ART. 13. MONTHLY CATALOGUE OF NEW PUBLICATIONS,
WITH CRITICAL REMARKS.

NATECHISM of Political Economy, or Fa- condition of his own country. Indeed, the very

py to see.

which Wealth is produced, distributed, and tain has been placed, have called forth a multiconsumed in Society, by JEAN BAPTISTE SAY, tude of pens intent upon their melioration, and Professor of Political Economy, in the ATHE- given rise to an infinitude of political speculations NEE ROYAL,' of Paris, &c. &c. Translated embodying important facts, but all too closely from the French, by John Richter. Phila- connected with the occasion of their origin, not delphia. M. CAREY and Son. New-York, it. Ganihl's able work on political economy, has to lose much of their merit when detached from KIRK and MERCEIN. 8vo. pp. 183. done much towards fixing the standard princi. This is a very sensible and useful work,—8s far ples of this science, and will interest all who do not shrink from the labour of investigation; it as it goes. It is, however, merely elementary, has, moreover, lessened that labour. We have and does not even touch upon many important very lately seen a popular treatise on this subsubjects, much less does it descend to minute ject, entitled Conversations on Political Ecoparticulars on any point. The author, frequent nomy,' in form of familiar dialogues, the circulaly, refers in support of his positions to a more tion of which, as it must disseminate correct noextensive and elaborate work, which he has here- tions, and will tend to excite a wholesome spirit tofore published, under the title Traite d'Eco- of inquiry, we would gladly aid. This Catenomie Publique,' and which from this specimen chism is, perhaps, the most convenient compend of his opinions and reasonings, we should be hap- for those who love to arrive directly at concluWe are glad, in the mean time, to sions. M. Say appears to have written for no meet with a brief and perspicuous treatise, in one meridian, nor any single exigency. There is which topics, in regard to which the people, at no narrowness in his calculations. His premilarge, have so great an interest in being well informed, are brought under their notice, and shows no squeamishness in approaching any dis ses are broad and his inferences general. He adapted to their comprehension. Many useful cussion; and is evidently exempt from the domireflections will pass through every man's mind nion of prejudice. who peruses this book, and it is, perhaps, one of the best recommendations that it has, or that any work can possess, that it will set the reader to thinking. There are a multitude of useful truths within every one's reach, that are never converted to his use, merely because he does not turn his attention towards them. An author who will put us upon a right track, and give us an incentive to pursue the research to which he has invited us, often does us a greater benefit, by these means, than he possibly could by gratuitously imparting to us the results of his own labours. Habits of ratiocination are more valuable than any axiom, or collection of aphorisms, in the same proportion that the soil is more valua ble than the crop it has yielded, or the loom, than the web it has wrought. The one is a capacity or power that may be made serviceable in various ways, and on any emergency,--the other is a product that has already received its limitation, both as to its mode and measure of applicability. It is very possible that Mr. Say's assertions are not all of them entitled to be received as dogmas;-certain we are, that all of them will not be so admitted. They are recommended, however, by a boldness that does credit to the author's sincerity, at the same time that it encourages us to a like independent exercise of our understandings.

The writings of Adam Smith are too abstruse to be easily comprehended by the unphilosophic mind, besides, subsequent experience has elucidated much that was problematical or intricate in his day. Mr. Malthus has, more recently, written some ingenious, though rather theoretical essays, on national industry and population, but his views seem to have been, in a degree, restrained by considerations bearing upon the peculiar

We cannot refrain from remarking, however, on the incongruity of the style of publication, with the principle of the work.

E.

A Portraiture of Domestic Slavery in the United States, with Reflections on the Practicability of restoring the Moral Rights of the Slave, without impairing the Legal Privileges of the Possessor; and a Project of a CoIonial Asylum, for Free Persons of Colour, including Memoirs of Facts on the interior traffic in Slaves, and on Kidnapping. Jesse Torrey, jun. Physician, Author of a Series of Essays on Morals and the Diffusion of Knowledge. Philadelphia. For the Author. New-York. KIRK & MERCEIN. 8vo. pp. 94.

By

The subjects to which the Author of this publication is endeavouring, we hope with success, to call public attention, is of immense importance to our country. Slavery, with retributive justice, has become a curse to those who have inflicted it. In the southern section of the Union, slaves compose nearly the whole agricultural population,-the class that constitutes the bone and muscle of. every community,-the class too, whose increase is most rapid. It requires but little reflection to comprehend the nature of the impending dan ger, though it surpasses the powers of ordinary prescience to define its extent, and baffles the skill of political wisdom to devise a remedy. Dr. Torrey is sensible of the impracticability of inducing the free blacks to emigrate, and the impolicy of emancipating those in bondage on any other condition. He proposes measures for the melioration of their present situation, and for their gradual enlargement. He very justly, however,

protests against the admission of freed-men to the of the Swedenborgians, that we consider them privileges of citizens, and against every measure rather a subject of philosophical speculation than that tends to incorporate them into the mass of of religious controversy. In this light we must the people. We pretend not to have formed any confess, that the pamphlet before us, as far as one definitive opinion on a subject beset with so many of the uninitiated can understand it, has its difficulties as the one under consideration. We merit. It suggests some very fanciful and pleasare glad that it has excited discussion. The pre- ing analogies between the spiritual and material sent work is calculated to do good. It is written worlds, which amuse, at least, if they do not inBaron Swedenborg was a man of learnwith the warmth of a patriot and a philanthropist, struct. -though with more ardour of feeling than choice ing, equally conversant with nature and with of language. It is not confined merely to spe- books,-to such qualifications it needs but to add culating upon evils that exist in apprehension, a moderate degree of imagination to enable any -it unmasks atrocities daily practised upon man to form an ingenious theory that shall be the unoffending race whom rapine has dragged susceptible of many specious supports, without "te harrow up calling in the aid of inspiration. If then it be, as to our shores enough, not only the soul" of humanity, but to make "the very we believe it is, a rule no less to be observed in stones cry out." Whatever differences may exist philosophy than in poetry, on any other point, we trust there can be but one sentiment in regard to protecting those whom we have brought into subjection to our laws. We earnestly recommend this work to general perusal. Though we do not believe that oppression is the prominent feature in the character of the slave-holders of the United States, it ought not to rest in their discretion to avenge offences against themselves, with a severity which justice does not exercise in punishing any crime committed against society. Nor ought it to be left in the power of an individual, in defiance of every principle of right, and every dictate of nature, to sever a tie sacred in the eye of religion, by whatever formality contracted.

E.

Melincourt, a Novel, by the Author of "Headlong Hall." Philadelphia, MOSES THOMAS. New-York, KIRK & MERCEIN. 2 vols. 12mo. pp. 484.

Nec Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus Inciderit:'

the credentials of the Baron's mission must be

severely scrutinized, and his authority admitted only on extrinsic evidence. For proofs of this kind we shall look in vain in this publication, nor do we, indeed, know where they are to be sought. This little Essay is well written, but contains more enthusiasm than argument, more of good feeling than of sound logic. It is, in fact, a distinctive feature of the professors of this religion, not less honourable than peculiar, that the

most ardent attachment to their own sect enkin

dles no rancour against others, and that the most fervid zeal of proselytisin is combined with perfect philanthropy.

E.

Memoirs of Sir Joshua Reynolds, late President of the Royal Academy; comprising Original Anecdotes of many distinThis book has the worst of all faults, in a work guished persons, his cotemporaries, and a designed for amusement that of being extremely brief Analysis of his Discourses. To which tedious. The Author has attempted to intro- are added, Varieties on Art. By JAMES duce various political, philosophical, and (if we NORTHCOTE, Esq. R. A. Philadelphia. Remay so speak) sentimental opinions, in the form printed, by M. Carey & Son. New-York. of a story; and in so doing he has produced a KIRK & MERCEIN. 8vo. pp. 496. jumble, from which the reader can extract no interest, and very little information. On this last point we would speak with some diffidence, for the work has an air of mystery, and may contain stores of recondite knowledge, which our vision, bedimmed by its powerful soporific influence, had not the keenness to detect. The writer certainly appears to be a man of some knowledge and talent, but he has learned nothing of the art of writing in a popular manner. His perpetual stateliness perpetually tires, and his manner of trifling, (which he frequently attempts,) reminds us of the mode in which Goldsmith said Doctor Johnson would write fables,-"His little fishes talk like

whales."

S.

Religion and Philosophy United, or an attempt to show that Philosophical Principles form the foundation of the New Jerusalem Church, as developed to the world in the mission of the Honourable Emanuel Swedenborg. Boston, published for the subscribers. New-York. RILEY & ADAMS. 8vo. pp. 65. There is something so extravagant in the tenets

This is a valuable as well as a very entertaining production, and is calculated to afford much gratification, not only to the artist and connoisseur, but to the lover of literary anecdote, and to all who have been accustomed to take an inJohnson, Goldsmith and Garrick, the early friends and intimate associates of the subject of the present volume. Mr. Northcote, who is himself an eminent painter, became a pupil of Sir Joshua in the year 1771, and resided in his house for five years; by which means he had very favourable opportunities of becoming well acquainted with the character and opinions of his distinguished friend, who, as Mr. Burke observes, "was on very many accounts, one of the most memorable men of his time." Sir Joshua Reynolds, it is well known, maintained a familiar intercourse with the most eminent men of his day for genius and learning, and the situation of Mr. Northcote, as above mentioned, enabled him to collect a number of anecdotes of these distinguished characters, which are not to be found in any other writer.

terest in the memoirs of such men as Burke and

The celebrated Discourses on Painting, deliver

ed by Sir Joshua Reynolds, as President of the Chemist, Lecturer on Practical Chemistry, Royal Academy of Arts, have particularly Mineralogy, &c. &c. &c. Philadelphia, pubengaged the attention of Mr. Northcote in the lished by M. CAREY & SON. New-York. present work, and he has taken occasion to ex- KIRK & MERCEIN. 12mo. pp. 204. hibit a brief analysis and summary of the ingeni ous principles, enlightened views, and critical instructions with which these Discourses so preeminently abound.

This book is a useful vade mecum for the checarefully made, and the results accurately stated. mical student. The experiments appear to be L.

Poems, by Hannah Moore. From the Lon-
WELLS & LILLY.

Accompanying these Memoirs are several Essays or pieces of the Biographer himself, in which he has undertaken "to give opinions in respect don edition. Boston. to the Arts, under a variety of views." In one New-York. KIRK & MERCEIN. of them, under the veil of a Dream, he presents to the imagination a splendid portraiture of the Hannah Moore, which make a pretty sort of This is a collection of minor Poems, by Miss most celebrated painters of Italy; and through reading enough, though they betray not a single the allegory of the "Slighted Beauty," another scintillation of genius. Miss M. is a useful and piece of considerable length, he gives a represen- not unpleasing writer on most subjects, but tation of the Fine Arts, as they were gradually in- she enjoys only a modicum of the inspiration of troduced into England in the various attitudes, the muses. costumes, and fashions of the different schools of fancy as Dr. Johnson, without his energy of dicAs a poet, she has about as much painting on the continent.

tion.

The style of these Memoirs is, we think, high- Most, if not all these pieces, have been some ly creditable to Mr. Northcote-chaste, neat, time in print. We are obliged, however, to the and unostentatious; and the reader will be publishers, for noting that they are reprinted from pleased to find the Biographer taking no pains to the London edition. It should always be disthrust himself forward in order to display his own tinctly stated, whether a literary production be powers as a critic or philosopher; whilst, at the indigenous or exotic. Miss Moore is, indeed, too same time, the remarks he occasionally intro- well known to the reading world, to make it parduces are always sensible and pertinent. We ticularly necessary to guard against any mistake have no hesitation in saying that this volume will as to her identity,-but we daily see publications be a highly acceptable present to the public, and issuing from our presses, from the pens of foreign will be regarded as a very interesting supplement authors of no very great distinction, every parto Hawkins and Boswell, independently of its merit as a body of valuable information and critical instruction relative to the noble art of painting. A.

ticular of intelligence in regard to whom, we are obliged to glean from extraneous sources, which are difficult of access exactly in proportion to the necessity of inquiry. We cannot too strongly inculcate it upon Booksellers, to use the means in their power to discriminate between our own and foreign literature, and to afford data to assist the bibliographer of after times.

E.

says.
Arator; being a Series of Agricultural Es-
By Col. John Taylor, of Caroline
County, Virginia. Baltimore. JOHN M. CAR-
TER. New-York. A. T. GooDRICH & Co.
12mo. pp. 220.

fa

The Life of Andrew Jackson, Major General in the service of the United States: comprising a history of the war in the south, from the commencement of the Creek campaign, to the termination of bostilities before New-Orleans. Commenced by John Reid, Brevet Major, United States' Army. Com pleted by John Henry Eaton. Published for the benefit of the children of John Reid. Philadelphia, M. CAREY & SON. New-York, KIRK & MERCEIN. 8vo. pp. 423. The author of these essays is more accustomGenerally we dislike contemporaneous biogra- miliar with the logical process of either. His ed to thinking than writing, though not very phy, because it is generally little else than a kind notions, as far as we can extricate them from the of covert panegyric. This book, however, forms intricacies of his style, are indicative of a natuan exception, and indeed corresponds to the lat- ral fund of good sense and habits of attentive obter part of its title more than to the former, being servation. He is correct, at bottom, in the posiless a biography than a history. It is a full and tion which he frequently and strenuously urges, explicit narrative of facts arranged with chrono that premiums for the encouragement of manulogical accuracy, and set forth in a respectable factures are, in other words, premiums for the style. It makes no high pretensions, while, ne discouragement of agriculture. It is inconsistvertheless, it bears every mark of fidelity. It ent with sound policy, ever to divert industry, by also throws much light upon the nature of militia artificial means, from its natural channels. If it ●perations, and though there be no set eulogium were allowable to hold out adscititious induceupon the illustrious subject of the memoir, yet ments to any particular species of labour, they the facts recorded will stand a noble and impe- should unquestionably be used to promote the culrishable monument of his military talents and de- tivation of soil. Voted patriotism. The great cause of the general pressure at this moment is a deficit of agricultu ral products, occasioned partly by the untowardness of the seasons in the two years last past, but principally by the rushing from their spheres'

L.

A Practical Essay on Chemical Re-Agents or Tests. Illustrated by a series of experi ments. By Frederick Accum, Operative

of all classes of the community, on the return of peace, into the vortex of trade. The reflux of the wave gives us now an opportunity to repair its ravages.

A good historical and didactic treatise on the agriculture of the United States is a desideratum.

E.

Dissertation First: Exhibiting a General View of the Progress of Metaphysical and Political Philosophy, since the Revival of Letters in Europe, by Dugald Stewart, esq. F. R. S. London and Edinburgh, &c. &c. Part 1. 8vo. pp. 260. Boston, WELLS & LILLY. New-York, KIRK & MER.

CEIN.

This is the first part of the first in a Series of Five Dissertations, prefixed to the Supplementary volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica, in which it is intended to exhibit a summary view of the progress and present state of metaphysical, mathematical, and physical science. The publication before us brings down the history of the moral and intellectual theories, the discussion of which, for some ages, constituted the employment, and consumed the talents of the learned, to the dawning of the day-star of reason on the Cimmerian night of the schools. The sequel of this preliminary discourse will take up the consideration of the writings of Locke and Leibnitz, and trace the progress of the science of mind to its present advancement. The high reputation of Professor Stewart is sustained by his present performance. He has taken a wide and liberal survey of his subject, and unbiassed by prejudice, and unawed by authority, has evinced a loyal adherence to the supremacy of common sense. He has been very successful in exposing the fallacies of doctrines that for centuries enslaved the understanding;-it remains to be seen what other than negative advantages have resulted from their demolition. For ourselves, we consider all speculations upon nousogony, to coin a word adapted to designate that branch of metaphysics on which so much study has been wasted, as worse than nugatory, inasmuch as ignorance is preferable to error. Let us be content, without attempting to search into what is inscrutable, to adopt as the terminus to which all just investigations must ultimately tend, the truth contained in the text of Scripture, which Dr. Reid wisely adopted as his motto,-"The inspiration of the Almighty has given (man) understanding,”—and diligently apply ourselves in imitation of his example, to the discovery of the means for its proper conduct. We cannot too cautiously guard against yielding our selves to the impulses of imagination, in subjects wholly foreign to its province. Those magnificent vistas into the regions of mind, which have so often dazzled the vision of philosophic fancy, have proved to the weary pursuit of painful meditation,

"Long passages that lead to nothing." To the faculty of imagination we must refer, not merely poetical creations, but every arbitrary fiction, as distinguished from fact-every species of reverie. It was the enticement of the illusions of this power that erst betrayed reason into the labyrinths of ontology, and again seduced it to enVOL. I. NO. III.

gage in the Sisyphean toil of climbing the steeps of German fnysticism.

We have much to congratulate ourselves upon in the disenthralment of opinion which has been achieved during the latter part of the last centu ry, and the beginning of the present; and we have still more to hope from the spirit of free in quiry, upon every subject, which has gone abroad. The reaction of the mind, naturally incident to its emancipation from the bondage of superstition, has contributed more to the efficacy of its endea intellectual vassalage, than all the aids furnished vours to burst the shackles of civil tyranny and by the champions of pneumatology. We are not among those who calculate upon the discovery of latent faculties in the human mind, or upon the invention of a patent process of ratiocination.We rejoice in the prostration of past systems, not in the hope of any more satisfactory substitute, but in the belief that mankind will, at last, be willing to apply themselves to the cultivation of their intellectual powers, instead of spending their lives in a preliminary abstract inquiry into their nature and economy. The time that has been thrown away in frivolous controversy on points beyond our comprehension, and of no prac tical value if ascertainable, is the strongest possible evidence of our ignorance of that with which we have thought ourselves most conversant. It is something, however, to have learnt, at length that there are limits which we cannot pass, and if we will but profit by experience, and give our exertions to the attainment of objects within our reach, we may grasp much that is useful, which we have heretofore overlooked in our longings after ideal good. The world will be probably more benefited by the institution of experimental courses of education, than by any a priori speculation on the origin of ideas, or the modes of reasoning. It is enough for this object, to know that axioms are not inuate, and that wisdom is in some way to be acquired.

The history of the advances that have been made in the new science of political economy shows the steady progress of reason, where it has data to go upon, and equally evinces the fallacy of unfledged theories. We shall await with im patience the continuation of this able dissertation, E.

The Seasons; with the Castle of Indolence, By James Thompson. New-York. W. B. GILLEY. 12mo. pp. 287.

We do not take up this volume for the purpose of expressing our admiration of the poet, which would carry us nearly the length of exclaiming with Collins,

"Yet lives there one whose heedless eye,

Shall scorn thy pale shrine glimmering near! With him, sweet bard, may Fancy die,

And Joy desert the blooming year." It is from the rareness of the opportunity of commending an American edition of a British work, that we feel bound to notice the remarkable neatness of this, which is executed in a superior style of typography, and ornamented with some of the most elegant wood cuts we have seen. Whether the text be more accurate than the run of publications from our presses, we have not examined 2 H