ftrefs upon thefe, and makes a decent apology for any errors that may be found in them. It is impoffible' (he fays) for a man, who muft employ the greateft part of his time in the duties of a profeffion which allows no vacation, to fuperintend fuch experiments as thofe on which the foregoing eftimates have been founded, from the commencement to the termination; and being thus circumftanced, I think it neceffary to obferve, that fome part of every one of these experiments and menfurations was committed to the care and fidelity of my operator. If any unintentional errors on his part fhould happen to confpire to the encrease of mine, my eftimations may be very incorrect in regard to the proportions; but I have no reason to doubt that the notions of metallic reduction, of the principles of fixable air and denfe inflammable air, and of all that does not depend on accurate proportion, will abide the teft of future experience.' We hope the Doctor's operator has been more attentive to his duty than the compofitor, or corrector of the prefs, whofe miftakes are more apparent, and pretty numerous; and have a like apology made for them. Befide thofe which are noticed in the errata, and which, in general, are of no great confequence, we hall mention one or two that happen to occur to us at the moment, and which may poffibly embarrass an ordinary reader. In page 228 and 29, we are told, that a cubic inch of one fpecies of air weighs 260 grains, and of another less than 2 grains; that the medium of those two numbers is 23; and that if one cubic inch weighs 23 grains, 46 cubic inches will weigh between o and 1 grains: thefe apparent abfurdities have ariten merely from the omiffion of a point of feparation between integers and decimals; for 260 and 23, read 2.60 and 2.3, that is 2% and 2%, and the whole becomes clear and confiftent.-The other inftance we allude to is in p. 181. The Author has fhewn in the preceding pages, that as pure air is a conftituent part of metallic calces, the tranfition of metal, by folution, to the ftate of falt or calx, can take place only as the menftruum fupplies this air; that in making aqua regia with a mixture of nitrous and marine acids, a part of the nitrous acid is decompofed, nitrous air being emitted, and its pure air united with the marine acid, which, in virtue of this acceffion of air, becomes capable of diffolving metals that refift the common fpirit of falt. On this occafion he communicates a very remarkable fact, that when two pounds of manganese are mixed with two or three of ordinary fpirit of falt, the elaftic fluid that iffues in diftillation may be nearly all condensed in a folution of fixed vegetable alcali; and that the folution will then yield a confiderable quantity of nitre as well as fea falt: he finds alfo that manganese, by mere ignition, yields a great quantity of pure air with phlogistic air, as nitre does; and from thefe facts he concludes, that manganefe Contains nitrous acid, or its principles, in great quantity. But (continues Gg3 ! (continues he) red lead, and the calces which ferve to dephlogifticate marine acid, or to produce the change expreffed by that word, yield alfo pure and phlogiftic air by ignition; and I venture to prognofticate, that nitrous acid will alfo be found in thefe cafes to make aqua regia with marine acid, exclufive of any change producible in the marine acid by its union with empyreal air fupplied from the calx.' Now, we apprehend the Doctor meant to say, not that nitrous acid, but that calces of lead would be found to make aqua regia with marine acid, and we can easily conceive how the perverfion of his meaning may have hap pened: he might write nitrous acid by mistake, and inadvertently infert the correction thefe calces in a wrong place; and the printer might retain both, changing thefe calces (which would have been nonsense in the fituation where he found them) into in thefe cafes. Whatever may be in this conjecture, if the Author really means that calces of lead are capable of producing nitrous acid, it is a pity that fo important a hint fhould be loft to any of his readers. After the particular facts and inductions, of which we have been endeavouring to give a concife view, the Doctor proceeds to enquiries of a more extenfive and abftruse nature, respecting the matter of fire, and the explication of various operations and phenomena in which it is concerned. His primary notions of fire are, That it is fubject to laws of attraction, by which it is fixed or difguifed in divers fubftances; and that it produces heat, or acts as fire, only when it is extricated from other kinds of matter that its homogeneal parts repel each other :- that the mutual repulfion of its own parts, and their attraction to other matter, is the cause of the elafticity of aeriform fluids :—that the charges of repellent matter, by which the gravitating particles form elaftic fluids, are diftinct atmospheres of fiery matter, in which the denfities are reciprocally as the diftances from the central particles, in a duplicate or higher ratio :—that the repulfion of the particles of fire limits the quantity that can be engaged by bodies;-and that the matter of fire limits the quantities in which acriform fluids, and other bodies containing it, can combine chemically. He conceives light to confift in a rapid projectile motion of the fiery fluid, independent of its denfity; and beat to confift in the density of the fluid, independent of progreffive motion. We cannot fay that we are entirely fatisfied with this laft notion; for if heat and light be one and the fame fluid, differing only in velocity, fome reafon ought to be affigned for that immente difference, and for the immenfe differences also in their permeation of grofs bodies. Ch ART. ART. VIL An Essay on the Life, Character, and Writings, of Dr. IN 2s. 6d, N this Effay, we have a fober and candid Review of Dr. Johnfon's literary and perfonal character. The judicious Author allows all his excellencies to their full extent; but he is not blind to his imperfections. He communicates, indeed, to the Public, little that is new; but he adverts, with frict attention, to whatever has been advanced by the various biographers, and the numerous relators of anecdotes concerning this great and fingular man, this noble Heteroclite, as fome one hath, not unaptly, Ayled him. After a feries of juft criticisms on Dr. Johnfon's writings, throughout, interfperfed with occafional remarks on his genius, principles, prejudices, &c. our Author, in the conclufion of his Effay, thus briefly sketches, to use his own expreffion, the principal features of the Doctor's character: He poffeffed extraordinary powers of understanding, which were much cultivated by study, and fill more by meditation and reflection. His memory was remarkably retentive, his imagination uncommonly vigorous, and his judgment keen and penetrating. He had a strong fenfe of the importance of religion; his piety was fincere, and fometimes ardent; and his zeal for the interefts of virtue was often manifefted in his converfation and in his writings. The fame energy, which was difplayed in his literary productions, was exhibited alfo in his converfation, which was various, ftriking, and inftructive; and, perhaps, no man ever equalled him for nervous and pointed repartees. The great originality which fometimes appeared in his conceptions, and the perfpicuity and force with which he delivered them, greatly enhanced the value of his converfation; and the remarks that he delivered received additional weight from the strength of his voice, and the folemnity of his manner. He was confcious of his own fuperiority; and when in company with literary men, or with those with whom there was any poffibility of rivalship or competition, this consciousness was too apparent. With inferiors, and thofe who readily admitted all his claims, he was often mild and gentle: but to others, fuch was often the arrogance of his manners, that the endurance of it required no ordinary degree of patience. He was very dextrous at argumentation; and, when his reafonings were not folid, they were at least artful and plaufible. His retorts were so powerful, that his friends and acquaintance were generally cautions of entering the lifts against him; and the ready acquiefcence of thofe with whom he affociated, in his opinions and affertions, probably rendered him more dogmatic than he might otherwife have been. With those, however, whom he loved, and with whom he was familiar, he was fometimes cheerful and fprightly, and fometimes indulged himself in fallies of wit and pleafantry. He spent much of his time, efpecially in his latter years, in converfation: and feems to have had such Gg 4 an an averfion to being left without company, as was fomewhat extra. ordina y in a man poffeffed of fuch intellectual powers, and whofe understanding had been fo highly cultivated. He fometimes difcovered much impetuofity and irritability of temper, and was too ready to take offence at others; but when conceffions were made, he was eafly appeafed. For thofe from whom he had recei ed kindnefs in the earlier part of his life, he feemed ever to retain a particular regard, and manifefted much gratitude towards thole by whom he had at any time been benefited. He was foon offended with pertnefs, or ignorance; but he sometimes feemed to be confcious of having anfwered the questions of others with too much roughness; and was then defirous to difcover more gentleness of temper, and to communicate information with more fuavity of manners. When not under the influence of perfonal pique, of pride, or of religious or political prejudices, he feems to have had great ardour of benevolence; and, on fome occafions, he gave very fignal proofs of generosity and humanity. He was naturally melancholy, and his views of human life appear to have been habitually gloomy, This appears in his Raffelas, and in many paffages of his writings. It was alfo a striking part of the character of Dr. Johnson, that with powers of mind that did honour to human nature, he had weakneffes and prejudices that feemed fuited only to the loweft of the fpecies. His piety was ftrongly tinc tured with fuperftition and we are aftonished to find the author of the Rambler expreffing ferious concern, because he had put milk into his tea on a Good Friday. His cuftom of praying for the dead, though unfupported by reafon or by fcripture, was a lefs irrational fuperftition. Indeed, one of the great features of Johnfon's character, was a degree of bigotry, both in politics and in religion, which is noW feldom to be met with in perfons of a cultivated understanding. Few other men could have been found, in the prefent age, whofe political bigotry would have led them to ftyle the celebrated JOHN HAMEDEN "the zealot of rebellion ;" and the religious bigotry of the man, who, when at Edinburgh, would not go to hear Dr. Robertfon preach, because he would not be prefent at a Prefbyterian affembly, is not eafily to be paralleled in this age, and in this country. His habitual incredulity with refpect to facts, of which there was no reafonable ground for doubt, as ftated by Mrs. Piozzi, and which was remarked by Hogarth, was alfo a fingular trait in his character; and efpecially when contrafted with his fuperftitious credulity on other occafions. To the clofe of life, he was not only occupied in forming fchemes of religious reformation, but even to a very late period of it, he feems to have been folicitous to apply himself to ftudy with renewed diligence and vigour. It is remarkable, that, in his fixtyfourth year, he attempted to learn the Low Dutch language; and, in his fixty-feventh year, he made a refolution to apply himself vigorously to ftudy, particularly of the Greek and Italian tongues." The faults and the foibles of JOHNSON, whatever they were, are now defcended with him to the grave; but his virtues should be the object of our imitation. His works, with all their defects, are a moft valuable and important acceffion to the literature of England. His political writings will probably be little read, on any other account than than for the dignity and energy of his ftyle; but his Dictionary, his moral effays, and his productions in polite literature, will convey ufeful instruction, and elegant entertainment, as long as the language in which they are written fhall be understood; and give him a juft claim to a distinguished rank among the beft and ableft writers that England has produced.' We shall conclude this article with another, but more brief, fketch of Dr, Johnfon's character, ftruck out, currente calamo, a few years before his death, by a celebrated northern writer, in a familiar letter to a literary friend: "I think not highly of his learning, but very highly of his understanding; as a critic he is to be read with caution: his ftrong fenfe often dire&s him right; he is then great; but his prejudices often mifl-ad his judgment: in his temper he is benevolent, in his life charitable to an extreme; in his writings he is four, contemptuous, and malignant: with these faults, if he had not great virtues, he would be infufferable; with thefe virtues, if he had not great faults, he would be highly refpectable; nay, with all his faults he must be respected." G. ART. VIII. A Differtation on the Antiquity of the Earth, read at the TH HOUGH we firmly believe that this work was prefented to the Public with a fincere intention of rendering fcience a material fervice, yet we are forry to find that fo ftrenuous and warm an advocate for the promotion and advancement of natural knowledge, as the Author feems to be, fhould have deviated from the true method of philofophizing, by admitting hypothetical arguments to influence his reafoning, instead of guiding his inquiries. by the unerring principles of demonftrative evidence; and we are the more furprifed that he fhould fall into this error, fince he acknowledges the fuperior excelience of the latter in philofophical fubjects. Having the paffions and prejudices of mankind to combat, which mathematica! certainty can alone effectually fupprefs, we must content ourselves only with making converts of thofe who have minds fufficiently expanfive to listen to hypothetical arguments, without the hackles of Euclid, and the va nity of difplaying their own learning and pedantry. Much may be faid in favour of that restriction which the human mind would be fubject to, when, on the flight of imagination, it may be induced to foar to the dangerous regions of conjecture; but were we only to admit mathematical argument into our inquiries, men would be refrained from their ardour of conception, and, becoming languid in their purfuits after knowledge, they would fink into a lafting fupinenefs.' Pref. p. v. We should infult the judgment of our readers were we to offer any remarks upon a paflage fo inconfiftent with the prefent true mode of purfuing philofophical inquiries, Mr. |