344 
this officer is afigned the examination 
of the candidates tor the degree of maf- 
ter of arts in the Greek of Ariftotle. 
Of other officers I might {peak in the 
fame manner, and asthe real confequence 
of a place depends not fo much on. the 
finenefs of the buildings as on the merit 
of the perions moft confpicwous in them, 
every mafter of arts fhould be cautious’ of 
giving his vote from private views; for, 
as a member of the Literary Republic, he 
is bound to diftinguith only men of lite- 
Fature and {cience. 
I am, fir, your’s, &c. 
Bent. Col. ACADEMICUS. 
— ee 
Fo the Editor of she Monthly Magaxinz. 
SER, 
Sp ey nels committed by men emi- 
nent for the brilliancy of their talents 
or the depth of their erudition, often 
enable us to judge with fome degree of 
precifion, how farthe knowledge of their 
cotemporaries extended. The great 
controverfy about the king’s fupremacy 
now fleeps in well merited oblivion ; but 
the arguments of fome of the doughty 
yolemics are handed down from one or- 
thodox generation to another; and 
though their fallacy has been a thoufand 
times deteéted and expofed: yet they are 
fall urged with fuccefs againft the feeble 
efforts of reafon, in the weak and igno- 
Fant. ~ i Mia esata 1 
The progrefs of metaphyfical enquiry 
in the reign of Henry VIII may, per- 
haps, be afcertained by an argument 
ufed by the great Sir Thomas More, 
againft the fleep of thefoul. His words 
are, ** What fhall he care how long he 
Hue in finne that beleueth Luther, that 
Shall, after this life, feelé: neyther good 
nor eail until the day of dome?” Sir 
‘Thomas is fuppofed to have been inti- 
mately acquainted with all che polemical 
writers of his time, and if he could fall 
into fo great an error, refpeéting the na- 
ture of fleep, as to fuppote, in the fleeper, 
@ conf{ciouinefs of the duration of his 
fleep, we may juftly conclude, that the 
ideas of his cotemporaries on this fubjeét 
were nearly on a level with his own, 
The ingenious writer who entertained 
the chriftian world with the ftory of the 
Seven Sleepers, appears to have pol- 
feifed far more correét ideas of the nature 
of teep than the more enlightened apo- 
logift for papal authority, yet the grofs 
daiknefs which muft unqueftionably have 
prevailed on metaphyfical  fubjects, 
when miracles were of daily fabrication, 
forbids us to form any other opinion on 
Error in Metaphpfics....Book Clubs. 
[Nov. 
his accuracy in this refpeét, than that 
the truth lay in his way, aad he found 
it, without knowing its relative import- 
ance ; and that the philofeophic chanceHor,. 
amidit ali his learning, overlooked a faét - 
almoft as obvious as his own exiftence, 
Hackney, Ww.W. 
Nov. 4, 1797. 
ee 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
I Refide in a part of the kingdom which 
has never yet experienced the bene- 
fits refulting from the eftablifhment of 
Boox Cuvuss. Generally fpeaking, 
therefore, we are, in this county, in a 
ftate of mental darknefs, refembling ra- 
ther the ages of. monkith. fuperftition, 
than a peried which'ts defervedly called 
enlightened. is 
The obfervations of. your intelligent 
Glafgow correfoondent have made a very 
forcible impreffion upon me, and -fome- 
other readers of your. admirable mitcel- 
lany. in my ‘neighbourhood ; and we have 
accordingly refolved to inftitute a fimalt 
Book Society among ourfelves. It will, 
at firft, not confift of more than. etghe 
members, at a fubfoription of two fhillings 
each per month; we have, however, 
little doubt ‘but, in a few months, we 
fhall have formed a numerous and opu- 
lent fociety. We propofe, that the num- 
ber of our members fhall, on no account, 
exceed fwenty; and that as foon as a 
greater number evinces’a difpofition tc 
Join us, a new fociety, om a Similar plan, 
thall be inftantly formed: | 
I am told that fome labouring mecha- 
nics, who have derived their ideas from 
the fame foiirce, are alfo forming a foci- 
ety in this town, with a fubfcription pf 
one fhilling per month. It is my de- 
vout with, that the dea may fpread 
through every parifh in the land. 
ET need not inform you, Mr. Editor, 
that the Monthly: Magazine forms a 
part of our permanent eftablifhment, and 
while it continues to be conducted “as it 
now is, there is little doubt but it will be 
equally adopted by every fimilar fociety. 
Lincolnfbtre, lam, 
Nov. 10,1797: : Refpeétfully your’s, 
S 
. e 
To the Ed:tor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SSG 
war is the beft method of ftudying 
the art of Englifh verfification ; and 
what books are there to be had, at a mo-~ | 
derate expence, which are ufeful in the 
ftudy 2 1 
cls ¥ To 
