not were Chriftian till the eleventh; it feems rather ignorance than incredulity to deny that they prefent a faithful fyftem of Scandinavian mythology. To return, for a moment, to Sæmund: after a long and laborious life he died, according to the best authorities, in 1133. The Life of him, here given, is written by the celebrated Arnas Magnæus, who clofes it with fome curious remarks on the Eddas. Proceeding to the work itfelf, the poems now published amount to thirteen in number. The omillion of the three published by Refenius muft ftrike every reader as a great defect; fo inuch fo, that the title of Edda, given to this volume, feems improper, because the Volufpa, in particular, the most important poem of all the old Edda, and con. taining the fum of its mythology, is omitted; fo that this volume does not (as it ought) contain the Edda, or My thology, complete, fo far as could be recovered. The Editor feems in this to have acted as though he had published a portrait without eyes, or built a houfe without windows. This defect was most unneceflary; for the pamphlets of Refenius are not only extremely fcarce, but not very accurate; and the publication of this Edda, without its three firft, and most important, poems, merely becaufe they had been printed laft century, must meet with univerfai dilapprobation. It is faid, that the Veluja, Haavamal, and Odin's Magic, are to be published feparate, with large illuftrations; but, if fo, they never can complete this work, which ftands as the first volume, and is unintelligible without the Volutpa. To finish our cenfures, and our own pain in making them, it must be further obferved, that the prefatory matter is very defective. A tormal comparifon between the Rhythmic and Profaic Edda ought to have been given, pointing out the particular paflages of the former upon which each fable of the latter is founded, and the like. The nature of the verfe, and its antiquity, fhould have been illuftrated. Alliteration feems as exactly obferved as in Icelandic poetry of the twelfth century. How is this to be accounted for? To each poem an argument ought to have been prefixed, with references to the later Edda; whereas only the first has an argument, and is every way the best illuftrated in the volume. So much for the faults by numerous laudable qualities. The of this work, which are overbalanced text and various readings are given with great care and accuracy; the Notes the Icelandic language; and it is printand Gloffary afford valuable learning in ed in an elegant manner. various poems of this collection. the giant Vafthrudnis, in order to try 1. Vafibrudnifmal. Odin goes to fee. They converfe together on cofmogony, his wifdom, which was much celebrated. the end of the world, the ftate of men after death, and various natural caufes. This is one of the most valuable pieces in the collection, and is ably illustrated. piece of 53 ftanzas, gives an account of 2. Grimnis Mal. Odin, in this long the habitations of the gods, and different is more often quoted in the later Edda other parts of mythology. This poem But we were furprifed to find a stanza than any of the reft, except the Volufpa. concerning Thor's Palace in the later Edda, (fab. XIII. edit. Goranjon, XIX. edit. Rejen.) which is not to be found in this edition of the Grimnis, nor any note accounting for the defect. conciliate Gerda's love to Freyer. This 4. Harbarz Lioth. Odin and Thor mer's boat, to kill the ferpent Midgard : Gor. Lok tells all the gods their faults, like 7. Thryms Quida. Thor recovers his wanting beginning and end, and obfcure Hell, fo finely tranflated by Gray; and dwarf on the names which various ob- 7 men Review of New Publications. men of Scaldic inftitutions in fynony mous words. 11. Fiol Svinns Mal. Suipdag, an illuftrious youth, returning from a journey, tries the wit of Fiolfuid, who guarded his miftrefs, by various quefnons. This is a mere ftring of riddles, and can neither belong to the Mythologic nor Hiftoric part of the Edda, as the Editor allows. 12. Hyndiu Lioth, al. Volupa bin Skamma. This poem, called The Little Volufpa, contains the gencatogy of one Ottar, detailed in a fingular antique manner. If it belongs to the Edda at all, it must belong to the Hiftoric part, and has no bufinefs here. A cu 13. Appendix, Solar Lioth. rious moral poem, elegantly written by a Chriftian fcald, but fingularly mingled with Paganifm. It confelfedly does not belong to the Edda. The Gloffary is extremely large, and full, as neceflary in explaining the oldest remains of the Scandinavian tongue, and must be useful in tracing the ety mology of the English. The learned Society for publishing Danish MSS. deferve great praife for the propriety and exactness of their edi. tions. They propofe speedily to publish the Hiftoric Part of the Old Edda; which, if we judge from that of the later Edda, relates to Hrolf Krak, Froder Fridleif, and especially Sigurd FofneriI cida, old Danish kings and heroes. is much to be wished that they would publifh a correct edition of Snorto's Edda, from the beft MSS.; for thote of Refenius and Goranfon are very bad. The variations are great; and it seems uncertain if the work be in dialogue or not; for the two first chapters feem interpolated. The third chapter of the Prologue, as given by Refenius, concerning the Alæ and Troy, Odin's flight from Pompey, &c. is clearly not by Snorro, as it is quite contradictory to his history and the Edda itseif. The dialogue of Gangler with three persons, who, however, all make one Odin, being merely different names for that god, as appears from the Scalda, seems abfurd, and an interpolation of fome ignorant hand. The fame and importance of the Edda call for full illuftration of its obfcurities; and it is hoped the Danish SEVIRI Will gratify the republic of letters with a full account of the different MSS. of Snorro's Edda, their contents, and variations, as that work is more univerfally attended to 139 than any other Northern production. Arnas Magnæus, in his Life of Sæ mund, thinks the later Edda not older than the fourteenth century; but his arguments are inconclufive, as he makes no allowance for interpolations, and judges from MSS. of this Edda actually then tranfcribed Nor does it clearly appear that the Scalda, from which he judges, and the Edda, were written by one perfon. The queftion requires the greateft critical acumen, and Icelandic learning, to decide. 13. BIBLIOTHECA TOPOGRAPHICA BRI TANNICA. No XLII. Containing, The Hitories of Afton Flamvile and Burbach, including the Hamlets of Sketchley and Smockington, and the Granges of Leicester and Horetton, in the Counties of Leicester and Warwick. With a large Appendix to the Hiftory of Hinckley. By John Nichols, F.S. A. Edinb. & Perth; and Printer to the Society of Antiquaries, London. 4to. have followed upon fome family meTHE important confequences that morials, interwoven in the History of Hinckley, which formed one of the car lieft Numbers of this ufeful Collection of British Topography, have infpirited the Compiler to purfue this dry walk, with pleature to himfelf, and information to the publick. He has made the moft of the fmall townships here deferibed; and, if he has done nothing elfe, he has fet a pattern to future compilers, and extends his views to as full an Hiftory of the COUNTY of LEICESTER as the want of perfection in, or accefs to, the collections of Sir Tho mas Cave will permit. What pity fuck collections Thould be neglected, and that the drudgery of forming them a fecond time fhould remain to be gone over again! 14. BIBLIOTHECA TOPOGRAPHICA BRITANNICA, NO XLIV. Containing, An Hif torical Account of the Parish of Odell, in the County of Bedford; wherein particular Attention is paid to the Queries propojed by the Editors of Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica. Communicated by Oliver St. John Cooper, Vicar of Puddington and Thurleigh. IT gives us pleafure to fee this third inftance of attention paid by Mr. Cooper to the interefting queries abovementioned, which are fuch a proper bafis for a general topographical hiftory of Great Britain. Too much praise cannot be given to the Editor of the Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica, 140 which has made a progrefs beyond our moft fanguine expectations. We can only exprefs a with, that Mr. Cooper may in like manner pervade a circuit round him, and provoke the neighbour ing clergy to a Hiftory of Bedfordshire. 15. BIBLIOTHECA TOPOGRAPHICA BRITANNICA. NO XLV. Containing, An A pendix [by Mr. Pridden] to the Hiftories of Reculver and Herne; and Obfervations, by Mr. Denne, on the Arcbiepifcopal Palace of Mayfield in Suffex. 4to. THIS little mifcellany contains many particulars and drawings of Reculver and its neighbourhood, not noticed in the former accounts; fome, also, relat ing to Canterbury, and the difcovery of the remains of the Archbishops Iflip and Wittlefey, in new paving the nave of the church; Obfervations on the words Cbrifome and Chrijomer, which, in the pailages from Shakspeare and Davenant, feem to mean innocent babe, or babe newly baptifed, confequently not many days old, or within the month. But the difficulty of applying the term to an old man is not folved, unlefs we should read it, "oulde Arnold s chrifomer;" i. e. his child, inftead of himself; which is at least as warrantable an alteration as that of "Achryfomer," in a privative fenfe, for a child not chriftened at all. This number concludes with a collection of epitaphs and notes at Herne, Biddenden, Rolvenden, and Staplehurst. 16. BIBLIOTHECA TOPOGRAPHICA BRITANNICA. NO XLVI. Containing, 1. The Cafe of the Inhabitants of Croydon, 1673; ruith an Appendix to the Hiftory of that Town. 2. A Lift of the Manerial Houses which formerly belonged to the See of Canterbury. 3. A Defcription of Trinity Hofpital, Guilford; and of Albury House. Wib, 4. Brief Notes on Batterfea, Chelfham, Nutrield, and Tatsfield, in toc County of Surrey. 45. THE inhabitants of Croydon made heavy complaints against their vicar, Dr. Wm. Cleaver, who obtained, in the times of the Rebellion, the fequefter ed living of Afhton, co. Northampton, where he behaved in a manner very unlike a clergieman, committing great extortion, oppreffion, pulling down his parfonage-houfe, and felling the materials, and doing many unjustifiable acts for money, befides his infufficiency in preaching printed fermons, and nonfente, and being drunk, keeping a woman as his wife, and refufing to baptife Le child of a visible believer. Upon the reftoration of the right incumbent to par This Cafe Letters from Dr. Ducarel, concern Croydon, before reviewed in our vol. ing his Collections for the Hatory of LIII. p. 773; and Additions and Cor rections in it. Lift of the Manerial Houses formerly belonging to the fee of Canterbury, by Mr. Denne, with Anecdotes and Traní actions in each. Account of Trinity Hofpital, founded by Archbp. Abbot, 1619, in his native town of Guilford, with a plate; of Albury Houfe, from Aubrey, with a plate. } A Map of Surrey, from Aubrey. Brief Notes on Batterfea, by Mr. Theobald. Account of Chelfham, Nutfield, and E. Steele's MSS. with Views of the Tatsfield parishes, from Aubrey, and two latter churches. Thefe mifcellaneous gleanings will in fome degree obviate the complaint of Dr. Ducarel, 30 years ago, that our Local Antiquities were too much neglected. 17. A fummary View of the Slave Tradı, and of the probable Conf quences of its Abolition. THIS is another of thofe little manuals circulated by the Humane Society inftituted with the laudable design of ❝ preaching deliverance to the captives, "to fet at liberty them that are bruifed, to preach the acceptable year of the "Lord." May this year, the anniverfary of a century* pince the yoke of a Popis tyrant was broken from the neck of Britain, break afunder the bands of the poor Africans, and caft away their "cords from us!" The Confequences of the abolition of this inhuman traffic, as here extracted from a Latin prize differtation at Cambridge, 1785, by T Clark fon, are, the * One may fay, of two centuries, when we recollect the wonderful difperfion of the Spanuh armada, 1538. Brit. cenation Review of New Publications. ceTation of war, crimes, oppreflion of 13. The Abolition of the Slave Trade confidered 19. Morfels of Criticism; tending to illuftrate fome few Paffages in the Holy Scriptures upon Pbilofopbical Principles, and an enlarged View of Things. By Edward King, Efq. 410. IN this extraordinary volume we are at a lofs whether to admire moft, the extraordinary title, the extraordinary dedication, or the extraordinary view of things contained in it. It is dedicated to the prefent Bishop of London, though lefs known to the author than other excellent perfons on his Lordship's Bench. "But the very truth is, thete sheets were "begun to be written immediately after, "and almoft folely in confequence of a "very defultory converfation the fummer "before laft, in which bis Lordship ex"preffed a wifh, that fome few obferva"tions then made on the true render"ing of the Greek text of fome parts "of Scripture should be further pre"ferved, and be communicated to the "publick." The reader will naturally be surprised at feeing fo much authority paid to the GREEK verfion of the HEBREW verity. For, after all the authority that Dr. Owen has given to that verfion, he does not venture to deduce conclufions of high import from the reading of any one fingle verfe in any one particular copy of the LXX. Without pretending to an acquaintance with the Hebrew language ourselves, we cannot help think ing it a counteracting Dr. Kennicot's laudable and ftupendous undertaking, of collating its various copies, not to apply to it, in the firft inftance, for a correct understanding and tranflating of the Old Teftament. But leaving this "If any one does Mr. K, fays, p. 90, 141 to the reflection of fuch as do underftand that language, we proceed to follow Mr. K. ftep by flep. He fets out with a new tranflation of the Lord's Prayer, principally, indeed, in one word, the heavens, plurally, for beaven, fingularly, understanding it of the many heavens wherein dwelleth the Father Almighty, and manifefteth his glory, one of which is prepared for good fitive affurance that we have fuch a remen. Mr. K. is not content with a poof the precife fpot— treat in profpect, but fets out in fearch "Caelum non animum mutant qui "trans mare currunt." This our heaven, our future manfion, is the -SUN. The Incas of Peru, it feems, claimed a lineal descent from this luminary, as their father; but Chriftians, who are fons of GOD, are to take up their eternal refidence in this planet. We cannot follow our author through his chain of philofophical and chemical reafoning; but muft beg leave to differ from him in his illuftrations of his grand pofition, as we conceive all the defcriptions of divine glory in Scripture, however borrowed from the most splendid allufions, to be very inadequate reprefentations, and by no means intended to lead us to that luminary as a fountain or mansion of glory or happineis. However, in order to qualify it for this purpofe, our ingenious author has thought proper to diveft it of its fuppoled fiery properties. Surely Mr. K. need not be under any apprehenfion for our Lord's veracity in his promifes about the future glory, power, and existence of the Saints, without placing them in the fun and fixed ftars. For, if the prefent heavens and earth are to be anven and a new earth, which is the exnihilated, and give place to a new heaprefs language of Scripture, we can have no ground for expectation of being tranflated to any planet which we now behold, or which future Herfchels, with all the eyes of Argus or Lynceus, may find out for us in the prefent fyftem. And as the heavens and earth will be as new in themfelves, as they will be new to our conceptions, fo alfo will our bodies undergo a change, which we can have no conception of, in order to be fitted for them. To these glorious immortal bodies we, for our parts, really know not how to apply our author's favourite term, Confolidation; a term, we conceive, applicable only to material fubje&ts, certainly not tranfferrable but emblematically to immaterial ones. If the phrase of the "righ"teous fhining forth as the fun," and even our Lord's transfiguration, are not allegorical, and intended to convey as ftrong an idea of their future glorious ftate as our prefent words and ideas are capable of, will our author make, in p. 82, every one of them perfonify the fun? And is not our Father in heaven an om niprefent deity as much throughout the vaft expanfe of heaven as in every fixed fiar? In our poor judgement the image is fublimity itself. In his 566th page Mr. King fays, "the fervants of GOD fhall be placed either in the fun "or in fome other world of blijs." In Section II. Mr. K. proceeds to examine and illuftrate the Mofaic account of the Creation. He conceives that the earth was now a reduced to a confufed mafs. It was generally, before, fuppofed, that the earth, which E agx originally was chaotic, was now, when Moles begins his recital, made fhapely, and beautifully adorned. Mr. K. goes on to fhew that, after the feparation of the fubtil fluid of fire or heat, the firft element on earth, the atmofpherical air was formed, which the LXX, he fays, exprefs fo much more happily by the term sewu, than our tranflation by firmament, which, in our conception, is a word of like import. Motes gives the name of heaven to this firmament. Mr. K. fays, only becaule heaven is feen through it. He is of opinion, the fun was formed before the light; and that on the fourth day the fun (the greater light, illuminator, or luminary, or efficient caufe of light,) was only rendered vifible, while the moon (the lefler luminary), as well as the fars, were then created.-What our tranflation renders after its kind, applied to trees and plants, as botanifts do genus and fpecies, Mr. K. refers to a pattern of these things in fome pre-existing world, as man was created after the the likeness of pre-exifting fpirits. I In Section III. Mr. K. offers a new tranflation of 1 John iv. 2, 3, whofo be lieveth that Jefus is the Chrift come in Beth, and the contrary. la Section IV. Mr. K. conjectures that the Alythos, by us translated Mes See, particularly, p. 81. fenger, John Baptift, the forerunner of Chrift, was a real Angel born in the flesh, who lived on earth, antecedently, as Elijah, and will come a third time before Chrift, at the general refurrection. This he infers from Matt. xviii. 9-13, and particularly from Mart. xi. 14; but in this laft text it is hard to fay, why ὁ μέλλων ερχεσθαι fhould not be tranflated as by us at prefent, who was for to come, or "venturus erat ;" and why Malachi iv. 4, 5, is to be extended to a third coming of Elias. As to the conformity of perfon between Elias and the Baptift, if we are to adhere uniformly to the LXX, the defcription of Elias, 2 Kings i. 8, must be applied to his body, and not to his cloaths; for in this fenfe Jacob, Gen. xxvi. 11, was ame daouç. All the rest of the comparison is the exertion of a fine imagination. The text in John means, that a man was born under a divine commiffion. Section V. is a comment on the words of Christ to Nathanael, John i. 51, explaining the communication between our heaven, the fun, and earth, to take place at a certain period; though nei ther Nathanael nor Philip, the μsi; to whom it was addressed, did fee it.—In this comment Mr. K. fuppofes the Angel who appeared to Gideon communicated additional ftrength to him by looking at him; and that this is implied by a ισχυε σου ΤΑΥΤΗ We rather think Taury means thy present strength; and fo, as in St. Paul, the divine ftrength would be made perfect in his weaknefs; nor is this inconfiftent with Hebrews xi. 34; or, perhaps, Mr. K, had in his mind the ftrength with which Minerva infpired Diomed in Homer. Section VI is occupied with obfervations on the fecond coming of Chrift, as foretold by himself, which it fuppofes to refer to three diftinét events, the Deftruction of Jerufalem, Chrift's Second Coming properly fo called with his holy Angels, and the Destruction of this Earth: the time of the two first are pofitively determined by our author, but that of the third declared to be too dif tant to be known by any man. These three events are implied in the question put to him by the difciples, Matt. xxiv. 3, and his as diftinct answers. Section VII. is a new tranflation of the parable of the Unjuft Steward. Mr. K. fuppofes it addreffed to unbelievers, and particularly to the publicans and finners, the fcribes and pharifees, all of |