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of the legislative power: laws, according to the expreffion of the Capitulars, were made with the confent of the people. But this confent, it is more than probable, became a mere matter of form. The Maires du Palais would never have dared, nay, would never have been able to fupprefs the national affemblies, if the ancient Conftitution had not been effentially violated..

As all authority has a tendency to aggrandize itself, that of Kings, especially in the French Monarchy, foon gained ground; and this was the effect of conqueft and circumstances. On the one hand, the conquered nations, accuftomed to the yoke of the Emperors, and trained by christianity to conflant obedience, had principles very favourable to the authority of Princes. As they mixed with the Conquerors, they muft neceffarily have had a confiderable influence over their opinions, especially as the fame religion was become common to both, and as the Bishops, who were all Romans, had great power over their understandings and their hearts. On the other hand, the Kings, being in poffeffion of vaft Domains, gave part of them to the grandees, under the title of Beneficia, when they wanted to gain them over to their intereft, and took them back when they thought proper; and thus hope and fear, the two great fprings of the human heart, became favourable to their political views.

Laws fhew the genius of nations, and are mild in proportion to the degree of liberty which they enjoy. Treachery and cowardice. were, in general, the only unpardonable crimes among the Barbarians. There was no public punishment for murder, for these northern nations, being always at war, were particularly careful to avoid capital punishments, and established pecuniary ones in their stead.

It is not at all furprising that they should appoint duels, in order to fupply the want of judicial proofs. It was the common opinion that victory proves juftice; in their fy item and in their language, it was the judgment of God; duelling was the fhorteft way that Barbarians could think of for terminating their differences; it animated and fupported that warlike fpirit, which they looked upon as the greatest of all virtues; and it was likewife, upon fome occafions, a prefervative against the violation of an oath.

What is faid of duels may be applied to thofe abfurd and ridiculous trials by which perfons charged with being guilty of crimes might clear themfelves. Opinion eftablished them, and opinion, for a long time, fupported them. From the earliest ages, the elements were fuppofed to have a kind of miraculous virtue, and to be animated by fome intelligent principle, which always directed their action, and made them fubfervient to the triumph of justice and equity. It was the general opinion that fire would not burn an innocent perfon, that he night, without any danger, handle red hot iron, dip his hands in boiling water, &c. Such trials in fome countries were named Ordeal, and Christianity could not put an end to them, because the Barbarians made it bend to their prejudices, instead of fubjecting their prejudices to its principles Superftition did not fail to find texts of Scripture to authorize a practice fo repugnant to good fenfe. Accordingly, thefe trials became religious ceremonies, which the Clergy had an intereft in fupporting. Not to

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mention other advantages which they derived from them, they evidently rendered them arbiters of many great and important caufes, The cross, the holy water, and even the Eucharift became trials. Priests and Monks, nay fome of the Laity too, occafionally, when accused of crimes, cleared themselves by taking the communion, and councils authorized the abuse.

Christianity would, undoubtedly, have changed the Barbarians into other men, if it had not been foon infected with fuperftitious practices, equally abfurd and pernicious. Its divine and benevolent morals were covered over, as it were, with a favage kind of rust, that concealed its genuine purity; and this too was an unavoidable effect of circumftances. The Druids had formerly an abfolute power over the Gauls, and the German Priests had no lefs authority. The northern nations, when they changed their religion, were ftill equally fubject to the Priesthood. Unfortunately, the Clergy at that time had neither knowledge enough to enable them to act a proper part, nor virtue enough to make a proper use of their power. How indeed, without a miracle, could they poffibly have refifted the torrent of public manners? Efpecially when Barbarians were made Bishops, and brought their vices and their ignorance along with them. In fuch a fituation, every thing muft neceffarily have degenerated.

The Chriftian Emperors had enriched the Church, and, with great profufion, beftowed privileges and immunities upon her; and fuch tempting advantages contributed not a little to the relaxation of difcipline, and to the production of a variety of abuses and diforders, which altered the genius and fpirit of the facred miniftry. Under the domination of Barbarians, the evil spread with prodigious rapidity. Being perfuaded that all crimes were redeemed with money, and that, by giving to the church, they gained the kingdom of heaven, the more they indulged their brutal paffions, the more they abounded in this kind of good works. One would have`ima, gined, fays Abbè Mably, that avarice was the first attribute of the Deity, and that the Saints made a traffic of their credit and protection.— OBSERV. on the Hiftory of France, c. 4.

The Bishops, having purchafed large eftates, and adding the influence of fortune to that credit and confideration which they derived from religion, were frequently the Arbiters of States and Kingdoms. They extended their privileges, difpofed of thrones, and were Legislators in Spain, in France, and in other countries; and this, indeed, could not poffibly have happened otherwife. There was a neceflity of confulting the Clergy on many occafions, as they avere the only perfons who knew any thing; they generally spoke in the name of God, and they were but men.

As the intereft of the Laity was contrary to theirs, this oppofition gave rise to new diforders. The Clergy employed artful mea, fures against powerful adverfaries; invented fables to frighten and fubject them; confecrated fpiritual arms for the defence of temporal goods; converted the gentle language of charity into horrid anathemas, and made religion breathe nothing but terror. Even general councils were frequently lefs attentive to matters of difcipline, than to the establishment or prefervation of lucrative rights and privileges. Nor was this all, the Bishops had frequently recourfe to the

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fword to fupport their measures. Being warriors both by inclination and habit, they fought in defence of their domains, took up arms to ufurp the poffeffions of others, and fometimes to refit their Sovereign. Hiftory prefents us with a thousand inftances of fuch conduct. The violent and outrageous behaviour of the Laity was, no doubt, the original caufe of all this; but the enmity of the two orders alone is fufficient to fhew that there were firange abuses, and that these abuses were deeply rooted.

When a numerous clafs of Citizens is exempted from common burdens and taxes, when it commands opinion, looks upon its pri vileges as of divine right, and when ignorance and fuperftition favour its views, it may undertake any thing, when it is once governed by intereft and ambition. The authority of the Prelates, 'tis true, was, pon fome occafions, a reftraint against crimes, and then it was of real utility; but as, according to the ufual course of human affairs, intereft neceffarily corrupted the exercife of this authority, it frequently became extremely dangerous.

The great number of monaftic inftitutions had likewife prodigiaus influence upon the lot and condition of the people. From time immemorial, the Eaft had feen a great number of men devote themfelves to a folitary and contemplative life, to which they were easily excited by a warm climate, and a lively imagination. The Effenians among the Jews had fet the example to the Christians, who followed it with fo much the greater ardor, as their religion fet them more above earthly things. Egypt especially was peopled with Monks. In the fourth century, there were ten thousand of them, and twenty thoufand Nuns, in the town of Oxyrynchus alone, where there were more monafteries than private houses. And yet very few perfons are called by Providence to a ftate fo repugnant to the natural order of fociety, and which requires virtues fo fuperior to human ftrength. A relaxation of difcipline, and debauchery, therefore, could not fail of being introduced among the Monks. A valt multitude of them, vagabonds, fanatical and feditious, overwhelmed the Eaft, difturbed the peace of the Church, and fhook the Throne. The Emperor Valens, in the year 376, made a law that they should serve in the armies, thinking it impoffible, by any other means. to reduce them to obedience. But fuch laws are feldom put in execution, and the remedy increases the disease.

The christianity of the Barbarians produced fcarcely any other effects than founding monafteries at a great expence, and enriching them by donations. The Monks had a confiderable portion of the lands, fome of which they cultivated, and this was at least an advantage to the countries which they inhabited. But as they became rich and numerous, they gradually loft fight of the fanctity of their inflitution; they were covetous, vain, ambitious, Warriors, Lords, &c. like the fecular Clergy; they contracted the vices of the age; debauchery and the moft fcandalous practices were found in the very fanctuary of religious aufterity.-The State, accordingly, loft a great many subjects, and gained few good examples. People were dazzled at first, with fair and promifing beginnings, and never looked forward to confequences, though the experience of the past might have taught

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taught them very useful leffons in regard to the future. But nations are governed by habit and prejudice!'

We must now, for the prefent, take our leave of this judicious and inftructive Writer, tho' we do it with regret. The specimen we have given is fufficient, we doubt no, to tempt our Readers to have recourfe to the work itself, which will abundantly repay the pains of an attentive and repeated perufal, They will find Abbè Millot not only an elegant and wellinformed, but, with few, very few exceptions, indeed,, a candid and impartial. Hiftorian.

His hiftory is brought down to the treaty at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, and concludes with a short view of the principal revolutions which, in modern times, have happened in Afia. R, ART. VII.

Hiftoire de l'Academie Royale des Sciences, &c.-The History of the
Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris; together with the Mathema-
tical and Physical Memoirs for the Year 1770. 4to. Paris. 1773.
GENERAL PHYSICS.

MEMOIRS I. and II. On the Nature of Water, and on the
Experiments that have been produced to prove the Poffibility of its
Tranfmutation into Earth. By M. Lavoifier.

HESE Memoirs contain a very fingular folution of a problem that has long engaged the attention of Chemifts and Philofophers; fome of whom have maintained the tranfmutability of water into earth, in confequence of certain Chemical and Botanical experiments, that feemed ftrongly to favour that affertion. We have lately pretty largely difcuffed this matter, in reviewing M. Le Roi's differtation on the fubject, in the Memoirs of this Academy for the year 1767; to our account of which we refer fuch of our Readers as are unacquainted with the ftate of the question, and the circumftances and reasonings relating to it. We fhall here only obferve that M. Le Roi maintained the immutability of water, and that we endeavoured to ftrengthen his opinion by fuch obfervations as occurred to us on the subject.

If the prefent Author's experiments, which indeed appear to have been made with fufficient accuracy, are to be depended upon, they fhew that the principal part of the earth, which has been collected from water after repeated diftillations in glass or other veffels, did not previously exift in that fluid; but that it proceeded from the retort itlelf, or the veffel in which the dif tillation was performed. This manner of accounting for the phenomenon is fo fingular and new, that we doubt not but that our philofophical Readers will be gratified by our giving them the following abftract of the Author's experiments.

See Appendix to our xlv. volume, 1771, page 515.

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To abridge the operation, and to avoid the inconveniences attending repeated diftillations, M. Lavoifier ufed the fimple expedient of cohobating the water, by means of a pelican; that is, a glass alembic confiiting of one piece, or fometimes of a body, with a head clofely luted to it, in which there is a small aperture, which after the introduction of the liquor is accurately clofed with a glafs ftopple. From this head proceed two curve fpouts, that enter into the belly of the alembic, and reconvey into it the vapours which fucceffively arife, and are condensed during the diftillation; fo as to produce a continued circulation of the diftilling liquor, without interruption, or the neceffity of luting and unluting the veffels.

Into an inftrument of this kind perfectly clean and dry, which accurately weighed I pound, 10 ounces, 7 drachms, and 21 grains, he introduced fome pure rain water, which had previously undergone eight fucceffive diftillations. The pelican with its contents was found, by an accurate pair of scales that would turn with lefs than a grain, to weigh 5lb. 9oz. 4 dr. 41 gr; fo that the quantity of water contained in it was equal to 3 lb. 14oz. 5 dr. 20gr. We omit the relation of fome preparatory steps taken by the Author, to prevent accidents that might arife from the dilatation of the air, on the first heating of the vefiel. The two laft mentioned weights were taken after the pelican and the water had been heated fufficiently to enable him fafely to close up the aperture in the head with a glafs ftopple, which was immediately and accurately luted, fo as to prevent any poffible evaporation of the water.

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A conftant and pretty equable heat, varying only between. 60 or 70 degrees of a Reaumur's thermometer (in which the point of boiling water was marked at 85) was regularly kept up, by means of a fand bath heated by fix lamps, during the fpace of 101 days. The procefs was begun on the 24th of October.

Near a month paffed before the Author perceived any remarkable appearance; fo that he began to defpair of the fuccefs of his experiment. On the 20th of December however, he perceived fome minute particles moving through the water in various directions, which, on examining them with a magnifier, he found to be thin lamine or plates of a greyifh coloured earth, of an irregular figure. On the following days, though they did not apparently increase in number, they grew evidently larger; fo that fome of them were by eftimation near two lines fquare, though they ftill continued prodigioufly thin. During the whole course of the month of January, the number of thefe lamina floating in the water fenfibly diminished. Having acquired a greater fpecific gravity they fucceffively funk to the bottom of the cucurbit; while the remainder intirely lined the

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