136 Mr. Harvey's Obfervations 
tiality; by Foreigners of diftinguifhed abilities, well 
verfed in the works of eminent Englifh authors, 
and who themfelves were fuch miafters of the Jan- 
guage, as to write it with elegance and eafe; and 
poffefling, withal, fuch an acquaintance with other 
languages as enabled them, by comparifon, to 
become the moft accurate arbiters of the worth of 
each. A very flattering character of our language 
_ is given by Mr. Barrerti,* in the preface to the 
fecond 
* It can hardly be neceffary to remark what is fo well 
known —that this ingenious writer was formerly Secretary, 
for foreign corref{pondence, to the Royal SoS and 
one of the intimate friends of Dr. Jounson, &c, And he 
frankly obferves that (before he was acquainted with 
England) conceiving, that after a knowledge of Greek 
and Latin, nothing further but French could be neceflary to 
form the ne plus ultra of every well-bred gentleman, he 
applied himfelf to acquire it; and having read the works 
ef Montagne, Pafcale, Malbranche, Corneille, Moliere, la 
Fontaine, &c, imagined that there was not any thing which 
could poilibly come in competition therewith: * ma molto 
piacevolmente,” fays he, “m’aveddi eflermi ingannato a 
partito allora che mi trovai mediocremente maeftro del 
Britannico parlare. Oh quante belic.e grandi cofe Paefani 
mici, ho lette in quefti libriche non fi leggono in quelli d’altre 
genti! Pafferd in filenzio un Hooker, uno Scot, un 
Clarke, un Bentley, uno Stillingfleet, un Tillotion, e 
centinaja d’altri loro teologi e facri oratori che valero- 
famente battagliando contra i numerofi {credenti del loro 
e d’altri paefi, hanno in mille modi ¢ poco meno che con 
geometrica evidenza provata la verita della religione rive~ 
lata, cosi che hanno coftretti gli Ateifti e i Deifti a rifug- 
girfi negli fterili deferti dell’ ignoranza, o a nafconderfi 
nelle 
