The philofophical Courtezan, or Memoirs of Madam D, with an account of her Conversation with Voltaire, on the Subject of his Impiety and Immoralities. TH HE defign of this piece, like that of the Volteromanie and the Maleboffe, is evidently to abuse and vilify the celebrated Poet whofe name is mentioned in the title-page. The Author, under the character of a Courtezan, pretending to have had an intimacy with the greatest Wits and Philofophers of France, fuch as Montefquieu, D'Alembert, D'Argens, Crebillon, Marivaux, and others; has here thrown together moft of the common-place arguments for and against the Deifts, and given them to the public, as the fentiments and opinions which thofe Geniufes expreffed in converfation. If to a ftrain of hackneyed declamation on the one hand, oppofed to fome ftrokes of impiety on the other, we add, that a number of fcandalous anecdotes, refpecting the life and manners of Voltaire, are interfperfed throughout the whole; our Readers may form, perhaps, a tolerable idea of the fubftance and merit of this performance. In juftice, however, to Mr. Voltaire, we muft confels, that altho' he may probably have given too much occafion for many of the fatirical ftrokes that have been thrown out againit him, yet most of the ftories here told, with a view to represent him in a ridiculous light, are themselves too ridiculous and abfurd to deferve the leaft credit. Our Readers may judge by the following. Mr. Voltaire had hardly left the college before he was introduced to the great world, particularly at the Duke of Richlieu's; where, the Dutchefs having a tafte for poetry, he ufed to correct and finish her productions. For fervices of this kind, the Dutchefs made him one day a prefent of an hundred Louis d'ors; an aftonishing fum with our Poet, at that time of day; and which, indeed, almoft turned his brain : for, in returning home with the money in his pocket, and paffing by an Auction, where a chariot and pair, with four fuits of livery cloaths, were put up to fale, he bought the whole lot with his hundred Louis'; and hiring four domeftics, drove about the ftreets of Paris with this fuperb equipage. Those who knew him, laughed at him for a fool, as he was; and his father, for the like reafon, turned him headlong out of doors. As a farther example of the illiberal ftrain of this Writer's fatire, and the little regard he has to delicacy of fentiment or expreffion 517 expreffion, we fhall infert the following sketch of Voltaire's' perfon and character, in his own words. M. de Voltaire eft un de ces caractéres fourbes & malins que toute Société doit avoir en horreur. Son vifage maigre • & décharné, fon temperament sec, fa bile brulée, fes yeux • étincelans & mauvais, tout annonce en lui la malice d'un C finge, la fineffe du renard, & le caractere traitre du chat. • Son efprit cauftique trouve á mordre fur tout, & n'épargne, ni le facré, ni le profane. Il n'eft gai que par boutade, ferieux par melancholie, emporté par tempérament, vif juf qu'a l'etourderie. Souvent il ne fait, ne ce qu'il fait, ni ce qu'il dit. Il eft politique fans fineffe, fociable fans amis, le matin Ariftippe, & Diogene le foir.. Il promet, & ne tient rien: il commence par la politeffe, continue par la froideur, & finit avec degoût *. Spectre vivant, fquelette décharné Mais éplouchant le monftre jufqu' au bout, On voit encore, en confiderant tout, Que la doublure eft pire que l'étoffet. Our Readers will judge for themselves, whether our Author, poffeffed of fuch talents for abuse, be likely to serve the His Mr. Voltaire is one of those crafty and mischievous characters, that should be held in deteftation by all mankind. His lean and meagre vifage, his drynefs of temper, his fuperfluity of bile, and his horridly-fparkling eyes, all betray in him the malice of a monkey, the cunning of a fox, and the deceitful difpofition of a cat. ill-nature fnarles at every thing, fparing nothing, facred or profane. He is good humoured only by fits, ferious through melancholy, irafcible by temperament, and fprightly even to abfurdity. He very often knows neither what he fays nor what he does. He is politic without fubtilty, focial without friends; an Ariftippus in. the morning, and a Diogenes at Night. He promifes every thing, but performs nothing: commencing an intimacy with politeneis, . cultivating it with coldnefs, and ending it with difguft. + Such a skeleton carcafs! a mere apparition! To judge of the horrible figure at fight, One would fwear that, efcap'd from the jaws of perdition, But, a Bard without faith, and a Sage without morals, You'll find, on the whole, undeferving of laurels, cause of Religion and Virtue, by encountering the tenets of characters of the Deifts. Traité Anatomique de la Chenille, qui ronge le bois de Saule. Par Pierre Lyonet, Avocat par devant les Cours de Justice, Interprète, Maitre des Patentes, et Dechiffreur de leurs hautes puiffances, Membre de la Societé Royale de Londres, de la Societé des Sciences de Hollande, et de l'Academie Royale de Rouen. A la Haye, An Anatomical Differtation on the Caterpillar that feeds on the Willows. By Mr. Lyonet, of the Hague, Counsellor at Law, Mafter of the Patents, Interpreter and Decypherer to their High Mightineffes, &c. &c. 4to. Imported by Becket and Dehondt. HE very ingenious Mr. Lyonet, whofe attachment to the ftudy of infects, and remarkable dexterity in diffecting them, are univerfally known and admired, has here prefented the world with a performance which does no lefs honour to his extraordinary talents in particular, than credit to the study of Natural History in general, A large quarto volume, containing an anatomical defcription of an infect, made with all the care and precifion ever yet employed in anatomizing the human body, will be efteemed at leaft a fingular curiofity. If we add, that the Plates, nineteen in number, ferving to illuftrate the verbal defcriptions, are most accurately and admirably executed, it is alt that, we prefume, our Readers will expect from us concerning a performance of this nature. Hiftoire des Revolutions de l'Empire de Ruffie. Par M. Lacomb, Avocat. An History of the Revolutions in the Empire of Ruffia. 12mo. Amfterdam. I N this work the Author has contracted within a very narrow compafs, the tranfactions of a period of almoft eight hundred years. The nature and execution of Mr. Lacomb's performance may be pretty clearly understood from the Advertisement prefixed to the work, from whence, for the fatiffaction of fuch of our Readers as may not be converfant in the French language, we have tranflated the following extract; by which alfo they will be, in fome measure, enabled to judge of his abilities for the task he has undertaken. This picture of the largest Empire in Europe, which I now offer to the public, must be neceffarily interesting from its importance, its novelty, the marveloufnefs of the fubject, and by the character and contrast of its perfonages. I have brought into one point of view, the traits that were difperfed and confounded, and have thrown them together in this little piece*. With refpect to Ruffia, we have hitherto been furnifhed with no more than irregular fcraps of Hiftory, and particular and ill-digefted memoirs. This fubject, fo fufceptible of animated colouring, of bold and vigorous touches, has, I know not by what fatality, been neglected, and even abandoned. It is true, that this Hitory may appear difagreeable and tire fome from the fterility and obfcurity of the earlier ages of Ruffia, tho' its origin is not carried back to very remote times: but this nation, buried in the grofleft barbariin, was, in fome measure, a < new world even to its neighbours. There are no annals, no monuments to bring to light the confufion of different principalities and dynatties, which might otherwise have been diftinguifhed. It was therefore neceffary to have recourfe to the records of other States, and to enquire of thofe people who have either waged war againft, or have had connections with Ruffia, in order to come at a knowlege of this country. It is with the patience and pains of 6 a zealous Obferver, that I have formed this body of Hiftory, without taking notice of uncertain, or lefs interefting" matters, and fetting in a clear light fuch, as by their accuand importance, merited attention. 6 racy I am of opinion, that the Hiftorian ought in fome fort to imitate the epic Poet, he should give a fpecies of unity to his work, by treating principally and nervously, of the great events and fundamental caufes that occafion the rife or declenfion of an Empire; he fhould make it his more efpecial bufinefs to paint, to the utmost of his power, the actions, the genius, and the labours of thofe eminent men, whom Providence feem economically to have diftributed in every country, for the glory or happinefs of the people;" he fhould inftruct, by connecting and heightening the facts with fhort and precife reflections. The art of the Writer farther confifts in a proper management of his Epitodes, Our Author's compliments to his own work curieux & piquant, are omitted, tho' not overlooked. which, without lofing fight of the principal action, should be concife, well introduced, and fo contrived, that the attention of the Reader may not be fatigued, by a too long continuance upon the fame object. Circumftantial details belong to Memoirs; Hiftory is effentially employed only in the relation of facts interefting at all times, and to all people. Above all things, the principal merit in works of this kind, confifts in truth; but undoubtedly care fhould be taken in chufing the materials. It would be difficult to determine what is the moft fuitable ftyle; genius ought to conduct the pen of the Hiftorian. The narration fhould be fimple upon ordinary objects, lively and rapid in the more interefting parts, and picturefque in fuch as require rapture and warmth. To affect a particular and uniform ftyle, is to imitate those Painters, who use the fame colouring to exprefs oppofite compofitions. These reflections offered themfelves to me in the study of the beft Authors; but there is a wide difference between ⚫ obfervation and execution. All I mean, is to fhew that I am not ignorant of the extent of my obligations; and I can affure my Readers, that I have neglected nothing that might contribute towards rendering me not altogether unworthy of their indulgence.' Such is Mr. Lacomb's idea of an Hiftorian, and he has not failed to carry into practice the precepts he endeavours to inculcate we mean, as far as his abilities, which are not inconfiderable, and the narrow limits of his defign, would permit. His narration is concife, yet diftinct; his ftile is agreeable and animated; and his reflections, in general, appofite and judicious. MONTHLY CATALOGUE, For DECEMBER, 1760, continued. POLITICA L. Art. 1. The State of France, in a clear Account of the Revenues of that Kingdom; of the Receipts and Issues, to every particular Item of which there is prefixed, a Number referring to the like Number in an annexed Commentary of explanatory Notes. The Accounts themselves being procured from the Closet of the Comptroller General of the Finances of France, and from the Library of the prefent Duke of Richleu. To thefe is added, |