personally as the followers of Calvin, or of Edwards, or of Dwight. That were quite another matter. The case is simply that of an ill-concerted, ill-conducted attempt, on the one side, to conciliate scepticism and irreligion; and on the other, of a temperate and convincing exposure of the inconsistencies of the endeavour. Instances of this sort are not without their lesson, and should especially be heeded by young theologians. We have in this article spoken of Dr. Taylor solely as occupying an ill-chosen position on the ground of abstruse theology. Justice, however, demands that he should have assigned to him a merit he may fairly claim, when he speaks the language of common sense, on the lower ground of practical principles, in relation to the old methods of preaching the Gospel. On this ground, manifestly, there is much (who shall dare to say how much?) to be remedied. On this ground, great practical errors have become venerable, in the eyes of religious folk, by usage and patronage. The New Haven Tutor feels this strongly;-attempts a remedy; -mistakes (as we humbly think) the precise nature, or seat of the disease, and does, therefore, as much harm as good; or more. We must take the occasion to say, and we would raise our voice high enough to be heard across the Atlantic, that we shall cheer the American divines, if we see them, in a right spirit, and with Christian temper and humility, earnestly plying their forces upon the great practical question of the primitive mode of calling men to repentance. It would do no good to agitate such a controversy just now in England. We are in no condition to handle any grave matter to great advantage. But if the AMERICANS cannot, and do not, follow truth with freedom, and modesty, and to some efficient purpose,-shame upon them! If they would but ask us, we (that is, we Eclectic Reviewers) would propose to them a string of inquiries, for their immediate consideration, not one of which should be trivial, and not one of which can we hope to see satisfactorily disposed of among ourselves. Art. III. Reflections on the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Ancient Nations of Africa. By A. H. L. Heeren, Knight of the North Star and Guelphic Order, &c. &c. Translated from the German. 2 Vols. 8vo. pp. xlvi. 528; xvi. 428. Price 17. 10s. Oxford, 1832. PROFESSOR Heeren's" Sketch of the Political History of Ancient Greece ", received the tribute of our cordial praise in a former volume*; and we then expressed a hope, which we are gratified at having so far fulfilled, that his entire works might * Eclectic Review, Third Series, Vol. V. p. 443. denomination of the action, and to speak of it as benevolent? Is the nature of the action, or any one of its attributes changed? No. Is the intention with which it was performed different? No. What reason do you assign for applying to a sinful deed, performed with a sinful intention, so unusual an epithet as benevolent? Why," the subject is apprised of the utility of the deed;" and this circumstance makes the difference. A SELFISH deed, then, if only performed with the knowledge of its utility, may properly be denominated BENEVOLENT!—A singular method of denominating moral actions, according to which they would be called good or bad, benevolent or selfish, not from the intention with which they are performed, but from the knowledge which the agent has of their results! This knowledge of the useful results of a sinful action seems, in your view, to infuse into it a certain quality which counteracts the quality infused by the intention of the agent, and makes a benevolent deed of a selfish one. Yea, this knowledge of the results of a sinful action, appears, in your view, to possess such wonderful virtue, that it transmutes the intention itself with which the action is performed, from evil to good; for you very soberly inquire, how it appears, that in this action, (this sinful action,) the agent "did not really intend good?” Why, methinks it appears from the fact, that he really intended evil. p. 91. In his eighth and last letter, Dr. Woods compares the hypothesis of his Opponent with the common belief of Christians, as to the practical tendency of each; and, we think, he fairly proves, that, so far as abstruse dogmas do at all exert any influence over the sentiments and conduct of men, it is far better to leave the subject of moral and natural evil, where the pious mind leaves it, involved in inscrutable mystery, at the foot of the throne of God, than, with the hope of disposing of it more satisfactorily, to create, as Dr. Taylor has done, an Imaginary Power, mistress even of the Divine government, and which is to sustain the burden of all sin. A course this, which, if all experience is to be taken as our guide, does but for a moment, and in appearance, bring relief to difficulties; while it never fails to involve the mind in endless inconsistencies, and to lead it astray from piety. The soundness of Dr. Woods's argument, so far as it is op posed to the theory of Dr. Taylor, is not the only merit which these Letters possess. They afford an excellent example of the close and pressing pursuit of an antagonist, without (as we can perceive) the slightest improper feeling. There is no vaunting, no contempt; there are no anathemas, and no imputations; but many serious and seasonable cautions, the fruit of experience and sound piety, addressed to one who, as it seems, although a teacher, has much to learn of that wisdom which should belong to men in responsible stations. We thus speak of the respective merits of the two professors, without at all taking our ground personally as the followers of Calvin, or of Edwards, or of Dwight. That were quite another matter. The case is simply that of an ill-concerted, ill-conducted attempt, on the one side, to conciliate scepticism and irreligion; and on the other, of a temperate and convincing exposure of the inconsistencies of the endeavour. Instances of this sort are not without their lesson, and should especially be heeded by young theologians. We have in this article spoken of Dr. Taylor solely as occupying an ill-chosen position on the ground of abstruse theology. Justice, however, demands that he should have assigned to him a merit he may fairly claim, when he speaks the language of common sense, on the lower ground of practical principles, in relation to the old methods of preaching the Gospel. On this ground, manifestly, there is much (who shall dare to say how much?) to be remedied. On this ground, great practical errors have become venerable, in the eyes of religious folk, by usage and patronage. The New Haven Tutor feels this strongly;-attempts a remedy; -mistakes (as we humbly think) the precise nature, or seat of the disease, and does, therefore, as much harm as good; or more. We must take the occasion to say, and we would raise our voice high enough to be heard across the Atlantic, that we shall cheer the American divines, if we see them, in a right spirit, and with Christian temper and humility, earnestly plying their forces upon the great practical question of the primitive mode of calling men to repentance. It would do no good to agitate such a controversy just now in England. We are in no condition to handle any grave matter to great advantage. But if the AMERICANS cannot, and do not, follow truth with freedom, and modesty, and to some efficient purpose,-shame upon them! If they would but ask us, we (that is, we Eclectic Reviewers) would propose to them a string of inquiries, for their immediate consideration, not one of which should be trivial, and not one of which can we hope to see satisfactorily disposed of among ourselves. Art. III. Reflections on the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Ancient Nations of Africa. By A. H. L. Heeren, Knight of the North Star and Guelphic Order, &c. &c. Translated from the German. 2 Vols. 8vo. pp. xlvi. 528; xvi. 428. Price 17. 10s. Oxford, 1832. PROFESSOR Heeren's "Sketch of the Political History of Ancient Greece ", received the tribute of our cordial praise in a former volume*; and we then expressed a hope, which we are gratified at having so far fulfilled, that his entire works might * Eclectic Review, Third Series, Vol. V. p. 443. be made accessible to the English reader. It is in vain to look for works of such laborious and profound research from the scholars of our own country in the present day; and we ought to be thankful, therefore, for the privilege of importing the growth of Germany. Heeren is not merely erudite; he is also an eloquent writer. He is original, without being fanciful; enthusiastic without being visionary; vivacious without flippancy; learned without being obscure or dull. Of the present Translation, it is satisfactory to know, that its correctness has received the sanction and commendation of the learned Author himself. At the request of the Publisher of these volumes, Professor Heeren kindly took upon himself the task of reading over the sheets before publication; a task to which his knowledge of the English language rendered him competent, and which the numerous corrections he has made, shew him to have executed with much care and attention. Soon after the first thirteen sheets had been transmitted to him, the learned Author writes: "I have read them with attention, and attest that they are made with a due knowledge of the two languages, and with all the accuracy which I could desire. I should be well content if the continuation should be executed with the same diligence, and if the whole of my works should be presented in this form to the English public."' After so high a sanction, it can scarcely be necessary for us to bear our testimony to the great and successful pains which have evidently been bestowed upon the work by the Translator; who speaks of his own qualifications in the most modest terms, and claims no other merit than that of having executed his task ' with fidelity, and thereby contributed his feeble efforts for the advancement of knowledge.' The Contents of these volumes comprise: 1. A General Introduction to the Author's Reflections upon the Nations of Antiquity, taken from the beginning of his volume on the Persians. 2. Á General Introduction to this portion of the work, relating to the ancient Nations of Africa. 3. History of the Carthaginians, in eight chapters. 4. History of the Ethiopians, in three chapters. 5. History of the Egyptians, in five chapters. 6. Appendix of ancient documents, in Vol. I. 7. Appendix to Vol. II. The first General Introduction affords a very concise but luminous and philosophical view of the origin of government, commerce, and civilization. The first bond of community existing among men was, beyond all question, Professor Heeren remarks, the natural one of domestic ties; out of which grew what has been denominated the patriarchal state. This bond of consanguinity is always found much more extensive and powerful among savage tribes, than among civilized nations. The different members of the family do not, as with us, devote themselves, as soon as they have attained a certain age, to various occupations in the world without, and thus separate from the parent stock. All pursue the same occupation, whether it be hunting or the tending of cattle. Consequently, the families remain united: they gradually form tribes, and the tribes, nations. The distinction of tribes is universally prevalent, and no less influential among the savages of North America or Australasia, than among the half-savage inhabitants of Central Asia, or of the deserts of Arabia and Africa. The members of the same tribe settle or migrate together: and although the first formation of such societies was undoubtedly the effect of a law of nature, yet, their common interest must have confirmed and strengthened the bond of union, as providing for their mutual defence and security during their continual petty wars. It is always the case, that tribes of this sort are subjected to a despotic authority possessed by the head of their race; who owes his power to the patriarchal privileges of his birth, and consequently is sometimes tempted to indulge it, till it becomes an oppressive tyranny: at the same time that the dependents of other chiefs are no wise sufferers in their personal freedom.' p. ix. The origin of civil government, however, properly so called, is to be traced to the concentration of a fixed and various population in cities, where the ties of consanguinity, and the distinctions of clan and tribe, would soon lose their influence, and the necessity for council and concert would originate some rude political constitution. Law would, of necessity, take the place of hereditary rights and traditional usages, not only because tradition could not supply rules for the new circumstances of the community, and that it would no longer be enforced by the same powerful sanction, the tenacious attachment of the tribe to its distinguishing customs; but because Law would be required to arbitrate between differing usages and conflicting traditions, and to subordinate them to its own authority. Every city was, of necessity, a republic; and the free states of antiquity were nothing more than cities surrounded with their peculiar districts. Without renouncing, however, their original character, such republics were often enabled in various ways to extend the limits of their power and territory, and even to become the mistresses of empires; as, for instance, Rome and Carthage. When several communities belonging to the same nation were situated near each other, they naturally formed a mutual alliance, #especially when the pressure of enemies from without, drove them to combine their means of resistance. In such cases, it was natural that $ the most considerable state or city should place itself at the head of the confederation, and assume a precedence which almost necessarily degenerated into a species of domination; of which we see examples in the conduct of Rome towards the Latin states; of Tyre, with respect to the Phoenician; of Thebes, with respect to those of Boeotia, &c. Nevertheless, the inferior cities would still continue to lay claim |