fence and under the direction of his grand jufticiary; till in many countries the power of that officer was broken and diftributed into other courts of judicature, the peers of the king's court ftill referving to themfelves (in almoft every feodal government) the right of appeal from thofe fubor.. dinate courts in the laft refort. The military branch of fervice confifled in attending the lord to the wars, if called upon, with fuch a retinue, and for fuch a number of days, as were ftipulated at the firft donation, in proportion to the quantity of the land. At the first introduction of feuds, as they were gratuitous, fo alfo they were precarious and held at the will of the lord, who was the fole judge whether his vafal performed his fervices faithfully. Then they became certain, for one or more years. Among the antient Germans they continued only from year to year; an annual diftribution of lands being made by their leaders in their general councils or affemblies. This was profefledly done, left their thoughts fhould be diverted from war to agriculture; left the ftrong fhould incroach upon the poffeffions of the weak; and left luxury and avarice fhould be encouraged by the erection of permanent houfes, and too curious an attention to convenience and the elegant fuperfluities of life. But, when But, when the general migration was pretty well over, and a peaceable poffeffion of their new-acquired fettlements had introduced new cuftoms and manners; when the fertility of the foil had encouraged the study of hufbandry, and an affection for the pots they had culVOL X. tivated began naturally to arife in the tillers; a more permanent degree of property was introduced, and feuds began now to be granted for the life of the fendatory. But ftill feuds were not yet bēreditary; though frequently granted, by the favour of the lord, to the children of the former poffeffor; till in procefs of time it became unufual, and was therefore thought hard, to reject the heir, if he were capable to perform the fervices: and therefore infants, WOmen, and profeffed monks, who were incapable of bearing arms, were alfo incapable of fucceeding to a genuine feud. But the heir, when admitted to the feud which his ancestor poffeffed, ufed generally to pay a fine of acknowlegement to the lord, in horfes, arms, money, and the like, for fuch renewal of the feud-which was called a relief, because it re-eftablifhed the inheritance, or in the words of the feodal writers, in"certam et caducam hereditatem re"levabat." This relief was af terwards, when feuds became abfolutely hereditary, continued on the death of the tenant, though the original foundation of it hat ceafed. For in process of time feuds came by degrees to be univerfaily extended, beyond the life of the first vafal, to his fons, or perhaps to fuch one of them, as the lord fhould name; and in this cafe the form of the donation was ftri&tly obferved: for if a feud was given to a man and his fons, all his fons fucceeded him in equal portions; and as they died off, their fhares reverted to the lord, and did not defcend to their children, or even to their surviving bro thers, as not being specified in the donation. But when fuch a feud was given to a man, and his heirs, in general terms, then a more extended rule of fucceffion took place; and when a feudatory died, his male defcendants in infinitum were admitted to, the fucceffion. When any fuch defcendant, who thus had fucceeded, died, his male defcendants were alfo admitted in the first place; and, in defect of them, fuch of his male collateral kindred as were of the blood or lineage of the first feudatory, but no others. For this was an unalter. able maxim in feodal fucceffion, that "none was capable of inheriting a feud, but fuch as was of the blood of, that is, lineally "defcended from, the first feudatory." And the defcent, being thus confined to males, originally extended to all the males alike; all the fons, without any diftinction of primogeniture, fucceeding to equal portions of the father's feud. But this being found upon many accounts inconvenient, (par. ticularly, by dividing the fervices, and thereby weakening the ftrength of the feodal union) and honorary feuds (or titles of nobility) being now introduced, which were not of a divifible nature, but could only be inherited by the eldest fon; in imitation of thefe, military feuds (or those we are now defcribing) began alfo in most countries to defcend according to the fame rule of primogeniture, to the eldeft fon, in exclufion of all the reft. Other qualities of feuds were, that the feudatory could not aliene or difpofe of his feud; neither could he exchange, nor yet mort-gage, nor even devife it by will, without the confent of the lord, For, the reafon of conferring the feud being the perfonal abilities of the feudatory to serve in war, it was not fit he should be at liberty to transfer this gift, either from himself, or his pofterity who were prefumed to inherit his valour, to others who might prove lefs able. And, as the feodal obligation was looked upon as reciprocal, the feudatory being entitled to the lord's. protection, in return for his own fealty and fervice; therefore the lord could no more transfer his feignory or protection without the confent of his vafal, than the vasal could his feud without consent of his lord: it being equally unreafonable, that the lord fhould extend his protection to a person to whom he had exceptions, and that the vafal fhould owe fubjection to a fuperior not of his own choofing. Thefe were the principal, and very fimple, qualities of the genuine or original feuds ; being then all of a military nature, and in the hands of military perfons: though the feudatories being under frequent incapacities of cultivating and manuring their own lands, foon found it necessary to commit part of them to inferior tenants; obliging them to fuch returns in fervice, corn, catle, or money, as might enable the chief feudatories to attend their military duties without diftraction: which returns, or reditus, were the original of rents, And by this means the feodal polity was greatly extended; these inferior feudatories (who held what are called in the Scots law "rere-fiefs") being under fimilar obligations of fealty, to do fuit of court, to answer the ftipulated renders or rent-service, and and to promote the welfare of their immediate fuperiors or lords. But this at the fame time demolished the antient fimplicity of feuds; and an inroad being once made upon their conftitution, it fub jected them, in a courfe of time, to great varieties and innovations. Feuds came to be bought and fold, and deviations were made from the old fundamental rules of tenure and fucceffion; which were held no longer facred, when the feuds themselves no longer continued to be purely military. Hence thefe tenures began now to be divided into feoda propria et impropria, proper and improper feuds; under the former of which divifions were comprehended fuch, and fuch only, of which we have before spoken; and under that of improper or derivative feuds were comprized all fuch as do not fall within the other defcription: fuch, for instance, as were originally bartered and fold to the feudatory for a price fuch as were held upon base or lefs honourable fervices, or upon a rent, în lieu of military service; fuch as were in themselves alienable, without mutual licence; and fuch as might defcend indifferently either to males or females. But, where a difference was not expreffed in the creation, fuch new created feuds did in all other refpects follow the nature of an original, genuine, and proper feud. mazes of metaphyfical jargon, began alfo to exert its influence on this copious and fruitful fubject: in purfuance of which, the most refined and oppreffive confequences were drawn from what originally was a plan of fimplicity and liberty, equally beneficial to both lord and tenant, and prudently calculated for their mutual protection and defence. From this one foundation, in different countries of Europe, very different fuperftructures have been raised: what effect it has produced on the landed property of England will appear in the following chapters. T concerns man fo much to know himself well, and he is at the fame time fo various a being, that he cannot be exhibited to himfelf, by too many observers and in too many fituations. There is not indeed any condition, whether of riches or poverty, figure or obfcurity, fociety or folitariness, civilization or rudeness, in which fomething ufeful may not be gleaned towards the improvement and exertion, we may even say the difcovery of those powers, with which nature has fo liberally endowed But as foon as the feodal fyftem him. Nor is there any obferver, came to be confidered in the light (and we are all obfervers of one of a civil establishment, rather another) from the fedentary herthan as a military plan, the in-mit, to the giddieft of the multigenuity of the fame ages, which tude, who has not perhaps made perplexed all theology with the fome obfervation which was befor fubtilty of fcholaftic difquifitions, unnoticed. The fubject is so exand bewildered philofophy in the tenfive that it can never be ex , X 2 haufted, haufted, and the reclufe himself may hit upon fome peculiarity in the human frame, by an acquaintance with which the rest of mankind may be greatly benefitted. out any facrifice from method, is fuch as was due to the dignity of the fubject, and might have been expected from his rank in the republic of letters. The work is divided into fix parts, each of which branches into feveral fections. The first part Civil fociety is now, whatever it might have been originally, the general ftate of man; fo that it is the most interesting fituation, that he can poffibly be confidered in. There is a peculiar propriety, in this confideration's becoming the object of a moral philofopher's difcuffion. No one can be more fitly calculated for examining thoroughly into, and defcribing expreffively, man in that ftate, than he who is chofen by a learned body, as the most fit to point out and enforce thofe moral duties, of which the focial form fo principal a part. The learned author has accordingly handled this fubject: Many of the authors who have in the molt masterly manner; the work abounds with fubtle thought, ingenious fentiment, and extenfive knowledge, and is written with a force, perfpicuity, and elegance, which is feldom met with in modern performances. Strong as this teftimony in favour of the fubject before us, and this prejudice in favour of the author who has handled it, may appear; the reading of a - very few pages of the work will, we think, fuficiently juttify our opinion. Mr. Ferguson has given us almost every thing relative to this fubject, which has been already advanced by others, (except their whims and caprices) in fuch a light as to make it almoft entirely his own. He has added many things originally his own, which would alone be fufficient to - entitle him to the praile of a very deep and fubtle invefligator, of the human mind. The Nile, with treats of the general characteristics of human nature; the fecond, of the hiftory of rude nations; the third, of the hiftory of policy and arts; the fourth, of confequences that refult from the advancement of civil and commercial arts; the fifth, of the decline of nations; the fixth, of corruption and po. litical flavery. The propriety of this divifion is too obvious to require its being pointed out; and that of the feveral parts into fections does not yield to it. written on man, and those too fome of the moft ingenious, have fet out by confidering him as an animal, folitary by nature; and others, not fatisfied with this blindness to what we read and fee of his condition, in almost all ages and countries, have no lefs prepofterouily made him a mischievous one. Nay one in particular, has thrown cut doubts of his having been originally a monkey or baboon.. Mr. Ferguson, instead of adopting either of those capital mistakes, (by which we mean, the two first, the laft being too ridiculous for ferious animadverfion) has refuted them both in the moft masterly manner; by which he has atchieved more for the dignity of human nature, as well as for the interefts of mankind, than had been done by all the writers who had gone before him in this walk. Not Notwithstanding the pleasure we have received from this performance, and the efteem with which we regard the author; we cannot take leave of him without expreffing our furprize, that fo able and zealous an advocate for benevolence fhould have lavished fo much praise on the Spartan government; a government, which befides, many other enormities in the very frame of it, not only tolerated, but enjoined the most inhuman cruelties to be inflicted on its innocent captives; that endeavoured to eradicate from its members all focial tenderness and domestic endearment, and on every occafion to stifle the voice of nature, and the cries of huma nity.* We are now to give a fpecimen of Mr. Ferguson's work; and the best we think we can give, will be fome extracts from his fections sof the question relating to the Sftate of nature,' and of the moral fentiments' in treating of which he has fo eminently diflinguished himself; and which, as they will ferve to give an idea of the work, will alfo greatly con tribute to the entertainment, if not inftruction, of fuch of our readers as have not feen the original. We are forry that we are obliged for want of room to leave out any part of them. Extracts from the Jection of the quef tion relating to the state of na ture. Natural productions are generally formed by degrees. Vegetables, grow from a tender shoot, and animals from an infant ftate.. The latter being destined to act, extend their operations as their powers increafe: they exhibit a progrefs in what they perform, as well as in the faculties they acquire. This progrefs in the cafe, of man is continued to a greater extent than in that of any other animal. Not only the individual advances from infancy to manhood, but the fpecies itself from rudenels to civilization. Hence the fuppofed departure of mankind from the ftate of their nature; hence our conjectures and different opinions of what man must have been in the first age of his being. The poet, the hiftorian, and the moralift, frequently allude to this ancient time; and under the emblems of gold or of iron, reprefent a condition, and a manner of life, from which mankind have either degenerated, or on which they have greatly improved. On either fuppofition, the firft ftate of our nature muft have borne no refemblance to what men have exhibited in any fubfequent period; hiftorical monuments, even of the earliest date, are to be confidered as novelties; and the moft common establishments of human fociety are to be claffed among the incroachments which fraud, oppreffion, or a busy invention, have made upon the of our grievances or bleffings were reign of nature, by which the chief equally with-held. Among the writers who have attempted to diftinguish, in the human character, its original qualities, and to point out the limits * See a curious account of the antient Lacedemonians, in the 3d vol. of our Regifter, for the year 1750. |