An 
ES2 
~ 
view; it is only a continuation. It con- 
gains 35 memoirs upon as many important 
articles, the beft of which, in my opi- 
sion, are the rules for the cultivation of 
cotton, practical obferyations upon macfh 
lands, upon the preferyation o: lemon 
trees in winter, 2 method oi prefling olives 
He lemons, the means of preferving wine 
for a length of time, and the method of 
curing the itch of the olive trees- 
PorTry—A great many poems of 
every fort were publifhed in 1797, 18 that 
part of Italy which bas fallen into the 
power of the F rench. ‘They are all re- 
Fated to the revolution and war. The 
mot difimguithed among thefe poetical 
ecmpofitions is an epic poem of the noted 
ixeprovifante Gianni. It is intitled Buo- 
WAPARTE in italia. 
Tt will certainly be aftonifhing to your 
readers, to learn that no mere than thefe few 
articles have beev collected from Italian 
Hterature for the greateft part of the year 
¥797- But befides the unavoidable in- 
conveniencies attending all revolutions 
and wars, the prefent flate of the Italians 
¥s quite unprecedented in ancient and 
nodern hiftory. “hat part of the coun- 
try which is fabje& to the galling yoke 
of the French, is fubje“ed to all the hor- 
rors of terrorifm; and that part which 
vet enjoys the bieffing of tranquillity un- 
der the ancient governments ts expeied to 
a moft fevere inquifition, rendered now 
fo neceflary for the fupport of lawiul au- 
F. DAMIANI, 
%o the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
EN your Magazine for May, a corref- 
4. pondent, figning himfelf M. N. has 
noticed my communication refpecting the_ 
Quakers (the object of which was to vines 
dicate them from the charge of deiim) 
admits that they are not deilts according 
to the ufual acceptation of the term: but 
he divides the deifts into two clafles ; 
rit. Thofe of natural religion. 2dly. 
Deifts of Revelation, acknowledging one 
perfect and eternal God (not compoied 
of different perfons, as the majority of 
enriftians would perluade themfelves); and 
believing that his will hes been revealed to 
mankind at fundry times, and through a 
number of individuals.” . 
Now. admitting this diftinétion, th 
fecond clafs will include, not only the 
ftalian Literature.....Quakers. 
s 
[Sept 
Quakers, but feveral other denominations 
of chriftian profeflors who may, with 
equal propriety as they, be termed deifts. 
of revelation. 
If M. N. will take the trouble to ex- 
amine the ** Summary View of the Doc-- 
trines and Difcipline of tbe People called 
Quakers,’ &c. publithed by the fociety, 
he will find that they ‘* acknowledge and 
affert the divinity of Chrift, who is the 
power of God unto falvation.” But 
your correfpondent fays, that ‘* this is” 
allowing Chrift’s divinity in words, but 
the elucidation of the thing completely 
fets itafide, by conftituting the word of 
God not a perion, but an attribute of the 
deity, and his power exerted in a parti- 
cular dire@tion and to a particular end.” 
This difcrimination involves the quef- 
tion in difficulties, it becomes metaphy- 
fical, and fo truly abftrufe, as to exceed 
the power of our faculties to inveftigate 5 
it is a point concerning which we have 
never been able to form any clear or pre- 
cife ideas ; and if our notions refpecting 
any fubject be confufed or obfcure, the 
terms with which they are clothed muff 
be indefinite and defeétive alio. 
May not the Quakers, in anfwer to 
M.N. obferve, that their notions on this 
point of do€trine, are not the refult of 
fpeculation, but derived from {cripture, 
which is the only fource from whence they 
derive their doftrines and opinions. 
The friends feem to ref fatisfied in the 
dogtrine of the divinity of Chrift, and, 
with becoming humility, to refrain from 
indulging in vain {peculations on fo fe- 
rious a point; obferving, perhaps, that 
they have feldom any good tendency ; on 
the contrary, infead ef advancing the 
caule of chriftianity, and prometing the 
practice of virtue, in the room of en- 
lightening the underftanding and improy- 
ing the heart, have they not tgo fre- 
quently excited intemperate controverfy, 
and awakened the meft dangerous and in- 
ordinate paffions? inftead of rooting out 
prejudice and bigotry, is it not to be 
feared that they have been the means of 
increafing the one, and confirming the 
otner ? 
If any thing further be* neceffary to 
convince us of the dreadful confequences 
of the intolerant zeal with which thefe 
points have been debated, let the mourn- 
ful page of ecclefiaftical hiftory be turned 
over, and there we ‘hall find, that the 
principal combatants in thefe fields of 
controverfy, in their eager folicitude to 
Draintain 
‘ \ 
