Nor was it seldom that the characters of the scholar, and of the man of rank, were united in the same perfon. Of this Giovanni Pico, of Mirandula, to whom we have before frequently adverted, is perhaps the most illustrious instance. This accomplished nobleman, of whom many extraordinary circumstances are related, and who certainly exhibited a wonderful example of the powers of the human mind, was born at Mirandula in the year 1463, and was one of the younger children of Giovan-Francesco, Pico, prince of Mirandula and Concordia. So quick was his apprehenfion, so retentive his memory, that we are told a fingle recital was sufficient to fix in his mind whatever became the object of his attention. After having spent seven years in the most celebrated universities of Italy and France, he arrived at Rome in the twenty-first year of his age, with the reputation of being acquainted with twenty-two different languages, Eager to fignalize himself as a dif putant, Pico proposed for public debate nine hundred questions, on mathematical, theological, and scholastic fubjects, including alfo inquiries into the most abstruse points of the Hebraic, Chaldaic, and Arabic tongues. This measure, which in its worst light could only be confidered as an ebullition of youthful vanity, might, without any great injustice, have been fuffered to evaporate in neglect; but the Romish prelates inftead of configning these propofitions to their fate, or debating them with the impartiality of philofophers, began to examine them with the fufpicious eyes of church-men, and selected thirteen of them as heretical. To vindicate himself from

composed a Latin treatise of confiderable extent, which he is said to have written in the space of twenty days, and which he infcribed to Lorenzo de' Medici, under whofe protection he had theltered himself from persecution at Florence. The character and acquirements of Pico afforded to his contemporaries a fubject for the most unbounded panegyric. "He was a man," says Politiano, " or rather a hero, on whom nature had lavished all the endowments both of body and mind; erect and elegant in his perfon, there was fomething in his appearance almost divine. Of a perspicacious mind, a wonderful memory, indefatigable. in study, diftinét and eloquent in speech, it seems doubtful whether he was more conspicuous for his talents or his virtues. Intimately converfant with every department of philosophy, improved and invigorated by the knowledge of vari ous languages, and of every honorable science, it may truly be faid that no commendation is equal to his praife."

The instances before given of the critical talents of Pico, whatever may be thought of their accuracy, will at least justify him from the reproof of Voltaire, who is of opinion that the works of Dante and Petrarca would have been a more fuitable study for him than the fummary of St. Thomas, or the compilations of Albert the great. But the literary purluits of Pico were not confined to commentaries upon the works of others. From the specimens which remain of his poetical compofitions in his native language, there is reason to form a favourable judgement of those which have perished. Crescimbeni confefles, that

try

try fustained a heavy loss, and that his accomplished pen might have rescued it from its degraded state, without the intervention of so many other eminent men, whose labours had been employed to the fame purpofe. The few pieces which remain of his Latin poetry induce us to regret the feverity of their author. These poems he had arranged in five books, which he fubmitted to the correction of Politiano, who having performed his task, returned them to their author, with an elegant apology for the freedoms which he had taken. Soon afterwards Pico committed his five books to the flames, to the great regret of Politiano, who has perpetuated this incident by a Greek epigram. If the works thus destroyed were equal in merit to his Latin elegy addresled to Girolamo Benivieni, pofterity have reason to lament the lofs.'

From the eighth chapter, we have already extracted the character of the celebrated Girolamo Savonarola; with whose eventful hiftory most of our readers are probably acquainted.

The subject of the ninth chapter is the arts; of which Mr. Rofcoe has deduced the hiftory from their first rude beginnings in Italy, to the commencement of the golden age of Leo.

The tenth and last chapter contains an account of the death, and a review of the character, of Lorenzo; a narrative of the expulfion of his fon from Florence, and of the convulfions which agitated that republic; and a brief history of his defcendants, till the house of Medici at length acquired the sovereign authority in that country of which they had been fo long the firft citizens; a revolution which was ac

complished by Cosmo de' Medici, who became the first grand duke of Tuscany.

We have now presented to the public fuch ample extracts from this valuable work, that they will be able to form their own opinion both of its general excellence and its diftinguishing qualities.

It must be no inconfiderable confolation to the lovers of literature, to observe that, in the midft of those furious political animosities which threatened to banish every mild sentiment and elegant pursuit from among us, there should still remain a fufficient portion of calm literary tafte to render a work like the prefent fo generally acceptable and popular. Solid and permanent reputation the intrinfic merit of the work itself must in time have fecured: but it was scarcely to have been hoped that it should have acquired fuch rapid fame, without treating any temporary topic, or adopting any temporary fashion; without ftooping to the meretricious allurements of style which seduce a depraved tafte; and without either flattering or provoking any of the paffions which divide an agitated public. It is not often at any time, but it is very feldom in fuch times as the present, that the means of obtaining early popularity are the fame with those of fecuring a lafting reputation. We congratulate the author on having combined both these objects, without having debased the dignity of hiftory fo far as to minifter to any of the reigning prejudices of the age. He has obtained public applaufe, without any facrifice either of the purity of his taste or of the independence of his principles. He has paid no court to the prepoffeffions of that body of Englishmen, among whom

the

the very name of liberty seems in danger of becoming unpopular; nor does he betray the flighteft taint of those extravagant and chimerical opinions concerning government, which have infected another part of his countrymen. We may say that of him which cannot always be faid of hiftorians of great name, that, as an inftructor in morals and politics, be is uniformly safe. Justice, humanity, liberty, and public tranquillity have in him an enlightened and inflexible advocate. Faithful to these the invariable interefts of mankind-he pronounces with rigid impartiality the judgement of hiftory on all their enemies, whatever pretext they may aflume by whatever motives they may be inftigated,

and under whatever difguifes they

may appear.

The fuccess of fuch a work, we hope, will stimulate and encourage those scholars and philosophers, who have perhaps too hastily supposed that politics had absorbed every other lentiment, and whom that apprehenfion has hitherto induced to withold their works from the public. Some fuch we ourselves have the honour of knowing; and many more, we have no doubt, are actuated by fimiliar apprehenfions. The example of Mr. Roscoe is sufficient to prove to them that all tafte for fcientific difcuffion and literary research is not extinguished, and that the public ftill feel an interest in the history of Poggius and Politian, of Michael Angelo and Raphae!; and even if the world were more exclusively occupied by politics, it would be worthy of men of genius to attempt to soften the harshness of a political temper by the infufion of elegant literature into the mind. We should be far, indeed, from

IT

to English lawyers, that, however profound and extenfive may be their knowledge of the laws and conftitution of their own country, they are remarkably ignorant of the laws and conftitutions of other countries, and are little acquainted either with diplomatic jurisprudence, or with the law of nations. In almost every other art and science, England has produced authors whose works hold a diftinguished rank in the republic of letters: but she has scarcely given birth to one writer on general law, whose works are cited out of her own courts of justice, or read by the learned of other nations. Lord Bolingbroke, who sometimes took a pleasure in expofing the defects of his countrymen, has, on more than one occafion, made this remark in his writings.

We have now before us, however, a work on the law of nations that may, perhaps, contribute much towards redeeming us from this reproach.

Mr. Ward

Mr. Ward commences his labours by endeavouring to settle the exact import of the expression, the law of nations, and by pointing out the real foundation of that law. The author admits that the law of nature forms a part of it: but, observing (to use his own expreffions) 'how difcordant the opinions of many are, upon the ramifications of the law of nature, he concluded it to be necef fary, that the foundations of the law of nations should be fomething more fixed and definite; and therefore in addition to the law of nature, not with a view to reject it, he holds revealed religion, and the moral system engrafted upon it to be the fureft foundation.'

The author then treats of the law of nations, as it is observed by the Christian world. This is the subject of the first three chapters. In the fourth, he endeavours to shew that the law of nations is not to be confidered as the law of the world, but only as the law of particular classes of nations, united together by fimiJar religious and moral inftitutions. In the fifth chapter, which closes this part of his publication, he shews' how different classes of nations may be distinguished; this chapter is, in our opinion, the most important of this part of the work: for, though we think that the author has difcovered great ingenuity and ability, in his inquiry into the foundation of the law of nations, yet the principles both of the law of nature and of the law of nations are neceflarily fo broad, that it is extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, to express them in such a manner as to give perfectly distinct and exact notions of the ideas which they are designed to convey; and in this respect, writers on municipal law

have greatly the advantage. On this imperfection of the law of nations, Mr. Ward has the following pertinent remark:

As the principles of all civil and muncipal laws must be founded in natural reason, but derive the form and manner in which they are brought into use from pofitive inaitutions; so also the law of nations must put in force the dictates of nature, in some known mode agreed upon by all who conform to them. The only difference is, that in the one cafe, it is individuals who are called upon to fettle the mode; in the other, it is whole nations acting through the organs of their governments; that in the one, almoft every thing that can exercise the judgement of an individual in his various relations, is fettled for him by written law, or by precedent; while among states, (from their comparatively little intereourse and the want of a common sovereign,) much is left without precedent, wavering, as accident, or whimor the varying ideas of natural juftice, may direct.'

He then proceeds to give a chronological account of the law of nations as it has been observed in Europe: of the strange ideas that were formerly entertained of it; of the gradual changes which took place in those ideas, and the caufes of those changes; together with the improvements which were given to them, so as to elevate the law into the rank of the sciences. He begins with the history of the law of nations in Europe as observed by the Greeks and Romans. After having remarked, in general terms, the high eminence which they attained in arts and arms, he thus continues:

One

One thing however was wanting to the perfection which, had they poffessed it, they would probably have acquired; and that was, the knowledge of the doctrines of a religion which, whatever may be its points of controverfy, has had the uniform effect, wherever it has taken root, of producing a more equitable notion of things, and a milder fyftem of manners.

• Accordingly, from the want of this great advantage, we may obferve that the people in question, while they were in the first scale of eminence in almostall other respects, fall far short of their pofterity in the their ideas of the law we treat of. The want of a principle fufficiently binding in their schemes of morality, had a palpable effect upon their characters in private life; and, as might be expected, it transferred itself into the spirit of their law of nations. However, therefore, we may be accustomed to hear of their politeness, their arts, their refinements in elegance, or their knowledge of laws, we find upon inquiry, that their politeness, while it tharpened their understandings, had no effect upon their hearts; that their refinements were for the most part sensual, and when we come to contemplate the general scope of their laws of war and peace they will be found too often to resemble the barbarians they despised. The author then comes to the period at which Rome,

• With heaviest sound, a giant statue fell;

COLLINS.

and he draws an interesting, but frightful, picture of that calamitous time. After having given a fuccinct account of the maxims and morals of the northern nations, he

observes that, with fuch morals and maxims, their law of nations must have been far different from that comparatively regular one of the Romans. These rules of right, far from checking their dreadful and murderous inclinations, were themselves to warped and adapted to them, that they gave them fresh force.

He then gives the history of the law of nations in Europe, from the above period down to the eleventh century; and he afterwards pursues it to the 15th. He shews the influence of the feudal law, and afterwards that of chivalry, on the law of nations; and he points out the regularity and improvement which it received from the institutions of chivalry: institutions, (he fays,) which have long gone by, and faded before the general improvement of manners which time had brought on. In the ages however when they flourished, they were of effential consequence to the well being of the world, and as far as they went fupplied the place of philofophy itself.'

A confiderable portion of the work is employed in shewing the influence of Chriftianity, and the ecclefiaftical establishments, on the law of nations.

Mr. Ward then proceeds to difcuss the influence of treaties and conventions; and this we confider as the most useful part of his work. It is followed by an entertaining account of the rank and claims of the nations of Europe: but we do not find that he takes any notice of one of the most curious events in the history of the rank and precedence of the English nation, viz. the dispute for precedence between the French and English, at the council