Candidates for the Society of Antigallicans. In Four Letters, Svo. 1s. Buckland. There are people in the world as much below fatire, as there are publications beneath criticifin. Cenfure, however juftly founded, is of courfe in either cafe thrown away upon them. It is juft as if a man were to write a book profeffedly for the ufe of thofe who cannot read; which appears to be much the cafe with the author of the prefent pamphlet. A Letter to her Grace the Duchefs of Devonshire answered, curforily, by Democritus. 4to. Is. Baldwin. From this writer's adopting the name of Democritus, one might be led to think it a very laughable performance. He might, however, as well have taken that of Heraclitus, as it is but a forry piece of bufinefs, at which the reader will be dif pofed neither to laugh nor cry. An Effay on the Character of Hamlet, as performed by Mr. Hen derfon, at the Theatre-Royal in the Hay-Market, 8vo. Is. Flexney. A judicious criticism on the performance of the Bath Rofcius; who bids fair to fupply the lofs, and gall the kibe, of his London predeceffor, who, with all his merit, was long mean enough to prevent his young rival's having an opportu `nity to display his talents advantageoufly, in the metropolis; where only they can be properly rewarded. So true is the reproach, lately caft on that invidious manager by an ingenious feinale novelift, viz. " that he ever faw the dawn of excel lence both in those who afpired to write for, or to tread, the flage, with a reluctant eye!" Modern Refinement; a Satire. 4to. Is. Wilkie. A lafh, not ill tagged, on certain modern characters; but whether they are drawn from the life and perfonally intended, or only creatures of the poet's imagination, we prefume not to fay. Be which they will, they are not badly delineated, nor lefs tolerably well coloured. Select Select Orations of M. T. Cicero; tranflated by Profeffor Duncan, and interfperfed with a Variety of Notes, explanatory of the Perfons, Manners, and Cuftoms, of the Romans; adapted to the English Reader by Sir Charles Whitworth. 2 vols. 10s. Johnfon. 8vo. "This part of Cicero's works," fays the prefent editor, "is in my opinion well tranflated by Dr. Duncan, incomparably better than by any other English tranflator, and being publifhed without the Latin, and with fuch notes as are calculated for the English reader only, cannot fail of being acceptable to every perfon, who is defirous of improving his taste and cultivating noble and generous fentiments."-We should not controvert this opinion of the editor, if indeed the tranflator had been an English one. As it is, we can only admit that the Scotch tranflation is better than the English ones.--The mere English reader may, alfo, think himself obliged to Sir Charles Whitworth for affording him the means of improving his tafte and cultivating noble and generous fentiments. But we will venture to fay, this purpofe would be much better effected by the perufal of Original English writers, than by any tranflation from the dead languages. The tafte of a fcholar, indeed, may be improved by reading the ancient claffics in the original; but there is fcarce a fentiment to be found in them, which has not been adopted, improved, and adapted to modern manners, by the various tranflators. Although we in general approve therefore, of the editor's notes, &c. we would recommend the mere English reader to original English writers, rather than to either Scotch or English translations of the Latin and Greek Claffics. CORRESPONDENCE. To the LONDON REVIEWERS. The most refpectable of the foreign journals having long regarded Theatrical exhibitions as an object worthy of criticiim, I have frequently wondered at the neglect of the Reviewers of this country, in refpect to a fubject fo nearly connected with literature. Granting, however, the ftrict propriety of their paying attention only to performances purely literary, the novel practice, prevailing in the management of our theatres, that of preventing the publication of new plays, their reprefentation becomes an object well worthy of criticifm, as the defection of the drama muft necefiarily follow, if new plays are not, as they have usually been, printed on their being performed. It is well known how far the action and fcenery tend to fet off theatrical performances; the furberia della fcena, as the Italians call it, fometimes recommending the most miferable productions to public favour. Nor is it poffible for the common critic to determine with precifion the merit of a dramatic performance, till he perufes it, divefted of ftagetrick and action, in the clofet. Should the prefent cuftom, therefore, of fuppreffing the publication of new pieces, continue, no writer will give himfelf the trouble of studying any thing more than stage-effect, as I think the new-tangled phrafe is; but beauty of language and propriety of fentiment, the great effentials of the drama, which only can recommend its productions to the reader, will be totally given up and neglected.-For the fake of literature, for the fake of pofterity, and even for the honour of the prefent age, let thofe who are profeffedly embarked in criticism exert themfelves to put fome check on fo deftrue tive a practice. If the poets of the day are no longer animated by the motives, which have hitherto actuated the bards of all preceding ages: if the auri facra fames be the only infpiration of their Mue; if they write no longer for fame but profit, let them have their reward; but let not their fuccefs perpetuate their example. Let not thofe lay claim to the reputation of writing well, who, from the meaneft of all mo tives, pecuniary emolument, forbear to fubmit their writings in print to the public. At leaft, it would be an acceptable fervice to that public, if perfons, properly qualified by judgment and experience, would give a fair and liberal criticiim on fuch acted and unprinted new pieces, It, at the fame time, they would add their mature and deliberate opinion or fuch performers, whofe merits lay peculiar claim to encouragement, it would be doing the ftage an effential piece of fervice, by affording an antidote to that crude and and abominable criticifm, with which the town (to ufe a phrafe of old Dennis's) is at prefent daily poifoned. The approved impartiality and acknowledged ability of the London Reviewers, reuder them, in particular, the moft proper perfons for executing fuch an office, if they fhould not prove fuch faftidious critics, as to think the stage an object beneath their no• tice. Hoping they will take the premifes into confideration, and beftow part of their precious time on the fubject in queftion, I remain their admirer and conftant reader. PHILO DRAMATICUS. Sept. 12. 1777. ** * Philo Dramaticus's letter hath been taken into confideration; and a part of the London Review will, for the future, be affigned to fuch critical difquifitions on new plays and performers as are above recommended. The Editor prefents his grateful acknowledgments to his feveral critical friends, who take the trouble to point out the flips of the pen and the prefs, which occafionally efcape him. It is with much concern that he finds their number fo great and increafing: but hopes that his now having engaged another affiftant, in the department of the prefs, will not only enable him to avoid fuch errors for the future, but alfo to pay off his arrears of books unreviewed; which, on account of indifpenfable avocations, have lain too long neglected. THE LONDON REVIEW, FOR OCTOBER, 1777 Philofophical Tranfactions, of the Royal Society of London. Vol. LXVII. Part I. For the Year 1777. 4to. 7s. 6d. Davis. (Continued from Page 174.) · Article IX. Contains an Extract of a Letter from John Strange, Efquire, His Majefty's Refident at Venice, to Sir John Pringle, Bart. P. R. S.: with a Letter to Mr. Strange from the Abbé Jofeph Toaldo, Profeffor in the University of Padua, &c. giving an Account of the Tides in the Adriat.c. Art. X. A Letter from Mr. Peter Wargentin, F. R. S. Secretary to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, to the Rev. Nevil Mafkelyne, B. D. F. R. S. and Aftronomer Royal; concerning the Difference of Longitude of the Royal Obfervatories at Paris and Greenwich, 1efulting from the Eclipfes of Jupiter's firft Satellite, obferved during the laft Ten Years: to which is added, a Comparative Table of the corresponding Obfervations of the First Satellite, made in the principal Obfervatories. Art. XI. A Method of finding the Value of an infinite Series of decreafing Quantities of a certain Form, when it converges too flowly to be fummed in the common Way by the mere Computation and Addition or Subtraction of fome of its initial Terms. By Francis Maferes, Efquire, F. R. S. Curfitor Baron of the Exchequer. The author of this article has before diftinguished himself as a mafter of the Analytic Art. His ufe of the Negative Sign in Algebra, VOL. VI. Hh Algebra, and his Trigonometry, have been well received, and indeed highly efteemed, by perfons acquainted with thofe Sciences. The prefent article is an ingenious contrivance to abbreviate the fummation of feries in particular cafes, and we efteem it to be of confiderable ufe in that refpect. He fuppofes a decreafing progreffion of numbers, and that thefe numbers fhall be fo related that they fhall not only form a decreafing progreffion, but that their differences fhall alfo form a decreafing progreffion, and that the differences of these differences fhall form a decreafing progreffion; and the dif ferences of thefe fecond differences, or the third differences of the original numbers fhall alfo form a decreafing progreffion; and so on. And then taking x a quantity of any magnitude not greater than unity, he proceeds to find the value of this infinite feries a − b x + c x2. dx3 + ex1 —ƒx' &c. where every even term is marked with the fign, or is to be fubtracted from that which immediately precedes it. He does this by converting it into a differential feries in which all the terms after the first are marked with the fign or are to be fubtracted from that term. So that putting D', D", D", for the firft, fecond, third, &c. differences, the foregoing in finite feries will be equal to a b x 1+x &c. 1+x2 I + x3 &c. which differential feries will always converge with a confiderable degree of swiftness, so that fix or eight of its terms will give the value of the whole (and confequently of the original feries to which it is equal) exact to feveral places of figures, even in the moft difficult cafes. He proceeds to give his investigation of the foregoing differential feries, which is very ingenious, and difcovers the author's great acuteness. After this he gives examples of the ufefulness of the foregoing differential feries in finding the values of infinite feriefes whofe terms decrease very flowly. In computing the lengths of circular arcs by means of infinite feriefes derived from their tangents, it is well known that if r be put for the radius of a circle, and t for the tangent of any arch in it that is not greater than 45°, the magnitude of the arch whofe tangent is will be expreffed by the infinite feries t &c. This feries converges with .13 3r + 574 17 7r great fwiftnefs when the tangent is much less than the radius: But when the tangent is nearly equal to the radius, it converges very flowly, and when it is quite equal to the radius, or the arch equal 45, the decrcale of the terms is fo flow, as to make the |