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Article REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. ← Page 8 of 8
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Review Of New Publications.
The System of Nature , or the Laws of ihe Moral and Physical World . Translated from the French of M . Mirabaud . 4 . vol . Svo . il . is . boards . Kearsley . IF there was a particular restraint on the translation of particular books , neither literature , nor liberty , nor society would be injured . The work before us is a villainous attempt to revive the abominable system of atheism . One comfort is , that the performance is unintelli gible , though the design of it is too evident . The wretched author avows that atheism is the only scheme calculated for the
happiness of man , either as an individual , or as a member of society . If so , what will become of decency , morality , and order ? Or , what bonds will link the community together ? What comfort will be suggested to the afflicted mind , or what just principle of restraint on the prosperous one to keep him from extravagance ? And , inshoit , what principle of action can be laid down which the atheist will not regard as superstitious or unjust ?
The Castle Speilre , a Drama , in five Jl 3 s . ' By M . G . Lewis , Esq . M . ? , Author of ihe Monk . The Music by Mr . Kelly , is . Bell . GHOSTS having been so popular in romances , it was to be expected they would be introduced oh the stage . Accordingly , we find that those fantastic beings are not contented with the circulating library , but appear in public to the most crowded audiences , coram fama et populo . Those kinds of imitative fictions
, of which the archetype is nature , require much more of discrimination , knowledge , and ability , than those of which the archetypes are chimeras in the author ' s brain : many more , therefore , are qualified for the latter species of composition , ( if it deserves the name ) than for the former . - Thousands may describe an Aladin pursuing an eloped palace , ghosts , fairies , and devils , in conversation and action . Few can write a Tom Jones , a Gil Bias , a Love for Love , or ' a School for Scandal . It is less surprising , thereforethat
, persons should be found to write such stories , than that men of sense can be amused with the reading and representation of the grossest violations of nature and probability . « Why , ' says that profound critic and penetrating philosopher , Johnson , ' this wild strain of imagination found reception so long in polite and learned ages , it is not easy to conceive ; but we . cannot wonder , that while readers could be procured , the authors were willing to continue it ; for when a man hadbpracticegained some fluency of
, y , language , he had no further care than to retire to his closet , let loose his invention , and heat his mind with incredibilities : a book was thus produced without fear of criticism , without the toil of study , without knowledge of nature , or acquaintance with life . '
1 hese observations on hobgoblin tales m general we think preferable to an analysis of this hobgoblin tale in particular . The vagaries of fancy , neither guided by experience nor controuled by reason , defy analysis ; and the fable , such as it is , has been-mentioned ' in a former Number of our Magazine . There appears to us to be a Spectre without terror , Love in difficulties without pathos , and Fools and Friars without humour . The chief jokes are , the Friar
chiding the Fool for stealing a goose pye ; the Fool retorting on the Friar for caressing buxom Margery , the Miller ' s wife , and breaking down a bed by the weight of his body . ¦ ° - Having read this drama , and heard that it is extremely popular , we conclude the performers to have , if possible , exceeded even their usual excellence . ¦ We beg leave to ask the author in what history it is to be found , that the slave trade from England or Wales to African Negroland existed during die ages of feudal domination i *
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Of New Publications.
The System of Nature , or the Laws of ihe Moral and Physical World . Translated from the French of M . Mirabaud . 4 . vol . Svo . il . is . boards . Kearsley . IF there was a particular restraint on the translation of particular books , neither literature , nor liberty , nor society would be injured . The work before us is a villainous attempt to revive the abominable system of atheism . One comfort is , that the performance is unintelli gible , though the design of it is too evident . The wretched author avows that atheism is the only scheme calculated for the
happiness of man , either as an individual , or as a member of society . If so , what will become of decency , morality , and order ? Or , what bonds will link the community together ? What comfort will be suggested to the afflicted mind , or what just principle of restraint on the prosperous one to keep him from extravagance ? And , inshoit , what principle of action can be laid down which the atheist will not regard as superstitious or unjust ?
The Castle Speilre , a Drama , in five Jl 3 s . ' By M . G . Lewis , Esq . M . ? , Author of ihe Monk . The Music by Mr . Kelly , is . Bell . GHOSTS having been so popular in romances , it was to be expected they would be introduced oh the stage . Accordingly , we find that those fantastic beings are not contented with the circulating library , but appear in public to the most crowded audiences , coram fama et populo . Those kinds of imitative fictions
, of which the archetype is nature , require much more of discrimination , knowledge , and ability , than those of which the archetypes are chimeras in the author ' s brain : many more , therefore , are qualified for the latter species of composition , ( if it deserves the name ) than for the former . - Thousands may describe an Aladin pursuing an eloped palace , ghosts , fairies , and devils , in conversation and action . Few can write a Tom Jones , a Gil Bias , a Love for Love , or ' a School for Scandal . It is less surprising , thereforethat
, persons should be found to write such stories , than that men of sense can be amused with the reading and representation of the grossest violations of nature and probability . « Why , ' says that profound critic and penetrating philosopher , Johnson , ' this wild strain of imagination found reception so long in polite and learned ages , it is not easy to conceive ; but we . cannot wonder , that while readers could be procured , the authors were willing to continue it ; for when a man hadbpracticegained some fluency of
, y , language , he had no further care than to retire to his closet , let loose his invention , and heat his mind with incredibilities : a book was thus produced without fear of criticism , without the toil of study , without knowledge of nature , or acquaintance with life . '
1 hese observations on hobgoblin tales m general we think preferable to an analysis of this hobgoblin tale in particular . The vagaries of fancy , neither guided by experience nor controuled by reason , defy analysis ; and the fable , such as it is , has been-mentioned ' in a former Number of our Magazine . There appears to us to be a Spectre without terror , Love in difficulties without pathos , and Fools and Friars without humour . The chief jokes are , the Friar
chiding the Fool for stealing a goose pye ; the Fool retorting on the Friar for caressing buxom Margery , the Miller ' s wife , and breaking down a bed by the weight of his body . ¦ ° - Having read this drama , and heard that it is extremely popular , we conclude the performers to have , if possible , exceeded even their usual excellence . ¦ We beg leave to ask the author in what history it is to be found , that the slave trade from England or Wales to African Negroland existed during die ages of feudal domination i *