the Annual Anthology, we shall waste no more paper concerning them. Mr. Southey informs the public, in his Advertisement, that the poems are now printed in this collected form, because they have pleased those readers whom the Author was most desirous of pleasing.' We are proud to acknowlege, that we are not inrolled in this band of amiable admirers.

RELIGIOUS.

Art. 26. Letters of St. Paul the Apostle, written before and after his Conversion. Translated from the German of the late Rev. John Caspar Lavater, Minister of the Gospel at Zurich. 8vo. 3s. sewed. Johnson. 1805.

He must indeed be a bold man, who undertakes to write letters in imitation of St. Paul; and it was a strange freak in Lavater to engage in such an attempt. In the excentricity of his genius, he thought or dreamt that he could personate the Apostle, and furnish an interesting supplement to the correspondence which has been transmitted to us in the N. T.: but we cannot proclaim his success, nor ascribe any great merit to these fictions of the imagination. We are informed, indeed, that not long before his conversion, Paul "breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord:" but what pleasure or benefit can be derived from a series of letters supposed to have been dictated by him in this state of mind? We can easily imagine that Saul the infidel and the persecutor, with his warmth of temper, uttered many vehement expressions against Jesus and his followers: but, had these all been preserved, the perusal of them could have given no satisfaction to the christian, who knows enough of Saul's enmity to the cross previously to his conversion, from the circumstance which is recorded of him, that he consented to the death of the proto-martyr Stephen; and from the picture which he gives of his own persecuting zeal, when he says of himself "I verily thought with mys. If that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." To invent letters which pretend to tell us, at length, in what manner he expressed himself on this occasion, is, in our opinion, a very injudicious exercise of the fancy.

As to the epistles supposed to have been written by the Apostle after his conversion, if they be not so objectionable as the former, they appear to us to be equally trivial and unsatisfactory. Sacred history is not elucidated by the addition of fictitious circumstances; nor are the genuine writings of St. Paul in the least illustrated by this spurious supplement. We require no additions to be made to the Epistles of the N. T. in order more strongly to impress our minds with a conviction of the sincerity of that Apostle's love to Christ.

These letters are said to have been found among the celebrated Lavater's papers but the editor, on whose testimony we are to depend, has not subjoined his name to the translation. Who was indeed the author, and what his motive, whether it was to aid the Christian cause, or slyly to reflect on it, is of little importance to inquire; for the composition is not after the manner of the Apostle, sor in the style of his age; while the zeal, both of the Jew and of the

Christian,

Christian, is so completely out of character, that every judge of moral physiognomies will shake his head at both.

Art. 27. A Discourse on the Inspiration of the Scriptures. By the Rev. Richard King, M.A., Rector of Worthin, Salop. Svc. IS. Hatchard.

"Truth," says Milton, "is the daughter, not of Time, but of Heaven"; so that, in the subject of this discourse, as well as other matters of importance, too much stress should not be placed on the testimony of antiquity, particularly the testimony of the Fathers, whose opinions were often vague and indigested. Our reference must be to the Scriptures themselves, whose evidence must decide the question. Whether the xx in 2 Tim. iii. 16. be or be not retained, it is of less moment to inquire than what is the precise meaning of the word GEOTEUSOS. Mr. King, though he contends for Inspiration in its highest sense, seems to lower the idea of this word, when he says that in reading the best human compositions we are tempted to exclaim, "Nil magnum sine afflatu diz ino;" in reading the inspired writings, we are compelled to declare, surely this is the voice of God :' for by this remark he makes no difference in kind, but only in degree. He was not, however, aware of this objection.-The substance of his reasoning is that St Paul, in the N. T. always uses the word yean, scripture, as signifying the voice of God;-that the Fathers speak of the writers of the N. T. as inspired by the Spirit of God;-that the sublimity of the scriptures bears the marks which distinguish the works of God from those of man ;-that they relate things which must be immediately derived from God;-that, though various copies and readings exist, every text contains the same laws, miracles, prophecies, and chain of history; that what has been so miraculously preserved must have been as miraculously inspired, (does the singular preservation of antient writings prove their inspiration?)-that the commission given to the Apostles to teach included instruction by writing as well as viva voce ;-and that the Comforter guided them into all truth.

Mr. K. adopts the Jewish opinion of the four different modes of inspiration. As to trivial matters, incidentally introduced by the Apos tles, he does not include these in the inspired Word, since they make no part of the constitution of our faith.

Art. 28. A Funeral Oration to the Memory of His Royal Highness the late Duke of Gloucester nnd Edinburgh, delivered at Grosvenor Chapel, Grosvenor Square, 8th Sept. 1805. By the Rev. T. Baseley, A.M. 4to. 18. 6d. Faulder, &c.

Divines, Philosophers, and Poets have a string of remarks equally trite, yet equally awful, on the subject of Death. With some of these, Mr. Baseley prefaces this funeral oration, and then proceeds to eulogize the late Duke of Gloucester; notwithstanding, as he tells us, that express orders were issued, not only to abstain from every appearance of flattery, but even from the service prepared for the occasion. After the wish of the family had been thus unequivocally ex. pressed, if the preacher had thought it a proper mark of respect for the illustrious deceased to have persevered in his purpose, delicacy should have taught him to abstain from extravagant and inflated pa

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negyric. He has not, however, been sufficiently cautious on this head; for though the late Duke of Gloucester was certainly a kind-hearted, amiable, and pious prince, and must be sincerely lamented by all who had the honour of knowing him, we do not consider him to have been so saint-like as that he was, according to Mr. B. an object of peculiar veneration to the whole Christian world;' and that by his death the magnificence of our Zion is marred, and her strength impaired." Such hyperbolic praise ought not to come from a pulpit, does no honour to the dead, and is always unpleasant to the living. We do not expect Princes to be immaculate, any more than other men; and we never believe those who make that report of them.

MEDICAL.

Art. 29. Experiments proving Vacciolation or Cow-pox Inoculation to be a permanent Security against Small-pox: with Facts and Remarks. By Samuel Hill, Surgeon, Town of Portsea, and Surgeon in the Royal Navy. 8vo. pp. 46. 1s. 6d. Highley. 1804.

This pamphlet contains the detail of ten cases of variolous inoculation after cow-pox. In none of them was more than a local pustule produced.

We see no good reason for the adoption of the word vacciolation here used by the author; and we cannot help regarding this and other similar terms as indicating in those who use them a misplaced disposition to refine.

Art. 30. Some recent Cases of Small-pox subsequent to Vaccination. To which are added, Experiments to ascertain the Effect of vaccina. ting in the Hand, in Imitation of the casual Disease; with Facts and Observations on the Effect of eruptive Diseases in temoving the Security derived from Cow-pox. By Wm. Goldson, Surgeon, Portsea. 8vo. pp. 134. 38. Highley, &c. 1805.

We noticed at some length a former publication of this author on the same subject, (Rev. Vol. xlv. N. S. p. 252.) but we are sorry that we cannot perceive, in the present pamphlet, the same candour which we remarked in the preceding. Mr. Goldson seems to be rather elevated with the attention which was given by the public to his first cases, and is now, to all appearance, a very sturdy and determined >pponent of vaccination. In consequence of the wish expressed in his tract that variolous inoculation, on an extensive scale, should be practised on such as had gone through cow-pox at a distant period, the medical officers of the Vaccine Institution, much to their credit, en tered on an enlarged course of experiments, in order to ascertain the preventive powers of cow pox. They inoculated with variolous matter all such patients as had passed through the cow-pox at their institution to whom they could obtain access; and they were unable, in any one of the many cases which they thus subjected to the variolous test, to produce small-pox. This was complying with the wishes of Mr. Goldson, if we rightly recollect their extent: but he now considers these experiments as of no use in determining the great question; and he says that, in order to form a conclusion on the subject, some persons should have been inoculated, and others exposed strongly to infee

tion. If, however, he will recollect the various examples on record, in which patients who never had cow-pox have been exposed to variolous contagion without any effect, he ought certainly to concede some part of the scepticism which he indulges on the subject of cow-pox. Yet we suspect that, in the temper of mind in which the author is at present, a compliance even with what he now very unnecessarily requires would not induce him to change his opinion.

While we admit the possibility of an occasional occurrence of smallpox, after cow-pox, as we do that of a second appearance of smallpox, we feel it the less necessary to particularly examine Mr. G.'s additional cases, or to combat any inference which may be derived from them. At the same time, we cannot forbear to repeat, as we have done on a former occasion, that considerable doubts respecting accuracy of observations must be raised, when we find that some practitioners are continually meeting with failures, while others have never experienced any. This is a fact which ought to put every man of candour on his guard, when he hears of the long lists of adverse cases which certain individuals are always able to report.

We do not consider it as requisite to enter into the collateral matter which is contained in this publication.

Art. 31. Answers to all the Objections hitherto made against Cow-pow. By Jos. Adams, M. D., Physician to the Small-pox and Inoculation Hospitals, and Author of "Observations on Morbid Poisons. 12mo. 18. Johnson. 1805.

This is a popular address to the public on the subject of vaccination, in which the principal objections to the practice are stated and obviated. The author expresses his surprise and regret that cow-pox inoculation, which was introduced in this kingdom, and disseminated from it over the principal countries of the world, should now meet with an opposition here which does not occur elsewhere. To whatever region it has been conveyed, it has been received as a gracious boon of heaven, and its progress has been marked by the happiest and most unequivocal effects; but in this country, an outcry has been raised against it, which has the appearance of being particularly designed to act on those who are least able to judge of the real merits of an important practice.

Dr. Adams adverts to three objections, as the principal that are made against vaccination; the first, that it is no security against the small-pox; the second, that it is only a temporary security; and the third, that it introduces humours into the constitution. To the first objection, he deems it unnecessary to reply, because it cannot be doubted that it exercises some degree of influence on the constitution in preserving it against small-pox. The quantum of influence is a matter of doubt; and hence it has been thought that the constitution is rendered by it only for a short period unsusceptible of small-pox: but Dr. A. is of opinion that, even if it were admitted that there have been some instances of small-pox after cow-pox, it would not really afford any argument against the practice: since this might happen, ist, by an imperfect vaccination; 2d, by the constitution being under the influence of some other disease at the time of vaccination; aud, lastly, by the person being liable to the small-pox twice.'

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The occurrence of imperfect vaccination has afforded reasons to some persons to condemn the practice on account of its difficulty and uncertainty but the author shews that, in the early periods particularly of variulous inoculation, various mistakes occurred in the practice, which might reasonably be referred to want of experience, not to any real defect in the prophylactic powers of the disease.

For the effects of certain indispositions, more especially such as are hepatic, in preventing or modifying the cow-pox, he refers to some medical authorities on the subject.

That the small-pox sometimes occurs twice, and that the same is therefore naturally to be expected of cow-pox, Dr. A. justly regards as a very important circumstance in this inquiry.

The histories (says he) of persons who have had Small-pox after inoculation for that disease, are so numerous, that I doubt not most of them rest upon much the same authority as those which are reported after Vaccination. However, among the number, some are well founded in both; and probably about the same proportion. But perhaps it will be said, if the Small-pox happens after Inoculation for the Small-pox, and after the Cow-pox also, will it not be better to take the disease in the natural way, and make ourselves sure. If there was any greater security in the natural way, there might be some reason in this argument, but it will be found, upon inquiry, that this is not the case, for some families are so very liable to Small-pox, that the greater part will have it severely, and some twice over; whilst other families are so little susceptible, that most of them will have it slightly, and some will not take it at all, either by inoculation or exposure.'

He then gives the history of a case, from the Memoirs of the Medical Society, of a person who had the natural small-pox very severely, when an infant, but who was carried off by a second attack of the same discase many years afterward.

The introduction of humours into the constitution is a fruitful and favourite subject of invective with the enemies of vaccination; and this the author fairly, and we think very successfully, combats.-He gives, as reasons why vaccine and not variolous inoculation should be practised, that it is well known, that whoever is vaccinated, not only is equally safe from the Small-pox, much safer from humours than if inoculated with Small-pox, but also that he cannot convey the disease to another. Whereas by inoculation for Small-pox, a whole town may be infected, and numbers carried off before they are aware of the cause.'

An Appendix contains a letter from Lord Wetsmeath to Dr. Jenner, in which his Lordship mentions that one of his children was inoculated with small-pox in Ireland when an infant, but afterward had the disease in the natural way; though the practitioner, a physician, considered him as having gone through the small-pox in the regular course, and as therefore being safe from the danger of infection.

Art. 32. Remarks on the Report of M. Chaptal (late Minister of the Interior) to the Consuls, or former Government of France; with an Examination of the Claim of M. Guyton de Morveau to the Dis. covery of the Power of the Mineral Acid Gazes, in Contagion.