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  • July 1, 1797
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The Freemasons' Magazine, July 1, 1797: Page 53

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    Article REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. ← Page 4 of 6 →
Page 53

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Review Of New Publications.

periods ; moral philosophy , whose sublime and awful p ; ecepts they incessantly inculcated on their dhcip les ; music , whose solciun melody , breathed froininnu'nerable harps during the public worship , roused to transports of enthusiasm the votaries of that animated superstition j mechanics , which enabled them to elevate to such surprising heights the immense masses of stone discaur-ed of above , ( Slone-henge , & c . ) and botany , to which a race , constantly residing in woods , and accustomed to use plants and herbs of a supposed

mysterious efficacy in the rites of divination , could be no strangers . What ; sciences , I say , besides these they might have cultivated , the impenetrable darkness 'n which they delighted to bury themselves , and their pursuits , must ever prevent our knowing . An acquaintance wnh geography is indeed allowed them by Cjesar , but to a race so entirely secluded from the rest of the . habitable globe , little more of that science could be known , than what they might le ^ rn from the Phoenician anil Grecian navigators , who successively visited the coast of Britain . Ignorant of its external surface , however , the deep and productive mines with which the island abounded , afforded that inquisitive race a noble opportunity of coutemplatin ? its internal wonders ; and

advancing far in the knowledge of minerals , metals , gems , and other productions of the subterraneous world . Of geometrical knowledge , also , no inconsiderable portion may fairl y be assigned them , as being so intimately connected with astronomy and the mechanical arts , in which they had evidently made so great a proficiency . Dr . Borlase , indeed , from his own-personal investigation , greatly confirms this latter position ; for on one of the rocks on the famous Kambre-Hitt in Cornwall he discovered a very regular elliptical

bason , ten inches by fourteen , which , he observes , could hardly be so exactly delineated . without stationing the tvao focusses of the ellipsis mathematically ; a strong evidence , that not onl y the said bason was made by the Druids , but that they understood the principles of geometry . ' In the second dissertation , many curious and entertaining enquiries arc persued . The commerce of the Phoenicians , Carthaginians , and Greeks , with the British Islands for tin , is amply and minuteldescribed .

y In the account of the ancient navigation we are told , that the Greeks used to fortify the outside of their vessels with pitch , mixed with rosin , which gave them a dark appearance , and hence , in Homer , they are uniformly denominated black . The Romans in succeeding periods improved on this practice ^ and set the first example to posterity of sbeatbine vessels vaith metal .

c Trajan ' s ship having been weighed out of the lake of Riccio , where it had Iain sunk above thirteen hundred years , it was observed that the pine ami cypress of it had lasted most remarkably . On the outside it was built with double planks , daubed over with Greek pitch , caulked with linen rags , and over all a sheet of lead , fastened on with little copper nails . This ship was weighed up by the order of Cardinal Prospero Colonna . Thus it appears , that caulking and sheathing were in use sixteen hundred years ago . '

We are extremely sorry to End from Mr . Maurice ' s complaints , that his learned labours have not received that encouragement to which they are most undoubtedly entitled . This is , indeed , a national reiiection , which v > e sincerely hope will be soon done away . An Attempt to account for the Infidelity of Edward Gibbon , Esq . founded on his own Memoirs , published by John Lord Shield . BJohn EvansA . hi . % va .

y , is . 6 d . Longman . THERE can be no doubt but that the credit of Mr . Gibbon as an historian hath been injurious to the interests of reli gion . And certainly his character is considerably sunk as a writer of integrity in this view of his prejudices . An addition to the evil of his example has been made by Lord Sheffield , in the publication of his friend ' s memoirs and posthumous pieces .

“The Freemasons' Magazine: 1797-07-01, Page 53” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 25 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fmm/issues/fmm_01071797/page/53/.
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 2
Untitled Article 3
LONDON: Article 3
PREFACE TO VOLUME THE NINTH. Article 5
THE SCIENTIFIC MAGAZINE, AND FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. Article 7
TEMPERATE REFLECTIONS SUITED TO THE PRESENT TIME. Article 8
AN APOLOGY FOR THE CHARACTER AND CONDUCT OF SHYLOCK. Article 10
MEMOIRS OF CHARLES MACKLIN, Article 15
ACCOUNT OF CADIZ. Article 18
REFERENCES TO THE PLATE. Article 22
MEMOIR OF WILLIAM MASON, A.M. Article 23
VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. Article 25
HISTORY OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES FOR 1797. Article 26
ADDITIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE GYPSIES. Article 29
ORIGIN OF DRINKING HEALTHS. Article 29
CEREMONIAL OF THE EXECUTION OFRICHARD PARKER, FOR MUTINY. Article 30
A BRIEF SYSTEM OF CONCHOLOGY. Article 34
ESSAY ON THE WRITINGS OF LORD CHESTERFIELD. Article 38
AN ACCOUNT OF THE FISHERIES OF THE RIVER BAN, IN IRELAND. Article 41
THE FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. Article 42
THE INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONRY ON SOCIETY Article 44
NOTICE OF A MASONIC DESIDERATUM. Article 47
MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. Article 48
NOTICE. Article 49
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. Article 50
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 56
POETRY. Article 58
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT. Article 62
HOUSE OF COMMONS. Article 63
MONTHLY CHRONICLE. Article 68
DOMESTIC NEWS. Article 71
OBITUARY. Article 78
LIST OF BANKRUPTS. Article 81
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Page 53

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Review Of New Publications.

periods ; moral philosophy , whose sublime and awful p ; ecepts they incessantly inculcated on their dhcip les ; music , whose solciun melody , breathed froininnu'nerable harps during the public worship , roused to transports of enthusiasm the votaries of that animated superstition j mechanics , which enabled them to elevate to such surprising heights the immense masses of stone discaur-ed of above , ( Slone-henge , & c . ) and botany , to which a race , constantly residing in woods , and accustomed to use plants and herbs of a supposed

mysterious efficacy in the rites of divination , could be no strangers . What ; sciences , I say , besides these they might have cultivated , the impenetrable darkness 'n which they delighted to bury themselves , and their pursuits , must ever prevent our knowing . An acquaintance wnh geography is indeed allowed them by Cjesar , but to a race so entirely secluded from the rest of the . habitable globe , little more of that science could be known , than what they might le ^ rn from the Phoenician anil Grecian navigators , who successively visited the coast of Britain . Ignorant of its external surface , however , the deep and productive mines with which the island abounded , afforded that inquisitive race a noble opportunity of coutemplatin ? its internal wonders ; and

advancing far in the knowledge of minerals , metals , gems , and other productions of the subterraneous world . Of geometrical knowledge , also , no inconsiderable portion may fairl y be assigned them , as being so intimately connected with astronomy and the mechanical arts , in which they had evidently made so great a proficiency . Dr . Borlase , indeed , from his own-personal investigation , greatly confirms this latter position ; for on one of the rocks on the famous Kambre-Hitt in Cornwall he discovered a very regular elliptical

bason , ten inches by fourteen , which , he observes , could hardly be so exactly delineated . without stationing the tvao focusses of the ellipsis mathematically ; a strong evidence , that not onl y the said bason was made by the Druids , but that they understood the principles of geometry . ' In the second dissertation , many curious and entertaining enquiries arc persued . The commerce of the Phoenicians , Carthaginians , and Greeks , with the British Islands for tin , is amply and minuteldescribed .

y In the account of the ancient navigation we are told , that the Greeks used to fortify the outside of their vessels with pitch , mixed with rosin , which gave them a dark appearance , and hence , in Homer , they are uniformly denominated black . The Romans in succeeding periods improved on this practice ^ and set the first example to posterity of sbeatbine vessels vaith metal .

c Trajan ' s ship having been weighed out of the lake of Riccio , where it had Iain sunk above thirteen hundred years , it was observed that the pine ami cypress of it had lasted most remarkably . On the outside it was built with double planks , daubed over with Greek pitch , caulked with linen rags , and over all a sheet of lead , fastened on with little copper nails . This ship was weighed up by the order of Cardinal Prospero Colonna . Thus it appears , that caulking and sheathing were in use sixteen hundred years ago . '

We are extremely sorry to End from Mr . Maurice ' s complaints , that his learned labours have not received that encouragement to which they are most undoubtedly entitled . This is , indeed , a national reiiection , which v > e sincerely hope will be soon done away . An Attempt to account for the Infidelity of Edward Gibbon , Esq . founded on his own Memoirs , published by John Lord Shield . BJohn EvansA . hi . % va .

y , is . 6 d . Longman . THERE can be no doubt but that the credit of Mr . Gibbon as an historian hath been injurious to the interests of reli gion . And certainly his character is considerably sunk as a writer of integrity in this view of his prejudices . An addition to the evil of his example has been made by Lord Sheffield , in the publication of his friend ' s memoirs and posthumous pieces .

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