has given rise to the most important results, and has been altogether unforeseen (except, perhaps, from the hints derived from Revelation itself) by those who lived at the time-if such a fact shall, upon examination, be found to have been either expressly foretold, or very intelligibly described in figurative language, manyages before it occurred; then, without all doubt, the previous Revelation of it can only have proceeded from the communication of A BEING, who is infinite in Knowledge, to foresee, and in Power, to bring to pass, such a circumstance as this. But, if this mode of reasoning be allowed any weight when applied to a single event, how much additional strength must it derive from its application to a great number of such instances of fulfilment; and more especially when they are discovered to form parts of a grand scheme of dispensation, the comprehension of the whole of which does far surpass man's understanding! How irrefraga ble does it become, when employed upon a train of unexampled events, which have succeeded each other for many centuries in a regular and unbroken series, and according to an arrangement that had been previously and most explicitly described!"

The subjects to which the principle here laid down is applied, are resolved into two grand divisions-the Prophecies which relate to the periods that were prior to the Dispersion of the Jewish Nation, and to those which have been subsequent to it.

"The motive which has chiefly operated in inducing me to adopt a plan so extensive as this, is, that it has afforded me an opportunity of placing many important particulars in a new light, by offering them to the view of the Reader in that natural order in which they should stand. It has also enabled me to establish the genuine import of a variety of remarkable and highly interesting predictions, both in the Old and New Testament, either by an emendation of their version, or by pointing out the intimate relation they bear to others which are more explicit; or by both these means, as will generally be observed to be the case, applied conjointly. But the true signification of such prophecies having been once attained, it will be easy to discover, from the re

cords of history, whether they have been accomplished or not; and if their fulfilment has been only partial, to what extent they have received it. And here it may be proper to remark, that in the explication of those metaphorical expressions and emblematical representations, beneath which the subjects of Prophecy are usually veiled, great care has been taken to avoid confusion and inconsistency, and to assign to each figure that meaning which it obviously possesses in other analogous passages of the Sacred Writings, and which is alone compatible with the peculiar sense and scope of the context. And in particular, in the analysis which has been given of that portion of the Apocalypse of St. John, which contains a symbolical description of the characteristic events of all those ages since it was written, that have preceded our own time, the same import has always been attached to the use of the sume Symbol: and that import has first been ascertained by a critical examination of all the places in which that symbol occurs. And by this means an uniformity and consistency of interpretation have been preserved throughout; and that interpretation has immediately conducted to the corresponding facts.

"The only way of affording a tolerably just idea of that wonderful Book appeared to be, by paraphrasing, as closely permit, the various parts of which it as possible, and as far as my limits would consists, in the order in which they succeed each other. This mode of proceeding may, perhaps, have caused some of these Discourses to deviate, in a degree, from the usual style of Sermons; yet, I trust, it will be found to have made sufficient compensation, by the distinctness of the arrangement it has pointed out, by the continuity of these surprising anticipations of futurity it has exhibited, and by the opportunities it has allowed me for offering my argu ments and observations upon those important subjects, the clear elucidation of which constituted the principal motive in the mind of the venerable Prelate, for the founding of this Lecture."

Such is the Plan which the Reverend Author has pursued in further ance of the liberal and enlightened scheme of Bp. Warburton *; and the

sound learning and acute discrimination which he has exhibited, in expounding and applying many passages of the Prophetical Writings, combined with that chastened spirit of Christian benevolence which pervades the whole of his Work, render it a most valuable addition to the labours of his predecessors, and a most desirable acquisition to the Theological Student. A few observations and reflections applicable to present circumstances shall conclude our extracts.

In the Fifth Lecture, having com. pleted the view, from Prophecy, of the principal circumstantes in the personal History of Christ; and having shewn how exactly, in confirmation of the truth of our Holy Religion, and in a great variety of instances, the antecedent representations have corresponded with the events, the Reverend Lecturer makes the follow ing application of his subject to the Jews, to the Members of the Church of Rome, to Arians and Socinians, and to sincere believers in Revelation.

"It has been one object of this Discourse to prove the Spiritual Nature of the Messiah's Kingdom; and the entire consistency of the glorious predictions which foretel the universal extent, the happiness, and grandeur of his dominion, with that state of humiliation and suffering, which was introductory to it, and so particularly distinguished the life he led amongst men. It has been also made, I trust, in some measure to appear, that the Prophecies which pointedly relate to either of these opposite states, can only have received, as far as they have yet been fulfilled, their plen

ary accomplishment in Him. Upon this rock, then, the Jewish race have split. Upon these divine communications they placed such constructious only as favoured their own preconceived notions; and their views were those only of the temporal aggrandizement of their own Nation. They could not therefore be lieve, that a Person, of whom such great and extraordinary achievements had been foretold, whose extraction was to be so splendid, and whose sovereignty so universal, could be born of such obscure parents, and confined to so humble a walk in life. When they saw him, 'the blessed and only Potentate,' come preaching the doctrine of repentance, and saying the Kingdom of Heaven is at band;' when they heard him propound the weighty truths of his holy Institution, with the authority of a Teacher come from GOD,' and profess in the plainest terms, that he was come to fulfil the Law and the Prophets;' and when they contrasted his humble condition, so contrary to the pomp and grandeur which they had falsely attributed to their Messiah, with the awful sublimity and importance of his professions

they were offended in him ;' they refused to receive him as the promised Saviour and Redeemer; and fulfilled the writings of their own Prophets, in ‘despising and rejecting him' through life, and, at length, in persecuting him to death, and to their own destruction.

"But the experience of Ages most sadly declares, that there is another mode of, partially at least, setting at nought the Son of GOD, and of depreciating the only hope set before us in the Gospel ;' and that this can even exist in Christian Countries! What else can we call the invocation of a host of Saints and Media

GENT, MAG. March, 1817.

ters

So

shall we remain happy in the assurance, that, while great Plagues remain for the ungodly, whoso putteth his trust in the Lord, Mercy embraceth him on every side.""

Many Notes which were requisite for the further illustration of the subjects discussed, and some of which contain distinct but short Dissertations, are added to the Work; as well as a luminous analysis of each Lecture, and a copious Index.

35. A Critical Analysis of several striking and incongruous Passages in Madame De Staël's Work on Germany, with some Historical Accounts of that Country. By a German. Leigh, 8vo. PP. 152.

WITH warm feelings of patriotism, the Author of the Analysis conceives that Madame De Staël, in her Work on "Germany," has been guilty of flagrant injustice towards his countrymen; that her general conclusions on literature, manuers, and customs, have been drawn from very superficial observation; and that they are for the most part very incorrect. He endeavours to prove the abundance of contradictory assertions; and observes,

"No well-digested plan is perceptible to us in the Work on Germany. Vague and wavering opinions are instilled into the mind of the Reader: and a fear of having said too much on one side, makes our Author continually say too much on the other.".." But still we are far from accusing her of any wilful prevarications; we rather think that she wrote down her sentiments according to the varying impulse of each varying moment, without ever afterwards comparing their results.".." From partiality to a few individuals, it seems, her encomiums on the whole nation are in some instances exaggerated, and in some other cases she imputed to the whole nation what was perhaps only to be met with in a few individuals. Most statements of the country itself show that she has had no previous knowledge of Germany before she went thither; hence her mistaken notions, that those objects which appeared new to her, were new in reality."

36. Biographical and Critical Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, from the Revival of the Art under Cimabue, and the alledged Discovery of Engraving by Finiguerra, to the present Time: with the Ciphers, Monograms, and Marks, used by each Engraver; and an ample List of their principal Works. Together with two Indexes, alphabetical and chronological. To which is prefixed, an Introduction, containing a brief Account of the Painters of Antiquity. By Michael Bryan. In Two Volumes, 4to. pp. 709 and 822. Carpenter and Son.

MR. BRYAN has in these Volumes rendered essential service to the memory of departed merit, and facilitated the researches of Artists and Biographers.

In a copious Introduction he treats of the Origin of Painting," which he traces from the Egyptians to the Greeks, and introduces some account of the Greek Painters. The Etruscans and Romans next succeed.

A section is allotted to the "Art of

Engraving;" and another contains the following "Remarks on the different Modes of Engraving:"

"Prints, as well as Paintings, may be divided into three general classes, historical and emblematical subjects, por traits, and landscapes, which will still admit of a subdivision.

"The modes of engraving, ancient and modern, have within a few years greatly multiplied,

multiplied, and may be said at present to consist of the following:

"Stroke engraving. This manner is effected by tracing the design upon the plate with a sharp tool, called the dry point; and the strokes, or lines, are cut on the copper, with an instrument called the graver, or burin.

"Etching. In etching, the traces are cut with a point, or needle, through a varnish, prepared for the purpose, and laid on the plate; and these strokes are corroded, or bitten, into the copper, by aquafortis.

"With the point and graver. In this, the most general mode of engraving, the subject is first etched, and afterwards finished with the graver. By this process the advantages of both are combined.

"Mezzotinto. This style of engraving is executed by raising on the plate, with a toothed tool, an uniformly dark barb, or ground. The design traced upon the plate, the light parts are scraped off by instruments, in proportion as the effect may require.

"The above, being the four principal modes of engraving, call for more particular observation. In the operation of the graver, we expect to find the strokes correct and decided. In etching, we discover an unembarrassed freedom of hand. In the united execution of the point and the graver, we have the advantage of both operations. And in mezzotinto it is required that the effect should be soft and mellow. From the form of the graver, every time it cuts into the metal it makes an angular incision, producing a firm and sharp line, except the stroke is extremely delicate, which requires to be traced with judgment and reflection, though not distinguished by great freedom of hand. On the contrary, an unrestrained liberty of execution is the characteristic of etching, in which the point runs playfully over the plate, without meeting with resistance, and follows, without effort, the slightest impulse of the hand. In this respect etching may be said to be little different from drawing, and is effected with equal facility. But as the aquafortis does not bite equally, the lines cannot be so sharp as when cut with the graver; besides, it is difficult to give, by the simple operation of the point, that suitable accord to each part of the plate so essential to the harmony of the whole. The stroke engraver has in this a considerable advantage, in being able to increase or diminish the force at pleasure, by a stronger or more delicate trace. As stroke engraving and etching have equally their particular benefits and inconveniencies, the art has

been improved by a successful union, by which their advantages are increased, and their deficiency diminished. The generality of plates, both of historical and other subjects, are brought to a certain degree of forwardness by etching, and are afterwards finished with the graver; and when this process is executed with intelligence, it cannot fail to produce the happiest effect. It sometimes happens, indeed, that an etching, which only required to be partially touched on, and that in particu lar parts, with the graver, is, by want of judgment and dint of diligence, rendered heavy, laboured, and insipid.

"In figures of a certain size, stroke engraving has a decided advantage over etching, in the expression of the muscles. The soft and delicate transition from light to shadow, so necessary in that respect, cannot be rendered with equal success by the point. Large plates in general require a force and power of execution, which is scarcely to be produced by the simple operation of the needle, and more particularly demand the vigorous aid of the graver. Etch ing, on the contrary, is more successful in giving effect to sketches or drawings lightly touched, in which the solidity of the graver would entirely take away that easy and spirited touch, which constitutes their greatest beauty and merit.

But it is in Landscape that its operation is most advantageously developed, in which the foliage, sky, ruins, distances, in short, every part of that charming branch of the art requires the utmost lightness, as well as freedom of hand.

"In mezzotinto, the operation is in direct opposition to that of stroke engraving, or etching in the two latter, the object of the Artist is to trace the shadows in the plate; in the former, his effect is produced by clearing the lights. The essential excellence of mezzotinto is mellowness, and it is from thence that it is peculiarly adapted to portraits and to historical subjects, in which the figures are designed on a considerable scale. Perhaps no other branch of engraving surpasses or even equals mezzotinto in the softness of the carnations, the light floating of the hair, the folds of the draperies, the lustrous brilliancy of armour, and in the delicate imitation of the colouring of a picture. The talents of our ingenious countrymen have carried this interesting department of engraving to the highest possible per fection; their excellent productions have left those of every other country far behind, and are the admiration and delight of every lover of the Art.

"Engray