CENSURA LITERARIA.

NUMBER XIII.

[Being the First Number of Vol. IV.]

.

ART. I. Letters written by Sir W. Temple, Baronet, and other Ministers of State, both at home and abroad; containing an Account of the most important Transactions that passed in Christendom from the year 1665 to the year 1672. In two volumes; reviewed by Sir W. Temple, sometime before his death, and published by Jonathan Swift, Domestic Chaplain to his Excellency the Earl of Berkeley, one of the Lords Justices of Ireland. London. Printed for J. Tonson, A. and J. Churchill, and R. Simpson. 1700. 8vo.

ART. II. Select Letters to the Prince of Orange now King of England) King Charles II. and the Earl of Arlington, upon important subjects. Vol. III. To which is added an Essay upon the State and Settlement of Ireland. All written by Sir William Temple, Baronet. Published from the originals of Sir William Temple's own handwriting,

VOL. IV.

writing, and never before printed. Printed for Tho. Bennet, 1701. 8vo.

London.

ART. III. The Right Honourable the Earl of Arlington's Letters to Sir William Temple, Baronet, from July 1665, being the first of his employments abroad, to Sept. 1670; when he was recalled. Giving a perfect and exact account of the Treaties of Munster, Breda, Aix la Chapelle, and the Triple Alliance; together with the particular instructions to Sir William Temple, the Earl of Carlingford, and Mr. Van Beuningen, with other papers, relating to those Treaties. As also a particular Relation of Madam, by a person of Quality then actually upon the spot. All printed from the Originals never before published. Ry Tho. Bebington of Gray's Inn, Gent. London. Printed for T. Bennet. 1701, 8vo. pp. 454.

ART. IV. The Right Honourable the Earl of Arlington's Letters, Vol. 11. Containing a compleat Collection of his Lordship's Letters to Sir Richard Fanshaw, the Earl of Sandwich, the Earl of Sunderland, and Sir W. Godolphin, during their respective embassies in Spain from 1664 to 1674. As also to Sir Robert Southwell in Portugal. Now published from the originals, and never before printed. London. Printed for T. Bennet, 1701. 8vo. pp. 480.

It has been observed, that "the seventeenth century, especially towards the latter part of it, may justly be styled an age of intrigue; in which most of the Princes of Europe, and their Ministers of State, carried on

their

their projects and designs with more address and policy than open force and plain downright violence. Those disciples of Machiavel, Richlieu, and Mazarine, refined upon and improved the maxims of their masters so far, that they had the art, even whilst they were signing of treaties, and caressing each other after the most endearing manner, to carry on underhand a scheme of proceedings, which looked another way. The more we reflect upon those dark times, the more we are at a loss what to infer from them; for all things seemed to be intricate, and the Arcana Imperii, the mysteries of state, were veiled with so thick a cloud, that they were screened not only from vulgar view, but even from the eyes of those, who pretended to be sharper sighted than others.

"And, in truth, the historian, who undertakes the history of those times, finds himself in a sort of labyrinth, out of which he can hardly get without a friendly clue to lead him through the maze. Nay, memoirs and letters, which can give him the clearest light into these matters, will afford him but little help, unless he has judgment enough to distinguish, and integrity enough to deliver nothing but what is truth, or at least that, which looks most like it. For, amidst those heaps of secret histories, private letters, &c. which have been published, by men of several and contrary parties, one cannot tell where to fix, nor whose relation to credit; since they contradict one another so often in relating matters of fact; and that both sides of a contradiction cannot be true, is a maxim or axiom granted on all hands."*

That Sir William Temple was a scholar, his works sufficiently testify; and that he was an able statesman, these letters will evince. They are not mere formal letters, and letters of compliment; but such as carry in them a discovery of the secret springs of action under one of the most subtle reigns that England ever knew. There is contained in them an account of all the chief transactions and negotiations, which passed in Christendom, during the seven years, in which they are dated; viz. The War with Holland, which began in 1665. The treaty between King Charles II. and the Bishop of Munster, with the issue of it; the French Invasion of Flanders in 1667; the Peace concluded between Spain and Portugal by King Charles's Mediation; the Treaty at Breda; the Triple Alliance; and the Peace of Aix La Chapelle. In the Second Part are contained, The Negotiations in Holland, in consequence of those alliances, with the steps and degrees, by which they came to decay: the journey and death of Madame: the seisure of Lorraine by the French, and his Excellency's recall; with the first unkindness between England and Holland, upon the Yatch's transporting his lady and family: and the beginning of the Second Dutch War in 1672. By these it appears, "how faithful a minister Sir William was in the discharge of his trust to his master; how just a sense he had of the affairs and state of Europe, and how true a friend he was to the particular interest of the English nation."*

As to the first volume of Lord Arlington's Letters, most of them are written upon the same subject with Works of the Learned, 1701, Vol. III. p. 492.

those

those of Sir W. Temple, and, being compared together, may give the reader an insight into the secret and obscure management of affairs during that space of time.*

The second volume carries us to the transactions on the other side the mountains, being sent to the several ambassadors, that resided successively in Spain for ten years together, and containing in them a piece of history, of which the world had hitherto had but imperfect accounts. Here are the original papers relating to the transactions then on foot, besides the particular treaties between Spain and Portugal, England and Spain, and Spain and Holland. In short, here is the best history of all the transactions of our ablest ministers in Spain and Portugal from 1664 to 1674: and from thence the true springs may be observed, upon which most of the great affairs of Europe turned at that time.†

*Works of the Learned, 1701, Vol. II. 674. † Ibid III. 249. The titles of the following volumes relative to this period may be added here.

1. Original Letters and Negotiations of Sir Richard Fanshaw, the Earl of Sandwich, the Earl of Sunderland, and Sir William Godolphin, wherein divers matters between the three Crowns of England, Spain, and Portugal, from the year 1563 10 1678, are set in a clear light. 2 vols. 8vo. 1724.

2. Sir Richard Bulstrode's Letters written to the Earl of Arlington, Envoy at the Court of Brussels from King Charles II. containing the most remarkable Transactions both in Court and Camp, during bis Ministry, particularly the famous battle of Seneff, between the Prince of Orange and the Prince of Conde.

8vo. 1712.

3. Original Letters from King William the Third to King Charles II. Lord Arlington &c. translated, with an account of his reception at Middleburgh, and bis Speech upon that occasion. 8vo. 1704.

4. The Marquis of Clenricarde's Memoirs, containing several original Papers and Letters of King Charles II. Queen Mother, the Duke of York, &c. relating to the Duke of Lorrain, and the Irish Commissioners, 1722. 8vo.