THE MONTHLY REVIEW, For MAR C H, 1774. ART. I. British Biography; er, an accurate and impartial Account of the Lives and Writings of eminent Perfons, in Great Britain and Ireland; from Wickliffe, who began the Reformation by his Writings, to the present Time: Whether Statesmen, Patriots, Generals, Admirals, Philofophers, Poets, Lawyers, or Divines. In which the feveral Incidents and remarkable Actions of their Lives, and the Particularities of their Deaths, that could be collected from Hiftory, Family Memoirs, and Records, are related; a Catalogue of their Writings given, with occafional Remarks; and their Characters delineated with Freedom and Impartiality. 8vo. 6 Vols. 11. 11 s. 6 d. Boards. Baldwin, &c. 1773. T has been faid that of the various kinds of narrative wri ting, biography is that which is moft eagerly read, and most eafily applied to the purposes of life.' Perhaps this is true; but we use the half-affenting perhaps, because the writer of other branches of hiftory may conteft the point of popularity, at leaft, if not of utility alfo, with the biographer; notwithstanding the preference given to the latter by the ingenious Author of the IDLER, No. 84. The examples,' fays he, and events of hiftory prefs, indeed, upon the mind, with the weight of truth; but when they are repofited in the memory, they are oftener employed for fhew than use, and rather diverfify conversation than regulate life. Few are engaged in fuch scenes as give them opportunities of growing wifer by the downfall of statesmen, or the defeat of generals. The ftratagems of war, and the intrigues of courts, are read, by far the greater part of mankind, with the fame indifference as the adventures of fabled heroes, or the revolutions of a fairy region. Between falfehood and ufelefs truth there is little difference. As gold which he cannot spend will make no man rich, fo knowledge which he cannot apply will make no man wise.' VOL. L. M Should Should we admit all that glitters in the preceding paragraph, as folid, fterling truth,-to which, however, we do not find ourfelves wholly inclined,-yet it will not fuffice to determine the queftion, with refpect to the claim of biography to the preference of mankind; fince, as even the fame writer acknowledges, in the fame paper, He who writes the life of another *, is either his friend or his enemy, and wifhes either to exalt his praife, or aggravate his infamy; many temptations to falsehood will occur in the disguise of paffions, too fpecious to fear much refiftance. Love of virtue will animate panegyric, and hatred of wickedness embitter cenfure. The zeal of gratitude, the ardor of patriotifm, fondness for an opinion, or fidelity to a party, may eafily overpower the vigilance of a mind habitually well-difpofed, and prevail over unaffifted and unfriended veracity.' As to the man who writes of himself, what deviations from the direct line of truth will not the love of felf, and love of fame, lead him into! What impartiality of decifion can we expect from him who fits in judgment on his own cause! What excufes will he not find to palliate his mifconduct, and how fpeciously will he explain away every adverse fact, in apologizing for his errors ! But leaving this point of precedency to be fettled by those who may think it of importance enough to merit their attention, let us proceed to the publication which hath given rise to the foregoing curfory obfervations. In the 28th volume of our Review, in giving an account of the New and General Biographical Dictionary,' we recom mended the chronological method to the compilers of biographical fyftems, and enumerated the many advantages which would give it a manifeft fuperiority over the alphabetical form, if properly executed. The Author of the work before us hath so far purfued our plan, as to prefer this method to that of a dictionary; juftly obferving that the lives of perfons who were cotemporaries with each other, are beft read together, as one frequently throws light on another;'-and with regard to the advantage claimed by the alphabetical order, from the facility of turning, at pleasure, to any particular life, that circumftance is eafily fupplied, as it is in the British Biography, by proper indexes. As our Author's defign is confined to the celebration of those illuftrious perfons whofe names do honour to this country, or Which is the cafe with the greater number of biographical writers; for, comparatively few are they who calmly and voluntarily fit down to review their own lives, for the admonition of pofterity. to to our fifter-ifland, he is particulary folicitous to fet forth the advantages of his plan. It is perhaps, fays he, no national partiality to affert, that no country has produced a greater number of men, distinguished by elevated genius, or exalted virtue, than Great Britain and Ireland. A perufal, therefore, of the lives of fuch excellent and illuftrious men, muft have a natural tendency to excite in us a generous emulation, and to animate us to the most worthy and laudable pursuits. The ftatefman may be excited to aspire after a greater degree of political knowledge, and to investigate the means of promoting in the best manner the interefts of the state, over which he is appointed to prefide, by the examples of a WALSINGHAM and a BURLEIGH. The divine, the lawyer, and the physician, may all be excited to aim at excellence in their feveral profeffions by the examples of a BARROW and a TILLOTSON; a COKE, a HALE, and a HOLT; a HARVEY, a SYDENHAM, and a MEAD. The feaman and the foldier may be animated to the purfuit of military honours, by the heroic actions of a BLAKE and a MARLBOROUGH; and the difinterefted patriot, who feels for the honour and the intereft of his country, and who is a zealous advocate for liberty, and the common rights of mankind, may be animated by the noble examples of a HAMPDEN, a RUSSEL, a MARVEL, and a SYDAnd the man of letters and philofophical inquiry may be incited to aspire after literary and scientific eminence, by the immortal labours of a MILTON, a BACON, a BOYLE, a NEWTON, and a LOCKE. But it is not eminence in arms, in arts, or in fcience only, that we may be taught to aspire after, in the perusal of the lives of the most eminent of our countrymen. It may also ftimulate us to aim at the acquifition, of what is of ftill more value and importance, and at the fame time universally attainable, Moral Excellence. It is not in the power of every man to be a great ftatesman, general, or philofopher; but every man may cultivate and practife temperance, integrity, benevo lence, and humanity. He who cannot enter into any competition with those who have diftinguished themselves by their wit, their eloquence, or their learning, may at least learn to imitate their virtues. And even the lives of bad men, fuch whose eminence of station or abilities have rendered their ac→ tions fufficiently important to be properly introduced in a work of this kind, may be read with confiderable advantage. The deformity of vice, as well as the beauty of virtue, is best exhibited in real characters; a juft reprefentation of which muft have a natural tendency to excite in us a love and efteem for the one, and an hatred and contempt of the other. We cannot read the lives of BONNER, of GARDINER, or of JEFFERIES M 2 RIES, without feeling a juft deteftation of bigotry, religious perfecution, injustice, and cruelty.' The materials for a work of this kind are obvious and ample: the General Dictionary, in ten volumes, folio; the Biogra phia Britannica, in feven folios; the New General Biographical Dictionary, in twelve vols. 8vo. Befide which, the Author affures us, that he hath had recourfe to some hundred volumes of fingle lives, and hiftorical and biographical collections; befide occafionally making ufe of manufcripts, particularly those in the British Mufcum, when he could meet with any that were. adapted to his purpose.' * From the fimilarity of this defign with that of former biographical collections, thofe who are acquainted with the arts of authorship, particularly in the compilation-branch, and in. the mode of periodical publication, may be apt to suspect that the lives in this work are little more than a mere abridgment of those in the Biographia Britannica; but, fo far as we could fpare time for comparison, this does not feem to be the cafe. Our Author has, in general, exercised his natural right of thinking and fpeaking for himself; in confequence of which, where the materials ufed in common, both by him and by his predeceffors, are drawn from the fame fource, we frequently find the accounts to be circumftantially different; facts are exhibited in different lights; and many mistakes of former writers are corrected. There is, moreover, one merit affumed by the Author, as peculiar to this work, and which we are, indeed, convinced, that none of our more voluminous productions in the fame branch of literature can boaft, viz. that being wholly compiled by one perfon, it will therefore probably be found to have an uniformity of fentiment, with regard to perfons and things, the want of which hath been complained of, in fome preceding works of the kind.' The point of time at which this performance commences, is the age in which the celebrated Wickliffe happily paved the way for the Proteftant reformation: the life of this great founder of our religious liberties ftands firft in the collection. We are, however, fomewhat furprized that the Author did not step a little farther back, and begin with that illuftrious ornament of Britain, Friar ROGER BACON; who is juftly to be re * The prefent work has been published in monthly numbers, as well as in diftin&t volumes. It is feveral years fince the first volume appeared; the fecond was printed in 1766, and the third in 1767. It is now advanced as far as the fixth; and we are given to underftand that the undertaking will be compleated in two more ;confidered as the work of one perfon only, great labour, as well as time, must have been employed in this compilement. -2 garded garded as the father of fcience in this country; and whofe genius was scarce equalled, even by that of his great namefake the Lord Verulam. He might have availed himself of a very judicious compendium of the life of this wonderful man, in a work entitled, The Libary, written by a fociety of learned and ingenious men, whofe labours were too good for the age in which they appeared *. A very fhort extract from this work may fuffice for a fpecimen of the Author's manner, and mode of thinking; viz. his character of Archbishop Laud. He was, undoubtedly, a man of confiderable learning and abilities; but was, notwithstanding, in many respects, extremely weak and fuperftitious 1. He was alfo of a very warm, • This work was published, monthly, in the years 1761 and 172; and was discontinued for want of fale, at a time when many thoufands of the most worthless magazines were, lile Coryat's Crudities, eagerly gobbled up by the taftelefs public. The very ingenious Author of the Rambler, in his poem, entitled, "The Vanity of Human Wishes," has the following lines : "Nor deem, when learning her laft prize bestows The glitt'ring eminence exempt from woes; But hear his death, ye blockheads, hear and sleep." We have the highest efteem for the talents, the writings, and the character of Dr. Johníon. But we are notwithstanding of opinion, that in these lines he has not imputed the death of Laud to the real causes. It is on the contrary very evident, as we apprehend, that it was the activity of that Prelate in promoting arbitrary measures of government, his abfurd zeal for trifling ceremonies, his violent and unjuft proceedings in the ftar chamber, and high commiffion courts, and other particulars of this kind, which brought him to the block; and that it is not by any means his genius or his learning, to which his untimely end can with propriety be attributed.' Of this his DIARY affords very pregnant inftances, fome of which we shall felect for the entertainment of the reader. He was particularly attentive to his dreams, many of which he hath recorded with great care and exactnefs. The following paffages are taken from the edition of his Diary, published by Hen. Wharton, in 1695. "1623. Dec. 14 Sunday night, I did dream that the Lord Keeper was dead; that I paffed by one of his men, that was about a monument for him that I heard him fay, his lower lip was infinitely fwelled M 3 |