298 
from the literary world, and particularly 
from the National Inftitute, from that 
body as free by’ its effence as it is. by its 
eompofition. 
_. ‘Fhe purchafe and flavery of negroes 
have been the fbjec&t of the meditations 
ef our brother GReGorre. Aiter hav- 
ing fhewn that the buying and felling of 
negroes, take their date from an epoch 
anterior to the difcevery of the new 
world, and coincident with the moment jn 
which flavery was abolifhed in Eurepe ; 
after having explained the part which the 
different nations have taken in the trafiick, 
and fhewn what people have appeared the 
feaft cruel mafters, the author traces 
minutely the efforts of the friends of the 
blacks; he analyfes their writings: he 
denounces the Enelith government, whole 
acts in favor of the negroes appear to him 
gather the effe&t of a profound machiave- 
lifm, than of the love of humanity ; and 
Jaftly, attempts to excu]pate the friends of 
the blacks, from the reproach of having 
earried their attachment to their unfortu- 
ate elients. fo far, as to. become the 
enemies’ of the white proprietors in the 
colonies. pee 
In the fecond parétof his work, Citizen 
Gregoire propofes to treat of what yet 
remains to -be done by the friends of the 
blacks to complete their work. 
A queftion of focial {cierce, no lefs im- 
portant than thofe If have juft {poken of, 
bas attracted the attention of Citizen 
VILLETERQUE. In fome general con- 
‘fiderations on the natural affections and 
maternal power, the author examites 
whether mothers fhould not poflefs creater 
power, than what they have been allowed 
to enjoy tothisday. Our fellow member, 
on the authorities cf Locke, Hobbs, and 
Condorcet, advances that the higher we 
augment the power of fathers, which he 
ealls a power of inftitution, without hav- 
img refpect to that of mothers, which is 
a power truly natural, the further we 
firay from that unity of diredticn necefiary 
to analogous means which fhould lead to 
the fame end; and that it is perhaps 
from this oppofition not rightly adjufied 
that many diforders rife in civil affocia- 
tion: Citizen ViLLETERQUE obferves 
further, that it is by uniting the powers 
of fathers and mothers by equal rights, 
er the only modifications of which would 
be relative to different duties, that we 
may -beft increafe the happy influence 
which thefe two authorities ought to have 
upon manners. 
Citizen BoUCHAUD, who had before 
communicated to the clafs three memoirs; 
French Naticnal Inftitute. ' 
f May 
relative to the magiftrates of Roman co- 
lonies and municipal towns, has read, 
during the laft quarter, a-fourth on the 
fame fubje&t ; thus, the friends of an— 
tiquity have no further information te 
defire on that part of the government and 
laws of antient Rome. 
Although the hiftory of ancient Greece 
has been written by men celebrated for 
their genius, or efteemed for their vaft and 
profound erudition, we have on the whole 
but very inaccurate and incomplete notices 
relative to the geography or that ccuntry, 
fo interefting by the remembrances which 
it excites, and by the monuments which it 
contains. Citizen MENTELLE has under- 
taken to Sli up this deficiency, with a view _ 
to render the refearches of travellers, who 
fhould incline to make Greece-the object 
of their ftudies, lefs painful, tedious and 
unprofitable. He has already communica- 
ted to the clafs, two memoirs on-this fub- 
jet. In the firft, he deferibes the country 
of Trzzene, and the territories of Epi- 
dauris 5 in the fecond, he difcuffes fome 
points of geography peculiar to Argolis. 
Whilft citizen Mentelle was employed 
in rendering eafier, the difcoveries which 
yet remain for us to make in the ancient 
times and world, our fellow member 
BuacueE has been attempting to furnith 
us with the means of difcovering in the 
immenie ocean, men and countries new to 
us. May his work, which will be read 
in the courfe of this fitting, reanimate 
among ft us the tafte for voyages deftined 
to enlarge the {phere of our knowledge, 
of our commercial relations, and of our 
glory! And above all, may the nations 
which this work fhall have aflifted us to 
difccver, never be convinced by their own 
experience, that the virtues have made 
lefs progrefs in Europe, than the fciences 
and arts! 
Citizens LEGRAND-Daussi and An- 
QuETIE have been both engaged in re- 
fearches on the laws and manners of the 
firft ages of the French Monarchy. 
The object of Citizen LEGRAND being 
tocompare together the Salic code, the 
code of the Burgundians, and that of the 
Viligoths, he traces the hiftory of each of 
the codes; he» analyfes them, examines- 
their defets and their particular merit, 
their afflictive penalties, and their compo- 
fitions in money for crimes; their laws 
concerning the ftate of the Gauls, women, - 
flaves, and laftly the confirmative fanétion 
which each of them ieceived, before capa~ 
ble of being put in execution; a fanétion 
which for the Vitigoth code was that of 
the clergy ; for the Burgundian code, that 
of 
