203 
'H r s t o nr. 
important ufes, within certain reftriCtions, of this fpecies 
of hiftory; particularly to the foldier, the itatdinan, and 
the philofopher, whole matured realon might “ ’delay the 
good which arifes out of etuiA nor would it be fair to 
• take from it the merit of affording to man, perfecuted 
-and oppreffed, the important leffon on the magnitude of 
his powers, and on'the unexhaufted refources fuppl'ied by 
exertion, fortitude, and magnanimity. Yet he proceeds 
to fliOw, in very Itrong and convincing language, that the 
advantages thus derived, by no means compenfate the 
evils engendered upon the mafs of mankind. “ Whether, 
(he lays,) we take a retrofpective view of pall ages, or 
confult the prefent hiftory of the world, what have we 
prefented to our view, but one difgulting feries of the 
-heavieft calamities, and the molt lhocking vices, that can 
affliCt or degrade humanity ! We hardly turn over a page, 
which is not crimfoncd with blood, or polluted with 
crimes. Barbarous violence, fanguinary wars, horrid de- 
vaftations, mercilefs perfecutions, murders, rapes, poifons, 
and affaflinations, lordly tyrants trampling upon and in¬ 
tuiting the rights of human nature, and abjeCt Haves 
crouching beneath the yoke of a withering defpotifm, 
which from age to age has gone on debaling the human 
character, and Dialling every riling effort of genius and of 
virtue.—Such are the icenes which hiltory chiefly exhibits 
to our view. To the reader, therefore, who looks per¬ 
haps folely for amufement, and with no retrofpeCt to any 
fpecrfic advantage, fuch a picture of the debafement and 
mifery of his fellow-creatures can afford no gratification. 
Where the heart is not ftrangely corrupted, its moil na¬ 
tural impreflion mult be that of pain and difguft. Who 
can perufe the bloody prolcriptions of a Roman triumvi¬ 
rate, the devaftating march ot a Genghis Khan or a Ta¬ 
merlane, the barbarities of a Mexican or Peruvian con- 
queft, the fyftematic cold-blooded cruelties of a Spanilh 
rinquifition, without the molt painful emotions of indig¬ 
nation and abhorrence ? The frequent contemplation of 
fuch fcenes, in which human nature is fo outraged, and 
yet few, if any, better fpecimens of human characters are 
exhibited, mult have a ftrong tendency to corrupt the 
heart of the juvenile reader; to chill all the warm affec¬ 
tions of his innocent youth, to induce a cold, illiberal, 
and mifanthropic, fpirit; or, as if all reliftance to the ge- 
•neral current were impotent, to reconcile him to a part- 
nerlhip in the fellillinefs and depravity of man. For, as 
the reader becomes more and more converfant with the 
continued tale of human folly and wickednefs, his elti- 
ma'tion of his fpecies mult be lowered, and his benevolent 
principles impaired. It requires indeed a Itrong mind, 
and Handing upon Itrong principles, fuch as the world 
will not teach him, to relilt this moft malignant of all im- 
.preffions. 
“ The chief heroes of the hiltoric pen, are in general 
the greatell deltixyers of mankind ; thole who have ra¬ 
vaged kingdoms, overthrown empires, and thinned the 
"human race. Men have been deified and fainted, not for 
the geodaefs, but for the greatnefs, of their exploits ; not 
for their endeavours to civilize and improve the ftate of 
mankind by the introduction of mild and equitable laws, 
.and the cultivation of the arts of peace ; but for an in¬ 
ordinate and felfilh fpirit of ambition and aggrandiiement. 
The reign of juft and peaceful fovereigns, which, like the 
tranquil feafons of nature, impart health and life and 
cheerfulnefs to every thing around, has been regarded as 
but an inferior and fecondary object of their attention, va¬ 
lued perhaps moft, as it renovates the energies of a nation, 
and fits it for the ambitious views of a military fucceffor. 
No r it is the mighty troublers of the earth, the hurri¬ 
canes of proud war and conqueft which deform the fair 
face of nature, which in their w r alleful progrefs l'weep 
whole nations to the gratfe, that has been too much the 
theme of hiltoric applaufe and admiration. When we be¬ 
hold the title of Great conferred on fuch men as Alexan¬ 
der, Caefar, Louis the XIVth, or even Peter of Mufcovy, 
.every moral and humane mind mutt reprobate the profa¬ 
nation of the attribute, and lament the folly of the woijcl ; 
which can join in the applaufe of what it ought feverely 
to condemn, and dignify that which merits its abhorrence, 
and execration. But mankind too eafily adopt the very 
prejudices which are their ruin ; and, caught with the 
whidling of a name, fall down before and worfhip the 
very bealt that is to devour them. Thus, by the falfe co¬ 
lours in which fuch characters are exhibited, the moral 
judgment and the moral tafte of many a reader is moll 
cruelly perverted. If romances and novels have erred in 
railing the notion of human virtue above its level, mili¬ 
tary hiltory has more dangeroully erred in the low appre¬ 
ciation of the human character, and affociating it with 
every vice. 
“ From the heroes of antiquity have fprung the race of 
the wafteful conquerors of nations, the difturbers of the 
peace of man. Achilles begat Alexander and his turbu¬ 
lent fucceflors ; Alexander begat Julius Caffar, with the 
long and horrid feries of Roman emperors ; and the be • 
witchery of C as far's character wall never ceafe*to propa¬ 
gate the lull of overbearing dominion, without one end 
in view, but the mere fame of extended empire and del- 
potic fway. To this we have owed the embryo attempt 
of Charles V. of Aultria, and of Louis XIV. of France ; 
and at this moment owe, more perhaps than to any other 
caufe, the prefent devastator of the world, Napoleon. An 
ample career of glory lay before him ; but the gholl of 
Caffar, and the dream of more than Roman empire, ap¬ 
pear to haunt his lleeping and his waking hours ; thcv 
have turned him from every honourable courfe, nor will 
fuller him to paufe, until, to ferve fome wife ends of an 
avenging Providence, he be permitted fora while to Ipread 
defolation around ; or fail at once himfelf and his deluded 
country, a mighty ruin, a juft, but an inadequate, atone¬ 
ment to ah offended and haraffed world.”—This folly of 
over-rating the “ brave in battle,” originated with Homer; 
whole immortal work Mr. Walker has criticifed fomewhat 
roughly. .See the article Homer. 
Many of the evils herein depicted, as refulting from an 
injudicious compilation of Hiltory, will be found to arife 
as often from an over-heated imagination in the writer, 
as from‘attachment to party, or fervility to a prince. 
But, wherever either of thefe failings are deteCled, the 
book lhould be thrown afide, as infallibly calculated to 
millead the mind. The candid hiftorian, who propofes 
to exhibit to his readers a genuine picture of the period 
of which he treats, will avoid, with ftndious circumfpec- 
tion, thefe fatal rocks, on which fo many lplit: and, al¬ 
though the feverities of Truth, of Morality; and Vir¬ 
tue, mark out for him a ftriCter line of conduCt than tha 
poet or the orator is required to purfue, yet his obliga-. 
tion to follow their dictates is made ealy, and even de¬ 
lightful, by proper reflections on the dignity of his la¬ 
bours, and the animating anticipation of the reward which 
will fucceed them. It is his province to inveftigate the 
latent principles of conduCt, and purfue them to their re- 
moteft conlequences; to delineate the diverfified picture 
of aCtions and characters, and difplay the revolutions of 
governments, and the fate of empires. If his fubjeCt be 
judicioully treated, and his productions be ftamped with 
coolnefs, and with the marks of genius and fidelity, luc- 
celfive generations will celebrate his name as the bene- 
faCtor of mankind,—for giving them an imaginary exift- 
ence in pall ages,—for introducing them to the know¬ 
ledge of departed excellence,—and for enabling them to 
profit by the examples of their predecelfors. His praife 
will be the theme of their gratitude, whilft they Ihun the 
vices, and imitate the virtues, which his works conlign to 
immortality. 
But the advantages to be derived from Hiftory thus le¬ 
gitimately Written, flop not here. Thofe who devote 
themfelves to the ftudy of legiflation, or who may be 
called to the management of public affairs, will from 
thence learn the fprings of government, their vices and 
excellencies, their force and weaknefs. “Inde tibi tuaque 
reipublica; 
