" of Newton, or the
Essay of Locke. The facades of its noble colonnades are seen extending
their wings through the whole sweep of history, constituting a pantheon
of morals, where every nation sends its devotees to admire and worship.

Let us now turn to the philosophical works of Bolingbroke. By the will
of Bolingbroke he devised this portion of his manuscripts to David
Mallet, the poet, for publication. The noble Lord's choice is open to
censure here. He knew the character of Mallet, and could expect little
justice from him who should have been his biographer. The MSS. were all
prepared for the press long before Bolingbroke died. In this original
state, they were addressed to Pope. When published they appeared as
"Letters or Essays addressed to Alexander Pope, Esq." The political
friends of St. John wished their suppression, fearing that they would
injure his reputation by being anti-Christian. A large bribe was
offered by Lord Cornbur if Mallet would destroy the works. He, no doubt,
thinking more money could be made by their publication, issued them to
the world in 1754, but without giving a biography or notes to the books,
his work being simply correcting the errors of the press. True, there
existed no stipulation that he should write the Life of Bolingbroke, but
no one can doubt that such was the intention of the statesman, when he
bequeathed to him property which realized L10,000 in value. Every one
knows the huge witticism of Dr. Johnson, who accused Bolingbroke of
cowardice, under the simile of loading a blunderbuss, and then leaving a
Scotchman half-a-crown to fire it when he was out of the way. When those
posthumous works appeared, the grand jury of Westminster presented them
to the judicial authorities as subversive of religion, morality, and
government. They were burnt by the common hangman.

With difficulty we give a quotation from Boling-broke's ideas of a
Future Life. In vol. IV., p. 348, he says, "I do not say, that to
believe in a future state is to believe in a vulgar error; but this I
say, it cannot be demonstrated by reason: it is not in the nature of it
capable of demonstration, and no one ever returned that irremediable way
to give us an assurance of the fact."

Again, he speaks personally in reference to himself, Pope, and
Wollaston, whom he had been opposing:--

"He alone is happy, and he 'is truly so, who can say,
Welcome life whatever it brings!
Welcome death whatever it is!