His work entitled _The Vindication of Natural Society,
by a late noble writer_, is a successful attempt to overthrow the infidel
system of Lord Bolingbroke, by applying it to civil society, and thus
showing that it proved too much--"that if the abuses of or evils sometimes
connected with religion invalidate its authority, then every institution,
however beneficial, must be abandoned." Burke's style is peculiar, and, in
another writer, would be considered pompous and pedantic; but it so
expresses the grandeur and dignity of the man, that it escapes this
criticism. His learning, his private worth, his high aims and
incorruptible faith in public station, the dignity of his statesmanship,
and the power of his oratory, constitute Mr. Burke as one of the noblest
characters of any English period; and, although his literary reputation is
not equal to his political fame, his accomplishments in the field of
letters are worthy of admiration and honorable mention.
_Hugh Blair_, 1718-1800: a Presbyterian divine in Edinburgh, Dr.
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