as an original language, are as well founded as Mr. Jones's in fupport of the Welfh: nay, he does not doubt, but as plaufible pretenfions as thofe of either, may be made in favour of the Arabic, Chaldee, Syriac Armenian, Chinese, Greek, Swedish, Coptic, or Teutonic; every one of which have had their Advocates as well as the Celtic, whofe caufe is thus warmly efpoufed by Mr. Rowland Jones.

K-n-k.

The Merry Philofopher; or Thoughts on Jefting. Containing Rules by which a proper Judgment of Jefts may be formed; and the Criterion for diftinguishing true and genuine Wit from that which is falfe and fpurious: Together with Inftructions for improving the Taste of those who have a natural turn for Pleafantry and Good Humour. By George Frederick Meier, Profeffor of Philofophy at Halle, Member of the Royal Academy at Berlin, and Author of feveral much admired Works in the German Language. Now firft tranflated into English from the German Original. 12mo. 3s. Newbery.

A Philofophical Treatife on Jelling may be fuppofed written

with a view to make a of Philofophy. Nothing, however, appears farther from the defign of the Treatife before us; which is really a grave and judicious enquiry into the fource, not indeed of the fublime and beautiful, but of the low and rifible, That there is certainly as determinate a caufe in nature, why we are affected by the latter with Laughter, as by the former with Admiration, is not to be doubted; but whether the causes of both are equally inveftigable, can only be judged of by a comparative review of the different attempts made toward their investigation.

In the jocofe reign of that merry monarch king Charles the fecond, the art of jefting feems to have been in the highest repute in England. But the practice of an art, and the fcientific principles on which it is founded, are very different. How many fuccefsful practitioners in phyfic have we, who know nothing of medicine, as a fcience! How many excellent performers, and even compofers, in mufic, who are totally ignorant of the nature of the vibrations and the mechanical proportions of the chords, productive of the feveral tones, of which they know how to difpofe fo harmoniously! How many ingenious artists in painting and defign, that know fo little of the phyfical caufes of thofe admirable effects their labours produce, that not one in twenty of them can divine, even to this day, what their great

mafter Hogarth intended by his Line of Beauty! In like manner we have numerous adepts in the art rifible; choice fpirits! who juft when they pleafe, as Hamlet fays of Yorick, can set the table in a roar; and yet we conceive not one of our modern fons of Comus will comprehend a whit more of our Profeffor's Analyfis of Jefting, than the generality of our Artists underfland of the Analyfis of Beauty. It is indeed by time and flow degrees the an Art improves and ripens into a Science: the sets were long practifed with fuccefs, even from the days of Archimedes to thofe of Bishop Wilkins and the Marquis of Worcester; but who before Dr. Wallis and Sir Ifaac Newton was capable of determining the laws of Motion, and reducing. Mechanics to a Science? Thus Longinus and Aristotle wrote, ages ago, on the beautiful effects of literary composition; but it was referved for the prefent philofophical age to discover the mechanism of the true fublime, the phyfical caufes of taste, † and the general physiological principles of true fun.

It is fomewhat extraordinary, however, that this discovery fhould fall to the lot of a German; it being no longer ago than the time of Louis the fourteenth, when it was folemnly debated in the University of Paris, whether it was poffible in rerum natura that a German could be a wit? We are told, it is true, in the introduction to this work, that an Author, tho' without any turn for jefting himself, may, as a philofopher, undertake to enquire, on folid principles, into the rules of jefting as fuch a one is fuppofed to have refined his tafte by the rules of found and philofophical criticism, to have acquired just notions of beauty in general, and to be well instructed in the nature of wit and acumen in particular; juft as he may be a proper judge of the beauties of a picture, the noble ftrokes of a

It hath been for many ages a standing proverb, de guftibus non eft 'difputandum; but, if we may judge from the fuccefs of fome late attempts by Montefquieu, Voltaire, D'Alembert, Gerard, and others; we shall foon fee that adage reverfed. Nay we doubt not this fubje&t will in a fhort time become fo familiar to our cafuitical critics, that the mechanical and mathematical principles of Wit, Humour, and Taste, will be canvaffed at the Queen's arms and Robinhood, in the fame manner as are now thofe of the human understanding, the principles of religion, politics, or any other fcience equally understood by the learned members of thofe flourishing focieties. We would indeed recommend it to the new Literary Society, now cftablishing in this metropolis, under the aufpices of the Rev. Dr. Trufler, and others, to offer premiums, in imitation of the Society in the Strand, not only to young Writers and Speakers, but also to young Jokers; unless indeed this good work be taken out of their hands, by the union of the Catch Club and Comus's Court, which we conceive would form a truly national and comical inftitution, under the denomination of the Rifible Society: the motto of whofe arms might be Homo eft animal rifibile.

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fine poem, the energy and force of a fublime piece of oratory, tho' neither painter, poet, nor orator. The reafon is, theory and practice are not always infeparable.'

Thus, it seems the academical queftion above-mentioned, might have been determined in the affirmative, and yet the propriety of our Philofopher's enquiry be fully admitted. And, indeed, this was very probably the cafe: while the Beaux-efprits and Efprits forts of England and France were bufy in pelting each other with farcaftic jefts, and making the world laugh at their witticifms, our Author was fitting, hum-drum, with his pipe in his mouth, like a true German profeffor, endeavouring to smoke the cream of the jeft, and to find out what people were fo merry about.

Whether he hath really extracted the marrow of the joke or not, may be gathered from the following abstract and specimens of the work.

As to the general defign of this performance, the Author Ipeaks thus of it in his introduction, which appears to have been added in a second edition of the book:

• Several exceptions were made by fome formal gloomy perfons to thefe thoughts, on their first publication: they accounted the undertaking indecent and ridiculous: they imagined I fat up for a profeffor of jefting, and publickly declared, I affected an extraordinary turn that way, and wanted to keep it in exercife. My pupils and my more intimate friends can readily acquit me in this refpect. I muft, however, reft contented with the judgment of the world, fhould it be thought a still greater indecency, that I now give an improved edition. I only want to be thought a whet-stone for sharpening iron, without pretending to cut :

-fungar vice cotis, acutum

Reddere quæ ferrum valeat, exfors ipfa fecandi.

Some perfons indifcriminately condemn all laughter and jefting, as criminal; as they make no diftinction between a morofe and a terious turn of mind. I can eafily forefee, they will deem, as inconfiftent with the principles of morality, a fubject, which they, in their gloomy apprehenfions, look upon as incompatible with its practice. As I admit, that feveral jefts are inconfiftent with true virtue; fo, if impartial, they, on their part, muft admit, that morofenefs is far from being a

virtue :

Multum ringitur otiofa Virtus.

Hypocrites, with the appearance, but without the reality of virtue, condemn, from the teeth outwardly, the laughter and jefting, which they fincerely approve in their hearts. And maBy fincere, virtuous perfons, alio account them criminal, either

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from temperament, melancholy, or erroneous principles of mo rality. As the cenfure of fuch perfons gives me pain, fo their approbation would give me great pleasure. But as long as they confider the fuggeftions of their temperament, deep melancholy, and erroneous principles, as fo many dictates of real virtue; fo long they must not take it amifs, if, while I revere their virtue, I defpife their judgment.

:

It must be allowed, great offence may be given by jefting, and that much circumfpection is requifite to jeft innocently. Some jefts are irreligious, coarfe, lewd, unfeemly, &c. But I am to fhew, a happy jeft muft in its nature be innocent. To determine in general, whether jefting be innocent, or no, it is neceffary to explain briefly the intention, fubject, circumstances, and the nature of a jeft, and of the laughter confequent upon it. As to the intention, a perfon may jeft out of malignity, lewdnefs, impiety, rancour, &c. things no ways neceffary to confitute jefts and therefore we cannot condemn them in the lump, because fometimes proceeding from criminal intentions. The fubject of jefts may be things, which ought not to be jested on; things of a momentous nature, as religion, virtue, truth, &c. but as thefe are no requifites to a jeft, we cannot therefore condemn all jefting, because of fuch abufe and mifapplication. Many circumstances may be improper for jefting, as in the houfe of mourning, on a death-bed, &c. but none can be reftrained at any time, to jeft unfeafonably*. In the nature of a jeft, which, as I fhall fhew, confists in an extreme fine thought, the refult of a great wit and acumen, which are eminent perfections of the foul, there can be nothing criminal. And lastly, in laughter, condemned by perfons, whom nature has neglected, having denied them the faculty thereof, whofe averfion therefore to laughter can be no virtue; in laughter, I fay, bestowed as a prerogative on man, above the brute creation, there can as little be any thing criminal. In all this, I only attempt to fet my readers in the train of judging in a rational and folid manner, on the morality of jefting: the further profecution is foreign to my purpofe. I might however, alledge, that a harsh, difagreeable truth, a reproof, can in no better manier be couched. Many failings and miscarriages deferve a flight ridicule, not a folemn reprimand. A man may often make his fortune by a happy jeft; or hand fomely extricate himself out of fome diffculty. Mr. Waller, whom Charles II. reproached with a better poem, made on Cromwell, than on himself, readily replied: "Poets, pleafe your majefty, are happier at fiction than truth."

We apprehend there is fome miftake here, either of the Tranflator, or the Printer.

A foldier,

A foldier, who, by his bravery in the wars, came to lofe an arm, had a mere trifle in money from his general. Aftonished at this, he frankly spoke out: "Have I loft but a pair of gloves?" This jeft procured a more confiderable prefent.

6 The benefits to be reaped from the perufal of this treatife, will be: First, to enable perfons with a turn for jefts, to diltinguish the false and infipid from the genuine and fprightly; to ftifle in the birth all low and indecent drollery; to reprefs imprudent fallies of wit, which fpare not even a bofom-friend; to prune the luxuriancies of a wild imagination, faults, the wittiest and moft ingenious may at times be fubject to. Cicero is a ftriking inftance, that a fine genius may jeft in a wretched manner, because jefting too often, and not accurately enough examining his jefts. Public profeffors in univerfities often difgrace themselves by wretched jefts, with a view to divert their hearers, and relieve the feverity of the profound truths they are propofing, by interlarded jefts. A general treatise on jefting, may, therefore, yield uncommon benefit to all who incline to jeft: It will make them cautious to examine, whether a conceit may not clash with the rules of jefting; enable them to improve their tafte in jefting, and gain refolution enough to ftifle all jests in the birth, which cannot stand the teft; the abortions of a motley wit, and which brought forth, would difgrace the Author, and diftafte the Hearers.'-The Writer goes on to enumerate other advantages arifing from the fuitable application of a talent or capacity for jefting; as well as to fhew in what manner the art of jefting may be reduced to a fcience.

In chapter the firft, the Author proceeds to give his definition of a jest: a jeft, fays he, is principally a creature of the fenfitive wit and acumen; I must therefore, define, what I mean by wit and acumen, Nature has beftowed on us a faculty, by which we can perceive the agreement of one thing with another. Now as things are faid to agree mutually, when they are in quantity and qualities the fame; to this their agreement we are to rank all refemblances, equalities, and proportions. Wit is the readiness or habit to difcover the agreement of things; and thus their refemblances or fimilitudes, their equalites and proportions; and is divided into the fenfitive and rational wit. The fenfitive wit confifts in the readiness or habit of reprefenting the agreements of things in an indiftinct and fenfitive manner. But the rational wit, is the habit of difcovering the refemblances of things in a diftinét manner. By this laft fpecies of wit we gain, for inftance, abstract notions, by means of logical rules, feparated or abftracted from others, all of them

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