it, intimating the fuperior and intelligent life or foul infused into him: by God's breathing life into man, the immortality of the foul is plainly infifted upon; for though he bid an animating life inform the mechanifm of other creatures, it appears to have been of very inferior denomination, because, by the term breathed, muft be understood fomething infufed immediately from himself, and partaking therefore of a divine nature; but what is of his nature cannot be fubject to be destroyed or diffolved, like material fabrics; nor that return to duft, which was never taken from it, but muft continue felf-exiftent, incapable of being annihilated by any power, but that Almighty one, from which alone it proceeded; for what man, who thinks, can imagine that difeafe and death, which are only other words to fignify a Icofening and difordering of the parts of a machine compofed of fine clay by divine fkill, fo as to render it totally unfit for the foul to act upon, can have any tendency to deftroy the intelligent fpirit or mind, which has no parts, and therefore can be no object of diffolution, laceration, or corruption?'

Such a conceit is juft as wife a one, as to believe that the foul [art] of the carpenter or fmith is entirely deftroyed and loft, because by accident his tools have been spoiled, and are become fo unfit for his use, that he is no longer able to work with them.'

That there is fomething peculiarly ftriking in this circumlocution of the inspired penman, is not to be denied; and that he had fome particular reafon for expreffing himself in this manner, no reasonable impartial man will doubt; and though it may not be undeniably evident altogether, that his words abfolutely amount to a declaration of the foul's immortality, there is nothing however very far fetched, or irrational, in fuppofing them to have that meaning: and we think Mr. R.'s inferences and deductions from the premifes very natural and rational.

His account of the nature of the furfaces of the fun and moon, taken from telescopic obfervations, is very just, and his reflections are pertinent; for which, however, we must refer to the book itfelf.

ART. IV. A Treatise on the Study of Antiquities, as the Commentary to historical Learning, fetching out a general Line of Research: alfo marking and explaining fome of the Defiderata. With an Appendix. By T. Pownall. 8vo. 5 s. boards. DodЛley. 1782. 'N the present age, fubjects of antiquity are investigated with

ancients are examined with taste and penetration; and the difquifitions of the antiquary become refpectable from his choice of fubjects.

The

The date on a tombstone, the motto on a painted window, the age of a family manfion, no longer occupy the time of those who examine into

"The mouldy records of our forefathers."

The ftudy of antiquity now takes a wider field, and goes hand in hand with that of hiftory. There is always an intimate connection between the arts and the manners of every people: they mutually influence each other; and in the difcuffion of points, which relate to them, we are for fome time happily feduced from the lures with which modern manners fafcinate our opinions.

It would be endless to enumerate the advantages with which the antiquary's labours have affifted the hiftorian. He has frequently been enabled to difcriminate between truth and falfehood, and between certainty and tradition, by the aid of these refearches. He has illuftrated doubts, cleared mifreprefentations, and traced the real cause of actions, which have been obscured by jealoufy, diftorted by prejudice, or palliated by the specious expofitions of partiality.

This ftudy was long fuppofed to require neither elegance nor tafte in its prosecution. Hardy curiofity, and dauntless patience were esteemed the only neceffary requifites. In the prefent age, however, inquiries of this nature are juftly thought to be the most fuitable companions for hiftory, philofophy, and poetry.

The Public, therefore, is under great obligations to every author who contributes his mite to clear the path, that leads us through these investigations. Governor Pownall, whom we have had various occafions to mention with refpect, will undoubtedly increase his literary reputation, by this work, which displays a confiderable knowledge of ancient cuftoms, and fhews the Author's reading to be very extenfive.

This treatise is dedicated to the Prefident, Council, and Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries, and fets out with affecting the utility of this literary establishment. The purpose of the work is, to explain the principle on which antiquaries fhould act, and the end to which their labours fhould be dedicated. They should pursue their ftudies in the fpirit of philosophy, and apply the knowledge which they acquire, as the commentary of biflory.

The Author opens his work with an analyfis of the powers of enunciation and the elements of fpeech. He is frequently ingenious, but fometimes too fanciful. In this part of the treatife, the paffages in which the language of men, as spoken in the times of the kingdom of Troy; the language of ancient Greece, before the arrival of the Hellenifts; and the language of REV. O&. 1783.

X

ancient

ancient Europe in general, are confidered and compared, impreffes us with a very high idea of the Governor's erudition *.

The next point which our Author examines, is, the method by which men, in the early periods of their civilization, aimed to fix the fleeting expreffions of fpeech, in permanent palpable fymbols, that fhould remain under the eye. He then fhews, that, in all countries, the firft efforts of mankind to record their fentiments were exerted by making general portraits of the ideas, not by detailed characters of the elements of Speech, compound d into pictures of words.'

The following account is given, of the use, which might be derived from hieroglyphics:

It appears to me, that if the Antiquary would hope to collect any information from thefe ancient infcriptions, he fhould, inftead of fearching amongst the Stoicks, the latter Platonifts, and the Trifmegiftic philofophers, for myftical allegories, and divine romances, endeavour to colle& all the collateral accounts which are any where to be met with of the civil and natural history of those countries, where any of thofe picture-writings do remain; as alfo (if it were poffible to find fuch) to fearch out the gradations of the several stages of the community in its civilization; the progrefs of the clearing and cultivating the land, and particularly the ftate of its cultivation and produce; the inftruments of husbandry, the machines and tools of the arts; the weapons of their military, and navy, the enfigns of office; their mode of numeration, weight and meafure; their opinions, external forms, and ceremonies of religion, with utenfils and inframents used in their rites; and, where it is poffible, the turn and phrase of their language. If the Antiquary could obtain any actual information in these particulars, and fhould then go to the reading this picture writing, without any previous prejudice or impreffion of their containing abftrufe and myftick doctrines, he would most likely find thefe infcriptions to be plain and fober records of the history of the country or people; or registers of the fate of it, or regulations refpecting it; or memorials dedicated to the honour of fome King, containing the ftate of his administration, and the hiftory of his actions, thus held forth to the admiration of the people in the vulgate picture-writing; or rolls of the public revenues, and payments to be made, fet down in numbers, weight, and measure. Kircher, and all the Trifmegiftic doctors, down from Jamblichus, copying the whimfies or defigned perverfions of the Platonists, have not only made fuch unintelligible ftuff of thefe infcriptions as nobody ever could be, or ever was, fatisfied with; but have created even a defpair in the learned of ever finding out any interpretation at all, if thefe infcriptions are to be ftill viewed as the images of an intellectual fyftem of incomprehenfible myfteries. As thefe learned romancers have had their full scope of experiments, which have ended in the abortion of

The paffage of Homer, mentioned in p. 31, Tons of gros whlo, &c. of which Governor Pownall could not recollect the place, is in the Odyffey, Book xi. 555.

phantem,

phantom, if men will at length venture to think for themselves on facts as they come before them; they will find that all this contemptible stuff, about which fo many bulky books have been made, began with the philofophers, who wifhed to throw a veil of Phyfiology over mere fables, which fuperftition had fan&tified; and hath been derived down from them, and from no where else.

That the Egyptians had in their picture-writings fymbols by which to exprefs their ideas of the Supreme Being, and of the various manifeftations of his Providence, is certain, as well as those of any other idea; and the images and idols of those ideas led both to the grofs and the mystick idolatry, and were perhaps in Egypt the caufe of it: but that all their infcriptions were facred, and cabalistick scripture of their religion, and nothing elfe, was an after-thought of later philofophers, in order to cover the groffness of their idolatry by a veil of phyfiology.'

Governor Pownall then examines the account of the Pamphy lian Obelifk, which is given by Kircher, whom he convicts of mifreprefentation, and, at the fame time, gives us his own ideas on this fubject, which merit attention.

He next confiders collections of antiquities, and their ufe; and throws out hints for the compofition of defcriptions, almost hiftoric, of the progrefs and firft ftages of human life, which may give a juft reprefentation of the general courfe of events. He touches upon the fabulos account of the fettlements of the Phenicians, Egyptians, and Hellenists; and recommends to Mr. Clarke, the learned author of the Treatife on Roman, Saxon, and English Coins *, to supply an hiftoric defideratum, by giving an account of the commerce in the Euxine and western ports of the Mediterranean feas. At the fame time, he wishes that Mr. Bryant would turn his thoughts to the Chittim and Tarfhifh of the ancients.

The Author next confiders how the philofophic Antiquary may conduct his commentary on the Hiftoria propria et jufta. He obferves, that Alexander the Great was the first prince

ftatefman, who combined upon fyftem the intereft and powers of commerce with the operations of polity.' The account of that prince's fchemes is curious, and his conduct is viewed with the fcrutinizing eye of a philofopher.

The revenues and treasury bufinefs of the Romans are next examined, in order to point out the neceffary objects for the confideration of hiftorical ftudents. We fhall tranfcribe the paffage, as it will furnish our Readers with an opportunity of judging of the Author's ftyle, and the train of his researches:

The eftablishment of the civil government in the early periods of the Roman people, under the Kings as well as under the Confuls, required very little expence: here perfonal fervice was the principal tax, which power and honour fully recompenfed. When the military

See an account of this work in the 33th and 39th volumes of our Review.

eftablishment, as the condu&t of the wars grew every day more expenfive, required the fupport of a revenue; the Plebeians complained of the inequality and injuftice arifing from the demand made upon them for taxes, while the demand upon their perfonal fervice in the army, taking from them thofe means of labour which were their fupport, rendered them incapable of paying those taxes: they were accordingly excufed from paying the tribute on this ground, "Pauperes falis ftipendii pendere fi liberos educarent." The expences, however, of a growing ftate, involved in various wars, and various fœderal negotiations and connections, was obliged to maintain various ordinary establishments, and repeatedly incurred various extraordinary expences. To a state, in these circumstances, a permanent and regular revenue became neceffary, and taxes were therefore neceffarily impofed and tevied. Thefe, in the times of monarchy, were impofed by the Kings, and in the times of the Republic by the Confuls (perhaps in fenate) by the Cenfors, or the Dictators, as the cafe food and required. I have ventured to say this, although I know that it is a point by no means. fettled amongst the Antiquaries, whether it was impofed by the fu-: preme magiftrate alone, or by him in fenate; or, whether it originated. in a Senatus-confultum, or in a Plebiscitum ; or whether it was originated by the Senate, and enacted juffu populi.' I take my ground for this affertion from this certain fact; that the Kings had the power of impofing taxes, and on the Revolution, at the expulfion of the Kings, Livy informs us, Libertatis autem originem indè magis, quia annuum imperium confulare factum eft, quàm quod diminutum quicquam fit ex regia poteftate. This ground can be made good by various inftances which might be adduced; but with which, as I am not here writing exprefsly on the fubject of the Roman finances, I will not trouble the Society, nor the reader; I only fuggeft what appears to me wanting, and what I think might be explained.

The fpirit and reafoning, by which these taxes were laid, took their courfe in the two following lines. The Tributum was impofed upon property, real and perfonal, or faculty, in proportion as rated in the Cenfus.

The Vectigalia, of which the Portoria were the chief class, were® impofed on the produce of the lands, goods, and every article of fale, in their paffage to, and in their fale at market; these were the vicefimat, or five per centum, and the centefima †, or one per centum ; this kind of excife at different periods, and on various occafions, were extended to numberless and nameless § articles.

The neceffity of impofing and collecting from the citizens of

*T. Liv. II. § 25.

+ Thefe branches of the excife, not only existed before the regula tions made in them by Auguftus, but were paid in Italy, and were a vectigal domefticum, as Cicero calls them. It seems to me, therefore, that Mr. Gibbon is millaken when he fuppofes that Auguftus firft impofed them on Roman citizens, who had been exempted from any kind of contribution above a century and a half. Auguftus made many regulations in them, and feveral extenfions of them.

§ I fo defcribe them from the nafty and infamous nature of them.