interefts him in the events of the play, in a manner which we really think peculiar to the ftyle and method of criticism which he has adopted. On reviewing the analyfis of the character of Hamlet, the Author says,- A sense of virtue, if I may use the language of an eminent philofopher, without profeffing myself of his feet, feems to be the ruling principle. In other men, it may appear with the enfigns of high authority: in Hamlet, it poffeffes abfolute power, United with amiable affections, with every graceful accomplishment, and every agreeable quality, it embellishes and exalts them, It rivets his attachment to his friends, when he finds them deferving; it is a fource of forrow, if they appear corrupted. It even sharpens his penetration; and, if unexpectedly he difcerns turpitude or impropriety in any character, it inclines him to think more deeply of their tranfgreffion, than if his fentiments were lefs refined. It thus induces him to fcrutinize their conduct, and may lead him to the difcovery of more enormous guilt. As it excites uncommon pain and abhorrence on the appearance of perfidious and inhuman actions, it provokes and stimulates his refentment: yet, attentive to justice, and concerned in the interefts of human nature, it governs the impetuofity of that unruly paffion. It difpofes him to be cautious in admitting evidence to the pre-, judice of another: it renders him diftruftful of his own judgment, during the ardor and the reign of paffion, and directs him in the choice of affociates, on whofe fidelity and judgment he may depend. If foftened by a beneficent and gentle temper, he hesitates in the execution of any lawful enterprife, it reproves him. And if there is any hope of reftoring those that are fallen, and of renewing in them the habits of virtue and of felf-command, it renders him affiduous in his endeavours to ferve them. Men of other difpofitions would think of gratifying their friends by contributing to their affluence, to their amulement, or external honour; but the acquifitions that Hamlet values, and the happiness he would confer, are a confcience void of offence, the peace and the honour of virtue. Yet, with all this purity of moral fentiment, with eminent abilities, exceedingly cultivated and improved, with manners the most elegant and becoming, with the utmost rectitude of intention, and the most active zeal in the exercife of every duty, he is hated, perfecuted, and deftroyed.'

In the character of the melancholy Jaques, the Author has illuftrated how focial difpofitions, by being exceffive, and by fuffering a painful repulfe, may render us unfocial and morofe; how

Goodness wounds itself,

And sweet affection proves the fpring of woe.'

If these reasonings, he adds, have any foundation in nature, they lead us to fome conclufions that deferve attention. To

judge

judge concerning the conduct of others, and to indulge obfervations on the inftability of human enjoyments, may affift us in the dif cipline of our own minds, and in correcting our pride and excef five appetites. But to allow reflections of this kind to become habitual, and to prefide in our fouls, is to counteract the good intentions of nature. In order, therefore, to anticipate a difpofition fo very painful to ourfelves, and fo difagreeable to others, we ought to learn, before we engage in the commerce of the world, what we may expect from fociety in general, and from every individual. But if, previous to experience, we are unable to form juft judgments of ourselves and others, we must beware of defpondency, and of opinions injurious to human nature. Let us ever remember, that all men have peculiar interests to purfue; that every man ought to exert himfelf vigorously in his own employment; and that, if we are ufeful and blamelefs, we fhall have the favour of our fellow citizens. Let us love mankind; but let our affections be duly chaftened. Be independent, if poffible; but not a ftoic.'

He laftly confiders the foft delicate enchanting Imogen; in whom love is the ruling paffion, and whofe fufferings have always been peculiarly affecting:

The ftrength and peculiar features of a ruling paffion, and the power of other principles to influence its motions, and moderate its impetuofity, are principally manifeft, when it is rendered violent by fear, hope, grief, and other emotions of a like nature, excited by the concurrence of external circumstances. When love is the governing paffion, thefe concomitant and fecondary emotions are called forth by feparation, the apprehenfion of inconftancy, and the abfolute belief of difaffection. On feparation, they difpofe us to forrow and regret: on the apprehenfion of inconftancy, they excite jealoufy or folicitude: and the certainty of difaffection begets defpondency. Thefe three fituations fhall direct the order and arrangement, of the following difcourfe.'

He concludes this very pleafing difquifition in a moral and ufeful manner. I fhall conclude thefe obfervations, by explaining more particularly, how the repulfe of a ruling and habitual paffion could difpofe Imogen to defpondency, and render her careless of life: in other words, what is the origin of despair; or, by what lamentable perverfion thofe, who are fufceptible of the pleasures of life, and in fituations capable of enjoying them, become diffatisfied, and rife from the feaft prematurely.

Happiness depends upon the gratification of our defires and paffions. The happiness of Titus arofe from the indulgence of a beneficent temper: Epaminondas reaped enjoyment from the love of his country. The love of fame was the fource of

Cafar's felicity: and the gratification of grovelling appetites gave delight to Vitellius. It has also been obferved, that fome one paffion generally affumes a pre-eminence in the mind, and not only predominates over other appetites and defires; but contends with reason, and is often victorious. In proportion as one paffion gains strength, the reft languifh and are enfeebled. They are feldom exercited; their gratifications yield tranfient pleafure; become of flight importance, are difpirited, and decay. Thus our happiness is attached to one ruling and ardent paffion. But our reafonings, concerning future events, are weak and fhort fighted. We form fchemes of felicity that can never be realized, and cherish affections that can never be gratified. If, therefore, the difappointed paffion has been long encou raged, if the gay vifions of hope and imagination have long adminiftred to its violence, if it is confirmed by habit in the temper, and conftitution, if it has fuperfeded the operations of other active principles, and fo enervated their ftrength, its difapointment will be embittered; and forrow, prevented by no other paffion, will prey, unabating, on the defolate abandoned fpirit. We may alfo obferve, that none are more liable to afflictions of this fort, than those to whom nature hath given extreme fenfibility. Alive to every impreffion, their feelings are exquifite: they are eager in every purfuit: their imaginations are vigorous, and well adapted to fire them. They live, for a time, in a ftate of anarchy, expofed to the inroads of every paffion, and, though poffeffed of fingular abilities, their conduct will be capricious. Glowing with the warmest affections, open, generous, and candid; yet, prone to inconftancy, they are incapable of lafting friendship. At length, by force of repeated indulgence, fome one paffion becomes habitual, occupies the heart, feizes the understanding, and impatient of refiftance or controul, weakens or extirpates every oppofing principle: difappointment enfues: no paffion remains to adminifter comfort: and the ori ginal fenfibility which promoted this difpofition, will render the mind more fufceptible of anguish, and yield it a prey to defpondency. We ought, therefore, to beware of limiting our felicity to the gratification of any individual paffion. Nature, ever wife and provident, hath endowed us with capacities for various pleasures, and hath opened to us many fountains of happiness: let no tyrannous paffion, let no rigid doctrine deter thee; drink of the ftreams, be moderate, and be grateful.' We have thus given, we hope, an adequate view of the defign and merit of this ingenious analyfis. We moft fincerely with the Author may obtain all the honour and advantage from his work which he can hope for. We are however apprehensive that this method of criticism, while it is the only one that can pleafe the philofopher and man of tafte, will be deemed refinement, and unintelligible, by the common tribe of readers.

W.

ART.

ART. III. A Political Survey of Britain: Being a Series of Reflections on the Situation, Lands, Inhabitants, Revenues, Colonies, and Commerce of this Ifland. Intended to fhew that we have not as yet approached near the Summit of Improvement, but that it will afford Employment to many Generations before they pufh to their utmoft Extent the natural Advantages of Great Britain. By John Campbell, LL. D. 4to. 2 Vols. 21. 2 s. unbound. Richardfon and Urquhart. 1774.

WE E have not had, for many years, a defign in the re

public of letters better conceived, more important in every view of it, and on the whole better executed, than Dr. Campbell's Political Survey. We are really astonished at the compass of the Author's knowledge, as well as pleased with the usefulness and goodness of his views.

Dr. Campbell gives, in his preface, a fhort account of the nature of his undertaking; and he befpeaks the candour of the Public in a manner which cannot fail of well securing it from every confiderate and fenfible reader.

In a work which, from its nature, fays he, required the investigation and difcuffion of fuch a variety of arduous and difficult fubjects, it would be very great prefumption to fuppofe that the Author, in fpite of all his care and attention, hath not committed a multitude of mistakes, which, no doubt, will appear to fuch as are better acquainted with particular fubjects, than he is or pretends to be; this put him under the neceffity of applying to the candour of the judicious reader, and this flatters him with the expectation, that his appeal will not be vain. In proportion as men are judicious, they are ufually impartial and compaffionate, difpofed to excufe involuntary errors, and those mistakes that arife without any ill defign. The truth is, that fuch an attempt was almost beyond the reach of any one man's abilities, of which none could be more confcious than himfelf. If it fhould be afked, Why then did you undertake it, or perfift in your undertaking? To this it is ingenuously answered, from a full conviction, that a work of this kind might be of the greatest public utility, and that it had better be imperfectly performed than not performed at all. The fenfe of this he expreffed when he offered his propofals to the Public, and the kind reception they met with leaves him no room to doubt that his imperfections, whatever they may be, will not cancel the only merit to which he pretends, that of having a ftudious regard to truth, and, as far as his understanding could direct him, to the public good.'

He begins the Political Survey, by a general eftimate of the nature and value of any country, and of the principles on which the celebrated empires of antiquity were founded. He then fhews, in a variety of inftances, that the fituation of a coun

try

try is a matter of the greateft importance to the happiness of the people. It may be pleafing to British readers to know what are the principal reasons which he offers for preferring an island to a continental fituation.

An infular fituation, fays Dr. Campbell, amongst those recommended by the ableft and moft capable judges, has been represented as preferable to any, as enjoying fome benefits infeparably peculiar thereto, and being at the fame time free from many inconveniences to which countries feated on the continent are, from that very fituation, neceffarily exposed. The foil of iflands, more especially if of any great extent, is commonly rich and fertile, and the climate rather milder than, under the fame parallel of latitude, upon the main land. The fea being the fafest and most natural boundary, affords the inhabitants great fecurity in fettling, cultivating, and improving their country; and a good government being once established, the inhabitants of an ifland muft, for these reasons, thrive quicker than their neighbours, and, being naturally prone to navigation, fupply their wants, export their own commodities, eftablifh an extenfive communication with the countries round them, and thereby attain an influence over their neighbours, trengthen themfelves at home, augment their riches by trade, and, in confequence of that naval power, of which commerce only is the natural bafis, commonly enjoy a greater proportion of freedom, affluence, and grandeur, than can well be attained, or, if attained, be for any length of time preserved, by inha bitants of countries of the fame extent on the continent. these are points of fact, they are best established from history; and the reader, when he carefully reflects on those inftances that may and shall be produced from thence, will find himself much better enabled, than by any other method he could have been, to judge of the propriety of the reasons and remarks that will occur in a particular application. Befides, he will alfo fee, and be convinced, that many things which he might have otherwife mistaken for the bold flights of a luxuriant fancy, or the chimerical and delufive inventions of a fertile imagination, are really fober and folid truths, fuggefted from the writings of men of found judgment, and which may at any time, in any like place, be certainly reduced to practice, because the light of experience fhews us that they have been actually practifed already. A manner of writing in refpect to the utility of which we may cite the authority of the celebrated John de Witt, than whom, in things of this nature, a better cannot be mentioned, whether ancient or modern.'

As

We think his introductory observations, in the next chapter, are very important; for example:

'The