cating Godhead, must be the origin of Godhead; yet he contends that there is no priority of time, but only a priority of order. There seems as little ground for this distinction, as for his remark on the Apostle's creed, that, though the word "Trinity" is not mentioned in it, the substantial meaning of the word is implied.' That man must be a keen discerner of Mysteries, who can see the Trinity in this creed; which respects not the eternal generation of the Son, but merely the generation of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary.

On the whole, we are persuaded that these Thoughts will create for Dr. H. very little reputation as a good logician; whatever effect they may have produced on his own mind. From a passage in the preface, it might be inferred that the Bishop formerly had his doubts at least of this doctrine; for he says that he has been long impressed with the force of this solemn charge," when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren:" but whether he be a convert or an uniform believer, he considers himself as having done his duty by this attempt to support what he regards as the antient faith;' and though there appears little prospect of converting infidels, he may nevertheless be hailed as a strengthener of the brethren.

A reply to this pamphlet has been advertized, but we have not yet seen it.

ART. VI. The Life of C. G. Lamoignon Malesherbes, formerly first President of the Court of Aids, and Minister of State, Member of the Academy, &c. Translated from the French by Edward Mangin. 12mo. pp. 245. 35. sewed. Longman and Co. THESE pages exhibit the outlines of a character distinguished

most eminently by purity and worth, and at the same time recommended by all the advantages which are conferred by family, rank, and accomplishments both elegant and solid. Europe, in the eighteenth century, does not furnish an individual of greater interest, and on whose history the mind dwells with more satisfaction and delight.-The narrative has little to boast on the score of method or arrangement: but, as it details the most interesting passages in the life of such a man, it cannot fail to engage attention, and is intitled to a considerable share of our notice.

M. de Malesherbes was born at Paris on the 16th of December 1721; his grandfather was the President de Lamoignon of the reign of Louis XIV., the patron of Letters and the friend of Boileau; his father, the second son of the President, filled the high situation of first President of the court of Aids, and was afterward raised to that of Chancellor of France:

• Malesherbes,

Malesherbes, destined for the highest offices of the state, applied himself with enthusiasm to the study of the laws.'—

Possessing an intense love of application, he could not fail to benefit by the wise precepts of his father. After studying with great advantage under the Jesuits, and obtaining a perfect knowledge of equity, he employed his hours upon history and political economy, and evinced a degree of erudition very rare, at a time when all the young men of rank, influenced by a corrupt court*, abandoned them. selves to the pursuit of effeminate pleasures.

His father then could have procured him the post of counsellor to the parliament; but he too well knew the importance of such a situation, and would not allow his son to be confounded with the herd of those, who, purchasing the liberty of deciding on the lives and properties of their fellow-citizens, thought themselves exempted from the necessity of acquiring that knowledge which would fit them to exercise with dignity the most august functions of the magistracy.

With the intention of preparing his son, he had him appointed deputy solicitor-general; in appearance a place of great inferiority, but which gave him an opportunity to try his first steps in the walk of politics.

In right of his office, Malesherbes frequently addressed the parliament, and there always displayed unerring good sense, a sweet, persuative eloquence, and a profound acquaintance with mankind and human affairs in short, he made himself remarkable in a situation wherein others were scarcely noticed.

It was not until he had undergone such a trial as this, that his father obtained him the appointment of counsellor to the parliament of Paris; and he was then only 24 years old, but had more reflection and more judgment than many of his seniors.

Six years after he obtained the reversion of the place of first president of the Court of Aids, held by his father, whom he ultimately succeeded December 14. 1750.'

The ability, courage, and firmness which he displayed in this situation, are known to all Europe. Some very remarkable instances are here detailed, which we should quote with pleasure, if unrestrained by limits.

In April 1771, the unparalleled measure projected by the daring and unprincipled Maupou was carried into effect; the supreme courts of the metropolis were all decreed to be abolished; the venerable magistrates were banished; and new tribunals were erected which were filled by men who were sold to the Court. No civil government which could thus conduct itself could be expected to stand. The behaviour of the President of the court of Aids on the occasion is temperate, great, and worthy of himself.

* The court of Lewis XV.'

The

The court in which M. de Malesherbes presided was suffered to exist some time after the others had been annihilated; and he adopted the measure of expostulating against its intended dissolution. We subjoin a part of his address in that juncture, as it displays his intrepidity, and his benevolent and patriotic views:

"Terror," said he, "has not shaken our firmness: it is notorious that all manner of access is denied to truth: our demand to be heard will doubtless expose us to the effects of powerful hatred--but our silence would insure our being accused by the whole nation of treason or cowardice.

"The rights of that nation are those alone for which we this day contend in other times, we should have told you that those of the magistracy were violated with the magistrates themselves are dispersed over the kingdom by your every circumstance of inhumanity; that orders, and, by an unexampled species of cruelty, care has been taken to select the most lonely districts, where they might want all the conveniences, and even the necessaries of life, to aggravate their disgrace.

"These courts are now the last remaining protectors of the helpless' and unfortunate; all the rest are reduced to mute and passive submission: no individual will dare to expose himself to the missary, or a commandant; much less to that of a minister. anger of a comalthough we were not interested to fulfil our functions :--though we were deaf to the voice of duty, yet we cannot be so to the moans of a people suffering by the interruption of justice.

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And,

Cruelly must the rights of the nation have been invaded, and potent must the sentiments of virtue and honour be in magistrates who can thus lay themselves open to imprisonment, to exile, to the injuring of their fortunes, to the loss of health, and even to the loss of life, which has been the fate of many amongst those condemned to banishment. "By what fatality are they urged thus to force the men of France to remind their governor of those laws which Providence has imposed upon him, together with his crown? Sire! You hold it from the Almighty-but do not refuse us the satisfaction of believing that you also owe your power to the voluntary submission of your subjects: or rather without agitating questions of this melancholy nature, which should find no place under a reign such as yours reflect that the divine power is the origin of all lawful dominion; but deign to that the supreme happiness of the people should ever be its end and aim; and that God has put the diadem on the heads of kings, only to ensure to mankind security of existence, liberty of person, and the tranquil enjoyment of property.

"Sovereigns may have more or less power, but their duties are invariably the same should there be any so unfortunate as to preside over a people destitute of laws, they are compelled to supply the place of these, as well as they can, by their personal love of justice, and a prudent choice of those in whom they deposit their authority. But -if there are laws-if the people look on them as the ramparts of their liberty-if they are really a useful restraint against the abuses of authority REV. OCT. 1805.

M

-excuse

—excuse our making it a question, Sire, whether, in any state, a sovereign can dispense with such laws: it is enough for us to tell a prince who is the friend of justice, that he ought not.

"It is given out that your majesty means to replace those members of the parliament who have refused to be the despicable tools of your ministers: we must be so bold as to assure you, Sire, that there will be found none to fill their room, but men who, in accepting that station, will sign their own dishonour one part of them, from ambition, will be content to face the public odium; the rest will sacrifice themselves with regret, but be forced to it by indigence: the first, consequently, must be already corrupt-the others likely soon to become the

same.

"Such, Sire, are the judges you are about to give to your people; and by such as these must be determined the fortunes-the reputations- the existence of Frenchmen! On the other side, the ministers, at their pleasure, take away the properties and subsistence of the citizens and their feelings as men of honour are all they have left -for these cannot wither even beneath the blight of arbitrary power.”

These expostulations only increased the fury of the ministers; and Malesherbes was banished to his owu country seat by a "lettre de cachet," dated the 8th of April.'

We cannot forbear laying before our readers the picture which is here given of the worthy President, when released from the cares and toils of his exalted station. This respite from active life continued for more than three years.

Malesherbes, withdrawn from the stage of public affairs, passed his days in serenity at his retirement; dividing his time between his family, his books, and the cultivation of his gardens.

He had written a vast number of valuable remarks on the political condition of France, the administration of justice, upon agriculture, and natural history. These observations, which he designed to ar range, and which were afterwards carried off by the revolutionary barbarians, breathed the spirit of an enlarged philanthropy, an enthusiastic love of his native land, and a lofty and valorous indepen. dence.

Every hour of his day was marked by benevolent actions or useful discoveries. Rising before the dawn, he walked out to watch the progress of vegetation, and admire, in respectful silence, the ever-new and various wonders which nature pours forth with a lavish hand, for the benefit of human kind.

He encouraged, by his example, the numerous labourers whom he employed in tillage; with the spade in his hand, he took delight in digging the ground; and never forsook his task, till, exhausted by fatigue, he would retire to repose himself under the shade of trees which his own hand had planted.

His mansion was furnished in the most unostentatious style; for he found more pleasure in giving bread to an hundred poor persons, than in squandering immense sums on costly decorations. His place was laid out upon the principles of the old gothic manner; accordingly, people of taste advised him to throw all down, and rebuild upon a

modern

modern plan-but he had inherited the edifice; all his ancestors had lived in it, and he preserved it as a family piece; a sacred monument of his attachment and respect to his forefathers.

His table was economically supplied, and his domestics few, although his annual expence was considerable; but his wealth was em ployed for the gratification and advantage of his dependents: canals carefully formed, meadows reclaimed, marshes drained, the roads in his neigbourhood skilfully made, dykes opposed to the violence of the torrent, unbrageous walks, and picturesque plantations, were the objects on which Malesherbes expended his income.

To facilitate the communication with different parts of the country, he constructed several bridges of solid masonry: the traveller, too, shared his benevolence; a shady walk near the high-road protected him from the fervor of the sun; and for the repose of the humble foot passenger, commodious benches were at hand, while a fountain of pure water flowed to appease his thirst. He also contrived means to lighten the fatigues of the weaker and more amiable sex; and built convenient sheds on the borders of the river, where the cares of domestic industry obliged the women of the village to remain exposed during the most rigorous seasons.

Owing to this the inhabitants loved him as a parent; and under his influence every one enjoyed a degree of respectable ease the children received instruction, the aged were held in honour; and the peasant who had cultivated his fields with most care, and managed his flocks or herds to the greatest advantage, obtained a premium, which gave birth to a virtuous emulation, and tended highly to the improvement of agriculture.

Malesherbes derived his chief pleasure from the pursuit of natural history, and had acquired most extensive knowledge in that science: he wrote some very curious observations on the larch tree, and the mabaleb, or wood of St Lucia; he also composed a treatise on pines, and another on the varieties of the orchis, &c.

He planted, in his grounds, at Malesherbes, a quantity of shrubs and exotics; these he had even familiarized to the climate, and multiplied them to such a degree, that, in straying through his woods, one might fancy himself transported into distant regions, where the acacia, the palm, and the trees of Palestine grow. High rocks, magnificent water falls, and majestic pines, added still more to the illusion; forming a situation singularly picturesque, and a display of enchanting

scenery.

Whilst this venerable philosopher forgot in the bosom of tranquillity the shameful manœuvres of court intrigue, the disgraceful traffic of corruption, and the arbitrary acts of despotic power, Lewis XV. wore out amongst his mistresses the remnant of a despicable life; and his perfidious counsellors continued, day after day, to dig still deeper that abyss which ere long was destined to ingulph the antique colossus of the monarchy.

On the accession of Louis XVI. the supreme courts were restored, and the President de Malesherbes resumed his functions; and shortly afterward, he was appointed Minister by the

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same