the exercife of the functions, but do not refide in the body; but our tranflator renders it, "nor Can any one offer objections, unless, &c,” Sect. 36, the Author goes on to fay, that medicine is concerned only in thofe diforders which arife from aberrations of the body; but which, he fays, "habent tamen, mutui nexus lege, primam fæpe originem in mente, bujufve operationes fua efficacia perturbant." The Tranflator fays, "They may, however, on account of the mutual connection of the mind and body, have their origin in the former, and the operations of it may obftru& its own cure.” 66 Sect. 37. The claufe" præcipua medici in opere verfantis cura effe debet,” is translated, ought to be the principal care of the phyfi cian having a share in the work.” Sect. 38. The Author fays, that fince disease supposes a state of body deviating from a found one, “eo præfente effectus, ex fanitate ut ex fua caufa profluentes, id eft actiones, quoque alienari neceffe eft." This is rendered, "when it is prefent, the effects of bealth arifing from their own cause, i. e. the functions, must necellarily be eftranged." Sect. 40. The word infuetudo, " difufe," is rendered by its oppofite, babit. In our short progress we had marked the subsequent sections 41, 43, 44, 45, as containing blunders equally deftructive of the fenfe of the original; but we apprehend our Readers will not think it neceffary for us to quote any farther. Nor fhall we add to these proofs of the Tranflator's ignorance of Latin, the innumerable inftances we could produce of his equal incapacity to write English. We have done enough to prevent the Public from being misled, and we wish to do no more. Art. 17. Formula Medicamentorum Selecta; or, Select Prefcriptions of the most eminent Physicians, for various Diseases incident to the human Body. By Edward Fox, Apothecary in Ordinary to her Royal Highness Princess Amelia. 8vo. 7 s. bound. Cadell. Here is a goodly volume manufactured in the easiest manner that can be conceived. The matter is all taken from an apothecary's file; and the arrangement cannot have coft the Compiler much trouble, fince it is only an alphabetical lift of intermixed names of difeafes and claffes of medicines, part Latin, part English. There are, doubtless, many elegant and efficacious formula in the collec tion; tion; and there are many more neither uncommon nor excellent Our general opinion of collections of, this kind is, that they cannot be used without a confiderable degree of previous medical knowledge, and that to perfons fo qualified they are not at all neceffary. Our prefent Compiler hopes they may at least be useful to those who, live at a distance from the metropolis. The country practitioners are obliged to him for his intentions; but as they derive their prin ciples from the fame matters with their London brethren, we apprehend they will not expect much improvement from turning over a parcel of their prescriptions. POLITICA L. Art. 18. The Conduct of Admirals Hawke, Keppel, and Pallifer compared. 8vo. I S. Bew. 1779. E A difpaffionaté remonftrance against the behaviour of an Admiral reported to have refused his farther fervices to his country, unless he is gratified by removal of the first officer over the naval department: a conduct which the Writer deduces from party fpirit; and confiders as an unbecoming example, deftructive to all the ties of political fubordination. Whenever a commander fuffers private pique to take place of his obligations to his country, there is fome confolation in knowing that men of military merit are always to be found, equally able and willing to undertake the duties of fuperior ftations. Art. 19. Strictures on the Philadelphia Mischianza, or Triumph upon leaving America unconquered. With Extracts, containing the principal Part of a Letter published in the American Crifis." In order to fhew how far the King's Enemies, think his General deferving of public Honours. 8vo. I s. Bew. 1779. Another twelve-penny worth on the truly ridiculous military rareefhew in America! Verily, if all these pamphlets* have answered the Writer's purpose, he has made a pretty penny of his fubject, and is in duty bound to fhew his gratitude by trying one at least on the other fide. Art. 20. Obfervations upon the Conduct of S-r Wm H—eg at the White Plains; as related in the Gazette of December 30.h, 1776. 8vo. 1 S. Bew. 1779. General Howe having invited a public inquiry into his conduct in America, I must make hatte, quoth this ready Obferver, and get the start of it. Accordingly taking the Gazette letter for his text, and as part of his pamphlet, which, by the bye, is making it anfwer a twofold purpofe, and without waiting for any farther knowledge of circumstances to explain the brief relation of facts; out comes twelve. penny worth of fashionable abuse, for the good of our country. All that perhaps ought to be faid on a pending fabject, will be to advise those who wish to form a mature judgment, to have a little patience, for the benefit of more ample and more authoritative information, than is to be expected from thofe who kindly undertake to guide our opinions without intitling themfelves to our confidence. Review, March, p. 236, Art. 39. REV. May, 1779. Art, Art. 21. The R- Regifter. With Annotations by another Hand. Vols. II. and III. 12mo. 2s. 6d. each. Bew. 1779. In our Journal for February, 1778, p. 153, we gave an account of the first volume of this pretended Royal Regifier, intimating the plan, and exhibiting a fpecimen of the execution. The work is much fuperior to the common catch-penny things. The Writer has acquired information; he poffeffes ability to make the most of it; and his remarks are enlivened by the number and variety of characters and anecdotes with which these little volumes abound. In brief, this Register may be confidered as one of the more tolerable fort of feandalous chronicles; for strict juftice is done to fome worthy perfonages, whose portraits serve as striking contráfts, not companions, to some of the ill-favoured figures which are grouped in this motley exhibition. Art. 22. The Earl of Briflol's Speech, taken exactly down, as fpoken in the House of Lords, Die Veneris, 23° Aprilis, 1779. 4to. Is. Almon. This celebrated Speech will, no doubt, be confidered as a valuable ftate-tract, relative to the prefent condition of the British navy ;according to the view taken of it, by an anti-minifterial investigator. It is well known in what manner, and with what eclat, Lord Sand. wich triumphed over this formidable attack upon his administration. Art. 23. La Caffette Verte de Monfieur de Sartine, &c. The Green Box of M. de Sartine, found in the Dreffing-room of Mad. du Thé. The Fifth Edition, revised and corrected according to the Editions of Leipfic and Amfterdam. Printed at the Hague for the Widow Whiskerfeld, in the Platte Borse, near the Vrydagmerkt. 8vo. 2 s. Sold by Becket, &c. 6 It is not neceffary to read fo far in this truly humourous performance, as the plan of operations for the ensuing campaign, to perceive that it comes from the fame pen which produced the pamphlet Anticipation,' of ludicrous memory. The present work has, if poffible, ftill more of the vis comica; and Mr. T. if he has written the French, which we are led to believe from several errors in idiom, difplays great verfatility of genius, in defcribing foreign manners and characters, in a foreign language, with a degree of humour that unites the ftrength of Swift and the grace of Voltaire. In the domellic part of the work the Shelburn party are painted with a bold feverity of ridicule, fcarcely paralleled but in the "clouds of Ariftophanes." The learned reader will draw a comparison between the edifying fpeculations of the Socratic fchool, and the phyfico-politicotheological reveries of his Lordship and his friends. It belongs to the Public to determine whether the fatire against the English ftatef man be equally unjuft with that against the Athenian fage. There is, doubtlefs, great originality in the execution of this performance; but the defign and title of it have, probably, been borrowed from a lively effufion of French gaiety, intitled, "Le Petit Pofte devalifé*." "The Penny Poft robbed." The full import of devalife cannot, we believe, be tranflated into English. POETI POETICAL. Art. 24. An Elegy on the Death of the Rev. John Langhorne, D. D. 4to. Productions of this kind being commonly dictated by perfonal friendship, ought, whatever be their merit, to be exempted from the feverity of criticifm. Where they are excellent, it is but jullice to praise them; where they fall short of that character, humanity will interpofe, were it only in tenderness to the fubject and occafion. In general, the fairest part which a journalist can at, in these cafes, is to let the performance fpeak for itself, by a fpecimen indifferently extracted; we shall follow this rule, in regard to the prefent Article: Yet, gentle Bard! if from that fining fphere, Where, to high praise, thy facred numbers flow, racter: Deem not difgraceful this heart-labour'd ftrain, But should each tongue, and ev'ry lyre be mute, Enwreath'd with flowers, and place it o'er thy urn The grateful Naiads fhall thy fongs rehearfe, This modest and honest Writer is well known in the Poet's walk, on account of his former publications, which have, in general, been favourably received. The pieces here alluded to are, Olindo and Sophronia, a Tragedy; Innocence, a poetical Effay; War, an Ode; and Nuptial Elegies. Art. 25. A Funeral Eulogium to the Memory of David Garrick, Efq; a Poem. Dedicated to Richard Brinfley Sheridan, Efq; 4to. 1 s. Etherington. A poor attempt to traduce the memory of Garrick. Art. 26. The Apotheofis of Punch: A fatirical Mafque: With a Monody on the Death of the late Mafter Punch; as now performing at the Patagonian Theatre, 8vo. 1s. Wenman. Alius & idem! Art. 27. Reflections on the Death of Miss Martha Ray; by a Gentleman who was accidentally prefent at the last Scene of her dreadful Murder. 4to. 6 d. Harrison. The mistress of Lord S is here lamented as a virtuous chai But why lament her fall? She fell to rife, * Ode to River Eden. Art. 28. The Distracted Lover; a Poem; fuppofed to have been Mr. Hackman, before the fatal act for which he fuffered, wrote ('tis faid) many letters to Mifs Ray, which fhe returned unopened, or answered in a manner unfavourable to his paffion. The following epifle is fuppofed to have been the laft addreffed by him to that unfortunate lady, and reprefents the conflicting paffions which agitated his mind previous to the melancholy deed.' AUTHOR'S Advertisement prefixed. The Author of this Epifle makes the late unhappy Mr. H. fay many very good things; and the poetry has uncommon merit. The poem is introduced by a preface, written in a fenfible and moral ftrain; to which the noble and the opulent, the gay and the diffipated, would do well to pay fome attention:-if they can find time. Art. 29. Reviewers Reviewed; a familiar Epiftle to thofe Partial Sons of Momus. 4to. 2 S. Bew. 1779. Who are those partial fons of Momus?' Oh! the " Reviewers Reviewed." Phaw! that is not half fo clever as the copper plate part of the title page: the owl, the purfe, the devil, the spectacles, &c. The owl is a very fine fagacious looking fellow, indeed: and when we are in want of a theological coadjutor, we will fend for him. This unreafonable fatirift, who, in The Watch, an ode; in Royal Perfeverance, a poem; in The Genius of America to General Carlton, a poem; in Tyranny the worst Taxation; in Capt. Parolles at Mixden; in An Epifle to Lord M -d; and in The Favourite, a character, &c.) abufes King, Lords, and Commons, thinks it extraor dinary that Reviewers fhould prefume to cenfure him!-But he may have reafon : 66 Why baulk an Author's appetite and fale?" We should be forry to baulk the appetite of a brother fcrib, by ob ftructing the fale of his works; and we are happy in the perfuafion that, in fact, we have not rendered fuch differvice to the prefent Writer. Every body knows that fcandal and fcurrility are the moff marketable of all literary commodities: and certain it is, that we have always given a faithful report of his merits, by letting the lovers of Billingfgate poetry know, that in this Gentleman's productions they would not fail to meet with plenty of the most delicious morceaux; and this have we generoufly done, without charging the ungrateful grumbler a fhilling for advertifements!-But fome people are of fuch perverfe difpofitions, that they will not let you ferve or oblige them with impunity-like the galley-flaves who threw ftones at Don Quixote, in return for his gallantry and benevolence in fetting them at liberty. Art. 30. Momus; or, the Fall of Britain: A Poem. 4to. Is. The infernal deities, a pack of malignant rafcals as they are, meet in council, to plot the deftruction of poor Old England. After fome debate, it is at laft fettled, that this goodly event is to be accom plished by the united efforts of Mammon and Momus. The office of god Mammon will be readily fuppofed; that of his compeer is to 2 laugh |
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