amidst these more ferious occupations, employed his hours of relaxation in compofing works of literature, and giving concerts. (Vell-old joker! - this defcription is honourable to the monarch. in fpite of your teeth, as the boys fay.) Things going on fo, I ought not to have been reproached for calling him the Solomon of the North; I gave him, in my letters, this nick-name, which fuck to him for a long time!'

It is of very little importance to us, or to our readers, what intrigues or cabals were formed at Paris, to bring about or prevent Voltaire's obtaining a place in the French academy. He deferved the honour, as a writer and a wit; and many who were much inferior to him, we mean in French literature, have been chofen, or thrust into that fociety. We have a long account of that uninterefting matter, in which there is a great deal of what one might call, goffip-ation; but we leave it untouched. We fhall not do fo with respect to another article, in which we fee this wag, employed as a fecret minister from the court of France to the court of Berlin, or rather a humorous spy, without oftenfible credentials, who, under the mask of a perfecuted belle efprit, was to feek an afylum in the protection of the Auguftus of Brandenburg, in order to do the bufinefs of the cabinet of Verfailles. Voltaire was, in effect, perfecuted by the bishop of Mirepoix, so far as an exclufion from the French academy can be called perfecution. But Voltaire was one of those men who confidered every mark of indifference or disapprobation that was fhewn him, as a high crime and misdemeanour. Be that as it may, the occafion was feized upon by the Duke de Richlieu, Madame de Châteauroux, the king's miftrefs, and the king himfelf, to make Voltaire a fecret negociator. I wrote (fays he, with his ufual tone of modesty) to the king of Pruffia, I told him, that I could no longer bear the perfecutions of this prieft (Mirepoix), that I was fetting out to take refuge in the friendship of a king-philofopher, and thus to get rid of the impertinences of a bigot: the king, who knew how to give their due to Monks and court-prelates, anfwered me with a multitude of pleafantries, levelled at the afs of Mirepoix and invited me warmly to his court.'

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But it feems there was the devil to pay with Madame de Chatelet: She would not (fays our Author) allow me, on any account to abandon her for the king of Pruffia: fhe thought it the lowest, the most abominable thing in the world to quit a fir lady, in order to run after a monarch: fhe would have made a confounded noife, had the not been let into the fecret reafons of my departure; to appease her, therefore, fhe was initiated into the myflery; and it was agreed, that the letters should pafs through her hand.'

So

So then our Author fet out, and in his way to Berlin fojourned a while at the Hague, where he tells us, pompously, that he was lodged in the palace of the old court, and, flily, that he obtained, by the means of the young Count Podewils, Envoy from Berlin, who was in the highest degree of favour. with a Lady of quality in the Hague, the moft fecret refolutions of the States General at that time (how are things now changed!) very ill-difpofed towards France. At his arrival at Berlin, he was lodged at Court, and he gives us here a narrative of the King of Pruffia's manner of living. The greatest part of this narration exhibits nothing new: the fcandalous and fecret anecdotes, even were they true, could never have paffed through the pen of an ingenuous and candid writer. How many brilliant reputations would be ufelefsly fullied, were all their fecret paffions and weakneffes drawn forth with malignity to public view? Was there ever a public character that would not be hurt by fuch an odious fcrutiny? We therefore deteft this part of the Memoirs under confideration, and execrate the fpirit with which it is penned.

Voltaire's defcription of the ceconomy that reigned at the court of Berlin, is juft in feveral refpects; but nothing can be more palpably falfe than the following paffage: Whether it was from œconomy or policy, he never beftowed any marks of liberality on his ancient favourites, who had ventured their lives for him when he was Prince Royal; nor did he even pay the debts which he had contracted at that period.' This is one of the printed lies that have been often made a subject of reproach to our Author, who is known to have taken many poetical liberties with truth. He tells us, however, that the King's magnificence, on certain occafions, was ftill fuperior to his œconomy on others: for,' fays he, it was a grand spectacle to fee him at table at Berlin, on public days, furrounded with twenty Princes of the empiré, ferved in gold by 32 Pages, and as many Heiducs. Then the Great officers, at other times fcarcely vifible, appeared with fplendor. After dinner the company went to the Opera, where the fineft voices, and the best dancers in Europe performed: among the latter was Barbarini, who was afterwards married to the son of the King's Chancellor ; her appointments (which is incomprehenfible) were equal to thofe of three Minifters of State; they amounted to 32,000 livres. The fize, indeed, and ftructure of her legs were rather mafculine. The King's Italian Poet, who fet to mufic the operas, of which his Majefty always compofed the plan, had only 1200 livres of wages; he was very ugly, and no dancer'. -But let us get on from thefe digreffions to our Author's political (we had almoft faid, poetical) negociations.

The

The mistake would not have been very great, for our Author tells us, that many of his conferences with the King, about France and Auftria, were introduced by conversations about Virgil and Tibullus. The account of this negociation is pitifully barren, both in point of difcuffions and facts. All that we learn from it is, that the King of Pruffia was angry at France for knocking at every door to obtain peace; that he had an antipathy against the late King of England, and said, at last, Let France declare war against England, and then my troops fhall march. With this fatisfactory declaration our Poet mounted his Pegafus, and brought the joyful news to Verfailles. But as the Minister, Amelot, was difmiffed by the King's Mistress, our Author was involved in his difgrace, and was fcarcely thanked for his negociations.

Another Miftrefs, however, Madame d'Etiole, afterwards Pompadour, procured him a place in the French Academy, the title of Hiftoriographer to his Majefty, and that of Gentleman of the Chamber. After this we find him with Madame de Chatelet at Luneville, the court of Stanislaus, where this eminent Female Philofopher died, after an illness of two days. It was my fate (fays he, after mentioning his forrow at this event), to run about from King to King, though I loved liberty even to adoration.' The Pruffian monarch, when he had got rid of his rival Madame de Chatelet (as our Author humbly expreffes himself), renewed his folicitations to have me at his court, and left no method of perfuafion unemployed to obtain his purpose. -And indeed how could I refift the preffing invitations of a King, who was a conqueror, a musician, a poet, a philofopher, and who alfo pretended to have a friendship for me? Befides, I imagined that I loved him. I went accordingly to Potfdam, in 1750. To be lodged in the apartments of Marfhal Saxe, to have cooks and coachmen at my orders, when I chose to dine at home or to take the air, were among the smallest favours that attended my new fituation. The King's fuppers were very agreeable; I know not whether I am miftaken or not, but it feemed to me, as if there was really wit going about at table. The King had wit, and he excited it in others, and (what was the moft extraordinary circumftance of all) there reigned the greatest freedom in thefe focieties. I ftudied with the King two hours a day, corrected his compofitions, praised every good paffage, and blotted out every bad one.--On the whole, I could conceive nothing more agreeable than my prefent fituation.'

This honey-moon did not laft long; for we had fcarcely got two pages farther, than this pleasing description of the King's felect convivial fociety, when we found Voltaire representing it as a scene of constraint, under the eye of tyranny; calling the free charming fupper, the fupper of Damocles (who as our Readers

will recollect, was far from fitting at ease at the table of Dionyfius), and resigning his Chamberl in's key, his order and his pension at the Pruffian court. We are intimately perfuaded that the reafons which brought about this eclipfe of our Author's glory at the court of Berlin, are unfaithfully reprefented in the Memoirs now before us.-In the reftlets, jealous, felfifh, fufpicious, sarcastic, and infolent fpirit of Voltaire, we must look for the true cause of the King's coolness, which alarmed and fhocked the Poet's pride, and which, joined to fome facts that belong to fecret hiftory, occafioned his retreat. There was a great deal of goffiping, tittle-tattle work at the bottom of this change of court favour. We do not think it worth while to retail all that Voltaire faid of the King, or of his poetry, or of Maupertuis, of whom he was jealous, or of other court-rivals. The Reader must seek for this in the work itself: and even here he will find bat a fmall part of it, and no reafons adequate to fuch a rupture, after fuch an intimate connexion. A mathematical dispute between Maupertuis and Koenig, which made a noise in the literary world, and also engendered ill-humour and perfonal abufe, contributed, no doubt, more or lefs, to this feparation. The King protected Maupertuis, with warmth, in this affair, and ordered Koenig's name to be ftruck out of the lift of the members of his academy; Voltaire took the part of Koenig, and wrote a great number of witty and virulent pamphlets against his antagonist, which turned the laugh of all the jokers in Europe againtt Maupertuis. In fhort, this difpute, embittered by exafperating fallies of wit on both fides, ended by Voltaire's retreat from Berlin. On his arrival at Francfort he was arrested by the King's order, for having carried off the Royal Poems. He was roughly handled, on this occafion, by fome military officers of juftice, and there is a great deal of humour in his defcription of this part of his adventures. Our Poet went, after fome intermediate peregrinations, to Ferney, where he bought a fine eftate, and lived with great tafte and hospitality, upon a fortune of rear ten thousand pounds a year. His correfpondence with the King of Pruffia, afterwards, is what our Readers would not have expected. Such a correfpond. ence was, however, revived; and it furnishes fome anecdotes which are fingular and entertaining, but which would lofe a part of their falt and flavour by being detached from their place in these Memoirs; we shall therefore leave them to the curiosity of fuch as are lovers of fecret history, and who propofe to read the prefent work.

ART.

Henrici Conftantini Cras, J. U. D. et Illuftri Amftelodamenfium Atheneo Juris Profefforis Difputatio, qua demonftratur nullum in Ethica Chriftiana præceptum effe, quo et finguli cives in commodis fuis fe. quendis, et principes in republicâ fecundum politices regulas adminiftranda, impediantur. Quæ Legati Stolpiani præmium reportavit - A Differtation, in which is demonftrated, That nothing is inculcated in the Gospel fyftem of Morality, that impedes either private Citizens in the Purfuit of their temporal Interefts, or Rulers, in gɔverning the State according to the Maxims of found Policy. By HENRY CONSTANTINE ČRAS, L. L. D. and Profeffor of Laws in the College of Amfterdam; to whom was adjudged the Prize appointed by the Stolpian Fund. 4to. Leyden.

TH

THE fund left by the will of Mr. STOLP, a citizen of Leyden, for Prize-Differtations on fubjects relative to Natural Religion, and Moral Philofophy, has produced, for many years paft, a mifcellaneous collection that is not unworthy of attention. We are indebted to the Stolpian fund for Profeffor Cras's Differtation, which is fenfible and judicious: his method is clear and perfpicuous, his reafoning folid, and his fentiments are liberal; his Latinity is far from being exceptionable, and may be read with pleasure. If no great novelty of matter should occur to the Reader, this must be attributed not to the Author, but to the fubject, which has fo often been treated by very able Authors, that it is difficult to ftrike out of the beaten track. The directors of this inftitution feem to complain, that the feveral differtations delivered to them, have proceeded in a track different from what they had intended, and have not investigated the truths which they wished to ascertain. They appear, however, to have been written with a view conformable to that, which, from the terms wherein the fubject is propofed, obviously seem to have been intended; but if the Directors had any more remote object, they would have done well, either to have proposed the fubject in a more particular manner, or to have added fuch an explanation, as fhould have guided the writer into the very channel they wished him to pursue.

The learned Profeffor divides his differtation into three parts. In the first, he fhews that the general fyftem of evangelical morality, tends greatly to promote the happiness of individuals, the profperity of the ftate, and the honour of a good govern

ment.

In the fecond, he explains and vindicates fome precepts which have been mifunderstood and mifreprefented; and in the third part, he demonftrates that thofe precepts of the Gospel to which objections have been made as prejudicial to civil happiness, are, on the contrary, greatly conducive to the fe

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licity