WRITINGS OF DR. SMITH. XCIII

" tration of Colbert) thanafpirit of moderation;“ becaufe it condemns him to perpetual obferva-£t tion, lliows him every moment the infufficiencyu ofhiswifdom, and leaves him the melancholy“ fenfe of his own imperfection; while, under" the Jlielter of a few general principles, a fyfte-“ matical politician enjoys a perpetual calm. By" die help of one alone, that of a perfeft liberty“ of trade, he would govern the world, and" would leave human affairs to arrange themfel-“ ves at pleafure, under the operation of the pre-" judices and the felf-intereft of individuals. If<£ thefe run counter to each other, he gives him-“ felf no anxiety about the confequence ; he infills" that the refult cannot be judged of till after a“ century or two llia.ll have elapsed. If his con-“ temporaries, in confequence of the disorder into" which he has thrown public affairs, are fcrupu-“ lous about submitting quietly to the experiment,“ he accuses them of impatience. They alone," and not he, are to blame for what they have“ suffered; and the principle continues to be in-" culcated with the fame zeal and the fame con-“ fidence as before.” Thefe are the words of theingenious and eloquent author of the Eloge onColbert, which obtained the prize from theFrench Academy in the year 1763; a performancewhich , although coniined and erroneous in itsspeculative views, abounds with juft and import-