it; and if the motion of the blood be too slow, the animal spirits not sufficiently refined, or their quantity too small, we become dejected and melancholy but if we can change this state of the body by what we drink, the soul receives another train of impressions, and thus recovers its usual energy and life. Even the serious Plato knew thé value of gaiety and mirth; for when he died, a book of witticisms was found under his pillowBut I must quit you, for I am going to dine with Xenophanes, who pretends that the moon is inhabited, and that, upon earth, the sum of happiness exceeds the sum of misery; which, however, is far from being my opinion; for I am inclined to think the gods had drank rather too much nectar when the whim took them to contrive and arrange this terraqueous globe."

As soon as he was gone, "There," said I, "is the most amiable and the happiest man in Athens.”. "The most amiable, I agree," said Lasthenia. "In company with women he is quite en chanting; and the more dangerous, as passion never robs him of his presence of mind: but as to his happiness, I think it rather problem. atical. Do you remember what he let fall yesterday concerning a young country girl, of whom he said, I completely possessed her, with out her completely possessing me? He once said the same of Lais; and, in fact, he never felt a stronger passion than he then described. His heart is in his head, and he reflects on his pleasures even in his mo ments of enjoyment. Can this be happiness? Is it possible to be happy without the sweet illusions of love and friendship? Cool and tranquil in his attachments, he was ever a stranger to the anxieties of jealousy, which are the strongest proof of love. He was told, one day, that Lais did not love him. I do not imagine,' said he, that the fish love me, and yet I eat them with great pleasure." Another time being secretly informed that she frequently committed infidelities, I pay her,' replied he, not that others may not enjoy her, but to enjoy her myself.' Diogenes reproaching him for thus living with a courtezan, he answered, Do you think it absurd that I should inhabit a house where several other tenants have lodged before me?'— Neither is he more ardent in friendship, which he describes as a word destitute of meaning. Fools and idiots, he says, pursue it from mo tives of interest, and the wise are satisfied with themselves, without being uneasy about others. He treats the love of our country with equal levity. According to him, it is an absurdity to risk our happi ness or our life for a multitude of ignorant, senseless beings. The country of a wise man, says he, is the whole world, not a particular village, town, or city."

M. Lantier has bestowed a chapter on the Jews, containing a sarcastic account of their government and manners, chiefly compiled from Voltaire. His wit, on this occasion, is neither brilliant nor well directed: witness Phanor's repartee to the person who conducts him through the Temple of Jerusalem:

Our guide now conducted us to the chamber where the treasures were deposited, particularly the sacred vessels of gold and silver, and the dresses of the priests. He shewed us the magazines where the offerings appropriated for the foed of the priests, Levites, widows,

and

and orphans are kept. They have other repositories of wine and oil for the libations, of salt for scasoning the offerings, and of lambs. for sacrifices. "Two of these," said he, "are offered up every morning and evening, and this we call the continual burnt-offering. On the Sabbath and other holidays, the sacrifices are greatly multiplied, independent of the offerings of private individuals. In this edifice," continued he, "our great king Solomon sacrificed twentytwo thousand fatted oxen, and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep in one day."-" And where," cried Phanor, "could they find vessels enough to dress them?”

It is evident that this performance cannot be placed on the same shelf with that of Barthélémy; and we must repeat that it abounds with passages which are improper for the perusal of young persons.

ART. IX. A general View of the History of Switzerland; with a particular Account of the Origin and Accomplishment of the late Swiss Revolution. By John Wood, Master of the Academy established at Edinburgh by the Honourable the Board of Trustees for the Improvement of Arts in Scotland. 8vo. pp. 415. Boards. Edinburgh, Hill; London, Cawthorne. 1799.

ΤΗ

Fer!

HE recent and most important transactions in Switzerland have excited so general an interest throughout almost every part of Europe, that the present publication will be an acceptable guide to many readers, who wish to form a competent idea of the history of that country. The author did not design it for a complete account of the government and laws of the Helvetic confederacy, but rather as an introduction to the history of Switzerland, and of the late revolution in its affairs. Besides the French and Swiss authorities from which he drew up his narrative, he acknowleges himself most indebted to that judicious traveller, Mr. Coxe. It is also a circumstance favourable to this performance, that, for a considerable time before and since the commencement of the present war, Mr. Wood resided in Switzerland; where he formed an intimacy with several eminent persons, who made him acquainted with a number of facts which have operated towards overturning the government and happiness of the Helvetian republic.

Of the antient history of Switzerland, we know little more than what the Roman authors have recorded. The Helvetians appear to have been descended from the Germans and Gauls, especially the former. The same institutions and customs, which Cæsar and Tacitus have attributed to the Germans, prevailed in Helvetia, i. e. that part of Switzerland which is

See 1 Kinga, viii. 63.'

situated

situated between the Alps, the Rhine, the Rhone, and mount Jura. They were, also, in conjunction with the Cimbri and Teutones, vanquished by the Romans. The policy and arts of their conquerors had scarcely made an impression on them, when the inroads of the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other northern tribes, involved them in the same calamities with their masters. Some time after these events, we find the Burgundians and Alemanni in Helvetia. Next succeeded the Franks, who introduced the Feudal System. In the eighth century, when Germany was separated from the empire of the Franks, Helvetia underwent a division. In the eleventh, it acknowleged the sovereignty of Austria.

6

During the twelfth century, when Helvetia was subject to the House of Austria, various disputes that arose between them and the Emperor induced several districts, particularly those of Uri, Schweitz, and Underwalden, to enter into a close alliance, in defence of their rights against the unjust attacks of the Emperor's governors. This alliance they were accustomed to renew formally every ten years, until the death of Frederic II. in 1250. After this period commenced an interregnum, which threw the empire into anarchy and confusion. The nobles and bishops took the opportunity to endeavour to extend their power, and to incroach upon the privileges of the people. The latter put themselves under the protection of Rodolph Count of Hapsburgh, who was chosen Emperor in 1273. This prince received in return a small revenue from the cantons of Helvetia, and he confirmed or bestowed upon them various privileges.'

:--

Such was the origin of the memorable union between the Helvetic cantons, formed for the mutual defence of their liberties but it was much altered during the following centuries. At first, the confederates were not bound in a direct manner to each other:-"it was only since the convention of Stantz, and the treaty of the eight cantons with Fribourg and Soleuse, that it took the form of a constant, general, and national union. From this period, the Swiss, in virtue of a prescription of long standing, strengthened by the acknowlegement of several deeds and treaties, became entirely independent of the empire.'

For the purpose of supporting their independence, the Helvetic confederacy had devised a scheme for forming a regular army with the least possible inconvenience to liberty. The youth were diligently trained to martial exercises; the whole people were enrolled and regularly drilled; and a considerable number of well-disciplined troops were employed in foreign service.

The foreign service of the Swiss has been highly condemned, and often reprobated as a barbarous policy. But this system, independent of furnishing a body of well-disciplined forces, which could

be

be recalled at a moment's notice, was attended with many advantages: it kept up the military spirit and national ardor of the people during a state of profound peace, which continued, with fe interruptions, for three hundred years; and it became the interest of those foreign powers whom they furnished with their men, not to foment any divisions among them which might be the means of rendering the presence of these troops necessary at home. On the other hand, it was argued, that it introduced ideas among the highest and lowest class of people very inconsistent with their situation, and drained the towns of their inhabitants. Notwithstanding these evils, it certainly was preferable to a standing body of troops with despotism, as in the other states upon the continent.'

The general view of the formation of the Helvetic confederacy is succeeded by an account of the particular constitution of its members. The author, however, pursuant to his plan, has selected only the leading circumstances in the history, government, and policy of each state. The choice is judicious, and well calculated to give a correct idea of the late government of each canton.

Zurich was at the head of the thirteen cantons, and was considered as the most independent and upright among them. No where in Switzerland was the zeal for liberty more conspicuous; and the internal regulations of the city, as well as the manners of the inhabitants, were highly deserving of praise. Education was a matter of state; and letters were in no part of Europe either more encouraged, or cultivated with greater success. Among their most famous names, are justly held those of Zuingle and Bulinger, Conrad Gesner, Hottinger, Simler, Spon, Scheuchzer, Heidegger, Breitinger, Bodmer, Hertzel, Solomon Gessner, (the pastoral poet,) and Lavater. It was different in Berne:

The government of Berne (says this author) was an aristocracy of the worst form, and only supported itself by the impartiality of its laws and the mildness of its administration. The peasantry, who constituted the greatest part of the people, enjoyed particularly the favour and protection of the state. The peaceful labourer of the field was easy in his circumstances, secure in his property, and as happy as the quiet enjoyment of his own could make him: but the maxims of policy adopted, checked the enterprising manufacturer and the industrious citizen of the town, who were better informed, and had nicer feelings. The total want of commerce prevented the means of intrigue, dried up every source of wealth, and reduced the inhabitants to a perfect equality in point of fortune. They beheld not the melancholy extremes of opulence and misery, though they felt, in the strongest degree, both the pride of family, and the invidious distinction of patrician rank. Learning was universally discouraged and those spirits, to whose perpetual ferment both the sweets of liberty and the evils of licentiousness owe their existence, REV. Nov. 1799.

X

seemed,

་་

seemed, before the late Revolution, to be lulled into a perfect state of tranquillity, and to yield a ready obedience to a magistracy, whe exercised in all public affairs a power unlimited and without control.'

In speaking of the canton of Lucerne, the author mentions a great curiosity. General Pfiffer had constructed a model, twelve feet long and nine and a half broad, of about sixty square leagues of the cantons of Lucerne, Zug, Berne, Uri, Schweitz, and Unterwalden. It was composed of a mastic of charcoal, lime, clay, and a little pitch, with a thin coat of wax; and it was so hard as to endure the weight of a person treading on it without receiving the least damage. The objects were represented as they existed in nature.

Altdorf, the capital burgh of Uri, may be considered as the cradle of the Helvetic confederacy. It was here that the Austrian governor Geisler set a hat upon a pole, and commanded the same obedience to be paid to it as to himself; which humiliating order, having been disregarded by William Tell, brought about the well known event.

In the description of the town of Basil, we meet with the following remark :

The dance of death, in the church-yard of the Predicants of the suburb of St. John, has been falsely ascribed to Holben, as it is proved it was painted long after the death of that artist, and not before he was born, as the Honourable Horace Walpole supposed.'

At Basil, printing was carried to great perfection. Mr. Haas, of that place, had invented a method of printing maps and charts of any size by means of moveable types, which could scarcely be distinguished from the best engravings. He also established a press for English literature; and in 1792 he had printed elegant editions of the works of Shakspeare, Hume, Gilbert Stewart, Fielding, and Sterne.

The singular custom of all the clocks in Basil going one hour faster than the real time, has been observed by all travellers. Different reasons were assigned for this uncommon practice: some asserted that it was first established during the council of Basil, in order to assemble, at an earlier hour, the cardinals and bishops, who, being very lazy and indolent, always arrived too late: others maintained, that a conspiracy had been formed to assassinate the magis trates at midnight; but that one of the burgomasters, who had notice of the design, advanced the town clock an hour; by which means the conspirators, imagining they had missed the appointed time, retired. wherefore the clocks were continued to be kept in

A writer who figured some years ago, both in North and South Britain, as an able assertor of liberty. See General Index to the M. Rev.

the