,,the ,,collected ,,works ,,of ,,william ,,hazlitt ,,in ,,twelve ,,volumes ,,volume ,,eleven ,all rights reserved ,,the ,,collected ,,works ,,of ,,william ,,hazlitt ,,edited ,,by ,a4 ,r4 ,,waller ,,and ,,arnold ,,glover ,,with ,,an ,,introduction ,,by ,w4 ,e4 ,,henley ,fugitive ,writings #aijd ,,london3 ,j4 ,m4 ,,dent ,,co4 ,mc,c,l,u,r,e1 ,,phillips ,,co43 ,,new ,,york ,edinburgh3 ,t4 and ,a4 ,,constable1 ,printers to ,his ,majesty ,,bibliographical ,,note ,this volume and volume ,,xii4 contain those of ,hazlitt's writings which remained uncollected during his lifetime and have not been included in earlier volumes of the present edition4 ,some of these writings were published by the author's son in the three works of which particulars are given below2 one of them1 the essay #8,on ,abstract ,ideas1' was published in the second edition 7#ahcf7 of ,an ,essay on the ,principles of ,human ,action 7cf4 ,bibliographical ,note1 vol4 ,,vii4 p4 #chd72 a few1 viz4 #8,common ,places' and #8,trifles ,light as ,air1' were included in ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt's edition of ,the ,round ,table 7,bohn's ,standard ,library1 #ahga72 but most of the papers are here reprinted for the first time4 ,see the ,table of ,contents1 where the essays which have never been republished before are marked by an asterisk4 ,the evidence upon which the ,editors have relied in respect of this fresh material will be found in the ,notes4 ,a great many of the ,essays now printed have not hitherto been identified as ,hazlitt's1 but none have been included concerning which the ,editors feel any doubt4 ,the works published by the author's son and referred to above are as follows3-- #a4 #8,literary ,remains of the late ,william ,hazlitt4 ,with a ,notice of his ,life1 ,by his ,son1 and ,thoughts on his ,genius and ,writings1 ,by ,e4 ,l4 ,bulwer1 ,esq41 ,m4,p4 and ,mr4 ,sergeant ,talfourd1 ,m4,p4 ,in ,two ,volumes4 ,london3 ,saunders and ,otley1 ,conduit ,street4 #ahcf4' ,vol4 ,i4 contained 7as a frontispiece7 ,bewick's crayon drawing of ,hazlitt reproduced in vol4 ,,viii4 of the present edition2 a ,sonnet #8written on seeing ,bewick's ,chalk-,drawing of the ,head of ,hazlitt' by ,sheridan ,knowles2 a #8,biographical ,sketch' of ,hazlitt by his son2 #8,some ,thoughts on the ,genius of ,william ,hazlitt' signed #8,the ,author of 8,eugene ,aram0#82 #8,thoughts upon the ,intellectual ,character of the late ,william ,hazlitt1' by ,mr4 ,sergeant ,talfourd1 ,m4,p42 #8,character of ,hazlitt1' by ,charles ,lamb1 extracted from the well-known #8,letter of ,elia to ,robert ,southey1 ,esq4' 7#ahbc72 six #8,sonnets to the ,memory of ,hazlitt' by #8,a ,lady'2 and the following essays by ,hazlitt1 viz43 7i7 ,project for a new ,theory of ,civil and ,criminal ,legislation1 7ii7 ,definition of ,wit1 7iii7 ,on ,means and ,ends1 7iv7 ,belief1 whether ,voluntary8 7v7 ,personal ,politics1 7vi7 ,on the ,writings of ,hobbes1 7vii7 ,on ,liberty and ,necessity1 7viii7 ,on ,locke's ,essay on the ,human ,understanding1 and 7ix7 ,on ,tooke's ,diversions of ,purley4--,vol4 ,,ii4 contained the following essays by ,hazlitt1 viz43 7i7 ,on ,self-,love1 7ii7 ,on the ,conduct of ,life2 or1 ,advice to a ,school-boy1 7iii7 ,on the ,fine ,arts1 7iv7 ,the ,fight1 7v7 ,on the ,want of ,money1 7vi7 ,on the ,feeling of ,immortality in ,youth1 7vii7 ,the ,main-,chance1 7viii7 ,the ,opera1 7ix7 ,of ,persons ,one ,would ,wish to ,have ,seen1 7x7 ,my ,first ,acquaintance with ,poets1 7xi7 ,the ,shyness of ,scholars1 7xii7 ,the ,vatican1 and 7xiii7 ,on the ,spirit of ,monarchy4 ,of these1 the essay #8,on the ,fine ,arts' and the essay on #8,the ,vatican' are included in vol4 ,,ix4 of the present edition2 the rest are published in this volume or in vol4 ,,xii4 #b4 #8,sketches and ,essays4 ,by ,william ,hazlitt4 ,now first collected by his ,son4 ,london3 ,john ,templeman1 #bdh1 ,regent ,street4 ,,mdcccxxxix4' ,an ,advertisement states that #8,the volume which the ,editor has here the gratification of presenting to the public1 consists of ,essays contributed by their author to various periodicals4 ,none of them have hitherto been published in a collective form1 and it is confidently anticipated that they will be received as an acceptable ,companion to the 8,table ,talk0 and 8,plain ,speaker40' ,the contents are as follows3 7i7 ,on ,reading ,new ,books1 7ii7 ,on ,cant and ,hypocrisy1 7iii7 ,merry ,england1 7iv7 ,on a ,sun-,dial1 7v7 ,on ,prejudice1 7vi7 ,self-,love and ,benevolence 7a ,dialogue71 7vii7 ,on ,disagreeable ,people1 7viii7 ,on ,knowledge of the ,world1 7ix7 ,on ,fashion1 7x7 ,on ,nicknames1 7xi7 ,on ,taste1 7xii7 ,why the ,heroes of ,romance are insipid1 7xiii7 ,on the ,conversation of ,lords1 7xiv7 ,the ,letter-,bell1 7xv7 ,envy1 7xvi7 ,on the ,spirit of ,partisanship1 7xvii7 ,footmen1 and 7xviii7 ,a ,chapter on ,editors4 ,this volume was reprinted in #aheb with #8,sketches and ,essays' as a half-title and the following title-page3 #8,men and ,manners3 ,sketches and ,essays4 ,by ,william ,hazlitt4 ,london3 ,published at the office of the ,illustrated ,london ,library1 #bbg ,strand4 ,,mdcccii4' ,in this edition the essay entitled #8,self-,love and ,benevolence 7,a ,dialogue7' is omitted4 ,a third edition 7which has been reprinted from time to time7 was published in #ahgb in ,bohn's ,standard ,library1 edited by ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt4 #c4 #8,winterslow3 ,essays and ,characters written there4 ,by ,william ,hazlitt4 ,collected by his ,son4 ,london3 ,david ,bogue1 ,fleet ,street4 ,,mdcccl4' ,this small #hvo volume contained the following essays3 7i7 ,my ,first ,acquaintance with ,poets1 7ii7 ,of ,persons ,one ,would ,wish to ,have ,seen1 7iii7 ,party ,spirit1 7iv7 ,on the ,feeling of ,immortality in ,youth1 7v7 ,on ,public ,opinion1 7vi7 ,on ,personal ,identity1 7vii7 ,mind and ,motive1 7viii7 ,on ,means and ,ends1 7ix7 ,matter and ,manner1 7x7 ,on ,consistency of ,opinion1 7xi7 ,project for a new ,theory of ,civil and ,criminal ,legislation1 7xii7 ,on the ,character of ,burke1 7xiii7 ,on the ,character of ,fox1 7xiv7 ,on the ,character of ,pitt1 7xv7 ,on the ,character of ,lord ,chatham1 7xvi7 ,belief1 whether ,voluntary1 and 7xvii7 ,a ,farewell to ,essay-,writing4 ,this volume was republished in #ahgb along with ,sketches and ,essays in the volume of ,bohn's ,standard ,library referred to above4 ,of the essays published in ,winterslow the ,characters of ,burke1 ,fox1 ,pitt and ,lord ,chatham are included in vol4 ,,iii4 of the present edition 7,political ,essays74 ,the rest of the essays published in ,sketches and ,essays and ,winterslow are included in vols4 ,,xi4 and ,,xii4 of the present edition4 ,it will be seen that ,literary ,remains and ,winterslow to some extent overlap one another1 and that ,winterslow contained several essays which had already been published in ,political ,essays4 ,under these circumstances it has been found necessary in the present edition to adopt a fresh scheme of arrangement in place of republishing ,literary ,remains1 ,sketches and ,essays and ,winterslow as they stand4 ,each essay1 whether contained in one of those posthumous collections or now republished for the first time1 is printed in chronological order under the heading of the magazine or newspaper in which it originally appeared2 and the magazines themselves are arranged in a chronological order based upon the respective dates at which ,hazlitt began to contribute to them4 ,the only exception to this last scheme of arrangement is that at the end of the present volume it was found convenient to take the #8,common ,places' from ,the ,literary ,examiner a little before their turn4 ,they should strictly have followed the contributions to ,the ,liberal in vol4 ,,xii41 but it was thought better not to divide between two volumes the important essays from ,the ,new ,monthly ,magazine which now begin vol4 ,,xii4 ,this plan of arrangement seemed on the whole the simplest and best1 and it is hoped that with the aid of the ,tables of ,contents and the ,index the reader will have no difficulty in finding any particular essay4 ,in the present edition all the essays1 the magazine source of which is known1 have been printed verbatim from the magazines themselves4 ,in preparing ,literary ,remains1 ,sketches and ,essays and ,winterslow for the press the author's son took considerable liberties with the text4 ,in one or two cases the alterations which he made may have been based on a ,,ms4 or a copy of a magazine with corrections by ,hazlitt1 but far more often the essays were reprinted with omissions and trifling alterations made1 as it would seem1 by the editor himself on his own responsibility4 ,some passages thus omitted and now restored for the first time are of great interest4 ,the more important of them are specially indicated in the notes4 ,in the few cases where the author's son added passages from a ,,ms4 or other authoritative source1 the passages have been given either in the text 7with a note indicating where they occur71 or in the ,notes4 ,in addition to the essays printed in the text of this volume and to those referred to in the notes it may be convenient to mention here a few essays which may have been written by ,hazlitt but have been omitted from the present edition on the ground that his authorship is not sufficiently certain4 ,they are arranged in the following list under the heading of the magazine in which they first appeared4 ,i4 ,the ,examiner4 #a4 ,a review 7,sept4 #bi and ,oct4 #ac1 #ahaf7 of ,george ,ensor's ,on the ,state of ,europe in ,january1 #ahaf4 ,this work of ,george ,ensor's 7#agfi-ahdc71 #8full1' as the reviewer says1 #8of undeniable facts1 and undeniable inferences from them1' was likely to appeal to ,hazlitt's political sympathies4 ,the review consists mainly of extracts from the work itself1 but what there is of comment is certainly very much in ,hazlitt's vein4 #b4 #8,a ,modern ,tory ,delineated' 7,oct4 #f74 ,this paper1 which is dated from ,gloucester1 ,oct4 #a1 #ahaf1 has certainly a very strong flavour of ,hazlitt4 #c4 ,some political leaders and articles which appeared at the beginning of #ahag and are not signed with ,leigh ,hunt's mark4 ,the most important of these are3 #8,mr4 ,pitt--,finance1 ,sinking ,fund' 7,jan4 #ai72 #8,defence of ,national ,debt' 7,jan4 #bf72 #8,progress of ,finance' 7,feb4 #af72 and #8,friends of ,revolution' 7,feb4 #bc74 #d4 ,some theatrical notices published in #ahbh1 viz43 ,june #bi 7,the ,rivals72 ,aug4 #c and #aj 7,cosi fan ,tutte72 ,oct4 #ai 7,kean's ,shylock1 ,figaro1 and ,mathews in ,the ,may ,queen72 ,oct4 #bf 7,madame ,vestris in ,the ,marriage of ,figaro1 and ,rovere the conjurer72 ,nov4 #b 7,farren's ,dr4 ,cantwell in ,the ,hypocrite1 ,the ,youthful ,queen1 and ,kean's ,overreach1 ,macbeth and ,othello72 ,nov4 #af 7,guy ,mannering and ,the ,stranger74 ,,ii4 ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine 7new ,series74 ,three papers on the criminal law1 viz43 #8,historical ,view of the ,progress of ,opinion on the ,criminal ,law and the ,punishment of ,death' 7,march1 #ahai1 vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #aie72 #8,parliamentary ,report on the ,criminal ,laws' 7,dec41 #ahai1 vol4 ,v4 p4 #dia72 and a short paper on the same subject 7,jan4 #ahbj1 vol4 ,,vi4 p4 #bf74 ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt in his ,memoirs1 etc4 7vol4 ,i4 p4 xxvi47 attributes these articles to ,hazlitt1 perhaps on the strength of some ,,ms4 or proof in his possession at the date of the ,memoirs 7#ahfg74 ,hazlitt's authorship1 however1 though very probable1 does not seem to be certain1 and as the papers consist largely of extracts from a ,parliamentary ,report1 they have been omitted from the present edition4 ,hazlitt's views on capital punishment will be found in an extract which was first published in ,fraser's ,magazine in #ahca and is reprinted in vol4 ,,xii4 ,,iii4 ,the ,london ,magazine4 #a4 ,a review of #8,the ,memoirs of ,mr4 ,hardy ,vaux' 7,jan4 #ahbj1 vol4 ,i4 p4 #be74 #b4 #8,letters of ,foote1 ,garrick1' etc4 7,dec4 #ahbj1 vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #fdg1 and ,feb4 #ahba1 vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #bjb74 #c4 ,a review of ,byron's ,marino ,faliero 7,may1 #ahba1 vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #eej74 #d4 ,a review of ,byron's ,sardanapalus 7,jan4 #ahbb1 vol4 ,v4 p4 #ff74 ,,contents#a ,,page ,on ,abstract ,ideas #a ,,fragments ,,of ,,lectures ,,on ,,philosophy 7#ahab7 ,on the ,writings of ,hobbes #be ,on ,liberty and ,necessity #dh ,on ,locke's ,essay on the ,human ,understanding #gd ,on ,tooke's #8,diversions of ,purley' #aai ,on ,self-,love #acb ,,contributions ,,to ,,the ,,morning ,,chronicle 99,madame de ,stal's ,account of ,german ,philosophy and ,literature #afb 99,the ,same ,subject continued #afg 99,the ,same ,subject continued #agb 99,the ,same ,subject continued 7,on ,abstraction7 #ahj 99,fine ,arts4 ,british ,institution #ahg 99,the ,stage #aia 99,fine ,arts 7,the ,louvre7 #aie ,,contributions ,,to ,,the ,,champion 99,wilson's ,landscapes at the ,british ,institution #aih 99,on ,gainsborough's ,pictures #bjb 99,mr4 ,kemble's ,penruddock #bje 99,introduction to an ,account of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's ,discourses #bjh 99,on ,genius and ,originality #baj 99,on the ,imitation of ,nature #baf 99,on the ,ideal #bbc 99,l4 ,buonaparte's ,charlemagne3 ou l'glise ,dlivre #bcj 99,the ,same ,subject continued #bcd 99,l4 ,buonaparte's ,collection of ,pictures #bcg 99,british ,institution #bdb 99,the ,same ,subject continued #bdf 99,the ,same ,subject continued #bdh 99,on ,mr4 ,wilkie's ,pictures #bdi ,,contributions ,,to ,,the ,,examiner 99,on ,rochefoucault's ,maxims #bec ,on the ,predominant ,principles and ,excitements of the ,human ,mind#b #beh ,the ,love of ,power or ,action as ,main a ,principle in the ,human ,mind as ,sensibility to ,pleasure or ,pain#b #bfc ,essay on ,manners#c #bfi 99,kean's ,bajazet1 and #8,the ,country ,girl' #bgd 99,doctrine of ,philosophical ,necessity #bgg 99,parallel ,passages in various ,poets #bhb 99,mr4 ,locke a great ,plagiarist #bhd ,the ,same ,subject continued #egh 99,shakespear's ,female ,characters #bij 99,miss ,o',neill's ,widow ,cheerly #big 99,penelope and ,the ,dansomanie4 #bii 99,oroonoko #cja 99,the ,pannel and ,the ,ravens #cjc 99,john ,gilpin #cje 99,don ,giovanni and ,kean's ,eustace de ,st4 ,pierre #cjg 99,character of the ,country ,people #cji 99,mr4 ,macready's ,macbeth #cae 99,guy ,faux #cag 99,the ,same ,subject continued #cbc 99,the ,same ,subject concluded #cbh ,character of ,mr4 ,canning #ccd 99,the ,dandy ,school #cdc 99,actors and the ,public #cdh 99,french ,plays #ceb 99,french ,plays 7continued7 #cef 99,the ,theatres and ,passion-,week #ceh 99,charles ,kean #cfb 99,some of the ,old ,actors #cff 99,the ,company at the ,opera #cfi 99,the ,beggar's ,opera #cgc 99,the ,taming of the ,shrew and ,l',avare #cgg 99,mrs4 ,siddons #cha 99,the ,three ,quarters1 etc4 #chd 99,mr4 ,kean #chi ,,contributions ,,to ,,the ,,times 99,munden's ,sir ,peter ,teazle #cib 99,young's ,hamlet #cid 99,dowton in ,the ,hypocrite #cie 99,miss ,brunton's ,rosalind #cif 99,maywood's ,zanga #cig 99,kean's ,richard ,,iii4 #cii 99,the ,wonder #dja 99,venice ,preserved #djb 99,she ,stoops to ,conquer #djc 99,kean's ,macbeth #djd 99,kean's ,othello #dje 99,kean and ,miss ,o',neill #djg 99,the ,honey ,moon #dji 99,mr4 ,kean #daj 99,king ,john #daj ,,contributions ,,to ,,the ,,yellow ,,dwarf 99,the ,press--,coleridge1 ,southey1 ,wordsworth1 and ,bentham #daa 99,mr4 ,coleridge's ,lectures #daf 99,childe ,harold's ,pilgrimage #dbj ,the ,opera #dbf ,,contributions ,,to ,,the ,,edinburgh 7,,new ,,scots7 ,,magazine 99,on the ,question whether ,pope was a ,poet #dcj 99,on ,respectable ,people #dcc ,on ,fashion #dcg ,on ,nicknames #ddb ,thoughts on ,taste #dej ,the ,same ,subject continued #ded ,the ,same ,subject continued#d #dei ,,contributions ,,to ,,the ,,london ,,magazine 99,on the ,present ,state of ,parliamentary ,eloquence #dfd 99,haydon's #8,christ's ,agony in the ,garden' #dha 99,pope1 ,lord ,byron1 and ,mr4 ,bowles #dhf ,on ,consistency of ,opinion #ejh ,on the ,spirit of ,partisanship #eba 99#8,the ,pirate' #eca 99#8,peveril of the ,peak' #ecg ,,contributions ,,to ,,the ,,literary ,,examiner ,common ,places #edj ,,notes #efc ,,essays ,,not ,,certainly ,,hazlitt',s1 ,,and ,,fragments ,character of ,mr4 ,wordsworth's ,new ,poem ,the ,excursion #egb ,the ,duke ,d',enghien #egg ,coleridge's #8,christabel' #ehj ,sketches of the ,history of the ,good ,old ,times #ehb ,historical ,illustrations of ,shakespeare #fja ,mr4 ,crabbe #fjc ,illustration3 ,,facsimile 7,,reduced7 ,,of ,,hazlitt's ,,handwriting1 ,,from ,a ,,ms4 ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,,hazlitt4 ,,fugitive ,,writings ,,on ,,abstract ,,ideas ,i shall in this essay state ,mr4 ,locke's account of generalization1 abstraction1 and reasoning1 as contrasted with the modern one1 and then endeavour to defend the existence of these faculties1 or acts of the mind from the objections urged against them by ,hume1 ,berkeley1 ,condillac1 and others1 which are in truth merely repetitions of what ,hobbes has said on the subject4 ,i must premise1 however1 that ,i do not think it possible ever to arrive at a demonstration of generals or abstractions by beginning in ,mr4 ,locke's method with particular ones3 this faculty of abstraction is by most considered as a sort of artificial refinement upon our other ideas1 as an excrescence1 no ways contained in the common impressions of things1 nor scarcely necessary to the common purposes of life1 and it is by ,mr4 ,locke altogether denied to be among the faculties of brutes4 ,it is the ornament and top-addition of the mind of man1 which proceeding from simple sensations upwards1 is gradually sublimed into the abstract notions of things2 #8from the root springs lighter the green stalk1 from thence the leaves more airy1 last the bright consummate flower4' ,on the other hand1 ,i conceive that all our notions from first to last1 are strictly speaking1 general and abstract1 not absolute and particular2 and that to have a perfectly distinct idea of any one individual thing1 or concrete existence1 either as to the parts of which it is composed1 or the differences belonging to it1 or the circumstances connected with it1 would imply an unlimited power of comprehension in the human mind1 which is impossible4 ,all particular things consist of1 and lead to an infinite number of other things4 ,abstraction is a consequence of the limitation of the comprehensive faculty1 and mixes itself more or less with every act of the mind of whatever kind1 and in every moment of its existence4 ,there is no idea of an individual object1 which consists of a single impression1 but of a number of impressions massed together3 there is no idea of a particular quality of an object1 which is perfectly simple1 or which is not the result of a number of impressions of the same sort classed together by the mind without attending to their particular differences4 ,every idea of an object is1 therefore1 in a strict sense an imperfect and general notion of an aggregate3 of a house1 or tree1 as well as of a city1 or forest3 of a grain of sand as well as of the universe4 ,every idea of a sensible quality1 as of the whiteness of the sheet of paper before me1 or the hardness of the table on which ,i lean1 implies the same power of generalization1 of connecting several impressions into one sort1 as the most refined and abstract idea of virtue and justice1 of motion1 or extension1 or space of time1 or being itself4 ,this view of the subject is not1 ,i confess1 very obvious at first sight1 and it will be more easily understood after ,i have stated the arguments of others on this difficult question4 ,the concise account of the nature of abstract ideas is that which ,mr4 ,locke has given1 as follows4 #8,all things that exist being particular1 it may be perhaps thought reasonable that words which ought to be conformed to things should be so too1 ,i mean in their signification3 but yet we find quite the contrary4 ,the far greatest part of words that make all languages are general terms1 which has not been the effect of neglect or chance1 but of reason and necessity4' #8,first1 it is impossible that every particular thing should have a distinct peculiar name4 ,for the signification and use of words depending on that connection which the mind makes between its ideas and the sounds it uses as signs of them1 it is necessary in the applications of names to things1 that the mind should have distinct ideas of the things1 and retain also the particular name that belongs to every one1 with its peculiar appropriation to that idea4 ,but it is beyond the power of human capacity to frame and retain distinct ideas of all the particular things we meet with2 every bird and beast we see1 every tree and plant that affect the senses1 could not find a place in the most capacious understanding4 ,if it be looked on as an instance of a prodigious memory1 that some generals have been able to call every soldier in their army by his proper name1 we may easily find a reason why men never attempted to give names to each sheep in their flock1 or crow that flies over their heads1 much less to call every leaf of plants or grain of sand that came in their way1 by a peculiar name4 ,secondly1 if it were possible1 it would not serve to the chief end of language4 ,men would not in vain heap up names of particular things that would not serve them to communicate their thoughts4 ,men learn names1 and use them in talk with others1 only that they may be understood1 which is then only done1 when by use or consent1 the sound ,i make by the organs of speech1 excites in another man's mind who hears it1 the idea ,i apply to it in mine when ,i speak it4 ,this cannot be done by names applied to particular things1 whereof ,i alone have the ideas in my mind1 the names of them could not be significant1 intelligible to another who was not acquainted with all those very particular things which had fallen under my notice4 ,thirdly1 granting this feasible1 which ,i think it is not1 yet a distinct name of every particular thing would not be of any great use for the improvement of knowledge2 which though founded in particular things1 enlarges itself by general views1 to which things reduced into sorts under general names are properly subservient4 ,these with the names belonging to them come within some compass1 and do not multiply every moment beyond what either the mind can contain1 or use requires1 and therefore in these men have for the most part stopped4 ,but yet not so1 as to hinder themselves from distinguishing particular things by appropriated names1 where convenience demands it4 ,and therefore in their own species1 which they have to do with1 and wherein they have often occasion to mention particular persons1 they make use of proper names2 and these distinct individuals have distinct denominations4 ,besides persons1 countries1 cities1 rivers1 mountains1 and other like distinctions of place have usually found particular names1 and that for the same reason2 and ,i doubt not but if we had reason to mention particular horses1 as often as we have to mention particular men1 we should have proper names for the one as familiarly as for the other1 and ,bucephalus would be a word as much in use as ,alexander4 ,and therefore we see amongst jockies1 horses have their proper names to be known and distinguished by1 as commonly as their servants1 because amongst them there is often occasion to mention this or that particular horse1 when he is out of sight4 ,the next thing to be considered is how general words came to be made4 ,for since all things that exist are only particulars1 how come we by general terms1 or where find we those general natures they are supposed to stand for8 ,words become general by being made the signs of general ideas1 and ideas become general by separating from them the circumstances of time and place1 and any other ideas that may determine them to this or that particular existence4 ,by this way of abstraction they are made capable of representing more individuals than one1 each of which having in it a conformity to that abstract idea is 7as we call it7 of that sort4 #8,but to deduce this a little more distinctly1 it will not1 perhaps1 be amiss to trace our notions and names from their beginning1 and observe by what degrees we proceed1 and by what steps we enlarge our ideas from their first infancy4 ,there is nothing more evident than that the ideas of the persons children converse with1 are like the persons themselves1 only particulars4 ,the ideas of the nurse and the mother are well framed in the mind and like pictures of them there1 represent only those individuals4 ,the names they first give rise to are confined to these individuals1 and the names of nurse and mamma which the child uses1 determine themselves to those persons4 ,afterwards when time and a larger acquaintance has made them observe that there are a great many other things in the world1 that in some common agreements of shape1 and several other properties resemble their father and mother1 and those persons they have been used to1 they frame an idea which they find those many particulars do partake in1 and to that they give with others the name ,man1 for example4 ,and thus they come to have a general name1 and a general idea4 ,wherein they make nothing new1 but only leave out of the complex idea they had of ,peter and ,james1 ,mary and ,jane1 that which is peculiar to each1 and retain what is common to them all4 ,by the same way that they come by the general name and idea of man1 they easily advance to more general names and notions4 ,for observing that several things that differ from their idea of man1 and therefore cannot be comprehended under that name1 have yet certain qualities wherein they agree with man1 by retaining only those qualities and uniting them into one idea1 they have again another and more general idea2 to which having given a name1 they make a term of a more comprehensive extension2 which new idea is made1 not by any new addition1 but only as before1 by leaving out the shape1 and some other properties signified by the name man1 and retaining only a body with life1 sense1 and spontaneous motion1 comprehended under the name animal4 ,that this is the way that men first formed general ideas and general names to them1 ,i think is so evident that there needs no other proof of it1 but the considering of a man's self or others1 and the ordinary proceedings of their mind in knowledge3 and he that thinks general natures or notions are anything else but such abstracts and partial ideas of more complex ones taken at first from particular existencies1 will ,i fear be at a loss where to find them4 ,for let any one reflect and then tell me1 wherein does his idea of man differ from that of ,paul and ,peter1 or his idea of horse from that of ,bucephalus1 but in the leaving out something that is peculiar to each individual2 and retaining so much of those particular complex ideas of several particular existencies1 as they are found to agree in8 ,of the complex ideas signified by the names man and horse1 leaving out those particulars wherein they differ1 and retaining only those wherein they agree1 and of those making a new distinct complex idea and giving the name animal to it1 one has a more general term that comprehends with man several other creatures4 #8,leave out of the idea of animal sense and spontaneous motion1 and the remaining complex idea1 made up of the remaining simple ones of body1 life1 and nourishment1 becomes a more general one under the more comprehensive word vivens4 ,and not to dwell upon these particular1 so evident in itself1 by the same way the mind proceeds to body1 substance1 and at last to being1 thing1 and such universal terms1 which stand for any of our ideas whatsoever4 ,to conclude3 this whole mystery of genera and species1 which make such a noise in the schools1 and are with justice so little regarded out of them1 is nothing else but abstract ideas1 more or less comprehensive1 with names annexed to them4 ,in all which this is constant and invariable1 that every more general term stands for such an idea as is but a part of any of those contained under it4' ,the author adds1 #8,it is plain by what has been said1 that general and universal belong not only to the real existence of things1 but are the inventions and creatures of the understanding1 made by it1 for its own use1 and concern only signs1 whether words or ideas4 ,words are general1 when used for signs of general ideas1 and so are applicable indifferently to many particular things2 and ideas are general when they are set up as the representatives of many particular things1 but universality belongs not to things themselves1 which are all of them particular in their existence1 even those words and ideas which in their significations are general4 ,when1 therefore1 we quit particulars1 the generals that rest are only creatures of our own making1 their general nature being nothing but the capacity they are put in to of signifying many particulars4 ,for the signification they have is nothing but a relation1 that by the mind of man is added to them4' ,see p4 #ae1 vol4 #b4 ,mr4 ,locke at first here evidently supposes that we have ideas answering to general terms1 i4e4 certain ideas of such particulars as a number of things are found to agree in1 or that there are some common qualities by retaining which and only leaving out what is peculiar and foreign1 without adding anything new1 we get at the general notion4 ,he afterwards to all appearance reduces these general notions to mere signs or sounds with which several particular ideas are associated1 but which do not correspond to any common properties or general nature really inhering in these particular things4 ,in the same manner he continues to take different sides of the question1 when he comes to treat of genera1 and species1 when his antipathy to the word essence constantly drives him back into the notion that all our ideas of essences are mere terms1 and the want of solidity in that opinion again as constantly disposes him to admit a real difference in the sorts of things1 besides the difference of the names we give to them4 ,for immediately after affirming that the abstract essences of things are the workmanship of the understanding1 he adds1 #8,i would not here be thought to forget1 much less to deny1 that nature1 in the production of things makes several of them alike3 there is nothing more obvious1 especially in the races of animals1 and all things propagated by seed4 ,but yet1 ,i think we may say1 the sorting of them by names is the workmanship of the understanding taking occasion from the similitude it observes amongst them to make abstract general ideas1 and set them up as patterns in forms 7for in that sense the word form has a very proper signification71 to which as particular things existing are found to agree1 so they come to be of that species1 have that denomination1 or are put into that class4 ,for when we say this is a man1 that a horse1 c4 what do we else but rank things under different specific names1 as agreeing to those abstract ideas1 of which we have made these names the signs8 ,and what are the essences of those species set out and marked by names1 but those abstract ideas in the mind1 which are as it were the bonds between particular things that exist1' c4 ,for my own part ,i must confess that ,i agree with the ,bishop of ,worcester on this occasion1 who asks1 #8,what is it that makes ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john real men8 ,is it the attributing the general name to them8 ,no1 certainly1 but that the true and real essence of a man is in every one of them4 ,they take their denomination of being men from that common nature or essence which is in them4' ,on the opposite system it is not the nature of the thing which determines the imposition of the name1 but the imposition of the name which determines the nature of the thing2 or giving them the name makes ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john men1 as in the opinion of some divines ,baptism makes them ,christians4 ,that there is a real difference in things and ideas1 answering to their general names1 appears evident from this single observation1 that if it were not so1 we could never know how to apply these general names1 and we could no more distinguish between a man and a horse than we could tell at first sight1 that one man's proper name was ,john and another's ,thomas4 ,the puzzle about genera and species1 in this view of the question1 seems to arise from a very obvious transposition of ideas4 ,because the abstracting or separating these general ideas from particular circumstances is the workmanship of the understanding3 it has1 therefore1 been inferred1 that the ideas themselves are so too1 and that they exist no where but in the mind which perceives them4 ,but ,i would fain ask1 in the account which ,mr4 ,locke gives of the abstract ideas of animal for example1 whether body1 sense1 and motion1 as they exist in different individuals1 have not a general nature1 or something common in all those individuals4 ,if body in one case expresses the same thing1 or same idea as body in another1 their generals belong to things and ideas1 as well as to names2 if body in one case expresses quite a different thing in one to what it does in another1 then it is not easy to imagine what determines the mind to apply the name to these different things1 or on what foundation ,mr4 ,locke's definition rests4 ,extreme opinions were not in general the side on which ,mr4 ,locke erred2 and1 on the present occasion1 he has qualified his opposition to the prevailing system in such a manner1 that it is difficult to say in what point he admitted or rejected it4 ,he evidently1 in the general scope of this argument1 admits the reality of abstract ideas in the mind1 though he denies the existence of real sorts1 or nature of things of the mind to correspond to them3 for the expressions which intimate any doubt of the former are occasional and parenthetical1 and his acknowledgment that there is something in nature which guides and determines the mind in the sorting of things and giving names to them is equally extorted from him4 ,there is none of this doubt and perplexity in the minds of his ,french commentators2 none of this suspicion of error and anxious desire to correct it2 no lurking objections arise to stagger their confidence in themselves2 it is all the same light airy self-complacency2 not a speck is to be seen in the clear sky of their metaphysics1 not a cloud obscures the sparkling current of their thoughts4 ,in the logic of ,condillac1 the whole question of abstract ideas1 of genera and species1 and of the nature of reasoning as founded upon them1 is settled and cleared from all difficulties1 past1 present1 and to come1 with as little expence of thought1 time1 and trouble1 as possible4 ,the ,abb demonstrates with ease4 #8,general ideas1' he says1 #8of which we have explained the formation1 are a part of the aggregate idea of each of the individuals to which they correspond1 and they are considered1 for this reason1 as so many partial or imperfect ideas4 ,the idea of man1 for instance1 makes part of the complex ideas of ,peter and ,paul1 since it is equally to be found in both4 ,there is no such thing as man in general4 ,this partial idea has then no reality out of the mind1 but it has one in the mind1 where it exists separately from the aggregate or individual ideas of which it is a part4 ,all our general ideas are then so many abstract ideas1 and you see that we form them only in consequence of taking from each individual idea that which is common to all4 #8,but what1 in truth1 is the reality which a general and abstract idea has in the mind4 ,it is nothing but a name3 or1 if it is any thing more1 it necessarily ceases to be abstract1 and general4 ,when1 for example1 ,i think of a man1 ,i consider this word as a common denomination1 in which case1 it is very evident1 that my idea is in some sort circumscribed within this name1 that it does not extend to anything beyond it1 and that consequently it is nothing but the name itself4 ,if1 on the contrary1 thinking of man in general1 ,i contemplate any thing in this word1 besides the mere denomination1 it can only be by representing myself to some one man2 and a man can no more be man in general1 or in the abstract in my mind1 than in nature4 ,abstract ideas are therefore only denominations4 ,if we will absolutely think that they are something else1 we shall only resemble a painter who should obstinately persist in painting the figure of a man in general1 and who would still paint only individuals4 ,this observation concerning abstract and general ideas1 demonstrates that their clearness depends entirely on the order in which we have arranged the denominations of classes2 and that1 consequently1 to determine this sort of ideas1 there is only one means1 which is to construct a language properly4 #8,this confirms what we have already demonstrated1 how necessary words are to us3 for if we had no general terms1 we should have no abstract ideas1 we should have neither genera1 or species1 and without genera and species1 we could reason upon nothing4 ,but if we reason only by means of words this is a new proof that we can only reason well or ill1 according as the language1 in which we reason1 is well or ill made4 ,the analysis of our thoughts can only enable us to reason in proportion as by instructing us how to class our abstract ideas1 it enables us how to form our language correctly1 and the whole art of reasoning is thus reduced to the art of well speaking4' ,what in this supremacy of words is to be the criterion of well speaking the ,abb does not say4 #8,to speak1 to reason1 to form general or abstract ideas1 are then in fact the same thing3 and this truth1 simple as it is1 might pass for a discovery4 ,certainly1 men in general have not had any notion of it2 this is evident from the manner in which they speak and reason2 it is evident from the abuse which they make of abstract ideas2 finally1 it is evident from the difficulties which those persons confessedly find in conceiving of abstract ideas who have so little in speaking of them4 #8,the art of reasoning resolves into the construction of languages1 only because the order of our ideas itself depends entirely on the subordination that subsists between the names given to genera and species2 and as we arrive at new ideas only by forming new classes1 it follows that we can only determine or define our ideas by determining their classes4 ,in this case we should reason well1 because we should be guided by analogy in our conclusions as well as in the acceptation of words4 #8,convinced1 therefore1 that classes or sorts of things are pure denominations1 we shall never think of supposing that there exist in nature genera or species2 and we shall understand by these words nothing but a certain mode of classing things according to the relations which they have to ourselves and to one another4 ,we shall be sensible that we can only discover those relations1 and not what the things truly are4' ,berkeley handled his subjects with little tenderness1 and he has perfectly anatomised this subject of abstract ideas4 ,in choosing to answer the objections to this doctrine as stated by him1 ,i shall not be accused of wishing to encounter a mean adversary4 ,i can only trust to the goodness of my cause4 ,i hope ,i shall be excused for going at some length into the argument1 because it is one of the most difficult and complicated in itself1 and is of the most extensive application to other questions relating to the human understanding4 ,if we can come to any satisfactory issue to it1 it will be worth the pains of enquiry4 #8,it is agreed on all hands1' says this author1 #8that the quantities or modes of things do never really exist in each of them1 apart by itself1 and separated from all others1 but are mixed1 as it were1 and blended together1 several in the same object4 ,but we are told the mind being able to consider each quality singly1 or abstracted from those other qualities with which it is united1 does by that means frame to itself abstract ideas4 ,for example1 there is perceived by sight1 an object1 extended1 coloured1 and moved4 ,this mixed idea the mind resolving into its simple constituent parts1 and viewing each by itself exclusive of the rest1 does frame the abstract ideas of extension1 colour1 and motion4 ,not that it is possible for colour or motion to exist without extension1 but only that the mind can frame to itself by abstraction the idea of colour1 exclusive of extension1 and of motion exclusive both of colour and extension4 ,again1 the mind having observed that in the particular extensions perceived by sense1 there is something common and alike in all1 and some other things peculiar1 as this or that figure1 or magnitude1 which distinguish them one from another1 it considers apart1 or singles out by itself that which is most common1 making thereof a most abstract idea of extension1 line1 surface1 or solid1 nor has any figure or magnitude1 but is an idea prescinded from all these4 ,so likewise the mind by leaving out of the particular colours perceived by sense1 that which distinguishes them one from another1 and retaining that which only is common to all1 makes an idea of colour in abstract1 which is neither red1 nor blue1 not white1 c4 ,and in like manner by considering motion abstractedly1 not only the body moved1 but likewise from the figure it describes1 and all particular directions and velocities1 the abstract idea of motion is framed1 which equally corresponds to all particular motions whatsoever that may be perceived by sense4 #8,and as the mind frames to itself abstract ideas of qualities1 or modes1 so does it by the precision or mental separation1 attain abstract ideas of the more compound beings1 which include several co-existent qualities3--for example1 the mind having observed1 that ,peter1 ,james1 ,john1 c41 resemble each other in certain common agreements of shape1 and other qualities1 leaves out of the complex or compounded idea it has of ,peter1 ,james1 c41 that which is peculiar to each1 retaining only what is common to all2 and so makes an abstract idea wherein the particulars equally partake1 abstracting entirely1 and cutting off all those circumstances and differences which might determine it1 to any particular existence4 ,and after this manner it is said1 we come by the abstract idea of man1 or if you please humanity1 or human nature2 'tis true1 there is included colour1 because there is no man but has some colour1 but then it can be neither white nor black1 nor any particular colour1 because there is no one particular colour1 wherein all men partake2 so there is included stature1 but then it is neither tall stature1 nor low stature1 nor yet middle stature1 but something abstracted from all these2 and so of the rest4 ,moreover1 there being a great variety of other creatures that partake in some parts1 not all1 of the complex idea1 man1 the mind leaving out those parts which are peculiar to men1 and retaining those only which are common to all living creatures1 frames the idea of animals1 which abstracts not only from all particular men1 but also1 all birds1 beasts1 fishes1 and insects4 ,by ,body is meant body without any particular shape1 or figure1 there being no one shape or figure common to all animals1 without covering of hair1 feathers1 or scales1 c4 nor yet naked2 hair1 feathers1 scales1 and nakedness1 being the distinguishing properties of particular animals1 and for that reason left out of the abstract idea2 upon the same account the spontaneous motion must be neither in walking1 nor flying1 nor creeping1 it is nevertheless a motion1 but what that motion is1 it is not easy to conceive4' #8,whether others have this wonderful faculty of abstracting their ideas1 they best can tell3 for myself ,i dare be confident ,i have it not4 ,i have a faculty of imagining or representing to myself the ideas of those particular things ,i have perceived1 and of variously compounding and dividing them4 ,i can imagine a man with two heads or the upper part of a man joined to the body of a horse2 ,i can consider the hand1 the eye1 the nose1 each by itself1 abstracted or separated from the rest of the body4 ,but then1 whatever hand or eye1 ,i imagine1 it must have some particular shape1 and colour4 ,likewise1 the idea of man that ,i frame to myself must be either of a white1 or a black1 or a tawny2 a strait1 or a crooked2 a tall1 or a low1 or a middle-sized man4 ,i cannot by any effort of thought conceive the abstract idea above-described3 and it is equally impossible for me to form the abstract idea of motion distinct from the body moving1 and which is neither swift nor slow1 curvilinear nor rectilinear1 and the like may be said of other abstract general ideas whatsoever3 to be plain1 ,i own myself able to abstract in one sense1 as when ,i consider some particular parts or qualities separated from others1 with which1 though they are united in some objects1 yet it is possible they may really exist without them4 ,but ,i deny that ,i can abstract from one another1 or conceive separately those qualities1 which it is impossible should exist so separated3--or that ,i can frame a general notion by abstracting from particulars in the manner aforesaid1 which two last are the proper acceptation of abstraction2 and there is ground to think most men will acknowledge themselves to be in my case4 #8,the generality of men1 which are simple and illiterate1 never pretend to abstract notions4 ,it is said they are difficult and not to be attained without pains and study2 we may therefore reasonably conclude that1 if such there be1 they are confined only to the learned4 ,i proceed to examine what can be alleged in defence of the doctrine of abstraction1 and try if ,i can discover what it is that inclines the man of speculation to embrace an opinion so remote from common sense as that seems to be4 ,there has been a late excellent and deservedly esteemed philosopher1 who no doubt has given it very much1 by seeming to think the having abstract general ideas is what puts the difference in point of understanding betwixt man and beast4' ,the author here quotes a passage from ,mr4 ,locke on the subject1 which it is not necessary to give1 and afterwards his opinion that words become general by being made signs of general ideas4 ,he then proceeds3--#8,to this ,i cannot assent1 being of opinion that a word becomes general by being made the sign1 not of an abstract general idea1 but of several particular ideas1 any one of which it indifferently suggests to the mind4' #8,if we will annex a meaning to our words and speak only of what we can only conceive1 ,i believe we shall acknowledge that an idea1 which considered in itself is particular1 becomes general1 by being made to represent or stand for all other particular ideas of the same sort4 ,to make this plain by example1 suppose a geometrician is demonstrating the method of cutting a line in two equal parts4 ,he draws for instance a black line of an inch in length3 this which is in itself a particular line1 is nevertheless1 with regard to its signification1 general1 since1 as it is there used1 it represents all particular lines whatsoever1 so that what is demonstrated of it is demonstrated of all lines1 or in other words of a line in general2 and1 as that particular line becomes general1 by being made a sign1 so the name line1 which taken absolutely1 is particular1 by being a sign1 is made general4 ,and as the former owes its generality not to its being the sign of an abstract or general line1 but of all particular right lines that may possibly exist1 so the latter must be thought to derive its generality from the same cause1 namely1 the various particular lines which it indifferently denotes4' #8,to give the reader a clearer view of the nature of abstract ideas1 and the uses they are thought necessary to1 ,i shall add one more passage out of the ,essay on ,human ,understanding1 which is as follows3--8,abstract ideas are not so obvious or easy to children1 or the yet unexercised mind as particular ones4 ,if they seem so to grown men1 it is only by constant and familiar use they are made so4 ,for when we nicely reflect upon them1 we shall find that general ideas are fictions and contrivances of the mind1 that carry difficulty with them1 and do not so easily offer themselves as we are apt to imagine4 ,for example1 does it not require some skill and pains to form the general idea of a triangle 7which is yet none of the abstract1 comprehensive1 and difficult71 for it must be neither oblique nor rectangle1 neither equilateral1 equicrural1 nor scalenon1 but all and none of these at once4 ,in effect it is something imperfect that cannot exist1 an idea wherein some parts of different and inconsistent ideas are put together4 ',tis true the mind in this imperfect state has need of such ideas1 and makes all the haste it can to them1 for the convenience of communication and enlargement of knowledge1 to both of which it is naturally very much inclined4 ,but yet one has reason to suspect such ideas are marks of our imperfections1 at least this is enough to show that the most abstract and general ideas are not those that the mind is first and most easily acquainted with1 nor such as its earliest knowledge is conversant about40#8--,after laughing at this description of the general idea of a triangle1 which is neither oblique nor rectangle1 equilateral1 equicrural1 nor scalenon1 but all and none of these at once1 ,berkeley adds1 #8much is here said of the difficulty that abstract ideas carry with them1 and the pains and skill requisite to the forming of them4 ,and it is on all hands agreed that there is need of great toil and labour of mind1 to emancipate our thoughts from particular objects1 and raise them to those sublime speculations that are conversant about abstract ideas4 ,from all which the natural consequences should seem to be1 that so difficult a thing as forming abstract ideas was not necessary for communication1 which is so familiar to all sorts of men4 ,but1 we are told1 if they seem obvious and easy to grown men1 it is only because by constant and familiar use they are made so4 ,now ,i would fain know at what time it is1 men are employed in surmounting that difficulty and furnishing themselves with those necessary helps for discourse4 ,it cannot be when they are grown up1 for then it seems they are not conscious of any such pains-taking2 it therefore remains to be the business of their childhood4 ,and surely the great and multiplied labour of framing abstract notions will be found a hard task for that tender age4 ,is it not a hard thing to imagine that a couple of children cannot prate of their sugar plums1 and rattles1 and the rest of their little trinkets1 till they have first packed together numberless inconsistencies1 and so framed in their minds general abstract ideas1 and annexed them to every common name they make use of4 #8,it is ,i know a point much insisted on that all knowledge and demonstration are about universal notions1 to which ,i fully assent4 ,but then it does not appear to me that those notions are formed by abstraction1 in the manner premised2 universality1 so far as ,i can comprehend1 not consisting in the absolute1 positive nature and conception of any thing1 but in the relation it bears to the particulars signified1 or represented by it4 ,but here it will be demanded1 how we can know any proposition to be true of all particular triangles1 except we have seen it first demonstrated of the abstract idea of a triangle which equally agrees to all8 #8,for because a property may be demonstrated to agree to some particular triangle1 it will not thence follow that it equally belongs to every other with it4 ,for example1 having demonstrated that the three angles of an isosceles1 rectangular triangle1 are equal to two right ones1 ,i cannot therefore conclude this affection argues to all other triangles1 which have neither a right angle1 nor two equal sides4 ,it seems1 therefore1 that to be certain this proposition is universally true we must either make a particular demonstration for every particular triangle1 which is impossible1 or once for all demonstrate it of the abstract idea of a triangle1 in which all the particulars do indifferently partake1 and by which they are all equally represented4' ,to which ,i answer1 that though the idea ,i have in view1 whilst ,i make the demonstration1 be1 for instance1 that of an isosceles1 not a regular triangle1 whose sides are of a determinate length1 ,i may nevertheless be certain it extends to all other rectilinear triangles of what sort or bigness soever4 ,and that neither because the right angle1 nor the equality1 nor determinate length of the sides are at all concerned in the demonstration4 ,it is true1 the diagram ,i have in view includes all these particulars1 but then there is not the least mention made of them in the proofs of the proposition4 ,it is not said the three angles are equal to two right ones1 because one of these is a right angle1 or because the sides comprehending it are of the same length4 ,which sufficiently shews that the right angle might have been oblique and the sides unequal1 and for all the others the demonstrations have held good4 ,and for this reason it is that ,i conclude that to be true of any oblique angular1 or scalenon1 which ,i had demonstrated of a particular right angled1 equicrural1 triangle1 and not because ,i demonstrated the proposition of the abstract idea of a triangle4' ,the author then adds some further remarks on the use of abstract terms1 and concludes--#8,may we not1 for example1 be affected with the promise of a good thing1 though we have not an idea of what it is8 or is not the being threatened with danger sufficient to excite a dread1 though we think not of a particular evil likely to befal us1 and yet frame to ourselves an idea of danger in abstract8' ,introduction to ,principles of ,human ,knowledge1 p4 #ca4 ,hume1 who has taken up ,berkeley's arguments on this subject1 and affirms that the doctrine of abstract ideas applies the flattest of all contradictions1 that it is possible for the same thing to be and not to be1 has enlarged a good deal on this last topic of the manner in which words may be supposed to excite general ideas4 ,his words are these3 #8,where we have found a resemblance between any two objects that often occur to us1 we apply the same name to all of them1 whatever differences we may observe in the degrees of their quantity and quality1 and whatever differences may appear among them4 ,after we have acquired a custom of this kind1 the hearing of that name revives the idea of one of these objects1 and makes the imagination conceive it with its particular circumstances and proportions4 ,but as the same word is supposed to have been frequently applied to other individuals that are different in many respects from the idea which is immediately present to the mind1 the word not being able to revive the idea of all these individuals1 only touches the soul1 if ,i may be allowed so to speak1 and revives that custom1 which we have acquired by surveying them4 ,they are not in reality present to the mind1 but only in power1 nor do we draw them out distinctly in the imagination1 but keep ourselves in readiness to survey any of them1 as we may be prompted by a present design or necessity4 ,the word raises up an individual idea1 along with a certain custom2 and that custom produces any other individual one1 for which we may have occasion4' ,treatise of ,human ,nature1 p4 #dc1 #d4 ,the author afterwards adds1 with his usual candour1 that this account does not perfectly satisfy him1 but he relies principally on the logical demonstration of the impossibilities of abstract ideas just before given4 ,i confess it does not seem an easy matter to recover the argument in this state of it2 however1 ,i will attempt it4 ,what ,i shall endeavour will not be so much to answer the foregoing reasoning as to prove that in a strict sense all ideas whatever are mere abstractions and can be nothing else2 that some of the most clear1 distinct1 and positive ideas of particular objects are made up of numberless inconsistencies2 and that as ,hume expresses it1 they do touch the soul1 and are not drawn distinctly in the imagination1 c4 ,though ,i shall not be able to point out distinctly the fallacy of the foregoing reasonings1 ,i hope to make it appear that there must be something wrong in the premises1 and that the nature of thought and ideas is quite different from what is here supposed4 ,i may be allowed to set off one paradox against another1 and as these writers affirm that all abstract ideas are particular images1 so ,i shall try to prove that all particular images are abstract ideas4 ,if it can be made to appear that our ideas of particular things themselves are not particular1 it may be easily granted that those which are in general allowed to be abstract are all so4 ,the existence of abstract and complex ideas in the mind has been disputed for the same reason1 that is1 in falsely attributing individuality1 or absolute unity to the objects of sense4 ,while each thing or object was said to be absolutely one and simple1 there was found to be no reach1 compass1 or expansion of mind1 to comprehend it2 and1 on the other hand1 there was no room on the same supposition for the doctrine of abstraction1 for there is no abstracting from absolute unity4 ,that which is one positive1 indivisible thing1 must remain entire as this1 or cease to exist4 ,there is no alternative between individuality and nothing4 ,as long as we are determined to consider any one thing or idea1 as the knot of a chain1 or the figure of a man1 or any thing else1 as one individual1 it must1 as it were1 go together3 we can take nothing away without destroying it altogether4 ,i have already shewn that there is no one object which does not consist of a number of parts and relations1 or which does not require a comprehensive facility in the mind in order to conceive of it4 ,now abstraction is a necessary consequence of the limitation of this power of the mind1 and if it were a previous condition of our having the ideas of things that we should comprehend distinctly all the particulars of which they are composed1 we could have no ideas at all4 ,an imperfectly comprehended is a general idea4 ,but the mind perfectly comprehends the whole of no one object4 ,that is1 it has not an absolute and distinct knowledge of all its parts or differences1 and consequently all our ideas are abstractions1 that is a general and confused result from a number of undistinguished1 and undistinguishable impressions1 for there is no possible medium between a perfectly distinct comprehension of all the particulars1 which is impossible1 or that imperfect and confused one1 that properly constitutes a general notion in the one case or the other4 ,to explain this more particularly4 ,in looking at any object1 as a house on the opposite side of the way1 it is supposed that the impression ,i have of it is a perfectly distinct1 precise1 or definite idea1 in which abstraction has no concern4 ,and the general idea of a house1 it is said1 is rather a mere word1 or must reduce itself to some such positive1 individual image as that conveyed by the sight of a particular house1 it being impossible that it should be made up of the confused1 imperfect1 and undistinguishable impressions of several different objects of the same kind4 ,now it appears to me the easiest thing in the world to shew that this sensible image of a particular house1 into which the general is to be resolved for greater clearness1 is itself but a confused and vague notion1 or numberless inconsistencies packed together2 not one precise individual thing1 or any number of things1 distinctly perceived4 ,for ,i would ask of any one who thinks his senses furnish him with these infallible and perfect conceptions of things1 free from all contradiction and perplexity1 whether he has a precise knowledge of all the circumstance of the object prescribed to him4 ,for instance1 is the knowledge which he has that the house before him is larger than another near it1 in consequence of his intentively considering all the bricks of which it is composed1 or can he tell that it contains a greater number of windows than another1 without distinctly counting them8 ,let us suppose1 however1 that he does4 ,but this will not be enough unless he has also a distinct perception of the numbers and the size of the panes of glass in each window1 or of any mark1 stain1 or dirt in each separate brick8 ,otherwise his idea of each of these particulars will still be general1 and his most substantial knowledge built on shadows2 that is composed of a number of parts of the parts of which he has no knowledge4 ,if objects were what mankind in general suppose them1 single things1 we could have no notion of them but what was particular1 for by leaving out any thing we should leave out the whole object1 which is but one thing4 ,we may also be said to have a particular knowledge of things in proportion to the number of parts we distinguish in them4 ,but the real foundation of all our knowledge1 is and must be general1 that is1 a mere confused impression or effect of feeling produced by a number of things1 for there is no object which does not consist of an infinite number of parts1 and we have not an infinite number of distinct ideas answering to them4 ,yet it cannot be denied that we have some knowledge of things1 that they make some impression on us1 and this knowledge1 this impression1 must therefore be an abstract one1 the natural result of a limited understanding1 which is variously affected by a number of things at the same time1 but which is not susceptible of itself to an infinite number of modifications4 ,if it should be said that the sensible image of the house is still one1 as being one impression1 or given result1 ,i answer that the most abstract ideas of a house1 and the imperfect recollection of a number of houses is in the same sense one1 and a real idea1 distinct from that of a tree1 though far from being a particular image4 ,again1 it is said1 that in conceiving of the idea of man in general1 we must conceive a man a particular sign or figure4 ,i would ask first is this to be understood merely of his height1 or of his form in general8 ,if the latter1 it would imply that we have1 wherever we pronounce the word man1 no ideas at all1 or a distinct conception of a man with a head and limbs of a certain extent and proportion1 of every turn in each feature1 of every variety in the formation of each part1 as well as of its distance from every other part1 a knowledge which no sculptor or painter ever had of any one figure of which he was the most perfect master1 for it would be a knowledge of an infinite number of lines drawn in all directions from every part of the body1 with their precise length and terminations4 ,those who have consigned this business of abstraction over to the senses with a view to make the whole matter plain and easy1 have not been aware of what they have been doing4 ,they supposed with the vulgar that it was only necessary to open the eyes in order to see1 and that the images produced by outward objects are completely defined1 and unalterable things1 in which there can be no dimness and confusion4 ,these speculators had no thought but they saw as much of a landscape as ,poussin1 and knew as much about a face that was before them as ,titian or ,vandyke would have done4 ,this is a great mistake2 the having particular and absolute ideas of things is not only difficult1 but impossible4 ,the ablest painters have never been able to give more than one part of nature1 in abstracted views of things4 ,the most laborious artists never finished to perfection any one part of an object1 or had ever any more than a confused1 vague1 uncertain notion of the shape of the mouth or nose1 or the colour of an eye4 ,ask a logician1 or any common man1 and he will no doubt tell you that a face is a face1 a nose is a nose1 a tree is a tree1 and that he can see what it is as well as another4 ,ask a painter and he will tell you otherwise4 ,secondly1 when it is asserted that we must necessarily have the idea of a particular sign1 when we think of any in general1 all that is intended by it is1 ,i believe1 that we must think of a particular height4 ,this idea it is supposed must be particular and determinate1 just as we must draw a line with a piece of chalk1 or make a mark with the slides of a measuring rule1 in one place and not in the other4 ,i think it may be shewn that this view of the question is also utterly fallacious1 and out of the order of our ideas4 ,the height of the individual is thus resolved with the ideas of the lines terminating or defining it1 and the intermediate space of which it properly consists is entirely forgotten4 ,for let us take any given height of a man1 whether tall1 short1 or middle-sized1 and let that height be as visible as you please1 ,i would ask whether the actual height to which it amounts1 does not consist of a number of other lengths3 as if it be a tall man1 the length will be six feet1 and each of these feet will consist of so many inches1 and those inches will be again made up of decimals1 and those decimals of other subordinate parts1 which must be all distinctly placed1 and added together before the sum total1 which they compose1 can be pretended to be a distinct particular1 or individual idea2 ,i can only understand by a particular thing either one precise individual1 or a precise number of individuals4 ,instead of its being true that all general ideas of extension are deducible to particular positive extension1 the reverse proposition is ,i think demonstrable3 that all particular extensions1 the most positive and distinct1 are never any thing else than a more or less vague notion of extension in general4 ,in any given visible object we have always the general idea of something extended1 and never of the precise length2 for the precise length as it is thought to be is necessarily composed of a number of lengths too many1 and too minute to be necessarily attended to1 or jointly conceived by the mind1 and at last loses itself in the infinite divisibility of matter4 ,what sort of distinctness or individual can therefore be found in any visible image1 or object of sense1 ,i cannot well conceive3 it seems to me like seeking for certainty in the dancing of insects in the evening sun1 or for fixedness or rest in the motions of the sea4 ,all particulars are thought nothing but generals1 more or less defined by circumstances1 but never perfectly so2 in this all our knowledge both begins and ends1 and if we think to exclude all generality from our ideas of things1 we must be content to remain in utter ignorance4 ,the proof that our ideas of particular things are not themselves particular1 is the uncertainty and difficulty we have only in comparing them with one another4 ,in looking at a line an inch long1 ,i have a certain general impression of it1 so that ,i can tell it is shorter than another1 three or four times as long1 drawn on the same sheet of paper1 but ,i cannot immediately tell that it is shorter than one only a tenth or twentieth of an inch longer4 ,the idea which ,i have of it is therefore not an exact one4 ,in looking at a window ,i cannot precisely tell the number of panes of glass it contains1 yet ,i can easily say whether they are few or many1 whether the window is large or small4 ,now if all our ideas were made up of particulars1 we never could pronounce generally whether there were few or many of these panes of glass1 but we should know the precise number1 or at least pitch on some precise number in our minds1 and this we could not help knowing4 ,there must be either #e1 #aj1 #bj1 or #cj2 for it is in vain to urge that the idea in my mind is a floating one1 and shifts from one of them to another1 so that ,i cannot tell the moment after which it was2 but what is this imperfect recollection but a confused contradictory and abstract idea8 ,here is a plain dilemma3 it is a fact that we have some idea of a number of objects presented to us4 ,it is also a fact that we do not know the precise number1 nor can we assign any number confidently whether right or wrong4 ,whether this idea is but an abstract and general one it seems hard to say4 ,those who contend that we cannot have an idea of a man in general1 without conceiving of some particular man1 seem to have little reason1 since the most particular idea we can form of a man1 either in imagination or from the actual impression1 is but a general idea4 ,those who say we cannot conceive of an army of men without conceiving of the individuals composing it1 ought to go a step further1 and affirm that we must represent to ourselves the features1 form1 complexion1 size1 posture1 and dress1 with every other circumstance belonging to each individual4 ,we must admit the notion of abstraction1 first or last1 unless any one will contend for this infinite refinement in our ideas of things1 or assert that we have no idea at all4 ,for the same process takes place in it1 and is absolutely necessary to our most particular notions of things1 as well as our most general1 namely1 that of abstracting from particulars1 or of passing over the minute differences of things1 taking them in the gross1 and attending to the general effect of a number of distinguished and distinguishable impressions4 ,it is thus we arrive at our first notion of things1 and thus that all our after knowledge is acquired4 ,the knowledge upon which our ideas rest is general1 and the only difference between abstract and particular1 is that of being more or less general1 of leaving out more or fewer circumstances1 and more or fewer objects1 perceived either at once or in succession1 and forming either a particular whole1 aggregate1 or a class of things4 ,it may be asked farther whether our ideas of things1 however abstract in general1 with respect to the objects they represent1 are not in their own nature1 and absolute existence particular4 ,to this hard question ,i shall return the best answer ,i can4 #a4 ,it is sufficient to the present purpose that ideas are general in their representation1 however particular in themselves4 ,each idea is something in itself1 and not another idea4 ,this is equally true of the most abstract or particular ideas of things4 ,the abstract idea of a man is the abstract idea of a man1 not the abstract idea of a horse1 nor the particular one of any given individual man4 ,it is characterized by general properties1 and distinguished by general circumstances1 and is neither a mere word without any idea1 nor a particular image of one thing2 so the idea of a particular man1 though still only a general result from a number of particulars is sufficiently positive for the actual purposes of thought1 and distinguishable from that other general result or impression which institutes the idea of a particular horse1 for instance4 #b4 ,that our general notions are any otherwise particular than as they are the same with themselves1 and different from one another1 is more than ,i know4 ,i must demur on this question1 whatever others may do4 ,whatever contradictions are involved in the one side of it1 those on the other seem as great4 ,for it is not easy to imagine any thing more absurd than the supposition that the idea of a line for instance is precisely1 and to a hair's breadth or to the utmost possible exactness1 of a certain length1 when neither the precise number nor the precise proportion of the parts composing this line are at all known4 ,it is like saying that we cast up an account to the utmost degree of nicety1 when not one of the items is known1 but as of an average conjecture or in round numbers4 ,we generally estimate our notion of a particular extension by the point or matter at all terminating it1 and it seems as if this did not admit of an ambiguity1 or variation4 ,but in fact all ideas are a calculation of particulars1 and when the parts are only known in gross1 the sum total1 or resulting idea can only be so too4 ,the smallest division of which our notions are susceptible is a general idea4 ,in the progress of the understanding1 we never begin from absolute unity but always from something that is more4 ,how then is it possible that these general conceptions should form a whole always commensurate to a precise number of absolute unity ,i cannot conceive1 any more than how it is possible to express a fraction in whole numbers4 ,the two things are incompatible4 ,as to any thing like conscious individuality1 i4e4 that which assigneth limits to our ideas1 we know they have it not4 #c4 ,i would observe that ideas1 as far as they are distinct and particular1 seem to involve a greater contradiction than when they are confused and general4 ,for1 in proportion to their distinctness1 must be the number of different acts of the mind excited at the same time2 i4e4 in proportion to the individuality of the image or idea1 if ,i may so express myself1 the thought ceases to be individual1 inasmuch as the simplicity of the attention is thus necessarily broken and divided into a number of different actions1 which yet are all united in the same conscious feeling1 or there could be no connection between them4 ,how then we should ever be able to conceive of things distinctly1 clearly1 and particularly1 seems the wonder3 not how different impressions acting at once on the mind should be confused1 and as it were massed together1 in a general feeling1 for want of sufficient activity in the intellectual faculties to give form and a distinct place to all that throng of objects which at all times solicit the attention4 ,let any one make the experiment of counting a flock of sheep driven fast by him1 and he will soon find his imagination unable to keep pace with the rapid succession of objects1 and his idea of particular number slide into the general idea of multitude2 not that because there are more objects than he possibly can count1 he will think there are many1 or that the word flock will present to his mind a mere name1 without any particulars corresponding to it4 ,every act of the attention1 every object we see or think of1 presents a proof of the same kind4 #d4 ,i conceive that the mind has not been fairly dealt with in this and other similar questions of the same sort4 ,matter alone seems to have the privilege of presenting difficulties1 and contradictions at every turn2 but the moment any thing of this kind is observed in the understanding1 all the petulance of logicians is up in arms1 and the mind is made the mark on which they vent all the modes and figures of their impertinence4 ,let us take an example from some of these self-evident matters of fact1 which contain at least as many1 and as great contradictions1 as any in the most abstruse metaphysical doctrine1 such as in extension1 motion1 and the curve of lines4 ,now as to the first of these1 extension3 if we suppose it to be made up of points1 which are in themselves without extension1 but by their combination produce it1 we must suppose two unextended things1 when joined together1 to become extended1 which is like supposing1 that by adding together several nothings1 we can arrive at something4 ,on the other hand1 if we suppose the ultimate parts of which extension is composed1 to be themselves extended1 we then attribute extension to that which is indivisible1 or affirm a thing to consist of parts1 and to have none1 at the same time4 ,the old argument against the possibility of motion is well known3 it was said that the body moving must either be in the place where it was1 or in that into which it was passing4 ,now1 if it was in either of these1 or in any one place1 it must be at rest2 and as it could not be in both at once1 it followed that a body moving could exist no where1 or that there was no such thing as motion in nature4 ,again1 a curve line is described mathematically by a point moving1 but always out of a strait line4 ,now1 a strait line is the nearest between any two points4 ,but that a body should move forward1 and not move strait forward to the next point to which it is going1 seems to imply no less an absurdity than the affirming that a thing never moves in the direction in which it is going1 but always out of it2 for1 if it moves in the same direction1 the smallest moment of time1 this is not a curve1 but a strait line2 and if it does not continue to move in the same direction at all1 it seems utterly inconceivable that it should make any progress1 or move either in a curve or a strait line4 ,yet any one who1 on the strength of the contradiction involved in the ideas of extension1 motion1 or curve lines1 should severally deny or disbelieve any one of them1 would be thought to want common sense4 ,i think there are certain facts of the mind which are equally evident and unaccountable4 ,those who contend that the one are to be admitted1 and the other not1 because the one are the objects of sense1 and the other not1 do not deserve any serious answer4 ,it is as much a fact1 that ,i remember having seen the sun yesterday1 as that ,i see it to-day1 and both of them are much more certain facts than that there is any such body as the sun really existing out of the mind4 ,i will now return to ,berkeley1 and endeavour to answer his chief objections to the doctrine of abstract ideas4 ,first1 then1 ,i conceive that he has himself virtually given up the question1 when he allows that the mind may be affected with the promise of a good thing1 or terrified by the apprehension of danger1 without thinking of any particular good or evil that is likely to befal us4 ,what this idea of good or evil1 which is not particular1 can be1 other than abstract1 ,i cannot conceive2 and to say that it is not an idea1 but a mere feeling excited by custom1 is an answer very little to the purpose4 ,for this feeling1 this custom1 is itself a general impression1 and could not1 without a power of abstraction in the mind1 think1 without a power of being acted upon by a number of different impulses of pleasure and pain1 concurring to produce a general effect1 abstracted from the particular feelings themselves1 or the objects first exciting them4 ,all abstract ideas are several impressions of the same kind1 and are merely customary affections of the mind1 not distinct images of things4 ,but if it be said that the word idea properly signifies an image1 and must be something distinct1 then ,i answer1 first1 that this would only restrict the use of the word idea to particular things1 and not affect the real question in dispute1 and secondly1 that there is no such thing as a distinct and particular image in the mind4 ,the manner in which ,berkeley explains the nature of mathematical demonstrations1 according to his system1 shews its utter inadequateness to any purposes of general reasoning1 and is a plain confession of the necessity of abstract ideas4 ,for all the answer he gives to the question1 how can we know any proposition to be true in general1 from having found it so in a particular instance1 comes to this1 that though the diagram we have in view includes a number of particulars1 yet we know the principle to be true generally1 because there is not the least mention made of these particulars in the proof of the proposition4 ,but ,i would ask also1 whether there is not the least thought of them in the mind8 ,the truth is1 that the mind upon ,berkeley's principle must think of the particular right angled1 isosceles1 triangle in question1 or it can have no idea at all1 for it has no general idea of a triangle to which it can apply the name generally4 ,if we suppose that there is any such general form1 or notion to which the other particular circumstances are merely superadded1 and which may be left standing1 though they are taken away1 we then run immediately to all the absurdities of abstraction1 which he so much wishes to avoid4 ,if we then demonstrate the proposition of the particular diagram before us1 as of a determinate size1 shape1 c41 this demonstration cannot hold good generally4 ,if we are supposed to omit all these particular circumstances in our minds1 then we either demonstrate the proposition of the general and abstract idea of a triangle1 or of no idea at all2 for after the particulars are omitted1 or not attended to by the mind1 the only idea remaining must be a general one4 ,farther1 that on which ,i am willing to rest the whole controversy1 is the following remark1 viz41 that without the general idea of a line or triangle1 there could be no particular one2 that is1 no idea of any one line or triangle1 as of the same form1 or as any way related to any other1 so that there could be no common measure or line to connect any of our thoughts or reasoning together into a general conclusion4 ,for to take the former instance as the most simple4 ,when we speak of any particular extension1 it is evident that we understand something which is not particular4 ,besides what is peculiar to it1 it must have something which is not peculiar to it1 but general1 to merit the common appellation4 ,berkeley says1 #8,an idea which in itself is particular1 becomes general1 by being made to represent or stand for all other particular ideas of the same sort4' ,i do request that the import of these last words may be attended to4 ,do they suggest any idea or none2 if they mean any thing1 it must be something more than the particular ideas which are said to be of the same sort1 i4e4 some general notion of them4 ,but this will involve all the absurdities of abstraction4 ,if there is any thing in the mind besides these particular ideas themselves--any thing that compares or contrasts them1 that refers to this or that belief1 this comparison or classifying can be nothing but a perception of a general nature in which these things agree1 or the general resemblance which the mind perceives between the several impressions4 ,if there is no such comparison or perception of resemblance1 or idea of abstract qualities1 then there can be no idea answering to the words #8of the same sort2' but these particular ideas will be left standing by themselves1 absolutely unconnected4 ,as far as our ideas are merely particular1 i4e4 are negations of other ideas1 so far they must be perfectly distinct from each other3 there can be nothing between them to blend or associate them together4 ,each separate idea would be surrounded with a chevaux de frise of its own1 in a state of irreconcilable antipathy to every other idea1 and the fair form of nature would present nothing but a number of discordant atoms4 ,a particular line would no more represent another line1 than it would represent a point3 one colour could no more resemble another colour1 or suggest its idea1 than it could that of a sound1 or a smell2 there could be no clue to make us class different shades of the same colour under one general name1 any more than the most opposite3 one triangle would be as distinct from another1 as from a square or a cube1 and so through the whole system of art and nature4 ,there must be a mutual leaning1 a greater proximity between some ideas than others3 a common point to which they tend1 that is a common quality3 a general nature1 in which they are identified3 or there could not be in the mind more ideas of same or like1 or different1 or judgment1 or reasoning1 or truth1 or falsehood1 than in the stones in the fields1 or the sands of the sea-shore4 ,the idea of classing things implies only the same sort of general comparison1 or abstract idea of likeness1 that is necessary to the idea of any simple sensible quality of an object4 ,in both cases1 we only contemplate a number of things as alike or under the same general notion1 without attending to their actual differences4 ,take the idea1 for instance1 of a slab of white marble4 ,as long as only one such piece of marble is considered1 it is supposed to be a particular object1 and its whiteness is supposed to be perceived by the mind as a simple sensible quality4 ,if1 on the contrary1 several such slabs of marble are presented to the mind1 this is commonly considered as producing a general idea of marble and of whiteness4 ,but this idea of whiteness1 not as a quality of a particular thing1 but as a common quality of different things1 is rejected by the moderns as implying the supposition1 that several different ideas can coalesce in the same general notion1 which amounts1 they say1 to the contradiction that a thing may be the same1 and different at the same time4 ,now ,i would affirm whatever there is absurd or inconceivable in this latter case applies equally to the former4 ,for what possible idea can any man form of a slab of white marble1 in any other way than that of abstraction8 ,is the idea of its whiteness as a sensible quality the idea of a point4 ,is it one single impression8 ,this ,berkeley and others deny1 for they say there can be no idea of colour without extension1 or of quality without quantity4 ,if there are in this object several impressions of colour1 ,i would ask are they all distinctly perceived8 ,are they all the same8 ,or if not1 are all their differences perceived by the mind1 before it possibly can be impressed with the general idea of a certain sensible quality1 or that the object before it is white8 ,is the mind aware of even the slightest stain in this object1 of every thing that may happen to vary it8 ,yet1 if the idea falls anything short of this minute and perfect knowledge1 it can only be an imperfect and general notion4 ,that is1 a number of differences must be massed together in a common feeling of likeness1 and a number of separate parts make up the idea of a given object4 ,yet this is all that is implied in forming the ideas of whiteness in general1 as belonging to several objects1 or of colour1 or extension1 or any other idea whatever1 drawn from numberless objects1 impressed at numberless times4 ,if particular objects or qualities were single things1 there would then be some precise limit between them and abstract or general ideas1 but as the most particular object1 or qualities1 as well as the most general combinations and classes of things are necessarily confused and mixed results1 and nothing more than a number of impressions1 never distinctly analyzed by the mind1 there can be no general reasoning to disprove abstracted ideas in the common sense of the word4 ,,on ,,the ,,writings ,,of ,,hobbes ,in the following ,essays ,i shall attempt to give some account of the rise and progress of modern metaphysics1 to state the opinions of the principal writers who have treated on the subject1 from the time of ,lord ,bacon to the present day1 and to examine the arguments by which they are supported4 ,in the first place1 it will be my object to shew what the real conclusions of the most celebrated authors were1 and the steps by which they arrived at them3 to trace the connexion or point out the difference between their several systems1 as well as to inquire into the peculiar bias and turn of their minds1 and in what their true strength or weakness lay4 ,this will undoubtedly be best done by an immediate reference to their works whenever the nature of the subject admits of it1 or whenever their mode of reasoning is not so loose and desultory as to render the quotation of particular passages a useless as well as endless labour4 ,in the ,history of ,english ,philosophy1 of which ,i published a prospectus some time ago1 ,i intended to have gone regularly through with all the writers of any considerable note who fell within the limits of my plan1 and to have given a detailed analysis of their several subjects and arguments4 ,but this would lead to much greater length and minuteness of inquiry than seems consistent with my present object1 and would besides1 ,i am afraid1 prove 7what ,hobbes1 speaking of these subjects in general1 calls7 #8but dry discourse4' ,to avoid this as much as possible1 ,i shall pass over all those writers who have not been distinguished either by the boldness of their opinions1 or the logical precision of their arguments4 ,indeed ,i shall confine my attention more particularly to those who have made themselves conspicuous by deviating from the beaten track1 and who have struck out some original discovery or brilliant paradox2 whose metaphysical systems trench the closest on morality1 or whose speculations1 by the interest as well as novelty attached to them1 have become topics of general conversation4 ,secondly1 besides stating the opinions of others1 one principal object which ,i shall have in view will be to act as judge or umpire between them1 to distinguish1 as far as ,i am able1 the boundaries of true and false philosophy1 and to try if ,i cannot lay the foundation of a system more conformable to reason and experience1 and1 in its practical results at least1 approaching nearer to the common sense of mankind1 than the one which has been generally received by the most knowing persons who have attended to such subjects within the last century2 ,i mean the material or modern philosophy1 as it has been called4 ,according to this philosophy1 as ,i understand it1 all thought is to be resolved into sensation1 all morality into the love of pleasure1 and all action into mechanical impulse4 ,these three propositions1 taken together1 embrace almost every question relating to the human mind1 and in their different ramifications and intersections form a net1 not unlike that used by the enchanters of old1 which1 whosoever has once thrown over him1 will find all his efforts to escape vain1 and his attempts to reason freely on any subject in which his own nature is concerned1 baffled and confounded in every direction4 ,this system1 which first rose at the suggestion of ,lord ,bacon1 on the ruins of the school-philosophy1 has been gradually growing up to its present height ever since1 from a wrong interpretation of the word experience1 confining it to a knowledge of things without us2 whereas it in fact includes all knowledge relating to objects either within or out of the mind1 of which we have any direct and positive evidence4 ,we only know that we ourselves exist1 the most certain of all truths1 from the experience of what passes within ourselves4 ,strictly speaking1 all other facts of which we are not immediately conscious1 are so in a secondary and subordinate sense only4 ,physical experience is indeed the foundation and the test of that part of philosophy which relates to physical objects3 further1 physical analogy is the only rule by which we can extend and apply our immediate knowledge1 or infer the effects to be produced by the different objects around us4 ,but to say that physical experiment is either the test or source or guide of that other part of philosophy which relates to our internal perceptions1 that we are to look to external nature for the form1 the substance1 the colour1 the very life and being of whatever exists in our minds1 or that we can only infer the laws which regulate the phenomena of the mind from those which regulate the phenomena of matter1 is to confound two things entirely distinct4 ,our knowledge of mental phenomena from consciousness1 reflection1 or observation of their correspondent signs in others is the true basis of metaphysical inquiry1 as the knowledge of facts1 commonly so called1 is the only solid basis of natural philosophy4 ,to say that the operations of the mind and the operations of matter are in reality the same1 so that we may always make the one exponents of the other1 is to assume the very point in dispute1 not only without any evidence1 but in defiance of every appearance to the contrary4 ,lord ,bacon was undoubtedly a great man1 indeed one of the greatest that have adorned this or any other country4 ,he was a man of a clear and active spirit1 of a most fertile genius1 of vast designs1 of general knowledge1 and of profound wisdom4 ,he united the powers of imagination and understanding in a greater degree than almost any other writer4 ,he was one of the strongest instances of those men1 who by the rare privilege of their nature are at once poets and philosophers1 and see equally into both worlds4 ,the schoolmen and their followers attended to nothing but essences and species1 to laboured analyses and artificial deductions4 ,they seem to have alike disregarded both kinds of experience1 that relating to external objects1 and that relating to the observation of our own internal feelings4 ,from the imperfect state of knowledge1 they had not a sufficient number of facts to guide them in their experimental researches2 and intoxicated with the novelty of their vain distinctions1 taught by rote1 they would be tempted to despise the clearest and most obvious suggestions of their own minds4 ,subtile1 restless1 and self-sufficient1 they thought that truth was only made to be disputed about1 and existed no where but in their demonstrations and syllogisms4 ,hence arose their #8logomachy'--their everlasting word-fights1 their sharp debates1 their captious1 bootless controversies4 ,as ,lord ,bacon expresses it1 #8they were made fierce with dark keeping1' signifying that their angry and unintelligible contests with one another were owing to their not having any distinct objects to engage their attention4 ,they built altogether on their own whims and fancies1 and buoyed up by their specific levity1 they mounted in their airy disputations in endless flights and circles1 clamouring like birds of prey1 till they equally lost sight of truth and nature4 ,this great man therefore intended an essential service to philosophy1 in wishing to recall the attention to facts and #8experience' which had been almost entirely neglected2 and thus1 by incorporating the abstract with the concrete1 and general reasoning with individual observation1 to give to our conclusions that solidity and firmness which they must otherwise always want4 ,he did nothing but insist on the necessity of #8experience1' more particularly in natural science2 and from the wider field that is open to it there1 as well as the prodigious success it has met with1 this latter application of the word1 in which it is tantamount to physical experiment1 has so far engrossed the whole of our attention1 that mind has for a good while past been in some danger of being overlaid by matter4 ,we run from one error into another2 and as we were wrong at first1 so in altering our course1 we have turned about to the opposite extreme4 ,we despised #8experience' altogether before2 now we would have nothing but #8experience1' and that of the grossest kind4 ,we have1 it is true1 gained much by not consulting the suggestions of our own minds in questions where they inform us of nothing2 namely1 in the particular laws and phenomena of the natural world2 and we have hastily concluded1 reversing the rule1 that the best way to arrive at the knowledge of ourselves also1 was to lay aside the dictates of our own consciousness1 thoughts1 and feelings1 as deceitful and insufficient guides1 though they are the only means by which we can obtain the least light upon the subject4 ,we seem to have resigned the natural use of our understandings1 and to have given up our own existence as a nonentity4 ,we look for our thoughts and the distinguishing properties of our minds in some image of them in matter1 as we look to see our faces in a glass4 ,we no longer decide physical problems by logical dilemmas1 but we decide questions of logic by the evidences of the senses4 ,instead of putting our reason and invention to the rack indifferently on all questions1 whether we have any previous knowledge of them or not1 we have adopted the easier method of suspending the use of our faculties altogether1 and settling tedious controversies by means of #8four champions fierce--hot1 cold1 moist and dry1' who with a few more of the retainers and hangers-on of matter determine all questions relating to the nature of man and the limits of the human understanding very learnedly4 ,that which we seek however1 namely1 the nature of the mind and the laws by which we think1 feel1 and act1 we must discover in the mind itself or not at all4 ,the mind has laws1 powers1 and principles of its own1 and is not the mere puppet of matter4 ,this general bias in favour of mechanical reasoning and physical experiment1 which was the consequence of the previous total neglect of them in matters where they were strictly necessary1 was strengthened by the powerful aid of ,hobbes1 who was indeed the father of the modern philosophy4 ,his strong mind and body appear to have resisted all impressions but those which were derived from the downright blows of matter3 all his ideas seemed to lie like substances in his brain3 what was not a solid1 tangible1 distinct1 palpable object was to him nothing4 ,the external image pressed so close upon his mind that it destroyed the power of consciousness1 and left no room for attention to any thing but itself4 ,he was by nature a materialist4 ,locke assisted greatly in giving popularity to the same scheme1 as well by espousing many of ,hobbes's metaphysical principles as by the doubtful resistance which he made to the rest4 ,and it has been perfected and has received its last polish and roundness in the hands of some ,french philosophers1 as ,condillac and others4 ,it has been generally supposed that ,mr4 ,locke was the first person who1 in his #8,essay on the ,human ,understanding' established the modern metaphysical system on a solid and immoveable basis4 ,this is a great mistake4 ,the system1 such as it is1 existed entire in all its general principles in ,hobbes before him2 this was never unequivocally or explicitly avowed by the author of the #8,essay on the ,human ,understanding4' ,locke merely endeavoured to accommodate ,hobbes's leading principle to the more popular opinions of the time2 and all that succeeding writers have done to improve upon his system1 and clear it of inconsistent and extraneous matter1 has only tended to reduce it back to the purity and simplicity in which it is to be found in ,hobbes4 ,the immediate and professed object of both these writers is indeed the same1 namely1 to account for our ideas and the formation of the human understanding from sensible impressions4 ,but in the execution of this design1 ,mr4 ,locke has deviated widely and at almost every step from his predecessor4 ,this difference would almost unavoidably arise from the natural character of their minds1 which were the most opposite conceivable4 ,hobbes had the utmost reliance on himself1 and was impatient of the least doubt or contradiction4 ,he saw from the beginning to the end of his system4 ,he is always therefore on firm ground1 and never once swerves from his object4 ,he is at no pains to remove objections1 or soften consequences4 ,granting his first principle1 all the rest follows of course4 ,there is an air of grandeur in the stern confidence with which he stands alone in the world of his own opinions1 regardless of his contemporaries1 and conscious that he is the founder of a new race of thinkers4 ,locke1 on the other hand1 was a man1 who without the same comprehensive grasp of thought had a greater deference for the opinions of others1 and was of a much more cautious and circumspect turn of mind4 ,he could not but meet with many things in the peremptory assertions of ,hobbes that must make him pause1 that he would be at a loss to reconcile to an attentive observation of what passed in his own mind1 and that would equally shock the prevailing notions both of the learned and the ignorant4 ,he was therefore led to consider the different objections to the system which had been left unanswered and unnoticed1 to make a compromise between the received doctrines1 and the violent paradoxes contained in the #8,leviathan' and the #8,treatise of ,human ,nature1' or to admit these last with so many qualifications1 with so much circumlocution and preparation1 and after such an appearance of the most mature and candid examination1 and of willingness to be convinced on the other side of the question1 as to obviate the offensive and harsh effect which accompanies the abrupt dogmatism of the original author4 ,it was perhaps necessary that the opinions of ,hobbes should undergo this sort of metamorphosis before they could gain a hearing3 as the direct rays of the sun must be blunted and refracted by passing through some denser medium in order to be borne by common eyes4 ,so sheathed and softened1 their sharp1 unpleasant points taken off1 his doctrines almost immediately met with a favourable reception1 and became popular4 ,the general principle being once established without its particular consequences1 and the public mind assured1 it was soon found an easy task to point out the inconsistency of ,mr4 ,locke's reasoning in many respects1 and to give a more decided tone to his philosophical system4 ,berkeley was one of the first who tried the experiment of pushing his principles into the verge of paradox on the question of abstract ideas1 which he has done with admirable dexterity and clearness1 but without going beyond the explicitness of ,hobbes on the same question4 ,subsequent writers added different chapters to supply the deficiencies of the ,essay1 which1 with scarcely a single exception1 may be found essentially comprized in that institute and digest of modern philosophy1 our author's #8,leviathan4' ,in thus giving the praise of originality and force of mind to ,hobbes1 and regarding ,locke merely as his follower1 ,i may be thought to venture on dangerous ground1 or to lay unhallowed hands on a reputation which is dear to every lover of truth4 ,but if something is due to fame1 something is also due to justice4 ,i confess however1 that having brought this charge against the #8,essay on the ,human ,understanding1' ,i am bound to make it good in the fullest manner2 otherwise1 ,i shall be inexcusable4 ,what ,i therefore propose in the remainder of the present ,essay is to show that ,mr4 ,locke was not really the founder of the modern system of philosophy as it respects the human mind2 and ,i shall think that ,i have sufficiently established this point1 if ,i can make it appear1 both that the principle itself on which that system rests1 and all the striking consequences which have been deduced from it1 are to be found in the writings of ,hobbes1 more clearly1 decidedly1 and forcibly expressed than they are in the #8,essay on the ,human ,understanding4' ,when ,i speak of the principle of the modern metaphysical system1 ,i mean the assumption that the operations of the intellect are only a continuation of the impulses existing in matter1 or that all the thoughts and conceptions of the mind are nothing more nor less than various modifications of the original impressions of things on a being endued with sensation or simple perception4 ,this system considers ideas merely as they are caused by external objects1 acting on the organs of sense1 and tries to account for them on that hypothesis solely4 ,it is upon this principle of excluding the understanding as a distinct faculty or power from all share in its own operations1 that the whole of ,hobbes's reasoning proceeds4 ,let us see what he makes of it4 ,the first part of the #8,leviathan1' entitled #8,of ,man1' begins in this manner3 ,,chapter ,i4--,,of ,,sense4--#8,concerning the thoughts of man1 ,i will consider them1 first singly1 and afterwards in train1 or dependence upon one another4 ,singly1 they are every one a representation or appearance of some quality or other accident of a body without us2 which is commonly called an object3 ,which object worketh on the eyes1 ears1 and other parts of man's body2 and by diversity of working1 produceth diversity of appearances4 #8,the ,original of them all is that which we call ,,sense3 ,for there is no conception in a man's mind which hath not at first1 totally or by parts1 been begotten upon the organs of sense4 ,the rest are derived from that original4 #8,the cause of sense is the external body or object which presseth the organ proper to each sense1 either immediately as in the taste and touch1 or mediately as in seeing1 hearing1 and smelling3 which pressure by the mediation of nerves1 and other strings and membranes of the body1 continued inwards to the ,brain and ,heart1 causeth there a resistance or counter-pressure1 or endeavour of the heart to deliver itself3 which endeavour1 because outward1 seemeth to be some matter without4 ,and this seeming or fancy is that which men call sense3 and consisteth to the eye1 in a light or colour figured2 to the ear1 in a sound2 to the nostril1 in an odour2 to the tongue and palate1 in a savour1 and to the rest of the body in heat1 cold1 hardness1 softness1 and such other qualities1 as we discern by feeling4 ,all which qualities called sensible are in the object that causeth them but so many several motions of the matter by which it presseth our organs diversely4 ,neither in us that are pressed are they any thing else but divers motions2 for motion produceth nothing but motion4 ,but their appearance to us is fancy1 the same waking as dreaming4 ,and as pressing1 rubbing1 or striking the eye maketh us fancy a light1 and pressing the ear produceth a din1 so do the bodies also we see or hear produce the same by their strong1 though unobserved action4 ,for if those colours and sounds were in the bodies or objects that cause them1 they could not be severed from them1 as by glasses and in echoes by reflection we see they are3 where we know the thing we see is in one place1 the appearance in another1 and though at some certain distance1 the real and very object seems invested with the fancy it begets in us2 yet still the object is one thing1 the image or fancy is another4 ,so that sense in all cases is nothing else but original fancy2 caused1 as ,i have said1 by the pressure1 that is1 by the motion of external things upon our eyes1 ears1 and other organs thereunto ordained4 #8,but the ,philosophy-schools1 through all the universities of ,christendom1 grounded upon certain texts of ,aristotle1 teach another doctrine2 and say1 ,for the cause of vision1 that the thing seen sendeth forth on every side a visible species1 7in ,english7 a visible show1 apparition1 aspect1 or being seen2 the receiving whereof into the eye1 is seeing4 ,and for the cause of hearing1 that the thing heard sendeth forth an audible species1 that is1 an audible aspect1 or audible being seen2 which entering at the ear1 maketh hearing4 ,nay1 for the cause of understanding also1 they say the thing understood sendeth forth an intelligible species1 that is an intelligible being seen2 which coming into the understanding1 makes us understand4 ,i say not this as disapproving the use of universities3 but because ,i am to speak hereafter of their office in a commonwealth1 ,i must let you see on all occasions by the way1 what things would be amended in them2 amongst which the frequency of insignificant speech is one4'--,leviathan1 p4 #d4 ,thus far our author4 ,it is evident that in this account he has laid the foundation of ,berkeley's ideal system1 though he does not seem any where to have gone the whole length of that doctrine4 ,he has entered more at large into this point in the #8,discourse of ,human ,nature1' published in #afdj1 ten years before the #8,leviathan'2 and as the subject is curious1 and treated in a very decisive way1 ,i will quote the concluding passage1 which is a recapitulation of the rest4 #8,as colour is not inherent in the object1 but an effect thereof upon us1 caused by such motion in the object as hath been described2 so neither is sound in the thing we hear1 but in ourselves4 ,one manifest sign thereof is1 that as a man may see1 so also he may hear double or treble1 by multiplication of echoes1 which echoes are sounds as well as the original1 and not being in one and the same place1 cannot be inherent in the body that maketh them4 ,and to proceed to the rest of the senses1 it is apparent enough that the smell and taste of the same thing are not the same to every man1 and therefore are not in the thing smelt or tasted1 but in the men4 ,so likewise the heat we feel from the fire is manifestly in us1 and is quite different from the heat which is in the fire3 for our heat is pleasure or pain1 according as it is great or moderate2 but in the coal there is no such thing4 ,by this the fourth and last proposition is proved2 viz4 ,that as in vision1 so also in conceptions that arise from other senses1 the subject of their inherence is not in the object1 but in the sentient4 ,and from hence also it followeth that whatsoever accidents or qualities our senses make us think there be in the world1 they be not there1 but are seeming and apparitions only3 the things that really are in the world without us1 are those motions by which these seemings are caused4 ,and this is the great deception of sense1 which also is to be by sense corrected3 for as sense telleth me1 when ,i see directly1 that the colour seemeth to be in the object2 so also sense telleth me when ,i see by reflection1 that colour is not in the object4'--,human ,nature1 chap4 ii4 p4 #i4 ,the second chapter of the #8,leviathan' contains an account of the manner in which our ideas are generated1 and is as follows3 #8,that when a thing lies still1 unless somewhat else stir it1 it will lie still for ever1 is a truth that no man doubts of4 ,but that when a thing is in motion1 it will eternally be in motion1 unless somewhat else stay it1 though the reason be the same 7namely1 that nothing can change itself7 is not so easily assented to4 ,for men measure not only other men1 but all other things by themselves2 and because they find themselves subject after motion to pain and lassitude1 think every thing else grows weary of motion1 and seeks repose of its own accord2 little considering whether it be not some other motion wherein that desire of rest they find in themselves consisteth4 ,from hence it is1 that the ,schools say1 heavy bodies fall downward out of an appetite to rest1 and to conserve their nature in that place which is most proper for them3 ascribing appetite and knowledge of what is good for their conservation 7which is more than man has7 to things inanimate1 absurdly4 #8,when a body is once in motion1 it moveth 7unless something else hinder it7 eternally3 and whatsoever hindereth it1 cannot in an instant1 but in time and by degrees quite extinguish it4 ,and as we see in the water1 though the wind cease1 the waves give not over rolling for a long time after2 so also it happeneth in that motion which is made in the internal parts of a man then1 when he sees1 hears1 c4 ,for after the object is removed or the eye shut1 we still retain an image of the thing seen1 though more obscure than when we see it4 ,and this is it the ,latins call imagination1 from the image made in seeing2 and apply the same1 though improperly1 to all the other senses4 ,but the ,greeks call it fancy2 which signifies appearance1 and is as proper to one sense1 as to another4 ,imagination is therefore nothing but decaying sense2 and is found in man and many other living creatures1 as well sleeping as waking4 #8,the decay of sense in men waking is an obscuring of it in such manner as the light of the sun obscureth the light of the stars1 which stars do no less exercise their virtue by which they are visible in the day than in the night4 ,but because amongst many strokes1 which our eyes1 ears1 and other organs receive from external bodies1 the predominant only is sensible1 therefore the light of the sun being predominant1 we are not affected with the action of the stars4 ,and any object being removed from our eyes1 though the impression it made in us remain2 yet other objects more present succeeding1 and working on us1 the imagination of the past is obscured1 and made weak2 as the voice of a man is in the noise of the day4 ,from whence it follows1 that the longer the time is1 after the sight or sense of any objects the weaker is the imagination4 ,for the continual change of man's body destroys in time the parts which in sense were moved3 so that distance of time and of place hath one and the same effect in us4 ,for as at a great distance of place1 that which we look at appears dim1 and without distinction of the smaller parts1 and as voices grow weak and inarticulate1 so also after great distance of time1 our imagination of the past is weak2 and we lose 7for example7 of cities we have seen many particular streets1 and of actions1 many particular circumstances4 ,this decaying sense1 when we would express the thing itself 7,i mean fancy itself7 we call ,imagination1 as ,i said before3 but when we would express the decay1 and signify that the sense is fading1 old and past1 it is called ,memory4 ,so that imagination and memory are but one thing which for divers considerations hath divers names4 ,much memory or memory of many things is called ,experience4 #8,again1 imagination being only of those things which have been formerly perceived by sense1 either all at once1 or by parts at several times1 the former 7which is the imagining the whole object as it was presented to the sense7 is simple imagination2 as when one imagineth a man or horse which he hath seen before4 ,the other is compounded1 as when from the sight of a man at one time1 and of a horse at another1 we conceive in our mind a centaur4 ,so when a man compoundeth the image of his own person with the image of the actions of another man2 as when a man conceives himself a ,hercules or an ,alexander 7which happeneth often to them which are much taken with the reading of ,romaunts7 it is a compound imagination1 and properly but a fiction of the mind4 #8,there be also other imaginations that rise in man1 7though waking7 from the great impression made in sense3 as from gazing upon the sun1 the impression leaves an image of the sun before our eyes a long time after2 and from being long and vehemently attent upon geometrical figures1 a man shall in the dark 7though awake7 have the image of lines and angles before his eyes3 which kind of fancy hath no particular name2 as being a thing that doth not commonly fall into men's discourse4 #8,the imaginations of them that sleep are those we call dreams3 and these also 7as all other imaginations7 have been before1 either totally or by parcels in the sense1 and because the brain and nerves1 which are the necessary organs of sense1 are so benumbed in sleep1 as not easily to be moved by the action of external objects1 there can happen in sleep no imagination2 and therefore no dream but what proceeds from the agitation of the inward parts of man's body2 which inward parts1 for the connexion they have with the brain and other organs1 when they be distempered1 do keep the same in motion2 whereby the imaginations there formerly made1 appear as if a man were waking2 saving that the organs of sense being now benumbed1 so as there is no new object1 which can master and obscure them with a more vigorous impression1 a dream must needs be more clear in this silence of sense1 than are our waking thoughts4 ,and hence it cometh to pass1 that it is a hard matter1 and by many thought impossible1 to distinguish exactly between sense and dreaming4 ,for my part1 when ,i consider that in dreams ,i do not often1 nor constantly think of the same persons1 places1 subjects1 and actions that ,i do waking2 nor remember so long a train of coherent thoughts dreaming1 as at other times2 and because waking ,i often observe the absurdity of dreams1 but never dream of the absurdities of my waking thoughts1--,i am well satisfied1 that being awake1 ,i know ,i dream not2 though when ,i dream1 ,i think myself awake4'--,leviathan1 pp4 #d1 #e1 #f4 ,the concluding paragraph of this ,chapter is remarkable4 #8,the imagination that is raised in man 7or any other creature endued with the faculty of imagining7 by words or other voluntary signs1 is that we generally call ,understanding3 and is common to man and beast4 ,for a dog by custom will understand the call or rating of his master1 and so will many other beasts4 ,that understanding which is peculiar to man1 is the understanding not only his will1 but his conceptions and thoughts1 by the sequel and contexture of the names of things into affirmations1 negations1 and other forms of speech2 and of this kind of understanding ,i shall speak hereafter4'--,page #h4 ,as in the first two chapters ,mr4 ,hobbes endeavours to show that all our thoughts1 considered singly or in themselves1 have their origin in sensation1 so in the next chapter1 he resolves all their combinations or connexions one with another into the principle of association1 or the coexistence of their sensible impressions4 #8,by consequence or train of thoughts1' he says1 #8,i understand that succession of one thought to another1 which is called 7to distinguish it from discourse in words7 mental discourse4' #8,when a man thinketh on any thing whatsoever1 his next thought after it is not altogether so casual as it seems to be4 ,not every thought to every thought succeeds indifferently4 ,but as we have no imagination1 whereof we have not formerly had sense in whole or in parts2 so we have no transition from one imagination to another1 whereof we never had the like before in our senses4 ,the reason whereof is this4 ,all fancies are motions within us1 reliques of those made in sense3 and those motions that succeeded one another in the sense1 continue also together after sense3 insomuch as the former coming again to take place1 and be predominant1 the latter followeth1 by coherence of the matter moved1 in such manner1 as water upon a plane table is drawn which way any one part of it is guided by the finger4 ,but because in sense to one and the same thing perceived1 sometimes one thing1 sometimes another succeedeth1 it comes to pass in time1 that in the imagining of any thing1 there is no certainty what we shall imagine next4 ,only this is certain1 it shall be something that succeeded the same before1 at one time or another4'--,page #i4 ,the comprehension and precision with which the law of association is here unfolded as the key to every movement of the mind1 and as regulating every wandering thought1 cannot be too much admired2 it is enough to say that ,hartley1 who certainly understood more of the power of association than any other man1 has added nothing to this short passage1 as far as relates to the succession of ideas4 ,he has indeed extended its application in unravelling the fine web of our affections and feelings1 by showing how one idea transfers the feeling of pleasure or pain to others associated with it1 which is not here noticed4 ,whether this principle really has all the extent and efficacy ascribed to it by either of these writers will be made the subject of a future inquiry4 ,how well our author understood the question1 and how much it had assumed a consistent and systematic form in his mind will appear from the instances he brings in illustration of this intricate and at the time almost unthought-of subject4 #8,the train of thoughts or mental discourse is of two sorts4 ,the first is unguided1 without design and inconstant2 wherein there is no passionate thought to govern and direct those that follow to itself as the end and scope of some desire or other passion2 in which case the thoughts are said to wander and seem impertinent one to another as in a dream4 ,such are commonly the thoughts of men1 that are not only without company1 but also without care of any thing3 though even then their thoughts are as busy as at other times1 but without harmony1 as the sound which a lute out of tune would yield to any man1 or in tune to one that could not play4 ,and yet in this wild ranging of the mind1 a man may ofttimes perceive the way of it1 and the dependence of one thought upon another4 ,for in a discourse of our present civil war1 what could seem more impertinent than to ask 7as one did7 what was the value of a ,roman penny8 ,yet the coherence to me was manifest enough4 ,for the thoughts of the war introduced the thought of the delivering up the king to his enemies2 the thought of that brought in the thought of the delivering up of ,christ2 and that again the thought of the thirty pence1 which was the price of that treason3 and thence easily followed that malicious question2 and all this in a moment of time2 for thought is quick4 #8,the second' that is the second sort of association #8is more constant1 as being regulated by some desire1 and design4 ,for the impression made by such things as we desire or fear1 is strong and permanent1 or1 if it cease for a time1 of quick return2 so strong it is sometimes as to hinder and break our sleep4 ,from desire ariseth the thought of some means we have seen produce the like of what we aim at3 and from the thought of that1 the thought of means to that mean1 and so continually till we come to some beginning within our own power4' ,he adds1--#8,this train of regulated thoughts is of two kinds3 one1 when of an effect imagined1 we seek the causes or means that produce it2 and this is common to man and beast4 ,the other is when imagining anything whatsoever1 we seek all the possible effects that can by it be produced3 that is to say1 we imagine what we can do with it when we have it4 ,of which ,i have not at any time seen any sign but in man only2 for this is a curiosity hardly incident to the nature of any living creature that has no other passion but sensual1 such as are hunger1 thirst1 lust1 and anger4 ,in sum1 the discourse of the mind when it is governed by design1 is nothing but seeking or the faculty of invention1 which the ,latins call sagacitas and solertia1 a finding out of the causes of some effect1 present or past2 or of the effects of some present or past cause4 ,sometimes a man desires to know the event of an action2 and then he thinketh of some like action past1 and the events thereof one after another2 supposing like events will follow like actions4 ,as he that foresees what will become of a criminal1 re-cons what he has seen follow on the like crime before2 having this order of thoughts1 the crime1 the officer1 the prison1 the judge1 and the gallows1 which kind of thoughts is called foresight1 and prudence or providence2 and sometimes wisdom2 though such conjecture1 through the difficulty of observing all circumstances1 be very fallacious4 ,but this is certain2 by how much one man has more experience of things past than another2 by so much also he is more prudent2 and his expectations the seldomer fail him4 ,the present only has a being in nature2 things past have a being in the memory only1 but things to come have no being at all2 the future being but a fiction of the mind1 applying the sequels of actions past to the actions that are present2 which with most certainty is done by him that has most experience2 but not with certainty enough1 and though it be called prudence when the event answereth our expectation1 yet in its own nature it is but presumption2 for the foresight of things to come1 which is providence1 belongs only to him by whose will they are to come3 from him only1 and supernaturally1 proceeds prophecy4 ,the best prophet naturally is the best guesser2 and the best guesser1 he that is most versed and studied in the matters he guesses at2 for he hath most signs to guess by4'--,page #aj4 ,after this account he immediately adds1-- #8,there is no other act of man's mind that ,i can remember1 naturally planted in him1 so as to need no other thing to the exercise of it but to be born a man1 and live with the use of his five senses4 ,those other faculties1 of which ,i shall speak by and by1 and which seem proper to man only1 are acquired1 and increased by study and industry2 and of most men learned by instruction and discipline2 and proceed all from the invention of words and speech3 for besides sense and thoughts1 and the train of thoughts1 the mind of man has no other motion1 though by the help of speech and method1 the same faculties may be improved to such a height1 as to distinguish men from all other living creatures4'--,page #aa4 ,the conclusion of this chapter in which the author treats of the limits of the imagination is too important1 and has laid the foundation of too many speculations1 to be passed over4 #8,whatsoever we imagine is finite4 ,therefore there is no idea1 or conception of any thing we call infinite4 ,no man can have in his mind an image of infinite magnitude2 nor conceive infinite swiftness1 infinite time1 or infinite force1 or infinite power4 ,when we say any thing is infinite1 we signify only that we are not able to conceive the ends and bounds of the thing named2 having no conception of the thing1 but of our own inability3 and therefore the name of ,god is used1 not to make us conceive him 7for he is incomprehensible and his greatness and power are inconceivable7 but that we may honour him4 ,and because whatsoever we conceive has been perceived first by sense1 either all at once1 or by parts1 a man can have no thought1 representing any thing1 not subject to sense4 ,no man1 therefore1 can conceive any thing1 but he must conceive it in some place1 and indued with some determinate magnitude1 and which may be divided into parts2 not that any thing is all in this place1 and all in another place at the same time2 nor that two or more things can be in one and the same place at once3 for none of these things ever have1 nor can be incident to sense2 but are absurd speeches1 taken upon credit 7without any signification at all71 from deceived philosophers1 and deceived1 or deceiving schoolmen4'--,page #aa4 ,by the extracts which ,i shall next borrow from his account of language and reasoning1 it will appear that our author not only threw out the first hints of the modern system1 which reduces all reasoning and understanding to the mechanism of language1 but that by a very high kind of abstraction1 he carried it to perfection at once4 ,the whole race of plodding commentators1 or dashing paradox-mongers since his time have not advanced a step beyond him4 ,i shall give this part somewhat at large1 both because the question is intricate in itself1 and as it will serve as a specimen of his general mode of writing1 in which dry sarcasm1 keen observation1 extensive thought1 and the most rigid logic conveyed in a concise and masterly style1 are all brought to bear upon the same object4 #8,the invention of printing1' he says1 #8though ingenious1 compared with the invention of letters is no great matter4 ,but who was the first that found the use of letters1 is not known4 ,he that first brought them into ,greece1 men say1 was ,cadmus1 the son of ,agenor1 ,king of ,phnicia4 ,a profitable invention for continuing the memory of time past1 and the conjunction of mankind1 dispersed into so many and distant regions of the earth2 and withal difficult1 as proceeding from a watchful observation of the divers motions of the tongue1 palate1 lips1 and other organs of speech1 whereby to make as many differences of characters to remember them2 but the most noble and profitable invention of all other1 was that of speech1 consisting of names or appellations1 and their connections2 whereby men register their thoughts1 recall them when they are past1 and also declare them one to another for mutual utility and conversation2 without which there had been amongst men1 neither commonwealth1 nor society1 nor contract1 nor peace1 no more than amongst lions1 bears1 and wolves4 ,the first author of speech was ,god himself1 that instructed ,adam how to name such creatures as he presented to his sight2 for the scripture goeth no farther in this matter4 ,but this was sufficient to direct him to add more names1 as the experience and use of the creatures should give him occasion2 and to join them in such manner by degrees1 as to make himself understood1 and so by succession of time1 so much language might be gotten1 as he had found use for2 though not so copious as an orator or philosopher has need of3 for ,i do not find any thing in the scripture1 out of which1 directly or by consequence can be gathered1 that ,adam was taught the names of all figures1 numbers1 measures1 colours1 sounds1 fancies1 relations2 much less the names of words and speech1 as1 general1 special1 affirmative1 negative1 interrogative1 optative1 infinitive1 all which are useful2 and least of all1 of entity1 intentionality1 quiddity1 and other insignificant words of the school4 #8,the manner how speech serveth to the remembrance of the consequence of causes and effects1 consisteth in the imposing of names1 and the connexion of them4 ,of names1 some are proper1 and singular to one only thing2 as ,peter1 ,john1 this man1 this tree3 and some are common to many things2 man1 horse1 tree2 every of which though but one name1 is nevertheless the name of divers particular things2 in respect of all which together1 it is called an universal2 there being nothing in the world universal but names2 for the things named are every one of them individual and singular4 ,one universal name is imposed on many things for their similitude in some quality1 or other accident3 and whereas a proper name bringeth to mind one thing only1 universals recall any one of those many4 ,by this imposition of names1 some of larger1 some of stricter signification1 we turn the reckoning of the consequences of things imagined in the mind1 into a reckoning of the consequences of appellations4 ,for example3 a man that hath no use of speech at all1 that is born and remains perfectly deaf and dumb1 if he set before his eyes a triangle1 and by it two right angles 7such as are the corners of a square figure17 he may by meditation compare and find1 that the three angles of that triangle are equal to those two right angles that stand by it3 but if another triangle be shown him different in shape from the former1 he cannot know without a new labour1 whether the three angles of that also be equal to the same4 ,but he that hath the use of words1 when he observes that such equality was consequent1 not to the length of the sides1 nor to any other particular thing in his triangle but only to this1 that the sides were straight1 and the angles three and that that was all for which he named it a triangle1 will boldly conclude universally that such equality of angles is in all triangles whatsoever1 and register his invention in these general terms3 every triangle hath its three angles equal to two right angles4 ,and thus the consequence found in one particular1 comes to be registered and remembered as an universal rule2 discharges our mental reckoning of time and place2 delivers us from all labour of the mind1 saving the first1 and makes that which was found true here1 and now1 to be true in all times and places4 ,but the use of words in registering our thoughts1 is in nothing so evident as in numbering4 ,a natural fool that could never learn by heart the order of numeral words1 as one1 two1 and three1 may observe every stroke of the clock1 and nod to it1 or say one1 one2 but can never know what hour it strikes4 ,and it seems1 there was a time when those names of number were not in use1 and men were fain to apply their fingers of one or both hands to those things they desired to keep account of2 and that thence it proceeds1 that now our numeral words are but ten1 in any nation1 and in some but five1 and then they begin again4 ,and he that can tell ten1 if he recite them out of order1 will lose himself1 and not know when he hath done3 much less will he be able to add1 and subtract1 and perform all other operations of arithmetic4 ,so that without words there is no possibility of reckoning of numbers2 much less of magnitudes1 of swiftness1 of force1 and other things1 the reckoning whereof is necessary to the being1 or well-being of mankind4'--,leviathan1 chap4 iv41 pp4 #ab1 #ad4 ,the same train of reasoning occurs in the #8,discourse of ,human ,nature1' with some variation in the expression4 #8,by the advantage of names it is that we are capable of science1 which beasts for want of them are not2 nor man1 without the use of them2 for as a beast misseth not one or two out of her many young ones1 for want of those names of order1 one1 two1 and three1 and which we call number2 so neither would a man without repeating orally or mentally those words of number1 know how many pieces of money or other things lie before him4 ,seeing there be many conceptions of one and the same thing1 and that for every conception we give it a several name1 it followeth that for one and the same thing1 we have many names or attributes2 as to the same man we give the appellations of just1 valiant1 strong1 comely1 c4 ,and again1 because from divers things we receive like conceptions1 many things must needs have the same appellations3 as to all things we see we give the name of visible4 ,those names we give to many1 are called universal to them all3 as the name of man to every particular of mankind4 ,such appellations as we give to one only thing1 we call individual1 or singular2 as ,socrates and other proper names1 or by circumlocution1 ,he that writ the ,iliads1 for ,homer4 #8,the universality of one name to many things hath been the cause that men think the things are themselves universal3 and so seriously contend that besides ,peter and ,john1 and all the rest of the men that are1 have been1 or shall be in the world1 there is yet something else that we call man1 viz4 ,man in general1 deceiving themselves by taking the universal or general appellation for the thing it signifieth4 ,for if one should desire the painter to make him the picture of a man1 which is as much as to say of a man in general1 he meaneth no more but that the painter should choose what man he pleaseth to draw1 which must needs be some of them that are or have been or may be1 none of which are universal4 ,but when he would have him to draw the king or any particular person1 he limiteth the painter to that one person he chooseth4 ,it is plain therefore there is nothing universal but names1 which are therefore called indefinite1 because we limit them not ourselves1 but leave them to be applied by the hearer3 whereas a singular name is limited and restrained to one of the many things it signifieth1 as when we say1 ,this man1 pointing to him1 or giving him his proper name1 or in some such way4'--,human ,nature1 chap4 v4 pp4 #be1 #bf4 ,we shall have occasion to see1 in the course of this inquiry1 how exactly ,berkeley's account of the process of abstraction1 in contradiction to ,locke's opinion1 corresponds in every particular with this passage of our author4 ,to return to his account of truth1 reason1 c4 #8,when two names are joined together into a consequence or affirmation1 by the help of this little verb1 is1 as thus3 a man is a living creature2 if the latter name1 living creature1 signify all that the former name1 man1 signifieth1 then the affirmation or consequence is true2 otherwise false4 ,for ,true and ,false are attributes of speech1 not of things4 ,and where speech is not1 there is neither truth nor falsehood4 ,error there may be1 as when we expect that which shall not be1 or suspect what has not been3 but in neither case can a man be charged with untruth4 #8,seeing1 then1 that truth consisteth in the right ordering of names in our affirmations1 a man that seeketh precise truth had need to remember what every name he uses stands for1 and to place it accordingly3 or else he will find himself entangled in words1 as a bird in lime-twigs4 ,and therefore in ,geometry 7which is the only science that it has pleased ,god hitherto to bestow on mankind7 men begin at settling the significations of their words1 which settling of significations they call definitions1 and place them in the beginning of their reckoning4 ,by this it appears how necessary it is for any man that aspires to true knowledge to examine the definitions of former authors1 and either to correct them when they are negligently set down1 or to make them himself4 ,for the errors of definition multiply themselves according as the reckoning proceeds2 and lead men into absurdities which they at last see1 but cannot avoid without reckoning anew from the beginning4 ,from whence it happens that they which trust to books do as they that cast up many little sums into a greater1 without considering whether those little sums were rightly cast up or not1 and at last finding the error visible1 and not mistrusting their first grounds1 know not which way to clear themselves1 but spend time in fluttering over their books1 as birds that entering by the chimney1 and finding themselves enclosed in a chamber1 flutter at the false light of a glass window1 for want of wit to consider which way they came in4 ,so that in the right definition of names1 lies the first use of speech1 which is the acquisition of science1 and in wrong or no definitions lies the first abuse1 from which proceed all false and senseless tenets2 which make them that take their instruction from the authority of books and not from their own meditations1 to be as much below the condition of ignorant men1 as men endued with true science are above it4 ,for between true science and erroneous doctrines1 ignorance is in the middle4 ,natural sense and imagination are not subject to absurdity4 ,nature itself cannot err2 and as men abound in copiousness of language1 so they become more wise or more mad than ordinary4 ,nor is it possible without letters for any man to become either excellently wise or 7unless his memory be hurt by disease or ill constitution of organs7 excellently foolish4 ,for words are wise men's counters1 they do but reckon by them3 but they are the money of fools1 that value them by the authority of an ,aristotle1 a ,cicero1 a ,thomas ,aquinas1 or any other doctor whatsoever4 #8,subject to names is whatsoever can enter into1 or be considered in an account1 and be added one thing to another to make a sum1 or subtracted one from another and leave a remainder4 ,the ,latins called accounts of money rationes1 and accounting1 ratiocinatio1 and that which we in bills or books of accounts call items1 they call nomina1 or names2 and thence it seems to proceed that they extended the word ratio to the faculty of reckoning in all other things4 ,the ,greeks have but one word1 for both speech and reason1 not that they thought there was no speech without reason1 but no reason without speech3 and the act of reasoning they call syllogism1 which signifieth summing up 7or putting together7 the consequences of one saying to another4 ,for reason is nothing but reckoning 7that is1 adding and subtracting7 of the consequences of general names agreed upon for the marking and signifying of our thoughts2 ,i say marking them1 when we reckon by ourselves1 and signifying them1 when we demonstrate or approve our reckonings to other men4 #8,and as in arithmetic1 unpractised men must1 and professors themselves may1 often err1 and cast up false1 so also in any other subject of reasoning1 the ablest1 most attentive1 and most practised men may deceive themselves1 and infer false conclusions3 not but that reason itself is always right reason1 as well as arithmetic is a certain and infallible art4 ,but no one man's reason1 nor the reason of any number of men makes the certainty3 no more than an account is therefore well cast up1 because a great many men have unanimously approved it4 ,and1 therefore1 as when there is a controversy in an account1 the parties must by their own accord set up for right reason the reason of some arbitrator or judge1 so it is in all debates of what kind soever3 and when men that think themselves wiser than all others1 clamour and demand right reason for judge1 yet seek no more but that things should be determined by no other men's reason but their own1 it is as intolerable in the society of men as it is in play1 after trump is turned1 to use for trump on every occasion that suit whereof they have most in their hand4 ,for they do nothing else that will have every of their passions1 as it comes to bear sway in them1 to be taken for right reason1 and that in their own controversies1 betraying their want of right reason by the claim they lay to it4 #8,when a man reckons without the use of words1 which may be done in particular things 7as when upon the sight of any one thing1 we conjecture what was likely to have preceded1 or is likely to follow upon it71 if that which he thought likely to have preceded it1 hath not preceded it1 this is called error1 to which even the most prudent men are subject4 ,but when we reason in words of general signification1 and fall upon a general inference which is false1 though it be commonly called error1 it is indeed an absurdity or senseless speech4 ,for error is but a deception in presuming that somewhat is past1 or to come1 of which1 though it were not past1 or not to come1 yet there was no impossibility discoverable4 ,but when we make a general assertion1 unless it be a true one1 the possibility of it is inconceivable4 ,and words whereby we conceive nothing but the sound1 are those we call absurd1 insignificant1 and nonsense4 ,and1 therefore1 if a man should talk to me of a round quadrangle1 or accidents of bread in cheese1 or immaterial substances1 or of a free subject1 a free-will1 or any free but free from being hindered by opposition2 ,i should not say he were in an error1 but that his words were without meaning1 that is to say1 absurd4'--,chap4 iv4 v41 pp4 #ae1 #ah1 c4 ,the account of the passions and affections which follows next in order1 is the same in almost every particular as that which is given in modern treatises on this subject1 except that ,mr4 ,hobbes seems to make curiosity or the desire of knowledge1 an original passion of the mind1 peculiar to man4 ,from this part ,i shall only quote two passages1 and then proceed to his treatise on the #8,doctrine of ,necessity1' which will conclude my account of this author4 ,the first passage is the one from which ,locke has copied his famous definition of the difference between wit and judgment4 ,after observing 7,chap4 viii47 that the difference of men's talents does not depend on natural capacity1 which1 he says1 is nothing else but sense1 wherein men differ so little from one another1 or from brutes1 that it is not worth the reckoning1 he goes on3 #8,this difference of quickness in imagining is caused by the difference of men's passions1 that love and dislike1 some one thing1 some another1 and therefore some men's thoughts run one way1 some another1 and are held to and observe differently the things that pass through their imagination4 ,and whereas in this succession of thoughts there is nothing to observe in the things they think on1 but either in what they be like one another or in what they be unlike--those that observe their similitudes1 in case they be such as are but rarely observed by others1 are said to have a good wit1 by which is meant on this occasion a good fancy4 ,but they that observe their differences and dissimilitudes1 which is called distinguishing and discerning and judging between thing and thing1 in case such discerning be not easy1 are said to have a good judgment2 and particularly1 in matter of conversation and business1 wherein times1 places1 and persons are to be discerned1 this virtue is called discretion4 ,the former1 that is1 fancy1 without the help of judgment1 is not commended for a virtue1 but the latter which is judgment or discretion1 is commended for itself1 without the help of fancy4' p4 #cb4 ,this definition1 which ,locke took entire from our author without acknowledgment1 and which has been so often referred to1 is evidently false1 for as ,harris1 the author of #8,hermes1' has very well observed1 the finding out the equality of the three angles of a triangle to two right ones would upon the principle here stated1 be a piece of wit instead of an act of the understanding or judgment1 and #8,euclid's ,elements' a collection of epigrams4#e ,the other passage which ,i proposed to quote chiefly as an instance of our author's power of imagination1 is as follows4 ,in speaking of the degree of madness1 as in fanatics and others1 he says3 #8,though the effect of folly in them that are possessed of an opinion of being inspired be not always visible in one man1 by any very extravagant action that proceedeth from such passion1 yet when many of them conspire together1 the rage of the whole multitude is visible enough4 ,for what greater argument of madness can there be than to clamour1 strike1 and throw stones at our best friends8 ,yet this is somewhat less than such a multitude will do4 ,for they will clamour1 fight against1 and destroy those1 by whom1 all their lifetime before1 they have been protected and secured from injury4 ,and if this be madness in the multitude1 it is the same in every particular man4 ,for as in the midst of the sea1 though a man perceive no sound of that part of the water next him1 yet he is well assured that part contributes as much to the roaring of the sea as any other part of the same quantity1 so also though we perceive no great unquietness in one or two men1 yet we may be well assured that their singular passions are parts of the seditious roaring of a troubled nation4' ,even ,mr4 ,burke did not disdain to borrow one of ,hobbes's images4 ,the author of the #8,leviathan' compares those who attempt to reform a decayed commonwealth to #8the foolish daughters of ,pelias who desiring to renew the youth of their decrepit father did by the counsel of ,medea cut him in pieces and boil him1 together with strange herbs1 but made not of him a new man4' ,i think this is better expressed than the same allusion in ,burke1 which is ,i dare say well known to my readers4 ,i shall not here enter into the doctrine of ,liberty and ,necessity1 which ,hobbes has stated with great force and precision as a general question of cause and effect1 and without any particular reference to his mechanical theory of the mind1 as ,i shall fully investigate this subject in my next ,essay4 ,i have thus taken a review of the metaphysical writings of ,hobbes1 as far as was necessary to establish what ,i at first proposed1 namely1 the general conformity1 and almost entire coincidence between his opinions1 and the principles of the modern system of philosophy4 ,the praise of originality at least1 of boldness and vigour of mind1 belongs to him4 ,the strength of reason which his application of a general principle to explain almost all the phenomena of human nature implies1 can hardly be surpassed4 ,the truth of the system is another question1 which ,i shall hereafter proceed to consider4 ,i will first1 however1 distinctly enumerate the leading principles of his philosophy1 as they are to be found in ,hobbes1 and in the latest writers of the same ,school4 ,they are1 ,i conceive1 as follows3 #a4 ,that all our ideas are derived from external objects1 by means of the senses alone4 #b4 ,that as nothing exists out of the mind but matter and motion1 so it is itself with all its operations nothing but matter and motion4 #c4 ,that thoughts are single1 or that we can think of only one object at a time4 ,in other words1 that there is no comprehensive power or faculty of understanding in the mind4 #d4 ,that we have no general or abstract ideas4 #e4 ,that the only principle of connexion between one thought and another is association1 or their previous connexion in sense4 #f4 ,that reason and understanding depend entirely on the mechanism of language4 #g and #h4 ,that the sense of pleasure and pain is the sole spring of action1 and self-interest the source of all our affections4 #i4 ,that the mind acts from a mechanical or physical necessity1 over which it has no controul1 and consequently is not a moral or accountable agent4--,the manner of stating and reasoning upon this point is the only circumstance of importance in which modern writers differ from ,hobbes4 #aj4 ,that there is no difference in the natural capacities of men1 the mind being originally passive to all impressions alike1 and becoming whatever it is from circumstances4 ,all of these positions it is my intention to oppose to the utmost of my ability4 ,except the first1 they are most or all of them either denied or doubtfully admitted by ,locke4 ,and as it is his admission of the first principle which has opened a door1 directly or indirectly1 to all the rest1 ,i shall devote the ,essay next but one to an examination of the account which he gives of the origin of our ideas from sensation4 ,it may perhaps be thought1 that the neglect into which ,hobbes's metaphysical opinions have fallen was originally owing to the obloquy excited by the misanthropy and despotical tendency of his political writings4 ,but it seems to me that he has been almost as hardly dealt with in the one case as in the other4 ,as to his principles of government1 this may at least be said for them1 that they are in form and appearance very much the same with those detailed long after in ,rousseau's #8,social ,contract1' and evidently suggested the plan of that work1 which has never been considered as a defence of tyranny4 ,the author indeed requires an absolute submission in the subject to the laws1 but then it is to be in consequence of his own consent to obey them4 ,every man is at least supposed to be his own lawgiver4 ,secondly1 as to the misanthropy with which he is charged1 for having made fear the actual foundation and cement of civil society1 he has ,i think made his own apology very satisfactorily in these words3 #8,it may seem strange to some man that hath not well weighed these things1 that nature should thus dissociate and render men apt to invade and destroy one another2 and he may therefore1 not trusting to the inference made from the passions1 desire perhaps to have the same confirmed by experience4 ,let him therefore consider with himself--when taking a journey he arms himself1 and seeks to go well accompanied2 when going to sleep he locks his doors2 when even in his house1 he locks his chests1 and this when he knows there be laws and public officers1 armed to revenge all injuries that shall be done him2--what opinion ,i say1 he has of his fellow subjects when he rides armed1 of his fellow citizens when he locks his doors1 and of his children and servants1 when he locks his chests4 ,does he not then accuse mankind as much by his actions as ,i do by my words8 ,yet neither of us accuse man's nature in it4'--,leviathan1 p4 #fb4 ,it is true the bond of civil government according to his account1 is very different from ,burke's #8soft collar of social esteem1' and takes away the sentimental part of politics4 ,but ,i confess ,i see nothing liberal in this #8order of thoughts1' as ,hobbes elsewhere expresses it1 #8the crime1 the officer1 the prison1 the judge and the gallows1' which is nevertheless a good description of the nature and end of political institutions4 ,the true reason of the fate which this author's writings met with was that his views of things were too original and comprehensive to be immediately understood1 without passing through the hands of several successive generations of commentators and interpreters4 ,ignorance of another's meaning is a sufficient cause of fear1 and fear produces hatred3 hence arose the rancour and suspicion of his adversaries1 who1 to quote some fine lines of ,spenser1 ----#8,stood all astonied like a sort of steers ',mongst whom some beast of strange and foreign race ,unwares is chanced1 far straying from his peers3 ,so did their ghastly gaze betray their hidden fears4' ,,on ,,liberty ,,and ,,necessity ,in this ,essay ,i shall give the best account ,i can of the question concerning liberty and necessity from the writings of others1 and afterwards add a few remarks of my own on the explanation of the terms employed in this controversy4 ,of ,mr4 ,hobbes's discourse on this subject1 ,i should be nearly disposed to say with ,gassendi1 when another work of his1 #8,de ,cive1' was presented to him1 #8,this treatise1 though small in bulk1 is in my judgment the very marrow of philosophy4' ,in order to give a clear and satisfactory view of the question1 ,i shall be obliged to repeat some things ,i have before stated1 for which the importance of the subject as well as other circumstances will1 ,i hope1 be a sufficient excuse4 ,the doctrine of necessity is stated by this author with great force and precision as a general question of cause and effect1 and with scarcely any particular reference to his mechanical theory of the mind4 ,from this naked simple view of the matter1 ,i cannot consistently with truth withhold my full and entire assent4 ,the ground-work1 the pure basis of the doctrine is in my opinion incontestable2 it cannot be denied without overturning all the rules of science1 as well as the plainest dictates of the understanding3 whoever attacks it there in its stronghold1 will only injure the cause he espouses4 ,it is that rock upon which whoever falls will be dashed to pieces4 ,but though ,i cannot pretend to undermine the foundation1 yet ,i may attempt to shake some parts of the superstructure1 and to clear away the crust of materialism which has grown over it4 ,in my opinion1 the representations which have commonly been given of the subject by the writers on both sides of the argument are almost equally erroneous1 and their opposite conclusions built on an equal misconception of the true principle of necessity4 ,by the principle of moral or philosophical necessity is meant then that the mind is invariably governed by certain laws which determine all its operations2 or in other words1 that the regular succession of cause and effect is not confined to mere matter1 while the impulses of the will are left quite unaccounted for1 self-caused1 perfectly contingent and fantastical4 ,we in general attribute those things to chance the causes of which we do not understand1 both in mind and matter4 ,but as there is a greater latitude and inconstancy in the one than in the other1 insomuch that we can hardly ever predict with certainty the effect of particular motives on the mind1 the opinion of chance1 arbitrary inclination1 or self-determination had gained much deeper root with respect to the operations of mind than to those of matter4 ,the fallacy of this opinion ,hobbes has exposed in a masterly1 and ,i think unanswerable manner1 and without running into those paradoxical conclusions from the first position which later necessarians have deduced from it4 ,he affirms that necessity is perfectly consistent with human liberty2 that is1 that the most strict and inviolable connexion of cause and effect does not prevent the full1 free1 and unrestrained development of certain powers in the agent1 or take away the distinction between the nature of virtue and vice1 praise and blame1 reward and punishment1 but is the foundation of all moral reasoning4 ,except ,dr4 ,jonathan ,edwards1 he is the only professed necessarian that ,i know of who has not been led1 by the customary use of language1 to quit the original definition of the term1 and to slide from a philosophical into a vulgar and practical necessity4 ,but ,i will state his reasoning in his own words1 which are the best4 ,they are as follows3 #8,my opinion about ,liberty and ,necessity4 #8,first1 ,i conceive that when it cometh into a man's mind to do or not to do some certain action1 if he have no time to deliberate1 the doing it or abstaining necessarily follows the present thought he hath of the good or evil consequences thereof to himself2 as1 for example1 in sudden anger the action shall follow the thought of revenge2 in sudden fear1 the thought of escape2 also when a man hath time to deliberate1 but deliberateth not1 because never any thing appeared that could him make doubt of the consequence1 the action follows his opinion of the goodness or harm of it4 ,these actions ,i call voluntary1 because these actions that follow immediately the last appetite are voluntary1 are here3 where is only one appetite that one is the last4 #8,secondly1 ,i conceive when a man deliberates whether he shall do a thing or not do it1 that he does nothing else but consider whether it be better for himself to do it or not to do it2 and to consider an action1 is to imagine the consequences of it both good and evil2 from whence is to be inferred1 that deliberation is nothing else but alternate imagination of the good and evil sequels of an action1 or 7which is the same thing7 alternate hope and fear1 or alternate appetite to do or quit the action of which he deliberateth4 #8,thirdly1 ,i conceive that in all deliberations1 that is to say1 in all alternate succession of contrary appetites1 the last is that which we call the will1 and is immediately next before the doing of the action1 or next before the doing of it become impossible4 ,all other appetites to do1 and to quit1 that come upon a man during his deliberations1 are called intentions1 and inclinations1 but not wills1 there being but one will1 which also in this case may be called the last will1 though the intentions change often4 #8,fourthly1 ,i conceive that those actions which a man is said to do upon deliberation1 are said to be voluntary1 and done upon choice and election1 so that voluntary action1 and action proceeding from election is the same thing2 and that of a voluntary agent1 it is all one to say1 he is free1 and to say1 he hath not made an end of deliberating4 #8,fifthly1 ,i conceive liberty to be rightly defined in this manner3 liberty is the absence of all the impediments to action that are not contained in the nature and intrinsical quality of the agent1 as for example1 the water is said to descend freely1 or to have liberty to descend by the channel of the river1 because there is no impediment that way1 but not across1 because the banks are impediments1 and though the water cannot ascend1 yet men never say it wants the liberty to ascend1 but the faculty or power1 because the impediment is in the nature of the water1 and intrinsical4 ,so also we say1 he that is tied wants the liberty to go1 because the impediment is not in him1 but in his bands2 whereas we say not so of him that is sick or lame1 because the impediment is in himself4 #8,sixthly1 ,i conceive that nothing taketh beginning from itself1 but from the action of some other immediate agent without itself4 ,and that1 therefore1 when first a man hath an appetite or will to something1 to which immediately before he had no appetite nor will1 the cause of his will1 is not the will itself1 but something else not in his own disposing2 so that whereas it is out of controversy1 that of voluntary actions the will is the necessary cause1 and by this which is said1 the will is also caused by other things whereof it disposeth not1 it followeth1 that voluntary actions have all of them necessary causes1 and therefore are necessitated4 #8,seventhly1 ,i hold that to be a sufficient cause1 to which nothing is wanting that is needful to the producing of the effect4 ,the same also is a necessary cause4 ,for if it be possible that a sufficient cause shall not bring forth the effect1 then there wanteth somewhat which was needful to the producing of it1 and so the cause was not sufficient2 but if it be impossible that a sufficient cause should not produce the effect1 then is a sufficient cause a necessary cause 7for that is said to produce an effect necessarily that cannot but produce it27 hence it is manifest1 that whatsoever is produced1 is produced necessarily3 for whatsoever is produced hath had a sufficient cause to produce it1 or else it had not been2 and therefore also voluntary actions are necessitated4 #8,lastly1 ,i hold that the ordinary definition of a free agent1 namely1 that a free agent1 is that1 which1 when all things are present which are needful to produce the effect1 can nevertheless not produce it1 implies a contradiction1 and is nonsense2 being as much as to say1 the cause may be sufficient1 that is to say necessary1 and yet the effect shall not follow4 #8,,my ,,reasons4--,for the first five points1 wherein it is explicated--#a4 what spontaneity is2 #b4 what deliberation is2 #c4 what will1 propension and appetite are2 #d4 what a free agent is2 #e4 what liberty is2 there can no other proof be offered but every man's own experience1 by reflection on himself1 and remembering what he himself meaneth when he saith an action is spontaneous3 a man deliberates3 such is his will3 that agent or that action is free4 ,now he that reflecteth so on himself1 cannot but be satisfied1 that deliberation is the consideration of the good or evil sequels of an action to come2 that by spontaneity is meant inconsiderate action 7or else nothing is meant by it72 that will is the last act of our deliberation2 that a free agent is he that can do if he will1 and forbear if he will2 and that liberty is the absence of external impediments4 ,but1 to those that out of custom speak not what they conceive1 but what they hear1 and are not able1 or will not take the pains to consider what they think when they hear such words1 no argument can be sufficient2 because experience and matter of fact is not verified by other men's arguments1 but by every man's own sense and memory4 ,for example1 how can it be proved that to love a thing and to think it good is all one1 to a man that hath not marked his own meaning by those words8 or how can it be proved that eternity is not nunc stans to a man that says those words by custom1 and never considers how he can conceive the thing in his mind8 ,also the sixth point1 that a man cannot imagine any thing to begin without a cause1 can no other way be made known1 but by trying how he can imagine it2 but if he try1 he shall find as much reason 7if there be no cause of the thing7 to conceive it should begin at one time as another1 that he hath equal reason to think it should begin at all times1 which is impossible1 and therefore he must think there was some special cause why it began then1 rather than sooner or later1 or else that it began never1 but was eternal4 #8,for the seventh point1 which is1 that all events have necessary causes1 it is there proved in that they have sufficient causes4 ,further1 let us in this place also suppose any event never so casual1 as the throwing 7for example7 8ames ace0 upon a pair of dice1 and see if it must not have been necessary before it was thrown4 ,for seeing it was thrown1 it had a beginning1 and consequently a sufficient cause to produce it1 consisting partly in the dice1 partly in outward things1 as the posture of the parts of the hand1 the measure of force applied by the caster1 the posture of the parts of the table1 and the like4 ,in sum1 there was nothing wanting which was necessarily requisite to the producing of that particular cast1 and consequently the cast was necessarily thrown2 for if it had not been thrown1 there had wanted somewhat requisite to the throwing of it1 and so the cause had not been sufficient4 ,in the like manner it may be proved that every other accident1 how contingent soever it seem1 or how voluntary soever it be1 is produced necessarily4 ,the same may be proved also in this manner4 ,let the case be put1 for example1 of the weather3 'tis necessary that to-morrow it shall rain or not rain4 ,if1 therefore1 it be not necessary it shall rain1 it is necessary it shall not rain1 otherwise there is no necessity that the proposition1 it shall rain or not rain1 should be true4 ,i know there be some that say1 it may necessarily be true that one of the two shall come to pass1 but not1 singly that it shall rain1 or that it shall not rain1 which is as much as to say1 one of them is necessary1 yet neither of them is necessary2 and therefore to seem to avoid that absurdity1 they make a distinction1 that neither of them is true determinate1 but indeterminate1 which distinction either signifies no more but this1 one of them is true1 but we know not which1 and so the necessity remains1 though we know it not2 or if the meaning of the distinction be not that1 it hath no meaning1 and they might as well have said1 one of them is true titirice1 but neither of them1 tu patulice4 #8,the last thing in which also consisteth the whole controversy1 namely1 that there is no such thing as an agent1 which when all things requisite to action are present1 can nevertheless forbear to produce it2 or 7which is all one7 that there is no such thing as freedom from necessity1 is easily inferred from that which hath been before alleged4 ,for if it be an agent it can work1 and if it work there is nothing wanting of what is requisite to produce the action1 and consequently the cause of the action is sufficient1 and if sufficient1 then also necessary1 as hath been proved before4 ,and thus you see how the inconveniences1 which it is objected must follow upon the holding of necessity1 are avoided1 and the necessity itself demonstratively proved4 ,to which ,i could add1 if ,i thought it good logic1 the inconvenience of denying necessity1 as that it destroyeth both the decrees and the prescience of ,god ,almighty2 for whatsoever ,god hath purposed to bring to pass by man1 as an instrument1 or foreseeth shall come to pass2 a man1 if he have liberty as hath been affirmed from necessitation1 might frustrate1 and make not to come to pass1 and ,god should either not foreknow it1 and not decree it1 or he should foreknow such things shall be1 as shall never be1 and decree that which shall never come to pass4 ,this is all that hath come into my mind touching this question since ,i last considered it4' ,the letter from which the foregoing extract is taken is addressed to the ,marquis of ,newcastle1 and dated at ,rouen in #afea1 twenty years before the publication of ,spinoza's most exact and beautiful demonstration of the same principle4 ,some of ,hobbes's antagonists had charged him with having borrowed his arguments from ,marsennus1 a ,french author2 to which in one of his controversial tracts ,hobbes replies with some contempt1 that this ,marsennus had heard him talk on the subject when he was in ,paris1 and had borrowed them from him4 ,dr4 ,priestley has done justice to ,hobbes on this question of necessity1 and ,i suspect more than justice in denying that the ,stoics were acquainted with the same principle4 ,at any rate1 the modern commentators on the subject 7and ,dr4 ,priestley among them7 have added nothing to it but absurdities1 from which our author's logic protected him2 for he seldom reasoned wrong but when he reasoned from wrong premises4 ,as this question is one of the most interesting in the history of philosophy1 ,i shall perhaps be excused for adding one more extract 7of considerable length7 to prove that ,hobbes is not1 in this instance1 chargeable with the practical inferences which have been made from his doctrine4 ,in answer to the objections of ,bishop ,bramhall1 with whom he had a controversy on the subject1 he says3 #8,of the arguments from reason1 the first is that which his ,lordship saith is drawn from ,zeno's beating of his man1 which is therefore called ,argumentum ,baculinum1 that is to say1 a wooden argument4 ,the story is this3 ,zeno held that all actions were necessary3 his man therefore being for some fault beaten1 excused himself upon the necessity of it3 to avoid this excuse1 his master pleaded likewise the necessity of beating him4 ,so that not he that maintained1 but he that derided the necessity was beaten1 contrary to that his ,lordship would infer4 #8,the second argument is taken from certain inconveniences which his ,lordship thinks would follow such an opinion4 #8,the first inconvenience1 he says1 is this1 that the laws which prohibit any action will be unjust4 #8#b4 ,that all consultations are vain4 #8#c4 ,that admonitions to men of understanding are of no more use than to children1 fools1 and madmen4 #8#d4 ,that praise1 dispraise1 reward and punishment are in vain4 #8#e and #f4 ,that counsels1 arts1 arms1 books1 instruments1 study1 tutors1 medicines are in vain4' ,hobbes's answer to these conclusions is ,i think quite satisfactory4 ,he says-- #8,to which arguments his ,lordship1 expecting ,i should answer by saying1 8the ignorance of the event were enough to make us use the means10 adds 7as it were a reply to my answer foreseen7 these words1 8,alas6 how should our not knowing the event be a sufficient motive to make us use the means80 ,wherein his ,lordship says right3 but my answer is not that which he expecteth4 ,i answer3 #8,first1 that the necessity of an action doth not make the laws that prohibit it unjust4 ,to let pass that not the necessity1 but the will to break the law maketh the action unjust1 because the law regardeth the will and no other antecedent cause of action1 and to let pass that no law can possibly be unjust1 inasmuch as every man maketh 7by his consent7 the law he is bound to keep1 and which consequently must be just1 unless a man can be unjust to himself2--,i say1 what necessary cause soever precede an action1 yet if the action be forbidden1 he that doth it willingly may be justly punished4 ,for instance1 suppose the law on pain of death prohibit stealing1 and that there be a man who by the strength of temptation is necessitated to steal1 and is thereupon put to death1 does not this punishment deter others from stealing8 ,is it not a cause that others steal not8 ,doth it not frame and make their wills to justice8 ,to make the law is therefore to make a cause of justice1 and to necessitate justice1 and consequently 'tis no injustice to make such a law4 ,the intention of the law is not to grieve the delinquent for what is past and not to be undone2 but to make him and others just that else would not be so2 and respecteth not the evil act past1 but the good to come4 ,insomuch as without the good intention for the future1 no past act of a delinquent would justify his killing in the sight of ,god4 #8,secondly1 ,i deny that it maketh consultations to be vain4 ',tis the consultation that causeth a man and necessitateth him to choose to do one thing rather than another3 so that unless a man say that that cause is in vain which necessitateth the effect1 he cannot infer the superfluousness of consultation out of the necessity of the election proceeding from it4 ,but it seemeth his ,lordship reasons thus3 8,if ,i must do this rather than that1 ,i shall do it though ,i consult not at all20 which is a false proposition and a false consequence1 and no better than this3 8,if ,i shall live till to-morrow1 ,i shall live till to-morrow1 though ,i run myself through with a sword to-day40 ,if there be a necessity that an action shall be done1 or that any effect shall be brought to pass1 it does not therefore follow that there is nothing necessarily requisite as a means to bring it to pass2 and therefore when it is determined that one thing shall be chosen before another1 'tis determined also for what cause it shall be chosen1 which cause for the most part is deliberation or consultation2 and therefore consultation is not in vain1 and indeed the less in vain by how much the election is more necessitated1 if more and less had any place in necessity4 #8,the same answer is to be given to the third supposed inconvenience1 namely1 that admonitions are in vain3 for admonitions are parts of consultation1 the admonitor being a counsellor for the time to him that is admonished4 #8,the fourth pretended inconvenience is1 that praise1 dispraise1 reward and punishment will be in vain4 ,to which ,i answer1 that for praise and dispraise1 they depend not at all on the necessity of the action praised or dispraised4 ,for what is it else to praise1 but to say a thing is good2 good1 ,i say1 for me or for some body else1 or for the state and commonwealth8 ,and what is it to say an action is good1 but to say it is as ,i would wish1 or as another would have it1 or according to the will of the state1 that is to say1 according to the law4 ,does my ,lord think that no action can please me or him or the commonwealth1 that should proceed from necessity8 ,things may therefore be necessary1 and yet praiseworthy1 as also necessary1 and yet dispraised1 and neither of them both in vain1 because praise and dispraise1 and likewise reward and punishment1 do by example make and conform the will to good and evil4 ,it was a very great praise in my opinion that ,velleius ,paterculus gives ,cato1 when he says that he was good by nature1 et quia aliter esse non potuit4 #8,to the last objection1 that counsels1 arts1 arms1 instruments1 books1 study1 medicines1 and the like would be superfluous1 the same answer serves as to the former1 that is to say1 that this consequence1 if the effect shall come to pass1 then it shall come to pass without its causes1 is a false one1 and those things named counsels1 arts1 arms1 c4 are the causes of those effects4'--,page #bia4 #8,his ,lordship's third argument consisteth in other inconveniences1 which he saith will follow1 namely1 impiety1 and negligence of religious duties1 as repentance and zeal to ,god's service1 c4 ,to which ,i answer as to the rest1 that they follow not4 ,i must confess1 if we consider the greatest part of mankind1 not as they should be1 but as they are1 that is1 as men whom either the study of acquiring wealth or preferment1 or whom the appetite of sensual delights or the impatience of meditation1 or the rash embracing of wrong principles have made unapt to discuss the truth of things2 ,i must1 ,i say1 confess that the dispute of this question will rather hurt than help their piety1 and therefore if his ,lordship had not desired this answer1 ,i should not have written it1 nor do ,i write it but in hopes your ,lordship and his will keep it private4 ,nevertheless in very truth1 the necessity of events does not of itself draw with it any impiety at all4 ,for piety consisteth only in two things3 one that we honour ,god in our hearts1 which is1 that we think as highly of his power as we can1 7for to honour any thing is nothing else but to think it to be of great power74 ,the other is that we signify that honour and esteem by our words and actions1 which is called cultus1 or worship of ,god4 ,he therefore that thinketh that all things proceed from ,god's eternal will1 and consequently are necessary1 does he not think ,god omnipotent8 ,does he not esteem of his power as highly as is possible1 which is to honour ,god as much as may be in his heart8 ,again1 he that thinketh so1 is he not more apt by external acts and words to acknowledge it1 than he that thinketh otherwise8 ,yet is this external acknowledgment the same thing which we call worship2 so that this opinion fortifies piety in both kinds1 external and internal1 and therefore is far from destroying it4 ,and for repentance1 which is nothing else but a glad returning into the right way1 after the grief of being out of the way1 though the cause that made him go astray were necessary1 yet there is no reason why he should not grieve2 and1 again1 though the cause why he returned into the way were necessary1 there remaineth still the cause of joy4 ,so that the necessity of the acting taketh away neither of those parts of repentance--grief for the error1 and joy for returning4'--,tripos1 p4 #bib4 ,the author afterwards properly defines a moral agent to be one that acts from deliberation1 choice1 or will1 not from indifference2 and1 speaking of the supposed inconsistency between choice and necessity1 adds3 #8,commonly when we see and know the strength that moves us1 we acknowledge necessity2 but when we see not or mark not the force that moves us1 we then think there is none1 and that it is not causes but liberty that produceth the action4 ,hence it is that they think he doth not choose this that of necessity chooses it1 but they might as well say1 fire doth not burn1 because it burns of necessity4' ,the general question is thus stated by ,mr4 ,hobbes in the beginning of his treatise3 the point is not1 he says1 #8whether a man can be a free agent2 that is to say1 whether he can write or forbear1 speak or be silent1 according to his will1 but whether the will to write1 and the will to forbear1 come upon him according to his will1 or according to any thing else in his own power4 ,i acknowledge this liberty1 that ,i can do if ,i will2 but to say--,i can will if ,i will1 ,i take to be an absurd speech4 ,in fine1 that freedom which men commonly find in books1 that which the poets chaunt in the theatres1 and the shepherds on the mountains1 that which the pastors teach in the pulpits1 and the doctors in the universities1 and that which the common people in the markets1 and all mankind in the whole world do assent unto1 is the same that ,i assent unto1 namely1 that a man hath freedom to do if he will1 but whether he hath freedom to will is a question neither the bishop nor they ever thought on4' ,all in which ,i differ from ,hobbes is1 that ,i think there is a real freedom of choice and will1 as well as of action1 in the sense of the author1 that is1 not a freedom from necessity or causes in either case1 but a liberty in any given agent to exert certain powers without being controlled or impeded in their exercise by another agent4 ,helvetius says1 #8,it is true we can form a tolerably distinct idea of the word liberty1 understood in a common sense4 ,a man is free who is neither loaded with irons1 nor confined in prison1 nor intimidated like the slave by the dread of chastisement3 in this sense1 the liberty of a man consists in the free exercise of his power3 ,i say of his power1 because it would be ridiculous to mistake for a want of liberty the incapacity we are under to pierce the clouds like the eagle1 to live under the water like the whale1 or to become king1 emperor1 or pope4 ,we have so far a sufficiently clear idea of the word4 ,but this is no longer the case when we come to apply liberty to the will4 ,what must this liberty then mean8 ,we can only understand by it a free power of willing or not willing a thing3 but this power would imply that there may be a will without motives1 and consequently an effect without a cause4 ,a philosophical treatise on the liberty of the will would be a treatise of effects without a cause4'--,helvetius on the ,mind1 p4 #dd4 ,now ,i cannot perceive why there is any more difficulty in annexing a meaning to the word liberty1 as it relates to the faculties of the mind than as it relates to those of the body1 or why a treatise of the one should be a treatise of effects without a cause any more than of the other4 ,if the distinction between liberty and necessity is lost in this case1 it is not because liberty but because necessity can have no place in the will1 or because we cannot easily put a padlock on the mind4 ,if the prisoner who has his chains struck off1 walks or runs1 dances or leaps1 is this an instance of an effect without a cause1 because it is an effect of liberty1 or of what ,helvetius calls the free exercise of his power8 ,not that he can exert this power without means or motives1 that is1 without ground to move on1 or limbs to move with1 or breath to draw1 or will to impel him1 but #8with all these means and appliances to boot' he has a power to do certain things which his chains deprived him of the liberty of doing1 but which the striking them off restores to him again4 ,why then1 if liberty does not in its common sense signify an effect without a cause1 but the free exercise of a power1 did it not signify the same thing or something similar as applied to the mind8 ,has the mind no powers1 or are they necessarily impeded and hindered from operating8 ,my notion of a free agent1 ,i confess1 is not that represented by ,mr4 ,hobbes1 namely1 one that when all things necessary to produce the effect are present can nevertheless not produce it2 but ,i believe a free agent of whatever kind1 is one which where all things necessary to produce the effect are present1 can produce it2 its own operation not being hindered by any thing else4 ,the body is said to be free when it has the power to obey the direction of the will3 so the will may be said to be free when it has the power to obey the dictates of the understanding4 ,the absurdity of the libertarians is in supposing that liberty of action1 and liberty of will have the same identical source1 viz4 the will2 or that as it is the will that moves the body1 so it is the will that moves itself in order to be free4 ,mr4 ,locke's chapter #8,on ,power1' in the first volume of the ,essay1 contains his account of liberty and necessity1 and has been more found fault with than any other part of his work2 ,i think without reason4 ,he seems evidently to have admitted the definition of necessity1 though he has avoided the name1 which is not much to be wondered at1 considering the misconception to which it is liable1 and which can scarcely be separated from it in the closest reasoning1 much less as a term of general signification4 ,in other words1 he denies the power of the mind to act without a cause or motive1 or1 in any manner in any circumstances1 from mere indifferency and absolute self motion2 but he at the same time rejects the inference which has been drawn from this principle1 that the mind is not an agent at all1 but entirely subject to external force or blind impulse4 ,what he has said is little more than an expansion of ,hobbes's general description of practical liberty1 #8that it is a power to do1 if we will4' ,thus1 according to ,mr4 ,locke1 it would not be so absurd to give a restive horse the spur or the whip to make him go straight forward on a plain road1 as it would be in order to make him leap up a precipice a hundred feet high4 ,the one the horse has a power or liberty to do if he will1 the other he has no power to do at any rate4 ,that is1 here are two sorts of impediments1 one that may be overcome1 and which it is right to take means to overcome1 and another which cannot be overcome1 and which it is therefore absurd to meddle with4 ,to say that these two necessities are in effect the same1 is an abuse of language2 yet for not lumping them together in the dashing style of our modern wholesale dealers in paradox1 ,mr4 ,locke has been made the subject of endless abuse and contumely4 ,the difference between them1 as stated by this author with great force and earnestness of feeling1 in truth constitutes all that men in general mean when they talk of freedom of will1 and make it1 as in this sense it is1 the ground-work of morality4 ,there are certain powers which the mind has of governing not only the actions of the body1 but of regulating its own thoughts and desires1 and it is to make us exert these powers that all the distinctions1 rules and sanctions of morality have been established4 ,it must be ridiculous to attempt to make us do1 what upon the face of the thing it was known we could not do2 yet it is on this literal and unqualified interpretation of the term1 as implying a flat impossibility of the contrary1 an utter incapacity and helplessness in the mind1 a concurrence of causes foreign to the will itself1 and irresistible in their effect1 and with which it must therefore be in vain to contend1 that most of the consequences from the doctrine of necessity have been built2 such as that reward and punishment are absurd and improper1 that virtue and vice are words without a meaning1 that the assassin is no more a moral or accountable agent than the dagger which he uses1 and many others of the same stamp4 ,the sword and the assassin would be equally moral and accountable agents1 if they were both equally accessible to moral motives1 that is1 to reward and punishment1 praise and blame1 c42 but they are not4 ,this seems to be a distinction of great pith and moment4 ,it is said to be a mere difference of words2 at least it makes all the difference whether such motives as reward and punishment1 praise and blame1 should be applied or not1 and this one should think was a difference of practice4 ,it is objected1 indeed1 that still both are equally necessary agents4 ,but this appears to me to be a confusion of words4 ,it is in vain to exhort flame not to burn1 or to be angry with poison for working3 and it would be equally in vain to exhort men to certain actions or to resent others1 if exhortation and resentment had no more effect upon them1 that is1 if they were really governed by the same sort of blind1 physical1 unreasoning1 unresisting necessity4 ,in fact1 the latest necessarians have abandoned the true1 original1 philosophical meaning of the term1 in which it implies no more than the connection between cause and effect1 and have substituted for it the prejudiced notion of their adversaries1 who confound it with mechanical necessity1 #8fixed fate1 foreknowledge absolute1' or the unconditional fiat of omnipotence4 ,the following extracts which ,i shall condense as much as ,i can consistently with the nature of the argument1 will shew the view which ,mr4 ,locke has taken of this subject4 ,i would only observe1 by the by1 that ,i so far agree with ,hobbes and differ from ,mr4 ,locke1 in thinking that liberty in the most extended and abstract sense is applicable to material as well as voluntary agents2 moral liberty1 i4e4 freedom of will evidently is not1 because such agents have no such faculty4 #8,all the actions that we have any idea of1' says my author1 #8reducing themselves to these two1 viz4 thinking and moving1 so far as a man has a power to think or not to think1 to move or not to move1 according to the preference or direction of his own mind1 so far is a man free4 ,wherever any performance or forbearance are not equally in a man's power1 wherever doing or not doing will not equally follow upon the preference of his mind1 directing it1 there he is not free1 though perhaps the action may be voluntary4 ,where any particular action is not in the power of the agent1 to be produced by him according to his volition1 there he is not at liberty2 that agent is under necessity4 ,so that liberty cannot be where there is no thought1 no volition1 no will2 but there may be thought1 there may be volition1 there may be will1 where there is no liberty4 ,a little consideration of an obvious instance or two may make this clear4 #8,a tennis-ball1 whether in motion by the stroke of a racket1 or lying still at rest1 is not by any one taken to be a free agent4 ,if we inquire into the reason1 we shall find it is because we conceive not a tennis-ball to think2 and consequently not to have any volition1 or preference of motion to rest or vice vers2 and therefore has not liberty1 is not a free agent1 but both its motion and rest come under our idea of necessity1 and are so called4 ,likewise a man falling into the water 7a bridge breaking under him7 has not herein liberty1 is not a free agent4 ,for though he has volition1 though he prefers his not falling to falling1 yet the forbearance of that motion not being in his power1 the stop or cessation of that motion follows not upon his volition2 and therefore therein he is not free4 ,so a man striking himself or his friend by a convulsive motion of his arm1 no body thinks he has in this liberty1 every one pities him as acting by necessity and constraint4' ,here ,i will just stop to observe that the stanch sticklers for necessity1 who make up by an excess of zeal for their want of knowledge1 would read this passage with a smile of self-complacent contempt1 and remark profoundly that whether the man struck his friend on purpose1 or from a convulsive motion1 he was equally under necessity1 and the object of pity4 ,now whether he is an object of pity1 ,i shall not dispute2 but ,i conceive he is also an object of anger in the one case which he is not in the other1 because anger will prevent a man's striking you again1 but will not cure him of ,st4 ,vitus's dance4 ,it is to this sort of indiscriminate1 blind1 senseless necessity which neutralizes all things and actions1 and under the pretence of establishing the operation of causes1 destroys the distinction between the different degrees and kinds of necessity1 to which ,i do not profess myself a convert4 ,to return4--#8,as it is in the motions of the body1' proceeds ,mr4 ,locke1 #8so it is in the thoughts of our minds3 where any one is such1 that we have power to take it up or lay it by1 according to the preference of the mind1 there we are at liberty4 ,yet some ideas to the mind1 like some motions to the body1 are such as in certain circumstances it cannot avoid1 nor obtain their absence by the utmost effort it can use4 ,a man on the rack is not at liberty to lay by the idea of pain1 and divert himself with other contemplations4 ,and sometimes a boisterous passion hurries our thoughts1 as a hurricane does our bodies1 without leaving us the liberty of thinking on other things which we would rather choose4 ,but as soon as the mind regains the power to stop or continue1 begin or forbear any of these motions of the body without1 or of the mind within1 according as it thinks fit to prefer either to the other1 we then consider the man as free again4' #8,but freedom1' says my author1 #8unless it reaches farther than this1 will not serve the turn2 and it passes for a good plea that a man is not free at all1 if he is not as free to will1 as he is to act what he wills4 ,concerning a man's liberty1 there yet therefore is raised this farther question1 whether a man be free to will8 ,and as to that ,i imagine that a man in respect of willing1 when any action in his power is once proposed to his thoughts as presently that is1 immediately to be done1 cannot be free4 ,the reason whereof is very manifest2 for it being unavoidable that the action depending on his will should exist or not exist1 and its existence or non-existence following perfectly the determination of his will1 he cannot avoid willing the existence or non-existence of that action2 it is absolutely necessary that he will the one1 or the other1 i4e4 prefer the one to the other1 since one of them must necessarily follow4'--,page #bdf4 ,this seems to be the weak part of ,mr4 ,locke's reasoning1 and is the only place1 as ,i remember1 where he has considered the certainty of the event as inconsistent with the practical liberty for which he contends4 ,at this rate1 it must be given up altogether3 there can be no such thing as liberty4 ,for in all cases whatever1 one determination must happen rather than another4 ,in all cases whatever1 we must choose either one way or another1 or suspend our choice4 ,suspense and deliberation1 as ,helvetius and others have justly remarked1 are in this sense equally necessary with precipitation of judgment4 ,the actual or final event is in both cases the necessary consequence of preceding causes1 but that does not destroy freedom of choice in either case1 if the event depends upon the exercise of choice1 whether the time allowed for the mind to choose in1 be longer or shorter4 ,if by liberty be meant the uncertainty of the event1 then liberty is a nonentity3 but if it be supposed to relate to the concurrence of certain powers of an agent in the production of that event1 then it is as true and as real a thing as the necessity to which it is thus opposed1 and which consists in the exclusion of certain powers possessed by an agent from operating in the producing of any event4 ,at the same time it must be granted1 that the power of deliberation is the most valuable privilege of our rational nature1 and the great enlargement of the discursive faculty of the will4 ,mr4 ,locke seems only to have erred in mistaking a difference of degree or extent for one of kind4 ,the practical truth of the distinction is undeniable4 ,his words are3-- #8,the mind having in most cases1 as is evident from experience1 a power to suspend the execution and satisfaction of any of its desires1 and so all1 one after another1 is at liberty to consider the objects of them1 examine them on all sides1 and weigh them with others4 ,in this lies the liberty man has2 and from the not using of it right comes all that variety of mistakes1 errors1 and faults1 which we run into in the conduct of our lives1 and our endeavours after happiness3 whilst we precipitate the determination of our wills1 and engage too soon before due examination4 ,for during the suspension of any desire1 before the will be determined to action1 we have an opportunity to examine1 view1 and judge of the good or evil of what we are going to do2 and when upon due examination we have judged1 we have done our duty1 all that we can or ought to do1 in pursuit of our happiness2 and it is not a fault1 but a perfection of our nature1 to desire1 will1 and act1 according to the last result of a fair examination4 ,this seems to me the source of all liberty2 in this seems to consist that which is 7,i think improperly7 called free-will4'--,essay1 vol4 i4 p4 #bfd4 ,moral liberty1 it should seem then1 all the liberty which a man has or which he wants1 does not after all consist in a power of indifferency1 or in a power of choosing1 without regard to motives1 but in a power of exciting his reason and of obeying it4 ,there are two general positions advanced by the author in the course of this inquiry1 to neither of which ,i can agree2 namely1 that action always proceeds from uneasiness1 and that we are perfect judges of present good and evil4 ,with respect to the first1 it is true indeed that nothing can be an object of desire till we suffer uneasiness from the want of it1 but it is just as true1 that the want of any thing does not cause uneasiness in the mind1 unless it is first an object of desire1 or unless the prospect of it gives us pleasure4 ,as to the second position1 that we cannot be deceived in judging of our actual sensations1 it would be true1 if the sensation and the judgment formed upon it were the same1 but they neither are nor can be4 ,let any person smell to a rose1 and look at a beautiful prospect or hear a fine piece of music at the same instant1 and try to determine which of them gives him most pleasure4 ,if he has the least doubt or hesitation1 the principle laid down by ,mr4 ,locke cannot pass for an axiom4 ,from not accurately distinguishing between sensation and judgment1 some writers have been led to confound good and evil with pleasure and pain4 ,good or evil is properly that which gives the mind pleasure or pain on reflection1 that is1 which excites rational approbation or disapprobation4 ,to consider these two things as either the same or in any regular proportion to each other1 is ,i think to betray a very superficial acquaintance with human nature4 ,yet in defiance of the necessary distinction between the faculties by which we feel and by which we judge1 these moralists have laid it down as a fundamental rule that all pleasures which are so in themselves are equally good and commendable2 yet as these ideas relate solely to the reflex impression made by certain things on the understanding1 to insist that we shall judge of them by an appeal to the senses1 is unwisely to overturn the principle of the division of labour among our faculties1 and to force one to do the office of another4 ,for this there seems no more reason than for attempting to hear with our fingers1 to see a sound1 or feel a colour4 #8,oh6 who can paint a sun-beam to the blind2 ,or make him feel a shadow with his mind4' ,yet the absurdity of the attempt arises only from the inaptitude of the organ to the object4 ,among simple ideas ,mr4 ,locke reckons that of power4 ,it were to be wished that he had given it as simple a source as possible1 viz4 the feeling we have of it in our own minds1 which he sometimes seems half inclined to do1 instead of referring it to our observation of the successive changes which take place in matter4 ,it is by this means alone1 that is1 by making it an original idea derived from within1 like the sense of pleasure or pain1 and quite distinct from the visible composition and decomposition of other objects1 that we can avoid being driven into an absolute scepticism with regard to cause and effect4 ,for ,hume has1 ,i think1 demonstrated that in the mere mechanical series of sensible appearances1 there is nothing to suggest this idea1 or point out the indissoluble connection of one event with another1 any more than in the flies of a summer4 ,we get this idea solely from the exertion of muscular or voluntary power in ourselves3 whoever has stretched forth his hand to an object1 must have the idea of power4 ,under the idea of power ,i include all that relates to what we call force1 energy1 weakness1 effort1 ease1 difficulty1 impossibility1 c4 ,accordingly1 ,i should conceive that no man of strong passions1 or great muscular activity would ever give up the idea of power4 ,hume1 who seems to have discarded it with the least compunction1 was an easy1 indolent1 good-tempered man1 who did not care to stir out of his arm-chair2 a languid1 ,epicurean philosopher1 of a reasonable corpulency1 who was hurried away by no violent passions1 or intense desires1 but looked on most things with the same eye of listlessness and indifference4 ,he was one of the subtlest and most metaphysical of all metaphysicians4 ,and perhaps he was so for the reason here stated4 ,the ,scotch in general are not metaphysicians3 they have in fact always a purpose1 they aim at a particular point1 they are determined upon something beforehand4 ,this gives a hardness and rigidity to their understandings1 and takes away that tremulous sensibility to every slight and wandering impression which is necessary to complete the fine balance of the mind1 and enable us to follow all the infinite fluctuations of thought through their nicest distinctions4 ,to return to the doctrine of necessity4 ,i shall refer to the authority of but one more writer1 who has indeed exhausted the subject1 and anticipated what few remarks ,i had to offer upon it3 ,i mean ,jonathan ,edwards1 in his treatise on the ,will4 ,this work1 setting aside its ,calvinistic tendency with which ,i have nothing to do1 is one of the most closely reasoned1 elaborate1 acute1 serious1 and sensible among modern productions4 ,no metaphysician can read it without feeling a wish to have been the author of it4 ,the gravity of the matter and the earnestness of the manner are alike admirable4 ,his reasoning is not of that kind1 which consists in having a smart answer for every trite objection1 but in attaining true and satisfactory solutions of things perceived in all their difficulty and in all their force1 and in every variety of connexion4 ,he evidently writes to satisfy his own mind and the minds of those1 who like himself are intent upon the pursuit of truth for its own sake4 ,there is not an evasion or ambiguity in his whole book1 nor a wish to produce any but thorough conviction4 ,he does not therefore lead his readers into a labyrinth of words1 or entangle them among the forms of logic1 or mount the airy heights of abstraction1 but descends into the plain1 and mingles with the business and feelings of mankind1 and grapples with common sense1 and subdues it to the force of true reason4 ,all philosophy depends no less on deep and real feeling than on power of thought4 ,i happen to have ,edwards's #8,inquiry concerning ,freewill1' and ,dr4 ,priestley's #8,illustrations of ,philosophical ,necessity1' bound up in the same volume3 and ,i confess that the difference in the manner of these two writers is rather striking4 ,the plodding1 persevering1 scrupulous accuracy of the one1 and the easy1 cavalier1 verbal fluency of the other1 form a complete contrast4 ,dr4 ,priestley's whole aim seems to be to evade the difficulties of his subject1 ,edwards's to answer them4 ,the one is employed according to ,berkeley's allegory1 in flinging dust in the eyes of his adversaries1 while the other is taking true pains in digging into the mine of knowledge4 ,all ,dr4 ,priestley's arguments on this subject are mere hackneyed common-places4 ,he had in reality no opinion of his own1 and truth1 ,i conceive1 never takes very deep root in those minds on which it is merely engrafted4 ,he uniformly adopted the vantage ground of every question1 and borrowed those arguments which he found most easy to be wielded1 and of most service in that kind of busy intellectual warfare to which he was habituated4 ,he was an able controversialist1 not a philosophical reasoner4 ,dr4 ,priestley states in his #8,illustrations' and in his letter to ,dr4 ,horsley1 that the difference between physical and moral necessity is merely verbal4 ,he says1 speaking of the connexion between cause and effect in the mind1 #8,give me the thing and ,i will readily give up the name4' ,it appears to me that ,dr4 ,priestley was quite as much attached to the name as to the thing1 and that the philosophical principle of necessity1 without its unpopular title1 would have afforded him but little satisfaction4 ,now the obnoxiousness of the name1 and in my opinion1 almost all the difficulty and repugnance which the generality of men find in admitting the doctrine arises from the ambiguity lurking under the term necessity1 which includes both kinds of necessity1 moral and physical1 and with which ,dr4 ,priestley delights to probe the prejudices of his adversaries1 thinking the differences of moral and physical necessity a mere question of words1 and that provided there are any laws or any causes operating upon the mind1 it is of no sort of consequence what those laws or causes are4 ,it is the same inability to distinguish between one cause and another which creates the vulgar prejudice against necessity1 and which is exposed in a very satisfactory manner by the author of the #8,inquiry into the ,will4' ,he says1 in a letter written expressly to vindicate himself from having confounded moral with physical necessity1 #8,on the contrary1 ,i have largely declared that the connexion between antecedent things and consequent ones which takes place with regard to the acts of men's wills1 which is called moral necessity1 is called by the name of necessity improperly2 and that all such terms as must1 cannot1 impossible1 unable1 irresistible1 unavoidable1 invincible1 c4 when applied here1 are not applied in their proper signification1 and are either used nonsensically1 and with perfect insignificance1 or in a sense quite diverse from their original and proper meaning1 and their use in common speech2 and that such a necessity as attends the acts of men's wills1 is more properly called certainty than necessity4 ,i think it is evidently owing to a strong prejudice in persons' minds1 arising from an insensible habitual perversion and misapplication of such-like terms1 that they are ready to think that to suppose a certain connexion of men's volitions without any foregoing motives or inclinations1 is truly and properly to suppose such a strong irrefragable chain of causes and effects as stands in the way of1 and makes utterly vain1 opposite desires and endeavours1 like immovable and impenetrable mountains of brass2 and impedes our liberty like walls of adamant1 gates of brass1 and bars of iron3 whereas all such representations suggest ideas as far from the truth1 as the ,east is from the ,west4 ,i know it is in vain to endeavour to make some persons believe this1 or at least fully and steadily to believe it3 for if it be demonstrated to them1 still the old prejudice remains1 which has been long fixed by the use of the terms necessary1 must1 c4 the association with these terms of certain ideas1 inconsistent with liberty1 is not broken1 and the judgment is powerfully warped by it2 as a thing that has been long bent and grown stiff1 if it be straightened1 will return to its former curvity again and again4' ,the reasoning in the #8,inquiry' to which the author here refers1 in justification of himself1 is as follows3 #8,men in their first use of such phrases as these1 must1 cannot1 unavoidable1 irresistible1 c4 use them to signify a necessity of constraint or restraining a natural necessity or impossibility1 or some necessity that the will has nothing to do in4 ,a thing is said to be necessary1 when we cannot help it1 let us do what we will4 ,so any thing is said to be impossible to us1 when we would do it1 or would have it brought to pass and endeavour it1 but all our desires and endeavours are in vain4 ,and that is said to be irresistible1 which overcomes all our opposition1 resistance and endeavour to the contrary4 ,and we are said to be unable to do a thing1 when our utmost supposable desires and endeavours to do it are insufficient4 ,all men find1 and begin to find in early childhood1 that there are innumerable things which cannot be done which they desire to do2 and innumerable things1 which they are averse to1 that must be2 they cannot avoid them1 whether they choose them or no4 ,it is to express this necessity which men so soon and so often find1 and which so greatly affects them in innumerable cases1 that such terms and phrases are first formed2 and it is to signify such a necessity that they are first used1 and that they are most constantly used in the common affairs of life2 and not to signify any such metaphysical1 speculative and abstract notion as that connexion between cause and effect in the nature and course of things1 to signify which they who employ themselves in philosophical inquiries into the first origin and metaphysical relations and dependencies of things1 have borrowed those terms1 for want of others4 ,but we grow up from our cradles in a use of such phrases entirely different from this1 or from the one in which they are used in the controversy about liberty and necessity4 ,and it being a dictate of the universal sense of mankind1 evident to us as soon as we begin to think1 that the necessity signified by these terms in the sense in which we first learn them1 does excuse persons1 and free them from all fault or blame1 hence our idea of excusableness or faultlessness is tied to these phrases by a strong habit1 which grows up with us2--or if we use the words as terms of art in another sense1 yet unless we are exceeding circumspect and wary1 we shall insensibly slide into the vulgar use of them1 and so apply the words in a very inconsistent manner3 this habitual connexion of ideas will deceive and confound us in our reasonings and discourses whenever we pretend to use the terms in that manner4'--,pages #bj1 #ba1 #bij1 c4 #8,it follows that when the aforesaid terms are used in cases wherein no opposition1 or insufficient will or endeavour is or can be supposed1 but the very nature of the supposed case 7as that of willing or choosing7 excludes any such opposition1 will1 or endeavour1 these terms are then not used in their proper signification1 but quite beside their use in common speech4'--,pages #ba1 #bb4 ,the author has1 ,i think1 in these passages1 laid open the source of most of the confusion on the subject in question4 ,for this double meaning lurking under the word necessity has been the chief reason why persons1 who were guided more by their own feelings and the customary associations of language than by formal definitions1 have altogether rejected the doctrine2 while persons of a more logical turn1 who could not deny the truth of the abstract principle1 have yet in their explanations of it1 and inferences from it1 fallen into the same vulgar error as their opponents4 ,the partisans for necessity have given up their common sense1 as they supposed1 to their reason1 while the advocates for liberty rejected a demonstrable truth from a dread of its consequences2 and both have been the dupes of a word4 ,i have been the more ready to appeal to this writer's authority1 because he is allowed on all hands to be one of the most strict1 severe1 and logical of all necessarians4 ,what he has said on the subject of free-will1 as consisting in perfect contingence1 independent of all motive1 or as implying an absolute beginning of action without any precedent determining cause might1 one would imagine1 have been sufficient1 even if ,hobbes's reasonings had not1 to banish that opinion out of the world4 ,he has followed it through all its windings1 and detected it in all its varying shades1 with equal patience and sagacity4 ,he sums up the absurdities of this notion of liberty1 or of mere absolute self-will1 in these words3 #8,the following things are all essential to it1 viz4 that an action should be necessary1 and not necessary2 that it should be from a cause and no cause2 that it should be the fruit of choice and design1 and not the fruit of choice and design2 that it should be the beginning of motion and exertion1 and yet be consequent on previous exertion2 that it should be before it is2 that it should spring immediately out of indifference and equilibrium1 and yet be the effect of preponderation2 that it should be self-originated1 also have its original from something else2 that it is what the mind causes itself1 of its own will1 and can produce or prevent1 according to its choice1 or pleasure1 and yet what the mind has no power to prevent1 precluding all previous choice in the affair4 ,so that an act of the will determining itself by its own free-will1 according to their metaphysical account of it1 is something of which there is no idea1 it is nothing but a confusion of the mind1 excited by words without any distinct meaning4 ,if some learned philosopher1 who had been abroad1 in giving an account of the curious observations he had made in his travels1 should say1 8,he had been in ,tierra del ,fuego1 and there had seen an animal1 which he calls by a certain name1 that begat and brought forth itself1 and yet had a sire and a dam distinct from itself2 that it had an appetite and was hungry before it had a being2 that his master1 who led him1 and governed him at his pleasure1 was always governed by him1 and driven by him where he pleased3 that when he moved1 he always took a step before the first step2 that he went with his head first1 and yet always went tail foremost2 and this though he had neither head nor tail20 it would be no impudence at all to tell such a traveller1 though a learned man1 that he himself had no notion or idea of such an animal as he gave an account of1 and never had1 nor ever would have4'--,page #bha1 of the ,inquiry4 ,the author seems to have hit upon the source of this erroneous account of free-will1 with his usual truth of feeling4 ,he says1 almost immediately after3--#8,the thing which has led men into this inconsistent notion of action1 when applied to volition1 as though it were essential to this internal action that the agent should be self-determined in it1 and that the will should be the cause of it1 was probably this3 that according to the sense of mankind1 and the common use of language1 it is so with respect to men's external actions2 which are what originally1 and according to the vulgar use and most proper sense of the word1 are called actions4 ,men in these are self-directed1 self-determined1 and their wills are the cause of the motions of their bodies1 and the external things that are done2 so that unless men do them voluntarily1 and of choice1 and the action be determined by their antecedent volition1 it is no action or doing of theirs4 ,hence some metaphysicians have been led unwarily1 but exceeding absurdly1 to suppose the same concerning volition itself1 that that also must be determined by the will2 which is to be determined by antecedent volition1 as the motion of the body is2 not considering the contradiction it implies4'--,ibid41 page #bhf4 ,i shall proceed to state as briefly as ,i can my own notions of liberty and necessity1 as far as they any way differ from the foregoing account4 ,first1 then1 ,i conceive that if by necessity be understood and only understood the connexion of cause and effect1 or the constant dependence of one thing on another1 in the human mind as well as in matter1 that according to this interpretation all things are equally certain and necessary4 ,on the other hand1 if by liberty be meant any thing opposite to this connexion of cause and effect3 that is1 a positive beginning of any action or motion out of nothing1 or out of a state of indifference1 or from itself1 ,i believe that there is no such thing as liberty in the mind any more than in matter4 ,all things have their preceding determining causes1 and nothing is1 but what must be in the precise given circumstances4 ,this has been demonstrated over and over again1 and the contrary supposition reduced to a manifest absurdity in every possible way by ,hobbes1 ,hume1 ,hartley1 ,edwards1 ,priestley1 and others4 ,but1 secondly1 ,i conceive that the question does not stop here1 because certain ideas have been annexed to these terms of liberty and necessity1 both by the learned and by common men1 which have nothing at all to do with the affirmation or denial of the simple connexion between cause and effect4 ,what ,i shall therefore attempt will be to point out a few instances of the misapplication of the term to prove a necessity not included in the certainty of the event1 and to disprove liberty in a sense in which it does not interfere with that certainty1 or with philosophical necessity3 that is1 ,i shall attempt to show in what sense1 in conformity with the general law to which all things are by their nature subject1 man is an agent1 a free agent1 a moral and accountable agent2 that is1 deserving of reward and punishment1 praise and blame1 c4 ,now by an agent ,i mean any thing that acts or has a power to operate1 that is1 to produce effects2 by a free agent ,i mean one that is not hindered from acting2 by a moral and accountable agent ,i mean one that acts from will1 and is influenced by motives2 by reward and punishment ,i mean what every one does2 by praise and blame ,i mean our approbation or disapprobation of any agent that is conscious of our sentiments towards him1 or that is capable of reflecting on his own conduct1 and of being affected by what others think of it4 ,if by an agent be meant the beginner of action1 or one that produces an effect of itself1 there can be no such thing2 but if by an agent be meant one that contributes to an effect1 there is such a thing as an agent2 and the more any thing contributes to an effect and determines it to be this or that1 the more it is an agent4 ,if by freedom be meant a freedom from causes1 or necessity in the abstract1 there can be no freedom in this sense1 but there may be and is a freedom from certain causes and from certain kinds and degrees of necessity2 that is1 from physical causes1 or compulsion1 and from absolute1 unconditional necessity4 ,if all things are equally necessary1 that do not spring out of nothing1 then indeed the distinction between liberty and necessity must be in all cases absurd4 ,again1 by free-will ,i do not mean the power or liberty to act without motives1 but with motives4 ,the mind cannot act without an occasion or ground for acting1 but this does not shew that it is no agent at all1 or that it is not a free agent2 that is1 that its action is restrained or hindered by the action of anything else4 ,the intellectual and voluntary powers are free1 just as the corporeal are1 namely1 when they are free to produce certain effects1 which1 if excited1 they can produce1 as the body is free when it can move in consequence of the mind's direction2 it is no longer free when though the same reason exists for its moving1 it is hindered by something else from obeying the impulse4 ,in short1 liberty is this3 the power in any agent in given circumstances to operate in a certain manner1 if left to itself2 or perhaps more unequivocally1 opportunity given to any agent to exert certain powers to produce an effect1 when nothing but those powers and the absence of impediments is wanting to produce it4 ,to be free is to possess all the requisites for acting in one's-self1 and in the circumstances1 and not to be counteracted4 ,again if moral good and evil are supposed to be something self-created1 then they are merely fictions of the mind2 but if we suppose an agent to be entitled to praise or blame1 reward or punishment1 not because he is a self-willed1 but a voluntary agent1 that is to say1 a being possessing certain powers and habitually and with determination exerting them to certain purposes1 then there will be a foundation for this distinction in nature4 ,to the idea of moral responsibility1 it is not necessary that the agent should be the sole or absolutely first cause of the evil1 for example1 but that he should be one real1 determining cause of it1 and while he remains what he is1 the same effects will follow4 ,an agent is the author of any evil1 when without him1 that is1 without something peculiar and essential to his disposition and character1 it would not exist4 #a4 ,every thing is an agent that is any way necessary or conducing to an effect4 ,the doctrine of second causes does not destroy agency4 ,it no more proves that those causes do not act because something has acted before them1 than that they do not exist1 because something has existed before them4 ,the theological writers on this side of the question affirm1 ,i think improperly1 that ,god or the first cause is the sole agent in the universe1 to which all second causes are to be referred as instruments1 having no real efficacy of their own4 ,if so1 all events are produced immediately by the divine agency1 that is1 all second causes are parts of the divine essence1 and in all that we see or hear or feel1 we must conceive of something far more deeply interfused1 a spirit and a motion that impels all thinking things1 all objects of all thought1 and breathes through all things4 ,this doctrine is that of ,spinoza3 but upon this supposition second causes1 as the immediate operation of the ,deity are and must be real and efficient4 ,on the other hand1 if to exclude this system of pantheism1 we consider the things and appearances about us as merely natural1 still what are called second causes must be real and efficient causes1 or they could not produce their effects4 ,if nothing can operate but the first cause1 then whatever produces effects is the ,deity3 but if this conclusion be thought objectionable1 then we must allow other causes of events to be really and truly such in themselves3 for from that which is no cause1 which has no power1 any more than nothing1 nothing can follow4 ,all second causes1 that is1 all things that exist are1 therefore1 either parts of the ,deity or parts of nature1 and in neither case can they be absolutely insignificant1 worthless1 null1 and of no account4 ,dr4 ,priestley is for having men refer all the good in the universe to ,god as the author of it1 and all the evil that takes place to man or to second causes4 ,i cannot think that this is sound philosophy nor practical wisdom4 ,the necessarians have evidently borrowed their notions of agency and second causes from the advocates for liberty3 for taking up the same unfounded assumption of the libertarians1 that action is the absolute beginning of motion1 and that any thing short of this is no action at all1 and finding that the will was not a cause in the absurd sense supposed by their adversaries1 they have concluded that it was no cause at all2 not considering whether a cause might not be more properly defined that which produces an effect in consistency with other things than that which produces it independently of them4 ,action then in any sense of the word is the same as co-operation4 ,it may be asked1 whether this account does not destroy the distinction between active and passive4 ,i answer that it does1 if by active be meant unconnected action1 and by passive connected action2 but not else4 ,that is1 if by action be understood the positive determinate tendency or the additional impulse to the production of any effect1 and by passiveness an indifference in any agent to this or that motion1 except as it is acted upon by1 and transmits the efficacy of other causes1 this distinction will remain as broad and palpable as ever4 ,any thing is so far active as it modifies and re-acts upon the original impulse2 it is passive in as far as it neither adds to1 nor takes from that original impulse1 but merely has a power of receiving and continuing it4 ,this ,i take to be the practical and philosophical meaning of the terms4 ,this distinction therefore1 applies equally to matter and mind4 ,the explosion of gunpowder cannot be attributed entirely or principally to the spark which ignites it1 because the effect is increased a thousand-fold by the inherent qualities of the gunpowder4 ,the motion communicated by one body to another in void space is considered as the mere passive result of the former1 because the effect in the second agent is simply the continuation of what it was in the first4 ,so it is in the mind4 ,motives do not act upon it simply or absolutely2 but according to the dictates of the understanding or the bias of the will4 ,at one time we yield to any idle inclination that happens to prevail1 and at others resist to the utmost the strongest motives4 ,that is1 the mind is itself an agent1 one chief determining cause of our volitions4 ,it is on the view taken by the mind of motives1 on our disposition to attend to or neglect them1 to compare and weigh them1 that their effect depends4 ,but the necessarians have always delighted to illustrate the operations of the mind in volition by referring to the impulse communicated by one billiard-ball to another1 or to different weights in a pair of scales4 ,both which illustrations are as little applicable as possible1 because in neither of them is there supposed to be the least activity of action2 that is1 the least capacity to resist or increase or alter the impressed force in the thing acted upon4 ,that is1 the mind in these similes is requisite as a merely passive agent1 by which ,i mean a thing perfectly indifferent and nugatory1 a mere cypher without any character of its own1 that is neither good nor bad1 neither deserving of praise nor blame2 a cameleon1 colourless kind of thing1 the sport of external impulses and accidental circumstances1 or of a necessity in which it has itself no share4 ,thus the responsibility of the mind has been taken from it1 and transferred to outward circumstances1 and all characters in themselves rendered alike indifferent4 ,this is the necessary consequence of abstracting the influence of motives from the mind on which and by which they act4 ,i prefer exceedingly to the modern instances of a couple of billiard-balls1 or a pair of scales1 the illustration of ,chrysophus1 the stoic in ,cicero1 who says1 #8,ille igitur qui protrusit cylindrum dedit ei principium motionis1 volubilitatem autem non dedit3 sic visum objectum imprimet quidem et quasi signabit in animo suam speciem1 sed assensio erit in potestate nostr4' ,that is1 suppose ,i push against a heavy body2 if it be square it will not move3 if it be cylindrical it will4 ,what the difference of form is to the stone1 the difference of disposition is to the mind4 ,in fact1 the necessarians1 to maintain this doctrine of the nullity of second causes1 have been forced to consider every thing as a succession of simple impulses passing from hand to hand3 so that there being no fixed point1 no resting-place for the imagination1 we are perpetually obliged to shift the cause from one object to another3 every thing has to be accounted for1 and referred back to something else1 and in this ceaseless whirl of fleeting causes all ideas of power or agency seem to slide from under us4 ,lest the mind should prove refractory1 to the laws ascribed to it1 they thought it most prudent to deprive it of all activity and power of resistance4 ,they were very absurdly afraid that without this their whole scheme might be overturned1 as if though the mind were freed from being the servile drudge of external impulses1 it would not still follow the bent of its own nature4 ,the above distinction will1 ,i conceive1 set the mind free from one of the shackles imposed on it by the necessarians1 namely1 that imbecility1 helplessness1 and indifference1 which they have superadded to the regular connexion of cause and effect1 though it makes no essential part of it4 ,the mind1 according to the advocates for free-will1 is a perfectly detached1 unconnected1 independent cause3 according to the necessarians1 it is no cause at all3 neither branch of the antithesis is true4 #b4 ,according to the definition of liberty above given1 freedom1 that is free agency1 is applicable to mind as well as to matter4 ,free-will does not1 because will does not1 belong to it4 ,by a free agent1 ,i understand1 with ,hobbes1 one that is not hindered from acting according to his natural or determinate bias4 ,the body is free when it can obey the impulse of the mind2 so also a billiard-ball might be said to be free while it is not fixed to the table1 or hindered from being impelled by the stroke of the mace4 ,in the same sense1 the water1 as ,mr4 ,hobbes observes1 is said to descend freely along the channel of the river1 while no obstacle intercepts its progress4 ,but though necessarians allow liberty to the body1 and to inanimate things1 they deny that it is in any sense applicable to the mind or will4 ,,on ,,locke',s ,,essay ,,on ,,the ,,human ,,understanding ,this work owes its present rank among philosophical productions1 to its embodiment of the great principle first brought forward by ,hobbes4 ,all its author's attempts to modify this principle or reconcile it to common notions have been gradually exploded1 and have given place to the more severe and logical deductions of ,hobbes from the same general principle4 ,mr4 ,locke took the faculties of the mind as he found them in himself and others1 and endeavoured to account for them on a new principle4 ,by this compromise with candour and common sense1 he prepared the way for the introduction of the principle1 which being once established1 very soon overturned all the trite opinions and vulgar prejudices which were improperly associated with it4 ,there was in fact no place for them in the new system4 ,the great defect with which the #8,essay on the ,human ,understanding' is chargeable is1 that there is not really a word about the nature of the understanding in it1 nor any attempt to show what it is or whether it is or is not any thing1 distinct from the faculty of simple perception4 ,the operations of thinking1 comparing1 discerning1 reasoning1 willing1 and the like1 which ,mr4 ,locke ascribes to it1 are the operations of nothing1 or of ,i know not what4 ,all the force of his mind seems to have been so bent on exploding innate ideas1 and tracing our thoughts to their external source1 that he either forgot or had not leisure to examine what the internal principle of all thought is4 ,he took for his basis a bad simile--that the mind is like a blank sheet of paper1 originally void of all characters whatever2 for this1 though true as far as relates to innate ideas1 that is1 to any impressions actually existing in it1 is not true of the mind itself1 which is not like a sheet of paper1 the passive receiver and retainer of the impressions made upon it4 ,the inference from this simile has however been that the understanding is nothing in itself1 nor the cause of any thing2 never acting1 but always acted upon2 that it is but a convenient repository for the straggling images of things1 a sort of empty room into which ideas are conveyed from without through the doors of the senses1 as you would carry goods into an unfurnished lodging2 and hence it has been found necessary by succeeding writers to get rid of those different faculties and operations which ,mr4 ,locke elsewhere allows to belong to the mind1 but which are in truth only compatible with the active powers and independent nature of the understanding4 ,i will first state ,mr4 ,locke's account of the origin of our ideas in his own words1 and will then endeavour to show in what that account is defective2 that is1 what other act or faculty of the mind ,i conceive to be necessary to the formation of our ideas1 besides sensation or simple perception4 ,after employing eighty pages in a very laborious1 and for the most part sensible refutation of the doctrine of innate ideas1 which was popular at the time1 but which ,hobbes has not deigned to notice1 their impossibility being implied in the general principle that all our ideas are derived from the senses1 ,mr4 ,locke proceeds in the second book to treat of ,ideas1 and their origin4 ,he then says3 #8,every man being conscious to himself that he thinks1 and that which his mind is applied about whilst thinking being the ideas that are there1 it is past doubt that men have in their minds several ideas1 such are those expressed by the words1 whiteness1 hardness1 sweetness1 thinking1 motion1 man1 elephant1 army1 drunkenness1 and others3 it is in the first place then to be inquired how he comes by them4 ,i know it is a received doctrine that men have native ideas and original characters stamped upon their minds in their very first being4 ,this opinion ,i have at large examined already3 but ,i suppose what ,i have said will be much more easily admitted when ,i have shewn whence the understanding may get all the ideas it has1 and by what ways and degrees they may come into the mind1 for which ,i shall appeal to every one's own observation and experience4 ,let us then suppose the mind to be1 as we say1 white paper1 void of all characters1 without any ideas3 how comes it to be furnished8 ,whence comes it by that vast store1 which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it1 in an almost endless variety8 ,whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge8 ,to this ,i answer1 in one word1 from ,,experience3 in that all our knowledge is founded1 and from that it ultimately derives itself4444 #8,first1 our senses1 conversant about particular sensible objects1 do convey into the mind several distinct perceptions of things1 according to those various ways1 wherein those objects do affect them2 and thus we come by those ideas we have of yellow1 white1 heat1 cold1 soft1 hard1 bitter1 sweet1 and all those which we call sensible qualities1 which when ,i say the senses convey into the mind1 ,i mean1 they from external objects convey into the mind what produces there those perceptions4 ,this great source of most of the ideas we have1 depending wholly upon our senses1 and derived by them to the understanding1 ,i call ,,sensation4 #8,secondly1 the other fountain from whence experience furnisheth the understanding with ideas1 is the perception of the operations of our own mind within us1 as it is employed about the ideas it has got3 which operations when the soul comes to reflect on and consider1 do furnish the understanding with another set of ideas1 which could not be had from things without3 and such are perception1 thinking1 doubting1 believing1 reasoning1 knowing1 willing1 and all the different actings of our own minds2 which we being conscious of1 and observing in ourselves1 do from these receive into our understandings as distinct ideas as we do from bodies affecting our senses4 ,this source of ideas every man has wholly in himself2 and though it be not sense1 as having nothing to do with external objects1 yet it is very like it1 and might properly enough be called internal sense4 ,but as ,i call the other sensation1 so ,i call this ,,reflection2 the ideas it affords being such only as the mind gets by reflecting on its own operations within itself4444 ,these two ,i say1 viz4 external1 material things1 as the objects of sensation1 and the operations of our own minds within as the objects of ,,reflection1 are to me the only originals from whence all our ideas take their beginnings4 ,the term operations here ,i use in a large sense1 as comprehending not barely the actions of the mind about its ideas1 but some sort of passions arising sometimes from them1 such as is the satisfaction or uneasiness arising from any thought4' #8,the understanding1' proceeds ,mr4 ,locke1 #8seems to me not to have the least glimmering of any ideas1 which it doth not receive from one of these two4 ,external objects furnish the mind with the ideas of sensible qualities1 which are all those different perceptions they produce in us2 and the mind furnishes the understanding with ideas of its own operations4 ,these1 when we have taken a full survey of them1 and their several modes1 combinations1 and relations1 we shall find to contain all our whole stock of ideas3 and that we have nothing in our minds1 which did not come in one of these two ways4'--,essay1 vol4 ,i4 p4 #hd4 ,again1 page #aej1 he says3 #8,i pretend not to teach but to inquire1 and therefore cannot but confess here again1 that external and internal sensation are the only passages that ,i can find of knowledge to the understanding4 ,these alone1 as far as ,i can discover1 are the windows by which light is let into this dark room4 ,for methinks the understanding is not much unlike a closet1 wholly shut from light1 with only some little opening left1 to let in external visible resemblances1 or ideas of things without3 would the pictures coming into such a dark room but stay there1 and lie so orderly as to be found upon occasion1 it would very much resemble the understanding of a man in reference to all objects of sight1 and the ideas of them4' ,this account of the origin of every thing that exists in the mind differs from the simplicity of ,hobbes's system1 and of the modern philosophy1 in supposing that there is another distinct source of ideas1 besides sensation1 namely1 reflection on the operations of our own minds4 ,i confess this addition appears to me to be very awkwardly and inartificially made4 ,for1 in the first place1 it is obvious to remark that in most at least1 if not all the instances enumerated by the author1 the operations themselves are the proper and immediate sources of our ideas1 not this kind of reflection on them1 which seems to be nothing but the repetition or recollection of the first conscious impression1 the perception of a perception4 ,for example1 ,mr4 ,locke includes among operations of our own minds #8some sort of passions arising from our ideas1' i4e4 as he explains it1 the sense of pleasure and pain4 ,now it is surely a little preposterous to make1 not the original feeling itself1 but the after consideration or reflection on that feeling1 the source of our idea of pleasure or pain4 ,in this sense1 reflection must be the source of all our ideas1 whether of external objects1 or the operations of our own minds1 for in the same sense it may be argued1 that the first impression of a sensible object is not the source of the idea we have of it1 till the soul comes to reflect on and consider that original impression4 ,but it might be said with equal propriety1 that we have one source of ideas1 viz41 sensation1 and another source of ideas1 viz4 ideas4 ,from the view which ,mr4 ,locke has here taken of the subject1 though the passions1 or the satisfaction and uneasiness attending certain things are ranked among the operations of the mind1 yet it is not quite clear whether we are supposed to have any consciousness of them or not2 whether they are not as remote from any thing like perception1 as the lifeless objects without us1 till coming to be afterwards reflected on and taken notice of by the mind1 they furnish the understanding with a new set of ideas4 ,the same reasoning may be applied to the other operations of perception1 thinking1 c4 for it seems to me that the original act of perceiving or thinking is the source of my idea of those mental operations1 just as the first impression of any sensible object is the source of my idea of that object4 ,not sensation and reflection1 therefore1 but sensation and the operations of our own minds are more properly the sources of our ideas1 that is1 these two furnish materials for our reflection4 ,i should not have dwelt so long upon this distinction1 which may be thought of little importance in itself1 but that ,i believe it has led to most of the errors of the #8,essay4' ,for in consequence of separating the operations of the mind in a manner from the mind itself1 and making them exist only as objects for its contemplation1 ,mr4 ,locke has been satisfied with considering those operations as acting upon the mind like external things1 not as emanating from it4 ,thus1 by a general formula1 all our ideas of every kind are represented as communicated to the mind by something foreign to it1 instead of growing out of1 and being a part of its own nature and essence4 ,secondly1 another objection to this division of our ideas into those of sensation and reflection is1 that it does not differ in any decisive manner from the more simple statement of ,hobbes and others1 who derive all our ideas from sensation4 ,for by sensation these writers do not understand merely the external image1 but the perception or feeling which accompanies it1 and they contend that all our other ideas are continuations1 modifications1 or different arrangements of the original impressions1 produced by objects on the senses4 ,now there is nothing in the extract above given to disprove this statement3 and if so1 the original hypothesis will remain in its full force4 ,indeed ,mr4 ,locke himself does not seem to have made up his mind1 whether it were so or not4 ,for though he speaks of the mind as furnishing the understanding with ideas1 and with the materials of reason and knowledge1 and enumerates and explains the several operations of the mind in comparing1 distinguishing1 c4 yet he elsewhere speaks of ideas as existing in the understanding like pictures in a gallery1 or as if the whole process of the intellect were resolvable into the power of receiving1 retaining1 carrying1 and transposing the gross materials furnished by the senses4 ,in this case1 ,i think the simplest way at once is to make sensation the foundation of all our other ideas and faculties4 ,for my own part1 the reason why ,i cannot assent to this doctrine is1 that ,i believe there is another act or faculty of the mind implied in all our ideas1 for which neither sensation nor any of its modes can ever account1 and which ,i shall here proceed to explain4 ,the principle which ,i shall attempt to prove is1 that ideas are the offspring of the understanding1 not of the senses4 ,by a sensation is meant the perception produced by the impression of the several parts of an outward object1 each by itself1 on the correspondent parts of an organised sentient being3 by an idea ,i mean the conception produced by a number of these together on the same conscious principle4 ,besides the succession or juxtaposition of different sensible impressions1 ,i suppose that there is a common principle of thought1 a superintending faculty1 which alone perceives the relations of things1 and enables us to comprehend their connexions1 forms1 and masses4 ,this faculty is properly the understanding1 and it is by means of this faculty that man indeed becomes a reasonable soul4 ,what has led more than any thing else to the exclusion of the understanding as a distinct faculty of the mind1 and to the principle of resolving the acts of judging1 reasoning1 c41 into mere association1 or succession of ideas1 has been the considering ideas themselves1 or those particular objects which are marked by one name1 or strike at once upon the senses1 as simple things4 ,mr4 ,locke1 it is true1 has avoided this error as far as relates to our ideas of substances1 but he reckons among simple ideas of the qualities of things several ideas1 which are evidently complex1 such as extension1 figure1 motion1 and number4 ,hence1 having laid in a certain stock of ideas without the necessity of the understanding1 it was thought an easy matter to build up the whole structure of the human mind without it1 as we build a house with stones4 ,the method1 therefore1 which ,i shall take to establish the point ,i have in view1 will be by showing that there is no one of these simple ideas1 or ideas of particular things1 which are made the foundation of all the rest1 that is not itself an aggregate of many things1 or that can subsist a moment but in the understanding4 ,i can conceive of a being endued with the power of sensation1 or simple perception1 so as to receive the direct impressions of things1 and also with memory1 so as to retain them for any length of time1 as they were severally and unconnectedly presented1 yet without the smallest degree of understanding1 or without ever having so much as a single thought4 ,the state of such a being would be that of animal life1 and something more with the addition of memory1 but it would not amount to intellect2 which implies1 besides actual1 living impressions1 the power of perceiving their relations to one another1 of comparing and contrasting them1 and of regarding the different parts of any object as making one whole4 ,without this #8discourse of reason1' this surrounding and forming power1 we could never have the idea of a single object1 as of a table or a chair1 a blade of grass1 or a grain of sand4 ,every one of these includes a certain configuration1 hardness1 colour1 c41 i4e4 ideas of different things1 received by different senses1 which must be put together by the understanding before they can be referred to any particular thing1 or considered as one idea4 ,without this faculty1 all our ideas would be necessarily decomposed1 and crumbled down into their original elements and fluxional parts4 ,we could assuredly never carry on a chain of reasoning on any subject1 for the very links of which this chain must consist would be ground to powder4 ,there would be an infinite divisibility in the impressions of the mind1 as well as in the objects of matter4 ,there would be a total want of union1 fellowship1 and mutual intelligence between them1 for each impression must remain absolutely simple and distinct1 unknown to1 and unconscious of the rest1 shut up in the narrow cell of its own individuality4 ,no two of these atomic impressions could ever club together to form even a sensible point1 much less should we be able to arrive at any of the larger masses1 or nominal descriptions of things4 ,the most that sensation could possibly do for us1 would be to furnish us with the ideas of what ,mr4 ,locke calls the simple qualities of objects1 as of colour or pressure1 though not as a general notion or diffused feeling2 for it is certain that no one idea could ever contain more than the tinge of a single ray of light1 or the puncture of a single particle of matter4 ,let us1 however1 for a moment suppose that the several parts of objects are to be considered as individual things1 or ideal units2 and then see whether1 without the cementing power of the understanding1 we shall be able to conceive of them as forming a complete whole1 or any one entire object4 ,thus we may have a notion of the legs and arms of a chair as so many distinct1 positive things2 but without the power of perceiving them together in their several proportions and situations1 we could not have the idea of a chair as one thing1 or as a piece of furniture1 intended for a particular use4 ,it is the mind 7if ,i may be allowed such an expression7 that makes up the idea of the chair1 and fits it together3 that is in this case the cabinet-maker1 who unites the loose1 disjointed parts1 and makes them one firm and well-compacted object4 ,i might instance to the same purpose a statue4 ,will any one say1 that if the head and limbs and different parts of a fine statue were to be taken asunder1 broken in pieces1 and strewed about the floor1 and first shown to him in that state1 he would have the same idea of the beauty1 proportions1 posture1 and effect of the whole1 as if he had seen it in its original state8 ,but the idea which such a person might have of the statue in this way would be completeness and harmony itself1 compared with any idea which could result from the sensible impression of the several parts4 ,for he might still in fancy piece together the broken1 mutilated fragments1 prop up the limbs1 set the head upon the shoulders1 and make out a crazy image of the whole2 but without the understanding reacting on the senses1 and informing the eye with judgment and knowledge1 there would be no possibility whatever of comparing the different impressions received3 no one part could have the slightest reference to any other part or to the whole2 there would be no principle of cohesion left3 we might have an infinite number of microscopic impressions and fractions of ideas1 but there being nothing to unite them together1 the most perfect grace and symmetry would be only one mass of unmeaning1 unconscious confusion4 ,all nature1 all objects1 all parts of all objects would be equally #8without form and void4' ,the mind alone is formative1 to use the expression of a great ,german writer2 or it is that alone which by its pervading and elastic energy unfolds and expands our ideas1 that gives order and consistency to them1 that assigns to every part its proper place1 and fixes it there1 and that frames the idea of the whole4 ,or1 in other words1 it is the understanding alone that perceives relation1 but every object is made up of relation4 ,in short1 there is no object or idea which does not consist of a number of parts arranged in a certain manner1 but of this arrangement the parts themselves cannot be sensible4 ,to make each part conscious of its relation to the rest is to suppose an infinite number of intellects instead of one2 and to say that a knowledge or perception of each part separately1 without a reference to the rest1 can produce a conception of the whole2 that is1 that a knowledge where no two impressions are or ever can be compared1 can include a comparison between them and many others1 is a contradiction and an absurdity4 ,it may be said perhaps1 that not the sensation excited by any of the parts of an object separately1 but the sum of our sensations1 excited by all the parts1 produces our idea of the whole4 ,but it is not possible that in a given number of impressions1 where the mind never has perception of more than a single part1 there should be contained notwithstanding a view of the whole at once4 ,for as a single part cannot of itself represent the whole object1 so neither can this part by being actually joined to others1 which by the supposition are never perceived to be joined with it1 produce that idea1 any more than if those other parts had no existence4 ,if the impression of the parts of an object1 absolutely and individually considered1 were the same thing as the idea of the object1 any number of actual impressions1 arranged in any manner whatever1 would necessarily be the same object4 ,but this is contrary to all fact4 ,for then a curve line1 consisting of the same number of points1 would not be distinguishable from a straight one1 nor a square from a triangle of the same dimensions1 and so on4 ,in a being endued only with a power of sensation1 and supposed to be simple and undivided1 there could be no room for more than an individual impression at once4 ,our sensations must always succeed each other4 ,one thought must have completely passed away1 before another could supply its place4 ,our ideas would leave no traces of themselves1 like the bubbles that rise and disappear on the water1 or the snow that melts as it falls4 ,there would be nothing in their fugitive1 momentary existence to bind them together4 ,ere we could stop to compare any one impression with any other1 it would be lost for ever in the dark abyss of time4 ,nothing could be connected with any thing else1 either coexisting with it1 or going before or after it4 ,if on the other hand1 we suppose any merely sentient being to be extended and compounded1 or to be capable of receiving more than one impression at once1 we shall yet gain little by it4 ,such a sentient being will be nothing but a number of distinct sentient beings4 ,for as in the former instance1 no two impressions could co-exist together1 so in the latter1 though they existed together1 there could be no sort of communication between them4 ,they would be absolutely cut off from and exclusive of each other4 ,the mind in attending to any one must be wholly absorbed by it1 and insensible of the rest4 ,our sensations would to every rational purpose be placed as completely out of the sphere of each other's consciousness1 as if they were parcel of another intellect1 or floated in the region of the moon4 ,that any number of detached1 unconnected1 actual sensations1 impressed on different sentient beings1 would not of themselves imply a conception of any one entire object is what every one is ready to grant3--it would be equally clear1 that this idea could not arise from the impression of the different parts of an object on the different parts of the same organized1 extended1 sentient substance1 but that in this case we involuntarily transfer our own consciousness to a being incapable of it1 and identify these distinct sensible impressions in the same common intellect4 ,it is strange that ,mr4 ,locke should rank among simple ideas that of number1 which he defines to be the idea of unity repeated4 ,but how this idea of successive or distinct units can ever give the idea of repetition unless the former instances are borne in mind1 ,i cannot conceive4 ,there might be a transition from one unit to another1 but no addition or aggregate formed4 ,as well might we suppose that a body of an inch diameter by shifting from place to place might enlarge its dimensions to a foot or a mile1 as that a succession of units1 perceived separately1 should produce the complex idea of number4 ,the natural fool that ,mr4 ,hobbes speaks of1 may be supposed to observe every stroke of the clock1 and nod to it1 or say one1 one1 one3 but he could never know what hour it strikes1 according to ,mr4 ,hobbes1 without the use of those names of order1 one1 two1 three1 c4 nor according to my notion1 without the help of that orderly understanding which first invented those names1 and comprehends their meaning4 ,on the material hypothesis1 the mind can have but one idea at a time1 and the idea of number could never enter into it4 ,though ,mr4 ,locke constantly supposes the mind to perceive relations1 and explains its operations in reasoning1 comparing1 c4 on this principle1 there is but one place in his work1 in which he seems to have been upon the point of discovering that this principle is at the bottom of all our ideas whatever4 ,he says1 in the beginning of his chapter on ,power1 which he classes among simple ideas1 and which in my opinion has a much more simple source than that which he assigns to it1--#8,i confess power includes in it some kind of relation 7a relation to action or change71 as indeed which of our ideas1 of what kind soever1 when attentively considered1 does not8 ,for our ideas of extension1 duration1 and number1 do they not all contain in them a secret relation of the parts8 ,figure and motion have something relative in them much more visibly3 and sensible qualities1 as colours and smells1 what are they but the powers of different bodies in relation to our perception8 and if considered in the things themselves1 do they not depend on the bulk1 figure1 texture1 and motion of the parts8 ,all which include some kind of relation in them4 ,our idea therefore of power ,i think may well have a place amongst other simple ideas1 and be considered as one of them1 being one of those that make a principal ingredient in our complex ideas of substances4'--,essay1 vol4 i4 p4 #bcd4 ,that is to say1 in other words1 the idea of power1 which is confessedly complex according to ,mr4 ,locke1 as depending on the changes we observe produced in one thing by another1 is to pass for a simple idea1 because it has as good a right to this denomination as other complex ideas1 which are usually classed as simple ones4 ,it is thus that the inquiring mind seems to be always hovering on the brink of truth1 but that timidity or indolence1 or prejudice1 which is both combined1 makes us shrink back1 unwilling to trust ourselves to the fathomless abyss4 ,i have thus endeavoured to give some account of what ,i mean by the understanding1 as the principle which is the foundation not only of judgment1 reason1 choice1 and deliberate action1 but is included in every idea of the mind1 or conception even of sensible objects4 ,i am aware that what ,i have said may be looked upon as rhapsody and extravagance by the strictest sect of those who are called philosophers4 ,the understanding has been set aside as an awkward incumbrance1 since it was conceived practicable to carry on the whole business of thought and reason by a succession of external images and sensible points4 ,the fine network of the mind itself1 the cords that bind and hold our scattered perceptions together1 and form the means of communication between them1 are dissolved and vanish before the clear light of modern metaphysics1 as the gossamer is dissipated by the sun4 ,the adepts in this system smile at the contradictions involved in the supposition of perceiving the relations between different things1 and say that this implies the absurdity that the mind may have two ideas at once1 which is with them impossible4 ,now ,i shall only contend that if the mind cannot have two ideas at the same time1 it can never have any1 since all the ideas we know of consist of more than one3 and though the consciousness we have of attending to different objects at once1 when we compare1 judge1 reason1 will1 c41 has been resolved into a deception of the mind in mistaking a rapid succession of objects for one general impression1 yet it will hardly be pretended that we deceive ourselves in thinking we have any ideas at all4 ,mr4 ,horne ,tooke1 who is certainly one of the ablest commentators on the doctrines of that school1 says that it is as absurd to talk of a complex idea as of a complex star1 meaning that our ideas are as perfectly distinct from1 and have as little to do with one another1 as the stars that compose a constellation4 ,other writers1 to avoid the seeming contradiction of supposing the mind to divide its attention between different objects1 have suggested the instant of its passing from one to the other as the true point of comparison between them2 or that the time when it had an idea of both together1 was the time when it had an idea of neither4 ,as it was evident that while the mind was entirely taken up with one idea1 it could not have any knowledge of another which did not yet exist1 or had passed away1 and as both impressions cannot be supposed to co-exist in the same conscious understanding 7for on this system there is no such faculty71 this short1 precious interval1 this moment of leisure from both1 this lucky vacancy of thought1 is pitched upon as that in which the mind performs all its functions1 and contemplates its various ideas in their absence1 as from some vantage ground the traveller stops to survey the country on both sides of him4 ,to such absurdities are ingenious men driven by setting up argument against fact1 and denying the most obvious truths for which they cannot account1 like the sophist who denied the existence of motion1 because he could not understand its nature4 ,it might be deemed a sufficient answer to those who build systems and lay down formal propositions on the principle that the mind can comprehend but one idea at a time1 to say that they consequently can have no meaning in what they write1 since when they begin a sentence they cannot have the least idea of what will be the end of it1 and by the time they get to the end of it must totally forget the beginning4 #8,peace to all such6' ,to show1 however1 that ,i am not quite singular in my notions on this subject of consciousness1 and to remove1 as ,i think1 every shadow of doubt upon it1 ,i beg leave to refer my readers to two passages1 the one in ,rousseau1 and the other in ,abraham ,tucker1 in support of the almost obsolete prejudice which ,i have here endeavoured to defend4 ,the one is an argument to prove that judgment and sensation are not the same1 in the ,vicar's profession of faith in #8,emilius1' and the other is the chapter on the independent existence of mind in the #8,light of ,nature ,pursued4' ,the passage in ,rousseau seems evidently to have been intended as an answer to the maxim of ,helvetius that to feel is to judge1 and to his reasoning on this maxim1 which is as follows3-- #8,the question being reduced within these limits1 ,i shall examine at present whether the act of the mind in judging is any thing more than a sensation4 ,when ,i judge of the size or colour of the objects around me1 it is evident that the judgment formed of the different impressions1 which these objects make upon my senses1 is properly only a sensation3 that ,i may say indiscriminately1 either ,i judge1 or ,i feel1 that of two objects1 the one which ,i call a yard makes upon me a different impression from another which ,i call a foot3 that the colour called red1 produces a different effect upon the sight from that which ,i call yellow2 and ,i conclude that in this case to judge is only to feel or perceive by the senses4 ,but it may be said1 let us suppose that any one desires to know whether strength of body is preferable to mere bulk2 are we certain that we can decide this point by means of the senses alone8 ,most undoubtedly1 ,i reply3 for in order to my coming to a decision on the subject1 my memory must first retrace to me successively the different situations in which ,i may happen most frequently to find myself in the course of my life4 ,in this case1 then1 to judge is to see that in these different situations strength will be oftener an advantage to me than size4 ,but it may be retorted1 when the question is to decide whether in a king justice is preferable to mercy1 is it conceivable that the conclusion here formed depends entirely on sensation8 ,the affirmative has undoubtedly at first sight the air of a paradox3 nevertheless1 in order to establish its truth1 we will presuppose in any one a knowledge of what is meant by good and evil1 and also of the principle that one action is worse than another1 according as it is more injurious to the well-being of society4 ,on this supposition1 what method ought the orator or poet to take1 in order to show most clearly that justice1 preferable in a king to mercy1 preserves the greatest number of citizens to the state8 #8,the orator will present three several pictures to the imagination of his supposed hearer3 in the first he will represent a just king1 who condemns and gives orders for the execution of a criminal2 in the second1 will be seen the good king1 who opens the doors of his dungeon1 and strikes off the chains of the same criminal2 in the third picture1 the criminal himself will be the principal figure1 who1 armed with a poniard1 on his escape from his cell hastens to assassinate fifty of his fellow-citizens4 ,but who is there that at the sight of these three pictures will not instantly perceive that justice which1 by the death of a single individual1 saves the lives of fifty persons1 is preferable to mercy8 ,nevertheless1 this judgment is really nothing but a sensation4 ,in fact1 if from the habit of connecting certain ideas with certain words1 the sound of these words may1 as experience demonstrates1 excite in us almost the same sensations which we should feel from the actual presence of the objects1 it is evident that from the contemplation of these three pictures1 to judge that in a king justice is preferable to mercy1 is to feel and see that in the first picture a single citizen is sacrificed1 while in the third fifty are massacred2 whence ,i conclude that every act of the judgment is only a sensation4'--,helvetius on the ,mind1 p4 #ab4 ,on this statement ,i may be permitted to remark that as the author affirms that sensation is the same thing as judgment1 so he seems to conceive that the assertion of any proposition is the same thing as the proof of it4 ,he supposes three several pictures to be presented to a man of understanding1 and that from an attentive contemplation and comparison of the different objects and events contained in them1 he comes to a judgment or conclusion1 viz4 ,that justice is preferable to mercy4 #8,nevertheless1' he says1 #8this judgment is really nothing but a sensation4' ,this is all the proof he brings2 and perhaps1 considering the language and country in which this celebrated author wrote1 it is reasoning good enough4 ,do ,i say this with any view to throw contempt on that lively1 ingenious1 gay1 social1 and polished people8 ,no2 but philosophy is not their forte3 they are not in earnest in these remote speculations4 ,in order duly to appreciate their writings1 we must consider them not as the dictates of the understanding1 but as the effects of constitution4 ,otherwise we shall do them great injustice4 ,they pursue truth1 like all other things1 as far as it is agreeable2 they reason for their amusement2 they engage in abstruse questions to vary the topics of conversation4 ,whatever does not answer this purpose is banished out of books and society as a morose and cynical philosophy4 ,to obtrude the dark and difficult parts of a question1 or to enter into an elaborate investigation of them1 is considered as a piece of ill-manners4 ,those writers1 therefore1 have been the most popular among the ,french who have supplied their readers with the greatest number of dazzling conclusions founded on the most slight and superficial evidence1 whose reasonings could be applied to every thing1 because they explained nothing1 and who most effectually kept out of sight every thing true or profound or interesting in a question4 ,who would ever think of plunging into abstruse1 metaphysical inquiries concerning the nature of the understanding1 when he may with entire ease to himself and satisfaction to others solve all the phenomena of the mind by repeating in three words1 ,juger est sentir4 ,as it was the object of the school-philosophy1 by a jargon of technical distinctions1 to sharpen the eagerness of debate and give birth to endless verbal controversies1 so the modern system1 transferring philosophy from the cloistered hall to the toilette and the drawing-room1 is calculated1 by a set of portable phrases1 as familiar and as current as the forms of salutation1 to silence every difference of opinion1 and to produce an euthanasia of all thought4 ,i have made these remarks not to prejudice the question1 but to prevent the prejudice arising on the other side1 from seeing the writers of a whole nation1 not deficient in natural talents or in acquired advantages1 agree in delivering the most puerile absurdities as profound and oracular truths4 ,the train of thought into which the author has fallen in the passage above cited is pretty obvious4 ,having undertaken to prove that the ideas of justice and mercy are mere sensations1 and that the conclusion that justice is preferable to mercy is also a mere sensation1 in order to shew the possibility of this he conjures up the ideas of a good and a bad king1 of a criminal1 a prison1 chains1 a dagger1 and fifty citizens massacred before the eyes of the spectator1 which form the subject of three imaginary pictures1 and which are in general considered as so many sensible objects4 ,all these sensible objects he supposes to be implied in1 and to be the materials out of which we frame the judgment or conclusion1 that justice is better than mercy2 and therefore he infers that there is nothing else implied in or necessary to that judgment1 and that consequently it is nothing but a sensation4 ,having succeeded in resolving the compound and general ideas of justice and mercy1 good and evil1 into a number of sensible appearances1 his imagination is entirely occupied with the novelty of the objects before him1 and he drops altogether the consideration1 whether the combination and comparison of these several objects or sensations which is absolutely necessary to their forming the moral ideas or inference spoken of1 is not the act of some other faculty4 ,in short1 the principle that a judgment is nothing but a sensation1 is not only a perfectly gratuitous assertion1 but an assertion either without meaning1 or a palpable contradiction4 ,for the single objects presented in the foregoing metaphysical pictures1 and which are supposed to constitute the judgment1 are not one sensation1 but many4 ,now if it be meant that these single objects1 as they are perceived separately1 or successively1 one by one1 without the intervention of any reflex act of the mind combining and comparing them together1 constitute of themselves the judgment1 #8that justice is preferable to mercy1' this is to say1 in so many words1 that the mind forms a comparison between things without comparing them1 and judges of their relations without perceiving them4 ,on the other hand1 if it be meant to include the acts of the mind in comparing1 judging1 inferring1 c4 in the term sensation1 then the proposition that judgment or sensation are the same1 will be nothing but an idle and insignificant abuse of words1 and will only prove that if to the sensation1 or perception of particular objects we add the faculty of comparing and judging1 nothing farther will be necessary for it to compare and judge4 ,i shall therefore dismiss this well known maxim as no better than a misnomer1 as an attempt to shorten the labour of thought by the interposition of an unmeaning phrase1 and to confound all the distinctions of the understanding by an equivoque4 ,it will not be amiss in this place to transcribe a passage from the ,logic of the ,abb ,condillac 7a work which may be regarded as the quintessence of slender thought1 and of the art of substituting words for things7 to show how far the doctrine of the origin of all our ideas from sensation may be carried1 and what an imbecility it produces in the mind1 and deadness to any but external objects4 ,the design of the passage is to prove that morality is a visible thing4 ,this however is a work of supererogation1 even on the principle supposed3 for it is not necessary to refer morality to any thing visible or audible1 or to any other of the senses1 but the sense of pleasure and pain2 our feelings of this kind being allowed to come from1 and make a part of our original sensations4 ,but this system is not an improvement on reason1 but a progression in superficiality and absurdity1 a vast vacuity1 where #8fluttering its pennons vain1 the mind drops down ten thousand fathoms deep4' #8,moral ideas1' says my author1 #8seem to elude the senses3 they at least elude the senses of those philosophers who deny that our knowledge proceeds from sensation4 ,they would gladly know of what colour virtue is1 or of what colour vice is4 ,i answer that virtue consists in the habitual performance of good actions1 as vice consists in the habitual performance of bad ones4 ,now these habits and these actions are visible4 #8,what1 then1 is the morality of actions a thing which falls under the cognizance of the senses6 ,wherefore should it not8 ,morality depends solely on the conformity between our actions and the laws2 but these actions are visible1 and the laws are so equally1 since they are certain conventions made by men4 #8,but it will be said1 if the laws are only things of convention1 they must be altogether arbitrary4 ,they may indeed be sometimes arbitrary2 there are but too many such laws2 but those which determine whether our actions are good or bad1 are not so1 nor can they be so4 ,they are the work of man1 it is true1 because they are conventions which we have made2 nevertheless1 we alone have not made them3 nature made them as well as we1 she dictated them to us1 and it was not in our power to make others4 ,the wants and the faculties of man being given1 the laws which are to regulate his conduct must necessarily follow3 and though we enacted them1 ,god who has created us with such wants and such faculties1 is in truth our sole legislator4 ,in obeying the laws which are conformable to our nature1 we render obedience to him who is the author of our nature2 and this is that which perfects the morality of actions4'--,page #ef4 ,for a work entitled ,logic1 there are a pleasant number of contradictions in this passage4 ,to pass over many of them1 if the laws here spoken of are such merely in consequence of their being visible1 then all visible objects are laws1 and all laws are equally moral4 ,but no6 there are some arbitrary laws4 ,now if the goodness of the law depends on their conformity to our wants and faculties1 neither of these are visible1 any more than ,god who is said to be our only lawgiver4 ,so that #8the latter end of this system of law and divinity forgets the beginning4' ,that those actions are moral which are conformable to a moral law1 and that those laws are moral1 which are agreeable to our nature and wants1 may be readily admitted3 but ,i cannot myself think that this conformity is an object of the senses1 or that the true features of morality can ever be discerned but by the eye of the understanding4 ,the friends of morality1 it seems1 according to our author1 are not to despair1 or to suppose that the distinctions of right and wrong are banished entirely out of the material system4 ,they only become more clear and legible than ever2 we are still right in asserting virtue to have a real existence1 namely1 on paper1 and in supposing that we have some idea of it1 as consisting of the letters of the alphabet4 ,almost in the same manner1 ,mr4 ,horne ,tooke very gravely defines the essence of law and just1 from the etymology of these words1 to consist in their being something laid down1 and something ordered 7jussum72 and when pressed by the difficulty that there are many things laid down and ordered which are neither laws nor just1 he makes answer that their obligation depends on a higher species of law and justice1 to wit1 a law which is no where laid down1 and a justice which is no where ordered1 except indeed by the nature of things1 on which the etymology of these two words does not seem to throw any light4 ,on all the other points of the modern metaphysical system1 such as the nature of abstraction1 judgment and reasoning1 the materiality of the soul1 free-will1 the association of ideas1 c4 ,mr4 ,locke either halts between two opinions1 or else takes the common-place side of the question4 ,the motion of the system1 which bears his name and which by this very delay gained all that it wanted to become popular1 was retrograde in him1 not progressive4 ,the extracts ,i am about to give from his work will ,i think establish this point4 ,they will at the same time show him to be a man of strong practical sense1 of much serious thought and inquiry1 and considerable freedom of opinion1 and a real lover of truth1 though not so bold and systematic a reasoner1 or so great a dealer in paradoxes as some others4 ,moderation1 caution1 a wish to examine every side of a question1 and an unwillingness to decide till after the most mature and circumspect investigation1 and then only according to the clearness of the evidence1 seem to have been the characteristics of his mind1 none of which denote the daring innovator1 or maker of a system4 ,what there is of system in his work is ,hobbes's1 as ,i have already shown3 the deviations from its common sense and general observation are his own4 ,there is throughout his reasoning the same contempt for the schoolmen1 and the same preference of native1 rustic reason to learned authority3 the same notion of the necessity for reforming the system of philosophy1 and of the possibility of doing this by a more exact use of words3 there is the same dissatisfaction with the prevailing system1 but he at the same time entertained doubts of his own4 ,what he wanted was confidence and decision4 ,the prolixity and ambiguity of his style seem to have arisen from this source3 for he is never weary of examining and re-examining the same objection1 and he states his arguments with so many limitations and with such a variety of expression to prevent misapprehension1 that it is often difficult to guess at his real meaning4 ,there is it must be confessed a sort of heaviness about him1 a want of clearness and connection1 which in spite of all his pains1 and the real plodding strength of his mind he was never able to overcome4 ,to return to his account of complex ideas3 the beginning of his observations on this subject is as follows3 #8,we have hitherto considered those ideas1 in the reception whereof the mind is only passive1 which are those simple ones received from sensation and reflection before mentioned1 whereof the mind cannot make one to itself1 nor have any idea which does not consist wholly of them4 ,but as the mind is wholly passive in the reception of all its simple ideas1 so it exerts several acts of its own1 whereby out of its simple ideas1 as the materials and foundations of the rest1 the other are framed4 ,the acts of the mind wherein it exerts its power over its simple ideas1 are chiefly these three4 #8#a4 ,combining several simple ideas into one compound one1 and thus all complex ideas are made4 #b4 ,the second is bringing two ideas1 whether simple or complex1 together1 and setting them by one another1 so as to take a view of them at once1 without uniting them into one2 in which way it gets all its ideas of relations4 #c4 ,the third is separating them from all other ideas that accompany them in their real existence2 this is called abstraction3 and thus all its general ideas are made4 ,this shows man's power to be much about the same in the material and intellectual world3 for the materials in both being such as he has no power over1 either to make or destroy1 all that man can do is either to unite them together1 or to set them by one another1 or wholly to separate them4'--,vol4 i4 p4 #aea4 ,the first great point which ,mr4 ,locke labours to prove in his ,essay1 is that there are no innate ideas1 which he seems to have established very fully and clearly1 if indeed so obvious a truth required any formal demonstration4 ,his chief proofs are from the case of a man born blind1 who has no idea of colours1 and from the ignorance which children and idiots have of those first principles and universal maxims1 which some philosophers and theologians1 confounding the faculties of the mind with actual impressions1 had supposed to be legibly engraven on the mind by the hand of its author4 ,for the supposing the understanding to be a distinct faculty of the mind no more proves our ideas to be innate1 than the allowing perception to be a distinct original faculty of the mind1 which everybody does1 proves that there must be innate sensations4 ,these two positions have1 however1 been sometimes considered as convertible by the partisans on both sides of the question2 the one arguing from the existence of the soul and the power of thought to the positive perception of certain truths1 and the others concluding that by denying any original inherent impressions1 they had overturned the supposition of the different faculties and powers which must be in the mind1 to account for the first production or subsequent modification of sensation or of thought4 ,for instance1 it has been made a consequence of the doctrine that there were no innate ideas1 that there could be no such thing as genius1 or an original difference of capacity2 as if the capacity were not perfectly distinct from the actual impressions by the very theory itself1 and as if there might not be a difference in the capacity of acquiring ideas as all experience shows1 though none in the knowledge acquired1 because this capacity had never yet been exerted4 ,as well might we argue that of two houses that are just built one is as commodious and capacious as the other1 as well fitted for the reception of guests and the disposal of furniture1 because at present neither of them is furnished or inhabited4 ,the following passages will show the manner in which our author treats this part of his subject3 #8,the child certainly knows that the nurse that feeds it is neither the cat it plays with1 nor the blackamoor it is afraid of3 that the wormseed or mustard it refuses is not the apple or sugar it cries for2 this it is certainly and undoubtedly assured of3 but will any one say it is by virtue of this principle1 ,that it is impossible for the same thing to be and not to be1 that it so firmly assents to these and other parts of its knowledge8 ,or that the child has any notion or apprehension of that proposition at an age1 wherein yet1 it is plain1 it knows a great many other truths8 ,he that will say1 children join these several abstract speculations with their sucking bottles and their rattles1 may perhaps with justice be thought to have more passion and zeal for his opinion1 but less sincerity and truth than one of that age4 ,though therefore there be several general propositions that meet with constant and ready assent as soon as proposed to men grown up1 who have attained the use of more general and abstract ideas1 and names standing for them1 yet they not being to be found in those of tender years1 who nevertheless know other things1 they cannot pretend to universal assent of intelligent persons1 and so by no means can be supposed innate3 it being impossible1 that any truth which is innate 7if there were any such7 should be unknown1 at least to any one who knows any thing else4 ,since if they are innate truths1 they must be innate thoughts2 there being nothing a truth in the mind which it has never thought on4 #8,that the general maxims we are discoursing of1 are not known to children1 idiots1 and a great part of mankind1 we have already sufficiently proved4 ,but there is this farther argument against their being innate1 that these characters1 if they were native and original impressions1 should appear fairest and clearest in those persons in whom yet we find no footsteps of them4 ,and it is in my opinion a strong presumption that they are not innate1 since they are least known to those in whom if they were innate1 they must need exert themselves with most force and vigour4 ,for children1 idiots1 savages1 and illiterate people being of all others the least corrupted by custom or borrowed opinion1 learning or education having not cast their native thoughts into new moulds1 nor by superinducing foreign and studied doctrines1 confounded those fair characters nature had written there2 one might reasonably imagine that in their minds these innate notions should lie open fairly to every one's view1 as it is certain the thoughts of children do4 ,one would think according to these men's principles that all these native beams of light 7were there any such7 should in those who have no reserves1 no acts of concealment1 shine out in their full lustre1 and leave us in no more doubt of their being there than we are of their love of pleasure and abhorrence of pain4 ,but alas1 amongst children1 idiots1 savages1 and the grossly illiterate1 what general maxims are to be found8 ,what universal principle of knowledge8 ,their notions are few and narrow1 borrowed only from those objects they have had most to do with1 and which have made upon their senses the frequentest and strongest impressions4 ,a child knows his nurse and his cradle1 and by degrees the playthings of a little more advanced age2 and a young savage has perhaps his head filled with love and hunting1 according to the fashion of his tribe4 ,but he that from a child untaught1 or a wild inhabitant of the woods will expect these abstract maxims and reputed principles of science1 will ,i fear find himself mistaken4 ,such kind of general propositions as that which is1 is2 and that it is impossible for the same thing to be and not to be are seldom mentioned in the huts of ,indians1 much less are they to be found in the thoughts of children1 or any impressions of them on the minds of naturals4 ,they are the language and business of the schools and academies of learned nations1 accustomed to that sort of conversation or learning1 where disputes are frequent3 these maxims being suited to artificial argumentation1 and useful for conviction1 but not much conducing to the discovery of truth1 or advancement of knowledge4' ,i do not know that ,mr4 ,locke has sufficiently distinguished between two things which ,i cannot very well express otherwise than by a turn of words1 namely1 an innate knowledge of principles1 and innate principles of knowledge4 ,his arguments seem to me conclusive against the one1 but not against the other1 for ,i think that there are certain general principles or forms of thinking1 something like the moulds in which any thing is cast1 according to which our ideas follow one another in a certain order1 though the knowledge1 i4e41 perception of what these principles are1 and the forming them into distinct propositions is the result of experience4 ,it is true1 the child distinguishes between its nurse and the blackamoor1 between bitter and sweet3 what hinders it from confounding them8 ,the ideas of same and different are not included in these ideas themselves1 nor are they peculiar to any of them1 but general terms4 ,what then determines the child to annex them uniformly to certain things and not to others8 ,it is plain then1 that our ideas are not at liberty to run into clusters as they please or as it happens1 but are regulated by certain laws1 to which they must conform2 or that the manner in which we conceive of things does not depend simply on the particular nature of the things1 but on the general nature of the understanding4 ,mr4 ,locke is clear for certain innate practical principles or general tendencies regulating all our actions1 namely1 the love of pleasure1 and aversion to pain4 ,he does not however admit1 as ,i can find1 of any thing similar to the operations of the understanding4 ,the analogy1 notwithstanding1 holds exactly the same in both cases4 ,for the child is no more conscious of any such general practical principle regulating all his desires1 than of any speculative principle regulating his notion of things3 he gets the idea of both from experience of their effects2 but ,i think that if there were no such principles in the mind itself1 previous to the actual impression of objects1 and merely developed or called into action by them1 we must be perfectly indifferent both to the reception of pleasure and pain1 as we should feel no more repugnance to admit one conclusion than another1 however absurd or contradictory4 ,the necessity we are under of perceiving certain agreements or disagreements between our ideas is as much1 and in the same sense1 the foundation of judgment and reasoning1 as the general desire of happiness and aversion to misery is the foundation of morality4 ,this property of the understanding1 by which certain judgments1 naturally follow certain perceptions1 and are followed by other judgments1 is the faculty of reason1 of order and proportion in the mind1 and is indeed nothing but the understanding acting by rule or necessity4 ,the long controversy between ,locke and ,leibnitz with respect to innate ideas turned upon the distinction here stated1 innate ideas being thus referred not to the actual impressions of objects1 but to the forms or moulds existing in the mind1 and in which those impressions are cast4 ,leibnitz contended that there was a germ or principle of truth1 a pre-established harmony between its innate faculties and its acquired ideas1 implied in the essence of the mind itself4 ,according to the one it was like a piece of free stone1 which the mason hews with equal ease in all directions1 and into any shape1 as circumstances require3 according to the other1 it resembles a piece of marble strongly ingrained1 with the figure of a man1 or other animal1 inclosed in it1 and which the sculptor has only to separate from the surrounding mass4 ,i will add one more passage to draw the attention of my readers to this intricate subject1 and to show that the difficulties surrounding it were not completely cleared up or even apprehended by the author of the #8,essay4' #8,hath a child1' he says1 #8an idea of impossibility and identity1 before it has of white or black1 sweet or sour8 ,or is it from the knowledge of this principle that it concludes that wormwood rubbed on the nipple hath not the same taste that it used to receive from thence8 ,is it the actual knowledge of ,impossibile est idem esse et non esse that makes a child distinguish between its mother and a stranger1 or that makes it fond of the one1 and fly the other8 ,or does the mind regulate itself and its assent by ideas that it never had8 ,or the understanding draw conclusions from principles which it never yet knew or understood8 ,the names impossibility and identity stand for two ideas1 so far from being innate1 or born with us1 that ,i think it requires great care and attention to form them right in our understandings4 ,they are so far from being brought into the world with us1 so remote from the thoughts of infancy and childhood1 that ,i believe upon examination it will be found that many grown men want them4 #8,if identity 7to instance in that alone7 be a native impression1 and consequently so clear and obvious to us that we must needs know it even from our cradles2 ,i would gladly be resolved by one of seven or seventy years old1 ,whether a man1 being a creature consisting of soul and body1 be the same man when his body is changed8 ,whether ,euphorbus and ,pythagoras1 having had the same soul1 were the same man1 though they lived several ages asunder8 ,nay1 whether the cock too1 which had the same soul1 were not the same with both of them8 ,whereby perhaps it will appear that our idea of sameness is not so settled and clear as to deserve to be thought innate in us4 ,for if those innate ideas are not so clear and distinct as to be universally known and naturally agreed on1 they cannot be subjects of universal and undoubted truths1 but will be the unavoidable occasion of perpetual uncertainty4 ,for ,i suppose every one's idea of identity will not be the same that ,pythagoras and thousand others of his followers have3 and which then shall be true1 which innate8 ,or are these two different ideas of identity both innate8'--,page #fj4 ,two things are obvious to remark on this passage4 ,first1 it seems clear that the child1 before it can pronounce that one thing is or is not the same as another1 must have the idea of what same is1 i4e4 of identity3 or it would be impossible for it to know what is or is not the same4 ,this idea1 then1 is necessarily included in or the result of the first comparison it is able to make between any two of its impressions as alike or unlike4 ,secondly1 the difficulty of determining the question proposed by ,mr4 ,locke does not arise from the meaning of the word identity1 but of the word man4 ,for if this is once clear and settled1 there will be no great effort of the understanding required to determine whether a man is the same or not4 ,they define him to be a creature consisting of body and soul1 and it is plain that if one of these1 the body1 is altered1 the man is not the same4 ,the whole question1 therefore1 here seems to turn on deciding what qualities are essential to the idea of man1 so that by keeping or leaving out some1 he will or will not retain his identity1 in the practical and moral sense of the term4 ,it is the complex and general idea of man that the child wants1 not that of identity or sameness which is reflected to it from every object it meets1 and which it perceives to agree or disagree with some other4 ,in a note to one of the chapters on ,innate ,ideas1 there is some account of the controversy between our author and the ,bishop of ,worcester 7,stillingfleet7 on the question whether the idea of a ,god be innate and universal4 ,the ,bishop is anxious to have the universal belief in a ,deity understood in a strict sense1 while ,mr4 ,locke thinks it must be reduced to a very great and decided majority1 there being instances of whole nations without this idea4 #8,this1' he says #8is all the universal consent which truth of matter-of-fact will allow2 and therefore all that can be made use of to prove a ,god4 ,i would crave leave to ask your lordship1 were there ever in the world any atheists or no8 ,for if any one deny a ,god1 such a perfect universality of consent is destroyed1 and if nobody does deny a ,god1 what need of arguments to convince atheists8'--,page #fc4 ,this is the acutest turn he has any where given to an argument4 ,the concluding passage of his account of innate ideas is worth quoting4 ,it is a good description of the true spirit of philosophy1 inclining a little too much to self-opinion1 from which1 perhaps1 it is not easily separable3 #8,what censure doubting thus of innate principles may deserve from men who will be apt to call it pulling up the old foundations of knowledge and certainty1 ,i cannot tell2 ,i persuade myself at least that the way ,i have pursued1 being conformable to truth1 lays those foundations surer4 ,this ,i am certain1 ,i have not made it my business to quit or follow any authority in the ensuing discourse2 truth has been my only aim2 and wherever that has appeared to lead1 my thoughts have impartially followed without minding whether the footsteps of any other lay that way or no4 ,not that ,i want a due respect to other men's opinions2 but after all the greatest reverence is due to truth2 and ,i hope it will not be thought arrogance to say1 that perhaps we should make greater progress in the discovery of rational and contemplative knowledge1 if we sought it in the fountain1 in the consideration of things themselves1 and made use rather of our own thoughts than other men's to find it4 ,for ,i think we may as rationally hope to see with other men's eyes1 as to know by other men's understandings4 ,so much as we ourselves consider and comprehend of truth and reason1 so much we possess of real and true knowledge4 ,the floating of other men's opinions in our brains makes us not one jot the more knowing1 though they happen to be true4 ,what in them was science1 is in us but opiniatrety1 whilst we give up our assent only to reverend names1 and do not1 as they did1 employ our own reason to understand those truths which gave them reputation4 ,aristotle was certainly a knowing man2 but nobody ever thought him so1 because he blindly embraced and confidently vented the opinions of another4 ,and if the taking up of another's principles1 without examining them1 made not him a philosopher1 ,i suppose it will hardly make any body else so4 ,in the sciences1 every one has so much as he really knows and comprehends3 what he believes only and takes upon trust1 are but shreds1 which however well in the whole piece1 make no considerable addition to his stock who gathers them4 ,such borrowed wealth1 like fairy money1 though it were gold in the hand from which he received it1 will be but leaves and dust when it comes to use4'--,page #hj4 ,in treating of the origin of our ideas1 ,mr4 ,locke labours to prove that men think not always3--thinking1 according to him1 being to the soul what motion is to the body2 not its essence1 but one of its operations4 ,in this opinion he may1 as far as ,i know1 be right3 but ,i think his proof of it drawn from the effects of sleep fails4 ,the reason why ,i think so is that ,i was never awakened suddenly but ,i found myself dreaming1 though in the interval required to awake gradually from sleep we frequently forget our dreams before we are quite awake1 the impressions which objects have time to make upon our bodies taking place of and obliterating the faint traces of our sleeping thoughts4 ,the common notion that the mind is then most awake when the body is asleep1 deserves the contempt with which ,mr4 ,locke treats it4 ,it is one of the absurdities of common sense1 which is not entirely free from them any more than philosophy4 ,those who can find any argument in favour of the immaterial nature and independent powers of the soul in the sublime flights which it takes when emancipated from the intrusion of sensible objects must have finer dreams than ,i have4 ,it would be well for this opinion if we could regularly forget the next morning the smart repartees1 magnificent sentiments and profound remarks we so often dream we make4 ,the singular significance which in sleep we attach to absolute nonsense seems to arise from the very impotence of our efforts1 as we fancy that we can fly because we cannot move at all4 ,in sleep1 indeed1 the forms of imagination assume the appearance of reality1 but this advantage they seem to owe chiefly to what ,hobbes calls the silence of sense4 ,that sleep1 however1 consists wholly in this silence of sense 7not affecting the mind itself7 is so far from being true1 that it is not even necessary to it4 ,persons who walk in their sleep1 as ,i know from experience1 get out of bed with their eyes open1 see and feel the objects about them1 open the window1 and leisurely survey the opposite trees and houses1 long before they recollect where they are1 or before the fresh air and the regular succession of known objects dispel the drowsy phantoms of the night4 ,the only essential difference between our sleeping and waking thoughts ,i believe is1 that in sleep the comprehensive faculty flags and droops2 so that being unable to consider many things at once or to retain a succession of ideas in mind1 we confound things together1 and pass from one object to another without order or connexion1 any single circumstance in which they agree being sufficient to make us associate them together or substitute one for the other4 ,our thoughts are1 as it were1 disentangled from the circumstances and consequences which at other times clog their motions3 they are let loose1 and left at liberty to wander in any direction that chance presents4 ,the greatest singularity observable in dreams is the faculty of holding a dialogue with ourselves1 as if we were really and effectually two persons4 ,we make a remark1 and then expect the answer1 which we are to give ourselves1 with the same gravity of attention1 and hear it with the same surprise as if it were really spoken by another person4 ,we are played upon by puppets of our own moving4 ,we are staggered in an argument by an unforeseen objection1 or alarmed at a sudden piece of information of which we have no apprehension till it seems to proceed from the mouth of some one with whom we fancy ourselves conversing4 ,we have in fact no idea of what the question will be that we put to ourselves1 till the moment of its birth4 ,mr4 ,locke in treating of our sensations as effects of the impressions of the qualities of things1 distinguishes these qualities according to the usual opinion into primary and secondary4 ,the former he considers as really and in themselves the same as they appear to our senses3 the other as merely the effects produced by certain objects on the mind and not existing out of it4 ,as this question forms one of the common-places of metaphysical inquiry1 ,i shall give some account of it in his own words4 #8,the qualities that are in bodies1 rightly considered1 are of three sorts4 #8,first1 ,the bulk1 figure1 number1 situation1 and motion or rest of their solid parts2 these are in them whether we perceive them or no2 and we have by these an idea of the thing as it is in itself3 these ,i call primary qualities4 #8,secondly1 ,the power that is in any body by reason of its insensible primary qualities to operate after a peculiar manner on any of our senses1 and thereby produce in us the different ideas of several colours1 sounds1 smells1 tastes1 c4 ,these are usually called sensible qualities4 #8,thirdly1 ,the power that is in any body1 by reason of the particular constitution of its primary qualities1 to make such a change in the bulk1 figure1 texture1 and motion of another body1 as to make it operate on our senses differently from what it did before4 ,thus the sun has a power to make wax white1 and fire to make lead fluid4 ,these are usually called powers4 #8,the first of these1 as has been said1 ,i think1 may be properly called1 real1 original1 or primary qualities1 because they are in the things themselves1 whether they are perceived or no3 and upon their different modifications it is that the secondary qualities depend4 ,the other two are only powers to act differently upon other things1 which powers result from the different modifications of those primary qualities4 #8,but though these two latter sorts of qualities are powers barely1 and nothing but powers1 relating to several other bodies1 and resulting from the different modifications of the original qualities1 yet they are generally thought otherwise of4 ,for the second sort1 viz41 the powers to produce several ideas in us by our senses1 are looked upon as real qualities in the things thus affecting us3 but the third sort are called and esteemed barely powers4 ,for example1 the ideas of heat or light1 which we receive by our eye or touch from the sun are commonly thought real qualities1 existing in the sun1 and something more than mere powers in it4 ,but when we consider the sun in reference to wax which it melts or blanches1 we look on the whiteness and softness produced in the wax1 not as qualities in the sun1 but effects produced by powers in it3 whereas1 if rightly considered1 these qualities of light and warmth1 which are perceptions in me when ,i am warmed or enlightened by the sun1 are no otherwise in the sun than the changes made in the wax1 when it is blanched or melted1 are in the sun4 ,they are all of them equally powers in the sun1 depending on its primary qualities3 whereby it is enabled in the one case so to alter the bulk1 figure1 texture1 or motion of some of the insensible parts of my eyes or hands1 as thereby to produce in me the idea of light or heat2 and in the other1 it is able so to alter the bulk1 figure1 texture1 or motion of the insensible parts of the wax1 as to make them fit to produce in me the distinct ideas of white and fluid4 ,the reason why the one are ordinarily taken for real qualities1 and the other only for bare powers1 seems to be1 because the ideas we have of distinct colours1 sounds1 c41 containing nothing at all in them of bulk1 figure1 or motion1 we are not apt to think them the effects of those primary qualities which appear not to our senses to operate in their production1 and with which they have not any apparent congruity or conceivable connexion4 ,hence it is that we are so forward to imagine that those ideas are the resemblances of something really existing in the objects themselves4 ,but in the other case1 in the operation of bodies1 changing the qualities1 one of another1 we plainly discover that the quality produced hath commonly no resemblance with any thing in the thing producing it2 wherefore we look on it as a bare effect of power4 ,for though receiving the idea of heat or light from the sun1 we are apt to think it is a perception and resemblance of such a quality in the sun1 yet when we see wax or a fair face receive change of colour from the sun1 we cannot imagine that to be the perception or resemblance of any thing in the sun1 because we find not those different colours in the sun itself4 ,for our senses being able to observe a likeness or unlikeness of sensible qualities in two different external objects1 we forwardly enough conclude the production of any sensible quality in any subject to be an effect of bare power1 and not the communication of any quality1 which was really in the efficient1 when we find no such sensible quality in the thing that produced it4 ,but ourselves not being able to discover any unlikeness between the idea produced in us and the quality of the object producing it1 we are apt to imagine that our ideas are resemblances of some thing in the objects1 and not the effects of certain powers placed in the modification of their primary qualities1 with which primary qualities the ideas produced in us have no resemblance4' ,vol4 i4 page #abg4 ,from the secondary qualities later writers1 as ,hume and ,berkeley1 have proceeded to the primary ones1 and have endeavoured to shew that they have not a real existence out of the mind1 any more than the others4 ,hume says1 #8,the fundamental principle of the modern philosophy is the opinion concerning colours1 sounds1 tastes1 smells1 heat and cold1' c42 and ,bishop ,berkeley has made use of the same principle to banish the least particle of matter out of the universe4 ,what ,hume has said is merely taken from ,berkeley1 from whom his opinions are generally borrowed4 ,as ,i do not know that ,i shall have a better opportunity1 ,i will here state ,berkeley's arguments against the existence of these primary qualities1 or his ideal system1 in his own words4 ,i will only first observe1 on the argument against the existence of the secondary qualities of things1 from their different effects in different circumstances and on different persons1 which ,hume considers as the only solid one1 but which ,berkeley thinks more doubtful1 seems to me no argument at all2 for that an object changes its colour1 or food its taste1 is in consequence of distance or of the interposition of another object1 or of the indisposition of the organ1 and does not prove that the object has not a particular colour1 or the food a particular taste1 but that colour is combined with and altered by the colour of the air1 and that taste is combined with and altered by another taste in the mouth or stomach4 ,the logical inference is merely that one object has not the same sensible qualities as another1 or1 as ,berkeley has remarked1 that we do not know what the true or natural qualities of any object are4 #8,it is evident1' says ,bishop ,berkeley1 #8to any one who takes a survey of the objects of ,human ,knowledge1 that they are either ideas actually imprinted on the senses1 or else such as are perceived by attending to the passions and operations of the mind1 or1 lastly1 ideas formed by help of memory and imagination2 either compounding1 dividing1 or barely representing those originally perceived in the aforesaid ways4 ,by sight ,i have the ideas of light and colours1 with their several degrees and variations4 ,by touch ,i perceive hard and soft1 heat and cold1 motion and resistance1 c4 and of all these more and less1 either as to quantity or degree4 ,smelling furnishes me with odours3 the palate with tastes2 and hearing conveys sounds to the mind in all their variety of tone and composition4 ,and as several of these are observed to accompany each other1 they come to be marked by one name1 and so to be reputed as one thing4 ,thus1 for example1 a certain colour1 taste1 smell1 figure1 and consistence1 having been observed to go together1 are accounted one distinct thing1 signified by the name apple4 ,other collections of ideas constitute a stone1 a tree1 a book1 and the like sensible things2 which1 as they are pleasing or disagreeable1 excite the passions of love1 hatred1 joy1 grief1 c4 #8#b4 ,but besides all that endless variety of ideas or objects of knowledge1 there is likewise something which knows and perceives them1 and exercises divers operations1 as willing1 imagining1 remembering1 c4 about them4 ,this perceiving1 active being is what ,i call mind1 spirit1 soul1 or myself4 ,by which words ,i do not denote any one of my ideas1 but a thing entirely distinct from them1 wherein they exist1 or1 which is the same thing1 whereby they are perceived1 for the existence of an idea consists in being perceived4 #8#c4 ,that neither our thoughts1 nor passions1 nor ideas formed by the imagination1 exist without the mind1 is what every body will allow2 and to me it is no less evident that the various sensations or ideas imprinted on the sense1 however blended or combined together1 7that is1 whatever objects they compose17 cannot exist otherwise than in a mind perceiving them4 ,i think an intuitive knowledge may be obtained of this1 by any one that shall attend to what is meant by the term exist1 when applied to sensible things4 ,the table ,i write on1 ,i say1 exists2 i4e4 ,i see and feel it1 and if ,i were out of my study1 ,i should say it existed1 meaning thereby1 that if ,i was in my study ,i might perceive it1 or that some other spirit actually does perceive it4 ,there was an odour1 i4e4 it was smelt2 there was a sound1 i4e4 it was heard2 a colour or figure1 and it was perceived by sight or touch4 ,this is all that ,i can understand by these and the like expressions4 ,for as to what is said of the absolute existence of unthinking things without any relation to their being perceived1 that is to me perfectly unintelligible4 ,their esse is percipi1 nor is it possible they should have any existence1 out of the minds or thinking things which perceive them4 #8#d4 ,it is indeed an opinion strangely prevailing among men1 that houses1 mountains1 rivers1 and in a word all sensible objects1 have an existence natural or real1 distinct from their being perceived by the understanding4 ,but with how great an assurance and acquiescence soever this principle may be entertained in the world1 yet whoever shall find in his heart to call it in question1 may1 if ,i mistake not1 perceive it to involve a manifest contradiction4 ,for what are the forementioned objects but the things we perceive by sense1 and what1 ,i pray you1 do we perceive besides our own ideas or sensations8 ,and is it not plainly repugnant that any one of these1 or any combination of them1 should exist unperceived8 #8#e4 ,if we thoroughly examine this tenet1 it will1 perhaps1 be found at bottom to depend on the doctrine of abstract ideas4 ,for can there be a nicer strain of abstraction than to distinguish the existence of sensible objects from their being perceived1 so as to conceive them existing unperceived8 ,light and colours1 heat and cold1 extension and figures1 in a word1 the things we see and feel1 what are they but so many sensations1 notions1 ideas1 or impressions on the sense2 and is it possible to separate1 even in thought1 any of these from perception8 ,for my part1 ,i might as easily divide a thing from itself4 ,i may1 indeed1 divide in my thoughts1 or conceive apart from each other1 those things which1 perhaps1 ,i never perceived by sense so divided4 ,thus ,i imagine the trunk of a human body without the limbs1 or conceive the smell of a rose without thinking on the rose itself4 ,so far ,i will not deny ,i can abstract1 if that may be properly called abstraction which extends only to the conceiving separately such objects as it is possible may really exist or be actually perceived asunder4 ,but my conceiving or imagining power does not extend beyond the possibility of real existence or perception4 ,hence1 as it is impossible for me to see or feel any thing without an actual sensation of that thing1 so it is impossible for me to conceive in my thoughts any sensible thing or object distinct from the sensation or perception of it4 ,in truth1 the object and the sensation are the same thing1 and cannot therefore be extracted from each other4 #8#f4 ,some truths there are so near and obvious to the mind that a man need only open his eyes to see them4 ,such ,i take this important one to be1 viz4 that all the choir of heaven1 and furniture of the earth1 in a word1 all those bodies which compose the mighty frame of the world1 have not any subsistence without a mind1 that their esse is to be perceived or known2 that consequently1 so long as they are not actually perceived by me1 or do not exist in my mind or that of any other created spirit1 they must either have no existence at all1 or else subsist in the mind of some eternal spirit3 it being perfectly unintelligible1 and involving all the absurdity of abstraction1 to attribute to any single part of them an existence independent of a spirit4 ,to make this appear with all the light and evidence of an axiom1 it seems sufficient if ,i can but awaken the reflection of the reader1 that he may take an impartial view of his own meaning1 and turn his thoughts upon the subject itself1 free and disengaged from all embarrass of words and prepossession in favour of received mistakes4 #8#g4 ,from what has been said1 it is evident there is not any other substance than spirit1 or that which perceives4 ,but for the fuller demonstration of this point1 let it be considered1 the sensible qualities are colour1 figure1 motion1 smell1 taste1 c42 i4e4 the ideas perceived by sense4 ,now1 for an idea to exist in an unperceiving thing is a manifest contradiction2 for to have an idea is all one as to perceive2 that1 therefore1 wherein colour1 figure1 c4 exist must perceive them4 ,hence it is clear there can be no unthinking substance or substratum of those ideas4 #8#h4 ,but1 say you1 though the ideas themselves do not exist without the mind1 yet there may be things like them whereof they are copies or resemblances1 which things exist without the mind1 in an unthinking substance4 ,i answer1 an idea can be like nothing but an idea1 a colour or figure1 can be like nothing but another colour or figure4 ,if we look but never so little into our thoughts1 we shall find it impossible for us to conceive a likeness except only between our ideas4 ,again1 ,i ask whether those supposed originals1 or external things1 of which our ideas are the pictures or representations1 be themselves perceivable or no8 ,if they are1 then they are ideas1 and we have gained our point2 but if you say they are not1 ,i appeal to any one whether it be sense to assert a colour is like something which is invisible3 hard or soft1 like something which is intangible1 and so of the rest4 #8#i4 ,some there are who make a distinction between primary and secondary qualities2 by the former1 they mean extension1 figure1 motion1 rest1 solidity or impenetrability1 and number2 by the latter1 they denote all other sensible qualities1 as colours1 sounds1 tastes1 c4 ,the ideas we have of these they acknowledge not to be the resemblances of any thing existing without the mind1 or unperceived1 but they will have our ideas of the primary qualities to be patterns or images of things which exist without the mind1 in an unthinking substance1 which they call matter4 ,by matter1 therefore1 we are to understand an inert1 useless substance1 in which extension1 figure1 motion1 c4 do actually subsist4 ,but it is evident from what we have already shewn1 that extension1 figure1 and motion are only ideas existing in the mind1 and that consequently neither they nor their archetypes can exist in an unperceiving substance4 ,hence it is plain that the very notion of what is called matter or corporeal substance involves a contradiction in it1 insomuch that ,i should not think it necessary to spend more time in exposing its absurdity2 but because the tenet of the existence of matter seems to have taken so deep a root in the minds of philosophers1 and draws after it so many ill consequences1 ,i choose rather to be thought prolix and tedious1 than omit any thing that might conduce to the full discovery and extirpation of that prejudice4 #8#aj4 ,they who assert that figure1 motion1 and the rest of the primary or original qualities do exist without the mind1 in unthinking substances1 do at the same time acknowledge that colours1 sounds1 heat1 cold1 c4 do not1 which they tell us are sensations existing in the mind alone1 that depend on1 and are occasioned by the different size1 texture1 motion1 c4 of the minute particles of matter4 ,this they take for an undoubted truth1 which they can demonstrate beyond all exception4 ,now if it be certain that those original qualities are inseparably united with the other sensible qualities1 and not1 even in thought1 capable of being abstracted from them1 it plainly follows that they exist only in the mind4 ,but ,i desire any one to reflect and try whether he can1 by any abstraction of thought1 conceive the extension and motion of a body1 without all other sensible qualities4 ,for my own part1 ,i see evidently that it is not in my power to form an idea of a body extended and moving1 but ,i must withal give it some colour or other sensible quality1 which is acknowledged to exist only in the mind4 ,in short1 extension1 figure1 and motion1 abstracted from all other qualities1 are inconceivable4 ,where1 therefore1 the other sensible qualities are1 there must these be also1 i4e4 in the mind1 and no where else4 #8#aa4 ,again1 great and small1 swift and slow1 are allowed to exist nowhere without the mind1 being entirely relative1 and changing as the frame or position of the organs of sense varies4 ,the extension1 therefore1 which exists without the mind1 is neither great nor small1 the motion neither swift nor slow2 that is1 they are nothing at all4 ,but1 say you1 they are extension in general and motion in general4 ,thus we see how much the tenet of extended1 moveable substances1 existing without the mind1 depends on that strange doctrine of abstract ideas4 ,and here ,i cannot but remark1 how nearly the vague and indeterminate description of matter1 or corporeal substance1 which the modern philosophers are run into by their own principles1 resembles that antiquated and so much ridiculed notion of materia prima1 to be met with in ,aristotle and his followers4 ,without extension1 solidity cannot be conceived2 since1 therefore1 it has been shown that extension exists not in an unthinking substance1 the same must also be true of solidity4 #8#ab4 ,that number is entirely the creature of the mind1 even though the other qualities be allowed to exist without it1 will be evident to whoever considers that the same thing bears a different denomination of number1 as the mind views it with different aspects4 ,thus the same extension is one1 or three1 or thirty-six1 according as the mind considers it with reference to a yard1 a foot1 or an inch4 ,number is so visibly relative1 and dependent on men's understandings1 that it is strange to think how any one should give it an absolute existence without the mind4 ,we say one book1 one page1 one line1 c41 all these are equally units1 though some contain several of the others2 and in each instance it is plain the unit relates to some particular combination of ideas arbitrarily put together by the mind4 #8#ac4 ,unity1 ,i know1 some will have to be a simple or uncompounded idea1 accompanying all other ideas into the mind4 ,that ,i have any such idea answering the word unity ,i do not find1 and if ,i had1 methinks ,i could not miss finding it2 on the contrary1 it should be the most familiar to my understanding1 since it is said to accompany all other ideas1 and to be perceived by all the ways of sensation and reflection4#f ,to say no more1 it is an abstract idea4 #8#ad4 ,i shall farther add1 that after the same manner as modern philosophers prove colours1 tastes1 c41 to have no existence in matter1 or without the mind1 the same thing may be likewise proved of all other sensible qualities whatever4 ,thus for instance1 it is said1 that heat and cold are affections only of the mind1 and not at all patterns of real beings existing in the corporeal substances which excite them1 for that the same body which appears cold to one hand1 seems warm to another4 ,now1 why may we not as well argue1 that figure and extension are not patterns or resemblances of qualities existing in matter1 because to the same eye at different stations1 or eyes of a different texture at the same station1 they appear various1 and cannot therefore be the images of any thing settled and determinate without the mind8 ,again1 'tis proved that sweetness is not really in the sapid thing1 because the thing remaining unaltered1 the sweetness is changed into bitter1 as in case of a fever1 or otherwise vitiated palate4 ,is it not as reasonable to say1 that motion is not without the mind1 since if the succession of ideas in the mind become swifter1 the motion1 it is acknowledged1 shall appear slower without any external alteration4 #8#ae4 ,in short1 let any one consider those arguments which are thought manifestly to prove that colours1 tastes1 c4 exist only in the mind1 and he will find they may with equal force be brought to prove the same thing of extension1 figure1 and motion4 ,though it must be confessed this method of arguing does not so much prove that there is no extension1 colour1 c4 in an outward object1 as that we do not know by sense which is the true extension or colour of the object4 ,but the foregoing arguments plainly show it to be impossible that any colour or extension at all1 or other sensible quality whatsoever1 should exist in an unthinking subject without the mind1 or in truth1 that there should be any such thing as an outward object4'--,principles of ,human ,knowledge1 pp4 #ed1 c4 ,again1 he says1 page #eh3-- #8,but though it were possible that solid1 figured movable substances may exist without the mind1 corresponding to the ideas we have of bodies1 yet how is it possible for us to know this8 ,either we must know it by sense or by reason4 ,as for our senses1 by them we have the knowledge only of our sensations1 ideas1 or those things that are immediately perceived by sense1 call them what you will2 but they do not inform us that things exist without the mind1 or unperceived1 like to those which are perceived4 ,this the materialists themselves acknowledge4 ,it remains1 therefore1 that if we have any knowledge at all of external things1 it must be by reason1 inferring their existence from what is immediately perceived by sense4 ,but ,i do not see what reason can induce us to believe the existence of bodies without the mind1 from what we perceive1 since the very patrons of matter themselves do not pretend there is any necessary connexion betwixt them and our ideas4 ,i say it is granted on all hands 7and what happens in dreams1 frenzies1 and the like1 puts it beyond dispute7 that it is possible we might be affected with all the ideas we have now1 though there were no bodies existing without resembling them4 ,hence it is evident the supposition of external bodies is not necessary for the producing our ideas1 since it is granted they are produced sometimes1 and might possibly be produced always1 in the same order we see them in at present1 without their concurrence4 ,but though we might possibly have all our sensations without them1 yet perhaps it may be thought easier to conceive and explain the manner of their production1 by supposing external bodies in their likeness rather than otherwise1 and so it might be at least probable there are such things as bodies that excite their ideas in our minds4 ,but neither can this be said1 for though we give the materialists their external bodies1 they1 by their own confession1 are never the nearer knowing how our ideas are produced1 since they own themselves unable to comprehend in what manner body can act upon spirit1 or how it is possible it should imprint any idea in the mind4 ,hence it is evident the production of ideas or sensations in our minds1 can be no reason why we should suppose matter or corporeal substances1 since that is acknowledged to remain equally inexplicable with1 or without this supposition4 ,if therefore it were possible for bodies to exist without the mind1 yet to hold they do so1 must needs be a very precarious opinion2 since it is to suppose1 without any reason at all1 that ,god has created innumerable beings that are entirely useless1 and serve to no manner of purpose4 #8,but say what we can1 some one perhaps might be apt to reply1 he will still believe his senses1 and never suffer any arguments1 how plausible soever1 to prevail over the certainty of them4 ,be it so1 assert the evidence of sense as high as you please1 we are willing to do the same4 ,that what ,i see and hear1 and feel1 doth exist1 i4e4 is perceived by me1 ,i no more doubt than ,i do of my own being3 but ,i do not see how the testimony of sense can be alleged as a proof for the existence of any thing which is not perceived by sense4 ,we are not for having any man turn sceptic1 and disbelieve his senses2 on the contrary1 we give them all the stress and assurance imaginable1 nor are there any principles more opposite to scepticism than those we have laid down1 as shall be hereafter clearly shown4 ,secondly1 it will be objected that there is a great difference between real fire1 for instance1 and the idea of fire1 betwixt dreaming or imagining oneself burnt and actually being so3 if you suspect it to be only the idea of fire which you see1 do but put your hand into it1 and you'll be convinced with a witness4 ,this and the like may be urged in opposition to our tenets4 ,to all which the answer is evident from what hath been already said1 and ,i shall only add in this place1 that if real fire be very different from the idea of fire1 so also is the real pain that it occasions very different from the idea of the same pain1 and yet nobody will pretend that real pain either is1 or can possibly be1 in an unperceiving thing or without the mind1 any more than its idea4' ,now with regard to this system1 whatever we may think of the solidity of the foundation1 the superstructure is as light and elegant as possible4 ,there is a peculiar character in the metaphysical writings of ,berkeley which is to be found no where else4 ,with all the closeness and subtilty of the deepest reflection1 they combine the ease and vivacity of a common essay3 so that the most violent paradoxes and elaborate distinctions are rendered familiar by the simplicity of the style4 ,his writings show that he had thought with the utmost intensity on almost every subject1 yet he has the same careless freedom of manner as if he had never thought at all4 ,he is never entangled in the labyrinth of his own thoughts1 and the buoyancy of his spirit surmounts every objection with a singular felicity1 as if his mind had wings4 ,it is perhaps worth remarking that the #8,principles of ,human ,knowledge' were published in #agaj1 at a time when the author was only five-and-twenty1 as was the #8,essay on ,vision1' the greatest by far of all his works1 and the most complete example of elaborate analytical reasoning and particular induction joined together that perhaps ever existed4 ,it is also generally free from that air of paradox and fanciful hypothesis which runs through his other writings4#g ,i mention this the more because ,i believe that the greatest efforts of intellect have almost always been made while the passions are in their greatest vigour1 and before hope loses its hold on the heart1 and is the elastic spring which animates all our thoughts4 ,on the reasoning ,i have just quoted ,i will make one or two remarks without pretending to enter into the real difficulties of the question4 ,first1 it seems to me that the argument against the existence of the secondary qualities1 drawn from the various effects produced by them on different minds or in different circumstances1 which ,hume mentions as the only solid one1 and which ,berkeley thinks more doubtful1 is no argument at all4 ,that an object at a distance1 for example1 does not look like the same object near is in consequence of the interposition of the air1 which gives it a different hue2 the logical inference merely is that one object has not the same sensible qualities as another1 or as ,berkeley has remarked1 since the effect depends upon the combination and reaction of a number of things that we do not know what the true or natural qualities of each object are4 #b4 ,the proof of the non-existence of the primary qualities or of matter altogether1 as inconceivable by the mind1 goes upon the supposition that what is different cannot be the same4 #8,an idea1' says ,berkeley1 #8can be like nothing but an idea1 a perception like nothing but a perception4' ,but it might be proved in this manner that a print cannot resemble a picture1 because that which has colour cannot be represented by any thing without colour4 ,that as far as our ideas are perceptions they do not resemble any thing in matter is true1 but no one ever supposed that in this respect there was any resemblance between them1 or that matter thought4 ,that they cannot be alike in any thing does not seem to me proved by this mode of reasoning3 for that our ideas of things are not mere perceptions is evident from this1 that they are different among themselves1 that is1 have other distinguishing qualities besides being perceived4 #c4 ,berkeley's argument against the existence of matter not merely as the object or archetype1 but as the cause of our sensations1 is founded on the notion that we have a right to reject every general conclusion in which there is the least flaw or difficulty4 ,common sense is brought to the bar1 like an old offender1 and condemned upon the slightest shadow of evidence4 ,if the vulgar system is vulnerable in any part1 it is taken for granted that it ought to be discarded1 to make room for a perfectly rational and philosophical account1 the sufficiency of the understanding being never once doubted4 ,but all this severe logic and scrutiny into the perfect connexion of our ideas vanishes1 when the author comes to explain the cause of our external impressions1 or to find a substitute for matter4 ,this1 he says1 is ,god or an all-powerful spirit1 and yet he affirms that we have no more idea of spirit than of matter1 and consequently the one ought upon this theory to pass for a nonentity as much as the other4 #8,we perceive a continual succession of ideas1 some are anew excited1 others are changed or totally disappear4 ,there is therefore some cause of those ideas1 whereon they depend1 and which produces and changes them4 ,that this cause cannot be any quality or idea or combination of ideas1 is clear from what has been said4 ,it must therefore be a substance1 but it has been shewn that there is no corporeal or material substance4 ,it remains therefore that the cause of ideas is an incorporeal active substance or spirit4 #8,a spirit is one simple1 undivided1 active being3 as it perceives ideas1 it is called the understanding1 and as it produces or otherwise operates about them1 it is called the will4 ,hence there can be no idea formed of a soul or spirit4 ,for all ideas whatever being passive and inert1 they cannot represent unto us by way of image or likeness that which acts4 ,such is the nature of spirit or that which acts1 that it cannot be itself perceived1 but only by the effects which it produceth4 ,if any man shall doubt of the truth of what is here delivered1 let him but reflect and try if he can frame the idea of any power or active being4 ,a little attention will make it plain to any one1 that to have an idea which shall be like that active principle of motion and change of ideas1 is absolutely impossible4' ,that is to say1 matter is here excluded from being the cause or in any way the occasion of our ideas1 because we know not what it is1 and the inference is1 that the cause of our ideas must be spirit1 of which we are equally ignorant4 ,the reasoning might have been reversed4 ,but it is thus that philosophy seems to be in general nothing else but #8reason pandering will4' ,the literal conclusion from the foregoing argument is1 that there is nothing in the universe but oneself1 nor even that1 but only the present idea3 all other words must signify nothing4 ,to return to ,mr4 ,locke4 ,he has treated on the same question in the second volume1 but without advancing any thing remarkable on it1 and it is the only place in which he loses his temper1 and substitutes ridicule for argument4 ,in the chapter on ,perception1 there are some observations on the manner in which our judgments alter the impressions of sensible objects1 which are well worth notice1 and show that the author was well acquainted with what may be called the practical processes of the human mind4 ,he says1 p4 #acj1 #8,we are farther to consider concerning perception1 that the ideas we receive by sensation are often in grown people altered by the judgment without our taking notice of it4 ,when we set before our eyes a round globe of any uniform colour1 e4g4 gold1 alabaster1 or jet1 it is certain that the idea thereby imprinted in our mind is of a flat circle1 variously shadowed with several degrees of light and brightness coming to our eyes4 ,but we having by use been accustomed to perceive what kind of appearance convex bodies are wont to make in us1 what alterations are made in the reflections of light by the difference of the sensible figures of bodies1 the judgment presently1 by an habitual custom1 alters the appearances into their causes2 so that from that which truly is variety of shadow or colour1 collecting the figure1 it makes it pass for a mark of figure1 and frames to itself the perception of a convex figure and an uniform colour1 when the idea we receive from thence is only a plane variously coloured2 as is evident in painting4 ,to which purpose ,i shall here insert a problem of that very ingenious and studious promoter of real knowledge1 the learned and worthy ,mr4 ,molineux1 which he was pleased to send me in a letter some months since3 and it is this3 8,suppose a man born blind1 and now adult1 and taught by his touch to distinguish between a cube and a sphere of the same metal and nigh of the same bigness1 so as to tell1 when he felt the one and the other1 which is the cube1 which the sphere4 ,suppose then the cube and sphere placed on a table1 and the blind man made to see3 ,quere1 whether by his sight1 before he touched them1 he could now distinguish and tell which is the globe1 which the cube80 ,to which the acute and judicious proposer answers1 8,no4 ,for though he has obtained the experience of how a globe1 how a cube affects his touch1 yet he has not yet attained the experience that what affects his touch so or so1 must affect his sight so or so2 or that a protuberant angle in the cube that pressed his hand unequally1 shall appear to his eye as it does in the cube40 ,i agree' 7says ,mr4 ,locke7 #8with this thinking gentleman1 whom ,i am proud to call my friend1 in his answer to this his problem2 and am of opinion that the blind man at first sight1 would not be able with certainty to say1 which was the globe1 which the cube1 whilst he only saw them2 though he could unerringly name them by his touch1 and certainly distinguish them by the difference of their figures felt4 ,this ,i have set down1 and leave with my reader as an occasion for him to consider how much he may be beholden to experience1 improvement1 and acquired notions1 where he thinks he has not the least use of1 or help from them1 and the rather1 because this observing gentleman farther adds1 that having upon the occasion of my book1 proposed this to divers very ingenious men1 he hardly ever met with one that at first gave the answer to it which he thinks true1 till by hearing his reasons they were convinced4' ,mr4 ,locke then adds other instances to the same effect1 as #8,that a man who reads or hears with attention and understanding takes little notice of the characters or sounds1 but of the ideas that are excited in him by them4 ,how frequently do we in a day cover our eyes with our eyelids1 without at all perceiving that we are in the dark6 ,men that by custom have got the use of a by-word do almost in every sentence pronounce sounds1 which though taken notice of by others1 they themselves neither hear nor observe3 and therefore it is not so strange that our mind should often change the idea of its sensation into that of its judgment1 and make one serve only to excite the other without our taking notice of it4' ,on the problem above stated1 which has been often made a subject of dispute1 ,i shall only remark that the answer given to it1 with which ,mr4 ,locke agrees1 is directly repugnant to his doctrine of the real existence of the primary qualities of matter1 namely figure and extension4 ,for it is plain1 that if there is any thing in external objects answering to their ideas in our minds1 the ideas we have of those qualities and which are conveyed by different senses1 must be like one another4 ,if the ideas of figure as a visible and tangible thing have no resemblance to themselves1 it is ridiculous to suppose that they can coincide with any thing out of them in nature4 ,secondly1 it appears to me that the mind must recognise a certain similarity between the impressions of different senses in this case4 ,for instance1 the sudden change or discontinuity of the sensation1 produced by the sharp angles of the cube1 is something common to both ideas1 and if so1 must afford a means of comparing them together4 ,berkeley1 in his #8,essay on ,vision1' goes so far as to deny that there is any intuitive analogy between the ideas of number as conveyed by different senses1 and asserts that the distinction between the two legs of a statue1 for instance1 as perceived by the touch or by the sight would not imply any idea of like or same4 ,i grant this consequence to be true1 on the principle maintained by him that there are no abstract ideas in the mind1 for on this principle there can be no idea answering to the words same or different1 but then this argument would destroy all kind of coincidence not only between ideas of different senses1 but between repeated impressions of the same sense4 ,the #8,essay on ,vision1' of which ,i have already spoken1 apparently originated in the problem here inserted1 and is a more complete exemplification of the effects of association with respect to objects of sight than is to be found even in ,hartley's account of this subject4 ,mr4 ,locke's account of the distinction between wit and understanding ,i have already noticed2 his explanation of the difference between idiots and madmen has been often referred to1 and is as follows3 #8,the defect in naturals seems to proceed from want of quickness1 activity1 and motion in the intellectual faculties1 whereby they are deprived of reason3 whereas madmen1 on the other side1 seem to suffer by the other extreme4 ,for they do not appear to me to have lost the faculty of reasoning2 but having joined together some ideas very wrongly1 they mistake them for truths2 and they err as men do that argue right from wrong principles3 for1 by the violence of their imaginations1 having taken their fancies for realities1 they make right deductions from them4 ,thus you shall find a distracted man1 fancying himself a king1 with a right inference require suitable attendance1 respect1 and obedience3 others1 who have thought themselves made of glass1 have used the caution necessary to preserve such brittle bodies4 ,hence it comes to pass1 that a man who is very sober1 and of a right understanding in all other things1 may in one particular be as frantic as any in ,bedlam1 if either by any sudden very strong impression1 or long fixing his fancy upon one sort of thoughts1 incoherent ideas have been cemented together so powerfully as to remain united4 ,but there are degrees of madness1 as of folly2 the disorderly jumbling together of ideas is in some more1 and some less4 ,in short1 herein seems to lie the difference between idiots and madmen3 that madmen put wrong ideas together1 and so make wrong propositions1 but argue and reason right from them3 but idiots make very few or no propositions1 and reason scarce at all4' ,mr4 ,locke's account of ,liberty and ,necessity1 contained in his chapter #8,on ,power1' has been commented upon in the previous ,essay4 ,as is there remarked1 it is one which has been more found fault with than any other part of his work1 ,i think without reason4 ,he seems evidently to have admitted the definition of necessity1 but not the name1 which is not much to be wondered at1 considering the improper use to which it is liable1 and which can scarce be separated from it in the closest reasoning1 much less as a term of general signification3 in other words1 he denies the power of the mind to act without a cause or motive1 or1 in any manner1 in any circumstances1 from mere indifference and absolute self motion2 but he at the same time denies the inference which has been drawn from this principle1 that the mind is not an agent at all1 but altogether subject to external force1 or blind impulse4 ,mr4 ,locke1 in treating of complex ideas1 divides them into three sorts1 those of modes1 substances1 and relations4 ,first1 #8,modes1' he says1 #8,i call such complex ideas1 which1 however compounded1 contain not in them the supposition of subsisting by themselves1 but are considered as dependences on1 or affections of substances3 such are the ideas signified by the words triangle1 gratitude1 murder1 c4 ,of these modes there are two sorts4 #a4 ,there are some which are only variations or different combinations of the same simple idea1 without the mixture of any other1 as a dozen or score1 which are nothing but the ideas of so many distinct units added together1 and these ,i call simple modes4 #b4 ,there are others1 compounded of simple ideas of several kinds put together1 to make one complex one2 e4g4 beauty1 consisting of a certain composition of colour and figure1 causing delight in the beholder2 theft1 which being the concealed change of the possession of any thing1 without the consent of the proprietor1 contains1 as is visible1 a combination of several ideas of several kinds1 and these ,i call mixed modes4' ,with respect to modes1 the author endeavours to shew1 ,i think improperly1 that as they are put together arbitrarily by the mind1 according to circumstances1 that they have no real existence in nature1 and that the ideas we form of them are always correct4 ,neither of these consequences will be found to follow3 i4e4 the circumstances and actions which constitute theft do actually exist without the mind and are necessary to that idea1 though it is arbitrary in me according to the occasion or the purpose in view1 to think of that collection of ideas or another1 which shall constitute robbery2 that is1 ,i may add or leave out the circumstance of violence1 as it happens2 secondly1 ,i may1 without being aware of it1 add or leave out some circumstance necessary to the combination of ideas spoken of1 and thus confuse one idea with another1 and not merely miscal1 as ,mr4 ,locke supposes1 but misconceive the mode in question4 ,we then merely miscal when though we give a wrong name to a thing1 the idea is kept perfectly distinct and clear from other ideas1 otherwise we confound both names and things4 ,but it will not be contended1 that the ideas of theft1 robbery1 and fraud1 for instance1 are always kept clear in every one's mind1 so that he is at no loss ever to define them1 or can immediately in all cases refer any action to the class to which it belongs4 ,every collection of ideas which the mind puts together is undoubtedly that collection and no other2 but in forming the ideas of mixed modes1 the mind does something more than this1 or it supposes one collection of ideas to be the same as another which it has had at a former time1 and gives a certain name to1 and in this supposition it often errs4 ,on this subject1 the author is a good deal puzzled with the question1 how it is possible for the mind ever to confound one idea with another8 ,it is indeed a puzzling question1 but the answer which he gives to it in resolving it into a mistake of words1 is very unsatisfactory4 ,for there is no more reason why we should mistake one name or sign of an idea for another1 than why we should mistake the ideas themselves4 ,if every circumstance belonging to our ideas was necessarily clear and self-evident to the mind1 the sign affixed to it1 which is one of those circumstances1 would be so too1 and we find that in those things with which we have a thorough acquaintance1 we never confound one name with another1 or if we should1 it does not disturb the idea1 and is of no consequence4 ,among the second sort of complex ideas ,mr4 ,locke classes those of substances4 ,these1 he says1 are such combinations of simple ideas as are taken to represent distinct1 particular things1 subsisting by themselves1 in which the supposed or confused idea of substance1 such as it is1 is always the first or chief4 ,thus1 if to substance be joined the simple idea of a certain dull whitish colour1 with certain degrees of weight1 hardness1 ductility and fusibility1 we have the idea of lead2 and a combination of the ideas of a certain sort of figure1 with the power of motion1 thought1 and reasoning1 joined to substance1 make the ordinary idea of a man4 ,now of substances also there are two sorts of ideas2 one of single substances1 as they exist separately1 as of a man or a sheep2 the other of several of those put together1 as an army of men or a flock of sheep3 which collective ideas of several substances are as much each of them one single idea as that of a man or an unit4' ,he then adds1 #8and the third sort of complex ideas is that which we call relative1 which consists in the consideration and comparing one idea with another4' ,this last sort of ideas seems to me the only ones that are perfectly simple and indivisible3 things themselves are always complex4 ,mr4 ,locke considers rightly that we know nothing of the nature of substance1 and that we can only define it as an abstract idea of some thing1 that supports accidents or connects different sensible qualities together4 ,for this modest confession of his own ignorance he was however called to a very severe account by the learned of the time1 ,bishop ,stillingfleet and others1 who thought they knew more of the matter1 and could penetrate the essence of things4 ,the #8,essay on the ,human ,understanding' is swelled out with repeated and long extracts from this controversy1 and they are not the least valuable part of the work1 as they show to what shifts men can be driven1 to defend systematically not truth but their own opinion1 who become blind and obstinate by implicit faith1 and who by adhering to every established prejudice drive others into all the absurdities of paradox4 ,mr4 ,locke's own account of our ideas of substance is a good deal spun out1 and is enriched with as many illustrations from the qualities of gold1 as if he had been candidate for the place of assay-master of the mint4 ,the chapter #8,on ,identity' is perhaps the best reasoned and the most full of thought and observation of any in the ,essay3 though the author sets out with an observation which seems to augur differently4 ,for after explaining identity as it relates to individuality1 or implies that a thing is the same with itself1 he says1 #8,from what has been said it is easy to discover what is so much inquired after1 the principium individuationis3 and that1 it is plain1 is existence itself1 which determines a being of any sort to a particular time and place1 incommunicable to two beings of the same kind4' ,he then1 very wisely quitting this principle which would certainly be of no use to him1 proceeds directly to account for the identity of different things from a continuance1 not of the same substance1 but of the same essence1 or of the characteristic properties of any thing1 carried on in succession2 as a river is the same while it flows through the same channel1 or an oak while it retains the same organization1 and a man while he retains the same life and continued consciousness4 ,in the chapter entitled #8,of true and false ,ideas1' the author supposes truth to depend on some mental or verbal proposition1 and does not1 like ,hobbes and the modern metaphysical writers1 make it consist entirely in a form of words4 ,in the last chapter of the first volume he treats of the association of ideas4 ,this chapter was added after the first edition of the work1 and he confesses1 that the subject was something new to him4 ,he has treated it in that mixed way of observation and reasoning1 in which the peculiar force of his mind lay4 ,the account he has given of it does not form a system1 but the fragments of a system1 something like the ,french memoirs that are to serve for the materials of a history4 ,he does not appear to have laid down any general theorem on the subject1 or to have been aware of the possibility of applying this principle to account in a plausible manner for the whole chain of our thoughts and feelings1 as ,hobbes and ,hartley have done4 ,sound1 practical1 good sense1 and a kind of discursive observation1 neither grovelling in vulgar common place1 nor soaring into the regions of paradox1 are in fact the general characteristics of his mind1 which has not been understood by his admirers and commentators4 ,a short passage will suffice to show his manner of considering this doctrine of association4 #8,many children1' he says1 #8imputing the pain they endured at school to their books they were corrected for1 so join those ideas together that a book becomes their aversion1 and they are never reconciled to the study and use of them all their lives after3 and thus reading becomes a torment to them1 which otherwise possibly they might have made the great pleasure of their lives4 ,there are rooms convenient enough that some men cannot study in1 and fashions of vessels1 which though ever so clean and commodious they cannot drink out of1 and that by reason of some accidental ideas which are annexed to them1 and make them offensive3 and who is there that has not observed some man to flag at the appearance1 or in the company of some certain person1 not otherwise superior to him1 but because having once on some occasion got the ascendant1 the idea of authority and distance goes along with that of the person8 ,and he that has been thus subjected is not able to separate them4 ,instances of this kind are so plentiful every where1 that if ,i add one more1 it is only for the pleasant oddness of it3 it is of a young gentleman1 who having learned to dance1 and that to great perfection1 there happened to stand an old trunk in the room where he learned3 the idea of this remarkable piece of household stuff had so mixed itself with all the turns and steps of his dances1 that though in that chamber he could dance exceedingly well1 yet it was only whilst that trunk was there2 nor could he perform well in any other place1 unless that1 or some such other trunk had its due position in the room4' ,the following passage approaches the nearest to the statement of a general principle3 #8,this strong combination of ideas1 not allied by nature1 the mind makes in itself either voluntarily or by chance3 and hence it comes in different men to be very different1 according to their different inclinations1 educations1 interests1 c4 ,custom settles habits of thinking in the understanding1 as well as of determining in the will1 and of motions in the body3 all which seems to be but trains of motion in the animal spirits1 which once set agoing continue in the same steps they have been used to1 which by often treading are worn into a smooth path1 and the motion in it becomes easy1 and as it were natural4 ,as far as we can comprehend thinking1 thus ideas seem to be produced in our minds2 or if they are not1 this may serve to explain their following one another in an habitual train when once they are put into that track1 as well as it does to explain such motions of the body4 ,a musician used to any tune will find1 that let it but once begin in his head1 the ideas of the several notes of it will follow one another orderly in his understanding1 without any care or attention1 as regularly as his finger moves orderly over the keys of the organ to play out the tune he has begun1 though his inattentive thoughts be elsewhere a wandering4 ,whether the natural cause of these ideas1 as well as of that regular dancing of the fingers1 be the motion of his animal spirits1 ,i will not determine1 how probable soever by this instance it appears to be so2 but this may help us a little to conceive of intellectual habits1 and of the tying together of ideas4 ,that there are such associations of them made by custom in the minds of most men1 ,i think nobody will question1 who has well considered himself or others2 and to this perhaps might be justly attributed most of the sympathies and antipathies observable in men1 which work as strongly and produce as regular effects as if they were natural1 and are therefore called so1 though they at first had no other original but the accidental connexion of two ideas1 which either the strength of the first impression or future indulgence so united1 that they always afterwards kept company together in that man's mind1 as if they were but one idea4 ,i say1 most of the antipathies1 ,i do not say all2 for some of them are truly natural1 depend upon our original constitution1 and are born with us2 but a great part of those which are counted natural1 would have been known to be from unheeded though perhaps early impressions1 or wanton fancies at first1 which would have been acknowledged the original of them1 if they had been warily observed4' ,the former part of this passage1 relating to the dancing of the animal spirits1 the ,abb ,condillac in his #8,logic' has paraphrased with a self-sufficiency1 an assumption of originality1 and a smoothness of flippancy1 peculiar almost to himself4 ,on the subject of materialism1 ,mr4 ,locke seems to have had two opinions2 the first1 that as far as we can discern1 the properties of mind and matter are utterly distinct and irreconcileable2 the second1 that ,god might for aught we know be able to superadd to matter a faculty of thinking3 either the one or the other of these opinions must be without meaning4 ,in speaking of the difficulties attending both sides of this question1 he has1 however1 offered one of the best moral cautions against precipitancy of judgment and impatience of inquiry to be found in any author4 ,he says1 7vol4 ii4 p4 #bjc37 #8,he that considers how hardly sensation is in our thoughts reconcilable to extended matter1 or existence to any thing that hath no extension at all1 will confess that he is very far from certainly knowing what his soul is4 ,it is a point which seems to me to be put out of the reach of our knowledge3 and he who will give himself leave to consider freely1 and look into the dark and intricate part of each hypothesis1 will scarce find his reason able to determine him fixedly for or against the soul's materiality4 ,since on which side soever he views it1 either as an unextended substance1 or a thinking extended matter1 the difficulty to conceive either1 will1 whilst either alone is in his thoughts1 still drive him to the contrary side4 ,an unfair way which some men take with themselves2 who because of the unconceivableness of some thing they find in one1 throw themselves violently into the contrary hypothesis1 though altogether as unintelligible to an unbiassed understanding4 ,this serves not only to show the weakness and scantiness of our knowledge1 but the insignificant triumph of such sort of arguments1 which drawn from our own views may satisfy us that we can find no certainty on one side of the question2 but do not at all thereby help us to truth1 by running into the opposite opinion1 which on examination will be found clogged with equal difficulties4' ,mr4 ,locke has not1 ,i think1 himself enough attended to this admirable caution in his adoption of the common argument to demonstrate the existence of ,god priori1 towards which ,i conceive not the slightest advances can be made in this method4 ,for the axiom that every thing must have a cause can never be made to infer the existence of a first cause1 that is1 of something without a cause4 ,it is equally impossible for the human mind to conceive of the beginning of existence1 or to pass from nothing to something1 either by the help of an infinite series of finite existences1 or by the infinite duration of one simple1 absolute existence4 ,those who wish to see how far human ingenuity can push a complete confusion of ideas into the verge of the strictest logical demonstration and self-evident truth1 may find all that they want in ,dr4 ,clarke's celebrated work on the #8,attributes1' which contains more logical acuteness and more power of scholastic disputation than any other work that ,i know of in modern times4 ,hartley has lost himself in the same endless labyrinth of finite and infinite series4 ,and ,locke's statement of this question is only better1 because it is shorter1 and goes straight forward1 without stopping to answer difficulties4 ,,on ,,tooke',s #8,,diversions ,,of ,,purley' ,i would class the merits of ,mr4 ,tooke's work under three heads3 the etymological1 the grammatical1 and the philosophical4 ,the etymological part is excellent1 the grammatical part indifferent1 and the philosophical part to the last degree despicable2 it is downright1 unqualified1 unredeemed nonsense4 ,as ,mr4 ,tooke himself says that all metaphysical reasoning is nonsense1 it is scarcely rude to say that his metaphysical reasoning is so4 ,it appears to me to be #8mere midsummer madness4' ,he ought not indeed to have meddled with logic or metaphysics after such a declaration2 he ought to have supposed that he laboured under some natural defect in this respect1 as a man who finds no harmony in any tune that is played to him1 may without much modesty conclude that he has no ear for music4 ,the opinion which ,i have here advanced of this writer's merits as a general reasoner may seem a bold one2 but the proof of it is not difficult2 it is as easy as transcribing4 ,i have only to take a few passages in which he has applied etymology to the illustration of moral and metaphysical truth1 to make his undistinguishing admirers blush1 not for their idol1 but for the weakness and bounded faculties of human nature4 ,mr4 ,tooke lays it down as a maxim1 that the mind has neither complex nor abstract ideas4 ,he was in some things a zealot1 and his zeal had led him to believe that his system of etymology would in some way or other establish this metaphysical principle1 and overturn the established notions of law1 morality1 philosophy1 and divinity4 ,the full development and execution of this project is reserved for a future volume1 but there are perpetual hints and intimations of it in the two first1 something like the aerial music and flying noises in ,prospero's island4 ,the author seems constantly in his own mind on the point of detecting all imposture and delusion with the ,ithuriel spear of etymology1 but he as constantly draws back1 and postpones his triumph4 ,the second volume of the #8,diversions' consists chiefly of about two thousand instances of the etymology of words1 to prove that there can be no abstract ideas3 scarcely one of which two thousand meanings is anything else but a more abstract idea than the word was in general supposed to convey3 for example1 the word loaf commonly stands for a pretty substantial1 solid1 tangible kind of an idea1 and is not suspected of any latent1 very refined1 abstracted meaning4 ,the author shows1 on the contrary1 that the word has no such palpable1 positive meaning1 as the particular object to which we apply it1 but merely signifies something1 any thing1 raised or lifted up4 ,a singular method1 surely1 of reducing all general and abstract signs to individual1 physical objects6 ,yet we find this tiresome catalogue of derivations concluded in this manner4 #8,and on this subject of subaudition ,i will at present exercise your patience no farther3 for my own begins to flag4 ,you have now instances of my doctrine in1 ,i suppose1 about a thousand words4 ,their number may be easily increased4 ,but ,i trust these are sufficient to discard that imagined operation of the mind1 which has been termed abstraction3 and to prove that what we call by that name1 is merely one of the contrivances of language1 for the purpose of more speedy communication4'--,page #cif1 vol4 ii4 ,how a thousand instances of words1 signifying a common quality or abstract idea1 with something understood 7subauditum71 can be supposed to discard that imagined operation of the mind called abstraction1 or in what subaudition differs from abstraction1 or whether there is not something subintellectum1 as well as subauditum1--that is1 certain circumstances left out by the mind for the necessary progress of thought1 as well as in language1 for its more speedy communication1--it is not easy to guess4 ,this farcical mummery1 this inexplicable dumb show1 this emphatical insignificance1 neither admits nor deserves any answer4 ,the only places in the work in which this wary reasoner has fairly committed himself1 and given an intelligible explanation of his mode of applying his system to general questions1 are in his account of the words1 right and wrong1 just and unjust1 in his list of metaphysical nonentities1 demonstrated to be such because they are expressed by the past participles of certain verbs1 and in his definition of ,truth4 ,these1 therefore1 ,i shall give as specimens1 and ,i hope they will be quite satisfactory4 ,the #8,diversions of ,purley1' it should be observed1 is supposed to be carried on in a dialogue between the author and ,sir ,francis ,burdett4 #8,enough1 enough1' says ,burdett1 #8innumerable instances of the same may1 ,i grant you1 be given from all our ancient authors4 ,but does this import us any thing8' #8,,tooke4 ,surely1 much1 if it shall lead us to the clear understanding of the words we use in discourse4 ,for as far as we 8know not our own meaning10 as far as 8our purposes are not endowed with words to make them known10 so far we 8gabble like things most brutish40 ,but the importance rises higher1 when we reflect upon the application of words to metaphysics4 ,and when ,i say metaphysics1 you will be pleased to remember that all general reasoning1 all politics1 law1 morality1 and divinity1 are merely metaphysics4' ,what is this general reasoning of ,mr4 ,tooke's8 #8,well1' replies his pupil1 #8you have satisfied me that wrong1 however written1 whether wrang1 wrong or wrung1 like the ,italian torto and the ,french tort1 is merely the past tense or participle of the verb to wring2 and has merely that meaning4 #8,,tooke4 ,true2 it means wrung or wrested from the right or ordered line of conduct4 ,right is no other than rectum1 the past participle of the ,latin verb regere4 ,the ,italian dritto1 and the ,french droit1 are no other than the past participle directum4 ,in the same manner our ,english word just is the past participle of the verb jubere 7jussum74 #8,,burdett4 ,what1 then1 is law8 #8,,tooke4 ,it is merely the past participle lag1 of the ,gothic and ,anglo-,saxon verb legan1 ponere2 and it means something or anything laid down as a rule of conduct4 ,thus when a man demands his right1 he only asks that which it is ordered he shall have4 ,a right conduct is that which is ordered4 ,a right line is that which is ordered or directed1 not a random extension1 but the shortest between two points4 ,a right and just action is such a one as is ordered and commanded4 ,the right hand is that which custom1 and those who have brought us up1 have ordered or directed us to use in preference1 when one hand only is employed1 and the left hand is that which is lieved or left4 #8,,burdett4 ,surely the word right is sometimes used in some other sense4 ,and see1 in this newspaper before us1 ,m4 ,portalis1 contending for the concordat1 says3--8,the multitude are much more impressed with what they are commanded to obey1 than with what is proved to them to be right and just40 ,this will be complete nonsense1 if right and just mean ordered and commanded4 #8,,tooke4 ,i will not undertake to make sense of the arguments of ,m4 ,portalis4 ,the whole of his speech is a piece of wretched mummery1 employed to bring back again to ,france the more wretched mummery of pope and popery4 ,writers on such subjects are not very anxious about the meaning of their words4 ,ambiguity and equivocation are their strongholds4 ,explanation would undo them4 #8,,burdett4 ,well1 but ,mr4 ,locke uses the word in a manner hardly to be reconciled with your account of it4 ,he says3--8,god has a right to do it1 we are his creatures40 #8,,tooke4 ,it appears to me highly improper to say1 that ,god has a right1 as it is also to say that ,god is just4 ,for nothing is ordered1 directed1 or commanded concerning ,god4 ,the expressions are inapplicable to the ,deity3 though they are common1 and those who use them have the best intentions4 ,they are applicable only to men1 to whom alone language belongs1 and of whose sensations only words are the representations2 to men1 who are by nature the subjects of orders and commands1 and whose chief merit is obedience4 #8,,burdett4 ,every thing1 then1 that is ordered and commanded is right and just4 #8,,tooke4 ,surely2 for that is only affirming that what is ordered and commanded is--ordered and commanded4 #8,,burdett4 ,these sentiments do not appear to have made you very conspicuous for obedience4 ,there are not a few passages1 ,i believe1 in your life1 where you have opposed what was ordered and commanded4 ,upon your own principles1 was that right8 #8,,tooke4 ,perfectly4 #8,,burdett4 ,how now6 was it ordered and commanded that you should oppose what was ordered and commanded8 ,can the same thing be at the same time both right and wrong8 #8,,tooke4 ,travel back to the island of ,melinda1 and you will find the difficulty most easily solved4 ,a thing may be at the same time both right and wrong1 as well as right and left4 ,it may be commanded to be done1 and commanded not to be done4 ,the law1 i4e4 that which is laid down1 may be different by different authorities4 #8,i have always been most obedient when most taxed with disobedience4 ,but my right hand is not the right hand of ,melinda4 ,the right ,i revere is not the right adored by sycophants1 the jus vagum1 the capricious command of princes or ministers4 ,i follow the law of ,god 7which is laid down by him for the rule of my conduct7 when ,i follow the laws of human nature3 which1 without any testimony1 we know must proceed from ,god1 and upon these are founded the rights of man1 or what is ordered for man4' ,on this passage ,i will observe that ,i think it would be difficult for ,mr4 ,tooke himself to find a more precious instance of unmeaning jargon in the writings of any school-divine4 ,mr4 ,tooke first pretends gravely to define the essence of law and just from the etymology of those words1 by saying that they are something laid down and something ordered2 and when pressed by the difficulty that there are many things laid down and many things ordered which are neither #8law' nor #8just1' makes answer that their obligation depends on a higher species of law and justice1 to wit1 a law which is no where laid down1 and a justice which is no where ordered1 except indeed by the nature of things1 on which the etymology of these two words does not seem to throw much light4 ,at one time1 it seems quite demonstrable that the essence of all law1 right1 and justice consists in its being ordered or communicated by words3 the very idea is absurd1 unless we conceive of it as some thing either spoken or written in a book2 and yet the very next moment this fastidious reasoner sets up the unwritten1 uncommunicated law of ,god1 which he says must conform to the laws of human nature1 as the rule of his conduct1 and as paramount to all other positive orders and commands whatever4 ,what is this original law of ,god or nature1 which ,mr4 ,tooke sets up as the rule of right8 ,is it the good of the whole1 or self-interest8 ,is it the voice of reason1 or conscience1 or the moral sense8 ,here then we have to set out afresh in our pursuit1 and to grope our way as well as we can through the old labyrinth of morality1 divinity1 and metaphysics4 ,this new-invented patent lamp of etymology goes out just as it is beginning to grow dark1 and as the path becomes intricate4 ,neither can ,i at all see why our author should quarrel with ,m4 ,portalis for using these words in their common sense4 ,he affirms that the whole of this gentleman's speech is a piece of wretched mummery1 that his distinction between what is right and what is commanded is a senseless ambiguity1 and that explanation would undo him4 ,yet he himself1 two pages after1 discovers that this distinction has a real meaning in it1 and that he has acted upon it all his life4 #8,the one1' he says1 #8is the jus vagum1 the capricious command of princes2 the other is the law of ,god and nature4' ,it is not impossible but ,m4 ,portalis might have given quite as profound an explanation of his own meaning4 ,junius's sarcasm did not1 it seems1 entirely cure ,mr4 ,tooke #8of the little sneering sophistries of a collegian4' ,mr4 ,tooke next makes strange havoc with a whole host of metaphysical agents2 like ,sir ,richard ,blackmore1 #8,undoes creation at a jerk1 ,and of redemption makes damn'd work4' #8,rebelling angels1 the forbidden tree1 ,heaven1 hell1 earth1 chaos1 all'-- are weighed in the balance and found wanting4 ,we cannot say with ,marvell1 that the argument #8,holds us a while misdoubting his intent1 ,that he would ruin 7for ,i saw him strong7 ,the sacred truths to fable and old song4 7,so ,sampson groped the temple's posts in spite7 ,the world o'erwhelming to revenge his sight4' ,for ,mr4 ,tooke leaves us in no doubt about his intent4 ,all these sacred truths are1 according to him1 so many falsehoods1 which by taking possession of certain adjectives and participles1 have palmed themselves upon the world as realities1 but which1 by spelling their names backwards1 he proposes to exorcise and reduce to their original nothingness again4 ,here follows a list of them which he has strung together1 as a warning to all other pseudo-substantives4 ,it is rather strange1 by the bye1 that the author should have resorted to this mode of argument1 since he affirms that adjectives are the names of things1 as well as substantives2 and laughs at ,dr4 ,south for saying that they are the names of nothing4 #8,these words1 these participles and adjectives1' says ,mr4 ,tooke1 #8not understood as such1 have caused a metaphysical jargon and a false morality1 which can only be dissipated by etymology4 ,and when they come to be examined you will find that the ridicule which ,dr4 ,conyers ,middleton has so justly bestowed upon the papists for their absurd coinage of saints1 is equally applicable to ourselves and to all other metaphysicians2 whose moral deities1 moral causes1 and moral qualities are not less ridiculously coined and imposed upon their followers4 ,fate ,destiny ,luck ,lot ,chance ,accident ,heaven ,hell ,providence ,prudence ,innocence ,substance ,fiend ,angel ,apostle ,saint ,spirit ,true ,false ,desert ,merit ,fault4 c4 c4 as well as just1 right1 and wrong1 are all merely participles poetically embodied and substantiated by those who use them4 #8,so ,church1 for instance 7,dominicum aliquid7 is an adjective2 and formerly a most wicked one3 whose misinterpretation caused more slaughter and pillage of mankind than all the other cheats together4' ,sir ,francis says1 #8,something of this sort ,i can easily perceive1 but not to the extent you carry it4 ,i see that those sham deities1 ,fate and ,destiny1 aliquid fatum1 quelque chose destine1 are merely the past participles of fari and destiner4 ,that ,chance 78high arbiter10 as ,milton calls him7 and his twin-brother ,accident are merely the participles of escheoir1 cheoir1 and cadere4 ,and that to say1 it befell me by chance or by accident1 is absurdly saying it befell me by falling4 #8,i agree with you1 that ,providence1 ,prudence1 ,innocence1 ,substance1 and all the rest of that tribe of qualities 7in ence and ance7 are merely the neuter plurals of the present participles of ordere1 nocere1 stare1 c4 c4 ,that ,angel1 ,saint1 ,spirit1 are the past participles 1 sanciri1 spirare4 ,that the ,italian cucolo1 a cuckoo1 gives us the verb to cucol1 and its past participle cuckold4' ,and what if it does3 will ,mr4 ,tooke therefore pretend to say that there is no such thing8 ,this is indeed turning etymology to a good account4 ,it is clearing off old scores with a vengeance1 and establishing morality on an entirely new basis4 ,for my own part1 ,i can only say of the whole of the reasoning of this author1 with ,voltaire's ,candide1 #8la tte me tourne3 on ne sait ou l'on est4' ,whether any or all of those metaphysical beings enumerated by ,mr4 ,tooke do or do not exist1 what their nature or qualities are1 whether modes1 relatives1 substances1 ,i shall not here undertake to determine1 but ,i do conceive that none of these questions can be resolved in any way by inquiring whether the names denoting them are not the past participles of certain verbs4 ,a shorter method would ,i think be to say at once that all metaphysical and moral terms1 whether participles or not1 are but names1 that names are not things1 and that therefore the things themselves have no existence4 ,it is upon this philosophical principle that the heroical ,jonathan ,wild proceeds in his definition of the word ,honour1 for after losing himself to no purpose in the common metaphysical jargon on the subject1 and in moral causes and qualities1 he comes at last to this clear and unembarrassed conclusion1--#8,that honour consists in the word honour1 and nothing else4' ,i will only give one instance more of this reformed system of logic and metaphysics4 #8,,burdett4 ,i still wish for an explanation of one word more3 which on account of its extreme importance ought not to be omitted4 ,what is ,truth8 ,you know when ,pilate had asked the same question1 he went out and would not stay for an answer1 and from that time to this no answer has been given4 ,and from that time to this mankind have been wrangling and tearing each other to pieces for the truth1 without once considering the meaning of the word4' #8,,tooke4 ,this word will give us no trouble4 ,like the other words1 true is also a past participle of the ,saxon verb treowan1 confidere1 to think1 to believe firmly1 to be thoroughly persuaded of1 to trow4 ,true1 as we now write it1 or trew1 as it was formerly written1 means simply and merely that which is trowed1 and instead of its being a rare commodity upon earth1 except only in words1 there is nothing but truth in the world4 #8,that every man1 in his communication with others1 should speak that which he troweth1 is of so great importance to mankind1 that it ought not to surprise us1 if we find the most extravagant and exaggerated praises bestowed upon truth4 ,but truth supposes mankind2 for whom and by whom alone the word is formed1 and to whom only it is applicable4 ,if no man1 no truth4 ,there is therefore no such thing as eternal1 immutable1 everlasting truth2 unless mankind1 such as they are at present1 be also eternal1 immutable1 and everlasting4 ,two persons may contradict each other1 and yet both speak truth4 ,for the truth of one person may be opposite to the truth of another4 ,to speak truth may be a vice as well as a virtue2 for there are many occasions when it ought not to be spoken4 ,if you reject my explanation1 find out if you can some other possible meaning of the word1 or content yourself with ,johnson1 by saying that true is not false1 and false is--not true4 ,for so he explains the words4'--,vol4 ii4 p4 #djg4 ,in a note the author adds1 #8,mr4 ,locke1 in the second book of his ,essay1 chapter xxxii41 treats of true and false ideas1 and is much distressed throughout the whole chapter1 because he had not in his mind any determinate meaning of the word true4 ,if that excellent man had himself followed the advice which he gave to his disputing friends concerning the word liquor2 if he had followed his own rule1 previously to writing about true and false ideas1 and had determined what meaning he applied to true1 being1 thing1 real1 right1 wrong1 he could not have written the above chapter1 which exceedingly distresses the reader1 who searches for a meaning where there is none to be found4' ,whether ,mr4 ,locke would have been satisfied with ,mr4 ,tooke's account of these words1 ,i cannot say4 ,i know that ,i am not4 ,i do not think it the true one4 ,it is therefore not the true one4 ,mr4 ,tooke thinks it is1 and therefore it is the true one4 ,which of us is right8 ,that what a man thinks1 he thinks1 and that if he speaks what he thinks1 he speaks truth in one principal sense of the word1 is what does not require much illustration2 but whether what he thinks is true or false1 whether his opinion is right or wrong1 or whether there is not another possible and actual meaning of the terms besides that given by ,mr4 ,tooke1 is the old difficulty1 which remains just where it was before1 in spite of etymology4 ,the application of the theory of language to the philosophy of the mind1 ,mr4 ,tooke has reserved for a volume by itself3 the principle1 however1 which he means to establish1 he has very explicitly laid down in the beginning of his first volume4 #8,the business of the mind1' he says1 #8as far as it concerns language1 appears to me to be very simple4 ,it extends no farther than to receive impressions1 that is1 to have sensations or feelings4 ,what are called its operations1 are merely the operations of language4 ,the greatest part of ,mr4 ,locke's ,essay1 that is1 all which relates to what he calls the composition1 abstraction1 complexity1 generalization1 relation1 c4 of ideas1 does indeed merely concern language4 ,if he had been sooner aware of the inseparable connexion between words and knowledge1 he would not have talked of the composition of ideas2 but would have seen that the only composition was in the terms2 and consequently that it was as improper to talk of a complex idea as of a complex star4 ,it is an easy matter1 upon ,mr4 ,locke's own principles and a physical consideration of the senses and the mind1 to prove the impossibility of the composition of ideas2 and that they are not ideas1 but merely terms which are general and abstract4'--,vol4 i4 pp4 #ci1 #ea1 c4 ,now ,i grant that ,mr4 ,locke's own principles1 and a physical consideration of the mind1 do lead to the conclusion here stated1 that is1 to an absurdity2 and it is from thence ,i have endeavoured to show more than once that those principles1 and the considering the mind as a physical thing1 are themselves absurd4 ,how a term can be complex otherwise than from the complexity of its meaning1 that is1 of the idea attached to it1 is difficult to understand4 ,as to the other position1 that we have no general ideas1 but that it is the terms only that are general and abstract1 ,mr4 ,tooke has borrowed this piece of philosophy from ,mr4 ,locke1 who borrowed it from ,hobbes4 #8,universality' says ,mr4 ,locke1 as quoted by our author1 #8belongs not to things1 which are all of them particular in their existence4 ,when1 therefore1 we quit particulars1 the generals that rest are only creatures of our own2 their general nature being nothing but the capacity they are put into of signifying or representing many particulars4' ,i have1 however1 before shown how very loose1 uncertain1 and wavering1 ,mr4 ,locke's reasoning on this subject is1 though ,i cannot agree with ,mr4 ,tooke that it is therefore #8very different from that incomparable author's usual method of proceeding4' ,there is one question which may be asked with respect to this statement1 which1 if fairly answered1 will perhaps1 decide the point in dispute3 viz4 if there is no general nature in things1 or if we have no general idea of what they have in common or the same1 how is it that we know when to apply the same general terms to different particulars1 which on this principle will have nothing left to connect them together in the mind8 ,for example1 take the words1 a white horse4 ,now say they1 it is the terms which are general or common1 but we have no general or abstract idea corresponding to them4 ,but if we had no general idea of white1 nor any general idea of a horse1 we should have nothing more to guide us in applying this phrase to any but the first horse1 than in applying the terms of an unknown tongue to their respective objects4 ,for it is the idea of something general or common between the several objects1 which can alone determine us in assigning the same name to things which1 considered as particulars1 or setting aside that general nature1 are perfectly distinct and independent4 ,without this link in the mind1 this general perception of the qualities of things1 the terms a white horse could no more be applied1 and would1 in fact1 be no more applicable to animals of this description generally1 than to any other animal4 ,in short1 what is it that #8puts the same common name into a capacity of signifying many particulars1' but that those particulars are1 and are conceived to be of the same kind8 ,that is1 general terms necessarily imply a class of things and ideas4 ,language without this would be reduced to a heap of proper names3 and we should be just as much at a loss to name any object generally1 from its agreement with others1 as to know whether we should call the first man we met in the street by the name of ,john or ,thomas4 ,the existence and use of general terms is alone a sufficient proof of the power of abstraction in the human mind2 nor is it possible to give even a plausible account of language without it4 ,but ,mr4 ,tooke has on all possible occasions sacrificed common sense to a false philosophy and epigrammatic logic4 ,in opposition to this author's assertion1 that we have neither complex nor abstract ideas1 ,i think it may be proved to a demonstration that we have no others4 ,if our ideas were absolutely simple and individual1 we could have no idea of any of those objects which in this erring1 half-thinking philosophy are called individual1 as a table or a chair1 a blade of grass1 or a grain of sand4 ,for every one of these includes a certain configuration1 hardness1 colour1 c4 i4e4 ideas of different things1 and received by different senses1 which must be put together by the understanding before they can be referred to any particular thing1 or form one idea4 ,without the cementing power of the mind1 all our ideas would be necessarily decomposed and crumbled down into their original elements and flexional parts4 ,we could indeed never carry on a chain of reasoning on any subject1 for the very links of which this chain must consist1 would be ground to powder4 ,no two of these atomic impressions could ever club together to form even a sensible point1 much less should we be able ever to arrive at any of the larger masses1 or nominal descriptions of things4 ,all nature1 all objects1 all parts of all objects would be equally #8without form and void4' ,the mind alone is formative1 to borrow the expression of a celebrated ,german writer1 or it is that alone which by its pervading and elastic energy unfolds and expands our ideas1 that gives order and consistency to them1 that assigns to every part its proper place1 and that constructs the idea of the whole4 ,ideas are the offspring of the understanding1 not of the senses4 ,in other words1 it is the understanding alone that perceives relation1 but every object is made up of a bundle of relations4 ,in short1 there is no object or idea which does not consist of a number of parts arranged in a certain manner1 but of this arrangement the parts themselves cannot be conscious4 ,a #8physical consideration of the senses and the mind' can never therefore account for our ideas1 even of sensible objects4 ,mr4 ,locke's own principles do indeed exclude all power of understanding from the human mind4 ,the manner in which ,hobbes and ,berkeley have explained the nature of mathematical demonstration upon this system shows its utter inadequacy to any of the purposes of general reasoning1 and is a plain confession of the necessity of abstract ideas4 ,mr4 ,hume considers the principle that abstraction is not an operation of the mind1 but of language1 as one of the most capital discoveries of modern philosophy1 and attributes it to ,bishop ,berkeley4 ,berkeley has however only adopted the arguments and indeed almost the very words of ,hobbes4 ,the latter author in the passage which has been already quoted says1 #8,by this imposition of names1 some of larger1 some of stricter signification1 we turn the reckoning of the consequences of things imagined in the mind into a reckoning of the consequences of appellations4 ,for example1 a man that hath no use of speech at all1 such as is born and remains perfectly deaf and dumb1 if he set before his eyes a triangle1 and by it two right angles1 7such as are the corners of a square figure7 he may by meditation compare and find that the three angles of that triangle are equal to those two right angles that stand by it4 ,but if another triangle be shewn him different in shape from the former1 he cannot know without a new labour1 whether the three angles of that also be equal to the same4 ,but he that hath the use of words1 when he observes that such equality was consequent not to the length of the sides1 nor to any other particular thing in his triangle1 but only to this1 that the sides were straight and the angles three1 and that that was all for which he named it a triangle1 will boldly conclude universally1 that such equality of angles is in all triangles whatsoever2 and register his invention in these general terms3 ,every triangle hath its three angles equal to two right ones4 ,and thus the consequence found in one particular1 comes to be registered and remembered as an universal rule2 and discharges our mental reckoning of time and place1 and delivers us from all labour of the mind saving the first1 and makes that which was found true here and now to be true in all times and places4'--,leviathan1 p4 #ad4 ,bishop ,berkeley gives the same view of the nature of abstract reasoning in the introduction to his #8,principles of ,human ,knowledge4' #8,but here1' he says1 #8it will be demanded how we can know any proposition to be true of all particular triangles1 except we have first seen it demonstrated of the abstract idea of a triangle1 which agrees equally to all4 ,to which ,i answer1 that though the idea ,i have in view1 whilst ,i make the demonstration be1 for instance1 that of an isosceles rectangular triangle1 whose sides are of a determinate length1 ,i may nevertheless be certain it extends to all other rectilinear triangles of what sort or bigness soever4 ,and that because neither the right angle nor the equality nor the determinate length of the sides are at all concerned in the demonstration4 ',tis true1 the diagram ,i have in view includes all these particulars1 but then there's not the least mention made of them in the proof of the proposition4 ,it is not said the three angles are equal to two right ones1 because one of them is a right angle1 or because the sides comprehending it are of the same length2 which sufficiently shows that the right angle might have been oblique and the sides unequal1 and for all that the demonstration have held good4 ,and for this reason it is that ,i conclude that to be true of any oblique angular or scalenon1 which ,i had demonstrated of a particular right angled equicrural triangle1 and not because ,i demonstrated the proposition of the abstract idea of a triangle4'--,page #cd4 ,this answer does not appear to me satisfactory4 ,it amounts to this1 that though the diagram we have in view includes a number of particular circumstances1 not applicable to other cases1 yet we know the principle to be true generally1 because there is not the least mention made of these particulars in the proof of the proposition4 ,when it is asserted that we must necessarily have the idea of a particular size whenever we think of a man in general1 all that is intended ,i believe is that we must think of a particular height4 ,this idea it is supposed must be particular and determinate1 just as we must draw a line with a piece of chalk1 or make a mark with the slider of a measuring instrument in one place and not in another4 ,i think it may be shown that this view of the question is also extremely fallacious and an inversion of the order of our ideas4 ,the height of the individual is thus resolved into the consideration of the lines terminating or defining it1 and the intermediate space of which it properly consists is entirely overlooked4 ,for let us take any given height of a man1 whether tall1 short1 or middle-sized1 and let that height be as visible as you please1 ,i would ask whether the actual length to which it amounts does not consist of a number of other lengths1 as if it be a tall man1 the length will be six feet1 and each of these feet will consist of as many inches1 and those inches will be again made up of decimals1 and those decimals of other subordinate and infinitesimal parts1 which must be all distinctly perceived and added together before the sum total which they compose can be pretended to be a distinct1 particular1 or individual idea4 ,in any given visible object we have always a gross1 general idea of something extended1 and never of the precise length2 for this precise length as it is thought to be is necessarily composed of a number of lengths too many1 and too minute to be separately attended to or jointly conceived by the mind1 and at last loses itself in the infinite divisibility of matter4 ,what sort of distinctness or individuality can therefore be found in any visible image or object of sense1 ,i cannot well conceive3 it seems to me like seeking for certainty in the dancing of insects in the evening sun1 or for fixedness and rest in the motions of the sea4 ,all particulars are nothing but generals1 more or less defined according to circumstances1 but never perfectly so4 ,the knowledge of any finite being rests in generals1 and if we think to exclude all generality from our ideas of things1 as implying a want of perfect truth and clearness1 we must be constrained to remain in utter ignorance4 ,let any one try the experiment of counting a flock of sheep driven fast by him1 and he will soon find his imagination unable to keep pace with the rapid succession of objects2 and his idea of a particular number slide into the general notion of multitude3 not that because there are more objects than he can possibly count he will think there are none1 or that the word flock will present to his mind a mere name without any idea corresponding to it4 ,every act of the attention1 every object we see or think of1 offers a proof of the same kind4 ,the application of this view of the subject to explain the difference between the synthetical and analytical faculties1 between generalization and abstraction in the proper acceptation of this last word1 between common sense or feeling and understanding or reason1 demands a separate essay4 ,i do not think it possible ever to arrive at the truth upon these1 or to prove the existence of general or abstract ideas1 by beginning in ,mr4 ,locke's method with particular ones4 ,this faculty of abstraction or generalization 7to use the words indifferently7 is indeed by most considered as a sort of artificial refinement upon our other ideas1 as an excrescence1 no ways contained in the common impressions of things1 nor scarcely necessary to the common purposes of life2 and is by ,mr4 ,locke altogether denied to be among the faculties of brutes4 ,it is the ornament and top-addition of the mind of man which proceeding from simple sensation upwards1 is gradually sublimed into the abstract notions of things3 #8so from the root springs lighter the green stalk1 from thence the leaves more airy1 last the bright consummate flower4' ,on the other hand1 ,i imagine that all our notions from first to last are1 strictly speaking1 general and abstract1 not absolute and particular1 and that this faculty mixes itself more or less with every act of the mind1 and in every moment of its existence4 ,lastly1 ,i conceive that the mind has not been fairly dealt with in this and other questions of the same kind4 ,the difficulty belonging to the notion of abstraction or comprehension it is perhaps impossible ever to clear up3 but that is no reason why we should discard those operations from the human mind any more than we should deny the existence of motion1 extension1 or curved lines in nature1 because we cannot explain them4 ,matter alone seems to have the privilege of presenting difficulties and contradictions at any time1 which pass current under the name of facts2 but the moment any thing of this kind is observed in the understanding1 all the petulance of logicians is up in arms4 ,the mind is made the mark on which they vent all the modes and figures of their impertinence2 and metaphysical truth has in this respect fared like the milk-white hind1 the emblem of pure faith1 in ,dryden's fable1 which #8,has oft been chased ,with ,scythian shafts and many winged wounds ,aimed at her heart1 was often forced to fly1 ,and doomed to death1 though fated not to die4' ,,on ,,self-,,love ,the modern system of philosophy has one great advantage1 which makes it difficult to attack it with any hopes of success1 namely1 that it is not founded on any of the prevailing opinions or natural feelings of mankind4 ,it rests upon a single principle--its boasted superiority over all prejudice4 ,unsupported by facts or reason1 it is by this circumstance alone enabled to trample upon every dictate of the understanding or feeling of the heart1 as weak and vulgar prejudices4 ,in this alone it is secure and invulnerable4 ,to this it owes its giant power and dreaded name4 ,let the contradictions and fallacies contained in the system be proved over and over again1 still the answer is ready3--all the objections made to it are resolved into prejudice4 ,destitute of every other support1 it staggers our faith in received opinions by the hardihood of its assertions1 and derives its claim to implicit credence by the boldness of its defiance of all established authority4 ,common sense is brought to the bar like an old offender1 and condemned without a hearing4 ,under the shelter of this presumption there is no absurdity so great as not to be advanced with impunity4 ,there is no hypothesis1 however gratuitous1 however inadequate1 or however unfounded1 that is not held up as the true one1 if it is but contrary to all observation and experience4 ,the grossest credulity succeeds to the most extravagant scepticism4 ,from being the slaves of authority we become the dupes of paradox4 ,every opinion which is so absurd as never to have been affirmed before is converted into an undeniable truth4 ,whoever dares to question it1 unawed by the authority on the one hand1 and undazzled by the novelty on the other1 is considered as a person of a narrow and bigoted understanding1 and as relinquishing all claim to the exercise of his reason4 ,we are effectually deterred from protesting against any of these #8wise saws and modern instances' by the dread of being mixed up with the vulgar1 and we dare not avoid the common feelings of humanity lest we should be ridiculed as the dupes of self-love1 or of the whining cant of moralists4 ,there is however no bigotry so blind as that which is founded on a supposed exemption from all prejudice4 ,the mind in this case identifies every opinion of its own with reason itself3 and regarding the objections made to it as proceeding from a jaundiced and distorted view of the case1 it converts them into the strongest confirmations of the depth and comprehensiveness of its own views4 ,there are accordingly no people so little capable of reasoning as those who make the loudest pretensions to it3 and having assumed the name of ,philosophers1 are astonished that any one should call their title in question4 ,i have been led to make these observations from reading ,helvetius's account of self-love1 which is nothing but a series of misrepresentations and assumptions of the question1 and which can only have imposed upon his readers from that tone of confidence and alertness which men always have in attacking a received and long-established principle1 and a tacit and involuntary feeling that boldness of opinion implies strength and independence of mind4 ,a few examples will show that this censure is well-founded4 #8,what1' says this author in the beginning of his view of the question1--#8what is the human understanding8 ,it is the assemblage of his ideas4 ,to what sort of understanding do we give the name of talent8 ,to the understanding concentrated upon a single subject2 that is to say to a large assemblage of ideas of the same kind4 #8,now if there are no innate ideas1 human understanding and genius are only acquired2 and both one and the other have the following faculties for their principles3 #8#a4 ,physical sensibility2 without which we could receive no sensations4 #8#b4 ,memory1 that is to say1 the faculty of recalling the sensations received4 #8#c4 ,the interest which we have in comparing our sensations together1 that is to say1 in observing with attention the resemblances and differences1 the agreements and disagreements of several objects amongst them4 ,it is this interest which fixes the attention1 and in minds commonly well-organised1 is the efficient cause of understanding4' ,it is added in a note1 #8,to judge1 according to ,m4 ,rousseau1 is not to feel4 ,the proof of his opinion is that we have a faculty or power which enables us to compare objects4 ,now this power according to him cannot be the effect of physical sensibility4 ,but1' continues ,helvetius1 #8if ,rousseau had more profoundly considered the question1 he would have perceived that this power 7or faculty of understanding7 is no other than the interest itself which we have to compare these objects1 and that this interest takes its rise in the feeling of self-love1 which is the immediate effect of physical sensibility4' ,this is the author's account of the understanding4 ,it is bold and decided1 but it is not on that account either more or less true4 ,it comes to this2 that the faculty or power of understanding is owing to the use we have for such a faculty2 or that we have a power of comparing our sensations1 because we have an interest in comparing them1 and that therefore this power is nothing but the effect of physical sensibility4 ,so that a man before he has any understanding1 feeling the want of it1 supplies himself with this very necessary faculty by an act of the will1 and out of pure friendly regard to himself4 ,the interest or desire to fly might at this rate supply us with a pair of wings1 or an effort of curiosity might furnish us with a new sense1 or an effort of self-interest might enable a man to be in two places at once4 ,all these consequences might very easily follow1 if we were only satisfied to believe any extravagance of assertion1 and to use words systematically without either connexion or meaning4 ,the whole of this writer's argument against the existence of a benevolent principle in the mind is founded either on a play of words1 or an arbitrary substitution of one feeling for another4 ,he has confounded1 and does not even seem to have been aware of the distinction between1 self-love1 considered as a rational principle of action1 or the voluntary and deliberate pursuit of our own good as such1 and that immediate interest or gratification which the mind may have in the pursuit of any object either relating to ourselves or others4 ,he sometimes evidently considers the former of these1 that is1 a deliberating1 calculating1 conscious selfishness1 as the only rational principle of action1 and treats all other feelings as romance and folly1 or even denies their existence2 while at other times he contends that the most disinterested generosity1 patriotism1 and love of fame1 are equally and in the strictest sense self-love1 because the pursuit of these objects is connected with and tends immediately and intentionally to the gratification of the individual who has an attachment to them4 ,after stating the sentiment of ,rousseau1 that without an innate and abstract sense of right and wrong we should not see the just man and the true citizen consult the public good to his own prejudice1 ,helvetius goes on thus3--#8,no one1 ,i reply1 has ever been found to promote the public good when it injured his own interest4 ,the patriot who risks his life to crown himself with glory1 to gain the public esteem1 and to deliver his country from slavery1 yields to the feeling which is most agreeable to him4 ,why should he not place his happiness in the exercise of virtue1 in the acquisition of public respect1 and in the pleasure consequent upon this respect8 ,for what reason1 in a word1 should he not expose his life for his country1 when the sailor and soldier1 the one at sea1 and the other in the trenches1 daily expose theirs for a shilling8 ,the virtuous man who seems to sacrifice his own good to that of the public is only governed by a sentiment of noble self-interest4 ,why should ,m4 ,rousseau deny here that interest is the exclusive and universal motive of action1 when he himself admits it in a thousand places of his work8' ,the author then quotes the following passage from ,rousseau's #8,emilius' in support of his doctrine3--#8,a man may indeed pretend to prefer my interest to his own3 however plausibly he colours over this falsehood1 ,i am quite sure it is one4' ,but ,i would ask why1 on the principle just stated by ,helvetius1 he should not prefer another to himself1 #8if it is agreeable to him8' ,why should he not place his happiness in the exercise of friendship8 ,why should he not risk his life for his friend1 as well as the patriot for his country1 or as the soldier or sailor for a shilling a day8 ,what is become1 all of a sudden1 of that noble self-interest which identifies us with our country and our kind8 ,is it quite forgot8 ,has it evaporated with a breath8 ,is there nothing of it left8 ,when any instances are brought1 or supposed1 of the sacrifice of private interest to principle1 or virtue1 or passion1 it is immediately pretended that these instances are not at all inconsistent with the grand universal principle of self-interest1 which embraces all the sentiments and affections of the human mind1 even the most heroical and disinterested4 ,but the moment these instances are out of sight and the evasion is no longer necessary1 this expansive principle shrinks into its own natural littleness again2 and excludes all regard to the good of others as romantic and idle folly4 ,all those instances of virtue which are at one moment perfectly compatible with this #8universal principle of action' are the next moment said to be incompatible with it1 and the author after his little rhetorical glozings on the extensive views and generous sacrifices of self-interest1 immediately descends into the vulgar proverb that #8the misfortunes of others are but a dream4' ,to proceed3 ,helvetius says1 7p4 #ad73 #8,what we understand by goodness or the moral sense in man1 is his benevolence towards others3 and this benevolence we always find in proportion to the utility they are of to him4 ,i prefer my fellow-citizens to strangers1 and my friend to my fellow-citizens4 ,the welfare of my friend is reflected upon me4 ,if he becomes more rich and more powerful1 ,i partake of his riches and his power4 ,benevolence towards others is nothing1 then1 but the effect of love to ourselves4' ,the inference here stated1 that benevolence is merely a reflection from self-love1 is founded on the assumption that we always feel for others in proportion to the advantage they are of to us1 and this assumption is a false one4 ,that the habitual or known connexion between our own welfare and that of others1 is one great source of our attachment to them1 one bond of society1 is what ,i do not wish to deny3 the question is whether it is the only one in the mind1 or whether benevolence has not a natural basis of its own to rest upon1 as well as self-love4 ,grant this1 and the actual effects which we observe in human life will follow from both principles combined3 but to say that our attachment to others is in the exact ratio of our obligations to them1 is contrary to all we know of human nature4 ,i would ask whether the affection of a mother for her child is owing to the good received or bestowed2 to the child's power of conferring benefits1 or its standing in need of assistance8 ,are not the fatigues which the mother undergoes for the child1 its helpless condition1 its little vexations1 its sufferings from ill health or accidents1 additional ties upon maternal tenderness1 which by increasing the attention to the wants of the child and anxiety to supply them1 produce a proportionable interest in an attachment to its welfare8 ,helvetius justly observes that we prefer a friend to a stranger1 but the reason which he assigns for it1 that our interests and pleasures are more closely allied1 is not the only one4 ,we participate in the successes of our friends1 it is true1 but we also participate in their distresses and disappointments1 and it is not always found that this lessens our regard for them4 ,benevolence1 therefore1 is not a mere physical reflection from self-love4 ,his account of friendship agrees exactly with that which the grave historian of ,jonathan ,wild has given of the friendship between his hero and ,count ,la ,ruse3 #8,mutual interest1 the greatest of all purposes1 was the cement of this alliance1 which nothing of consequence but superior interest was capable of dissolving4' ,the mechanical principle of association1 understood in a strict sense1 will not account for the multifarious and mixed nature of our affections1 and if we do not understand it in a strict sense1 it will then only be another name for sympathy1 imagination1 or any thing else4 #8,what then in truth1' proceeds this author1 #8is the natural goodness1 or moral sense1 so much extolled by the ,english8 ,what distinct idea can we form of such a sense1 or on what evidence found its existence8 ,if we allow a moral sense1 why not allow an algebraical or chemical sense8 ,nothing is more absurd than this theological philosophy of ,shaftesbury1 and yet most of the ,english are as much delighted with it as the ,french formerly were with their music4 ,it is not the same with other nations4 ,no foreigner can understand the one or hear the other4 ,it is a film on the eye of the ,english1 which it is necessary to remove in order that they may see4 #8,according to their philosophy1 a man in a state of indifference sitting in his elbow chair1 desires the good of others3 but in as far as he is indifferent1 man desires and can desire nothing4 ,a state of desire and indifference is incompatible4 ,these philosophers repeat in vain that the moral sense is implanted in man1 and makes him at a certain time disposed to compassionate the sufferings of his fellows4 ,this system is in fact nothing more than the system of innate ideas overturned by ,locke4 ,for my part1 ,i can form an idea of my five senses1 and of the organs which constitute them3 but ,i confess that ,i have no more idea of a moral sense than of a moral elephant and castle4 ,the enthusiasts for 8moral beauty0 are ignorant of the contempt in which these nations are held by all those who1 either in the character of statesmen1 officers of police1 or men of the world1 have an opportunity of knowing what human nature is4'--,page #ae4 ,in reply to the dogmatical question with which this passage begins--#8,what distinct idea can be given of the moral sense8'--,i answer for myself1 the following very explicit one3 namely1 that it is the natural preference of good to evil1 arising from the conception or idea formed of them in the understanding4 ,those who assert a moral sense1 affirm that there is a faculty of some sort or other inseparable from the nature of a rational and intelligent being1 that enables us to form a conception of good and evil1 or of the feelings of pleasure and pain generally speaking1 which ideas so formed have a natural tendency to excite certain affections and actions4 ,those1 on the other hand1 who deny a moral sense1 or any thing equivalent to it1 must affirm either that we can form no idea whatever of the feelings of others1 or of good and evil generally speaking1 or that these ideas have no possible influence over the mind1 except from their connexion with physical impressions1 memory1 habit1 self-interest1 or some other motive1 quite distinct from the ideas themselves4 ,but ,i have already shown that without the co-operation of rational motives1 there could be neither habit1 nor self-interest1 nor voluntary action of any kind4 ,the moral is therefore nothing but the application of the understanding to the feelings or ideas of good4 ,the question1 consequently1 whether there is a moral sense1 is reducible to this2 whether the mind can understand or conceive1 or be affected by any thing beyond its own physical or mechanical feelings4 ,if it can1 then there is something in man besides his five senses and the organs which compose them1 for these can give him no thought1 conception1 or sympathy with any thing beyond himself1 or even with himself beyond the present moment4 ,the actions1 and events1 and feelings of human life1 the passions and pursuits of men1 could no more go on without the interference of the understanding than without an original principle of physical sensibility4 ,neither the one nor the other explains the whole economy of our moral nature1 but that is no reason why both are not essential and integrant parts of it4 ,the five senses and the organs which compose them will not account for the science of morality1 let it be as imperfect as it may1 any more than for the science of algebra or chemistry in the different degrees in which they are possessed by different men4 ,the point is not whether reason is furnishing us with a perfect and infallible rule of action1 absolute over any other motive or passion1 but whether it is any rule at all1 whether it has any possible influence over our moral feelings4 ,according to ,helvetius1 the moral sense is either a word without meaning1 or it must signify one of our five senses3 that is1 impressions not actually affecting one or other of these are to him absolutely nothing4 ,it is strange that after this he should propose to take the film from the eyes of those who ridiculously fancy that they have other ideas4 ,it is as if a blind man should undertake to undeceive those who can see1 with respect to certain chemical notions1 called objects of sight4 ,in confirmation of his theory1 he refers the romantic admirers of moral beauty to the opinion of certain classes and professions of men1 whose visual ray has been purged1 and who1 it should seem1 possess a sort of second sight into human nature1 namely1 ministers of state1 officers of police1 and men of business4 ,either this argument is a satire on these characters1 or on the understanding of his readers4 ,if these respectable1 and1 ,i dare say1 very well-meaning persons1 are by the narrowness of their occupations and views1 precluded from any general knowledge of human nature1 or the virtues of the human heart1 it is an uncivil irony to propose them as consummate judges of the abstract nature of man4 ,if1 on the other hand1 in spite of their employment1 they retain the same notions and liberality of feeling as other men1 there is no reason to suppose that they would subscribe to the sentiment of our author1 that morality #8is an affair of the five senses3' a proposition which any minister of state1 or police officer1 or man of the world1 possessed of the least common sense1 would treat with as much contempt and incredulity as ,shaftesbury or ,hutcheson4 ,our author's observation1 that the notion of a moral sense or natural disposition to sympathise with others1 is only the doctrine of innate ideas in disguise1 is another misconception of the nature of the question4 ,the actual feeling of compassion is not1 as he says1 innate2 but this no more proves that the disposition to compassion or benevolence is not innate1 than the fact that the ideas or feelings of pleasure and pain are not innate and born with us1 proves that physical sensibility is not an original faculty of the mind4 ,moral sensibility1 or the capacity of being affected by the ideas of certain objects1 is as much a part of our nature as physical sensibility1 or the capacity of being affected in a certain manner by the objects themselves4 ,helvetius says1 physical sensibility is the only quality essential to the nature of man3 ,i answer1 that physical sensibility is not the only quality essential to the nature of man4 ,to show how senseless and insignificant is this kind of reasoning1 ,i will refer back to ,helvetius's concise profession of his metaphysical faith1 which is that he can form an idea of the five senses and of the organs of them1 but of nothing else4 ,now1 ,i may ask1 how he comes by this idea8 ,which of his senses or which of the organs of them is it that gives him an idea of the other four8 ,has the eye an action of words1 or the ear of colours1 or either of the impressions of taste1 smell1 or feeling8 ,which of them is the common sense8 or if none1 must we not suppose some superintending faculty to which all the other impressions are subject1 and which alone can give him an idea of his own senses or their organs8 ,another instance of the utter want of logical and consecutive reasoning which characterizes the ,french philosophers1 might be given in their singular proof of the selfishness of the human mind from the incompatibility of a state of desire and a state of indifference4 ,the ,english philosophers are charged with representing a man in a state of indifference1 #8seated in his arm-chair1' as desiring the good of others4 ,this arm-chair it should seem1 no less than his state of indifference1 presents certain insurmountable barriers to his desires1 which they cannot pass so as to affect him with the slightest concern for any thing beyond it4 ,so far as a man is indifferent to every thing1 he cannot it is true desire any thing4 ,all that follows from this is1 that so far as he desires the good of others he is not in a state of indifference4 ,that a man cannot desire an object and not desire it at the same time requires no proof4 ,but what ought to have been proved1 and what was meant to be so1 is that a man in a state of indifference to the welfare of others on his own account1 cannot desire it for their sake1 and this is what is not proved by the truism mentioned4 ,the general maxim1 that ,i cannot desire any object as long as ,i am indifferent to it1 cannot be made to show that self-interest is the only motive that can make me pass from the one state into the other4 ,by indifference1 as used by the writers here ridiculed1 in a popular sense1 is evidently meant the want of personal or physical interest in any object1 and to say that this necessarily implies the want of every other kind of interest in it1 of all rational desire of the good of others1 is a meagre assumption of the point in dispute4 ,it is strange that these pretenders to philosophy choose to insult the ,english writers for daring to wear the plain1 homely1 useful1 national garb of philosophy1 while their most glossy and most fashionable suits are made up of the shreds and patches stolen from our countryman ,hobbes1 disguised with a few spangles1 tinselled lace1 and tagged points of their own4 ,helvetius's paraphrase of ,hobbes's maxim1 that #8pity is only another name for self-love1' is as follows3 #8,what then do ,i feel in the presence of an object of compassion8 ,a strong emotion4 ,what causes this emotion8 ,the recollection of the sufferings to which man is subject1 and to which ,i am myself liable4 ,it is this consideration that disturbs1 that torments me1 and so long as the unfortunate sufferer continues in my presence ,i am affected with melancholy sensations4 ,have ,i relieved him1--do ,i no longer see him8 ,a calm is insensibly restored to my breast1 because in proportion to the distance to which he is removed1 the remembrance of the evils which his sight recalled is gradually effaced4 ,when ,i was concerned for him1 then1 ,i was concerned only for myself4 ,what are1 in fact1 the sufferings which ,i compassionate the most8 ,they are those not only which ,i have felt myself1 but those which ,i may still feel4 ,those evils the more present to my memory impress me more strongly4 ,my sympathy with the sufferings of another is always in exact proportion to my fear of being exposed to the same sufferings myself4 ,i would willingly1 if it were possible1 destroy the very germ of my own sufferings in him1 and thus be released from the apprehension of the like evils to myself in time to come4 ,the love of others is never any thing more in the human mind than the effect of love to ourselves1 and consequently of our physical sensibility4'--,vol4 ii4 page #bj4 ,to this ,i answer as follows3--,what do ,i feel in the presence of an object of compassion8 ,a strong emotion4 ,what causes this emotion8 ,not1 certainly1 the general recollection of the sufferings to which man in general is subject1 or to which ,i myself may be exposed4 ,it is not this remote and accidental reflection1 which has no particular reference to the object before me1 but a strong sense of the sufferings of the particular person1 excited by his immediate presence1 which affects me with compassion1 and impels me to his relief4 ,the relief ,i afford him1 or the absence of the object1 lessens my uneasiness1 either by the contemplation of the diminution of his sufferings1 to which ,i have contributed1 or by diverting my mind from the consideration of his sufferings4 ,neither the relief afforded1 nor the absence of the object could produce this effect1 if the strong emotion which ,i experience did not relate to the particular object4 ,it is the fate of the individual1 and of him only1 which ,i am contemplating1 and my sympathy accordingly rises and falls with it1 or as my attention is more or less fixed upon it4 ,a total alteration in the situation of the individual produces a total change in my feelings with respect to him1 which could not be the case1 if my compassion depended wholly on my sense of my own security1 or the general condition of human nature4 ,in feeling compassion for another1 therefore1 it was not for myself that ,i was concerned1 but for the sufferer3 my feelings were1 in a manner1 bound up with his1 and ,i forgot for the moment both myself and others4 ,but do ,i not compassionate most those evils which ,i have felt myself8 ,yes2 because from my own knowledge of them ,i have a more lively sense of what others must suffer from them3 just in the same manner ,i dread those evils most with respect to myself in time to come4 ,for those evils which ,i have not experienced1 ,i feel1 for that reason1 less sympathy in respect to others1 and less dread with reference to myself in time to come4 ,neither do ,i always feel for others in proportion as ,i dread the same feelings myself4 ,the memory of my past sufferings cannot excite my disposition to relieve those of others1 and the imaginary apprehension of my own future sufferings can only tend to produce voluntary action on the same principle as my imagination of those or others4 ,i do not wish to prevent their sufferings as the germ or cause of mine1 but because they are of the same nature as mine4 ,benevolence1 therefore1 is not the effect of self love1 though it is the effect of our physical sensibility1 combined with our other faculties4 ,i will in this place insert the reply of ,bishop ,butler 7a true philosopher7 to the same argument in ,hobbes1 in a note to one of his sermons4 #8,if any person can in earnest doubt whether there be such a thing as good-will in one man towards another 7for the question is not concerning either the degree or extensiveness of it1 but concerning the affection itself17 let it be observed1 that whether man be thus or otherwise constituted1 what is the inward frame in this particular is a mere question of fact or natural history1 not proveable immediately by reason4 ,it is therefore to be judged of and determined in the same way other facts or historical matters are2 by appealing to the external senses1 or inward perceptions1 respectively1 as the matter under consideration is cognizable by one or the other2 by arguing from acknowledged facts and actions1 inquiring whether these do not suppose and prove the matter in question so far as it is capable of proof4 ,and1 lastly1 by the testimony of mankind4 ,now that there is some degree of benevolence amongst men1 may be as strongly and plainly proved in all these ways1 as it could possibly be proved1 supposing there was this affection in our nature4 ,and should any one think fit to assert1 that resentment in the mind of man was absolutely nothing but reasonable concern for our own safety1 the falsity of this1 and what is the real nature of that passion1 could be shown in no other ways than those in which it may be shown1 that there is such a thing in some degree as real good-will in man towards man4 #8,there being manifestly this appearance of men's substituting others for themselves1 and being carried out and affected towards them as towards themselves2 some persons1 who have a system which excludes every affection of this sort1 have taken a pleasant method to solve it2 and tell you it is not another you are at all concerned about1 but your self only1 when you feel the affection called compassion2 i4e4 there is a plain matter of fact1 which men cannot reconcile with the general account they think fit to give of things2 they therefore1 instead of that manifest fact1 substitute another1 which is reconcilable to their own scheme4 ,for does not every body by compassion mean an affection the object of which is another in distress8 ,instead of this1 but designing to have it mistaken for this1 they speak of an affection or passion1 the object of which is ourselves1 or danger to ourselves4 ,suppose a person to be in real danger1 and by some means or other to have forgot it2 any trifling accident1 any sound might alarm him1 recall the danger to his remembrance1 and renew his fears3 but it is almost too grossly ridiculous 7though it is to show an absurdity7 to speak of that sound or accident as an object of compassion2 and yet1 according to ,mr4 ,hobbes1 our greatest friend in distress is no more to us1 no more the object of compassion or of any affection in our heart4 ,neither the one nor the other raises any emotion in our mind1 but only the thoughts of our liableness to calamity1 and the fear of it3 and both equally do this4 #8,there are often three distinct perceptions or inward feelings upon sight of persons in distress3 real sorrow and concern for the misery of our fellow-creatures2 some degree of satisfaction from a consciousness of our freedom from that misery2 and1 as the mind passes on from one thing to another1 it is not unnatural from such an occasion to reflect upon our own liableness to the same or other calamities4 ,the two last frequently accompany the first1 but it is the first only which is properly compassion1 of which the distressed are the object1 and which directly carries us with calmness and thought to their assistance4 ,any one of these1 from various and complicated reasons1 may in particular cases prevail over the other two2 and there are1 ,i suppose1 instances where the bare sight of distress1 without our feeling any compassion for it1 may be the occasion of either or both of the two latter4' ,i shall proceed to examine the objection to the doctrine of benevolence1 on the supposition that our sympathy when it exists is really a part of our interest4 ,this objection was long ago stated by ,hobbes1 ,rochefoucault1 and ,mandeville1 and has been adopted and glossed over by ,helvetius4 ,it is pretended1 then1 that in wishing to relieve the distresses of others we only desire to remove the uneasiness which pity creates in our mind2 that all our actions are unavoidably selfish1 as they all arise from the feeling of pleasure or pain existing in the mind of the individual1 and that whether we intend our own good or that of others1 the immediate gratification connected with the idea of any object is the sole motive which determines us to the pursuit of it4 ,first1 this objection does not at all affect the main question in dispute4 ,for if it is allowed that the idea of the pleasures or pains of others excites an immediate interest in the mind1 if we feel sorrow and anxiety for their imaginary distresses exactly in the same way that we do for our own1 and are impelled to action by the same principle1 whether the action has for its object our own good1 or that of others2 in a word1 if we sympathise with others as we do with ourselves1 the nature of man as a voluntary agent must be the same1 whether we choose to call this principle self-love1 or benevolence1 or whatever refinements we may introduce into our manner of explaining it4 ,the relation of man to himself and others as a moral agent is plainly determined1 whether a rational pursuit of his own future welfare and that of others is the real or only the ostensible motive of his actions4 ,were it not that our feelings are so strongly attached to names1 the rest would be a question more of speculative curiosity than practice4 ,all that1 commonly speaking1 is meant by the most disinterested benevolence is this immediate sympathy with the feelings of others1 as by self-love is meant the same kind of attachment to our own future interests4 ,for if by self-love we understand any thing beyond the impulse of the present moment1 any thing different from inclination1 let the object be what it will1 this can no more be a mechanical thing than the most refined and comprehensive benevolence4 ,self-love1 used in the sense which the above objection implies1 must therefore mean some thing very different from an exclusive principle of deliberate1 calculating selfishness1 rendering us indifferent to every thing but our own advantage1 or from the love of physical pleasure or aversion to physical pain1 which could produce no interest in any but sensible impressions4 ,in a word1 it expresses merely any inclination of the mind be it to what it will1 and does not at all determine or limit the object of pursuit4 ,supposing1 therefore1 that our most generous feelings and actions were so far equivocal1 the object only bearing a show of disinterestedness1 the secret motive being always selfish1 this would be no reason for rejecting the common use of the term disinterested benevolence1 which expresses nothing more than an immediate reference of our actions to the good of others1 as self-love expresses a conscious reference of them to our own good as means to an end4 ,this is the proper meaning of the terms4 ,if we denominate our actions not from the object in view1 but from the inclination of the individual1 there will be an end at once1 both of #8selfishness' and #8benevolence4' ,but farther1 ,i deny that there is any foundation for the objection itself1 or any reason for resolving the feelings of compassion or our voluntary motives in general into a principle of mechanical self-love4 ,that the motive to action exists in the mind of the person who acts1 is what no one can deny1 or ,i suppose ever meant to deny4 ,the passion excited and the impression producing it must necessarily affect the individual4 ,there must always be some one to feel and act1 or there could evidently be no such thing as feeling or action4 ,if therefore it had ever been implied as a condition in the love of others1 that this love should not be felt by the person who loves them1 this would be to say that he must love them and not love them at the same time1 which is too palpable an absurdity to be thought of for a moment4 ,it could never1 ,i say1 be imagined that in order to feel for others1 we must in reality feel nothing1 or that benevolence1 to exist at all1 must exist no where4 ,this kind of reasoning is therefore the most arrant trifling4 ,to call my motives or feelings selfish1 because they are felt by myself1 is an abuse of all language3 it might just as well be said that my idea of the monument is a selfish idea1 or an idea of myself1 because it is ,i who perceive it4 ,by a selfish feeling must be meant1 therefore1 a feeling1 not which belongs to myself 7for that all feelings do1 as is understood by every one7 but which relates to myself1 and in this sense benevolence is not a selfish feeling4 ,it is the individual who feels both for himself and others2 but by self-love is meant that he feels only for himself2 for it is presumed that the word self has some meaning in it1 and it would have absolutely none at all1 if nothing more were intended by it than any object or impression existing in the mind4 ,it therefore becomes necessary to set limits to the meaning of the terms4 ,if we except the burlesque interpretation of the word just noticed1 self-love can mean only one of these three things4 #a4 ,the conscious pursuit of our own good as such2 #b4 ,the love of physical pleasure and aversion to physical pain2 #c4 ,the gratification derived from our sympathy with others4 ,if all our actions do not proceed from one of these three principles1 they are all resolvable into self-love4 ,first1 then1 self-love may properly signify1 as already explained1 the love or affection excited by the idea of our own interest1 and the conscious pursuit of it as a general1 remote1 ideal object4 ,in this sense1 that is1 considered with respect to the proposed end of our actions1 ,i have shown sufficiently that there is no exclusive principle of self-love in the human mind which constantly impels us1 as a set purpose1 to pursue our own advantage and nothing but that4 ,secondly1 any being would be strictly a selfish agent1 all whose impulses were excited by mere physical pleasure or pain1 and who had no sense or imagination1 or anxiety about any thing but its own bodily feelings4 ,such a being could have no idea beyond its actual1 momentary existence1 and would be equally incapable of rational self-love or benevolence4 ,but it is allowed on all hands that the wants and desires of the human mind are not confined within the limits of his bodily sensations4 ,thirdly1 it is said that though man is not merely a physical agent1 but is naturally capable of being influenced by imagination and sympathy1 yet that this does not prove him to be possessed of any degree of disinterestedness or real good-will to others2 since he pursues the good of others only from its contributing to his own gratification2 that is1 not for their sakes1 but for his own1 which is still selfishness4 ,that is1 the indulgence of certain affections necessarily tends1 without our thinking of it1 to our own immediate gratification1 and the impulse to prolong a state of pleasurable feeling and put a stop to whatever gives the mind the least uneasiness1 is the real spring and over-ruling principle of our actions4 ,if our benevolence and sympathy with others arose out of and was entirely regulated by this principle of self-gratification1 then these might indeed be with justice regarded as the ostensible accidental motives of our actions1 as the form or vehicle which served only to transmit the efficacy of any other hidden principle1 as the mask and cover of selfishness4 ,but the supposition itself is the absurdest that can well be conceived4 ,self-love and sympathy are inconsistent4 ,the instant we no longer suppose man to be a physical agent1 and allow him to have ideas of things out of himself and to be influenced by them1 that is1 to be endued with sympathy at all1 he must necessarily cease to be a merely selfish agent4 ,the instant he is supposed to conceive and to be affected by the ideas of other things1 he cannot be wholly governed by what relates to himself4 ,the terms #8selfish' and #8natural agent' are a contradiction4 ,for the one expression implies that the mind is actuated solely by the impulse of self-love1 and the other that it is in the power and under the control of other motives4 ,if our sympathy with others does not always originate in the pleasure with which it is accompanied to ourselves1 or does not cease the moment it becomes troublesome to us1 then man is not entirely and necessarily the creature of self-love4 ,he is under another law and another necessity1 and in spite of himself is forced out of the direct line of his own interest1 both future and present1 by other principles inseparable from his nature as an intelligent being4 ,our sympathy therefore is not the servile1 ready tool of our self-love1 but this latter principle is itself subservient to and over-ruled by the former2 that is1 an attachment to others is a real independent principle of human action4 ,what ,i wish to state is this3 that the mind neither constantly aims at nor tends to its own individual interest4 ,that in benevolence1 compassion1 friendship1 c4 the mind does aim at its good1 is what every one must acknowledge4 ,the only sense then in which our sympathy with others can be construed into self-love1 must be that the mind is so constituted that without forethought or any reflection in itself1 or when seeming most occupied with others1 it is still governed by the same universal feeling of which it is wholly unconscious2 and that we indulge in compassion1 c4 only because and in as far as it coincides with our own immediate gratification4 ,if it could be shown that the current of our desires always runs the same way1 either with or without knowledge1 ,i should confess that this would be a strong presumption of what has been called the falsity of human virtue4 ,but it is not true that such is the natural disposition of the mind4 ,it is not so constructed as to receive no impressions but those which gratify its desire of happiness1 or to throw off every the least uneasiness relating to others1 like oil from water4 ,it is not true that the feelings of others have no natural hold upon the mind but by their connexion with self-interest4 ,nothing can be more evident than that we do not on any occasion blindly consult the interest of the moment2 there is no instinctive unerring bias to our own good1 which in the midst of contrary motives and doubtful appearances1 puts aside all other impulses and guides them but to its own purposes4 ,it is against all experience to say that in giving way to the feelings of sympathy1 any more than to those of rational self-interest 7for the argument is the same in both cases71 ,i always yield to that impulse which is accompanied with most pleasure at the time4 ,it is true that ,i yield to the strongest impulse1 but not that my strongest impulse is to pleasure4 ,the idea1 for instance1 of the relief ,i may afford to a person in extreme distress1 is not necessarily accompanied by a correspondent degree of pleasurable sensation to counterbalance the painful sensation his immediate distress occasions in my mind4 ,it is certain that sometimes the one and sometimes the other may prevail without altering my purpose in the least4 ,i am led to persevere in it by the idea of what are the sufferings1 and that it is in my power to alleviate them3 though that idea is not always the most agreeable contemplation ,i could have4 ,those who voluntarily perform the most painful duties of friendship or humanity do not do them from the immediate gratification arising therefrom2 it is as easy to turn away from a beggar as to relieve him2 and if the mind were not actuated by a sense of truth1 and of the real consequences of its actions1 we should uniformly listen to the distresses of others with the same sort of feeling as we go to see a tragedy1 only because we calculate that the pleasure is greater than the pain4 ,but ,i appeal to every one whether this is a true account of human nature4 ,there is indeed a false and bastard kind of feeling commonly called sensibility1 which is governed altogether by this reaction of pity on our own minds1 and which instead of disproving only serves more strongly to distinguish the true4 ,upon the theory here stated the mind is supposed to be imperceptibly attached to or to fly from every idea or impression simply as it affects it with pleasure or pain3 all other impulses are carried into effect or remain powerless according as they touch this great spring of human affection1 which determines every other movement and operation of the mind4 ,why then do we not reject at first every tendency to what may give us pain8 ,why do we sympathise with the distresses of others at all8 #8,the jealous ,god at sight of human ties1 ,spreads his light wings and in a moment flies4' ,why does not our self-love in like manner1 if it is so perfectly indifferent and unconcerned a principle as it is represented1 immediately disentangle itself from every feeling or idea which it finds becoming painful to it8 ,it should seem we are first impelled by self-love to feel uneasiness at another's sufferings1 in order that the same principle of tender concern for ourselves may afterwards impel us to get rid of that uneasiness by endeavouring to remove the suffering which is the cause of it4 ,in desiring to relieve the distress of another1 it is pretended that our only wish is to remove the uneasiness it occasions us3 do we also feel this uneasiness in the first instance for the same reason1 or from regard to ourselves6 ,it is absurd to say that in compassionating others ,i am only occupied with my own pain or uneasiness1 since this very uneasiness arises from my compassion4 ,it is to take the effect for the cause4 ,one half of the process1 namely1 our connecting the sense of pain with the idea of it1 has evidently nothing to do with self-love3 nor do ,i see any more reason for ascribing the active impulse which follows to this principle1 since it does not tend to remove the idea of the object as it gives me pain1 or as it actually affects myself1 but as it is supposed to affect another4 ,self1 mere positive self1 is entirely forgotten1 both practically and consciously4 ,the effort of the mind is not to remove the idea or the immediate feeling of pain as an abstract impression of the individual1 but as it represents the pain which another feels1 and is connected with the idea of another's pain4 ,so long then as this imaginary idea of what another feels excites my sympathy with him1 as it fixes my attention on his sufferings1 however painful1 as it impels me to his relief1 and to employ the necessary means for that purpose1 at the expense of my ease and satisfaction1 that is1 so long as ,i am interested for others1 it is not true that my only concern is for myself1 or that ,i am governed solely by the principles of self-interest4 ,abstract our sympathy as it were from itself1 and resolve it into another principle1 and it will no longer produce the effects which we constantly see it produce wherever it exists4 ,let us suppose1 for a moment1 that the sensations of others were embodied by some means or other with our own1 that we felt for them exactly as for ourselves1 would not this give us a real sympathy in them1 and extend our interest and identity beyond ourselves8 ,would the motives and principles by which we are actuated be the same as before8 ,but the imagination1 though not in the same degree1 produces the same effects3 it modifies and overrules the impulses of self-love1 and binds us to the interests of others as to our own4 ,if the imagination gives us an artificial interest in the welfare of others1 if it determines my feelings and actions1 and if it even for a moment draws them off from the pursuit of an abstract principle of self-interest1 then it cannot be maintained that self-love and benevolence are the same4 ,the motives that give birth to our social affections are by means of the understanding as much regulated by the feelings of others as if we had a real communication and sympathy with them1 and are swayed by an impulse altogether foreign to self-love4 ,if it should be said1 that after all we are as selfish as we can be1 and that the modifications and restrictions of the principle of self-love are only a necessary consequence of the nature of a thinking being1 ,i answer1 that this is the very point ,i wish to establish2 or that it is downright nonsense to talk of a principle of entire selfishness in connexion with a power of reflection1 that is1 with a mind capable of perceiving the consequences of things beyond itself1 and of being affected by them4 ,should any desperate metaphysician persist in affirming that my love of others is still the love of myself1 because the impression exciting my sympathy must exist in my mind1 and so be a part of myself1 ,i would answer that this is using words without affixing any distinct meaning to them4 ,the love or affection excited by any general idea existing in my mind1 can no more be said to be the love of myself1 than the idea of another person is the idea of myself1 because it is ,i who perceive it4 ,this method of reasoning1 however1 will not go a great way to prove the doctrine of an abstract principle of self-interest2 for1 by the same rule1 it would follow that in hating another person ,i hate myself4 ,indeed1 upon this principle1 the whole structure of language is a continued absurdity4 ,it is pretended by a violent assumption1 that benevolence is only a desire to prolong the idea of another's pleasure in one's own mind1 because the idea exists there3 malevolence must1 therefore1 be a disposition to prolong the idea of pain in one's own mind for the same reason1 that is1 to injure oneself1 for by this philosophy no one can have a single idea which does not refer to1 nor any impulse which does not originate in1 self4 ,but the love of others cannot be built on the love of self1 considering this last as the effect of #8physical sensibility2' and the moment we resolve self-love into the rational pursuit of a remote object1 it has been shown that the same reasoning applies to both1 and that the love of others has the same necessary foundation in the human mind as the love of ourselves4 ,i have endeavoured to prove that there is no real1 physical1 or essential difference between the motives by which we are naturally impelled to the pursuit of our own welfare and that of others4 ,the truth of this paradox1 great as it seems1 may be brought to a very fair test3 namely1 the being able to demonstrate that the doctrine of self-interest1 as it is commonly understood1 is in the nature of things an absolute impossibility2 and1 the being able to account for that hypothesis1--that is1 for the common feeling and motives of men from habits1 and a confused association of ideas aided by the use of language4 ,if others cannot answer my reasons1 and if ,i can account for their prejudices1 ,i should not be justified in hastily relinquishing my opinion1 merely on account of its singularity4 ,it may not be improper briefly to recapitulate the former argument as far as it proceeded4 ,i am far from denying that there is a difference between real or physical impulses and ideal motives1 but ,i contend that this distinction is quite beside the present purpose4 ,for self-love properly relates to action1 and all action relates to the future1 and all future objects are ideal1 and the interest we take in all such objects1 and the motives to the pursuit of them are ideal too4 ,the distinction between self-love and benevolence1 therefore1 as separate principles of action1 cannot be founded on the difference between real and imaginary objects1 between physical and rational motives1 inasmuch as the motives and objects of the one and the other are equally ideal things4 ,whether we voluntarily pursue our own good or that of another1 we must inevitably pursue that which is at a distance from us1 something out of ourselves1 abstracted from the being that acts and wills1 and that is incompatible always with our present sensation or physical existence4 ,self-love1 therefore1 as the actuating principle of the mind1 must imply the efficacy and operation of the imagination of the remote ideas of things1 as connected with voluntary action1 and the most refined benevolence1 the greatest sacrifices of natural affection1 of sincerity1 of friendship1 or humanity1 can imply nothing more4 ,the notion of the necessity of actual objects or impressions as the motives to action could not so easily have gained ground as an article of philosophical faith1 but from a perverse distinction of the use of the idea to abstract definitions or external forms1 having no reference to the feelings or passions2 and again from associating the word imagination with merely fictitious situations and events such as never have a real existence1 and which consequently do not admit of action4 ,if then self-love1 even the most gross and palpable1 can only subsist in a rational and intellectual nature1 not circumscribed within the narrow limits of animal life1 or of the ignorant present time1 but capable of giving life and interest to the forms of its own creatures1 to the unreal mockeries of future things1 to that shadow of itself which the imagination sends before2 is it not the height of absurdity to stop here1 and poorly and pitifully to suppose that this pervading power must bow down and worship this idol of its own making1 and become its blind and servile drudge1 and that it cannot extend its creatures as widely around it1 as it projects them forward1 that it cannot breathe into all other forms the breath of life1 and endow even sympathy with vital warmth1 and diffuse the soul of morality through all the relations and sentiments of human life8 ,take away the real1 physical1 mechanical principle of self-interest1 and it will have no basis to rest upon1 but that which it has in common with every principle of natural justice or humanity4 ,that there is no real1 physical1 or mechanical principle of selfishness in the mind1 has been abundantly proved4 ,all that remains is1 to show how the continued identity of the individual with himself has given rise to the notion of self-interest1 which after what has been premised will not be a very difficult task4 ,what ,i shall attempt to show will be1 that individuality expresses not either absolute unity or real identity1 but properly such a particular relation between a number of things as produces an immediate or continued connexion between them1 and a correspondent marked separation between them and other things4 ,now1 in coexisting things1 one part may by means of this communication mutually act and be acted upon by others1 but where the connexion is continued1 or in successive identity of the individual1 though what follows may depend intimately on what has gone before1 that is1 be acted upon by it1 it cannot react upon it2 that is1 the identity of the individual with itself can only relate practically to its connexion with its past1 and not with its future self4 ,every human being is distinguished from every other human being both numerically and characteristically4 ,he must be numerically distinct by the supposition1 or he would not be another individual1 but the same4 ,there is1 however1 no contradiction in supposing two individuals to possess the same absolute properties3 but then these original properties must be differently modified afterwards from the necessary difference of their situations1 unless we conceive them both to occupy the same relative situation in two distinct systems1 corresponding exactly with each other4 ,in fact1 every one is found to differ essentially from every one else2 if not in original qualities1 in the circumstances and events of their lives1 and consequently in their ideas and characters4 ,in thinking of a number of individuals1 ,i conceive of them all as differing in various ways from one another as well as from myself4 ,they differ in size1 in complexion1 in features1 in the expression of their countenances1 in age1 in occupation1 in manners1 in knowledge1 in temper1 in power4 ,it is this perception or apprehension of their real differences that first enables me to distinguish the several individuals of the species from each other1 and that seems to give rise to the most obvious idea of individuality1 as representing1 first1 positive number1 and1 secondly1 the sum of the differences between one being and another1 as they really exist1 in a greater or less degree in nature1 or as they would appear to exist to an impartial spectator1 or to a perfectly intelligent mind4 ,but ,i am not in reality more different from others than any one individual is from any other individual1 neither do ,i in fact suppose myself to differ really from them otherwise than as they differ from each other4 ,what is it then that makes the difference seem greater to me1 or that makes me feel a greater change in passing from my own idea to that of another person1 than in passing from the idea of another person to that of any one else8 ,neither my existing as a separate being1 nor my differing from others1 is of itself sufficient to account for the idea of self1 since ,i might equally perceive others to exist and compare their actual differences without ever having this idea4 ,farther1 individuality is sometimes used to express not so much the absolute difference or distinction between one individual and another1 as a relation or comparison of that individual with itself1 whereby we tacitly affirm that it is in some way or other the same with itself1 or one idea4 ,now in one sense it is true of all existences whatever that they are literally the same with themselves2 that is1 they are what they are1 and not something else4 ,each thing is itself1 is that individual thing1 and no other2 and each combination of things is that combination1 and no other4 ,so also each individual conscious being is necessarily the same with himself2 or in other words1 that combination of ideas which represents any individual person is that combination of ideas1 and not a different one4 ,this literal and verbal is the only true and absolute identity which can be affirmed of any individual2 which1 it is plain1 does not arise from a comparison of the different parts or successive impressions composing the general idea one with another1 but each with itself or all of them taken together with the whole4 ,i cannot help thinking that some idea of this kind is frequently at the bottom of the perplexity which is felt by most people who are not metaphysicians 7not to mention those who are71 when they are told that man is not always the same with himself1 their notion of identity being that he must always be what he is4 ,he is the same with himself1 in as far as he is not another4 ,when they say that the man is the same being in general1 they do not really mean that he is the same at twenty that he is at sixty1 but their general idea of him includes both these extremes1 and therefore the same man1 that is1 the same collective idea1 is both the one and the other4 ,this however is but a rude logic4 ,not well understanding the process of distinguishing the same individual into different metaphysical sections1 to compare1 collate1 and set one against the other 7so awkwardly do we at first apply ourselves to the analytical art71 to get rid of the difficulty the mind produces a double individual1 part real and part imaginary1 or repeats the same idea twice over2 in which case it is a contradiction to suppose that the one does not correspond exactly with the other in all its parts4 ,there is no other absolute identity in the case4 ,all individuals 7or all that we name such7 are aggregates1 and aggregates of dissimilar things4 ,here1 then1 the question is not how we distinguish one individual from another1 or a number of things from a number of other things1 which distinction is a matter of absolute truth1 but how we come to confound a number of things together1 and consider many things as the same1 which cannot be strictly true4 ,this idea must then merely relate to such a connexion between a number of things as determines the mind to consider them as one whole1 each part having a much nearer and more lasting connexion with the rest than with any thing else not included in the same collective idea4 7,it is obvious that the want of this close affinity and intimate connexion between any number of things is what so far produces a correspondent distinction and separation between one individual and another47 ,the eye is not the same thing as the ear2 it is a contradiction to call it so4 ,yet both are parts of the same body1 which contains these and infinite other distinctions4 ,the reason of this is1 that all the parts of the eye have evidently a distinct nature1 a separate use1 a greater mutual dependence on one another than on those of the ear2 at the same time that there is a considerable connexion between the eye and the ear1 as parts of the same body and organs of the same mind4 ,similarity is in general but a subordinate circumstance in determining this relation4 ,for the eye is certainly more like the same organ in another individual1 than the different organs of sight and hearing are like one another in the same individual4 ,yet we do not1 in making up the imaginary individual1 associate our ideas according to this analogy1 which would answer no more purpose than the things themselves would1 so separated and so united2 but we think of them in that order in which they are mechanically connected together in nature1 and in which alone they can serve to any practical purpose4 ,however1 it seems hardly possible to define the different degrees or kinds of identity in the same thing by any general rule4 ,the nature of the thing will best point out the sense in which it is to be the same4 ,individuality may relate either to absolute unity1 to the identity or similarity of the parts of any thing1 or to an extraordinary degree of connexion between things neither the same1 nor similar4 ,this last sense principally determines the positive use of the word1 at least with respect to man and other organized beings4 ,indeed1 the term is hardly ever applied in common language to other things4 ,to insist on the first circumstance1 namely1 absolute unity1 as essential to individuality1 would be to destroy all individuality2 for it would lead to the supposition of as many distinct individuals as there are thoughts1 feelings1 actions1 and properties in the same being4 ,each thought would be a separate consciousness1 each organ a different system4 ,each thought is a distinct thing in nature2 but the individual is composed of numberless thoughts and various faculties1 and contradictory passions1 and mixed habits1 all curiously woven1 and blended together in the same conscious being4 ,but to proceed to a more particular account of the origin of the idea of self1 which is the connexion of a being with itself4 ,this can only be known in the first instance from reflecting on what passes in our own minds4 ,i should say that individuality in this sense does not arise either from the absolute simplicity of the mind1 or from its identity with itself1 or from its diversity from other minds1 which are not in the least necessary to it1 but from the peculiar and intimate connection which subsists between the several faculties and perceptions of the same thinking being constituted as man is2 so that1 as the subject of his own reflection or consciousness1 the same things impressed on any of his faculties produce a quite different effect upon him from what they would do1 if they were impressed in the same way on any other being4 ,the sense of personality seems then to depend entirely on the particular consciousness which the mind has of its own operations1 sensations1 or ideas4 ,self is nothing but the limits of the mind's consciousness2 as far as that reaches it extends1 and where that can go no further1 it ceases4 ,the mind is one1 from the confined sphere in which it acts2 or because it is not all things4 ,it is nearer and more present to itself than to other minds4 ,what passes within it1 what acts upon it immediately from without1 of this it cannot help being conscious2 and this consciousness is continued in it afterwards1 more or less perfectly4 ,all that does not come within this sphere of personal consciousness1 all that has never come within it1 is equally without the verge of self2 for that word relates solely to the difference of the manner1 or the different degrees of force and certainty with which1 from the imperfect and limited nature of our faculties1 certain things affect us as they act immediately upon ourselves1 and are supposed to act upon others4 ,hence it is evident that personality itself cannot extend to futurity2 for the whole of this idea depends on the peculiar force and directness with which certain impulses act upon the mind4 ,it is by comparing the knowledge ,i have of my own impressions1 ideas1 feelings1 powers1 c4 with my knowledge of the same or similar impressions1 ideas1 c4 in others1 and with this still more imperfect conception that ,i form of what passes in their minds when this is supposed to be entirely different from what passes in my own1 that ,i acquire the general notion of self4 ,if ,i could form no idea of any thing passing in the minds of others1 or if my ideas of their thoughts and feelings were perfect representations1 i4e4 mere conscious repetitions of them1 all personal distinction would be lost either in pure sensation or in perfect universal sympathy4 ,in the one case it would be impossible for me to prefer myself to others1 as ,i should be the sole object of my own consciousness2 and in the other case ,i must love all others as myself1 because ,i should then be nothing more than a part of a whole1 of which all others would be equally members with myself4 ,this distinction1 however1 subsists as necessarily and completely between myself and those who most nearly resemble me1 as between myself and those whose characters and properties are the very opposite to mine4 ,indeed1 the distinction itself becomes marked and intelligible in proportion as the objects or impressions themselves are intrinsically the same1 as then it is impossible to mistake the true principle on which it is founded1 namely1 the want of any direct communication between the feelings of one being and those of another4 ,this will shew why the difference between ourselves and others appears greater to us than that between other individuals1 though it is not really so4 ,considering mankind in this twofold relation1 as they are to themselves1 or as they appear to one another1 as the subjects of their own thoughts1 or the thoughts of others1 we shall find the origin of that wide and absolute distinction which the mind feels in comparing itself with others1 to be confined to two faculties1 viz41 sensation1 or rather consciousness1 and memory4 ,to avoid an endless subtilty of distinction1 ,i have not given here any account of consciousness in general2 but the same reasoning will apply to both4 ,the operation of both these faculties is of a perfectly exclusive and individual nature1 and so far as their operation extends 7but no farther7 is man a personal1 or if you will1 a selfish being4 ,the sensation excited in me by a piece of red-hot iron striking against any part of my body is simple1 absolute1 terminating as it were in itself1 not representing any thing beyond itself1 nor capable of being represented by any other sensation1 or communicated to any other being4 ,the same kind of sensation may be indeed excited in another by the same means1 but this sensation will not imply any reference to1 or consciousness of mine2 there is no communication between my nerves and another's brain1 by which he can be affected with my sensations as ,i am myself4 ,the only notice or perception which another can have of this sensation in me1 or which ,i can have of a similar sensation in another1 is by means of the imagination4 ,i can form an imaginary idea of that pain as existing out of myself2 but ,i can only feel it as a sensation when it is actually impressed on myself4 ,any impression made on another can neither be the cause nor object of sensation to me4 ,again1 the impression or idea left in my mind by this sensation1 and afterwards excited either by seeing iron in the same state1 or by any other means1 is properly an idea of memory4 ,this recollection necessarily refers to some previous impression in my own mind1 and only exists in consequence of that impression1 or of the continued connexion of the same mind with itself3 it cannot be derived from any impression made on another4 ,my thoughts have a particular mechanical dependence only on my own previous thoughts or sensations4 ,i do not remember the feelings of any one but myself4 ,i may1 indeed1 remember the objects which must have caused such and such feelings in others1 or the outward signs of passion which accompanied them4 ,these1 however1 are but the recollections of my own immediate impressions of what ,i saw1 and ,i can only form an idea of the feelings themselves by means of the imagination4 ,but1 though we take away all power of imagination from the human mind1 my own feelings must leave behind them certain traces1 or representations of themselves retaining the same general properties1 and having the same intimate connexion with the conscious principle4 ,on the other hand1 if ,i wish to anticipate my own future feelings1 whatever these may be1 ,i must do so by means of the same faculty by which ,i conceive of those of others1 whether past or future4 ,i have no distinct or separate faculty on which the events and feelings of my future being are impressed before hand1 and which shows1 as in an enchanted mirror1 to me1 and me alone1 the reversed picture of my future life4 ,it is absurd to suppose that the feelings which ,i am to have hereafter1 should excite certain correspondent impressions of themselves before they have existed1 or act mechanically upon my mind by a secret sympathy4 ,the romantic sympathies of lovers1 the exploded dreams of judicial astrology1 the feats of magic1 do not equal the solid1 substantial absurdity of this doctrine of self-interest1 which attributes to that which is not and has not been1 a mechanical operation and a reality in nature4 ,i can only abstract myself from this present being1 and take an interest in my future being1 in the same sense and manner in which ,i can go out of myself entirely1 and enter into the minds and feelings of others4 ,in short1 there neither is nor can be any principle belonging to the individual that antecedently identifies his future events with his present sensation1 or that reflects the impression of his future feelings backwards with the same kind of consciousness that his past feelings are transmitted forward through the channels of memory4 ,the size of the river as well as its taste depends on the water that has already fallen into it4 ,i cannot roll back its course1 nor is the stream next the source affected by the water which falls into it afterwards1 yet we call both the same river4 ,such is the nature of personal identity4 ,it is founded on the continued connexion of cause and effect1 and awaits their gradual progress1 and does not consist in a preposterous and wilful unsettling of the natural order of things4 ,there is an illustration of this argument1 which1 however quaint or singular it may appear1 ,i rather choose to give than omit any thing which may serve to make my meaning clear and intelligible4 ,suppose then a number of men employed to cast a mound into the sea4 ,as far as it has gone1 the workmen pass backwards and forwards on it3 it stands firm in its place1 and though it advances further and further from the shore1 it is still joined to it4 ,a man's personal identity and self-interest have just the same principle and extent1 and can reach no farther than his actual existence4 ,but if any man of a metaphysical turn1 seeing that the pier was not yet finished1 but was to be continued to a certain point1 and in a certain direction1 should take it into his head to insist that what was already built1 and what was to be built were the same pier1 that the one must therefore afford as good footing as the other1 and should accordingly walk over the pier-head on the solid foundation of his metaphysical hypothesis--he would act a great deal more ridiculously1 but would not argue a whit more absurdly than those who found a principle of absolute self-interest on a man's future identity with his present being4 ,but1 say you1 the comparison does not hold in this1 that a man can extend his thoughts 7and that very wisely too71 beyond the present moment1 whereas in the other case he cannot move a single step forwards4 ,grant it4 ,this will only show that the mind has wings as well as feet1 which is a sufficient answer to the selfish hypothesis4 ,if the foregoing account be true 7and for my part1 the only perplexity that crosses my mind in thinking of it arises from the utter impossibility of conceiving of the contrary supposition71 it will follow that those faculties which may be said to constitute self1 and the operations of which convey that idea to the mind1 draw all their materials from the past and present4 ,but all voluntary action1 as ,i have before largely shown1 must relate solely and exclusively to the future4 ,that is1 all those impressions or ideas with which selfish1 or more properly speaking1 personal feelings must be naturally connected are just those which have nothing to do at all with the motives to action in the pursuit either of our own interest1 or that of others4 ,if indeed it were possible for the human mind to alter the present or the past1 so as either to recal what was past1 or to give it a still greater reality1 to make it exist over again1 and in some more emphatical sense1 then man might1 with some pretence of reason1 be supposed naturally incapable of being impelled to the pursuit of any past or present object but from the mechanical excitement of personal motives4 ,it might in this case be pretended that the impulses of imagination and sympathy are of too light1 unsubstantial1 and remote a creation to influence our real conduct1 and that nothing is worthy of the concern of a wise man in which he has not this direct1 unavoidable1 and homefelt interest4 ,this is1 however1 too absurd a supposition to be dwelt on for a moment4 ,the only proper objects of voluntary action are 7by necessity7 future events3 these can excite no possible interest in the mind but by the aid of the imagination2 and these make the same direct appeal to that faculty1 whether they relate to ourselves or to others1 as the eye receives with equal directness the impression of our own external form or that of others4 ,it will be easy to perceive by this train of reasoning how1 notwithstanding the contradiction involved in the supposition of a generally absolute self-interest1 the mind comes to feel a deep and habitual conviction of the truth of this principle4 ,finding in itself a continued consciousness of its past impressions1 it is naturally enough disposed to transfer the same sort of identity and consciousness to the whole of its being4 ,the objects of imagination and of the senses are1 as it were1 perpetually playing into one another's hands1 and shifting characters1 so that we lose our reckoning1 and do not think it worth while to mark where the one ends and the other begins4 ,as our actual being is constantly passing into our future being1 and carries the internal feeling of consciousness along with it1 we seem to be already identified with our future being in this permanent part of our nature1 and to feel by a mutual impulse the same necessary sympathy with our future selves that we know we shall have with our past selves4 ,we take the tablets of memory1 reverse them1 and stamp the image of self on that which as yet possesses nothing but the name4 ,it is no wonder then that the imagination1 constantly disregarding the progress of time1 when its course is marked out along the straight unbroken line of individuality1 should confound the necessary differences of things1 and convert a distant object into a present reality4 ,the interest which is hereafter to be felt by this continued conscious being1 this indefinite unit1 called me1 seems necessarily to affect me in every state of my existence1--#8thrills in each nerve1 and lives along the line4' ,in the first place we abstract the successive modifications of our being1 and particular temporary interests1 into one simple nature and general principle of self-interest1 and then make use of this nominal abstraction as an artificial medium to compel those particular actual interests into the closest affinity and union with each other1 as different lines meeting in the same centre must have a mutual communication with each other4 ,on the contrary1 as ,i always remain perfectly distinct from others 7the interest which ,i take in their former or present feelings being like that which ,i take in their future feelings1 never any thing more than the effect of imagination and sympathy71 the same illusion and transposition of ideas cannot take place with regard to these2 namely1 the confounding a physical impulse with the rational motives to action4 ,indeed the uniform nature of my feelings with regard to others 7my interest in their welfare having always the same source and sympathy7 seems by analogy to confirm the supposition of a similar simplicity in my relation to myself1 and of a positive1 natural1 absolute interest in whatever belongs to that self1 not confined to my actual existence1 but extending over the whole of my being4 ,every sensation that ,i feel1 or that afterwards recurs vividly to my memory strengthens the sense of self1 which increased strength in the mechanical feeling is indirectly transferred to the general idea1 and to my remote1 future1 imaginary interest2 whereas our sympathy with the feelings of others being always imaginary1 standing only on its own basis1 having no sensible interest to support it1 no restless mechanical impulse to urge it on1 the ties by which we are bound to others hang loose upon us3 the interest we take in their welfare seems to be something foreign to our own bosoms1 to be transient1 arbitrary1 and directly opposed to that necessary1 unalienable interest we are supposed to have in whatever conduces to our own well-being4 ,there is another consideration 7and that probably the principal one7 to be taken into the account in explaining the origin and growth of our selfish habits1 which is perfectly consistent with the foregoing theory1 and evidently arises out of it4 ,there is naturally1 then1 no essential difference between the motives by which ,i am impelled to the pursuit of my own good or that of others3 but though there is not a difference in kind1 there is one in degree4 ,we know better what our own future feelings will be than what those of others will be in a like case4 ,we can apply the materials afforded us by experience with less difficulty and more in a mass in making out the picture of our future pleasures and pains1 without frittering them away or destroying their original sharpnesses3 in a word1 we can imagine them more plainly1 and must therefore be more interested in them4 ,this facility in passing from the recollection of my former impressions to the anticipation of my future ones makes the transition almost imperceptible1 and gives to the latter an apparent reality and presentness to the imagination1 to a degree in which the feelings of others can scarcely ever be brought home to us4 ,it is chiefly from this greater readiness and certainty with which we can look forward into our own minds than out of us into those of other men1 that that strong and uneasy attachment to self1 which often comes at last to overpower every generous feeling1 takes its rise2 not1 as ,i think ,i have shown1 from any natural and impenetrable hardness of the human heart1 or necessary absorption of all its thoughts and purposes in a blind exclusive feeling of self-interest4 ,it confirms this account1 that we constantly are found to feel for others in proportion as we know from long acquaintance with the turn of their minds1 and events of their lives1 #8the hair-breadth scapes' of their travelling history1 or #8some disastrous stroke which their youth suffered1' what the real nature of their feelings is2 and that we have in general the strongest attachment to our immediate relatives and friends1 who from this intercommunity of thoughts and feelings may more truly be said to be a part of ourselves than from even the ties of blood4 ,moreover1 a man must be employed more usually in providing for his own wants and his own feelings than those of others4 ,in like manner he is employed in providing for the immediate welfare of his family and connexions much more than in providing for the welfare of those who are not bound by any positive ties4 ,and we accordingly find that the attention1 time1 and pains bestowed on these several objects give him a proportionable degree of anxiety about1 and attachment to his own interest1 and that of those connected with him2 but it would be absurd to conclude that his affections are therefore circumscribed by a natural necessity within certain impassable limits1 either in the one case or the other4 ,it should not be forgotten here that this absurd opinion has been very commonly referred to the effects of natural affection as it has been called1 as well as of self-interest2 parental and filial affection being supposed to be originally implanted in the mind by the ties of nature1 and to move round the centre of self-interest in an orbit of their own1 within the circle of our families and friends4 ,this general connexion between the habitual pursuit of any object and our interest in it1 will account for the well-known observation1 that the affection of parents to children is the strongest of all others1 frequently overpowering self-love itself4 ,this fact does not seem easily reconcilable to the doctrine that the social affections are all of them ultimately to be deduced from association1 or the reputed connexion of immediate selfish gratification with the idea of some other person4 ,if this were strictly the case we must feel the strongest attachment to those from whom we had received1 instead of those to whom we had done1 the greatest number of kindnesses1 or where the greatest quantity of actual enjoyment had been associated with an indifferent idea4 ,junius has remarked that friendship is not conciliated by the power of conferring benefits1 but by the equality with which they are received and may be returned4 ,i have hitherto purposely avoided saying any thing on the subject of our physical appetites and the manner in which they may be thought to affect the principle of the foregoing reasonings4 ,they evidently seem at first sight1 to contradict the general conclusion which ,i have endeavoured to establish1 as they all of them tend either exclusively or principally to the gratification of the individual1 and at the same time refer to some future or imaginary object1 as the source of this gratification4 ,the impulse which they give to the will is mechanical1 and yet this impulse1 blind as it is1 constantly tends to and coalesces with the pursuit of some rational end4 ,that is1 here is an end aimed at1 the desire and regular pursuit of a known good1 and all this produced by motives evidently mechanical1 and which never impel the mind but in a selfish direction3 it makes no difference in the question whether the active impulse proceed directly from the desire of positive enjoyment1 or a wish to get rid of some positive uneasiness4 ,i should say then that1 setting aside what is of a purely physical nature in the case1 the influence of appetite over our volitions may be accounted for consistently enough with the foregoing hypothesis1 from the natural effects of a particularly irritable state of bodily feeling1 rendering the idea of that which will heighten and gratify its susceptibility of pleasurable feeling1 or remove some painful feeling1 proportionably vivid1 and the object of a more vehement desire than can be excited by the same idea1 when the body is supposed to be in a state of indifference1 or only ordinary sensibility to that particular kind of gratification4 ,thus the imaginary desire is sharpened by constantly receiving supplies of pungency1 from the irritation of bodily feeling1 and its direction is at the same time determined according to the bias of this new impulse2 first1 indirectly by having the attention fixed on our own immediate sensation2 secondly1 because that particular gratification1 the desire of which is increased by the pressure of physical appetite1 must be referred primarily and by way of distinction to the same being1 by whom the want of it is felt1 that is1 to myself4 ,as the actual uneasiness which appetite implies can only be excited by the irritable state of my own body1 so neither can the desire of the correspondent gratification subsist in that intense degree1 which properly constitutes appetite1 except when it tends to relieve that very same uneasiness by which it was excited1 as in the case of hunger4 ,there is in the first place the strong mechanical action of the nervous and muscular systems co-operating with the rational desire of my own belief1 and forcing it its own way4 ,secondly1 this state of uneasiness grows more and more violent1 the longer the relief which it requires is withheld from it3 hunger takes no denial1 it hearkens to no compromise1 is soothed by no flattery1 tired out by no delay4 ,it grows more importunate every moment1 its demands become larger the less they are attended to4 ,the first impulse which the general love of personal ease receives from bodily pain will give it the advantage over my disposition to sympathise with others in the same situation with myself1 and this difference will be increasing every moment1 till the pain is removed4 ,thus1 if ,i at first1 either through compassion or by an effort of the will1 am regardless of my own wants1 and wholly bent upon satisfying the more pressing wants of my companions1 yet this effort will at length become too great1 and ,i shall be incapable of attending to any thing but the violence of my own sensations1 or the means of alleviating them4 ,it would be easy to show from many things that mere appetite 7generally1 at least1 in reasonable beings7 is but the fragment of a self-moving machine1 but a sort of half organ1 a subordinate instrument even in the accomplishment of its own purposes2 that it does little or nothing without the aid of another faculty to inform and direct it4 ,before the impulses of appetite can be converted into the regular pursuit of a given object1 they must first be communicated to the understanding1 and modify the will through that4 ,consequently1 as the desire of the ultimate gratification of the appetite is not the same with the appetite itself1 that is mere physical uneasiness1 but an indirect result of its communication to the thinking or imaginative principle1 the influence of appetite over the will must depend on the extraordinary degree of force and vividness which it gives to the idea of a particular object2 and we accordingly find that the same cause which irritates the desire of selfish gratification1 increases our sensibility to the same desires and gratification in others1 where they are consistent with our own1 and where the violence of the physical impulse does not overpower every other consideration4 ,,madame ,,de ,,sta,l',s ,,account ,,of ,,german ,,philosophy ,,and ,,literature4 ,the ,morning ,chronicle4 ,feb4 #c1 #ahad4 ,the most interesting part of ,madame ,de ,stal's very ingenious and elegant work on ,germany is undoubtedly 7to literary readers7 that in which she has sketched with so much intelligence and grace1 the present state of opinions with respect to philosophy and taste in that country4 ,i have not yet seen any satisfactory abstract of her reasonings on either of these subjects4 ,the article in ,the ,edinburgh ,review touches but lightly and incidentally on them1 from the variety and pressure of other topics of a more lively and general interest4 ,i shall attempt to supply this deficiency1 and at the same time to offer some farther thoughts on each subject4 ,the two points on which ,i wish to enlarge are the view which ,madame ,de ,stal takes of ,german poetry1 as contrasted with the ,french1 and secondly of the spirit and principles of the ,german philosophy1 that of ,professor ,kant1 as opposed to the ,french system of philosophy which is not indeed peculiar to them as a nation1 but common to the age4 ,i shall begin with the last first1 not only because it is perhaps the most important1 but because ,i think that as the ,english were the first to propagate the latter system 7for the ,french have only adopted it from us1 carrying its practical and popular application farther71 we ought not to be the last to disclaim and explode it4 ,it may not be uninteresting as a branch of national literature1 to take a general view of the rise and progress of their philosophy1 before we come to examine ,madame ,de ,stal's account of the system which ,kant has opposed to it1 and to shew in what that system is well-founded1 and where it fails4 ,according to the prevailing system1--,i mean the material or modern philosophy1 as it has been called1 all thought is to be resolved into sensation1 all morality into the love of pleasure1 and all action into mechanical impulse4 ,these three propositions taken together1 embrace almost every question relating to the human mind1 and in their different ramifications and intersections form a net1 not unlike that used by the enchanters of old1 which1 whosoever has once thrown over him1 will find all farther efforts vain1 and his attempts to reason freely on any subject in which his own nature is concerned1 baffled and confounded in every direction4 ,this system1 which first rose at the suggestion of ,lord ,bacon1 on the ruins of the school-philosophy1 has been gradually growing up to its present height ever since1 from a wrong interpretation of the word experience1 confining it to a knowledge of things without us2 whereas it in fact includes all knowledge1 relating to objects either within or out of the mind1 of which we have any direct and positive evidence4 ,we only know that we ourselves exist1 the most certain of all truths1 from the experience of what passes within ourselves4 ,strictly speaking1 all other facts of which we are not immediately conscious1 are such in a secondary and subordinate sense only4 ,physical experience is indeed the foundation and the test of that part of philosophy which relates to physical objects3 farther1 physical analogy is the only rule by which we can extend and apply our immediate knowledge1 or infer the effects to be produced by the different objects around us4 ,but to say that physical experiment is either the test1 or source1 or guide of that other part of philosophy which relates to our internal perceptions1 that we are to look in external nature for the form1 the substance1 the colour1 the very life and being of whatever exists in our minds1 or that we can only infer the laws which regulate the phenomena of the mind from those which regulate the phenomena of matter1 is to confound two things entirely distinct4 ,our knowledge of mental phenomena from consciousness1 reflection1 or observation of their correspondent signs in others is the true basis of metaphysical inquiry1 as the knowledge of facts1 commonly so called1 is the only solid basis of natural philosophy4 ,to assert that the operations of the mind and the operations of matter are in reality the same1 so that we should always regard the one as symbols or exponents of the other1 is to assume the very point in dispute1 not only without any evidence1 but in defiance of every appearance to the contrary4 ,lord ,bacon was undoubtedly a great man1 indeed one of the greatest that have adorned this or any other country4 ,he was a man of a clear and active spirit1 of a most fertile genius1 of vast designs1 of general knowledge1 and of profound wisdom4 ,he united the powers of imagination and understanding in a greater degree than almost any other writer4 ,he was one of the most remarkable instances of those men1 who1 by the rare privilege of their nature1 are at once poets and philosophers1 and see equally in both worlds--the individual and sensible1 and the abstracted and intelligible forms of things4 ,the ,schoolmen and their followers attended to nothing but names1 to essences and species1 to laboured analyses and artificial deductions4 ,they seem to have alike disregarded all kinds of experience1 whether relating to external objects1 or to the observation of our own internal feelings4 ,from the imperfect state of knowledge1 they had not a sufficient number of facts to guide them in their experimental researches2 and intoxicated with the novelty of their vain distinctions1 learnt by rote1 they were tempted to despise the clearest and most obvious suggestions of their own minds4 ,subtle1 restless1 and self-sufficient1 they thought that truth was only made to be disputed about1 and existed no where but in their demonstrations and syllogisms4 ,hence arose their #8logomachies'--their everlasting word-fights1 their sharp debates1 their captious1 bootless controversies4 ,as ,lord ,bacon expresses it1 #8they were made fierce with dark keeping1' signifying that their angry and unintelligible contests with one another were owing to their not having any distinct objects to engage their attention4 ,they built altogether on their own whims and fancies2 and1 buoyed up by their specific levity1 they mounted in their airy disputations in endless flights and circles1 clamouring like birds of prey1 till they equally lost sight of truth and nature4 ,this great man1 therefore1 intended an essential service to philosophy1 in wishing to recall the attention to facts and experience which had been almost entirely neglected2 and thus1 by incorporating the abstract with the concrete1 and general reasoning with individual observation1 to give to our conclusions that solidity and firmness which they must otherwise always want4 ,he did nothing but insist on the necessity of experience1 more particularly in natural science2 and from the wider field that is open to it there1 as well as the prodigious success it has met with1 this latter application of the word1 in which it is tantamount to physical experiment1 has so far engrossed the whole of our attention1 that mind has1 for a good while past1 been in some danger of being overlaid by matter4 ,we run from one error into another1 and as we were wrong at first1 so in altering our course1 we have passed into the opposite extreme4 ,we despised experience altogether before3 now we would have nothing but experience1 and that of the grossest kind4 ,we have1 it is true1 gained much by not consulting the suggestions of our own minds in questions where they inform us of nothing1 namely1 on the particular laws and phenomena of the material world2 and we have hastily concluded 7reversing the rule7 that the best way to arrive at the knowledge of ourselves also1 was to lay aside the dictates of our own consciousness1 thoughts1 and feelings1 as deceitful and insufficient guides1 though they are the only means by which we can obtain the least light upon the subject4 ,we seem to have resigned the natural use of our understandings1 and to have given up our own existence as a nonentity4 ,we look for our thoughts and the distinguishing properties of our minds in some image of them in matter as we look to see our faces in a glass4 ,we no longer decide physical problems by logical dilemmas1 but we decide questions of logic by the evidence of the senses4 ,instead of putting our reason and invention to the rack indifferently on all questions1 whether we have any previous knowledge of them or not1 we have adopted the easier method of suspending the use of our faculties altogether1 and settling tedious controversies by means of #8four champions fierce--hot1 cold1 moist and dry1' who with a few more of the retainers and hangers on of matter determine all questions relating to the nature of man and the limits of the human understanding very learnedly4 ,but the laws by which we think1 feel1 and act1 we must discover in the mind itself1 or not at all4 ,this original bias in favour of mechanical reasoning and physical analogy was confirmed by the powerful aid of ,hobbes1 who was1 indeed1 the father of the modern philosophy4 ,his strong mind and body appear to have resisted all impressions1 but those which were derived from the downright blows of matter3 all his ideas seemed to lie like substances in his brain3 what was not a solid1 tangible1 distinct1 palpable object1 was to him nothing4 ,the external image pressed so close upon his mind that it destroyed the power of consciousness1 and left no room for attention to any thing but itself4 ,he was by nature a materialist4 ,locke assisted greatly in giving popularity to the same scheme1 as well by espousing the chief of ,hobbes's metaphysical principles as by the doubtful resistance which he made to the rest4 ,and it has been perfected and has received its last polish and roundness in the hands of some ,french philosophers1 as ,condillac and others4 ,the modern metaphysical system assumes as its basis that the operations of the intellect are only a continuation of the impulses existing in matter2 or that all the thoughts and conceptions of the mind are nothing more than various modifications of the original impressions of things on a being endued with sensation or simple perception4 ,this system considers ideas merely as they are caused by outward impressions acting on the organs of sense1 and excludes the understanding as a distinct faculty or power from all share in its own operations4 ,the following is a summary of the general principles of this philosophy as they are expressly laid down by ,hobbes1 and by the latest writers of the ,french school4 #a4 ,that our ideas are copies of the impressions made by external objects on the senses4 #b4 ,that as nothing exists out of the mind but matter and motion1 so it is itself with all its operations nothing but matter and motion4 #c4 ,that thoughts are single1 or that we can think of only one object at a time4 #d4 ,that we have no general nor abstract ideas4 #e4 ,that the only principle of connection between one thought and another is association1 or their previous connection in sense4 #f4 ,that reason and understanding depend entirely on the mechanism of language4 #g and #h4 ,that the sense of pleasure and pain is the sole spring of action1 and self-interest the source and centre of all our affections4 #i4 ,that the mind acts from a mechanical or physical necessity1 over which it has no controul1 and consequently is not a moral or accountable agent4--,the manner of reasoning upon this last question is the only circumstance of importance in which ,hobbes differs decidedly from modern writers4 #aj4 ,that there is no difference in the natural capacities of men1 the mind being originally passive to all impressions alike1 and becoming whatever it is from circumstances4 ,except the first1 all of these positions are either denied or doubtfully admitted by ,mr4 ,locke4 ,it is1 however1 his admission of the first principle1 which has opened a door directly or indirectly to all the rest4 ,the system of ,kant is a formal and elaborate antithesis to that which bears the name of ,locke1 and it is built on #8the sublime restriction 7as ,madame de ,stal expresses it7 added by ,leibnitz to the well-known axiom nihil in intellectu quod non prius in sensu--,,nisi ,,intellectus ,,ipse4' ,it is in the manner of proving this restriction1 and of explaining this word1 the intellect1 that the whole question depends1 and to this ,i shall devote another letter4 ,,an ,,english ,,metaphysician4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,the ,morning ,chronicle4 ,feb4 #ag1 #ahad4 ,the principle that all the ideas1 operations1 and faculties of the mind may be traced to1 and ultimately accounted for1 from simple sensation1 is all that remains of ,mr4 ,locke's celebrated ,essay1 and that to which it owes its present rank among philosophical productions4 ,his various attempts to modify this principle1 or reconcile it to common notions have been gradually exploded1 and have given place1 one by one1 to the more severe and logical deductions of ,hobbes from the same general principle4 ,mr4 ,locke took the faculties of the mind as he found them in himself and others1 and instead of levelling the structure1 was contented to place it on a new foundation4 ,by this compromise with prudence and candour1 he prepared the way for the introduction of the principle1 which being once established1 very soon overturned all the trite opinions1 and vulgar prejudices1 which had been improperly associated with it4 ,there was in fact1 no place for them in the new system4 ,i confess it strikes some degree of awe into the mind1 and makes it feel1 that fame1 even the best1 is not a substantial thing1 but the uncertain shadow of real excellence1 when we reflect that the immortal renown1 which attends the name of ,locke as the great luminary of the age in which he lived1 is but a dim and borrowed lustre from the writings of one1 whom he himself calls1 and who has been universally considered as #8a justly decried author4' ,the sentence of the poet is as applicable here as it ever was-- #8,fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil1 ,nor in the glistering foil ,set off to the world1 nor in broad rumour lies2 ,but lives and spreads aloft by those pure eyes1 ,and perfect witness of all-judging ,jove6' ,the great defect with which the ,essay on ,human ,understanding is chargeable1 is that there really is not a word about the understanding in it1 nor any attempt to shew what it is1 or whether it is1 or is not any thing1 distinct from the faculty of simple perception4 ,the operations of thinking1 comparing1 discerning1 reasoning1 willing1 and the like1 which ,mr4 ,locke generally ascribes to it1 are the operations of nothing1 or of we know not what4 ,all the force of his mind seems to have been so bent on exploding innate ideas1 and tracing our thoughts to their external source1 that he either forgot1 or had not leisure to examine what the internal principle of all thought is4 ,he took for his basis a bad simile1 namely1 that the mind is like a blank sheet of paper1 originally void of all characters1 and merely passive to the impressions made upon it3 for this1 though true as far as relates to innate ideas1 that is1 to any impressions previously existing in the mind1 is not true of the mind itself1 or of the manner in which it forms its ideas of the objects actually impressed upon it4 ,the obvious tendency of this simile was to convert the understanding into the mere passive receiver and retainer of physical impressions1 a convenient repository for the straggling images of things1 or a sort of empty room into which ideas are conveyed from without through the doors of the senses1 as you would carry goods into an unfurnished lodging4 ,and hence1 again1 it has been found necessary1 by subsequent writers1 to get rid of those different faculties and operations1 which ,mr4 ,locke elsewhere supposes to belong to the mind1 but which are in truth only compatible with the active powers1 and independent nature of the mind itself4 ,it was to remedy this deficiency that ,leibnitz proposed to add to the maxim of ,locke1 that there is nothing in the understanding which was not before in the senses--#8that sublime restriction1' so much applauded by ,madame de ,stal--#8,,except ,,the ,,understanding ,,itself3' and it is to the establishment and development of this distinction1 that the whole of the ,kantean philosophy appears to be directed4 ,in what manner1 and in what success 7judging from the representations we have received of it7 remains to be shewn4 ,the account which ,madame de ,stal has given of this system is full of the graces of imagination and the charm of sentiment3 it passes slightly over many of the difficulties1 and softens the abruptness of the reasoning by the harmony of the style4 ,it is therefore the most popular and pleasing account which has been given of the system of the ,german ,philosopher3 but after all1 it will be better to take his own statement1 though somewhat #8harsh and crabbed' as the most tangible1 authentic1 and satisfactory4 #8,the following1' says his translator ,willich1 #8are the elements of his ,critique of ,pure ,reason1 the first of ,kant's systematical works1 and the most remarkable for profound reasoning and the striking illustrations1 with which it throughout abounds4 #8,we are in possession of certain notions priori#h which are absolutely independent of all experience1 although the objects of experience correspond with them1 and which are distinguished by necessity1 and strict universality4 ,to these are opposed empirical notions1 or such as are only possible posteriori1 that is1 through experience4 ,besides these1 we have certain notions1 with which no objects of experience ever correspond1 which rise above the world of sense1 and which we consider as the most sublime1 such as ,god1 liberty1 immortality4 ,there is always supposed in every empirical notion1 or impression of external objects1 a pure perception priori1 a form of the sensitive faculty1 viz4 space and time4 ,this form first renders every actual appearance of objects possible4 ,by the sensitive faculty we are able to form perceptions2 by the understanding we form general ideas4 ,by the sensitive faculty we experience impressions1 and objects are given to us2 by the understanding we bring representations of these objects before us3 we think of them4 ,perceptions and general ideas are the elements of all our knowledge4 ,without the sensitive faculty1 no object could be given 7proposed to7 us2 without the understanding none would be thought of by us4 ,these two powers are really distinct from one another2 but neither of the two without the other can produce a notion4 ,in order to obtain a distinct notion of any one thing1 we must present to our general ideas objects in perception1 and reduce our perceptions to1 or connect them with1 these general ideas4 ,as the sensitive faculty has its determined forms1 so has our understanding likewise forms priori4 ,these may be properly termed categories2 they are pure ideas of the understanding1 which relate1 priori1 to the objects of perception in general4 ,the objects of experience1 therefore1 are in no other way possible2 they can in no other way be thought of by us1 and their multiplied diversity can only be reduced to one act of judgment1 or to one act of consciousness1 by means of these categories of sense4 ,hence1 the categories have objective reality4 ,they are either categories of #a4 ,quantity1 as unity1 number1 totality2 or1 #b4 ,of ,quality1 as reality1 negation1 limitation2 or1 #c4 ,of ,relation1 as substance and accident1 cause and effect2 or1 #d4 ,of ,modality1 as possibility and impossibility1 existence and non-existence1 necessity and contingency4 #8,the judgment is the capacity of applying the general ideas of the understanding to the information of experience4 ,the objects of experience are regulated according to these ideas2 and not1 vice vers1 our ideas according to the objects4' ,such is the outline of this author's account of the intellect1 which1 after all1 appears to be rather dogmatical than demonstrative4 ,he is much more intent on raising an extensive and magnificent fabric1 than on laying the foundations4 ,each part does not rest upon its own separate basis1 but1 like the workmanship of some lofty arch1 is supported and rivetted to its place by the weight and regular balance of the whole4 ,kant does not appear to trouble himself about the evidence of any particular proposition1 but to rely on the conformity and mutual correspondence of the different parts of his general system1 and its sufficiency1 if admitted1 to explain all the phenomena of the human intellect with consistency and accuracy2--in the same manner as the decypherer infers that he has found the true key of the hieroglyphic hand-writing1 when he is able to solve every difficulty by it4 ,however profound and comprehensive we may allow the views of human nature unfolded by this philosopher to be1 his method is necessarily defective in simplicity1 clearness1 and force4 ,his reasoning is seldom any thing more than a detailed1 paraphrased explanation of his original statement1 instead of being 7what it ought to be7 an appeal to known facts1 or a deduction from acknowledged principles1 or a detection of the inconsistencies of other writers4 ,the extreme involution and technicality of his style proceed from the same source2 that is1 from the necessity of adapting a conventional language to the artificial and arbitrary arrangement of his ideas4 ,the whole of ,kant's system is evidently an elaborate antithesis or contradiction to the modern philosophy1 and yet it is by no means a real approximation to popular opinion4 ,its chief object is to oppose certain fundamental principles to the empirical or mechanical philosophy1 and it either rejects or explains away the more common and established notions1 except so far as they coincide with the rigid theory of the author4 ,he sets out with a preconceived hypothesis2 and all other facts and opinions are made to bend to a predominant purpose4 ,the founder of the transcendental philosophy very properly insists on the distinction between the sensitive and the intellectual faculties1 and makes this division the ground-work of his entire system4 ,he considers the joint operation of these different powers as necessary to all our knowledge1 and enumerates with scrupulous formality the different ideas which originate in this complex progress1 and points out the share which each has in each4 ,the author conceives of certain general ideas1 as substance and accident1 cause and effect1 totality1 number1 quantity1 relation1 possibility1 necessity1 etc4 as pure ideas of the understanding2 and he classes space and time as primary forms of the sensitive faculty4#i ,all this may be very true2 but the proof may also be required1 and it is not given4 ,yet modern metaphysicians are not likely1 either as sceptical inquirers after truth1 or as lovers of abstruse paradoxes1 to be satisfied with the bare assumption of a common prejudice4 ,they will say1 either that all these ideas have no real existence in the mind1 that they are mere abstract terms which owe their force and validity to the mechanism of language2 or admitting their existence in the mind1 they will contend with ,locke1 that they are only general1 reflex1 and compound ideas1 originally derived from sensation4 #8,whence do all the ideas and operations of the mind proceed8' ,from experience1 is the answer given by the modern philosophy--,from experience and from the understanding1 is the answer given by ,kant4 ,the former solution has the advantage of simplicity2 and the logical proof is wanting to the latter4 ,to compare grave things with gay1 the display which this celebrated philosopher makes of his categories1 his forms of the sensitive faculty1 his pure ideas1 and priori principles1 somewhat resembles the method taken by ,sir ,epicure ,mammon in ,the ,alchymist to persuade his sceptical friend that he is about to discover the philosopher's stone by overpowering his imagination with the description of the fine things he will do when he has it3--#8,and all this ,i will do with the stone4' #8,but will all this give you the stone8' says ,pertinax ,surly1 who #8will not believe antiquity' any more than our modern sceptics4 ,i think that the truth may be got at much more simply1 and without all this parade of words4 ,the business of the mind is twofold--to receive impressions and to perceive their relations2 without which there can be no ideas4 ,now the first of these is the office of the senses1 and is the only original function of the mind1 according to the prevailing system4 ,the second is properly the office of the understanding1 and is that1 the nature or existence of which is the great point in debate between the contending parties4 ,the more complex and refined operations of this faculty1 such as judging1 reasoning1 abstraction1 willing1 etc4 are either totally denied1 or at best resolved into simple ideas of sensation by modern metaphysical writers4 ,i know of no better way1 therefore1 to establish the contrary hypothesis than to take these simple ideas of the moderns1 and shew that they contain the same necessary principles of the understanding1 the same operations of judging1 comparing1 distinguishing1 abstracting1 which they discard with so much profound contempt1 or treat as accidental and artificial results of some higher faculty4 ,if it can be proved that the understanding1 in the strict and exclusive sense1 is necessary to our having any ideas whatever1--that the very terms are synonymous and inseparable--that in the first original conception of the simplest object of nature there is implied the same principle1 a power of perceiving the relations of different things1 which is only exerted in a more perfect and comprehensive manner in the most complex and difficult processes of the human intellect1 one would think that there must be an end of the question4 ,,an ,,english ,,metaphysician4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,the ,morning ,chronicle4 ,march #c1 #ahad4 #8,for men to have recourse to subtleties in raising difficulties1 and then to complain that they should be taken off by minutely examining these subtleties1 is a strange kind of proceeding4' ,i cannot better explain the modern theory of the understanding 7which it will be the object of this letter to consider7 than in the words of one of the best and ablest commentators of that school1 ,mr4 ,horne ,tooke4 #8,the business of the mind1' he says #8appears to me to be very simple4 ,it extends no farther than to receive impressions1 that is1 to have sensations or feelings4 ,what are called its operations are merely the operations of language4 ,the greatest part of ,mr4 ,locke's ,essay1 that is1 all which relates to what he calls the composition1 abstraction1 complexity1 generalization1 relation1 etc4 of ideas1 does indeed merely concern language4 ,if he had been sooner aware of the inseparable connection between words and knowledge1 he would not have talked of the composition of ideas1 but would have seen that the only composition was in the terms1 and consequently1 that it was as improper to talk of a complex idea as of a complex star6 ,i will venture to say that it is an easy matter1 upon ,mr4 ,locke's own principles and a physical consideration of the senses and the mind1 to prove the impossibility of the composition of ideas1 and that they are not ideas1 but merely terms1 which are general and abstract4'--,diversions of ,purley1 ,vol4 i4 p4 #ci1 #ea1 c4#aj ,now this is very explicit1 and1 ,i also conceive1 very logical4 ,for ,i am ready to grant that #8,mr4 ,locke's own principles and a physical consideration of the mind' do lead to the conclusions here stated2 and it is on that account that ,i shall attempt to shew that those principles and the consideration of the mind1 as a physical thing1 are in themselves absurd4 ,these writers taking up the principle1 that to have sensations or feelings was the only real faculty of the mind1 and perceiving that the having sensations merely was a different thing from having an idea or consciousness of their relations 7inasmuch as no sensation as such can include a knowledge of or reference to any other7 have inferred very rationally that all the operations of the mind founded on a principle of general consciousness or common understanding1 viz4 compounding1 comparing1 discerning1 judging1 reasoning1 etc4 were excluded from their physical theory of sensation1 and must be referred to some trick or deception of the mind1 the mechanism of language or habitual association of ideas4 ,according to this theory1 besides the sensible impressions of individual objects1 and their distinct traces left in the memory--the rest is merely words4 ,in supposing that we combine these different impressions together1 that we compare different objects1 that we reason upon them1 it seems we only deceive ourselves1 and mistake a rapid and mechanical transition from one idea to another for the actual perception of the relations between them4 ,thus have these philosophers sacrificed all the known facts and conscious operations of the mind to a literal deduction from a gross verbal fallacy4 ,for what are these single objects or individual ideas1 of which the senses are competent to take cognizance1 and beyond which the understanding can never advance a step8 ,neither more nor less than complex and general ideas1 which imply all the same intellectual impossibilities of comparing1 judging1 distinguishing1 c4 i4e4 of perceiving a number of diversified relations1 of connecting the ,,many into the ,,one1 which are objected to the more deliberate and formal acts of understanding and reason4 ,the mind1 say they1 can perceive but one idea at a time1 that is1 it may perceive a square or a triangle1 but it cannot compare them together1 or perceive their proportions1 because to do this1 it must attend to different ideas at once4 ,yet what is this individual idea of a square1 for instance1 but an idea of given lines1 their direction1 equality1 connection1 c4 all which must be combined together in the mind1 before it can possibly form any idea of the object8 ,mr4 ,tooke says1 the complexity is in the term4 ,i should say1 the individuality is in the term1 that is1 in the application of one name to a collective idea1 which superficial reasoners1 at once the slaves of idle paradox and vulgar prejudice1 have therefore imagined to be one thing4 ,the whole error of this system has1 indeed1 arisen from considering ideas themselves1 or those particular objects1 which are marked by a single name1 or strike at once1 and in a mass1 upon the senses1 as simple things4 ,but there is no one of these particular ideas1 as they are called1 which is not an aggregate of many things1 or that can subsist for a moment but in the understanding4 ,by destroying the composition of ideas1 all ideas as well as all combinations of ideas1 would be completely and for ever banished from the mind2 which would be left a mere tabula rasa1 a blank1 indeed1 or would at all times strictly resemble what ,mr4 ,locke describes it to be in its original state1 #8a dark closet with a little glimmering of light let in through the loop-holes of the senses4' ,writers1 in general1 who have maintained the existence of a distinct faculty besides the senses1 have applied themselves to shew that1 besides particular ideas or objects1 it was necessary to admit the understanding to explain the perception of the relations between them4 ,my purpose is to shew that the same perception of relation1 the same understanding is implied in the very ideas or objects themselves4 ,to have sensations is not to compare them1 that is1 sensation and understanding are not the same thing4 ,to have ideas1 it is necessary to compare our sensations1 that is1 ideas and understanding are the same thing4 ,i can conceive then of a being endued with the power of sensation1 so as to receive the direct impressions of outward objects1 and also with memory1 so as to retain them for any length of time1 as they were severally and unconnectedly presented1 yet without any signs of understanding4 ,the state of such a being would be that of animal life1 and something more 7with the addition of memory71 but it would not amount to intellect4 ,as this distinction is rather difficult to be explained1 ,i hope ,i may be allowed to express it in any way ,i can1 and without sacrificing to the graces4 ,suppose a number of animalcul1 as a heap of mites in a rotten cheese1 lying as close together as they possibly can 7though the example should be of something more #8drossy and divisible' of something less reasonable1 approaching nearer to pure sensation than we can conceive of any creature that exercises the functions of the meanest instinct74 ,no one will contend that in this heap of living matter there is any idea or intimation of the number1 position1 or intricate involutions of that little1 lively1 restless tribe4 ,this idea is evidently not contained in any of the parts separately1 nor is it contained in all of them put together4 ,that is1 the aggregate of many actual sensations is1 we here plainly see1 a totally different thing from the collective idea1 comprehension or consciousness of those sensations1 as connected together into one whole1 or of any of their relations to each other4 ,we may go on multiplying sensations to the end of time1 without ever advancing one step in the other process1 or producing a single thought4 ,but in what1 ,i would ask1 does this supposition differ from that of many distinct particles of matter1 full of animation1 tumbling about1 and pressing against each other1 in the same brain1 except that we make use of this brain as a common medium to unite their different desultory actions in the same general principle of thought or consciousness--that is1 understanding8 ,or1 if this comparison should be thought not courtly enough1 let us imagine one of ,mrs4 ,salmon's full faced1 comely wax figures1 sitting in its chair of state1 to be suddenly endued with life and physical organization but nothing more4 ,such an unaccountable lusus natur would answer exactly to the theory of modern metaphysicians1 or would be capable of receiving feelings or impressions by its different organs1 but would be totally void of any reflection upon them4 ,it would be only a bloated mass of listless sensation1 a sordid compound of proud flesh and irritable humours1 a mere animal existence1 a living automation1 crawling all over with morbid feelings1 but without the least ray of understanding1 or any knowledge of itself or of the things around1 incapable of consistency of character or purpose1 of foresight1 deliberation1 sympathy1 and of all that distinguishes human reason or dignifies human nature6 ,besides actual1 sensible impressions1 ,i suppose that there is a common principle of thought1 a superintending faculty1 which alone perceives the relations of things and enables us to comprehend their connections1 forms1 and masses4 ,this faculty is properly the understanding1 and it is by means of this faculty that man indeed becomes a reasonable soul4 ,without this surrounding and forming power1 we could never conceive the idea of any one object1 as of a table or a chair1 a blade of grass or a grain of sand4 ,every one of these includes a certain configuration1 hardness1 colour1 size1 c4 i4e4 impressions of different things1 received by different senses1 which must be put together by the understanding before they can be referred to any particular object1 or considered as one idea4 ,without this faculty1 all our ideas would be necessarily decomposed1 and crumbled down into their original elements and fluxional parts4 ,we could assuredly in this case never connect the different links in a chain of reasoning together1 for the very links of which this chain must consist would be ground to powder4 ,we could neither form any comparison between our ideas1 nor have any ideas to compare4 ,there would be an infinite divisibility in the impressions of the mind1 as well as in the parts of material objects4 ,each separate impression must remain absolutely simple and distinct1 unknown to and unconscious of the rest1 shut up in the narrow cell of its own individuality4 ,no two of these atomic impressions could ever club together to form even a sensible point1 much less should we be able to arrive at any of the larger masses or nominal descriptions of things4 ,the most that sensation could possibly do for us would be to furnish the mind with ideas of some of those which ,mr4 ,locke calls the simple qualities of objects1 as of colour or pressure1 though not as a general notion or diffused feeling1 for it is certain that no one impression could ever contain more than the tinge of a single ray of light1 or the puncture of a single particle of matter4 ,perhaps we might in this way be supposed to possess an infinite number of microscopic impressions and fractions of ideas1 but there being nothing to arrange or bind them together1 the whole would present only a disjointed mass of blind1 unconscious confusion4 ,all nature1 all objects1 all parts of all objects1 would be equally #8without form and void4' ,the mind alone is formative1 to use the expression of ,kant2 or it is that which by its pervading and elastic energy unfolds and expands our ideas1 that gives order and consistency to them1 that assigns to every part its proper place1 and fixes it there1 and that frames the idea of the whole4 ,or in other words1 it is the understanding alone that perceives relation1 but every object is made up of a bundle of relations4 ,in short1 there is no object or idea which does not consist of a number of parts arranged in a certain manner1 but of this arrangement the parts themselves cannot be sensible4 ,to make each part conscious of its relation to all the rest is to suppose an infinite number of intellects instead of one2 and to say that a knowledge or perception of each part separately without a reference to the rest can produce a conception of the whole1 is a contradiction in terms4 ,ideas then are the offspring of the understanding1 not of the senses4 ,an idea necessarily implies1 not only a number of distinct positive impressions1 but some bond of union between them1 some internal conscious principle to which they are alike communicated1 and which grasps1 overlooks1 and comprehends the whole4 ,the idea of a square1 for example1 is not the same thing with the compound impression made by the figure on the senses4 ,for the immediate impression of any one of the sides cannot1 as a mere sensation1 be accompanied with an additional knowledge or reflex image of the remaining three sides1 but is a perfectly distinct1 physical thing2 neither can the actual coexistence of all these impressions be accompanied with a consciousness of their mutual relations to each other1 i4e4 with an idea of the whole1 without supposing some general representative faculty1 to which these distinct impressions are referred4 ,otherwise1 different impressions made on the same organized or sentient being would no more produce the slightest continuity of thought or idea of the same object than different physical impressions conveyed to different organized beings would produce an immediate consciousness of these different objects or of the relations between them4 ,if to have sensations were the same thing as to compare them1 then different persons seeing different objects might without any communication make an exact comparison between them4 ,if to have the sensible impression of the different parts of an object were the same thing as to form an idea of it1 then different persons looking at the two halves of any object would be able to compound an idea of the whole between them1 though each of them was perfectly unconscious of what was passing in the other's mind4 ,unless we suppose some faculty of this sort which opens a direct communication between our perceptions1 so that the same thinking principle is at the same time cognisant of different impressions1 and of their relations to each other1 it seems a thing impossible to conceive how any comparison can take place between different impressions existing at the same time1 or between our past and present impressions1 or ever to explain what is meant by saying1 #8,i perceive such and such objects1 ,i remember such and such events1' since these different impressions are evidently referred to the same conscious being1 which very idea of individuality could never have been so much as conceived of1 if there were no other connection between our perceptions1 than that which arises from the juxtaposition of the particles of matter on which they are actually impressed1 or from #8a physical consideration of the senses and the mind4' ,the mind in this case consisting of nothing more than a succession of material points1 each part would be sensible of the corresponding part of any object which might be impressed upon it1 but could certainly know nothing of the impression which was made on any other part of the same organic substance1 except by its communication to the same general principle of understanding4 ,ideas would exist in the mind1 like tapestry figures or pictures in a gallery1 without a spectator4 ,on this hypothesis1 ,i perfectly agree with ,mr4 ,horne ,tooke1 that it would be as absurd to talk of a complex idea as of a complex star2 for each impression or sensation must be as perfectly distinct from1 and unconnected with the rest1 as the stars that compose a constellation4 ,one idea or impression would have no more connection with any other1 than if it were parcel of another intellect1 or floated in the region of the moon4#aa ,it is strange that ,mr4 ,locke should rank among simple ideas that of number1 which he defines to be the idea of unity repeated4 ,but how the impression of successive or distinct units should ever give the idea of repetition1 unless the former instances are borne in mind1 ,i have not the slightest conception4 ,there might be an endless transition from one unit to another1 but no addition made or ideal aggregate formed4 ,as well might we suppose1 that a body of an inch diameter1 by shifting from place to place1 may enlarge its dimensions to a foot or a mile1 as that a succession of units1 perceived separately1 should produce the complex idea of multitude4 ,on the mechanical hypothesis1 the mind can receive or attend to but one impression at a time1 and the idea of number would be too mighty for it4 ,though ,mr4 ,locke constantly supposes the mind to perceive relations1 and explains its common operations on this principle1 there is but one place in his work in which he seems to have been upon the point of discovering that this principle lies at the foundation of1 and is absolutely necessary to all our ideas whatever4 ,he says1 in the beginning of his chapter on ,power1 which he classes among simple ideas1 #8,i confess power includes in it some kind of relation 7a relation to action or change71 as1 indeed1 which of our ideas1 of what kind soever1 when attentively considered1 does not8 ,for our ideas of extension1 duration1 and number1 do they not all contain in them a secret relation of the parts8 ,figure and motion have something relative in them much more visibly2 and sensible qualities1 as colours and smells1 what are they but the powers of different bodies in relation to our perception8 ,and if considered in the things themselves1 do they not depend on the bulk1 figure1 texture1 and motion of the parts8 ,all which include some kind of relation in them4 ,our idea1 therefore1 of power1 ,i think1 may well have a place amongst other simple ideas1 and be considered as one of them1 being one of those that make a principal ingredient in our complex ideas of substances4'--,essay on ,human ,understanding1 vol4 i4 p4 #bcd4 ,that is to say1 in other words1 the idea of power1 though confessedly complex1 according to ,mr4 ,locke1 as depending on the changes we observe produced by one thing on another1 is to pass for a simple idea1 because it has as good a right to this denomination as other complex ideas1 which are usually classed as simple ones4 ,it is thus that the inquiring mind seems to be always hovering on the brink of truth3 but timidity1 or indolence1 or prejudice1 makes us shrink back1 unwilling to trust ourselves to the fathomless abyss4 ,i have thus given the best account which it is in my power to give of the understanding1 as that conscious1 comprehensive principle1 which is the source not only of judgment and reasoning1 but which is implied in every possible idea of the mind1 or conception even of sensible objects4 ,every such object1 it has been shewn1 is made up of a number of individual impressions1 yet how these perfectly detached1 and desultory impressions should of themselves contain or produce a knowledge of their relations to each other1 of their order1 number1 likeness1 distances1 limits1 c4 by which alone they can be connected into one whole--without being first communicated to the same conscious principle of thought1 to one diffusive1 and yet self-centered intellect1 one undivided active spirit1 co-extended with the object1 and yet ever present to itself1 that #8,thrills in each nerve1 and lives along the line1' it is difficult to imagine4 ,there is no idea that is not evolved from this coinstantaneous power in the mind4 ,the activity which ,shakespeare ascribes to ,ariel is not greater than that which is necessary to the production of the meanest thought4 #8,jove's light'nings more momentary and sight-outrunning are not6' ,,an ,,english ,,metaphysician4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued 7,,on ,,abstraction7 ,the ,morning ,chronicle4 ,april #h1 #ahad4 ,i am aware that the long digression on the formation of our ideas1 with which ,i troubled you in my last1 will be looked upon as rhapsody and extravagance by the strictest sect of those who are called philosophers4 ,the understanding has been set aside by these ingenious persons as an awkward incumbrance1 since they conceived it practicable to carry on the whole business of thought and reason by a succession of individual images and sensible points4 ,the fine network of the mind1 the intellectual cords that bind and hold our scattered perceptions together1 and form the living line of communication between them1 are dissolved and vanish before the clear light of modern metaphysics1 as the gossamer is dissipated by the sun4 ,the adepts in this system smile at the contradictions involved in the supposition of perceiving the relations between different things1 and say that the common theory of the understanding leads to the absurdity that the mind may attend to two ideas at once1 which is with them impossible4 ,what ,i have endeavoured to establish1 is1 that if the mind cannot have more than one idea at a time1 it can never have any1 since all the ideas we know of consist of more than one2 and though the conviction we have of attending to different impressions at once1 when we compare1 distinguish1 judge1 reason1 c4 has been gratuitously resolved into a deception of the mind1 mistaking a rapid succession of objects for a joint conception of them1 yet it will hardly be pretended that we deceive ourselves in thinking we have any ideas at all4 ,whether the advocates for this hypothesis will sit down contented under the total dissipation of all thought1 the utter privation of all ideas1 to which1 by their own arguments1 they will have reduced themselves1 it remains for them to determine4 ,we have seen that ,mr4 ,tooke resolves the complexity of our ideas into the complexity of the terms made use of4 ,how a term can be complex1 otherwise than from the complexity of its meaning1 that is1 of the idea attached to it1 is by no means easy to understand4 ,other writers1 to avoid the seeming contradiction of supposing the mind to divide its attention between different objects1 have suggested the instant of its passing from one to the other as the true point of comparison between them2 or that the time when it had the idea of both together1 was the time when it had an idea of neither4 ,to such absurdities are ingenious men driven by setting up argument against fact1 and denying the most obvious truths for which they cannot account1 like the sophist who denied the existence of motion1 because he could not understand its nature4 ,it might perhaps be deemed a sufficient answer to those who build systems and lay down learned propositions on the principle that the mind can comprehend but one idea at a time1 to say that they consequently can have no meaning in what they write1 since when they begin a sentence1 they cannot have the least idea what will be the end of it1 and by the time they get there1 must totally forget the beginning4--#8,peace to all such4'#ab ,mr4 ,horne ,tooke justly complains of the uncertainty1 confusion1 and laxity of ,mr4 ,locke's reasoning on the subject of abstract ideas1 though ,i cannot agree with him that it is therefore #8very different from that incomparable author's usual method of proceeding4'--,see ,essay on ,human ,understanding1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ae1 c4 ,i am quite at a loss to determine1 from ,mr4 ,locke's various statements1 whether he really supposed the abstraction to be in the ideas1 or merely in the terms4 ,there is none of this wavering and perplexity in the minds of his ,french commentators1 none of this suspicion of error1 and anxious desire to correct it2 no unforeseen objections arise to stagger their natural confidence in themselves2 it is all the same light1 airy1 self-complacency1 not a speck is seen to sully the clear sky of their philosophy1 not a wrinkle disturbs the smooth and smiling current of their thoughts4 ,in the ,logic of the ,abb ,condillac1 that manual of the modern sciolist1 the question of abstract ideas is settled and cleared from all difficulties1 past1 present1 and to come1 with as little expence of thought1 time1 and trouble1 as possible4 ,the ,abb demonstrates with ease4 #8,but what in truth1' he asks1 #8is the reality which a general and abstract idea has in the mind8 ,it is nothing but a name2 or if it is any thing more1 it necessarily ceases to be abstract and general4 ,if in thinking of a man in general ,i contemplate anything in this word1 besides the mere denomination1 it can only be by representing to myself some one man2 and a man can no more be a man in the abstract in my mind than in nature4 ,abstract ideas are therefore only denominations4 ,this confirms what we have already demonstrated1 how necessary words are to us2 for if we had no general terms1 we should have no abstract ideas2 if we had no abstract ideas1 we should have neither genera nor species2 and without genera and species1 we could reason upon nothing4 ,to speak1 to reason1 to form general and abstract ideas1 are then in fact the same thing2 and this truth1 simple as it is1 might pass for a discovery4 ,certainly1 men in general have not even had a notion of it4'--,logic1 p4 #acf4 ,now1 in order to prevent these genera and species1 and all rational ideas along with them1 from being precipitated into the empty abyss of words prepared for them by these philosophers1 it may be proper to ask one question1 viz4 if we have no idea of genera and species1 or of what different things have in common or alike1 that is1 if the idea is nothing but the name1 how is it that we know when to apply the same general name to different particulars1 which on this principle can have nothing left to connect them in the mind8 ,for example1 take the words1 a white horse4 ,now1 say they1 it is the terms which are general or common1 but we have no general or abstract idea corresponding to them4 ,but if we have no general idea of white1 nor any general idea of a horse1 what have we left to guide us in applying the phrase to any but the first horse1 any more than in applying the terms of an unknown tongue to their respective objects8 ,in short1 what is it that #8puts the same common name into a capacity of signifying many particulars1' but that common nature or kind which is conceived to belong to them8 ,condillac says1 that without general terms1 there would be no general ideas2 it appears to me1 that without general ideas there could be no general terms4 ,language without this would be reduced to a heap of proper names1 and we should be as completely at a loss to class any object generally from its agreement with others1 or to say at sight1 this is a man1 this is a horse1 as to know whether we should call the first man we accidentally met in the street by the name of ,john or ,thomas4 ,the very existence of language is alone a sufficient proof of the power of abstraction in the human mind4 ,it is so far from being true1 according to the modern philosophy1 that we have neither complex nor general ideas1 that1 ,i think1 it may be proved to a demonstration that we have and can have no others4 ,i must premise1 however1 that ,i do not believe it possible ever to arrive at general or abstract ideas by beginning in ,mr4 ,locke's method with particular images4 ,this faculty of abstraction is by most writers considered as a sort of artificial refinement upon our other ideas1 as an excrescence no ways contained in the common impressions of things1 nor necessary to the common purposes of life2 and is by ,mr4 ,locke altogether denied to be among the faculties of brutes4 ,it is described as the ornament and top-addition of the mind of man1 which proceeding from simple sensations upwards is gradually sublimed into the abstract notions of things3-- #8,so from the root ,springs lighter the green stalk1 from thence the leaves ,more airy1 last the bright consummate flower4' ,on the contrary1 ,i conceive that all our notions1 from first to last1 are 7strictly speaking7 general and abstract1 not absolute or particular2 and that to have a perfectly distinct idea of any one individual object or concrete existence1 either as to the parts of which it is composed1 or the differences belonging to it1 or the circumstances connected with it1 would require an unlimited power of comprehension in the human mind1 which is impossible4 ,all particular things consist of1 and even lead to1 an infinite number of other things4 ,abstraction is therefore a necessary consequence of the limitation of the comprehensive faculty1 and mixes itself1 more or less1 with every act of the understanding1 of whatever kind1 during every moment of its existence4 ,the same fallacy has led to the rejection of abstract and general ideas which has led to the rejection of complex ones1 viz4 that of supposing sensible images to be perfectly simple or individual things4 ,but the truth is1 that there is no one idea of an individual object which is any thing more than a general and imperfect notion of it3 for as there is no such idea which does not relate to a number of complicated impressions and their connections1 so we can conceive the whole of no one object4 ,again1 there is no idea of a particular quality of any object1 which is perfectly simple and definite1 but the result of a number of sensible impressions of the same sort1 classed together by the mind under the abstract notion of likeness1 or of something common between them1 without attending to their difference in other respects4 ,this view of the subject is not1 ,i confess1 very obvious at first sight1 and requires strong and clear proof1 but it also admits of it4 ,the only way to defend our common sense against the sophisms of the moderns is to retort their own analytical distinctions upon them4 ,in looking at any object1 as at ,st4 ,james's ,palace1 for example1 it is taken for granted that the impression ,i have of it is a perfectly distinct1 precise1 and definite idea1 in which abstraction or generalisation has no concern4 ,now it appears to me an easy matter to shew that this sensible image of a particular building is itself but a vague and confused notion1 not one precise1 individual impression1 or any number of impressions1 distinctly perceived4 ,for ,i would demand of any one who thinks his senses furnish him with these infallible and perfect images of things1 free from all contradiction and perplexity1 what is the amount of the knowledge which he has of the object before him8 ,for instance1 is the knowledge which he has that ,st4 ,james's ,palace is larger than the houses which are near it1 owing to his perceiving1 with a glance of the eye1 all the bricks of which the front is composed1 or can he not tell that it contains a number of windows of different sizes1 without distinctly counting them8 ,let us even suppose that he has this exact knowledge1 yet this will not be enough unless he has also a distinct perception of the number and size of the panes of glass in each window1 and of every mark1 stain1 or dent in each brick1 otherwise1 his idea of each of these particulars will still be general1 and his most substantial knowledge built on shadows1 that is1 composed of a number of parts1 of the parts of which he has no knowledge4 ,in the same manner that ,i form an idea of ,st4 ,james's ,palace1 ,i can form an idea of ,pall-,mall1 of the adjoining streets1 of ,westminster1 and ,london1 of ,paris1 of ,france1 and ,england1 and of the different cities and kingdoms of the world4 ,at least1 ,i do not see the point of separation in this progressive scale of our ideas4 ,may ,i not be able1 in looking out of my window1 to distinguish1 first1 a certain object in the distance1 then that it is a man1 then that it is a person whom ,i know1 and all this before ,i can distinguish his particular features2 and after ,i can distinguish those features1 what do ,i know or see of them1 except their general form1 expression1 and effect8 ,little or nothing4 ,let any one1 who is not an artist1 or let any one who is1 attempt to give an outline from memory of the features of his most intimate friend1 and he will feel the truth of this remark4 ,yet though he does not know the exact turn of any one feature1 he will instantly1 and without fail1 recognise the person the moment he meets him in the street1 and that often1 merely from catching a glimpse of some part of his dress1 or from peculiarity of motion1 though he may be quite at a loss to define in what this peculiarity consists1 or to account for its impression on him4 ,we may be said to have a particular knowledge of things1 in proportion to the number of parts which we distinguish in them4 ,but the real ultimate foundation of all our knowledge is and must be general1 that is1 made up of masses1 not of points1 a mere confused result of a number of impressions1 not analysed by the mind1 since there is no object which does not consist of an infinite number of parts1 and we have not an infinite number of distinct ideas1 answering to them4 ,the knowledge of every finite being rests in generals1 and if we think to exclude all generality from our ideas of things1 as implying a want of perfect truth and clearness1 it will be impossible for the mind to form an idea of any one object whatever4 ,let any person try the experiment of counting a flock of sheep driven fast by him1 and he will soon find his imagination unable to keep pace with the rapid succession of objects1 and his idea of a positive number slide into the general notion of multitude4 ,but because there are more objects passing before him than he can possibly count1 he will not1 therefore1 think that there are none1 nor will the word1 flock1 present to his mind a mere name without any idea corresponding to it4 ,every act of the attention1 every object we see or think of1 offers a proof of the same kind4 ,these remarks will be found to contain the answer to the common argument used on this subject1 that in thinking of a man in general1 we must always conceive of a man of a particular size and figure4 ,now if it be meant that when we pronounce the word man1 we have either no idea at all1 or a distinct and perfect one of an entire figure of a man with all its parts and proportions1 it would amount to a knowledge1 which no sculptor or painter ever had of any one figure of which he was the most thorough master1 and which he had immediately before him4 ,or if it be only meant that we think of a particular height1 which must be a precise1 positive1 determinate idea1 even this supposition may in the same way be shewn to be exceedingly fallacious1 and an inversion of the natural order of our ideas4 ,for take any given height of a man1 whether tall1 short1 or middle-sized1 and let that height be as visible as you please1 yet the actual height to which it amounts must be made up of the length of the different parts1 the head1 the face1 the neck1 the body1 limbs1 c4 all which must be distinctly added together by the mind1 before the sum total which they compose can be pretended to be a precise1 definite1 individual idea4 ,in the impression then of a given visible object1 we have only a general idea of something more or less extended1 and never of the precise length itself1 for this precise length 7as it is thought to be7 is necessarily composed of a number of subordinate lengths1 too many and too minute to be separately attended to1 or jointly conceived by the mind1 and at last loses itself in the infinite divisibility of matter4 ,what sort of absolute certainty can therefore be found in any such image or ideas1 ,i cannot well conceive3 it seems to me like seeking for distinctness in the dancing of insects in the evening sun1 or for fixedness and rest in the motion of the sea4 ,all particulars are nothing but generals1 more or less defined according to circumstances1 but never perfectly so4 ,lastly1 as the ideas of sensible objects can only be general notions1 so the ideas of sensible qualities are properly abstract ideas of likeness or of something common between a number of sensible impressions of the same class or sort4 ,for example1 the idea ,i have of the whiteness of a marble statue is not the idea of a point1 nor of any number of points1 with all their differences and circumstances1 but a relative idea of the colour of the whole statue4 ,now in arriving at this general result1 or in classing its sensible impressions together as of the same sort or quality1 the mind certainly is not conscious of every stain in the colour of the marble1 or streak that may happen to vary it1 or of its shape or size1 or of every difference of light and shade1 arising from inequality of surface1 c4 ,yet if the idea falls any thing short of this minute and absolute knowledge1 it can only be an imperfect and abstract one4 ,the idea of whiteness in the same object 7or as a sensible quality7 necessarily implies the same power of abstracting from particulars in the mind1 as the general idea of whiteness taken from different objects1 from a white horse1 a white cloud1 a white wall1 a white lily1 or from all the other white objects ,i have ever seen4 ,the precise differences of form1 size1 and every other actual circumstance in these particular images1 are as little necessary to be attended to in forming the general idea of whiteness1 as the differences of shape1 size1 and colour in every particle of the statue of white marble are to the general impression of colour in the whole object4 ,i will only add1 that the mind has not been fairly dealt with in this and other questions of the same sort4 ,the difficulties belonging to the abstraction1 complexity1 generalization1 c4 of our ideas1 it is1 perhaps1 impossible ever to clear up2 but that is no reason why we should discard these operations from the human mind1 any more than we should deny the existence of motion1 of extension1 or of curve lines1 because we cannot explain them4 ,matter alone seems to have the privilege of presenting difficulties and contradictions at every turn1 which pass current under the name of facts3 but the moment any thing of this kind is observed in the understanding1 all the petulance of logicians is up in arms against it4 ,the mind is made the mark on which they vent all the moods and figures of their impertinence2 and metaphysical truth has1 in this respect1 fared like the milk-white hind1 the emblem of pure faith1 in ,dryden's fable1 which #8had oft been chased-- ,with ,scythian shafts1 and many winged wounds ,aimed at her heart1 was often forced to fly1 ,and doomed to death1 though fated not to die4' ,,an ,,english ,,metaphysician4 ,,fine ,,arts4 ,,british ,,institution ,the ,morning ,chronicle4 ,february #e1 #ahad4 ,the exhibition of this year is1 we think1 upon the whole1 inferior to the one or two last exhibitions2 for though the historical department is quite as respectably filled1 there is not the same proportion of pleasing representations of common life1 and natural scenery4 ,in spite of certain classical prejudices1 we should be sorry to see this which has been the most successful walk of the modern ,english school1 neglected for the pursuit of prize-medals and epic mottos1 which look well in the catalogue4 ,there is indeed a greater difference between an historical picture1 and a picture of an historical subject1 than even some eminent painters seem to have imagined4 ,but we are1 we confess1 so little refined in our taste1 as to prefer a good imitation of common nature to a bad imitation of the highest1 or rather to an imitation of nothing4 ,many of the pictures exhibited by young artists at this ,institution1 have shewn a capacity for correct and happy delineation of actual objects and domestic incidents1 perhaps only inferior to the master-pieces of the ,dutch school1 from the use of a less perfect vehicle1 and the want of long practice1 steadily and uniformly directed to the same object4 ,but in the higher1 and what is rather affectedly called the epic style of art1--in giving the movements of the loftier and more violent passions1 this country has not a single painter to boast1 who has made even a faint approach to the excellence of the great ,italian painters4 ,we have indeed a good number of specimens of the clay-figure1 the bones and muscles of the man1 the anatomical mechanism1 the regular proportions measured by a two-foot rule--large canvasses covered with stiff figures arranged in decent order1 with the characters and story correctly expressed by uplifted eyes or hands1 according to old receipt-books for the passions1 and with all the hardness and inflexibility of figures carved in wood1 and painted over in good strong body colours1 that look as if some of nature's journeymen had made them1 and not made them well4 ,but we still want a ,prometheus to give life to the cumbrous mass1 to throw an intellectual light over the opaque image1 to embody the inmost refinements of thought to the outward eye1 to lay bare the very soul of passion4 ,that picture is of little comparative value1 which can be completely translated into another language1 of which the description in a common catalogue is as good1 and conveys all that is expressed by the picture itself2 for it is the excellence of every art to give what can be given by no other1 in the same degree4 ,much less is that picture to be esteemed which only injures and defaces the idea already existing in the mind's eye1 which does not come up to the conception which the imagination forms of the subject1 and substitutes a dull reality for high sentiment2 for the art is in this case an incumbrance1 not an assistance1 and interferes with1 instead of adding to1 the stock of our pleasurable sensations4 ,but we should be at a loss to point out 7we will not say any ,english picture1 but certainly7 any ,english painter1 who in heroic and classical composition1 has risen to the height of his subject1 and answered the expectation of the well-informed spectator1 or excited the same impression by visible means as had been excited by words1 or by reflection4 ,that this inferiority in ,english art is not owing to a deficiency of genius1 imagination1 or passion1 is proved sufficiently by the works of our poets and dramatic writers1 which1 in loftiness and force1 are certainly not surpassed by those of any other nation4 ,but whatever may be the depth of internal thought and feeling in the ,english character1 it seems to be more internal1 and 7whether this is owing to climate1 habit1 or physical constitution7 to have1 comparatively1 a less immediate and powerful communication with the organic expression of passion1 which exhibits the thoughts and feelings in the countenance1 and furnishes matter for the historic muse of painting4 ,the ,english artist is instantly sensible that the flutter1 grimace1 and extravagance of the ,french physiognomy1 are incompatible with high history2 and we are at no loss to explain in this way1 that is1 from the defect of existing models1 why the productions of the ,french school are marked with all the affectation of national caricature1 or sink into tame and lifeless imitations of the antique4 ,may we not account satisfactorily for the general defects of our own historic productions in a similar way1--from a certain inertness and constitutional phlegm1 which does not habitually impress the workings of the mind by correspondent traces on the countenance1 and which may also render us less sensible of these outward and visible signs of passion1 even when they are so impressed there8 ,the irregularity of proportion and want of symmetry in the structure of the national features1 though it certainly enhances the difficulty of infusing natural grace and grandeur into the works of art1 rather accounts for our not having been able to attain the exquisite refinements of ,grecian sculpture1 than for our not having rivalled the ,italian painters in expression4 ,the strongest exception to these general remarks in the present collection1 is certainly ,mr4 ,bird's ,picture of ,job1 surrounded by his friends4 ,many of the heads and figures in this very able composition have a strong and deeply infused tincture of true history4 ,the best of them are in a mixed style1 which reminds us at the same time of ,annibal ,caracci1 and ,n4 ,poussin4 ,the three finest figures are undoubtedly those of ,job1 and the man and woman seated on each side of him4 ,the countenance of ,job displays a noble firmness with a mixture of suppressed feeling1 not1 perhaps1 sufficiently marked for the character or for the interest of the subject4 ,the full grey drapery which envelopes his whole figure1 has an admirable effect1 and seems in a manner to shroud him from the attacks of external misfortune1 in the consolations of his own mind4 ,the action of the man on his right hand1 pointing with his finger1 and indeed the whole figure1 are equally appropriate and striking4 ,the posture of the man leaning on a marble slab1 is also natural and picturesque1 though it has too great an appearance of ease and indifference for the occasion4 ,the drapery of this last figure is remarkably loose and flimsy1 or what the painters1 we believe1 call woolly4 ,there are several other good heads in the picture2 but both the countenance and attitude of the man behind the messenger1 and the face of the figure between ,job and the front figure in red1 are mean and vulgar--mere low life1 without sense or dignity4 ,the expression in the countenance of the messenger1 who comes to inform ,job of the last calamity that has befallen him1 is neither intelligent nor beautiful2 and the whole of the figure1 both by its situation and the quantity of light thrown upon it1 assumes a prominence disproportioned to its importance1 and throws the rest of the composition into a kind of half back-ground4 ,the story is illustrated 7whether with chronological propriety or not we leave to the critics7 by a group of figures just behind the circle of ,job and his friends1 carrying off the dead body of one of his children4 ,the great fault of this picture1 which displays much sense1 character1 study1 and invention1 is the heaviness and monotony of the colour4 ,it is of one uniform leaden tone1 as if it had been smeared over with putty1 except where a sudden transition to a glaring red or yellow1 or the introduction of a spotty light1 not at all accounted for1 serves1 instead of relieving1 to add greater weight to that mechanic gloom1 which affects1 not the imagination1 but the eye4 ,we think it right to notice a defect which may be more easily remedied by attention1 viz4 that the extremities of ,mr4 ,bird's figures are in general very ill made out4 ,mr4 ,allston's large picture of the dead man restored to life by touching the bones of ,elisha1 deserves great praise both for the choice and originality of the subject1 the judicious arrangement of the general composition1 and the correct drawing and very great knowledge of the human figure throughout4 ,the figure of the revived soldier in the foreground is noble and striking2 the drapery about him is equally well imagined and well executed4 ,there is also a very beautiful head of a young man in a blue drapery with his hands lifted together1 and in the act of attention to another1 who is pointing out the miracle1 which has much of the simple dignity and pathos of ,raphael4 ,with respect to the general colour and expression of this picture1 we think it has too much of the look of a ,french composition4 ,the faces are in the school of ,le ,brun's heads--theoretical diagrams of the passions--not natural and profound expressions of them2 forced and overcharged1 without precision or variety of character4 ,the colouring1 too1 is without any strongest contrasts or general gradations1 and is half-toned and half-tinted away1 between reddish brown flesh and wan-red drapery1 till all effect1 union1 and relief1 is lost4 ,it would be unjust not to add1 that we think ,mr4 ,allston's picture demonstrates great talents1 great professional acquirements1 and even genius2 but we suspect that he has paid too exclusive an attention to the instrumental and theoretical parts of his art4 ,the object of art is not merely to display knowledge1 but to give pleasure4 ,there is a small picture of ,diana bathing1 by this gentleman1 which we think equally admirable for the character and drawing4 ,the knowledge of the human figure in this pleasing composition might be opposed with advantage to the utter ignorance of it in some ,musidora sketches1 in which the limbs seem to have been kneaded in paste1 and are thrown together like a bundle of drapery4 ,of ,mr4 ,hilton's picture of ,mary ,magdalen anointing the feet of our ,saviour1 we have little more to say1 than that the figures are much larger than life1 and that1 we understand1 it has been purchased by the ,institution for #ejj guineas4 ,mr4 ,west's picture of ,lot and his ,family is one of those highly finished specimens of metallurgy which too often proceed from the ,president's hardware manufactory4 ,as to the subject1 we conceive it has been often enough treated in a country famed for #8pure religion breathing household laws4' ,we do not mean to lay it down as a rule1 that the sublimity of the execution may not redeem the deformity of the subject of a composition1 as there is a great and acknowledged difference between ,shakspeare and the ,newgate ,calendar2 but this of ,mr4 ,west's is a mere furniture picture1 and offers no palliation from the genius displayed by the artist4 ,having touched unawares on this very delicate subject of the ethics of painting1 we shall just notice1 that the picture of #8,venus weeping over the dead body of ,adonis1' seems to have been painted tout expres1 for the purpose of being bought up by some member of the ,society for the ,suppression of ,vice4 ,mr4 ,turner's grand landscape of ,apullius and ,apullia has one recommendation1 which must always enhance the value of this most able artist's productions1 that the composition is taken verbatim from ,lord ,egremont's picture of #8,jacob and ,laban4' ,the beautiful arrangement is ,claude's2 the powerful execution is his own4 ,from this specimen of parody1 and from his never-enough-to-be-admired picture of #8,mercury and ,herse1' we could almost wish that this gentleman would always work in the trammels of ,claude or ,n4 ,poussin4 ,all the taste and all the imagination being borrowed1 his powers of eye1 hand1 and memory1 are equal to any thing4 ,in general1 his pictures are a waste of morbid strength4 ,they give pleasure only by the excess of power triumphing over the barrenness of the subject4 ,the artist delights to go back to the first chaos of the world1 or to that state when the waters were merely separated from the dry land1 and no creeping thing nor herb bearing fruit was seen upon the face of the land4 ,the figures in the present picture are execrable4 ,claude's are flimsy enough2 but these are impudent and obtrusive vulgarity4 ,the utter want of a capacity to draw a distinct outline with the force1 the depth1 the fulness1 and precision of this artist's eye for colour1 is truly astonishing4 ,there is only one part of the colouring of ,mr4 ,turner's landscape which did not please us3 it is the blue of the water nearest the foreground1 immediately after the dark brown shadow of the trees4 ,the picture of the ,favourite ,lamb1 by ,collins1 has exquisite feeling4 ,the groupe of children surrounding the little victim1 and arresting him in his progress to the butcher's cart1 has a degree of natural pathos and touching simplicity1 which we have never seen surpassed in any picture of the kind4 ,it may easily draw tears from eyes1 at all used to the melting mood4 ,,the ,,stage4 ,the ,morning ,chronicle ,february #bd1 #ahad4 ,the manner in which ,shakespeare's plays have been generally altered1 or rather mangled1 by modern mechanists1 is in our opinion a disgrace to the ,english ,stage4 ,the patch-work ,richard which is acted under the sanction of his name1 is a striking example of this remark4 ,the play itself is undoubtedly one of the finest effusions of ,shakespeare's genius4 ,it is as truly ,shakespearian--that is1 it has as much of the author's mind1 of passion1 character1 and interest1 with as little alloy of the peculiarities of the age1 or extraneous matter1 as almost any other of his productions4 ,wherever ,shakespeare relied upon himself1 and did not appeal to the taste of his audience1 he outstripped all competition1 and this he did as often as he had a motive in his subject to do so2 he had none in his vanity1 or in the affectation of conforming to certain critical rules4 ,the winds blow as they list2 and the golden tide of passion no sooner rises in his breast1 than it swells and bears down every thing in its mighty course4 ,the ground-work of the character of ,richard1--that mixture of intellectual vigour with moral depravity1 in which ,shakespeare delighted to shew his strength1--gave full scope as well as temptation to the exertion of his genius4 ,the character of his hero is almost everywhere predominant1 and marks its lurid track throughout4 ,the original play is1 however1 too long for representation1 and there are some few scenes which might be better spared than preserved and by omitting which1 it would remain a complete whole4 ,the only rule1 indeed1 for altering ,shakespeare1 is to retrench certain passages which may be considered either as superfluous or obsolete1 but not to add or transpose any thing4 ,the arrangement and developement of the story1 and the mutual contrast and combination of the dramatis person1 are in general as finely managed as the developement of the characters or the expression of the passions4 ,this rule has not been adhered to in the present instance4 ,some of the most important and striking passages in the principal character have been omitted1 to make room for tedious and misplaced extracts from other plays2 the only intention of which seems to have been1 to make the character of ,richard as odious and disgusting as possible4 ,a bugbear seems to have been always necessary to the ,english nation1 and--give them but this to vent their spleen upon--they will1 either in matters of taste or opinion1 #8as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are4' ,it is apparently for no other purpose than to make ,gloucester stab ,king ,henry on the stage1 that the fine abrupt introduction of this character in the opening of the play is lost in the tedious whining morality of the uxorious ,king 7taken from another play72--we say tedious1 because it interrupts the business of the scene1 and loses its beauty and effect by having no intelligible connection with the previous character of the mild and well-meaning monarch4 ,the passages which ,mr4 ,wroughton has to recite are in themselves exquisitely pathetic1 but they have nothing to do with the world that ,richard has to #8bustle in4' ,in the same spirit of vulgar caricature is the scene between ,richard and ,lady ,anne 7when his wife7--interpolated1 merely to gratify this favourite propensity to disgust and loathing4 ,with the same perverse consistency1 ,richard1 after his last fatal struggle1 is raised up by some ,galvanic process1 to utter the imprecation1 without any motive but pure malignity1 which is so finely put into the mouth of ,northumberland on hearing of ,percy's death4 ,we hope that ,mr4 ,kean1 when he acts ,macbeth1 will die as ,shakespeare makes him1 and not with four lines of canting penitence 7a common-place against ambition7 in his mouth4 ,to make room for these needless additions and interpolations1 many of the most striking passages in the real play have been omitted by the foppery and ignorance of the prompt-book critics4 ,we do not mean to insist merely on passages which are fine as poetry and to the reader1 such as ,clarence's dream1 c4 but those which are important to the developement of the character1 and peculiarly adapted for stage effect4 ,we give the following as instances among many others4 ,the first is the scene where ,richard enters abruptly to the ,queen and her friends1 to defend himself3 ,enter ,,gloucester4 ,glo4 ,they do me wrong1 and ,i will not endure it4 ,who are they that complain unto the ,king1 ,that ,i1 forsooth1 am stern1 and love them not8 ,by holy ,paul1 they love his ,grace but lightly1 ,that fill his ears with such dissentious rumours2 ,because ,i cannot flatter1 and look fair1 ,smile in men's faces1 smooth1 deceive1 and cog1 ,duck with ,french nods and apish courtesy1 ,i must be held a rancorous enemy4 ,cannot a plain man live1 and think no harm1 ,but thus his simple truth must be abused ,with silken1 sly1 insinuating ,jacks ,gray4 ,to whom in all this presence speaks your ,grace8 ,glo4 ,to thee1 that hast nor honesty nor grace2 ,when have ,i injured thee8 ,when done thee wrong8 ,or thee8 or thee8 or any of your faction8 ,a plague upon you all6 ,what can be more characteristic than the turbulent pretensions to meekness and simplicity in this address8 ,again1 the versatility and adroitness of ,richard is admirably described in the following ironical answer to ,brakenbury3-- ,brakenbury4 ,i beseech your graces both to pardon me1 ,his ,majesty hath straitly given in charge1 ,that no man shall have private conference1 ,of what degree soever1 with your brother4 ,glo4 ,e'en so1 and please your worship1 ,brakenbury1 ,you may partake of any thing we say3 ,we speak not reason1 man--we say the ,king ,is wise and virtuous1 and his noble ,queen ,well strook in years1 fair1 and not jealous4 ,we say that ,shore's wife hath a pretty foot1 ,a cherry lip1 a passing pleasing tongue3 ,that the ,queen's kindred are made gentle folks4 ,how say you1 ,sir8 ,can you deny all this8 ,brak4 ,with this1 my ,lord1 myself have nought to do4 ,glo4 ,what1 fellow1 nought to do with ,mistress ,shore8 ,i tell you1 ,sir1 he that doth nought with her1 ,excepting one1 were best to do it secretly alone4 ,brak4 ,what one1 my ,lord8 ,glo4 ,her husband1 knave--wouldst thou betray me8 ,the feigned reconciliation of ,gloucester with the ,queen's kinsmen1 is also a master-piece4 ,one of the finest features in the play1 and which serves to shew1 as much as any thing1 the deep duplicity of ,richard1 is the unsuspecting security of ,hastings1 at the very time when the former is plotting his death4 ,perhaps the two most beautiful passages in the original1 are the farewell apostrophe of the ,queen to the ,tower1 where her children are shut up from her1 and ,tyrrel's description of their death4 ,we will finish our quotations with them3-- ,queen4 ,stay1 yet look back with me1 unto the ,tower2 ,pity1 you ancient stones1 those tender babes1 ,whom envy hath immured within your walls2 ,rough cradle for such little pretty ones2 ,rude1 rugged nurse1 old sullen playfellow1 ,for tender princes6 ,the other passage is the account of their death by ,tyrrel3-- ,dighton and ,forrest1 whom ,i did suborn ,to do this piece of ruthless butchery1 ,albeit they were flesh'd villains1 bloody dogs1 ,wept like to children in their death's sad story3 ,o thus6 quoth ,dighton1 lay the gentle babes2 ,thus1 thus6 quoth ,forrest1 girdling one another1 ,within their innocent alabaster arms2 ,their lips were four red roses on a stalk1 ,and in that summer-beauty kiss'd each other2 ,a book of prayers on their pillow lay1 ,which once1 quoth ,forrest1 almost changed my mind4 ,but ,oh the ,devil6--there the villain stopped3 ,when ,dighton thus told on--we smothered ,the most replenished sweet work of nature1 ,that from the prime creation ere she framed4 ,these are those wonderful bursts of feeling1 done to the very height of nature which our ,shakespeare alone could give4 ,we do not insist on the repetition of these last passages as proper for the stage2 we should indeed be loth to trust them with almost any actor2 but we should wish them to be retained1 at least in preference to the fantoccini exhibition of the young ,princes1 bandying childish wit with their uncle4 ,we have taken the present opportunity to offer these remarks on the necessity of acting the plays of our great ,bard1 in spirit and substance1 instead of burlesquing them1 because we think the stage has acquired in ,mr4 ,kean an actor capable of doing singular justice to many of his finest delineations of character4 ,,fine ,,arts--,,the ,,louvre ,the ,morning ,chronicle ,march #bd1 #ahad4 #8,if ,blcher1 if the ,cossacks1 get to ,paris1--to ,paris1 the seat of ,bonaparte's pride and insolence1--what mercy will they shew to it1 or why should they shew it any mercy8 ,will they spare the precious works of art1 to decorate the palace of a monster whom they justly detest8 ,will they treat the ,thuileries more tenderly than the ,french ,officers1 only eight months ago1 openly threatened to treat ,berlin8 ,is ,paris1 ,bonaparte's ,paris1 more sacred than ,moscow8 or are the slaves of the ,corsican more inviolable than the brave and virtuous citizens of ,hamburgh8 ,no1 no2 the indignant warriors will cry1-- 8,away to ,heav'n respective ,lenity1 ,and fire-eyed ,fury be my conduct now40 #8,there is no other mode by which the ,parisians can disarm the vengeance which now so closely impends over them1 than by disclaiming for ever him whose crimes have been the just cause of that vengeance4 ,paris under the white standard1 returning to loyalty and virtue1 may be spared by a generous conqueror2--but ,paris1 identified with ,bonaparte1 must partake all the vindictive sentiments which are attached to that hateful name4 ,yet some time ago this writer assured us that if the ,french people identified themselves with ,bonaparte1 they ought not to be separated from him4 #8,in what momentous times do we live6 ,perhaps1 the famous city of which we speak may even now be laid in ashes6 ,perhaps and more welcome be the omen1 it may have returned to its allegiance1 and proclaimed its native ,sovereign1 and set a price on the head of that wicked rebel who still dares to call himself the ,emperor of ,france4'--,times1 ,march #ag4 #8,nay1 if you mouth1 ,i'll rant as well as you6' ,it is a pity to spoil this morsel of ,asiatic eloquence1 so worthy of the subject and the sentiments2 but the evident meaning of it is1 that the ,french must expect to do penance in sack-cloth and ashes1 or consent to put on the old livery jackets1 made up for them by our army-agents long ago1 and which have unfortunately lain on hand ever since4 ,if so1 they must needs be #8pigeon-liver'd1 and lack gall4' ,yet we hardly know what to say to the chivalrous and classical politicians of the ,stock ,exchange4 ,they are not driven to the extremity of ,gothic rage by the ranking inveteracy1 and old unsatisfied grudge of the ,pitt-school4 ,yet surely no pitiable enthusiast that #8,scrawls ,with desperate charcoal on his darken'd walls1' can be more incorrigible to reason4 ,they are always setting out on their way to ,paris from ,moscow1 while the ,pitt-school studiously return to join ,lord ,hawkesbury in the year #agic1 or they think the whole ceremony incomplete6 ,the treaty of ,pilnitz does not stand between our modern popular incendiaries and their just revenge6 ,they live only in #8this present ignorant time6' ,they see the white standard of the ,bourbons waving over the walls of ,paris1 unspotted with the blood of millions of ,frenchmen6 ,they do not seem ever to have known1 or 7with our poet-laureat7 they forget1 that the same standard to which our milky politicians advise the ,french people1 sick of destruction1 and panting for freedom1 to fly for deliverance and repose1 is that very standard1 which1 for twenty years1 hovering round them1 now seen like a cloudy speck in the distance--now spreading out its drooping lilies wide1 has been the cause of that destruction--has robbed them at once of liberty and of repose6 ,moscow is1 however1 the watch-word of the renegados of ,the ,times4 ,it seems to them just that ,paris should be sacrificed to revenge the setting fire to ,moscow by the ,russians1 and that the monuments of art in the ,louvre ought to be destroyed because they are ,bonaparte's4 ,no2 they are ours as well as his2--they belong to the human race2 he cannot monopolize all genius and all art4 ,but these madmen would1 if they could1 blot the ,sun out of heaven1 because it shines upon ,france4 ,they verify the old proverb1 #8,tell me your company1 and ,i'll tell you your manners6' ,they1 no more than their friends the ,cossacks1 can perceive any difference between the ,kremlin and the ,louvre4 ,there is at least one difference1 that the one may be built up again1 and the other cannot4 ,for there1 in the ,louvre1 in ,bonaparte's ,louvre1 are the precious monuments of art--the sacred pledges which human genius has given to time and nature2--there #8stands the statue that enchants the world2' there is the ,apollo1 the ,laocoon1 the ,dying ,gladiator1 the ,head of the ,antinous1 ,diana with her ,fawn1 and all the glories of the antique world2-- #8,there is old ,proteus coming from the sea1 ,and wreathed ,triton blows his winding horn4' ,there1 too1 are the two ,st4 ,jeromes1 ,correggio's and ,dominichino's2 there is ,raphael's ,transfiguration1 the ,st4 ,mark of ,tintoret1 ,paul ,veronese's ,marriage of ,cana1 the ,deluge of ,nicholas ,poussin1 and ,titian's ,st4 ,peter ,martyr2--all these1 and more than these1 of which the world is scarce worthy4 ,yet all these amount to nothing in the eyes of those virtuosos the ,cossacks1 and their fellow-students of ,the ,times6 #8,what's ,hecuba to them1 or they to ,hecuba8' ,but we must be allowed to see with our own eyes1 and to have certain feelings of our own4 ,we will not be brayed by these quacks like fools in a mortar4 ,we too1 as ,mr4 ,burke expresses it1 have #8real feelings of flesh and blood beating in our bosoms4' #8,we look up with awe to ,kings2 with affection to parliaments2 with duty to magistrates2 with reverence to priests2 and with respect to nobility4' ,but all this is a machine that goes on of itself1 and may be repaired if out of order4 ,we bow willingly to ,lords and ,commoners1 though we know that #8breath can make them as a breath has made4' ,blcher1 ,wittgenstein1 ,winzingerode1 and ,ktzichigoff1 are true heroes2 their names become the mouth well1 and rouse the ear as the sound of a trumpet2 but they are the heroes of a day1 and all that they have done might be as well done by others to-morrow4 ,but here it is3 once destroy the great monuments of art1 and they cannot be replaced4 ,those mighty geniuses1 who have left their works behind them an inheritance to mankind1 live but once to do honour to themselves and their nature4 #8,but once put out their light1 and there is no ,promethean heat that can their light relumine4' ,nor ought it ever to be re-kindled1 to be extinguished a second time by the harpies of the human race4 ,what have #8the worshippers of cats and onions' to do with those triumphs of human genius1 which give the eternal lie to their creed8 ,we would therefore recommend these accomplished pioneers of civilisation and social order1 after they have done their work at the ,louvre1 to follow the river-side1 and they will come to a bare inclosure1 surrounded by four low walls4 ,it is the place where the ,bastille stood3 let them rear that1 and all will be well4 ,and then some whiffling poet who celebrated the fall of that monument of mild paternal sway--that sacred ark of the confidence of ,kings--that strong bulwark of #8time-hallowed laws1' and precious relic of #8the good old times1' in an ode1 may hail its restoration in a sonnet6 ,,wilson',s ,,landscapes1 ,,at ,,the ,,british ,,institution ,the ,champion4 ,july #ag1 #ahad4 ,the landscapes of this celebrated artist may be divided into three classes2--his ,italian landscapes1 or imitations of the manner of ,claude1 his copies of ,english scenery1 and his historical compositions4 ,the first of these are1 in our opinion1 by much the best2 and of the pictures of this class in the present collection1 we should1 without any hesitation1 give the preference to the ,apollo and the ,seasons1 and to the ,phaeton4 ,the figures are of course out of the question--7,wilson's figures are as uncouth and slovenly as ,claude's are insipid and finical7--but the landscape in both pictures is delightful4 ,in looking at them we breath the very air which the scene inspires1 and feel the genius of the place present to us4 ,in the first1 there is all the cool freshness of a misty spring morning3 the sky1 the water1 the dim horizon all convey the same feeling4 ,the fine grey tone1 and varying outline of the hills1 the graceful form of the retiring lake1 broken still more by the hazy shadows of the objects that repose on its bosom2 the light trees that expand their branches in the air1 and the dark stone figure and mouldering temple1 that contrast strongly with the broad clear light of the rising day1 give a charm1 a truth1 a force and harmony to this landscape1 which produce the greater pleasure the longer it is dwelt on4--,the distribution of light and shade resembles the effect of light on a globe4 ,the ,phaeton has the dazzling fervid appearance of an autumnal evening2 the golden radiance streams in solid masses from behind the flickering clouds2 every object is baked in the sun2--the brown foreground1 the thick foliage of the trees1 the streams shrunk and stealing along behind the dark high banks1 combine to produce that richness1 and characteristic propriety of effect1 which is to be found only in nature1 or in art derived from the study and imitation of nature4 ,the glowing splendour of this landscape reminds us of the saying of ,wilson1 that in painting such subjects1 he endeavoured to give the effect of insects dancing in the evening sun4 ,his eye seemed formed to drink in the light4 ,these two pictures1 as they have the greatest general effect1 are also more carefully finished in the particular details than the other pictures in the collection4 ,this circumstance may be worth the attention of those who are apt to think that strength and slovenliness are the same thing4 ,cicero at his ,villa is a clear and beautiful representation of nature4 ,the sky is admirable for its pure azure tone4 ,among the less finished productions of ,wilson's pencil1 which display his great knowledge of perspective1 are ,a ,landscape with figures bathing1 in which the figures are wonderfully detached from the sea beyond2 and ,a ,view in ,italy1 with a lake and a little boat1 which appear at an immeasurable distance below3--the boat is diminished to #8,a buoy almost too small for sight4' ,a ,view of ,ancona2 ,adrian's ,villa at ,rome2 a small blue greenish landscape2 ,the ,lake of ,neimi2 a small1 richly-coloured landscape of the banks of a river2 and a landscape containing some light and elegant groups of trees1 are masterly and interesting sketches4 ,a ,view on the ,tiber1 near ,rome1 a dark landscape which lies finely open to the sky2 and ,a ,view of ,rome1 are successful imitations of ,n4 ,poussin4 ,a ,view of ,sion ,house1 which is hung almost out of sight1 is remarkable for the clearness of the perspective1 particularly in the distant windings of the ,river ,thames1 and still more so for the parched and droughty appearance of the whole scene4 ,the air is adust1 the grass burned up and withered3 and it seems as if some figures1 reposing on the level1 smooth shaven lawn on the river's side1 would be annoyed by the parching heat of the ground4 ,we consider this landscape1 which is an old favourite1 as one of the most striking proofs of ,wilson's genius1 as it conveys not only the image1 but the feeling of nature1 and excites a new interest unborrowed from the eye1 like the fine glow of a summer's day4 ,there is a sketch of the same subject1 called ,a ,view on the ,thames4 ,a ,view near ,llangollen1 ,north ,wales2 ,oakhampton ,castle1 ,devonshire2 and ,the ,bridge at ,llangollen1 are the principal of ,wilson's ,english landscapes4 ,they want almost every thing that ought to recommend them4 ,the subjects are not fit for the landscape-painter1 and there is nothing in the execution to redeem them4 ,ill-shaped mountains1 or great heaps of earth1 trees that grow against them without character or elegance1 motionless water-falls1 a want of relief1 of transparency1 and distance1--without the imposing grandeur of real magnitude 7which it is either not within the province of the art to give1 or which is certainly not given here71 are the chief features and defects of these pictures4--,the same general objections apply to ,solitude1 and to one or two pictures near it1 which are masses of common-place confusion4 ,in near scenes1 the effect must depend almost entirely on the difference in the execution1 and the details3 for the difference of colour alone is not sufficient to give relief to objects placed at a small distance from the eye4 ,but in ,wilson there are commonly no details2 all is loose and general2 and this very circumstance1 which assisted him in giving the massy contrasts of light and shade1 deprived his pencil of all force and precision within a limited space4 ,in general1 air is necessary to the landscape-painter3 and for this reason1 the lakes of ,cumberland and ,westmoreland afford few subjects for landscape-painting4 ,however stupendous the scenery of that country is1 and however powerful and lasting the impression which it must always make on the imagination1 yet the effect is not produced merely through the eye of the spectator1 but arises chiefly from collateral and associated feelings4 ,there is the knowledge of the distance from which we have seen the objects1 in the midst of which we are now placed1--the slow1 improgressive motion which we make in traversing them1--the abrupt precipice1--the torrent's roar1--the dizzy rapture and boundless expanse of the prospect from the highest mountains1--the difficulty of their ascent1--their loneliness1 and silence2--in short1 there is a constant sense and superstitious awe of the collective power of matter1 of the gigantic and eternal forms of nature1 on which from the beginning of time the hand of man has made no impression1 and which by the lofty reflections they excite in him1 give a sort of intellectual sublimity even to his sense of physical weakness4 ,but there is little in all these circumstances that can be translated into the picturesque1 which depends not on the objects themselves1 so much as on the symmetry and relation of these objects to one another4 ,in a picture a mountain shrinks to a molehill1 and the lake that expands its broad bosom to the sky1 seems hardly big enough to launch a fleet of cockle-shells4 ,wilson's historical landscapes1 the two ,niobes1 ,celadon and ,amelia1 ,meleager and ,atalanta1 do not1 in our opinion1 deserve the name2 that is1 they do not excite feelings corresponding with the scene and story represented4 ,they neither display true taste nor fine imagination2 but are affected and violent exaggerations of clumsy1 common nature4 ,they are all made up of the same mechanical materials1 an overhanging rock1 bare shattered trees1 black rolling clouds1 and forked lightning4 ,the scene of ,celadon and ,amelia1 though it may be proper for a thunder-storm1 is not a place for lovers to walk in4 ,the ,meleager and ,atalanta is remarkable for nothing but a castle at a distance1 very much #8resembling a goose-pye4' ,the figures in the two other pictures are not like the children of ,niobe1 punished by the ,gods1 but like a groupe of rustics1 crouching from a hail-storm4 ,in one of these1 however1 there is a fine break in the sky worthy of the subject4 ,we agree with ,sir ,j4 ,reynolds1 that ,wilson's mind was not1 like ,n4 ,poussin's1 sufficiently imbued with the knowledge of antiquity to transport the imagination two thousand years back1 to give natural objects a sympathy with preternatural events1 and to inform rocks1 and trees1 and mountains with the presence of a ,god4#ac ,the writer of the ,preface to the ,catalogue of the ,british ,gallery1 says--#8,few artists have excelled ,wilson in the tint of air1 perhaps the most difficult point of attainment for the landscape-painter3 every object in his pictures keeps its place1 because each is seen through its proper medium4 ,this excellence alone gives a charm to his pencil1 and by judicious application may be turned to the advantage of the ,british artist4'--,this praise is equivocal3 if it be meant that #8the tint of air' is the only excellence of ,wilson's landscapes1 the observation is not true4 ,he had also great truth1 harmony1 and richness of local colouring3 he had a fine feeling of the proportions and conduct of light and shade2 and1 in general1 an eye for graceful form1 as far as regards the bold and varying outlines of indefinite objects--as may be seen in his foregrounds1 hills1 etc4--where the mind is left to chuse according to an abstract principle1 as it is filled or affected agreeably by certain combinations1--and is not tied down to an imitation of characteristic and articulate forms4 ,in his figures1 trees1 cattle1 buildings and in every thing which has a determinate and regular form1 ,wilson's pencil was not only deficient in accuracy of outline1 but even in perspective and actual relief4 ,his trees1 in particular1 seem pasted on the canvas1 like botanical specimens4 ,we shall close these remarks with observing1 that we cannot subscribe to the opinion of those who assert that ,wilson was superior to ,claude as a man of genius3 nor can we discern any other grounds for this opinion1 than those which lead to the general conclusion1 that the more slovenly the performance1 the finer the picture2 and that that which is imperfect is superior to that which is perfect4 ,it might as well be said1 that a sign-painting is better than the reflection of a landscape in a mirror2 and the only objection that can be made in the latter case cannot be made to the landscapes of ,claude1 for in them the ,graces themselves have1 with their own hands1 assisted in disposing and selecting every object4--,is the general effect in his pictures injured by the details8 ,is the truth inconsistent with the beauty of the imitation8 ,are the scope and harmony of the whole destroyed by the exquisite delicacy of every part8 ,does the perpetual profusion of objects and scenery1 all perfect in themselves1 interfere with the simple grandeur1 and immense extent of the whole8 ,does the precision with which a plant is marked in the foreground1 take away from the air-drawn distinctions of the blue1 glimmering distant horizon8 ,is there any want of that endless airy space1 where the eye wanders at liberty under the open sky1 explores distant objects1 and returns back as from a delightful journey8 ,there is no comparison between him and ,wilson4 ,the landscapes of ,claude have all that is exquisite and refined in art and nature4 ,every thing is moulded into grace and harmony2 and at the touch of his pencil1 shepherds with their flocks1 temples and groves1 and winding glades1 and scattered hamlets1 rise up in never-ending succession1 under the azure sky1 and the resplendent sun1 #8while universal ,pan1 #8,knit with the ,graces1 and the hours in dance ,leads on the eternal spring4'-- ,there is a fine apostrophe in a sonnet of ,michael ,angelo's to the earliest ,poet of ,italy3 #8,fain would ,i to be what our ,dante was1 ,forego the happiest fortunes of mankind2' ,what landscape-painter does not feel this of ,claude6#ad ,,on ,,gainsborough',s ,,pictures ,the ,champion4 ,july #ca1 #ahad4 ,there is an anecdote connected with the reputation of ,gainsborough's ,pictures1 which rests on pretty good authority4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1 at one of the ,academy dinners1 speaking of ,gainsborough1 said to a friend1 #8,he is undoubtedly the best ,english landscape-painter4' #8,no1' said ,wilson1 who overheard the conversation1 #8he's not the best ,english landscape-painter1 but he is the best portrait-painter in ,england4' ,they were certainly both wrong2 but the story is creditable to the variety of ,gainsborough's talents4 ,of his portraits1 in the present collection at the ,british ,gallery1 the only fine one is ,a ,portrait of a ,youth4 ,this picture is from ,lord ,grosvenor's collection1 where it used to look remarkably well1 and has been sometimes mistaken for a ,vandyke4 ,there is a spirited glow of youth about the face1 and the attitude is striking and elegant4 ,the drapery of blue satin is admirably painted4 ,the ,portrait of ,garrick is interesting as a piece of biography4 ,he looks much more like a gentleman than in ,reynolds's tragi-comic representation of him4--,there is a considerable lightness and intelligence in the expression of the face1 and a piercing vivacity about the eyes1 to which the attention is immediately directed4 ,gainsborough's own portrait1 which has1 however1 much truth and character1 and makes a fine print1 seems to have been painted with the handle of his brush4 ,there is a portrait of ,the ,prince ,regent leading a horse1 in which it must be confessed the man has the advantage of the animal4 ,gainsborough's landscapes are of two classes1 or periods2 his early and his later pictures4 ,the former are1 we imagine1 the best4 ,they are imitations of nature1 or of painters who imitated nature2--such as a ,woody ,scene2 another1 which is a fine imitation of ,ruysdale2 and a ,road ,side1 with figures1 which has great truth and clearness4 ,his later pictures are flimsy caricatures of ,rubens1 who himself carried inattention to accuracy of detail to the utmost limit that it would bear4 ,lord ,bacon says1 that #8distilled books are1 like distilled waters1 flashy things4' ,the same may be said of pictures4--,gainsborough's latter landscapes are bad water-colour drawings1 washed in by mechanical movements of the hand1 without any communication with the eye4 ,the truth seems to be1 that ,gainsborough found there was something wanting in his #8early manner1'--that is1 something beyond mere literal imitation of natural objects1 and he seems to have concluded1 rather hastily1 that the way to arrive at that something more1 was to discard truth and nature altogether4 ,he accordingly ran from one extreme into the other4 ,we cannot conceive anything carried to a greater excess of slender execution and paltry glazing1 than ,a ,fox hunted with grey-hounds1 ,a romantic ,landscape with ,sheep at a ,fountain1 and many others4 ,we were1 however1 much pleased with an upright landscape1 with figures1 which has a fine1 fresh appearance of the open sky1 with a dash of the wildness of ,salvator ,rosa2 and also with ,a ,bank of a ,river1 which is remarkable for the elegance of the forms and the real delicacy of the execution4 ,a ,group of ,cattle in a warm ,landscape is an evident imitation of ,rubens1 but no more like to ,rubens than #8,i to ,hercules4' ,landscape with a ,waterfall should be noticed for the sparkling clearness of the distance4 ,sportsmen in a ,landscape is copied from ,teniers with much taste and feeling1 though very inferior to the original picture in ,lord ,radnor's collection4 ,of the fancy pictures1 on which ,gainsborough's fame chiefly rests1 we are disposed to give the preference to his ,cottage ,children4 ,there is1 we apprehend1 greater truth1 variety1 force1 and character1 in this groupe1 than in any other4 ,the colouring of the light-haired child is particularly true to nature1 and forms a sort of natural and innocent contrast to the dark complexion of the elder sister1 who is carrying it4 ,the ,girl going to the ,well is1 however1 the general favourite4 ,the little dog is certainly admirable4 ,his hair looks as if it had been just washed and combed4 ,the attitude of the ,girl is also perfectly easy and natural4 ,but there is a consciousness in the turn of the head1 and a sentimental pensiveness in the expression1 which is not taken from nature1 but intended as an improvement on it4 ,there is a regular insipidity1 a systematic vacancy1 a round1 unvaried smoothness1 to which real nature is a stranger1 and which is only an idea existing in the painter's mind4 ,we think the gloss of art is never so ill bestowed as on subjects of this kind1 which ought to be studies of natural history4 ,it is perhaps the general fault of ,gainsborough1 that he presents us with an ideal common life1 whereas it is only the reality that is here good for any thing4 ,his subjects are softened and sentimentalised too much1 it is not simple1 unaffected nature that we see1 but nature sitting for her picture4 ,gainsborough1 we suspect1 from some of the pictures in this collection1 led the way to that masquerade style1 which piques itself on giving the air of an ,adonis to the driver of a hay-cart1 and models the features of a milk-maid on the principles of the antique4 ,the ,girl and ,pigs is hardly liable to this objection4 ,there is a healthy glow in the girl's face1 which seems the immediate effect of the air blowing upon it4 ,the expression is not quite so good4 ,the ,fox-dogs are admirable4 ,the young one is even better than the old one1 and has undeniable hereditary pretensions4 ,the ,shepherd ,boys are fine4 ,we do not like the ,boys with ,dogs fighting4 ,we see no reason why the one should be so handsome and the other so ugly1 why the one should be so brown and the other so yellow1 or why their dogs should be of the same colour as themselves3 nor why the worst-looking of the two should be most anxious to part the fray4 ,the sketch of the ,woodman1 the original of which was unfortunately burned1 fully justifies all the reputation it has acquired4 ,it is a really fine study from nature4 ,there is a picture of ,gainsborough's somewhere of ,a ,shepherd ,boy in a ,storm1 of which we many years ago saw an indifferent copy in a broker's shop1 but in which the unconscious simplicity of the boy's expression1 looking up with his hands folded1 and with timid wonder1 the noisy chattering of a magpye perched above him1 and the rustling of the coming storm in the branches of the trees1 produced a romantic pastoral impression1 which we have often recalled with no little pleasure since that time4 ,we have always1 indeed1 felt a strong prepossession in favor of ,gainsborough1 and were disappointed at not finding his pictures in the present collection1 all that we had wished to find them4 ,he was to be considered1 perhaps1 rather as a man of taste1 and of an elegant and feeling mind1 than as a man of genius2 as a lover of the art1 rather than an artist4 ,he pursued it1 with a view to amuse and sooth his mind1 with the ease of a gentleman1 not with the severity of a professional student4 ,he wished to make his pictures1 like himself1 amiable2 but a too constant desire to please almost necessarily leads to affectation and effeminacy4 ,he wanted that vigour of intellect1 which perceives the beauty of truth2 and thought that painting was to be gained1 like other mistresses1 by flattery and smiles4 ,it is an error which we are disposed to forgive in one1 around whose memory1 both as a man and an artist1 many fond recollections1 many vain regrets must always linger4 ,peace to his shade6#ae ,,mr4 ,,kemble',s ,,penruddock ,the ,champion4 ,nov4 #bj1 #ahad4 ,mr4 ,kemble lately appeared at this theatre in the character of ,penruddock1 and was received 7not indeed with waving handkerchiefs1 and laurel garlands thrown on the stage1 but what is much better7 with heart-felt approbation and silent tears4 ,his delineation of the part is one of his most correct and interesting performances1 and one of the most perfect on the modern stage4 ,the deeply rooted1 mild1 pensive melancholy of the character1 its embittered recollections and dignified benevolence1 were given by ,mr4 ,kemble with equal truth1 elegance1 and feeling4 ,this admirable actor appeared to be the unfortunate1 but amiable individual whom he represented2 and the expression of the sentiments1 the look1 the tone of voice1 exactly true to nature1 struck a correspondent chord in every bosom4--,the range of characters1 in which ,mr4 ,kemble shines1 and is superior to every other actor1 are those which consist in the developement of some one sentiment or exclusive passion4 ,from a want of rapidity1 of scope1 and variety1 he is often deficient in expressing the bustle and complication of different interests1 nor does he possess the faculty of overpowering the mind by sudden and irresistible bursts of passion4 ,but in giving the habitual workings of a predominant feeling1 as in ,penruddock1 ,coriolanus1 and some others1 where all the passions move round a central point1 and have one master key1 he stands unrivalled4 ,in ,penruddock1 he broods over the recollection of disappointed hope1 till it becomes a part of himself1 it sinks deeper into his mind the longer he dwells upon it1 and his whole person is moulded to the character4 ,the weight of sentiment which oppresses him never seems suspended1 the spring at his heart is never lightened1 his regrets only become more profound as they become more durable4 ,so in ,coriolanus1 he exhibits the ruling passion with the same continued firmness1 he preserves the same haughty dignity of demeanour1 the same energy of will1 and unbending sternness of temper throughout4 ,he is swayed by a single impulse4 ,his tenaciousness of purpose is only irritated by opposition3 he turns neither to the right nor to the left3 but the vehemence with which he moves forward increases every instant1 till it hurries him to the catastrophe4 ,in ,leontes1 in the ,winter's ,tale1 the growing jealousy of the king1 and the exclusive possession which it at length obtains of his mind1 are marked in the finest manner1 particularly where he exclaims-- #8,is whispering nothing8 ,is leaning cheek to cheek8 is meeting noses8 ,kissing with inside lip8 stopping the career ,of laughter with a sigh1 a note infallible ,of breaking honesty8 horsing foot on foot8 ,skulking in corners8 wishing clocks more swift8 ,hours minutes8 the noon1 midnight8 and all eyes ,blind with the pin and web1 but theirs2 theirs only ,that would unseen be wicked8 ,is this nothing8 ,why then the world and all that's in #8t is nothing4 ,the covering sky is nothing1 ,bohemia nothing1 ,my wife is nothing1 if this be nothing4' ,in the course of this enumeration every proof tells harder1 his conviction becomes more rivetted at every step of his progress1 and at the end his mind is wound up to a frenzy of despair4 ,in such characters1 ,mr4 ,kemble has no occasion to call in the resources of invention1 or the tricks of the art2 his excellence consists entirely in the increasing intensity with which he dwells on a given feeling or enforces a predominant passion4 ,in ,hamlet1 on the contrary1 ,mr4 ,kemble unavoidably fails from a want of flexibility1 or of that quick sensibility1 which yields to every motive1 and is borne away with every breath of fancy1 which is distracted by the multiplicity of its reflections1 and lost in its own purposes4 ,there is a perpetual undulation of feeling in the character of ,hamlet 7though it must be confessed1 much of this1 which is the essence of the play1 is left out on the stage71 but in ,mr4 ,kemble's acting #8there is no variableness nor shadow of turning4' ,he plays it like a man in armour1 with a determined inveteracy of purpose1 in one undeviating strait line1 which is as remote from the natural grace and easy susceptibility of the character1 as the sharp angles and abrupt starts to produce an effect1 which ,mr4 ,kean introduces into it4 ,mr4 ,kean's ,hamlet is1 in our opinion1 as much too #8splenetic and rash1' as ,mr4 ,kemble's is too deliberate and formal4 ,in ,richard1 ,mr4 ,kemble has not that tempest and whirlwind of the passions1 that life and spirit1 and dazzling rapidity of motion1 which1 as it were1 fills the stage1 and burns in every part1 which ,mr4 ,kean displayed in it till he was worn out by the managers4 ,mr4 ,kean's acting1 in general1 strongly reminds us of the lines of the poet1 when he describes #8,the fiery soul that working out its way ,fretted the pigmy body to decay1 ,and o'erinformed the tenement of clay4' ,mr4 ,kemble's manner on the contrary has always something dry1 hard and pedantic in it4 #8,you shall relish him more in the scholar than the soldier4' ,but his monotony does not fatigue1 his formality does not displease1 because there is always sense and feeling in what he does4 ,the fineness of ,mr4 ,kemble's figure has perhaps led to that statue-like appearance which his acting is sometimes too apt to assume2 as the diminutiveness of ,mr4 ,kean's person has probably forced him to bustle about too much1 and to attempt to make up for the want of dignity of form by the violence and contrast of his attitudes4 ,if ,mr4 ,kemble were to remain in the same posture for half an hour1 his figure would only produce admiration--if ,mr4 ,kean were to stand still only for a moment1 the contrary effect would be produced4 ,to return to ,penruddock and the ,wheel of ,fortune4 ,the only novelties were ,miss ,foote in ,emily ,tempest1 and her lover1 ,mr4 ,farley1 as ,sir ,david ,daw4 ,the latter1 who is a ,welch ,adonis of five-and-twenty1 from the natural advantages of his person1 and the artificial improvements which were added to it1 was a very admirable likeness1 on a reduced scale1 of the ,prince ,regent4 ,we do not know whether the burlesque was intended1 but it had a laughable effect4 ,we acknowledge that ,mr4 ,farley is one of those persons whom we always welcome heartily when we see him4 ,what with laughing at him and laughing with him1 we hardly know a more comic personage4 ,miss ,foote played and looked the part of ,emily ,tempest very naturally and very prettily1 but without giving to the character either much interest or much elegance4 ,her voice is in itself as sweet as her person1 and when she exerts it1 she articulates with ease and clearness3 but we should add1 that she has a habit of tripping in her common speaking1 that is1 of dropping her voice so low1 except where a particular emphasis is to be laid1 as to make it difficult for the ear to follow the sense4 ,,introduction ,,to ,,an ,,account ,,of ,,sir ,,joshua ,,reynolds',s ,,discourses ,the ,champion4 ,nov4 #bg1 #ahad4 ,the general merit of these ,discourses is so well established that it would be needless to enlarge on it here4 ,the graces of the composition are such1 that scholars have been led to suspect that it was the style of ,burke 7the first prose-writer of our time7 carefully subdued1 and softened down to perfection3 and the taste and knowledge of the subject displayed in them are so great1 that this work has been1 by common consent1 considered as a text-book on the subject of art1 in our ,english school of painting1 ever since its publication4 ,highly elegant and valuable as ,sir ,joshua's opinions are1 yet they are liable 7so it appears to us7 to various objections2 and it becomes more important to state these objections1 because1 as it generally happens1 the most questionable of his precepts are those which have been the most eagerly adopted1 and carried into practice with the greatest success4 ,the errors1 if they are such1 which we shall attempt to point out1 are not casual1 but systematic4 ,there is a finespun metaphysical theory1 either not very clearly understood1 or not very correctly expressed1 pervading ,sir ,joshua's reasoning2 and which appears to have led him in several of the most important points to conclusions1 either false or only true in part4#af ,the rules thus laid down1 as general and comprehensive maxims1 are in fact founded on a set of half principles1 which are true only as far as they imply a negation of the opposite errors1 but contain in themselves the germ of other errors just as fatal3 which1 if strictly and literally understood1 cannot be defended1 and which by being taken in an equivocal sense1 of course leave the student as much to seek as ever4 ,the ,english school of painting is universally reproached by foreigners with the slovenly and unfinished state in which they send their productions into the world1 with their ignorance of academic rules and neglect of the subordinate details2 in other words1 with aiming at effect only in all their works of art3 and though it is by no means necessary that we should adopt the defects of the ,french and ,german painters1 yet we might learn from them to correct our own4 ,there was no occasion to encourage our constitutional indolence and impatience by positive rules1 or to incorporate our vicious habits into a system4 ,or if our defects were to be retained1 at least they ought to have been tolerated only for the sake of certain collateral and characteristic excellencies out of which they might be thought to spring4 ,thus a certain degree of precision or regularity might be sacrificed rather than impair that boldness1 vigour1 and originality of conception1 in which the strength of the national genius might be supposed to lie4 ,but the method of instruction pursued in the ,discourses seems calculated for neither of these objects4 ,without endeavouring to overcome our habitual defects1 which might be corrected by proper care and study1 it damps our zeal1 ardour1 and enthusiasm4 ,it places a full reliance neither on art nor nature1 but consists in a kind of fastidious tampering with both4 ,both genius and industry are put out of countenance in turn4 ,the height of invention is made to consist in compiling from others1 and the perfection of imitation in not copying from nature4 ,we lose the substance of the art in catching at a shadow1 and are thought to embrace a cloud for a ,goddess6 ,that we may not seem to prejudge the question1 we shall state at once1 and without further preface1 the principal points in the ,discourses which we deem either wrong in themselves1 or liable to misconception and abuse4 ,they are the following3-- #a4 ,that genius or invention consists chiefly in borrowing the ideas of others1 or in using other men's minds4 #b4 ,that the great style in painting depends on leaving out the details of particular objects4 #c4 ,that the essence of portrait consists in giving the general character1 rather than the individual likeness4 #d4 ,that the essence of history consists in abstracting from individuality of character and expression as much as possible4 #e4 ,that beauty or ideal perfection consists in a central form4 #f4 ,that to imitate nature is a very inferior object in art4 ,all of these positions appear to require a separate consideration1 which we shall give them in the following articles on this subject4 ,,on ,,genius ,,and ,,originality ,the ,champion4 ,december #d1 #ahad ,it is a leading and favourite position of the ,discourses that genius and invention are principally shewn in borrowing the ideas1 and imitating the excellences of others4 ,differing entirely from those #8who have undertaken to write on the art of painting1 and have represented it as a kind of inspiration1 as a gift bestowed upon peculiar favourites at their birth1' ,sir ,joshua proceeds to add1 #8,i am1 on the contrary1 persuaded1 that by imitation only1' 7that is1 of former masters17 #8variety and even originality of invention is produced4 ,i will go further6 even genius1 at least what is generally called so1 is the child of imitation4' #8,there can be no doubt but that he who has most materials has the greatest means of invention2 and if he has not the power of using them1 it must proceed from a feebleness of intellect4' #8,study is the art of using other men's minds4' #8,it is from ,raphael's having taken so many models1 that he became himself a model for all succeeding painters2 always imitating1 and always original4' ,vol4 i4 p4 #aea1 #aei1 #afi1 c4 ,all that ,sir ,joshua says on this subject1 is either vague and contradictory1 or has an evident bias the wrong way4 ,that genius either consists in1 or is in any proportion to1 the knowledge of what others have done1 in any branch of art or science1 is a paradox which hardly admits serious refutation4 ,the answer is indeed so obvious and so undeniable1 that one is almost ashamed to give it4 ,as it happens in all such cases1 an advantage is taken of the old-fashioned simplicity of truth to triumph over it4 ,it is another of ,sir ,joshua's theoretical opinions1 often repeated1 and almost as often retracted in his lectures1 that there is no such thing as genius in the first formation of the human mind4 ,that is not the question here1 though perhaps we may recur to it4 ,but1 however a man may come by the faculty which we call genius1 whether it is the effect of habit and circumstances1 or the gift of nature1 yet there can be no doubt1 that what is meant by the term1 is a power of original observation and invention4 ,to take it otherwise1 is a solecism in language1 and a misnomer in art4 ,a work demonstrates genius exactly as it contains what is to be found no where else1 or in proportion to what we add to the ideas of others from our own stores1 and not to what we receive from them4 ,it may contain also what is to be found in other works1 but it is not that which stamps it with the character of genius4 ,the contrary view of the question can only tend to deter those who have genius from using it1 and to make those who are without genius1 think they have it4 ,it is attempting to excite the mind to the highest efforts of intellectual excellence1 by denying the chief ground-work of all intellectual distinction4 ,it is from the same general spirit of distrust of the existence or power of genius that ,sir ,joshua exclaims with confidence and triumph1 #8,there is one precept1 however1 in which ,i shall only be opposed by the vain1 the ignorant1 and the idle4 ,i am not afraid that ,i shall repeat it too often4 ,you ,,must ,,have ,,no ,,dependence ,,on ,,your ,,own ,,genius4 ,if you have great talents1 industry will improve them4 ,if you have but moderate abilities1 it will supply their deficiency4 ,nothing is denied to well directed labour2 nothing can be obtained without it4 ,not to enter into metaphysical discussions on the nature and essence of genius1 ,i will venture to assert1 that assiduity unabated by difficulty1 and a disposition eagerly directed to the object of its pursuit1 will produce effects similar to those which some call the result of natural powers4' ,p4 #dd1 #de4 ,yet so little influence had the metaphysical theory1 which he wished to hold in terrorem over the young enthusiast1 on ,sir ,joshua's habitual unreflecting good sense1 that he afterwards1 in speaking of the attainments of ,carlo ,maratti1 which1 as well as those of ,raphael1 he attributes to his imitation of others1 says1 #8,it is true there is nothing very captivating in ,carlo ,maratti2 but this proceeded from a want which cannot be completely supplied1 that is1 want of strength of parts4 ,in this1 certainly1 men are not equal2 and a man can bring home wares only in proportion to the capital with which he goes to market4 ,carlo1 by diligence1 made the most of what he had3 but there was undoubtedly a heaviness about him1 which extended itself uniformly to his invention1 expression1 his drawing1 colouring1 and the general effect of his pictures4 ,the truth is1 he never equalled any of his patterns in any one thing1 and he added little of his own4' ,p4 #agb4 ,poor ,carlo1 it seems1 then1 was excluded from the benefit of the sweeping clause in this general charter of dulness1 by which all men are declared to be equal in natural powers1 and to owe their superiority only to superior industry4 ,what is here said of ,carlo ,maratti is1 however1 an exact description of the fate of all those1 who1 without any genius of their own1 pretend to avail themselves of the genius of others4 ,sir ,joshua attempts to confound genius and the want of it together1 by shewing1 that some men of great genius have not disdained to borrow largely from their predecessors1 while others1 who affected to be entirely original1 have really invented little of their own4 ,this is from the purpose4 ,if ,raphael1 for instance1 had only copied his figure of ,st4 ,paul from ,massacio1 or his groupe1 in the sacrifice of ,lystra1 from the ancient bas-relief1 without adding other figures of equal force and beauty1 he would have been considered as a mere plagiarist4 ,as it is1 the pictures here referred to1 would undoubtedly have displayed more genius1 that is1 more originality1 if those figures had also been his own invention4 ,nay1 ,sir ,joshua himself1 in giving the preference of genius to ,michael ,angelo1 does it on this very ground1 that #8,michael ,angelo's works seem to proceed from his own mind entirely1 and that mind so rich and abundant1 that he never needed1 or seemed to disdain to look abroad for foreign help2' whereas1 #8,raffaelle's materials are generally borrowed1 though the noble structure is his own4' ,on the justice of this last statement1 we shall remark presently4 ,perhaps ,reynolds's general account of the insignificance of genius1 and the all-sufficiency of the merits of others1 may be looked upon as an indirect apology for the gradual progress of his own mind1 in selecting and appropriating the beauties of the great artists who went before him3 he appears anxious to describe and dignify the process1 from which he himself derived such felicitous results1 but which1 as a general system of instruction1 can only produce mediocrity and imbecility4 ,it is a lesson which a well-bred drawing-master might with great propriety repeat by rote to his fashionable pupils1 but which a learned professor1 whose object was to lead the aspiring mind to the heights of fame1 ought not to have offered to the youth of a nation4 #8,you must have no dependence on your own genius1' is1 according to ,sir ,joshua1 the universal foundation of all high endeavours1 the beginning of all true wisdom1 and the end of all true art4 ,would ,sir ,joshua have given this advice to ,michael ,angelo1 or to ,raphael1 or to ,correggio8 ,or would he have given it to ,rembrandt1 or ,rubens1 or ,vandyke1 or ,claude ,lorraine1 or to our own ,hogarth8 ,would it have been followed1 or what would have been the consequence1 if it had8--,that we should never have heard of any of these personages1 or only heard of them as instances to prove that nothing great can be done without genius and originality6 ,we are at a loss to conceive where1 upon the principle here stated1 ,hogarth would have found the materials of his ,marriage a la ,mode8 or ,rembrandt his ,three ,trees8 or ,claude ,lorraine his ,enchanted ,castle1 with that one simple figure in the foreground1-- #8,sole sitting by the shores of old romance8' ,or from what but an eye always intent on nature1 and brooding over #8beauty1 rendered still more beautiful' by the exquisite feeling with which it was contemplated1 did he borrow his verdant landscapes and his azure skies1 the bare sight of which wafts the imagination to ,arcadian scenes1 #8thrice happy fields1 and groves1 and flowery vales1' breathing perpetual youth and freshness8 ,if ,claude had gone out to study on the banks of the ,tyber with ,sir ,joshua's first precept in his mouth1 #8,individual nature produces little beauty1' and had returned poring over the second1 which is like unto it1 #8,you must have no dependence on your own genius1' the world would have lost one perfect painter4#ag ,rubens would have shared the same fate1 with all his train of fluttering ,cupids1 warriors and prancing steeds1 panthers and piping ,bacchanals1 nymphs1 fawns and satyrs1 if he had not been reserved for #8the tender mercies' of the modern ,french critics1 ,david and his pupils1 who think that the ,luxembourg gallery ought to be destroyed1 to make room for their own execrable performances4 ,or we should never have seen that fine landscape of his in the ,louvre1 with a rainbow on one side1 the whole face of nature refreshed after the shower1 and some shepherds under a group of trees piping to their heedless flocks1 if instead of painting what he saw and what he felt to be fine1 he had set himself to solve the learned riddle proposed by ,sir ,joshua1 whether accidents in nature should be introduced in landscape1 since ,claude has rejected them4 ,it is well that genius gets the start of criticism2 for if these two great landscape painters1 not being privileged to consult their own taste and inclinations1 had been compelled to wait till the rules of criticism had decided the preference between their different styles1 instead of having both1 we should have had neither4 ,the folly of all such comparisons consists in supposing that we are reduced to a single alternative in our choice of excellence1 and the true answer to the question1 #8,which do you like best1 ,rubens's landscapes or ,claude's8' is the one which was given on another occasion--both4 ,if it be meant which of the two an artist should imitate1 the answer is1 the one which he is likely to imitate best4 ,as to ,rembrandt1 he would not have stood the least chance with this new theory of art4 ,but the warning sounds1 #8you must have no dependence on your own genius1' never reached him in the little study where he watched the dim shadows cast by his dying embers on the wall1 or at other times saw the clouds driven before the storm1 or the blaze of noon-day brightness bursting through his casement on the mysterious gloom which surrounded him4 ,what a pity that his old master could not have received a friendly hint from ,sir ,joshua1 that getting rid of his vulgar musty prejudices1 he might have set out betimes for the regions of virt1 have scaled the ladder of taste1 have measured the antique1 lost himself in the ,vatican1 and after #8wandering through dry places1 seeking he knew not what1 and finding nothing1' have returned home as great a critic and painter as so many others have done6 ,of ,titian1 ,vandyke1 or ,correggio we shall say nothing here1 as we have said so much in another place4 ,a theory1 then1 by which these great artists could have been lost to themselves and to the art1 and which explains away the two chief supports and sources of all art1 nature and genius1 into an unintelligible jargon of words1 cannot be intrinsically true4 ,the principles thus laid down may be very proper to conduct the machinery of a royal academy1 or to precede the distribution of prizes to the students1 or to be the topics of assent and congratulation among the members themselves at their annual exhibition dinner3 but they are so far from being calculated to foster genius or to direct its course1 that they can only blight or mislead it1 wherever it exists1 and #8lose more men of talents to this nation1' by the dissemination of false principles1 than have been already lost to it by the want of any4 ,but it may be said1 that though the perfection of portrait or landscape may be derived from the immediate study of nature1 yet higher subjects are not to be found in it2 that there we must raise our imaginations by referring to artificial models2 and that ,raphael was compelled to go to ,michael ,angelo and the antique4 ,not to insist that ,michael ,angelo himself1 according to ,sir ,joshua's account1 formed an exception to this rule1 it has been well observed on this statement1 that what ,raphael borrowed was to conceal or supply his natural deficiencies3 what he excelled in was his own4 ,raphael never had the grandeur of form of ,michael ,angelo1 nor the correctness of form of the antique4 ,his expression was perfectly different from both1 and perhaps better than either1 certainly better than what we have seen of ,michael ,angelo in the prints from him compared with those from ,raphael in the ,vatican4 ,in ,raphael's faces1 particularly his women1 the expression is superior to the form2 in the antique statues1 the form is evidently the principal thing4 ,the interest which they excite is in a manner external1 it depends on a certain grace and lightness of appearance1 joined with exquisite symmetry and refined susceptibility to voluptuous emotions1 but there is no pathos2 or if there is1 it is the pathos of present and physical distress1 rather than of sentiment4 ,there is not that deep internal interest which there is in ,raphael2 which broods over the suggestions of the heart with love and fear till the tears seem ready to gush out1 but that they are checked by the deeper sentiments of hope and faith4 ,what has been remarked of ,leonardo da ,vinci1 is still more true of ,raphael1 that there is an angelic sweetness and tenderness in his faces peculiarly adapted to his subjects1 in which natural frailty and passion are purified by the sanctity of religion4 ,they answer exactly to ,milton's description of the #8human face divine4' ,the ancient statues are finer objects for the eye to contemplate3 they represent a more perfect race of physical beings1 but we have no sympathy with them4 ,in ,raphael1 all our natural sensibilities are raised and refined by pointing mysteriously to the interests of another world4 ,the same intensity of passion appears also to distinguish ,raphael from ,michael ,angelo4 ,michael ,angelo's forms are grander1 but they are not so full of expression4 ,raphael's1 however ordinary in themselves1 are full of expression even to o'erflowing3 every nerve and muscle is impregnated with feeling1 or bursting with meaning4 ,in ,michael ,angelo1 on the contrary1 the powers of body and mind appear superior to any events that can happen to them1 the capacity of thought and feeling is never full1 never tasked or strained to the utmost that it will bear4 ,all is in a lofty repose and solitary grandeur which no human interests can shake or disturb4 ,it has been said that ,michael ,angelo painted man1 and ,raphael men2 that the one was an epic1 the other a dramatic painter4 ,but the distinction we have made is perhaps truer and more intelligible1 viz4 that the former gave greater dignity of form1 and the latter greater force and refinement of expression4 ,michael ,angelo borrowed his style from sculpture1 which represented in general only single figures1 7with subordinate accompaniments17 and had not to express the conflicting actions and passions of a multitude of persons4 ,he is much more picturesque than ,raphael4 ,the whole figure of his ,jeremiah droops and hangs down like a majestic tree surcharged with showers4 ,his drawing of the human figure has all the characteristic freedom and boldness of ,titian's landscapes4#ah ,to return to ,sir ,joshua4 ,he has given one very strange proof that there is no such thing as genius1 namely1 that #8the degrees of excellence which proclaims genius is different in different times and places4' ,if ,sir ,joshua had aimed at a confutation of himself1 he could not have done it more effectually4 ,for what is it that makes the difference but that which originates in a man's self1 i4e41 is first done by him1 is genius1 and when it is no longer original1 but borrowed from former examples1 it ceases to be genius1 since no one can establish this claim by following the steps of others1 but by going before them8 ,the test of genius may be different1 but the thing itself is the same1--a power at all times to do or to invent what has not before been done or invented4 ,it is plain from the passage above cited what influenced ,sir ,joshua's mind in his views on this subject4 ,he quarrelled with genius from being annoyed with premature pretensions to it4 ,he was apprehensive that if genius were allowed to stand for any thing1 industry would go for nothing in the minds of #8the vain1 the ignorant1 and the idle4' ,but as genius will do little without labour in an art so mechanical as painting1 so labour will do still less without genius4 ,indeed1 wherever there is true genius1 there will be true labour1 that is1 the exertion of that genius in the field most proper for it4 ,sir ,joshua1 from his unwillingness to admit one extreme1 has fallen into the other1 and has mistaken the detection of an error for a demonstration of the truth4 #8,the human understanding1' says ,luther1 #8resembles a drunken clown on horseback2 if you set it up on one side1 it tumbles over on the other4' ,,on ,,the ,,imitation ,,of ,,nature ,the ,champion4 ,december #be1 #ahad4 ,the imitation of nature is the great object of art4 ,of course1 the principles by which this imitation should be regulated1 form the leading topic of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's lectures4 ,it is certain that the mechanical imitation of individual objects1 or the parts of individual objects1 does not always produce beauty or grandeur2 or1 generally speaking that the whole of art does not consist in copying nature4 ,reynolds seems hence disposed to infer1 that the whole of art consists in not imitating individual nature4 ,this is also an error1 and an error on the worst side4 ,sir ,joshua's general system may be summed up in two words1--#8,that the great style in painting consists in avoiding the details1 and peculiarities of particular objects4' ,this sweeping principle he applies almost indiscriminately to portrait1 history1 and landscape2--and he appears to have been led to the conclusion itself1 from supposing the imitation of particulars to be inconsistent with general truth and effect4 ,it will not be unimportant to inquire how far this opinion is well-founded3 for it appears to us1 that the highest perfection of the art depends1 not on the separation1 but on the union 7as far as possible7 of general truth and effect with individual distinctness and accuracy4 ,first1 it is said that the great style in painting1 as it relates to the immediate imitation of external nature1 consists in avoiding the details of particular objects4 ,it consists neither in giving nor avoiding them1 but in something quite different from both4 ,any one may avoid the details4 ,so far1 there is no difference between the ,cartoons1 and a common sign-painting4 ,greatness consists in giving the larger masses and proportions with truth2--this does not prevent giving the smaller ones too4 ,the utmost grandeur of outline1 and the broadest masses of light and shade1 are perfectly compatible with the greatest minuteness and delicacy of detail1 as may be seen in nature4 ,it is not1 indeed1 common to see both qualities combined in the imitations of nature1 any more than the combination of other excellences2 nor are we here saying to which the principal attention of the artist should be directed2 but we deny1 that1 considered in themselves1 the absence of the one quality is necessary or sufficient to the production of the other4 ,if1 for example1 the form of the eyebrow is correctly given1 it will be perfectly indifferent to the truth or grandeur of the design1 whether it consist of one broad mark1 or is composed of a number of hair-lines1 arranged in the same order4 ,so1 if the lights and shades are disposed in fine and large masses1 the breadth of the picture1 as it is called1 cannot possibly be affected by the filling up of those masses with the details2--that is1 with the subordinate distinctions which appear in nature4 ,the anatomical details in ,michael ,angelo1 the ever-varying outline of ,raphael1 the perfect execution of the ,greek statues1 do not assuredly destroy their symmetry or dignity of form2--and in the finest specimens of the composition of colour1 we may observe the largest masses combined with the greatest variety in the parts1 of which those masses are composed4 ,the gross style consists in giving no details1--the finical in giving nothing else4 ,nature contains both large and small parts1--both masses and details2 and the same may be said of the most perfect works of art4 ,the union of both kinds of excellence1 of strength with delicacy1 as far as the limits of human capacity and the shortness of human life would permit1 is that which has established the reputation of the greatest masters4 ,farther1--their most finished works are their best4 ,the predominance1 however1 of either excellence in these masters1 has1 of course1 varied according to their opinion of the relative value of these different qualities1--the labour they had the time or patience to bestow on their works1--the skill of the artist1 or the nature and extent of his subject4 ,but1 if the rule here objected to1--that the careful imitation of the parts injures the effect of the whole1--be at once admitted1 slovenliness would become another name for genius1 and the most unfinished performance would necessarily be the best4 ,that such has been the confused impression left on the mind by the perusal of ,sir ,joshua's discourses1 is evident from the practice as well as the conversation of many 7even eminent7 artists4 ,the late ,mr4 ,opie proceeded entirely on this principle4 ,he left many admirable studies of portraits1 particularly in what relates to the disposition and effect of light and shade4 ,but he never finished any of the parts1 thinking them beneath the attention of a great man4 ,he went over the whole head the second day as he had done the day before1 and therefore made no progress4 ,the picture at last1 having neither the lightness of a sketch1 nor the accuracy of a finished work1 looked coarse1 laboured1 and heavy4 #8,would you then have an artist finish like ,denner8' is the triumphant appeal which is made as decisive against all objections4 ,to which1 as it is an appeal to authority1 the proper answer seems to be1--#8,no2 but we would have him finish like ,titian or ,correggio4' ,denner is an example of finishing not to be followed1 but shunned1 because he did nothing but finish2 because he finished ill1 and because he finished to excess2--for in all things there is a certain proportion of means to ends4 ,he pored into the littlenesses of objects1 till he lost sight of nature1 instead of imitating it4 ,he represents the human face1 perhaps1 as it might appear through a magnifying glass1 but certainly not as it ever appears to us4 ,it is the business of painting to express objects as they appear naturally1 not as they may be made to appear artificially4 ,his flesh is as blooming and glossy as a flower or a shell4 ,titian's finishing1 on the contrary1 is equally admirable1 because it is engrafted on the most profound knowledge of effect1 and attention to the character of what he represents4 ,his pictures have the exact look of nature1 the very tone and texture of flesh4 ,the endless variety of his tints is blended into the greatest simplicity4 ,there is a proper degree both of solidity and transparency4 ,all the parts hang together3 every stroke tells1 and adds to the effect of the rest4 ,to understand the value of any excellence1 we must refer to the use which has been made of it1 not to instances of its abuse4 ,if there is a certain degree of ineffectual microscopic finishing1 which we never find united with an attention to other higher and more indispensable parts of the art1 we may suspect that there is something incompatible between them1 and that the pursuit of the one diverts the mind from the attainment of the other4 ,but this is the real point to stop at--where alone we should limit our theory or our efforts4 ,wherever different excellences have been actually united to a certain point of perfection1 to that point 7abstractedly speaking7 we are sure that they may1 and ought to be united again4 ,there is no occasion to add the incitements of indolence1 affectation1 and false theory1 to the other causes which contribute to the decline of art6 ,sir ,joshua seems1 indeed1 to deny that ,titian finished much1 and says that he produced1 by two or three strokes of his pencil1 effects which the most laborious copyists would in vain attempt to equal4 ,it is true that he availed himself1 in a considerable degree1 of what is called execution1 to facilitate his imitation of nature1 but it was to facilitate1 not to supersede it4 ,by the methods of scumbling or glazing1 he often broke the masses of his flesh1--or by laying on lumps of colour produced particular effects1 to a degree that he could not otherwise have reached without considerable loss of time4 ,we do not object to execution3 it saves labour1 and shews a mastery both of hand and eye4 ,but then there is nothing more distinct than execution and daubing4 ,indeed1 it is evident1 that the only use of execution is to give the details more compendiously1 and sometimes1 even more happily4 ,leave out all regard to the details1 reduce the whole into crude unvarying masses1 and it becomes totally useless2 for these can be given just as well without execution as with it4 ,titian1 however1 made a very moderate1 though a very admirable use of this power2 and those who copy his pictures will find1 that the simplicity is in the results1 not in the details4 ,the other ,venetian painters made too violent a use of execution1 unless their subjects formed an excuse for them4 ,vandyke successfully employed it in giving the last finishing to the details4 ,rembrandt employed it still more1 and with more perfect truth of effect4--,rubens employed it equally1 but not so as to produce an equal resemblance of nature4 ,his pencil ran away with his eye4--,to conclude our observations on this head1 we will only add1 that while the artist thinks that there is any thing to be done1 either to the whole or to the parts of his picture1 which can give it still more the look of nature1 if he is willing to proceed1 we would not advise him to desist4--,this rule is still more necessary to the young student1 for he will relax in his attention as he grows older4 ,and again1 with respect to the subordinate parts of a picture1 there is no danger that he will bestow a disproportionate degree of labour upon them1 because he will not feel the same interest in copying them1 and because a much less degree of accuracy will serve every purpose of deception2--the nicety of our habitual observations being always in proportion to our interest in the objects4--,sir ,joshua somewhere objects to the attempt to deceive by painting2 and his reason is1 that wax-work1 which deceives most effectually1 is a very disagreeable as well as contemptible art4 ,it might be answered1 first1 that nothing is much more unlike nature than such figures generally are1 and farther1 that they only produce the appearance of prominence and relief1 by having it in reality1--in which they are just the reverse of painting4 ,secondly1 with regard to ,,expression1 we can hardly agree with ,sir ,joshua that #8the perfection of imitation consists in giving the general idea or character1 not the peculiarities of individuals4'--,we do not think this rule at all well-founded with respect to portrait-painting1 nor applicable to history to the extent to which ,sir ,joshua carries it4 ,for the present1 we shall confine ourselves to the former of these4 ,no doubt1 if we were to chuse between the general character and the peculiarities of feature1 we ought to prefer the former4 ,but they are so far from being incompatible with1 that they are not without some difficulty distinguishable from1 each other4 ,there is indeed a general look of the face1 a predominant expression arising from the correspondence and connection of the different parts1 which it is always of the first and last importance to give2 and without which no elaboration of detached parts1 or marking of the peculiarity of single features1 is worth any thing2 but which at the same time1 is certainly not destroyed1 but assisted1 by the careful finishing1 and still more by giving the exact outline of each part4 ,it is on this point that the ,french and ,english schools differ1 and 7in my opinion7 are both wrong4 ,the ,english seem generally to suppose1 that1 if they only leave out the subordinate parts1 they are sure of the general result4 ,the ,french1 on the contrary1 as idly imagine1 that by attending to each separate part1 they must infallibly arrive at a correct whole1--not considering that1 besides the parts1 there is their relation to each other1 and the general character stamped upon them by the mind itself1 which to be seen must be felt1--for it is demonstrable that all expression and character are perceived by the mind1 and not by the eye only4 ,the ,french painters see only lines1 and precise differences2--the ,english only general masses1 and strong effects4 ,hence the two nations constantly reproach one another with the difference of their styles of art2 the one as dry1 hard and minute1 the other as gross1 gothic1 and unfinished2 and they will probably remain for ever satisfied with each other's defects1 which afford a very tolerable fund of consolation on either side4 ,there is something in the two styles1 which arises1 perhaps1 from national countenance as well as character3--the ,french physiognomy is frittered away into a parcel of little moveable compartments and distinct signs of intelligence1--like a telegraphic machinery4 ,the ,english countenance1 on the other hand1 is too apt to sink into a lumpish mass1 with very few ideas1 and those set in a sort of stupid stereotype4 ,to return to the proper business of portrait-painting4 ,we mean to speak of it1 not as a lucrative profession1 nor as an indolent amusement1 7for we interfere with no man's profits or pleasures71 but as a bona fide art1 the object of which is to exercise the talents of the artist1 and to add to the stock of ideas in the public4 ,and in this point of view1 we should imagine that that is the best portrait which contains the fullest representation of individual nature4 ,portrait-painting is the biography of the pencil1 and he who gives most of the peculiarities and details1 with most of the general character1--that is of keeping1--is the best biographer1 and the best portrait-painter4 ,what if ,boswell 7the prince of biographers7 had not given us the scene between ,wilkes and ,johnson at ,dilly's table1 or had not introduced the little episode of ,goldsmith strutting about in his peach-coloured coat after the success of his play1--should we have had a more perfect idea of the general character of those celebrated persons from the omission of these particulars8 ,or if ,reynolds had not painted the former as #8blinking ,sam1' or had given us such a representation of the latter as we see of some modern poets in some modern magazines1 the fame of that painter would have been confined to the circles of fashion1--where they naturally look for the same selection of beauties in a portrait1 as of topics in a dedication1 or a copy of complimentary verses6 ,it has not been uncommon that portraits of this kind1 which professed to admit all the peculiarities1 and to heighten all the excellences of a face1 have been elevated by ignorance and affectation1 to the dignified rank of historical portrait4 ,but in fact they are merely caricature transposed3 that is1 as the caricaturist makes a mouth wider than it really is1 so the painter of flattering likenesses 7as they are termed7 makes it not so wide1 by a process just as mechanical1 and more insipid4 ,instead1 however1 of objecting captiously to common theory or practice1 it will perhaps be better to state at once our own conceptions of historical portrait4 ,it consists1 then1 in seizing the predominant form or expression1 and preserving it with truth throughout every part4 ,it is representing the individual under one consistent1 probable1 and striking view2 or shewing the different features1 muscles1 etc4 in one action1 and modified by one principle4 ,a face thus painted1 is historical2--that is1 it carries its own internal evidence of truth and nature with it2 and the number of individual peculiarities1 as long as they are true to nature1 cannot lessen1 but must add to the general strength of the impression4 ,to give an example or two of what we mean4 ,we conceive that the common portrait of ,oliver ,cromwell would be less valuable and striking if the wart on the face were taken away4 ,it corresponds with the general roughness and knottiness of the rest of the face2--or if considered merely as an accident1 it operates as a kind of circumstantial evidence of the genuineness of the representation4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's portrait of ,dr4 ,johnson has altogether that sluggishness of outward appearance1--that want of quickness and versatility1--that absorption of faculty1 and look of purblind reflection1 which were characteristic of his mind4 ,the accidental discomposure of his wig indicates his habits4 ,if1 with the same felicity and truth of conception1 this portrait 7we mean the common one reading7 had been more made out1 it would not have been less historical1 though it would have been more like and natural4 ,titian's portraits are the most historical that ever were painted2 and they are so for this reason1 that they have most consistency of form and expression4 ,his portraits of ,hippolito de ,medici1 and of a young ,neapolitan nobleman in the ,louvre1 are a striking contrast in this respect4 ,all the lines of the face in the one2--the eyebrows1 the nose1 the corners of the mouth1 the contour of the face1--present the same sharp angles1 the same acute1 edgy1 contracted expression4 ,the other face has the finest expansion of feature and outline1 and conveys the most exquisite idea possible of mild1 thoughtful sentiment4 ,the harmony of the expression constitutes as great a charm in ,titian's portraits1 as that of colour4 ,the similarity sometimes objected to them1 is partly national1 and partly arises from the class of persons whom he painted4 ,he painted only ,italians2 and in his time none but persons of the highest rank1 senators or cardinals1 sat for their pictures4 ,sir ,joshua appears to have been led into several errors by a false use of the terms general and particular4 ,nothing can be more different than the various application of both these terms to different things1 and yet ,sir ,joshua constantly uses and reasons upon them as invariable4 ,there are three senses of the expression general character1 as applied to ideas or objects4 ,in the first1 it signifies the general appearance or aggregate impression of the whole object1 as opposed to the mere detail of detached parts4 ,in the second1 it signifies the class1 or what a number of such objects have in common with one another1 to the exclusion of their characteristic differences4 ,in this sense it is tantamount to abstract4 ,in the third it signifies what is usual or common1 in opposition to mere singularity1 or accidental exceptions to the ordinary course of nature4 ,the general idea or character of a particular face1 i4e4 the aggregate impression resulting from all the parts combined1 is surely very different from the abstract idea1 or what it has in common with several others4 ,if on giving the former all character depends2 to give nothing but the latter is to take away all character4 ,the more a painter comprehends of what he sees1 the more valuable his work will be3 but it is not true that his excellence will be the greater1 the more he abstracts from what he sees4--,there is an essential distinction which ,sir ,joshua has not observed4 ,the details and peculiarities of nature are only inconsistent with abstract ideas1 and not with general or aggregate effects4 ,by confounding the two things1 ,sir ,joshua excludes the peculiarities and details not only from his historical composition1 but from an enlarged view and comprehensive imitation of individual nature4 ,we have here attempted to give some account of what should be meant by the ideal in portrait-painting3 in our next and concluding article on this subject1 we shall attempt an explanation of this term1 as it applies to historical painting4 ,,on ,,the ,,ideal4 ,the ,champion4 ,january #h1 #ahae4 #8,for ,i would by no means be thought to comprehend those writers of surprising genius1 the authors of immense romances1 or the modern novel and ,atalantis writers1 who1 without any assistance from nature or history1 record persons who never were1 or will be1 and facts which never did1 nor possibly can happen3 whose heroes are of their own creation1 and their brains the chaos whence all their materials are collected4 ,not that such writers deserve no honour2 so far from it1 that perhaps they merit the highest4 ,one may apply to them what ,balzac says of ,aristotle1 that they are a second nature2 for they have no communication with the first1 by which authors of an inferior class1 who cannot stand alone1 are obliged to support themselves1 as with crutches4'--,,fielding',s ,joseph ,andrews1 vol4 ii4 ,what is here said of certain writers of romance1 would apply equally to a great number of painters of history4 ,these persons1 not without the sanction of high authority1 have come to the conclusion that they had only to quit the vulgar path of truth and reality1 in order that they #8might ascend the brightest heaven of invention1'--and that to get rid of nature was all that was necessary to the loftiest flights of art1 as the soul disentangled from the load of matter soars to its native skies4 ,but this is by no means the truth4 ,all art is built upon nature2 and the tree of knowledge lifts its branches to the clouds1 only as it has struck its roots deep into the earth4 ,he is the greatest artist1 not who leaves the materials of nature behind him1 but who carries them with him into the world of invention2--and the larger and more entire the masses in which he is able to apply them to his purpose1 the stronger and more durable will his productions be4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds admits that the knowledge of the individual forms and various combinations of nature1 is necessary to the student1 but it is only in order that he may avoid them1 and steering clear of all representation of things as they actually exist1 wander up and down in the empty void of his own imagination1 having nothing better to cling to1 than certain shadowy middle forms1 made up of an abstraction of all others1 and containing nothing in themselves4 ,stripping nature of substance and accident1 he is to exhibit a decompounded1 disembodied1 vague1 ideal nature in her stead1 seen through the misty veil of metaphysics1 and covered with the same fog and haze of confusion1 while #8,obscurity her curtain round him draws1 ,and siren sloth a dull quietus sings4' ,the concrete1 and not the abstract1 is the object of painting1 and of all the works of imagination4 ,history-painting is imaginary portrait-painting4 ,the portrait-painter gives you an individual1 such as he is in himself1 and vouches for the truth of the likeness as a matter of fact3 the historical painter gives you the individual such as he is likely to be1--that is1 approaches as near to the reality as his imagination will enable him to do1 leaving out such particulars as are inconsistent with the preconceived idea1--as are merely trifling and accidental1--and retaining all such as are striking1 probable1 and consistent4 ,because the historical painter has not the same immediate data to go upon1 but must connect individual nature with an imaginary subject1 is that any reason why he should discard individual nature altogether1 and thus leave nothing for his imagination1 or the imagination of the spectator to work upon8 ,portrait and history differ as a narration of facts or a probable fiction differ2 but abstraction is the essence of neither4 ,that is not the finest historical head which has least the look of nature1 but which has most the look of nature1 if it has the look of history also4 ,but it has the look of nature1 i4e4 of striking and probable nature1--as it has a marked and decided character1 and not a character of indifference3 and as the features and expression are consistent with themselves1 not as they are common to others4 ,the ideal is that which answers to the idea of something1 and not to the idea of any thing1 or of nothing4 ,any countenance strikes most upon the imagination1 either in a picture or in reality1 which has most distinctness from others1 and most identity with itself4 ,the keeping in the character1 not the want of character1 is the essence of history4 ,without some such limitation as we have here given1 on the general statement of ,sir ,joshua1 we see no resting-place where the painter or the poet is to make his stand1 so as not to be pushed to the utmost verge of naked common-place inanity1--nor do we understand how there should be any such thing as poetry or painting tolerated4 ,a tabula rasa1 a verbal definition1 the bare name1 must be better than the most striking description or representation2--the argument of a poem better than the poem itself1--or the catalogue of a picture than the original work4 ,where shall we stop in the easy down-hill pass of effeminate1 unmeaning insipidity8 ,there is one circumstance1 to be sure1 to recommend the system here objected to1 which is1 that he who proposes this ideal perfection to himself1 can hardly fail to succeed in it4 ,an artist who paints on the infallible principle of not imitating nature1 in representing the meeting of ,telemachus and ,calypso1 will not find it difficult to confound all difference of sex or passion1 and in pourtraying the form of ,mentor1 will leave out every distinctive mark of age or wisdom4 ,in representing a ,grecian marriage he will refine on his favourite principles till it will be possible to transpose the features of the bridegroom and the bride without the least violation of propriety2 all the women will be like the men2 and all like one another1 all equally young1 blooming1 smiling1 elegant1 and insipid4 ,on ,sir ,joshua's theory of the beau ideal1 ,mr4 ,westall's pictures are perhaps the best that ever were painted1 and on any other theory1 the worst2 for they exhibit an absolute negation of all expression1 character1 and discrimination of form and colour4 ,we shall endeavour to explain our doctrine by some examples which appear to us either directly subversive of1 or not very obviously included in1 ,sir ,j4 ,reynolds's theory of history painting1 or of the principles of art in general4 ,is there any one who can possibly doubt that ,hogarth's pictures are perfectly and essentially historical8--or that they convey a story perfectly intelligibly1 with faces and expressions which every one must recognise8 ,they have evidently a common or general character1 but that general character is defined and modified by individual peculiarities1 which certainly do not take away from the illusion or the effect any more than they would in nature4 ,there is1 in the polling for votes1 a fat and a lean lawyer1 yet both of them are lawyers1 and lawyers busy at an election squabble4 ,it is the same with the voters1 who are of all descriptions1 the lame1 the blind1 and the halt1 yet who all convey the very feeling which the scene inspires1 with the greatest variety and the greatest consistency of expression4 ,the character of ,mr4 ,abraham ,adams by ,fielding1 is somewhat particular1 and even singular3 yet it is not less intelligible or striking on that account2 and his lawyer and his landlady1 though copied from individuals in real life1 had yet1 as he himself observes1 existed four thousand years1 and would continue to make a figure in the world as long as certain passions were found united with certain situations1 and operating on certain dispositions4 ,it will1 we suppose1 be objected that this1 though history and invention1 is not high history1 or poetical invention4 ,we would answer then at once by appealing to ,shakespeare4 ,it will be allowed that his characters are poetical as well as natural2 yet the individual portrait is almost as striking as the general expression of nature and passion4 ,it is this and this only which distinguishes him from the ,french school4 ,dr4 ,johnson1 proceeding on the same theoretical principles as his friend ,sir ,joshua1 affirms1 that the excellence of ,shakespeare's characters consists in their generality4 ,we grant in one sense it does2 but we will add that it consists in their particularity also4 ,are the admirable descriptions of the kings of ,thrace and ,inde in ,chaucer's ,knight's ,tale1 less poetical or historical1 or ideal1 because they are distinguished by traits as characteristic as they are striking2--in their lineaments1 their persons1 their armour1 their other attributes1 the one black and broad1 the other tall1 and fair1 and freckled1 with yellow crisped locks that glittered as the sun4 ,the four white bulls1 and the lions which accompany them are equally fine1 but they are not fine because they present no distinct image to the mind4 ,the effect of this is somehow lost in ,dryden's ,palamon and ,arcite1 and the poetry is lost with it4 ,much more is it necessary to combine individuality with the highest works of art in painting1 #8whose end and use both at the first1 now is1 and was1 to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature4' ,the painter gives the degree and peculiarity of expression where words in a manner leave off1 and if he does not go beyond mere abstraction1 he does nothing4 ,the cartoons of ,raphael1 and his pictures in the ,vatican1 are sufficiently historical1 yet there is hardly a face or figure in any of them which is anything more than fine and individual nature finely disposed4 ,the late ,mr4 ,barry1 who could not be suspected of a prejudice on this side of the question1 speaks thus of them1--#8,in ,raphael's pictures 7at the ,vatican7 of the ,dispute of the ,sacrament and the ,school of ,athens1 one sees all the heads to be entirely copied from particular characters in nature1 nearly proper for the persons and situation which he adapts them to2 and he seems to me only to add and take away what may answer his purpose in little parts1 features1 c43 conceiving1 while he had the head before him1 ideal characters and expressions1 which he adapts these features and peculiarities of face to4 ,this attention to the particulars which distinguish all the different faces1 persons and characters1 the one from the other1 gives his pictures quite the verity and unaffected dignity of nature1 which stamp the distinguishing differences betwixt one man's face and body and another's4' ,if any thing is wanting to the conclusiveness of this testimony1 it is only to look at the pictures themselves1 particularly the ,miracle of the ,conversion1 and the ,assembly of ,saints1 which are little else than a collection of divine portraits1 in natural and expressive attitudes1--full of the loftiest thought and feeling1 and as varied as they are fine4 ,it is this reliance on the power of nature1 which has produced those master-pieces by the prince of painters1 in which expression is all in all2--where one spirit--that of truth--pervades every part1 brings down heaven to earth1 mingles cardinals and popes with angels and apostles1 and yet blends and harmonises the whole by the true touches and intense feeling of what is beautiful and grand in nature4 ,it is no wonder that ,sir ,joshua1 when he first saw ,raphael's pictures in the ,vatican1 was at a loss to discover any great excellence in them1 if he was looking out for his theory of the ideal1 of neutral character and middle forms4 ,another authority1 which has been in some measure discovered since the publication of ,sir ,joshua's ,discourses1 is to be found in the ,elgin ,marbles1 taken from the ,acropolis1 and supposed to be the works of the celebrated ,phidias4 ,the process of fastidious refinement1 and flimsy abstraction1 is certainly not visible there4 ,the figures have all the ease1 the simplicity1 and variety of nature1 and look more like living men turned to stone than any thing else4 ,even the details of the subordinate parts1 the loose folds in the skin1 the veins under the belly or on the sides of the horses1 more or less swelled as the animal is more or less in action1 are given with scrupulous exactness4 ,this is true nature1 and true history4 ,in a word1 we can illustrate our position here better than we could with respect to painting1 by saying that these invaluable remains of antiquity are precisely like casts taken from nature4--,michael ,angelo and the antique may still be cited against us1 and we wish to speak on this subject with great diffidence4 ,we confess1 they appear to us much more artificial than the others1 but we do not think that this is their excellence4 ,for instance1 it strikes us that there is something theatrical in the air of the ,apollo1 and in the ,hercules an ostentatious and over-laboured display of the knowledge of the muscles4 ,perhaps the fragment of the ,theseus at ,lord ,elgin's has more grandeur as well as more nature than either of them4 ,the form of the limbs1 as affected by pressure or action1 and the general sway of the body1 are better preserved in it4 ,the several parts in the later ,greek statues are more balanced1 made more to tally like modern periods2 each muscle is more equally brought out1 and highly finished1 and is so far better in itself1 but worse as a part of a whole4 ,if these wonderful productions have a fault1 it is the want of simplicity1 of a due subordination of parts1 which sometimes gives them more a look of perfect lay-figures put into attitudes1 than of real imitations of nature4 ,the same objection may be urged against the works of ,michael ,angelo1 and is indeed the necessary consequence either of selecting from a number of different models1 or of proceeding on a scientific knowledge of the structure of the different parts2 for the physical form is something given and defined1 but motion is various and infinite4 ,the superior symmetry of form1 common to the ancient statues1 we have no hesitation in attributing to the superior symmetry of the models in nature1 and to the superior opportunity for studying them4 ,in general1 we would be understood to mean1 that the ideal is not a voluntary fiction of the brain1 a fanciful piece of patch-work1 a compromise between the defects of nature1 or an artificial balance struck between innumerable deformities1 7as if we could form a perfect idea of beauty though we never had seen any such thing17 but a preference of what is fine in nature to what is less so4 ,there is nothing fine in art but what is taken almost immediately and entirely from what is finer in nature4 ,where there have been the finest models in nature1 there have also been the finest works of art4 ,the ,greek statues were copied from ,greek forms4 ,their portraits of individuals were often superior to their personifications of their gods2 the head of the ,antinous1 for example1 to that of the ,apollo4 ,raphael's expressions were taken from ,italian faces2 and we have heard it observed1 that the women in the streets of ,rome seem to have walked out of his pictures in the ,vatican4 ,if we are asked1 then1 what it is that constitutes historic expression or ideal beauty1 we should answer1 not 7with ,sir ,joshua7 abstract expression or middle forms1 but consistency of expression in the one1 and symmetry of form in the other4 ,a face is historical1 which is made up of consistent parts1 let those parts be ever so peculiar or uncommon4 ,those details or peculiarities only are inadmissible in history1 which do not arise out of any principle1 or tend to any conclusion1--which are merely casual1 insignificant1 and unconnected1--which do not tell2 that is1 which either do not add to1 or which contradict the general result1--which are not integrant parts of one whole1 however strange or irregular that whole may be4 ,that history does not require or consist in the middle form or central features is proved by this1 that the antique heads of fauns and satyrs1 of ,pan or ,silenus1 are perfectly grotesque and singular2 yet are as undoubtedly historical1 as the ,apollo or the ,venus1 because they have the same predominant1 intelligible1 characteristic expression throughout4 ,socrates is a person whom we recognise quite as familiarly1 from our general acquaintance with human nature1 as ,alcibiades4#ai ,the simplicity or the fewness of the parts of a head facilitates this effect1 but is not necessary to it4 ,the head of a negro1 a mulatto1 c4 introduced into a picture is always historical1 because it is always distinct from the rest1 and uniform with itself4 ,the face covered with a beard is historical for the same reason1 because it presents distinct and uniform masses4 ,again1 a face1 not so in itself1 becomes historical by the mere force of passion4 ,the same strong passion moulds the features into the same emphatic expression1 by giving to the mouth1 the eyes1 the forehead1 etc41 the same expansion or contraction1 the same voluptuous movement or painful constraint4 ,all intellectual and impassioned faces are historical2--the heads of philosophers1 poets1 lovers1 and madmen4 ,passion sometimes produces beauty by this means1 and there is a beauty of form1 the effect entirely of expression2 as a smiling mouth1 not beautiful in common1 becomes so by being put into that action4 ,sir ,joshua was probably led to his opinions on art in general by his theory of beauty1 which he makes to consist in a certain central form1 the medium of all others4 ,in the first place1 this theory is questionable in itself3 or if it were not so1 it does not include many other things of much more importance in historical painting 7though perhaps not so in sculpture#bj7 namely1 character1 which necessarily implies individuality2 expression1 which is the excess of thought or feeling1 strength or grandeur of form1 which is excess also4--,there seems1 however1 to be a certain symmetry of form1 as there is a certain harmony of sounds or colours1 which gives pleasure1 and produces beauty1 independently of custom4 ,custom is undoubtedly one source or condition of beauty1 but it appears to be rather its limit than its essence2 that is1 there are certain given forms and proportions established by nature in the structure of each thing1 and sanctioned by custom1 without which there can only be distortion and incongruity1 but which alone do not produce beauty4 ,one kind is more beautiful than another2 and the objects of the same kind are not beautiful merely as we are used to them4 ,the rose or lily is more beautiful than the daisy1 the swan than the crow1 the greyhound than the beagle1 the deer than the wild goat2 and we invariably prefer the ,greek to the ,african face1 though our own inclines more to the latter4 ,we admire the broad forehead1 the straight nose1 the small mouth1 the oval chin4 ,regular features are those which record and assimilate most to one another4 ,the ,greek face is made up of smooth flowing lines1 and correspondent features2 the ,african face of sharp angles and projections4 ,a row of pillars is beautiful for the same reason4 ,we confess1 on this subject of beauty1 we are half-disposed to fall into the mysticism of ,raphael ,mengs1 who had some notion about a principle of universal harmony1 if we did not dread the censure of an eminent critic4 ,,charlemagne3 ,,ou ,l',,glise ,d,,livr,e4 ,the ,champion ,december #ah1 #ahad4 ,it seldom happens that the same family produces an emperour and an epic poet4 ,so it is1 however1 in the present instance4 ,the brother of ,buonaparte may be allowed to take his rank among poets1 as ,buonaparte himself has done among kings4 ,but the historian of ,charlemagne does not appear to us to present quite the same formidable front to the established possessors of the seats of the muses1 as the imitator of ,charlemagne did to the hereditary occupiers of thrones4 ,a self-will without controul1 an ambition without bounds1 a gigantic daring which built its confidence of success on the contempt of danger1 were the means by which ,buonaparte obtained and lost his portentous power2 and by which he would probably have lost it on the borders of the ,ganges1 or among the sands of the ,red ,sea1 if he had not been prevented by the snows of ,russia4 ,our poet is not the same monster of genius that his brother was of power4 ,in the career of fame1 he does not risk the success of his reputation by the unlimited extravagance of his pretensions4 ,his muse does not disdain to borrow the conceptions of others1 or to submit to the rules of art2 and the boldest flights of his imagination seldom pass the bounds of a well-regulated enthusiasm4 ,charlemagne is the work of a very clever man1 rather than a great poet2 it displays more talent than genius1 more ingenuity than invention4 ,it is more artificial than original4 ,in saying this1 we would not be understood to mean1 that it is without considerable novelty1 either of description or sentiment4 ,far1 very far from it3 almost every page presents examples of both1 equally striking and elegant1 which it would be difficult to refer immediately to any similar passages in other authors4 ,but the whole wants character3 it does not bear the stamp of the same presiding mind3 no new world of imagination is opened to the view3 we do not feel the presence of a power which we have never felt before1 and which we can never forget4 ,the stanzas are all equally or proportionably good3 but they are as good separately1 as taken together3 they do not run into one another2 they do not make a poem4 ,there is no strong impulse given1 no overpowering grandeur of effect4 ,in scarcely any part of the story does the mind look back with terror and delight at what is past1 or hurry on with eager curiosity to what is to come4 ,the art is too apparent4 ,the author is too busy in managing his materials1 in selecting1 adorning1 varying1 and amplifying them to the best advantage3 but they seem something external to him4 ,his subject has not taken entire possession of his mind1 and therefore he does not take full possession of his readers4 ,yet it is certain that all the materials of poetry are here2--imagery1 incident1 character1 passion1 thought1 and observation--all but the divine enthusiasm of the poet1 which can alone communicate true warmth and enthusiasm to others4 ,there is one praise which we most willingly bestow on this poem1 which is1 that it is not ,french4 ,it is not another ,,henriade3--that is1 it is not poetry devoid of all imagination1 and of every thing like imagination4 ,on the contrary1 it abounds with variety and distinctness of conception1 and is evidently written on the model of ,italian poetry4 ,we were a little surprised to find that the author had not adopted the common heroic ,french verse1 but has borrowed the ,italian ,stanza with varying rhymes1 and a little half verse in the middle1 which has an agreeable effect enough in the lighter parts of the poem1 but does not accord so well with the more serious and impressive4 ,the following stanzas will give our readers an idea of the metre1 and of the general style of description4--,they represent ,charlemagne traversing the ,alps the night before a battle4 #8,au dessus du mont ,jove1 un mont plus escarp ,s'lance dans la nue1 et sa cime effrayante ,n'offre point des sentiers la trace rassurante4 ,par les vents orageux sans cesse il est frapp4 ,ici1 plus de forts1 plus de germe de vie3 ,sur la surface unie ,l'ardente canicule en vain darde ses feux3 ,des glaons entasss 7piramide ternelle67 ,etouffent la nature2 et dans ces tristes lieux1 ,a sa fcondit la terre est infidle4 ,c'est par l qu'aujourd'hui ,charles s'ouvre un passage1 ,les coursiers dlaisss errent dans le vallon3 ,et par mille dtours le terrible escadron ,avance lentement sur la pente sauvage4 ,l'astre des nuits suivait son cours silencieux2 ,les vents imptueux ,entrechoquant par fois les lances formidables1 ,s'opposaient vainement ces audacieux1 ,qui suivant de leur chef les pas infatigables1 ,touchent enfin le sol du piton sourcilleux4 ,en cercles resserrs prs du fils de ,pepin1 ,ses dignes compagnons au loin jettent la vue ,sur une tnbreuse et profonde tendue ,de mobiles vapeurs1 de nuages sans fin4 ,appuys sur leur glaive ils dominent la sphere ,o le bruyant tonnerre ,s'allume par le choc des principes divers4 ,le barde peint ainsi les ombres eclatantes ,d',oscar et de ,fingal errant au haut des airs1 ,et brandissant encor leurs lances flamboyantes4 ,tels1 auprs d',ilion1 les dieux enfants d',homre1 ,franchissant de l',ida les sommets branls1 ,prs du fils de ,saturne en foule rassembls1 ,sont dcrits prparant les destins de la terre4 ,ces fantmes divins furent jadis des preux3 ,les sicles tnbreux1 ,osant de ,jhova dnaturer l'image1 ,dressrent des autels aux hros fabuleux3#ba ,et de l'idolatrie affirmissant l'ouvrage1 ,de ces guerriers obscurs#ba ,homre fit de dieux ,ainsi les paladins1 environnant leur roi1' etc4 ,chant huitieme4 ,we might refer to many other passages equally picturesque1 though perhaps to none so poetical4 ,such as the comparison of ,roland taken from the scene of combat by ,oliver1 to a lion led off by an ,african1 that still roars as he follows his well-known guide2--the first appearance of ,armelie1 the death of ,wilfred at the altar1 the vanishing of ,adelard from the sight of ,charlemagne1 the forest of ,eresbourg1 the ,druidical sacrifice1 and the funeral rites of ,orlando in the valley of ,ronscevalles4 ,the language of the poem often bears a striking resemblance to the language of painting1 or seems like a detailed description of some chef d'uvre of the art1 rather than the creation of the poet's fancy4 ,we should have little doubt that the solitary church in the valley of ,ronscevalles is copied from that in the back-ground of ,titian's ,st4 ,peter ,martyr1 and the massacre at the altar in the first canto is certainly taken from some picture of ,raphael6 ,in the sentiments of this poem there is more feebleness1 a greater number of ,gallicisms1 than in the imagery4 ,we meet with such courtly expressions as these3 #8,les ,francs chaque instant voient de nouveaux guerriers ,solliciter l'honneur d'embrasser leur defense6' ,the devil addresses the deity with the following piece of high-flown sentimentality3 #8,pour braver les remords1 et la gne et la flamme1 ,je ne demande rien qu'un seul rayon d'espoir4' ,we know1 indeed1 from whence the allusion is taken1 and we wonder the more at the affectation implied in the alteration4 ,it is like some of ,pope's refinements on ,isaiah4 ,in giving an account of the sorrow which prevails in heaven at the disasters of the church of ,christ1 the author has expressed a trite theological sentiment with more felicity than we recollect to have seen it expressed before3 #8,on entend ces mots toutes les voix clestes ,d'une douce tristesse exhaler les soupirs4 ,la harpe ainsi murmure au souffle des zphirs4 ,les habitants du ciel n'ont point ces sons funestes-- ,qu'ici-bas les malheurs arrachent aux humains4 ,aux peines1 aux chagrins1 ,aux passions du monde ils ne sont plus en proie2 ,d'un amour sans mlange ils gotent la douceur3 ,leurs maux sont moins amers1 plus purs que notre joie2 ,et leur tristesse peine altre leur bonheur4' ,the conception of his ,heaven is much more just than that of ,hell1 though the execution is 7almost as a matter of course7 less powerful4 ,the two figures of ,adam and ,moses1 in the former1 are particularly fine3 #8,le pre des humains voit sa nombreuse race1 ,et calcule1 pensif1 le nombre des lus6 ,mose prs de lui1 d'un seul regard embrasse ,les enfants d',isral en tous lieux rpandus4' ,our poet has1 very good-naturedly1 7and we hope with the approbation of his holiness the ,pope1 to whom this work is dedicated17 set aside two stanzas for the secret conveyance of the souls of virtuous heathens and of little children1 into the abodes of the blest4 ,the author of ,charlemagne has constructed his hell upon an entirely new and fanciful theory4 ,we see no sort of reason why ,satan should not1 in strict propriety1 sit upon a throne2 nor why his followers should be degraded from the rank of fallen angels into modern ,french revolutionists4 ,we like ,milton's account much better in all respects2 and our author himself1 as is the natural consequence of all affectation1 flounders into contradiction in the very next verse1 where he gives a most superb account of ,lucifer4 ,in the same spirit1 he has made a more enlightened distribution of crimes and punishments2 and established an entire new set of regulations and bye-laws in the regions of the damned4 ,alexander and the two ,brutuses figure there with ,cain and other murderers1 while #8the noble ,csar' is exempted4 ,now we have no notion of such a philosophical hell as our poetical casuist would carve out4 ,this celebrated place is1 we think1 of all others the least liable to plans of reform4 ,it is almost the oldest establishment upon record1 and placed quite out of the reach of the progress of reason and metaphysics4 ,we hate disputes in poetry1 still more than in religion4 ,at least1 whatever appeals to the imagination1 ought to rest on undivided sentiment1 on one undisputed tradition1 one catholic faith4#bb ,besides1 the whole account of the infernal regions is an excrescence1 equally misplaced and improbable4 ,none of the heroes of the poem descend there1 but as ,satan is brought thence to appear to ,charlemagne in the shape of a lying priest1 this opportunity is taken to describe the geography of the place according to the latest discoveries4 ,there is one point in which we agree with the poet1 viz4 in his indignation against tyrants and their flatterers1 though he does not go so far as honest ,quevedo1 who1 when his hero wonders to see so few kings in hell1 makes his guide reply sullenly1 #8,here are all that ever reigned4' ,we shall conclude our remarks on this part of the poem with the author's description of the punishment of ,cain1 which we think the most striking4 #8,ici rugit ,cain1 les cheveux hrisss1 ,et portant sur son front la marque sanguinaire4 8,cain1 ,cain1 rponds3 qu'as-tu fait de ton frre80 ,a cette voix du ,ciel tous ses sens sont glacs2 ,cain croit voir ,abel clatant de lumire2 ,et d'un bras tmraire1 ,il ose encor frapper l'objet de son courroux3 ,il voudrait le priver d'une seconde vie3 ,mais l'ombre glorieuse chappant ses coups1 ,redouble dans son cur les tourments de l'envie4' ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,the ,champion4 ,december #be1 #ahad4 ,the story of a poem is seldom worth a long description4 ,it may be sufficient to say in the present case1 that the danger to which the church was exposed1 and from which it was afterwards delivered1 arose from the second marriage of ,charlemagne with ,armelie1 the daughter of ,didier1 the ,king of the ,lombards1 who was exerting himself to depose ,pope ,adrian4 ,charlemagne had divorced his first wife1 ,adelinde1 but he is warned in a vision to take her again to his bosom4 ,he does so1 and ,didier and his daughter consequently become the enemies of this ,christian ,emperor1 who takes arms to defend the ,holy ,see4 ,after the usual casualties and fluctuations of fortune1 the son of ,pepin finally triumphs4 ,on a more careful examination1 we see no reason to alter our first opinion of this poem4 ,it has given us no strong impulse1 nor left any permanent trace on our minds4 ,it opens no new and rich vein of poetry1 though certainly great talents are shewn in the use which is made of existing materials4 ,perhaps it may be said that this is all that can be done in a modern poem3 if so1 that all is hardly worth the doing4 ,there is no one who has borrowed his materials more than ,milton1 or who has made them more completely his own3 there is hardly a line which does not breathe the same lofty spirit1 hardly a thought or image which he has not clothed with the majesty of his genius4 ,it is the same in reading other great poets4 ,the informing mind is every where present to us4 ,who is there that does not know and feel sensibly the majestic copiousness of ,homer1 the polished elegance of ,virgil1 enamoured of its own workmanship1--the severe grandeur of ,dante1 the tender pathos of ,tasso1 the endless voluptuousness of ,spenser1 and the unnumbered graces of ,ariosto8 ,even the mysterious solemnity of ,ossian1 and the wild romantic interest of ,walter ,scott1 are something gained to the imagination4 ,but in the present instance1 we do not feel the same participation with the author's mind1 nor accession of strength to our own4 ,so little is it in the power even of the most accomplished art to counterfeit nature4 ,the true ,florimel did not differ more from the ,florimel which was made for the witches' son1 than true genius from the most successful and elaborate imitation of it4 ,we shall close these remarks with extracting two passages which in the opinion of our readers will perhaps be thought to amount to a complete refutation of our objections4 ,the first is the description of the funeral rites of ,orlando1 in the thirteenth canto4 #8,gaiffre a suivi son guide au fond du prcipice1 ,un clocher solitaire a frapp ses regards3 ,dans les jours du repos1 les fidles pars ,accourent au signal du divin sacrifice4 ,ici du haut des monts descendent les pasteurs4 ,la vierge des douleurs ,de ces mortels obscurs y reoit la prire3 ,sur un autel de bois on a sculpt ses traits2 ,les nombreux ex-voto de la divine mre ,dans ces lieux carts attestant les bienfaits4 ,un son plaintif et sourd vient de frapper les airs2 ,c'est l'airain qui gmit pour les pompes funbres4 ,dans le temple le jour a fait place aux tnbres2 ,des signes de la mort les parois sont couverts4 ,un saint pontife offrait la victime ineffable2 ,et sa voix secourable ,invoquait pour nos preux le cleste repos4 ,un simple sarcophage au milieu de l'enceinte ,retrace tous les yeux la tombe du hros1 ,et rpand dans les curs une tristesse sainte4 ,le prtre des hameaux1 suivant l'antique usage1 ,dans l',eglise chrtienne en tout temps rvr1 ,trois fois avec l'eau sainte et l'encensoir sacr ,fait solennellement le tour du sarcophage4 8,dans le sein de ton ,dieu sois heureux jamais3 ,roland1 repose en paix40 ,du pontife telle est la fervente prire4 ,ces mots ont termin le sacrifice saint2 ,et la foule se rend dans le champ funraire ,ou gt1 sous une croix1 le corps du paladin4' ,in the nineteenth canto1 ,lawrence and her children1 after their escape from ,bourdeaux1 arrive at the castle of ,melaric1 an old christian knight1 when the following example of perfect description occurs3-- #8,la nuit envellopait les champs les remparts2 ,sur les murs menaants de la salle gothique ,une teinte plus sombre plus mlancholique ,couvrait les boucliers1 les glaives1 les dards2 ,le vent du soir soufflait des gorges du ,pyrne2 ,et sa fougueuse halcine ,des armures des preux entrechoquait l'airain4 ,les lances1 les cimiers rendent des sons funbres3 ,leur murmure plaintif ressemble au cri lointain ,d'un guerrier qui succombe au milieu des tnbres4' ,the author in his notes gives us to understand that he is about another epic poem1 the hero of which is ,isolier1 a native of ,corsica1 and which is to bear the same relation to ,charlemagne1 that the ,odyssey does to the ,iliad4 ,,lucien ,,buonaparte',s ,,collection1 ,,etc4 ,the ,champion4 ,january #bb1 #ahae4 ,we have been able to obtain access to the almost inaccessible collection of the ,prince of ,canino4 ,the liberality with which the collections of foreign princes are thrown open to strangers and the public is often boasted of2 but this liberality1 we suppose1 ceases when the same collections are exposed in this country for sale4 ,the pictures of ,lucien ,buonaparte1 which are valued at #dj1jjj1 are kept in most #8vile durance'2 and even the ticket of admission1 which we presented to a person who seems placed at the door to keep persons out1 and not to let them in1 was inspected and objected to with the same scrupulous jealousy as if it had been a bank-note presented in payment of the purchase-money of the collection4 ,a cursory glance round the room was sufficient to explain the source of so much mystery and caution4 ,the pictures are in general mere trash4 ,nor is the general dearth of attraction relieved by even a few examples of first-rate excellence4 ,the only exception to these remarks which struck us was an exquisite female head by ,leonardo da ,vinci4 ,it is one of the finest specimens we have seen of that great master1 both for expression1 drawing1 the spirit and delicacy of the execution1 and the preservation of the tone of colouring4 ,there is in ,leonardo's female heads a grace and charm of expression1 which is peculiar to himself--a character of natural sweetness and playful tenderness1 mixed up with the pride of conscious intellect1 and with the graceful reserve of personal dignity4 ,he blends purity with voluptuousness2 and the expression of his women is equally characteristic of #8the mistress or the saint6' ,his pictures are always worked up to the utmost height of the idea he had conceived1 with an elaborate felicity4 ,no painter made more a religion of his art6 ,his fault is1 that his style of execution is too mathematical2 that is1 his pencil does not follow the graceful variety of nature1 but substitutes certain refined gradations both of form and colour1 producing equal changes in equal distances1 with a mechanical uniformity4 ,leonardo was a man of profound learning as well as genius2 and perhaps transferred too much of the formality of science to his favourite art4 ,in making this objection1 we have had in our eye two of the most celebrated pictures1 the ,jocunda in the ,louvre1 and the ,st4 ,john in the possession of ,mr4 ,hope4 ,the picture in the present collection has more flexibility and variety2 as well as greater heightening of colour2 and perhaps the latter effect may be the cause of the former4 ,it is not impossible that a certain degree of monotony may have been sometimes produced by the rubbing off of the higher tints and finishing touches of the pencil1 so as to leave little more of the picture than the general ground-work4 ,to return to the collection before us4 ,the only remaining pictures which can excite any interest are1 some curious specimens of the early masters1 ,ghirlandaio1 ,bellino1 and others2--some small sketches of ,titian2 a finely coloured ,holy ,family by the same master2 a portrait by ,sebastian del ,piombo2 a sketch of ,diana and ,acteon1 by ,a4 ,caracci2 a landscape by ,ruysdael2 and a transfiguration1 said to be by ,vasari4 ,besides these1 there is a ,frenchified ,salvator ,rosa1 coloured pink and blue1 a copy of ,domenichino's head of ,st4 ,jerome1 one or two pretended ,claudes1 and some amatory pictures of the modern ,french school4 ,to these shall we add the picture of ,lucien ,buonaparte himself8 ,nothing certainly can go beyond it in its way4 ,it is the very priggism of portrait-painting4 ,we have already said something of the ,french style of portraits1 and we shall here add a few remarks in explanation1 though we are aware that any hints of a want of refinement will be thrown away on a nation so entirely spirituel as the ,french1 and we are also afraid that some of our own artists may take credit to themselves for as many excellences1 as we may charge their neighbours with defects4 ,the ,french systematically paint all objects as they would paint still life2 and hence they in general never paint any thing but still life4 ,it is not possible to paint that which has life and motion by the same mechanical process by which that which has neither life nor motion may be represented4 ,thus it is not possible to imitate the human countenance1 which is moveable and animated1 as you would imitate a piece of drapery1 or a chair1 or a table1 in which the physical appearance is every thing1 and that appearance always remains the same4 ,the industry of the eye and hand will go a great way in giving the effect of a number of parts of any external object1 arranged in the same order2 but to give truth of effect to that which is always varying1 and always expressive of more than strikes the senses1 imagination and feeling are absolutely required4 ,whenever there is life and motion1 life and motion become the principal things2 and any attempt to give these1 without a distinct operation or feeling of the mind as to what constitutes their essence1 by a mere attention to the physical form1 or particular details1 must necessarily destroy all appearance both of one and the other4 ,to instance in expression only4 ,this can only be given by being felt4 ,take for instance the outline of part of a face1 and let it be so placed as to form part of the outline of a rock1 or any other inanimate object4 ,a copy of this1 done with tolerable care1 will seem to be the same thing3 but let it be known that this is really a part of a human countenance1 and then it will probably be found to be quite different from the difference of expression4 ,we distinguish all objects more or less by habitual knowledge2 and this knowledge is always acute in proportion to the interest excited1 that is1 to the intensity of the feeling or passion which is combined with the immediate impression on the senses4 ,expression is therefore only caught by sympathy2 and it has been received as a maxim1 that no painter can succeed in giving an expression which is totally foreign to his own character4 ,there are some painters who cannot paint a wise man1 and others who cannot paint a fool3 some who cannot give strength1 and others softness to their works4 ,it is the want of character1 of flexibility1 and transient expression1 which is the great defect of ,french portraits4 ,without the indications of the mind breathed into the countenance and moulding the features1 the whole must appear stiff1 hard1 mean1 unconnected1 and lifeless--like the mask of a face1 not like the face itself--forced1 affected1 and unnatural4 ,another consequence of this mode of copying the letter and leaving out the spirit of all objects1 is that the face in general looks the least finished part of the picture1 for while the other parts remain the same1 this necessarily varies1 and the only way to make up for the want of literal exactness1 must be by seizing the force and animation of the expression4 ,a head that does not look like life1 cannot look like any thing else4--,the portrait of ,lucien ,buonaparte is a striking confirmation of these remarks4 ,we do not know how to describe it otherwise than by saying that it looks as if the artist had first modelled the face in wax1 oiled it over1 painted the lips purple1 stuck on a pair of artificial eyebrows1 and inserted a pair of dark blue glass eyes1 and then set to work to copy every part of this perverse misrepresentation1 with tedious and disgusting accuracy4 ,in a portrait of the author of ,charlemagne1 one has a right to expect some refinement of intellect and feeling1 if not the marks of elevated genius4 ,no such thing4 ,the picture has just the appearance of a spruce holiday mechanic1 with all the hardness1 littleness1 and vulgarity of expression which is to be found in nature1 where the countenance has not been expanded by thought and sentiment1 and in art1 where this expression has been entirely overlooked4 ,the ,french artists themselves1 both men and women1 seem to be aware of the dilemma to which they are reduced1 and prefer copying from plaster casts1 or lay figures1 to painting from the life2 which baffles the mechanical minuteness and #8laborious foolery' of their style of art4 ,they set about painting a face as they would about engraving a picture4 ,this cannot possibly answer4 ,from the general idea of the liveliness and volatility of the ,french character one would be apt to suppose1 that instead of the method here described1 their artists would have adopted the happier mode proposed by ,pope in describing his characters of women3 #8,come1 then1 the colours and the ground prepare1 ,dip in the rainbow1 trick her off in air1 ,chuse a firm cloud1 before it falls1 and in it ,catch1 ere the change1 the ,cynthia of a minute6' ,but the days of ,watteau are over1 and the plodding gravity of the ,dutch has succeeded to the natural levity of ,french art4 ,it is no wonder3 for both proceed from a want of real concentration and force of intellect4#bc ,there is another picture in this collection which we would recommend to the attention of all whom it may concern1 as a most instructive lesson of the vanity of human pretensions1 and the capriciousness of national taste4 ,it is the historical picture of the return of ,marcus ,sextus1 by ,guerin1 one of the most admired painters of the modern ,french school4 ,this picture combines all the vices of that school in their most confirmed and aggravated state1 and yet it drew1 at the time when it was first exhibited in ,paris1 crowds of admirers1 whose raptures were excited exactly in proportion as it flattered their habitual prejudices1 and outraged every principle of common sense4 ,it consists of three figures1 that of the husband standing in front of the bed1 the wife who lies dead upon it being behind him1 and the daughter kneeling at his feet4 ,now all these figures seem as if they had been cut out of pasteboard1 smeared over with putty to represent the shadows1 and then stuck flat against the canvass to make a picture4 ,this is not truth1 nor invention1 nor art1 nor nature3 but it is the ,french style of painting4 ,their pictures are sections of statues1 or architectural elevations of the human figure4 ,they have the effect neither of painting nor sculpture2 for painting has colour1 and the appearance of substance1 sculpture has real substance without colour2 but these have neither colour1 substance1 nor the appearance of it1 but consist of mere lines4 ,whatever they may do1 we cannot think this the highest style of history3 because proceeding on arithmetical principles only1 it wants two out of three of the physical requisites of the art of painting4 ,the picture of ,guerin is painted in strong contrast of light and shade1 and ought to have proportionable prominence and relief4 ,but from the habit of attending only to lines and detached parts1 that is1 of never combining the lesser masses into larger ones1 or of contemplating the general appearance of nature1 the whole effect is frittered away1 and neither the prominent parts stand out1 nor do the receding ones fall back4 ,the same flat1 imbecile1 and dingy effect is produced1 as by smearing white streaks upon a black ground1 without knowledge or design1 or reference to any actual object in nature4 ,the drawing in this picture is equally characteristic of the general ,french style1 and equally repulsive4 ,it is not easy to explain the elaborate absurdity of the process3 but it is in reality this4 ,the painter has taken the figure of an antique statue for the figure of his hero4 ,but finding that the position would not answer his purpose2 he therefore gets a lay-figure made from a cast of this statue1 and distorting it into the attitude he wants1 places it against some object which props it up1 with the two feet stretched out before it1 as if it could neither move nor stand2 and this the artist calls painting history1 and copying the ancients4 ,this is what no other nation dare attempt4 ,the expression which is given to these mockeries of art and nature1 is of a piece with the rest4 ,it is either copied tamely1 servilely1 and without effect1 from the model before them1 or if any thing is added to it1 all grace and feeling is instantly lost in the extravagance of grimace and affectation4 ,the ambition of these refiners on nature is like that of ,pygmalion to give life and animation to a stone1 but no miracle has yet come to their assistance4#bd ,the ,french are incapable of painting true history1 for they are a people essentially without imagination1 and without a knowledge of the passions that belong to it4 ,all that is powerful in them1 is immediate sensation--the rest is either levity1 or formality1 or distortion4 ,take the picture of the deluge by ,girodet4 ,in this1 a daughter is represented clinging to her mother by the hair of her head1 the mother is clinging to the husband1 he is at the same time supporting his father with his other arm1 and is enabled to support the whole of this exquisite family groupe by taking hold of the branch of a tree which has just broken off by the weight4 ,this effort of imagination almost equals the exploit of the clown in the pantomime1 who contrives to balance a dozen men on one another's shoulders4 ,if ,poussin or ,raphael had been fortunate enough to study in the central schools of ,paris1 what a difference would this new principle of grouping have introduced into their pictures of the ,deluge and the ,incendio del ,borgo4 ,before we quit this subject of ,french art1 we would notice that there are two pictures of the ,emperor ,napoleon to be seen at present1 one in ,leicester-fields1 which is very bad1 and another in the ,adelphi1 by ,lefebre1 which is tolerably good4 ,the last is one of the best ,french portraits we have ever seen4 ,the effect however is only good1 very near1 and is best when each part is seen through a magnifying glass4 ,there is considerable character1 firmness of drawing1 and prominence in the features4 ,still it does not convey an adequate idea of the man4 ,it is heavy1 perplexed1 and sullen1 without sufficient fierceness or energy1 and indeed without either the high or the bad qualities of the original4 ,it has1 notwithstanding1 the appearance of being what is understood by a faithful likeness1 and only wants that full developement of the workings of the mind1 which every portrait ought to have1 and which1 in a portrait like the present1 would be invaluable4 ,,british ,,institution ,the ,champion4 ,february #e1 #ahae4 ,the ,exhibition of this year1 which opens to the public on ,monday1 is said to be inferior to the last3--that was said to be inferior to the one before it1--that to the preceding one1 and so on4 ,this is the common cant respecting all ,exhibitions2 and the reason is obvious enough4 ,we are naturally less struck by pictures of the same degree and class of excellence1 by the same artists1 on repetition than at first sight2 and the art appears to be retrograde1 only because it is not progressive4 ,perhaps1 however1 there is some foundation for the objection in the present instance4 ,at least1 we think there is a falling off in the historical department3 though that is the department of the art which would least bear any kind of retrenchment4 ,we do not know whether to lay the blame of the deficiency on those artists1 who have been away this summer on their visit to the ,french capital1 or on those who have remained behind4 ,the picture in this branch of the art which pleased us the most on looking into it1 and which we conceive has decidedly the greatest number of excellent parts1 though the general effect is very far from striking1 is #8,brutus exhorting the ,romans to revenge the ,death of ,lucretia1' by ,c4 ,l4 ,eastlake4 ,the artist will excuse us1 if we say that we think the principal figure1 that of ,brutus1 by much the worst part of the picture4 ,a more theatrical1 and less impressive figure we have seldom seen4 ,he is quite an orator of the modern stamp1 and has nothing of the #8antique ,roman' about him4 ,he is not a bit better than any of the blustering1 canting1 vapid1 ,canning school1 and is evidently an orator to be disposed of4 ,we would advise ,mr4 ,eastlake to take a hint from a high quarter1 and get rid of him1 at any rate4 ,the effect of the attitude of this figure1 which is represented pointing with a sword to the body of ,lucretia1 behind him1 is almost entirely lost by the want of distinct foreshortening and prominent relief4#be ,the figure of ,brutus seems in a line with that of ,lucretia4 ,indeed1 the same defect pervades the whole picture1 which is laid-in like mosaic1 and the general pale1 stone-colour appearance of the drapery1 and of the flesh1 adds to this effect4 ,no one figure comes out before the rest to the eye1 till by tracing it down to the feet1 you find where it stands4 ,the dead figure of ,lucretia herself is a complete piece of marble4 ,we wish to notice more particularly1 because it is an excellence very rare in an ,english artist1 that the attention to costume in the decorations of the bier on which the dead body lies1 and in the other ornaments in the back-ground of the picture1 gives an additional air of truth and consequently of interest to the scene4 ,the peculiar merit of this composition is the great variety of distinct faces and characteristic expressions to be found in it4 ,these1 if not of a very high order1 are at least much better than the pompous nonentities to which we are accustomed4 ,there is very little of passion or emotion given or attempted1 but we think the expression of attention in the surrounding audience is varied very happily1 and with great truth of nature4 ,the most picturesque and interesting part of the picture is the groupe in which a girl with a back-figure is supporting 7we suppose7 the mother of ,lucretia4 ,the expression of the countenance in the latter reminded us of ,annibal ,caracci1 and we are always glad to be reminded of him4 ,certainly the same effect was not produced upon our minds by the boy in the foreground1 with sandy hair and weak eyes1 who is crying so piteously3 still less did we like the figure of a man in the right hand corner1 who is explaining the story to another with his fists clenched1 and in a boxing attitude4 ,the model for a ,roman warrior is as little to be sought in a ,fives ,court1 as of a ,roman patriot in a debating society1 or even 7with leave be it spoken7 in an ,english ,house of ,commons4 ,we have dwelt the longer on this picture1 because its immediate effect on the eye is by no means in proportion to its real merit4 ,the drab-coloured quakerism of the tone conceals it from observation almost as much as if it had a veil over it4 ,we do not really understand the object of these sickly half-tints1 which all ,french artists1 and some of our own1 affect4 ,nicolas ,poussin1 who had no relief of light and shade1 had strong contrasts of colour3 or even if he had had neither1 the great distinctness of his outline1 and his striking manner of telling the story1 might still have formed a sufficient excuse for him4 ,in short1 the style of colouring adopted in this picture may1 for aught we know1 accord very well with some more artificial and recondite style of historical composition2 but we are sure1 it has nothing to do with natural expression1 or immediate effect4 ,it has been said1 that #8a great book is a great evil4' ,we think the same thing might be applied to pictures3 or at least we should not instance the large picture in this collection of ,the ,burial of our ,lord1 by ,c4 ,coventry1 as an exception to the rule4 ,we admit1 however1 that the face1 dress1 and figure of the old man holding the drapery over ,christ1 are picturesque1 and in the fine manner of ,rembrandt4 ,the attitude and action of this figure are exactly the same as those of a similar figure in ,mr4 ,bird's picture of the same subject4 ,this is rather a singular coincidence in two pictures exhibited at the same time1 and which it is therefore improbable to suppose could have been copied one from the other4 ,the other figures about ,christ we cannot bring ourselves to admire3 they resemble painted wood4 ,the colour of the ,christ is a livid purple1 the worst of all possible colours4 ,the women are better2 though the fine turn in the waist of one of them is not in the best style of history1 which does not profess to exhibit women of fashion4 ,mr4 ,bird's picture of ,the ,entombment of ,christ1 is1 we conceive1 very inferior to his picture last year of ,job and his ,friends4 ,the colouring is equally bad1 and the composition is not equally good4 ,there is one pretty figure of a girl1 but her prettiness is not an advantage to the subject4 ,in all things1 #8,it is place which lessens and sets off4' ,mr4 ,bird constantly introduces the extremities of the hands and feet into his pictures1 only to show how ill he can paint them4 ,the picture of ,the ,surrender of ,calais has been already before the public4 ,among the historical pictures1 we suppose from its name1 we must rank that of the ,prophet ,ezra1 by ,g4 ,hayter1 though it does not appear to us to belong to the class4 ,it is a fine1 rich1 and strongly painted picture of a man reading a book4 ,the being able to copy nature with truth and effect is not history1 though we think it is the first step to it4 ,in this picture1 which we believe is a first essay1 ,mr4 ,hayter has not redeemed the pledge he gave in his miniatures4 ,if we could paint such miniatures as he does1 we would do nothing but paint miniatures always2 and laugh at the advertisements of great historical pictures in the newspapers4 ,the ,st4 ,bernard1 by the same artist1 is very indifferent4 ,mr4 ,harlowe's ,hubert and ,arthur is the greatest piece of coxcombry and absurdity we remember to have seen4 ,we do not think that any one who pleases has a right to paint a libel on ,shakspeare4 ,the generality of the historical pictures in the gallery are such as have been always painted1 and as will always be painted1 in spite of all that can be said to the contrary1 and therefore it is as well to say nothing about them4 ,miss ,jackson's ,mars subdued by ,peace is a very pleasing composition4 ,both the face and expression of the figure of ,peace are those of a very beautiful and interesting girl1 though from the tender pensiveness of the features she seems rather as if sending ,mars out to battle than disarming him2 and as to the ,god of ,war himself1 he does not look like one whom #8deep scars of thunder have intrenched1' but as if he had been kept a long time at home in a lady's chamber4 ,the ,cupids 7when ,ladies imagine ,cupids1 what can they be less87 are very nice1 little1 chubby fellows4 ,there are two pictures of ,the ,sick ,pigeon and ,the ,favourite ,kitten by ,miss ,geddes1 both of which we like1 gallantry out of the question4 ,the kitten in the last is exquisitely painted4 ,you may almost hear it purring4 ,among the foreign contributors to this department we ought to mention ,music1 by ,m4 ,messora1 in the manner of the early ,italian masters1 and ,devotion1 a small picture by ,j4 ,laschallas1 which is hung almost out of sight1 and which1 if it were hung a little lower1 we suspect1 would be found to be #8a good picture and a true4' ,to the scene from the ,marriage of ,figaro1 by ,chalon1 no praise of ours could add the slightest grace or lustre4 ,we wonder where he got the figure of his ,susan1 or how he dared to paint her6 ,in the domestic scenes1 and views of interiors1 c4 this exhibition is much like the former ones1 except that we miss ,collins1 and find no one to replace him4 ,of the landscapes1 ,burnett's1 ,fielding's1 ,nasmyth's1 ,hofland's1 and ,glover's are the best4 ,in ,mr4 ,glover's large picture of ,jacob and ,laban 7which we believe was exhibited and much admired in ,paris71 there is a want of harmony and lightness in the whole3 but there is a groupe of trees in the foreground1 which ,claude himself would not have disdained to borrow4 ,mr4 ,hofland's landscapes1 without being much finished1 have the look1 the tone1 and freshness of nature4 ,the ,view of ,edinburgh is1 we think1 the best4 ,some of the others are too much abstractions of aerial perspective3 they are naked and cold1 and represent not the objects of nature so much as the medium through which they are seen4 ,we will only add1 in our professional capacity1 that this gentleman's pictures shew themselves1 and that he need not be at the trouble of shewing them4 ,nasmyth's pictures are not too much finished1 but they want a certain breadth1 which nature always adds to perfect finishing4 ,fielding is a new and most promising artist1 of whom we mean to say more4 ,of the two ,burnetts1 we shall only remark at present1 that they have made no addition to their live-stock since last year1 which consisted then1 as it does now1 of one black1 one yellow1 and one spotted cow4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,the ,champion4 ,february #ab1 #ahae4 ,cottage ,child at ,breakfast1 ,w4 ,collins1 ,a4,r4,a4 ,this is a pleasing little picture1 but inferior to ,mr4 ,collins's general performances4 ,the shadow cast on the wall is like plaster of a darker colour1 nor should we have suspected it to be meant for shadow1 had it not been pointed out to us4 ,reapers1 by the same artist1 is a still greater falling off4 ,the mixture of minute finishing and slovenliness in the execution1 and of blues and yellows in the colouring of this picture is to us very unaccountable4 ,devotion1 ,j4 ,laschallas4 ,we wish that we could conjure this little picture out of its frame to have a nearer view4 ,the drawing1 expression1 tone1 and composition appear to us admirable4 ,a ,scolding ,wife2 her ,husband having spent all his ,money at the ,fair1 ,l4 ,coss4 ,this is not a very pleasant subject1 nor very pleasantly treated4 ,the little child blowing the trumpet is the pretty part of the picture4 ,there is one figure of a woman in a blue stuff gown1 sitting by the fire-side1 in an attitude of yawning1 which both for the truth of the colouring and the action1 is inimitable4 ,a ,country ,scene1 by the same1 has the hard brickdusty tone which there is in the faces of the other picture2 but the expression is natural and good4 ,a ,colour-,grinder1 ,r4 ,t4 ,bone1 is a spirited and faithful imitation of nature4 ,a ,study from ,nature1 ,j4 ,harrison1 is a well-painted head4 ,at the same time1 there is something about it very unpleasant to us4 ,hebe and ,sunrise1 by ,h4 ,howard1 ,r4,a41 were1 we believe1 in last year's ,exhibition at ,somerset-house4 ,there is a certain grace and elegance in both of them4 ,the fantastic1 playful lightness of the figures in the last is perhaps carried to a degree of affectation4 ,the faces of the ,pleiades are very pretty and very insipid4 ,conrade and ,gulnare1 ,h4 ,singleton4 ,we could neither understand this picture nor the lines from ,lord ,byron's ,corsair1 which are intended to explain the subject of it4 ,brutus exhorting the ,romans to revenge the ,death of ,lucretia4 ,of this composition we find we have already said quite enough4 ,view of ,arthur's ,seat near ,edinburgh1 ,p4 ,nasmyth1 is a very nicely painted landscape4 ,we like all this gentleman's landscapes1 except ,a ,view of ,edinburgh1 which is just like a painting on a tea-board4 ,breaking the ,ice1 by ,james ,burnett1 is a very delightful picture4 ,it has the effect of walking out in a fine winter's morning4 ,many incidental associations are very happily introduced2 the pigeons collected on the thatch of a shed1 and the robin-redbreast perched in a window of an out house4 ,the pigeons are1 however1 too small1 and the colour on the breast of the robin is on fire4 ,perhaps these objections are too minute4 ,the pigeon-house looks suspended in the air1 and the sky and branches of the trees seen against it are painted with admirable brilliancy4 ,peasants going to ,market1 by the same artist1 is of equal merit4 ,the skirt of the drapery of the peasant girl looks as if the sun shone directly upon it4 ,the docks in the foreground of the picture are very highly finished1 and touched with great spirit1 but we never saw this kind of plant of the lightish green colour1 which is here given to it4 ,milking1 by ,john ,burnett1 is a very brilliant little picture4 ,the red dress of the girl at the milk-pail is as rich as possible4 ,the trees at a little distance are too much in sharp points and touches4 ,the cattle in the landscapes of both the painters of this name are too much in heavy masses1 and form too violent a contrast to the lightness of the landscape about them4 ,the ,watering ,place1 ,p4 ,h4 ,rogers1 deserves considerable praise1 both for the colouring and composition4 ,banks of the ,thames1 ,j4 ,wilson1 is a very clever picture4 ,the foreground and the distance are equally well painted2 but they do not appear in keeping4 ,the one is quite clear1 and the other covered with haze4 ,morning1 and ,view from ,rydal ,woods1 by ,c4 ,v4 ,fielding1 are both masterly performances4 ,the last1 in particular1 is a rich1 mellow landscape1 and presents a fine1 woody1 and romantic scene1 which in some degree calls off our admiration from the merit of the artist to the beauties of nature4 ,this is a sacrifice of self-love which many of our artists do not seem willing to make4 ,they too often chuse their subjects1 not to exhibit the charms of nature1 but to display their own skill in making something of the most barren subjects4 ,we think this objection applies to ,mr4 ,hofland's landscapes in general4 ,the scene he selects is represented with great truth and felicity of pencil1 but it is1 generally speaking1 one we should neither wish to look at1 nor to be in4 ,in his ,loch-,lomond and ,stirling ,castle1 the effect of the atmosphere is finely given2 but this is all4 ,we wish to enter our protest against this principle of separating the imitation from the thing imitated1 particularly as it is countenanced by the authority of the ablest landscape painter of the present day1 of whose landscapes some one said1 that #8they were pictures of nothing1 and very like6' ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,the ,champion4 ,february #ai1 #ahae4 ,battle-piece1 ,b4 ,barker1 is a spirited sketch1 harmoniously coloured4 ,in force of drawing and expression1 it is inferior to ,the ,standard1 by ,ab4 ,cooper4 ,there is too violent an opposition of white and black in the horses in this picture2 and the eye does not immediately connect the heads of the animals with the rest of their bodies4 ,this picture1 however1 displays great knowledge of the subject1 and considerable strength of composition4 ,a ,study from ,nature1 by the same artist1 ,ab4 ,cooper1 is a masterly little picture4 ,birds1 from nature1 and ,plovers1 from nature1 by ,m4 ,chantry1 are both excellent in their kind4 ,view of ,richmond1 ,yorkshire1 by ,w4 ,westall1 ,a4,r4,a4 is deficient in perspective and in other respects4 ,the river below seems to be on a level with the high foreground from which it is seen4 ,the representing declivities by means of aerial perspective is1 we believe1 one of the difficulties of the art1 and we do not remember any successful instances of it1 except in some of ,wilson's landscapes4 ,a ,boy lamenting the ,death of his ,favourite ,rabbit1 ,w4 ,davison1 is a very pleasing composition in the style of ,gainsborough4 ,the landscape has too much the blue greenish hue and slender execution of ,gainsborough's back-grounds4 ,the boy is well painted4 ,there is a picture of this kind by ,murillo in the collection at ,dulwich1 which we would earnestly recommend to every painter of such subjects4 ,or we might as well1 in other words1 recommend them to look at nature4 ,forest ,scene1 by ,j4 ,stark1 is painted with great truth of colour and effect4 ,stacking ,hay1 ,p4 ,dewint1 has great merit4 ,jacob taking charge of the ,flocks and ,herds of ,laban1 ,j4 ,glover4 ,we have already spoken of this picture4 ,the group of tall green trees in the foreground is excellent1 but there is a leaden tone spread over the rest of the picture1 which is neither gratifying to the eye1 nor true to nature4 ,the ,emperor ,alexander1 in his ,droschi1 by ,a4 ,sauerweide1 is like all the other pictures1 busts1 c4 we have seen of him1 and not at all like the descriptions we have heard of his fine person and countenance4 ,the ,duke of ,wellington attacking the ,rear of ,marshal ,soult's ,army on the ,pont de ,miserali over the ,great fall of ,salamondi1 and pursuing them through the ,passes of the ,sierra ,morone in ,portugal1 #ahji1 from a sketch by ,major-general ,hawker1 by ,perry ,nursey4 ,this is not a good picture2 but it gives one a good idea of the sport which is to be found in this sort of royal game4 ,in looking at it we have something like ocular demonstration of the truth of what ,cowper1 the poet1 says-- #8,war is a game1 which were their subjects wise1 ,kings would not play at6' ,,on ,,mr4 ,,wilkie',s ,,pictures ,the ,champion4 ,march #e1 #ahae4 ,in one of ,archbishop ,herring's letters1 written during a tour in ,wales1 is the following very picturesque description of a scene at an inn4 #8,i set out upon this adventurous journey on a ,monday morning1 accompanied 7as bishops usually are7 by my chancellor1 my chaplain1 secretary1 two or three friends1 and our servants4 ,the first part of our road lay across the foot of a long ridge of rocks1 and was over a dreary morass1 with here and there a small dark cottage1 a few sheep and more goats in view1 but not a bird to be seen1 save1 now and then1 a solitary hern1 watching for frogs4 ,at the end of four of their miles1 we got to a small village1 where the view of things mended a little1 and the road and the time were beguiled by travelling for three miles along the side of a fine lake1 full of fish1 and transparent as glass4 ,that pleasure over1 our work became very arduous1 for we were to mount a rock1 and in many places of the road1 over natural stairs of stone4 ,i submitted to this1 which1 they told me1 was but a taste of the country1 and to prepare me for worse things to come4 ,however1 worse things did not come that morning1 for we dined soon after out of our own wallets2 and though our inn stood in a place of the most frightful solitude1 and the best formed for the habitation of monks 7who once possessed it7 in the world1 yet we made a cheerful meal4 ,the novelty of the thing gave me spirits1 and the air gave me appetite1 much keener than the knife ,i ate with4 ,we had our music too2 for there came in a harper1 who soon drew about us a group of figures1 that ,hogarth would give any price for4 ,the harper was in his true place and attitude2 a man and a woman stood before him1 singing to his instrument wildly1 but not disagreeably2 a little dirty child was playing with the bottom of the harp2 a woman1 in a sick night-cap1 hanging over the stairs2 a boy with crutches1 fixed in a staring attention1 and a girl carding wool in the chimney1 and rocking a cradle with her naked feet1 interrupted in her business by the charms of the music2 all ragged and dirty1 and all silently attentive4 ,these figures gave us a most entertaining picture1 and would please you1 or any man of observation2 and one reflection gave me particular comfort1 that the assembly before us demonstrated1 that1 even here1 the influential sun warmed poor mortals1 and inspired them with love and music4' ,the figures in this description form a very striking group1 and we should like much to see them transferred to the canvass4 ,those of the girl with naked feet rocking the cradle1 the little child playing with the bottom of the harp1 and the man and woman singing wildly before it are the most beautiful4 ,there is one observation made by the writer to which we do not assent1 that the figures are such as ,hogarth would have given any price for4 ,we doubt whether he would have meddled with them at all1 for there was no one who understood his own powers better1 or more seldom went out of his way4 ,his forte was satire1 he painted the follies or vices of men1 and we do not know that there is a single picture of his1 containing a representation of merely natural or domestic scenery4 ,the subject described in the passage we have given above would have exactly suited an excellent painter of the present day1 we mean ,mr4 ,wilkie2 and would indeed form a very delightful companion to his ,blind ,fiddler4 ,with all our admiration of this last-mentioned composition1 we think the story described by the bishop clearly has the poetry on its side4 ,the highest authority on art in this country1 we understand1 has pronounced that ,mr4 ,wilkie united the excellences of ,hogarth to those of ,teniers4 ,we demur to this decision1 in both its branches2 but in demurring to authority1 it is necessary to give our reasons4 ,we conceive that this excellent and deservedly admired artist has certain essential1 real1 and indisputable excellences of his own2 and we think it1 therefore1 the less important to clothe him with any vicarious merits1 which do not belong to him4 ,mr4 ,wilkie's pictures1 generally speaking1 derive almost their whole merit from their reality1 or the truth of the representation4 ,they are works of pure imitative art1 and the test of this style of composition is to represent nature1 faithfully and happily1 in its simplest combinations4 ,it may be said of an artist1 like ,mr4 ,wilkie1 that nothing human is indifferent to him4 ,his mind takes an interest in1 and it gives an interest to1 the most familiar scenes and transactions of life4 ,he professedly gives character1 thought1 and passion in their lowest degrees1 and every-day forms4 ,he selects the commonest events and appearances of nature for his subjects2 and trusts to their very commonness for the interest and amusement he is to excite4 ,mr4 ,wilkie is a serious1 prosaic1 literal narrator of facts1 and his pictures may be considered as diaries1 or minutes of what is passing constantly about us4 ,hogarth1 on the contrary1 is essentially a comic painter2 his pictures are not indifferent1 unimpassioned descriptions of human nature1 but rich1 exuberant satires upon it4 ,he is carried away by a passion for the ridiculous4 ,his object is #8to shew vice her own feature1 scorn her own image4' ,he is so far from contenting himself with still life1 that he is always on the verge of caricature1 though without ever falling into it4 ,he does not represent folly or vice in its incipient1 or dormant1 or grub state1 but full grown1 with wings1 pampered into all sorts of affectation1 airy1 ostentatious1 and extravagant4 ,folly is there seen at the height--the moon is at the full--it is #8the very error of the time4' ,there is a perpetual collision of eccentricities--a tilt and tournament of absurdities--the prejudices and caprices of mankind are let loose1 and set together by the ears1 as in a bear-garden4 ,hogarth paints nothing but comedy1 or tragicomedy4 ,wilkie paints neither one nor the other4 ,hogarth never looks at any object but to find out a moral or a ludicrous effect4 ,wilkie never looks at any object but to see that it is there4 ,hogarth's pictures are a perfect jest-book from one end to the other4 ,we do not remember a single joke in ,wilkie's1 except one very bad one of the boy in ,the ,blind ,fiddler1 scraping the gridiron1 or fire-shovel1 we forget which4#bf ,in looking at ,hogarth1 you are ready to burst your sides with laughing at the unaccountable jumble of odd things1 which are brought together3 you look at ,wilkie's pictures with a mingled feeling of curiosity and admiration at the accuracy of the representation4 ,for instance1 there is a most admirable head of a man coughing in ,the ,rent-,day3 the action1 the keeping1 the choaked sensation are inimitable3 but there is nothing to laugh at in a man coughing4 ,what strikes the mind is the difficulty of a man's being painted coughing1 which here certainly is a master-piece of art4 ,but turn to the blackguard cobler in the ,election ,dinner1 who has been smutting his neighbour's face over1 and who is lolling his tongue out at the joke with a most surprising obliquity of vision1 and immediately #8your lungs begin to crow like chanticleer4' ,again1 there is the little boy crying in ,the ,cut ,finger1 who only gives you the idea of a cross1 disagreeable1 obstinate child in pain3 whereas the same face in ,hogarth's ,noon1 from the ridiculous perplexity it is in1 and its extravagant1 noisy1 unfelt distress at the accident of having let fall the pye-dish1 is quite irresistible4 ,mr4 ,wilkie in his picture of the ,ale-house door1 we believe1 painted ,mr4 ,liston as one of the figures1 without any great effect4 ,hogarth would have given any price for such a subject1 and would have made it worth any money4 ,we have never seen any thing1 in the expression of comic humour1 equal to ,hogarth's pictures1 but ,liston's face6 ,we have already remarked that we did not think ,hogarth a fit person to paint a romantic scene in ,wales4 ,in fact1 we know no one who had a less pastoral imagination4 ,mr4 ,wilkie paints interiors3 but still you always connect them with the country4 ,hogarth1 even when he paints people in the open air1 represents them either as coming from ,london1 as in the polling for votes at ,brentford1 or as returning to it1 as the dyer and his wife at ,bagnigge ,wells4 ,in this last picture he has contrived to convert a common rural image into a type and emblem of city cuckoldom4 ,he delights in the thick of ,st4 ,giles's or ,st4 ,james's4 ,his pictures breathe a certain close greasy tavern air4 ,the fare he serves up to us consists of high-seasoned dishes1 ragouts and olla podridas1 like the supper in ,gil ,blas1 which it requires a strong stomach to digest4 ,mr4 ,wilkie presents us with a sort of lenten fare1 very good and wholesome1 but rather insipid than overpowering4#bg ,as an artist1 ,mr4 ,wilkie is not at all equal to ,teniers4 ,neither in truth and brilliant clearness of colouring1 nor in facility of execution1 is there any comparison4 ,teniers was a perfect master in both these respects1 and our own countryman is positively defective1 notwithstanding the very laudable care with which he finishes every part of his pictures4 ,there is an evident smear and dragging of the paint1 which is also of a bad purple1 or puttyish tone1 and which never appear in the pictures of the ,flemish artist1 any more than in a looking-glass4 ,teniers1 probably from his facility of execution1 succeeded in giving a more local and momentary expression to his figures4 ,they seem each going on with his particular amusement or occupation2 while ,wilkie's have in general more a look of sitting for their pictures4 ,their compositions are very different also3 and in this respect1 perhaps1 ,mr4 ,wilkie has the advantage4 ,teniers's boors are usually amusing themselves at skittles1 or dancing1 or drinking1 or smoking1 or doing what they like in a careless desultory way2 and so the composition is loose and irregular4 ,wilkie's figures are all drawn up in a regular order1 and engaged in one principal action1 with occasional episodes4 ,the story of the ,blind ,fiddler is the most interesting1 and the best told4 ,the two children before the musician are delightful4 ,the ,card-players is the best coloured of his pictures1 if we are not mistaken4 ,the ,politicians1 though excellent as to character and composition1 is inferior as a picture to those which ,mr4 ,wilkie has since painted4 ,his latest pictures1 however1 do not appear to us to be his best4 ,there is something of manner and affectation in the grouping of the figures1 and a pink and rosy colour spread over them1 which is out of place4 ,the hues of ,rubens and ,sir ,joshua do not agree with ,mr4 ,wilkie's subjects4 ,the picture which he has just finished of ,distraining for ,rent is very highly spoken of by those who have seen it4 ,we must here conclude this very general account2 for to point out the particular beauties of any one of our artist's pictures1 would require a long article by itself4 ,,on ,,rochefoucault',s ,,maxims4 ,the ,examiner4 ,october #bc1 #ahad4 ,the celebrated maxims of ,rochefoucault contain a good deal of truth mixed up with more falsehood4 ,they might in general be easily reversed4 ,the whole artifice of the author consists in availing himself of the mixed nature of motives1 so as to detect some indirect or sinister bias even in the best1 and he then proceeds to argue as if they were simple1 that is1 had but one principle1 and that principle the worst4 ,by the same extreme mode of reasoning which he adopts1 that is1 by taking the exception for the rule1 it might be shewn that there is no such thing as selfishness1 pride1 vanity1 revenge1 envy1 c4 in our nature1 with quite as much plausibility as he has attempted to shew that there is no such thing as love1 friendship1 gratitude1 generosity1 or true benevolence4 ,if the slightest associated circumstance1 or latent impulse connected with our actions1 is to be magnified into the whole motive1 merely by the microscopic acuteness which discovered it1 why not complete the paradox1 by resolving our vices into some pretence to virtue1 which almost always accompanies and qualifies them8 ,or is it to be taken for granted that our vices are sincere1 and our virtues only hypocrisy and affectation8 ,shakespeare has given a much simpler and better account of the matter1 when he says1 #8,the web of our life is of a mingled yarn3 our virtues would be proud1 if our faults whipped them not2 and our vices would despair1 if they were not cherished by our virtues4' ,the most favourable representations of human nature are not certainly the most popular4 ,the character of ,sir ,charles ,grandison is insipid compared with that of ,lovelace1 as ,satan is the hero of ,paradise ,lost2 and ,mandeville's ,fable of the ,bees is read with more interest and avidity than the ,practice of ,piety or ,grove's ,ethics4 ,whatever deviates from the plain path of duty1 or contradicts received opinions1 seems to imply a strength of will1 or a strength of understanding1 which seizes forcibly on the attention4 ,whether it is fortitude or cowardice1 or both1 there is a strong propensity in the human mind1 if its suspicions are once raised1 to know the worst4 ,it is the same in speculation as in practice4 ,when once the fairy dream in which we have lulled our senses or imagination is disturbed1 we only feel ourselves secure from the delusions of self-love by distrusting appearances altogether1 and revenge ourselves for the cheat which we think has been put upon us1 by laughing at the credulity of those who are still its dupes4#bh ,even the very love of virtue makes the mind proportionably impatient of every thing like doubt respecting it1 and prompts us to escape from tormenting suspense in total indifference1 as jealousy cures itself by destroying its object4 ,the ,fable of the ,bees1 the ,maxims of ,rochefoucault1 the ,treatise on the ,falsity of ,human ,virtues1 and the book ,de l',esprit have owed much of their popularity to the consolation they afforded to disappointed hope4 ,however this may be1 a collection of amiable paradoxes on the other side of the question1 would have but few readers4 ,there would be less point and satire1 though there would not be less truth nor1 as far as the analytical process is concerned1 less ingenuity1 in exalting our bad qualities into virtues1 than in debasing our good ones into vices4 ,i will give an example or two of what ,i mean4 ,thus1 it might be argued that there is no such thing as envy3 or that what is called by that name1 does not 7if strictly examined7 arise from a hatred of real excellence1 but from a suspicion that the excellence is not real1 or not so great as it is supposed to be1 and consequently that the preference given to others is an act of injustice done to ourselves4 ,for whenever all doubt is removed of the reality of the excellence1 either from our own convictions1 or from the concurrent opinion of mankind in general1 envy ceases4 ,this is the reason why the reputation of the dead never excites this passion1 because it has been fully established by the most unequivocal testimony1 it has received a sanction which fills the imagination and gains the assent at once1 and the fame of the great men of past times is placed beyond the reach of envy1 because it is placed beyond the reach of doubt4 ,we feel no misgivings as to the solidity of their pretensions1 nor any apprehension that our admiration or praise will be thrown away on what does not deserve it4 ,no one envies ,shakespeare or ,rubens1 because no one entertains the least doubt of their genius4 ,we are as prodigal of our admiration of universally acknowledged excellence1 making a sort of religious idolatry of it1 as we are niggardly and cautious in fixing the stamp of our approbation on that which may turn out to be only counterfeit4 ,it is not because we are competitors with the living and not with the dead3 but because the claims of the one are fully established1 and of the other not4 ,why else indeed are we competitors with the one and not with the other8 ,accordingly1 where living merit is so clear as to bring immediate and entire conviction to the mind1 we are no longer disposed to stint or withhold our applause1 any more than to dispute the light of the sun4 ,for instance1 who ever felt the least difficulty in acknowledging the merits of ,wilkie or ,turner1 merely because these artists are now living8 ,if immediate celebrity has not always been the reward of extraordinary genius1 this has been owing to the incapacity of the public to judge of the highest works of art4 ,there is no want of instances where the popular opinion has outstripped the claims of justice1 whenever the merits of the artist were on a level with the common understanding1 and of an obvious character4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds had his full share of popularity in his lifetime4 ,raphael ,mengs was cried up by his countrymen and contemporaries as equal to ,raphael2 and ,mr4 ,west at present stands as high in the estimation of the public as he does in his own4 ,on the other hand1 and in opposition to what was said above 7though the exception still confirms the rule71 the ,french hate ,shakespeare and ,rubens1 for no other reason than because there is nothing in their minds which really enables them to understand or relish either4 ,the admiration which they hear others express of this great painter and greater poet1 appears to them a delusion1 an instance of false taste1 and a bigoted preference of that which is full of faults to that--which is without beauties4 ,the disputes and jealousies of different nations respecting each other's productions1 arise chiefly from this source4 ,we despise ,french painting1 ,french poetry1 and ,french philosophy1 not because they are ,french1 but because they appear to us to want the essential requisites of genius1 feeling1 and common sense4 ,we do not feel any reluctance to admire ,titian or ,rembrandt1 or ,phidias or ,homer1 or ,boccace or ,cervantes1 merely because they were not ,english4 ,they speak the universal language of truth and nature4 ,our national and local prejudices for the most part operate only as a barrier against national and local absurdities4 ,to the same purpose1 ,i might mention some modern poets and critics who are actuated by nearly as intolerant feelings towards ,pope and ,dryden1 as if they had been their contemporaries4#bi ,they are not their cotemporaries1 but the explanation is obvious4 ,from the want of congeniality of mind1 and a taste for their peculiar excellencies1 the space which those writers occupy in the eyes of the world seems comparatively disproportionate to their merits2 and hence the irritation and gall which follows4 ,the highest reputation and the highest excellence almost always destroy envy2 whereas1 on the common supposition1 we ought to feel the greatest envy1 where there is the greatest superiority1 and the greatest admiration of it in others4 ,if we never become entirely free from it in modern works1 it is because with respect to them we can never #8make assurance double sure1' by having our own feelings confirmed by the united voices of ages and nations4 ,true genius and true fame seize our admiration1 and our admiration1 when once excited1 becomes a passion1 and we take a delight in exaggerating the excellences of our idol as if they were our own4 ,on the contrary1 we all envy that reputation which is acquired by trick or cunning1 or by mere shewy accomplishments1 as when with moderate talents1 dexterously applied1 or an appeal to ignorant credulity1 a man #8gets the start of the majestic world1' and obtains the highest character for qualities which he does not possess4 ,it becomes an imposture and an insult1 which we resent as such4 ,the jealousy and uneasiness produced in the mind by a pedantic or dazzling display of useless accomplishments may be traced to a similar source4 ,hence the old objection1 materiam superabat opus4 ,true warmth and vigour communicate warmth and vigour3 and we are no longer inclined to dispute the inspiration of the oracle1 when we feel the #8presens ,divus' in our own bosoms4 ,but when without gaining any new light or heat1 we only find our ideas thrown into confusion and perplexity by an art that we cannot comprehend1 this is a kind of superiority which must always be painful1 and can never be cordially admitted4 ,it is for this reason that the extraordinary talents of the late ,mr4 ,pitt were always viewed1 except by those of his own party1 with a sort of jealousy1 and grudgingly acknowledged3 while those of his more popular rivals were admitted by all parties in the most unreserved manner1 and carried by acclamation4 ,mr4 ,burke was scouted only by the common herd of politicians1 who did not understand him4 ,so on the stage1 we imagine ,mrs4 ,siddons could hardly have excited envy or jealousy in the breast of any person1 not totally devoid of common sensibility3 because her talents bore down all opposition1 and filled the mind at once with delight and awe4 ,mr4 ,kean has a strong and most absurd party against him3 but we will venture to say that if his figure1 or his voice1 or his judgment1 were better1 that is1 if he had fewer defects1 he would have fewer detractors from his excellencies4 ,any peculiar defects excite ridicule and enmity by bringing the whole claim to our applause into question4 ,a perfect actor would not be an object of envy even to some newspaper critics4 ,perfect beauty excites this feeling less among women than half pretensions to it4 ,in the same manner1 upstart wealth or newly acquired honours produce contempt rather than respect1 from not being accompanied with any strong or permanent associations of pleasure or power4 ,there is nothing more apt to occasion the feeling of envy than the sudden and unexpected rise of persons we have long known under different circumstances1 not from the immediate comparison with ourselves 7the extravagant admiration of each other's talents among friends is an answer to this supposition7 so much as from the disbelief of the reality of their pretensions1 and our inability to overcome our previous prejudice against them4 ,it is the same where striking mental inequalities exist1 or where the moral properties render us averse to acknowledge merit of a different kind1 or where the countenance or manner does not denote genius4 ,every such incongruity increases the difficulty of connecting hearty admiration with ideas so opposite to it4 ,i have known artists whose physiognomy was so much against them1 that no one would ever think highly of them1 though they were to paint like ,raphael2 and ,i once heard a very sensible man say1 that if ,sir ,isaac ,newton had lisped1 he could not have fancied him to be a great man4 ,i myself have felt a jealousy of pretensions which ,i thought inferior to my own1 but ,i never knew what envy of great talents was4 ,i do not indeed like to be put down by persons ,i despise1 or to seem to myself less than nothing4 ,in a word1 we feel the same jealousy and irritation at seeing others surpassed1 whom we have been accustomed to admire2 and what is more1 grow jealous of our own approximation to an equality with them4 ,every ingenuous mind shrinks from a comparison of itself1 with what it looks up to1 and is ashamed of any advantage it may gain over those whom it regards as having higher powers and pretensions4 ,the idea of fame is too pure and sacred to be mingled with our own4 ,our admiration of others is stronger than our vanity4 ,poor indeed is that mind which has no other idol but self4 ,it is the want of all real imagination and enthusiasm1 or that little glittering halo of personal conceit which surrounds every ,frenchman1 and does not suffer him to see or feel any thing beyond it1 that makes the ,french perhaps the most contemptible people in the world4 ,,on ,,the ,,predominant ,,principles ,,and ,,excitements ,,in ,,the ,,human ,,mind #8,the web of our lives is of a mingled yarn4' ,the ,examiner4 ,february #bf1 #ahae4 #8,anthony ,codrus ,urceus1 a most learned and unfortunate ,italian1 born #addf1 was a striking instance' 7says his biographer7 #8of the miseries men bring upon themselves by setting their affections unreasonably on trifles4 ,this learned man lived at ,forli1 and had an apartment in the palace4 ,his room was so very dark1 that he was forced to use a candle in the day time2 and one day1 going abroad without putting it out1 his library was set on fire1 and some papers which he had prepared for the press were burned4 ,the instant he was informed of this ill news1 he was affected even to madness4 ,he ran furiously to the palace1 and1 stopping at the door of his apartment1 he cried aloud1 8,christ ,jesus6 what mighty crime have ,i committed8 whom of your followers have ,i ever injured1 that you thus rage with inexpiable hatred against me80 ,then turning himself to an image of the ,virgin ,mary near at hand1 8,virgin0 7says he7 8hear what ,i have to say1 for ,i speak in earnest1 and with a composed spirit4 ,if ,i shall happen to address you in my dying moments1 ,i humbly entreat you not to hear me1 nor receive me into heaven1 for ,i am determined to spend all eternity in hell40 ,those who heard these blasphemous expressions endeavoured to comfort him1 but all to no purpose2 for1 the society of mankind being no longer supportable to him1 he left the city1 and retired1 like a savage1 to the deep solitude of a wood4 ,some say he was murdered there by ruffians2 others that he died at ,bologna1 in #aejj1 after much contrition and penitence4' ,almost every one may here read the history of his own life4 ,there is scarcely a moment in which we are not in some degree guilty of the same kind of absurdity1 which was here carried to such a singular excess4 ,we waste our regrets on what cannot be recalled1 or fix our desires on what we know cannot be attained4 ,every hour is the slave of the last2 and we are seldom masters either of our thoughts or of our actions4 ,we are the creatures of imagination1 passion1 and self-will1 more than of reason or even of self-interest4 ,rousseau1 in his ,emilius1 proposed to educate a perfectly reasonable man1 who was to have passions and affections like other men1 but with an absolute control over them4 ,he was to love and to be wise4 ,this is a contradiction in terms4 ,even in the common transactions and daily intercourse of life1 we are governed by whim1 caprice1 prejudice1 or accident4 ,the falling of a tea-cup puts us out of temper for the day2 and a quarrel that commenced about the pattern of a gown may end only with our lives4 #8,friends now fast sworn1 ,on a dissension of a doit1 break out ,to bitterest enmity4 ,so fellest foes1 ,whose passions and whose plots have broke their sleep1 ,to take the one the other1 by some chance ,some trick not worth an egg1 shall grow dear friends1 ,and interjoin their issues4' ,we are little better than humoured children to the last1 and play a mischievous game at cross-purposes with our own happiness and that of others4 ,we have given the above story as a striking contradiction to the prevailing doctrine of modern systems of morals and metaphysics1 that man is purely a sensual and selfish animal1 governed solely by a regard either to his immediate gratification or future interest4 ,this doctrine we mean to oppose with all our might1 whenever we meet with it4 ,we are1 however1 less disposed to quarrel with it1 as it is opposed to reason and philosophy1 than as it interferes with common sense and observation4 ,if the absurdity in question had been confined to the schools1 we should not have gone out of our way to meddle with it3 but it has got abroad in the world1 has crept into ladies' toilettes1 is entered in the common-place of beaux1 is in the mouth of the learned and ignorant1 and forms a part of popular opinion4 ,it is perpetually applied as a false measure to the characters and conduct of men in the common affairs of the world1 and it is therefore our business to rectify it if we can4 ,in fact1 whoever sets out on the idea of reducing all our motives and actions to a simple principle1 must either take a very narrow and superficial view of human nature1 or make a very perverse use of his understanding in reasoning on what he sees4 ,the frame of our minds1 like that of our bodies1 is exceedingly complicated4 ,besides mere sensibility to pleasure and pain1 there are other original independent principles1 necessarily interwoven with the nature of man as an active and intelligent being1 and which1 blended together in different proportions1 give their form and colour to our lives4 ,without some other essential faculties1 such as will1 imagination1 c41 to give effect and direction to our physical sensibility1 this faculty could be of no possible use or influence2 and with those other faculties joined to it1 this pretended instinct of self-love will be subject to be everlastingly modified and controlled by those faculties1 both in what regards our own good and that of others2 that is1 must itself become in a great measure dependent on the very instruments it uses4 ,the two most predominant principles in the mind1 besides sensibility and self-interest1 are imagination and self-will1 or 7in general7 the love of strong excitement1 both in thought and action4 ,to these sources may be traced the various passions1 pursuits1 habits1 affections1 follies and caprices1 virtues and vices of mankind4 ,we shall confine ourselves in the present article1 to give some account of the influence exercised by the imagination over the feelings4 ,to an intellectual being1 it cannot be altogether arbitrary what ideas it shall have1 whether pleasurable or painful4 ,our ideas do not originate in our love of pleasure1 and they cannot therefore depend absolutely upon it4 ,they have another principle4 ,if the imagination were #8the servile slave' of our self-love1 if our ideas were emanations of our sensitive nature1 encouraged if agreeable1 and excluded the instant they became otherwise1 or encroached on the former principle1 then there might be a tolerable pretence for the ,epicurean philosophy which is here spoken of4 ,but for any such entire and mechanical subserviency of the operations of the one principle to the dictates of the other1 there is not the slightest foundation in reality4 ,the attention which the mind gives to its ideas is not always owing to the gratification derived from them1 but to the strength and truth of the impressions themselves1 i4e4 to their involuntary power over the mind4 ,this observation will account for a very general principle in the mind1 which cannot1 we conceive1 be satisfactorily explained in any other way1 we mean the power of fascination4 ,every one has heard the story of the girl who being left alone by her companions1 in order to frighten her1 in a room with a dead body1 at first attempted to get out1 and shrieked violently for assistance1 but finding herself shut in1 ran and embraced the corpse1 and was found senseless in its arms4 ,it is said that in such cases there is a desperate effort made to get rid of the dread by converting it into the reality4 ,there may be some truth in this account1 but we do not think it contains the whole truth4 ,the event produced in the present instance does not bear out the conclusion4 ,the progress of the passion does not seem to have been that of diminishing or removing the terror by coming in contact with the object1 but of carrying this terror to its height from an intense and irresistible impulse1 overcoming every other feeling4 ,it is a well-known fact that few persons can stand safely on the edge of a precipice1 or walk along the parapet wall of a house1 without being in danger of throwing themselves down2 not we presume from a principle of self-preservation2 but in consequence of a strong idea having taken possession of the mind1 from which it cannot well escape1 which absorbs every other consideration1 and confounds and overrules all self-regards4 ,the impulse cannot in this case be resolved into a desire to remove the uneasiness of fear1 for the only danger arises from the fear4 ,we have been told by a person1 not at all given to exaggeration1 that he once felt a strong propensity to throw himself into a cauldron of boiling lead1 into which he was looking4 ,these are what ,shakespear calls #8the toys of desperation4' ,people sometimes marry1 and even fall in love on this principle--that is1 through mere apprehension1 or what is called a fatality4 ,in like manner1 we find instances of persons who are as it were naturally delighted with whatever is disagreeable1--who catch all sorts of unbecoming tones and gestures1--who always say what they should not1 and what they do not mean to say1--in whom intemperance of imagination and incontinence of tongue are a disease1 and who are governed by an almost infallible instinct of absurdity4 ,the love of imitation has the same general source4 ,we dispute for ever about ,hogarth1 and the question can never be decided according to the common ideas on the subject of taste4 ,his pictures appeal to the love of truth1 not to the sense of beauty2 but the one is as much an essential principle of our nature as the other4 ,they fill up the void of the mind2 they present an everlasting succession and variety of ideas4 ,there is a fine observation somewhere made by ,aristotle1 that the mind has a natural appetite of curiosity or desire to know2 and #8most of that knowledge which comes in by the eye1 for this presents us with the greatest variety of differences4' ,hogarth is relished only by persons of a certain strength of mind and penetration into character2 for the subjects in themselves are not pleasing1 and this objection is only redeemed by the exercise and activity which they give to the understanding4 ,the great difference between what is meant by a severe and an effeminate taste or style1 depends on the distinction here made4 ,our teasing ourselves to recollect the names of places or persons we have forgotten1 the love of riddles and of abstruse philosophy1 are all illustrations of the same general principle of curiosity1 or the love of intellectual excitement4 ,again1 our impatience to be delivered of a secret that we know2 the necessity which lovers have for confidants1 auricular confession1 and the declarations so commonly made by criminals of their guilt1 are effects of the involuntary power exerted by the imagination over the feelings4 ,nothing can be more untrue1 than that the whole course of our ideas1 passions1 and pursuits1 is regulated by a regard to self-interest4 ,our attachment to certain objects is much oftener in proportion to the strength of the impression they make on us1 to their power of rivetting and fixing the attention1 than to the gratification we derive from them4 ,we are perhaps more apt to dwell upon circumstances that excite disgust and shock our feelings1 than on those of an agreeable nature4 ,this1 at least1 is the case where this disposition is particularly strong1 as in people of nervous feelings and morbid habits of thinking4 ,thus the mind is often haunted with painful images and recollections1 from the hold they have taken of the imagination4 ,we cannot shake them off1 though we strive to do it3 nay1 we even court their company2 we will not part with them out of our presence2 we strain our aching sight after them2 we anxiously recal every feature1 and contemplate them in all their aggravated colours4 ,there are a thousand passions and fancies that thwart our purposes and disturb our repose4 ,grief and fear are almost as welcome inmates of the breast as hope or joy1 and more obstinately cherished4 ,we return to the objects which have excited them1 we brood over them1 they become almost inseparable from the mind1 necessary to it2 they assimilate all objects to the gloom of our own thoughts1 and make the will a party against itself4 ,this is one chief source of most of the passions that prey like vultures on the heart1 and embitter human life4 ,we hear moralists and divines perpetually exclaiming1 with mingled indignation and surprise1 at the folly of mankind in obstinately persisting in these tormenting and violent passions1 such as envy1 revenge1 sullenness1 despair1 c4 ,this is to them a mystery2 and it will always remain an inexplicable one1 while the love of happiness is considered as the only spring of human conduct and desires4 ,we shall resume this subject in a future paper4#cj ,,the ,,love ,,of ,,power ,,or ,,action ,,as ,,main ,a ,,principle ,,in ,,the ,,human ,,mind ,,as ,,sensibility ,,to ,,pleasure ,,or ,,pain ,the ,examiner4 ,april #i1 #ahae4 ,the love of power or action is another independent principle of the human mind1 in the different degrees in which it exists1 and which are not by any means in exact proportion to its physical sensibility4 ,it seems evidently absurd to suppose that sensibility to pleasure or pain is the only principle of action4 ,it is almost too obvious to remark1 that sensibility alone1 without an active principle in the mind1 could never produce action4 ,the soul might lie dissolved in pleasure1 or be agonised with woe2 but the impulses of feeling1 in order to excite passion1 desire1 or will1 must be first communicated to some other faculty4 ,there must be a principle1 a fund of activity somewhere1 by and through which our sensibility operates2 and that this active principle owes all its force1 its precise degree and direction1 to the sensitive faculty1 is neither self-evident nor true4 ,strength of will is not always nor generally in proportion to strength of feeling4 ,there are different degrees of activity as of sensibility in the mind2 and our passions1 characters1 and pursuits1 often depend no less upon the one than on the other4 ,we continually make a distinction in common discourse between sensibility and irritability1 between passion and feeling1 between the nerves and muscles2 and we find that the most voluptuous people are in general the most indolent4 ,every one who has looked closely into human nature must have observed persons who are naturally and habitually restless in the extreme1 but without any extraordinary susceptibility to pleasure or pain1 always making or finding excuses to do something1--whose actions constantly outrun the occasion1 and who are eager in the pursuit of the greatest trifles1--whose impatience of the smallest repose keeps them always employed about nothing1--and whose whole lives are a continued work of supererogation4 ,there are others again who seem born to act from a spirit of contradiction only1 that is1 who are ready to act not only without a reason1 but against it1--who are ever at cross-purposes with themselves and others1--who are not satisfied unless they are doing two opposite things at a time1--who contradict what you say1 and if you assent to them1 contradict what they have said1--who regularly leave the pursuit in which they are successful to engage in some other in which they have no chance of success1--who make a point of encountering difficulties and aiming at impossibilities1 that there may be no end of their exhaustless task3 while there is a third class whose vis inerti scarcely any motives can overcome1--who are devoured by their feelings1 and the slaves of their passions1 but who can take no pains and use no means to gratify them1--who1 if roused to action by any unforeseen accident1 require a continued stimulus to urge them on1--who fluctuate between desire and want of resolution1--whose brightest projects burst like a bubble as soon as formed1--who yield to every obstacle1--who almost sink under the weight of the atmosphere1--who cannot brush aside a cobweb in their path1 and are stopped by an insect's wing4 ,indolence is want of will--the absence or defect of the active principle--a repugnance to motion2 and whoever has been much tormented with this passion1 must1 we are sure1 have felt that the inclination to indulge it is something very distinct from the love of pleasure or actual enjoyment4 ,ambition is the reverse of indolence1 and is the love of power or action in great things4 ,avarice1 also1 as it relates to the acquisition of riches1 is1 in a great measure1 an active and enterprising feeling2 nor does the hoarding of wealth1 after it is acquired1 seem to have much connection with the love of pleasure4 ,what is called niggardliness1 very often1 we are convinced from particular instances that we have known1 arises less from a selfish principle than from a love of contrivance1 from the study of economy as an art1 for want of a better1 from a pride in making the most of a little1 and in not exceeding a certain expense previously determined upon2 all which is wilfulness1 and is perfectly consistent1 as it is frequently found united1 with the most lavish expenditure and the utmost disregard for money on other occasions4 ,a miser may in general be looked upon as a particular species of virtuoso4 ,the constant desire in the rich to leave wealth in large masses1 by aggrandising some branch of their families1 or sometimes in such a manner as to accumulate for centuries1 shews that the imagination has a considerable share in this passion4 ,intemperance1 debauchery1 gluttony1 and other vices of that kind1 may be attributed to an excess of sensuality or gross sensibility2 though even here1 we think it evident that habits of intoxication are produced quite as much by the strength as by the agreeableness of the excitement2 and with respect to some other vicious habits1 curiosity makes many more votaries than inclination4 ,the love of truth1 when it predominates1 produces inquisitive characters1 the whole tribe of gossips1 tale-bearers1 harmless busy bodies1 your blunt honest creatures1 who never conceal what they think1 and who are the more sure to tell it you the less you want to hear it1--and now and then a philosopher4 ,our passions in general are to be traced more immediately to the active part of our nature1 to the love of power1 or to strength of will4 ,such are all those which arise out of the difficulty of accomplishment1 which become more intense from the efforts made to attain the object1 and which derive their strength from opposition4 ,mr4 ,hobbes says well on this subject3 #8,but for an utmost end1 in which the ancient philosophers placed felicity1 and disputed much concerning the way thereto1 there is no such thing in this world nor way to it1 than to ,utopia2 for while we live1 we have desires1 and desire presupposeth a further end4 ,seeing all delight is appetite1 and desire of something further1 there can be no contentment but in proceeding1 and therefore we are not to marvel1 when we see that as men attain to more riches1 honour1 or other power1 so their appetite continually groweth more and more2 and when they are come to the utmost degree of some kind of power1 they pursue some other1 as long as in any kind they think themselves behind any other4 ,of those therefore that have attained the highest degree of honour and riches1 some have affected mastery in some art1 as ,nero in music and poetry1 ,commodus in the art of a gladiator2 and such as affect not some such thing1 must find diversion and recreation of their thoughts in the contention either of play or business1 and men justly complain as of a great grief that they know not what to do4 ,felicity1 therefore1 by which we mean continual delight1 consists not in having prospered1 but in prospering4' ,this account of human nature1 true as it is1 would be a mere romance1 if physical sensibility were the only faculty essential to man1 that is1 if we were the slaves of voluptuous indolence4 ,but our desires are kindled by their own heat1 the will is urged on by a restless impulse1 and1 without action1 enjoyment becomes insipid4 ,the passions of men are not in proportion only to their sensibility1 or to the desirableness of the object1 but to the violence and irritability of their tempers1 and the obstacles to their success4 ,thus an object1 to which we were almost indifferent while we thought it in our power1 often excites the most ardent pursuit or the most painful regret1 as soon as it is placed out of our reach4 ,how eloquently is the contradiction between our desires and our success described in ,don ,quixote where it is said of the lover1 that #8he courted a statue1 hunted the wind1 cried aloud to the desert6' ,the necessity of action to the mind1 and the keen edge it gives to our desires1 is shewn in the different value we set on past and future objects4 ,it is commonly and we might almost say universally supposed1 that there is an essential difference in the two cases4 ,in this instance1 however1 the strength of our passions has converted an evident absurdity into one of the most inveterate prejudices of the human mind4 ,that the future is really or in itself of more consequence than the past1 is what we can neither assent to nor even conceive4 ,it is true1 the past has ceased to be and is no longer any thing1 except to the mind2 but the future is still to come1 and has an existence in the mind only4 ,the one is at an end1 the other has not even had a beginning2 both are purely ideal3 so that this argument would prove that the present only is of any real value1 and that both past and future objects are equally indifferent1 alike nothing4 ,indeed1 the future is1 if possible1 more imaginary than the past2 for the past may in some sense be said to exist in its consequences2 it acts still2 it is present to us in its effects2 the mouldering ruins and broken fragments still remain2 but of the future there is no trace4 ,what a blank does the history of the world for the next six thousand years1 present to the mind1 compared with that of the last6 ,all that strikes the imagination1 or excites any interest in the mighty scene1 is what has been4 ,neither in reality1 then1 nor as a subject of general contemplation1 has the future any advantage over the past2 but with respect to our own passions and pursuits it has4 ,we regret the pleasures we have enjoyed1 and eagerly anticipate those which are to come2 we dwell with satisfaction on the evils from which we have escaped1 and dread future pain4 ,the good that is past is like money that is spent1 which is of no use1 and about which we give ourselves no farther concern4 ,the good we expect is like a store yet untouched1 in the enjoyment of which we promise ourselves infinite gratification4 ,what has happened to us we think of no consequence1--what is to happen to us1 of the greatest4 ,why so8 ,because the one is in our power1 and the other not2 because the efforts of the will to bring an object to pass or to avert it strengthen our attachment to or our aversion from that object2 because the habitual pursuit of any purpose redoubles the ardour of our pursuit1 and converts the speculative and indolent interest we should otherwise take in it into real passion4 ,our regrets1 anxiety1 and wishes1 are thrown away upon the past1 but we encourage our disposition to exaggerate the importance of the future1 as of the utmost use in aiding our resolutions and stimulating our exertions4 ,it in some measure confirms this theory1 that men attach more or less importance to past and future events1 according as they are more or less engaged in action and the busy scenes of life4 ,those who have a fortune to make1 or are in pursuit of rank and power1 are regardless of the past1 for it does not contribute to their views3 those who have nothing to do but to think1 take nearly the same interest in the past as in the future4 ,the contemplation of the one is as delightful and real as of the other4 ,the season of hope comes to an end1 but the remembrance of it is left4 ,the past still lives in the memory of those who have leisure to look back upon the way that they have trod1 and can from it #8catch glimpses that may make them less forlorn4' ,the turbulence of action and uneasiness of desire must dwell upon the future2 it is only amidst the innocence of shepherds1 in the simplicity of the pastoral ages1 that a tomb was found with this inscription--#8,i ,,also ,,was ,,an ,,arcadian6' ,we feel that some apology is necessary for having thus plunged our readers all at once into the middle of metaphysics4 ,if it should be asked what use such studies are of1 we might answer with ,hume1 perhaps of none1 except that there are certain persons who find more entertainment in them than in any other4 ,an account of this matter1 with which we were amused ourselves1 and which may therefore amuse others1 we met with some time ago in a metaphysical allegory1 which begins in this manner3-- #8,in the depth of a forest1 in the kingdom of ,indostan1 lived a monkey1 who1 before his last step of transmigration1 had occupied a human tenement4 ,he had been a ,bramin1 skilful in theology1 and in all abstruse learning4 ,he was wont to hold in admiration the ways of ,nature1 and delighted to penetrate the mysteries in which she was enrobed2 but in pursuing the footsteps of philosophy1 he wandered too far from the abode of the social ,virtues4 ,in order to pursue his studies1 he had retired to a cave on the banks of the ,jumna4 ,there he forgot society1 and neglected ablution2 and therefore his soul was degraded to a condition below humanity4 ,so inveterate were the habits which he had contracted in his human state1 that his spirit was still influenced by his passion for abstruse study4 ,he sojourned in this wood from youth to age1 regardless of everything1 save cocoa-nuts and metaphysics4' ,for our own part1 we should be content to pass our time much in the same way as this learned savage1 if we could only find a substitute for his cocoa-nuts6 ,we do not however wish to recommend the same pursuit to others1 nor to dissuade them from it4 ,it has its pleasures and its pains--its successes and its disappointments4 ,it is neither quite so sublime nor quite so uninteresting as it is sometimes represented4 ,the worst is1 that much thought on difficult subjects tends1 after a certain time1 to destroy the natural gaiety and dancing of the spirits2 it deadens the elastic force of the mind1 weighs upon the heart1 and makes us insensible to the common enjoyments and pursuits of life4 #8,sithence no fairy lights1 no quick'ning ray1 ,nor stir of pulse1 nor objects to entice ,abroad the spirits2 but the cloyster'd heart ,sits squat at home1 like pagod in a niche ,obscure4' ,metaphysical reasoning is also one branch of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil4 ,the study of man1 however1 does1 perhaps1 less harm than a knowledge of the world1 though it must be owned that the practical knowledge of vice and misery makes a stronger impression on the mind1 when it has imbibed a habit of abstract reasoning4 ,evil thus becomes embodied in a general principle1 and shews its harpy form in all things4 ,it is a fatal1 inevitable necessity hanging over us4 ,it follows us wherever we go3 if we fly into the uttermost parts of the earth1 it is there3 whether we turn to the right or the left1 we cannot escape from it4 ,this1 it is true1 is the disease of philosophy2 but it is one to which it is liable in minds of a certain cast1 after the first order of expectation has been disabused by experience1 and the finer feelings have received an irrecoverable shock from the jarring of the world4 ,happy are they who live in the dream of their own existence1 and see all things in the light of their own minds2 who walk by faith and hope2 to whom the guiding star of their youth still shines from afar1 and into whom the spirit of the world has not entered6 ,they have not been #8hurt by the archers1' nor has the iron entered their souls4 ,they live in the midst of arrows and of death1 unconscious of harm4 ,the evil things come not nigh them4 ,the shafts of ridicule pass unheeded by1 and malice loses its sting4 ,the example of vice does not rankle in their breasts1 like the poisoned shirt of ,nessus4 ,evil impressions fall off from them like drops of water4 ,the yoke of life is to them light and supportable4 ,the world has no hold on them4 ,they are in it1 not of it2 and a dream and a glory is ever around them6 ,,essay ,,on ,,manners ,the ,examiner4 ,september #c1 #ahae4 ,nothing can frequently be more striking than the difference of style or manner1 where the matter remains the same1 as in paraphrases and translations4 ,the most remarkable example which occurs to us is in the beginning of the ,flower and ,leaf by ,chaucer1 and in the modernisation of the same passage by ,dryden4 ,we shall give an extract from both1 that the reader may judge for himself4 ,the original runs thus3-- #8,and ,i that all this pleasaunt sight see1 ,thought sodainly ,i felte so sweet an aire ,of the elgentere1 that certainely ,there is no herte ,i deme1 in such dispaire1 ,ne with thoughts froward and contraire ,so overlaid1 but it should soone have bote1 ,if it had ones felt this savour sote4 ,and as ,i stood and cast aside mine eie1 ,i was of ware the fairest medler tree1 ,that ever yet in all my life ,i see1 ,as full of blossomes as it might be1 ,therein a goldfinch leaping pretile ,fro bough to bough1 and as him list he eet1 ,here and there of buds and floures sweet4 ,and to the herber side was joyning ,this faire tree of which ,i have you told2 ,and at the last the bird began to sing1 ,when he had eaten what he eat wold1 ,so passing sweetly1 that by manifold ,it was more pleasaunt than ,i could devise2 ,and when his song was ended in this wise1 ,the nightingale with so mery a note ,answered him1 that all the wood rang ,so sodainly1 that as it were a sote1 ,i stood astonied1 so was ,i with the sang ,thorow ravished1 that till late and lang1 ,i ne wist in what place ,i was1 ne where1 ,and aye me thought she sang even by mine ear4 ,wherefore ,i waited about busily ,on every side1 if ,i her might see1 ,and at the last ,i gan full well espie ,where she sat in a fresh green laurer tree1 ,on the further side even right by me1 ,that gave so passing a delicious smell1 ,according to the eglentere full well4 ,whereof ,i had so inly great pleasure2 ,that as me thought ,i surely ravished was ,into ,paradise1 where my desire ,was for to be and no further to passe1 ,as for that day1 and on the sote grasse ,i sat me downe1 for as for mine intent1 ,the birdes song was more convenient1 ,and more pleasaunt to me by manifold1 ,than meat or drinke1 or any other thing1 ,thereto the herber was so fresh and cold1 ,the wholesome savours eke so comforting1 ,that as ,i deemed1 sith the beginning ,of the world was never seene or then ,so pleasaunt a ground of none earthly man4 ,and as ,i sat1 the birdes harkening thus1 ,me thought that ,i heard voices sodainly1 ,the most sweetest and most delicious ,that ever any wight ,i trow truly ,heard in their life2 for the harmony ,and sweet accord was in so good musike1 ,that the voices to angels most was like4' ,in this passage the poet has let loose the very soul of pleasure4 ,there is a spirit of enjoyment in it1 of which there seems no end4 ,it is the intense delight which accompanies the description of every object1 the fund of natural sensibility it displays1 which constitutes its whole essence and beauty4 ,now this is shewn chiefly in the manner in which the different objects are anticipated1 and the eager welcome which is given to them2 in his repeating and varying the circumstances with a restless delight2 in his quitting the subject for a moment1 and then returning to it again1 as if he could never have his fill of enjoyment4 ,there is little of this in ,dryden's paraphrase4 ,the same ideas are introduced1 but not in the same manner1 nor with the same spirit4 ,the imagination of the poet is not borne along with the tide of pleasure--the verse is not poured out1 like the natural strains it describes1 from pure delight1 but according to rule and measure4 ,instead of being absorbed in his subject1 he is dissatisfied with it1 tries to give an air of dignity to it by factitious ornaments1 to amuse the reader by ingenious allusions1 and divert his attention from the progress of the story by the artifices of the style4 #8,the painted birds1 companions of the spring1 ,hopping from spray to spray1 were heard to sing2 ,both eyes and ears received a like delight1 ,enchanting music1 and a charming sight3 ,on ,philomel ,i fixed my whole desire1 ,and listen'd for the queen of all the quire3 ,fain would ,i hear her heavenly voice to sing1 ,and wanted yet an omen to the spring4 ,thus as ,i mus'd1 ,i cast aside my eye ,and saw a medlar tree was planted nigh3 ,the spreading branches made a goodly show1 ,and full of opening blooms was every bough3 ,a goldfinch there ,i saw with gaudy pride ,of painted plumes1 that hopp'd from side to side1 ,still pecking as she pass'd2 and still she drew ,the sweets from every flow'r1 and suck'd the dew2 ,suffic'd at length1 she warbled in her throat1 ,and tun'd her voice to many a merry note1 ,but indistinct1 and neither sweet nor clear1 ,yet such as sooth'd my soul1 and pleas'd my ear4 ,her short performance was no sooner tried1 ,when she ,i sought1 the nightingale1 replied3 ,so sweet1 so shrill1 so variously she sung1 ,that the grove echo'd1 and the vallies rung3 ,and ,i so ravish'd with her heavenly note1 ,i stood entranc'd1 and had no room for thought2 ,but all o'erpower'd with ecstasy of bliss1 ,was in a pleasing dream of paradise3 ,at length ,i wak'd2 and looking round the bower1 ,search'd every tree1 and pry'd on every flower1 ,if any where by chance ,i might espy ,the rural poet of the melody3 ,for still methought she sung not far away2 ,at last ,i found her on a laurel spray4 ,close by my side she sat1 and fair in sight1 ,full in a line1 against her opposite2 ,where stood with eglantine the laurel twin'd2 ,and both their native sweets were well conjoin'd4 ,on the green bank ,i sat1 and listen'd long2 7,sitting was more convenient for the song7 ,nor till her lay was ended could ,i move1 ,but wish'd to dwell for ever in the grove4 ,only methought the time too swiftly pass'd1 ,and every note ,i fear'd would be the last4 ,my sight1 and smell1 and hearing were employ'd1 ,and all three senses in full gust enjoy'd4 ,and what alone did all the rest surpass ,the sweet possession of the fairy place2 ,single1 and conscious to myself alone ,of pleasures to th' excluded world unknown3 ,pleasures which no where else were to be found1 ,and all ,elysium in a spot of ground4 ,thus while ,i sat intent to see and hear1 ,and drew perfumes of more than vital air1 ,all suddenly ,i heard the approaching sound ,of vocal music1 on th' enchanted ground3 ,an host of saints it seem'd1 so full the quire1 ,as if the blest above did all conspire ,to join their voices1 and neglect the lyre4' ,compared with ,chaucer1 ,dryden and the rest of that school were merely verbal poets4 ,they had a great deal of wit1 sense and fancy2 they only wanted truth and depth of feeling4 ,but we shall have to say more on this subject1 when we come to consider the old question which we have got marked down in our list1 whether ,pope was a poet8 ,to return to the subject of our last ,number1 ,lord ,chesterfield's character of the ,duke of ,marlborough is a good illustration of his general theory4 ,he says3--#8,of all the men ,i ever knew in my life 7and ,i knew him extremely well7 the late ,duke of ,marlborough possessed the graces in the highest degree1 not to say engrossed them2 for ,i will venture 7contrary to the custom of profound historians1 who always assign deep causes for great events7 to ascribe the better half of the ,duke of ,marlborough's greatness and riches to those graces4 ,he was eminently illiterate3 wrote bad ,english1 and spelt it worse4 ,he had no share of what is commonly called parts2 that is1 no brightness1 nothing shining in his genius4 ,he had most undoubtedly an excellent good plain understanding with sound judgment4 ,but these alone would probably have raised him but something higher than they found him1 which was page to ,king ,james ,,ii4's ,queen4 ,there the graces protected and promoted him2 for while he was ,ensign of the ,guards1 the ,duchess of ,cleveland1 then favourite mistress of ,charles ,,ii41 struck by these very graces1 gave him five thousand pounds2 with which he immediately bought an annuity of five hundred pounds a year1 which was the foundation of his subsequent fortune4 ,his figure was beautiful1 but his manner was irresistible by either man or woman4 ,it was by this engaging1 graceful manner1 that he was enabled during all his wars to connect the various and jarring powers of the grand alliance1 and to carry them on to the main object of the war1 notwithstanding their private and separate views1 jealousies1 and wrong headedness4 ,whatever court he went to 7and he was often obliged to go himself to some resty and refractory ones7 he as constantly prevailed1 and brought them into his measures4'#ca ,grace in woman has often more effect than beauty4 ,we sometimes see a certain fine self-possession1 an habitual voluptuousness of character1 which reposes on its own sensations1 and derives pleasure from all around it1 that is more irresistible than any other attraction4 ,there is an air of languid enjoyment in such persons1 #8in their eyes1 in their arms1 and their hands1 and their face1' which robs us of ourselves1 and draws us by a secret sympathy towards them4 ,their minds are a shrine where pleasure reposes4 ,their smile diffuses a sensation like the breath of spring4 ,petrarch's description of ,laura answers exactly to this character1 which is indeed the ,italian character4 ,titian's pictures are full of it3 they seem sustained by sentiment1 or as if the persons whom he painted sat to music4 ,there is one in the ,louvre 7or there was7 which had the most of this expression1 we ever remember4 ,it did not look downward2 #8it looked forward1 beyond this world4' ,it was a look that never passed away1 but remained unalterable as the deep sentiment which gave birth to it4 ,it is the same constitutional character 7together with infinite activity of mind7 which has enabled the greatest man in modern history to bear his reverses of fortune with gay magnanimity1 and to submit to the loss of the empire of the world with as little discomposure as if he had been playing a game at chess4 ,after all1 we would not be understood to say that manner is every thing4#cb ,nor would we put ,euclid or ,sir ,isaac ,newton on a level with the first petit-matre we might happen to meet4 ,we consider sop's ,fables to have been a greater work of genius than ,fontaine's translation of them2 though we are not sure that we should not prefer ,fontaine for his style only1 to ,gay1 who has shewn a great deal of original invention4 ,the elegant manners of people of fashion have been objected to us to shew the frivolity of external accomplishments1 and the facility with which they are acquired4 ,as to the last point1 we demur4 ,there are no class of people who lead so laborious a life1 or who take more pains to cultivate their minds as well as persons1 than people of fashion4 ,a young lady of quality who has to devote so many hours a day to music1 so many to dancing1 so many to drawing1 so many to ,french1 ,italian1 c41 certainly does not pass her time in idleness2 and these accomplishments are afterwards called into action by every kind of external or mental stimulus1 by the excitements of pleasure1 vanity and interest4 ,a ,ministerial or ,opposition ,lord goes through more drudgery than half a dozen literary hacks2 nor does a reviewer by profession read half the same number of publications as a modern fine lady is obliged to labour through4 ,we confess1 however1 we are not competent judges of the degree of elegance or refinement implied in the general tone of fashionable manners4 ,the successful experiment made by ,peregrine ,pickle1 in introducing his strolling mistress into genteel company1 does not redound greatly to their credit4 ,in point of elegance of external appearance1 we see no difference between women of fashion and women of a different character1 who dress in the same style4 ,,kean',s ,,bajazet ,,and #8,,the ,,country ,,girl' ,the ,examiner4 ,november #ab1 #ahae4 ,the lovers of the drama have had a very rich theatrical treat this week1 ,mr4 ,kean's first appearance in ,bajazet1 two new ,miss ,peggys in the ,country ,girl1 and last1 though not least1 ,miss ,stephens's reappearance in ,polly4 ,of ,mr4 ,kean's ,bajazet we have not much to say1 without repeating what we have said before4 ,the character itself is merely calculated for the display of physical passion and external energy4 ,it is violent1 fierce1 turbulent1 noisy1 and blasphemous1 #8full of sound and fury1 signifying nothing4' ,mr4 ,kean did justice to his author1 or went the whole length of the text4 ,a viper does not dart with more fierceness and rapidity on the person who has just trod upon it than he turns upon ,tamerlane in the height of his fury4 ,an unslaked thirst of vengeance and blood has taken possession of every faculty1 like the savage rage of a hyaena1 assailed by the hunters4 ,his eyeballs glare1 his teeth gnash together1 his hands are clenched4 ,in describing his defeat1 his voice is choked with passion2 he curses1 and the blood curdles in his veins4 ,never was the fiery soul of barbarous revenge1 stung to madness by repeated shame and disappointment1 so completely displayed4 ,this truth of nature and passion in ,mr4 ,kean's acting carries every thing before it4 ,he was the only person on the stage who seemed alive4 ,the mighty ,tamerlane appeared no better than a stuffed figure dressed in ermine1 ,arpasia moaned in vain1 and ,moneses roared out his wrongs unregarded1 like the hoarse sounds of distant thunder4 ,nothing can withstand the real tide of passion once let loose2 and yet it is pretended1 that the great art of the tragic actor is in damming it up1 or cutting out smooth canals and circular basons for it to flow into1 so that it may do no harm in its course4 ,it is the giving way to natural and strong impulses of the imagination that floats ,mr4 ,kean down the stream of public favour with all his faults--#8a load to sink a navy4' ,the only wonder was to see this furious character suffered to go about and take the whole range of the palace of ,tamerlane1 without the least let or impediment4 ,it shewed a degree of magnanimity in ,mr4 ,pope1 which is without any parallel1 even in modern times4 ,it is understood that the play was originally written by the whig poet ,rowe1 and regularly acted on the anniversary of our whig revolution1 as a compliment to ,king ,william1 and a satire on ,louis ,,xiv4 ,for any thing we know1 the resemblance of ,tamerlane to ,king ,william may be sufficiently strong1 there the historian and the poet may agree tolerably well2 but what traits the ,tartar ,chieftain and the ,french ,monarch had in common1 it would be difficult to find out4 ,if any more recent allusion was intended in its revival1 it fell still wider of the mark4 ,the play of ,tamerlane may be divided into two heads--cant and rant4 ,tamerlane takes the first part1 and ,bajazet the second4 ,this last hurls defiance at both gods and men4 ,he is utterly regardless of consequences1 and rushes upon his destruction like a wild beast into the toils4 ,he utters but one striking sentiment1 when he defends ambition as the hunger of noble minds4 ,bajazet's character is energy without greatness4 ,he is blind to every thing but the present moment1 and insensible to every thing but the present impulse4 ,true greatness is the reverse of this4 ,it shews all the energy of courage1 but none of the impatience of despair4 ,it struggles with difficulty1 but yields to necessity4 ,it does every thing1 and suffers nothing4 ,it sees events with the eye of history1 and makes ,time the ,judge of ,fortune4 ,courage with calmness constitutes the perfection of the heroic character1 as the effeminate and sentimental unite the extremes of activity and irritability4 ,we never saw ,mr4 ,kean look better4 ,his costume and his colour had a very picturesque effect4 ,the yellow brown tinge of the ,tartar becomes him much better than the tawny brick-dust complexion of the ,moor in ,othello4 ,now for our two ,country ,girls4 ,we have seen both without any great effort of our patience3 to confess a truth1 we had rather see the ,country ,girl two nights running than ,tamerlane2 as we would rather have been ,wycherley than ,rowe4 ,the comedy of the ,country ,girl is taken from ,moliere's ,school for ,wives4 ,it is however a perfectly free imitation1 or rather an original work1 founded on the same general plot1 with additional characters1 and in a style wholly different4 ,scarcely a line is the same4 ,the long1 speechifying dialogues in the ,french comedy are cut down into a succession of smart conversations and lively scenes3 there is indeed a certain pastoral sweetness or sentimental naivete in the character of ,agnes1 which is lost in ,miss ,peggy1 who is however the more natural and mischievous little rustic of the two4 ,the incident of her running up against her guardian as she is running off with her gallant in the park1 and the contrivance of the second letter which she imposes on her jealous fool as ,alithea's1 are ,wycherley's4 ,the characters of ,alithea1 ,harcourt1 and of the fop ,sparkish1 who appears to us so exquisite1 and to others so insipid1 are additional portraits from the reign and court of ,charles ,,ii4 ,those who object to the scenes between this gentleman and his mistress as unnatural1 can never have read the ,memoirs of the ,count de ,grammont1--an authentic piece of ,english history1 in which we trace the origin of so many noble families4 ,what an age of wit and folly1 of coxcombs and coquets1 when the world of fashion led purely ornamental lives1 and their only object was to make themselves or others ridiculous4 ,happy age1 when the utmost stretch of a morning's study went no further than the choice of a sword knot1 or the adjustment of a side curl2 when the soul spoke out in all the persuasive eloquence of dress2 when beaux and belles1 enamoured of themselves in one another's follies1 fluttered like gilded butterflies in giddy mazes through the walks of ,st4 ,james's ,park6 ,the perfection of this gala out-of-door comedy is in ,etherege1 the gay ,sir ,george6 ,then comes ,wycherley1 and then ,congreve1 who hands them into the drawing-room4 ,congreve is supposed to have been the inventor of the epigrammatic1 clenched style of comic dialogue2 but there is a great deal of this both in ,wycherley and ,etherege1 with more of a janty tone of flippant gaiety in the latter1 and more incident1 character1 and situation in the former4 ,the ,country ,girl holds unimpaired possession of the stage to this day1 by its wit1 vivacity1 nature1 and ingenuity4 ,nothing can be worse acted1 and yet it goes down1 for it supplies the imagination with all that the actors want4 ,mr4 ,bartley had some merit as ,moody1 ,mr4 ,fawcet none4 ,barrymore1 at ,covent ,garden played ,harcourt well4 ,we have seen him in better company1 and he reminded us of it4 ,he was much of the gentleman1 and as much at home on the stage 7from long practice7 as if he had been in his own apartments4 ,as to the two ,miss ,peggys1 we hardly know how to settle their pretensions4 ,if ,mrs4 ,mardyn overacts her part to that degree that she seems only to want a skipping-rope to make it complete1 ,mrs4 ,alsop is so stiff and queer that she seems to have only just escaped from a back-board and steel monitor4 ,if ,mrs4 ,alsop has the clearest voice1 ,mrs4 ,mardyn has the brightest eyes4 ,mrs4 ,alsop has most art1 ,mrs4 ,mardyn has most nature4 ,if ,mrs4 ,mardyn is too profuse of natural graces1 too young and buoyant and exuberant in all her movements1 the same fault cannot be found with ,mrs4 ,alsop1 whose smiles give no pleasure1 and whose frowns give unmingled pain4 ,mrs4 ,alsop's ,peggy is a clever recitation of the character1 without being the thing2 and ,mrs4 ,mardyn's is a very full development of her own person1 which is the thing itself4 ,mrs4 ,alsop is the best actress1 though not worth a pin1 and ,mrs4 ,mardyn is the most desirable woman1 which is always worth something4 ,we may apply to these two ladies what ,suckling said of one of his mistresses-- #8,i take her body1 you her mind1-- ,which has the better bargain4' ,,doctrine ,,of ,,philosophical ,,necessity ,the ,examiner4 ,december #aj1 #ahae ----#8,for ,i had learnt a sense sublime ,of something far more deeply interfused1 ,whose dwelling is the light of setting suns1 ,and the round ocean and the living air ,and the blue sky1 and in the mind of man1 ,a motion and a spirit that impels ,all thinking things1 all objects of all thought1 ,and rolls through all things4' ,perhaps1 the doctrine of what has been called philosophical necessity was never more finely expressed than in these lines of a poet1 who1 if he had written only half of what he has done1 would have deserved to be immortal4 ,there can be no doubt that all that exists1 exists by necessity2 that the vast fabric of the universe is held together in one mighty chain1 reaching to the #8threshold of ,jove's throne'2 that whatever has a beginning1 must have a cause2 that there is no object1 no feeling1 no action1 which1 other things being the same1 could have been otherwise2 that thought follows thought1 like wave following wave2 that chance or accident has no share in any thing that comes to pass in the moral or the physical world2 that whatever is1 must be2 that whatever has been1 must have been2 that whatever is to be will be necessarily4 ,i never could doubt for a moment of the truth of this general principle1 and ,i never could comprehend the inferences which have commonly been drawn from it1 both by friends and foes4 ,all the moral consequences which have been attributed to it appear to me mere idle prejudices against it on one side1 and equally gratuitous concessions on the other4 ,the doctrine of necessity leaves morality just where it found it4 ,it does not destroy goodness of disposition or energy of character1 any more than it destroys beauty or strength of person4 ,it does not take away the powers of the mind any more than the use of the limbs4 ,that every thing is by necessity1 no more proves that there is no such thing as good and evil1 virtue and vice1 right and wrong1 in the moral world1 than it proves that there is no such thing as day or night1 heat or cold1 sweet or sour1 food or poison1 in the physical4 ,merit and demerit1 that is to say1 praise and blame1 reward and punishment1 have no place in the physical world1 but that is because they have no effect there2 and for the same reason they have a place in the moral1 because they have an effect there4 ,all the practical conclusions which have been ascribed to the difference between liberty and necessity1 may be equally accounted for 7as they really had their rise7 from the difference between moral and physical necessity4 ,man acts from a cause2 and so far he resembles a stone2 but he does not act from the same cause1 and herein he differs from it4 ,there is a print which ,i have seen from a picture by ,ludovico ,caracci1 in which a female figure1 with a lion by her side1 is represented striking a flame of fire at her feet with a drawn sword4 ,i do not very well understand the allegory1 but it appears to me to furnish a very tolerable illustration of the difference between moral and physical necessity3 for whether this figure strikes the flame with the flat or the sharp side of the sword1 it divides and rises again equally2 it is incapable of punishment for it has no sense of pain1 nor does it apprehend a repetition of the blow4 ,is it the same with the human mind8 ,no2 for it has both the sense of pain and the sense of consequences1 which render it liable to punishment1 by making that punishment one effectual and necessary means of influencing its conduct4 ,a man differs from a stone in that he has feeling and understanding2 and it is this difference that makes him a moral and responsible agent in the true meaning of the terms1 by connecting his present impulses with their future consequences4 ,it may be said that animals have feeling1 and a certain degree of understanding3 and so far they are liable to correction and punishment4 ,a dog or a horse is terrified at the whip or the spur as well as encouraged by kindness4 ,we very properly1 therefore1 threaten them with the one and allure them with the other1 though we neither preach to them of heaven nor hell1 because they have no notion about either4 ,as far as they have understanding1 they have free-will1 for these two words mean one and the same thing4 ,man is the only religious animal1 because he alone 7from a greater power of imagination7 extends his views of consequences into another state of being4--,the application of praise or blame1 as well as of reward and punishment1 is proper1 wherever it is likely to have an effect4 ,we do not talk to the deaf3 we do not shew pictures to the blind2 we do not reason with a wild beast2 we do not quarrel with a stone4 ,because it would be useless4 ,but we do talk to those who can hear2 we shew pictures to those who can see2 we reason with prejudice2 we quarrel with ill-nature4 ,the human mind differs from an inanimate substance or an automaton1 inasmuch as it is actuated by sympathy as well as by necessity4 ,we indeed praise a flower1 a statue1 or a beautiful face1 because they give us pleasure3 we praise a virtuous action1 as an additional incentive to virtue4 #8,praise and blame1 reward and punishment' 7says ,mr4 ,hobbes7 #8are just and proper1 because they fashion the will to justice4' ,merit1 in the scholastic sense1 means something self-caused1 and independent of motives4 ,this sense of the term is flat nonsense1 for there is nothing without a cause--nothing which is not owing to some other thing4 ,the whole theory of merit may be said to turn upon the capacity of any person or thing to mould itself according to the opinion entertained of it4 ,a stone has not this capacity2 and therefore there is no merit in a stone4 ,if you tell a country girl that she is handsome or well made1 her answer generally will be1 that #8,she is as ,god made her4' ,this however does not prove that she is not well made4 ,it is only meant to shew1 that as she has had no hand in her own shape1 and can do nothing to mend it1 the merit is so far none of hers4 ,but if you praise the neatness of her dress1 she has not the same evasion left1 but thinks the flattery well bestowed1 for she is conscious that this depends upon herself2 that she can stay a longer or a shorter time at her glass as she pleases2 and that the pains she has taken have been with a view to the good opinion you express of her4 ,the difference between natural and acquired graces is an obvious dictate of common sense2 unless we adopt the opinion of the ,clown1 that #8a good favour is the effect of study1 but reading and writing come by nature4' ,it is a piece of brutality and ill-nature to point at a hump-backed man1 and call him ,my ,lord3 but there is no great harm in laughing at a person with an aukward slovenly gait1 for the ridicule may remedy the defect4 ,a person has it in his power to turn his toes out instead of in1 whenever he chuses3 he cannot get rid of a natural deformity by any effort of will4 ,beauty and power of every kind excite our love and admiration1 whether in nature1 in morals1 or in art2 but still with a difference4 ,st4 ,paul's is a much nobler as well as larger building than ,st4 ,dunstan's4 ,we accordingly admire the one much more than the other2 but we allow no more merit to the one than the other4 ,all the difference of merit we ascribe to the architect1 and not to the building4 ,why so8 ,because all the vanity belongs to the architect1 and not to the building4--,st4 ,paul's stands where it does2 it lifts its majestic dome to the skies1 whether it is seen or not1 whether it is admired or not4 ,it has 7familiarly speaking7 done nothing to deserve our good opinion1 for it has done nothing with a view to it4 ,now for the same reason that the building has not1 the builder has merited our good opinion1 for he did what he has done with that very view2 was sensible to that good opinion1 and stimulated to exertion by it4 ,it is evident that the admiration we bestow on any work of art1 as an actual object1 is involuntary2 it makes no difference in the object whether we bestow it or not2 we therefore do not make a point of bestowing it3 the praise we give to the artist is voluntary1 and merited in this farther sense1 that we are bound to bestow it as a means to an end3 we indulge it not merely as a sentiment naturally excited by the contemplation of excellence1 but the expression of which is a reward due to the pains taken by the artist1 and to the encouragement of genius4 ,disapprobation and punishment on the other hand necessarily give pain to the person who is the object of them1 but it is to produce a remote good4 ,however1 it equally follows in either case1 that our love and hatred of what is amiable or odious in conscious agents must be different from our feeling towards unconscious ones1 from the sense of the difference of the consequences4 ,the lever1 the screw1 and the wedge1 are the great instruments of the mechanical world3 opinion1 sympathy1 praise and blame1 reward and punishment1 are the lever1 the screw1 and the wedge1 of the moral world4 ,a house is built of stones2 human character depends on motives4 ,is there therefore no difference between one character and another8 ,as well might it be said that there is no difference between one building and another4 ,if merit means something in character1 independent of motives and of all other things1 then there can be no such thing as merit3 but if by merit we mean something which excites our approbation of one character more than another1 and which something is still farther entitled to our approbation1 because it depends upon it for its motive and encouragement1 then undoubtedly this word has a rational meaning in it4 ,to deny praise or blame1 reward or punishment1 to actions1 because they are produced by motives1 is to take away the prop from a house1 because it supports it4--,necessity only supersedes merit by superseding the operation of motives4 ,it is pretended1 that if any action is not perfectly gratuitous1 if it can be traced to any other cause1 the merit must be transferred to that other cause1 and so on without end4 ,this infinite series may be cut short by observing1 that any action is entitled to our good opinion which is affected by it4 ,if our opinion had no influence on the actions of others1 there would so far be no merit4 ,if any one going up ,holborn-hill is pushed by a stronger man against a window and breaks it1 who is the responsible person8 ,the one who pushed the other1 and not the one who broke the glass4 ,because punishment or correcting the moral sense will not prevent a weak man from being pushed against a window by a strong one1 but it will prevent the strong man from pushing him against it4 ,it makes no difference that this person did not act at first without a motive2 the point is1 that here is another motive which will counteract the former one4 ,the true cause of any thing in the practical and moral sense1 is that1 by removing which the effect ceases4 ,a man is a moral agent only in so far as he can do what he will3 for motives can only operate on the will4 ,a man in chains or held by force is not accountable for what he does1 for blame or praise him ever so much1 and he will do1 not what you wish him1 but what others force him to do4 ,you may reasonably exhort a man not to throw himself over ,westminster ,bridge1 but it is in vain1 after he has thrown himself over1 to call out to him to stop4 ,morality means that we have the power to do certain things1 if we will1 or help them1 if we please4 ,merit is moral energy4 ,it is the sense of merit which is the great stimulus of exertion4 ,one thing is more difficult1 requires a greater effort than another4 ,the sense of merit is in proportion to the sense of difficulty4 ,the highest praise is given to the highest exertions1 the greatest rewards are due where the greatest sacrifices have been made4 ,the degree of merit depends then on the degree of voluntary power exerted3 for exertion deserves every kind of encouragement and assistance as it becomes difficult4 ,we give a boy sixpence for going a mile2 a shilling for going two4 ,we need not offer rewards and largesses to vice and indolence2 for all the sanctions of religion and morality are not sufficient to correct them4 ,the admiration with which the story of ,marvell and his leg of mutton is read has not prevented the facility of some modern patriots in commencing courtiers2 but if it should only save us from a single birthday ode1 it will be something4 ,the phlegmatic ,dutchman1 in playing at skittles1 follows his bowl with his eye1 writhes his body to make it turn right1 and cheers it with his voice4 ,if the bowl had sympathy so as to bend with his body1 and to be encouraged to go a little farther by his praising it1 there would be some sense in his doing so4 ,amphion is said to have raised the walls of ,thebes with the sound of his lyre3 in one sense the fable might be true1 for he might have drawn together and civilized his followers by the power of song4 ,the words which ,madame de ,stal some time ago addressed to the ,germans1 ,allemagne1 tu es une nation1 et tu pleurs1 were not without their effect4 ,neither perhaps would the same words be so now1 addressed to her own country--,france1 tu es une nation1 et tu pleurs6 ,we have been led to these remarks by receiving an epistle from an elderly maiden lady1 who complains that she has spent her whole life in censuring and back-biting her neighbours1 and that by what we let fall some time ago1 about there being no such thing as merit and demerit1 we had debarred her of the only use of her tongue and pleasure of her life4 ,we are sorry to have interrupted her1 and hope she will now proceed4 ,we have a good deal left to say on the subject3-- #8,but there is matter for a second rhyme1 ,and we to this must add another tale4' ,,parallel ,,passages ,,in ,,various ,,poets ,the ,examiner4 ,december #bd1 #ahae4 ,being very busy or very indolent this week 7it is no matter which71 we have had recourse to our common-place book 7the first or last resource of authors71 and there find the following instances of parallel passages1 which are at the service of the critics4 ,the conclusion of ,voltaire's tragedy of ,zaire is the speech of ,orosman1 who has killed his mistress1 to her brother1 ,nerestan3-- #8,et toi1 guerrier infortun1' c4 to #8,dis que je l'adorais1 et que l'ai veng4' ,this will probably remind our readers1 as it did us1 of ,othello's farewell speech3-- #8,soft you2 a word or two before you go1' c4 ,after transcribing the above passage1 we were looking about for the traces of the former one1 which had #8vanished into thin air1' and were beginning to suspect that our parallel had totally failed1 till in looking into the lucubrations of ,mr4 ,william ,wade1 who has tried to pick a hole in ,shakespear1 we learnt that the ,french translator of our poet had bona fide translated the passage into legitimate ,french verse1 and that ,voltaire had in consequence1 with singular modesty1 complained that ,ducis had improved upon the original and stolen the whole turn of the passage from him4 ,to be sure1 there is a wide difference in the two passages4 ,there is nothing in the ,french poet of the #8,no more of that1' that fine natural interruption to the gasconade which his distress had just extorted from him2 there is nothing of #8,one that loved not wisely1 but too well1' there is nothing of ,indian pearls or ,arabian gums1 nor is there any allusion to ,aleppo1 nor description of #8a malignant and a turbaned ,turk'2 nor any thing like that fine return upon himself1 and transition from the depth of a dejected spirit to the recollection of former acts of daring defiance1 while in his despair he inflicts on himself the blow with which he formerly chastised an insolent foe4 ,these circumstances are given #8as over-measure' in ,shakespear1 and would be considered as superfluous and extravagant by the ,french critics2 yet they are exactly the circumstances which the ,moor ,othello must have been best acquainted with1 and which1 as some of the most striking circumstances of his past life1 would be forcibly recalled to his memory in parting with it4 ,voltaire has not invented any thing of the same sort for his dying hero2 his speech 7though a very good one of its kind7 is1 as ,susannah says to ,trim1 #8as flat as the palm of one's hand2' it has nothing objectionable in it2 it is just such a speech as any crowned head might make in any of the four quarters of the globe4--,may we be allowed to add 7in passing71 that ,mr4 ,kean does not act this scene well8 ,he gnashes his teeth1 and strikes the dagger into his bosom1 as if he had taken some particular enmity against his own flesh4 ,but this is not so in ,shakespear4 ,the feeling of ,othello is a lofty absence of mind1 in which he throws himself back from the present into the past2 the image he recalls furnishes not only the precedent but the consolation of his present act2 and the pang which he inflicts on himself is relieved1 and unconsciously confounded with the recollection of former acts of grandeur1 and elevation of soul4 ,but to proceed4-- ,in the ,agamemnon of schylus1 is a very beautiful description of the signal fires that were to announce the destruction of ,troy1 thus translated by ,potter3-- #8,what speed could be the herald of this news1' c4 to #8,giv'n by my ,lord t'announce the fall of ,troy4' ,in ,drayton's ,polyolbion 7,song #cj7 this idea is finely varied3-- #8,which ,copland scarce had spoke1 but quickly every hill1' c4 to #8,did mightly commend old ,copland for her song4' ,again1 in a poem of ,mr4 ,wordsworth we find the following lines3-- #8,when ,i had gazed perhaps two minutes' space1' c4 to #8,that there was a loud uproar in the hills4' ,we have been urged several times to take up the subject of ,mr4 ,wordsworth's ,poems1 in order to do them justice4 ,in doing this1 we should satisfy neither his admirers nor his censurers4 ,we have once already attempted the thankless office1 and it did not succeed4 ,indeed we think all comment on them superseded by those lines of ,withers1 which are a complete anticipation of ,mr4 ,wordsworth's style1 where1 speaking of poetry1 he says1-- #8,in my former days of bliss ,her divine skill taught me this1 ,that from every thing ,i saw ,i could some invention draw2 ,and raise pleasure to her height ,through the meanest object's sight2-- ,by the murmur of a spring1 ,or the least bough's rustling1 ,by a daisy whose leaves spread ,shut when ,titan goes to bed2 ,or a shady bush or tree1 ,she could more infuse in me ,than all ,nature's beauties can ,in some other wiser man4' ,,mr4 ,,locke ,a ,,great ,,plagiarist ,the ,examiner4 ,february #be1 #ahaf4 ,mr4 ,locke has at this day all over ,europe the character of one of the most profound and original thinkers that ever lived1 and he is perhaps1 without any exception1 the most barefaced1 deliberate1 and bungling plagiarist1 that ever appeared in philosophy4 ,the reputation which he has acquired1 as the founder of the new system in philosophy1 or of any part of that system1 is a pure imposition4 ,hobbes was the undoubted founder of the system2 and he not only laid the foundation1 but he completed the building4 ,every one of the principles of the modern1 material philosophy of the mind1 is to be found in his works1 perfect and entire1 as it is in the latest commentators of the ,french school4 ,he not only took for his basis the principle that there is no other original faculty in the mind but sensation3 he also pushed this principle into all its consequences1 with a severe1 masterly1 and honest logic1 of which there is scarcely any other example4 ,by thus shewing the full extent of his system1 #8the very head and front of his offending1' without any disguise1 he only got himself an ill name1 and his system was consigned to infamy or oblivion4 ,mr4 ,locke adopted the first principle1 with a clumsy addition to it1 but so as to secure himself the reputation of an original thinker2 and at the same time1 by not following it in a bold and decided manner into any one of its necessary consequences1 he avoided giving the alarm to popular apprehension1 and made a temporary compromise with the common sense and prejudices of his readers4 ,the door being however opened to the introduction of this philosophy1 by the admission of the general principle1 all the rest by degrees followed as a matter of course2 and it has been the business of the ablest metaphysicians ever since to clear what has been considered as the philosophy of ,locke1 from the inconsistences and imperfections which he had suffered to creep into it3 all which improvements on ,locke's ,essay are only a recurrence to the principles laid down by ,hobbes1 in the most explicit and unequivocal manner4 ,to shew how little this last writer has been read1 even by professed metaphysicians1 ,hume attributes the doctrine1 that there are no abstract ideas1 to ,berkeley as an original discovery1 though the arguments used by ,berkeley are almost word for word taken from those used by ,hobbes on the same subject4 ,yet ,locke1 in order we suppose to prevent inquiry into the originality of his own claims1 calls ,hobbes #8a justly exploded author4' ,this question is curious 7philosophy apart7 as a branch of literary history4 ,it is1 we know1 dangerous to tamper with established reputation2 nor should we perhaps have ventured to hazard the accusation we have here made1 if we had not been supported by the authority of so well informed1 candid1 and respectable a writer as ,dugald ,stewart1 whose testimony is of the more value1 as he does not seem to be aware of the general propensity of ,mr4 ,locke to appropriate the ideas of others to his own use1 without disguise or acknowledgement4 ,to any one who takes the trouble to peruse ,professor ,stewart's very elegant ,dissertation just published1 on the rise and progress of modern ,metaphysics1 it will be evident that every one of those original discoveries1 to which the author of the ,essay on ,human ,understanding owes his celebrity1 and on which he particularly plumed himself1 is taken in substance and almost in words from writers of whom he does not once make mention2 for example1 his proposed division of the sciences1 brought forward with great parade and formality1 into ,physics1 ,ethics1 and ,logic1 which is the old division of the ,greek philosophy2 his definition of words which are definable or not definable1 which is taken expressly from ,descartes2 his account of the origin of our ideas1 that of association1 of the social compact1 etc4 which are borrowed from ,hobbes2 his distinction of the properties of matter into primary and secondary1 and his theory of consciousness or reflection as a distinct source of ideas1 which belong to ,descartes2 his hypothesis about animal spirits1 as the medium of association of ideas1 adopted from ,malbranche2 his account of judgment and wit1 which is to be found in ,hobbes1 c4 c4 ,if it be asked1 whether ,mr4 ,locke has not had the merit of combining the materials thus derived from other sources into a complete and masterly system1 the answer would be1 that his work is one of the most confused1 undigested1 and contradictory1 that has been published on the subject4 ,there is no one to whom those lines of the poet were ever more applicable4 #8,fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil1 ,nor in the glistering foil ,set off to the world1 nor in broad rumour lies1 ,but lives and spreads aloft by those pure eyes1 ,and perfect witness of all-judging ,jove4' ,we should hope that ,mr4 ,stewart will examine into and state his conviction on this question fully and clearly in the account of ,mr4 ,locke's ,essay1 which he has promised in the continuation of his work4 ,if he would lend the sanction of his name to shew the real foundation on which ,mr4 ,locke's reputation rests1 it would not be the least service he has rendered to philosophy4 #8,to trace an error to its source is often the only way to refute it4' ,the task is no doubt an invidious1 but it is a necessary one4 ,the name of ,locke is in a manner dear to every lover of truth2 but truth itself should be still dearer4 ,it will perhaps be amusing to the reader 7though not initiated in such studies7 to see the manner in which an idea is bandied about1 in these speculations1 from author to author1 to no sort of purpose4 #8,in one of ,mr4 ,locke's most noted remarks1' 7says the learned ,professor7 #8he has been anticipated by ,malbranche1 on whose clear yet concise statement he does not seem to have thrown much new light by his very diffuse and wordy commentary4'--#8,if in having our ideas in the memory ready at hand1 consists quickness of parts2 in this of having them unconfused1 and being able nicely to distinguish one thing from another1 where there is but the least difference1 consists1 in a great measure1 the exactness of judgment and clearness of reason2 which is to be observed in one man above another4 ,and hence perhaps may be given some reason of that common observation1 that men who have a great deal of wit and prompt memories1 have not always the clearest judgment or deepest reason4 ,for ,wit1 lying most in the assemblage of ideas1 and putting those together with quickness and variety1 wherein can be found any resemblance or congruity1 thereby to make up pleasant pictures and agreeable visions in the fancy3 ,judgment on the contrary1 lies quite on the other side1 in separating carefully one from another1 ideas wherein can be found the least difference1 thereby to avoid being misled by similitude and by affinity to take one thing for another4'--,essay1 etc4 ,b4 ii4 c4 xi4 #b4 #8,il y a donc des esprits de deux sortes4 ,les uns remarquent aisment les diffrences des choses1 et ce sont les bons esprits4 ,les autres imaginent et supposent de la ressemblance entr'elles1 et ce sont les esprits superficielles4'--,recherche de la ,vrit4 #8,at an earlier period1 ,bacon had pointed out the same cardinal distinction in the intellectual characters of individuals4 8,the greatest and as it were radical distinction of geniuses1 in respect of philosophy and science1 is this2 that some are more able and apt at noting the differences of things2 others at noting their similitudes4 ,for steady and acute minds can fix their contemplations1 and remain and dwell on every subtlety of distinction2 whereas more lofty and discursive imaginations recognize and compound even the slightest and commonest resemblances of things40 #8,that strain ,i heard was of a higher mood6--,it is evident that ,bacon has here seized1 in its most general form1 the very important truth perceived by his two ingenious successors in particular cases4 ,wit1 which ,locke contrasts with ,judgment1 is only one of the various talents connected with what ,bacon calls the discursive genius2 and indeed a talent very subordinate in dignity to most of the others4'--,note to the ,dissertation1 p4 #aaf4 ,mr4 ,locke1 by ,wit1 in the passage here referred to1 evidently means ingenuity or fancy generally speaking2 for in the last hundred years1 the use of this term has undergone a great alteration4 ,he however borrowed his definition immediately from #8that exploded author1' ,hobbes1 who says in the ,leviathan1 p4 #cb1--#8,whereas1 in the succession of thoughts1 there is nothing to observe in the things we think on1 but either in what they be like one another1 or in what they be unlike2--those that observe their similitudes1 in case they be such as are but rarely observed by others1 are said to have a good wit1 by which is meant on this occasion a good fancy4 ,but they that observe their differences and dissimilitudes1 which is called distinguishing and discerning and judging between thing and thing1 in case such discerning be not easy1 are said to have a good judgment2 and particularly in matters of conversation and business1 wherein times1 places1 and persons1 are to be discerned1 this virtue is called ,discretion4' ,what is most remarkable in this traditional definition of wit and judgment1 is1 that it is altogether unfounded2 for as ,harris1 the author of ,hermes1 has very well observed1 the finding out the equality of the three angles of a triangle to two right ones1 would1 upon the principles here stated1 be a sally of wit1 instead of an act of the understanding1 and ,euclid's ,elements a collection of bon mots4 ,it may be said in explanation1 that wit discovers false resemblances only4 ,but neither is this true4 ,wit consists in an illustration of an idea by some lucky coincidence or contrast1 which idea may be either false or true1 as it happens4 ,but the best wit is always the truest4 ,when the ,french punsters the other day changed the title of some loyal order from ,compagnons du ,lys into ,compagnons d',ulysse1 the wit lost none of its efficacy1 because there was a lurking suspicion in the mind that the insinuation was true4 ,when ,mr4 ,grattan1 some years ago1 said1 that the only resources of ,ministers were #8the guinea or the gallows1' the alliteration proved nothing1 but neither did it disprove any thing4 ,when the late ingenious ,professor ,porson1 in reply to some enthusiast of the modern school of poetry1 who was exclaiming #8that some contemporary bards would be admired when ,homer and ,virgil were forgotten1' made answer1--#8,and not till then1'--he shewed more wit1 and perhaps not less judgment1 than his antagonist4 ,besides1 the wit here consisted in the distinction4 ,we shall shortly go more into this subject in three papers1 which we propose to write1 on ,imagination1 ,wit1 and ,judgment1 when we shall endeavour to shew that these faculties1 though not the same1 nor always found together1 are not so incompatible as dullness on the one hand1 and folly on the other1 would lead the world to suppose4 ,the most sensible man of our acquaintance is also the wittiest2 and the most extravagant blockhead the dullest matter-of-fact man4 ,the greatest poet that ever lived1 had the most understanding of human nature and affairs4 ,martinus ,scriblerus contains the best commentary on the ,categories2 and we shrewdly suspect that ,voltaire and ,moliere were two as wise men1 that is1 knew as many things that were true and useful1 as ,malbranche and ,descartes4 ,it would have been hard to persuade either of those laughing philosophers that they saw all things in ,god1 or that animals were machines4 ,these are #8the laborious fooleries' of the understanding4 ,mr4 ,stewart has interspersed his history of the progress of opinions with some interesting biographical sketches4 ,of ,anthony ,arnaud1 the author of the ,port ,royal ,logic1 we learn1 that #8he lived to the age of eighty-three1 continuing to write against ,malbranche's opinions concerning ,nature and ,grace1 to his last hour4' ,he died1 says his biographer1 in an obscure retreat at ,brussels1 in #afib1 without fortune1 and even without the comfort of a servant2 he1 whose nephew had been a minister of state1 and who might himself have been a cardinal4 ,the pleasure of being able to publish his sentiments was to him a sufficient recompense4 ,nicole1 his friend and companion in arms1 worn out at length with these incessant disputes1 expressed a wish to retire from the field1 and to enjoy repose4 #8,repose6' replied ,arnaud2 #8won't you have the whole of eternity to repose in8'--,an anecdote which is told of his infancy1 when considered in connection with his subsequent life1 affords a good illustration of the force of impressions received in the first dawn of reason4 ,he was amusing himself one day with some childish sport1 in the library of the ,cardinal du ,perron1 when he requested of the ,cardinal to give him a pen3--,and for what purpose8 said the ,cardinal4--,to write books1 like you1 against the ,huguenots4 ,the ,cardinal1 it is added1 who was old and infirm1 could not conceal his joy at the prospect of so hopeful a successor3 and1 as he was putting the pen into his hand1 said1 #8,i give it to you as the dying shepherd ,damaetas bequeathed his pipe to the little ,corydon4' ,of the celebrated metaphysician ,descartes1 it appears that he was #8a bold campaigner' in his youth2 that he served in ,holland under ,prince ,maurice of ,nassau2 in ,germany1 under ,maximilian of ,bavaria1 in the thirty years' war2 in ,hungary1 and at the siege of ,rochelle1 as a volunteer against the ,english4 ,he passed his life in camps till the age of five-and-twenty1 when he retired to spend the remainder of it--in proving his own existence6 ,what then1 it may be asked after all1 is the use of such studies and pursuits8 ,of the same use as pursuing gilded butterflies1 or any other toy that amuses the mind4 ,mr4 ,hume fixed his residence1 while composing his ,treatise of ,human ,nature1 at the village of ,la ,flche1 where ,descartes was brought up4 ,this is an interesting trait in the life of a philosopher1 who was by no means of the romantic cast4 ,we do not very well understand the lenity or rather the respect with which the memory of ,mr4 ,hume is always treated by our author1 who is so hard upon ,hobbes and others4 ,there is also too much notice taken of ,adam ,smith1 who1 whatever might be his merits as a political economist1 was of a very subordinate class as a philosopher-- #8,the tenth transmitter of a foolish creed4' ,may we add1 that the distinctions of ,metaphysics and ,geography have nothing in common1 nor is truth of any particular country4 ,the learned ,professor makes too little account of the ,german philosopher ,kant1 whose maxim that #8the mind alone is formative1' is the only lever by which the modern philosophy can be overturned4 ,he has indeed overlaid this simple principle by his logical technicalities1 his categories and stuff1 as ,locke has confounded all common sense with his ideas of sensation and ideas of reflection4 ,nothing can be done towards a true theory of the mind1 till philosophers are convinced that all ideas are ideas of the understanding2 and that it requires all the same faculties to have the idea of the stud of a brass nail in an old arm-chair1 that is1 the perception of connection1 limits1 form1 difference1 aye1 and of abstraction1 in this simple object1 as in the highest speculations of theological or metaphysical science4 ,the modern philosophers contend that the mind has no idea of any thing but sensible images3 the way to turn the tables upon them is then to prove1 that in the idea of every one of these sensible objects1 there is necessarily involved the exercise of all those faculties1 of which they deny the existence1 and which are exerted1 only in a different degree1 in the most simple or the most refined operations of the understanding4 ,,shakespear',s ,,female ,,characters ,the ,examiner4 ,july #bh1 #ahaf4 ,shakespear's women 7we mean those who were his favourites1 and whom he intended to be the favourites of the reader7 exist almost entirely in the relations and charities of domestic life4 ,they are nothing in themselves1 but every thing in their attachment to others4 ,we think as little of their persons as they do themselves1 because we are let into the secrets of their hearts1 which are more important4 ,we are too much interested in their affairs to stop to look at their faces1 except by stealth and at intervals4 ,we catch their beauties only sideways as in a glass1 but we everywhere meet their hearts coming at us1--full butt1 as ,miss ,peggy meets her husband in the ,park4 ,no one ever hit the true perfection of the female character1 the sense of weakness leaning on the strength of its affections for support1 so well as ,shakespear--no one ever so well painted natural tenderness free from all affectation and disguise1 that #8,calls true love acted simple modesty'-- no one else ever so well shewed how delicacy and timidity1 urged to an extremity1 grow romantic and extravagant1 for the romance of his heroines 7in which they abound7 is only an excess of the common prejudices of their sex1 scrupulous of being false to their vows1 truant to their affections1 and taught by the force of their feelings when to forego the forms of propriety for the essence of it4 ,his women are in this respect exquisite logicians1 for they argue from what they feel1 and that is a sure game1 when the stake is deep4 ,they know their own minds exactly4 ,high imagination springs from deep habit2 and ,shakespear's women only followed up the idea of what they liked1 of what they had sworn to with their tongues1 and what was engraven on their hearts1 into its untoward consequences4 ,they were the prettiest little set of martyrs and confessors on record4 ,we have almost as great an affection for ,imogen as she had for ,posthumus2 and she deserves it rather better4 ,of all ,shakespear's women she is perhaps the most touching1 the most tender1 and the most true4 ,as to ,desdemona1 who was alone a match for her in good faith and heroic self-devotion1 she had her faults1 and she suffered for them4 ,imogen's incredulity as to her husband's infidelity is much the same as ,desdemona's backwardness to believe ,othello's jealousy4 ,her answer to the most distressing part of the picture is only1 #8my ,lord1 ,i fear1 has forgot ,britain4' ,her readiness to pardon ,iachimo's falsehoods1 and his designs upon her virtue1 is a good lesson to prudes2 and shews 7as perhaps ,shakespear intended it1 or nature for him7 that where there is a strong attachment to virtue1 it has no need to bolster itself up with an outrageous or affected antipathy to vice4 ,the morality of ,shakespear in this way is great2 but it is not to be found in the four last lines of his plays1 in the form of extreme unction4 ,the scene in which ,pisanio gives ,imogen her husband's letter accusing her of incontinency1 is as fine as anything could be3-- #8,pisanio4 ,what cheer1 ,madam8 ,imogen4 ,false to his bed6 ,what is it to be false8 ,to lie in watch there1 and to think on him8 ,to weep 'twixt clock and clock6 ,if sleep charge nature1 ,to break it with a fearful dream of him1 ,and cry myself awake8 ,that's false to 's bed1 is it8 ,pisanio4 ,alas1 good lady6 ,imogen4 ,i false8 thy conscience witness1 ,iachimo1 ,thou didst accuse him of incontinency1 ,thou then look'dst like a ,villain3 ,now methinks1 ,thy favour's good enough4 ,some ,jay of ,italy1 ,whose mother was her painting1 hath betrayed him3 ,poor ,i am stale1 a garment out of fashion1 ,and for ,i am richer than to hang by th' walls1 ,i must be ript2 to pieces with me4 ,oh1 ,men's vows are women's traitors4 ,all good seeming ,by thy revolt1 oh ,husband1 shall be thought ,put on for villainy3 not born where #8t grows1 ,but worn a bait for ,ladies4 ,pisanio4 ,good ,madam1 hear me-- ,imogen4 ,talk thy tongue weary1 speak3 ,i have heard ,i am a strumpet1 and mine ear1 ,therein false struck1 can take no greater wound1 ,nor tent to bottom that4'---- ,when ,pisanio1 who had been charged to kill his mistress1 puts her in a way to live1 she says-- #8,why1 good fellow1 ,what shall ,i do the while8 ,where bide8 ,how live8 ,or in my life what comfort1 when ,i am ,dead to my ,husband8' ,yet when he advises her to disguise herself in boy's clothes1 and suggests #8a course pretty and full in view1' by which she may #8happily be near the residence of ,posthumus1' she exclaims-- #8,oh1 for such means1 ,though peril to my modesty1 not death on #8t1 ,i would adventure4' ,and when ,pisanio1 enlarging on the consequences1 tells her she must change-- ----#8,fear and niceness1 ,the handmaids of all women1 or more truly1 ,woman its pretty self1 into a waggish courage1 ,ready in gibes1 quick answer'd1 saucy1 and ,as quarellous as the weazel'-- ,she interrupts him hastily3-- #8,nay1 be brief3 ,i see unto thy end1 and am almost ,a man already4' ,in her journey thus disguised to ,milford-,haven1 she loses her guide and her way2 and unbosoming her complaints1 says beautifully1-- ----#8,my dear ,lord1 ,thou art one of the false ones3 now ,i think on thee1 ,my hunger's gone2 but even before1 ,i was ,at point to sink for food4' ,she afterwards finds1 as she thinks1 the dead body of ,posthumus1 and engages herself as a foot-boy to serve a ,roman ,officer1 when she has done all due obsequies to him whom she calls her former master3 ----#8,and when ,with wild wood-leaves and weeds ,i ha' strewed his grave1 ,and on it said a century of pray'rs1 ,such as ,i can1 twice o'er1 ,i'll weep and sigh1 ,and leaving so his service1 follow you1 ,so please you entertain me4' ,now this is the very religion of love4 ,is it not8 ,all this1 which is the essence of the character1 is free from every thing like personal flattery or laboured description4 ,she relies little on her personal charms1 which she fears may have been eclipsed by some painted jay of ,italy2 she relies only on her merit1 and her merit is in the depth of her love1 her truth and constancy4 ,our admiration of her beauty is excited as it were with as little consciousness as possible on her part4 ,there are two delicious descriptions given of her1 one when she is asleep1 and one when she is supposed dead4 ,arviragus thus addresses her3 ----#8,with fairest flowers1 ,while summer lasts1 and ,i live here1 ,fidele1 ,i'll sweeten thy sad grave2 thou shalt not lack ,the flow'r that's like thy face1 pale primrose1 nor ,the azure'd hare-bell1 like thy veins1 no1 nor ,the leaf of eglantine1 which not to slander1 ,out-sweeten'd not thy breath4' ,the yellow ,iachimo gives another thus1 when he steals into her bed-chamber3 ----#8,cytherea1 ,how bravely thou becom'st thy bed6 ,fresh lily1 ,and whiter than the sheets6 ,that ,i might touch-- ,but kiss1 one kiss--',tis her breathing that ,perfumes the chamber thus3 the flame o' th' taper ,bows toward her1 and would under-peep her lids ,to see th' enclosed lights now canopied ,under the windows1 white and azure1 laced ,with blue of ,heav'n's own tinct--on her left breast ,a mole cinque-spotted1 like the crimson drops ,i' th' bottom of a cowslip4' ,there is a moral sense in the proud beauty of this last image1 a rich surfeit of the fancy1--as that well-known passage beginning1 #8,me of my lawful pleasure she restrained1 and prayed me oft forbearance1' sets a keener edge upon it by the inimitable picture of modesty and self-denial4 ,desdemona is another instance 7almost to a proverb7 of the devotedness of the sex to a favourite object4 ,she is #8subdued even to the very quality of her lord1' and to ,othello's #8honours and his valiant parts her soul and fortunes consecrates4' ,the lady protests as much herself1 and she is as good as her word4 ,there is not a set description of her in any part of the play2 and the only thing that tends that way is the equivocal and somewhat luscious dialogue that takes place between ,iago and ,cassio as an accompaniment to the ceremonies of the wedding-night4 ,we see her visage in her mind3 her character every where predominates over her person3 #8,a maiden1 never bold2 ,of spirit so still and quiet1 that her motion ,blush'd at itself4' ,she is not a painted idol1 carved out of the poet's brain1 but is herself a worshipper at the shrine of duty4 ,as ,milton dashes the luxurious effect of his descriptions by a moral1 ,shakespear qualifies it by the interest of the story1 as in the scene where ,othello takes ,desdemona by the hand4 ,the truth of conception1 with which timidity and boldness are united in the same character1 is marvellous4 ,the extravagance of her actions1 the pertinacity of her affections1 in a manner arises out of the gentleness of her nature4 ,it is an unreserved reliance on the purity of her intentions1 a surrender of her fears to her love1 a knitting of herself 7heart and soul7 to the fate of another4 ,bating the commencement of her passion1 which is a little fantastical and self-willed 7though that may be accounted for in the same way from an inability to resist a rising inclination7 her whole character consists in having no will of her own1 no prompter but her obedience4 ,her romantic turn is only a consequence of the domestic and practical part of her disposition2 and instead of following ,othello to ,cyprus1 she would rather have remained at home1 #8a moth of peace1' if her husband could have staid with her4 ,her resignation and angelic sweetness of nature do not desert her at the last4 ,the scenes in which she laments and tries to account for ,othello's harsh usage of her are exquisitely managed4 ,after he has struck her and called her names1 she says3 ----#8,alas1 ,iago1 ,what shall ,i do to win my lord again8 ,good friend1 go to him2 for by this light of ,heaven1 ,i know not how ,i lost him4 ,here ,i kneel2 ,if e'er my will did trespass 'gainst his love1 ,either in discourse1 or thought1 or actual deed1 ,or that mine eyes1 mine ears1 or any sense ,delighted them on any other form2 ,or that ,i do not1 and ever did1 ,and ever will1 though he do shake me off ,to beggarly divorcement1 love him dearly1 ,comfort forswear me4 ,unkindness may do much1 ,and his unkindness may defeat my life1 ,but never taint my love4444 ,iago4 ,i pray you be content3 'tis but his humour4 ,the business of the state does him offence4 ,desdemona4 ,if 'twere no other4'---- ,the scene which follows with her maid and the song of the ,willow are equally beautiful1 and shew ,shakespear's extreme power of varying the expression of passion1 in all its moods and in all circumstances4 ,one of the finest passages in ,mr4 ,wordsworth's poems is that where he has given us his opinion of ,desdemona3 #8,books1 dreams1 are each a world2 and books1 we know1 ,are a substantial world1 both pure and good1 ,round which1 with tendrils strong as flesh and blood1 ,our pastime and our happiness may grow2 ,matter wherein right voluble ,i am1 ,two let me mention dearer than the rest1 ,the gentle lady wedded to the ,moor1 ,and heavenly ,una with her milk-white lamb4' ,we have said enough to explain our idea of the general turn of ,shakespear's female characters4 ,we need not mention ,ophelia or ,cordelia1 both of which admit of little external decoration1 and which it would seem impossible to treat in any other way than as ,shakespear has represented them1 abstracted from every thing but their heart-breaking ties to others1 if ,tate had not adorned the person of ,cordelia with a number of beauties1 and finished her story with a lover4 ,cleopatra1 who has certainly a personal identity of her own1 and who is described in all the glowing pomp of eastern luxury1 is not an exception to what we have said1 for she is not intended as a model of her sex4 ,what we best recollect of ,cressida1 is ,pandarus's description of her after bringing her to the tent1 where he says1--#8,and her heart beats like a new-ta'en sparrow'--which must be allowed to be quite ,shakesperian4 ,miranda appears to be the most conscious of her charms of any of his favourites 7perhaps from the very solitude in which she had lived71 a sort of miracle of her father's island1 and the goddess of her new-found lover's idolatry4 ,perdita is a very pretty low-born lass1 the ,queen of curds and cream--but she makes us think of other things more than of her face4 ,there is one passage in which the poet has1 we suspect1 very artfully rallied the indifference of the sex to abstract reasoning3 #8,perdita4 ,sir1 the fairest flowers o' th' season ,are our carnations1 and streak'd gilly-flowers1 ,which some call ,nature's bastards3 of that kind ,our rustic garden's barren1 and ,i care not ,to get slips of them4 ,polixenes4 ,wherefore1 gentle maiden1 ,do you neglect them8 ,perdita4 ,for ,i have heard it said1 ,there is an art which1 in their piedness shares ,with great creating nature4 ,polixenes4 ,say1 there be1 ,yet nature is made better by no mean1 ,but nature makes that mean2 so o'er that art ,which you say adds to nature1 is an art ,that nature makes3 you see1 sweet maid1 we marry ,a gentler scyon to the wildest stock1 ,and make conceive a bark of baser kind ,by bud of nobler race4 ,this is an art ,which does mend nature1 change it rather2 but ,the art itself is nature4 ,perdita4 ,so it is4 ,polixenes4 ,then make your garden rich in gilly-flowers1 ,and do not call them bastards4 ,perdita4 ,i'll not put ,the dibble in earth1 to set one slip of them1' etc4 ,here the lady gives up the argument1 but keeps her opinion4 ,we had forgot one charming instance to our purpose1 which is the character of ,helen in ,all's ,well that ,ends ,well2 and this also puts us in mind that ,shakespear probably borrowed his female characters from the ,italian novelists1 and not from ,english women4 ,,miss ,o',,neill',s ,,widow ,,cheerly ,the ,examiner4 ,january #ab1 #ahag4 ,we have few idols1 and those few we do not like to lose4 ,but the warmth of our idolatry of ,miss ,o',neill will be brought to a much lower temperature if she goes on playing comedy at this rate4 ,we cannot form any compromise in our imagination between ,belvidera and the ,widow ,cheerly4 ,to speak our minds plainly1 ,miss ,o',neill is by far the best tragic actress we ever saw1 with one great exception1 and she is the worst comic actress we remember1 without any exception at all4 ,her comedy is cast in lead1 and sad doleful dumps she makes of it4 ,it is tragedy in low-heeled shoes4 ,her spirit is boisterousness2 her playfulness languid affectation2 her familiarity oppressive2 her gaiety lamentable4 ,there never was such labour in vain4 ,a smile trickles down her cheek like a tear1 and her voice whines through a repartee in as many winding bouts of mawkish insinuation as through the most pathetic address4 ,we cannot bear all this evident condescension2 it overpowers us4 ,in one scene she was very much applauded3 it is that in which the ,widow ,cheerly gives a characteristic description of her former husband's introduction of her to his bottle-companions3 #8,this is my wife1' etc4 ,now it cannot be denied that she mimicked the airs and manner of the fox-hunting squire very well1 and her voice fairly gave the house a box on the ear4 ,but we do not wish to see ,miss ,o',neill in the part of ,squire ,western4 ,we conceive that this delightful actress cannot descend lower than the soldier's daughter1 except by playing the sailor's daughter1 and giving the word of command in a striped blue jacket and trowsers instead of a striped green gown4 ,in these tom-boy hectoring heroines ,mrs4 ,charles ,kemble1 whom1 to the best of our belief1 she imitates1 beats her out and out2 and ,mrs4 ,mardyn1 besides being taller and handsomer1 has really more of the vis comica4 ,but we will have done with this ungrateful subject4 ,the comedy itself1 of ,the ,soldier's ,daughter1 is the beau ideal of modern comedy4 ,it contains the whole theory and practice of sentimentality1 of which a bank-note offered and declined is the circulating medium1 and a white cambric pocket-handkerchief1 that catches the crystal tear in the eye of sensibility ere it falls1 the visible emblem4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,melford are an amiable young couple in lodgings and in great distress1 but you do not learn how they got into one any more than the other4 ,they utter their complaints1 but are too delicate to touch upon the cause1 and you sympathise with their sorrows1 not with their misfortunes4 ,they have a little girl1 who has a little doll1 which she christens #8,miss ,good ,gentleman1' after a person whose name she does not know4 ,this is a very palpable hit1 and tells amazingly4 ,the unknown benefactor of these unfortunates incognito is a young ,mr4 ,heartall1 a wild1 giddy character1 that is1 in the modern sense1 a person who never stands still on the stage--who is always running into scrapes1 which he walks out of without leaving any apology or account behind him4 ,then there is the ,widow ,cheerly1 in the same house with the ,melfords1 whose heart and whose ridicule are ever open to the distressed1 and who makes a match with ,young ,heartall1 because he makes her an offer1 it not being consistent with the gallantry of a soldier's daughter to decline a challenge of that sort4 ,then there is ,old ,heartall1 uncle to ,young ,heartall1 and an ,east ,indian ,governor1 who says one thing and does another2 calls his nephew a scoundrel1 and throws his arms round his neck4 ,he is not a character1 but a contradiction4 ,then there is a ,mr4 ,ferret1 who commits all sorts of unaccountable villainies through the piece1 without any ostensible motives1 and at the end of it you find that he has acted upon an abstract principle of avarice4 #8,if1' he says1 #8there had been no such thing as avarice1 ,i had not been a villain4' ,this is a very edifying confession of faith2 and so not finding this principle answer1 he repents upon an abstract principle of repentance1 and also at the instigation of his old benefactor1 7just arrived from the ,east and accordingly a great moralist71 who reads him a great moral lecture1 and advises him to give up his ill-gotten gains4 ,as ,mr4 ,ferret submits to his advice backed by the law1 ,old ,heartall is prevailed on to forgive his designs upon the lives1 characters1 and fortunes of his acquaintance1 from an amiable weakness of heart1 and because the ,widow ,cheerly1 who intercedes for him1 #8has roguish eyes4' ,mr4 ,liston plays a foolish servant in the ,heartall family1 whose name is ,timothy4 ,the name of ,timothy is one of the jokes of this part3 ,mr4 ,liston's face is the other1 and the best of the two4 ,the whole tone of this play reminded us strongly of a very excellent criticism which we had read a short time before on the cant of ,modern ,comedy1 in one of the notes to ,mr4 ,lamb's ,specimens of ,early ,dramatic ,poetry3-- #8,the insipid levelling morality to which the modern stage is tied down would not admit of such admirable passions as these scenes are filled with4 ,a puritanical obtuseness of sentiment1 a stupid infantile goodness1 is creeping among us1 instead of the vigorous passions1 and virtues clad in flesh and blood1 with which the old dramatists present us4 ,those noble and liberal casuists could discern in the differences1 the quarrels1 the animosities of men1 a beauty and truth of moral feeling1 no less than in the iteratively inculcated duties of forgiveness and atonement4 ,with us1 all is hypocritical meekness4 ,a reconciliation scene 7let the occasion be never so absurd and unnatural7 is always sure of applause4 ,our audiences come to the theatre to be complimented on their goodness4 ,they compare notes with the amiable characters in the play1 and find a wonderful similarity of disposition between them4 ,we have a common stock of dramatic morality1 out of which a writer may be supplied1 without the trouble of copying it from originals within his own breast4 ,to know the boundaries of honour--to be judiciously valiant--to have a temperance which shall beget a smoothness in the angry swellings of youth--to esteem life as nothing when the sacred reputation of a parent is to be defended1 yet to shake and tremble under a pious cowardice when that ark of an honest confidence is found to be frail and tottering--to feel the true blows of a real disgrace blunting that sword which the imaginary strokes of a supposed false imputation had put so keen an edge upon but lately--to do1 or to imagine this done in a feigned story1 asks something more of a moral sense1 somewhat a greater delicacy of perception in questions of right and wrong1 than goes to the writing of two or three hackneyed sentences about the laws of honour as opposed to the laws of the land or a common-place against duelling4 ,yet such things would stand a writer now a days in far better stead than ,captain ,ager and his conscientious honour2 and he would be considered as a far better teacher of morality than old ,rowley or ,middleton1 if they were living4' ,,penelope ,,and ,,the ,,dansomanie4 ,the ,examiner4 ,january #ai1 #ahag4 ,,king',s ,,theatre4 ,this theatre was opened for the present season under very favourable auspices2 and we congratulate the public on the prospect of the continuance of this addition to the stock of elegant amusement4 ,though the opera is not among the ordinary resources of the lovers of the drama1 it is a splendid object in the vista of a winter's evening1 and we should be sorry to see it mouldering into decay1 its graceful columns and ,corinthian capitals fallen1 and its glory buried in ,chancery4 ,we rejoice when the ,muses escape out of the fangs of the law1 nor do we like to see the ,graces arrested--in a pas de trois4 ,we do not #8like to see the unmerited fall of what has long flourished in splendour2 any void produced in the imagination2 any ruin on the face of ,art4' ,at present we hope better things from the known tastes and talents of the gentleman who is understood to have undertaken the management of the principal department1 and from what we have seen of the performances with which the company have commenced their career4 ,the pieces on ,saturday and ,tuesday were the ,opera of ,penelope by ,cimarosa1 and the inimitable comic ,ballet1 ,the ,dansomanie4 ,the first is1 what it professes to be1 a ,grand ,serious ,opera3 but it is somewhat heavy and monotonous4 ,it introduced to the ,english ,stage several actors of considerable eminence abroad4 ,the principal were ,mad4 ,camporese as ,penelope1 ,madame ,pasta as ,telemachus1 and ,signor ,crivelli as ,ulysses4 ,the last of these appears to be as good an actor as a singer4 ,his gestures have considerable appropriateness and expression1 besides having that sustained dignity and studied grace1 which are essential to the harmony of the ,opera2 and his tones in singing are full1 clear1 and so articulate1 that any one at all imbued with the ,italian language can follow the words with ease4 ,madame ,camporese performed ,penelope1 and drew down the frequent plaudits of the house by the sweetness of her voice1 and the flexibility of execution which she manifested in some of the most difficult and impassioned passages4 ,if we were to express our opinion honestly1 we should say that we received most pleasure from ,madame ,pasta's ,telemachus4 ,there is a natural eloquence about her singing which we feel1 and therefore understand4 ,her dress and figure also answered to the classical idea we have of the youthful ,telemachus4 ,her voice is good1 her action is good3 she has a handsome face1 and very handsome legs4 ,the ladies1 we know1 think otherwise3 this is the only subject on which we think ourselves better judges than they4--,of the ,dansomanie we will say nothing1 lest we should be supposed to have caught the madness which it ridicules so sportively and gracefully4 ,the whole is excellent1 but the ,minuet de la ,cour is sublime3 and the ,gavot which succeeds it1 is as good4 ,madame ,leon was exquisite1 and she had a partner worthy of her4 #8,such were the joys of our dancing days4' ,really when we see these dances1 and hear the music1 which our old fantastical dancing master used to scrape upon his kit1 played in full orchestra1 we do not know what to make of it2 we wish we were old dancing-masters1 or learning to dance2 or that we had lived in the time of ,henry ,,iv4 ,the tears do not come in our eyes2 that source is dry3 but we exclaim with the ,son of ,fingal1 #8,roll on1 ye dark-brown years6 ye bring no joy on your wing to ,ossian4' ,,oroonoko4 ,the ,examiner4 ,january #bf1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane4 ,southern's tragedy of ,oroonoko1 which has not been acted1 we believe1 for some years1 has been brought forward here to introduce ,mr4 ,kean as the ,royal ,slave4 ,it was well thought of4 ,we consider it as one of his best parts4 ,it is also a proof to us of what we have always been disposed to think1 that ,mr4 ,kean1 when he fully gives up his mind to it1 is as great in pure pathos as in energy of action or discrimination of character4 ,in general1 he inclines to the violent and muscular expression of passion1 rather than to that of its deep1 involuntary1 heart-felt workings4 ,if he does this upon any theory of the former style of expression being more striking and calculated to produce an immediate effect1 we think the success of his ,richard ,,ii4 and of this play alone 7not to mention innumerable fine passages in his other performances71 might convince him of the perfect safety with which he may trust himself in the hands of the audience1 whenever he chuses to indulge in #8the melting mood4' ,we conceive that the range of his powers is greater in this respect than he has yet ventured to display1 and that if the taste of the town is not yet ripe for the change1 he has genius enough to lead it1 wherever truth and nature point the way4 ,his performance of ,oroonoko was for the most part decidedly of a mild and sustained character2 yet it was highly impressive throughout1 and most so1 where it partook least of violence or effort4 ,the strokes of passion which came unlooked for and seemed to take the actor by surprise1 were those that took the audience by surprise1 and only found relief in tears4 ,of this kind was the passage in which1 after having been harrowed up to the last degree of agony and apprehension at the supposed dishonourable treatment of his wife1 and being re-assured on that point1 he falls upon her neck with sobs of joy and broken laughter1 saying1 #8,i knew they could not1' or words to that effect4 ,the first meeting between him and ,imoinda was also very affecting2 and the transition to tenderness and love in it was even finer than the expression of breathless eagerness and surprise4 ,there were many other passages in which the feelings1 conveyed by the actor1 seemed to gush from his heart1 as if its inmost veins had been laid open4 ,in a word1 ,mr4 ,kean gave to the part that glowing and impetuous1 and at the same time deep and full expression1 which belongs to the character of that burning zone1 which ripens the souls of men1 as well as the fruits of the earth6 ,the most striking part in the whole performance was in the uttering of a single word4 ,oroonoko1 in consequence of his gentle treatment1 and the flattering promises that are held out to him of safe conduct to his own country1 of the restoration of his liberty and his beloved ,imoinda1 thinks well of the persons into whose hands he has fallen2 and it is in vain that ,aboam 7,mr4 ,rae7 tries to work him up to suspicion and revenge by general descriptions of the sufferings of his countrymen1 or of the cruelty and treachery of their white masters3 but at the suggestion of the thought1 that if they remain where they are1 ,imoinda will become the mother1 and himself1 a prince and a hero1 the father of a race of slaves1 he starts and the manner in which he utters the ejaculation #8,hah6' at the world of thought which is thus shewn to him1 like a precipice at his feet1 resembles the first sound that breaks from a thunder-cloud1 or the hollow roar of a wild beast1 roused from its lair by hunger and the scent of blood4 ,it is a pity that the catastrophe does not answer to the grandeur of the menace2 and that this gallant vindicator of himself and his countrymen fails in his enterprise1 through the treachery and cowardice of those whom he attempts to set free1 but #8who were by nature slaves6' ,the story of this servile war is not without a parallel elsewhere3 it reads #8a great moral lesson' to ,europe1 only changing black into white2 and the manner in which ,oroonoko is prevailed on to give up his sword1 and his treatment afterwards1 by a man in ,british uniform1 seems to have been the model of the ,convention of ,paris4 ,it only required one thing to have made it complete1 that the ,governor1 who is expected in the island1 should have arrived in time to break the agreement1 and save the credit of his subaltern4 ,the political allusions throughout1 that is1 the appeals to common justice and humanity1 against the most intolerable cruelty and wrong1 are so strong and palpable1 that we wonder the piece is not prohibited4 ,there is that black renegade ,othman1 who betrays his country in the hopes of promotion1 and the favour of his betters3 how like he is to many a white-faced loon1 but that #8the devil has not damned them black6' ,politics apart--,oroonoko is a very interesting moral play4 ,it is a little tedious sometimes1 and a little common-place at all times1 but it has feeling and nature to supply what it wants in other respects4 ,the negroes in it 7we could wish them out of it1 but then there would be no play7 are very ugly customers upon the stage4 ,one blackamoor in a picture is an ornament1 but a whole cargo of them is more than enough4 ,this play puts us out of conceit with both colours1 theirs and our own2 the sooty slave's1 and his cold1 sleek1 smooth-faced master's4--,miss ,somerville was a great relief to the natural and moral deformity of the scene4 ,she looked like the idea of the poet's mind4 ,her resigned1 pensive1 unconscious look and attitude1 at the moment she is about to be restored to the rapturous embrace of her lover1 was a beautiful dramatic picture4 ,she is an acquisition to the milder parts of tragedy4 ,she interests on the stage1 for she is interesting in herself4 ,she cannot help being a heroine1 if she but shews herself4 ,she was as elegantly dressed in ,imoinda1 for an ,indian maid1 in light1 flowered drapery1 as she was in ,imogine1 for a lady of old romance1 in trains of lead-coloured satin4 ,her voice is sweet1 but lost in its own sweetness2 and we who hear her at some distance1 can only catch #8the music of her honey-vows1' like the indistinct murmur of a hive of bees4 ,mr4 ,bengough does not improve upon us by acquaintance4 ,all that we have of late discovered in him is that he has grey eyes4 ,little ,smith made an excellent representative of the coasting ,guinea captain4 ,john ,bull could not desire to have better justice done to his mind or his body4--,southern1 the author of ,oroonoko1 was also the author of ,isabella1 or the ,fatal ,marriage1 in both of which #8he often has beguiled us of our tears4' ,he died at the age of eighty-six1 in #agdf4 ,gray1 the poet1 speaks thus of him in a letter1 dated from ,burnham1 in ,buckinghamshire1 #agcg4 #8,we have here old ,mr4 ,southern1 at a gentleman's house a little way off3 he is now seventy-seven years old1 and has almost wholly lost his memory3 but is as agreeable as an old man can be3 at least ,i persuade myself so1 when ,i look at him1 and think of ,isabella and ,oroonoko4' #8,,the ,,pannel' ,,and #8,,the ,,ravens' ,the ,examiner4 ,february #b1 #ahag4 ,there has been little new this week4 ,a new after-piece or melo-drame has been brought forward at ,covent-garden1 and the old farce of the ,pannel revived at ,drury-,lane4 ,we can say but little in praise of the former1 except the excellence of the acting and the manner in which it is got up4 ,the strength of the house is mustered in a second-rate production1 and from the list of names in the play-bills1 the public go to see the performers1 if not the performance1 and come away at least half satisfied4 ,they manage these things differently at ,drury-lane1 and not so well4 ,we deny that the comic strength of the two houses is so unequal as is sometimes supposed4 ,for instance1 at ,drury-lane1 they have ,munden1 ,dowton1 ,oxberry1 and ,knight2 ,harley is droll too2 and in women1 they beat them out and out1 for they have ,miss ,kelly4 ,to be sure1 they have not ,liston2 so they must kick the beam4 ,mr4 ,liston is the greatest comic genius of the age4 ,if we were very dull and sad indeed1 we should avoid going to any farce or comedy in which he did not appear1 as only tantalising to our feelings1 and promising relief without affording it3 but we must be dull indeed1 if we did not bite at the bait of ,mr4 ,liston's ,lubin ,log4 ,his comic humour is a sort of oil or #8balsam of fierabras' for all imaginary wounds that are not a foot deep4 ,his laugh might tickle royalty itself after the howling of the rabble1 or make one of the wax figures at ,mrs4 ,salmon's relax from the inflexibility of its state4 ,then there is ,miss ,stephens at ,covent-garden1 and there are the three ,miss ,dennets--like #8,circe and the ,sirens three4' ,we always see the ,miss ,dennets at the theatre1 and they sometimes glide before our imagination at other times2 but we seldom hear ,miss ,stephens now4 ,we want to see her again in ,mandane1 in which we have seen her eight times already1 and to hear her sing ,if o'er the cruel tyrant ,love1 which we could hear her sing for ever4 ,we want to see her in ,polly for the seventh time1 and in ,rosetta for the fifth1 we believe it will be1 when we see her in it again1 which will be when she next plays in it4 ,pray how long will it be first1 ,mr4 ,fawcett8 ,we suppose not till ,miss ,o',neill is tired of tiring the audience in ,mrs4 ,oakley1 or #8the ravens are hoarse that croak over ,mr4 ,emery's head' in the ,pangs of ,conscience4 ,something new1 always something new4 ,that is the taste of ,covent ,garden1 and the town4 ,it is not our's4 ,we are for something old4 ,toujours perdrix4 ,we like to read the same books1 and to see the same plays1 and the same faces over again--always provided we liked them at first4 ,now there is one face which we never liked1 and never shall like1 which is the face of ,tyranny1 and the older it gets1 the uglier it gets in our eyes1 and in this1 as a matter of taste1 we differ entirely with ,mr4 ,canning1 though he has been declared by a classical authority to be #8the most elegant mind since ,virgil4' ,we differ with him notwithstanding4--,the ,ravens1 or the ,pangs of ,conscience1 is a melo-drame taken from the ,french1 of the same breed1 but an inferior specimen1 as the ,maid and ,magpie1 and the ,family of ,anglade4 ,it is a kind of renewal of the age of augury adapted to the modern theories of probability1 by being reduced within the limits of natural history4 ,these pieces take for their text the lines1 #8,and choughs and magpies shall bring forth ,the secret'st man of blood4' ,in the ,pangs of ,conscience1 as in the ,maid of ,palisseau1 there is a robbery1 a trial of persons innocently suspected of it1 and a discovery of the real perpetrators1 just at the critical moment1 by the intervention of two of the feathered creation4 ,just as sentence has been pronounced on the supposed criminals 7,terry and ,blanchard7 by the ,judge1 7,barrymore1 who really performed this character admirably7 two ,ravens fly in upon the stage1 the same who had hovered over the scene of the murder and robbery in the adjacent forest1 and by their silent but dreadful appeal to the conscience of ,jacques du ,noir 7,emery71 who is not like his cousin ,bruno du ,noir 7poor ,farley7 a hardened1 but a conscientious villain1 reveal the mystery of the whole transaction1 by which the guilty are punished1 and the innocent miraculously escape4--,there was some fine and powerful acting by ,emery in the part of the repentant assassin4 ,bruno in vain endeavours to appease and quiet him1 but he still roars out lustily to give vent both to the pangs of his conscience and the #8grief of a wound' which he has got in the encounter from an old rusty fowling-piece of ,fawcett's1 whom they plunder and kill4 ,the greatest part of this romantic fiction is tedious1 and the whole of it improbable1 but from the goodness of the acting1 and some strokes of interest in the situations1 it went off with applause4 ,of the ,pannel1 we have only room to add that we think ,beatrice1 who is the subordinate heroine of the piece1 the best specimen of ,mrs4 ,alsop's acting4 ,we saw it from a remote part of the house1 and her voice and manner at this distance sometimes reminded us of her mother's4 ,,john ,,gilpin ,the ,examiner4 ,may #d1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane4 ,when ,mr4 ,dowton advertised for his benefit that he was to appear in the after-piece as ,john ,gilpin1 and to ride for that night only1 we immediately felt tempted to go as the self-appointed executors and residuary legatees of the original author of the story1 who concludes his account with these two lines-- #8,and when he next does ride abroad1 ,may we be there to see4' ,so we took upon us to fulfil ,cowper's wish1 and went to see1 not ,john ,gilpin1 nor1 as we are credibly informed1 even ,mr4 ,dowton1 but something very laughable1 and still more absurd1 which had however a certain charm about it1 from the very name of the hero of the piece4 ,we have an interest in ,john ,gilpin2 aye1 almost as great an interest as we have in ourselves2 for we remember him almost as long4 ,we remember the prints of him and his travels hung round a little parlour where we used to visit when we were children--just about the time of the beginning of the ,french ,revolution4 ,while the old ladies were playing at whist1 and the young ones at forfeits1 we crept about the sides of the room and tracked ,john ,gilpin from his counter to his horse1 from his own door to the turnpike1 and far beyond the turnpike gate and the bell at ,edmonton1 with loss of wig and hat1 but with an increasing impetus and reputation1 the farther he went from home4 #8,the turnpike men their gates wide open threw1 ,he carries weight1 he rides a race1 ',tis for a thousand pounds4' ,what an impression was here made1 never to be effaced6 ,what a thing it is to be an author1 and how much better a thing it is to be a reader1 with all the pleasure and without any of the trouble--but without any of the fame1 you will say4 ,that is not worth two-pence4 ,and yet true fame is something1 the fame1 for instance1 of ,cowper or of ,thomson--not to live in the mouths of pedants1 and coxcombs1 and professional men1 but in the heart and soul of every living being1 to mingle with every thought1 to beat in every pulse1 to be hailed with transport by those who are young1 and to be remembered with regret by those who are old1 to be #8first1 last1 and midst' in the minds of others4 ,true fame is like a ,lapland sun1 that never goes down2 it rises with us in the morning1 and rolls round and round till our night of life4 ,why1 look here1 what a thing it is to be an author6 ,john ,gilpin delighted us when we were children1 and were we to die to-morrow1 the name of ,john ,gilpin would excite a momentary sense of pleasure4 ,the same feeling of delight1 with which at ten years old we read the story1 makes us thirty years after go1 laughing1 to see the play4 ,in all that time1 the remembrance has been cherished at the heart1 like the pulse that sustains our life4 #8,that ligament1 fine as it was1 was never broken6' and yet it was nearly broken the other night1 in the after-piece of this name1 and would have been quite so for the evening1 if it had not been for ,mr4 ,munden1 who1 as a subordinate agent1 prevented ,mr4 ,dowton from breaking his neck in the principal character4 ,we differed from the audience on this occasion1 who did not much relish ,mr4 ,munden in his part of a cockney3 we relished him altogether and mightily4 ,his speech1 his countenance1 and his dress1 were in high costume and keeping4 ,there was a greatness of gusto about ,timothy ,brittle1 ,mrs4 ,gilpin's favourite but unfortunate son-in-law4 ,it might be said of ,mr4 ,munden in this character1 that not only did his dress appear to have come fresh from the shop-board1 his coat1 his pantaloons1 his waistcoat--but his speech was clipped and snipped as with a pair of sheers1 and his face looked just as if the tailor's goose had gone over it4 ,it was a fine and inimitable piece of acting1 but it was damned4--,dowton1 in ,the ,rivals1 played ,mrs4 ,malaprop1 and ,mrs4 ,sparks played ,sir ,anthony ,absolute4 ,we cannot say much of these transformations1 for the performers themselves remained just the same1 breeches and petticoats out of the question2 nothing was transformed or ridiculous but their dress4 ,dowton was as blunt and bluff1 and ,mrs4 ,sparks was as keen1 querulous1 and scolding1 as in any of their usual characters4 ,the effect was flat after the first entre1 and the whole play was1 in other respects1 very poorly got up2--quite in the comic neglig of ,drury-lane4--,we ought to say something of ,mrs4 ,hill1 who came out on ,tuesday evening as ,lady ,macbeth4 ,she is neither a good nor a bad actress4 ,she has1 however1 a sentimental drawl in her voice and manner which is very little to our taste1 and not at all in character as ,lady ,macbeth4 ,the ,king never dies4 ,why should ,mrs4 ,siddons ever die8 ,why1 because ,kings are fictions in law3 ,mrs4 ,siddons was one of nature's greatest works4 ,,don ,,giovanni ,,and ,,kean',s ,,eustace ,,de ,,st4 ,,pierre ,the ,examiner4 ,may #ah1 #ahag4 ,the last time we saw the ,opera of ,don ,giovanni was from a distant part of the house3 we saw it the other evening near2 and as the impression was somewhat different1 we wish to correct one or two things in our former statement4 ,madame ,fodor sings and acts the part of ,zerlina as charmingly as ever1 but she does not look it so well near as at a greater distance4 ,she has too much em bon point1 is too broad-set for the idea of a young and beautiful country girl3 her mouth is laughing and good-natured1 but does not answer to ,spenser's description of ,belphebe1--and it cannot be concealed that ,zerlina1 the delightful ,zerlina1 has a cast in her eyes4 ,her singing1 however1 made us forget all these defects1 and after the second line of ,la ci darem1 we had quite recovered from our disappointment4 ,on the whole1 we at present prefer the air of ,vedrai ,carino1 which she sings to ,masetto to comfort him1 even to the duet with ,don ,giovanni4 ,there was some uncertainty about encoring her in this song1--not1 we apprehend1 because the audience were afraid of tiring the actress1 but because they were tired themselves4 ,madame ,fodor was encored in all her songs throughout the piece4--,this might be thought hard upon her2 we dare say she would have thought it harder if she had not4 ,signor ,ambrogetti's acting as ,don ,giovanni improves upon a nearer acquaintance4 ,there is a softness approaching to effeminacy in the expression of his face1 which accords well with the character1 and an insinuating archness in his eye1 which takes off from the violent effect of his action4 ,the serenade of ,don ,giovanni was omitted4 ,as to ,naldi1 he is in too confirmed possession of the stage to be corrigible to advice4 ,he is one of those old birds that are not to be caught with chaff4 ,the sly rogue1 ,leporello1 seems to have grown grey in the service of iniquity1 and hangs his nose over the stage with a formidable bravura aspect1 as if he could suspend the orchestra from it4 ,angrisani is an admirable1 and we might say1 first-rate comic actor4 ,he has fine features2 a manly1 rustic voice2 and we never saw disdain1 impatience1 the resentment and relenting of the jealous lover1 better expressed than in the scene between him and ,madame ,fodor1 where she makes that affecting appeal to his forgiveness in the song of ,batte1 ,batte1 ,masetto4 ,it was inimitably acted on both sides4 ,,drury-,,lane4 ,mr4 ,kean has appeared in ,eustace de ,st4 ,pierre in the ,surrender of ,calais4 ,he has little to do in it2 and he might as well not have appeared in the character1 for he does not look well in it4 ,he was badly dressed in a doublet of green baize1 and in villainous yellow hose4 ,it was like the player's description of ,hecuba-- #8,a clout upon that head ,where late the diadem stood3 and for a robe ,a blanket1 in the alarm of fear caught up4' ,but we shall not1 #8though we have seen this1 with tongue in venom steep'd1 pronounce treason against fortune's state1' or against the ,managers of ,drury-lane4 ,mr4 ,kean shewed his usual talents in this part2 but it afforded less scope and fewer opportunities for them than any part in which we have ever seen him4 ,we are not sorry1 however1 that he has got into the part1 as a kind of truce with tragedy4 ,why should he not1 like other actors1 sometimes have a part to walk through8 ,must we for ever be expecting from him1 as if he were a little ,jupiter tonans1 #8thunder1 nothing but thunder8' ,it is too much for any mortal to play ,othello and ,sir ,giles in the same week--we mean1 as ,mr4 ,kean plays them4 ,he is1 we understand1 to appear in a new character1 and sing a new song1 for his benefit to-morrow week4 ,,character ,,of ,,the ,,country ,,people ,the ,examiner4 ,july #ah1 #ahai4 #8,here be truths4'--,dogberry4 ,first1 there is an old woman in the neighbouring village1 fifty-six years old1 with a wooden leg1 who never saw a leg of mutton roasted1 or a piece of beef put into the pot2 and who regards any person who has not lived all his life on rusty bacon as a non-descript or #8mountain foreigner4' ,yet this venerable matron1 who now officiates as cook to a lady #8retired from public haunts' into a remote part of the country1 kept her father's house1 who was a little farmer1 for twenty years2 so that she ranks1 in the scale of rural existence1 above her neighbours4 ,what then must the notions of most of them be of the savoir vivre8 ,is this the sum and substance of all our boasts of the roast-beef of old ,england8--,the truth is1 that the people in this part of the country 7,i do not know how it is in others7 have neither food nor cloathing wherewith to be content2 nor are they content without them1 nor with those that have them4 ,any one dressed in a plain broad-cloth coat is in their eyes a sophisticated character1 as outlandish a figure as my ,lord ,foppington4 ,a smock-frock1 and shoes with hob-nails in them1 are an indispensable part of country etiquette2 and they hoot at or pelt any one1 who is presumptuous enough to depart from this appropriate costume4 ,this1 if we may believe a philosophical poet of the present day1 is the meaning of the phrase in ,shakespear1 #8pelting villages1' he having been once set upon in this manner by #8a crew of patches1 rude mechanicals1' who disliked him for the fantastic strangeness of his appearance4 ,even their tailors 7of whom you might expect better things7 hate decency1 and will spoil you a suit of clothes1 rather than follow your directions4 ,one of them1 the little hunch-backed tailor of ,p--tt--n1 with the handsome daughter1 whose husband ran away from her and went to sea1 was ordered to make a pair of brown or snuff-coloured breeches for my friend ,c---- ,l----2--instead of which the pragmatical old gentleman 7having an opinion of his own7 brought him home a pair of #8lively ,lincoln-green1' in which ,i remember he rode in triumph in ,johnny ,tremain's cross-country caravan through ,newberry1 and entered ,oxford1 #8fearing no colours1' the abstract idea of the jest of the thing prevailing in his mind 7as it always does7 over the sense of personal dignity4 ,if a stranger comes to live among country people1 they have a bad opinion of him at first2 and all he can do to overcome their dislike1 only confirms them in it4 ,it is in vain to attempt to conciliate them3 the more you strive to persuade them that you mean them no harm1 the more they are determined not to be convinced4 ,they attribute any civility or kindness you shew them to a design to cajole them4 ,they are not to be taken in by appearances4 ,they are fer natur1 and not to be tamed by art4 ,in proportion as you give them no cause of offence1 they summon their whole stock of prejudice1 impudence1 and cunning1 to aid their tottering opinion2 and hate you the more for the injustice they seem to do you4 ,they had rather you did them an injury that they might keep their original opinion of you4 ,if there is the smallest circumstance or insinuation to your prejudice1 their rancour against you1 and self-complacency in their own sagacity1 eagerly seizes hold of it2 fans their suspicions into a flame1 and breaks out into open insult and all the triumph of brutal derision4 ,on the contrary1 if they find you1 after all1 a quiet1 inoffensive person1 they think you a fool1 and so have you that way4 ,used to contempt1 they have not much respect to spare for other people4 ,finding themselves none the better for them1 they have not much faith in your demonstrations of good-will towards them4 ,prepared for repulses and hard treatment1 the expression of their gratitude is not very spontaneous or sincere4--,an aged ,sybil of this place1 having gone to a lady1 who had just settled here1 with a doleful tale of distress1 and an empty bottle1 received a shilling instead of having her bottle replenished with liquor2 when being met on her return by one of her gossips coming on the same errand1 and being asked her success1 she held up her empty bottle in sign of scorn1 saying1 #8,look here6' ,such is the beau ideal of unsophisticated human nature in her obscure retreats1 about which there have been so many #8songs of delight and rustical roundelays4' ,is it strange that these people who know nothing1 hate all that they do not understand8 ,their rudeness1 intolerance1 and conceit1 are in exact proportion to their ignorance3 for as they never saw or scarcely heard of any thing out of their own village1 every thing else appears to them odd and unaccountable1 and they cannot suspect that their own notions are wrong1 when they are totally unacquainted with any others4 ,we naturally despise whatever baffles our comprehension1 and dislike what contradicts our prejudices1 till we are taught better by a liberal course of study2 but these people are no better taught than fed4 ,it is a rule which they act upon as self-evident1 and from which you will not get them to flinch in a hurry--to scout every proceeding which differs from their own1 and to consider every person1 of whose birth1 parentage1 and education1 they do not know the several particulars1 as a suspicious character4 ,they have no knowledge of literature or the fine arts2 which1 if once banished from the city and the court1 would soon #8be trampled in the mire under the hoofs of a swinish multitude4' ,a mischievous wag of the present day undertook to read some pastoral and lyrical effusions1 7remarkable for their simplicity7 to a collection of ,cumberland peasants1 to see if they would recognise the sentiments put into their mouths2 and they only 7which was what he expected7 laughed at him for his pains4 #8,the spinsters and the knitters in the sun1 and the free maids that weave their thread with bones1' may indeed relieve the welcome pedlar of his wares1 his laces1 his true love-knots1 or penny-,ballads1 but they will have nothing to say to the ,lyrical ballads1 nor will the united counties of ,westmorland1 ,cumberland1 and ,durham1 subscribe to lighten the ,london warehouses of a single copy of the ,excursion4 ,the hewers of wood and drawers of water know nothing of poetry1 and they hate the very look of a poet4 ,they like a painter as little4 ,an artist who was making a sketch of a fine old yew tree in a romantic situation1 was asked by a knowing hand1 if he could tell how many foot of timber it contained8 ,falstaff asks as a question not to be answered--#8,may ,i not take mine ease at mine inn8' ,but this was in ,east-,cheap4 ,i cannot do so in the country2 for while ,i am writing this1 ,i hear a fellow disputing in the kitchen1 whether a person ought to live 7as he expresses it7 by pen and ink2 and the landlord the other day 7in order1 ,i suppose1 the better to prepare himself for such controversies7 asked me if ,i had any object in reading through all those books which ,i had brought with me1 meaning a few odd volumes of old plays and novels4 ,the people born here cannot tell how an author gets his living or passes his time2 and would fain hunt him out of the place as they do a strange dog1 or as they formerly did a conjuror or a witch4 ,ask the first country clown you meet1 if he ever heard of ,shakespear or ,newton1 and he will stare in your face3 and ,i remember our laughing a good deal at ,w----'s old ,molly1 who had never heard of the ,french ,revolution1 ten years after it happened4 ,oh worse than ,gothic ignorance6 ,they have no books1 nor ever feel the want of them4 ,how indeed should they8#cc ,they have no works of poetry or fiction1 to #8fleet the golden time carelessly2' but they do not therefore want for fabulous resources4 ,necessity is the mother of invention2 and their talent for lying and scandal is nourished by the very lack of materials4#cd ,they live not by bread alone1 but by every word that proceedeth out of their mouths4 ,they are employed1 like the ,athenians of old1 in hearing or telling some new thing4 ,the draw-well is the source from which they pump up idle rumours1 and the blacksmith's shop is the place at which they forge the proofs1 and turn them to shape1 #8giving to airy nothing a local habitation and a name4' ,they lie like devils through thick and thin4 ,they tell and believe all incredible things2 and the greater the improbability1 the more readily and greedily is it swallowed1 for it imposes more on the imagination4 ,to elevate and surprise is the great rule for producing a theatrical or pastoral effect4 ,people in a state of nature believe any thing for want of something to divert the mind1 as they plot mischief for want of better employment4 ,credulity and imposture are two of the strongest propensities of the human mind4 ,men are as prone to deceive themselves as others1 without any other temptation than the exercise it affords to the imagination4 ,it is a false test of historical evidence1 that it is necessary to assign a motive why men should consent to be dupes or undertake to be cheats4 ,curiosity is the source of superstition2 for we must have objects to occupy the attention1 and fill up the craving void of knowledge2 and in the absence of truth1 falsehood is called in to supply its place1 and with the gross and ignorant1 supplies it much better4 ,to ask why the untutored savage believes every marvellous story that is told him1 in the dearth of all real knowledge1 is to ask why he slakes his thirst at the first fountain that he meets1 or devours the prey he has just taken4 ,with all their tendency to bigotry and superstition1 country people have scarcely any idea of religion4 ,they have as little divine as human learning4 ,the ,bible is the only book they have1 but that they do not read1 except with spectacles1 when they grow old and half-blind4 ,they are to a man and woman of ,mrs4 ,quickly's opinion--#8,but ,i told him a' should not think of ,god yet4' ,they go to church1 to be sure1 as a matter of course1 and from not knowing what else to do with themselves on ,sundays2 but they never think of what they hear1 from one week's end to another4 ,heaven and ,hell are out-of-the-way places1 not accessible to the apprehensions of those whose ideas cannot get beyond the parish where they were born2 and their joys or sorrows indifferent to an imagination1 taken up with the wants of the belly4 ,an old woman1 who lived in a cottage by herself1 on hearing the account of the ,crucifixion1 said it was a sad thing1 but she hoped it was not true1 as it happened so far off and such a long time ago4 ,a servant girl1 hearing a ,sermon read in which there was a striking account of the ,resurrection and the ,day of ,judgment1 was very much alarmed1 and said she hoped it would not be in her time4 ,the ,decalogue has no terrors1 and the ,book of ,revelations no charms for them4 ,they will be damned1 but they will steal and lie1 and bear false witness against each other2 or if they do not1 it is the fear of being hanged1 or whipped1 or summoned before the ,justice of the ,peace1 and not of being called to account in another world1 that prevents them4 ,they are of the earth1 earthy4 ,they take thought only for the morrow2 or rather1 conform to the text--#8,sufficient to the day is the evil thereof4' ,there is not a greater mistake1 or a more wilful fallacy1 than the common observation1 that the lower orders are kept in order 7and can only be so7 by their faith in religion4 ,they have no more belief in it practically than most of their betters1 who propose to keep them in order by it1 have speculatively4 ,the ignorant and destitute are restrained from certain things by the fear of the law1 or of what will be said of them by their neighbours2 and as to other things which are denounced by ,scripture1 but to which no penalty attaches here1 they think if they have a mind to do them1 and chuse to go to hell for it1 they have a right to do so4 ,that is their phrase4 ,it is nobody's business but their own4 ,it is 7generally speaking7 the absence of temptation or opportunity1 and not an excess of religious apprehension1 that keeps them within the pale of salvation4 ,their self-will balances their fear of the ,devil1 and when it comes to the push1 the present motive turns the scale1 and the flesh proves too hard for the spirit4 ,burns's old man in the ,cottar's ,saturday ,night must pass for a very poetical character1 at least in this part of the country4 ,we see constant accounts in the papers1 in the case of malefactors that have come to an untimely end1 that it was owing in the first instance to the want of religion1 to the habit of swearing and ,sabbath-breach4 ,the same account would hold equally true of those who are not hanged3 for if all but the godly and sober among the lower classes came to the gallows1 the population would soon be thinned to a surprising degree4 #8',twould thin the land ,such numbers to string on ,tyburn tree4' ,as to the regular church-going peasantry1 there can be no great difference as to religious light and feelings between them and their forefathers in the time of ,popery1 when the service was performed in ,latin1 as it is at present in most foreign countries4 ,the only religious people 7except as a matter of outward shew and ceremony7 are sectaries2 for the instant religion becomes a subject for serious thought and private reflection1 it produces differences of opinion1 which branch out into as many speculative fancies and forms of worship1 as there are differences of temper or accidents of education4#ce ,this1 however1 is the exception1 not the rule1 in the present state of things--now that zeal is no longer kindled at the fires of persecution1 and that ,acts of ,uniformity no longer throw the whole country into a ferment of opposition4 ,the missionaries and fanatics sometimes indeed set up a methodist chapel1 where the staid inhabitants go in an evening to spite the parson of the parish1 or to while away an hour or so2 or perhaps a melancholy mechanic has a serious call and holds forth1 or a pining spinster1 moved by the spirit to listen to him-- #8,anon as patient as the female dove1 ,the whilst her golden couplets are disclos'd1 ,awhile sits drooping3' but the younger and healthier sort make a sport of it as of any other fantastical innovation2 throw owls and skeletons of kites and carrion crows into the place of worship2 and make a violent noise all the time the parson is preaching1 to drown the nasal twang of evangelical glad-tidings1 and the comfortable groans of the faithful4--,all this while there is no end of the bastard-getting and swearing3 and a girl1 after having had three or four children by the same man1 or by different men 7as it happens71 and who is as big as she can tumble again1 is at length asked in church1 without much scandal or offence to the community4 ,it is a new topic for the village1 and is excused on that account4 ,it is1 besides1 an evidence quashed2 and whatever others may take it into their heads to do1 she need not talk4 ,liberality flourishes2 a good example is set2 and the species is propagated with as little trouble and formality as possible4 ,the parson gets something by the christening1 and the apothecary has a finger in the pie4 ,this is a state of things which ought to be reformed--but how or when8 ,,mr4 ,,macready',s ,,macbeth4 ,the ,examiner4 ,june #be1 #ahbj4 ,mr4 ,macready's ,macbeth1 which he had for his benefit1 and which he has played once or twice since1 is a judicious and spirited performance4 ,but we are not in the number of those who think it his finest character4 ,sensibility1 not imagination1 is his forte4 ,natural expression1 human feeling1 seems to woo him like a bride2 but the ideal and preternatural beckon him only at a distance and mock his embraces4 ,he sees no dim1 portentous visions in his mind's eye2 his acting has no shadowy landscape back-ground to surround it2 he is not waited on by spirits of the deep or of the air2 neither fate nor metaphysical aid are in league with him2 he is prompter to himself1 and treads within the circle of the human heart4 ,the machinery in ,macbeth is so far lost upon him3 there is no secret correspondence between him and the ,weird ,sisters4 ,the poet has put a fruitless sceptre in his hand1--a curtain is between him and the #8air-drawn dagger with its gouts of blood'2 he does not cower under the traditions of the age1 or startle at #8thick-coming fancies4' ,he is more like a man debating the reality1 or questioning the power of the grotesque and unimaginable forms that hover round him1 than one hurried away by his credulous hopes1 or shrinking from intolerable fears4 ,there is not a weight of superstitious terror loading the atmosphere and hanging over the stage when ,mr4 ,macready plays the part4 ,he has cast the cumbrous slough of ,gothic tragedy1 and comes out a mere modern1 agitated by common means and intelligible motives4 ,the preternatural agency is no more than an accompaniment1 the pretended occasion1 not the indispensable and all-powerful cause4 ,it appears to us then1 that this excellent and able actor1 struck short of the higher and imaginative part of the character1 and consequently was deficient in the human passion1 which is the mighty appendage to it4 ,we thought ,mr4 ,macready in a manner conscious of this want of entire possession of the character4 ,he was looking out for new readings1 transposing attitudes and stage effects1 trying substitutes and experiments1 studying passages instead of reciting them1 rehearsing ,macbeth1 not being it4 ,his performance of it was critical and fastidious3 you would say that he was considering how he should act the part1 so as to avoid certain errors or produce certain effects--not that he ever flung himself into the subject1 and swam to shore1 safe from carping objection1 and above the reach of all praise4 ,mr4 ,macready does not often imitate other actors1 but he endeavours not to imitate them1 and that's almost as bad4 ,he should think of nothing but his part1 and rely on nothing but his own powers4 ,singularity is not excellence4 ,if to follow in the track of others shews a servile genius and pitiful ambition1 neither is it right to go out of the strait road merely because others travel in it--#8but still to follow nature is the rule'--,john ,kemble was the best ,macbeth 7upon the whole7 that we have seen4 ,there was a stiff1 horror-stricken stateliness in his person and manner1 like a man bearing up against supernal influences2 and a bewildered distraction1 a perplexity and at the same time a rigidity of purpose1 like one who had been stunned by a blow from fate4 ,mr4 ,kean is great only in one scene1 that after the murder of ,duncan2 his acting also consists only in the direct embodying of human passion1 and is entirely #8docked and curtailed' of the sweeping train of poetical imagination4 ,on the evening we saw ,mr4 ,macready's ,macbeth ,mrs4 ,faucit played ,lady ,macbeth1 and acted up to that arduous part with great spirit and self-possession2 and ,mr4 ,terry was the representative of ,macduff4 ,the only fault of this gentleman's acting is its slowness4 ,the words fall from his lips1 like pendent drops from icicles4 ,a speech1 as he gives it1 is equal to #8twa lang ,scotch miles4' ,this not only causes a stagnation and heaviness in the sentiments1 but often cuts the sense in two4 ,thus in the exclamation which ,macduff utters on hearing of the slaughter of his children1 #8,oh ,hell-,kite1 all8' ,mr4 ,terry paused at the hyphen1 as if to take time to think1 and by this means made it like an apostrophe to #8,hell1' adding the other syllable of the word1 which determined the meaning and direction of his thoughts1 afterwards4 ,mr4 ,egerton as usual played ,banquo1 and makes as solid a ,ghost as we would wish to encounter of a winter's eve4 ,david ,rizzio we have not been able to get a peep at3 but a friend whispered us that it was poor1 and we see it is praised in the ,new ,times6 ,on ,friday ,miss ,stephens had a bumper for her benefit4 ,the entertainments were the ,lord of the ,manor1 a ,concert1 and the ,libertine4 ,in the first1 ,mr4 ,duruset from indisposition1 and after making one feeble effort1 omitted the songs1 by the indulgence of the audience2 after that1 we do not see why he should be required to go through the rest of the part1 for he has not #8a speaking face4' ,jones's ,mr4 ,contrast is a striking1 fulsome fop4 ,but he makes foppery not only an object of laughter1 but of disgust2 and perhaps this is going beyond the mark intended4 ,we would recommend to our readers to go and see ,mr4 ,liston's ,moll ,flagon by all means4 ,it is irresistible4 ,we may say of it with the poet-- #8,let those laugh now who never laugh'd before1 ,and those who still have laugh'd now laugh the more4' ,mrs4 ,salmon's singing in the ,concert was #8d'une pathtique faire fendre les rochers1'--and ,miss ,stephens's ,echo song seemed sung by a ,spirit or an enchantress4 ,we were glad to hear it1 for we have an attachment to ,miss ,stephens on account of #8auld lang syne' 7we like old friendships better than new71 and do not wish that little murmuring syren ,miss ,tree to wean us from our old and artless favourite4--,those were happy days when first ,miss ,stephens began to sing6 ,when she came out in ,mandane1 in ,polly1 and in ,rosetta in ,love in a ,village6 ,she came upon us by surprise1 but it was to delight and charm us4 ,there was a new sound in the air1 like the voice of ,spring2 it was as if ,music had become young again1 and was resolved to try the power of her softest1 simplest1 sweetest notes4 ,love and ,hope listened1 as her clear1 liquid throat poured its delicious warblings on the ear1 and at the close of every strain1 still called on ,echo to prolong the sound4 ,they were the sweetest notes we ever heard1 and almost the last we ever heard with pleasure6 ,for since then1 other events not to be named lightly here1 but #8thoughts of which can never from the heart'--#8with other notes than to the ,orphean lyre1' have stopped our ears to the voice of the charmer4 ,but since the voice of ,liberty has risen once more in ,spain1 its grave and its birth place1 and like a babbling hound has wakened the echos in ,galicia1 in the ,asturias1 in ,castile and ,leon1 and ,estremadura1 why1 we feel as if we #8had three ears again' and the heart to use them1 and as if we could once more write with the same feelings 7the tightness removed from the breast1 and the pains smoothed from the brow7 as we did when we gave the account of ,miss ,stephens's first appearance in the ,beggar's ,opera4 ,life might then indeed #8know the return of spring1'--and end1 as it began1 with faith in human kind6-- ,,guy ,,faux ,the ,examiner4 ,november #aa1 #ahba4 ,guy ,faux is made into the figure of a scare-crow1 a fifth of ,november bugbear1 in our history4 ,now that ,mr4 ,hogg's ,jacobite ,relics have dissipated the remains of an undue horror at ,popery1 it may seem the time to undertake the defence of so illustrious a character1 who has hitherto been the victim of party-prejudice and national spite4 ,guy ,faux was a ,popish ,priest in the reign of ,james ,i41 and for his unsuccessful attempt to set fire to the ,house of ,lords1 and blow up the ,english ,monarchy1 the ,protestant ,religion1 and himself1 at one stroke1 has had the honour to be annually paraded through the streets1 and burnt in effigy in every town and village in ,england from that time to this--that is1 for the space of two hundred years and upwards4 ,it is sometimes doubtful1 indeed1 from the coincidence of dates and other circumstances1 whether this annual ceremony1 accompanied as it is with the ringing of bells1 the firing of guns1 and the preaching of sermons1 is intended more to revive the formidable memory of #8poor ,guy1' or in celebration of the glorious landing of ,william ,,iii41 who came to deliver us from ,popery and ,slavery a hundred years afterwards--two things which ,mr4 ,hogg treats as mere bagatelles in his ,jacobite ,relics1 though they do not appear so in the ,history of ,england2 and to which the same writer assures us1 as an agreeable piece of court-news that the present ,family are by no means averse in their hearts6 ,guy ,faux was a fanatic1 but he was no hypocrite4 ,he ranks among good haters4 ,he was cruel1 bloody-minded1 reckless of all considerations but those of an infuriated and bigotted faith2 but he was a true son of the ,catholic ,church1 a martyr and a confessor1 for all that4 ,he who can prevail upon himself to devote his life for a cause1 however we may condemn his opinions or abhor his actions1 vouches at least for the honesty of his principles and the disinterestedness of his motives4 ,he may be guilty of the worst practices1 but he is capable of the greatest4 ,he is no longer a slave1 but free4 ,the contempt of death is the beginning of virtue4 ,the hero of the ,gun-,powder ,plot was1 if you will1 a fool1 a madman1 an assassin2 call him what names you please3 still he was neither knave nor coward4 ,he did not propose to blow up the ,parliament and come off1 scot-free1 himself3 he shewed that he valued his own life no more than theirs in such a cause--where the integrity of the ,catholic faith and the salvation of perhaps millions of souls was at stake4 ,he did not call it a murder1 but a sacrifice which he was about to achieve3 he was armed with the ,holy ,spirit and with fire3 he was the ,church's chosen servant and her blessed martyr4 ,he comforted himself as #8the best of cut-throats4' ,how many wretches are there that would have undertaken to do what he intended for a sum of money1 if they could have got off with impunity6 ,how few are there who would have put themselves in ,guy ,faux's situation to save the universe6 ,yet in the latter case we affect to be thrown into greater consternation than at the most unredeemed acts of villany1 as if the absolute disinterestedness of the motive doubled the horror of the deed6 ,the cowardice and selfishness of mankind are in fact shocked at the consequences to themselves 7if such examples are held up for imitation17 and they make a fearful outcry against the violation of every principle of morality1 lest they too should be called on for any such tremendous sacrifices--lest they in their turn should have to go on the forlorn hope of extra-official duty4 ,charity begins at home1 is a maxim that prevails as well in the courts of conscience as in those of prudence4 ,we would be thought to shudder at the consequences of crime to others1 while we tremble for them to ourselves4 ,we talk of the dark and cowardly assassin2 and this is well1 when an individual shrinks from the face of an enemy1 and purchases his own safety by striking a blow in the dark3 but how the charge of cowardly can be applied to the public assassin1 who1 in the very act of destroying another1 lays down his life as a pledge and forfeit of his sincerity and boldness1 ,i am at a loss to devise4 ,there may be barbarous prejudice1 rooted hatred1 unprincipled treachery1 in such an act2 but he who resolves to take all the danger and odium upon himself1 can no more be branded with cowardice1 than ,regulus devoting himself for his country1 or ,codrus leaping into the fiery gulf4 ,a wily ,father ,inquisitor1 coolly and with plenary authority condemning hundreds of helpless and unoffending victims to the flames or to the horrors of a living tomb1 while he himself would not suffer a hair of his head to be hurt1 is to me a character without any qualifying trait in it4 ,again2 the ,spanish conqueror and hero1 the favourite of his monarch1 who enticed thirty thousand poor ,mexicans into a large open building1 under promise of strict faith and cordial good-will1 and then set fire to it1 making sport of the cries and agonies of these deluded creatures1 is an instance of uniting the most hardened cruelty with the most heartless selfishness4 ,his plea was keeping no faith with heretics3 this was ,guy ,faux's too2 but ,i am sure at least that the latter kept faith with himself3 he was in earnest in his professions4 ,his was not gay1 wanton1 unfeeling depravity2 he did not murder in sport2 it was serious work that he had taken in hand4 ,to see this arch-bigot1 this heart-whole traitor1 this pale miner in the infernal regions1 skulking in his retreat with his cloak and dark lanthorn1 moving cautiously about among his barrels of gunpowder1 loaded with death1 but not yet ripe for destruction1 regardless of the lives of others1 and more than indifferent to his own1 presents a picture of the strange infatuation of the human understanding1 but not of the depravity of the human will1 without an equal4 ,there were thousands of pious ,papists privy to and ready to applaud the deed when done3--there was no one but our old fifth-of-,november friend1 who still flutters in rags and straw on the occasion1 that had the courage to attempt it4 ,in him stern duty and unshaken faith prevailed over natural frailty4 ,a man to undertake and contemplate with gloomy delight this desperate task1 could not certainly in the first instance1 be a man of tender sensibility1 or over-liable to #8the compunctious visitings of nature'2 but he would so far only be on a level with many others1 and he would be distinguished from them by a high principle of enthusiasm1 and a disinterested zeal for truth4 ,greater love than this has no one1 that he shall give up his life for the truth4 ,we have no ,guy ,fauxes now3--not that we have not numbers in whom #8the spirit is willing1 but the flesh is weak4' ,we talk indeed of flinging the keys of the ,house of ,commons into the ,thames1 by way of a little unmeaning splutter1 and a little courting of popularity and persecution2 but to fling ourselves into the gap1 and blow up the system and our own bodies to atoms at once1 upon an abstract principle of right1 does not suit the radical scepticism of the age6 ,i like the spirit of martyrdom1 ,i confess3 ,i envy an age that had virtue enough in it to produce the mischievous fanaticism of a ,guy ,faux4 ,a man's marching up to a masked-battery for the sake of company1 is nothing3 but a man's going resolutely to the stake rather than surrender his opinion1 is a serious matter4 ,it shews that in the public mind and feeling there is something better than life2 that there is a belief of something in the universe and the order of nature1 to which it is worth while to sacrifice this poor brief span of existence4 ,to have an object always in view dearer to one than one's-self1 to cling to a principle in contempt of danger1 of interest1 of the opinion of the world1--this is the true ideal1 the high and heroic state of man4 ,it is in fact to have a standard of absolute and implicit faith in the mind1 that admits neither of compromise1 degree1 nor exception4 ,the path of duty is one1 the grounds of encouragement are fixed and invariable4 ,perhaps it is hardly possible to have such a standard1 but where the certain prospect of another world absolves us from a miserly compact with this1 and the contemplation of infinity forms an habitual counterpoise to the illusions of time and sense4 ,an object of the highest conceivable greatness leads to unmingled devotion3 the belief in eternal truth embodies itself on practical principles of strict rectitude1 or of obstinate1 but noble-minded error4 ,there was an instance that happened a little before the time of ,guy ,faux1 which1 in a different way1 has something of the same character1 with a more pleasing conclusion4 ,i mean the story of ,margaret ,lambrun2 and as it is but little known1 ,i shall here relate it as ,i find it3-- #8,margaret ,lambrun was a ,scotchwoman1 and one of the retinue of ,mary ,queen of ,scots2 as was also her husband1 who dying of grief for the tragical end of that princess1 his wife took up a resolution of revenging the death of both upon ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,for that purpose she put on a man's habit2 and assuming the name of ,anthony ,sparke1 repaired to the ,court of the ,queen of ,england1 always carrying with her a brace of pistols1 one to kill ,elizabeth1 and the other to shoot herself1 in order to avoid the hands of justice2 but her design happened to miscarry by an accident1 which saved the ,queen's life4 ,one day1 as she was pushing through the crowd to come up to her ,majesty1 who was then walking in her garden1 she chanced to drop one of the pistols4 ,this being seen by the guards1 she was seized in order to be sent immediately to prison2 but the ,queen1 not suspecting her to be one of her own sex1 had a mind first to examine her4 ,accordingly1 demanding her name1 country1 and quality1 ,margaret replied with an unmoved steadiness1--8,madam1 though ,i appear in this habit1 ,i am a woman2 my name is ,margaret ,lambrun2 ,i was several years in the service of ,queen ,mary1 my mistress1 whom you have so unjustly put to death2 and by her death you have also caused that of my husband1 who died of grief to see so innocent a queen perish so iniquitously4 ,now1 as ,i had the greatest love and affection for both these persons1 ,i resolved at the peril of my life to revenge their death by killing you1 who are the cause of both40--,the ,queen pardoned her1 and granted her a safe conduct till she should be set upon the coast of ,france4' ,fanaticism expires with philosophy1 and heroism with refinement4 ,there can be no mixture of scepticism in the one1 nor any distraction of interest in the other4 ,that blind attachment to individuals or to principles1 which is necessary to make us stake our all upon a single die1 wears out with the progress of society4 ,sandt--7the last of that school7--was a religious fanatic--a reader of the book of ,maccabees1 a repeater of the story of ,jael and ,sisera1 a chaunter of the song of ,deborah4 ,what lighted up the dungeon-gloom in which ,guy ,faux buried himself alive8 ,the face of ,heaven open to receive him4 ,what cheered his undivided solitude8 ,the full assembly of ,just ,men made perfect1 the ,glorious ,company of ,apostles1 the ,noble ,army of ,martyrs1 the expecting ,conclave of ,sainted ,popes1 of ,canonized ,priests and ,cardinals4 ,what nerved his steady hand1 and prepared it1 with temperate1 even pulse1 to apply the fatal spark8 ,the ,hand of the ,most ,high stretched out to meet him and to welcome him into the abodes of the blest--#8,well done1 thou good and faithful servant1 enter thou into the joy of thy ,lord6' ,in his face we see an anticipated triumph that #8no dim doubts alloy'2 he hears with no mortal ears the recording angels #8quiring to the young-eyed cherubim'2 a light flashes round him1 a beatific vision1 from the wings of the ,shining ,ones3 he sits1 wreathed and radiant1 in the real presence6 ,what need he fear what men can do unto him8 ,to a hope like his1 swallowed up in fruition1 the shock that is soon to shatter his mortal frame plays harmless as the summer-lightning3 the flames that threaten to envelope him are the wedding-garment of the ,spouse4 #8,this night thou shalt sup with me in ,paradise'--rings in his sleepless ears4 ,on this rock he builds his faith1 and the gates of ,hell shall not prevail against it6--,guy ,faux 7poor wretch67 was as sure within himself of the reward of his crime in the eternal salvation of his soul1 as of his intention to commit it3 he no more doubted of another world than he doubted of his own existence4 ,a question whether his whole creed might not be a delusion had never once crossed his mind4 ,how should it8 ,he had never once heard it called in question4 ,he believed in it as he believed in all he had ever seen or heard1 or thought or felt1 or been told by others--he believed in a future state as he believed in this1 with his senses and his understanding1 and with all his heart4 ,poor ,guy--that miserable fifth-of-,november scare-crow1 that stuffed straw figure1 flaunting its own periodical disgrace--never once dreamt 7oh6 glorious inheritance67 that he should die like a dog4 ,otherwise1 ,james and his parliament would have been in no jeopardy from him4 ,he was not a person of that refinement4 ,he thought for certain that he would go to ,heaven or ,hell2 and he played a bold1 but 7as he fancied7 a sure game1 for the former4 ,with such objects at stake1 and with his own blinded reason1 and a stifled conscience1 and implicit faith1 and vowed obedience1 and holy ,mother ,church on his side1 and a fixed hatred of heresy and of all that belonged to it1 as of a strange birth in nature1 that made his flesh creep and his brain reel1 and a disregard of his own person1 as #8dross compared to the glory hereafter to be revealed1' he acted up to his belief3 the man was what he preached to others to be--no better1 no worse4 ,without this belief supporting him1 what would he have been8 ,like the wretched straw figure1 the automaton we see representing him1 #8disembowelled of his natural entrails1 without a real heart of flesh and blood beating in his bosom1' a modern time-server1 an unimpassioned slave1 a canting ,jesuit1 a petty1 cautious1 meddling priest1 a safe1 underhand persecutor1 an anonymous slanderer1 a cringing sycophant1 promoting his own interest by taking the bread out of honest mouths1 a mercenary malignant coward1 a ,clerical ,magistrate1 a ,quarterly ,reviewer1 a ,member of the ,constitutional ,association1 the concealed ,editor of ,blackwood's ,magazine6 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,the ,examiner4 ,november #ah1 #ahba4 ,the diffusion of knowledge1 of inquiry1 of doubt 7or what ,lord ,bacon calls #8the infinite agitation of wit'7 puts an end to #8the soul of goodness' that there is in bigotry and superstition1 and should to its evil spirit at the same time4 ,there is nothing so intolerable as the union 7which we see so common in modern times7 of religious hypocrisy with literary scepticism4 ,the real bigot is a respectable as well as enviable character4 ,not so the affected one4 ,downright1 rooted1 rancorous prejudices are honest1 hearty1 wholesome things4 ,they keep the mind in breath4 ,not so the whining1 hollow1 designing cant1 which echoes without feeling them4 ,the barbarous cruelties of savage tribes are partly atoned for by the keen appetite for revenge in which they originate3 but we do not extend the same excuse to those who poison for hire4 ,the fires of ,smithfield were kindled by a zeal that burnt as bright and fierce as they4 ,our contemporaries who are in the habit of throwing firebrands and death1 do it without malice2 and laugh at those who do not understand the jest4 ,the multiplication of sects dissipates and tames down the rage of martyrdom4 ,the first grand defection indeed from an established and universal faith1 creates a shock and is assailed with a violence proportioned to the firmness with which the parent-belief has been rooted in the public mind3 but the subsequent ramification of different schisms and modes of faith from the first enormous heresy1 tires out and neutralises the spirit of both persecution and fanaticism4 ,religious controversy is a war of words1 and no longer a war of extermination4 ,there may be the same heart-burnings1 the same jealousies of difference of opinion2 but they do not lead to the same fatal catastrophes or the same heroic sacrifices4 ,we cannot burn or hang one another for differing from the ,catholic faith as a crime of the most dreadful import1 when hardly any two men can be found to agree in the interpretation of the same text4 ,all opinions1 by constant collision and attrition1 become1 if not equally probable1 equally familiar4 ,men's minds are slowly weaned from blind idolatrous bigotry and intolerant zeal1 by the continually increasing number of points of controversy and the frequency of dispute4 ,then comes the general question as to the grounds and reasonableness of the doctrines of religion itself2 and a sceptical1 dispassionate1 ,epicurean work1 like ,bayle's ,dictionary or ,hume's ,essays1 gives the finishing blow to what little remains of dogmatical faith in established systems4 ,after that1 a zealot is another name for an imposter4 ,the reasons for belief may be as good or stronger than ever2 but the belief itself1 as it is more rational1 is less gross and headstrong4 ,the closest deductions of the understanding do not act like an instinct1 or warrant a mortal antipathy2 and let the philosophical believer's convictions be what they will1 he cannot affect an ignorance that it is possible for others to differ with him4 ,a violent and overstrained affectation of ,orthodoxy is1 after a certain time1 a sure sign of insincerity3 the only zeal that can claim to be #8according to knowledge1' is refined1 calm1 and considerate4 ,i do not speak of this sort of mitigated1 sceptical1 liberalised1 enlightened belief1 as #8a consummation devoutly to be wished3' 7in my own particular1 ,i would rather have held opinion with ,guy ,faux1 and have gone or sent others to the ,devil for that opinion7--,i speak of the common course of human affairs4 ,i remember once observing to ,wilkie1 the celebrated artist1 that ,dr4 ,chalmers 7his old friend and schoolfellow7 had started an objection to the ,christian religion1 in order to have the credit of answering it4 ,the ,scottish ,teniers said1 that if the answer was a good one1 he thought him right in bringing forward the objection4 ,i did not think this remark savoured of the acuteness one would expect from such a man as ,wilkie1 and only said1 ,i apprehended those opinions were the strongest which had been never called in question4 ,reasoning is not believing--whatever seeing may be1 according to the proverb4 ,a devoted and incorrigible attachment to individuals1 as well as to doctrines1 is weakened by the progress of knowledge and civilization4 ,a spirit of scepticism1 of inquiry1 of comparison1 is introduced there too1 by the course of reading1 observation1 and reflection1 which strikes at the root of our disproportionate idolatry4 ,margaret ,lambrun did not think there was such another woman in the world as her mistress1 ,queen ,mary2 nor could she1 after her death1 see any thing in it worth living for4 ,had she had access to a modern circulating library1 she would have read of a hundred such heroines1 all peerless alike2 and would have consoled herself for the death of them all1 one after another1 pretty much in the same manner4 ,margaret was not one of those who argue1 according to ,mr4 ,burke's improved political catechism1 that #8a king is but a king2 a queen is but a woman2 a woman is but an animal2 and that not an animal of the highest order4' ,she had more respect of persons than this4 ,the truth is1 she had never seen such another woman as her mistress1 and she had no means1 by books or otherwise1 of forming an idea of any thing but what she saw4 ,in that isolated state of society1 people grew together like trees1 and clung round the strongest for support1 #8as the vine curls its tendrils4' ,they became devoted to others with the same violence of attachment as they were to themselves4 ,novels1 plays1 magazines1 treatises of philosophy1 ,monthly ,museums1 and ,belles ,assembles1 did not fly in numbers about the country and #8through the airy region stream so bright1' as to blot out the impression of all real forms4 ,the effects of habit1 of sense1 of service1 of affection1 did not find an ideal level in general literature and artificial models4 ,the heart made its election once1 and was fixed till death3 the eyes doated on fancied perfection1 and were divorced from every other object afterwards4 ,there was not the same communication of ideas2 there was not the same change of place or acquaintance4 ,the prejudices of rank1 of custom1 strengthened the bias of individual admiration2 and it is no wonder1 where all these circumstances were combined1 that the presence of a person1 whom we had loved and served1 became a feeling1 an appetite1 and a passion in the mind1 almost necessary to existence4 ,the taking our idol away 7and by cruel and treacherous means7 would be taking away the prop that sustained life1 and on which all the pride of the affections leant4 ,its loss would be the loss of another self2 and a double loss of this kind 7as in the instance alluded to7 could seek for no solace but in the death of her who had caused it4 ,where the mind had become rivetted to a certain object1 where it had embarked its all in the sacred cause of friendship and inviolable fidelity1 it would be in vain to offer the consolations of philosophy when the heart owned none4 ,other scenes1 new friends1 fresh engagements1 might be proper for others2 but ,margaret ,lambrun's wounded spirit could find no relief but in looking forward to a full revenge for a murdered mistress and husband4 ,you might as well think of wedding the soul to another body1 as of inspiring her with other hopes and thoughts than those which she had lost for ever3--she could not live without those whom she had loved so well and long1 and she was ready to die for them4 ,life becomes indifferent to a mind haunted by a passion of this sort4 ,death is not then a choice1 but rather a necessity4 ,we cannot live1 and have the desire nearest to our souls4 ,to play the hero1 it is only necessary to be wound up to such an unavoidable interest in any thing1 as reflection1 prudence1 natural instinct1 have no power over4 ,to be a hero1 is1 in other words1 to lose the sense of our personal identity in some object dearer to us than ourselves4 ,he may purchase any thing he pleases1 who is ready to part with his life for it4 ,wherever there is a passion or belief strong enough to blind us to consequences1 there the mind is capable of any sacrifice and of any undertaking4 ,the heroical is the fanaticism of common life3 it is the contempt of danger1 of pain1 of death1 in the pursuit of a favourite idea4 ,the rule of honour1 as of conscience1 is to contemplate things in the abstract1 and never as affecting or reacting upon yourself2 the hero is an instrument in the hands of fate1 as is himself impassive to its blows4 ,a man in a passion1 or who is worked up to a certain pitch of enthusiasm1 minds nothing else4 ,the fear of death1 the love of self1 is but an idea or motive with a certain habitual strength4 ,raise any other idea or feeling to a greater habitual or momentary height1 and it will supplant or overrule the first4 ,courage is sometimes the effect of despair4 ,women1 in a fit of romance1 or on some sudden emergency1 have been known to perform feats of heroic daring1 from which men of the stoutest nerves might shrink with dismay4 ,maternal tenderness is heroic4 ,affection of any kind1 that doats upon a particular object1 and absorbs every other consideration in that1 is in its nature heroic4#cf ,passion is the great ingredient in heroism4 ,he who stops to reflect1 to balance one thing against another1 is a coward4 ,the better part of valour is indiscretion4 ,all passion is a short-lived madness1 or state of intoxication1 in which some present impulse or prevailing idea gets uncontrouled possession of the mind1 and lords it there at will4 ,a man may be 7almost literally7 drunk with choler1 with love1 with jealousy1 with revenge1 as he may with wine or strong drink4 ,any of these will overpower his reason and senses1 and put him beyond himself4 ,the master-feeling will prevail1 whatever it is1 and when it once gets the upper hand1 will rage the more violently in proportion to the obstacles it has to encounter4 ,women who associate with robbers are cruel1 as soon as they get over their first repugnance3 some of the bravest officers have been the greatest ,martinets4 ,a man who is afraid of a blow1 or tender of his person1 will yet1 on being struck1 feel nothing but the mortification of the affront1 and the fear of discomfiture4 ,the pain that is inflicted1 after his blood is once up1 will only aggravate his resentment1 and be diverted from the channels of fear into those of rage and shame4 ,he whose will is roused and holds out in this way1 whose tenaciousness of purpose and inflammability of spirit are proof against the extremity of pain1 of fatigue1 and disaster1 is said to have pluck4 ,so a man may not be able to reason himself into coolness at the commencement of a battle2 but a ball whizzing near him does it1 by abstracting his imagination from a thousand idle fears1 and fixing it on his immediate situation and duty4 ,the novice in an engagement1 that before was motionless with apprehension or trembling like a leaf1 after being hit1 loses the sense of possible contingencies in the grief of his wound1 and fights like a devil incarnate4 ,he is thenceforward too busy to think of himself4 ,he rushes fearlessly on danger and on death4 ,a man in a battle is indeed emphatically beside himself4 ,he #8bears a charmed life1' that in fancy disarms cannon-balls and bullets of their power to hurt4 ,they are mere names and apparitions from which astonishment and necessity have taken out the sting3 the sense of feeling is seared and dead for the time to #8all mortal consequences4' ,the mind is sublimated to a disregard of whatever can happen1 and tempted to rush without provocation on its fate1 purely out of bravado1 and as the triumph of its paramount feeling1 an exasperation of its temporary insanity4 ,courage is in many such cases only a violent effort to shake off fear1 a determination of the imagination to seize on any object that may divert its present dread4 ,a soldier is a perfect hero but that he is a mere machine4 ,he is drilled into disinterestedness1 and beaten into courage4 ,he is a very patriotic and romantic automaton4 ,he has lost all regard for himself and concern for others4 ,his life1 his limbs1 his soul and body1 are obedient only to the word of command4 #8,set duty in one eye and death in the other1 and he can look on death indifferently4' #8,set but a ,scotsman on a hill1 ,say such is royal ,george's will1 ,and there's the foe3 ,his only thought is how to kill ,twa' at a blow4'--,burns4 ,they then go at it with bayonets fixed1 eyes inflamed1 and tongues lolling out with heat and rage1 like wild beasts or mad dogs panting for blood1 and from the madman to ,mr4 ,wordsworth's #8happy warrior' there is but one step4--,the true hero devotes himself in the same way1 but he does it of his own accord1 and from an inward sentiment4 ,the service on which he is bound is perfect freedom4 ,he is not a machine1 but a free agent4 ,he knows his cue without a prompter4 ,not servile duty-- #8,within his bosom reigns another lord1 ,honour1 sole judge and umpire of itself4' ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,concluded ,the ,examiner ,november #be1 #ahba4 ,thus a knight-errant going on adventures1 and following out the fine idea of love and gallantry in his own mind1 without once thinking of himself but as a vessel dedicated to virtue and honour1 is one of the most enviable fictions in the whole world4 ,don ,quixote1 in the midst of its comic irony1 is the finest serious developement to be found of this character4 ,the account of the ,cid1 the famous ,spanish hero1 of which ,mr4 ,southey has given an admirable prose-translation where scarcely a word could be changed or transposed without injuring the force and clear simplicity of the antique style he has adopted1 abounds with instances to the same purpose4 ,his taking back the lion to its den1 his bringing his father #8the herb that would cure him1' his enemy's head1 and his manner of reclaiming a recreant knight from his cowardice by heaping the rewards and distinctions of courage upon him1 are some of those that ,i remember as the most striking4 ,perhaps the reader may not have the book by him2 yet they are worth turning to1 both for the sentiment and the expression4 ,the first then in order is the following3-- #8,at this time it came to pass that there was strife between ,count ,don ,gomez the ,lord of ,gormaz1 and ,diego ,laynez the father of ,rodrigo 7the ,cid72 and the ,count insulted ,diego and gave him a blow4 ,now ,diego was a man in years1 and his strength had passed from him1 so that he could not take vengeance1 and he retired to his home to dwell there in solitude and lament over his dishonour4 ,and he took no pleasure in his food1 neither could he sleep by night1 nor would he lift up his eyes from the ground1 nor stir out of his house1 nor commune with his friends1 but turned from them in silence as if the breath of his shame would taint them4 ,rodrigo was yet but a youth1 and the ,count was a mighty man in arms1 one who gave his voice first in the ,cortez1 and was held to be the best in the war1 and so powerful1 that he had a thousand friends among the mountains4 ,howbeit1 all these things appeared as nothing to ,rodrigo1 when he thought of the wrong done to his father1 the first which had ever been offered to the blood of ,layn ,calvo4 ,he asked nothing but justice of ,heaven1 and of man he asked only a fair field2 and his father seeing of how good heart he was1 gave him his sword and his blessing4 ,the sword had been the ,sword of ,mudarra in former times1 and when ,rodrigo held its cross in its hand1 he thought within himself that his arm was not weaker than ,mudarra's4 ,and he went out and defied the ,count and slew him1 and smote off his head1 and carried it home to his father4 ,the old man was sitting at table1 the food lying before him untasted1 when ,rodrigo returned1 and pointing to the head which hung from the horse's collar1 dropping blood1 he bade him look up1 for there was the herb which would restore to him his appetite2 the tongue1 quoth he1 which insulted#cg you1 is no longer a tongue1 and the hand which wronged you is no longer a hand4 ,and the old man arose and embraced his son and placed him above him at the table2 saying that he who brought home that head should be the head of the house of ,layn ,calvo4'--,chronicle of the ,cid1 p4 #d4 ,the next is of ,martin ,pelaez1 whom the ,cid made of a notable coward a redoubtable hero3-- #8,here the history relates1 that at this time ,martin ,pelaez the ,asturian came with a convoy of laden beasts1 carrying provision to the hosts of the ,cid2 and as he passed near the town1 the ,moors sallied out in great numbers against him2 but he1 though he had few with him1 defended the convoy right well1 and did great hurt to the ,moors1 slaying many of them1 and drove them into the town4 ,this ,martin ,pelaez1 who is here spoken of1 did the ,cid make a right good knight of a coward1 as ye shall hear4 ,when the ,cid first began to lay siege to the ,city of ,valencia1 this ,martin ,pelaez came unto him3 he was a knight1 a native of ,santillance in ,asturias1 a hidalgo1 great of body and strong of limb1 a well-made man and of goodly semblance1 but withal a right coward at heart1 which he had shown in many places where he was among feats of arms4 ,and the ,cid was sorry when he came unto him1 though he would not let him perceive this2 for he knew he was not fit to be of his company4 ,howbeit1 he thought that since he was come1 he would make him brave whether he would or not4 ,and when the ,cid began to war upon the town1 and sent parties against it twice and thrice a day1 as ye have heard1 for the ,cid was always upon the alert1 there was fighting and tourneying every day4 ,one day it fell out that the ,cid and his kinsmen and friends and vassals were engaged in a great encounter1 and this ,martin ,pelaez was well armed2 and when he saw that the ,moors and ,christians were at it1 he fled and betook himself to his lodging1 and there hid himself till the ,cid returned to dinner4 ,and the ,cid saw what ,martin ,pelaez did1 and when he had conquered the ,moors1 he returned to his lodging to dinner4 ,now it was the custom of the ,cid to eat at a high table1 seated on his bench at the head4 ,and ,don ,alvar ,fannez and ,pero ,bermudez and other precious knights ate in another part1 at high tables full honourably1 and none other knights whatsoever dared to take their seats with them1 unless they were such as deserved to be there2 and the others who were not so approved in arms ate upon estradas1 at tables with cushions4 ,this was the order in the house of the ,cid1 and every one knew the place where he was to sit at meat1 and every one strove all he could to gain the honour of sitting to eat at the table of ,don ,alvar ,fannez and his companions1 by strenuously behaving himself in all feats of arms2 and thus the honour of the ,cid was advanced4 ,this ,martin ,pelaez1 thinking that none had seen his badness1 washed his hands in turn with the other knights1 and would have taken his place among them4 ,and the ,cid went unto him and took him by the hand and said1 ,you are not such a one as deserves to sit with these1 for they are worth more than you or than me1 but ,i will have you with me2 and he seated him with himself at table4 ,and he1 for lack of understanding1 thought that the ,cid did this to honour him above all the others4 ,on the morrow the ,cid and his company rode towards ,valencia1 and the ,moors came out to the tourney2 and ,martin ,pelaez went out well armed1 and was among the foremost who charged the ,moors1 and when he was in among them he turned the reins1 and went back to his lodging2 and the ,cid took heed to all that he did1 and saw that though he had done badly1 he had done better than the first day4 ,and when the ,cid had driven the ,moors into the town1 he returned to his lodging1 and as he sate down to meat1 he took this ,martin ,pelaez by the hand1 and seated him with himself1 and bade him eat with him in the same dish1 for he had deserved more that day than he had the first4 ,and the knight gave heed to that saying1 and was abashed2 howbeit1 he did as the ,cid commanded him3 and after he had dined1 he went to his lodging and began to think upon what the ,cid had said unto him1 and perceived that he had seen all the baseness which he had done2 and then he understood that for this cause he would not let him sit at board with the other knights who were precious in arms1 but had seated him with himself1 more to affront him than to do him honour1 for there were other knights there better than he1 and he did not show them that honour4 ,then resolved he in his heart to do better than he had done hitherto4 ,another day the ,cid and his company and ,martin ,pelaez rode towards ,valencia1 and the ,moors came out to the tourney full resolutely1 and ,martin ,pelaez was among the first1 and charged them right boldly2 and he smote down and slew presently a good knight1 and he lost there all the bad fear which he had had1 and was that day one of the best knights there3 and as long as the tourney lasted1 there he remained fighting and slaying and overthrowing the ,moors1 till they were driven within the gates1 in such manner that the ,moors marvelled at him1 and asked where that ,devil came from1 for they had never seen him before4 ,and the ,cid was in a place where he could see all that was going on1 and he gave good heed to him1 and had great pleasure in beholding him1 to see how well he had forgotten the great fear which he was wont to have4 ,and when the ,moors were shut up within the town1 the ,cid and all his people returned to their lodging1 and ,martin ,pelaez full leisurely and quietly went to his lodging also1 like a good knight4 ,and when it was the hour of eating1 the ,cid waited for ,martin ,pelaez1 and when he came and they had washed1 the ,cid took him by the hand1 and said1 ,my friend1 you are not such a one as deserves to sit with me henceforth1 but sit you here with ,don ,alvar ,fannez1 and with these other good knights1 for the good feats which you have done this day have made you a companion for them2 and from the day forward he was placed in the company of the good4'--p4 #aii4 99 99 99 99 99 #8,there was a lion in the house of the ,cid1 who had grown a large one1 and strong1 and was full nimble2 three men had the keeping of this lion1 and they kept him in a den which was in a courtyard1 high up in the palace2 and when they cleansed the court1 they were wont to shut him up in his den1 and afterwards to open the door that he might come out and eat3 the ,cid kept him for his pastime1 that he might take pleasure with him when he was minded so to do4 ,now it was the custom of the ,cid to dine every day with his company1 and after he had dined1 he was wont to sleep awhile upon his seat4 ,and one day when he had dined1 there came a man and told him that a great fleet was arrived in the port of ,valencia1 wherein there was a great power of the ,moors1 whom ,king ,bucar had brought over1 the sons of the ,miramamolin of ,morocco4 ,and when the ,cid heard this1 his heart rejoiced and he was glad1 for it was nigh three years since he had had a battle with the ,moors4 ,incontinently he ordered a signal to be made1 that all the honourable men who were in the city should assemble together4 ,and when they were all assembled in the ,alcazar1 and his sons-in-law with them1 the ,cid told them the news1 and took counsel with them in what manner they should go out against this great power of the ,moors4 ,and when they had taken counsel1 the ,cid went to sleep upon his seat1 and the ,infantes and the others sate playing at tables and chess4 ,now at this time the men who were keepers of the lion were cleaning out the court1 and when they heard the cry that the ,moors were coming1 they opened the den1 and came down into the palace where the ,cid was1 and left the door of the court open4 ,and when the lion had ate his meat1 and saw that the door was open1 he went out of the court and came down into the palace even into the hall where they all were3 and when they who were there saw him1 there was a great stir among them3 but the ,infantes of ,carrion showed greater cowardice than all the rest4 ,ferrando ,gonzalez having no shame1 neither for the ,cid nor for the others who were present1 crept under the seat whereon the ,cid was sleeping1 and in his haste he burst his mantle and his doublet also at the shoulders4 ,and ,diego ,gonzalez1 the other1 ran to a postern door1 crying1 ,i shall never see ,carrion again6 ,this door opened upon a courtyard1 where there was a wine-press1 and he jumped out1 and by reason of the great height could not keep his feet1 but fell among the lees and defiled himself therewith4 ,and all the others who were in the hall wrapt their cloaks around their arms1 and stood round about the seat whereon the ,cid was sleeping1 that they might defend him4 ,the noise which they made awakened the ,cid1 and he saw the lion coming towards him1 and he lifted up his hand and said1 ,what is this6444 and the lion hearing his voice stood still3 and he rose up and took him by the mane1 as if he had been a gentle mastiff1 and led him back to the court where he was before1 and ordered his keepers to look better to him for the time to come4 ,and when he had done this1 he returned to the hall and took his seat again2 and all they who beheld it were greatly astonished4'--p4 #bea4 ,the presence of mind1 the manly confidence1 the faith in virtue1 the lofty bearing and picturesque circumstances in all these stories1 are as fine as any thing can well be imagined4--,the last of them puts me in mind1 that that heroic little gentleman1 ,mr4 ,kean1 who is a ,cid too in his way1 keeps a lion #8for his pastime1 that he may take pleasure with him when he is minded so to do4' ,it is1 to be sure1 an ,american lion1 a puma1 a sort of a great dog4 ,but still it shews the nature of the man1 and the spirited turn of his genius4 ,courage is the great secret of his success4 ,his acting is1 if not classical1 heroical4 ,to dare and to do are with him the same thing4 #8,masterless passion sways him to the mood of what it likes or loaths4' ,he may be sometimes wrong1 but he is decidedly wrong1 and does not betray himself by paltry doubts and fears4 ,he takes the lion by the mane4 ,he gains all by hazarding all4 ,he throws himself into the breach1 and fights his way through as well as he can4 ,he leaves all to his feelings1 and goes where they lead him2 and he finds his account in this method1 and brings rich ventures home4 ,in reading the foregoing accounts of the ,spanish author1 it seems that in those times killing was no murder4 ,slaughter was the order of the day4 ,the blood of ,moors and ,christians flows through the page as so much water4 ,the proverb uppermost in their minds was1 that a man could die but once1 and the inference seemed to be1 the sooner the better4 ,in these more secure and civilized times 7individually and as far as it depends upon ourselves7 we are more chary of our lives4 ,we are 7ordinarily7 placed out of the reach of #8the shot of accident and dart of chance'2 and grow indolent1 tender1 and effeminate in our notions and habits4 ,books do not make men valiant1--not even the reading the chronicle of the ,cid4 ,the police look after all breaches of the peace and resorts of suspicious characters1 so that we need not buckle on our armour to go to the succour of distressed damsels1 or to give battle to giants and enchanters4 ,instead of killing some fourteen before breakfast1 like ,hotspur1 we are contented to read of these things in the newspapers1 or to see them performed on the stage4 ,we enjoy all the dramatic interest of such scenes1 without the tragic results4 ,regnault de ,st4 ,jean ,angely rode like a madman through the streets of ,paris1 when from the barricades he saw the ,prussians advancing4 ,we love1 fight1 and are slain by proxy--live over the adventures of a hundred heroes and die their deaths--and the next day are as well as ever1 and ready to begin again4 ,this is a gaining concern1 and an improvement on the old-fashioned way of risking life and limb in good earnest1 as a cure for ennui4 ,it is a bad speculation to come to an untimely end by way of killing time4 ,now1 like the heroic personages in ,tom ,thumb1 we spread a white pocket-handkerchief to prepare our final catastrophe1 and act the sentiment of death with all the impunity to be desired4 ,men1 the more they cultivate their intellect1 become more careful of their persons4 ,they would like to think1 to read1 to dream on for ever1 without being liable to any worldly annoyance4 #8,be mine to read eternal new romances1 of ,marivaux and ,crebillon1' cries the insatiable adept in this school4 ,art is long1 and they think it hard that life should be so short4 ,their existence has been chiefly theatrical1 ideal1 a tragedy rehearsed in print--why should it receive its denouement in their proper persons1 in corpore vili8--,in another point of view1 sedentary1 studious people live in a world of thought--in a world out of themselves--and are not very well prepared to scuffle in this4 ,they lose the sense of personal honour on questions of more general interest1 and are not inclined to individual sacrifices that can be of no service to the cause of letters4 ,they do not see how any speculative truth can be proved by their being run through the body2 nor does your giving them the lie alter the state of any one of the great leading questions in policy1 morals1 or criticism4 ,philosophers might claim the privileges of divines for many good reasons2 among these1 according to ,spenser1 exemption from worldly care and peril was not the least in monkish lore3 #8,from worldly care himself he did esloine1 ,and greatly shunned manly exercise3 ,for every work he challenged essoine1 ,for contemplation-sake4' ,mental courage is the only courage ,i pretend to4 ,i dare venture an opinion where few else would1 particularly if ,i think it right4 ,i have retracted few of my positions4 ,whether this arises from obstinacy or strength1 or indifference to the opinions of others1 ,i know not4 ,in little else ,i have the spirit of martyrdom3 but ,i would give up any thing sooner than an abstract proposition4 ,,character ,,of ,,mr4 ,,canning ,the ,examiner4 ,july #aa1 #ahbd4 ,mr4 ,canning was the cleverest boy at ,eton3 he is1 perhaps1 the cleverest man in the ,house of ,commons4 ,it is1 however1 in the sense in which1 according to ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 #8the child is father to the man4' ,he has grown up entirely out of what he then was4 ,he has merely ingrafted a set of ,parliamentary phrases and the technicalities of debate on the themes and school-exercises he was set to compose when a boy4 ,nor has he ever escaped from the trammels imposed on youthful genius3 he has never assumed a manly independence of mind4 ,he has been all his life in the habit of getting up a speech at the nod of a ,minister1 as he used to get up a thesis under the direction of his school-master4 ,the matter is nothing2 the only question is1 how he shall express himself4 ,the consequence has been as might be expected4 ,not being at liberty to chuse his own side of the question1 nor to look abroad into the world for original 7but perhaps unwelcome7 observations1 nor to follow up a strict chain of reasoning into its unavoidable consequences1 the whole force of his mind has been exhausted in an attention to the ornaments of style and to an agreeable and imposing selection of topics4 ,it is his business and his inclination to embellish what is trite1 to gloss over what is true1 to vamp up some feeble sophism1 to spread the colours of a meretricious fancy over the unexpected exposure of some dark intrigue1 some glaring iniquity-- #8,like as the sun-burnt ,indians do array ,their tawny bodies in their proudest plight ,with painted plumes in goodly order dight3 ,as those same plumes1 so seemed he vain and light1 ,that by his gait might easily appear2 ,for still he fared as dancing in delight1 ,and in his hands a windy fan did bear1 ,that in the idle air he moved still here and there4' ,,spenser4 ,his reasoning is a tissue of glittering sophistry2 his language is a cento of florid common-places4 ,the smooth monotony of his style is indeed as much borrowed1 is as little his own1 as the courtly and often fulsome strain of his sentiments4 ,he has no steady principles1 no strong passions1 nothing original1 masculine1 or striking in thought or expression4 ,there is a feeble1 diffuse1 showy1 ,asiatic redundancy in all his speeches--something vapid1 something second-hand in the whole cast of his mind4 ,the light that proceeds from it gleams from the mouldering materials of corruption3 the flowers that are seen there1 gay and flaunting1 bloom over the grave of humanity6--,mr4 ,canning never1 by any chance1 reminds one of the poet or the philosopher1 of the admirer of nature1 or even the man of the world--he is a mere ,house-of-,commons man1 or1 since he was transferred there from ,college1 appears never to have seen or thought of any other place4 ,he may be said to have passed his life in making and learning to make speeches4 ,all other objects and pursuits seem to have been quite lost upon him4 ,he has overlooked the ordinary objects of nature1 the familiar interests of human life1 as beneath his notice4#ch ,there is no allusion in any of his speeches to anything passing out of the ,house1 or not to be found in the classics4 ,their tone is quite ,parliamentary--his is the ,delphin edition of ,nature4 ,not an image has struck his eye1 not an incident has touched his heart1 any farther than it could be got up for rhetorical and stage effect4 ,this has an ill effect upon his speeches3--it gives them that shining and bloated appearance which is the result of the confined and heated atmosphere of the ,house4 ,they have the look of exotics1 of artificial1 hot-house plants4 ,their glossiness1 their luxuriance1 and gorgeousness of colour are greater than their strength or stamina3 they are forced1 not lasting1 nor will they bear transplanting from the rank and noxious soil in which they grow4 ,or rather1 perhaps1 they bear the same relation to eloquence that artificial flowers do to real ones--alike1 yet not the same1 without vital heat or the power of reproduction1 printed1 passionless1 specious mockeries4 ,they are1 in fact1 not the growth of truth1 of nature1 and feeling1 but of state policy1 of art1 and practice4 ,to deny that ,mr4 ,canning has arrived to a great perfection 7perhaps the greatest7 in the manufacture of these sort of common-places1 elegant1 but somewhat tarnished1 imposing1 but not solid1 would1 we think1 show a want of candour3 to affirm that he has ever done anything more 7in his serious attempts7 would1 we think1 show an equal want of taste and understanding4#ci ,the way in which ,mr4 ,canning gets up the staple-commodity of his speeches appears to be this4 ,he hears an observation on the excellence of the ,english ,constitution1 or on the dangers of ,reform and the fickleness and headstrong humours of the people1 dropped by some ,member of the ,house1 or he meets with it in an old ,debate in the time of ,sir ,robert ,walpole1 or in ,paley's ,moral and ,political ,philosophy1 which our accomplished scholar read1 of course1 as the established text-book at the ,university4 ,he turns it in his mind3 by dint of memory and ingenuity he illustrates it by the application of some well-known and well-authenticated simile at hand1 such as #8the vessel of the state1' #8the torrent of popular fury1' #8the precipice of reform1' #8the thunderbolt of war1' #8the smile of peace1' c4 ,he improves the hint by the help of a little play upon words and upon an idle fancy into an allegory1 he hooks this on to a verbal inference1 which takes you by surprise1 equally from the novelty of the premises and the flatness of the conclusion1 refers to a passage in ,cicero in support of his argument1 quotes his authority1 relieves exhausted attention by a sounding passage from ,virgil1 #8like the morn risen on mid-noon1' and launches the whole freight of wisdom1 wit1 learning1 and fancy1 on the floor of ,st4 ,stephen's ,chapel1 where it floats and glitters amidst the mingled curiosity and admiration of both sides of the ,house-- #8,scylla heard1 ,and fell ,charybdis murmur'd soft applause4' ,beneath the broad and gilded chandelier that throws its light upon #8the nation's ,great ,divan1' ,mr4 ,canning piles the lofty harangue1 high over-arched with metaphor1 dazzling with epithets1 sparkling with jests--take it out of doors1 or examine it by the light of common sense1 and it is no more than a paltry string of sophisms1 of trite truisms1 and sorry buffooneries4 ,there is also a ,house-of-,commons jargon as well as a scholastic pedantry in this gentleman's style of oratory1 which is very displeasing to all but professional ears4 #8,the ,honourable and ,learned ,gentleman1' and #8his ,honourable and ,gallant ,friend1' are trolled over the tongue of the ,honourable ,speaker1 #8loud as a trumpet with a silver sound1' and fill up the pauses of the sense or the gaps in the logic with a degree of burlesque self-complacency and pompous inanity4 ,mr4 ,canning speaks by rote2 and if the words he utters become the mouth and round a period well1 he cares little how cheaply he comes by them1 or how dear they cost the country6 ,such mechanic helps to style and technical flourishes and trappings of upstart self-importance are1 however1 unworthy of the meanest underling of office4 ,there is1 notwithstanding1 a facility1 a brilliancy1 and an elegance in ,mr4 ,canning's general style1 always graceful1 never abrupt1 never meagre1 never dry1 copious without confusion1 dignified without stiffness1 perspicuous yet remote from common life1 that must excite surprise in an extempore speaker4 ,mr4 ,canning1 we apprehend1 is not an extempore speaker4 ,he only makes set speeches on set occasions4 ,he indeed hooks them in as answers to some one that has gone before him in the debate1 by taking up and commenting on a single sentence or so1 but he immediately recurs to some old and favourite topic1 launches into the middle of the stream1 or mounts upon the high horse1 and rides it to the end of the chapter4 ,he never 7that we are aware of7 grappled with a powerful antagonist1 overthrew him on the spot1 or contested the point with him foot to foot4 ,mr4 ,canning's replies are evasions4 ,he indeed made a capital and very deservedly admired reply to ,sir ,john ,coxe ,hippesley2 but ,sir ,john had given notice of all his motions a month beforehand1 and ,mr4 ,canning had only to lie in ambush for him with a whole magazine of facts1 arguments1 alliterations1 quotations1 jests1 and squibs1 prepared ready to explode and blow him up into the air in an instant4 ,in this manner he contrives to slip into the debate and speak to the question1 as if he had lately entered the ,house and heard the arguments on the other side stated for the first time in his life4 ,he has conned his speeches over for a week or a month previously1 but he gives these premeditated effusions the effect of witty impromptus--the spontaneous ebullitions of the laughter or indignation or lofty enthusiasm of the moment4 ,his manner tells this4 ,it is that of a person trying to recollect a speech1 and reciting it from beginning to end with studied gesture1 and in an emphatic but monotonous and somewhat affected tone of voice1 rather than of a person uttering words and thoughts that have occurred to him for the first time1 and hurried away by an involuntary impulse1 speaking with more or less hesitation1 faster or slower1 and with more or less passion1 according as the occasion requires4 ,mr4 ,canning is a conventional speaker2 he is an optional politician4 ,he has a ready and splendid assortment of arguments upon all ordinary questions3 he takes that side or view of a question that is dictated by his vanity1 his interest1 or his habits1 and endeavours to make the best he can of it4 ,truth1 liberty1 justice1 humanity1 war or peace1 civilization or barbarism1 are things of little consequence1 except for him to make speeches upon them4 ,he thinks #8the worse the better reason1' if he can only make it appear so to others2 and in the attempt to confound and mislead1 he is greatly assisted by really perceiving no difference himself4 ,it is not what a thing is1 but what he can say about it1 that is ever uppermost in his mind2 and why should he be squeamish or have any particular choice1 since his words are all equally fine1 and delivered with equal volubility of tongue6 ,his balanced periods are the scale #8that makes these odds all even4' ,our ,orator does not confine himself to any one view of a subject4 ,he does not blind himself by any dull prejudice3 he does not tie himself down to any pedantic rules or abstract principle4 ,he does not listen implicitly to common sense1 nor does he follow the independent dictates of his own judgment4 ,no1 he picks and chuses among all these1 as best suits his purpose4 ,he plucks out the grey hairs of a question1 and then again the black4 ,he shifts his position2 it is a ride-and-tie system with him4 ,he mounts sometimes behind prejudice1 and sometimes behind reason4 ,he is now with the wise1 and then again with the vulgar4 ,he drivels1 or he raves4 ,he is now wedded to antiquity1 anon there is no innovation too startling for him4 ,at one time he is literal1 at another visionary and romantic4 ,at one time the honour of the country sways him1 at another its interest4 ,one moment he is all for liberty1 and the next for slavery4 ,first we are to hold the balance of ,europe1 and to dictate and domineer over the whole world2 and then we are to creep into our shells and draw in our horns2 one moment resembling ,don ,quixote1 and the next playing the part of ,sancho ,panza6 ,and why not8 ,all these are topics1 are cues used in the game of politics1 are colours in the changeable coat of party1 are dilemmas in casuistry1 are pretexts in diplomacy2 and ,mr4 ,canning has them all at his fingers' ends4 ,what is there then to prevent his using any of them as he pleases8 ,nothing in the world but feeling or principle2 and as ,mr4 ,canning is not withheld by these from running his heedless career1 the application of his ingenuity and eloquence in all such cases is perfectly arbitrary1 #8quite optional1' as ,mr4 ,liston expresses it4 ,a wise man would have some settled opinion1 a good man would wish well to some cause1 a modest man would be afraid to act without feeling sure of his ground1 or to show an utter disregard of right or wrong4 ,mr4 ,canning has the luckless ambition to play off the tricks of a political rope-dancer1 and he chuses to do it on the nerves of humanity6 ,he has called out for war during thirty years without ceasing1 #8like importunate ,guinea fowls1 one note day and night2' he has made the ,house and the country ring with his vain clamour1 and now for the first time he is silent1 #8quite chopfallen4' ,like ,bottom in the play1 #8he aggravates his voice like a sucking-dove2' #8he roars you an 'twere any nightingale6' ,after the failure of ,buonaparte's ,russian expedition1 ,mr4 ,canning exclaimed exultingly1 and with a daring enthusiasm that seemed to come from the heart1 that #8he rejoiced that barbarism had been the first to resist invasion1 since it showed that the love of national independence was an instinctive principle in every country1 superior even to the love of liberty4' ,this plea served its turn at the time1 and we heard no more of it last year when the ,french invaded ,spain4 ,in the war to restore ,ferdinand1 ,mr4 ,canning echoed with lungs of brass the roar of #8the universal ,spanish nation1' and the words ,liberty and ,humanity hung like music on his tongue2 but when the feeble ,monarch was restored1 and trod upon the necks of those who had restored him1 and threw down the mock-scaffold of the ,constitution that had raised him once more to the throne1 we heard no more of #8the universal ,spanish nation1' of ,liberty and ,humanity4 ,when the speeches of ,mr4 ,canning and the ,manifestos of his friends had raised the power of ,france to a gigantic height that hung like a precipice over our heads1 we were to go on1 and fight out the battle of liberty and independence1 though #8we buried ourselves under the ruins of the civilized world4' ,when a monstrous claim that threatens the liberty and existence of the civilized world is openly set up and acted upon1 and a word from ,mr4 ,canning would arrest its progress in the direction in which it is moving with obscene1 ghastly1 bloodstained strides1 he courteously and with great condescension reminds his hearers of #8the inimitable satire of ,cervantes1' that there is a proverbial expression borrowed from it1 and that the epithet ,quixotic would be eminently applicable to the conduct of ,great ,britain if she interfered in the affairs of the continent at the present juncture4 ,and yet there are persons who persist in believing that ,mr4 ,canning is any thing more than a pivot on whose oily hinges state policy turns easily at this moment1 unheard1 unseen1 and that he has views and feelings of his own that are a pledge for his integrity4 ,if all this were fickleness1 caprice1 forgetfulness1 accident1 folly1 it would be well or would not much signify2 we should stand a chance of sometimes being right1 sometimes wrong2 or if the ostensible motives were the real ones1 they would balance one another4 ,at one time we should be giving a lift to liberty1 at another we should be advancing our own interests3 now we should be generous to others1 then we should be just to ourselves1 but always we should be doing something or other fit to be done and to be named1 and acting up to one or other of ,mr4 ,canning's fine pleas of religion1 morality1 or social order4 ,is that the case8 ,nothing was said for twenty years about the restoration of the ,bourbons as the object of the war4 ,who doubts it now8 ,this cause skulked behind the throne1 and was not let out in any of ,mr4 ,canning's speeches4 ,the cloven foot was concealed by so much flaunting oratory1 by so many different facings and piebald patch-work liveries of ruinous policy or perfidious principle1 as not to be suspected4 ,this is what makes such persons as ,mr4 ,canning dangerous4 ,clever men are the tools with which bad men work4 ,the march of sophistry is devious3 the march of power is one4 ,its means1 its tools1 its pretexts are various1 and borrowed like the hues of the camelion from any object that happens to be at hand3 its object is ever the same1 and deadly as the serpent's fang4 ,it moves on to its end with crested majesty1 erect1 silent1 with eyes sunk and fixed1 undiverted by fear1 unabashed by shame1 and puny orators and patriot mountebanks play tricks before it to amuse the crowd1 till it crushes the world in its monstrous folds4 ,there is one word about which nothing has been said all this while in accounting for ,mr4 ,canning's versatility of mind and vast resources in reasoning--it is the word1 ,legitimacy4 ,it is the key with which you #8pluck out the heart of his mystery4' ,it is the touchstone by which all his other eloquence is to be tried1 and made good or found wanting4 ,it is the casting-weight in the scale of sound policy1 or that makes humanity and liberty kick the beam4 ,it is the secret of the ,ayes and ,noes3 it accounts for the ,majorities and ,minorities4 ,it weighs down all other considerations1 hides all flaws1 makes up for all deficiencies1 removes all obstacles1 is the crown of success1 and makes defeat glorious4 ,it has all the power of the ,crown on its side1 and all the madness of the people4 ,all ,mr4 ,canning's speeches are but so many different periphrases for this one word--,legitimacy4 ,it is the foundation of his magnanimity and the source of his pusillanimity4 ,it is the watch-word equally of his oratory or his silence4 ,it is the principle of his interference and of his forbearance4 ,it makes him move forward1 or retreat1 or stand still4 ,with this word rounded closely in his ear1 and with fifty evasions for it in his mouth1 he advances boldly to #8the deliverance of mankind'--into the hands of legitimate kings1 but can do nothing to deliver them out of their power4 ,when the liberty and independence of mankind can be construed to mean the cause of kings and the doctrine of divine right1 ,mr4 ,canning is a virago on the side of humanity--when they mean the cause of the people and the reducing of arbitrary power within the limits of constitutional law1 his patriotism and humanity flag1 and he is #8,of his port as meek as is a maid6' ,this word makes his tropes and figures expand and blaze out like phosphorus1 or #8freezes his spirits up like fish in a pond4' ,it smites with its petrific mace1 it deadens with its torpedo touch1 the ,minister1 the ,parliament1 the people1 and makes this vast1 free1 enlightened1 and enterprising country a body without a soul1 an inert mass1 like the hulks of our men of war1 which ,mr4 ,canning saw and described so well at ,plymouth4 ,it is the same word1 that announcing the profanation of #8the golden round that binds the hollow temples of a king' by unhallowed hands1 would fill their sails1 and hurl their thunders on rebel shores4 ,it denounces war1 it whispers peace4 ,it is echoed by the groans of the nations1 is sanctified by their blood1 bought with their treasure4 ,it is this that fills the time-rent towers of the ,inquisition with tears and piercing cries2 and owing to this1 ,manzotti shrieks in ,italian dungeons1 while ,mr4 ,canning soothes the ,house of ,commons with the soft accents of liberty and peace6 ,in fine1 ,mr4 ,canning's success as an orator1 and the space he occupies in the public mind1 are strong indications of the ,genius of the ,age1 in which words have obtained a mastery over things1 #8and to call evil good and good evil1' is thought the mark of a superior and happy spirit4 ,an accomplished statesman in our day is one who extols the ,constitution and violates it--who talks about religion and social order1 and means slavery and superstition4 ,the ,whigs are always reminding the reigning family of the principles that raised them to the throne--the ,tories labour as hard to substitute those that will keep them there4 ,there is a dilemma here1 which is not easily got over2 and to solve the difficulty and reconcile the contradiction1 was the great problem of the late ,king's reign4 ,the doubtful lubricity of ,mr4 ,canning's style was one of the rollers by which the transition was effected1 and ,legitimacy shown to be a middle term between divine right and the choice of the people1 compatible with both1 and convertible into either1 at the discretion of the ,crown1 or pleasure of the speaker4 ,mr4 ,canning does not disgrace his pretensions on other questions4 ,he is a sophist by profession1 a palliator of every powerful and profitable abuse4 ,his shuffling1 trifling speeches on ,reform are well-known4 ,he sometimes adds the petulance of the school-boy to his stock of worn-out invention2 though his unfeeling taunt on the #8revered and ruptured ,ogden1' met with a reception which will make him cautious how he tampers again with human infirmity and individual suffering1 as the subject of ribald jests and profligate alliteration4 ,the thing in which ,mr4 ,canning excels most is wit2 and his wit is confined to parody4 ,the ,rejected ,addresses have been much and deservedly admired2 but we do not think the parodies in them1 however ingenious or ludicrous1 are to be compared with those in the #8,poetry of the ,anti-,jacobin1' and some of the very best of these are by ,mr4 ,canning4 ,among others are1 we believe1 the ,german ,play1 and the imitation of ,mr4 ,southey's ,sapphics4 ,much as we admire1 we do not wonder at ,mr4 ,canning's excellence in this department4 ,real1 original wit1 he has none2 for that implies sense and feeling1 and an insight into the real differences of things2 but from a want of sympathy with anything but forms and common-places1 he can easily let down the sense of others so as to make nonsense of it4 ,he has no enthusiasm or sensibility to make him overlook the meanness of a subject1 or a little irregularity in the treatment of it1 from the interest it excites3 to a mind like his1 the serious and affecting is a kind of natural burlesque4 ,it is a matter of course for him to be struck with the absurdity of the romantic or singular in any way1 to whom every thing out of the beaten track is absurd2 and #8to turn what is serious into farce' by transferring the same expressions to perfectly indifferent and therefore contemptible subjects4 ,to make any description or sentiment ludicrous1 it is only necessary to take away all feeling from it3 the ludicrous is ready-made to ,mr4 ,canning's hands4 ,the poetry1 the heart-felt interest of every thing escapes through his apprehension1 like a snake out of its skin1 and leaves the slough of parody behind it4 ,any thing more light or worthless cannot well be imagined4#dj ,,the ,,dandy ,,school4 ,the ,examiner4 ,november #ah1 #ahbg4 ,vivian ,grey is dedicated to the ,best and ,greatest of men1 as if the ,illustrious ,person who will take this compliment to himself approved of the sentiments contained in it4 ,are ushers odious to the ,best and ,greatest of men8 ,does he hate the great mass of his subjects1 and scorn all those beyond ,temple-bar8 ,is he ,king only of the ,dandies1 and ,monarch of the ,west8 ,we scarcely believe it4 ,this volume with its impertinent dedication is no more expressive of the sentiments of his heart than the ,austrian ,catechism1 dedicated in like manner1 would be characteristic of the principles of his reign4 ,oh6 ,mr4 ,grey1 you should have been more humble--you should have inscribed your work to the best-dressed ,man in his ,majesty's dominions--or to ,jack ,ketch4 ,it was formerly understood to be the business of literature to enlarge the bounds of knowledge and feeling2 to direct the mind's eye beyond the present moment and the present object2 to plunge us in the world of romance1 to connect different languages1 manners1 times together2 to wean us from the grossness of sense1 the illusions of self-love2--by the aid of imagination1 to place us in the situations of others and enable us to feel an interest in all that strikes them2 and to make books the faithful witnesses and interpreters of nature and the human heart4 ,of late1 instead of this liberal and useful tendency1 it has taken a narrower and more superficial tone4 ,all that we learn from it is the servility1 egotism1 and upstart pretensions of the writers4 ,instead of transporting you to faery-land or into the middle ages1 you take a turn down ,bond ,street or go through the mazes of the dance at ,almack's4 ,you have no new inlet to thought or feeling opened to you2 but the passing object1 the topic of the day 7however insipid or repulsive7 is served up to you with a self-sufficient air1 as if you had not already had enough of it4 ,you dip into an ,essay or a ,novel1 and may fancy yourself reading a collection of quack or fashionable advertisements3--,macassar ,oil1 ,eau de ,cologne1 ,hock and ,seltzer ,water1 ,otto of ,roses1 ,pomade ,divine glance through the page in inextricable confusion1 and make your head giddy4 ,far from extending your sympathies1 they are narrowed to a single point1 the admiration of the folly1 caprice1 insolence1 and affectation of a certain class2--so that with the exception of people who ride in their carriages1 you are taught to look down upon the rest of the species with indifference1 abhorrence1 or contempt4 ,a school-master in a black coat is a monster--a tradesman and his wife who eat cold mutton and pickled cabbage are wretches to be hunted out of society4 ,that is the end and moral of it3 it is part and parcel of a system4 ,the ,dandy ,school give the finishing touch to the principles of paternal government4 ,first comes the political sycophant1 and makes the people over to their rulers as a property in perpetuity2 but then they are to be handled tenderly1 and need not complain1 since the sovereign is the father of his people1 and we are to be all one family of love4 ,so says the ,austrian ,catechism4 ,then comes the literary sycophant to finish what the other had begun2 and the poor fools of people having been caught in the trap of plausible professions1 he takes off the mask of paternity1 treats them as of a different species instead of members of the same family1 loads them with obloquy and insult1 and laughs at the very idea of any fellow feeling with or consideration towards them1 as the height of bad taste1 weakness1 and vulgarity4 ,so say ,mr4 ,theodore ,hook and the author of ,vivian ,grey4 ,so says not ,sir ,walter4 ,ever while you live1 go to a man of genius in preference to a dunce2 for let his prejudices or his party be what they may1 there is still a saving grace about him1 for he himself has something else to trust to besides his subserviency to greatness to raise him from insignificance4 ,he takes you and places you in a cottage or a cavern1 and makes you feel the deepest interest in it1 for you feel all that its inmates feel4 ,the ,dandy ,school tell you all that a dandy would feel in such circumstances1 viz4 that he was not in a drawing-room or at ,long's4 ,or if he does forfeit his character for a moment1 he at most brings himself to patronise humanity1 condescends to the accidents of common life1 touches the pathetic with his pen as if it were with a pair of tongs1 and while he just deigns to notice the existence or endure the infirmities of his fellow-creatures1 indemnifies his vanity by snatching a conscious glance at his own person and perfections4 ,whatever is going on1 he himself is the hero of the scene2 the distress 7however excruciating7 derives its chief claim to attention from the singular circumstance of his being present2 and he manages the whole like a piece of private theatricals with an air of the most absolute nonchalance and decorum4 ,the ,,whole ,,duty ,,of ,,man is turned into a butt and bye-word1 or like ,mr4 ,martin's bill for humanity to animals1 is a pure voluntary1 a caprice of effeminate sensibility3 the great business of life is a kind of masquerade or melo-drame got up for effect and by particular desire of the ,great4 ,we soon grow tired of nature so treated1 and are glad to turn to the follies and fopperies of high life1 into which the writer enters with more relish1 and where he finds himself more at home4 ,so ,mr4 ,croker 7in his place in the ,house of ,commons7 does not know where ,bloomsbury ,square is3 thus affecting to level all the houses in the metropolis that are not at the court-end1 and leaving them tenantless by a paltry sneer1 as if a plague had visited them4 ,it is no wonder that his protgs and understrappers out of doors should echo this official impertinence--draw the line still closer between the ,east and ,west-end--arrest a stray sentiment at the corner of a street1 relegate elegance to a fashionable square--annihilate all other enjoyments1 all other pretensions but those of their employers--reduce the bulk of mankind to a cypher1 and make all but a few pampered favourites of fortune dissatisfied with themselves and contemptible to one another4 ,the reader's mind is so varnished over with affectation that not an avenue to truth or feeling is left open1 and it is stifled for want of breath4 ,send these people across the ,channel who make such a fuss about the ,east and ,west-end1 and no one can find out the difference4#da ,the ,english are not a nation of dandies2 nor can ,john ,bull afford 7whatever the panders to fashion and admirers of courtly graces may say to the contrary7 to rest all his pretensions upon that4 ,he must descend to a broader and more manly level to keep his ground at all4 ,those who would persuade him to build up his fame on frogged coats or on the embellishments of a snuff-box1 he should scatter with one loud roar of indignation and trample into the earth like grasshoppers1 as making not only a beast but an ass of him4 ,a writer of this accomplished stamp1 comes forward to tell you1 not how his hero feels on any occasion1 for he is above that1 but how he was dressed1 and makes him a mere lay-figure of fashion with a few pert1 current phrases in his mouth4 ,the ,sir ,sedley ,clarendels and ,meadowses of a former age are become the real fine gentlemen of this4 ,then he gives you the address of his heroine's milliner1 lest any shocking surmise should arise in your mind of the possibility of her dealing with a person of less approved taste1 and also informs you that the quality eat fish with silver forks4 ,this is all he knows about the matter3 is this all they feel8 ,the fact is new to him3 it is old to them4 ,it is so new to him and he is so delighted with it1 that provided a few select persons eat fish with silver forks1 he considers it a circumstance of no consequence if a whole country starves3 but these privileged persons are not surely thinking all the time and every day of their lives of that which ,mr4 ,theodore ,hook has never forgotten since he first witnessed it1 viz4 that they eat their fish with a silver fork4 ,what then are they thinking of in their intervals of leisure--what are their feelings that we can be supposed to know nothing of8 ,will ,mr4 ,theodore ,hook1 who is #8comforted with their bright radiance1 though not in their sphere1' condescend to give us a glimpse of these1 that we may admire their real elegance and refinement as much as he does a frogged coat or silver fork8 ,it is cruel in him not to do so4 #8,the court1 as well as we1 may chide him for it4' ,he once criticised a city feast with great minuteness and bitterness1 in which 7as it appears7 the side-board is ill-arranged1 the footman makes a blunder1 the cook has sent up a dish too little or too highly seasoned4 ,something is wanting1 as ,mr4 ,hook insinuates is necessarily the case whenever people in the neighbourhood of ,russell square give dinners4 ,but that something is not the manners or conversation of gentlemen--this never enters his head--but something that the butler1 the cook or the valet of people of fashion could have remedied quite as well 7to say the least7 as their masters4 ,it is here the cloven foot1 the under-bred tone1 the undue admiration of external circumstances breaks out and betrays the writer4 ,mr4 ,hook has a fellow-feeling with low life or rather with vulgarity aping gentility1 but he has never got beyond the outside of what he calls good society4 ,he can lay the cloth or play the buffoon after dinner--but that is the utmost he can pretend to4 ,we have in ,sayings and ,doings and in ,vivian ,grey abundance of ,lady ,marys and ,lady ,dorothys1 but they are titles without characters1 or the blank is filled up with the most trite impertinence4 ,so a young linen-draper or attorney's clerk from the country1 who had gained a thirty thousand pound prize in the lottery and wished to set up for a fine gentleman1 might learn from these ,novels what hotel to put up at1 what watering place to go to1 what hatter1 hosier1 tailor1 shoemaker1 friseur to employ1 what part of the town he should be seen in1 what theatre he might frequent2 but how to behave1 speak1 look1 feel and think in his new and more aspiring character he would not find the most distant hint in the gross caricatures or flimsy sketches of the most mechanical and shallow of all schools4 ,it is really as if1 in lieu of our royal and fashionable #8,society of ,authors1' a deputation of tailors1 cooks1 lacqueys1 had taken possession of ,parnassus1 and had appointed some ,abigail out of place perpetual ,secretary4 ,the ,congreves1 ,wycherleys1 and ,vanbrughs of former days gave us some taste of gentility and courtly refinement in their plays3 enchanted us with their ,millamants1 or made us bow with respect to their ,lord ,townleys4 ,it would seem that the race of these is over1 or that our modern scribes have not had access to them on a proper footing--that is1 not for their talents or conversation1 but as mountebanks or political drudges4 ,at first it appears strange that persons of so low a station in life should be seized with such a rage to inveigh against themselves1 and make us despise all but a few arrogant people1 who pay them ill for what they do4 ,but this is the natural process of servility1 and we see all valets and hangers-on of the ,great do the same thing4 ,the powdered footman looks down on the rabble that dog his master's coach as beneath his notice4 ,he feels the one little above him1 and the other 7by consequence7 infinitely below him4 ,authors at present would be thought gentlemen1 as gentlemen have a fancy to turn authors4 ,the first thing a dandy scribbler does is to let us know he is dressed in the height of the fashion 7otherwise we might imagine him some miserable garretteer1 distinguished only by his poverty and learning7--and the next thing he does is to make a supercilious allusion to some one who is not so well dressed as himself4 ,he then proceeds to give us a sparkling account of his ,champagne and of his box at the ,opera4 ,a newspaper hack of this description also takes care to inform us that the people at the ,opera in general1 the ,mr4 ,smiths and the ,mr4 ,browns1 are not good enough for him1 and that he shall wait to begin his critical lucubrations1 till the stars of fashion meet there in crowds and constellations6 ,at present1 it should seem that a seat on ,parnassus conveys a title to a box at the ,opera1 and that ,helicon no longer runs water but champagne4 ,literature1 so far from supplying us with intellectual resources to counterbalance immediate privations1 is made an instrument to add to our impatience and irritability under them1 and to nourish our feverish1 childish admiration of external show and grandeur4 ,this rage for fashion and for fashionable writing seems becoming universal1 and some stop must be put to it1 unless it cures itself by its own excessive folly and insipidity4 ,it is well that the ,editor of the ,john ,bull wrote the ,sayings and ,doings4 ,it solves the problem with how small a quantity of wit a person without character or principle may set up for a political mouthpiece4 ,nothing but the dullness of the one could account for the impudence and the effect of the other4 ,no one who could write a line of wit or sense could bring himself from any inducement to repeat the same nickname1 the same stale jest1 for weeks and months together4 ,if the ,editor of the ,john ,bull had any resources in himself beyond the most vulgar slang and hackneyed abuse1 if he had any sense of shame at resorting to the same wretched pun or more wretched calumny1 week after week1 as he is paid for it1 he would be unfit for his task3 he would no longer be the complete and unequivocal organ of the dulness1 prejudices1 malice1 and callous insensibility of his party4 ,no argument tells with a minister of ,state like calling a man a ,jacobin and a ,reformer for the fortieth time3 the sleek ,divine chuckles at a dirty allusion for the fortieth time with unabated glee4 ,mr4 ,hook1 among wits1 might be called the parson's nose3 or perhaps the title of ,mr4 ,vivacity ,dull would suit him as well4 ,what a dearth of invention1 what a want of interest1 what a fuss about nothing1 what a dreary monotony1 what a pert slipslop jargon runs through the whole series of the author's tales6 ,but what a persevering1 unabashed confidence1 what a broad-shouldered self-complacency1 what robust health1 what unrelenting nerves he must possess to inflict them on his readers6 ,not one ray1 not one line--but all the refuse of the ,green-room1 the locomotions of a booth at a fair1 the humours of a ,margate hoy1 the grimace of a jack-pudding1 the sentimentalities and hashed-up scandal of a lady's maid1 the noise and hurry of a chaise and four1 the ennui and vacancy of a return post-chaise6 ,the smart improvisatori turns out the most wearisome of interminable writers4 ,at a moment's warning he can supply something that is worth nothing1 and in ten times the space he can spin out ten times the quantity of the same poor trash4 ,would the public read ,sayings and ,doings8 ,would ,mr4 ,colburn print them8 ,no1 but they are known to be the work of the ,editor of the ,john ,bull1 of that great and anonymous abstract of wit1 taste1 and patriotism1 who1 like a ,ministerial trull1 calls after you in the street1 dubs ,mr4 ,waithman ,lord ,waithman1 cries ,humbug whenever humanity is mentioned2 invades the peace of private life1 out of regard to religion and social order2 cuts a throat out of good-nature1 and laughs at it2 and claps his ,majesty familiarly on the shoulder1 as the best of ,kings6 ,do you wonder at the face1 the gravity1 the impenetrable assurance required to do all this1 and to do it not once1 but once a week8 ,read ,sayings and ,doings1 and the wonder ceases2 you see it is because he can do nothing else6 ,he will feel obliged to us for this character3 his patrons were beginning to forget his qualifications4 ,,actors ,,and ,,the ,,public ,the ,examiner4 ,march #af1 #ahbh4 ,we once happened to be present1 and indeed to assist in the following conversation between a young lady and an elderly gentleman pretty much of our own standing in such matters4 #8,i believe1 papa1 grand-papa did not think so highly of ,mr4 ,garrick as most people did8' #8,why1 my dear1 your grand-papa was not one of those who liked to differ very openly with the world2 but he had an opinion of his own1 which he imparted only to a few particular friends4 ,he really thought ,mr4 ,garrick was a quack1 a better sort of ,barthelemy-fair actor4 ,he used to say 7for he was a man that knew the world7 #8that the real secret of ,mr4 ,garrick's success was1 that his friend ,bate ,dudley had puffed him into notice1 as he afterwards did the ,prince of ,wales4' ,we on this observed1 in our individual capacity1 that at least the dispenser of popularity had been more successful in the one case than in the other4 #8,i believe1 papa1 you yourself were never a great admirer of ,mrs4 ,siddons8' #8,why no1 my dear1 one does not like to say those things1 but she always appeared to me one of the great impositions on the world4 ,there was nothing in her1 a mere tragedy-queen4'--#8,pray1 ma'am1 have you read ,sir ,walter's last novel8'--#8,why no1 ,i really cannot say ,i have4 ,i have tried to get through one or two1 but ,i find them so dry ,i have given up the attempt4 ,i like 8,sayings and ,doings0 much better4 ,pray1 sir1 can you tell me the name of the author8' #8,mr4 ,theodore ,hook4'--#8,bless me1 what a pretty name2 ,i wish papa would invite him to dinner4'--,here we have the genealogy of modern taste4 ',fore gad1 they were all in a story--three generations in succession thinking nothing of ,garrick1 ,mrs4 ,siddons1 and the author of #8,waverley1' and preferring ,mr4 ,theodore ,hook before the quintessence of truth and nature4 ,and such is the opinion of nine-tenths of the world1 if we could get at their real thoughts4 ,the vulgar in their inmost souls admire nothing but the vulgar2 the common-place admire nothing but the common-place2 the superficial nothing but the superficial4 ,how should it be otherwise8 ,the rest is cant and affectation3 and as to those who know better and have pretensions themselves1 they are actuated by envy and malice1 or some preconceived theory of their own4 ,instead of a great actor1 for instance1 they are looking for a hat and feather1 are disappointed at not finding what they fondly expect1 and more disappointed still at coming in collision with a power that shocks all their previous sympathies1 rules1 and definitions4 ,let a great man #8fall into misfortune' 7like ,captain ,macheath7 and then you discover the real dispositions of the reading1 seeing1 believing1 loving public towards their pretended idol4 ,see how they set upon him the moment he is down1 how they watch for the smallest slip1 the first pretext to pick a quarrel with him1 how slow they are to acknowledge worth1 how they never forgive an error1 how they trample upon and tear #8to tatters1 to very rags1' the common frailties1 how they overlook and malign the transcendant excellence which they can neither reach nor find a substitute for6 ,who has praised ,sir ,walter1 who has not had a fling at him1 since he lost all that he was worth8 ,oh6 if he would but write the #8,life of ,george ,,iv46' ,who that had felt ,kean's immeasurable superiority in ,othello1 was not glad to see him brought to the ordinary level in a vulgar crim4 con8 ,no3 a man of true genius and common observation1 instead of being disappointed at not carrying the prize by acclamation1 and exciting gratitude equal to the pleasure he gives1 ought to be thankful that he is not hooted from the stage1 and torn in pieces by the rabble1 as soon as he quits his lair of solitary obscurity4 ,every man of that sort is assuredly looked upon by the vulgar as having dealings with the devil1 because they do not see #8the spells1 the mighty magic he hath used' and they would make an auto-da-f of him if they durst1 as they formerly burnt a witch6 ,they contrive to torture him enough1 as it is4 ,what was it made men burn astrologers and alchemists in former times1 but the sense of power and knowledge which the illiterate hind did not possess8 ,are the reading different from the unreading public8 ,believe it not4 ,but this power was supposed to be exercised for evil purposes1 whereas genius has a beneficial influence4 ,that doubles the obligation1 and fixes the ingratitude4 ,the critical public view the appearance of an original mind with the sidelong glances and the doux yeux with which the animals at ,exeter-',change regard the strange visitants2 but if any one trusting to the amiable looks and playful gambols of the one or the other opens the door of his own folly to let them out1 he will soon see how it will fare with him4 ,there are a million of people in this single metropolis1 each of whom would willingly stand on the pedestal which you occupy4 ,will they forgive you for thrusting them from their place1 or not triumph if they see you totter8 ,beware how you climb the slippery ascent2 do not neglect your footing when you are there4 ,such is the natural feeling2 and then comes the philosophical critic1 and tells you with a face of lead and brass that #8no more indulgence is to be shewn to the indiscretions of a man of genius than to any other6' ,what6 you make him drunk and mad with applause and then blame him for not being sober1 you lift him to a pinnacle1 and then say he is not to be giddy1 you own he is to be a creature of impulse1 and yet you would regulate him like a machine1 you expect him to be all fire and air1 to wing the empyrean1 and to take you with him1 and yet you would have him a muck-worm crawling the earth6 ,but it is a ,scotch critic who says this--let us pass on4 ,if an actor is indeed six feet high1 with a face like a pasteboard mask1 he may pass in the crowd and will have the mob on his side2 but if he can only boast #8,the fiery soul1 that working out its way1 ,fretted the pigmy body to decay1 ,and o'er informed the tenement of clay'-- he stands in equal peril of the unthinking many1 and the fastidious few4 ,or1 if an actress is a foreigner1 she may escape #8the envy of less happier lands1' and be encouraged as a luxury for the great--be wafted to us on a name1 and take back with her our sighs and tears4 ,yet how frail is the tenure of fashion6 ,where is ,madame ,catalani now8 ,where does the siren's voice flutter in the sunshine of her smiles8-- ,it was some time since we had seen ,mr4 ,kean's ,shylock4 ,fourteen years ago we were desired to go and see a young actor from the country attempt the part at ,drury-lane2 and1 as was expected1 add another to the list of failures4 ,when we got there1 there were about fifty people in the pit1 and there was that sense of previous damnation which a thin house inspires4 ,when the new candidate came on1 there was a lightness in his step1 an airy buoyancy and self-possession different from the sullen1 dogged1 gaol-delivery look of the traditional ,shylocks of the stage4 ,a vague expectation was excited1 and all went on well2 but it was not till he came to the part1 when leaning on his staff1 he tells the tale of ,jacob and his flock with the garrulous ease of old age and an animation of spirit1 that seems borne back to the olden time1 and to the privileged example in which he exults1 that it was plain that a man of genius had lighted on the stage4 ,to those who had the spirit and candour to hail the lucky omen1 the recollection of that moment of startling1 yet welcome surprise1 will always be a proud and satisfactory one4 ,we wished to see after a lapse of time and other changes1 whether this first impression would still keep #8true touch1' and we find no difference4 ,besides the excellence of the impassioned parts of ,mr4 ,kean's acting1 there is a flexibility and indefiniteness of outline about it1 like a figure with a landscape back-ground--he is in ,venice with his money-bags1 his daughter and his injuries1 but his thoughts take wing to the ,east1 his voice swells and deepens at the mention of his sacred tribe and ancient law1 and he dwells delighted on any digression to distant times and places1 as a relief to his vindictive and rooted purposes4 ,of all ,mr4 ,kean's performances1 we think this the most faultless and least mannered1 always excepting his ,othello1 which is equally perfect and twenty times more powerful4 ,mr4 ,kean succeeded so well in this part in which he came out1 that with the diffidence of the abilities of others so natural to us1 it was concluded by the managers he could do nothing else1 and he was kept in it so long that he had nearly failed in ,richard1 till the dying scene bore down all opposition by a withering spell1 and as if a preternatural being had visibly taken possession of his form1 and made the enthusiasm the greater from the uncertainty that had before prevailed4 ,the ,sir ,giles ,overreach stamped him with the players and the town1 and ,othello with the critics4 ,he who has done a single thing that others never forget1 and feel ennobled whenever they think of1 need not regret his having been1 and may throw aside this fleshly coil1 like any other worn-out part1 grateful and contented6 ,,french ,,plays ,the ,examiner4 ,march #bc1 #ahbh4 ,monsieur ,perlet is certainly a pearl of an actor4 ,he does every part well1 and every part varied from another4 ,he is1 however1 a jewel set in lead3 the rest of the company to which he belongs are but indifferent4 ,he is exactly what a ,london star1 engaged for a few nights to gratify the #8upturned eyes of wondering audiences1' is in a tattered troop of country-actors4 ,those who fancy that they see here a thorough sample of ,french acting1 the elite of the capital of civilised society1 are mistaken2 and we perhaps should not undeceive them1 but that we can assure them that they have a pleasure to come1 something to look forward to1 and something to look back upon1 and which 7we believe7 can be found only at ,paris4 ,oh6 ,paris1 thou hast the ,louvre1 the garden of the ,thuilleries1 and the ,thatre ,franais2 ,madame ,pasta we share by turns with you1 as the sun sheds its light on either world--the rest is barbarous and common4 ,a friend of ours once received a letter from a friend of his1 dated ,,rome1 with three marks of admiration after it1 which he answered by writing ,,london1 with four marks of admiration after it3 #8and why shouldn't he1 since we had ,st4 ,paul's1 the ,cartoons1 the ,elgin ,marbles1 and the ,bridges8' ,as to the three first1 they were not ours2 and as to the fourth1 the reasoning puts me a little in mind of ,sir ,william ,curtis's1 who remarked that #8it was very good of ,god1 that wherever there was a great city1 he had made a river by the side of it6' ,there was another proud distinction1 which our patriotic friend did not enumerate1 though it was a thumping make-weight in the scale1 and might have claimed a fifth mark of admiration1 which was1 that he himself was there4 ,this is the triumphant argument in every ,englishman's imagination1--wherever he is1 is the centre of gravity2 whatever he calls his own1 is the standard of excellence4 ,it is our desire to shake off this feeling as much as possible that makes us frequent the theatre at the ,english ,opera-house1 and try 7all we can7 to #8leave our country and ourselves' at the door4 ,why in truth should an ,english ,nobleman be convinced in himself and speak upon that conviction in his place in ,parliament1 that because he keeps a ,french cook1 the ,french have no genius for anything but cookery8 ,or why1 my dear ,madam1 should you have taken it in your head1 that because you wear a ,french bonnet1 there is nothing in ,paris but milliners' girls who are no better than they should be8 ,nay1 that is what you really imagine1 however you may deny it--but be assured1 good1 gentle1 honest1 reflecting reader of either sex1 who feel your own existence so solid that every thing else is a fable to it1 or your own virtue so clear that everything else is a spot to it1 that there are things out of ,england besides what are imported into it--that ,french women not only make caps and bonnets1 but wear them with a peculiar grace2 that they have eyes glancing from under them full of fire and discretion2 that they do not make a false step at every turn1 though they do not walk like ,englishwomen1 that is1 as if their limbs were an incumbrance to them2 that the ,chamber of ,deputies think your ,lordship's speeches dry and tasteless1 for want of a little ,french seasoning2 that there are cities not built of bricks1 faces not made of dough1 a language that has a meaning though it is not ours1 and virtue that is neither a statue nor a mask6 ,for instance1 we think good-manners is one part of ethics1 and we do wish en passant that our fine gentlemen at the play would not loll on their seats1 whistle1 and thrust their sticks nearly in your face to show their superiority to the vulgar2 and that those of the other sex1 who are admitted on their good behaviour could be prevailed on not to talk and laugh so loud1 not to nod or wink1 not to slap their acquaintance on the back1 or shut the doors with such violence after them1 to attract admirers and shew an independent spirit4 ,strange that the ,english notion of independence consists in giving offence to and displaying your contempt for others6 ,they order these things better in ,france1 where they consult decency of appearance at least1 and ,venus is a prude in public--not a hoyden or a bully6 #8,our ,cupid is a blackguard boy1 ,that thrusts his link in every face4' ,this brings us back to the ,french ,theatre4 ,as we do not approve every thing foreign or ,french1 we are more bound to acknowledge and do justice to what we do like4 ,imprimis1 we abhor ,french pictures4 ,in the second place1 we tolerate ,french tragedy4 ,thirdly1 we adore ,french comedy4 ,the characteristic of this in its best state1 and as compared with our utmost efforts in the same line1 is1 that it is equally perfect throughout2 and as that great philosopher of idleness 7,mr4 ,coleridge7 once wisely and wittily observed1 #8there is something in the idea of perfection exceedingly satisfactory to the mind of man4' ,it is not as with us at present 7it was not always so--or is it the haze of time1 the tints of youth that made the difference87 where the most we can expect is one or two actors of disproportioned excellence1 and all the others merely to fill the stage2 but there all are in their place1 and all are first-rate4 ,oh6 it is a fine thing to see one of ,moliere's comedies acted 7as they should be7 at the ,thatre ,franais1 with the sense of every pregnant line fully understood and developed1 with the passion and character delineated to the life1 every situation painted1 and every shade and difference of absurdity hit off and realised2 and not only this1 but the whole so managed1 with such studious attention to the public and respect to the art1 that not the least bit of costume is out of place1 and 7what is more important7 that every part is filled by an actor or actress not only who comprehends and enters into the spirit of it1 but who seems made for it in person1 gesture and features1 as if they had been cast in a dramatic mould1 or kept in a glass-case for that purpose from the first representation to the present day4 ,thus the long1 nasal speeches are delivered by an actor with the prominent1 pasteboard nose and arched eyebrows of the ,oratory1 and whose unusual height and shambling figure serve him as it were for a rostrum2 the poetical dedicator in the ,misanthrope has sparkling eyes and teeth1 smiling delighted on his patron and himself2 the confidante of ,celimene1 in the same piece1 is slender1 fragile1 timid in appearance1 a contrast to the firm precision and maturer enbon-point of ,mademoiselle ,mars2 ,orgon has a little1 round1 dimpled1 credulous face1 and easy contented corpulence2 the ,tartuffe has the sneaking sanctity of a monk and the grin of a monkey4 ,thus you have not only the poet's verse exactly expressed and recited2 but you have1 in addition1 the natural history of the part1 the drapery1 the grouping4 ,the age of ,louis ,,xiv4 revives again in all its masqued splendour2 the folding-doors are thrown open1 and you see men and women playing the fool deliciously1 #8new manners and the pomp of elder days1' court-airs1 court-dresses1 the strut1 the shrug1 the bow1 the curtsey1 the paint1 the powder1 the patches1 the perfume1 the laced ruffles1 the diamond buckle1 the hoop-petticoat4 ,happy time6 ,enviable time to think of6 ,when vanity and folly expanded in full bloom1 and were spread out ostentatiously like the figures in a gaudy tapestry1 instead of being folded up and thrust into a corner by the hand of a cynic and austere philosophy2 when personal appearance and amorous intrigue were all in all2 when a marquis stalked the ,god of his own idolatry1 and ,madame la ,marquise was held for something divine by ,monsieur ,jourdain2 when the whole creation was supposed to be concentred in the fantastic circle of lords and ladies1 and the universal1 the abstract1 and the critical were held in the utter contempt which they deserve--and which they receive at the hands both of the ignorant and the adept6 ,nothing that we know of is a specific for conjuring up this shadow of the past1 and making you 7if you are in the mood7 feel like a great booby school-boy1 with a large bouquet at your breast1 or an antiquated fop with a bag-wig and sword--but sitting at the ,thatre ,franais with ,mademoiselle ,mars and the whole corps dramatique drawn up on the stage4 ,then you have the very thing before you3 it glitters in your eyes2 it tingles in your ears1 it sinks into the heart1 and makes warm tears roll down the cheek of those1 who have ever felt either what the present or the past is6 ,it is said to be an ill wind that blows nobody good2 and probably we owe it to the very exclusion of ,french players from general society1 and their being compelled in self-defence to devote themselves wholly to their profession1 that they keep up this sort of traditional copy of the manners1 peculiarities1 and tone of another age1 #8unmixed with baser matter4' ,we could wish that a certain happy-spirited writer 7who first gave the true pine-apple flavour to theatrical criticism1 making it a pleasant mixture of sharp and sweet7 would resume the subject of the age of ,charles ,,ii4 7our nearest approach to that of ,louis ,,xiv47 and as he has shocked the upstart petulance of ,some of his ,contemporaries1 restore in his inimitable careless manner the wit and graces of a former period4 ,we expected to have seen ,monsieur ,perlet on ,thursday evening in the ,bourgeois ,gentilhomme2 and to make sure of the ground1 had read three acts in the morning with great care and an anticipated relish of the acting4 ,we were therefore disappointed2 and the reader must accept of a rhapsody in lieu of a criticism4 ,we think it bad policy to have many new pieces2 for the ,english part of the audience in general require to peruse the text beforehand in order to follow the performance4 ,we like to know exactly what we are about2 and it is both a pride and a pleasure to have an excuse for rubbing up our acquaintance with an old and esteemed author4 ,the universality of the ,french language is not an unalloyed advantage to them3 it saves the trouble of learning any other1 but the necessity of acquiring a new language is like the necessity of acquiring a new sense4 ,it is an increase of knowledge and liberality4 ,we are proud of understanding their authors4 ,why do they despise ours8 ,because they are ignorant of them4 ,if they had known what #8stuff' we are made of1 very likely we should not have beaten them4 ,m4 ,perlet played the part of a strolling comedian in the new piece of the ,landau1 and eats and drinks in an admirable bravura style at a gentleman's house on the road1 where he passes himself off as a great man1 and with that lively absorption in the present enjoyment and disregard of the consequences of his imposture1 which are1 we suspect1 national traits4 ,in the ,landes which followed1 he was equally happy in a poor1 frightened servant1 and expressed the surprises of fear and the tricks and disjointed pantomime antics1 to which it resorted to screen itself1 with admirable quaintness and drollery4 ,the swagger and self-possession of the one character was totally opposed to the imbecility and helplessness of the other4 ,madame ,falcoz made her first appearance in the ,tyran ,domestique as ,madame ,valmont4 ,she is an elegant woman and an interesting actress1 though with too much appearance of still-life4 ,this is not the case with ,madame ,daudel4 ,she has all the vivacity and bustle of a chambermaid4 ,she ought always to come in with a broom in her hand2 or rather1 it is quite unnecessary4 ,,french ,,plays--7,continued7 ,the ,examiner4 ,march #cj1 #ahbh4 ,we exhausted that subject last week1 and were complimented upon it1 which we took ill4 ,probably advisable to be ill this week1 to let our absence be felt1 or to make up with scraps and quotation4 ,to transcribe four different accounts of the ,tartuffe1 ,sir ,walter ,scott's1 ,mr4 ,leigh ,hunt's1 ,monsieur ,perlet's1 and one of our own1 and to make it understood that the last is the best4 ,to remark that ,monsieur ,perlet1 #8that soul of pleasure and that life of whim1' is a provoking actor--for there is no fault to be found with him1 and to give the reader an idea of his peculiar excellence is next to impossible4 ,whatever he does1 his ease1 self-possession1 and spirit are the same4 ,to make it a rule not to tell any one who asks me the plot of the ,ecole des ,maris1 but to tell it myself4 ,borrowers of plots are like borrowers of snuff3--every one his own box-keeper4 7,ha1 ha1 ha67 ,the laugh here comes from a friend of ours to whom we read this1 and who kept repeating the whole evening--#8,every man his own box-keeper4' 7,ha1 ha1 ha67 ,very well indeed4 ,sganarelle and ,ariste are two brothers1 both of them in years1 who have two wards1 ,isabelle and ,leonore1 whom they propose to marry4 ,sganarelle is an old blockhead1 who brings up his intended bride with the greatest severity1 and will let her see no plays1 go to no balls1 receive no visits1 lest it should corrupt her manners or divert her affection from him4 ,he is very angry at his brother ,ariste1 who gives full liberty to his mistress ,leonore1 and contends that bars1 bolts1 female ,arguses1 and ill-humour are not the way to make women in love with virtue1 or to prevent their inclination from wandering4 ,sganarelle laughs at him1 but he turns out a true prophet4 ,isabelle1 not thinking the disagreeable the most agreeable thing in the world1 meets with a lover 7,valere7 more to her mind than her guardian4 ,and here begins the interest of the plot4 ,having no other mode of communication1 she sends ,sganarelle to him1 to let him know that she is apprized of the state of his affections1 and to beg him not to persecute her with his amorous thoughts1 if he has any regard for her honour or peace of mind4 ,he understands the hint1 and sends the supposed husband away1 delighted with his confusion and repulse1 who has no sooner returned to his intended1 than she desires him to go back with a letter1 which ,ariste has just had the assurance to send her in his absence1 full of his absurd passion4 ,this ,sganarelle consents to do1 but proposes to open the letter first1 which she will not allow him to do1 saying it would betray curiosity to break the seal1 and no woman of virtue should feel even a wish to know the improper sentiments entertained towards her4 ,her guardian delivers the letter with an air of triumph and pity for his rival1 which ,valere reads1 and finds it a frank and passionate declaration of ,isabelle's attachment to him4 ,not satisfied with this1 she informs ,sganarelle that he has a design to carry her off by force1 who goes to reproach him with the baseness of his conduct and the pretended terror and uneasiness of his ward4 ,valere affirming that ,sganarelle has no authority to bring him these disdainful messages from the lady1 ,sganarelle brings them together in his presence1 when an admirable scene of double-entendre follows3 ,isabelle declaring that she sees two objects before her1 one which she adores1 the other which she abhors1 ,sganarelle taking to himself the preference which is intended for ,valere1 and the latter rapturously kissing her hand behind his back1 while her guardian affectionately embraces her4 ,but in recompense for her fondness1 he proposes to marry her the next day instead of at the end of eight days2 and this driving ,isabelle to despair1 she takes the resolution to quit the house in the middle of the night1 but is met by her guardian1 who asking the meaning of this nocturnal expedition1 she tells him that her sister has come to her house1 violently in love with ,valere1 whom she is going in search of1 to console her2 but ,sganarelle not being satisfied with this assignation1 will not allow her to remain1 and presently after turns his own bride out of doors1 thinking it to be his brother's ward ,leonore1 and goes with great glee to inform ,ariste of the adventure1 and to lecture him on the difference of their schemes of female education4 ,in the meantime ,leonore comes in from a ball1 is scandalized at the story that she hears told of her2 and the ,notary that ,sganarelle had sent for to witness her elopement and the treachery of ,valere1 having married him to ,isabelle1 she comes out from his house1 and explains the whole mystery to the delight of every one but ,sganarelle4--,the plot is charming1 and the style is profuse of sense and wit2 but there is this remark to be made here1 as on other of ,moliere's plays1 that however elegant1 ingenious1 or natural1 the scene must be laid in ,france1 that the whole passes under that empire of words1 which is confined to her airy limits1 and that there is a credulous and unqualified assent to verbal professions necessary to carry on the plot1 which can be found nowhere but in ,france4 ,this comedy was correctly but somewhat faintly represented4 ,mademoiselle ,falcoz1 who played ,isabelle1 was dressed as we have an idea servants were formerly dressed1 with a full handkerchief and a black silk apron4 ,perhaps it was the costume of young ladies at that period2 but we suspect that this is carrying literal correctness too far1 where it shocks instead of assisting the imagination1 and instructing us at the expense of our amusement1 which is against the law of dramatic propriety4 ,if the play was not done quite as it might be1 it received a brilliant comment from the looks of some of the audience3 and as the stage is a mirror to nature1 so these are a mirror to the stage itself4 ,bright eyes6 ,laughing lips6 ,tell-tale eyebrows6 spare us or we retire incontinently from the ,french play1--#8,to the woods1 to the waves1 to the winds we'll complain' of your inexorable cruelty and endless persecution6 ,,the ,,theatres ,,and ,,passion-,,week ,the ,examiner4 ,april #f1 #ahbh4 ,this being ,passion-week1 there was no play4 #8,because thou art virtuous1 shall we not have cakes and ale8' ,in truth1 however1 we have no objection to this alternation of festivity and mourning3 it mimics the order of the natural world4 ,we require a truce with pleasure as well as pain1 to enable us to endure the one or to enjoy the other3 and we must put a stop at some period or other to the whirl of dissipation1 unless we would grow quite stupid or giddy4 ,one week out of the fifty-two1 in which the theatres shut their doors in your face1 in which the play-bills do not flaunt on either side of the way1 and you are not followed through the streets while the letter-bell is ringing in your ears1 with the importunate repetition of #8,a ,bill for ,covent ,garden or ,drury ,lane1' is not amiss or out of reason2 and the cry of #8,hot-cross buns' fills up the vacancy1 and dallies with the interval of suspense not disagreeably4 ,there is a large class of persons who only go to the play during ,easter3 it is hard if we cannot stay away from it during ,passion-week4 ,our expectations and satisfaction are enhanced by the short restraint put upon them1 and outward prevarication with our scruples4 ,without a little spice of hypocrisy or gravity the world would lose its savour3 and by the periodical mark of reprobation thus set upon it1 the play becomes a sort of pleasant sin all the rest of the year4 ,as for the holiday-folks1 ,passion-week is to them a kind of bleak desert1 beyond which they behold the land of promise1--a ha-ha1 or line of circumvallation round the enchanted castle of ,pleasure1 over which they rush to storm the citadel with double eagerness and obstreperous glee1 escaping from the formal gloom of ,ash-,wednesday and ,good-,friday1 into the bright radiance of ,easter-,sunday1 as from the grave to a bridal1 and #8seizing their pleasures #8,with rough strife1 ,thorough the iron gates of life4' ,we do not think the flutter of hope1 the sparkle of joy1 in the young or old adventurers1 on these occasions of mirth and licence1 would be complete1 were it not for the sense of general restraint and privation which precedes them1 and makes the release from the dead pause1 the involuntary self-denial of the past week1 a more precious achievement to all parties concerned4 ,at least1 this inference is pretty plainly discernible in the smiling looks and uneasy delight of the truant visitors in the boxes1 and the noise and uproar of the overflowing galleries4 ,to those who object to the disorderly interruptions of the latter1 and consider the being present at an ,easter-play as vulgar on that account1 it may be proper to observe that there is no part of an audience so quiet and attentive as the galleries after the curtain once draws up1 if it is not the fault of the actors or the author1 who do not make themselves heard or understood so far2 and again1 we conceive it might be of service to dramatic writers sometimes to hazard their persons or compromise their dignity in the gallery1 to see what impression their scenes make on hearts fresh from nature's mint1 instead of stationing themselves in the dress-boxes1 to overhear polite whispers1 or moulding their features in the glass of newspaper criticism the next day4 ,the tears shed in silence by these untutored spectators1 the breath held in1 the convulsive sob1 the eager gaze1 the glance of delight1 would afford better hints and lessons how to revive the spirit and the pathos of the primitive stage1 than any instructions derived from drivelling ,jerdan or from ranting ,croly--nay1 than from our own columns1 the only ones1 as modest ,mr4 ,blackwood would say1 worthy of the least attention in such matters4 ,as to the players themselves1 we do not know how ,passion-week sits upon them4 ,one would think it would be welcome to them as a break in the routine of business1 as a pause in the wear-and-tear of life3 but there is no saying4 ,for they are so #8stretched upon the rack of ecstasy1' that almost any respite from it may be scarcely endurable4 ,the public eye1 the public voice1 becomes a part of a man's self1 which he can hardly do without1 even for an instant4 ,the player out of his part is like the dram-drinker without his dram1 the snuff-taker without his box4 ,what organ is so sensitive as that of vanity8 ,what thirst so insatiable1 so incessant1 as that of praise8 ,the meagre days of ,lent1 one would argue previously1 would be #8gaudy-days' to his ,majesty's servants1 the drudges of public recreation1--snatched from the town1 and given to retirement and oblivion1--brief interval to allay the feverish irritation of popular applause1 to soothe the smart of mortification and disappointment4 ,but no6 the successful candidate thinks every moment lost in which he is robbed of the need of admiration2 the unsuccessful is impatient to retrieve some error1 to convince the public of theirs3--the hopeless performer thinks it better to be hissed than not noticed at all4 ,even the scene-shifters and candle-snuffers 7to talk in the old style7 fancy themselves1 in a full house and busy night1 persons of importance2 and when left to themselves1 must feel like fish out of water3--nothing else but the want of the customary excitement could probably enable actors to repeat their parts night after night3 they stagger through them like drunken men4 ,many of the most fortunate seem uneasy1 listless1 and dissatisfied1 when off the stage1 because they do not see a thousand faces beaming with delight1 because they do not hear at every step the shouts of ,gods and men4 ,why do they not resort to ,bartholomew-fair1 where they may act every half-hour during the day1 and not get a wink of sleep at night for the noise of cymbals and rattles8 ,this is as if a man could never be easy unless he saw his person reflected in a thousand mirrors1 or heard every word he utters repeated by a hundred echoes4 ,contempt1 poverty1 pain1 want1 and #8all the natural ills that flesh is heir to1' are preferable to this attainment of all that can be desired1 and the craving after more4 ,the lady in ,love's ,labour ,lost condemns her lover ,biron1 for his excess of levity1 #8to jest a twelvemonth in an hospital4' ,for ourselves1 we would impose it as a useful penance on those who are spoiled by the admiration of friends1 to take the stage to the ,land's ,end1 and return by themselves1 so as to breathe for a few days out of the atmosphere of habitual adulation2 and as to actors 7who are anything more than walking gentlemen7 we think they should be bound over never to sing a song1 or tell a story in private4 ,their theatrical pulse is already at a hundred1 without shining in company4 ,those who have nothing to say but #8what is set down for them1' stand the best chance for repose and moderation1 and are also likely to make the best actors4 ,an actor has not to study his own part1 but somebody else's1 as a painter should not be taken up with himself1 but his sitters4 ,the account of the death of the late ,mr4 ,conway1 the actor1 came this week--a week of dole4 ,it was melancholy enough1 and must have occasioned regret to some who had at any time commented freely on his acting4 ,yet the original cause of it was not his fault1 nor that of the critics--but rather of those who pushed him forward to run the gauntlet of public opinion1 and attract a little momentary wonder and curiosity1 without his being prepared to stand the trial1 or meet the consequences4 ,popular favourites are too much like the innocent victims of superstition1 led out1 garlanded with flowers1 to slaughter and to sacrifice4 ,this was1 we think1 the case with ,mr4 ,conway4 ,he was a man of fine personal appearance1 of modesty1 and merit2 but his more than usual height1 and the disproportion between the shewiness of his figure and his genius for the drama 7though he was by no means devoid of passion or talent7 which at first made crowds of idle people run to look at and applaud him1 afterwards subjected him to unavoidable1 though in one sense 7and such he felt it7 unjust satire4 ,it cannot be denied that he played ,jaffier1 for instance1 with considerable force and feeling2 and had he been of the ordinary stature 7which is as necessary on the stage as in a group of statuary7 he would have been highly respectable in that and other parts requiring a certain mixture of tenderness and vehemence4 ,as it was1 those who had at first extolled him to the skies1 now swelled the cry against him2 and the honey of adulation was naturally turned into gall and bitterness4 ,young1 enthusiastic1 and sincere1 he attributed to malice and rooted enmity what was owing to accident1 and the caprice and levity of the world1 who keep up the sense of self-importance and excitement1 by loading their thoughtless favourite with caresses one moment1 and treating him with every mark of obloquy the next4 ,poor ,conway was not prepared for this2 he thought their admiration of him lasting and invaluable1 their desertion wounded him to the quick4 ,he did not know that the town was a hardened jilt1 whose fondness or aversion are equally suspicious4 ,he retired from the conflict1 but bore with him the sense of ill-treatment which he had not knowingly merited1 of disappointed hopes1 which only the waters of oblivion could wash out1 and which should deter others from encountering the same risk1 who are not sure of the victory1 or are not armed with fortitude equally proof against the homage or insults of mankind4 ,mr4 ,conway in his manners was mild and unaffected1 spirited in his conduct1 and if not a scholar1 was distinguished by a love for reading and study4 ,,charles ,,kean ,the ,examiner4 ,april #ac1 #ahbh4 ,we went on ,monday to see young ,mr4 ,kean in ,lovers' ,vows1 with the intention of expressing an opinion2 but we have nothing to add in the way of criticism to what we have already said4 ,we will however in so delicate a matter venture on two general remarks for our own satisfaction1 and we should hope for that of others4 ,the first is1 it appears to us clear that ,mr4 ,kean1 jun41 will never make so great an actor as his father2 and if not1 he had better rest contented with his father's fame4 ,the ,marquis of ,douro does not1 we daresay1 think of fighting the battle of ,waterloo over again3 why then should the son of ,mr4 ,kean wish to lay up any hard-earned and doubtful theatrical laurels of his own8 ,the crammed pit of ,covent-,garden is his ,mount ,st4 ,jean3 the third act of ,othello should be his escutcheon and his hereditary coat-of-arms4 ,a pettifogging1 cringing lawyer1 a leader of a gang of ruffians1 is made a lord1 and ennobles a race of ciphers3 if this is right1 then why should not a man of genius reflect some of his glory on those next to him1 and leave the dower of his great name to his immediate posterity8 ,because the gratitude of the public is insincere1 and nobility a mere state-trick4 ,it is not sentiment1 but servility1 that inclines us to pay respect to a long line of nobles or of princes4 ,take from the ,marquis of ,douro his estate of ,strathfieldsay1 and in a few years he might be in the ,king's ,bench1 and the ,times newspaper would not subscribe five pounds to help him out4 ,if ,mr4 ,kean had left a hundred thousand pounds behind him1 his son might have sat for a close borough1 or have made a #8vulgar' ,minister of ,state4 ,we do think there should be some distinctive mark1 some ribbon of a ,legion of ,honour1 with the smallest possible reversion of independence1 some ,tyburn ticket of merit1 reserved for the sons of the ,muses and the bastards of fortune1 to exempt them alike from starving and the office of serving the public 7which is much the same thing7 for three generations4 ,people talk of birth as necessary to honour and to power3 did not the popes1 the sons of peasants or of nobody1 set their feet upon the necks of monarchs8 ,people talk of the upstart pretensions of authors and men of intellect in modern times3 did not the priest 7the learned men of their day7 come in as the first estate between heaven and the nobles8 ,why then taunt the flame of genius with being earth-born8 ,it is the dotage of a prejudice to do so4 ,we repeat1 the sons of celebrated men are hardly off3 the example of their parents 7together with necessity7 urges them to do something3 that very example1 from being too near1 and almost seeming to save them the trouble of exertion1 precludes the possibility of success4 ,even where the genius might be the same1 the imitation and also the habitual idea of doing something extraordinary without knowing what1 is prejudicial1 if not fatal2 and if they wish to turn out anything1 they should strike into a path the opposite of what is always before them4 ,young ,kean perhaps would shine as a ,university-wrangler1 or a conveyancer under the bar2 and the son of a philosopher should go to court6 ,again1 ,mr4 ,kean is said by his friends to be a promising young actor4 ,we have nothing to say to that2 but we will tell him one thing1 there is no such person as a promising actor4 ,it is here1 as in all similar pursuits1 performance or nothing4 ,we do not say no great actor improves1 but no actor becomes great by improvement4 ,the sun is seen as soon as it appears above the horizon3 there is the same glory round its rising and its setting3 so may it always be with the sun of genius1 which is the lamp of the world6 ,garrick fell as it were from the clouds3 ,mr4 ,kean's father rose at once from obscurity4 ,the late ,mr4 ,kemble was the only actor that we remember to have attained to the first rank by gradual advances2 and he was sustained in his progress by great stateliness of manner and advantages of person4 ,in general1 those who are always improving on themselves1 are surpassed by others1 and complain that1 as they are about to seize the wreath of fame1 it is snatched from them by some bolder and more fortunate hand4 ,we do not presume to sit on ,mr4 ,kean's quantum meruit--we will not--but if he is not likely to become a first-rate actor1 his name forbids him to be aught less4 ,if he knows our tone in speaking when we are serious or merely splenetic1 he will know that these remarks are dictated by anything but a feeling hostile to him4 ,a new melo-dramatic entertainment succeeded1 called ,the ,dumb ,savoyard and his ,monkey4 ,the story is in few words1 as follows3 ,the ,count ,maldecini having been condemned to die 7we know not why--for these inventions plunge us at once in medias res7 his wife accompanied by their little child appears suddenly on the stage with a pardon for him4 ,the ferryman at ,ober ,wesel1 however1 refuses to carry her up the river1 as the hour is too late2 and she is in despair1 when the ,savoyard1 with the assistance of his monkey1 undertakes to convey her to the place of destination4 ,they arrive safely at the ,falls of the ,grenfells1 near the salt-mine1 in which her husband is confined1 when they are attacked by a band of robbers who take a number of valuable ornaments from her1 and among the rest the morocco-case1 containing her husband's pardon2 but this1 at her passionate and distracted entreaty1 the chief restores in a fit of generosity1 and with an appropriate speech for a ,german robber4 ,meantime1 the monkey contrives to pick the pardon out of the case1 and hide it in a crevice of the rock1 on the top of which he sits grinning1 the demon of mischief and meddlesomeness4 ,when the ,countess arrives at the prison1 she accordingly misses what she had built all her hopes upon1 but she deceives the jailor and escapes with her husband1 also by the aid of the ,savoyard and the dextrous ,marmozette4 ,they are pursued and overtaken just at the very spot where the precious document had been lost2 and as the ,count is about to be shot1 in conformity to his sentence1 which he reads and very sentimentally and loyally approves1 the monkey betrays the hiding-place of the pardon1 which the frantic ,countess eagerly rescues from his grasp1 and the whole ends happily4 ,mrs4 ,w4 ,west played the heroine1 and looked forlorn and interesting4 ,mrs4 ,barrymore was ,pipino1 the ,dumb ,savoyard1 and made a very pretty boy4 ,as to the nimble ,marmozette 7,master ,wieland71 if it depended on us1 we would make him skip4 ,our old acquaintance ,jocko has left a numerous progeny behind him1 and we are afraid we shall never see the end of the breed4 ,why1 in the midst of the beautiful and enchanting scenery on the banks of the ,rhine 7so admirably represented in this piece7 must we have an artificial monster staring us in the face like an ugly looking-glass the whole time4 ,we have no patience on this point4 ,we never could bear to see that branch of the species on or off the stage1 and would shoot them like the man in ,candide1 even at a risk of similar consequences4 ,we have no need of a menagerie in a play-house2 the money taken at the door on such occasions should be a deodand to the proprietors of ,exeter-',change4 ,we wish the ,times1 in its gravity1 would take up the subject1 and with its leaden mace drive these lusus natur and nauseous double-entendres from the scene4--,we did not recover our equanimity till ,miss ,foote1 as ,meggy ,macgilpin1 and her pretty ,highland dress1 put us into good humour2 and ,o',keefe's song of ,twang twang darillo1 between ,gatty and ,russell1 scattered every particle of bile in a roar of laughter4 ,,covent-,,garden4 ,the holiday attraction of the week has been a melodrama called ,tuckitomba1 said to be founded on a fact which happened in ,jamaica fifty years ago4 ,the interest turns on a black sorceress who steals her master's child out of revenge1 on an old pirate 7,tuckitomba7 who runs away with a mulatto-girl for love1 and on the blowing up of the vessel in which they set sail for ,africa1 by the carelessness of a tailor on board 7,blanchard7 who sets fire to the powder-magazine with the contents of his tobacco-pipe4 ,there was a great deal of bustle1 and a want of interest in this piece4 ,the prominent trait was the acting of ,keeley1 who is called #8for shortness' ,goliah4 ,this gentleman really answers to ,falstaff's description of #8a man made after supper of a cheese-paring4' ,he is a shred of comedy2 a pocket-,liston4 ,he is great in little parts1 and makes an amusing approach to a nonentity4--,the ,minor ,theatres have each had their novelties during the week1 and been tolerably successful4 ,the critics are divided on the temper and behaviour of ,john ,bull at this season4 ,some say he was lumpish and leaden at ,drury-,lane on ,monday1 others1 that he was in all his glory at ,covent-,garden on the same evening4 ,it is from seeing the confusion and uncertainty that prevail in the most authentic reports that we propose shortly to publish two ,examiners a week1 to set the town right in these and such-like particulars1 and to save them the trouble of consulting the daily papers altogether4 ,as to ,john's behaviour1 pleased or sulky1 drunk or sober1 we never could see any difference in it4 ,where we were1 a man stood up on a bench in the pit1 and another insisting on his getting down1 and on his refusal threatening to call him out the next day1 the first made answer--#8,aye1 if your master will let you6'--#8,master6 what do you mean by that8 ,i have no master3 ,i come and go where ,i please6' ,the women now interfered1 and one of them clapped her handkerchief to her husband's mouth to prevent further disagreeables4 ,all an ,englishman's ideas are modifications of his will2 and it is strange that with all his boasted independence and equality1 he thinks he has a right to insult every one who is not a better man than himself4 ,the reason is1 he has no respect for himself1 nor consequently for others1 except for some external advantage of wealth or situation2 and his ill-humour can only be bribed to keep the peace by his self-interest4 #8,vice to be hated needs but to be seen3#8--we are sure that this at least may be said of ill-manners4 ,turn we from them to the ,french play1 where the object is to enjoy the scene1 to be pleased with yourself1 and not to insult your neighbours1 or inquire which is master and which is man4 ,there have been several debts1 all very creditable and successful1 ,monsieur ,berteche1 ,madame ,beaufre1 and ,mademoiselle ,irma4 ,we saw the former 7who is of the ,mademoiselle ,mars school1 and whose tongue runs faster than a race-horse7 in the ,ecole des ,veillards with ,monsieur ,perlet1 who plays the jealous husband with great point and spirit3 but shall we add1 that in the passionate parts1 he does not let out enough1 there is an interdicted and internal manner1 a fidgetty and confined air1 which is probably owing to the subordinate parts in which he usually acts4 ,in this comedy1 a gentleman pulls off his coat on the stage1 which is with us an indecorum1 except in farce4 ,we mention this to show the difference of feeling in such matters4 ,we missed ,perlet in the ,cheats of ,scapin3 he always contrives to cheat us of our favourite ,moliere4 ,but we had a full taste of him in the ,anglaises pour rire4 ,and these are our fair country-women--so they sit1 speak1 walk1 sing1 and dance1 in the eyes of foreigners6 ,no1 it is ,monsieur ,pelissie and ,monsieur ,perlet--but very like6 ,,some ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,actors4 ,the ,examiner4 ,april #bg1 #ahbh4 ,the last week or two has been rich in theatricals2 ,miss ,stephens in ,love in a ,village1 where the scene opens with those two young beauties sitting in a bower of roses like a flower stuck in the stomacher of beauty1 and where that unconscious siren #8warbles her native wood-notes wild' with such simplicity and sweetness2 ,charles ,kemble in the ,inconstant1 who in one glorious scene plays tragedy and comedy to the life1 and in one short moment tastes the #8fierce extremes' of pleasure and agony1 of life and death2 and ,othello1 with bumpers and three times three2 to say nothing of ,madame ,vestris in the ,invincibles1 and ,mr4 ,john ,reeve in the immortal ,major ,sturgeon4 ,why then did we take no notice of them8 ,notice we have taken1 but it has been with #8our mind's eye1' in #8our heart's core4' ,ill will it fare with us1 when we do not cast a sidelong glance at those pregnant abridgments1 the play-bills1 and when their flaunting contents1 that unfold to us the map of our life1 no longer excite a smile or a sigh4 ,any one who pleases may then write our epitaph1 though it will not be worth writing4 ,at such a season1 for instance1 we saw ,mrs4 ,siddons in such a part for the first time2 in such another1 ,kemble walked with regal air across the stage1 and his stately brow needed no diadem to set it off2 in such a character ,bannister was in all his glory2 in that1 ,suett vented his resistless folly2 here1 ,munden went the whole length of his face2 here1 ,lewis was all life and air2 here1 ,jack ,palmer was great indeed2 here1 ,king was bitter in ,touchstone1 and ,miss ,pope romantic in ,audrey2 then1 ,mrs4 ,goodall played the part of ,rosalind1 and tripped in becoming page's attire through the forest of ,ardennes 7days and years long past672 here1 ,dignum warbled as ,amiens 7before we had heard of the peace of ,amiens72 and here1 ,mrs4 ,jordan's laugh comes over the heart1 and if it has grown dry and seared1 fills it with the remembrance of joy and gladness once more4 ,dodd and ,parsons hover in the extreme verge of the horizon1 but gay shadows1 airy shapes4 ,then such a one took leave of the stage1 drawing a narrower circle within the natural circle of his being2 then ,liston appeared in the ,finger-,post1 looking like a finger-post1 with his nose only pointing to fun2 ,elliston in ,wild ,oats 7will he never sow 'em872 ,matthews in the ,bee-,hive1 as busy as a bee2 ,miss ,kelly in chambermaids2 ,miss ,o',neill in heroines2 last1 not least1 ,mr4 ,kean1 the #8bony prizer' of the stage1 who has knocked all other reputations and his own on the head4 ,what a host of names and recollections is here6 ,how many more are omitted1 names that have embodied famous poets' verse and been the #8fancy's midwife1' that have gladdened a nation and made life worth living for1 that have made the world pass in review as a gaudy pageant1 and set before us in a waking dream the bodily shapes and circumstances of all that is most precious in joy or in sorrow6 ,and is it come to this1 that the drama is accounted vulgar by the vulgar1 and that we are to cut our old acquaintances the players1 those who have thrown a light upon the morning1 noon1 and evening of our day1 #8gay creatures of the element1 that live #8i th' rainbow and play in the plighted clouds1' and who have taken us so many hundred times to sit and laugh with them1 or shed #8tears such as angels weep1' at a height where we could look down at the sordid of the earth--and at a universe of ,operas1 with their naked figurantes1 and sense and soul muffled up in sound to suit the callous taste or ranker gust of ears polite6 ,we may have said all this before2 and here lies the misfortune of our office4 ,a theatrical audience is supposed to vary every night3 the reading public is assumed to be always the same body4 ,we could praise ,mr4 ,charles ,kemble's acting in ,young ,mirabel every time he does it1 and are always glad to think he is going to play what does such credit to his art and gives such pleasure to others2 but we can say nothing about it1 having once expressed our opinion to that effect4 ,an actor repeats a favourite part till farther notice2 a singer may be encored in an air as often as his friends please2 thank ,god1 we have stockpieces that never wear out3 but who ever ventured upon reviving a defunct criticism8 ,it might pass with the million1 but some good-natured friend would betray us4 ,the writer's secret would be found out1 and he would be had up as an imposter4 ,nevertheless1 having meditated a new criticism 7or eulogy1 for it is the same thing7 on ,mr4 ,kean's ,othello1 and the overflowing house having excluded us from the ,free-,list1 we venture upon borrowing an old one2 and if we were to try1 we do not know that we could mend our draught4 #8,mr4 ,kean's ,othello is1 we suppose1 the finest piece of acting in the world4 ,it is impossible either to describe or praise it adequately4 ,we have never seen any actor so wrought upon--so 8perplexed in the extreme40 ,the energy of passion1 as it expresses itself in action1 is not the most terrific part3 it is the agony of his soul1 shewing itself in looks and tones of voice4 ,in one part1 where he listens in dumb despair to the fiend-like insinuations of ,iago1 he presented the very face1 the marble aspect of ,dante's ,count ,ugolino4 ,on his fixed eyelids 8horror sat plumed40 ,in another part1 where a gleam of hope or of tenderness returns to subdue the tumult of his passions1 his voice broke in faultering accents from his overcharged breast4 ,his lips might be said less to utter words than to distil drops of blood gushing from his heart4 ,an instance of this was in his pronunciation of the line-- 8,of one that loved not wisely1 but too well40 ,the whole of this last speech was indeed given with exquisite force and beauty4 ,we only object to the virulence with which he delivers the last line1 and with which he stabs himself--a virulence which ,othello would neither feel against himself at the moment1 nor against the 8turbaned ,turk0 7whom he had slain7 at such a distance of time4 ,his exclamation on seeing his wife1 8,i cannot think but ,desdemona's honest10 was the 8glorious triumph of exceeding love10 a thought flashing conviction on his mind1 and irradiating his countenance with joy1 like sudden sunshine4 ,in fact almost every scene or sentence in this extraordinary exhibition is a master-piece of natural passion4 ,the convulsed motion of the hands1 and the involuntary swelling of the veins in the forehead1 in some of the most painful situations1 should not only suggest topics of critical panegyric1 but might furnish studies to the painter or sculptor4' ,after ,othello on ,wednesday1 ,the ,mayor of ,garratt followed #8with kindliest change4' ,mr4 ,reeve played ,major ,sturgeon1 and ,mr4 ,keeley1 ,jerry ,sneak4 ,comparisons are odious3 therefore they are made4 ,mr4 ,keeley's ,jerry was not so good as ,russell's formerly2 nor ,mr4 ,reeve's ,major ,sturgeon equal to ,dowton's4 ,this is saying nothing1 for both those performances were of the very first water4 ,mr4 ,keeley's person is diminutive1 and he seems the natural butt of a virago3 ,russell was a goodly man of his inches2 it was his spirit only that was hen-pecked1 and that submitted to buffets and blows4 ,dowton again was the model of a train-band ,captain in his own esteem1 and never doubted of the ineffable superiority of his own pretensions3 ,reeve1 in the midst of his insolence and vapouring1 has a look of quizzing himself1 and sees through the ridicule of his own character4 ,he however throws much humour and fantastic absurdity into the part1 -la-,liston2 but his drollery is conscious and knowing1 not vacant and absolutely spontaneous1 like that of his unrivalled prototype4 ,at the end of the farce1 there was some division of opinion whether the piece was not low1 as if that which had mainly driven such manners and characters almost from the knowledge of the present generation was not a master-stroke of genius1 and in fact an historical drama4 ,,the ,,company ,,at ,,the ,,opera4 ,the ,examiner4 ,may #d1 #ahbh4 ,,covent-,,garden4 ,there has been a new farce here 7called1 disagreeably enough1 ,the ,little ,offsprings74 ,if ,mr4 ,peake is one of the most amusing of our farce writers1 it is because he pretends to be nothing better4 ,he professes to write a farce1 not a genteel comedy2 and he generally succeeds accordingly4 ,our complaint against his present novelty is1 that unlike most of his previous ones1 it is not quite broad enough4 ,he himself will smile at this objection1 because assuredly it is quite broad enough where it is broad4 ,but it is not #8as broad as it is long1' which is what all farces ought to be4 ,young ladies as well bred as they are well dressed1 and young gentlemen #8to match1' are interlopers in the region of farce4 ,let ,mr4 ,peake eschew all such amiable insipidities1 and he will do well4 ,in short1 let him cultivate the gentilities of life not a step farther than they fall in with the case 7anything but genteel7 of ,mr4 ,wrench2 and then he cannot go very far wrong4 ,above all1 let him have nothing to say to young ladies who are a whit more like ,lady ,teazle than ,miss ,kelly is4 ,they are ticklish handling in all cases2 and in his there is no answering for the mischief they may do4 #8,crabbed age and youth ,cannot live together'2-- and no more can the ultra-ridiculous and the flat common-place--,mr4 ,keeley as a ,savoyard organ-boy1 and ,miss ,goward as a sensitive school-girl4 ,the contrast 7so to speak7 does not harmonize4 ,au reste1 the name of the new farce is the worst thing belonging to it4 ,it includes a fox-hunting ,admiral1 played1 or rather worked1 with great effect by ,bartley2--a bluff and blundering boatswain1 which ,fawcett acted to the life1 that is to say1 somewhat disagreeably2--a person wearing a white hat and pea-green pantaloons1 things always enough to make the sight of ,mr4 ,wrench pleasant2 a suppositious spinster 7,mrs4 ,davenport71 who turns out to be the parent of one of the #8little offsprings1' her brother the ,admiral being similarly situated as to the other2--and finally1 the #8offsprings' themselves1 played 7as aforesaid7 by ,miss ,goward and ,mr4 ,keeley1 and about whom there is a good deal of ingenious equivoque which touches upon the extreme edge where such matters are1 now-a-days1 so apt to fall over4 ,they pretty nearly did so on the above occasion1 which has1 no doubt1 induced ,mr4 ,peake to make the proper sacrifices to the suspicious delicacy of #8some people's ears4' ,,king',s ,,theatre4 ,don ,giovanni was played at this theatre on ,thursday for the benefit of ,madame ,caradori1 in which ,mademoiselle ,sontag sustained the part of ,donna ,anna with great truth and effect4 ,we said something lately on the company at the holiday theatres3 we have something to say on the company at the ,opera4 ,we have little hesitation in stating 7we speak of the pit7 that in its way it is quite as bad3 from boisterous rudeness and familiarity it rises into distance and superciliousness4 ,if for instance at the ,surrey or the ,coburg you see two fellows quarrelling which is the master and which is the man1 at the ,king's ,theatre you hear an elegant discourse on #8the higher and the lower orders4' ,a critic at ,covent-,garden or ,drury-,lane thinks ,sadler's ,wells or the ,east ,london low3 a critic of the self-same stamp1 but one of softer phrase1 pronounces the condemnation of the drama in good set terms as altogether exploded in the fashionable circles1 and as flourishing most in our manufacturing towns and the semi-barbarous states of ,north ,america4 ,you hear another take up the lamentable theme of an interval in the succession of regular ,opera-singers1 as if it were a pause in nature2 and when notwithstanding he has heard ,braham sing very well in #8this house1' repeating the words as if the atmosphere at the ,haymarket wafted other sounds than common air1 and music were a geographical distinction4 ,thus it is that an ,englishman is always pinning his faith on places and persons2 and that he cannot arrive 7for the soul of him1 let him be taught and trammelled how he will7 at the contemplation of an abstract idea3 and yet the booby talks of refinement4 ,he has no conception of anything but from the situation where he finds it2 or the figure it makes in the eyes of some one as wise as himself2 or from its being a foil to some defect in others4 ,you hear none of this gabble at the ,thatre ,franais1 or the ,italian ,opera in ,paris1 about those exploded authors ,racine and ,molire1 or the low buffoonery of the ,theatre des ,variets1 because they understand or relish both3 we1 unfortunately1 who understand and relish neither1 are obliged to create an artificial admiration of what is exotic out of our contempt for what is native1 and pamper our pretensions to refinement by constantly dwelling on the vulgarity of the lower orders4 ,delightful it is to hear the ,frenchwomen speaking of #8the vulgar ,englishwomen' in a lump1 as these same ,englishwomen speak of all the rest of their country-women6 ,in ,france1 to laugh and weep 7at least with the comic or the tragic ,muse7 is not held vulgar4 ,all wit is not confined to a shake of the toe1 nor all sense to the squall of an ,opera-singer1 though they dance and give concerts as well as we4 ,but in ,england our object is not the pursuit of pleasure1 but to run away from the pleasures of others2 and when a taste for the drama or anything else becomes a little common1 we grow sulky and insensible by way of being spiritual and refined4 ,we see no other refinement in the case1 unless the getting rid of thought and feeling is a proof of refinement2 and the figurantes at the ,opera are an intermediate link1 a soft imperceptible gradation1 between the grossness of human passion and the absence of all human sympathy4 ,do the upper classes speak in recitative8 ,do they1 in answer to a common question1 vault into the air8 ,perhaps a ,noble ,duke might make one of his speeches intelligible by singing it1 or solve the difficulties of the ,corn question by calling out the ,lord ,chancellor to dance a minuet with him6 ,we import ,opera-singers1 dancers1 kings6 ,liberal land6 ,that knows its own deficiencies in what is refined and elevated6 ,happy1 that it finds others so ready to oblige it6 ,all that they get from us1 is hard blows or hard cash3 all that we get from them1 is politeness and luxury6 ,in a word the question comes to this--,are the ,english an essentially vulgar people or not8 ,if all that they have of their own is vulgar and unworthy of the notice of the upper classes1 then the unavoidable inference is that the upper classes themselves are unworthy to see anything better1 and are the most vulgar1 fashionable audience in ,europe4 ,if we have the least possible capacity for the fine arts1 namely1 dancing1 music1 painting1 then we must be1 in spite of letters-patent of nobility1 or a box at the opera1 or a chapeau-bras1 or an opera-glass1 the worst possible judges of them2 and if we would be anything at all1 must set up for something else4 ,indeed1 the effects are plain enough4 ,there is that little ,brocard2 she was at one time a model of voluptuous1 languishing grace2 but it was thrown away upon the higher orders1 and she now does nothing but walk on the tips of her toes4 ,the little trifler1 she that we have praised so often6 ,we are after all in such matters a ,bartlemy-fair audience--or for a tumbler's show6 ,is ,madame ,pasta a favourite with the great vulgar8 ,not in the least4 ,they hear her fame1 but not her4 ,what piteous1 vacant aspects in the fine gentleman in the pit the first night of ,mademoiselle ,sontag's appearance6 ,and what would they not have given 7before committing themselves beyond an applause which might be construed into a good-natured encouragement7 to know what the newspapers would say the next day6 ,what then is the amount of this exclusive preference and fastidious superiority of fashionable taste8 ,mere arrogance and affectation4 ,look at the men in the pit4 ,are they in raptures with the ballet or the music8 ,they are solely occupied in thinking how they themselves look1 whether their coat is of the right cut1 their cravat properly tied1 and whether their next neighbour is good enough for them to speak to4 ,each opera-beau ought to have a glass-case over him to keep him within a certain precise sphere of dandy repulsiveness and self-importance4 ,in an ,o4 ,p4 row you are in danger of being knocked down3 in the still-life of the ,opera-house1 every one seems in fear of touching his neighbour's elbow4 ,the disagreeable either in thought or action is inseparable from our fogs and sea-coal fires4 ,look at the women in the boxes4 ,are they at their ease8 ,or do they not keep one fixed attitude1 or else loll1 and laugh1 and stare without meaning8 ,the great thing is not to seem to take an interest2 and this is not difficult1 where none is felt4 ,if to paint1 to dress1 to intrigue1 and be insensible1 is the height of refinement1 then the women in the lobbies are even more refined than they4 ,do we then subscribe to this total disqualification of the ,english character8 ,no3 we have hearts and heads for other things besides the mechanism of the senses4 ,we have books1 which we send through the heart of all ,europe2 but our people of fashion and our parade of gentility are the laughing-stock of the world4 ,one service which the work on ,lord ,byron and his ,contemporaries has done the public1 one offence it has given to the insolent few1 is that it shews that even the strongest minds are not exempt from the shallowness and pedantry of this kind of jargon4 ,the ,noble ,poet somewhere says that he and ,tom ,moore wrote well1 because he himself from birth1 and ,mr4 ,moore from circumstances 7circumstances indeed67 moved in the fashionable world4 ,if this were all1 we should have some thousands of fine geniuses come out every year1 #8the mob of gentlemen who write with ease6' ,why1 instead of opening the casket to examine the contents1 are we to be always looking at the outside8 ,or why1 having found a jewel in it1 persist that the wrapper was coarse brown paper8 ,when we hear all the inhabitants of this great country whose names are not inscribed in the ,red ,book1 or who are not crammed into the stifling1 glittering atmosphere of the ,king's ,theatre1 stigmatised with the sweeping epithet of #8the lower orders1' our patience is a little out at elbows1 and the answer1 we fear1 will not come from the pen alone6 ,what is it that my ,lord-,duke brings with him from the ,continent--that he shews to his fellow-travellers as a precious curiosity--that he folds up and unfolds with such care8 ,is it a cameo1 a drawing by ,raphael1 a bit of ,claude8 ,it is a copy of the ,great ,tun of ,heidelberg6 ,when did the polite world think it allowable for the last time to throng to the ,english theatre in crowds and with their expectations excited to the utmost8 ,to see young ,mr4 ,kean1 a boy just come from ,eton 7classical reminiscence67 in the part of ,norval6 ,or to see the bottle-conjuror1 or a thing born with a crown on its head1 or any other rare and striking novelty6 ,spare us1 man of fashion1 in the name of refinement6 ,,the ,,beggars' ,,opera ,the ,examiner4 ,may #aa1 #ahbh4 ,,covent-,,garden4 ,on ,tuesday1 the ,beggars' ,opera was acted here2 or rather1 half the ,beggars' ,opera to half a house4 ,this is as it should be3 if the ,managers start and shrug up their shoulders at one half of a play1 the public will shrink from the other4 ,it is always wrong to cry stale fish4 ,we suspect some clerical critic1 some ,jeremy ,collier of the ,times1 has had a hand in this3 what have these reverend divines to do with profane stage-plays1 any more than poets and novelists with writing lay-sermons8 ,everything in our day is turned topsy-turvy3 nothing prevails but #8vanity1 chaotic vanity4' ,the consequence of this sort of slur and neglect thrown upon the piece is1 that it is indifferently acted4 ,there is not1 in the expressive green-room phrase1 #8a hand in the house'3 and without that1 the performer has no heart to proceed4 ,a player can no more act with spirit unless he sees the reflection of his excellences in the looks and satisfaction of the audience1 than a fine lady can dress without a looking-glass4 ,he makes a hit and it fails of effect2 he is therefore thrown out1 and the next time he does wrong or he does nothing4 ,filch 7,meadows7 picks a pocket as if he was afraid of being detected by the pit3 ,miss ,kelly is shocked at the part of ,lucy1 and flounces and elbows through it as if she wished to get out of it1 putting a negative on an encore that is likely to detain her five minutes longer in ,newgate3 ,miss ,stephens 7the charming ,polly7 is frightened at the interest she might inspire1 and is loth to #8waste her sweetness on a blackguard air'3 the ,captain 7,mr4 ,wood7 is the only person who stands fire on the trying occasion4 ,this gentleman is the best ,macheath we have seen for a long time 7for in criticism as in law we must have our statute of limitations7--more of a gentleman than ,incledon1 a better singer than ,davies1 less affected than ,young1 less finical than ,sinclair1 as #8pretty a fellow' as ,madame ,vestris--good-looking1 gallant1 debonair1 and vocal4 ,bartley is too #8splenetic and rash' for ,lockitt1 who should be sullen and hardened as his prison-walls2 ,blanchard is not round and set enough for ,peachum1 his figure dangling and his voice crackling like a lawyer's parchment2 ,mrs4 ,davenport alone remained in her original muslin apron1 silk gown1 and pinners 7a ,sybil1 yet how unlike a prophetess67 to overlook and wonder at the desolation of the classic scene4 ,we are more and more convinced that there is a time for everything1 and that good plays must give place to bad ones4 ,it is not possible 7with a mixed audience7 to keep alive the ridicule of manners after the manners themselves have ceased1 nor to preserve them in the spirit of wit1 or exhibit them even in mock-heroics4 ,the stage is but the counterpart of existing follies-- #8,and when the date of ,nock was out1 ,off fell the sympathetic snout4' ,however1 the ,beggars' ,opera has run a century4 ,that's pretty well4 ,oh ,george ,colman the ,younger1 ,messrs4 ,reynolds and ,morton1 how will you rejoice1 could you lift up your heads a hundred years hence1 and see a five-act play of yours cut down to a one-act farce6 ,it is not that there are not plenty of rogues and pick pockets at present2 but the ,muse is averse to look that way2 the imagination has taken a higher flight2 wit and humour do not flow in that dirty channel1 picking the grains of gold out of it4 ,instead of descending1 we aspire2 and the age has a sublime front given to it to contemplate the heaven of drawing-rooms and the milky-way of fashion4 ,you are asked if you like ,fielding1 as if it were a statuteable offence2 and it was justly observed the other day in a comparison between ,de ,vere and ,count ,fathom1 that in a refined period like ours1 a rogue aims at nothing short of being ,prime-,minister6 ,in a word1 the ,french ,revolution has spoiled all1 like a great stone thrown into a well #8with hollow and rueful rumble1' and left no two ideas in the public mind but those of high and low4 ,the jealousy of gentility1 the horror of being thought vulgar1 has put an end to the harmless double-entendre of wit and humour2 and the glancing lights and shades of life 7nothing without each other7 are sunk into the dull night of insipidity and affectation4 ,so be it1 and so it will be6 ,yet #8we have heard the chimes at midnight' for all this1 and passed over ,hounslow and ,bagshot1 not without a twinge of the recollection of other times1 as well as responsive to the names of ,pope1 of ,gay1 and ,queensberry's ,duchess6 ,nor is it so long since we have seen good company and full houses grace the representation of ,tyburn tree3 we remember old ,sir ,john ,sylvester among others 7with we believe his two daughters7 who had a keen relish for an execution1 and stedfastly contemplated under black bushy eyebrows that irrefragable order of ideas 7as ,mr4 ,hobbes calls it7 #8the thief1 the judge1 and the gallows2' and ,mr4 ,vansittart1 who smiled with conscious simplicity at the satirical allusions to ,ministers of ,state1 might be supposed to be comparing the terseness and point of ,gay's style with his own #8wolds and sholds1' and seemed to think that nothing but an evangelical housebreaker was wanting to the perfection of the plot6--,we could not stay out ,a ,race for ,dinner1 though invited by ,mr4 ,wrench1--who has become as hungry as a hunter of late1--but made the best of our way to the other house 7old ,drury7 in search of a criticism4 ,we could almost fancy ,covent ,garden had got there before us1 for there we found nearly the whole former strength of the rival house drawn up in battle-array before us--#8and ,birnamwood was come to ,dunsinane'--through what bickerings1 what strifes1 what heart-burnings1 what jealousies between actors1 what quarrels with managers1 what want of pay1 and demands for more1 is easy 7though not pleasant7 to guess4 ,they had also brought the ,poor ,gentleman with them2 and both together brought a full house4 ,nothing could be better acted4 ,looking at them with #8eyes of youth' 7which we always take with us to the theatre7 we seemed as it were to witness something like a turn-out of ,chelsea pensioners on the boards2 and the sentiments of the play were of a piece with this patriotic and charitable impression4 ,about thirty years ago1 when ,john ,bull took a particular fit of hatred against the ,french1 he also fell in love with himself2 and the dramatic writers of that day undertook to shew ,john his own face1 his virtues or vices #8to advantage dressed' in a succession of plays which were properly ,dedications to the ,english nation4 ,we have the ,whole ,duty of ,man bound up in a coarse1 unattractive exterior2 the ,virtues in the front of the stage1 though the ,graces stand a little in the back-ground2 and all the charities of private life clustering together on the stage1 as they do round the domestic hearth4 ,we have nothing but generous uncles1 dry in their manner1 but their heart and their purse overflowing with liberality--dutiful nephews1 thoughtless but well-meaning1 and falling into scrapes and love at every turn--reclaimed seducers--exemplary young ladies--old servants surly1 but honest 7the ,english character7--a chattering apothecary1 the butt of the village and a foil to our self-love--an old soldier1 a favourite in the family1 and with us1 for he has been wounded in our defence--a poor gentleman1 in want of money which he refuses by mistake from some munificent patron1 in consequence of not being so shrewd as the audience1 and who is in hourly danger of a prison1 from which we hope to escape4 ,all this hits our delicate and improved moral tastes much better than sneering at our vices or laughing at our follies4 ,live sentiment1 perish satire6 ,then there is so much distress1 which it is so delightful to sympathize with--so much money circulating to relieve it 7which it is so delightful to hear and to see2 it is almost like attending a charity-sermon1 or seeing ,mr4 ,irving himself pawn his watch out of an excess of missionary zeal7--then there are so many tears starting into the eye1 so many squeezes of the hand1 so many friends and relations falling into one another's arms1 as cannot but move the most obdurate--so many bailiffs in the wind1 so many duels broken off by the entrance of some antiquated spinster who is always prying into mischief1 or of some charming young creature who is the cause of it4 ,we hope the other actors and actresses who acquitted themselves so admirably in their several parts1--,mr4 ,dowton in ,sir ,r4 ,bramble1 ,mr4 ,mathews in ,ollapod1 ,mr4 ,liston in ,corporal ,foss1 ,mr4 ,cooper in ,lieutenant ,worthington1 ,mr4 ,jones in ,frederic1 ,mrs4 ,davison in ,miss ,mactab1--will excuse us if we pass them over on this occasion to pay our compliments to ,miss ,ellen ,tree1 who played ,emily ,worthington1 and who certainly comes under the description of persons last-mentioned4 ,without any appearance of art1 she played so well that she seemed the character itself1 with the ease and simplicity of an innocent school-girl4 ,her figure is very pleasing--her voice is like her sister's--and she has the handsomest mouth in the world4 ,we will not attempt to describe it for two reasons3 first1 because we cannot2 secondly1 because we dare not4 ,in ,mr4 ,jones's ,school for ,gallantry she might have been called the bon bouche4 ,amidst the chopping and changing of the theatres1 we had forgotten ,mr4 ,jones was at ,drury ,lane2 and inquired after the success of his new piece at ,covent ,garden4 ,we naturally enough received an answer almost as cold as the moon which shines through the bars of his hero's prison-chamber4 ,we were glad however to find that the wit and pleasantry diffused over it1 if faint1 had much of the agreeable lustre of that mild planet4 ,we should suppose the plot borrowed from the country where the scene is laid4 ,cupid seems always on garrison-duty in the ,prussian monarchy1 and the spirit of adventure and gallantry somewhat languishes and grows trifling when it is kept 7as everything there is7 under lock and key4 ,after what we have said of ,miss ,e4 ,tree1 we will not forfeit our reputation for gallantry by saying anything less obliging of ,miss ,love1 who plays a young hussar officer in this piece1 than that we like her best when she is drest most like herself4 ,,the ,,taming ,,of ,,the ,,shrew ,,and ,l',,avare ,the ,examiner4 ,may #ah1 #ahbh4 ,,drury ,,lane4 ,the ,taming of the ,shrew was revived here on ,wednesday1 with the original words and additional songs4 ,we however missed ,christopher ,sly1 that supreme dramatic critic1 who should have sat in lordly judgment on the piece1 and given a drunken relief to it4 ,this representing of a play within a play 7of which ,shakspeare was fond7 produces an agreeable theatrical perspective--it is like painting a picture in a picture--and intimates pointedly enough that all are but shadows1 the pageants of a dream4 ,we also missed ,mr4 ,liston in this part2 for we understand he has some good quips and crotchets about it4 ,unless we saw him1 we cannot pretend to say how he would do it2 for we consider ,mr4 ,liston in the light of an author rather than of an actor1 and he makes his best parts out of his own head or face1 in a sort of brown study1 with very little reference to the text4 ,he has nevertheless more comic humour oozing out of his features and person than any other actor in our remembrance1 or than we have any positive evidence of since the time of ,hogarth4 ,no one is stultified1 no one is mystified like him--no one is so deep in absurdity1 no one so full of vacancy2 no one puzzles so over a doubt1 or goes the whole length of an extravagance like him--no one chuckles so over his own conceit1 or is so dismayed at finding his mistake3--the genius of folly spreads its shining gloss over his face1 tickles his nose1 laughs in his eyes1 makes his teeth chatter in his head1 or draws up every muscle into a look of indescribable dulness1 or freezes his whole person into a lump of ice 7as in ,lubin ,log7 or relaxes it into the very thaw and dissolution of all common sense 7as in his ,lord ,grizzle74 ,munden's acting 7which many prefer1 and in this number may be included ,mr4 ,liston himself7 was external1 overdone1 and aimed at the galleries--it was a sort of prodigious and inspired face-making--,liston's humour bubbles up of itself1 and runs over from the mere fulness of the conception4 ,if he does not go out of himself1 he looks into himself1 and ruminates on the idea of the idle1 the quaint1 and the absurd1 till it does his heart good within him1 and makes #8the lungs of others crow like chanticleer4' ,munden's expressions1 if they could have been taken off on the spot1 would have made a capital set of grotesque masks3 ,liston's would make a succession of original comic sketches1 as rich as they are true3--,mr4 ,wilkie failed in attempting one of them--his pencil was not oily and unctuous enough4 ,we have seen many better comedians1 that is1 better imitators of existing or supposed characters and manners--such as ,emery1 ,little ,simmons1 ,dowton1 and others--we know no other actor who has such a fund of drollery in himself1 or that makes one laugh in the same hearty unrestrained manner1 free from all care or controul1 that we do with ,sancho ,panza or ,parson ,adams4 ,we have heard a story of ,mr4 ,liston being prevented by some accident from attending his professional duties1 and wrapping himself up in a flannel gown and heart's-content over a winter fire1 to read our good old ,english novelists for a fortnight together4 ,what fine marginal notes his face would make6 ,which would he enjoy most1 the blanket falling and discovering philosopher ,square behind it1 or the drawing up of the curtain and the broad laugh of the pit8 ,we will answer that question for him4 ,the meanest apprentice that sees a play for the first time from the gallery1 has more pleasure than the most admired actor that ever trod the stage3 there is more satisfaction in reading one page of a sterling author with good faith and good will1 than the writer had in the composition or even the success of all his works put together4 ,the admiration we bestow on others comes from the heart2 but never returns back to it4 ,vanity closes up the avenues1 or envy poisons it4 ,this digression is too long3 without sometimes going out of our way1 we should hardly get to the end of our task4--,the revival1 on the whole1 went off pleasantly1 though the acting was not remarkably good1 nor the music by any means enlivening4 ,jaques's recommendation to ,amiens--#8,warble1 warble1'--seems to be the device of most modern composers1 who think that1 if they string a set of unmeaning notes together1 it must be heavenly harmony4 ',tis pitiful4 ,we are sick to death of this interpolated sing-song2 nor do we think it much mended by proceeding from the mouth of ,mr4 ,braham1 who is in such cases a piece of operatic fleecy hosiery4 ,he is a walking woolsack3--#8,and when the bag was opened1 the voice began to sing1' c4 ,we may be wrong in this matter1 and speak under correction of better judges2 but we confess that the everlasting monotonous alternation of the thunder of the spheres and the softness of nightingales1 of the notes of the trumpet and the lute1 the forked lightning and gentle moon-beams1 ,mr4 ,braham's thick-set person1 infantine gestures and dying cadences1 all together throw us into a fit of despondency4 ,miss ,fanny ,ayton's shrill voice and acute features did not serve to dispel our chagrin4 ,the rest of the piece was tolerably cast4 ,wallack was the hero of it1 who does not want for spirit or confidence2 and a man's good opinion of himself is always half-way towards deserving it1 and obtaining that of others4 ,cooper did not play his pretended master well3 he is too grave and straight forward an actor for these sort of sudden shifts and doubtful subterfuges4 ,the best-done scene was the quarrel between ,russell as the tailor1 and ,harley as ,petruchio's man1 about the gown and cap4 ,the quaint antique humour was happily hit off1 and studiously dallied with1 so as not to slur it over1 but to bring it out4 ,some fastidious critics may object to the puerile conceit and tenuity of meaning that pleased our ancestors in such idle squabbles--we think we could cite graver polemics to match it in shabby excuses and verbal trifling in the present day4 ,the old-fashioned dresses recalled the image of former times2 and the scenery that of places1 which can never grow old4 ,the last scene1 in which the brides are sent for and brought in1 had an excellent effect2 and the second representation was announced with every sign of satisfaction4 ,it may not be improper to add here1 that the ,taming of the ,shrew is one of the pieces that have been transplanted 7not without a good deal of pruning7 to the ,french stage1 and that ,mademoiselle ,mars plays the part of ,katharine with equal spirit and success4 7,french ,play47 ,m4 ,perlet took the ,avare for his benefit at this theatre last week4 ,we are sorry we are about to lose this excellent actor1 who has given us much pleasure and instruction4 ,au revoir4 ,we saw him only in the latter part of ,moliere's ,miser3 his thinness1 his dress1 and the keys at his girdle fitted the character exactly4 ,it was chiefly in the scenes where he runs mad at losing his casket of gold1 or seizes on ,anselme as the father of the supposed robber to demand restitution of him1 that the ruling passion and the greater actor broke out4 ,in the first of these scenes particularly1 where he catches hold of his own arm1 thinking to arrest the thief1 he shews all the rage and phrensy of the most tragic vehemence2 and in throwing himself exhausted on the ground1 bewailing his hard hap1 and appealing to the pity of an imaginary audience1 whom his despair conjures up1 and then lashing himself up to impatience and fury again1 proves his entire acquaintance with the ebb and flow1 the risings and sinkings of the human heart4 ,these particular passages appeared to us1 however1 like patches or excrescences on the general texture of the performance 7perhaps they are so in the play itself1 which is not one of ,moliere's best74 ,if we may hazard a conjecture on a subject on which we do not feel altogether at home1 we should say that ,m4 ,perlet's ,miser was in its ordinary aspect rather the serving-man in a half-famished house1 than a personification of the demon of selfishness1 fretfulness1 and avarice4 ,it was hard and indifferent--not gloating enough1 not morbid enough1 not restless and harassed enough4 ,farther1 we suspect there is this fault in his general acting and in ,french comedy3 we grant it is not gross2 is it not1 on the other hand1 too slight and evanescent8 ,they charge us with over-doing2 are they not then liable to under-do1 and fall short of the mark8 ,if there is such a thing as caricature1 there is also an antithesis to it1 and not only a danger of loading a character to excess1 but of giving a profile or section of it for the whole1 and not taking all the licence that truth and nature gives4 ,we are dreadfully afraid of being misled by national prejudices2 but 7that being premised7 we cannot but add our conviction that ,m4 ,perlet's acting1 with all its purity1 propriety1 and spirit1 wants something of richness and breadth4--,the little piece which followed the ,avare1 ,ninette la cour1 was delightful both in itself and as giving ,mademoiselle ,fanny ,vertpres an opportunity to display her mignon figure and provoking ways4 ,there seem to be two styles of female coquetry in ,france1 extreme flutter and vivacity1 or perfect calmness and self-possession4 ,the one is set in motion by everything2 the other is put out of its way by nothing4 ,miss ,fanny ,vertpres is of the latter class4 ,with great presence of mind and ready wit1 she joins to the symmetry the apparent coolness and indifference of a marble statue4 ,she takes everything in good part1 and slides into a number of ticklish adventures and situations with all the ease imaginable4 ,she is only troubled at being laughed at--a misfortune against which no ,french patience is proof4 ,the scenes behind the looking-glass and behind her fan with her rustic lover 7,laporte71 whom she beguiles in an enchanting feigned voice 7prettier even than her own7 are quite delightful1 and dispose one to believe that comedy has not yet exhausted all its precious stores4 ,mademoiselle ,st4 ,ange played the ,countess with all her country's ease and grace4 ,monsieur ,laporte strikes us as a confirmation of the remarks we have made above on ,french comedy1 by the very circumstance of his being an exception to them4 ,there is nothing automatic in his manner4 ,he not only utters a jest1 but he enjoys it too--not that he forces it upon us either1 except by the gentle violence of sympathy4 ,there is 7so to speak7 an atmosphere of humour about him1 which reflects the immediate object with kindly warmth and lustre4 ,his acting both in ,matre ,jacques and in the after-piece evinced that easy play of feeling1 that transition from grave to gay1 that mixture of wit and folly1 those natural varieties of laughter and tears1 which mark the master in his art and the genuine son of ,momus4 ,we dropped in at ,covent ,garden to see ,mr4 ,warde in the ,seraglio and ,charles ,kemble in ,charles the ,second1 who seems really born for the character1 and whose fine person and accomplishments are thrown away in these degenerate days4 ,mr4 ,power makes a very passable ,irish ,rochester3 but the wit and the rake had defects enough of his own to answer for1 without having the brogue added to them4 ,the same fault may be found with ,mr4 ,warde1 who would make a very respectable actor in the middle walk of tragedy1 could he but controul his voice within the compass of the four seas4 ,,mrs4 ,,siddons ,the ,examiner ,may #be1 #ahbh4 ,there has been no novelty this week at any of our theatres1 ,english or ,french1 except that little ,mademoiselle ,jenny ,vertpre has been metamorphosed into a cat1 and has been playing in the ,pie ,voleuse at the ,lyceum4 ,she played the first charmingly2 the last prettily1 though we have seen it done better4 ,there is a calibre1 a weight of metal in ,miss ,kelly's pathos1 which the ,french actress is without4 ,our lively neighbours are doubtless #8born to converse1 to live1 and act with ease'--all is set in motion like a feather1 stopped like a feather4 ,smiles play upon the lips1 tears start into their eyes and are dried up for nothing2 an exclamation and a sigh settle the account between life and death2 all is a game at make-believe1 thoughtless and innocent as childhood1 in the baby-house of their imagination--but if you wish to see the heart-strings crack1 go and see ,miss ,kelly in the ,maid of ,palisseau2 or if you would see the stately pillar of ,tragedy itself fall and crush the subjected world1 then you should have witnessed ,mrs4 ,siddons formerly in some of her overwhelming parts4 ,that was a flood of tears indeed--a drinking of the brimming cup of human joys and woes to the very last drop1 the recollection of which may serve one all the rest of one's life4 ,we understand that not long ago ,sir ,walter ,scott and ,mrs4 ,siddons met in the same room before ,mr4 ,martin's picture of the ,fall of ,nineveh--two such spectators the world cannot match again1 the one by the common consent of mankind the foremost writer of his age1 the other in the eyes of all who saw her prime or her maturity1 the queen and mistress of the tragic scene4 ,forgive us1 gentle1 ever-living shade of ,jenny ,deans1 agonised soul of ,balfour of ,burley1 heroic spirit of ,rebecca of ,york1 immortal memory of ,dumbie ,dikes and of a thousand more1 if we should have turned from you and from him who invented you1 to bow the knee and kiss the hem of the garment of her who represented to our youthful gaze the ,mourning ,bride1 ,hermione1 ,belvidera1 ,beverley's wife1 and was the ,muse of ,tragedy personified4 ,we are sorry that ,mrs4 ,siddons has abridged ,paradise ,lost1 and that ,sir ,walter has written a triumphant peroration over #8the worst1 the second fall of man4' ,we are perhaps runagates and ,goths2 but the smell of the links that used to ply between ,covent garden and ,drury lane prevails in our imagination over all the heather-bloom of ,scotland1 and we declare that ,mrs4 ,siddons appears to us the more masculine spirit of the two4 ,sir ,walter 7when all's said and done7 is an inspired butler1 a #8,yes and ,no1 my ,lord' fellow in a noble family--,mrs4 ,siddons is like a cast from the antique1 or rather like the original1 divine or more than human1 from which it was taken4 ,yet close to each other1 within narrow space1 were placed two heads1 on which glory sat plumed1 beat two hearts over which had rolled the volume of earth's bliss or woe1 were interchanged glances that had reflected the brightness of the universe4 ,who would not rather see ,sir ,walter ,scott's fringed eyelids and storied forehead than the vacant brow of prince or peer8 ,when ,mrs4 ,siddons used to sit in parties and at drawing-rooms1 the ,lady ,marys and the ,lady ,dorothys of the day came and peeped into the room to get a glance of her1 with more awe and wonder than if it had been a queen4 ,this was honour1 this was power4 ,there was but one person in the world who would have drawn the gaping gaze of curiosity from these and from all the crowned heads in ,europe2 and ,sir ,walter exults that he perished like a felon in the grasp of a jailor4 ,we must indeed admire the talents1 when we forgive the use of them3 or is it that genius1 with its lofty crest and variegated colours1 seems destined like the serpent to lick the dust1 and crawl all its life with its belly on the ground8 ,we can reckon up in our time three great tragic performers2 ,mrs4 ,siddons1 ,mr4 ,kean1 and ,madame ,pasta4 7,if there is a fourth instance1 we either know not of it1 or it is ,miss ,kelly3 but that in a parenthesis1 as our private opinion1 or that of persons no wiser than ourselves47 ,of these three1 ,mrs4 ,siddons seemed to command every source of terror and pity1 and to rule over their wildest elements with inborn ease and dignity4 ,her person was made to contain her spirit2 her soul to fill and animate her person4 ,her eye answered to her voice4 ,she wore a crown4 ,she looked as if descended from a higher sphere1 and walked the earth in majesty and pride4 ,she sounded the full diapason1 touched all chords of passion1 they thrilled through her1 and yet she preserved an elevation of thought and character above them1 like the tall cliff round which the tempest roars1 but its head reposes in the blue serene6 ,mrs4 ,siddons combined the utmost grandeur and force with every variety of expression and excellence3 her transitions were rapid and extreme1 but were massed into unity and breadth--there was nothing warped or starting from its place--she produced the most overpowering effects#db without the slightest effort1 by a look1 a word1 a gesture4 ,mr4 ,kean1 in the intellectual and impassioned part1 is in our judgment equal to any one1 but he produces his most striking effects by fits and starts1 without the same general tone and elevation of character1 and1 for want of the instrumental advantages1 with an appearance of effort and sometimes of extravagance4 ,madame ,pasta1 on the contrary1 never goes out of her way1 never aims at effect or startles by any one pointed passage1 nor does she combine a variety of feelings together 7as far as we have seen7 but she rises to the very summit of her art1 and satisfies every expectation by absolute and unbroken integrity of purpose1 and by the increasing and unconscious intensity of passion4 ,she has neither ,mr4 ,kean's inequalities nor ,mrs4 ,siddons's scope3 she neither deviates from the passion nor rises above it1 but she commits herself wholly to its impulse1 borrows strength from its strength1 ascends with it to heaven1 or is buried in the abyss4 ,in a word1 she is the creature of truth and nature1 and joins the utmost simplicity with the utmost force4 ,this has little to do with ,mademoiselle ,jenny ,vertpre3 ah6 she is charming too1 and we hope to have a great deal to say in her praise--twenty years hence4 ,she counts her silver spoons inimitably1 and when she is suspected of stealing one of them says1 #8,c'est desagreable1' in a voice and manner that none but a ,frenchwoman can4 ,the ,misanthrope and the ,bourgeois ,gentilhomme have been repeated at this theatre2 and ,m4 ,perlet has done equal justice to ,moliere's sententious gravity in the one1 and to his delightful flighty farce and fanciful exaggeration of folly in the other4 ,moliere is our ,wycherley and ,o',keefe1 both in one3 or it might be said that he possessed the critical sense of ,montaigne1 with the exuberant mirth and humour of ,rabelais4--,we believe this little theatre1 with its lively company and excellent pieces1 answers tolerably well1 as most ,french theatres do4 ,we were thinking of this the other evening1 and thought we had accounted for it4 ,the ,french performances1 with a tenth of the audience1 pay better than the ,english with ten times the number and receipts4 ,how so8 ,it arises1 on a critical inquiry1 from the unity of place1 which is the fundamental law of the ,french drama4 ,one barbarism leads to another2--a slight technical distinction involves manager after manager in bankruptcy and ruin4 ,where there is no change of situation1 the scenery is the same2 and where this is the case1 it is no object either of attraction or expense4 ,little more is required than a drop-scene4 ,therefore1 all you have to do is to get good plays1 and a good company to perform them3 three or four hundred people in the house will maintain a dozen or a score of comedians on the stage2 and the excellence of the performance and the taste of the town keep pace with one another1 and with the absence of show and extrinsic decoration4 ,but with us all this is reversed4 ,the scene travels1 and our scene-shifters1 scene-painters1 mechanists1 and the whole theatrical commissariat go along with it4 ,the variety1 the gaudiness1 the expense is endless3 to pay for the getting up such an immense apparatus1 the houses must be enlarged to hold a proportionable rabble of #8barren spectators3' the farther off they are thrown1 the stronger must be the glare1 the more astonishing the effect1 and the play and the players 7with all relish for wit or nature7 dwindle into insignificance1 and are lost in the blaze of a huge chandelier or the grin of a baboon4 ,we do not see the features of the actors1 but we admire 7very justly7 ,mr4 ,stanfield's landscape back-grounds1 or a castle set on fire by ,mr4 ,farley2 we hear the din and bray of the orchestra1 not the honeyed words of the poet2 and still we wonder that operas and melo-drames flourish1 and that the legitimate stage and good old ,english ,comedy languishes4 ,poor old green curtain6 when thou wast withdrawn to make room for gas lights and shining marble pillars1 the last relic of the heart-felt pageant faded2 and the ,veluti in speculum flew after ,astra to the skies6 ,,the ,,three ,,quarters1 c4 ,the ,examiner ,june #a1 #ahbh4 ,,drury ,,lane4 ,the new comedy in three acts brought out at this theatre on ,tuesday evening is1 we apprehend1 taken from a ,french piece1 entitled ,les ,trois ,quartiers4 ,the ,three ,quarters of the town indicate the three sorts or stages of society1 as they are to be met with in the ,rue ,st4 ,honor1 the ,rue ,mont ,blanc1 and the ,fauxbourg ,st4 ,germain1 which may be supposed to answer 7we speak under correction of the ,secretary of the ,admiralty1 skilled as he is in the transitions from low to high life7 to our ,fish-street-hill1 ,russell and ,grosvenor square4 ,it was thought a nice distinction in ,miss ,burney1 forty years ago1 to place the residence of the ,harrells in ,portman square1 and to assign ,grosvenor square to the ,delville family2 the one being considered as the resort of the upstart fashionables1 the other of the old gentry4 ,to know whether this court-geography holds good in the present year1 see the files of the ,john ,bull1 or the ,last ,series of ,sayings and ,doings1 where such matters are noted and discussed with a becoming want of elegance and decorum1 which is made up for by the innate loftiness of the subject4 ,in the ,french piece1 a rich adventurer from ,south ,america is introduced into these different circles by an officious go-between1 as a travelled prodigy1 un homme qui a vu ,bolivar2 and in each his perplexity and astonishment increases with the progress and refinement of manners in the ,three ,quarters of the town4 ,there is some sense in that2 and the ,french actors have the skill to make the line of demarcation intelligible4 ,but here we vow that though we shift the scene1 no progress is made2 or we are at the top of the tree in the second stage4 ,kitty ,corderoy is sufficiently forward and vulgar1 it is true2 ,amelia ,mammonton is naturally elegant and genteel2 but we get no farther2 or rather ,lady ,charlewood is a falling off1 having neither natural nor acquired grace2 and the ,countess ,dowager ,delamere is distinguished by nothing but a rude and harsh familiarity of manner4 ,the ,banker 7,mr4 ,cooper7 has evidently the advantage of the ,lord 7,mr4 ,hooper72 and ,jack ,pointer 7,mr4 ,jones7 a busybody and toad-eater1 carries it hollow by dint of sheer impudence and impertinence4 ,mr4 ,jones's ,bond street slang--#8,she's a delicious creature'--is echoed every five minutes by ,lady ,delamere's--#8,you'll excuse my freedom1 ,lady ,charlewood2' the changes are rung upon a few and slender notes of fashion1 while the author has the full range of the ,cockney dialect1 and sinks deep in the bathos of low life4 ,mrs4 ,corderoy1 we observe1 is played by a ,mrs4 ,c4 ,jones4 ,is ,mr4 ,jones lately married8 ,if so1 we congratulate him3 she is an excellent cook4 ,we could wish the accomplished author of ,killing no ,murder1 he who dips his pen so carelessly in poison or honey1 the expert improvisatori in fact or fiction1 would turn his thoughts to this matter2 give us a comedy or criticism to show our actors or play-wrights what they ought to do in these degenerate days2 and from his ease of access to palaces or princes1 give us a taste of true refinement1 the court-air1 the drawing-room grace1 the after-dinner conversation1 the mornings and the evenings of the great1 instead of confining his abilities to teaching young gentlemen at ,long's how to eat their fish with a silver fork3 the waiters might do that just as well4 ,or could not ,mr4 ,croker1 now that ,augustus has given peace to sea and land1 and who shakes epics and reviews from his brow #8like dew-drops from the lion's mane1' smile a comedy that should point the nice gradations from the city to the court-- #8,fine by degrees1 and beautifully less1' and make it for ever impossible for ,cheapside to pass ,temple-bar or ,russell-square to step into the ,regent's ,park8 ,we understand1 indeed1 that ,mr4 ,colburn has a plan in contemplation to remedy all this1 and that we may look forward to the dawn of a new era in literature1 through the happy idea which the little bookselling ,buonaparte has conceived of establishing an inviolable ,concordat between the world of genius and fashion4 ,the proposal is to buy up the manuscripts of all authors by profession1 to lock them in a drawer1 so as to put the whole corps of ,garretteers and ,grub street writers on the shelf1 and leave the door open to none but persons of quality and amateurs1 lords1 ladies1 and hangers-on of the great4 ,the scheme has in a great measure succeeded in the periodical department1 and only requires a little management to be extended to the stage4 ,what an air already breathes from the ,new ,parnassus6 ,what a light breaks over ,drury-,lane and ,covent-,garden6 ,what delicacy1 what discrimination1 what refinement of sentiment6 ,what halycon days6 ,what peaceable productions6 ,there will be no grossness1 no violence1 no political allusions or party spite6 ,the best understanding will subsist between ,government and men of letters1 nor will there be any occasion for a ,dramatic ,censor1 when ,ministers of ,state furnish the plot1 and ,peeresses in their own right suggest the last corrections to the dialogue4 ,there is no doubt the taste for the drama will be revived by means of such an arrangement--people of fashion will go to see what people of fashion write--the manners of high life will be reflected on the stage as in the mirrors at each end of the dress circle-- #8,they best can paint them who have known them most2' the hireling crew will withdraw to hide themselves in a garret or a jail--the pit will wonder--the galleries be silent or shut up--,lord ,porchester's tragedy will be crowned with bays1 ,lord ,morpeth's transferred from the closet to the stage--,mr4 ,moore1 by particular desire of several persons of distinction1 will try his hand at another ,blue-,stocking affair--and the ,sphynx1 the ,athenum1 the ,argus 7a new evening71 and the ,aurora 7a new morning paper71 which ,mr4 ,buckingham will by that time have set up on the same independent principles of voluntary contribution1 will applaud to the skies the change which ,mr4 ,colburn's spirit and genius will have brought like a perfect paradise upon earth4 ,it is whispered that a certain ,duke has got through the first act of a piece1 called #8,the ,deaf and ,dumb ,politician1' but dreads the vulgar composition of the public taste3--nay1 who knows but the coast being cleared of plebeian scribblers and the rabble of competitors1 ,majesty itself might not take the field1 the ,lady ,godiva of the scene1 in a night-gown and slippers1 with a grand romantic interlude called #8,the ,prince and the ,pretender1 or the ,year #agde'--with ,mr4 ,o--holding the glass-door in ,burlington street for three days together in his hand1 and ,mr4 ,c--p--b--ll to officiate as ,peeping ,tom--#8,oh6 dearest ,ophelia1 we are ill at these numbers3' but neither ,ups and ,downs nor ,carron-,side suggested anything better4 ,mr4 ,liston in the first played a city fortune-hunter1 who pays his addresses to1 who jilts1 and is jilted by three mistresses in succession1 to whom he is introduced by ,jack ,pointer 7,jones71 his pretensions rising with his fortune1 and with whom he is confronted and exposed without much effect in the last act4 ,he at first aspires no higher than to ,kitty ,corderoy1 a tradesman's daughter2 but having twenty thousand pounds left him1 he contrives to cut with her1 to her great joy1 she being secretly in love with ,mr4 ,christopher ,higgins 7,russell71 her father's apprentice1 a person by no means approved by her mother ,mrs4 ,corderoy 7,mrs4 ,c4 ,jones71 because he himself is #8a little sneaking chap1' and his father a tailor--as if tailors were not in the order of nature or of civil society4 ,our hero1 that is1 ,mr4 ,felix ,mudberry1 next offers himself1 with a large bunch of flowers and a suit of clothes picked up on the way at the ,readymade ,dept1 to ,miss ,amelia ,mammonton 7the charming ,miss ,ellen ,tree71 a banker's sister1 who is in love with ,earl ,delamere 7,mr4 ,hooper71 love and romantic sentiment1 according to the situation or rank in which it is found1 aiming at still greater and more airy heights4 ,she laughs at him and his #8delicate attentions' 7as she well may7--but being led to suppose that his uncle1 ,mr4 ,stanley1 a ,liverpool merchant1 or as he used to call him #8,black ,boy ,billy1' is dead1 and has left him a fortune of half a million1 he begins to blubber out his sorrow for his uncle's death and his own #8good1 he means1 bad fortune1' stammers his excuses for leaving the company of ,mr4 ,mammonton and his sister1 and is wound up to a ,countess by his mischievous prompter4 ,lady ,charlewood 7,miss ,i4 ,paton7 is disgusted with the behaviour of her new and absurd admirer2 her mother1 the ,countess ,dowager ,delamere 7,mrs4 ,davison71 admires his fortune1 and patronises the match according to the etiquette of rank and high life4 ,his inconstancy and meanness are however exposed in the meantime by ,miss ,kitty ,corderoy1 who is intimate with both the young ladies1 having been at the same school with them somewhere in the neighbourhood of ,london1 and runs up and down #8the ,ladder of ,life' as she pleases 7in the ,french play the corresponding character is a milliner1 which is a little more in keeping7--and ,mr4 ,felix ,mudberry1 in his own emphatic phrase1 is #8blown' by all the three at once2--the bubble of his legacy also bursts1 and ,jack ,pointer turning short round upon him at this extremity1 advises him to go abroad again1 make another fortune1 and on his return1 promises to introduce him to a ,princess6 ,mr4 ,liston produced a good deal of laughter in the part1 but perhaps from not being near enough to see his face1 the drollery fell flat upon us4 ,it was 7to get within bow-shot of an ,hibernicism7 like hearing the report of a pistol1 before seeing the flash4 ,weepers and a round hat do not move our risible muscles4 ,we think ,mr4 ,liston shines in the cockney1 more than in the cockney and dandy together4 #8,he knows his cue best without a prompter4' ,his affectation even must be unaffected4 ,we will match his lead against anybody's1 we will not answer for the tinsel4 ,we have a delicate request to make of him1 that he would play ,madge for his benefit and our satisfaction--unless ,moll ,flagon should complain of it as compromising her dignity4 ,is this piece ,mr4 ,kenney's8 ,it shivers on the brink of nothing1 and plunges over head and ears into nonsense4 ,we wish our authors and architects1 if they must give us foreign models1 would give them entire1 and not by bits and samples1 altering only to spoil4 ,,covent-,,garden4 ,carron-,side1 or the ,fte ,champtre1 a new ,opera1 the words by ,mr4 ,planche1 the music by ,m4 ,liverati1 was brought out here on ,tuesday1 and was repeated on ,thursday4 ,the dialogue is tolerable2 and so are the songs4 ,miss ,stephens was the chief attraction in it2 though she does not make much figure by ,scottish stream or mountain4 ,mr4 ,sapio and ,mr4 ,wood personated1 the one a military1 the other a naval hero in it1 and maintained the superiority of their several professions in song and bold defiance--with equal loudness and skill4 ,miss ,stephens 7,blanche ,mackay7 the supposed daughter of a peasant1 is in love with ,captain ,allan ,lindsay 7,sapio71 and he with her1 though he is about to be married to ,grace ,campbell 7,miss ,cawse71 who likes another of her cousins1 ,cornet ,hector ,lindsay 7,mr4 ,wood7 quite as well or better1 as far as we could judge by the event4 ,when ,blanche has to present a bouquet to the intended couple on the morning of their nuptials1 and to sing a song of congratulation1 her voice falters and she faints away in the midst of it4 ,she then1 partly through shame and partly through vexation1 escapes to the house of the miller 7,little ,keely7 and his wife 7,miss ,goward71 where she is kindly received1 but supposed by her own friends to have rashly drowned herself4 ,the anguish of ,captain ,allan ,lindsay is not to be restrained on this occasion1 and betrays his passion for the unhappy girl1 who is at the same time discovered not to be the real daughter of the old trumpeter ,donald ,mackay 7,bartley71 but the daughter of ,mrs4 ,campbell1 who had been supposed to be lost when an infant in the ,spanish campaign4 ,the mystery being cleared up1 the secret of her birth is communicated to poor ,blanche amidst her smiles and tears4 ,miss ,grace ,campbell under the circumstances1 and from her previous indifference1 declares for ,cornet ,lindsay1 and ,blanche is united to the ,captain4 ,mr4 ,keely crept on and off the stage as usual2 and ,miss ,cawse danced and flourished round it as she sung1 because ,madame ,vestris does so4 ,we are quite satisfied with ,madame ,vestris1 without wishing to see her imitated4 ,,mr4 ,,kean ,the ,examiner4 ,june #ae1 #ahbh4 ,we do not wonder at ,mr4 ,kean's want of success in ,paris4 ,as they do not like or understand ,shakespear1 it is not to be supposed they should like or understand any one who goes near to represent him1 or who gives anything more than a trite version or modernised paraphrase of him4 ,voltaire has borrowed largely from the ,english dramatist1 and has taken ,othello's dying speech almost entire1 as far as the prose-ground of it1 but has contrived to leave out all the striking1 picturesque points of it3--so they would no doubt object to and cancel1 by a sweeping condemnation1 all the unexpected and marked beauties of an impassioned recitation of it4 ,whatever is not literal and conventional1 is with them extravagant and grotesque3 they have so long been accustomed 7we are speaking of serious matters7 to consider affectation as nature1 that they consider nature when it comes across them as affectation and quaintness4 #8,the poet's eye1 in a fine phrenzy rolling1 ,doth glance from heaven to earth1 from earth to heaven2 ,and as imagination bodies forth ,the forms of things unknown1 the poet's pen ,turns them to shape1 and gives to airy nothing ,a local habitation and a name4' ,so the actor's eye 7if truly inspired7 comprehends more than is set down for him1 starts at hidden fancies that only pale passion sees2 and his voice is the trembling echo and the broken instrument of thoughts and of an agony that lie too deep for mere words to express4 ,this licence1 that is1 this truth of nature is1 with our accomplished and more thorough-bred neighbours1 entirely out of the question4 ,their art1 whether in poetry1 acting1 painting1 is well-drilled regimental art3--it is art in uniform and on parade4 ,thus tragic poetry cannot1 in its dumb despair1 call on all nature to supply it with an appropriate language1 that places what it feels in palpable and lofty imagery before the reader3 it must1 on the contrary1 have its rhetorical and didactic flourishes all ready for the occasion--these may be as tedious1 as pompous1 as bombastic as you please1 but to pass or allude to anything beyond them1 is vile and ,gothic indeed4 ,the actor may mouth1 rant1 and whine as much as he pleases1 so that he does it in measured time1 and seems in perfect health and spirits all the while2 but if he is once thrown off his guard1 and loses sight of himself and the audience in the sufferings of his hero1 it is all over with him4 ,again1 an actor's face #8should be as a book where one may read strange matters4' ,this would be an inexpiable offence in ,france1 where there is nothing strange1 and where all must appear upon the surface or be kept quite out of sight1 on the score of decency and good manners4 ,as the poet must introduce no image or sentiment for which there is not a prescribed formula1 so the tragedian must give no shade or inflection of feeling which the entire audience were not prepared complacently to anticipate4 ,the self-love of the pit would rise in open rebellion if he did4 ,in ,france it is a rule that no person is wiser than another3 you cannot be beforehand with their conceit and infinite superiority in impertinence4 ,so they themselves tell the story of a man who1 hearing of the assassination of the ,duke of ,berri1 and not willing to allow that his informant had the start of him on so interesting a topic1 made answer--#8,yes1 ,i knew it6' ,we are not therefore surprised that the ,parisians find fault with the only actor of much genius we possess3 he must puzzle them almost as much as the ,hetman ,platoff2 and this assuredly they cannot forgive1 as in the present case their rank cowardice cannot get the better of their consummate vanity4 ,it is ludicrous too that they should charge us with extravagance and fustian--they1 who have their ,pensions de l',univers and ,diligences de l',univers#dc stuck on every pillar and post6 ,as we know what the most refined people in the universe do not like1 we are also happy in learning what they do like4 ,for others to despise what we admire1 is always to assume an attitude of seeming superiority over us3 to admire what we do not think much of1 is to give us our revenge again4 ,fastidiousness is here1 as in many other cases1 the effect not of an excess of refinement1 but of a want of conception4 ,when ,voltaire called ,shakespear a barbarian1 we were a little staggered in our previous opinion1 as we could not tell what lofty models of excellence he contemplated in his own mind2 but when he pronounced ,addison's ,cato to be a perfect tragedy1 we knew what to think of him and ourselves4 ,he might as well have pronounced a marble slab to be a perfect statue4 ,in like manner1 it might #8give us pause' that such competent critics are dissatisfied with ,mr4 ,kean1 if we did not learn in the same breath that they are in raptures with ,mr4 ,c4 ,kemble1 ,mr4 ,macready1 and ,miss ,smithson2 not that we disapprove of the last1 but that being our own country people1 we beg leave to judge of their relative merits better than foreigners4 ,if they scouted our pretentions altogether1 we might despond2 but as they laud us in the wrong place1 we may smile in our turn4 ,the contradiction between us is not owing to an inferiority of nature1 but to a difference of opinion4 ,we can understand why1 with reason1 they admire ,macready3 he declaims well1 and so far resembles good ,french actors4 ,mr4 ,c4 ,kemble is not only an excellent actor1 but a very good-looking man2 and good looks are a letter of recommendation1 whether among the ,laplanders or ,hottentots1 at ,zenith or the ,pole4 ,miss ,smithson is tall2 and the ,french admire tall women4 ,all these come under a class1 and meet with obvious sympathy and approbation4 ,mr4 ,kean1 on the other hand1 stands alone1--is merely an original2 and the ,french hate originality3 it seems to imply that there is some possible excellence or talent that they are without6 ,beside it appears that they expected him to be a giant4 ,mon ,dieu qu'il est petit6--as if this was an insuperable bar to his bestriding the theatric world like a ,colossus4 ,he is diminutive1 it is true3 so was the ,little ,corporal3 but since the latter disappeared from the stage1 they have ceased to be the ,great ,nation4 ,they stir up our bile by their arrogance and narrow-mindedness1 and we cannot help its overflowing in some degree of ill-humour and petulance4 ,we were heartily glad to find that ,mr4 ,knowles's tragedy of ,virginius is well received in ,paris--7we would always rather agree with1 than differ from them1 for we know their subtlety and double edge7--but this is to be attributed to the inherent and classical excellence of the composition4 ,its scenes present a series of elegant bas-reliefs1 and are equally enchanting to the eye and to the ear4 ,we have received a letter from a ,correspondent1 praying us to put down the large poke-bonnets which ladies at present take with them to the theatre1 and often persist in keeping on1 as a female privilege4 ,we confess1 we do not see the custom in that amiable light3 it appears to us the privilege of annoying others without any object4 ,he says1 that on applying to a gentleman in the gallery of the ,king's ,theatre1 to know if a lady with him would have any objection to take off her bonnet1 which1 with her involuntary movements from side to side1 prevented three persons behind her from seeing or enjoying the ,opera1 her friend answered1 #8,you see she is in the same situation with yourself1' pointing to another lady just before her4 ,so that the evil being doubled was an argument for it4 ,at this rate1 people might go to the play with umbrellas1 and hold them open the whole time1--or ladies with their parasols1 if we must have a more light and portable nuisance1--and by thus setting up a screen to the performance1 and making the absurdity truly ,english and complete1 put an end to it by common consent of those who are only bent on incommoding others1 when they think they are in some degree singular in doing it4 ,we expect some novelty 7of which we have had a dreary dearth of late7 on the opening of the ,haymarket ,theatre next week1 and a treat1 which we greatly long for1 in little ,bartolozzi4 ,but we must not count upon our good fortune too soon4 ,,munden',s ,,sir ,,peter ,,teazle ,the ,times4 ,september #h1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane ,,theatre4 ,this theatre opened on ,saturday with ,the ,school for ,scandal and ,past ,ten ,o'clock4 ,the chief novelty in the former was ,munden's ,sir ,peter ,teazle4 ,we cannot speak very favourably of it4 ,he did not feel at home in the part1 which is indeed quite out of his way4 ,his lengthened visage and abrupt tones did not suit the character or sentiments of ,sir ,peter4 ,sir ,peter is a common every-day sort of character1 a tetchy amorous old bachelor1 who has married a young wife1 with an uneasy consciousness of his own infirmities1 and placed in situations to make those infirmities more ridiculous4 ,but still he is a classical character1 and not a grotesque2 and1 therefore1 the actor's peculiar talents were thrown away upon him1 or rather were judiciously kept as much as possible in the back-ground1 and hardly dared to show themselves once the whole evening4 ,mr4 ,munden went through the part with laudable gravity and decorum1 without making any hole in his manners2 nor did he purposely play the clown or pantomime in any of the scenes4 ,yet the negation of farce is not comedy4 ,sir ,peter was a knight newly dubbed as well as married1 a gentleman on his good behaviour both with his mistress and the public4 ,we missed the irresistible expansion of his broad1 shining face2 and reckoned up a number of suppressed shrugs1 and embryo grimaces1 that shrunk from the glare of the new gas lights4 ,his eyebrows were not lifted up with wonder2 his lips were not moistened with jests as with marmalade2 nor did his chin drop down once its whole length as with a total dislocation of his ideas4 ,in the scene of the discovery in the fourth act1 where his wife as #8the little ,french ,milliner' is concealed behind the screen1 he took a greater license1 but from the mechanical restraint to which he had been subjected1 there was something even here dolorous and petrified in his manner4 ,if1 however1 ,mr4 ,munden did penance in ,sir ,peter1 it was a holyday-time with him1 high carnival in ,old ,nosy in the farce1 where he made himself and the audience amends for all the temptations he had resisted to indulge his natural genius1 and let out his whole faculties of face1 voice1 and gesture4 ,in his character1 as an old steward1 he is reeling-ripe from the beginning to the end of the piece2 and he produces a dizziness in the heads of the audience as unavoidable1 though more pleasant than that which overtakes the passengers in a ,margate hoy4 ,the ,school for ,scandal was1 in the other characters1 cast much as usual1 and as well as the strength of the company in genteel comedy would permit4 ,mrs4 ,davison's ,lady ,teazle1 though not without spirit1 is too coarse and hoydening4 ,wallack's ,joseph ,surface wanted dignity and plausibility4 ,not to compare him with old ,jack ,palmer1 he does not hit off the officious condescending solemnity of the character so well as ,young4 ,he seems sulky and reserved1 instead of being self-complacent and ostentatious2 to shrink into a cautious contemplation of his own designs and villainy1 instead of protecting others under the shadow of his assumed virtues1 and covering their failings and defects with a veil of pompous sentiment4 ,it was said of ,garrick1 that he played the footman too like the fine gentleman2 ,mr4 ,wallack1 on the other hand1 plays the fine gentleman too much like the footman4 ,when dressed to most advantage1 he puts us in mind of a valet out of livery4 ,mr4 ,rae's ,charles ,surface was without any thing to recommend it1 but the wit1 gaiety1 and magnanimity of the author4 ,his mode of speaking is more harsh and untuneable in comedy than in regular declamation1 which in some measure hides its habitual defects4 ,it is a brogue in full gallop suddenly stopped short by the turnpike gate of criticism4 ,harley's ,sir ,benjamin ,backbite was inoffensive from its insipidity2 and ,knight as old ,crabtree had painted his eyebrows very naturally4 ,the house was not very crowded4 ,the curtain drew up punctually at seven1 without any previous expression of impatience2 and the play was over before ten3 but the rapidity with which the acts followed one another1 and the almost immediate interruption of the music between the acts as soon as it had struck up1 produced on us an unpleasant effect4 ,it was like going a journey in the mail-coach1 where they do not allow you time for your meals4 ,a good play1 like a hearty dinner1 requires some time for digestion3 the music in the orchestra acts upon the imagination1 like wine upon the stomach2 and habit makes it as ungrateful to us to be disappointed of the one as to be deprived of the other4 ,,young',s ,,hamlet ,the ,times4 ,september #i1 #ahag4 ,,covent-,,garden ,,theatre4 ,this theatre opened last night with ,hamlet1 and the ,miller and his ,men4 ,the chief improvement in the house seems to us to be the large mirrors at each end of the first row of boxes1 which reflect the company in a brilliant perspective1 and have a very magical effect4 ,the great chandelier suspended from the top of the theatre1 we should admire more1 if it did not put out our eyes in looking at it2 nor do we think the glare it produces any addition to the general appearance of the company or the house4 ,the only advantage resulting from it--that of throwing the light upon the countenances of the actors from above instead of from below 7which last method inverts the natural shadows of the face1 and distorts the expression71 is defeated by the gas lights which are still retained between the stage and the orchestra4 ,nor do we know how these can well be dispensed with1 as it is by raising or withdrawing them that the stage is enlightened or darkened as the occasion requires it4 ,the house was exceedingly full1 and the play went off as well as could be expected4 ,mr4 ,young's ,hamlet is not his most happy or successful effort4 ,he in a great measure imitates ,mr4 ,kemble1 and ,mr4 ,kemble is a bad model in this part2 even where he is original he is not more what he ought to be1 not more like ,hamlet4 ,he declaims it very well1 and rants it very well2 but where is the expression of the feeling8--where the thought beyond all ordinary means of expression1 wrapped up in itself as in a dim cloud1 shown most by being hid1 that derives its energy from rest1 not from action1 and is as it were audible from its very silence8 ,mr4 ,young1 we allow1 rehearsed several passages very well1 as detached passages from a school-boy's exercise3 but he wanted keeping--the fine inflections1 sudden or gradual1 of the character--the unthought-of swellings of the passion--the involuntary ebbing and flowing of his idle purposes4 ,this actor in fact executes his conception well3 but then his conception is either common-place1 or wrong4 ,he has not always the judgment or the genius to pitch each passage in the right key1 and in harmony with the rest4 ,we will mention only two instances4 ,in reciting the description of man as the noblest of creatures1 #8the paragon of animals1' c41 ,mr4 ,young was so vehement1 that he seemed quite angry2 and his sudden turning round to the players at the conclusion of the speech was exactly as if they had given him some serious offence by their #8smiling4' ,again1 he spoke the soliloquy after the scene in which the player gives the description of ,pyrrhus1 in a style not conveying the idea of his own melancholy and weakness as contrasted with the theatrical fury of the imaginary hero1 but as if he had himself caught by mere physical infection the very fury which he describes himself to be without4 ,this was certainly not right1 but 7what is perhaps better7 it was applauded4 ,mr4 ,bonnell ,thornton was ,horatio1 and appeared not to have recovered all the evening from his fright at first seeing the ,ghost4 ,his pronunciation is thick1 as if he spoke with pebbles in his mouth2 nor is his emphasis judicious4 ,mr4 ,egerton's ,ghost is the most substantial we ever saw4 ,he does not look like one that has #8peaked or pined' long1 and has by no means realized ,hamlet's wish-- #8,oh that this too1 too solid flesh would melt1 ,thaw1 and resolve itself into a dew4' ,miss ,matthews played #8the pretty ,ophelia' very pleasingly4 ,she is as good an ,ophelia as we have lately seen--better1 we think than ,miss ,stephens1 because she does not sing quite so well4 ,this character ought not indeed to be in general given to a fine singer2 for it has been well observed1 that #8,ophelia does not go mad because she can sing1 but she sings because she has gone mad4' ,,dowton ,,in ,,the ,,hypocrite ,the ,times4 ,september #ai1 #ahag4 ,,drury ,,lane ,,theatre4 ,the excellent comedy of ,the ,hypocrite was acted here last night4 ,dowton's ,dr4 ,cantwell1 is a very admirable and edifying performance4 ,the divine and human affections are #8very craftily qualified' in his composition1 which is a mixture of the ,methodist parson ingrafted on the old ,french pietist1 and accomplished ,abb4 ,the courtly air of ,moliere's ,tartuffe has been considerably lowered down and vulgarised to fit the character to the grossness of modern times and circumstances3 only the general features of the character1 and the prominent incidents of the story1 have been retained by the ,english translator1 and they seem to require the long speeches1 the oratorical sentiments1 and laboured casuistry of the original author to render them probable or even credible4 ,it has been remarked1 that the wonderful success of this piece on the ,french stage is a lasting monument of the stress laid by that talking and credulous nation on all verbal professions of virtue and sincerity1 and of the little difference they make between words and things4 ,with all the pains that have been taken to bring it within the verge of verisimilitude by the aid of popular allusions and religious prejudices1 it with difficulty naturalizes on our own stage1 and remains at last an incongruous1 though a very striking and instructive caricature4 ,dowton's jovial and hearty characters are his best2 his demure and hypocritical ones are only his second best4 ,his ,dr4 ,cantwell is not so good as his ,major ,sturgeon1 or his ,sir ,anthony ,absolute1 but still it is very good4 ,their excellence consists in giving way to the ebullition of his feelings of social earnestness1 or vainglorious ostentation2 the excellence of this in the systematic concealment of his inmost thoughts and purposes4 ,cantwell sighs out his soul with the melancholy formality of a piece of clockwork1 and exhibits the encroachments of amorous importunity under a mask of still life4 ,the locks of his hair are combed with appropriate sleekness and unpretending humility over his forehead and shoulders3 his face looks godly and greasy2 his person and mind are well fortified in a decent suit of plain broad cloth1 and the calves of his legs look stout and saint-like in stockings of dark pepper-and-salt fleecy hosiery4 ,bitter smiles contend with falling tears2 the whining tones of the conventicle with the insolence of success1 and the triumph of his unbridled rage in the last act over his phlegmatic hypocrisy is complete4 ,he was admirably supported by ,mrs4 ,sparks1 as old ,lady ,lambert1 and by ,oxberry as ,mawworm4 ,this last character is as loose and dangling as the sails of a windmill1 and is puffed up and set in motion by one continuous blast of folly and fanaticism4 ,the other characters in the piece were less happily supported4 ,,miss ,,brunton',s ,,rosalind ,the ,times4 ,september #bj1 #ahag4 ,,covent-,,garden ,,theatre4 ,at this theatre last night ,miss ,brunton appeared in ,rosalind1 in ,as you ,like it4 ,she certainly played the part very respectably and very agreeably1 but not exquisitely2 and if it is not played exquisitely1 in our mind it is spoiled4 #8,but would ,shakspeare's ,rosalind do so8' is a question that1 if put home as it ought to be1 might deter many an accomplished young lady from attempting to give life to the careless1 inimitable graces of this ideal creation of the poet's art4 ,miss ,brunton recited the different passages with considerable point1 intelligence1 and archness1 like a lively and sensible school-girl1 repeating it as an exercise2 but she was not half giddy1 fond1 and rapturous enough for ,rosalind4 ,she spoke her sentences with #8good emphasis and discretion1' instead of running herself and the imaginations of the audience fairly out of breath with pleasure1 love1 wit1 and playful gaiety4 ,she has1 however1 white teeth and black eyes1 a clear voice1 a pleasing figure1 with youth on her side1 and a very good understanding to boot4 ,what more can be required in a young actress1 except by fastidious critics like us8 ,she sung the ,cuckoo song very prettily1 and was encored in it4 ,the other parts were not very elaborately got up4 ,we liked ,mr4 ,duruset's two songs as well as any thing else4 ,mr4 ,young's ,jaques was less spirited than we have sometimes seen it3 indeed1 the character is in some measure spoiled to his hands by the prompt-book critics1 who have put a great deal of improper praise of himself into the mouth of the melancholy ,jaques4 ,it required some contrivance to make him or ,shakspeare an egotist6 ,mr4 ,fawcett's ,touchstone was amusing1 but too rapid and slovenly4 ,there are some parts of this character which the actor probably thinks it becoming his ,managerial dignity to hurry over as fast as possible4 ,mrs4 ,gibbs's ,audrey is almost too good4 ,if #8the gods have not made her poetical1' they have at least inspired her with the very spirit of folly1 and with all its bliss4 ,a ,russian ballet1 and ,the ,libertine1 closed the entertainments of the evening4 ,the former of these is a curious exhibition of ,russian costume1 but it does not exhibit the ,miss ,dennetts to any advantage4 ,the play of ,as you ,like it was given out again for ,monday1 instead of ,the ,slave4 ,,maywood',s ,,zanga ,the ,times4 ,october #c1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane ,,theatre4 ,mr4 ,maywood appeared here in ,zanga last night4 ,it is not certainly from any wish to discourage1 but we cannot speak so favourably of his performance of this character as of his ,shylock4 ,considerable diffidence still appears in this actor's manner1 and retards his progress to reputation and excellence4 ,he does not give sufficient scope and vehemence to the impassioned parts of the character1 nor sufficient decision and significance to its wily and malignant duplicity4 ,zanga's blood is on fire2 it boils in his veins2 it should dilate1 and agitate his whole frame with the fiercest rage and revenge3 and again1 the suppression of his constitutional ardour1 of the ungovernable passions that torment and goad on his mind1 ought to be marked with a correspondent degree of artful circumspection and studied hypocrisy4 ,in both extremes 7for the character is in extremes throughout7 we thought ,mr4 ,maywood failed4 ,his rage and hatred1 where it had opportunity to vent itself in a torrent of exclamations1 was not strong or sustained enough1 and appeared in the very tempest and whirlwind of the passion1 to recoil affrighted #8from the sound itself had made4' ,in the concealment of his purposes1 and in the villainous insinuations with which he fills ,alonzo's mind1 #8distilling them like a leprous poison in his ear1' he was #8too tame1' too servile and mechanical1 and resembled more the busy1 mercenary1 credulous tale-bearer1 than the dark1 secret assassin of the peace1 life1 and honour1 of his unsuspecting patron4 ,the passage in which ,mr4 ,maywood failed most1 and in which the greatest symptoms of disapprobation manifested themselves1 was that in which the greatest effect is generally produced1 and where consequently the expectations are raised the highest3 we mean1 in the terrific and overpowering exclamation to ,alonzo1 #8',twas ,i that did it6' ,in the long and nasal emphasis which ,mr4 ,maywood laid on the monosyllable #8,i' he shocked the ears and tired the patience of the auditors2 less1 we apprehend1 from any thing wrong in his conception of the part1 than from the remains of a provincial accent hanging on his pronunciation1 and in passages of great vehemence and ardour1 preventing him from having the full command of his utterance4 ,in the less violent expression of passion1 he was more successful2 and gave one or two of the short soliloquies which occur of a more thoughtful and reasoning cast1 with considerable depth of tone and feeling4 ,we are not without hopes1 when ,mr4 ,kean returns1 and imparts some of his confidence and admirable decision to his young rival or pupil1 of seeing some very good acting between them3 we say so without meaning a double-entendre4 ,this play of ,the ,revenge is certainly a very indifferent piece of work2 and in the hero of the story1 ,alonzo1 ,mr4 ,rae bolted some very ranting speeches1 blank verse and all1 clean out of his mouth like shot from the mouth of a cannon1 with a tone and emphasis that might have startled ears less accustomed to the #8forced gait' and high clattering hoofs of his voice than ours4 ,by stamping so hard1 too1 he raises not only a shout in the upper-gallery1 but a cloud of dust from the green baize on the stage-floor4 ,,kean',s ,,richard ,,iii4 ,the ,times4 ,october #g1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane ,,theatre4 ,mr4 ,kean has returned to us again 7after no very long absence71 in the character of ,richard the ,third4 ,his performance of the part is so well known to the public1 and has been so often criticised1 that it would be superfluous to enter into particulars again at present4 ,we observe no great alteration in him4 ,if any thing1 his voice is deepened1 and his pauses are lengthened1 which did not need to be4 ,his habitual style of acting is apt to run into an excess of significance2 and any studied addition to that excess necessarily tasks the attention to a painful degree4 ,mr4 ,pope resumed his situation as ,king ,henry1 and was stabbed in the ,tower1 according to the rules of art4 ,we were glad to see him in the part1 though we should have no objection to see the part itself omitted1 to make room for the fine abrupt beginning of ,shakspeare's ,richard the ,third1 with the soliloquy1 #8,now is the winter of our discontent1' c4 ,in our opinion1 the ,richard the ,third which was manufactured by ,cibber1 and which has now obtained prescriptive possession of the stage1 is a vile jumble2 and we are convinced that a restoration of the original play 7as written by the original author7 would1 with the omission of a few short scenes1 be an advantage to the managers1 and a gratification to the public4 ,we understand1 indeed1 that something of this sort has been in agitation2 and in order to contribute any little aid in our power to so laudable an attempt1 we shall here give a few of the passages which are omitted in the common stage representation1 but which appear to us particularly calculated for stage effect1 and which would also fit ,mr4 ,kean's peculiar style of acting1 as the glove fits the hand4 ,one of these occurs almost immediately after the first opening soliloquy1 in the dialogue between ,glo'ster and ,brackenbury3-- ,glo'ster4--,even so6 an' please your worship1 ,brackenbury1 ,you may partake of any thing we say2 ,we speak no treason1 man3--we say1 the king ,is wise and virtuous2 and his noble queen ,well strook in years3 fair1 and not jealous3 ,we say that ,shore's wife hath a pretty foot1 ,a cherry lip1 a bonny eye1 a passing pleasing tongue3 ,that the queen's kindred are made gentle folks3 ,how say you1 ,sir8 can you deny all this8 ,brackenbury4--,with this1 my lord1 myself have nought to do4 ,glo'ster4--,what1 naught to do with mistress ,shore8 ,i tell thee1 fellow1 ,he that doth naught with her1 excepting one1 ,were best to do it secretly1 alone1 ,brackenbury4--,what one1 my ,lord8 ,glo'ster4--,her husband1 knave3--,would'st thou betray me8 ,we think1 if any thing could give additional effect to the fine taunting irony of these lines1 it would be ,mr4 ,kean's mode of delivering them4 ,he is almost the only actor who does not spoil ,shakspeare4 ,again1 a very spirited scene of a different description1 which is an astonishing mixture of violence and duplicity1 occurs when ,glo'ster rushes into the apartment where the ,queen's friends are assembled1 to complain of their taking advantage of his meekness and simplicity3-- ,glo'ster4--,they do me wrong1 and ,i will not endure it4 ,who are they that complain unto the king1 ,that ,i1 forsooth1 am stern1 and love them not8 ,by holy ,paul1 they love his ,grace but lightly1 ,that fill his ears with such dissentious rumours6 ,because ,i cannot flatter1 and speak fair1 ,smile in men's faces1 smooth1 deceive1 and cog1 ,duck with ,french nods1 and apish courtesy1 ,i must be held a rancorous enemy4 ,cannot a plain man live1 and think no harm1 ,but thus his simple truth must be abus'd ,by silken1 sly1 insinuating ,jacks8 ,grey4--,to whom in all this presence speaks your ,grace8 ,glo'ster4--,to thee1 that hast nor honesty1 nor grace8 ,when have ,i injured thee8 ,when done thee wrong8 ,or thee8 or thee8 or any of your faction8 ,a plague upon you all6 ,this is certainly an admirable conclusion to so modest an introduction4 ,any one who reads this passage1 and who has seen ,mr4 ,kean acquit himself in similar situations1 must1 we think1 feel with us a desire to see him in this4 ,we might multiply these instances of characteristic traits in the adroit and high-spirited ,richard4 ,we shall give one more1 which is so fine in its effect1 and besides1 conveys so striking a picture of the outward demeanour which an actor1 to fulfil the poet's conception1 ought to assume in the part1 that we cannot resist giving it entire4 ,it is the scene where he entraps the unsuspecting ,hastings3-- ,hastings4--,his grace looks cheerfully and smooth this morning3 ,there's some conceit or other likes him well1 ,when he doth bid good-morrow with such spirit4 ,i think1 there's ne'er a man in ,christendom1 ,can lesser hide his love or hate than he2 ,for by his face straight shall you know his heart4 ,stanley4--,what of his heart perceive you in his face1 ,by any likelihood he show'd to-day8 ,hastings4--,marry1 that with no man here he is offended2 ,for1 were he1 he had shown it in his looks4' ,re-enter ,glo'ster and ,buckingham4 #8,glo'ster4--,i pray you all1 tell me what they deserve ,that do conspire my death with devilish plots ,of damned witchcraft2 and that have prevail'd ,upon my body with their hellish charms8 ,hastings4--,the tender love ,i bear your grace1 my lord1 ,makes me most forward in this noble presence ,to doom the offenders3 whosoe'er they be1 ,i say1 my lord1 they have deserved death4 ,glo'ster4--,then be your eyes the witness of their evil2 ,look how ,i am bewitch'd2 behold1 mine arm ,is1 like a blasted sapling1 wither'd up2 ,and this is ,edward's wife1 that monstrous witch1 ,consorted with that harlot1 strumpet ,shore1 ,that by their witchcraft thus have marked me4 ,hastings4--,if they have done this deed1 my noble lord-- ,glo'ster4--,if8 thou protector of this damn'd strumpet1 ,talk'st thou to me of ifs6--,thou art a traitor3-- ,off with his head6 ,now by ,st4 ,paul ,i swear1 ,i will not dine until ,i see the same4 ,lovell and ,catesby1 look that it be done4 ,the rest1 that love me1 rise and follow me4 ,now this is despatching business in the true dramatic style4 ,poets cannot take the same bold licenses1 with their characters on the stage1 till kings are reinstated in their former plenitude of power4 ,the incident which is here omitted in the acting play of ,richard ,,iii4 has been transferred to ,rowe's ,jane ,shore4 ,we should like to see it restored to its original place1 and justice done it by ,mr4 ,kean's distorted gestures1 and smothered voice1 suddenly bursting on the ear like thunder4 ,,the ,,wonder ,the ,times4 ,october #i1 #ahag4 ,,covent-,,garden ,,theatre4 ,the ,wonder1 or ,a ,woman keeps a ,secret1 was performed here last night with admirable effect4 ,miss ,brunton was the heroine of the piece1 the charming ,violante4 ,we cannot speak in rapturous terms of her performance of the part4 ,there is in the character itself an extreme spirit1 and at the same time an extreme delicacy1 which it is not easy to unite4 ,miss ,brunton went through the different scenes1 however1 with a considerable degree of grace1 vivacity1 and general propriety1 never falling below1 and seldom rising above mediocrity4 ,she does not #8,snatch a grace beyond the reach of art2' nor1 according to another line of the same poet1 which seems to convey a perfect idea of female comic acting1 #8,catch ere she falls the ,cynthia of the minute4' ,we have already objected to this young lady's recitation1 a certain didactic1 monotonous twang1 and we cannot upon the present occasion recant our criticism4 ,miss ,foote was ,violante's friend1 ,donna ,isabella1 and looked and lisped the part very mincingly4 ,charles ,kemble's ,don ,felix is one of his best parts4 ,he raves1 sighs1 starts1 frets1 grows jealous1 and relents1 with all the characteristic spirit of an amorous hero2 and in the drunken scene with old ,don ,lopez1 where he produces his pistol as the marriage-contract1 is particularly excellent and edifying4 ,fawcett played ,lissardo as he plays almost every thing3 he chattered like a magpie1 and strutted like a crow in a gutter4 ,but ,emery's ,gibby was the thing3 the genius of ,scotland shone through his ,highland plaid and broad bluff face3 he seemed evidently afraid neither of having his voice heard1 nor his face seen4 ,in person he resembled the figure of the ,highlander which we see stuck up as a sign at tobacconists' windows4 ,we never see nor wish to see better acting than this4 ,emery's acting is indeed the most perfect imitation of common nature on the stage4 ,abbott was respectable as ,colonel ,briton4 ,mrs4 ,gibbs's ,flora was what every waiting-woman ought to be4 ,,venice ,,preserved ,the ,times4 ,october #aj1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane ,,theatre4 ,otway's noble tragedy of ,venice ,preserved was produced here last night4 ,the effect upon the whole was not satisfactory4 ,the novelties of the representation were ,mr4 ,h4 ,johnstone as ,pierre1 and ,miss ,campbell 7from the ,dublin ,theatre7 as ,belvidera4 ,of ,mr4 ,johnstone's ,pierre1 after having seen ,mr4 ,kemble in it1 or even ,mr4 ,young1 we cannot speak in terms of applause4 ,the character is not one of blunt energy1 but of deep art4 ,it is more sarcastic than fierce1 and even the fierceness is more calculated to wound others than to shake or disturb himself4 ,he is a master-mind1 that plays with the foibles and passions of others and wields their energies to his dangerous purposes with conscious careless indifference4 ,mr4 ,johnstone was boisterous in his declamation1 coarse in his irony1 pompous and common-place in his action4 ,mr4 ,rae 7as ,jaffier71 in the famous scene between these two characters1 displayed some strong touches of nature and pathos4 ,miss ,campbell1 as ,belvidera1 did not altogether realize our idea of ,otway's heroine2 one of #8the most replenished sweet works of art or nature4' ,her face1 though not handsome1 is not without expression2 but its character is strength1 rather than softness4 ,in her person she is graceful1 and has a mixture of dignity and ease in her general deportment4 ,her voice is powerful1 but in its higher tones it rises too much into a scream1 and in its gentler ones subsides into a lisp1 which is more infantine than feminine4 ,in her general style of acting she put us sometimes in mind of ,mrs ,fawcit1 sometimes of ,miss ,somerville1 and more than once of ,miss ,o',neill4 ,her delineation of the part1 if not sufficiently tender or delicate1 was however forcible1 impassioned1 and affecting4 ,we thought the last scene1 in which she goes mad1 and digs for her murdered husband in the grave1 the best4 ,we should indeed give her the preference over ,miss ,o',neill in this very trying scene4 ,her expression of the disordered wanderings of the imagination1 and of the last desperate struggles of passion in her bosom1 both by the intonations of her voice1 and the varying actions of her body1 were more natural1 and less repulsive than the mere physical violence of ,miss ,o',neill in the same passage4 ,the play was given out for repetition with some marks of disapprobation from a part of the audience4 ,,she ,,stoops ,,to ,,conquer ,the ,times4 ,october #ae1 #ahag4 ,,covent-,,garden ,,theatre4 ,goldsmith's comedy of ,she ,stoops to ,conquer was played at this theatre last night3 its reception was highly favourable4 ,it bears the stamp of the author's genius1 which was an indefinable mixture of the original and imitative4 ,his plot1 characters1 and incidents1 are all new1 and yet they are all old1 with little variation or disguise--that is1 the writer sedulously avoided common-place1 and sought for singularity1 but found it rather in the unhackneyed and out-of-the-way inventions of those who had gone before him than in his own stores4 ,his ,vicar of ,wakefield1 which abounds more than any of his works in delightful and original traits1 is still very much borrowed from ,fielding's ,joseph ,andrews4 ,again1 the characters and adventures of ,tony ,lumpkin and his mother in the present comedy are a counterpart1 even to the incident of the theft of the jewels1 of those of the ,widow ,blackacre and her booby son in ,wycherley's ,plain ,dealer4 ,the change of character and the rustic disguise of ,miss ,hardcastle1 by which she gains her lover1 are also a faint imitation of ,letitia ,hardy in ,the ,belle's ,stratagem4 ,this sort of plagiarism1 which gives us a repetition of what are comparatively new and eccentric pictures of human life1 is much to be preferred to the dull routine of trite1 vapid1 every-day common-places3 but it is also more dangerous1 as the stealing of pictures or family plate1 where the goods are immediately identified1 is surer of detection than the stealing of bank-notes or the current coin of the realm4 ,johnson's sarcasm against some writer that #8his singularity was not his excellence1' cannot be applied to ,goldsmith's works in general3 but we do not know whether it might not in severity be applied to ,she ,stoops to ,conquer4 ,the incidents and characters are1 some of them1 exceedingly amusing2 but it is a little at the expense of probability and bienseance4 ,tony ,lumpkin is certainly a very essential1 and unquestionably comic personage2 and his absurdities or his humours were very effectually portrayed by ,liston4 ,his impenetrability and unconscious confusion of mind and face in reading and spelling out the letter was admirable4 ,charles ,kemble's bashful scene with his mistress was irresistibly ludicrous1 and excellently well played3 but still it did not quite overcome our incredulity as to the existence of such a character in such circumstances4 ,it is a highly amusing caricature1 a ridiculous fancy1 but no more4 ,one of the finest and most delicate touches of real acting we ever witnessed was in the transition of this modest gentleman's manner to the easy and agreeable tone of familiarity with the supposed chambermaid1 which was not total and abrupt1 but exactly such in kind and degree as such a character of natural reserve and constitutional timidity would undergo from the change of circumstances4 ,miss ,brunton's ,miss ,hardcastle was a very correct and agreeable piece of acting4 ,mrs4 ,davenport's ,mrs4 ,hardcastle was like her acting in all such characters1 as good as it could possibly be4 ,,kean',s ,,macbeth ,the ,times4 ,october #ba1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane ,,theatre4 ,macbeth 7with ,matthew ,lock's music7 was played here last night4 ,mr4 ,kean was ,macbeth1 ,miss ,campbell ,lady ,macbeth4 ,we never saw the former to such advantage in the part4 ,mr4 ,kean's ,macbeth did not use to be a great favourite with us1 except in the murder scene3 but he last night1 we thought1 lifted the general character to almost an equality with this single scene4 ,at least1 he played the whole in a style of boldness and grandeur which we have not seen before4 ,he was #8proud and lion-hearted1 and lacked fear4' ,a thousand hearts seemed swelling in his bosom4 ,his voice rolled from the bottom of his breast like thunder1 and his eye flashed scorching flame4 ,instead of going back 7as some cunning critics who have been peeping out of their cells at him ever since he began his career1 to watch for his first failure1 and to fall upon him magnanimously at a disadvantage1 have been predicting71 he advances even beyond himself with manly steps and a heroic spirit4 ,in the banquet-scene he was particularly excellent2 and called forth1 with complete effect1 those deep tones of nature and passion1 recoiling upon and bursting with a convulsive movement from the heart1 which are his very best and surest resource1 though he has as yet made the least use of them4 ,let him go on1 and open all the sluices of passion in his breast which are yet unlocked4 ,he has done much3 let him do as much more1 by giving as much depth of internal emotion 7where it is required7 as he has done of external vehemence1 by adding stateliness and a measured march to infinite force and truth1 that he may be the greatest poet1 as he unquestionably is the greatest prose-actor of the stage4 ,when we speak of him as deficient in these qualities1 we only do so in comparison with ,mrs4 ,siddons3 it would be a mockery both of him and the public to compare him with any one else4 ,but she had something of divine about her which ,mr4 ,kean has not2 he in general only shows us the utmost force of what is human4 ,of ,miss ,campbell's ,lady ,macbeth we are almost afraid to speak1 because we cannot speak favourably of it2 yet a failure in this part is by no means decisive against the general merits of an actress4 ,but she was altogether too tame and drawling for ,lady ,macbeth2 and some attempts at originality failed of effect from the timidity with which they were executed4 ,,kean',s ,,othello ,the ,times4 ,october #bg1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane ,,theatre4 ,othello was played here on ,saturday to a crowded house4 ,there were two new appearances--,mr4 ,maywood as ,iago1 and a young lady as ,desdemona4 ,the name of this young debutante is not announced2 but her reception was exceedingly flattering4 ,her face is handsome1 her person elegant1 her voice sweet1 and her general deportment graceful and easy4 ,there was also a considerable portion of tenderness and delicacy of feeling in several of the passages2 but perhaps less than the character would bear4 ,the only faults which we think it necessary to mention in her performance were1 a too continual movement of the hands up and down1 and sometimes a monotonous cadence in the recitation of the blank verse4 ,mr4 ,maywood's ,iago had some of the faults which we have noticed in his former characters2 but in the most trying scenes in the third act with ,othello1 we thought him exceedingly happy and successful4 ,his conception was just1 and his execution effective4 ,there was a cold stillness in his manner which was more frightful than the expression of the most inveterate malignity4 ,he seemed to crawl and watch for his prey like the spider1 instead of darting upon it like the serpent4 ,in the commencement of the part his timidity appeared to prevent him from doing justice to his intention1 and once or twice his voice grew loud and unmanageable1 so as to excite some marks of disapprobation4 ,mr4 ,kean's ,othello is1 we suppose1 the finest piece of acting in the world4 ,it is impossible either to describe or praise it adequately4 ,we have never seen any actor so wrought upon1 so #8perplexed in the extreme4' ,the energy of passion1 as it expresses itself in action1 is not the most terrific part2 it is agony of his soul1 showing itself in looks and tones of voice4 ,in one part1 where he listens in dumb despair to the fiend-like insinuations of ,iago1 he presented the very face1 the marble aspect of ,dante's ,count ,ugolino4 ,on his fixed eyelids #8,horror sat plumed4' ,in another part1 where a gleam of hope or of tenderness returns to subdue the tumult of his passions1 his voice broke in faltering accents from his overcharged breast4 ,his lips might be said less to utter words1 than to bleed drops of blood gushing from his heart4 ,an instance of this was in his pronunciation of the line #8,of one that loved not wisely but too well4' ,the whole of this last speech was indeed given with exquisite force and beauty4 ,we only object to the virulence with which he delivers the last line1 and with which he stabs himself--a virulence which ,othello would neither feel against himself at that moment1 nor against the turbaned ,turk 7whom he had slain7 at such a distance of time4 ,his exclamation on seeing his wife1 #8,i cannot think but ,desdemona's honest1' was #8the glorious triumph of exceeding love2' a thought flashing conviction on his mind1 and irradiating his countenance with joy1 like sudden sunshine4 ,in fact1 almost every scene or sentence in this extraordinary exhibition is a master-piece of natural passion4 ,the convulsed motion of the hands1 and the involuntary swellings of the veins of the forehead in some of the most painful situations1 should not only suggest topics of critical panegyric1 but might furnish studies to the painter or anatomist4 ,,kean ,,and ,,miss ,o',,neill ,the ,times4 ,december #b1 #ahag4 ,,covent-,,garden ,,theatre4 ,the tragedy of ,venice ,preserved was acted here last night to rather an empty house4 ,mr4 ,young's ,pierre is one of his very best and most spirited performances4 ,mr4 ,c4 ,kemble did to the character of ,jaffier all the justice it deserves4 ,but the great attraction of this piece1 as it is at present acted1 is ,miss ,o',neill's ,belvidera4 ,in this1 however1 we think her less excellent than on her first appearance in it4 ,her pathos is less simple1 less touching1 and her action more outrageous and violent4 ,perhaps the reason of this change may be1 that1 acting in such parts from an impulse of real sympathy with the heroine1 as she repeats the character1 her immediate interest in it becomes gradually diminished1 and she is compelled to make up for the want of genuine feeling by the external vehemence of her manner4 ,be this as it may1 she at present carries this violence of manner to the utmost pitch at which it can be borne4 ,her screams almost torture the ear1 her looks almost petrify the sight4 ,it is time that she should return to her first style of acting1 which did not #8o'erstep the modesty of nature4' ,we speak thus of her from a sense of justice1 and of respect1 not of contempt1 for her powers3 for we think she owes it to those powers not to abuse them4 ,as ,belvidera is one of her most prominent characters1 we shall take this opportunity to sum up in a few words our opinion of her general merit as a tragic actress2 and perhaps we shall be able to do this best by pointing out the difference between her and another celebrated performer of the day4 ,mr4 ,kean affects the audience from the force of passion rather than of sentiment1 or subsides into the pathetic after the violence of action1 but seldom rises into it from the depth of natural feeling4 ,in this respect1 he presents almost a direct contrast to ,miss ,o',neill4 ,her energy appears to rise out of her sensibility3 distress takes possession of1 and overwhelms1 her faculties3 she triumphs in her weakness1 and vanquishes by yielding4 ,mr4 ,kean is chiefly great in the conflict of passions1 and resistance to his fate--in the opposition of his will to circumstances--in the keen excitement of his understanding4 ,it is not without some reluctance1 and after a good deal of reflection1 that we should say1 that the finest parts of his acting are superior to the finest parts of hers3 for instance1 to her parting with ,jaffier in ,belvidera1--to her terror and joy in meeting with ,biron in ,isabella1--to the death-scene in the same character1--and to the scene in the prison with her husband as ,mrs4 ,beverley4 ,her acting is more correct1 equable1 and faultless throughout than ,mr4 ,kean's1 and it is also quite as overpowering at the time1 in the most impassioned parts2 but it does not leave the same impression on the mind afterwards4 ,it adds little to the stock of our ideas1 or to our materials for reflection1 but passes away with the momentary illusion of the scene4 ,and this difference of effect perhaps arises from the difference of the parts they have to sustain on the stage4 ,in the female characters which ,miss ,o',neill plays1 the distress is in a great measure physical and involuntary1 or such as is common to every woman in similar circumstances4 ,she abandons herself to the impulses of grief or tenderness1 and revels in the excess of an uncontrollable affliction4 ,she can call to her aid with perfect propriety and the greatest effect1 all the weaknesses of her sex2 tears1 sighs1 convulsive sobs1 shrieks1 death-like stupefaction1 and laughter more terrible than all3 but it is not the same in the parts which ,mr4 ,kean has to act4 ,there must here be a manly fortitude1 as well as a natural sensibility4 ,there must be a restraint constantly put upon the feelings by the understanding and the will4 ,he must in part be #8as one in suffering all1 who suffers nothing4' ,he cannot give way entirely to his situation or his feelings1 but must endeavour to become master of them and of himself4 ,this1 in our conception1 must make it more easy to give the utmost effect and interest to female characters on the stage1 by rendering the expression of the passion more simple1 obvious1 and natural2 and must also make them less rememberable afterwards1 by leaving less scope for the exercise of intellect1 and for the distinct and complicated reaction of the character upon circumstances4 ,at least1 we can only account in some such way for the different impression which the acting of these two admired performers makes on our minds1 when we see or when we think of them4 ,as critics1 we particularly feel this4 ,mr4 ,kean affords a never-failing source of observation and discussion3 we can only praise or blame ,miss ,o',neill4 ,the peculiarity and the strong hold of ,mrs4 ,siddons's acting was1 that she in a wonderful degree united both the extremes of excellence here spoken of1 that is1 the natural frailties of passion1 or its inarticulate and involuntary expression1 with a commanding strength of intellect1 and the loftiest flights of imagination4 ,her person could also endure more violence of action than ,miss ,o',neill's2 whose tender frame is hardly able to #8abide the beating of so strong a passion1' as she often has to assume1 and whose fair face is injured by the least distortion4 ,,the ,,honey ,,moon ,the ,times4 ,december #c1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane ,,theatre4 ,the favourite comedy of the ,honey ,moon was performed here last night2 the part of the ,duke by ,mr4 ,h4 ,johnston4 ,upon the whole he acquitted himself well in it1 with spirit and effect4 ,more than that the character does not require2 and it would be hard if the critic required of the actor what the poet has not clearly and intelligibly exacted from him4 ,when1 indeed1 an accomplished performer1 who happens to be a man of genius1 lends additional graces to a character1 and places it in a brilliant light of his own1 we are bound to thank him3 when he merely gives #8what is set down for him' with force and fidelity1 we are bound to be content4 ,mr4 ,johnston1 we thought1 sometimes too coarse1 and sometimes too sarcastic2 but in this sort of assumption of character1 it is hard to say exactly how far the habitual manners and sentiments are to modify and appear through those which are put on to answer the purpose of the moment4 ,in this species of the mock-heroic1 which is a sort of equivocal mixture of comedy and tragedy1 half pompous and half playful1 ,elliston1 who was the first ,duke ,aranza1 excelled all those who have succeeded him4 #8,plautus was too light1 ,seneca was too heavy for him4' ,he just aspired to something above comedy1 he just fell short of tragedy2 but he hit the stage between wind and water4 ,mr4 ,h4 ,johnston's energy is more fierce1 his irony more virulent3 but still he moved1 and looked1 and spoke1 if not like a lord1 like a very lordly husband1 and gave the essential interest to the part4 ,he danced much at his ease1 and recited the speech in which the ,duke describes his idea of what his wife's dress should be1 with propriety and feeling4 ,knight's countryman was admirable3 his hysteric laughter at the dispute between his host and hostess1 and his sheepish confusion when discovered1 were equally perfect4 ,his wonder at the manner in which ,johnston rates his wife was ecstatic3 #8,and near him sat ecstatic ,wonder1 ,listening the hoarse applauding thunder4' ,his jaws relaxed to their utmost expansion1 and his nose #8grew sharp as a pen4' ,miss ,kelly was too pert and forward1 and too much like my lady's chambermaid4 ,nor can we speak in praise of ,mrs4 ,davison's ,juliana4 ,she pouts1 flounces1 and lumbers about the stage strangely4 ,mr4 ,harley did the ,mock ,duke well2 he seemed like ,sancho ,panza in his government4 ,the ,honey ,moon is a very pleasing drama3 it is a cento of passages from old plays modernized2 it is an ingenious plagiarism from beginning to end4 ,the author was a most incorrigible pilferer1 but so expert in his art1 that we would say to other authors1 #8,go thou and do likewise6' ,,mr4 ,,kean ,the ,times4 ,december #af1 #ahag4 ,,drury-,,lane ,,theatre4 ,mr4 ,kean1 after an absence of nearly six weeks1 owing to serious indisposition1 last night resumed his professional duties at this theatre1 in the arduous character of ,richard the ,third4 ,he was received on his appearance with all that warm greeting and enthusiastic applause1 which are perhaps the highest meed of histrionic talent1 and which are unfailingly called forth by this distinguished actor1 after every suspension1 however short1 of the exercise of his art4 ,this expression of good-will was increased1 we think1 in the present instance1 by the recollection that the privation was caused by illness1 and that it was possible the stage might have been deprived of one of its greatest ornaments4 ,the acclamations1 the waving of hats and handkerchiefs1 continued for some minutes4 ,mr4 ,kean looks somewhat thinner than before his indisposition1 but betrayed no deficiency of power2 on the contrary1 on account probably of our having for sometime past been doomed to witness very inferior performances1 he appeared to surpass himself4 ,he exhibited all that energy and discrimination1 that faculty of identifying himself with the character he represents1 which is to be ranked among the greatest efforts of human talents2 he realized our conceptions of a being whose soul #8,not ,fate itself could awe4' ,the fine passages of this piece of acting are well known to the public2 to quote them would be to extract the whole play4 ,the conclusion of his career was marked by nearly as much applause as the commencement4 ,the theatre was well filled1 notwithstanding the extreme wetness of the evening4 ,,king ,,john ,the ,times4 ,december #ah1 #ahag4 ,,covent-,,garden ,,theatre4 ,shakspeare's tragedy of ,king ,john was acted last night at this theatre4 ,miss ,o',neill performed the part of ,constance2 and though everything undertaken by this excellent actress must have a large proportion of good in it1 we think that she is less successful in this than in most of her other characters3 for this1 physical causes1 her youth for example1 may be assigned2 and her perfect delineation of ,constance is1 perhaps1 reserved to the maturity of her age and her talents4 ,she did not convey to us that warmth of temper1 that susceptibility to grief and anger1 which mark this injured ,princess4 ,her speeches on the conclusion of the marriage with ,blanch1 which admit great variety of expression1 were simple declamation1 without passion and nearly in the same tone3 but we would rather dwell on beauties than defects4 ,two or three lines at the end of the scene just mentioned made amends for all2 when she says1 #8,to me1 and to the state of my great grief1 ,let kings assemble4' she utters the passage with beautiful feeling1 and leaves nothing to be wished4 ,the burst of indignation when ,austria endeavours to silence her1 subsiding instantly into a tone of the keenest contempt1 was no less striking4 ,her very best effort was on quitting the stage1 when1 having uttered those pathetic exclamations for the loss of her son1 she goes out in all the wildness of despair1 as if occupied by no other thought than to seek him through the world4 ,young was a little too violent in some parts of the character of ,king ,john2 but1 on the whole1 it may be considered a fine piece of acting3 the two scenes with ,hubert1 and his #8dying scene1 were excellent4 ,faulconbridge1 the bastard1 is one of ,charles ,kemble's happiest hits2 his manly figure1 and martial appearance1 well bear him out in his scoffs at the ,duke of ,austria2 he is no sooner knighted1 than he seems made for his rank1 and leads out ,queen ,elinor like a #8lordly gallant4' ,some of the nobles of ,john's court did not convey the idea of much dignity either in their dress or persons3 we wish that the managers1 who have the power of issuing patents of nobility at pleasure1 would consider whether the general effect might not be improved by a little more attention to this point4 ,,the ,,press--,,coleridge1 ,,southey1 ,,wordsworth1 ,,and ,,bentham ,the ,yellow ,dwarf4 ,january #c1 #ahah4 ,a debate has been lately going on1 in the ,french ,house of ,commons1 respecting the ,liberty of the ,press4 ,m4 ,jollivet said1 #8the ,liberty of the ,press is less necessary in a ,representative ,government than in any other4' #8,the press' he added1 #8is represented as the only instrument by which truth can be made known2 but the passions of men are too impetuous1 to permit the ,press that liberty which some demand4 ,the real national representation is in the ,king2#dd--the legitimate inheritance of his ,crown1 from whence all powers and honours are derived1 fixes there1 with the destinies of the people4 ,this is the primitive representation1 from which all others emanate4 ,there is the sacred depot of sovereignty4 ,the powers established by the ,charter are only the means of that sovereignty1 for the dispensation of order and justice4 ,we must then leave out of the question this pretended influence of the ,liberty of the ,press upon our representative ,government1 in favour of the branch called the ,democratic4 ,we must reject principles which can never return in ,france4 ,by this course we may perhaps lose some commentaries upon the rights of man1 but all classes of society will find their repose in it4' ,so says ,m4 ,jollivet2 and so sings a modern bard3-- #8,kiuprili--,had'st thou believ'd thine own tale1 had'st thou fancied ,thyself the rightful successor of ,andreas1 ,would'st thou have pilfer'd from our school-boys' themes ,these shallow sophisms of a popular choice8 ,what people8 ,how convened8 or1 if convened1 ,must not the magic power that charms together ,millions of men in council1 needs have power ,to win or wield them8 ,better1 ,o far better ,shout forth thy titles to yon circling mountains ,and with a thousand-fold reverberation ,make the rocks flatter thee1 and the volleying air1 ,unbribed1 shout back to thee1 ,king ,emerick6 ,by wholesome laws t'imbank the sov'reign power1 ,to deepen by restraint1 and by prevention ,of lawless will t'amass and guide the flood1 ,in its majestic channel1 is man's task ,and the true patriot's glory6 ,in all else ,men safelier trust to ,heaven1 than to themselves ,when least themselves in the mad whirl of crowds ,where folly is contagious1 and too oft ,even wise men leave their better sense at home ,to chide and wonder at them when return'd4' ,coleridge's ,zapolya4 ,whether ,m4 ,jollivet1 the ,french speaker1 was one of the ,orators of the ,human ,race in the time of ,robespierre1 we do not know2 but this we know1 that ,mr4 ,coleridge was at that time delivering ,conciones ad populum in a tone of mob-sycophancy1 the height and heat of which could1 it seems1 only be qualified by the doctrines of ,divine ,right and ,passive ,obedience4 ,the above exquisite morceau of political logic1 and dramatic recantation of the author's popular harangues1 was intended for representation at ,drury-,lane ,theatre1 and was one of the passages pointed out1 if we are to believe ,mr4 ,coleridge1 as a reason for the rejection of this spurious offspring of his loyal ,muse4 ,mr4 ,southey has not yet given us a poetical version of the true ,jus ,divinum4 ,we should like to know what he says to this speech of ,m4 ,jollivet--,content or ,not ,content--and whether this was the result he anticipated when he so sweetly and loudly1 about three years ago1 invited ,france #8restored and shaking off her chain' to join in his 7,mr4 ,southey's7 triumphal song1-- #8,glory to ,god on high1 ,deliverance to ,mankind4' ,can that laurel wreathe which adorns his brows 7if it still adorns them7 any longer hide or prevent those blushes1 deep and lasting1 which should suffuse his once well-meaning face for having been the shameful dupe of a cozenage so shameful8 ,as to ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 another of these heroic deliverers1 he is #8a full solemne man1' and you cannot get much out of him4 ,but we should like to hear his opinion--,aye or ,no--of ,m4 ,jollivet's allied notions of liberty and the rights of man4 ,is this sort of legitimate clapping down under the hatches the deliverance for which he mouthed out deep-toned ,odes and ,sonnets8 ,is this repose1 the repose of lasting slavery and avowed1 barefaced annihilation of the rights of human nature1 the consummation devoutly to be wished1 which kindled in him so much disinterested zeal against all his old friends and feelings8 ,if he were to say so1 the very echoes of his favourite mountains1 #8with thousand-fold reverberation1' would contradict him4 ,but he says nothing4 ,he is profoundly silent4 ,he will not answer ,mum to our ,budget4 ,from the elevation of his former well-timed enthusiasm against tyrants and conquerors1 he slid into a place3 and he will never rise out of it by any ill-timed intemperance4 ,snug's the word4 ,st4 ,peter is well at ,rome2 and ,mr4 ,wordsworth is attached to the ,excise4 ,what is it to him1 seated on ,rydal ,mount1 what ,m4 ,jollivet1 a prating ,frenchman1 says to that poor creature1 ,louis ,,xviii8 ,it is enough for ,mr4 ,wordsworth that he signs his stamped receipts and distributes them3--he is not bound1 by his office1 to subscribe to ,m4 ,jollivet's doctrines1 or to circulate them in this country4 ,he is a customhouse officer1 and no longer a citizen of the world4 ,he keeps himself quiet1 like the philosopher of old1 lest the higher powers should hear him4 ,if he were to mutter a syllable against any one act of legitimate despotism1 he knows 7in his sleeve7 that not all his odes on ,hoffer and ,schill1 and the ,cortes1 or even to the ,king1 would save him one hour4 ,he is wise4 ,after having endorsed the accommodation bills of the ,allied ,sovereigns on liberty and independence1 with a pen which ought to have been sacred to humanity1 he now leaves it to the people of ,france1 ,spain1 ,italy1 to us1 to the world1 to take up these dishonoured forgeries1 and will not utter a word of resentment or indignation1 or contempt1 against those who have made him a poor accomplice in a fraud upon mankind6 ,this sort of shuffling on the side of principle1 and tenaciousness on the side of power1 seems to be the peculiar privilege of the race of modern poets4 ,the philosophers1 if not much wiser1 appear to be honester4 ,some of these had been taken in1 but they want to be let out4 ,they declare off in time to save at least their own characters1 and will not sign and seal #8a dateless bargain to all-engrossing despotism1' when she unfolds the long dark scroll of her rotten parchment bonds to them1 and they see it #8stretching out even to the crack of doom4' ,they had got into a bad house1 it is true1 thinking1 though the owners were the same1 they had changed their calling1 in company with an old bawd masked1 who pretended to have just escaped being robbed and ravished1 if not murdered4 ,they were proud of such an opportunity of shewing their gallantry4 ,but as soon as the old lady pulled off her mask of ,legitimacy1 and shewed herself #8the same1 that is1 that was1 and is to be1' our philosophers went to the window1 threw up the sash1 and alarmed the neighbourhood2 while the poets1 either charmed1 with the paint and patches of the hag1 or with her gold and trinkets1 put a grave face upon the matter1 make it a point of conscience1 a match for life--for better or worse1 stick to their filthy bargain1 go to bed1 and by lying quiet and keeping close1 would fain persuade the people out of doors that all is well1 while they are fumbling at the regeneration of mankind out of an old rotten carcase1 and threatening us1 as the legitimate consequence of their impotent and obscene attempts1 with the spawn of ,bible and ,missionary ,societies1 ,schools for ,all1 and a little aiery of children1 with a whole brood of hornbooks and catechisms1--a superfetation more preposterous than that of ,mrs4 ,tofts1 the rabbit-breeding lady in ,hogarth4--,mr4 ,bentham was one of the philosophers who were so taken in by the projects of the ,holy ,alliance1 but who did not chuse to continue so with his eyes open4 ,he had lent an ear to the promises of kings4 ,he thought tyrants had taken a sudden fancy to the abstract principles of sound legislation4 ,with a little exuberance of philosophical vanity1 and a little want of philosophical penetration1 he thought he could #8charm these deaf adders wisely4' ,he thought absolute sovereigns1 having suffered persecution1 had learnt mercy3 that they were convinced1 by their own experience1 of the value of justice1 truth1 and liberty4 ,he did not suspect their appeal to humanity was the cry of the crocodile to allure and destroy3 he1 like many more1 thought their tears were #8drops which sacred pity had engendered4' ,not so4 ,he soon found his mistake2 and no sooner found1 than he hastes to amend it4 ,he does not try 7half fool1 half knave7 to hush up the affair1 to screen their villainy1 or salve his own idle vanity4 ,out the whole story comes1 in a book which he has just published1#de containing an account of the papers1 and correspondence which passed between himself and the ,emperor ,alexander4 ,mr4 ,bentham sent the autocrat a plan of legislation1 and the sovereign sent him a snuff-box in return4 ,the ,emperor however took no other notice of the plan1 and the legislator returned the snuff-box4 ,this was as it should be4 ,it is of course the favourite object of ,alexander to be lord over millions of slaves3 it must be ,mr4 ,bentham's greatest ambition to be a wise and honest man4 ,he had committed his character for wisdom sufficiently in supposing that the lord of millions of slaves would1 in the pure coxcombry of his heart1 and in the giddy round of gold snuff-boxes1 and in his delight in the infinite multiplication of his own pictures set in brilliants1 set millions of slaves free6 ,the ,emperor would as soon let ,mr4 ,bentham cuckold him as resign his people to the ,platonic embraces of ,mr4 ,bentham's legislative genius4 ,but having gone thus far on a wrong calculation of the characters of rulers1 ,mr4 ,bentham was too honest a man to try to repeat the imposition upon others of which he had been made the momentary dupe himself4 ,he was not ambitious any longer to remain that tool #8,which knaves do work with1 called a fool4' ,he would not be made a mild decoy of humanity1 and go a dottrel-catching with the ,emperor ,alexander in ,finland1 in ,poland1 or in ,south ,america4 ,he would not be made an amiable stalking-horse of liberty and equality for royal sportsmen to catch their silly prey1 the human race1 and then to be turned loose1 stripped of his netting and his ribbons1 to graze where he could4 ,he had a spirit above it4 ,he could not brook this league with detected hypocrisy and barefaced power4 ,he had not the stomach to swallow a lie for truth4 ,he could not bring himself to say1 or by any tampering with his own mind to believe that a thing was what he knew it was not4 ,he was by habit a logician--by nature1 a plain1 literal man4 #8,the ,gods had not made him poetical4' ,that is1 ,mr4 ,bentham had not1 like ,messrs4 ,coleridge1 ,wordsworth1 and ,southey1 been playing at fast and loose with fiction1 till he could like them believe whatever he pleased of matter of fact1 and stand to it stoutly too with #8a mingled air of cunning and of impudence1'--to the equal satisfaction of his understanding and his conscience6 ,,mr4 ,,coleridge',s ,,lectures ,the ,yellow ,dwarf4 ,february #ba1 #ahah4 #8,on ,friday evening ,mr4 ,coleridge gave his first ,lecture on ,shakspeare to a numerous and genteel audience4 ,he stated the permanent objects ,shakspeare had in view in drawing his characters1 and how obviously he disregarded those that were of a transitory nature4 ,the character of ,caliban1 as an original and caricature of ,jacobinism1 so fully illustrated at ,paris during the ,french ,revolution1 he described in a vigorous and lively manner1 exciting repeated bursts of applause4 ,he commenced an inquiry into the order of succession in which ,shakspeare wrote his plays1 and decided that ,love's ,labour ,lost must have been the first1 as there are so many allusions in it such as a youth would make1 few or none resulting from an experience of the world4 ,that play and ,the ,tempest were the chief objects of his discourse1 into which1 however1 he introduced a great variety of new and striking remarks1 not confined to any particular play4 ,as for instance1 he said1 wherever ,shakspeare had drawn a character addicted to sneering1 and contempt for the merits of others1 that character was sure to be a villain4 ,vanity1 envy1 and malice1 were its certain accompaniments3 too prudent to praise itself1 it fed its concentrated egotism by sarcasm and lowering others4 ,this is but a poor description of the very glowing language1 ample detail1 and profound thought1 ,mr4 ,coleridge displayed on this topic1 which produced a thunder of applause4'--,courier1 ,feb4 #i4 ,mr4 ,coleridge1 in his prospectus1 modestly observed1 that the attending his course of ,lectures on ,poetry1 and #8those fair parts that there adjacent lie1' would enable any grown gentleman to talk on all subjects of polite conversation1 except religion and politics4 ,by the above extract1 and from what we have heard1 it should appear that ,mr4 ,coleridge has gone beyond his engagement1 and given his grown gentleman a slice of religion and politics in the same dish with his account of the ,dark ,ages4 ,not like a lady who puts her mind into the postscript1 ,mr4 ,c4 does that first which he promised last4 ,whatever may be the case with his metaphysical hypercriticisms1 his religious and political opinions seem pretty transparent4 ,as he has sent a passage against ,jacobinism to his friend ,mr4 ,stuart1 of the ,courier1 we wonder that he could not 7as he still retains all his old sentiments1 with only the advantage of new light added to them7 have vamped up a sly passage from his ,conciones ad ,populum1 in favour of the so-called ,jacobin principles he formerly professed1 to have sent it to us4 ,we should gladly do all in our power to assist ,mr4 ,coleridge in publishing a harmony of his opinions1 which are1 we suspect1 too liberal and multifarious to be comprised1 in all their speculative and practical bearings1 in a shabby ,evening ,paper4 ,as to this argument about ,caliban1 we suspect it must have been sadly curtailed and scissarsed by ,mr4 ,stuart1 in order to fit his cloth to his coat1 and to bring ,mr4 ,coleridge's #8unhouselled free conditions into the circumscription and confine' of the ,editor's party politics4 ,caliban is so far from being a prototype of modern ,jacobinism1 that he is strictly the legitimate sovereign of the isle1 and ,prospero and the rest are usurpers1 who have ousted him from his hereditary jurisdiction by superiority of talent and knowledge4 #8,this island's mine1 by ,sycorax my mother2' and he complains bitterly of the artifices used by his new friends to cajole him out of it4 ,he is the ,louis ,,xviii4 of the enchanted island in ,the ,tempest3 and ,dr4 ,stoddart would be able to prove by the civil law1 that he had the same right to keep possession of it1 #8independently of his conduct or merits1 as ,mr4 ,coke has to his estate at ,holkham4' ,even his affront to the daughter of that upstart philosopher ,prospero1 could not be brought to bar his succession to the natural sovereignty of his dominions4 ,his boast that #8he had peopled else this isle with ,calibans1' is very proper and dignified in such a person2 for it is evident that the right line would be supplanted in failure of his issue2 and that the superior beauty and accomplishments of ,ferdinand and ,miranda could no more be opposed to the legitimate claims of this deformed and loathsome monster1 than the beauty and intellect of the ,bonaparte family can be opposed to the bloated and ricketty minds and bodies of the ,bourbons1 cast1 as they are1 in the true ,jus ,divinum mould6 ,this is gross4 ,why does ,mr4 ,coleridge provoke us to write as great nonsense as he talks8 ,why also does he not tell1 in his general #8lunes and abstractions1' what to think of ,prospero's brother1 the ,duke1 who usurped his crown1 and drove him into banishment2 or of those finished ,court-practitioners1 ,sebastian and ,antonio1 who wanted to murder the sleeping ,king8 ,were they ,jacobins like ,caliban1 or legitimate personages1 like ,mr4 ,coleridge8 ,did they belong to the new school or the old8 ,that is the question2 but it is a question which our lay-preacher will take care not to answer4 ,shakespear1 says ,mr4 ,coleridge1 always spoke of mobs with contempt1 but with kindness4 ,mr4 ,coleridge does better3 he speaks of mobs with contempt1 and of ,courts with kindness4 ,again1 says this critical discoverer of a meaning in a millstone1 ,caliban had that envy of superior genius and virtue1 which was a mark of the true ,jacobins in the time of the ,french ,revolution4 ,we are sorry to hear1 that on one occasion ,mr4 ,c4 was interrupted in a tirade upon this favourite topic1 on which he was led out of pure generosity1 to enlighten the grown gentlemen who came to hear him1 by a person calling out in good broad ,scotch1 #8,but you once praised that ,revolution1 ,mr4 ,coleridge6' ,the worst is1 that ,mr4 ,coleridge praised that ,revolution when it was triumphant1 going on #8conquering and to conquer1' as it was thought2 and now that it is fallen1 this man of mighty mind1--of gigantic genius1 and superiority to interested motives and mob-sycophancy1 insults over it1--tramples on the carcase1--kicks it with his asinine hoofs1--and brays a long1 loud1 dreary1 doleful bravura over it4 ,of what the ,jacobins were in the year #agic1 this person has a right to speak1 both from experience and observation4 ,the worst he can say of them is1 that he was once one of the set4 ,he says that ,jacobins are envious people1--and that envious people1 not being able to praise themselves openly1 take an indirect method of doing this1 by depreciating and secretly slandering others4 ,was it upon this principle that the reformed ,jacobin1 ,mr4 ,coleridge 7what is bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh7 took such pains1 two years ago1 to praise himself by depreciating and canting profound ,german mysticism against ,mr4 ,maturin's successful tragedy of ,bertram1 which he proved1 being himself in the secret1 to be ultra-,jacobinism1 and quite different in its philosophical and poetical tendency from his own sweet injured ,zapolya1--the harbinger of ,legitimacy and the ,bourbons1 which was offered to ,mr4 ,whitbread for his acceptance1 as a piece of ultra-,royalism1 and accordingly rejected by that friend of constitutional government and the people2 but which any one may see represented to the life at the ,royal ,circus1 accompanied with music1 and compressed into three acts1 to make it #8tedious and brief4' ,or was it from the remains of the ,jacobin leaven in our philosophical poet1 that in a public library at ,bristol he endeavoured to advance his own reputation on the ruins of that of a friend1 by that lofty panegyric which he pronounced on our laurel-honouring laureat3--#8,the man may indeed be a reviewer1 but ,god help him if he fancies himself a poet8' ,and is this the man to talk about the envy of the people towards hereditary virtue and wisdom1 as the cause and root of ,jacobinism8 ,this-- #8,fie1 ,sir6 ,o fie6 'tis fulsome1 ,sir1 there's a soil for that rank weed flattery ,to trail its poisonous and obscene clusters3 ,a poet's soul should bear a richer fruitage-- ,the aconite grew not in ,eden4 ,thou1 ,that thou1 with lips tipt with the fire of ,heaven1 ',th' excursive eye1 that in its earth-wide range ,drinks in the grandeur and the loveliness1 ,that breathes along this high-wrought world of man1 ,that hast within thee apprehensions strong ,of all that's pure1 and passionless1 and heavenly-- ,that thou1 a vapid and mawkish parasite1 ,should'st pipe to that witch ,fortune's favourites6 ',tis coarse--'tis sickly--'tis as though the eagle ,should spread his sail-broad wings to flap a dunghill2 ,as though a pale and withering pestilence ,should ride the golden chariot of the sun2 ,as one should use the language of the ,gods ,to chatter loose and ribald brothelry4'--,,fazio4 ,it is well for the author of this tragedy that it has been praised in the ,quarterly ,review1--or we should not wonder to see ,mr4 ,coleridge1 as well from these lines as from its being acted with universal applause at the ,theatre ,royal ,covent ,garden1 set about proving it to be a very ultra-,jacobinical performance4--,but #8to leave this keen encounter of the wits1 and fall to something of a slower method4' ,the reason--7for ,mr4 ,coleridge knows1 that if we have not #8reason as plenty as blackberries1' yet what we have1 we are ready #8to give to any man without compulsion'7--the reason why ,mr4 ,coleridge is not what he might be1 is1 that he would be thought what he is not4 ,his motto is1 to be nothing or every thing4 ,his levity or his vanity is not satisfied with being admired for what he is1 but for all that he is capable of becoming1 wise or foolish1 knave or not4 ,he is not contented to be #8the inconstant moon1' unless he can be the halo round it4 ,he would glitter in the sunshine of public favour1 and yet he would cast no shadow4 ,please all and please none is his rule1 he has succeeded4 ,he thinks it a great disparagement of his parts1 a proof of a narrow and contracted mind1 to be thought to hold only the sentiments which he professes4 ,his capacious mind has room for all opinions1 both those which he believes and those which he does not4 ,he thinks he shews the greatest magnanimity when he shews the greatest contempt for his own principles1 past1 present1 and to come4 ,he would be esteemed greatly superior1 not only to the rest of the world1 but to himself4 ,would any one catch him in the trammels of a sect8 ,would any one make him swear to the dogmas of a party8 ,would any one suppose that he has any prejudices in favour of his own notions8 ,that he is blindly wedded to one single view of a subject1 as a man is wedded to one wife8 ,he is shocked at any such imputation of intellectual uxoriousness4 ,would the ,presbyterians try to hook him in8--he knows better than ,socinus or old ,john ,knox4 ,would the ,established ,church receive him at her wide portals8--he carries too great a weight of the ,fathers and school divinity at his back4 ,would the ,whigs patronise him8--he is too straitened in antiquated notions and traditional prejudices4 ,would the ,tories take him in8--he is too liberal1 enlightened1 and transcendental for them4 ,would principle bind him8--he shuffles out of it1 as a clog upon his freedom of thought1 #8his large discourse of reason1 looking before and after4' ,would interest lay dirty hands upon him8--he jockies her too by some fetch or conundrum1 borrowed from the great clerks of the so-called ,dark ,ages4 ,you can no more know where to have him than an otter4 ,you might as well hedge the cuckoo4 ,you see him now squat like a toad at the ear of the ,courier2 and oh6 that we could rouse him up once more into an archangel's shape4 ,but what is it to him what so poor a thing as he himself is1 who is sublimely indifferent to all other things1 and who may be looked upon as a terrible petrification of religion1 genius1 and the love of liberty4 ,yet it is too much to think that he who began his career with two ,sonnets to ,lord ,stanhope and ,mary ,wolstonecraft1 in the ,morning ,chronicle1 should end with slimy1 drivelling abuse of ,jacobinism and the ,french ,revolution1 in the ,courier2--that1 like some devoted fanatic1 he should seek the praise of martyrdom by mangling his own soul with a prostituted1 unpaid-for pen1 and let out his last breath as a pander to that which would be a falsehood1 but that it means nothing4 ,,childe ,,harold',s ,,pilgrimage 7,,canto ,,iv47 ,the ,yellow ,dwarf4 ,may #b1 #ahah4 #8,i do perceive a fury in your words1 but nothing wherefore4' ,the fourth and last canto of ,childe ,harold has disappointed us4 ,it is a falling off from the three former ones4 ,we have read it carefully through1 but it has left only the same impression on our minds that a troubled dream does1--as disturbed1 as confused1 as disjointed1 as harassing1 and as unprofitable4 ,it is an indigestion of the mind4 ,it is the lassitude or feverish tossing and tumbling of the imagination1 after having taken a surfeit of pleasure1 and fed upon the fumes of pride4 ,childe ,harold is a spoiled child of the ,muses--and of ,fortune4 ,he looks down upon human life1 not more with the superiority of intellect than with the arrogance of birth4 ,the poet translates the lord into high sounding and supercilious verse4 ,it is ,agamemnon and ,thersites in one person4 ,the common events and calamities of the world afford matter for the effusions of his spleen1 while they seem resented as affronts to his personal dignity4 #8,and as the soldiers' bare dead bodies lay1 ,he called them untaught knaves1 unmannerly1 ,to bring a slovenly1 unhandsome corse ,betwixt the wind and his nobility4' ,so when #8the very age and body of the time' comes between his ,lordship's speculative notions and hereditary prejudices1 he stops the nose at it1 and plays some very fantastic tricks before the public1 who are lookers-on4 ,in general1 the idle wants1 the naughty airs1 the ill humours and ennui1 the contempt for others1 and disgust at themselves1 common to exalted birth and station1 are suffered to corrupt and stagnate in the blood that inherits them2--they are a disease in the flesh1 an obstinate tumour in the mind1 a cloud upon the brow1 a venom that vents itself in hateful looks and peevish words to those about them2 but in this poem and this author they have acquired #8an understanding and a tongue1'--are sublimed by imagination1 systematised by sophistry--mount the steps of the ,capitol1 fulmine over ,greece1 and are poured in torrents of abuse on the world4 ,it is well if the world like it--we are tired of the monotony of his ,lordship's griefs1 of which we can perceive neither beginning nor end4 #8,they are begot of nothing1 born of nothing4' ,he volunteers his own ,pilgrimage1--appoints his own penance1--makes his own confession1--and all--for nothing4 ,he is in despair1 because he has nothing to complain of--miserable1 because he is in want of nothing4 #8,he has tasted of all earth's bliss1 both living and loving1' and therefore he describes himself as suffering the tortures of the damned4 ,he is in love with misery1 because he has possessed every enjoyment2 and because he has had his will in every thing1 is inconsolable because he cannot have impossibilities4 ,his ,lordship1 in fact1 makes out his own hard case to be1 that he has attained all those objects that the rest of the world admire2 that he has met with none of those disasters which embitter their lives2 and he calls upon us to sympathise with his griefs and his despair4 ,this will never do4 ,it is more intolerable than even ,mr4 ,wordsworth's arbitrary egotism and pampered self-sufficiency4 ,he creates a factitious interest out of nothing3 ,lord ,byron would destroy our interest in all that is4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 to salve his own self-love1 makes the merest toy of his own mind1--the most insignificant object he can meet with1--of as much importance as the universe3 ,lord ,byron would persuade us that the universe itself is not worth his or our notice2 and yet he would expect us to be occupied with him4 ----#8,the man whose eye ,is ever on himself doth look on one1 ,the least of ,nature's works1 one who might move ,the wise man to that scorn which wisdom holds ,unlawful ever4' ,these lines1 written by one of these two poets1 might be addressed to both of them with equal propriety4 ,lord ,byron1 in this the fourth and last ,canto of ,childe ,harold's ,pilgrimage1 seems to have worn out the glowing fervour of his genius to a calx1 and to have exhausted the intense enthusiasm of his favourite topics of invective4 ,there is little about himself1 historically speaking--there is no plot1 no story1 no interest excited1 no catastrophe4 ,the general reflections are connected together merely by the accidental occurrence of different objects--the ,venus of ,medici1 or the statue of ,pompey1--the ,capitol at ,rome1 or the ,bridge of ,sighs at ,venice1--,shakespear1 and ,mrs4 ,radcliffe1--,bonaparte1 and his ,lordship in person1--are brought together as in a phantasmagoria1 and with as little attention to keeping or perspective1 as in ,hogarth's famous print for reversing the laws of vision4 ,the judgements pronounced are often more dogmatical than profound1 and with all their extravagance of expression1 common-place4 ,his ,lordship does not understand the ,apollo ,belvidere or the ,venus de ,medicis1 any more than ,bonaparte4 ,he cants about the one and against the other1 and in doing the last1 cuts his own throat4 ,we are not without hopes that his friend ,mr4 ,hobhouse will set this matter right in his #8,historical ,illustrations'2 and shew that1 however it may suit his ,noble ,friend's poetical cross-purposes1 politically and practically speaking1 a house divided against itself cannot stand4 ,he first1 in his disdain of modern times1 finds nothing to compare with the grandeur of antiquity but ,bonaparte2 and then #8as 'twere in spite of scorn1' goes on to disdain this idol1 which he had himself gratuitously set up1 in a strain of effeminate and rancorous abuse worthy of ,mr4 ,wordsworth's pastoral1 place-hunting ,muse4 ,suppose what is here said of #8the child and champion of ,jacobinism' to be true1 are there not venal tongues and venal pens enough to echo it1 without his ,lordship's joining in the cry8 ,will #8the ,high ,legitimates1 the ,holy ,band' be displeased with these captious efforts to level the object of their hate to the groveling standard of royalty8 ,is there not a division of labour even on ,mount ,parnassus8 ,the other writers of prose and verse1 who enter the ,temple of ,fame by ,mr4 ,murray's door in ,albemarle-street1 have their cues4 ,mr4 ,southey1 for instance1 never sings or says1 or dreams of singing or saying1 that the ,prince ,regent is not so great a man as ,julius ,csar4 ,why then should ,lord ,byron force the comparison between the modern and the ancient hero8 ,it is because the slaves of power mind the cause they have to serve1 because their own interest is concerned2 but the friends of liberty always sacrifice their cause1 which is only the cause of humanity1 to their own spleen1 vanity1 and self-opinion4 ,the league between tyrants and slaves is a chain of adamant2 the bond between poets and the people is a rope of sand4 ,is this a truth1 or is it not8 ,if it is not1 let ,lord ,byron write no more on this subject1 which is beyond his height and his depth4 ,let him not trample on the mighty or the fallen6 ,bonaparte is not ,beppo4 ,the versification and style of this poem are as perverse and capricious as the method or the sentiments4 ,one stanza perpetually runs on into the next1 making the exception the rule1 merely because it properly ends in itself2 and there is a strange mixture of stately phraseology and far-fetched metaphor1 with the most affected and bald simplicity of expression and uncouthness in the rhymes4 ,it is well his ,lordship is born so high1 or all ,grub street would set him down as a plebeian for such lines as the following3-- #8,i lov'd her#df from my boyhood1' c4 7stanza #ah and part of #ai74 ,what will the ,critics of the ,cockney ,school of ,poetry say to this8--,lie on1 and swear that it is high patrician poetry1 and of very noble birth4 ,the introductory stanzas are on the same subject1 ,venice2 and are better4 #8,i stood in ,venice1 on the bridge of sighs1' c4 7stanzas #a1 #b1 and #c74 ,the thought expressed in the last stanza1 #8but nature doth not die1' is particularly fine1 and consolatory to the mind4 ,we prefer the stanza relating to the tomb of ,petrarch1 to any others in the poem3-- #8,there is a tomb in ,arqua2--rear'd in air1' c4 7stanzas #cj-cc74 ,the apostrophe to ,tasso and to his patron is written with great force1 but in a different spirit3-- #8,ferrara6 in thy wide and grass-grown streets1' c4 7stanzas #ce-ch74 ,in the same strain1 and with an alternate mixture of enthusiasm and spleen1 the author pays the tribute of acknowledgement to the artist of #8the statue that enchants the world1' to the shades of ,michael ,angelo1 ,alfieri1 #8the starry ,galileo1' ,machiavel1 and to the ,bard of ,prose1 #8him of the ,hundred ,tales of ,love'--,boccacio4 ,from these recollections the poet proceeds to describe the fall of the ,velino1 #8a hell of waters4' ,we cannot say but that we think his powers better suited to express the human passions than to reflect the forms of nature4 ,in the present instance1 however1 the poet has not invoked the genius of the place in vain3 it represents1 in some measure1 the workings of his own spirit1--disturbed1 restless1 labouring1 foaming1 sparkling1 and now hid in labyrinths and plunging into the gloom of night4 ,the following description is obscure1 tortuous1 perplexed1 and abortive2 yet who can say that it is not beautiful1 striking1 and impassioned8-- #8,how profound ,the gulf6 and how the giant element1' c4 7stanzas #gj-gb74 ,we'll look no more3 such kind of writing is enough to turn the brain of the reader or the author4 ,the repetitions in the last stanza are like interlineations in an imperfect manuscript1 left for afterselection2 such as1 #8,hope upon a death-bed'--#8,love watching madness1'--#8,unworn its steady dies'--#8,serene its brilliant hues1'--#8the distracted waters'--#8the torture of the scene1' c4 ,there is here in every line an effort at brilliancy1 and a successful effort2 and yet1 in the next1 as if nothing had been done1 the same thing is attempted to be expressed again with the same labour as before1 the same success1 and with as little appearance of repose or satisfaction of mind4 ,it is in vain to attempt a regular account of the remainder of this poem1 which is a mass of discordant things1 incoherent1 not gross1 seen #8now in glimmer and now in gloom1' and #8moving wild laughter in the throat of death4' ,the poem is like the place it describes3-- #8,the double night of ages1 and of her1 ,night's daughter1 ,ignorance1 hath wrapt and wrap#dg ,all round us3 we but feel our way to err3 ,the ocean hath his chart1 the stars their map1 ,and ,knowledge spreads them on her ample lap2 ,but ,rome is as the desart1 where we steer ,stumbling on recollections2 now we clap ,our hands1 and cry 8,eureka60 it is clear-- ,when but some false mirage#dh of ruin rises near4' ,this is undoubtedly fine3 but ,rome was glorious1 before she became a ruin2 stately1 before she was laid low2 was #8seen of all eyes1' before she was confounded in oblivion4 ,lord ,byron's poetry1 in its irregular and gloomy magnificence1 we fear1 antedates its own doom2 and is buried in a desolation of his own creating1 where the mists of fancy cloud1 instead of lighting up the face of nature2 and the fierceness of the passions1 like the ,sirocco of the ,desart1 withers and consumes the heart4 ,we give this judgment against our wills2 and shall be happy1 should we live to see it reversed by another generation4 ,all our prejudices are in favour of the ,noble ,poet1 and against his maligners4 ,childe ,harold's ,pilgrimage is dedicated to ,mr4 ,hobhouse1 and there are passages both in the dedication and the poem which would bribe our opinions1 were they to be bribed either by our admiration of genius or our love of liberty4 ,such are the following passages3-- #8,what from this barren being do we reap1' c4 7stanzas #ic-ie74 ,but we must conclude2 not1 however1 till we have made two extracts more4 ,we shall not give the passages relating to his separation from his wife1 or the death of the ,princess ,charlotte3 we see nothing remarkable in the events1 or in his ,lordship's reflections on them4 ,as to his vow of revenge1 which is to end in forgiveness1 it is unconscious1 constitutional caprice and contradiction3 it is self-will exerting itself in straining at a violent conclusion2 and then1 by another exertion1 defeating itself by doing nothing4 ,so also he expatiates on the boundless anticipated glories of a female reign1 which were never likely1 and are now impossible1 only that he may rail at lady ,fortune in good set terms1 and indulge a deeper disgust at all that is real or possible4 ,we will give what is better than such cant1--the description of the dying ,gladiator1 and the conclusion of the poem3-- #8,i see before me the ,gladiator lie1' c4 7stanzas #adj and #ada74 ,o si sic ,omnia6 ,all1 however1 is not so4 ,the stanzas immediately following1 on the story of the ,grecian ,daughter and the ,apollo ,belvidere1 are in as false and sophisticated a taste1 as these are pure and sublime4 ,but1 at the close of the poem1 in addressing the pathless ocean1--the self-willed1 untamed mighty world of waters1--his genius resumes its beauty and its power1 and the ,pilgrim sinks to rest in strains as mild and placid as the breath of childhood1 that frets itself asleep4 #8,my task is done--my song hath ceased--my theme1' c4 7stanzas #ahe and #ahf74 ,,the ,,opera ,the ,yellow ,dwarf4 ,may #bc1 #ahah4 ,the ,opera is a fine thing3 the only question is1 whether it is not too fine4 ,it is the most fascinating1 and at the same time the most tantalising of all places4 ,it is not the too little1 but the too much1 that offends us4 ,every object is there collected1 and displayed in ostentatious profusion1 that can strike the senses or dazzle the imagination2 music1 dancing1 painting1 poetry1 architecture1 the blaze of beauty1 #8the glass of fashion1 and the mould of form2' and yet we are not satisfied--because the multitude and variety of objects distracts the attention1 and by flattering us with a vain shew of the highest gratification of every faculty and wish1 leaves us at last in a state of listlessness1 disappointment1 and ennui4 ,the powers of the mind are exhausted1 without being invigorated2 our expectations are excited1 not satisfied2 and we are at some loss to distinguish an excess of irritation from the height of enjoyment4 ,to sit at the ,opera for a whole evening1 is like undergoing the process of animal magnetism for the same length of time4 ,it is an illusion and a mockery1 where the mind is made #8the fool of the senses1' and cheated of itself2 where pleasure after pleasure courts us1 as in a fairy palace2 where the ,graces and the ,muses1 waving in a gay1 fantastic round with one another1 still turn from our pursuit2 where art1 like an enchantress with a thousand faces1 still allures our giddy admiration1 shifts her mask1 and again disappoints us4 ,the ,opera1 in short1 proceeds upon a false estimate of taste and morals2 it supposes that the capacity for enjoyment may be multiplied with the objects calculated to afford it4 ,it is a species of intellectual prostitution2 for we can no more receive pleasure from all our faculties at once than we can be in love with a number of mistresses at the same time4 ,though we have different senses1 we have but one heart2 and if we attempt to force it into the service of them all at once1 it must grow restive or torpid1 hardened or enervated4 ,the spectator may say to the sister-arts of ,painting1 ,poetry1 and ,music1 as they advance to him in a ,pas de ,trois at the ,opera1 #8,how happy could ,i be with either1 were t'other dear charmer away2' but while #8they all tease him together1' the heart gives a satisfactory answer to none of them2--is ashamed of its want of resources to supply the repeated calls upon its sensibility1 seeks relief from the importunity of endless excitement in fastidious apathy or affected levity2 and in the midst of luxury1 pomp1 vanity1 indolence1 and dissipation1 feels only the hollow1 aching void within1 the irksome craving of unsatisfied desire1 because more pleasures are placed within its reach than it is capable of enjoying1 and the interference of one object with another ends in a double disappointment4 ,such is the best account we can give of the nature of the ,opera1--of the contradiction between our expectations of pleasure and our uneasiness there1--of our very jealousy of the flattering appeals which are made to our senses1 our passions1 and our vanity1 on all sides1--of the little relish we acquire for it1 and the distaste it gives us for other things4 ,any one of the sources of amusement to be found there would be enough to occupy and keep the attention alive2 the tout ensemble fatigues and oppresses it4 ,one may be stifled to death with roses4 ,a head-ache may be produced by a profusion of sweet smells or of sweet sounds3 but we do not like the head-ache the more on that account4 ,nor are we reconciled to it1 even at the ,opera4 ,what makes the difference between an opera of ,mozart's1 and the singing of a thrush confined in a wooden cage at the corner of the street8 ,the one is nature1 and the other is art3 the one is paid for1 and the other is not4 ,madame ,fodor sings the air of ,vedrai ,carino in ,don ,giovanni so divinely1 because she was hired to sing it2 she sings it to please the audience1 not herself1 and does not always like to be encored in it2 but the thrush that awakes at daybreak with its song1 does not sing because it is paid to sing1 or to please others1 or to be admired or criticised4 ,it sings because it is happy3 it pours the thrilling sounds from its throat1 to relieve the overflowings of its own heart--the liquid notes come from1 and go to the heart1 dropping balm into it1 as the gushing spring revives the traveller's parched and fainting lips4 ,that stream of joy comes pure and fresh to the longing sense1 free from art and affectation2 the same that rises over vernal groves1 mingled with the breath of morning1 and the perfumes of the wild hyacinth1 that waits for no audience1 that wants no rehearsing1 and still-- #8,hymns its good ,god1 and carols sweet of love4' ,this is the great difference between nature and art1 that the one is what the other seems1 and gives all the pleasure it expresses1 because it feels it itself4 ,madame ,fodor sings1 as a musical instrument may be made to play a tune1 and perhaps with no more real delight3 but it is not so with the linnet or the thrush1 that sings because ,god pleases1 and pours out its little soul in pleasure4 ,this is the reason why its singing is 7so far7 so much better than melody or harmony1 than bass or treble1 than the ,italian or the ,german school1 than quavers or crotchets1 or half-notes1 or canzonets1 or quartetts1 or any thing in the world but truth and nature6 ,the ,opera is the most artificial of all things4 ,it is not only art1 but ostentatious1 unambiguous1 exclusive art4 ,it does not subsist as an imitation of nature1 but in contempt of it2 and instead of seconding1 its object is to pervert and sophisticate all our natural impressions of things4 ,when the ,opera first made its appearance in this country1 there were strong prejudices entertained against it1 and it was ridiculed as a species of the mock-heroic4 ,the prejudices have worn out with time1 and the ridicule has ceased2 but the grounds for both remain the same in the nature of the thing itself4 ,at the theatre1 we see and hear what has been said1 thought1 and done by various people elsewhere2 at the ,opera1 we see and hear what was never said1 thought1 or done any where but at the ,opera4 ,not only is all communication with nature cut off1 but every appeal to the imagination is sheathed and softened in the melting medium of ,siren sounds4 ,the ear is cloyed and glutted with warbled ecstacies or agonies2 while every avenue to terror or pity is carefully stopped up and guarded by song and recitative4 ,music is not made the vehicle of poetry1 but poetry of music3 the very meaning of the words is lost or refined away in the effeminacy of a foreign language4 ,a grand serious ,opera is a tragedy wrapped up in soothing airs1 to suit the tender feelings of the nurselings of fortune--where tortured victims swoon on beds of roses1 and the pangs of despair sink in tremulous accents into downy repose4 ,just so much of human misery is given as to lull those who are exempted from it into a deeper sense of their own security3 just enough of the picture of human life is shewn to relieve their languor1 without disturbing their indifference2--not to excite their sympathy1 but #8with some sweet1 oblivious antidote1' to pamper their sleek and sordid apathy4 ,in a word1 the whole business of the ,opera is to stifle emotion in its birth1 and to intercept every feeling in its progress to the heart4 ,every impression that1 left to itself1 might sink deep into the mind1 and wake it to real sympathy1 is overtaken and baffled by means of some other impression1 plays round the surface of the imagination1 trembles into airy sound1 or expires in an empty pageant4 ,in the grand carnival of the senses1 #8,the cloister'd heart ,sits squat at home1 like ,pagod in a niche ,obscure'2-- the pulse of life is suspended1 the link which binds us to humanity is broken2 the soul is fretted by the sense of excessive softness into a feverish hectic dream2 truth becomes a fable1 good and evil matters of perfect indifference1 except as they can be made subservient to our selfish gratification2 and there is hardly a vice for which the mind on coming out of the ,opera is not prepared1 no virtue of which it is capable6 ,but what shall we say of the company at the ,opera8 ,is it not grand1 select1 splendid1 and imposing8 ,do we not see there #8the flower of ,britain's warriors1 her statesmen1 and her fair1' her nobles and her diplomatic characters8 ,first1 we only know the diplomatic characters by their taking prodigious quantities of snuff4 ,as to great warriors1 some that we know had better not shew their faces--if there is any truth in physiognomy2 and as to great men1 we know of but one in modern times1 and neither ,europe nor the ,opera-house was big enough to hold him4 ,with respect to ,lords and ,ladies1 we see them as we do gilded butterflies in glass cases4 ,we soon get tired of them1 for they seem tired of themselves1 and one another4 ,they gape1 stare1 affect to whisper1 laugh1 or talk loud1 to fill up the vacuities of thought and expression4 ,they do not gratify our predilection for happy faces6 ,but do we not feel the throb of pleasure from the blaze of beauty in the side-boxes8 ,that blaze would be brighter1 were it not quenched in the sparkling of diamonds4 ,as for the rest1 the grapes are sour4 ,beauty is a thing that is not made only to be seen4 ,who can behold it without a transient wish to be near it1 to adore1 to possess it8 ,he must be a fool or a coxcomb1 whom the sight of a beauty dazzles1 but does not warm2 whom a thousand glances shot from a thousand heavenly faces pierce without wounding2 who can behold without a pang the bowers of ,paradise opening to him by a thousand doors1 and barred against him by magic spells6--,bright creatures1 fairest of the fair1 ye shine above our heads1 bright as ,ariadne's crown1 fair as the dewy star of evening3 but ye are no more to us6 ,there is no golden chain let down to us from you3 we have sometimes seen you at a play1 or caught a glimpse of your faces passing in a coronet-coach2 but----,as we are growing romantic1 we shall take a turn into the crush-room1 where1 following the train of the great statesmen1 the warriors1 and the diplomatic characters1 we shall meet with a nearly equal display of external elegance and accomplishment1 without the pride of sex1 rank1 or virtue6 ,if the women were all ,junos before1 here they are all ,venuses1 and no less ,goddesses6 ,those who complained of inaccessible beauty before1 may here find beauty more accessible1 and take their revenge on the boxes in the lobbies6 99 99 99 99 99 ,in fine1 though we do not agree with a contemporary critic1 that the ,opera is an entertainment that ought to be held in general estimation1 yet we think the present a very proper time for its encouragement4 ,it may serve to assist the euthanasia of the ,british character1 of ,british liberty1 and ,british morals1--by hardening the heart1 while it softens the senses1 and dissolving every manly and generous feeling in an atmosphere of voluptuous effeminacy4 ,,on ,,the ,,question ,,whether ,,pope ,,was ,a ,,poet ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine4 ,february1 #ahah4 ,the question whether ,pope was a poet1 has hardly yet been settled1 and is hardly worth settling2 for if he was not a great poet1 he must have been a great prose writer1 that is1 he was a great writer of some sort4 ,he was a man of exquisite faculties1 and of the most refined taste2 and as he chose verse 7the most obvious distinction of poetry7 as the vehicle to express his ideas1 he has generally passed for a poet1 and a good one4 ,if1 indeed1 by a great poet we mean one who gives the utmost grandeur to our conceptions of nature1 or the utmost force to the passions of the heart1 ,pope was not in this sense a great poet2 for the bent1 the characteristic power of his mind1 lay the contrary way2 namely1 in representing things as they appear to the indifferent observer1 stripped of prejudice and passion1 as in his critical essays2 or in representing them in the most contemptible and insignificant point of view1 as in his satires2 or in clothing the little with mock-dignity1 as in his poems of fancy2 or in adorning the trivial incidents and familiar relations of life with the utmost elegance of expression1 and all the flattering illusions of friendship or self-love1 as in his epistles4 ,he was not then distinguished as a poet of lofty enthusiasm1 of strong imagination1 with a passionate sense of the beauties of nature1 or a deep insight into the workings of the heart2 but he was a wit1 and a critic1 a man of sense1 of observation1 and the world2 with a keen relish for the elegancies of art1 or of nature when embellished by art1 a quick tact for propriety of thought and manners1 as established by the forms and customs of society1 a refined sympathy with the sentiments and habitudes of human life1 as he felt them1 within the little circle of his family and friends4 ,he was1 in a word1 the poet not of nature but of art3 and the distinction between the two is this4 ,the poet of nature is one who1 from the elements of beauty1 of power1 and of passion in his own breast1 sympathises with whatever is beautiful1 and grand1 and impassioned in nature1 in its simple majesty1 in its immediate appeal to the senses1 to the thoughts and hearts of all men2 so that the poet of nature1 by the truth1 and depth1 and harmony of his mind1 may be said to hold communion with the very soul of nature2 to be identified with1 and to foreknow1 and to record the feelings of all men1 at all times and places1 as they are liable to the same impressions2 and to exert the same power over the minds of his readers1 that nature does4 ,he sees things in their eternal beauty1 for he sees them as they are2 he feels them in their universal interest2 for he feels them as they affect the first principles of his and our common nature4 ,pope was not assuredly a poet of this class1 or in the first rank of it4 ,he saw nature only dressed by art2 he judged of beauty by fashion2 he sought for truth in the opinions of the world2 he judged of the feelings of others by his own4 ,the capacious soul of ,shakespeare had an intuitive and mighty sympathy with whatever could enter into the heart of man in all possible circumstances2 ,pope had an exact knowledge of all that he himself loved or hated1 wished or wanted4 ,milton has winged his daring flight from heaven to earth through chaos and old night4 ,pope's muse never wandered with safety but from his library to his grotto1 or from his grotto into his library again4 ,his mind dwelt with greater pleasure on his own garden1 than on the garden of ,eden2 he could describe the faultless whole-length mirror that reflected his own person better than the smooth surface of the lake that reflects the face of heaven2 a piece of cut glass1 or a pair of paste buckles with more brilliance and effect than a thousand dew-drops glittering in the sun4 ,he would be more delighted with a patent lamp than with #8the pale reflex of ,cynthia's brow1' that fills the skies with its soft silent lustre1 trembles through the cottage casement1 and cheers the watchful mariner on the lonely wave4 ,in short1 he was the poet of personality and of polished life4 ,that which was nearest to him was the greatest3 the fashion of the day bore sway in his mind over the immutable laws of nature4 ,he preferred the artificial to the natural in external objects1 because he had a stronger fellow-feeling with the self-love of the maker or proprietor of a gewgaw than admiration of that which was interesting to all mankind alike4 ,he preferred the artificial to the natural in passion1 because the involuntary and uncalculating impulses of the one hurried him away with a force and vehemence with which he could not grapple1 while he could trifle with the conventional and superficial modifications of mere sentiment at will1 laugh at or admire1 put them on or off like a masquerade dress1 make much or little of them1 indulge them for a longer or a shorter time as he pleased1 and because1 while they amused his fancy and exercised his ingenuity1 they never once disturbed his vanity1 his levity1 or indifference4 ,his mind was the antithesis of strength and grandeur3 its power was the power of indifference4 ,he had none of the inspired raptures of poetry3 he was in poetry what the sceptic is in religion4 ,it cannot be denied that his chief excellence lay more in diminishing than #8in aggrandizing objects1--in checking than in encouraging our enthusiasm1--in sneering at the extravagancies of fancy or passion1 instead of giving a loose to them1--in describing a row of pins and needles rather than the embattled spears of ,greeks and ,trojans1--in penning a lampoon or a compliment1--and in praising ,martha ,blount6 ,shakespeare says1-- #8,in fortune's ray and brightness ,the herd hath more annoyance by the brize ,than by the tyger3 ,but when the splitting wind ,makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks1 ,and flies fled under shade1 why then ,the thing of courage1 ,as roused with rage1 with rage doth sympathize1 ,and with an accent tuned i' th' self-same key1 ,replies to chiding fortune4' ,there is hardly any of this rough work in ,pope4 ,his muse was on a peace establishment1 and grew somewhat effeminate by long ease and indulgence4 ,he lived in the smiles of fortune1 and basked in the favour of the great4 ,in his smooth and polished verse we meet with no prodigies of nature1 but with miracles of wit2 the thunders of his pen are whispered flatteries2 his forked lightnings playful sarcasms2 for the #8gnarled oak' he gives us #8the soft myrtle'2 for rocks1 and seas1 and mountains1 artificial grass-plats1 gravel-walks1 and tinkling rills2 for earthquakes and tempests1 the breaking of a flower-pot1 or the fall of a china-jar2 for the tug and war of the elements1 or the deadly strife of the passions1 we have #8,calm contemplation and poetic ease4' ,yet within this retired and narrow circle1 how much1 and that how exquisite1 was contained6 ,what discrimination1 what wit1 what delicacy1 what fancy1 what lurking spleen1 what elegance of thought1 what refinement of sentiment6 ,it is like looking at the world through a microscope1 where every thing assumes a new character and a new consequence1--where things are seen in their minutest circumstances and slightest shades of difference1--when the little becomes gigantic1 the deformed beautiful1 and the beautiful deformed4 ,the wrong end of the magnifier is1 to be sure1 held to every thing2 but still the exhibition is highly curious1 and we know not whether to be most pleased or surprised4 ,,on ,,respectable ,,people4 ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine4 ,august #ahah4 ,there is not any term that is oftener misapplied1 or that is a stronger instance of the abuse of language1 than this same word1 respectable4 ,by a respectable man is generally meant a person whom there is no reason for respecting1 or none that we choose to name3 for if there is any good reason for the opinion we wish to express1 we naturally assign it as the ground of his respectability4 ,if the person whom you are desirous to characterize favourably1 is distinguished for his good-nature1 you say that he is a good-natured man2 if by his zeal to serve his friends1 you call him a friendly man2 if by his wit or sense1 you say that he is witty or sensible2 if by his honesty or learning1 you say so at once2 but if he is none of these1 and there is no one quality which you can bring forward to justify the high opinion you would be thought to entertain of him1 you then take the question for granted1 and jump at a conclusion1 by observing gravely1 that #8he is a very respectable man4' ,it is clear1 indeed1 that where we have any striking and generally admitted reasons for respecting a man1 the most obvious way to ensure the respect of others1 will be to mention his estimable qualities2 where these are wanting1 the wisest course must be to say nothing about them1 but to insist on the general inference which we have our particular reasons for drawing1 only vouching for its authenticity4 ,if1 for instance1 the only motive we have for thinking or speaking well of another is1 that he gives us good dinners1 as this is not a valid reason to those who do not1 like us1 partake of his hospitality1 we may 7without going into particulars7 content ourselves with assuring them1 that he is a most respectable man3 if he is a slave to those above him1 and an oppressor of those below him1 but sometimes makes us the channels of his bounty or the tools of his caprice1 it may be as well to say nothing of the matter1 but to confine ourselves to the safer generality1 that he is a person of the highest respectability3 if he is a low dirty fellow1 who has amassed an immense fortune1 which he does not know what to do with1 the possession of it alone will guarantee his respectability1 if we say nothing of the manner in which he has come by it1 or in which he spends it4 ,a man may be a knave or a fool1 or both 7as it may happen71 and yet be a most respectable man1 in the common and authorized sense of the term1 provided he keeps up appearances1 and does not give common fame a handle for no longer keeping up the imposture4 ,the best title to the character of respectability lies in the convenience of those who echo the cheat1 and in the conventional hypocrisy of the world4 ,any one may lay claim to it who is willing to give himself airs of importance1 and can find means to divert others from inquiring too strictly into his pretensions4 ,it is a disposable commodity1--not a part of the man1 that sticks to him like his skin1 but an appurtenance1 like his goods and chattels4 ,it is meat1 drink1 and clothing to those who take the benefit of it by allowing others the credit4 ,it is the current coin1 the circulating medium1 in which the fictitious intercourse of the world is carried on1 the bribe which interest pays to vanity4 ,respectability includes all that vague and indefinable mass of respect floating in the world1 which arises from sinister motives in the person who pays it1 and is offered to adventitious and doubtful qualities in the person who receives it4 ,it is spurious and nominal2 hollow and venal4 ,to suppose that it is to be taken literally or applied to sterling merit1 would betray the greatest ignorance of the customary use of speech4 ,when we hear the word coupled with the name of any individual1 it would argue a degree of romantic simplicity to imagine that it implies any one quality of head or heart1 any one excellence of body or mind1 any one good action or praiseworthy sentiment2 but as soon as it is mentioned1 it conjures up the ideas of a handsome house with large acres round it1 a sumptuous table1 a cellar well stocked with excellent wines1 splendid furniture1 a fashionable equipage1 with a long list of elegant contingencies4 ,it is not what a man is1 but what he has1 that we speak of in the significant use of this term4 ,he may be the poorest creature in the world in himself1 but if he is well to do1 and can spare some of his superfluities1 if he can lend us his purse or his countenance upon occasion1 he then #8buys golden opinions' of us2--it is but fit that we should speak well of the bridge that carries us over1 and in return for what we can get from him1 we embody our servile gratitude1 hopes1 and fears1 in this word respectability4 ,by it we pamper his pride1 and feed our own necessities4 ,it must needs be a very honest uncorrupted word that is the go-between in this disinterested kind of traffic4 ,we do not think of applying this word to a great poet or a great painter1 to the man of genius or the man of virtue1 for it is seldom we can spunge upon them4 ,it would be a solecism for any one to pretend to the character who has a shabby coat to his back1 who goes without a dinner1 or has not a good house over his head4 ,he who has reduced himself in the world by devoting himself to a particular study1 or adhering to a particular cause1 excites only a smile of pity1 or a shrug of the shoulders at the mention of his name2 while he who has raised himself in it by a different course1 who has become rich for want of ideas1 and powerful from want of principle1 is looked up to with silent homage1 and passes for a respectable man4 #8,the learned pate ducks to the golden fool4' ,we spurn at virtue and genius in rags2 and lick the dust in the presence of vice and folly in purple4 ,when ,otway was left to starve after having produced ,venice ,preserv'd1 there was nothing in the phrenzied action with which he devoured the food that choked him1 to provoke the respect of the mob1 who would have hooted at him the more for knowing that he was a poet4 ,spenser1 kept waiting for the hundred pounds which ,burleigh grudged him #8for a song1' might feel the mortification of his situation2 but the statesman never felt any diminution of his sovereign's favour in consequence of it4 ,charles ,,ii4's neglect of his favourite poet ,butler did not make him look less gracious in the eyes of his courtiers1 or of the wits and critics of the time4 ,burns's embarrassments1 and the temptations to which he was exposed by his situation1 degraded him1 but left no stigma on his patrons1 who still meet to celebrate his memory1 and consult about his monument1 in the face of day4 ,to enrich the mind of a country by works of art or science1 and leave yourself poor1 is not the way for any one to rank as respectable1 at least in his lifetime3--to oppress1 to enslave1 to cheat1 and plunder it1 is a much better way4 #8,the time gives evidence of it4' ,but the instances are common4 ,respectability means a man's situation and success in life1 not his character or conduct4 ,the city merchant never loses his respectability till he becomes bankrupt4 ,after that1 we hear no more of it or him4 ,the justice of the peace1 and the parson of the parish1 the lord and the squire1 are allowed1 by immemorial usage1 to be very respectable people1 though no one ever thinks of asking why4 ,they are a sort of fixtures in this way4 ,to take an example from one of them4 ,the country parson may pass his whole time1 when he is not employed in the cure of souls1 in flattering his rich neighbours1 and leaguing with them to snub his poor ones1 in seizing poachers1 and encouraging informers2 he may be exorbitant in exacting his tithes1 harsh to his servants1 the dread and bye-word of the village where he resides1 and yet all this1 though it may be notorious1 shall abate nothing of his respectability4 ,it will not hinder his patron from giving him another living to play the petty tyrant in1 or prevent him from riding over to the squire's in his carriage and being well received1 or from sitting on the bench of justices with due decorum and with clerical dignity4 ,the poor curate1 in the mean time1 who may be a real comfort to the bodies and minds of his parishioners1 will be passed by without notice4 ,parson ,adams1 drinking his ale in ,sir ,thomas ,booby's kitchen1 makes no very respectable figure2 but ,sir ,thomas himself was right worshipful1 and his widow a person of honour6 ,a few such historiographers as ,fielding would put an end to the farce of respectability1 with others like it4 ,peter ,pounce1 in the same author1 was a consummation of this character1 translated into the most vulgar ,english4 ,the character of ,captain ,blifil1 his epitaph1 and funeral sermon1 are worth tomes of casuistry1 and patched up theories of moral sentiments4 ,pope somewhere exclaims1 in his fine indignant way1 #8,what can ennoble sots1 or knaves1 or cowards8 ,alas6 not all the blood of all the ,howards4' ,but this is the heraldry of poets1 not of the world4 ,in fact1 the only way for a poet now-a-days to emerge from the obscurity of poverty and genius1 is to prostitute his pen1 turn literary pimp to some borough-mongering lord1 canvass for him at elections1 and by this means aspire to the same importance1 and be admitted on the same respectable footing with him as his valet1 his steward1 or his practising attorney4 ,a ,jew1 a stock-jobber1 a war contractor1 a successful monopolist1 a nabob1 an ,indian director1 or an ,african slave-dealer1 are all very respectable people in their turn4 ,a member of parliament is not only respectable1 but honourable2--#8all honourable men6' ,yet this circumstance1 which implies such a world of respect1 really means nothing4 ,to say of any one that he is a member of parliament1 is to say1 at the same time1 that he is not at all distinguished as such4 ,no body ever thought of telling you1 that ,mr4 ,fox or ,mr4 ,pitt were members of parliament4 ,such is the constant difference between names and things6 ,the most mischievous and offensive use of this word has been in politics4 ,by respectable people 7in the fashionable cant of the day7 are meant those who have not a particle of regard for any one but themselves1 who have feathered their own nests1 and only want to lie snug and warm in them4 ,they have been set up and appealed to as the only friends of their country and the constitution1 while in truth they were friends to nothing but their own interest4 ,with them all is well1 if they are well off4 ,they are raised by their lucky stars above the reach of the distresses of the community1 and are cut off by their situation and sentiments1 from any sympathy with their kind4 ,they would see their country ruined before they would part with the least of their superfluities4 ,pampered in luxury and their own selfish comforts1 they are proof against the calls of patriotism1 and the cries of humanity4 ,they would not get a scratch with a pin to save the universe4 ,they are more affected by the overturning of a plate of turtle soup than by the starving of a whole county4 ,the most desperate characters1 picked up from the most necessitous and depraved classes1 are not worse judges of politics than your true1 staunch1 thorough-paced #8lives and fortunes men1' who have what is called a stake in the country1 and see every thing through the medium of their cowardly and unprincipled hopes and fears4 ,london is1 perhaps1 the only place in which the standard of respectability at all varies from the standard of money4 ,there things go as much by appearance as by weight2 and he may be said to be a respectable man who cuts a certain figure in company by being dressed in the fashion1 and venting a number of common-place things with tolerable grace and fluency4 ,if a person there brings a certain share of information and good manners into mixed society1 it is not asked1 when he leaves it1 whether he is rich or not4 ,lords and fiddlers1 authors and common council men1 editors of newspapers and parliamentary speakers1 meet together1 and the difference is not so much marked as one would suppose4 ,to be an ,edinburgh ,reviewer is1 ,i suspect1 the highest rank in modern literary society4 ,,on ,,fashion ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine4 ,september #ahah4 #8,born of nothing1 begot of nothing4' #8,his garment neither was of silk nor say1 ,but painted plumes in goodly order dight1 ,like as the sun-burnt ,indians do array ,their tawny bodies in their proudest plight3 ,as those same plumes1 so seem'd he vain and light1 ,that of his gait might easily appear2 ,for still he far'd as dancing in delight1 ,and in his hands a windy fan did bear1 ,that in the idle air he mov'd still here and there4' ,fashion is an odd jumble of contradictions1 of sympathies and antipathies4 ,it exists only by its being participated among a certain number of persons1 and its essence is destroyed by being communicated to a greater number4 ,it is a continual struggle between #8the great vulgar and the small' to get the start of or keep up with each other in the race of appearances1 by an adoption on the part of the one of such external and fantastic symbols as strike the attention and excite the envy or admiration of the beholder1 and which are no sooner made known and exposed to public view for this purpose1 than they are successfully copied by the multitude1 the slavish herd of imitators1 who do not wish to be behind-hand with their betters in outward show and pretensions1 and which then sink1 without any farther notice1 into disrepute and contempt4 ,thus fashion lives only in a perpetual round of giddy innovation and restless vanity4 ,to be old-fashioned is the greatest crime a coat or a hat can be guilty of4 ,to look like nobody else is a sufficiently mortifying reflection2 to be in danger of being mistaken for one of the rabble is worse4 ,fashion constantly begins and ends in the two things it abhors most1 singularity and vulgarity4 ,it is the perpetual setting up and disowning a certain standard of taste1 elegance1 and refinement1 which has no other foundation or authority than that it is the prevailing distinction of the moment1 which was yesterday ridiculous from its being new1 and to-morrow will be odious from its being common4 ,it is one of the most slight and insignificant of all things4 ,it cannot be lasting1 for it depends on the constant change and shifting of its own harlequin disguises2 it cannot be sterling1 for1 if it were1 it could not depend on the breath of caprice2 it must be superficial1 to produce its immediate effect on the gaping crowd2 and frivolous1 to admit of its being assumed at pleasure by the numbers of those who affect1 by being in the fashion1 to be distinguished from the rest of the world4 ,it is not any thing in itself1 nor the sign of any thing but the folly and vanity of those who rely upon it as their greatest pride and ornament4 ,it takes the firmest hold of the most flimsy and narrow minds1 of those whose emptiness conceives of nothing excellent but what is thought so by others1 and whose self-conceit makes them willing to confine the opinion of all excellence to themselves and those like them4 ,that which is true or beautiful in itself1 is not the less so for standing alone4 ,that which is good for any thing1 is the better for being more widely diffused4 ,but fashion is the abortive issue of vain ostentation and exclusive egotism3 it is haughty1 trifling1 affected1 servile1 despotic1 mean1 and ambitious1 precise and fantastical1 all in a breath--tied to no rule1 and bound to conform to every whim of the minute4 #8,the fashion of an hour old mocks the wearer4' ,it is a sublimated essence of levity1 caprice1 vanity1 extravagance1 idleness1 and selfishness4 ,it thinks of nothing but not being contaminated by vulgar use1 and winds and doubles like a hare1 and betakes itself to the most paltry shifts to avoid being overtaken by the common hunt that are always in full chase after it4 ,it contrives to keep up its fastidious pretensions1 not by the difficulty of the attainment1 but by the rapidity and evanescent nature of the changes4 ,it is a sort of conventional badge1 or understood passport into select circles1 which must still be varying 7like the water-mark in bank-notes7 not to be counterfeited by those without the pale of fashionable society2 for to make the test of admission to all the privileges of that refined and volatile atmosphere depend on any real merit or extraordinary accomplishment1 would exclude too many of the pert1 the dull1 the ignorant1 too many shallow1 upstart1 and self-admiring pretenders1 to enable the few that passed muster to keep one another in any tolerable countenance4 ,if it were the fashion1 for instance1 to be distinguished for virtue1 it would be difficult to set or follow the example2 but then this would confine the pretension to a small number1 7not the most fashionable part of the community71 and would carry a very singular air with it4 ,or if excellence in any art or science were made the standard of fashion1 this would also effectually prevent vulgar imitation1 but then it would equally prevent fashionable impertinence4 ,there would be an obscure circle of virt as well as virtue1 drawn within the established circle of fashion1 a little province of a mighty empire2--the example of honesty would spread slowly1 and learning would still have to boast of a respectable minority4 ,but of what use would such uncourtly and out-of-the-way accomplishments be to the great and noble1 the rich and the fair1 without any of the eclat1 the noise and nonsense which belong to that which is followed and admired by all the world alike8 ,the real and solid will never do for the current coin1 the common wear and tear of foppery1 and fashion4 ,it must be the meretricious1 the showy1 the outwardly fine1 and intrinsically worthless--that which lies within the reach of the most indolent affectation1 that which can be put on or off at the suggestion of the most wilful caprice1 and for which1 through all its fluctuations1 no mortal reason can be given1 but that it is the newest absurdity in vogue6 ,the shape of a head-dress1 whether flat or piled 7curl on curl7 several stories high by the help of pins and pomatum1 the size of a pair of paste buckles1 the quantity of gold-lace on an embroidered waistcoat1 the mode of taking a pinch of snuff1 or of pulling out a pocket-handkerchief1 the lisping and affected pronunciation of certain words1 the saying ,me'm for ,madam1 ,lord ,foppington's ,tam and ',paun honour1 with a regular set of visiting phrases and insipid sentiments ready sorted for the day1 were what formerly distinguished the mob of fine gentlemen and ladies from the mob of their inferiors4 ,these marks and appendages of gentility had their day1 and were then discarded for others equally peremptory and unequivocal4 ,but in all this chopping and changing1 it is generally one folly that drives out another2 one trifle that by its specific levity acquires a momentary and surprising ascendency over the last4 ,there is no striking deformity of appearance or behaviour that has not been made #8the sign of an inward and invisible grace4' ,accidental imperfections are laid hold of to hide real defects4 ,paint1 patches1 and powder1 were at one time synonymous with health1 cleanliness1 and beauty4 ,obscenity1 irreligion1 small oaths1 tippling1 gaming1 effeminacy in the one sex and ,amazon airs in the other1 any thing is the fashion while it lasts4 ,in the reign of ,charles ,,ii41 the profession and practice of every species of extravagance and debauchery were looked upon as the indispensable marks of an accomplished cavalier4 ,since that period the court has reformed1 and has had rather a rustic air4 ,our belles formerly overloaded themselves with dress3 of late years1 they have affected to go almost naked1--#8and are1 when unadorned1 adorned the most4' ,the women having left off stays1 the men have taken to wear them1 if we are to believe the authentic ,memoirs of the ,fudge ,family4 ,the ,niobe head is at present buried in the poke bonnet1 and the ,french milliners and marchands des modes have proved themselves an overmatch for the ,greek sculptors1 in matters of taste and costume4 ,a very striking change has1 however1 taken place in dress of late years1 and some progress has been made in taste and elegance1 from the very circumstance1 that1 as fashion has extended its empire in that direction1 it has lost its power4 ,while fashion in dress included what was costly1 it was confined to the wealthier classes3 even this was an encroachment on the privileges of rank and birth1 which for a long time were the only things that commanded or pretended to command respect1 and we find ,shakespear complaining that #8the city madam bears the cost of princes on unworthy shoulders2' but1 when the appearing in the top of the mode no longer depended on the power of purchasing certain expensive articles of dress1 or the right of wearing them1 the rest was so obvious and easy1 that any one who chose might cut as coxcombical a figure as the best4 ,it became a matter of mere affectation on the one side1 and gradually ceased to be made a matter of aristocratic assumption on the other4 #8,in the grand carnival of this our age1' among other changes this is not the least remarkable1 that the monstrous pretensions to distinctions in dress have dwindled away by tacit consent1 and the simplest and most graceful have been in the same request with all classes4 ,in this respect1 as well as some others1 #8the age is grown so picked1 the peasant's toe comes so near the courtier's heel1 it galls his kibe2' a lord is hardly to be distinguished in the street from an attorney's clerk2 and a plume of feathers is no longer mistaken for the highest distinction in the land6 ,the ideas of natural equality and the ,manchester steam-engines together have1 like a double battery1 levelled the high towers and artificial structures of fashion in dress1 and a white muslin gown is now the common costume of the mistress and the maid1 instead of their wearing1 as heretofore1 rich silks and satins or coarse linsey-wolsey4 ,it would be ridiculous 7on a similar principle7 for the courtier to take the wall of the citizen1 without having a sword by his side to maintain his right of precedence2 and1 from the stricter notions that have prevailed of a man's personal merit and identity1 a cane dangling from his arm is the greatest extension of his figure that can be allowed to the modern petit-matre4 ,what shews the worthlessness of mere fashion is1 to see how easily this vain and boasted distinction is assumed1 when the restraints of decency or circumstances are once removed1 by the most uninformed and commonest of the people4 ,i know an undertaker that is the greatest prig in the streets of ,london1 and an ,aldermanbury haberdasher1 that has the most military strut of any lounger in ,bond-street or ,st4 ,james's4 ,we may1 at any time1 raise a regiment of fops from the same number of fools1 who have vanity enough to be intoxicated with the smartness of their appearance1 and not sense enough to be ashamed of themselves4 ,every one remembers the story in ,peregrine ,pickle1 of the strolling gipsy that he picked up in spite1 had well scoured1 and introduced her into genteel company1 where she met with great applause1 till she got into a passion by seeing a fine lady cheat at cards1 rapped out a volley of oaths1 and let nature get the better of art4 ,dress is the great secret of address4 ,clothes and confidence will set anybody up in the trade of modish accomplishment4 ,look at the two classes of well-dressed females whom we see at the play-house1 in the boxes4 ,both are equally dressed in the height of the fashion1 both are rouged1 and wear their neck and arms bare1--both have the same conscious1 haughty1 theatrical air2--the same toss of the head1 the same stoop in the shoulders1 with all the grace that arises from a perfect freedom from embarrassment1 and all the fascination that arises from a systematic disdain of formal prudery1--the same pretence and jargon of fashionable conversation1--the same mimicry of tones and phrases1--the same #8lisping1 and ambling1 and painting1 and nicknaming of ,heaven's creatures2' the same every thing but real propriety of behaviour1 and real refinement of sentiment4 ,in all the externals1 they are as like as the reflection in the looking-glass4 ,the only difference between the woman of fashion and the woman of pleasure is1 that the one is what the other only seems to be2 and yet1 the victims of dissipation who thus rival and almost outshine women of the first quality in all the blaze1 and pride1 and glitter of shew and fashion1 are1 in general1 no better than a set of raw1 uneducated1 inexperienced country girls1 or awkward1 coarse-fisted servant maids1 who require no other apprenticeship or qualification to be on a level with persons of the highest distinction in society1 in all the brilliancy and elegance of outward appearance1 than that they have forfeited its common privileges1 and every title to respect in reality4 ,the truth is1 that real virtue1 beauty1 or understanding1 are the same1 whether #8in a high or low degree2' and the airs and graces of pretended superiority over these which the highest classes give themselves1 from mere frivolous and external accomplishments1 are easily imitated1 with provoking success1 by the lowest1 whenever they dare4 ,the two nearest things in the world are gentility and vulgarity-- #8,and thin partitions do their bounds divide4' ,where there is much affectation of the one1 we may be always sure of meeting with a double share of the other4 ,those who are conscious to themselves of any real superiority or refinement1 are not particularly jealous of the adventitious marks of it4 ,miss ,burney's novels all turn upon this slender distinction4 ,it is the only thing that can be said against them4 ,it is hard to say which she has made out to be the worst2 low people always aping gentility1 or people in high life always avoiding vulgarity4 ,mr4 ,smith and the ,brangtons were everlastingly trying to do as their fashionable acquaintances did1 and these again were always endeavouring not to do and say what ,mr4 ,smith and the ,brangtons did or said4 ,what an instructive game at cross-purposes6 #8,kings are naturally lovers of low company1' according to the observation of ,mr4 ,burke2 because their rank cannot be called into question by it1 and they can only hope to find1 in the opposite extreme of natural and artificial inequality1 any thing to confirm them in the belief1 that their personal pretensions at all answer to the ostensible superiority to which they are raised4 ,by associating only with the worst and weakest1 they persuade themselves that they are the best and wisest of mankind4 ,,on ,,nicknames ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine4 ,september #ahah4 #8,h nug in seria ducunt4' ,this is a more important subject than it seems at first sight4 ,it is as serious in its results as it is contemptible in the means by which those results are brought about4 ,nicknames for the most part govern the world4 ,the history of politics1 of religion1 of literature1 of morals1 and of private life1 is too often little less than the history of nicknames4 ,what are half the convulsions of the civilised world1 the frequent overthrow of states and kingdoms1 the shock and hostile encounter of mighty continents1 the battles by sea and land1 the intestine commotions1 the feuds of the ,vitelli and ,orsini1 of the ,guelphs and ,gibellines1 the civil wars in ,england1 and the ,league in ,france1 the jealousies and heart-burnings of cabinets and councils1 the uncharitable proscriptions of creeds and sects1 ,turk1 ,jew1 ,pagan1 ,papist and ,puritan1 ,quaker and ,methodist1--the persecutions and massacres1 the burnings1 tortures1 imprisonments1 and lingering deaths inflicted for a different profession of faith1--but so many illustrations of the power of this principle8 ,fox's ,book of ,martyrs1 and ,neale's ,history of the ,puritans1 are comments on the same text4 ,the fires in ,smithfield were fanned by nicknames1 and a nickname set its seal on the unopened dungeons of the ,holy ,inquisition4 ,nicknames are the talismans and spells that collect and set in motion all the combustible part of men's passions and prejudices1 which have hitherto played so much more successful a game1 and done their work so much more effectually than reason1 in all the grand concerns and petty details of human life1 and do not yet seem tired of the task assigned them4 ,nicknames are the convenient portable tools by which they simplify the process of mischief1 and get through their job with the least time and trouble4 ,these worthless1 unmeaning1 irritating1 envenomed words of reproach are the established signs by which the different compartments of society are ticketted1 labelled1 and marked out for each other's hatred and contempt4 ,they are to be had1 ready cut and dry1 of all sorts and sizes1 wholesale and retail1 for foreign exportation or home consumption1 and for all occasions in life4 #8,the priest calls the lawyer a cheat1 the lawyer beknaves the divine4' ,the ,frenchman hates the ,englishman because he is an ,englishman1 and the ,englishman hates the ,frenchman for as good a reason4 ,the ,whig hates the ,tory1 and the ,tory the ,whig4 ,the ,dissenter hates the ,church-of-,england-man1 and the ,church-of-,england-man hates the ,dissenter1 as if they were of a different species1 because they have a different designation4 ,the ,mussulman calls the worshipper of the ,cross #8,christian dog1' spits in his face1 and kicks him from the pavement1 by virtue of a nickname2 and the ,papist retorts the indignity upon the ,infidel and the ,jew by the same infallible rule of right4 ,in ,france1 they damn ,shakespear in the lump1 by calling him a barbare2 and we talk of ,racine's verbiage with inexpressible contempt and self-complacency4 ,among ourselves1 an anti-,jacobin critic denounces a ,jacobin poet and his friends1 at a venture1 #8as infidels and fugitives1 who have left their wives destitute1 and their children fatherless'--whether they have wives and children or not4 ,the unenlightened savage makes a meal of his enemy's flesh1 after reproaching him with the name of his tribe1 because he is differently tattooed2 and the literary cannibal cuts up the character of his opponent by the help of a nickname4 ,the jest of all this is1 that a party nickname is always a relative term1 and has its counter-sign1 which has just the same force and meaning1 so that both must be perfectly ridiculous and insignificant4 ,a ,whig implies a ,tory2 there must be #8,malcontents' as well as #8,malignants'2 ,jacobins and ,anti-,jacobins2 ,french and ,english4 ,these sort of noms des guerres derive all their force from their contraries4 ,take away the meaning of the one1 and you take the sting out of the other4 ,they could not exist but upon the strength of mutual and irreconcileable antipathies2 there must be no love lost between them4 ,what is there in the names themselves to give them a preference over each other8 #8,sound them1 they do become the mouth as well2 weigh them1 they are as heavy2 conjure with them1 one will raise a spirit as soon as the other4' ,if there were not fools and madmen who hated both1 there could not be fools and madmen bigotted to either4 ,i have heard an eminent character boast that he had done more to produce the late war by nicknaming ,buonaparte #8the ,corsican1' than all the state-papers and documents on the subject put together4 ,and yet ,mr4 ,southey asks triumphantly1 #8,is it to be supposed that it is ,england1 our ,england1 to whom that war was owing8' ,as if1 in a dispute between two countries1 the conclusive argument which lies in the pronoun our1 belonged only to one of them4 ,i like ,shakespear's version of the matter better3 #8,hath ,britain all the sun that shines8 day1 night1 ,are they not but in ,britain8 ,i' th' world's volume ,our ,britain seems as of it1 but not in it2 ,in a great pool a swan's nest4 ,prithee think ,there's livers out of ,britain4' ,in all national disputes1 it is common to appeal to the numbers on your side as decisive on the point4 ,if every body in ,england thought the late war right1 every body in ,france thought it wrong4 ,there were ten millions on one side of the question1 7or rather of the water71 and thirty millions on the other side4 ,that's all4 ,i remember some one arguing1 in justification of our ministers interfering on that occasion1 #8,that governments would not go to war for nothing2' to which ,i answered1 ,then they could not go to war at all1 for1 at that rate1 neither of them could be in the wrong1 and yet both of them must be in the right1 which was absurd4 ,the only meaning of these vulgar nicknames and party-distinctions1 where they are urged most violently and confidently1 is1 that others differ from you in some particular or other1 7whether it be opinion1 dress1 clime1 complexion71 which you highly disapprove of1 forgetting1 that1 by the same rule1 they have the very same right to be offended at you because you differ from them4 ,those who have reason on their side do not make the most obstinate and furious appeals to prejudice and abusive language4 ,i know but of one exception to this general rule1 and that is1 where the things that excite disgust are of such a kind that they cannot well be gone into without offence to decency and good manners2 but it is equally certain in this case1 that those who are most shocked at the things are not those who are most forward to apply the names4 ,a person will not be fond of repeating a charge1 or adverting to a subject1 that inflicts a wound on his own feelings1 even for the sake of wounding the feelings of another4 ,a man should be very sure that he himself is not what he has always in his mouth4 ,the greatest prudes have been often accounted the greatest hypocrites1 and a satirist is at best but a suspicious character4 ,the loudest and most unblushing invectives against vice and debauchery will as often proceed from a desire to inflame and pamper the passions of the writer1 by raking into a nauseous subject1 as from a wish to excite virtuous indignation against it in the public mind1 or to reform the individual4 ,to familiarise the mind to gross ideas is not the way to increase your own or the general repugnance to them4 ,but1 to return to the subject of nicknames4 ,the use of this figure of speech is1 that it excites a strong idea without requiring any proof4 ,it is a shorthand compendious mode of getting at a conclusion1 and never troubling yourself or any body else with the formalities of reasoning or the dictates of common sense4 ,it is superior to all evidence1 for it does not rest upon any1 and operates with the greatest force and certainty in proportion to the utter want of probability4 ,belief is only a strong impression1 and the malignity or extravagance of the accusation passes for a proof of the crime4 #8,brevity is the soul of wit2' and of all eloquence a nickname is the most concise1 and of all arguments the most unanswerable4 ,it gives carte blanche to the imagination1 throws the reins on the neck of the passions1 and suspends the use of the understanding altogether4 ,it does not stand upon ceremony1 on the nice distinctions of right and wrong4 ,it does not wait the slow processes of reason1 or stop to unravel the web of sophistry4 ,it takes every thing for granted that serves for nourishment for the spleen4 ,it is instantaneous in its operations4 ,there is nothing to interpose between the effect and it4 ,it is passion without proof1 and action without thought1--#8the unbought grace of life1 the cheap defence of nations4' ,it does not1 as ,mr4 ,burke expresses it1 #8leave the will puzzled1 undecided1 and sceptical in the moment of action4' ,it is a word and a blow4 #8,bring but a ,scotsman frae his hill1 ,clap in his cheek a ,highland gill1 ,say such is royal ,george's will1 ,and there's the foe1 ,he has nae thought but how to kill ,twa at a blow4' ,the #8,no ,popery' cry1 raised a little while ago1 let loose all the lurking spite and prejudice which had lain rankling in the proper receptacles for them for above a century1 without any knowledge of the past history of the country which had given rise to them1 or any reference to their connection with present circumstances2 for the knowledge of the one would have prevented the possibility of their application to the other4 ,facts present a tangible and definite idea to the mind1 a train of causes and consequences1 accounting for each other1 and leading to a positive conclusion--but no farther4 ,but a nickname is tied down to no such limited service2 it is a disposable force1 that is almost always perverted to mischief4 ,it clothes itself with all the terrors of uncertain abstraction1 and there is no end of the abuse to which it is liable but the cunning of those who employ1 or the credulity of those who are gulled by it4 ,it is a reserve of the ignorance1 bigotry1 and intolerance of weak and vulgar minds1 brought up where reason fails1 and always ready1 at a moment's warning1 to be applied to any1 the most absurd purposes4 ,if you bring specific charges against a man1 you thereby enable him to meet and repel them1 if he thinks it worth his while2 but a nickname baffles reply1 by the very vagueness of the inferences from it1 and gives increased activity to the confused1 dim1 and imperfect notions of dislike connected with it1 from their having no settled ground to rest upon4 ,the mind naturally irritates itself against an unknown object of fear or jealousy1 and makes up for the blindness of its zeal by an excess of it4 ,we are eager to indulge our hasty feelings to the utmost1 lest1 by stopping to examine1 we should find that there is no excuse for them4 ,the very consciousness of the injustice we may be doing another makes us only the more loud and bitter in our invectives against him4 ,we keep down the admonitions of returning reason1 by calling up a double portion of gratuitous and vulgar spite4 ,the will may be said to act with most force in vacuo2 the passions are the most ungovernable when they are blindfolded4 ,that malignity is always the most implacable which is accompanied with a sense of weakness1 because it is never satisfied of its own success or safety4 ,a nickname carries the weight of the pride1 the indolence1 the cowardice1 the ignorance1 and the ill-nature of mankind on its side4 ,it acts1 by mechanical sympathy1 on the nerves of society4 ,any one who is without character himself may make himself master of the reputation of another by the application of a nickname1 as1 if you do not mind soiling your fingers1 you may always throw dirt on another4 ,no matter how undeserved the imputation1 it will stick2 for1 though it is sport to the bye-standers to see you bespattered1 they will not stop to see you wipe out the stains4 ,you are not heard in your own defence2 it has no effect1 it does not tell1 excites no sensation1 or it is only felt as a disappointment of their triumph over you4 ,their passions and prejudices are inflamed by the charge1 #8as rage with rage doth sympathise2' by vindicating yourself1 you merely bring them back to common sense1 which is a very sober1 mawkish state4 ,give a dog a bad name1 and hang him1 is a proverb4 #8,a nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man4' ,it is a bugbear to the imagination1 and1 though we do not believe it1 it still haunts our apprehensions4 ,let a nickname be industriously applied to our dearest friend1 and let us know that it is ever so false and malicious1 yet it will answer its end2 it connects the person's name and idea with an ugly association1 you think of them with pain together1 or it requires an effort of indignation or magnanimity on your part to disconnect them2 it becomes an uneasy subject1 a sore point1 and you will sooner desert your friend1 or join in the conspiracy against him1 than be constantly forced to repel charges without truth or meaning1 and have your penetration or character called in question by a rascal4 ,nay1 such is the unaccountable construction of language and of the human mind1 that the affixing the most innocent or praiseworthy appellation to any individual or set of individuals1 as a nickname1 has all the effect of the most opprobrious epithets4 ,thus the cant name #8,the ,talents1' was successfully applied as a stigma to the ,whigs at one time2 it held them up to ridicule1 and made them obnoxious to public feeling1 though it was notorious to every body that the ,whig leaders were #8the ,talents1' and that their adversaries nicknamed them so from real hatred and pretended derision4 #8,the ,party' is now substituted for #8the ,talents1' since success has given their own set the monstrous affectation of being men of talents2 and the poor ,morning ,chronicle is persecuted daily as the ,party as it formerly stood the brunt 7innocently enough7 of all the abuse and sarcasms that were showered on the ,talents4 ,call a man short by his ,christian name1 as ,tom or ,dick such a one1 or by his profession1 7however respectable71 as ,canning pelted a noble lord with his left-off title of ,doctor1--and you undo him for ever1 if he has a reputation to lose4 ,such is the tenaciousness of spite and ill-nature1 or the jealousy of public opinion1 even this will be peg enough to hang doubtful inuendos1 weighty dilemmas upon4 #8,with so small a web as this will ,i catch so great a fly as ,cassio4' ,the public do not like to see their favourites treated with impertinent familiarity--it lowers the tone of admiration very speedily4 ,it implies that some one stands in no great awe of their idol1 and he perhaps may know as much about the matter as they do4 ,it seems as if a man whose name1 with some contemptuous abbreviation1 is always dinned in the public ear1 was distinguished by nothing else4 ,by repeating a man's name in this manner you may soon make him sick of it1 and of his life too4 ,mr4 ,southey has by this time1 ,i should suppose1 a tolerable surfeit of his title of ,laureate6 ,children do not like to be called out of their names4 ,it is questioning their personal identity4 ,a writer1 who has made his vocabulary rich in nicknames1 7the late ,editor of the ,times17 thought he had made a great acquisition to his stock1 when it was pretended at one time that ,bonaparte's real name was not ,napoleon but ,nicholas4 ,he congratulated himself on this discovery1 as a standing jest and a lasting triumph4 ,yet there was nothing in the name to signify4 ,nicholas ,poussin was an instance of a great man in the last age1 and in our own times1 have we not ,nicholas ,vansittart8 ,the same writer has the merit of having carried this figure of speech as far as it would go4 ,he fairly worried his readers into conviction by abuse and nicknames4 ,people surrendered their judgments to escape the persecution of his style1 and the disgust and indignation which his incessant violence and vulgarity excited1 at last made you hate those who were the objects of it4 ,causa caus causa causati4 ,he made people sick of a subject by making them sick of his arguments4 ,yet he attributed the effect he produced to the eloquence of his phraseology and the force of his reasonings6 ,a parrot may be taught to call names2 and if the person who keeps the parrot has a spite to his neighbours1 he may give them a great deal of annoyance without much wit1 either in the employer or the puppet4 ,the insignificance of the instrument has nothing to do with the efficacy of the means4 ,hotspur would have had #8a starling taught to repeat nothing but ,mortimer1' in the ears of his enemy4 ,nature1 it is said1 has given arms to all creatures the most proper to defend themselves1 and annoy others3 to the lowest she has given the use of nicknames4 ,there are some droll instances of the effect of proper names combined with circumstances4 ,a young student had come up to ,london from ,cambridge1 and went in the evening and planted himself in the pit of the play-house4 ,he had not been seated long when1 in one of the front boxes near him1 he discovered one of his college tutors1 with whom he felt an immediate and strong desire to claim acquaintance1 and called out in a low and respectful voice1 #8,dr4 ,topping6' ,the appeal was1 however1 ineffectual4 ,he then repeated in a louder tone1 but still in an under key1 so as not to excite the attention of any one but his friend1 #8,dr4 ,topping6' ,the ,doctor took no notice4 ,he then grew more impatient1 and repeated #8,dr4 ,topping1 ,dr4 ,topping6' two or three times pretty loud1 to see whether the ,doctor did not or would not hear him4 ,still the ,doctor remained immovable4 ,the joke began at length to get round1 and one or two persons1 as he continued his invocations of the ,doctor's name1 joined with him in them2 these were reinforced by others calling out1 #8,dr4 ,topping6 ,dr4 ,topping6' on all sides1 so that he could no longer avoid perceiving it1 and at length the whole pit rose and roared1 #8,dr4 ,topping6' with loud and repeated cries1 and the ,doctor was forced to retire precipitately1 frightened at the sound of his own name4 ,there is sometimes an inconvenience in common as well as uncommon names4 ,on the night that ,garrick took his leave of the stage1 an inveterate playgoer could not get a seat in any part of the house4 ,at length he went up into the gallery1 but found that equally full with the rest4 ,in this extremity a thought struck him1 and he called out as loud as he could1 #8,mr4 ,smith1 you're wanted4 ,your wife's taken suddenly ill1 and you must go home immediately4' ,in an instant1 half a dozen persons started up from different parts of the gallery to go out1 and the gentleman took possession of the first place that offered4 ,no doubt these persons would be disposed to quarrel with their names and their wives for some time after4 ,the calling people by their ,christian or surnames is a proof of affection1 as well as of hatred4 ,they are generally the best good fellows with whom their friends take this sort of liberty4 ,diminutives are titles of endearment4 ,dr4 ,johnson's calling ,goldsmith #8,goldy' did equal honour to both4 ,it shewed the regard he had for him4 ,this familiarity may perhaps imply a certain want of formal respect2 but formal respect is not necessary to1 if it is consistent with1 cordial friendship4 ,titles of honour are the reverse of nicknames1--they convey the idea of respect as the others do of contempt1 and equally mean little or nothing4 ,junius's motto1 ,stat nominis umbra1 is a very significant one1 it might be extended farther4 ,a striking instance of the force of names1 standing by themselves1 is in the respect felt towards ,michael ,angelo in this country4 ,we know nothing of him but his name4 ,it is an abstraction of fame and greatness4 ,our admiration of him supports itself1 and our idea of his superiority seems self-evident1 because it is attached to his name only4 ,some of our artists seem trying to puff their names into reputation from an instinctive knowledge of this principle1--by talking incessantly of themselves and doing nothing4 ,it is not1 indeed1 easy to deny the merit of the works--which they do not produce4 ,those which they have produced are very bad4 ,,thoughts ,,on ,,taste ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine4 ,oct4 #ahah4 ,taste is nothing but sensibility to the different degrees and kinds of excellence in the works of art or nature4 ,this definition will perhaps be disputed2 for ,i am aware the general practice is to make it consist in a disposition to find fault4 ,a ,french man or woman will in general conclude their account of ,voltaire's denunciation of ,shakespeare and ,milton as barbarians1 on the score of certain technical improprieties1 with assuring you1 that #8he 7,voltaire7 had a great deal of taste4' ,it is their phrase1 ,il avait beaucoup du got4 ,to which the proper answer is1 that that might be2 but that he did not shew it in this case2 as the overlooking great and countless beauties1 and being taken up only with petty or accidental blemishes1 shews as little strength of understanding as it does refinement or elevation of taste4 ,the ,french author1 indeed1 allows of ,shakespeare1 that #8he had found a few pearls on his enormous dunghill4' ,but there is neither truth nor proportion in this sentence1 for his works are 7to say the least71 #8,rich as the oozy bottom of the sea1 ,with sunken wrack and sumless treasuries4' ,genius is the power of producing excellence3 taste is the power of perceiving the excellence thus produced in its several sorts and degrees1 with all their force1 refinement1 distinctions1 and connections4 ,in other words1 taste 7as it relates to the productions of art7 is strictly the power of being properly affected by works of genius4 ,it is the proportioning admiration to power1 pleasure to beauty3 it is entire sympathy with the finest impulses of the imagination1 not antipathy1 not indifference to them4 ,the eye of taste may be said to reflect the impressions of real genius1 as the even mirror reflects the objects of nature in all their clearness and lustre1 instead of distorting or diminishing them2 #8,or like a gate of steel1 ,fronting the sun1 receives and renders back ,his figure and his heat4' ,to take a pride and pleasure in nothing but defects 7and those perhaps of the most paltry1 obvious1 and mechanical kind7--in the disappointment and tarnishing of our faith in substantial excellence1 in the proofs of weakness1 not of power1 7and this where there are endless subjects to feed the mind with wonder and increased delight through years of patient thought and fond remembrance71 is not a sign of uncommon refinement1 but of unaccountable perversion of taste4 ,so1 in the case of ,voltaire's hypercriticisms on ,milton and ,shakespeare1 the most common-place and prejudiced admirer of these authors knows1 as well as ,voltaire can tell him1 that it is a fault to make a sea-port 7we will say7 in ,bohemia1 or to introduce artillery and gunpowder in the war in ,heaven4 ,this is common to ,voltaire1 and the merest ,english reader3 there is nothing in it either way4 ,but what he differs from us in1 and1 as it is supposed1 greatly to his advantage1 and to our infinite shame and mortification1 is1 that this is all that he perceives1 or will hear of in ,milton or ,shakespeare1 and that he either knows1 or pretends to know1 nothing of that prodigal waste1 or studied accumulation of grandeur1 truth1 and beauty1 which are to be found in each of these authors4 ,now1 ,i cannot think1 that1 to be dull and insensible to so great and such various excellence1--to have no feeling in unison with it1 no latent suspicion of the treasures hid beneath our feet1 and which we trample upon with ignorant scorn1 to be cut off1 as by a judicial blindness1 from that universe of thought and imagination that shifts its wondrous pageant before us1 to turn aside from the throng and splendour of airy shapes that fancy weaves for our dazzled sight1 and to strut and vapour over a little pettifogging blunder in geography or chronology1 which a school-boy1 or a village pedagogue1 would be ashamed to insist upon1 is any proof of the utmost perfection of taste1 but the contrary4 ,at this rate1 it makes no difference whether ,shakespeare wrote his works or not1 or whether the critic1 who #8damns him into everlasting redemption' for a single slip of the pen1 ever read them2--he is absolved from all knowledge1 taste1 or feeling1 of the different excellencies1 and inimitable creations of the poet's pen--from any sympathy with the wanderings and the fate of ,imogen1 the beauty and tenderness of ,ophelia1 the thoughtful abstraction of ,hamlet2 his soliloquy on life may never have given him a moment's pause1 or touched his breast with one solitary reflection2--the ,witches in ,macbeth may #8lay their choppy fingers upon their skinny lips' without making any alteration in his pulse1--and ,lear's heart may break in vain for him2--he may hear no strange noises in ,prospero's island1--and the moonlight that sleeps on beds of flowers1 where fairies couch in the ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 may never once have steeped his senses in repose4 ,nor will it avail ,milton to #8have built high towers in ,heaven1' nor to have brought down heaven upon earth1 nor that he has made ,satan rear his giant form before us1 #8majestic though in ruin1' or decked the bridal bed of ,eve with beauty1 or clothed her with innocence1 #8likest heaven1' as she ministered to ,adam1 and his angel guest4 ,our critic knows nothing of all this1 of beauty or sublimity1 of thought or passion1 breathed in sweet or solemn sounds1 with all the magic of verse #8in tones and numbers hit2' he lays his finger on the map1 and shews you1 that there is no sea-port for ,shakespeare's weather-beaten travellers to land at in ,bohemia1 and takes out a list of mechanical inventions1 and proves that gunpowder was not known till long after ,milton's battle of the angels2 and concludes1 that every one who1 after these profound and important discoveries1 finds anything to admire in these two writers1 is a person without taste1 or any pretensions to it4 ,by the same rule1 a thorough-bred critic might prove that ,homer was no poet1 and the ,odyssey a vulgar performance1 because ,ulysses makes a pun on the name of ,noman4 ,or some other disciple of the same literal school might easily set aside the whole merit of ,racine's ,athalie1 or ,moliere's ,ecole des ,femmes1 and pronounce these chef d'uvres of art barbarous and ,gothic1 because the characters in the first address one another 7absurdly enough7 as ,monsieur and ,madame1 and because the latter is written in rhyme1 contrary to all classical precedent4 ,these little false measures of criticism may be misapplied and retorted without end1 and require to be eked out by national antipathy or political prejudice to give them currency and weight4 ,thus it was in war-time that the author of the #8,friend' ventured to lump all the ,french tragedies together as a smart collection of epigrams1 and that the author of the #8,excursion1 a poem1 being portion#di of a larger poem1 to be named the ,recluse1' made bold to call ,voltaire a dull prose-writer--with impunity4 ,such pitiful quackery is a cheap way of setting up for exclusive taste and wisdom1 by pretending to despise what is most generally admired1 as if nothing could come up to or satisfy that ideal standard of excellence1 of which the person bears about the select pattern in his own mind4 #8,not to admire any thing' is as bad a test of wisdom as it is a rule for happiness4 ,we sometimes meet with individuals who have formed their whole character on this maxim1 and who ridiculously affect a decided and dogmatical tone of superiority over others1 from an uncommon degree both of natural and artificial stupidity4 ,they are blind to painting--deaf to music--indifferent to poetry2 and they triumph in the catalogue of their defects as the fault of these arts1 because they have not sense enough to perceive their own want of perception4 ,to treat any art or science with contempt1 is only to prove your own incapacity and want of taste for it3 to say that what has been done best in any kind is good for nothing1 is to say that the utmost exertion of human ability is not equal to the lowest1 for the productions of the lowest are worth something1 except by comparison with what is better4 ,when we hear persons exclaiming that the pictures at the ,marquis of ,stafford's or ,mr4 ,angerstein's1 or those at the ,british ,gallery1 are a heap of trash1 we might tell them that they betray in this a want not of taste only1 but of common sense1 for that these collections contain some of the finest specimens of the greatest masters1 and that that must be excellent in the productions of human art1 beyond which human genius1 in any age or country1 has not been able to go4 ,ask these very fastidious critics what it is that they do like1 and you will soon find1 from tracing out the objects of their secret admiration1 that their pretended disdain of first-rate excellence is owing either to ignorance of the last refinements of works of genius1 or envy at the general admiration which they have called forth4 ,i have known a furious ,phillippic against the faults of shining talents and established reputation subside into complacent approbation of dull mediocrity1 that neither tasked the kindred sensibility of its admirer beyond its natural inertness1 nor touched his self-love with a consciousness of inferiority2 and that1 by never attempting original beauties1 and never failing1 gave no opportunity to intellectual ingratitude to be plausibly revenged for the pleasure or instruction it had reluctantly received4 ,so there are judges who cannot abide ,mr4 ,kean1 and think ,mr4 ,young an incomparable actor1 for no other reason than because he never shocks them with an idea which they had not before4 ,the only excuse for the over-delicacy and supercilious indifference here described1 is when it arises from an intimate acquaintance with1 and intense admiration of1 other and higher degrees of perfection and genius4 ,a person whose mind has been worked up to a lofty pitch of enthusiasm in this way1 cannot perhaps condescend to notice1 or be much delighted with inferior beauties2 but then neither will he dwell upon1 and be preposterously offended with1 slight faults4 ,so that the ultimate and only conclusive proof of taste is even here not indifference1 but enthusiasm2 and before a critic can give himself airs of superiority for what he despises1 he must first lay himself open to reprisals1 by telling us what he admires4 ,there we may fairly join issue with him4 ,without this indispensable condition of all true taste1 absolute stupidity must be more than on a par with the most exquisite refinement2 and the most formidable drawcansir of all would be the most impenetrable blockhead4 ,thus1 if we know that ,voltaire's contempt of ,shakespeare arose from his idolatry of ,racine1 this may excuse him in a national point of view2 but he has no longer any advantage over us2 and we must console ourselves as well as we can for ,mr4 ,wordsworth's not allowing us to laugh at the wit of ,voltaire1 by laughing now and then at the only author whom he is known to understand and admire6#ej ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine4 ,july1 #ahai4 ,instead of making a disposition to find fault a proof of taste1 ,i would reverse the rule1 and estimate every one's pretensions to taste by the degree of their sensibility to the highest and most various excellence4 ,an indifference to less degrees of excellence is only excusable as it arises from a knowledge and admiration of higher ones2 and a readiness in the detection of faults should pass for refinement only as it is owing to a quick sense and impatient love of beauties4 ,in a word1 fine taste consists in sympathy1 not in antipathy2 and the rejection of what is bad is only to be accounted a virtue when it implies a preference of and attachment to what is better4 ,there is a certain point1 which may be considered as the highest point of perfection at which the human faculties can arrive in the conception and execution of certain things3 to be able to reach this point in reality is the greatest proof of genius and power2 and ,i imagine that the greatest proof of taste is given in being able to appreciate it when done4 ,for instance1 ,i have heard 7and ,i can believe7 that ,madame ,catalani's manner of singing #8,hope told a flattering tale1' was the perfection of singing2 and ,i cannot conceive that it would have been the perfection of taste to have thought nothing at all of it4 ,there was1 ,i understand1 a sort of fluttering of the voice and a breathless palpitation of the heart1 7like the ruffling of the feathers of the robin-redbreast71 which completely gave back all the uneasy and thrilling voluptuousness of the sentiment2 and ,i contend that the person on whom not a particle of this expression was lost1 7or would have been lost1 if it had even been finer71 into whom the tones of sweetness or tenderness sink deeper and deeper as they approach the farthest verge of ecstacy or agony1 he who has an ear attuned to the trembling harmony1 and a heart #8pierceable' by pleasure's finest point1 is the best judge of music1--not he who remains insensible to the matter himself1 or1 if you point it out to him1 asks1 #8,what of it8' ,i fancied that ,i had a triumph some time ago1 over a critic and connoisseur of music1 who thought little of the minuet in ,don ,giovanni2 but the same person redeemed his pretensions to musical taste in my opinion by saying of some passage in ,mozart1 #8,this is a soliloquy equal to any in ,hamlet4' ,in hearing the accompaniment in the ,messiah of angels' voices to the shepherds keeping watch at night1 who has the most taste and delicacy1 he who listens in silent rapture to the silver sounds1 as they rise in sweetness and soften into distance1 drawing the soul from earth to heaven1 and making it partaker of the music of the spheres1 or he who remains deaf to the summons1 and remarks that it is an allegorical conceit8 ,which would ,handel have been most pleased with1 the man who was seen standing at the performance of the ,coronation anthem in ,westminster ,abbey1 with his face bathed in tears1 and mingling #8the drops which sacred joy had engendered' with that ocean of circling sound1 or with him who sat with frigid1 critical aspect1 his heart untouched and his looks unaltered as the marble statue on the wall8#ea ,again1 if any one1 in looking at ,rembrandt's picture of ,jacob's ,dream1 should not be struck with the solemn awe that surrounds it1 and with the dazzling flights of angels' wings like steps of golden light1 emanations of flame or spirit hovering between earth and sky1 and should observe very wisely that ,jacob was thrown in one corner of the picture like a bundle of clothes1 without power1 form1 or motion1 and should think this a defect1 ,i should say that such a critic might possess great knowledge of the mechanical part of painting1 but not an atom of feeling or imagination4#eb ,or who is it that1 in looking at the productions of ,raphael or ,titian1 is the person of true taste8 ,he who finds what there is1 or he who finds what there is not in each8 ,not he who picks a petty vulgar quarrel with the colouring of ,raphael or the drawing of ,titian is the true critic and judicious spectator1 but he who broods over the expression of the one till it takes possession of his soul1 and who dwells on the tones and hues of the other till his eye is saturated with truth and beauty1 for by this means he moulds his mind to the study and reception of what is most perfect in form and colour1 instead of letting it remain empty1 #8swept and garnished1' or rather a dull blank1 with #8knowledge at each entrance quite shut out4' ,he who cavils at the want of drawing in ,titian is not the most sensible to it in ,raphael2 instead of that1 he only insists on his want of colouring4 ,he who is offended at ,raphael's hardness and monotony is not delighted with the soft1 rich pencilling of ,titian2 he only takes care to find fault with him for wanting that which1 if he possessed it in the highest degree1 he would not admire or understand4 ,and this is easy to be accounted for4 ,first1 such a critic has been told what to do1 and follows his instructions4 ,secondly1 to perceive the height of any excellence1 it is necessary to have the most exquisite sense of that kind of excellence through all its gradations3 to perceive the want of any excellence1 it is merely necessary to have a negative or abstract notion of the thing1 or perhaps only of the name4 ,or1 in other words1 any the most crude and mechanical idea of a given quality is a measure of positive deficiency1 whereas none but the most refined idea of the same quality can be a standard of superlative merit4 ,to distinguish the finest characteristics of ,titian or ,raphael1 to go along with them in their imitation of ,nature1 is to be so far like them3 to be occupied only with that in which they fell short of others1 instead of that in which they soared above them1 shows a vulgar1 narrow capacity1 insensible to any thing beyond mediocrity1 and an ambition still more grovelling4 ,to be dazzled by admiration of the greatest excellence1 and of the highest works of genius1 is natural to the best capacities1 and the best natures2 envy and dulness are most apt to detect minute blemishes and unavoidable inequalities1 as we see the spots in the sun by having its rays blunted by mist or smoke4 ,it may be asked1 then1 whether mere extravagance and enthusiasm are proofs of taste8 ,and ,i answer1 no1 where they are without reason and knowledge4 ,mere sensibility is not true taste1 but sensibility to real excellence is4 ,to admire and be wrapt up in what is trifling or absurd1 is a proof of nothing but ignorance or affectation3 on the contrary1 he who admires most what is most worthy of admiration1 7let his raptures or his eagerness to express them be what they may71 shows himself neither extravagant nor #8unwise4' ,when ,mr4 ,wordsworth once said that he could read the description of ,satan in ,milton1 #8,nor seem'd ,less than archangel ruin'd1 and the excess ,of glory obscur'd1' till he felt a certain faintness come over his mind from a sense of beauty and grandeur1 ,i saw no extravagance in this1 but the utmost truth of feeling4 ,when the same author1 or his friend ,mr4 ,southey1 says1 that the ,excursion is better worth preserving than the ,paradise ,lost1 this appears to me1 ,i confess1 a great piece of impertinence1 or an unwarrantable stretch of friendship4 ,nor do ,i think the preference given by certain celebrated reviewers1 of ,mr4 ,rogers's ,human ,life over ,mr4 ,wordsworth's ,lyrical ,ballads1 founded on the true principles of poetical justice2 for something is1 after all1 better than nothing4 ,to hasten to a conclusion of these desultory observations4 ,the highest taste is shown in habitual sensibility to the greatest beauties2 the most general taste is shown in a perception of the greatest variety of excellence4 ,many people admire ,milton1 and as many admire ,pope1 while there are but few who have any relish for both4 ,almost all the disputes on this subject arise1 not so much from false1 as from confined taste4 ,we suppose that only one thing can have merit2 and that1 if we allow it to any thing else1 we deprive the favourite object of our critical faith of the honours due to it4 ,we are generally right in what we approve ourselves2 for liking proceeds from a certain conformity of objects to the taste2 as we are generally wrong in condemning what others admire2 for our dislike mostly proceeds from our want of taste for what pleases them4 ,our being totally senseless to what excites extreme delight in those who have as good a right to judge as we have1 in all human probability implies a defect of faculty in us1 rather than a limitation in the resources of nature or art4 ,those who are pleased with the fewest things1 know the least2 as those who are pleased with every thing1 know nothing4 ,shakespeare makes ,mrs4 ,quickly say of ,falstaff1 by a pleasant blunder1 that #8,carnation was a colour he could never abide4' ,so there are persons who cannot like ,claude1 because he is not ,salvator ,rosa2 some who cannot endure ,rembrandt1 and others who would not cross the street to see a ,vandyke2 one reader does not like the neatness of ,junius1 and another objects to the extravagance of ,burke2 and they are all right1 if they expect to find in others what is only to be found in their favourite author or artist1 but equally wrong if they mean to say1 that each of those they would condemn by a narrow and arbitrary standard of taste1 has not a peculiar and transcendent merit of his own4 ,the question is not1 whether you like a certain excellence1 7it is your own fault if you do not71 but whether another possessed it in a very eminent degree4 ,if he did not1 who is there that possessed it in a greater--that ranks above him in that particular8 ,those who are accounted the best1 are the best in their line4 ,when we say that ,rembrandt was a master of chiaro-scuro1 for instance1 we do not say that he joined to this the symmetry of the ,greek statues1 but we mean that we must go to him for the perfection of chiaro-scuro1 and that a ,greek statue has not chiaro-scuro4 ,if any one objects to ,junius's ,letters1 that they are a tissue of epigrams1 we answer1 ,be it so2 it is for that very reason that we admire them4 ,again1 should any one find fault with ,mr4 ,burke's writings as a collection of rhapsodies1 the proper answer always would be1 ,who is there that has written finer rhapsodies8 ,i know an admirer of ,don ,quixote who can see no merit in ,gil ,blas1 and an admirer of ,gil ,blas who could never get through ,don ,quixote4 ,i myself have great pleasure in reading both these works1 and in that respect think ,i have an advantage over both these critics4 ,it always struck me as a singular proof of good taste1 good sense1 and liberal thinking1 in an old friend1 who had ,paine's ,rights of ,man and ,burke's ,reflections on the ,french ,revolution1 bound up in one volume1 and who said1 that1 both together1 they made a very good book4 ,to agree with the greatest number of good judges1 is to be in the right2 and good judges are persons of natural sensibility and acquired knowledge4#ec ,on the other hand1 it must be owned1 there are critics whose praise is a libel1 and whose recommendation of any work is enough to condemn it4 ,men of the greatest genius and originality are not always persons of the most liberal and unprejudiced taste2 they have a strong bias to certain qualities themselves1 are for reducing others to their own standard1 and lie less open to the general impressions of things4 ,this exclusive preference of their own peculiar excellencies to those of others1 in writers whose merits have not been sufficiently understood or acknowledged by their contemporaries1 chiefly because they were not common-place1 may sometimes be seen mounting up to a degree of bigotry and intolerance1 little short of insanity4 ,there are some critics ,i have known who never allow an author any merit till all the world #8cry out upon him1' and others who never allow another any merit that any one can discover but themselves4 ,so there are connoisseurs who spend their lives and waste their breath in extolling sublime passages in obscure writers1 and lovers who choose their mistresses for their ugly faces4 ,this is not taste1 but affectation4 ,what is popular is not necessarily vulgar2 and that which we try to rescue from fatal obscurity1 had in general much better remain in it4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,taste relates to that which1 either in the objects of nature1 or the imitation of them or the ,fine ,arts in general is calculated to give pleasure4 ,now1 to know what is calculated to give pleasure1 the way is to enquire what does give pleasure3 so that taste is1 after all1 much more a matter of fact and less of theory than might be imagined4 ,we may hence determine another point1 viz4--whether there is any universal or exclusive standard of taste1 since this is to inquire1 in other words1 whether there is any one thing that pleases all the world alike1 or whether there is only one thing that pleases anybody1 both which questions carry their own answers with them4 ,still it does not follow1 because there is no dogmatic or bigoted standard of taste1 like a formula of faith1 which whoever does not believe without doubt he shall be damned everlastingly1 that there is no standard of taste whatever1 that is to say1 that certain things are not more apt to please than others1 that some do not please more generally1 that there are not others that give most pleasure to those who have studied the subject1 that one nation is most susceptible of a particular kind of beauty1 and another of another1 according to their characters1 c4 ,it would be a difficult attempt to force all these into one general rule or system1 and yet equally so to deny that they are absolutely capricious1 and without any foundation or principle whatever4 ,there are1 doubtless1 books for children that we discard as we grow up2 yet1 what are the majority of mankind1 or even readers1 but grown children8 ,if put to the vote of all the milliners' girls in ,london1 ,old ,mortality1 or even ,heart of ,midlothian1 would not carry the day 7or1 at least1 not very triumphantly7 over a common ,minerva-press novel2 and ,i will hazard another opinion1 that no woman ever liked ,burke4 ,mr4 ,pratt1 on the contrary1 said that he had to #8boast of many learned and beautiful suffrages4'#ed ,it is not1 then1 solely from the greatest number of voices1 but from the opinion of the greatest number of well-informed minds1 that we can establish1 if not an absolute standard1 at least a comparative scale1 of taste4 ,certainly1 it can hardly be doubted that the greater the number of persons of strong natural sensibility or love for any art1 and who have paid the closest attention to it1 who agree in their admiration of any work of art1 the higher do its pretensions rise to classical taste and intrinsic beauty4 ,in this way1 as the opinion of a thousand good judges may outweigh that of nearly all the rest of the world1 so there may be one individual among them whose opinion may outweigh that of the other nine hundred and ninety-nine2 that is1 one of a still stronger and more refined perception of beauty than all the rest1 and to whose opinion that of the others and of the world at large would approximate and be conformed1 as their taste or perception of what was pleasing became stronger and more confirmed by exercise and proper objects to call it forth4 ,thus1 if we were still to insist on an universal standard of taste1 it must be that1 not which does1 but which would please universally1 supposing all men to have paid an equal attention to any subject and to have an equal relish for it1 which can only be guessed at by the imperfect and yet more than casual agreement among those who have done so from choice and feeling4 ,taste is nothing but an enlarged capacity for receiving pleasure from works of imagination1 c4 ,it is time1 however1 to apply this rule4 ,there is1 for instance1 a much greater number of habitual readers and playgoers in ,france1 who are devoted admirers of ,racine or ,molire than there are in ,england of ,shakspeare3 does ,shakspeare's fame rest1 then1 on a less broad and solid foundation than that of either of the others8 ,i think not1 supposing that the class of judges to whom ,shakspeare's excellences appeal are a higher1 more independent1 and more original court of criticism1 and that their suffrages are quite as unanimous 7though not so numerous7 in the one case as in the other4 ,a simile or a sentiment is not the worse in common opinion for being somewhat superficial and hackneyed1 but it is the worse in poetry4 ,the perfection of common-place is that which would unite the greatest number of suffrages1 if there were not a tribunal above common-place4 ,for instance1 in ,shakspeare's description of flowers1 primroses are mentioned-- #8,that come before the swallow dares1 and take ,the winds of ,march with beauty3' ,now1 ,i do not know that this expression is translatable into ,french1 or intelligible to the common reader of either nation1 but raise the scale of fancy1 passion1 and observation of nature to a certain point1 and ,i will be bold to say that there will be no scruple entertained whether this single metaphor does not contain more poetry of the kind than is to be found in all ,racine4 ,as no ,frenchman could write it1 so ,i believe no ,frenchman could understand it4 ,we cannot take this insensibility on their part as a mark of our superiority1 for we have plenty of persons among ourselves in the same predicament1 but not the wisest or most refined1 and to these the appeal is fair from the many--#8and fit audience find1 though few4' ,so ,i think it requires a higher degree of taste to judge of ,titian's portraits than ,raphael's scripture pieces3 not that ,i think more highly of the former than the latter1 but the world and connoisseurs in general think there is no comparison 7from the dignity of the subject71 whereas ,i think it difficult to decide which are the finest4 ,here again we have a common-place1 a preconception1 the moulds of the judgment preoccupied by certain assumptions of degrees and classes of excellence1 instead of judging from the true and genuine impressions of things4 ,men of genius1 or those who can produce excellence would be the best judges of it--poets of poetry1 painters of painting1 c4--but that persons of original and strong powers of mind are too much disposed to refer everything to their own peculiar bias1 and are comparatively indifferent to merely passive impressions4 ,on the other hand1 it is wholly wrong to oppose taste to genius1 for genius in works of art is nothing but the power of producing what is beautiful 7which1 however1 implies the intimate sense of it71 though this is something very different from mere negative or formal beauties1 which have as little to do with taste as genius4 ,i have1 in a former essay1 ascertained one principle of taste or excellence in the arts of imitation1 where it was shown that objects of sense are not as it were simple and self-evident propositions1 but admit of endless analysis and the most subtle investigation4 ,we do not see nature with our eyes1 but with our understandings and our hearts4 ,to suppose that we see the whole of any object1 merely by looking at it1 is a vulgar error3 we fancy that we do1 because we are1 of course1 conscious of no more than we see in it1 but this circle of our knowledge enlarges with further acquaintance and study1 and we then perceive that what we perhaps barely distinguished in the gross1 or regarded as a dull blank1 is full of beauty1 meaning1 and curious details4 ,he sees most of nature who understands its language best1 or connects one thing with the greatest number of other things4 ,expression is the key to the human countenance1 and unfolds a thousand imperceptible distinctions4 ,how1 then1 should every one be a judge of pictures1 when so few are of faces8 ,a merely ignorant spectator1 walking through a gallery of pictures1 no more distinguishes the finest than your dog would1 if he was to accompany you4 ,do not even the most experienced dispute on the preference1 and shall the most ignorant decide8 ,a vulgar connoisseur would even prefer a ,denner to a ,titian1 because there is more of merely curious and specific detail4 ,we may hence account for another circumstance1 why things please in the imitation which do not in reality4 ,if we saw the whole of anything1 or if the object in nature were merely one thing1 this could not be the case4 ,but the fact is1 that in the imitation1 or in the scientific study of any object1 we come to an analysis of the details or some other abstract view of the subject which we had overlooked in a cursory examination1 and these may be beautiful or curious1 though the object in the gross is disgusting1 or connected with disagreeable or uninteresting associations4 ,thus1 in a picture of still life1 as a shell or a marble chimney-piece1 the stains or the gradations of colour may be delicate1 and subjects for a new and careful imitation1 though the tout ensemble has not1 like a living face1 the highest beauty of intelligence and expression4 ,here lie and here return the true effects and triumphs of art4 ,it is not in making the eye a microscope1 but in making it the interpreter and organ of all that can touch the soul and the affections1 that the perfection of fine art is shown4 ,taste1 then1 does not place in the first rank of merit what merely proves difficulty or gratifies curiosity1 unless it is combined with excellence and sentiment1 or the pleasures of imagination and the moral sense4 ,in this case the pleasure is more than doubled1 where not only the imitation but the thing imitated1 is fine in itself4 ,hence the preference given to ,italian over ,dutch pictures4 ,in respect to the imitation of nature1 ,i would further observe that ,i think ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds was wrong in making the grandeur of the design depend on the omission of the details1 or the want of finishing4 ,this seems also to proceed on the supposition that there cannot be two views of nature1 but that the details are opposed to and inconsistent with an attention to general effect4 ,now this is evidently false1 since the two things are undoubtedly combined by nature4 ,for instance1 the grandeur of design or character in the arch of an eyebrow is not injured or destroyed in reality by the hair-lines of which it is composed4 ,nor is the general form or outline of the eyebrow altered in the imitation1 whether you make it one rude mass or descend into the minuti of the parts1 which are arranged in such a manner as to produce the arched form and give the particular expression4 ,so the general form of a nose1 say an aquiline one1 is not affected1 whether ,i paint a wart which may happen to be on it or not1 and so of the outline and proportions of the whole face4 ,that is1 general effect is consistent with individual details1 and though these are not necessary to it1 yet they often assist it1 and always confirm the sense of verisimilitude4 ,the most finished paintings1 it is true1 are not the grandest in effect2 but neither is it true that the greatest daubs are the most sublime in character and composition4 ,the best painters have combined an eye to the whole with careful finishing1 and as there is a medium in all things1 so the rule here seems to be not to go on ad infinitum with the details1 but to stop when the time and labour necessary seem1 in the judgment of the artist1 to exceed the benefit produced4 ,beauty does not consist in a medium1 but in gradation or harmony4 ,it has been the fashion of late to pretend to refer everything to association of ideas 7and it is difficult to answer this appeal1 since association1 by its nature1 mixes up with everything71 but as ,hartley has himself observed1 who carried this principle to the utmost extent1 and might be supposed to understand its limits1 association implies something to be associated1 and if there is a pleasing association1 there must be first something naturally pleasing from which the secondary satisfaction is reflected1 or to which it is conjoined4 ,the chirping of a sparrow is as much a rural and domestic sound as the notes of the robin or the thrush1 but it does not serve as a point to link other interests to because it wants beauty in itself2 and1 on the other hand1 the song of the nightingale draws more attention to itself as a piece of music1 and conveys less sentiment than the simple note of the cuckoo1 which1 from its solitary singularity1 acts as the warning voice of time4 ,those who deny that there is a natural and pleasing softness arising from harmony or gradation1 might as well affirm that sudden and abrupt transitions do not make our impressions more distinct as that they do not make them more harsh and violent4 ,beauty consists in gradation of colours or symmetry of form 7conformity73 strength or sublimity arises from the sense of power1 and is aided by contrast4 ,the ludicrous is the incoherent1 arising1 not from a conflicting power1 but from weakness or the inability of any habitual impulse to sustain itself4 ,the ideal is not confined to creation1 but takes place in imitation1 where a thing is subjected to one view1 as all the parts of a face to the same expression4 ,invention is only feigning according to nature1 or with a certain proportion between causes and effects4 ,poetry is infusing the same spirit into a number of things1 or bathing them all as it were1 in the same overflowing sense of delight 7making the language also soft and musical71 as the same torch kindles a number of lamps4 ,i think invention is chiefly confined to poetry and words or ideas1 and has little place in painting or concrete imagery1 where the want of truth1 or of the actual object1 soon spoils the effect and force of the representation4 ,indeed1 ,i think all genius is1 in a great measure1 national and local1 arising out of times and circumstances1 and being sustained at its full height by these alone1 and that originality is not a deviation from1 but a recurrence to nature4 ,rules and models destroy genius and art2 and the excess of the artificial in the end cures itself1 for it in time becomes so uniform and vapid as to be altogether contemptible1 and to seek perforce some other outlet or purchase for the mind to take hold of4 ,the metaphysical theory above premised will account not only for the difficulty of imitating nature1 but for the excellence of various masters1 and the diversity and popularity of different styles4 ,if the truth of sense and nature were one1 there could be but one mode of representing it1 more or less correct4 ,but nature contains an infinite variety of parts1 with their relations and significations1 and different artists take these1 and altogether do not give the whole4 ,thus ,titian coloured1 ,raphael designed1 ,rubens gave the florid hue and motions1 ,rembrandt chiaro-scuro1 c42 but none of these reached perfection in their several departments1 much less with reference to the whole circumference of art4 ,it is ridiculous to suppose there is but one standard or one style4 ,one artist looks at objects with as different an eye from another1 as he does from the mathematician4 ,it is erroneous to tie down individual genius to ideal models4 ,each person should do that1 not which is best in itself1 even supposing this could be known1 but that which he can do best1 which he will find out if left to himself4 ,spenser could not have written ,paradise ,lost1 nor ,milton the ,faerie ,queene4 ,those who aim at faultless regularity will only produce mediocrity1 and no one ever approaches perfection except by stealth1 and unknown to themselves4 ,did ,correggio know what he had done when he had painted the #8,st4 ,jerome'--or ,rembrandt when he made the sketch of #8,jacob's ,dream8' ,oh1 no6 ,those who are conscious of their powers never do anything4 ,,on ,,the ,,present ,,state ,,of ,,parliamentary ,,eloquence ,the ,london ,magazine4 ,october #ahbj4 ,it was a fine impertinence of the younger ,pliny1 to try to persuade ,tacitus1 in one of his epistles1 that the diffuse style was better than the concise4 #8,such a one1' says he1 #8aims at the throat of his adversary3 now ,i like to strike him wherever ,i can4' ,i may be thought guilty of a like piece of officiousness in the remarks here offered on several of the most prominent of our parliamentary speakers4 ,in general1 to suggest advice1 or hazard criticism1 is to recommend it to others to do something1 which we know they either will not or cannot do3 or it is to desire them either to please us1 or do nothing4 ,the present article may be considered as a marginal note or explanatory addition to a former one1 on nearly the same subject--like one of ,lord ,castlereagh's long parentheses3 but ,i hope there will be more in it4 ,it is a subject of which ,i wish to make clear work as ,i go2 for it is one to which1 if ,i can once get rid of it1 ,i am not likely to recur4 ,the haughty tone of invective which ,i have already ascribed to ,lord ,chatham1 was very different from that didactic style of parliamentary oratory which has since been imported from northern colleges and lecture-rooms4 ,of this school ,sir ,james ,mackintosh and ,mr4 ,brougham may be reckoned at the head4 ,this method consists1 not so much in taking a side1 as in stating a question4 ,the speaker takes upon him to be the judge rather than the advocate2 and if he had the authority of a judge1 or could direct the decision1 as well as sum up the evidence1 it would be all very well4 ,an orator of this stamp does not seat himself on the ,opposition side of the ,house to urge or to reply to particular points1 but in a ,professor's chair of ,humanity1 to read a lecture to the tyros of the ,treasury-,bench1 on the elementary principles and all the possible bearings1 the objections and answers1 the difficulties and the solutions of every question in philosophy1 jurisprudence1 politics1 and political economy1--on war1 peace1 #8domestic treason1 foreign levy1' colonial produce1 copy-right of authors1 prison discipline1 the hulks1 the corn-bill1 the penitentiary1 prostitutes1 and pick-pockets4 ,nothing comes amiss to him that can puzzle himself or pose his hearers2 and he lets out all his knowledge indiscriminately1 whether it makes for or against him1 with deliberate impartiality and scrupulous exactness4 ,such persons might be called ,orators of the ,human ,mind4 ,they are a little out of their place1 it must be owned1 in the ,house of ,commons4 ,the object there is--not to put the majority in possession of the common grounds of judging1 as in a class of students--7these are taken for granted as already known7--but to carry a point1 to gain a verdict for yourself or for truth1 by throwing the weight of eloquence and argument into the scale against interest1 prejudice1 or sophistry4 ,there are retainers enough on the other side to manage for the crown1 who are ready to take all advantages without your volunteering to place yourself in their power1 or to put excuses in their mouths1 to help them out at a dead-lift4 ,if they were candid1 if they were disinterested1 if they were not hostilely disposed1 it might be a feasible scheme to consider a debate as an amicable communication of doubts and lights1 as a comparison of strength or a confession of weakness3 but why hint a doubt1 or start a difficulty needlessly in your own path1 which will be eagerly caught at1 and made use of in the most insulting manner to defeat a host of real proofs1 and overturn the most legitimate conclusions8 ,why tamper with your own cause8 ,why play at fast and loose with your object8 ,why restore the weapons into your enemies' hands1 which you have just wrested from them8 ,why #8make a wanton' of the ,first ,minister of ,state8 ,it is either vanity1 weakness1 or indifference to do so4 ,you might as well in confidence tell an adversary where you meant to strike him1 point out to him your own weak sides1 or wait in courtesy for the blow4 ,gamesters do not show one another their hands3 neither should politicians1 who understand what they are about--that is1 knaves will not1 and honest men ought not4 ,others will find out the rotten parts of a question3 do you stick to the sound--knowledge is said to be power3 but knowledge1 applied as we have seen it1 neutralises itself4 ,mere knowledge1 to be effectual1 must act in vacuo3 but the ,house of ,commons is by no means a vacuum1 and empty receiver for abstract truth and airy speculation4 ,there is the resistance1 the refrangibility of dense prejudice and crooked policy3 you must concentrate1 you must enforce1 you must urge to glowing sympathy3 and enthusiasm1 zeal1 perfect conviction on your part1 is the only principle that can be brought into play against the cool calculations or gross incentives of selfishness and servility on the opposite side4 ,a middle line of conduct does not excite respect1 but contempt4 ,they do not think you sincere1 but lukewarm4 ,they give you credit for affectation or timidity1 but none for heartiness in a cause1 or fidelity to a party4 ,they have more hopes of you than fears4 ,by everlasting subtle distinctions1 and hesitating1 qualified1 retracting dissent from measures you would be thought most to reprobate1 you do more harm than good4 ,in theory there are infinite shades of difference1 but in practice the question must be decided one way or other3 either the ,ayes or the ,noes must have it4 ,in all such cases1 those who are not for us are against us4 ,in political controversy1 as in a battle1 there are but two sides to chuse between2 and those who create a diversion in favour of established abuses by setting up a third1 fanciful1 impracticable standard of perfection of their own1 in the most critical circumstances1 betray the cause they pretend to espouse with such overweening delicacy4 ,for my own part1 ,i hate a fellow who picks a hole in his own coat1 who finds a flaw in his own argument1 who treats his enemies as if they might become friends1 or his friends as if they might become enemies4 ,i hate your shuffling1 shilly-shally proceedings1 and diagonal sidelong movements between right and wrong4 ,fling yourself into the gap at once--either into the arms1 or at the heads of ,ministers6 ,i remember hearing1 with some pain and uneasiness1 ,sir ,james ,mackintosh's maiden speech on the ,genoa business4 ,it was a great1 but ineffectual effort4 ,the mass of information1 of ingenuity1 and reasoning1 was very prodigious2 but the whole was misdirected1 no impression whatever was made4 ,it was like an inaugural dissertation on the general principles of ethics1 on the laws of nature and nations1 on ancient and modern history--a laboured treatise de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis4 ,there were all the rules of moral arithmetic1 all the items in a profligate political account2 but the bill was not properly cast up1 the case was not distinctly made out1 the counsel got no damages for his client4 ,nothing was gained by this motion1 nor could there be4 ,when he had brought his heaviest artillery to bear with probable success upon a certain point1 he stopped short like a scientific demonstrator 7not like a skilful engineer7 to show how it might be turned against himself4 ,when he had wound up the charge of treachery or oppression to a climax1 he gratuitously suggested a possible plea of necessity1 accident1 or some other topic1 to break the force of his inference2 or he anticipated the answers that might be made to it1 as if he was afraid he should not be thought to know all that could be said on both sides of the question4 ,this enlarged knowledge of good and evil may be very necessary to a philosopher1 but it is very prejudicial to an orator4 ,no man can play the whole game in this manner1 blow hot and cold in a breath1 or take an entire debate into his own hands1 and wield it in which way he pleases4 ,he will find his own load enough for his own shoulders to bear4 ,the exceptions if you chuse to go into them1 multiply faster than the rules3 the various complications of the subject distract1 instead of convincing3 you do your adversary's work for him2 the battle is lost without a blow being struck2 and a speech of this sceptical kind requires and receives no answer4 ,it falls by its own weight1 and buries any body but the ,minister under its ruins--or it is left1 not a triumphal arch1 but a splendid mausoleum of the learning1 genius1 and eloquence of the speaker4--,the ,cock-pit of ,st4 ,stephen's does not relish this scholastic refinement1 this method of holding an argument with a man's self3 a little bear-garden1 cut-and-thrust work would be much better understood4 ,sir ,james has of late improved his tact and knowledge of the ,house4 ,he has taken up ,sir ,samuel ,romilly's department of questions relating to the amelioration of the penal code and general humanity1 and ,i have no doubt ,government will leave him in quiet possession of it4 ,they concede these sort of questions as an amiable diversion1 or friendly bonus1 to the indefatigable spirit of ,opposition4 ,mr4 ,brougham is1 ,i conceive1 another instance of this analytical style of debating1 which #8plays round the head1 but does not reach the heart4' ,there is a want of warmth1 of momentum1 of impulse in his speeches4 ,he loses himself in an infinity of details1 as his learned and honourable friend does in a wide sea of speculation4 ,he goes picking up a number of curious pebbles on the shore1 and at the outlets of a question--but he does not #8roll all his strength and all his sharpness up into one ball1' to throw at and crush his enemies beneath his feet4 ,he enters into statistics1 he calls for documents1 he examines accounts4 ,this method is slow1 perplexing1 circuitous1 and not sure4 ,while the evidence is collecting1 the question is lost4 ,while one thing is substantiating1 another goes out of your mind4 ,these little detached multifarious particulars1 which require such industry and sagacity in the speaker to bring them forward1 have no clue in the minds of the hearers to connect them together4 ,there is no substratum of prejudice1 no cement of interest4 ,they do not grow out of the soil of common feeling and experience1 but are set in it2 nor do they bear the fruits of conviction4 ,mr4 ,brougham can follow the ramifications of an intricate subject1 but he is not so well acquainted with the springs of the human mind4 ,he finds himself at the end of his speech1--in the last sentence of it1--just where he was at the beginning1 or in any other given part of it4 ,he has not acquired any additional impetus1 is not projected forward with any new degree of warmth or vigour4 ,he was cold1 correct1 smart1 pointed at first1 and he continues so still4 ,a repetition of blows1 however1 is of no use1 unless they are struck in the same place3 a change of position is not progression4 ,as ,sir ,james ,mackintosh's speeches are a decomposition of the moral principles of society1 so ,mr4 ,brougham's are an ingenious taking in pieces of its physical mechanism4 ,while they are at work with their experiments1 their antagonists are putting in motion the passions1 the fears1 and antipathies of mankind1 and blowing their schemes of reform above the moon4 ,talent alone1 then1 is not sufficient to support a successful ,opposition4 ,there is talent on the other side too1 of some sort or other2 and1 in addition1 there is another weight1 that of influence1 which requires a counterpoise4 ,this can be nothing else but fixed principle1 but naked honesty1 but undisguised enthusiasm4 ,that is the expansive force that must shatter the strongholds of corruption if ever they are shattered1 that must make them totter1 if ever they are made to totter1 about the heads of their possessors4 ,desire to expose a ministry1 and you will do it--if it be1 like ours1 vulnerable all over4 ,desire to make a display of yourself1 and you will do it1 if you have a decent stock of acquirements4 ,mr4 ,brougham has a great quantity of combustible materials constantly passing through his hands1 but he has not the warmth in his own heart to #8kindle them into a flame of sacred vehemence4' ,he is not a good hater4 ,he is not an impassioned lover of the popular cause4 ,he is not a ,radical orator3 he is not a ,back-bone debater4 ,he wants nerve1 he wants impetuosity4 ,he may divide on a question1 but he will never carry it4 ,his circumspection1 which he thinks his strength1 is in reality his weakness4 ,he makes paltry excuses1 unmanly concessions4 ,his political warfare is not a bellum internecinum4 ,he commits no mortal offences4 ,he has not yet cut off his retreat4 ,in a word1 he trims too much between all parties4 ,a person who does this too long1 loses the confidence1 loses the cordiality of all parties2 loses his character2 and when he has once lost that1 there is nothing to stand in his way to office and the first honours of the ,state6 ,he who is not indifferent himself will find out1 from his own feelings1 what it is that interests others in a cause4 ,an honest man is an orator by nature4 ,the late ,mr4 ,whitbread was an honest man1 and a true parliamentary speaker4 ,he had no artifices1 no tricks1 no reserve about him4 ,he spoke point-blank what he thought1 and his heart was in his broad1 honest1 ,english face4 ,he had as much activity of mind as ,mr4 ,brougham1 and paid the same attention to business as that gentleman does2 but it was with him a matter of feeling1 and had nothing of a professional look4 ,his objects were open and direct2 and he had a sufficient stock of natural good sense and practical information1 not to be made the dupe of sophistry and chicane4 ,he was always in his place1 and ready to do his duty4 ,if a falsehood was stated1 he contradicted it instantly in a few plain words3 if an act of injustice was palliated1 it excited his contempt2 if it was justified1 it roused his indignation3 he retorted a mean insinuation with manly spirit1 and never shrunk from a frank avowal of his sentiments4 ,he presented a petition or complaint against some particular grievance better than any one else ,i ever saw4 ,his manner seemed neither to implicate him in the truth of the charge1 nor to signify a wish to disclaim it beforehand4 ,he was merely the organ through which any alleged abuse of power might meet the public ear1 and he either answered or redressed1 according to the merits of the case upon inquiry4 ,in short1 he was the representative of the spontaneous1 unsophisticated sense of the ,english people on public men and public measures4 ,any plain1 well-meaning man1 on hearing him speak1 would say1 #8,that is just what ,i think'2 or from observing his manner1 would say1 #8,that is just what ,i feel4' ,he was not otherwise a powerful debater or an accomplished speaker4 ,he could not master a general view of any subject1 or get up a set speech with effect4 ,one or two that ,i heard him make 7particularly one on the ,princess of ,wales and the situation of her affairs in #ahac1 in which he grew pathetic7 were complete failures4 ,he could pull down better than he could build up4 ,the irritation of constant contradiction was necessary to his full possession of himself3--give him #8ample scope and verge enough1' and he lost his way4 ,he stuck close to the skirts of ,ministry1 but he was not qualified to originate or bring to a triumphant conclusion any great political movement4 ,his enthusiasm ran away with his judgment1 and was not backed by equal powers of reasoning or imagination4 ,he was a sanguine1 high-spirited man1 but not a man of genius1 or a deep thinker2 and his fortitude failed him1 when the last fatal blow was given to himself and his party4 ,he could not have drawn up so able a political statement as ,mr4 ,brougham2 but he would have more personal adherents in the ,house of ,commons1 for he was himself the adherent of a cause4 ,mr4 ,tierney is certainly a better speaker and a cleverer man4 ,but he can never make a leader for want of earnestness4 ,he has no ,quixotic enthusiasm in himself2 much less any to spare for his followers4 ,he cares nothing 7or seems to care nothing7 about a question2 but he is impatient of absurdity1 and has a thorough contempt for the understandings of his opponents4 ,sharpened by his spleen1 nothing escapes his acuteness4 ,he makes fine sport for the spectators4 ,he takes up ,lord ,castlereagh's blunders1 and ,mr4 ,vansittart's no-meanings2 and retorts them on their heads in the finest style of execution imaginable4 ,it is like being present on a ,shrove-,tuesday1 and seeing a set of mischievous unfeeling boys throwing at a brace of cocks1 and breaking their shins4 ,mr4 ,tierney always brings down his man3 but beyond this you feel no confidence in him2 you take no interest in his movements but as he is instrumental in annoying other people4 ,he 7to all appearance7 has no great point to carry himself1 and no wish to be thought to have any important principle at stake4 ,he is by much too sincere for a hypocrite1 but is not enough in earnest for a parliamentary leader4 ,for others to sympathise with you1 you must first sympathise with them4 ,when ,mr4 ,whitbread got up to speak1 you felt an interest in what he was going to say1 in the success of his arguments3 when you hear that ,mr4 ,tierney is on his legs1 you feel that you shall be amused with an admirable display of dexterity and talent1 but are nearly indifferent as to the result4 ,you look on as at an exhibition of extraordinary skill in fencing or prize-fighting4 ,of all those who have for some years past aspired by turns to be leaders of the ,opposition1 ,mr4 ,ponsonby was the person who had the fewest pretensions4 ,he was a literal arguer4 ,he affected great sagacity and judgment1 and referred every thing1 in a summary way1 to the principles of common sense1 and the reason of the case4 ,he abounded in truisms1 which seldom go far in deciding disputable points4 ,he generally reduced the whole range of the debate into the narrow compass of a self-evident proposition3--to make sure of his object1 he began by taking the question for granted1 and necessarily failed when he came to the particular application4 ,he was not aware of the maxim1 that he who proves too much1 proves nothing4 ,his turn of observation was legal1 not acute3 his manner was dry1 but his blows were not hard3 his features were flat on his face1 and his arguments did not stand out from the question4 ,he might have been a tolerable special-pleader1 but he was a bad orator1 and1 ,i think1 a worse politician4 ,any one who argues on strict logical grounds must be prepared to go all lengths1 or he will be sure to be defeated at every step he takes3 but the gentleman's principles were of a very cautious and temporising cast4 ,i have seen him1 more than once1 give himself great airs over those who took more general views of the subject2 and he was very fastidious in the choice of associates1 with whom he would condescend to act4 ,mr4 ,ponsonby's style of speaking was neither instructive nor entertaining4 ,in this respect1 it was the reverse of ,mr4 ,grattan's1 which was both4 ,to see the latter make one of his promised motions on ,catholic ,emancipation1 was one of the most extraordinary exhibitions1 both bodily and mental1 which could possibly be witnessed4 ,you saw a little oddly-compacted figure of a man1 with a large head and features1--such as they give to pasteboard masks1 or stick upon the shoulders of ,punch in the puppet-show1--rolling about like a ,mandarin--sawing the air with his whole body from head to foot1 sweeping the floor with a roll of parchment1 which he held in one hand1 and throwing his legs and arms about like the branches of trees tossed by the wind3--every now and then striking the table with impatient vehemence1 and1 in a sharp1 slow1 nasal1 gutteral tone1 drawling out1 with due emphasis and discretion1 a set of little smart antithetical sentences1--all ready-cut and dry1 polished and pointed2--that seemed as if they #8would lengthen out in succession to the crack of doom4' ,alliterations were tacked to alliterations1--inference was dove-tailed into inference1--and the whole derived new brilliance and piquancy from the contrast it presented to the uncouthness of the speaker1 and the monotony of his delivery4 ,his were compositions that would have done equally well to be said or sung4 ,the rhyme was placed at the beginning instead of the end of each line2 he sharpened the sense on the sound1 and clenched an argument by corresponding letters of the alphabet4 ,it must be confessed1 that there was something meretricious1 as well as alluring1 in this style4 ,after the first surprise and startling effect is over1 and the devoted champion of his country's cause goes on ringing the changes on #8the ,irish ,people and the ,irish ,parliament'--on #8the ,guinea and the ,gallows1' as the ultimate resources of the ,english government1--on #8ministerial mismanagement1 and privileged profligacy1'--we begin to feel that there is nothing in these quaint and affected verbal coincidences more nearly allied to truth than falsehood3--there is a want of directness and simplicity in this warped and garbled style2 and our attention is drawn off from the importance of the subject by a shower of epigrammatic conceits1 and fanciful phraseology1 in which the orator chuses to veil it4 ,it is hardly enough to say1 in defence of this jingle of words1 7as well as of the overstrained hyperbolical tone of declamation which accompanies it7 that #8it is a custom of ,ireland4'#ee ,the same objection may be made to it in point of taste that has been made to the old-fashioned1 obsolete practice of cutting trees into the shape of arm-chairs and peacocks1 or to that style of landscape-gardening1 where #8,grove nods to grove1 each alley has a brother1 ,and half the platform just reflects the other--' and ,i am afraid that this objection cannot be got over1 at least1 on this side the water4#ef ,the best ,irish speaker ,i ever heard 7indeed the best speaker without any exception whatever7 is ,mr4 ,plunkett2 who followed ,mr4 ,grattan in one of the debates on the ,catholic question above alluded to4 ,the contrast was not a little striking2 and it was certainly in favour of ,mr4 ,plunkett4 ,his style of workmanship was more manly and more masterly4 ,there were no little ,gothic ornaments or fantastic excrescences to catch and break the attention3 no quaintness1 witticism1 or conceit4 ,roubilliac1 after being abroad1 said1 that #8what he had seen there made his own work in ,westminster ,abbey look like tobacco-pipes4' ,you had something of the same sort of feeling with respect to ,mr4 ,grattan's artificial and frittered style1 after hearing ,mr4 ,plunkett's defence of the same side of the question4 ,he went strait forward to his end with a force equal to his rapidity4 ,he removed all obstacles1 as he advanced4 ,he overturned ,mr4 ,banks with his right hand1 and ,mr4 ,charles ,yorke with his left--the one on a chronological question of the ,concordat1 and the other as to the origin of the ,corporation and ,test ,acts4 ,one wonders how they ever got up again1 or trusted themselves on a ground of matter-of-fact ever after4 ,mr4 ,secretary ,peele did not offer to put himself in his way4 ,no part of the subject could come amiss to him--history1 law1 constitutional principle1 common feeling1 local prejudices1 general theory1--all was alike within his reach and his controul4 ,having settled one point1 he passed on to another1 carrying his hearers with him3--it was as if he knew all that could be said on the question1 and was anxious to impart his knowledge without any desire of shining4 ,there was no affectation1 no effort1 but equal ease and earnestness4 ,every thing was brought to bear that could answer his purpose1 and there was nothing superfluous4 ,his eloquence swept along like a river1 #8,without o'erflowing1 full4' ,every step told3 every sentence went to account4 ,i cannot say that there was any thing very profound or original in argument1 imposing in imagination1 or impassioned in sentiment1 in any part of this address--but it was throughout impregnated with as much thought1 imagination and passion as the ,house would be likely to understand or sympathise with4 ,it acted like a loadstone to the feelings of the ,house2 and the speaker raised their enthusiasm1 and carried their convictions as far as he wished1 or as it was practicable4 ,the effect was extraordinary3 the impression grew stronger from first to last4 ,no one stirred the whole time1 and1 at the end1 the lobbies were crowded with members going up stairs and saying1 #8,well1 this is a speech worth going without one's dinner to hear1' 7,oh1 unequivocal testimony of applause67 #8there has been nothing like this since the time of ,fox1' etc4 ,for myself1 ,i never heard any other speech that ,i would have given three farthings to have made4 ,it did not make the same figure in the newspapers the next day2 for it was but indifferently reported1 owing to the extreme fluency with which it was delivered4 ,there was no boggling1 no straggling1 irrelevant matter2--you could not wait for him at the end of a long parenthesis1 and go on with your report as if nothing had happened in the interval1 as is sometimes the case1#eg--;and besides1 for the reason above given1 it was a speech better calculated to strike in the hearing than the perusal2 for though it was fully up to the tone of the ,house1 the public mind can bear stronger meats4 ,another such speech would have decided the question1 and made the difference of four votes by which it was lost4 ,while the impression was fresh in the mind1 it was not easy for any one1 pretending to honesty1 to look his neighbour in the face and vote against the motion4 ,but ,mr4 ,plunkett1 in the mean time1 sailed for ,ireland4 ,any one who can speak as he can1 and is a friend to his own1 or any other country1 ought not to let the present men retain their seats six months longer4 ,nothing but the will is wanting4--,the ability1 ,i will venture to say1 is there4 ,and what shall ,i say of ,lord ,castlereagh--that spouter without beginning1 middle1 or end--who has not an idea in his head1 nor a word to say for himself--who carries the ,house of ,commons by his manner alone--who bows and smiles assent and dissent--who makes a dangling proposition of his person1 and is himself a drooping figure of speech--what shall ,i say of this inanimate automaton8 ,nothing6 ,for what can be said of him8 #8,come then1 expressive silence1 muse his praise4'#eh ,neither have ,i any thing to say of the style of eloquence of ,mr4 ,alderman ,wood1 or ,mr4 ,waithman1 or ,sir4 ,w4 ,curtis--except that the latter always appears to me a very fit and lively representative of the good living1 drinking1 and eating of the city4 ,this is but reasonable4 ,the bodies of the city1 not their minds1 should be represented4 ,a large turtle in the ,house 7with a proxy to the minister7 would answer the purpose just as well4 ,mr4 ,wilberforce is a speaker whom it is difficult to class either with ministers or opposition4 ,his character and his pretensions are altogether equivocal4 ,he is a man of some ability1 and1 at one time1 had considerable influence4 ,he is what might be called #8a sweet speaker'3 his silver voice floats and glides up and down in the air1 as if it was avoiding every occasion of offence1 and dodging the question through its various avenues of reason and interest4 ----#8,in many a winding bout ,of melting softness long drawn out4' ,there is a finical flexibility of purpose1 and a cautious curiosity of research1 that would put you in pain for him1 if the want of proper self-respect did not take away all common fellow-feeling4 ,his stratagems are so over-wrought that you wish them to fail3 his evasions are so slippery and yet so palpable that you laugh in his face4 ,mr4 ,wilberforce is a man that has always two strings to his bow3 as an orator1 he is a kind of lay-preacher in parliament4 ,he is at continual hawk and buzzard between character and conscience1 between popularity and court favour1 between his loyalty and his religion1 between this world and the next4 ,is not this something like trying to serve ,god and ,mammon8 ,he is anxious to stand fair with the reflecting part of the community1 without giving umbrage to power4 ,he is shocked at vice in low stations3 #8,but 'tis the fall degrades her to a whore2 ,let greatness own her1 and she's mean no more4' ,he would go with the popular cause as long as it was popular1 and gave him more weight than he lost by it2 but would desert it the instant it became obnoxious1 and that an obstinate adherence to it was likely to deprive him of future opportunities of doing good4 ,he had rather be on the right side than the wrong1 if he loses nothing by it4 ,his reputation costs him nothing2 though he always takes care to save appearances4 ,his virtues compound for his vices in a very amicable manner4 ,his humanity is at the horizon1 three thousand miles off1--his servility stays at home1 at the beck of the minister4 ,he unbinds the chains of ,africa1 and helps 7we trust without meaning it7 to rivet those of his own country1 and of ,europe4 ,as a general truth1--7not meaning any undue application in the present instance17 it may be affirmed1 that there is not a more insignificant as well as a dangerous character crawling between heaven and earth1 than that of the pretended patriot1 and philanthropist1 who has not courage to take the plain reward of vice or virtue--who crouches to authority1 and yet dreads the censure of the world1 who gives a sneaking casting vote on the side of conscience only when he can do it with impunity1--or else throws the weight of his reputation into the scale of his interest and the profligacy of others--who makes an affectation of principle a stalking-horse to his pitiful desire of distinction1 and betrays a cause1 sooner than commit himself4 #8,out upon such half-faced fellowship4' ,we have another example of trumpery ambition in the person of ,mr4 ,c4 ,wynne2 who1 officious1 indefatigable in his petty warfare with the abuses of power1 is chiefly anxious to stand well with those who sanction them4 ,he interprets the text literally1 not to do evil that good may come4 ,he is so fearful of the imputation of the least wrong1 that he will never do or let any one else do the greatest right4 ,summum jus summa injuria1 has never entered his head4 ,he is the dog in the political manger3 a technical marplot4 ,he takes a systematic delight in giving a lift to his enemies1 and in hampering his friends4 ,he is a regular whipper-in on the side of opposition1 to all those who go but a hairs-breadth beyond his pragmatical notions of discretion and propriety4 ,he sets up for a balance-master of the constitution and1 by insisting on its never deviating from its erect1 perpendicular position1 is sure to have it overturned4 ,he professes to be greatly scandalized at the abuses and corruptions in our ancient institutions1 which are #8as notorious as the sun at noon-day1' and would have them removed--but he is much more scandalized at those indiscreet persons who bring to light any of these notorious abuses1 in order to have them remedied4 ,he is more angry at those with whom he differs in the smallest iota than at those who differ from him toto clo3 and is at mortal enmity with every antiministerial measure that is not so clogged with imbecility and objections as to be impracticable or absolutely unavailing4 ,he is therefore a bad partisan1 and does little mischief1 only because he is little attended to4 ,indeed1 his voice is against him4 ,i did not much like ,sir ,samuel ,romilly's significant1 oracular way of laying down the law in the ,house3--his self-important assumption of second-hand truths1 and his impatience of contradiction1 as if he gave his time there to humanity for nothing4 ,he was too solemn a speaker3 as ,garrow was too flippant and fluent4 ,the latter appeared to have nothing to do but to talk nonsense by the yard1 for the pleasure of exposing himself or being exposed by others4 ,he might be said to hold in his hand a general retainer for absurdity1 and to hold his head up in the pillory of his own folly with a very unabashed and unblushing gaiety of demeanour4 ,lawyers1 as a general rule1 are the very worst speakers in the ,house3 if there are a few nominal exceptions1 it is because they are not lawyers4 ,i do not recollect any other speaker of importance but ,mr4 ,canning2 and he requires a chapter by himself4 ,thus then ,i would try to estimate him4--,the orator and the writer do not always belong to the same class of intellectual character2 nor is it1 ,i think1 in general1 fair to judge of the merit of popular harangues by reducing them to the standard of literary compositions4 ,something1--a great deal1--is to be given to the suddenness of the emergency1 the want of preparation1 the instantaneous and effectual1 but passing appeal to individual characters1 feelings1 and events4 ,the speaker has less time allowed him to enforce his purpose1 and to procure the impression he aims at than the writer2 and he is therefore entitled to produce it by less scrupulous1 by more obvious and fugitive means4 ,he must strike the iron while it is hot4 ,the blow must be prompt and decisive4 ,he must mould the convictions and purposes of his hearers while they are under the influence of passion and circumstances1--as the glass-blower moulds the vitreous fluid with his breath4 ,if he can take the popular mind by surprise1 and stamp on it1 while warm1 the impression desired1 it is not to be demanded whether the same means would have been equally successful on cool reflection or after the most mature deliberation4 ,that is not the question at issue4 ,at a moment's notice the expert debater is able to start some topic1 some view of a subject1 which answers the purpose of the moment4 ,he can suggest a dextrous evasion of his adversaries' objections1 he knows when to seize and take advantage of the impulse of popular feeling1 he is master of the dazzling fence of argument1 #8the punto1 the stoccado1 the reverso1' the shifts1 and quirks1 and palpable topics of debate2 he can wield these at pleasure1 and employ them to advantage on the spur of the occasion--this is all that can be required of him2 for it is all that is necessary1 and all that he undertakes to do4 ,that another could bring forward more weighty reasons1 offer more wholesome advice1 convey more sound and extensive information in an indefinite period1 is nothing to the purpose2 for all this wisdom and knowledge would be of no avail in the supposed circumstances2 the critical opportunity for action would be lost1 before any use could be made of it4 ,the one thing needful in public speaking is not to say what is best1 but the best that can be said in a given time1 place1 and circumstance4 ,the great qualification therefore of a leader in debate 7as of a leader in fight7 is presence of mind3 he who has not this1 wants every thing1 and he who has it1 may be forgiven almost all other deficiencies4 ,the current coin of his discourses may be light and worthless in itself2 but if it is always kept bright and ready for immediate use1 it will pass unquestioned2 and the public voice will affix to his name the praise of a sharp-witted1 able1 fluent1 and eloquent speaker4 ,we #8no further seek his merits to disclose1 or scan his frailties in their brief abode1'--the popular ear and echo of popular applause4 ,what he says may be trite1 pert1 shallow1 contradictory1 false1 unfounded1 and sophistical2 but it was what was wanted for the occasion1 and it told with those who heard it4 ,let it stop there1 and all is well4 ,the rest is forgotten2 nor is it worth remembering4 ,but ,mr4 ,canning has an ill habit of printing his speeches3 and ,i doubt where the same oratorical privileges can be extended to printed speeches2 or to this gentleman's speeches in general1 even though they should not be printed4 ,whether afterwards committed to the press or not1 they have evidently1 ,i think1 been first committed1 with great care1 to paper or to memory4 ,they have all the marks1 and are chargeable with all the malice prepense of written compositions4 ,they are not occasional effusions1 but set harangues4 ,they are elaborate impromptus2 deeply concerted and highly polished pieces of extempore ingenuity4 ,the repartee has been conceived many months before the luckless observation which gives ostensible birth to it2 and an argument woven into a debate is sure to be the counterpart or fag-end of some worn-out sophism of several years' standing4 ,mr4 ,canning is not so properly an orator as an author reciting his own compositions4 ,he foresees 7without much of the spirit of prophecy7 what will1 may1 or can be said on some well-conned subject1 and gets up1 by anticipation1 a tissue of excellent good conceits1 indifferent bad arguments1 classical quotations1 and showy similes1 which he contrives1 by a sort of rhetorical join-hand1 to tack on to some straggling observation dropped by some ,honourable ,member1--and so goes on1 with folded arms and sonorous voice1 neither quickened nor retarded1 neither elevated nor depressed by the hear him's that now rise on the one side1 or are now echoed from the other2--never diverted into laughing gaiety1 never hurried into incontrolable passion--till he is regularly delivered in the course of the same number of hours of the labour of weeks and months4 ,to those who are in the secret of the arts of debating1 who are versed in the complicated tactics of parliamentary common-place1 there is nothing very mysterious in the process1 though it startles the uninitiated4 ,the fluency1 the monotony1 the unimpressible1 imposing style of his elocution1--#8swinging slow with sullen roar1' like the alternate oscillation of a pendulum--afraid of being thrown off his balance--never trusting himself with the smallest inflection of tone or manner from the impulse of the moment1--all shew that the speaker relies on the tenaciousness of his memory1 not on the quickness and fertility of his invention4 ,mr4 ,canning1 ,i apprehend1 never answered a speech3 he answers1 or affects to answer some observation in a speech1 and then manufactures a long tirade out of his own #8mother-wit and arts well-known before4' ,he caps an oration1 as school-boys cap verses2 and gets up his oracular responses1 as ,sidrophel and ,whackum did theirs1 by having met with his customers of old4 ,from that time he has the debate entirely in his own hands1 and exercises over it #8sole sovereign sway and masterdom4' ,one of these spontaneous mechanical sallies of his resembles a voluntary played on a barrel-organ3 it is a kind of ,pan-harmonic display of wit and wisdom--such as ,mr4 ,canning possesses6 ,the amplest stores of his mind are unfolded to their inmost source--the classic lore1 the historic page1 the philosophic doubt1 the sage reply1 the sprightly allusion1 the delicate irony1 the happy turning of a period or insinuation of a paragraph with senatorial dignity and ,ovidian grace--are all here concocted1 studied1 revised1 varnished over1 till the sense aches at their glossy beauty and sickens at hopeless perfection4 ,our modern orator's thoughts have been declared by some to have all the elegance of the antique2 ,i should say1 they have only the fragility and smoothness of plaster-cast copies6 ,if ,i were compelled to characterize ,mr4 ,canning's style by a single trait1 ,i should say that he is a mere parodist in verse or prose1 in reasoning or in wit4 ,he transposes arguments as he does images1 and makes sophistry of the one1 and burlesque of the other4 #8,what's serious1 he turns to farce4' ,this is perhaps1 not art in him1 so much as nature4 ,the specific levity of his mind causes it to subsist best in the rarified atmosphere of indifference and scorn3 it attaches most interest and importance to the slight and worthless4 ,there is a striking want of solidity and keeping in this person's character4 ,the frivolous1 the equivocal1 is his delight--the element in which he speaks1 and writes1 and has his being1 as an orator and poet4 ,by applying to low and contemptible objects the language or ideas which have been appropriated to high and swelling contemplations1 he reduces the latter to the same paltry level1 or renders the former doubly ridiculous4 ,on the same principle1 or from not feeling the due force and weight of different things1 as they affect either the imagination or the understanding1 he brings the slenderest and most evanescent analogies to bear out the most important conclusions2 establishes some fact in history by giving it the form of an idle interrogation1 like a school-boy declaiming on he knows not what2 and thinks to overturn the fixed sentiment of a whole people by an interjection of surprise at what he knows to be unavoidable and unanswerable4 ,there is none of the gravity of the statesman1 of the enthusiasm of the patriot1 the impatient zeal of the partizan1 in ,mr4 ,canning4 ,we distinguish through the disguise of pompous declamation1 or the affectation of personal consequence1 only the elegant trifler1 the thoughtless epigrammatist1 spreading #8a windy fan of painted plumes1' to catch the breath of popular applause1 or to flutter in the tainted breeze of court-favour4 #8,as those same plumes1 so seems he vain and light1'--never applying his hand to useful action1 or his mind to sober truth4 ,a thing's being evident1 is to him a reason for attempting to falsify it3 its being right is a reason for straining every nerve to evade or defeat it at all events4 ,it might appear1 that with him inversion is the order of nature4 #8,trifles light as air1 are' to his understanding1 #8confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ3' and he winks and shuts his apprehension up to the most solemn and momentous truths as gross and vulgar errors4 ,his political creed is of an entirely fanciful and fictitious texture--a kind of moral1 religious1 political1 and sentimental filligre-work3 or it is made up of monstrous pretexts1 and idle shadows1 and spurious theories1 and mock-alarms4 ,hence his gravest reasonings have very much an air of concealed irony2 and it might sometimes almost be suspected that1 by his partial1 loose1 and unguarded sophisms1 he meant to abandon the very cause he professes to magnify and extol4#ei ,it is indeed1 his boast1 his pride1 his pleasure1 #8to make the worse appear the better reason1' which he does with the pertness of a school-boy and the effrontery of a prostitute3 he assumes indecent postures in the debate1 confounds the sense of right and wrong by his licentious disregard of both1 puts honesty out of countenance by the familiarity of his proposals1 makes a jest of principle1--#8takes the rose from the fair forehead of a virtuous cause1 and plants a blister there4' ,the ,house of ,lords does not at present display much of the aristocracy of talent4 ,the scene is by no means so amusing or dramatic here as in the ,house of ,commons4 ,every speaker seems to claim his privilege of peerage in the awful attention of his auditors1 which is granted while there is any reasonable hope of a return3 but it is not easy to hear ,lord ,grenville repeat the same thing regularly four times over1 in different words--to listen to the ,marquis of ,wellesley who never lowers his voice for four hours from the time he begins1 nor utters the commonest syllable in a tone below that in which ,pierre curses the ,senate--,lord ,holland might have other pretensions to alacrity of mind than an impediment of speech1 and ,lord ,liverpool might introduce less of the vis inerti of office into his official harangues1 than he does4 ,lord ,ellenborough was great #8in the extremity of an oath4' ,lord ,eldon1 #8his face 'twixt tears and smiles contending1' never loses his place or his temper4 ,it is a pity to see ,lord ,erskine sit silent1 who was once a popular and powerful speaker2 and when he does get up to speak1 you wish he had said nothing4 ,this nobleman1 the other day1 on his return to ,scotland after an absence of fifty years1 made a striking speech on the instinctive and indissoluble attachment of all persons to the country where they are born1--which he considered as an innate and unerring principle of the human mind2 and1 in expatiating on the advantages of patriotism1 argued by way of illustration1 that if it were not for this original dispensation of ,providence1 attaching1 and1 as it were1 rooting every one to the spot where he was bred and born1--civil society should never have existed1 nor mankind have been reclaimed from the barbarous and wandering way of life1 to which they were in the first instance addicted6 ,how these persons should become attached by habit to places where it appears1 from their vagabond dispositions1 they never stayed at all1 is an oversight of the speaker which remains unexplained4 ,on the same occasion1 the learned ,lord1 in order to produce an effect1 observed that when1 advancing farther north1 he should come to the old playground near his father's mansion1 where he used to play at ball when a child1 his sensations would be of a most affecting description4 ,this is possible2 but his ,lordship returned homewards the next day1 thinking1 no doubt1 he had anticipated all the sentiment of the situation4 ,this puts one in mind of the story one has heard of ,tom ,sheridan1 who told his father he had been down to the bottom of a coal-pit4 #8,then1 you are a fool1 ,tom1' said the father4 #8,why so1 ,sir8' #8,because1' said the other1 #8it would have answered all the same purpose to have said you had been down6' ,,haydon',s #8,,christ',s ,,agony ,,in ,,the ,,garden' ,the ,london ,magazine4 ,may1 #ahba4 ,we have prefixed to the present number an engraved outline of this picture 7which we hope will be thought satisfactory71 and we subjoin the following description of it in the words of the artist's catalogue4 #8,christ's ,agony in the ,garden4--,the manner of treating this subject in the present picture has not been taken from the account of any one ,apostle ,evangelist in particular1 but from the united relations of the whole four4 #8,the moment selected for the expression of our ,saviour is the moment when he acquiesces to 7in7 the necessity of his approaching sacrifice1 after the previous struggle of apprehension4 8,nevertheless1 not my will1 but thine be done40 #8,it is wished to give an air of submissive tenderness1 while a quiver of agony still trembles on his features4 ,the ,apostles are resting a little behind1 on a sort of garden-bank2 ,st4 ,john in an unsound doze--,st4 ,james in a deep sleep--,st4 ,peter has fallen into a disturbed slumber against a tree1 while keeping guard with his sword1 and is on the point of waking at the approach of light4 ,behind ,st4 ,peter1 and stealing round the edge of the bank1 comes the mean traitor1 ,judas1 with a centurion1 soldiers1 and a crowd2 the centurion has stepped forward from his soldiers 7who are marching up7 to look with his torch1 where ,christ is retired and praying2 while ,judas1 alarmed lest he might be surprised too suddenly1 presses back his hand to enforce caution and silence1 and crouching down his malignant and imbecile face beneath his shoulders1 he crawls forward like a reptile to his prey1 his features shining with the anticipated rapture of successful treachery4 #8,it is an inherent feeling in human beings1 to rejoice at the instant of a successful exercise of their own power1 however despicably directed4 #8,the ,apostles are supposed to be lit by the glory which emanates from ,christ's head1 and the crowd by the torches and lights about them4' ,the printed catalogue contains also elaborate and able descriptions of ,macbeth1 the murder of ,dentatus1 and the judgment of ,solomon1 which have been already before the public4 ,we do not think ,christ's ,agony in the ,garden the best picture in this collection1 nor the most striking effort of ,mr4 ,haydon's pencil4 ,on the contrary1 we must take leave to say1 that we consider it as a comparative failure1 both in execution and probable effect4 ,we doubt whether1 in point of policy1 the celebrated artist would not have consulted his reputation and his ultimate interest more1 by waiting till he had produced another work on the same grand and magnificent scale as his last1 instead of trusting to the ebb of popularity1 resulting from the exhibition of ,christ's ,entrance into ,jerusalem1 to float him through the present season4 ,it is well1 it may be argued1 to keep much before the public1 since they are apt to forget their greatest favourites3 but they are also fastidious2 and it is safest not to appear always before them in the same1 or a less imposing1 attitude4 ,it is better to rise upon them at every step1 if possible 7and there is yet room for improvement in our artist's productions71 to take them by surprise1 and compel admiration by new and extraordinary exertions--than to trust to their generosity or gratitude1 to the lingering remains of their affection for old works1 or their candid construction of some less arduous undertaking4 ,a liberal and friendly critic has1 indeed1 declared on this occasion1 that if the spirits of great men and lofty geniuses take delight in the other world1 in contemplating what delighted them in this1 then the shades of ,raphael1 ,michael ,angelo1 and ,correggio1 can find no better employment than to descend again upon the earth1 once more teeming with the birth of high art1 and stand with hands crossed1 and eyes uplifted in mute wonder1 before ,mr4 ,haydon's picture of ,christ's ,agony in the ,garden4 ,if we believed that the public in general sympathised seriously in this sentiment1 we would not let a murmur escape us to disturb it2--the opinion of the world1 however erroneous1 is not easily altered2 and if they are happy in their ignorance1 let them remain so2--but if the artist himself1 to whom this august compliment has been paid1 should find the hollowness of such hyperbolical commendation1 a hint to him1 as to its cause in the present instance1 may not be thrown away4 ,the public may1 and must1 be managed to a certain point2 that is1 a little noise1 and bustle1 and officious enthusiasm1 is necessary to catch their notice and fix their attention2 but then they should be left to see for themselves2 and after that1 an artist should fling himself boldly and fairly into the huge stream of popularity 7as ,lord ,byron swam across the ,hellespont71 stemming the tide with manly heart and hands1 instead of buoying himself up with borrowed bloated bladders1 and flimsy newspaper paragraphs4 ,when a man feels his own strength1 and the public confidence1 he has nothing to do but to use the one1 and not abuse the other4 ,as his suspicions of the lukewarmness or backwardness of the public taste are removed1 his jealousy of himself should increase4 ,the town and the country have shown themselves willing1 eager patrons of ,mr4 ,haydon's ,,at ,,home3--he ought to feel particular obligations not to invite them by sound of trumpet and beat of drum to an inferior entertainment2 but1 like our advertising friend1 ,matthews1 compass #8sea1 earth1 and air1' to keep up the eclat of his first and overwhelming accueil6 ,so much for advice2 now to criticism4 ,we have said1 that we regard the present performance as a comparative failure2 and our reasons are briefly and plainly these following3--,first1 this picture is inferior in size to those that ,mr4 ,haydon has of late years painted1 and is so far a falling off4 ,it does not fill a given stipulated space in the world's eye4 ,it does not occupy one side of a great room4 ,it is the ,iliad in a nutshell4 ,it is only twelve feet by nine1 instead of nineteen by sixteen2 and that circumstance tells against it with the unenlightened many1 and with the judicious few4 ,one great merit of ,mr4 ,haydon's pictures is their size4 ,reduce him within narrow limits1 and you cut off half his resources4 ,his genius is gigantic4 ,he is of the race of ,brobdingnag1 and not of ,lilliput4 ,he can manage a groupe better than a single figure3 he can manage ten groupes better than one4 ,he bestrides his art like a ,colossus4 ,the more you give him to do1 the better he does it4 ,ardour1 energy1 boundless ambition1 are the categories of his mind1 the springs of his enterprises4 ,he only asks #8ample room and verge enough4' ,vastness does not confound him1 difficulty rouses him1 impossibility is the element in which he glories4 ,he does not concentrate his powers in a single point1 but expands them to the utmost circumference of his subject1 with increasing impetus and rapidity4 ,he must move great masses1 he must combine extreme points1 he must have striking contrasts and situations1 he must have all sorts of characters and expressions2 these he hurries over1 and dashes in with a decided1 undistracted hand2--set him to finish any one of these to an exact perfection1 to make #8a hand1 an ear1 an eye1' that1 in the words of an old poet1 shall be #8worth an history1' and his power is gone4 ,his forte is in motion1 not in rest2 in complication and sudden effects1 not in simplicity1 subtlety1 and endless refinement4 ,as it was said in the ,edinburgh ,review1 ,mr4 ,haydon's compositions are masterly sketches2--they are not1 as it was said in ,blackwood's ,magazine1 finished miniature pictures4 ,we ourselves thought the ,christ in the triumphant ,entry into ,jerusalem1 the least successful part of that much admired picture3 but there it was lost1 or borne along in a crowd of bold and busy figures1 in varied or violent actions4 ,here it is1 not only the principal1 but a solitary1 and almost the only important figure3 it is thrown in one corner of the picture like a lay-figure in a painter's room2 the attitude is much like still-life3 and the expression is 7in our deliberate judgment7 listless1 feeble1 laboured1 neither expressing the agony of grief1 nor the triumph of faith and resignation over it4 ,it may be1 we are wrong3 but if so1 we cannot help it4 ,it is evident1 however1 that this head is painted on a different principle from that of the ,christ last year4 ,it is wrought with care1 and even with precision1 in the more detailed outlines3 but it is timid1 without relief1 and without effect4 ,the colour of the whole figure is1 as if it had been smeared over1 and neutralized1 with some chalky tint4 ,it does not stand out from the canvas1 either in the general masses1 or in the nicer inflections of the muscles and surface of the skin4 ,it has a veil over it1 not a glory round it4 ,we ought1 in justice1 to add1 that a black and white copy 7we understand by a young lady7 of the head of ,christ has a more decided and finer apparent character4 ,to what can this anomaly be owing8 ,is it that ,mr4 ,haydon's conception and drawing of character is good1 but that his mastery in this respect leaves him1 when he resigns the port-crayon2 and that1 instead of giving additional force and beauty to the variations of form and expression1 by the aid of colour and real light and shade1 he only smudges them over with the pencil1 and leaves the indications of truth and feeling more imperfect than he found them8 ,we believe that ,mr4 ,haydon generally copies from nature only with his port-crayon2 and paints from conjecture or fancy4 ,if so1 it would account for what we have here considered as a difficulty4 ,we have reason to believe that the old painters copied form1 colour1--every thing1 to the last syllable1--from nature4 ,indeed1 we have seen two of the heads in the celebrated ,madonna of the ,garland1 the ,mother1 and the fine head of ,joseph1 as original1 finished studies of heads 7the very same as they are in the large composition7 in the collection at ,burleigh-house4 ,by the contrary practice1 ,mr4 ,haydon1 as it appears to us1 has habituated his hand and eye to giving only the contour of the features or the grosser masses3--when he comes to the details of those masses1 he fails4 ,some one1 we suspect from the style of this picture1 has been advising our adventurous and spirited artist to try to finish1 and he has been taking the advice3 we would advise him to turn back1 and consult the natural bent of his own genius4 ,a man may avoid great faults or absurdities by the suggestion of friends3 he can only attain positive excellence1 or overcome great difficulties1 by the unbiassed force of his own mind4 ,the crowd coming1 with ,judas at their head1 to surprise our ,saviour1 is not to our taste4 ,we dislike mobs in a picture4 ,there is1 however1 a good deal of bustle and movement in the advancing group1 and it contrasts almost too abruptly with the unimpassioned stillness and retirement of the figure of ,christ4 ,judas makes a bad figure both in ,mr4 ,haydon's catalogue1 and on his canvas4 ,we think the original must have been a more profound and plausible-looking character than he is here represented4 ,he should not grin and show his teeth4 ,he was by all accounts1 a grave1 plodding1 calculating personage1 usurious1 and with a cast of melancholy1 and soon after went and hanged himself4 ,had ,mr4 ,haydon been in ,scotland when he made this sketch8 ,judas was not a laughing1 careless wag2 he was one of the #8,melancholy ,andrews4'--,the best part of this picture is decidedly 7in our opinion7 the middle ground1 containing the figures of the three ,apostles4 ,there is a dignity1 a grace1 a shadowy repose about them which approaches close indeed upon the great style in painting4 ,we have only to regret that a person1 who does so well at times1 does not do well always4 ,we are inclined to attribute such inequalities1 and an appearance of haste and unconcoctedness in some of ,mr4 ,haydon's plans1 to distraction and hurry of mind1 arising from a struggle with the difficulties both of art and of fortune2 and as the last of these is now removed1 we trust this circumstance will leave him at leisure to prosecute the grand design he has begun 7the ,raising of ,lazarus7 with a mind free and unembarrassed2 and enable him to conclude it in a manner worthy of his own reputation1 and that of his country6 ,,pope1 ,,lord ,,byron1 ,,and ,,mr4 ,,bowles#fj ,the ,london ,magazine4 ,june #ahba4 ,this is a very proper letter for a lord to write to his bookseller1 and for ,mr4 ,murray to show about among his friends1 as it contains some dry rubs at ,mr4 ,bowles1 and some good hits at ,mr4 ,southey and his #8invariable principles4' ,there is some good hating1 and some good writing in it1 some coarse jests1 and some dogmatical assertions2 but that it is by any means a settler of the question1 is what we are in all due form inclined to doubt4 ,his ,lordship1 as a poet1 is a little headstrong and self-willed1 a spoiled child of nature and fortune3 his philosophy and criticism have a tincture of the same spirit3 he doles out his opinions with a great deal of frankness and spleen1 saying1 #8this ,i like1 that ,i loathe2' but he does not trouble himself1 or the reader1 with his reasons1 any more than he accounts to his servants for the directions he gives them4 ,this might seem too great a compliment in his ,lordship to the public4 ,all this pribble prabble about ,pope1 and ,milton1 and ,shakspeare1 and what foreigners say of us1 and the ,venus1 and ,antinous1 and the ,acropolis1 and the ,grand ,canal at ,venice1 and the ,turkish fleet1 and ,falconer's ,shipwreck1 and ethics1 and ethical poetry 7with the single exception of some bold picturesque sketches in the poet's best prose-style7 is what might be talked by any ,bond-street lounger of them all1 after a last night's debauch1 in the intervals between the splashings of the soda-water and the acid taste of the port wine rising in the mouth4 ,it is no better than that4 ,if his ,lordship had sent it in from ,long's1 or the ,albany1 to be handed about in ,albemarle-street1 in slips as he wrote it1 it would have been very well4 ,but all the way from ,ravenna1 cannot he contrive to send us something better than his own ill-humour and our own common-places--than the discovery that ,pope was a poet1 and that ,cowper was none2 and the old story that ,canova1 in forming a statue1 takes a hand from one1 a foot from another1 and a nose from a third1 and so makes out the idea of perfect beauty6 7,we would advise his ,lordship to say less about this subject of virt1 for he knows little about it3 and besides1 his perceptions are at variance with his theories47 ,in truth1 his ,lordship has the worst of this controversy1 though he throws out a number of pert1 smart1 flashy things1 with the air of a man who sees company on subjects of taste1 while his reverend antagonist1 who is the better critic and logician of the two1 goes prosing on in a tone of obsequious pertinacity and sore pleasantry1 as if he were sitting 7an unwelcome guest7 at his ,lordship's table1 and were awed1 yet galled1 by the cavalier assumption of patrician manners4 ,we cannot understand these startling voluntaries1 played off before the public on the ground of personal rank1 nor the controversial under-song1 like the drone of a bagpipe that forms a tedious accompaniment to them4 ,as ,jem ,belcher1 when asked if he did not feel a little awkward at facing ,gamble the tall ,irishman1 made answer1 #8,an please ye1 sir1 when ,i am stript to my shirt1 ,i am afraid of no man2'--so we would advise ,mr4 ,bowles1 in a question of naked argument1 to fear no man1 and to let no man bite his thumb at him4 ,if his ,lordship were to invite his brother-poet to his house1 and to eke out a sour jest by the flavour of ,monte-,pulciano or ,frontiniac1--if in the dearth of argument he were to ply his friend's weak side with rich sauces and well seasoned hospitality1 #8,ah6 a est bon1 ah6 goutez a6#8--if he were to point1 in illustration of ,pope's style1 to the marble pillars1 the virandas1 the pier glasses1 the classic busts1 the flowering dessert1 and were to exclaim1 #8,you see1 my dear ,bowles1 the superiority of art over nature1 the triumph of polished life over ,gothic barbarism3 we have here neither the ghosts nor fairies of ,shakspeare1 nor ,milton's ,heaven1 nor his ,hell1 yet we contrive to do without them2'--it might require ,parson ,supple's command of countenance to smile off this uncourteous address2 but the divine would not have to digest such awkward raillery on an empty stomach--he would have his quid pro quo3 his ,lordship would have paid for the liberty of using his privilege of peerage4 ,but why any man should carry the rle of his ,lordship's chaplain out of his ,lordship's house1 is what we see no reason for4--,lord ,byron1 in the ,preface to his ,tragedy1 complains that ,horace ,walpole has had hard measure dealt him by the critics1 #8firstly1 because he was a lord1 and secondly1 because he was a gentleman4' ,we do not know how the case may stand between the public and a dead nobleman3 but a living lord has every reasonable allowance made him1 and can do what no one else can4 ,if ,lord ,byron chooses to make a bad joke1 by means of an ill-spelt pun1 it is a condescension in his ,lordship3--if he puts off a set of smart assertions and school-boy instances for pithy proofs1 it is not because he is not able1 but because he cannot be at the pains of going deeper into the question3--if he is rude to an antagonist1 it is construed into agreeable familiarity2 any notice from so great a man appears like a favour3--if he tells or recommends #8a tale of bawdry1' he is not to be tied down by the petty rules which restrict common men3--if he publishes a work1 which is thought of too equivocal a description for the delicate air of ,albemarle-street1 his ,lordship's own name in the title-page is sufficient to back it without the formality of a bookseller's2 if a wire-drawn tragedy of his is acted1 in spite of his protestations against such an appeal to the taste of a vulgar audience1 the storm of pitiless damnation is not let loose upon it1 because it is felt that it would fall harmless on so high and proud a head2 the gilded coronet serves as a conductor to carry off the lightning of popular criticism1 which might blast the merely laurelled bard2 the blame1 the disappointment1 the flat effect1 is thrown upon the manager1 upon the actors--upon any body but the ,noble ,poet6 ,this sounding title swells the mouth of ,fame1 and lends her voice a thousand circling echoes3 the rank of the ,author1 and the public charity extended to him1 as he does not want it1 cover a multitude of sins4 ,what does his ,lordship mean1 then by this whining over the neglect of ,horace ,walpole1--this uncalled-for sympathy with the faded lustre of patrician and gentlemanly pretensions8 ,has he had only half his fame6 ,or1 does he already feel1 with morbid anticipation1 the retiring ebb of that overwhelming tide of popularity1 which having been raised too high by adventitious circumstances1 is lost in flats and shallows1 as soon as their influence is withdrawn8 ,lord ,byron has been twice as much talked of as he would have been1 had he not been ,lord ,byron4 ,his rank and genius have been happily placed #8each other's beams to share1' and both together1 by their mutually reflected splendour1 may be said to have melted the public coldness into the very wantonness of praise3 the faults of the man 7real or supposed7 have only given a dramatic interest to his works4 ,whence1 then1 this repining1 this ungracious cavilling1 this got up ill-humour8 ,we load his ,lordship with ecstatic admiration1 with unqualified ostentatious eulogies2 and he throws them stifling back in our face3 he thanks us with cool1 cutting contempt3 he asks us for our voices1 #8our sweet voices1' like ,coriolanus2 and1 like ,coriolanus1 disdains us for the unwholesome gift4 ,why1 then does he ask for it8 ,if1 as a lord1 he holds in contempt and abhorrence the willing1 delighted homage1 which the public pay to the poet1 let him retire and feed the pride of birth in stately solitude1 or take his place among his equals3 but if he does not find this enough1 and wants our wondering tribute of applause to satisfy his craving vanity1 and make him something more than a mere vulgar lord among hundreds of other lords1 why dash the cup of delicious poison1 which1 at his uneasy request1 we tender him1 to the ground1 with indignant reckless hands1 and tell us he scorns equally our censure or our praise8 ,if he looks upon both as equal impertinence1 he can easily escape out of the reach of both by ceasing to write2 we shall in that case soon cease to think of his ,lordship3 but if he cannot do without our good opinion1 why affect all this coyness1 coldness1 and contempt8 ,if he says he writes not to please us1 but to live by us1 that only alters the nature of the obligation1 and he might still be civil to ,mr4 ,murray's customers4 ,whether he is independent of public opinion1 or dependent on it1 he need not be always sending his readers to ,coventry4 ,when we come to offer him our demonstrations of good will1 he should not kick us down stairs4 ,if he persists in this humour1 the distaste may in time #8become mutual4' ,before we proceed1 there is one thing in which we must say we heartily agree with ,lord ,byron2 and that is the ridicule with which he treats ,mr4 ,bowles's editorial inquisition into the moral character of ,pope4 ,it is a pure piece of clerical priggism4 ,if ,pope was not free from vice1 we should like to know who is4 ,he was one of the most faultless of poets1 both in his life and in his writings4 ,we should not care to throw the first stone at him4 ,we do not wonder at ,lord ,byron's laughing outright at ,mr4 ,bowles's hysterical horrors at poor ,pope's platonic peccadillos1 nor at his being a little impatient of the other's attempt to make himself a make-believe character of perfection out of the #8most small faults' he could rake up against the reputation of an author1 whom he was bound either not to edite or not to injure4 ,but we think his ,lordship turns the tables upon the divine1 and gets up into the reading desk himself1 without the proper canonical credentials1 when he makes such a fuss as he does about didactic or moral poetry as the highest of all others1 because moral truth and moral conduct are of such vast and paramount concernment in human life4 ,but because they are such good things in themselves1 does it follow that they are the better for being put into rhyme8 ,we see no connection between #8ends of verse1 and sayings of philosophers4' ,this reasoning reminds us of the critic who said1 that the only poetry he knew of1 good for any thing1 was the four lines1 beginning #8,thirty days hath ,september1 ,april1 ,june1 and ,november1' for that these were really of some use in finding out the number of days in the different months of the year4 ,the rules of arithmetic are important in many respects1 but we do not know that they are the fittest subjects of poetry4 ,besides1 ,pope was not the only moral poet1 nor are we sure that we understand his moral system1 or that ,lord ,byron understands it1 or that he understood it himself4 ,addison paraphrased the ,psalms1 and ,blackmore sung the ,creation3 yet ,pope has written a lampoon upon the one1 and put the other in his ,dunciad4 ,mr4 ,bowles has numbers of manuscript sermons by him1 the morality of which1 we will venture to say1 is quite as pure1 as orthodox1 as that of the unpublished cantos of ,don ,juan2 yet we doubt whether ,mr4 ,murray1 the ,mecnas of poetry and orthodoxy1 would give as much for the one as for the other4 ,we do not look for the flowers of fancy in moral treatises1 nor for a homily in his ,lordship's irregular stanzas4 ,the ,decalogue1 as a practical prose composition1 or as a body of moral laws and precepts1 is of sufficient weight and authority2 but we should not regard the putting this into heroic verse1 as an effort of the highest poetry4 ,that #8,sternhold and ,hopkins had great qualms' is no imputation on the pious raptures of the ,hebrew bard3 and we suspect his ,lordship himself would object to the allegory in ,spenser1 as a drawback on the poetry1 if it is in other respects to his ,lordship's taste1 which is more than we can pretend to determine4 ,the ,noble ,letter-writer thus moralizes on this subject and transposes the ordinary critical canons somewhat arbitrarily and sophistically4 #8,the depreciation of ,pope is partly founded upon a false idea of the dignity of his order of poetry1 to which he has partly contributed by the ingenuous boast1 8,that not in ,fancy's maze he wander'd long1 ,but stoop'd to ,truth1 and moraliz'd his song40 #8,he should have written 8rose to truth40 ,in my mind the highest of all poetry is ethical poetry1 as the highest of all earthly objects must be moral truth4 ,religion does not make a part of my subject2 it is something beyond human hands except ,milton's and ,dante's1 and even ,dante's powers are involved in his delineation of human passions1 though in supernatural circumstances4 ,what made ,socrates the greatest of men8 ,his moral truth--his ethics4 ,what proved ,jesus ,christ the ,son of ,god hardly less than his miracles8 ,his moral precepts4 ,and if ethics have made a philosopher the first of men1 and have not been disdained as an adjunct to his ,gospel by the ,deity himself1 are we to be told that ethical poetry1 or didactic poetry1 or by whatever name you term it1 whose object is to make men better and wiser1 is not the very first order of poetry2 and are we to be told this too by one of the priesthood8 ,it requires more mind1 more wisdom1 more power1 than all the 8forests0 that ever were 8walked0 for their 8description10 and all the epics that ever were founded upon fields of battle4 ,the ,georgics are indisputably1 and1 ,i believe1 undisputedly1 even a finer poem than the neid4 ,virgil knew this3 he did not order them to be burnt4 8,the proper study of mankind is man40 #8,it is the fashion of the day to lay great stress upon what they call 8imagination0 and 8invention10--the two commonest of qualities3 an ,irish peasant1 with a little whiskey in his head1 will imagine and invent more than would furnish forth a modern poem4 ,if ,lucretius had not been spoiled by the ,epicurean system1 we should have had a far superior poem to any now in existence4 ,as mere poetry1 it is the first of ,latin poems4 ,what then has ruined it8 ,his ethics4 ,pope has not this defect3 his moral is as pure as his poetry is glorious4' ,p4 #db4 ,really this is very inconsequential1 incongruous reasoning4 ,an ,irish peasant1 with a little whiskey in his head1 would not fall upon more blunders1 contradictions1 and defective conclusions4 ,lord ,byron talks of the ethical systems of ,socrates and ,jesus ,christ4 ,what made the former the great man he supposes8--,the invention of his system--the discovery of sublime moral truths4 ,does ,lord ,byron mean to say1 that the mere repetition of the same precepts in prose1 or the turning them into verse1 will make others as great1 or will make a great man at all8 ,the two things compared are wholly disparates4 ,the finding out the #dhth proposition in ,euclid made ,pythagoras a great man4 ,shall we say that the putting this into a grave1 didactic distich would make either a great mathematician or a great poet8 ,it would do neither one nor the other2 though1 according to ,lord ,byron1 this distich would belong to the highest class of poetry1 #8because it would do that in verse1 which one of the greatest of men had wished to accomplish in prose4' ,such is the way in which his ,lordship transposes the common sense of the question1--because it is his humour6 ,the value of any moral truth depends on the philosophic invention implied in it4 ,but this rests with the first author1 and the general idea1 which forms the basis of didactic poetry1 remains the same1 through all its mechanical transmissions afterwards4 ,the merit of the ethical poet must therefore consist in his manner of adorning and illustrating a number of these general truths which are not his own1 that is1 in the poetical invention and imagination he brings to the subject1 as ,mr4 ,bowles has well shown1 with respect to the episodes in the ,essay on ,man1 the description of the poor ,indian and the lamb doomed to death1 which are all the unsophisticated reader ever remembers of that much-talked-of production4 ,lord ,byron clownishly chooses to consider all poetry but what relates to this ethical or didactic truth as #8a lie4' ,is ,lear a lie8 ,or does his ,lordship prefer the story1 or the moral1 in sop's ,fables8 ,he asks #8why must the poet mean the liar1 the feigner1 the tale-teller8 ,a man may make and create better things than these4'--,he may make and create better things than a common-place1 and he who does not1 makes and creates nothing4 ,the ethical or didactic poet necessarily repeats after others1 because general truths and maxims are limited4 ,the individual instances and illustrations1 which his ,lordship qualifies as #8lies1' #8feigning1' and #8tale-telling1' are infinite1 and give endless scope to the genius of the true poet4 ,the rank of poetry is to be judged of by the truth and purity of the moral--so we find it #8in the bond1'--and yet ,cowper1 we are told1 was no poet4 ,is there any keeping in this1 or is it merely an air8 ,again1 we are given to understand that didactic poetry #8requires more mind1 more power than all the descriptive or epic poetry that ever was written3' and as a proof of this1 his ,lordship lays it down1 that the ,georgics are a finer poem than the neid4 ,we do not perceive the inference here4 #8,virgil knew this3 he did not order them to be burnt4 8,the proper study of mankind is man40' ,does our author mean that this was ,virgil's reason for liking his pastoral poetry better than his description of ,dido and neas8 ,but farther1 there is a ,latin poem 7that of ,lucretius7 superior even to the ,georgics2 nay1 it would have been so to any poem now in existence1 but for one unlucky circumstance4 ,and what is that8 #8,its ethics6' ,so that ethics have spoiled the finest poem in the world4 ,this is the rub that makes didactic poetry come in such a questionable shape4 ,if original1 like ,lucretius1 there will be a difference of opinion about it4 ,if trite and acknowledged1 like ,pope1 however pure1 there will be little valuable in it4 ,it is the glory and the privilege of poetry to be conversant about those truths of nature and the heart that are at once original and self-evident4 ,his ,lordship ought to have known this4 ,in the same passage1 he speaks of imagination and invention as #8the two commonest of qualities4' ,we will tell his ,lordship what is commoner1 the want of them4 #8,an ,irish peasant1' he adds1 #8with a little whiskey in his head1 will imagine and invent more than'--7,what8 ,homer1 ,spenser1 and ,ariosto8 ,no3 but than7--#8would furnish forth a modern poem4' ,that we will not dispute4 ,but at any rate1 when sober next morning1 he would be as #8full of wise saws and modern instances' as his ,lordship2 and in either case1 equally positive1 tetchy1 and absurd6 ,his ,lordship1 throughout his pamphlet1 makes a point of contradicting ,mr4 ,bowles1 and1 it would seem1 of contradicting himself4 ,he cannot be said to have any opinions of his own1 but whatever any one else advances1 he denies out of mere spleen and rashness4 #8,he hates the word invariable1' and not without reason4 #8,what is there of human1 be it poetry1 philosophy1 wit1 wisdom1 science1 power1 glory1 mind1 matter1 life1 or death1 which is invariable8' ,there is one of the particulars in this enumeration1 which seems pretty invariable1 which is death4 ,one would think that the principles of poetry are so too1 notwithstanding his peevish disclaimer3 for towards the conclusion of this letter he sets up ,pope as a classic model1 and considers all modern deviations from it as grotesque and barbarous4 #8,they have raised a mosque by the side of a ,grecian temple of the purest architecture2 and1 more barbarous than the barbarians from whose practice ,i have borrowed the figure1 they are not contented with their own grotesque edifice1 unless they destroy the prior and purely beautiful fabric which preceded1#fa and which shames them and theirs for ever and ever4' ,lord ,byron has here substituted his own invariable principles for ,mr4 ,bowles's1 which he hates as bad as ,mr4 ,southey's variable politics4 ,will nothing please his ,lordship--neither dull fixtures nor shining weather-cocks8--,we might multiply instances of a want of continuous reasoning1 if we were fond of this sort of petty cavilling4 ,yet we do not know that there is any better quarry in the book4 ,why does his ,lordship tell us that #8ethical poetry is the highest of all poetry1' and yet that #8,petrarch the sonnetteer' is esteemed by good judges the very highest poet of ,italy8 ,mr4 ,bowles is a sonnetteer1 and a very good one4 ,why does he assert that #8the poet who executes the best is the highest1 whatever his department1' and then affirm in the next page that didactic poetry #8requires more mind1 more wisdom1 more power than all the forests that ever were walked for their description2' and then again1 two pages after1 that #8a good poet can make a silk purse of a sow's ear2' that is1 as he interprets it1 #8can imbue a pack of cards with more poetry than inhabits the forests of ,america8' ,that's a ,non ,sequitur1 as ,partridge has it4 ,why1 contending that all subjects are alike indifferent to the genuine poet1 does he turn round upon himself1 and assume that #8the sun shining upon a warming-pan cannot be made sublime or poetical8' ,why does he say that #8there is nothing in nature like the bust of the ,antinous1 except the ,venus1' which is not in nature8#fb ,why does he call the first #8that wonderful creation of perfect beauty1' when it is a mere portrait1 and on that account so superior to his favourite coxcomb1 the ,apollo8 ,why does he state that #8more poetry cannot be gathered into existence' than we here see1 and yet that this poetry arises neither from nature nor moral exaltedness2 ,mr4 ,bowles and he being at issue on this very point1 viz4 the one affirming that the essence of poetry is derived from nature1 and his ,lordship1 that it consists in moral truth8 ,why does he consider a shipwreck as an artificial incident8 ,why does he make the excellence of ,falconer's ,shipwreck consist in its technicalities1 and not in its faithful description of common feelings and inevitable calamity8 ,why does he say all this1 and much more1 which he should not8 ,why does he write prose at all8 ,yet1 in spite of all this trash1 there is one passage for which we forgive him1 and here it is4 #8,the truth is1 that in these days the grand primum mobile of ,england is cant3 cant political1 cant poetical1 cant religious1 cant moral2 but always cant1 multiplied through all the varieties of life4 ,it is the fashion1 and while it lasts1 will be too powerful for those who can only exist by taking the tone of the times4 ,i say cant1 because it is a thing of words1 without the smallest influence upon human actions2 the ,english being no wiser1 no better1 and much poorer1 and more divided among themselves1 as well as far less moral1 than they were before the prevalence of this verbal decorum4' ,these words should be written in letters of gold1 as the testimony of a lofty poet to a great moral truth1 and we can hardly have a quarrel with the writer of them4 ,there are three questions which form the subject of the present pamphlet2 viz4 ,what is poetical8 ,what is natural8 ,what is artificial8 ,and we get an answer to none of them4 ,the controversy1 as it is carried on between the chief combatants1 is much like a dispute between two artists1 one of whom should maintain that blue is the only colour fit to paint with1 and the other that yellow alone ought ever to be used4 ,much might be said on both sides1 but little to the purpose4 ,mr4 ,campbell leads off the dance1 and launches a ship as a beautiful and poetical artificial object4 ,but he so loads it with patriotic1 natural1 and foreign associations1 and the sails are #8so perfumed that the winds are love-sick1' that ,mr4 ,bowles darts upon and seizes it as contraband to art1 swearing that it is no longer the work of the shipwright1 but of ,mr4 ,campbell's lofty poetic imagination2 and dedicates its stolen beauty to the right owners1 the sun1 the winds1 and the waves4 ,mr4 ,campbell1 in his eagerness to make all sure1 having overstepped the literal mark1 presses no farther into the controversy2 but ,lord ,byron1 who is #8like an ,irishman in a row1 any body's customer1' carries it on with good polemical hardihood1 and runs a very edifying parallel between the ship without the sun1 the winds1 and waves1--and the sun1 the winds1 and waves without the ship4 #8,the sun1' says ,mr4 ,bowles1 #8is poetical1 by your ,lordship's admission4' ,we think it would have been so without it4 ,but his ,lordship contends that #8the sun would no longer be poetical1 if it did not shine on ships1 or pyramids1 or fortresses1 and other works of art1' 7he expressly excludes #8footmen's liveries' and #8brass warming-pans' from among those artificial objects that reflect new splendour on the eye of ,heaven7--to which ,mr4 ,bowles replies1 that let the sun but shine1 and #8it is poetical per se1' in which we think him right4 ,his ,lordship decompounds the wind into a caput mortuum of poetry1 by making it howl through a pig-stye1 instead of #8,roaming the illimitable ocean wide2' and turns a water-fall1 or a clear spring1 into a slop-basin1 to prove that nature owes its elegance to art4 ,his ,lordship is #8ill at these numbers4' ,again1 he affirms that the ruined temple of the ,parthenon is poetical1 and the coast of ,attica with ,cape ,colonna1 and the recollection of ,falconer's ,shipwreck1 classical4 ,who ever doubted it8 ,what then8 ,does this prove that the ,rape of the ,lock is not a mock-heroic poem8 ,he assures us that a storm with cockboats scudding before it is interesting1 particularly if this happens to take place in the ,hellespont1 over which the noble critic swam2 and makes it a question1 whether the dark cypress groves1 or the white towers and minarets of ,constantinople are more impressive to the imagination8 ,what has this to do with ,pope's grotto at ,twickenham1 or the boat in which he paddled across the ,thames to ,kew8 ,lord ,byron tells us 7and he should know7 that the ,grand ,canal at ,venice is a muddy ditch1 without the stately palaces by its side2 but then it is a natural1 not an artificial canal2 and finally1 he asks1 what would the desert of ,tadmor be without the ruins of ,palmyra1 or ,salisbury ,plain without ,stone-,henge8 ,mr4 ,bowles who1 though tedious and teasing1 has #8damnable iteration in him1' and has read the ,fathers1 answers very properly1 by saying that a desert alone #8conveys ideas of immeasurable distance1 of profound silence1 of solitude2' and that ,salisbury ,plain has the advantage of ,hounslow ,heath1 chiefly in getting rid of the ideas of artificial life1 #8carts1 caravans1 raree-show-men1 butchers' boys1 coaches with coronets1 and livery servants behind them1' even though ,stone-,henge did not lift its pale head above its barren bosom4 ,indeed1 ,lord ,byron's notions of art and poetry are sufficiently wild1 romantic1 far-fetched1 obsolete3 his taste is ,oriental1 ,gothic2 his ,muse is not domesticated2 there is nothing mimminee-pimminee1 modern1 polished1 light1 fluttering1 in his standard of the sublime and beautiful3 if his thoughts are proud1 pampered1 gorgeous1 and disdain to mingle with the objects of humble1 unadorned nature1 his lordly eye at least #8keeps distance due' from the vulgar vanities of fashionable life2 from drawing-rooms1 from card-parties1 and from courts4 ,he is not a carpet poet4 ,he does not sing the sofa1 like poor ,cowper4 ,he is qualified neither for poet-laureate nor court-newsman4 ,he is at issue with the ,morning ,post and ,fashionable ,world1 on what constitutes the true pathos and sublime of human life4 ,he hardly thinks ,lady ,charlemont so good as the ,venus1 or as an ,albanian girl1 that he saw mending the road in the mountains4 ,if he does not like flowers and forests1 he cares as little for stars1 garters1 and prince's feathers1 for diamond necklaces and paste buckles4 ,if his ,lordship cannot make up his mind to the quiet1 the innocence1 the simple1 unalterable grandeur of nature1 we are sure that he hates the frippery1 the foppery1 and pert grimace of art1 quite as much4 ,his ,lordship likes the poetry1 the imaginative part of art1 and so do we2 and so we believe did the late ,mr4 ,john ,scott4 ,he likes the sombre part of it1 the thoughtful1 the decayed1 the ideal1 the spectral shadow of human greatness1 the departed spirit of human power4 ,he sympathizes not with art as a display of ingenuity1 as the triumph of vanity or luxury1 as it is connected with the idiot1 superficial1 petty self-complacency of the individual and the moment1 7these are to him not #8luscious as locusts1 but bitter as coloquintida'72 but he sympathizes with the triumphs of ,time and ,fate over the proudest works of man--with the crumbling monuments of human glory--with the dim vestiges of countless generations of men--with that which claims alliance with the grave1 or kindred with the elements of nature4 ,this is what he calls art and artificial poetry4 ,but this is not what any body else understands by the terms1 commonly or critically speaking4 ,there is as little connexion between the two things as between the grand-daughters of ,mr4 ,coutts1 who appeared at court the other day1 and ,lady ,godiva--as there is between a reigning toast and an ,egyptian mummy4 ,lord ,byron1 through the whole of the argument1 pelts his reverend opponent with instances1 like throwing a stone at a dog1 which the incensed animal runs after1 picks up1 mumbles between his teeth1 and tries to see what it is made of4 ,the question is1 however1 too tough for ,mr4 ,bowles's powers of mastication1 and though the fray is amusing1 nothing comes of it4 ,between the ,editor of ,pope1 and the ,editor of the ,new ,monthly ,magazine1 his ,lordship sits #8----high arbiter1 ,and by decision more embroils the fray4' ,what is the use of taking a work of art1 from which #8all the art of art is flown' a mouldering statue1 or a fallen column in ,tadmor's marble waste1 that staggers and over-awes the mind1 and gives birth to a thousand dim reflections1 by seeing the power and pride of man prostrate1 and laid low in the dust2 what is there in this to prove the self-sufficiency of the upstart pride and power of man8 ,a ,ruin is poetical4 ,because it is a work of art1 says ,lord ,byron4 ,no1 but because it is a work of art o'erthrown4 ,in it we see1 as in a mirror1 the life1 the hopes1 the labour of man defeated1 and crumbling away under the slow hand of time2 and all that he has done reduced to nothing1 or to a useless mockery4 ,or as one of the bread-and-butter poets has described the same thing a little differently1 in his tale of ,peter ,bell the potter1-- #8----,the stones and tower ,seem'd fading fast away ,from human thoughts and purposes1 ,to yield to some transforming power1 ,and blend with the surrounding trees4' ,if this is what ,lord ,byron means by artificial objects and interests1 there is an end of the question1 for he will get no critic1 no school to differ with him4 ,but a fairer instance would be a snug citizen's box by the road side1 newly painted1 plastered and furnished1 with every thing in the newest fashion and gloss1 not an article the worse for wear1 and a lease of one-and-twenty years to run1 and then let us see what ,lord ,byron1 or his friend and #8host of human life' will make of it1 compared with the desolation1 and the waste of all these comforts1 arts1 and elegances4 ,or let him take--not the pyramids of ,egypt1 but the pavilion at ,brighton1 and make a poetical description of it in prose or verse4 ,we defy him4 ,the poetical interest1 in his ,lordship's transposed cases1 arises out of the imaginary interest4 ,but the truth is1 that where art flourishes and attains its object1 imagination droops1 and poetry along with it4 ,it ceases1 or takes a different and ambiguous shape2 it may be elegant1 ingenious1 pleasing1 instructive1 but if it aspires to the semblance of a higher interest1 or the ornaments of the highest fancy1 it necessarily becomes burlesque1 as for instance1 in the ,rape of the ,lock4 ,as novels end with marriage1 poetry ends with the consummation and success of art4 ,and the reason 7if ,lord ,byron would attend to it7 is pretty obvious4 ,where all the wishes and wants are supplied1 anticipated by art1 there can be no strong cravings after ideal good1 nor dread of unimaginable evils2 the sources of terror and pity must be dried up3 where the hand has done every thing1 nothing is left for the imagination to do or to attempt3 where all is regulated by conventional indifference1 the full workings1 the involuntary1 uncontrollable emotions of the heart cease3 property is not a poetical1 but a practical prosaic idea1 to those who possess and clutch it2 and cuts off others from cordial sympathy2 but nature is common property1 the unenvied idol of all eyes1 the fairy ground where fancy plays her tricks and feats2 and the passions1 the workings of the heart 7which ,mr4 ,bowles very properly distinguishes from manners1 inasmuch as they are not in the power of the will to regulate or satisfy7 are still left as a subject for something very different from didactic or mock-heroic poetry4 ,by art and artificial1 as these terms are applied to poetry or human life1 we mean those objects and feelings which depend for their subsistence and perfection on the will and arbitrary conventions of man and society2 and by nature1 and natural subjects1 we mean those objects which exist in the universe at large1 without1 or in spite of1 the interference of human power and contrivance1 and those interests and affections which are not amenable to the human will4 ,that we are to exclude art1 or the operation of the human will1 from poetry altogether1 is what we do not affirm2 but we mean to say1 that where this operation is the most complete and manifest1 as in the creation of given objects1 or regulation of certain feelings1 there the spring of poetry1 i4e4 of passion and imagination1 is proportionably and much impaired4 ,we are masters of ,art1 ,nature is our master2 and it is to this greater power that we find working above1 about1 and within us1 that the genius of poetry bows and offers up its highest homage4 ,if the infusion of art were not a natural disqualifier for poetry1 the most artificial objects and manners would be the most poetical3 on the contrary1 it is only the rude beginnings1 or the ruinous decay of objects of art1 or the simplest modes of life and manners1 that admit of1 or harmonize kindly with1 the tone and language of poetry4 ,to consider the question otherwise1 is not to consider it too curiously1 but not to understand it at all4 ,lord ,byron talks of ,ulysses striking his horse ,rhesus with his bow1 as an instance of the heroic in poetry4 ,but does not the poetical dignity of the instrument arise from its very commonness and simplicity8 ,a bow is not a supererogation of the works of art4 ,it is almost peculiar to a state of nature1 that is1 the first and rudest state of society4 ,lord ,byron might as well talk of a shepherd's crook1 or the garland of flowers with which he crowns his mistress1 as images borrowed from artificial life4 ,he cannot make a gentleman-usher's rod poetical1 though it is the pink of courtly and gentlemanly refinement4 ,will the bold stickler for the artificial essence of poetry translate ,pope's description of ,sir ,plume1-- #8,of amber-headed snuff-box justly vain1 ,and the nice conduct of a clouded cane1'-- into the same sort of poetry as ,homer's description of the bow of ,ulysses8 ,it is out of the question4 ,the very mention of the last has a sound with it like the twang of the bow itself2 whereas the others1 the snuff-box and clouded cane1 are of the very essence of effeminate impertinence4 ,pope says1 in ,spence's ,anecdotes1 that #8a lady of fashion would admire a star1 because it would remind her of the twinkling of a lamp on a ball-night4' ,this is a much better account of his own poetry than his noble critic has given4 ,it is a clue to a real solution of the difficulty4 ,what is the difference between the feeling with which we contemplate a gas light in one of the squares1 and the crescent moon beside it1 but this--that though the brightness1 the beauty perhaps1 to the mere sense1 is the same or greater2 yet we know that when we are out of the square we shall lose sight of the lamp1 but that the moon will lend us its tributary light wherever we go2 it streams over green valley or blue ocean alike2 it is hung up in air1 a part of the pageant of the universe2 it steals with gradual1 softened state into the soul1 and hovers1 a fairy apparition1 over our existence6 ,it is this which makes it a more poetical object than a patent lamp1 or a ,chinese lanthorn1 or the chandelier at ,covent-garden1 brilliant as it is1 and which1 though it were made ten times more so1 would still only dazzle and scorch the sight so much the more2 it would not be attended with a mild train of reflected glory2 it would #8denote no foregone conclusion1' would touch no chord of imagination or the heart2 it would have nothing romantic about it4--,a man can make any thing1 but he cannot make a sentiment6 ,it is a thing of inveterate prejudice1 of old association1 of common feelings1 and so is poetry1 as far as it is serious4 ,a #8pack of cards1' a silver bodkin1 a paste buckle1 #8may be imbued' with as much mock poetry as you please1 by lending false associations to it2 but real poetry1 or poetry of the highest order1 can only be produced by unravelling the real web of associations1 which have been wound round any subject by nature1 and the unavoidable conditions of humanity4 ,not to admit this distinction at the threshold1 is to confound the style of ,tom ,thumb with that of the ,moor of ,venice1 or ,hurlothrumbo with the ,doge of ,venice4 ,it is to mistake jest for earnest1 and one thing for another4 #8,how far that little candle throws its beams6 ,so shines a good deed in a naughty world4' ,the image here is one of artificial life2 but it is connected with natural circumstances and romantic interests1 with darkness1 with silence1 with distance1 with privation1 and uncertain danger3 it is common1 obvious1 without pretension or boast1 and therefore the poetry founded upon it is natural1 because the feelings are so4 ,it is not the splendour of the candle itself1 but the contrast to the gloom without1--the comfort1 the relief it holds out from afar to the benighted traveller1--the conflict between nature and the first and cheapest resources of art1 that constitutes the romantic and imaginary1 that is1 the poetical interest1 in that familiar but striking image4 ,there is more art in the lamp or chandelier2 but for that very reason1 there is less poetry4 ,a light in a watch-tower1 a beacon at sea1 is sublime for the same cause2 because the natural circumstances and associations set it off2 it warns us against danger1 it reminds us of common calamity1 it promises safety and hope3 it has to do with the broad feelings and circumstances of human life1 and its interest does not assuredly turn upon the vanity or pretensions of the maker or proprietor of it4 ,this sort of art is co-ordinate with nature1 and comes into the first-class of poetry1 but no one ever dreamt of the contrary4 ,the features of nature are great leading landmarks1 not near and little1 or confined to a spot1 or an individual claimant2 they are spread out everywhere the same1 and are of universal interest4 ,the true poet has therefore been described as #8,creation's tenant1 he is nature's heir4' ,what has been thus said of the man of genius might be said of the man of no genius4 ,the spirit of poetry1 and the spirit of humanity are the same4 ,the productions of nature are not locked up in the cabinets of the curious1 but spread out on the green lap of earth4 ,the flowers return with the cuckoo in the spring3 the daisy for ever looks bright in the sun2 the rainbow still lifts its head above the storm to the eye of infancy or age-- #8,so was it when my life began2 ,so is it now ,i am a man1 ,so shall it be till ,i grow old and die2' but ,lord ,byron does not understand this1 for he does not understand ,mr4 ,wordsworth's poetry1 and we cannot make him4 ,his ,lordship's nature1 as well as his poetry1 is something arabesque and outlandish4--,again1 once more1 what1 we would ask1 makes the difference between an opera of ,mozart's1 and the singing of a thrush confined in a wooden cage at the corner of the street in which we live8 ,the one is nature1 and the other is art3 the one is paid for1 and the other is not4 ,madame ,fodor sings the air of ,vedrai ,carino in ,don ,giovanni so divinely1 because she is hired to sing it2 she sings it to please the audience1 not herself1 and does not always like to be encored in it2 but the thrush that awakes us at daybreak with its song1 does not sing because it is paid to sing1 or to please others1 or to be admired or criticised4 ,it sings because it is happy3 it pours the thrilling sounds from its throat1 to relieve the overflowings of its own breast--the liquid notes come from1 and go to1 the heart1 dropping balm into it1 as the gushing spring revives the traveller's parched and fainting lips4 ,that stream of joy comes pure and fresh to the longing sense1 free from art and affectation1 the same that rises over vernal groves1 mingled with the breath of morning1 and the perfumes of the wild hyacinth2 that waits for no audience1 that wants no rehearsing1 that exhausts its raptures1 and still-- #8,hymns its good ,god1 and carols sweet of love4' ,there is this great difference between nature and art1 that the one is what the other seems1 and gives all the pleasure it expresses1 because it feels it itself4 ,madame ,fodor sings1 as a musical instrument may be made to play a tune1 and perhaps with no more real delight3 but it is not so with the linnet or the thrush1 that sings because ,god pleases1 and pours out its little soul in pleasure4 ,this is the reason why its singing is 7so far7 so much better than melody or harmony1 than base or treble1 than the ,italian or the ,german ,school1 than quavers or crotchets1 or half-notes1 or canzonets1 or quartetts1 or any thing in the world but truth and nature6 ,to give one more instance or two of what we understand by a natural interest ingrafted on artificial objects1 and of the principle that still keeps them distinct4 ,amelia's #8hashed mutton' in ,fielding1 is one that ,i might mention4 ,hashed mutton is an article in cookery1 homely enough in the scale of art1 though far removed from the simple products of nature2 yet we should say that this common delicacy which ,amelia provided for her husband's supper1 and then waited so long in vain for his return1 is the foundation of one of the most natural and affecting incidents in one of the most natural and affecting books in the world4 ,no description of the most splendid and luxurious banquet could come up to it4 ,it will be remembered1 when the ,almanach des ,gourmands1 and even the article on it in the last ,edinburgh ,review1 are forgotten4 ,did ,lord ,byron never read ,boccacio8 ,we wish he would learn refinement from him1 and get rid of his hard bravura taste1 and swashbuckler conclusions4 ,what makes the charm of the ,story of the ,falcon8 ,is it properly art or nature8 ,the tale is one of artificial life1 and elegant manners1 and chivalrous pretensions2 but it is the fall from these1 the decline into the vale of low and obscure poverty1--the having but one last loop left to hang life on1 and the sacrifice of that to a feeling still more precious1 and which could only give way with life itself1--that elevates the sentiment1 and has made it find its way into all hearts4 ,had ,frederigo ,alberigi had an aviary of ,hawks1 and preserves of pheasants without end1 he and his poor bird would never have been heard of4 ,it is not the expence and ostentation of the entertainment he set before his mistress1 but the prodigality of affection1 squandering away the last remains of his once proud fortunes1 that stamps this beautiful incident on the remembrance of all who have ever read it4 ,we wish ,lord ,byron would look it over again1 and see whether it does not most touch the chords of pathos and sentiment in those places where we feel the absence of all the pomp and vanities of art4 ,mr4 ,campbell talks of a ship as a sublime and beautiful object in art4 ,we will confess we always stop to look at the mail-coaches with no slight emotion1 and1 perhaps1 extend our hands after some of them1 in sign of gratulation4 ,they carry the letters of friends1 of relations2 they keep up the communication between the heart of a country4 ,we do not admire them for their workmanship1 for their speed1 for their livery--there is something more in it than this4 ,perhaps we can explain it by saying1 that we once heard a person observe--#8,i always look at the ,shrewsbury mail1 and sometimes with tears in my eyes3 that is the coach that will bring me the news of the death of my father and mother4' ,his ,lordship will say1 the mail-coach is an artificial object4 ,yet we think the interest here was not founded upon that circumstance4 ,there was a finer and deeper link of affection that did not depend on the red painted pannels1 or the dyed garments of the coachman and guard4 ,at least it strikes us so4 ,this is not an easy subject to illustrate1 and it is still more difficult to define4 ,yet we shall attempt something of the sort4 #a4 ,natural objects are common and obvious1 and are imbued with an habitual and universal interest1 without being vulgar4 ,familiarity in them does not breed contempt1 as it does in the works of man4 ,they form an ideal class2 their repeated impression on the mind1 in so many different circumstances1 grows up into a sentiment4 ,the reason is1 that we refer them generally and collectively to ourselves1 as links and mementos of our various being2 whereas1 we refer the works of art respectively to those by whom they are made or to whom they belong4 ,this distracts the mind in looking at them1 and gives a petty and unpoetical character to what we feel relating to them4 ,when the works of art become poetical1 it is when they are emancipated from this state of #8circumscription and confine1' by some circumstance that sets aside the idea of property and individual distinction4 ,the sound of village bells1-- #8----,the poor man's only music1'#fc excites as lively an interest in the mind1 as the warbling of a thrush3 the sight of a village spire presents nothing discordant with the surrounding scenery4 #b4 ,natural objects are more akin to poetry and the imagination1 partly because they are not our own handy-work1 but start up spontaneously1 like a visionary creation1 of their own accord1 without our knowledge or connivance4-- #8,the earth hath bubbles1 as the water hath1 ,and these are of them2--' and farther1 they have this advantage over the works of art1 that the latter either fall short of their preconceived intention1 and excite our disgust and disappointment by their defects2 or1 if they completely answer their end1 they then leave nothing to the imagination1 and so excite little or no romantic interest that way4 ,a ,count ,rumford stove1 or a ,dutch oven1 are useful for the purposes of warmth or culinary dispatch4 ,gray's purring favourite would find great comfort in warming its nose before the one1 or dipping its whiskers in the other2 and so does the artificial animal1 man3 but the poetry of ,rumford grates or ,dutch ovens1 it would puzzle even ,lord ,byron to explain4 ,cowper has made something of the #8loud-hissing urn1' though ,mr4 ,southey1 as being one of the more refined #8naturals1' still prefers #8the song of the kettle4' ,the more our senses1 our self-love1 our eyes and ears1 are surrounded1 and1 as it were1 saturated with artificial enjoyments and costly decorations1 the more the avenues to the imagination and the heart are unavoidably blocked up4 ,we do not say1 that this may not be an advantage to the individual2 we say it is a disadvantage to the poet4 ,even #8,mine ,host of ,human ,life' has felt its palsying1 enervating influence4 ,let any one 7after ten years old7 take shelter from a shower of rain in ,exeter ,change1 and see how he will amuse the time with looking over the trinkets1 the chains1 the seals1 the curious works of art4 ,compare this with the description of ,una and the ,red ,cross ,knight in ,spenser3 #8,enforc'd to seek some covert nigh at hand1 ,a shady grove not far away they spied1 ,that promis'd aid the tempest to withstand3 ,whose lofty trees1 yclad with summer's pride1 ,did spread so broad1 that heaven's light did hide1 ,not pierceable with power of any star2 ,and all within were paths and alleys wide1 ,with footing worn1 and leading inward far2 ,far harbour that them seems3 so in they enter'd are4 #8,and forth they pass1 with pleasure forward led1 ,joying to hear the birds' sweet harmony1 ,which therein shrowded from the tempest's dread1 ,seem'd in their song to scorn the cruel sky4 ,much can they praise the trees so straight and high1 ,the sailing pine1 the cedar proud and tall1 ,the vine-prop elm1 the poplar never dry1 ,the builder oak1 sole king of forests all1 ,the aspen good for staves1 the cypress funeral4'#fd ,artificial flowers look pretty in a lady's head-dress2 but they will not do to stick into lofty verse4 ,on the contrary1 a crocus bursting out of the ground seems to blush with its own golden light--#8a thing of life4' ,so a greater authority than ,lord ,byron has given his testimony on this subject3 #8,behold the lilies of the field1 they toil not1 neither do they spin2 yet ,i say unto you1 that even ,solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these4' ,shakspeare speaks of-- ----#8,daffodils1 ,that come before the swallow dares and take ,the winds of ,march with beauty4' ,all this play of fancy and dramatic interest could not be transferred to a description of hot-house plants1 regulated by a thermometer4 ,lord ,byron unfairly enlists into the service of his argument those artificial objects1 which are direct imitations of nature1 such as statuary1 etc4 ,this is an oversight4 ,at this rate1 all poetry would be artificial poetry4 ,dr4 ,darwin is among those1 who have endeavoured to confound the distinctions of natural and artificial poetry1 and indeed1 he is1 perhaps1 the only one who has gone the whole length of ,lord ,byron's hypercritical and super-artificial theory4 ,here are some of his lines1 which have been greatly admired4 ,apostrophe to ,steel4 #8,hail1 adamantine steel6 magnetic lord1 ,king of the prow1 the ploughshare1 and the sword6 ,true to the pole1 by thee the pilot guides ,his steady course amid the struggling tides1 ,braves with broad sail the immeasurable sea1 ,cleaves the dark air1 and asks no star but thee6' ,this is the true false gallop of the sublime4 ,yet steel is a very useful metal1 and doubtless performs all these wonders4 ,but it has not1 among so many others1 the virtue of amalgamating with the imagination4 ,we might quote also his description of the spinning-jenny1 which is pronounced by ,dr4 ,aikin to be as ingenious a piece of mechanism as the object it describes2 and1 according to ,lord ,byron1 this last is as well suited to the manufacture of verses as of cotton-twist without end4 #c4 ,natural interests are those which are real and inevitable1 and are so far contradistinguished from the artificial1 which are factitious and affected4 ,if ,lord ,byron cannot understand the difference1 he may find it explained by contrasting some of ,chaucer's characters and incidents with those in the ,rape of the ,lock1 for instance4 ,custance floating in her boat on the wide sea1 is different from ,pope's heroine1 #8,launched on the bosom of the silver ,thames4' ,griselda's loss of her children1 one by one1 of her all1 does not belong to the same class of incidents1 nor of subjects for poetry1 as ,belinda's loss of her favourite curl4 ,a sentiment that has rooted itself in the heart1 and can only be torn from it with life1 is not like the caprice of the moment--the putting on of paint and patches1 or the pulling off a glove4 ,the inbred character is not like a masquerade dress4 ,there is a difference between the theatrical1 and natural1 which is important to the determination of the present question1 and which has been overlooked by his ,lordship4 ,mr4 ,bowles1 however1 formally insists 7and with the best right in the world7 on the distinction between passion and manners4 ,but he agrees with ,lord ,byron1 that the ,epistle to ,abelard is the height of the pathetic4 #8,strange that such difference should be ,twixt tweedledum and tweedledee4' ,that it is in a great degree pathetic1 we should be amongst the last to dispute2 but its character is more properly rhetorical and voluptuous4 ,that its interest is of the highest or deepest order1 is what we should wonder to hear any one affirm1 who is intimate with ,shakspeare1 ,chaucer1 ,boccacio1 our own early dramatists1 or the ,greek tragedians4 ,there is more true1 unfeigned1 unspeakable1 heart-felt distress in one line of ,chaucer's tale just mentioned1 #8,let me not like a worm go by the way1' than in all ,pope's writings put together2 and we say it without any disrespect to him too4 ,didactic poetry has to do with manners1 as they are regulated1 not by fashion or caprice1 but by abstract reason and grave opinion1 and is equally remote from the dramatic1 which describes the involuntary and unpremeditated impulses of nature4 ,as ,lord ,byron refers to the ,bible1 we would just ask him here1 which he thinks the most poetical parts of it1 the ,law of the ,twelve ,tables1 the ,book of ,leviticus1 etc42 or the ,book of ,job1 ,jacob's dream1 the story of ,ruth etc8 #d4 ,supernatural poetry is1 in the sense here insisted on1 allied to nature1 not to art1 because it relates to the impressions made upon the mind by unknown objects and powers1 out of the reach both of the cognizance and will of man1 and still more able to startle and confound his imagination1 while he supposes them to exist1 than either those of nature or art4 ,the ,witches in ,macbeth1 the ,furies in schylus1 are so far artificial objects1 that they are creatures of the poet's brain2 but their impression on the mind depends on their possessing attributes1 which baffle and set at nought all human pretence1 and laugh at all human efforts to tamper with them4 ,satan in ,milton is an artificial or ideal character3 but would any one call this artificial poetry8 ,it is1 in ,lord ,byron's phrase1 super-artificial1 as well as super-human poetry4 ,but it is serious business4 ,fate1 if not ,nature1 is its ruling genius4 ,the ,pandemonium is not a baby-house of the fancy1 and it is ranked 7ordinarily17 with natural1 i4e4 with the highest and most important order of poetry1 and above the ,rape of the ,lock4 ,we intended a definition1 and have run again into examples4 ,lord ,byron's concretions have spoiled us for philosophy4 ,we will therefore leave off here1 and conclude with a character of ,pope1 which seems to have been written with an eye to this question1 and which 7for what we know7 is as near a solution of it as the ,noble ,letter-writer's emphatical division of ,pope's writings into ethical1 mock-heroic1 and fanciful poetry4 #8,pope was not assuredly a poet of this class1 or in the first rank of it4 ,he saw nature only dressed by art2 he judged of beauty by fashion2 he sought for truth in the opinions of the world2 he judged of the feelings of others by his own4 ,the capacious soul of ,shakspeare had an intuitive and mighty sympathy with whatever could enter into the heart of man in all possible circumstances3 ,pope had an exact knowledge of all that he himself loved or hated1 wished or wanted4 ,milton has winged his daring flight from heaven to earth1 through ,chaos and old ,night4 ,pope's ,muse never wandered with safety1 but from his library to his grotto1 or from his grotto into his library back again4 ,his mind dwelt with greater pleasure on his own garden1 than on the garden of ,eden2 he could describe the faultless whole-length mirror that reflected his own person1 better than the smooth surface of the lake that reflects the face of heaven--a piece of cut glass or a pair of paste buckles with more brilliance and effect1 than a thousand dew-drops glittering in the sun4 ,he would be more delighted with a patent lamp1 than with 8the pale reflex of ,cynthia's brow10 that fills the skies with its soft silent lustre1 that trembles through the cottage window1 and cheers the watchful mariner on the lonely wave4 ,in short1 he was the poet of personality and of polished life4 ,that which was nearest to him1 was the greatest2 the fashion of the day bore sway in his mind over the immutable laws of nature4 ,he preferred the artificial to the natural in external objects1 because he had a stronger fellow-feeling with the self-love of the maker or proprietor of a gewgaw1 than admiration of that which was interesting to all mankind4 ,he preferred the artificial to the natural in passion1 because the involuntary and uncalculating impulses of the one hurried him away with a force and vehemence with which he could not grapple2 while he could trifle with the conventional and superficial modifications of mere sentiment at will1 laugh at or admire1 put them on or off like a masquerade dress1 make much or little of them1 indulge them for a longer or a shorter time1 as he pleased2 and because while they amused his fancy and exercised his ingenuity1 they never once disturbed his vanity1 his levity1 or indifference4 ,his mind was the antithesis of strength and grandeur2 its power was the power of indifference4 ,he had none of the enthusiasm of poetry2 he was in poetry what the sceptic is in religion4 #8,it cannot be denied1 that his chief excellence lay more in diminishing1 than in aggrandizing objects2 in checking1 not in encouraging our enthusiasm2 in sneering at the extravagances of fancy or passion1 instead of giving a loose to them2 in describing a row of pins and needles1 rather than the embattled spears of ,greeks and ,trojans2 in penning a lampoon or a compliment1 and in praising ,martha ,blount4 #8,shakspeare says1 8----,in ,fortune's ray and brightness ,the herd hath more annoyance by the brize ,than by the tyger3 but when the splitting wind ,makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks1 ,and flies fled under shade1 why then ,the thing of courage1 ,as roused with rage1 with rage doth sympathise2 ,and with an accent tuned in the self-same key1 ,replies to chiding ,fortune40 ,there is none of this rough work in ,pope4 ,his ,muse was on a peace-establishment1 and grew somewhat effeminate by long ease and indulgence4 ,he lived in the smiles of fortune1 and basked in the favour of the great4 ,in his smooth and polished verse we meet with no prodigies of nature1 but with miracles of wit2 the thunders of his pen are whispered flatteries2 its forked lightnings pointed sarcasms2 for--8the gnarled oak10 he gives us 8the soft myrtle30 for rocks1 and seas1 and mountains1 artificial grass-plats1 gravel-walks1 and tinkling rills2 for earthquakes and tempests1 the breaking of a flower-pot1 or the fall of a china jar2 for the tug and war of the elements1 or the deadly strife of the passions1 we have 8,calm contemplation and poetic ease40 ,yet within this retired and narrow circle how much1 and that how exquisite1 was contained6 ,what discrimination1 what wit1 what delicacy1 what fancy1 what lurking spleen1 what elegance of thought1 what pampered refinement of sentiment6 ,it is like looking at the world through a microscope1 where every thing assumes a new character and a new consequence1 where things are seen in their minutest circumstances and slightest shades of difference2 where the little becomes gigantic1 the deformed beautiful1 and the beautiful deformed4 ,the wrong end of the magnifier is1 to be sure1 held to everything1 but still the exhibition is highly curious1 and we know not whether to be most pleased or surprised4 ,such1 at least1 is the best account ,i am able to give of this extraordinary man1 without doing injustice to him or others4' ,,on ,,consistency ,,of ,,opinion ,the ,london ,magazine4 ,november #ahba4 #8----,servetur ad imum ,qualis ab inceptu processerit1 et sibi constet4' ,many people boast of being masters in their own house4 ,i pretend to be master of my own mind4 ,i should be sorry to have an ejectment served upon me for any notions ,i may chuse to entertain there4 ,within that little circle ,i would fain be an absolute monarch4 ,i do not profess the spirit of martyrdom2 ,i have no ambition to march to the stake or up to a masked battery1 in defence of an hypothesis3 ,i do not court the rack3 ,i do not wish to be flayed alive for affirming that two and two make four1 or any other intricate proposition3 ,i am shy of bodily pains and penalties1 which some are fond of1 imprisonment1 fine1 banishment1 confiscation of goods3 but if ,i do not prefer the independence of my mind to that of my body1 ,i at least prefer it to every thing else4 ,i would avoid the arm of power1 as ,i would escape from the fangs of a wild beast3 but as to the opinion of the world1 ,i see nothing formidable in it4 #8,it is the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil4' ,i am not to be brow-beat or wheedled out of any of my settled convictions4 ,opinion to opinion1 ,i will face any man4 ,prejudice1 fashion1 the cant of the moment1 go for nothing2 and as for the reason of the thing1 it can only be supposed to rest with me or another1 in proportion to the pains we have taken to ascertain it4 ,where the pursuit of truth has been the habitual study of any man's life1 the love of truth will be his ruling passion4 #8,where the treasure is1 there the heart is also4' ,every one is most tenacious of that to which he owes his distinction from others4 ,kings love power1 misers gold1 women flattery1 poets reputation--and philosophers truth1 when they can find it4 ,they are right in cherishing the only privilege they inherit4 ,if #8to be wise were to be obstinate1' ,i might set up for as great a philosopher as the best of them2 for some of my conclusions are as fixed and as incorrigible to proof as need be4 ,i am attached to them in consequence of the pains1 the anxiety1 and the waste of time they have cost me4 ,in fact1 ,i should not well know what to do without them at this time of day2 nor how to get others to supply their place4 ,i would quarrel with the best friend ,i have sooner than acknowledge the absolute right of the ,bourbons4 ,i see ,mr4 ---- seldomer than ,i did1 because ,i cannot agree with him about the ,catalogue ,raisonne4 ,i remember once saying to this gentleman1 a great while ago1 that ,i did not seem to have altered any of my ideas since ,i was sixteen years old4 #8,why then1' said he1' you are no wiser now than you were then6' ,i might make the same confession1 and the same retort would apply still4 ,coleridge used to tell me1 that this pertinacity was owing to a want of sympathy with others4 ,what he calls sympathising with others is their admiring him1 and it must be admitted that he varies his battery pretty often1 in order to accommodate himself to this sort of mutual understanding4 ,but ,i do not agree in what he says of me4 ,on the other hand1 ,i think that it is my sympathising beforehand with the different views and feelings that may be entertained on a subject1 that prevents my retracting my judgment1 and flinging myself into the contrary extreme afterwards4 ,if you proscribe all opinion opposite to your own1 and impertinently exclude all the evidence that does not make for you1 it stares you in the face with double force when it breaks in unexpectedly upon you1 or if at any subsequent period it happens to suit your interest or convenience to listen to objections which vanity or prudence had hitherto overlooked4 ,but if you are aware from the first suggestion of a subject1 either by subtlety of tact1 or close attention1 of the full force of what others possibly feel and think of it1 you are not exposed to the same vacillation of opinion4 ,the number of grains and scruples1 of doubts and difficulties1 thrown into the scale while the balance is yet undecided1 add to the weight and steadiness of the determination4 ,he who anticipates his opponent's arguments1 confirms while he corrects his own reasonings4 ,when a question has been carefully examined in all its bearings1 and a principle is once established1 it is not liable to be overthrown by any new facts which have been arbitrarily and petulantly set aside1 nor by every wind of idle doctrine rushing into the interstices of a hollow speculation1 shattering it in pieces1 and leaving it a mockery and a bye-word2 like those tall1 gawky1 staring1 pyramidal erections which are seen scattered over different parts of the country1 and are called the ,follies of different gentlemen6 ,a man may be confident in maintaining a side1 as he has been cautious in chusing it4 ,if after making up his mind strongly in one way1 to the best of his capacity and judgment1 he feels himself inclined to a very violent revulsion of sentiment1 he may generally rest assured that the change is in himself and his motives1 not in the reason of things4 ,i cannot say that1 from my own experience1 ,i have found that the persons most remarkable for sudden and violent changes of principle have been cast in the softest or most susceptible mould4 ,all their notions have been exclusive1 bigoted1 and intolerant4 ,their want of consistency and moderation has been in exact proportion to their want of candour and comprehensiveness of mind4 ,instead of being the creatures of sympathy1 open to conviction1 unwilling to give offence by the smallest difference of sentiment1 they have 7for the most part7 been made up of mere antipathies--a very repulsive sort of personages--at odds with themselves1 and with every body else4 ,the slenderness of their pretensions to philosophical inquiry has been accompanied with the most presumptuous dogmatism4 ,they have been persons of that narrowness of view and headstrong self-sufficiency of purpose1 that they could see only one side of a question at a time1 and whichever they pleased4 ,there is a story somewhere in ,don ,quixote1 of two champions coming to a shield hung up against a tree with an inscription written on each side of it4 ,each of them maintained1 that the words were what was written on the side next him1 and never dreamt1 till the fray was over1 that they might be different on the opposite side of the shield4 ,it would have been a little more extraordinary if the combatants had changed sides in the heat of the scuffle1 and stoutly denied that there were any such words on the opposite side as they had before been bent on sacrificing their lives to prove were the only ones it contained4 ,yet such is the very situation of some of our modern polemics4 ,they have been of all sides of the question1 and yet they cannot conceive how an honest man can be of any but one--that which they hold at present4 ,it seems that they are afraid to look their old opinions in the face1 lest they should be fascinated by them once more4 ,they banish all doubts of their own sincerity by inveighing against the motives of their antagonists4 ,there is no salvation out of the pale of their strange inconsistency4 ,they reduce common sense and probity to the straitest possible limits--the breasts of themselves and their patrons4 ,they are like people out at sea on a very narrow plank1 who try to push every body else off4 ,is it that they have so little faith in the cause to which they have become such staunch converts1 as to suppose that1 should they allow a grain of sense to their old allies and new antagonists1 they will have more than they8 ,is it that they have so little consciousness of their own disinterestedness1 that they feel if they allow a particle of honesty to those who now differ with them1 they will have more than they8 ,those opinions must needs be of a very fragile texture which will not stand the shock of the least acknowledged opposition1 and which lay claim to respectability by stigmatising all who do not hold them as #8sots1 and knaves1 and cowards4' ,there is a want of well-balanced feeling in every such instance of extravagant versatility2 a something crude1 unripe1 and harsh1 that does not hit a judicious palate1 but sets the teeth on edge to think of4 #8,i had rather hear my mother's cat mew1 or a wheel grate on the axle-tree1 than one of these same metre-balladmongers' chaunt his incondite retrograde lays without rhyme and without reason4 ,the principles and professions change3 the man remains the same4 ,there is the same spirit at the bottom of all this pragmatical fickleness and virulence1 whether it runs into one extreme or another3--to wit1 a confinement of view1 a jealousy of others1 an impatience of contradiction1 a want of liberality in construing the motives of others either from monkish pedantry1 or a conceited overweening reference of every thing to our own fancies and feelings4 ,there is something to be said1 indeed1 for the nature of the political machinery1 for the whirling motion of the revolutionary wheel which has of late wrenched men's understandings almost asunder1 and #8amazed the very faculties of eyes and ears2' but still this is hardly a sufficient reason1 why the adept in the old as well as the new school should take such a prodigious latitude himself1 while at the same time he makes so little allowance for others4 ,his whole creed need not be turned topsy-turvy1 from the top to the bottom1 even in times like these4 ,he need not1 in the rage of party spirit1 discard the proper attributes of humanity1 the common dictates of reason4 ,he need not outrage every former feeling1 nor trample on every customary decency1 in his zeal for reform1 or in his greater zeal against it4 ,if his mind1 like his body1 has undergone a total change of essence1 and purged off the taint of all its early opinions1 he need not carry about with him1 or be haunted in the persons of others with1 the phantoms of his altered principles to loathe and execrate them4 ,he need not 7as it were7 pass an act of attainder on all his thoughts1 hopes1 wishes1 from youth upwards1 to offer them at the shrine of matured servility3 he need not become one vile antithesis1 a living and ignominious satire on himself4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth has hardly1 ,i should think1 so much as a single particle of feeling left in his whole composition1 the same that he had twenty years ago2 not #8so small a drop of pity1' for what he then was1 #8as a wren's eye1'--except that ,i do not hear that he has given up his theory that poetry should be written in the language of prose1 or applied for an injunction against the ,lyrical ,ballads4 ,i will wager a trifle1 that our ingenious poet will not concede to any patron1 7how noble and munificent soever7 that the ,leech ,gatherer is not a fit subject of the ,muse1 and would sooner resign the stamp-distributorship of two counties1 than burn that portion of the ,recluse1 a ,poem1 which has been given to the world under the title of the ,excursion4 ,the tone1 however1 of ,mr4 ,wordsworth's poetical effusions requires a little revision to adapt it to the progressive improvement in his political sentiments3 for1 as far as ,i understand the ,poems themselves or the ,preface1 his whole system turns upon this1 that the thoughts1 the feelings1 the expressions of the common people in country places are the most refined of all others2 at once the most pure1 the most simple1 and the most sublime3--yet1 with one stroke of his prose-pen1 he disfranchises the whole rustic population of ,westmoreland and ,cumberland from voting at elections1 and says there is not a man among them that is not a knave in grain4 ,in return1 he lets them still retain the privilege of expressing their sentiments in select and natural language in the ,lyrical ,ballads4 ,so much for poetical justice and political severity6 ,an author's political theories sit loose upon him1 and may be changed like his clothes4 ,his literary vanity1 alas6 sticks to him like his skin1 and survives in its first gloss and sleekness1 amidst #8,the wreck of matter1 and the crush of worlds4' ,mr4 ,southey still makes experiments on metre1 not on governments1 and seems to think the last resort of ,english liberty is in court-iambics4 ,still the same upstart self-sufficiency1 still the same itch of new fangled innovation directed into a new channel1 still the same principle of favouritism1 still the same overcharged and splenetic hostility--all is right that he approves1 all is wrong that opposes his views in the smallest particular4 ,there is no inconsistency in all these anomalies4 ,absurdity is uniform2 egotism is the same thing2 a limited range of comprehension is a habit of mind that a man seldom gets the better of1 and may distinguish equally the ,pantisocratist or ,constitutional ,association-monger4 ,to quit this1 which is rather a stale topic1 as well as a hopeless one1 and give some instances of a change of sentiment in individuals1 which may serve for materials of a history of opinion in the beginning of the #aith century3--,a gentleman went to live1 some years ago1 in a remote part of the country1 and as he did not wish to affect singularity he used to have two candles on his table of an evening4 ,a romantic acquaintance of his in the neighbourhood1 smit with the love of simplicity and equality1 used to come in1 and without ceremony snuff one of them out1 saying1 it was a shame to indulge in such extravagance1 while many a poor cottager had not even a rush-light to see to do their evening's work by4 ,this might be about the year #ahjb1 and was passed over as among the ordinary occurrences of the day4 ,in #ahaf 7oh6 fearful lapse of time1 pregnant with strange mutability71 the same enthusiastic lover of economy1 and hater of luxury1 asked his thoughtless friend to dine with him in company with a certain lord1 and to lend him his man servant to wait at table2 and just before they were sitting down to dinner1 he heard him say to the servant in a sonorous whisper--#8and be sure you don't forget to have six candles on the table6' ,extremes meet4 ,the event here was as true to itself as the oscillation of the pendulum4 ,my informant1 who understands moral equations1 had looked for this reaction1 and noted it down as characteristic4 ,the impertinence in the first instance was the cue to the ostentatious servility in the second4 ,the one was the fulfilment of the other1 like the type and anti-type of a prophecy4 ,no--the keeping of the character at the end of fourteen years was as unique as the keeping of the thought to the end of the fourteen lines of a ,sonnet6 ,would it sound strange if ,i were to whisper it in the reader's ear1 that it was the same person who was thus anxious to see six candles on the table to receive a lord1 who once 7in ages past7 said to me1 that #8he saw nothing to admire in the eloquence of such men as ,mansfield and ,chatham2 and what did it all end in1 but their being made ,lords8' ,it is better to be a lord than a lacquey to a lord4 ,so we see that the swelling pride and preposterous self-opinion which exalts itself above the mightiest1 looking down upon1 and braying the boasted pretensions of the highest rank and the most brilliant talents as nothing1 compared with its own conscious powers and silent unmoved self-respect1 grovels and licks the dust before titled wealth1 like a lacquered slave1 the moment it can get wages and a livery6 ,would ,milton or ,marvel have done thus8 ,mr4 ,coleridge1 indeed1 sets down this outrageous want of keeping to an excess of sympathy1 and there is1 after all1 some truth in his suggestion4 ,there is a craving after the approbation and concurrence of others natural to the mind of man4 ,it is difficult to sustain the weight of an opinion singly for any length of way4 ,the intellect languishes without cordial encouragement and support4 ,it exhausts both strength and patience to be always striving against the stream4 ,contra audentior ito--is the motto but of few4 ,public opinion is always pressing upon the mind1 and1 like the air we breathe1 acts unseen1 unfelt4 ,it supplies the living current of our thoughts1 and infects without our knowledge4 ,it taints the blood1 and is taken into the smallest pores4 ,the most sanguine constitutions are1 perhaps1 the most exposed to its influence4 ,but public opinion has its source in power1 in popular prejudice1 and is not always in accord with right reason1 or a high and abstracted imagination4 ,which path to follow where the two roads part8 ,the heroic and romantic resolution prevails at first in high and heroic tempers4 ,they think to scale the heights of truth and virtue at once with him #8whose genius had angelic wings1 and fed on manna1'--but after a time find themselves baffled1 toiling on in an uphill road1 without friends1 in a cold neighbourhood1 without aid or prospect of success4 ,the poet #8,like a worm goes by the way4' ,he hears murmurs loud or suppressed1 meets blank looks or scowling faces1 is exposed to the pelting of the pitiless press1 and is stunned by the shout of the mob1 that gather round him to see what sort of a creature a poet and a philosopher is4 ,what is there to make him proof against all this8 ,a strength of understanding steeled against temptation1 and a dear love of truth that smiles opinion to scorn8 ,these he perhaps has not4 ,a lord passes in his coach4 ,might he not get up1 and ride out of the reach of the rabble-rout8 ,he is invited to stop dinner4 ,if he stays he may insinuate some wholesome truths4 ,he drinks in rank poison--flattery6 ,he recites some verses to the ladies1 who smile delicious praise1 and thank him through their tears4 ,the master of the house suggests a happy allusion in the turn of an expression4 #8,there's sympathy4' ,this is better than the company he lately left4 ,pictures1 statues meet his raptured eye4 ,our ,ulysses finds himself in the gardens of ,alcinous3 our truant is fairly caught4 ,he wanders through enchanted ground4 ,groves1 classic groves1 nod unto him1 and he hears #8ancestral voices' hailing him as brother-bard6 ,he sleeps1 dreams1 and wakes cured of his thriftless prejudices and morose philanthropy4 ,he likes this courtly and popular sympathy better4 #8,he looks up with awe to kings2 with honour to nobility2 with reverence to magistrates1' c4 ,he no longer breathes the air of heaven and his own thoughts1 but is steeped in that of palaces and courts1 and finds it agree better with his constitutional temperament4 ,oh6 how sympathy alters a man from what he was6 #8,i've heard of hearts unkind1 ,kind deeds with coldness still returning2 ,alas6 the gratitude of man ,has oftener set me mourning4' ,a spirit of contradiction1 a wish to monopolise all wisdom1 will not account for uniform consistency1 for it is sure to defeat and turn against itself4 ,it is #8every thing by turns1 and nothing long4' ,it is warped and crooked4 ,it cannot bear the least opposition1 and sooner than acquiesce in what others approve it will change sides in a day4 ,it is offended at every resistance to its captious1 domineering humour1 and will quarrel for straws with its best friends4 ,a person under the guidance of this demon1 if every whimsy or occult discovery of his own is not received with acclamation by one party1 will wreak his spite by deserting to the other1 and carry all his talent for disputation with him1 sharpened by rage and disappointment4 ,a man1 to be steady in a cause1 should be more attached to the truth than to the acquiescence of his fellow-citizens4 ,a young student1 who came up to town a few years since with some hypercritical refinements on the modern philosophy to introduce him to the ,gamaliels of the age1 but who would allow no one else to have a right view of the common doctrines of the school1 or to be able to assign a reason for the faith that was in him1 was sent to ,coventry by the true adepts1 who were many of them as wise and as fastidious as himself4 ,he therefore turned round upon the whole set for this indignity1 and has been playing off the heavy artillery of his scurrilous abuse1 his verbal logic1 and the powerful distinctions of the civil and canon law upon the devoted heads of his tasteless associates2 #8perpetual volley1 arrowy sleet1' ever since6 ,it is needless to mention names4 ,the learned gentleman having left his ungrateful party and unprofitable principles in dudgeon1 has gone into the opposite extreme like mad1 sticks at nothing1 is callous to public opinion1 so that he pleases his employers1 and can become #8a thorn in the side of freedom'2 and fairly takes the bridle in his teeth1 stop him who can4 ,a more obstinate being never took pen in hand4 ,yet1 by agreeing to his conclusions1 and subscribing to his arguments 7such as they are7 it would be still possible to make him give up every one of his absurdities in succession1 and to drive him to set up another ,new ,daily ,paper against himself6 ,i can hardly consider ,mr4 ,coleridge as a deserter from the cause he first espoused1 unless one could tell what cause he ever heartily espoused1 or what party he ever belonged to1 in downright earnest4 ,he has not been inconsistent with himself at different times1 but at all times4 ,he is a sophist1 a casuist1 a rhetorician1 what you please2 and might have argued or declaimed to the end of his breath on one side of a question or another1 but he never was a pragmatical fellow4 ,he lived in a round of contradictions1 and never came to a settled point4 ,his fancy gave the cue to his judgment1 and his vanity set his invention afloat in whatever direction he could find most scope for it1 or most sympathy1 that is1 admiration4 ,his ,life and ,opinions might naturally receive the title of one of ,hume's ,essays--#8,a ,sceptical ,solution of ,sceptical ,doubts4' ,to be sure1 his ,,watchman and his ,,friend breathe a somewhat different tone on subjects of a particular description1 both of them apparently pretty high-raised1 but whoever will be at the pains to examine them closely1 will find them to be voluntaries1 fugues1 solemn capriccios1 not set compositions with any malice prepense in them1 or much practical meaning4 ,i believe some of his friends1 who were indebted to him for the suggestion of plausible reasons for conformity1 and an opening to a more qualified view of the letter of their paradoxical principles1 have lately disgusted him by the virulence and extravagance to which they have carried hints1 of which he never suspected that they would make the least possible use4 ,but if ,mr4 ,coleridge is satisfied with the wandering ,moods of his ,mind1 perhaps this is no reason that others may not reap the solid benefit4 ,he himself is like the idle sea-weed on the ocean1 tossed from shore to shore3 they are like barnacles fastened to the vessel of state1 rotting its goodly timbers6 ,there are some persons who are of too fastidious a turn of mind to like any thing long1 or to assent twice to the same opinion4 ---- always sets himself to prop the falling cause1 to nurse the ricketty bantling4 ,he takes the part which he thinks in most need of his support1 not so much out of magnanimity1 as to prevent too great a degree of presumption or self-complacency on the triumphant side4 #8,though truth be truth1 yet he contrives to throw such changes of vexation on it as it may lose some colour4' ,i have been delighted to hear him expatiate with the most natural and affecting simplicity on a favourite passage or picture1 and all the while afraid of agreeing with him1 lest he should instantly turn round and unsay all that he had said1 for fear of my going away with too good an opinion of my own taste1 or too great an admiration of my idol--and his own4 ,i dare not ask his opinion twice1 if ,i have got a favourable sentence once1 lest he should belie his own sentiments to stagger mine4 ,i have heard him talk divinely 7like one inspired7 of ,boccaccio1 and the story of the ,pot of ,basil1 describing #8how it grew1 and it grew1 and it grew1' till you saw it spread its tender leaves in the light of his eye1 and wave in the tremulous sound of his voice2 and yet if you asked him about it at another time1 he would1 perhaps1 affect to think little of it1 or to have forgotten the circumstance4 ,his enthusiasm is fickle and treacherous4 ,the instant he finds it shared in common1 he backs out of it4 ,his enmity is equally refined1 but hardly so unsocial4 ,his exquisitely turned invectives display all the beauty of scorn1 and impart elegance to vulgarity4 ,he sometimes finds out minute excellencies1 and cries up one thing to put you out of conceit with another4 ,if you want him to praise ,sir ,joshua con amore1 in his best manner1 you should begin with saying something about ,titian--if you seem an idoliser of ,sir ,joshua1 he will immediately turn off the discourse1 gliding like the serpent before ,eve1 wary and beautiful1 to the graces of ,sir ,peter ,lely1 or ask if you saw a ,vandyke the other day1 which he does not think ,sir ,joshua could stand near4 ,but find fault with the ,lake ,poets1 and mention some pretended patron of rising genius1 and you need not fear but he will join in with you and go all lengths that you can wish him4 ,you may calculate upon him there4 #8,pride elevates1 and joy brightens his face4' ,and1 indeed1 so eloquent is he1 and so beautiful in his eloquence1 that ,i myself1 with all my freedom from gall and bitterness1 could listen to him untired1 and without knowing how the time went1 losing and neglecting many a meal and hour1 ----#8,from morn to noon1 ,from noon to dewy eve1 a summer's day6' ,when ,i cease to hear him quite1 other tongues1 turned to what accents they may of praise or blame1 will sound dull1 ungrateful1 out of tune1 and harsh1 in the comparison4 ,an overstrained enthusiasm produces a capriciousness in taste1 as well as too much indifference4 ,a person who sets no bounds to his admiration takes a surfeit of his favourites4 ,he over-does the thing4 ,he gets sick of his own everlasting praises1 and affected raptures4 ,his preferences are a great deal too violent to last4 ,he wears out an author in a week1 that might last him a year1 or his life1 by the eagerness with which he devours him4 ,every such favourite is in his turn the greatest writer in the world4 ,compared with the lord of the ascendant for the time being1 ,shakspeare is common-place1 and ,milton a pedant1 a little insipid or so4 ,some of these prodigies require to be dragged out of their lurking-places1 and cried up to the top of the compass2--their traits are subtle1 and must be violently obtruded on the sight4 ,but the effort of exaggerated praise1 though it may stagger others1 tires the maker1 and we hear of them no more after a while4 ,others take their turns1 are swallowed whole1 undigested1 ravenously1 and disappear in the same manner4 ,good authors share the fate of bad1 and a library in a few years is nearly dismantled4 ,it is a pity thus to outlive our admiration1 and exhaust our relish of what is excellent4 ,actors and actresses are disposed of in the same conclusive peremptory way3 some of them are talked of for months1 nay1 years2 then it is almost an offence to mention them4 ,friends1 acquaintance1 go the same road2--are now asked to come six days in the week1 then warned against coming the seventh4 ,the smallest faults are soon magnified in those we think too highly of3 but where shall we find perfection8 ,if we will put up with nothing short of that1 we shall have neither pictures1 books1 nor friends left--we shall have nothing but our own absurdities to keep company with6 #8,in all things a regular and moderate indulgence is the best security for a lasting enjoyment4' ,,burke4 ,there are numbers who judge by the event1 and change with fortune4 ,they extol the hero of the day1 and join the prevailing clamour whatever it is2 so that the fluctuating state of public opinion regulates their feverish1 restless enthusiasm1 like a thermometer4 ,they blow hot or cold1 according as the wind sets favourably or otherwise4 ,with such people the only infallible test of merit is success2 and no arguments are true that have not a large or powerful majority on their side4 ,they go by appearances4 ,their vanity1 not the truth1 is their ruling object4 ,they are not the last to quit a falling cause1 and they are the first to hail the rising sun4 ,their minds want sincerity1 modesty1 and keeping4 ,with them-- ----#8,to have done is to hang ,quite out of fashion1 like a rusty mail ,in monumental mockery4' ,they still1 #8with one consent1 praise new-born gauds1' and ,fame1 as they construe it1 is ----#8,like a fashionable host1 ,that slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand2 ,and with his arms outstretch'd1 as he would fly1 ,grasps-in the comer4 ,welcome ever smiles1 ,and ,farewell goes out sighing4' ,such servile flatterers made an idol of ,buonaparte while fortune smiled upon him1 but when it left him1 they removed him from his pedestal in the cabinet of their vanity1 as we take down the picture of a relation that has died without naming us in his will4 ,the opinion of such triflers is worth nothing3 it is merely an echo4 ,we do not want to be told the event of a question1 but the rights of it4 ,truth is in their theory nothing but #8noise and inexplicable dumb show4' ,they are the heralds1 outriders1 and trumpeters in the procession of fame2 are more loud and boisterous than the rest1 and give themselves great airs1 as the avowed patrons and admirers of genius and merit4 ,as there are many who change their sentiments with circumstances1 7as they decided lawsuits in ,rabelais with the dice71 so there are others who change them with their acquaintance4 #8,tell me your company1 and ,i'll tell you your opinions1' might be said to many a man who piques himself on a select and superior view of things1 distinct from the vulgar4 ,individuals of this class are quick and versatile1 but they are not beforehand with opinion4 ,they catch it1 when it is pointed out to them1 and take it at the rebound1 instead of giving the first impulse4 ,their minds are a light1 luxuriant soil1 into which thoughts are easily transplanted1 and shoot up with uncommon sprightliness and vigour4 ,they wear the dress of other people's minds very gracefully and unconsciously4 ,they tell you your own opinion1 or very gravely repeat an observation you have made to them about half a year afterwards4 ,they let you into the delicacies and luxuries of ,spenser with great disinterestedness1 in return for your having introduced that author to their notice4 ,they prefer ,west to ,raphael1 ,stothard to ,rubens1 till they are told better4 ,still they are acute in the main1 and good judges in their way4 ,by trying to improve their taste1 and reform their notions according to an ideal standard1 they perhaps spoil and muddle their native faculties1 rather than do them any good4 ,their first manner is their best1 because it is the most natural4 ,it is well not to go out of ourselves1 and to be contented to take up with what we are1 for better for worse4 ,we can neither beg1 borrow1 nor steal characteristic excellencies4 ,some views and modes of thinking suit certain minds1 as certain colours suit certain complexions4 ,we may part with very shining and very useful qualities without getting better ones to supply them4 ,mocking is catching1 only in regard to defects4 ,mimicry is always dangerous4 ,it is not necessary to change our road in order to advance on our journey4 ,we should cultivate the spot of ground we possess to the utmost of our power1 though it may be circumscribed and comparatively barren4 ,a rolling stone gathers no moss4 ,people may collect all the wisdom they will ever attain1 quite as well by staying at home as by travelling abroad4 ,there is no use in shifting from place to place1 from side to side1 or from subject to subject4 ,you have always to begin again1 and never finish any course of study or observation4 ,by adhering to the same principles you do not become stationary4 ,you enlarge1 correct1 and consolidate your reasonings1 without contradicting and shuffling about in your conclusions4 ,if truth consisted in hasty assumptions and petulant contradictions1 there might be some ground for this whiffling and violent inconsistency4 ,but the face of truth1 like that of nature1 is different and the same4 ,the first outline of an opinion1 and the general tone of thinking1 may be sound and correct1 though we may spend any quantity of time and pains in working up and uniting the parts at subsequent sittings4 ,if we have mistaken the character of the countenance altogether at first1 no alterations will bring it right afterwards4 ,those who mistake white for black in the first instance1 may as well mistake black for white when they reverse their canvass4 ,i do not see what security they can have in their present opinions1 who build their pretension to wisdom on the total folly1 rashness1 and extravagance 7to say no worse7 of their former ones4 ,the perspective may change with years and experience3 we may see certain things nearer1 and others more remote2 but the great masses and landmarks will remain1 though thrown into shadow and tinged by the intervening atmosphere3 so the laws of the understanding1 the truth of nature1 will remain1 and cannot be thrown into utter confusion and perplexity by our blunders or caprice1 like the objects in ,hogarth's ,rules of ,perspective1 where every thing is turned upside down1 or thrust out of its well-known place4 ,i cannot understand how our political ,harlequins feel after all their summersaults and metamorphoses4 ,they can hardly1 ,i should think1 look at themselves in the glass1 or walk across the room without stumbling4 ,this at least would be the case if they had the least reflection or self-knowledge4 ,but they judge from pique and vanity solely4 ,there should be a certain decorum in life as in a picture1 without which it is neither useful nor agreeable4 ,if my opinions are not right1 at any rate they are the best ,i have been able to form1 and better than any others ,i could take up at random1 or out of perversity1 now4 ,certainly opinions vitiate one another1 and destroy the simplicity and clearness of the mind3 nothing is good that has not a beginning1 a middle1 and an end2 and ,i would wish my thoughts to be #8,linked each to each by natural piety6' ,,on ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,partisanship ,the ,london ,magazine4 ,december1 #ahba4 ,i have in my time known few thorough partisans2 at least on my own side of the question4 ,i conceive1 however1 that the honestest and strongest-minded men have been so4 ,in general1 interest1 fear1 vanity1 the love of contradiction1 even a scrupulous regard to truth and justice1 come to divert them from the popular cause4 ,it is a character that requires very opposite and almost incompatible qualities--reason and prejudice1 a passionate attachment founded on an abstract idea4 ,he who can take up a speculative question1 and pursue it with the same zeal and unshaken constancy that he does his immediate interests or private animosities1 he who is as faithful to his principles as he is to himself1 is the true partisan4 ,i do not here speak of the bigot1 or the mercenary or cowardly tool of a party4 ,there are plenty of this description of persons 7a considerable majority of the inhabitants of every country7--who are #8ever strong upon the stronger side1' staunch1 thorough-paced sticklers for their passions and prejudices1 and who stand by their party as long as their party can stand by them4 ,i speak of those who espouse a cause from liberal motives and with liberal views1 and of the obstacles that are so often found to relax their perseverance or impair their zeal4 ,these may1 ,i think1 be reduced chiefly to the heads of obligations to friends1 of vanity1 or the desire of the lead and distinction1 to an over-squeamish delicacy in regard to appearances1 to fickleness of purpose1 or to natural timidity and weakness of nerve4 ,there is nothing more contemptible than party spirit in one point of view2 and yet it seems inseparable in practice from public principle4 ,you cannot support measures unless you support men2--you cannot carry any point or maintain any system1 without acting in concert with others4 ,in theory1 it is all very well4 ,we may refine in our distinctions1 and elevate our language to what point we please4 ,but in carrying the most sounding words and stateliest propositions into effect1 we must make use of the instrumentality of men2 and some of the alloy and imperfection of the means may insinuate itself into the end4 ,if we do not go all lengths with those who are embarked with us in the same views2 if we are not hearty in the defence of their interests and motives2 if we are not fully in their confidence and they in ours2 if we do not ingraft on the stock of public virtue the charities and sentiments of private affection and esteem2 if the bustle and anxiety and irritation of the state-affairs do not kindle into the glow of friendship as well as patriotism2 if we look distant1 suspicious1 lukewarm at one another2 if we criticise1 carp at1 pry into the conduct of our party with watchful1 jealous eyes2 it is to be feared we shall play the game into the enemy's hands1 and not co-operate together for the common good with all the steadiness and cordiality that might be wished4 ,on the other hand1 if we lend ourselves to the foibles and weaknesses of our friends2 if we suffer ourselves to be implicated in their intrigues1 their scrambles and bargainings for place and power2 if we flatter their mistakes1 and not only screen them from the eyes of others1 but are blind to them ourselves2 if we compromise a great principle in the softness of a womanish friendship2 if we entangle ourselves in needless family-ties2 if we sell ourselves to the vices of a patron1 or become the mouthpiece and echo of a coterie2 we shall be in that case slaves of a faction1 not servants of the public1 nor shall we long have a spark of the old ,roman or the old ,english virtue left4 ,good-nature1 conviviality1 hospitality1 habits of acquaintance and regard1 favours received or conferred1 spirit and eloquence to defend a friend when pressed hard upon1 courtesy and good-breeding1 are one thing--patriotism1 firmness of principle1 are another4 ,the true patriot knows when to make each of these in turn give way to or control the other1 in furtherance of the common good1 just as the accomplished courtier makes all other interests1 friendships1 cabals1 resentments1 reconciliations1 subservient to his attachment to the person of the king4 ,he has the welfare of his country1 the cause of mankind at heart1 and makes that the scale in which all other motives are weighed as in a balance4 ,with this inward prompter1 he knows when to speak and when to hold his tongue1 when to temporise1 and when to throw away the scabbard1 when to make men of service to principles1 and when to make principles the sole condition of popularity1--nearly as well as if he had a title or a pension depending in reversion on his success3 for it is true that #8in their generation the children of this world are wiser than the children of light4' ,in my opinion1 ,charles ,fox had too much of what we mean by #8the milk of human kindness' to be a practical statesman1 particularly in critical times1 and with a cause of infinite magnitude at stake4 ,he was too easy a friend1 and too generous an enemy4 ,he was willing to think better of those with whom he acted1 or to whom he was opposed1 than they deserved4 ,he was the creature of temperament and sympathy1 and suffered his feelings to be played upon1 and to get the better of his principles1 which were not of the most rigid kind--not #8stuff o' the conscience4' ,with all the power of the crown1 and all the strongholds of prejudice and venality opposed to him1 #8instead of a softness coming over the heart of a man1' he should 7in such a situation7 have #8turned to the stroke his adamantine scales that feared no discipline of human hands1' and made it a struggle ad internecionem on the one side1 as it was on the other4 ,there was no place for moderation1 much less for huckstering and trimming4 ,mr4 ,burke saw the thing right enough4 ,it was a question about a principle--about the existence or extinction of human rights in the abstract4 ,he was on the side of legitimate slavery2 ,mr4 ,fox on that of natural liberty4 ,that was no reason he should be less bold or jealous in her defence1 because he had every thing to contend against4 ,but he made too many coalitions1 too many compromises with flattery1 with friendship1 7to say nothing of the baits of power7 not to falter and be defeated at last in the noble stand he had made for the principles of freedom4 ,another sort are as much too captious and precise1 as these are lax and cullible in their notions of political warfare4 ,their fault is an overweening egotism1 as that of the former was too great a facility of temper4 ,they will have every thing their own way to the minutest tittle1 or they cannot think of giving it their sanction and support4 ,the cause must come to them1 they will not go to the cause4 ,they stand upon their punctilio4 ,they have a character at stake1 which is dearer to them than the whole world4 ,they have an idea of perfect truth and beauty in their own minds1 the contemplation of which is a never-failing source of delight and consolation to them1 #8,though sun and moon were in the flat sea sunk1' and which they will not soil by mixing it up with the infirmities of any cause or any party4 ,they will not1 #8to do a great right1 do a little wrong4' ,they will let the lofty pillar inscribed to human liberty fall to the ground sooner than extend a finger to save it1 on account of the dust and cobwebs that cling to it4 ,it is not this great and mighty object they are thinking of all the time1 but their own fantastic reputation and puny pretensions4 ,while the world is tumbling about our ears1 and the last hold of liberty1 the ark containing our birth-right1 the only possible barrier against barefaced tyranny1 is tottering--instead of setting the engines and the mortal instruments at work to prop it1 and fighting in the trenches to the last drop1 they are washing their hands of all imaginary imperfections1 and looking in the glass of their own vanity1 with an air of heightened self-complacency4 ,alas6 they do not foresee the fatal consequences2 they have an eye only to themselves4 ,while all the power1 the prejudice1 and ignorance of mankind are drawn up in deadly array against the advance of truth and justice1 they owe it to themselves1 forsooth6 to state the naked merits of the question 7heat and passion apart7 and pick out all the faults of which their own party has been guilty1 to fling as a make-weight into the adversary's scale of unmeasured abuse and execration4 ,they will not take their ready stand by the side of him who was #8the very arm and burgonet of man1' and like a demi-,atlas1 could alone prop a declining world1 because for themselves they have some objections to the individual instrument1 and they think principles more important than persons4 ,no1 they think persons of more consequence than principles1 and themselves most of all4 ,they injure the principle1 through the person most able to protect it4 ,they betray the cause by not defending it as it is attacked1 tooth and nail1 might and main1 without exception and without remorse4 ,when every thing is at stake1 dear and valuable to man1 as man2 when there is but the one dreadful alternative of entire loss1 or final recovery of truth and freedom1 it is no time to stand upon trifles and moot-points2 that great object is to be secured first1 and at all hazards4 #8,entire affection scorneth nicer hands4' ,but there is a third thing in their minds1 a fanciful something which they prefer to both contending parties4 ,it may be so2 but neither they nor we can get it4 ,we must have one of the two things imposed upon us1 not by choice but by hard necessity4 #8,our bane and antidote are both before us3' and if we do anything to neglect the one1 we justly incur the heavy1 intolerable1 unredeemed penalty of the other4 ,if our pride is stung1 if we have received a blow or the lie in our own persons1 we know well enough what to do3 our blood is up1 we have an actual feeling and object to satisfy2 and we are not to be diverted from our purpose by sophistry or mere words4 ,the quarrel is personal to ourselves2 and we feel the whole stress of it1 rousing every faculty and straining every nerve4 ,but if the quarrel is general to mankind2 if it is one in which the rights1 freedom1 hopes1 and happiness of the whole world are embarked2 if we see the dignity of our common nature prostrate1 trampled upon and mangled before the brute image of power1 this gives us little concern2 our reason may disapprove1 but our passions1 our prejudices1 are not touched2 and therefore our reason1 our humanity1 our abstract love of right 7not #8screwed to the sticking place' by some paltry interest of our own7 are easily satisfied with any hollow professions of good-will1 or put off with vague excuses1 or staggered with open defiance4 ,we are here1 where a principle only is in danger1 at leisure to calculate consequences1 prudently for ourselves1 or favourably for others3 were it a point of honour 7we think the honour of human nature is not our honour1 that its disgrace is not our disgrace--we are not the rabble67 we should throw consideration and compassion to the dogs1 and cry--#8,away to ,heaven respective lenity1 and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now6' ,but charity is cold4 ,we are the dupes of the flatteries of our opponents1 because we are indifferent to our own object3 we stand in awe of their threats1 because in the absence of passion we are tender of our persons4 ,they beat us in courage and in intellect1 because we have nothing but the common good to sharpen our faculties or goad our will2 they have no less an alternative in view than to be uncontrolled masters of mankind1 or to be hurled from high1-- #8,to grinning scorn a sacrifice1 ,and endless infamy6' ,they do not celebrate the triumphs of their enemies as their own3 it is with them a more feeling disputation4 ,they never give an inch of ground that they can keep2 they keep all that they can get2 they make no concessions that can redound to their own discredit2 they assume all that makes for them2 if they pause1 it is to gain time2 if they offer terms1 it is to break them3 they keep no faith with enemies3 if you relax in your exertions1 they persevere the more3 if you make new efforts1 they redouble theirs4 ,while they give no quarter1 you stand upon more ceremony4 ,while they are cutting your throat1 or putting the gag in your mouth1 you talk of nothing but liberality1 freedom of inquiry1 and douce humanit4 ,their object is to destroy you1 your object is to spare them--to treat them according to your own fancied dignity4 ,they have sense and spirit enough to take all advantages that will further their cause3 you have pedantry and pusillanimity enough to undertake the defence of yours1 in order to defeat it4 ,it is the difference between the efficient and the inefficient2 and this again resolves itself into the difference between a speculative proposition and a practical interest4 ,one thing that makes tyrants bold is1 that they have the power to justify their wrong4 ,they lay their hands upon the sword1 and ask who will dispute their commands4 ,the friends of humanity and justice have not in general this ark of confidence to recur to1 and can only appeal to reason and propriety4 ,they oppose power on the plea of right and conscience2 and shall they1 in pursuance of their claims1 violate in the smallest tittle what is due to truth and justice8 ,so that the one have no law but their wills1 and the absolute extent of their authority1 in attaining or securing their ends1 because they make no pretensions to scrupulous delicacy3 the others are cooped and cabined in1 by all sorts of nice investigations in philosophy1 and misgivings of the moral sense2 that is1 are deprived or curtailed of the means of succeeding in their ends1 because those ends are not barefaced violence and wrong4 ,it might as well be said that a man has a right to knock me on the head on the highway1 and that ,i am only to use mildness and persuasion in return1 as best suited to the justice of my cause2 as that ,i am not to retaliate and make reprisals on the common enemies of mankind in their own style and mode of execution4 ,is not a man to defend his liberty1 or the liberties of his fellow-men1 as strenuously and remorselessly as he would his life or his purse8 ,men are ,quakers in political principle1 ,turks and ,jews in private conscience4 ,the whole is an error1 arising from confounding the distinction between theory and practice1 between the still-life of letters and the tug and onset of contending factions4 ,i might recommend to our political mediators the advice which ,henry ,v4 addressed to his soldiers on a critical occasion4 #8,in peace there's nothing so becomes a man ,as modest stillness and humility2 ,but when the blast of war blows in our ears1 ,then imitate the action of the tiger2 ,stiffen the sinews1 summon up the blood1 ,disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage2 ,then lend the eye a terrible aspect2 ,let it pry through the portage of the head1 ,like the brass-cannon3 let the brow o'erwhelm it ,as fearfully as doth a galled rock ,o'erhang and jutty his confounded base1 ,swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean3 ,now set the teeth1 and stretch the nostril wide2 ,hold hard the breath1 and bend up every spirit ,to his full height4' ,so1 in speculation1 refine as much as you please1 intellectually and morally speaking1 and you may do it with advantage4 ,reason is then the instrument you use1 and you cannot raise the standard of perfection you fix upon and propose to others too high1 or proceed with too much candour and moderation in the advancement of truth3 but in practice1 you have not your choice of ends or means4 ,you have two things to decide between1 the extreme1 probably1 of an evil and a considerable good1 and if you will not make your mind up to take the best of the two with all its disadvantages and draw-backs you must be contented to take the worst3 for as you cannot alter the state of the conflicting parties who are carrying their point by force1 or dictate what is best by a word speaking2 so by finding fault with the attainable good1 and throwing cold water on it1 you add fuel to your enemy's courage and assist his success4 #8,those who are not for us are against us4' ,you create a diversion in his favour1 by distracting and enervating men's minds1 as much as by questioning the general's orders1 or drawing off a strong detachment in the heat of a battle4 ,political1 is like military warfare4 ,there are but two sides1 and after you have once chosen your party1 it will not do to stand in the midway1 and say you like neither4 ,there is no other to like1 in the eye of common sense1 or in the practical and inevitable result of the thing4 ,as active partisans1 we must take up with the best we can get in the circumstances1 and defend it with all our might against a worse cause 7which will prevail1 if this does not7 instead of #8letting our frail thoughts dally with faint surmise2'--or1 while dreaming of an ideal perfection1 we shall find ourselves surprised into the train1 and gracing the triumph1 of the common enemy4 ,it is sufficient if our objects and principles are sound and disinterested4 ,if we were engaged in a friendly contest1 where integrity and fair dealing were the order of the day1 our means might be as unimpeachable as our ends2 but in a struggle with the passions1 interests1 and prejudices of men1 right reason1 pure intention1 are hardly competent to carry us through3 we want another stimulus4 ,the vices may be opposed to each other sometimes with advantage and propriety4 ,a little of the alloy of human frailty may be allowed to lend its aid to the service of humanity2 and if we have only so much obstinacy or insensibility as enables us to persevere in the path of public duty with more determination and effect1 both our motives and conduct will be above the ordinary standard of political morality4 ,to suppose that we can do much more than this1 or that we can set up our individual opinion of what is best in itself1 or of the best means of attaining it1 and be listened to by the world at large1 is egregiously to overrate their docility or our own powers of persuasion4 ,it is the same want of a centripetal force1 of a ruling passion1 of a moral instinct of union and co-operation for a general purpose1 that makes men fly off into knots and factions1 and each set up for the leader of a party himself4 ,where there is a strong feeling of interest at work1 it reconciles and combines the most discordant materials1 and fits them to their place in the social machine4 ,but in the conduct and support of the public good1 we see #8nothing but vanity1 chaotic vanity4' ,there is no forbearance1 no self-denial1 no magnanimity of proceeding4 ,every one is seeking his own aggrandisement1 or to supplant his neighbour1 instead of advancing the popular cause4 ,it is because they have no real regard for it but as it serves as a stalking-horse to their ambition1 restless inquietude1 or love of cabal4 ,they abuse and vilify their own party1 just as they do the ,ministers4 #8,each lolls his tongue out at the other1 ,and shakes his empty noddle at his brother4' ,john ,bull does not aim so maliciously1 or hit so hard at ,whigs and ,reformers1 as ,cobbett4 ,the reason is1 that a very large proportion of these ,marplots and regenerators of the world are actuated by no love of their species or zeal for a general question1 but by envy1 malice1 and all uncharitableness4 ,they are discontented with themselves and with every thing about them4 ,they object to1 they dissent from every measure4 ,nothing pleases their fastidious tastes4 ,for want of something to exercise their ill-humour and troublesome officiousness upon1 they abuse the ,government3--when they are baulked or tired of this they fall foul of one another4 ,the slightest slip or difference of opinion is never forgiven1 but gives birth to a deadly feud4 ,touch but their petty self-importance1 and out comes a flaming denunciation of their own cabal1 and all they know about the individuals composing it4 ,this is not patriotism1 but spleen--a want of something to do and to talk about--of sense1 honesty1 and feeling4 ,to wreak their spite on an individual1 they will ruin the cause1 and serve up the friend and idol of the people sliced and carbonadoed1 a delicious morsel to the other side4 ,there is a strange want of keeping in this4 ,they are true neither to themselves nor to their principles4 ,the ,reformers are in general1 it must be confessed1 an ill-conditioned set2 and they should be told of this infirmity that most easily besets them4 ,when they find their gall and bitterness overflowing on the very persons who take the lead1 and deservedly take the lead1 in their affairs1 for some slight flaw or misunderstanding1 they should be taught to hold their tongues1 or be drummed out of the regiment as spies and informers4 ,trimming1 and want of spirit to declare the honest truth1 arise in part from the same source4 ,when a man is not thoroughly convinced of an opinion1 or where he does not feel a deep interest in it1 he does not like to make himself obnoxious by avowing it2 is willing to make all the allowance he can for difference of sentiment1 and consults his own safety by retiring from a sinking cause4 ,this is the very time when the genuine partisan1 who has a rooted attachment to a principle1 and feels it as a part of himself1 finds himself most called upon to come forward in its support4 ,his anxiety for truth and justice leaves him in no fear for himself1 and the sincerity of his motives makes him regardless of censure or obloquy4 ,his profession of hearty devotion to freedom was not an ebullition called forth by the sunshine of prosperity1 a lure for popularity and public favour2 and when these desert it1 he still maintains his post with his integrity4 ,there is a natural timidity of mind1 also1 which can never go the whole length of any opinion1 but is always interlarding its qualified assent with unmeaning buts and ifs2 as there is a levity and discursiveness of imagination which cannot settle finally in any belief1 and requires a succession of glancing views1 topics1 and opposite conclusions1 to satisfy its appetite for intellectual variety4 ,i have known persons leave the cause of independence and freedom1 not because they found it unprofitable1 but because they found it flat and stale for want of novelty4 ,at the same time1 interest is a great stimulator2 and perhaps the success of their early principles might have reconciled them to their embarrassing monotony4 ,few persons have strength and simplicity of mind 7without some additional inducement7 to be always harping on the same string1 or to put up with the legitimate variety to be found in an abstract principle1 applicable to all emergencies4 ,they like changeable silks better than lasting homespun4 ,a sensible man once mentioned to me his having called on ---- that morning1 who entertained him with a tirade against the ,bourbons for two hours2 but he said he did not at all feel convinced that he might not have been writing ,ultra-royalist paragraphs for the ----1 just before he came1 in their favour1 and only shifted his side of the argument1 as a man who is tired of lying too long on one side of his body is glad to turn to the other4 ,there was much shrewdness1 and equal probability in this conjecture4 ,i think the spirit of partisanship is of use in a point of view that has not been distinctly adverted to4 ,it serves as a conductor to carry off our antipathies and ill-blood in a quarter and a manner that is least hurtful to the general weal4 ,a thorough partisan is a good hater2 but he hates only one side of a question1 and that the outside4 ,his bigotry throws human nature into strong light and shade2 he has his sympathies as well as his antipathies2 it is not all black or a dull drab-colour4 ,he does not generalise in his contempt or disgust1 or proceed from individuals to universals4 ,he lays the faults and vices of mankind to the account of sects and parties1 creeds and classes4 ,man in himself is a good sort of animal4 ,it is the being a ,tory or a ,whig 7as it may happen7 that makes a man a knave or fool2 but then we hardly look upon him as of the same species with ourselves4 ,kings are not arbitrary1 nor priests hypocritical1 because they are men1 but because they are kings and priests4 ,we form certain nominal abstractions of these classes1 which the more we dislike them1 the less natural do they seem1 and leave the general character of the species untouched1 or act as a foil to it4 ,there is nothing that is a greater damper to party spirit than to suggest that the errors and enormities of both sides arise from certain inherent dispositions1 common to the species4 ,it shocks the liberal and enlightened among us1 to suppose that under any circumstances they could become bigots1 tools1 persecutors4 ,they wipe their hands clean of all such aspersions4 ,there is a great gulph of prejudice and passion placed between us and our opponents2 and this is interpreted into a natural barrier and separation of sentiment and feeling4 #8,our withers are unwrung4' ,burke represented modern revolutionists to himself1 under the equivocal similitude of #8green-eyed1 spring-nailed1 velvet-pawed philosophers1 whether going on two legs or on four2' and thus removed to a distance from his own person all the ill attributes with which he had complimented the thorough-bred metaphysician4 ,by comparing the plausible qualities of a ,minister of state to the sleekness of the panther1 ,i myself seem to have no more affinity with that whole genus1 than with the whiskers and claws of that formidable and spirited animal4 ,bishop ,taylor used to reprimand his rising pride by saying1 at the sight of a reprobate1 #8,there goes my wicked self3' we do not apply the same method politically1 and say1 #8,there goes my ,tory or my ,jacobin self4' ,we suppose the two things incompatible4 ,the ,calvinist damns the ,arminian1 the ,protestant the ,papist1 c4 but it is not for a difference of nature1 but an opposition of opinion4 ,the spirit of partizanship is not a spirit of our misanthropy4 ,but for the vices and errors of example and institution1 mankind are 7on this principle7 only a little lower than the angels3 it is false doctrine and absurd prejudices that make demons of them4 ,the only original sin is differing in opinion with us3 of that they are curable like any occasional disorder1 and the man comes out1 from beneath the husk of his party and prejudices1 pure and immaculate4 ,make proselytes of them1 let them come over to our way of thinking1 and they are a different race of beings quite4 ,this is to be effected by the force of argument and the progress of knowledge4 ,it is well1 it is perfectly well4 ,we cast the slough of our vices with the shibboleth of our party2 a ,reform in ,parliament would banish all knavery and folly from the land4 ,it is not the same wretched little mischievous animal1 man1 that is alike under all denominations and all systems1 and in whom different situations and notions only bring out different inherent1 incorrigible vices and propensities2 but the professions and the theory being changed for the one1 which we think the only true and infallible one1 the whole world1 by the mere removal of our arbitrary prejudices and modes of thinking1 would become as sincere1 as benevolent1 as independent1 and as worthy people as we are6 ,to hate and proscribe half the species under various pretexts and nicknames1 seems1 therefore1 the only way to entertain a good opinion of ourselves and mankind in general4 #8,,the ,,pirate' ,the ,london ,magazine4 ,january1 #ahbb4 ,this is not the best1 nor is it the worst 7the worst is good enough for us7 of the ,scotch ,novels4 ,there is a story in it1 an interest excited almost from the first1 a clue which you get hold of and wish to follow out2 a mystery to be developed1 and which does not disappoint you at last4 ,after you once get into the stream1 you read on with eagerness1 and have only to complain of the number of impediments and diversions thrown in your way4 ,the author is evidently writing to gain time1 to make up his complement of volumes1 his six thousand guineas worth of matter2 and to get to the end of your journey1 and satisfy the curiosity he has raised1 you must be content to travel with him1 stop when he stops1 and turn out of the road as often as he pleases4 ,he dallies with your impatience1 and smiles in your face1 but you cannot1 and dare not be angry with him1 while with his giant-hand he plays at pushpin with the reader1 and sweeps the rich stakes from the table4 ,he has1 they say1 got a plum by his writings4 ,what have not the public got by reading them8 ,the course of exchange is1 and will be1 in our favour1 as long as he gives us one volume for ourselves1 and two for himself4 ,who is there that has not been the better1 the wiser1 and happier man for these fine and inexhaustible productions of genius8 ,the more striking characters and situations are not quite so highly wrought up in the present1 as in some former instances1 nor are they so crowded1 so thickly sown4 ,but the genius of the author is not exhausted1 nor can it be so till not a ,scotch superstition1 or popular tradition is left1 or till the pen drops lifeless and regretted from its master's hand4 ,ah6 who will then call the mist from its hill8 ,who will make the circling eddies roar8 ,who1 with his #8so potent art1' will dim the sun1 or stop the winds1 that wave the forest-heads1 in their course8 ,who will summon the spirits of the northern air from their chill abodes1 or make gleaming lake or hidden cavern teem with wizard1 or with elfin forms8 ,there is no one but the ,scottish ,prospero1 but old ,sir ,walter1 can do the trick aright4 ,he is the very genius of the clime--mounts in her old grey clouds1 dips in her usquebaugh and whiskey6--startles you with her antique ,druid spells in the person of ,elshie1 or stirs up the fierce heat of her theological fires with ,macbriar and ,kettle-drumle3 sweeps the country with a far war-cry to ,lochiel1 or sighs out the soul of love in the perfumed breath of the ,lily of ,st4 ,leonard's4 ,stand thou1 then1 ,meg ,merrilies1 on the point of thy fated rock1 with wild locks and words streaming to the wind2 and sit thou there in thy narrow recess1 ,balfour of ,burley1 betwixt thy ,bible and thy sword1 thy arm of flesh and arm of the ,spirit3--when the last words have passed the lips of the author of ,waverley1 there will be none to re-kindle your fires1 or recall your spirit6 ,let him write on then to the last drop of ink in his ink-stand1 even though it should not be made according to the model of that described by ,mr4 ,coleridge1 and we will not be afraid to read whatever he is not ashamed to publish4 ,we are the true and liege subjects of his pen1 and profess our ultra-fealty in this respect1 like the old ,french leaguers1 with a ,quand mme4 ,the ,pirate is not what we expected1 nor is it new4 ,we had looked for a prodigious row--landing and boarding1 cut and thrust1 blowing up of ships1 and sacking of sea-ports1 with the very devil to pay1 and a noise to deafen clamour1 #8,guns1 drums1 trumpets1 ,blunderbusses and thunder4' ,we supposed that for the time #8,hell itself would be empty1 and all the devils be here4' ,there be land pirates and water pirates2 and we thought ,sir ,walter would be for kicking up just such a dust by sea1 in the ,buccaneers1 7as it was to be called7 as he has done by land in ,old ,mortality4 ,multum abludit imago4 ,there is nothing or little of the sort4 ,there is here 7bating a sprinkling of twenty pages of roaring lads1 who come on shore for no use but to get themselves hanged in the ,orkneys17 only a single ,pirate1 a peaking sort of gentleman1 spiteful1 but not enterprising2 in love1 and inclined to take up and reform1 but very equivocal in the sentiments he professes1 and in those he inspires in others4 ,cleveland is the ,pirate1 who is wrecked off the coast of ,zetland1 is saved from destruction by young ,mordaunt ,mertoun1 who had been so far the hero of the piece1 and jilts him with his mistress1 ,minna1 a grave sentimentalist1 and the elder of two sisters1 to whom ,mordaunt had felt a secret and undeclared passion4 ,the interest of the novel hinges on this bizarre situation of the different parties4 ,sir ,walter 7for he has in the present work leisure on his hands to philosophize7 here introduces a dissertation of some length1 but not much depth1 to show that the jilting of favoured1 or half-favoured lovers1 comes by the dispensation of ,providence1 and that the breed of honest men and bonny lasses would be spoiled if the fairest of the fair1 the sentimental ,miss1 and the prude 7contrary to all previous and common-place calculation71 did not prefer the blackguard and the bravo1 to the tender1 meek1 puny1 unpretending1 heartbroken lover4 ,we do not think our novelist manages his argument well1 or shines in his new ,professor's chair of morality4 ,miss ,polly ,peachum1 we do indeed remember1 the artless1 soft1 innocent ,polly1 fell in love with the bold ,captain ,macheath2 but so did ,miss ,lucy ,lockitt too1 who was no chicken1 and who1 according to this new balance of power in the empire of love1 ought to have tempered her fires with the phlegm of some young chaplain to the prison1 or the soft insinuations of some dreaming poet4 ,but as our author himself is not in a hurry to get on with his story1 we will imitate him1 and let him speak here in his superfluous character of a casuist1 or commentator on his own narrative4 ,a long passage from ,chap1 ,,xiii41 beginning #8,captain ,cleveland sate betwixt the sisters1' follows4 ,suffice it to say1 that we differ from this solution of the difficulty1 ingenious and old as it is2 and to justify that opinion1 ask only whether such a man as ,cleveland would not be a general favourite with women1 instead of being so merely with those of a particularly retired and fantastic character1 which destroys the author's balance of qualities in love8 ,indeed1 his own story is a very bad illustration of his doctrine2 for this romantic and imprudent attachment of the gentle and sensitive ,minna to the bold and profligate ,captain ,cleveland leads to nothing but the most disastrous consequences2 and the opposition between their sentiments and characters1 which was to make them fit partners for life1 only prevents the possibility of their union1 and renders both parties permanently miserable4 ,besides1 the whole perplexity is1 after all1 gratuitous4 ,the enmity between ,cleveland and young ,mertoun 7the chief subject of the plot7 is founded on their jealousy of each other in regard to ,minna1 and yet there had been no positive engagement between her and ,mertoun1 who1 like ,edmund in ,lear1 is equally betrothed to both sisters--in the end marrying the one that he as well as the reader likes least4 ,afterwards1 when the real character of this gay rover of the seas is more fully developed1 and he gets into scrapes with the police of ,orkney1 the grave1 romantic ,minna1 like a true northern lass1 deserts him1 and plays off a little old-fashioned1 unavailing1 but discreet morality upon him4 ,when the reader begins to sympathise with #8a brave man in distress1' then is the time for his mistress with #8the pale face and raven locks' to look to her own character4 ,we like the theory of the ,beggar's ,opera better than this3 the ladies there followed their supposed hero1 their beau ideal of a lover1 to prison1 instead of leaving him to his untoward fate4 ,minna is no ,,nut-,,brown ,,maid1 though she has a passion for outlaws1 between whose minds and those of the graver and more reflecting of the fair sex there is1 according to the opinion of our ,,great ,,unknown1 a secret and pre-established harmony4 ,what is still more extraordinary and unsatisfactory in the progress of the story is this--all the pretended preternatural influence of ,norna of the ,fitful-,head1 the most potent and impressive personage in the drama1 is exerted to defeat ,cleveland's views1 and to give ,minna to ,mordaunt ,mertoun1 for whom she conceives an instinctive and anxious attachment as her long-lost son2 and yet in the end the whole force of this delusion1 and the reader's sympathies1 are destroyed by the discovery that ,cleveland1 not ,mertoun1 is her real offspring1 and that she has been equally led astray by her maternal affection and preternatural pretensions4 ,does this great writer of romances1 this profound historiographer of the land of visions and of second sight1 thus mean to qualify his thrilling mysteries--to back out of his thrice-hallowed prejudices1 and to turn the tables upon us with modern cant and philosophic scepticism8 ,that is the last thing we could forgive him6 ,we have said that the characters of the ,pirate are not altogether new4 ,norna1 the enchantress1 whom he is #8so fond' at last to depose from her ideal cloudy throne of spells and mystic power1 is the ,meg ,merrilies of the scene4 ,she passes over it with vast strides1 is at hand whenever she is wanted1 sits hatching fate on the topmost tower that overlooks the wilderness of waves1 or glides suddenly from a subterraneous passage1 and in either case moulds the elements of nature1 and the unruly passions of men1 to her purposes4 ,she has #8strange power of speech1' weaves events with words1 is present wherever she pleases1 and performs what she wills1 and yet she doubts her own power1 and criticises her own pretensions4 ,meg ,merrilies was an honester witch4 ,she at least stuck true to herself4 ,we hate anything by halves2 and most of all1 imagination and superstition piece-meal4 ,cleveland1 again1 is a sort of inferior ,gentle ,geordie1 and ,minna lags after ,effie ,deans1 the victim of misplaced affection1 but far1 far behind4 ,wert thou to live a thousand years1 and write a thousand romances1 thou wouldst never1 old ,true-penny1 beat thy own ,heart of ,mid ,lothian6 ,it is for that we can forgive thee all that thou didst mean to write in the ,,beacon1 or hast written elsewhere1 beneath the dignity of thy genius and knowledge of man's weaknesses1 as well as better nature6 ,magnus ,troil is a great name1 a striking name2 but we ken his person before2 he is of the same genealogy as the ,bailie ,braidwardine1 and other representatives of old ,scottish hospitality2 the dwarf ,nick ,strumpfer is of a like familiar breed1 only uglier and more useless than any former one3 we have even traces1 previous to the ,pirate1 of the extraordinary agriculturist and projector1 ,mr4 ,timothy ,yellowley1 and his sister1 ,miss ,barbara ,yellowley1 with pinched nose and grey eyes2 but we confess we have one individual who was before a stranger to us1 at least in these parts1 namely1 ,claud ,halcro1 the poet1 and friend of #8,glorious ,john4' ,we do not think him in his place amidst dwarfs1 witches1 pirates1 and ,udallers2 and his stories of the ,wits' ,coffee-house and ,dryden's poetry are as tedious to the critical reader as they are to his ,zetland patron and hearers4 ,we might confirm this opinion by a quotation1 but we should be thought too tedious4 ,he fills up1 we will venture to say1 a hundred pages of the work with sheer impertinence1 with pribble prabble4 ,whenever any serious matter is to be attended to1 ,claud ,halcro pulls out his fiddle and draws the long bow1 and repeats some verses of #8,glorious ,john4' ,bunce1 the friend of ,cleveland1 is much better2 for we can conceive how a strolling-player should turn gentleman-rover in a time of need1 and the foppery and finery of the itinerant stage-hero become the quarter-deck exceedingly well4 ,in general1 however1 our author's humour requires the aid of costume and dialect to set it off to advantage3 his wit is ,scotch1 not ,english wit4 ,it must have the twang of the uncouth pronunciation and peculiar manners of the country in it4 ,the elder ,mertoun is a striking misanthropic sketch2 but it is not very well made out in what his misanthropy originates1 nor to what it tends4 ,he is merely a part of the machinery3 neither is he the first gentleman in these ,novels who lands without an introduction on the remote shores of ,scotland1 and shuts himself up 7for reasons best known to himself7 in inaccessible and solitary confinement4 ,we had meant to give the outline of the story of the ,pirate1 but we are ill at a plot1 and do not care to blunt the edge of the reader's curiosity by anticipating each particular4 ,as far1 however1 as relates to the historical foundation of the narrative1 the author has done it to our hands1 and we give his words as they stand in the ,advertisement4 ,nearly the whole of the ,advertisement is quoted4 ,of the execution of these volumes we need hardly speak4 ,it is inferior1 but it is only inferior to some of his former works4 ,whatever he touches1 we see the hand of a master4 ,he has only to describe action1 thoughts1 scenes1 and they everywhere speak1 breathe1 and live4 ,it matters not whether it be a calm sea-shore1 a mountain tempest1 a drunken brawl1 the #8,cathedral's choir and gloom1' the ,sybil's watch-tower1 or the smuggler's cave2 the things are immediately there that we should see1 hear1 and feel4 ,he is ,nature's ,secretary4 ,he neither adds to1 nor takes away from her book2 and that makes him what he is1 the most popular writer living4 ,we might give various instances of his unrivalled undecaying power1 but shall select only one or two with which we were most struck and delighted in the perusal4 ,the characters of the two sisters1 daughters of ,magnus ,troil1 and the heroines of the tale1 are thus beautifully drawn4 ,here follows the description of ,minna and ,brenda1 from ,chap4 ,,iii4 ,so much for elegant ,vandyke portrait-painting4 ,now for something of the ,salvator style4 ,norna1 the terrific and unhappy ,norna1 is thus finely introduced4 ,the first introduction of ,norna is quoted from ,chap4 ,v4 ,we give one more extract in a different style2 and we think the comic painting in it is little inferior to ,hogarth's4 ,a passage1 beginning #8,now the fortunate arrival of ,mordaunt1' c4 is quoted from ,chap4 ,,xi4 ,shall we go on8 ,no1 but will leave the reader to revel at ease in the luxuries of feeling and description scattered through the rest of the work4 ,we have only time to add two remarks more1 which we do not remember to have seen made4 ,one relates to the exquisitely good-natured and liberal tone displayed in the author's quotations from living writers4 ,he takes them every one by turns1 and of all factions in poetry and politics1 under his wing1 and sticks a stanza from ,coleridge1 from ,wordsworth1 from ,byron1 from ,crabbe1 from ,rogers1 as a motto to his chapters1 not jealous of their popularity1 nor disdaining their obscurity4 ,the author can hardly guess how much we like him for this4 ,the second thing we would advert to is a fault1 and a remarkable one4 ,it is the slovenliness of the style and badness of the grammar throughout these admirable productions4 ,badness of the grammar6 ,slovenly style6 ,what do you mean by that8 ,take a few instances1 and we have done with the subject for ever4 ,we give them seriatim1 as we marked them in the margin4 #8,here ,magnus proceeded with great animation1 sipping from time to time the half diluted spirit1 which at the same time animated his resentment against the intruders1' etc4 ,p4 #af4 #8,in those days 7for the present times are greatly altered for the better7 the presence of a superior in such a situation1' etc4 ,p4 #ba4 #8,the information1 which she acquired by habits of patient attention1 were indelibly rivetted in a naturally powerful memory4' ,p4 #dh4 #8,and ,i know not whom else are expected4' ,p4 #ef4 #8,or perhaps he preferred the situation1 of the house and farm which he himself was to occupy 7which indeed was a tolerable one7 as preferable to that1 etc4' ,p4 #hi4 #8,the strength of the retiring wave proved even stronger than he had expected1' etc4 ,p4 #afi4 ,but let us have done with this1 and leave it to the ,editor of the ,quarterly ,review to take up the subject as a mighty important little discovery of his own6 #8,,peveril ,,of ,,the ,,peak' ,the ,london ,magazine4 ,february1 #ahbc4 ,the author of ,waverley is here himself again2 and it is on ,english ground that he has come upon his feet4 ,peveril of the ,peak is all but equal to the best of the ,,scotch ,,novels4 ,it is no weaving up of old odds and ends2 no lazy repetition of himself at second-hand1 and the worse for the wear4 ,peveril is all new1 good1#fe full of life1 spirit1 character1 bustle1 incident1 and expectation2 nothing is wanting to make it quite equal to the very best of his former productions1 but that it has not the same intense interest1 nor the same preternatural and overpowering imagery4 ,fenella1 a deaf and dumb dwarf1 attached to the ,countess of ,derby1 is1 indeed1 an exquisitely drawn character1 and exerts a sort of quaint1 apparently magic influence over the scene2 but her connection with it is so capricious1 so ambiguous1 and at last so improbable1 as to produce or to leave none of those thrilling and awe-struck impressions which were so irresistibly interwoven with some former delineations of the same kind4 ,but as a sketch1 as a picture1 the little fairy attendant of the ,queen of ,man is one of the most beautiful and interesting the author ever struck out with his enchanting and enchanted pencil4 ,the present ,novel comes the nearest to ,,old ,,mortality1 both in the class of subjects of which it treats1 and in the indefatigable spirit and hurried movement of the execution4 ,it differs from that noble master-piece in this1 that ,sir ,walter 7or whoever else1 in the devil's name1 it is7 has not infused the same depth or loftiness of sentiment into his ,english ,roundheads and ,cavaliers1 as into his ,scotch ,covenanters and ,royalists2 that the characters are left more in the outlines and dead colouring2 and though the incidents follow one another as rapidly1 and have great variety and contrast1 there is not the same accumulation of interest1 the same thickening of the plot1 nor the same thronging together of eager and complicated groups upon the canvas4 ,his ,english imagination is not so fully peopled with character1 manners1 and sentiment1 as his ,scotch understanding is2 but1 by the mass1 they are not #8thinly scattered to make up a show4' ,there is cut and come again4 ,we say this the more willingly1 because we were among those who conceived there was a falling off1 a running to seed1 in some of the later productions of the author4 ,the ,,fortunes ,,of ,,nigel showed a resuscitation in his powers2 that is1 a disposition to take new ground1 and proceed with real pains and unabated vigour2 and in his ,peveril1 we think he has completed his victory over excusable idleness and an inexcusable disregard of reputation4 ,he may now go on upon a fresh lease1 and write ten more ,novels1 just as good or as bad as he pleases6 ,there were two things that we used to admire of old in this author1 and that we have had occasion to admire anew in the present instance1 the extreme life of mind or naturalness displayed in the descriptions1 and the magnanimity and freedom from bigotry and prejudice shewn in the drawing of the characters4 ,this last quality is the more remarkable1 as the reputed author is accused of being a thorough-paced partisan in his own person1--intolerant1 mercenary1 mean2 a professed toad-eater1 a sturdy hack1 a pitiful retailer or suborner of infamous slanders1 a literary ,jack ,ketch1 who would greedily sacrifice any one of another way of thinking as a victim to prejudice and power1 and yet would do it by other hands1 rather than appear in it himself4 ,can this be all true of the author of ,waverley2 and does he deal out such fine and heaped justice to all sects and parties in time past8 ,perhaps 7if so7 one of these extremes accounts for the other2 and1 as #8he knows all qualities with a learned spirit1' probably he may be aware of this practical defect in himself1 and be determined to shew to posterity1 that when his own interest was not concerned1 he was as free from that nauseous and pettifogging bigotry1 as a mere matter of speculation1 as any man could be4 ,as a novel-writer1 he gives the devil his due1 and he gives no more to a saint4 ,he treats human nature scurvily1 yet handsomely2 that is1 much as it deserves2 and1 if it is the same person who is the author of the ,scotch novels1 and who has a secret moving hand in certain ,scotch ,newspapers and ,magazines1 we may fairly characterize him as #8,the wisest1 meanest of mankind4' ,among other characters in the work before us1 is that of ,ned ,christian1 a cold-blooded hypocrite1 pander1 and intriguer2 yet a man of prodigious talent1--of great versatility1--of unalterable self-possession and good humour1 and with a power to personate agreeably1 and to the life1 any character he pleased4 ,might not such a man have written the ,scotch ,novels8 ,it has been suggested1 with great modesty1 that the ,author of ,waverley was like ,shakspeare4 ,we beg leave with equal modesty to suggest another comparison1 which we think much nearer the mark2 and that is1 to the writings of ,mr4 ,cobbett4 ,the peculiarity of ,shakspeare's mind is 7we humbly apprehend7 that sort of power which completely levels the distinction between imagination and reality4 ,his mind properly has wings1 and it is indifferent to him whether he treads the air or walks the earth4 ,he makes us acquainted with things we did not know before1 as if we knew them familiarly4 ,now ,sir ,walter ,scott only recals to us what we already knew--he deals wholly in realities1 or what are commonly received as such2 and so does ,mr4 ,cobbett4 ,both are downright matter-of-fact minds1 and have little1 if any1 of that power which throws into objects more than ordinary opinion or feeling connects with them4 ,naturalness is the forte of both these writers4 ,they have a strong1 vivid1 bodily perception 7so to speak71 a material intuition of what they write about4 ,all their ideas are concrete1 and not abstracted4 ,mention an old1 dilapidated castle1 and a thriving1 substantial brick mansion to ,sir ,walter ,scott1 and he immediately has an actual image of some such objects conjured up in his mind1 and describes them as he has seen them1 with all their local circumstances1 and so as to bring back some similar recollection to the reader's mind1 as if there had been just two such buildings in the place where he was brought up4 ,but this revived reality is all2 there is no new light thrown upon the subject4 ,it is a sort of poetic memory4 ,good4 ,so set ,mr4 ,cobbett to work upon the subject of our agricultural distress1 and with quite as much poetry1 as much of the picturesque1 and in as good ,english as ,sir ,walter ,scott writes ,scotch1 he will describe you to the life a turnip-field with the green sprouts glittering in the sun1 the turnips frozen to a mere clod1 the breath of the oxen steaming near that are biting it1 and the dumb patience of the silly sheep4 ,we should like to know whether he is not as great a hand at this sort of ocular demonstration as ,sir ,walter himself8 ,he shall describe a ,scotch heath1 or an ,american wilderness against ,sir ,walter for a thousand pounds4 ,then for character2 who does it with more master-strokes1 with richer gusto1 or a greater number of palpable hits than the ,editor of the ,political ,register8 ,again1 as to pathos1 let ,mr4 ,cobbett tell a story of a pretty servant girl or soldier's wife1 left by her sweetheart1 or shot dead in his arms1 and see if he will not come near the ,heart of ,mid ,lothian8 ,you may say it is not this or that1 it is coarse1 low1 the man has no feeling1 but it is nature1 and that's quite enough4 ,the truth is1 these two original geniuses have found out a secret2 they write as they feel4 ,it is just like school boys being able to read as they would talk4 ,it is a very awkward difficulty to get over1 but being once accomplished1 the effect is prodigious4 ,then1 there is the same strong sarcastic vein of roystering pot-house humour in the one as in the other2 and as for giving both sides of a question1 nobody has done that more effectually than ,mr4 ,cobbett in the course of his different writings4 ,his style also is as good1 nay1 far better3 and if it should be said that ,mr4 ,cobbett sometimes turns blackguard1 it cannot be affirmed that he is a cat's paw--which is the dernier resort of humanity1 into which ,sir ,walter has retreated1 and shuts himself up in it impregnably as in a fortress4 ,to conclude this parallel1 we will be bold to say in illustration of our argument1 that there is hardly a single page in the ,scotch ,novels which ,mr4 ,cobbett could not write1 if he set his mind to it2 and there is not a single page in ,shakspeare1 either the best or the worst1 which he could write for his life1 and let him try ever so4 ,such is the genius of the three men4 ,so much by way of preface to our account of the most magnanimous ,peveril of the ,peak1 and now for extracts4 ,we have not time or limits to give the story1 which1 however1 relates to the ,civil ,wars of ,england2 but we shall furnish our readers with a specimen of the spirit with which it is written2 it is the description of the meeting of ,peveril with the dwarf ,fenella1 where she tries to prevent his going to meet ,alice ,bridgenorth at the ,goddard ,crovann-stone in the ,isle of ,man4 ,the whole of ,chap4 ,,xvi4 of ,peveril of the ,peak is set out4 ,we have been led to such length by the beauty of this description that we have not room for another extract1 or we would give that master-piece of wit and irony1 the scene where ,peveril meets with ,ganlesse and ,smith at a low alehouse1 on his route through ,derbyshire4 ,,common ,,places ,the ,literary ,examiner4 ,september-,december #ahbc4 ,i4 ,the art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure much4 ,,ii4 ,liberty is the only true riches4 ,of all the rest we are at once the masters and the slaves4 ,,iii4 ,do ,i not feel this from the least shadow of restraint1 of obligation1 of dependence8 ,why then do ,i complain8 ,i have had nothing to do all my life but to think1 and have enjoyed the objects of thought1 the sense of truth and beauty1 in perfect integrity of soul4 ,no one has said to me1 ,believe this1 do that1 say what we would have you2 no one has come between me and my free-will2 ,i have breathed the very air of truth and independence4 ,compared with this unbiassed1 uncontrouled possession of the universe of thought and nature1 what ,i have wanted is light in the balance1 and hardly claims the tribute of a sigh4 ,oh6 ,liberty1 what a mistress art thou6 ,have ,i not enjoyed thee as a bride1 and drank thy spirit as of a wine-cup1 and will yet do so to my latest breath6 ,,iv4 ,but is not ,liberty dangerous1 and self-will excessive8 ,i do not think so3 for those who are not governed by their own feelings are led away by prejudice or interest2 and reason is a safer guide than opinion1 liberty a nobler one than fear4 ,v4 ,do ,i see a ,claude8 ,what is there to prevent me from fixing my eye1 my heart1 my understanding1 upon it8 ,what sophist shall deter me from thinking it fine8 ,what is there to make me afraid of expressing what ,i think8 ,i enter into all its truth and beauty4 ,i wonder over it1 ,i detect each hidden grace1 ,i revel and luxuriate in it1 without any doubts or misgivings4 ,is not this to be master of it and of myself8 ,but is the picture mine8 ,no--oh6 yes1 ten times over6 ,,vi4 ,that thing1 a lie1 has never come near my soul4 ,i know not what it is to fear to think or to say what ,i think4 ,,vii4 ,i am choked1 pent up in any other atmosphere but this4 ,i cannot imagine how kings and courtiers contrive to exist4 ,i could no more live without daring to speak1 to look1 to feel what ,i thought1 than ,i could hold in my breath for any length of time4 ,nor could ,i bear to debar others of this privilege4 ,were it not that the ,great would play the part of slaves themselves1 they would hate to be surrounded with nothing but slaves1 and to see meanness and hypocrisy crawling before them1 as much as we do to see a spider crawling in our path4 ,,viii4 ,i never knew what it was to feel like a footman4 ,how many lords in waiting can say as much8 ,,ix4 ,when ,i consider how little difference there is in mankind 7either in body or mind7 ,i cannot help being astonished at the airs some people give themselves4 ,x4 ,i am proud up to the point of equality--every thing above or below that appears to me arrant impertinence or abject meanness4 ,,xi4 ,the ignorant and vulgar think that a man wants spirit1 if he does not insult and triumph over them4 ,this is a great mistake4 ,,xii4 ,for a man to be a coxcomb1 shews a want of imagination4 ,no one will ever pride himself on his beauty who has studied the head of the ,antinous1 or be in danger of running into the excess of the fashion1 who has any knowledge of the ,antique4 ,the ideal is incompatible with personal vanity4 ,,xiii4 ,a scholar is like a book written in a dead language--it is not every one that can read in it4 ,,xiv4 ,just as much as we see in others1 we have in ourselves4 ,,xv4 ,a painter gives only his own character in a portrait1 whether grave or gay1 gross or refined1 wise or foolish4 ,even in copying a head1 there is some difficulty in making the features unlike our own4 ,a person with a low forehead or a short chin puts a constraint upon himself in painting a high forehead or a long chin4 ,so much has sympathy to do with the operations both of the eye and the hand1 with observation and practice6 ,,xvi4 ,people at a play hiss an unsuccessful author or actor1 as if the latter had committed some heinous crime--he has committed the greatest crime1 that of setting up a superiority over us which he has failed to make good4 ,,xvii4 ,the rich1 who do nothing themselves1 represent idleness as the greatest crime4 ,they have reason3 it is necessary that some one should do something4 ,,xviii4 ,what a pity that kings and great men do not write books1 instead of mere authors6 ,what superior views they must have of things1 and how the world would be benefited by the communication6 ,,xix4 ,the greatest proof of superiority is to bear with impertinence4 ,,xx4 ,no truly great man ever thought himself so4 ,,xxi4 ,every man1 in judging of himself1 is his own contemporary4 ,,xxii4 ,abuse is an indirect species of homage4 ,,xxiii4 ,from the height from which the great look down on the world1 all the rest of mankind seem equal4 ,,xxiv4 ,it is a bad style that requires frequent breaks and marks of admiration4 ,,xxv4 ,it happens in conversation as in different games4 ,one person seems to excel1 till another does better1 and we then think no more of the first4 ,,xxvi4 ,those who can keep secrets1 have no curiosity4 ,we only wish to gain knowledge1 that we may impart it4 ,,xxvii4 ,genius is native to the soil where it grows--is fed by the air1 and warmed by the sun--and is not a hot-house plant or an exotic4 ,,xxviii4 ,all truly great works of art are national in their character and origin4 ,,xxix4 ,people are distinguished less by a genius for any particular thing1 than by a peculiar tone and manner of feeling and thinking1 whatever be the subject4 ,the same qualities of mind or characteristic excellence that a man shows in one art1 he would probably have displayed in any other4 ,i have heard ,mr4 ,northcote say1 that he thought ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds would have written excellent genteel comedies4 ,his ,discourses certainly are bland and amiable 7rather than striking or original7 like his pictures4 ,,xxx4 ,the same kind of excellence may be observed to prevail in different arts at the same period of time1 as characteristic of the spirit of the age4 ,fielding and ,hogarth were cotemporaries4 ,,xxxi4 ,there is an analogy in the style of certain authors to certain professions4 ,one writes like a lawyer3 it seems as if another would have made an eminent physician4 ,mandeville said of ,addison that he was #8a parson in a tye-wig3' and there is something in ,the ,spectator to justify this description of him4 ,,xxxii4 ,salvator ,rosa paints like a soldier2 ,nicholas ,poussin like a professor at a ,university2 ,guido like a finished gentleman2 ,parmegiano with something of the air of a dancing master4 ,alas6 ,guido was a gamester and a madman2 and ,parmegiano a searcher after the philosopher's stone4 ,one of the happiest ideas in modern criticism was that of designating different living poets by the cups ,apollo gives them to drink out of3 thus ,wordsworth is made to drink out of a wooden bowl1 ,lord ,byron out of a skull chased with silver1 c4 ,,xxxiii4 ,extreme impatience and irritability are often combined with a corresponding degree of indifference and indolence4 ,when the eagerness of pursuit or the violence of opposition ceases1 nothing is left to interest the mind1 that has been once accustomed to a state of morbid excitement4 ,,xxxiv4 ,artists and other studious professions are not happy1 for this reason3 they cannot enjoy mental repose4 ,a state of lassitude and languor succeeds to that of overstrained1 anxious exertion4 ,,xxxv4 ,it is the custom at present to exclude all but ,scientific and ,mechanical subjects from our fashionable ,public ,institutions1 lest any allusions to popular sentiments or the cause of humanity should by chance creep in1 to the great annoyance of the polite and well-informed part of the audience4 ,,xxxvi4 ,people had much rather be thought to look ill than old3 because it is possible to recover from sickness1 but there is no recovering from age4 ,,xxxvii4 ,i never knew but one person who had a passion for truth--and only one who had the same regard to the distinction between right and wrong1 that others have to their own interest4 ,,xxxviii4 ,women are the sport of caprice1 the slaves of custom4 ,,xxxix4 ,when men are not favourites with women1 it is either from habits of vulgar debauchery1 or from constitutional indifference1 or from an overstrained and pedantic idea of the sex1 taken from books1 and answering to nothing in real life4 ,,xl4 ,the object of books is to teach us ignorance2 that is1 to throw a veil over nature1 and persuade us that things are not what they are1 but what the writer fancies or wishes them to be4 ,,xli4 ,my little boy said the other day1 #8,he could not tell what to do without a book to read--he should wander about without knowing what to do with himself4' ,so have ,i wandered about1 till now1 and1 waking from the dream of books at last1 don't know what to do with myself4 ,my poor little fellow6 may'st thou dream long amidst thy darling books1 and never wake6 ,,xlii4 ,political truth is a libel2 religious truth1 blasphemy4 ,,xliii4 ,the greatest crime in the eye of the world is to endeavour to instruct or amend it4 ,,xliv4 ,weighing remote consequences in the mind is like weighing the air in scales4 ,,xlv4 ,a hypocrite seems to be the only perfect character--since it embraces the extremes of what human nature is1 and of what it would be thought4 ,,xlvi4 ,the ,scotch understanding differs from the ,english1 as an ,encyclopedia does from a circulating library4 ,an ,englishman is contented to pick up a few odds and ends of knowledge2 a ,scotchman is master of every subject alike4 ,here each individual has a particular hobby and favourite bye-path of his own3 in ,scotland learning is a common hack1 which every one figures away with1 and uses at his pleasure4 ,,xlvii4 ,a misanthropic writer might be called the ,devil's amanuensis4 ,,xlviii4 ,to be a lord1 a papist1 and poor1 is the most enviable distinction of humanity4 ,there is all the pride and sense of independence1 irritated and strengthened by being proscribed by power1 and liable to be harassed by petty daily insults from every1 the meanest vassal4 ,what a situation to make the mind recoil from the world upon itself1 and to sit and brood in moody grandeur and disdain of soul over fallen splendours and present indignities6 ,it is just the life ,i should like to have led4 ,,xlix4 ,the tone of good company is marked by the absence of personalities4 ,among well-informed persons1 there are plenty of topics to discuss1 without giving pain to any one present--without submitting to act the part of a butt1 or of that still poorer creature1 the wag that plays upon him4 ,l4 ,londoners complain of the dullness of the country1 and country people feel equally uncomfortable and at a loss what to do with themselves in town4 ,the fault is neither in the town nor in the country--every one is naturally unsettled and dissatisfied without his usual resources and occupations1 let them be what or where they may4 ,,li4 ,each rank in society despises that which is a step below it1 and the highest looks down upon them all4 ,to get rid of the impertinence of artificial pretensions1 we resort to nature at last4 ,kings1 for this reason1 are fond of low company2 and lords marry actresses and barmaids4 ,the ,duke of ,york 7not the present1 but the late ,king's brother7 was at a ball at ,plymouth4 ,he danced with a ,miss ,byron1 a very pretty girl1 daughter of the admiral of that name1 and aunt to our poet4 ,but there was a ,mrs4 ,fanning present1 who was a paragon of beauty4 ,the ,duke asked1 #8,who is she8' #8,a baker's daughter1' was the answer4 #8,i don't mean that2 but what is she now8'--#8,a broker's wife4' ,the lady did not perceive1 that to a prince of the blood there was little difference between a tradesman's wife and the daughter of a naval officer2 but that the handsomest woman at a ball was an object of admiration in spite of circumstances4 ,,lii4 ,it has been asked1 whether ,lord ,byron is a writer likely to live8 ,perhaps not3 he has intensity of power1 but wants distinctive character4 ,in my opinion1 ,mr4 ,wordsworth is the only poet of the present day that is likely to live--should he ever happen to be born6 ,but who will be the midwife to bring his works to light8 ,it is a question whether ,milton would have become popular without the help of ,addison2 nay1 it is a question whether he is so1 even with it4 ,,liii4 ,an anecdote is told of ,general ,wolfe1#ff that he was out with a party of friends in a boat the day before the ,battle of ,quebec4 ,it was a beautiful summer's evening1 and the conversation turned to ,gray's ,elegy in a ,country ,churchyard1 which was just then published4 ,wolfe repeated the lines1 #8,for who to dumb forgetfulness a prey1' c41 with enthusiasm1 and said1 #8,i would rather be the author of those lines than beat the ,french to-morrow6' ,he did beat the ,french1 and was himself killed the next day4 ,perhaps it was better to be capable of uttering a sentiment like this1 than to gain a battle or write a poem4 ,,liv4 ,authors1 a short time since1 set upon ,government3 ,government have of late turned the tables on them1 and set upon authors4 ,in one respect1 it must be confessed1 the court-tools have greatly the advantage of us3 they can go all lengths in vulgar ,billingsgate and abuse1 without being charged with vulgarity4 ,they have the sanction of the ,court2 they plead the ,king's privilege4 ,it is not to be supposed that any thing inelegant or gross can be patronised at ,carlton-house4 ,every thing about a place1 even the convenience of an ,admiralty secretary1 must1 one would think1 be kept sweet and wholesome4 ,but instead of the least refinement and polish1 they treat us with nothing1 but garbage4 ,a lie and a nickname are their favourite figures of rhetoric--the alternate substitutes for wit and argument--the twin-supporters of the ,bible and the ,crown4 ,they use us 7it seems7 contrary to the advice of ,hamlet1 #8according to our own deserts1 and not their own dignity4' ,the dirt they fling sticks on their opponents1 without soiling their own fingers4 ,loyalty is #8the true fuller's earth that takes out all stains4' ,at all events1 do or say what they can1 it is they who are the gentlemen1 and we who are the blackguards4 ,if we were to call ,sir ,walter ,scott a ,sawney writer1 or ,mr4 ,croker ,jackey1 it would be thought shocking1 indecent1 vulgar1 and no one would look at our publication twice3 yet on the ,tory side the same thing passes for the height of sense and wit2 and ladies of quality are delighted with the ,john ,bull1 gentlemen read ,blackwood1 and divines take in the ,quarterly4 ,there is ,mr4 ,william ,mudford1 of the ,courier--a vapid common-place hack1 pert and dull--but who would think of calling him by the diminutive of his ,christian name8 ,no2 these are the extreme resources reserved for the ,court-classics1 who1 in the zeal of their loyalty1 are allowed to forget their manners4 ,there is1 in fact1 nothing too mean for the genius of these writers1 or too low for the taste of their employers4 ,,lv4 ,a ,tory can rise no higher than the assumption of a question4 ,if he relied on any thing but custom and authority1 he would cease to be a ,tory4 ,he has a prejudice in favour of certain things1 and against certain persons4 ,this is all he knows of the matter4 ,he therefore gives you assertions for argument1 and abuse for wit4 ,if you ask a reason for his opinions1 he calls you names2 and if you ask why he does so1 he proves that he is in the right1 by repeating them a thousand times4 ,a nickname with him is the test of truth4 ,it vents his spleen1 strengthens his own prejudices1 and communicates them mechanically to his hearers4 ,,lvi4 ,when an ,elector of ,hanover is made into a ,king of ,england1 what does he become in the course of a century8--,a ,george the ,fourth4 ,,lvii4 ,if ,i were to give a toast at a loyal and patriotic meeting1 it should be1 ,down with the ,stuarts all over the world6 ,,lviii4 ,the taste of the great in pictures is singular1 but not unaccountable4 ,the ,king is said to prefer the ,dutch to the ,italian school of painting2 and if you hint your surprise at this1 you are looked upon as a very ,gothic and outr sort of person4 ,you are told1 however1 by way of consolation1 #8,to be sure1 there is ,lord ,carlisle likes an ,italian picture--,mr4 ,holwell ,carr likes an ,italian picture--the ,marquis of ,stafford is fond of an ,italian picture--,sir ,george ,beaumont likes an ,italian picture4' ,these1 notwithstanding1 are regarded as quaint and daring exceptions to the established rule2 and their preference is a species of lse-majest in the ,fine ,arts--as great an eccentricity and want of fashionable etiquette1 as if any gentleman or nobleman still preferred old claret to new1 when the ,king is known to have changed his mind on this subject1 or was guilty of the offence of dipping his fore-finger and thumb in the middle of a snuff-box1 instead of gradually approximating the contents to the edge of the box1 according to the most approved models4 ,one would imagine that the great and exalted in station would like lofty subjects in works of art1 whereas they seem to have an exclusive predilection for the mean and mechanical4 ,one would think those whose word is law1 would be pleased with the great and striking effects of the pencil#fg3 on the contrary1 they admire nothing but the little and elaborate4 ,they have a fondness for cabinet or furniture pictures1 and a proportionable antipathy to works of genius4 ,even arts with them must be servile1 to be tolerated4 ,perhaps the seeming contradiction may be thus explained4 ,these persons are raised so high above the rest of the species1 that the more violent and agitating pursuits of mankind appear to them like the turmoil of ants on a molehill4 ,nothing interests them but their own pride and self-importance4 ,our passions are to them an impertinence2 an expression of high sentiment they rather shrink from as a ludicrous and upstart assumption of equality4 ,they1 therefore1 like what glitters to the eye1 what is smooth to the touch2 but they shun1 by an instinct of sovereign taste1 whatever has a soul in it1 and implies a reciprocity of feeling4 ,the gods of the earth can have no interest in any thing human2 they are cut off from all sympathy with the #8bosoms and businesses of men4' ,instead of requiring to be wound up beyond their habitual feeling of stately dignity1 they wished to have the springs of overstrained pretension let down1 to be relaxed with #8trifles light as air1' to be amused with the familiar and frivolous1 and to have the world appear a scene of still life1 except as they disturb it6 ,the little in thought and internal sentiment is a necessary relief and set-off to the oppressive sense of external magnificence4 ,hence ,kings babble and repeat they know not what4 ,a childish dotage often accompanies the consciousness of absolute power4 ,repose is somewhere necessary1 and the soul sleeps1 while the senses gloat around4 ,besides1 the mechanical and high-finished style of art may be considered as something done to order4 ,it is a task to be executed more or less perfectly1 according to the price given and the industry of the artist4 ,we stand by1 as it were1 see the work done1 insist upon a greater degree of neatness and accuracy1 and exercise a sort of petty jealous jurisdiction over each particular4 ,we are judges of the minuteness of the details1 and though ever so nicely executed1 as they give us no ideas beyond what we had before1 we do not feel humbled in the comparison4 ,the artisan scarcely rises into the artist2 and the name of genius is degraded1 rather than exalted in his person4 ,the performance is so far ours that we have paid for it1 and the highest price is all that is necessary to produce the highest finishing4 ,but it is not so in works of genius and imagination4 ,their price is above rubies4 ,the inspiration of the ,muse comes not with the fiat of a monarch1 with the donation of a patron2 and therefore the ,great turn with disgust or effeminate indifference from the mighty masters of the ,italian school because such works baffle and confound their self-will1 and make them feel that there is something in the mind of man which they can neither give nor take away4 #8,quam nihil ad tuum1 ,papinane1 ingenium6' ,,lix4 ,the style of conversation in request in courts proceeds much upon the same principle4 ,it is low1 and it is little4 ,i have known a few persons who have had access to the ,presence 7and who might be supposed to catch what they could of the tone of royalty at second-hand1 bating the dignity--,god knows there was nothing of that67 and ,i should say they were the highest finishers in this respect ,i ever met with4 ,no circumstance escaped them1 they worked out all the details 7whether to the purpose or not7 like a fac-simile1 they mimicked every thing1 explained every thing2 the story was not told1 but acted over again4 ,it is true1 there were no grandes penses1 there was a complete truce with all thought and reflection2 but they were everlasting dealers in matters of fact1 and there was no end of their minute prolixity--one must suppose this mode pleased their betters1 or was copied from them4 ,dogberry's declaration--#8,were ,i as tedious as a king1 ,i could find in my heart to bestow it all upon your worship'--is not so much a blunder of the clown's1 as a sarcasm of the poet's4 ,are we to account for the effect 7as before7 from supposing that their overstrained attention to great things makes them seek for a change in little ones8--,or that their idea of themselves as raised above every one else is confirmed by dwelling on the meanest and most insignificant objects8--,or is it that from their ignorance and seclusion from the world1 every thing is alike new and wonderful to them8 ,or that dreading the insincerity of those about them1 they exact an extraordinary degree of trifling accuracy1 and require every one to tell a story1 as if he was giving evidence on oath before a court of justice8 ,west said that the late ,king used to get him up into a corner1 and fairly put his hands before him so that he could not get away1 till he had got every particular out of him relating to the affairs of the ,royal ,academy4 ,this weakness in the mind of kings has been well insisted on by ,peter ,pindar4 ,it is of course like one of the spots in the sun4 ,,lx4 ,i hate to be near the sea1 and to hear it roaring and raging like a wild beast in its den4 ,it puts me in mind of the everlasting efforts of the human mind1 struggling to be free1 and ending just where it began4 ,,lxi4 ,happy are they that can say with ,timon--#8,i am ,misanthropos1 and hate mankind6' ,they can never be at a loss for subjects to exercise their spleen upon3 their sources of satisfaction must hold out while the world stands4 ,those who do not pity others1 assuredly need not envy them3 if they take pleasure in the distresses of their fellow-creatures1 they have their wish4 ,let them cast an eye on that long disease1 human life1 on that villainous compound1 human nature1 and glut their malice4 ,there is madness1 there is idiotcy1 there is sickness1 old age1 and death2 there is the cripple1 the blind1 and the deaf2 there is the deformed in body1 the weak in mind1 the prisoner and the gaoler1 the beggar and the dwarf2 there is poverty1 labour1 pain1 ignominy2 there is riches1 pride1 griping avarice1 bloated luxury2 there is the agony of suffering or the lassitude of ennui2 there is the sickness of the heart from hope delayed1 and the worse and more intolerable sickness from hope attained2 there is the gout1 the stone1 the plague1 cold1 fever1 thirst1 and nakedness1 shipwreck1 famine1 fire and the sword1 all are instruments of human fate1 and pamper the dignity of human nature3 there are the racking pains of jealousy1 remorse1 and anguish1 the lingering ones of disappointment1 sorrow1 and regret2 there is the consciousness of unmerited1 hopeless obscurity1 and #8the cruel sunshine thrown by fortune on a fool2' there is unrequited love1 and--marriage2 there is the coquet slighting others and slighted in her turn1 the jilt1 the antiquated prude1 the brutal husband1 and the common-place wife2 there are vows of celibacy and lost character2 there is the cabal1 the idle gossiping1 the churlishness and dulness of the country1 the heartlessness and profligacy of great cities2 there are the listless days1 the sleepless nights1 the having too much or too little to do2 years spent in vain in a pursuit1 or1 if successful1 the having to leave it at last2 there are the jealousies of different professions among themselves or of each other1 lawyers1 divines1 physicians1 artists2 the contempt of the more thriving for the less fortunate1 and the hatred and heart-burnings with which it is repaid2 there is hypocrisy1 oppression1 falsehood1 treachery1 cowardice1 selfishness1 meanness2 the luck of fools1 the respectability of knaves2 the cant of piety1 loyalty1 and humanity2 the lamentations of ,west-,india planters over the ingratitude of their negro slaves1 and ,louis ,,xviii4 resigning to ,god and the ,mother of all ,saints the credit of the success of his arms2 there are sects and parties1 kings and their subjects1 queens and common-council men1 speeches in ,parliament1 plays and actors damned1 or successful for a time and then laid on the shelf1 and heard of no more2 quacks at all corners1 mountebanks in the pulpit1 and drones in the state1 peace and war1 treaties of offence and defence1 conspiracies1 revolutions1 ,holy ,alliances1 the sudden death of ,lord ,castlereagh1 and the oratory of his successor ,mr4 ,canning1 hid for the present like the moon #8in its vacant interlunar cave2' and ,ferdinand and his paper-kites1 and the ,cortes1 unconscious of the rebel maxim1 #8,catch a king and kill a king'2 and ,slop raving at the bloodthirsty victims of courtly assassins1 and whetting mild daggers for patriot throats2 and ,mr4 ,croker's cheat-the-gallows face in the ,quarterly1 and ,lord ,wellington's heart in the cause of ,spanish liberty1 and a beloved ,monarch retired amid all this to shady solitude #8to play with ,wisdom4' ,a good hater may here find wherewithal to feed the largest spleen and swell it1 even to bursting6 ,,lxii4 ,happiness1 like mocking1 is catching4 ,at least1 none but those who are happy in themselves1 can make others so4 ,no wit1 no understanding1 neither riches nor beauty1 can communicate this feeling--the happy alone can make happy4 ,love and ,joy are twins1 or born of each other4 ,,lxiii4 ,no one knows when he is safe from ridicule4 ,,lxiv4 ,is it a misfortune or a happiness that we so often like the faults of one we love better than the virtues of any other woman2 that we like her refusals1 better than all other favours2 that we like her love of others1 better than any one else's love of us8 ,,lxv4 ,if a man were refused by a woman a thousand times1 and he really loved her1 he would still think that at the bottom of her heart she preferred him to every one else4 ,nor is this wonderful1 when we consider that all passion is a species of madness2 and that the feeling in the mind towards the beloved object is the most amiable and delightful thing in the world4 ,our love to her is heavenly1 and so 7the heart whispers us7 must hers be to us--though it were buried at the bottom of the sea2 nay1 from the tomb our self-love would revive it6 ,we never can persuade ourselves that a mistress cares nothing about us1 till we no longer care about her4 ,no6 ,it is certain that there is nothing truly deserving of love but love1 and #8,in spite of pride1 in erring reason's spite1' we still believe in the justice of the blind ,god6 ,,lxvi4 ,it would be easy to forget a misplaced attachment1 but that we do not like to acknowledge ourselves in the wrong4 ,,lxvii4 ,a great mind is one that can forget or look beyond itself4 ,,lxviii4 ,the grand scenes of ,nature are more adapted for occasional visits than for constant residence4 ,they are the temples of the ,goddess1 not fit dwellings for her worshippers4 ,familiarity breeds contempt or indifference2 and it is better to connect this feeling with the petty and trivial than with the lofty and sublime4 ,besides1 it is unnecessary to run the risk in the latter case4 ,one chief advantage of the great and magnificent objects of ,nature is1 that they stamp their image on the mind for ever2 the blow need not be repeated to have the desired effect4 ,we take them with us wherever we go2 we have but to think of them and they appear2 and at the distance of half a life or of the circumference of the globe1 we unlock the springs of memory1 and the tall mountain shoots into the sky1 the lake expands its bosom1 and the cataract rushes from the pine-clad rock4 ,the bold majestic outline is all that there is to discover in such situations1 and this we can always remember4 ,in more cultivated and artificial scenes we may observe a thousand hedge-row beauties with curious eye1 or pluck the tender flower beneath our feet1 while ,skiddaw hovers round our heads1 and the echoes of ,helvellyn thunder in our hearts4 ,,lxix4 ,i should always choose to live within reach of a fine prospect1 rather than to see one from my windows4 ,a number of romantic1 distant objects staring in upon one 7uncalled-for7 tantalise the imagination1 and tempt the truant feet2 whereas1 at home1 ,i wish to feel satisfied where ,i am1 and sheltered from the world4 ,,lxx4 ,mr4 ,martin's picture of ,adam and ,eve in ,paradise has this capital defect1 that there is no repose in it4 ,you see two insignificant naked figures1 and a preposterous architectural landscape1 like a range of buildings overlooking them4 ,they might as well be represented sleeping on the top of the pinnacle of the ,temple with the world and all the glories thereof spread out before them4 ,they ought to have been painted imparadised in one another's arms1 shut up in measureless content1 with ,eden's choicest bowers closing round them1 and ,nature stooping to clothe them with vernal bowers4 ,nothing could be too retired1 too voluptuous1 too sacred from day's garish eye3 instead of which1 you have a gaudy panoramic view1 a glittering barren waste1 a triple row of clouds1 of rocks1 and mountains piled one upon the other1 as if the imagination already bent its idle gaze over that wide world1 which was so soon to be their place of exile1 and the aching restless spirit of the artist was occupied in building a stately prison for our first parents1 instead of decking their bridal bed1 and wrapping them in a short-lived dream of bliss6 ,,lxxi4 ,the mind tires of variety1 but becomes reconciled to uniformity4 ,change produces a restless habit1 a love of farther change3 the recurrence of the same objects conduces to repose1 and to content4 ,my ,uncle ,toby's bowling-green bounded his harmless ambition2 ,bonaparte1 not contented with ,france and ,europe for a pleasure-ground1 wanted to have ,russia for an ice-house2 and ,alexander1 at the farthest side of ,india1 wept for new worlds to conquer4 ,if we let our thoughts wander abroad1 there is no end to fantastic projects1 to the craving after novelty1 to fickleness1 and disappointment3 if we confine them at home1 ,peace may find them there4 ,mr4 ,horne ,tooke used to contend that all tendency to excess was voluntary in the mind3 the wants of ,nature kept within a certain limit4 ,even if a person adhered to a regular number of cups of tea or glasses of wine1 he did not feel tempted to exceed this number3 but if he once went beyond his usual allowance1 the desire to transgress increased with its indulgence1 and the artificial appetite was proportioned to the artificial stimulus4 ,it has been remarked that in the tropical climates1 where there is no difference of seasons1 time passes away on smoother and swifter pinions1 #8the earth spins round on its soft axle1' unnoticed1 unregretted3 and life wears out soonest and best in sequestered privacy1 within the round of a few1 simple1 unenvied enjoyments4 ,,lxxii4 ,the retailing of a set of anecdotes is not conversation4 ,a story admits of no answer3 a remark or an opinion naturally calls forth another1 and leads to as many different views of a subject as there are minds in company4 ,an officer in a ,scotch marching regiment has always a number of very edifying anecdotes to communicate3 but unless you are of the same mess or the same clan1 you are necessarily sent to ,coventry4 ,prosing1 mechanical narrations of this kind are tedious1 as well as tinctured with egotism3 if they are set off with a brilliant manner1 with mimicry1 and action1 they become theatrical3 the speaker is a kind of ,mr4 ,matthews at home1 and the audience are more or less delighted and amused with the exhibition2 but there is an end of society1 and you no more think of interrupting a confirmed story-teller1 than you would of interrupting a favourite actor on the stage4 ,,lxxiii4 ,the ,queen's trial gave a deathblow to the hopes of all reflecting persons with respect to the springs and issues of public spirit and opinion4 ,it was the only question ,i ever knew that excited a thorough popular feeling4 ,it struck its roots into the heart of the nation2 it took possession of every house or cottage in the kingdom2 man1 woman1 and child took part in it1 as if it had been their own concern4 ,business was laid aside for it3 people forgot their pleasures1 even their meals were neglected1 nothing was thought of but the fate of the ,queen's trial4 ,the arrival of the ,times ,newspaper was looked upon as an event in every village1 the ,mails hardly travelled fast enough2 and he who had the latest intelligence in his pocket was considered as the happiest of mortals4 ,it kept the town in a ferment for several weeks3 it agitated the country to the remotest corner4 ,it spread like wildfire over the kingdom2 the public mind was electrical4 ,so it should be on other occasions2 it was only so on this4 ,an individual may be oppressed1 a nation may be trampled upon1 mankind may be threatened with annihilation of their rights1 and the threat enforced2 and not a finger is raised1 not a heart sinks1 not a pulse beats quicker in the public or private quarrel1 a momentary burst of vain indignation is heard1 dies away1 and is forgotten4 ,truth has no echo1 but folly and imposture have a thousand reverberations in the hollowness of the human heart4 ,at the very time when all ,england went mad about the poor ,queen1 a man of the name of ,bruce was sent to ,botany ,bay for having spoken to another who was convicted of sedition2 and no notice was taken of it4 ,we have seen what has been done in ,spain1 and ,earth does not roll its billows over the heads of tyrants1 to bury them in a common grave4 ,what was it then in the ,queen's cause that stirred this mighty #8coil and pudder' in the breast8 ,was it the love of truth1 of justice1 of liberty8 ,no such thing6 ,her case was at best doubtful1 and she had only suffered the loss of privileges peculiar to herself4 ,but she was a ,queen1 she was a woman1 and a thorn in the ,king's side4 ,there was the cant of loyalty1 the cant of gallantry1 and the cant of freedom mixed altogether in delightful and inextricable confusion4 ,she was a ,queen--all the loyal and well-bred bowed to the name2 she was a wife--all the women took the alarm2 she was at variance with the lawful sovereign--all the free and independent ,electors of ,westminster and ,london were up in arms4 #8,the ,queen's name was a tower of strength1' which these persons had hitherto wanted1 and were glad to catch at4 ,though a daughter of the ,duke of ,brunswick1 though a grand-daughter of ,george ,,iii41 yet because she was separated from her husband1 she must be hand-and-glove with the people1 the wretched1 helpless1 doating1 credulous1 meddlesome people1 who are always ready to lick the hands1 not just then raised to shed their blood or rivet on their chains4 ,there was here an idol to pull down and an idol to set up4 ,there was an imperial title and meretricious frontispiece to the spurious volume of ,liberty4 ,there was the mock-majesty of an empty throne behind the real one1 and the impertinence of mankind was interested to thrust the unwelcome claimant into it4 ,city patriots stood a chance of becoming liege men1 and true to a ,queen--of their own choosing4 ,the spirit of faction was half merged in the spirit of servility4 ,there was a rag-fair of royalty--every one carried his own paints and patches into the presence of the new ,lady of ,loretto--there was a sense of homage due1 of services and countenance bestowed on ,majesty4 ,this popular farce had all the charm of private theatricals4 ,the ,court of ,st4 ,james's was nothing to the make-believe ,court at ,kew4 ,the king was a sort of state-fixture2 but the ,queen-,consort1 the favourite of the rabble1 was herself one of them4 ,the presence-doors were flung open1 and every blackguard and blockhead rushed in4 ,what an opportunity to see1 to hear1 to touch a ,queen6 ,to gratify the itch of loyalty by coming in contact with the person of the ,sovereign was a privilege reserved for a few2 but to receive this favour at the ,queen's hands was a distinction common to all4 ,all the trades of ,london came to kiss the ,queen's hand3 ,presbyterian parsons knelt to kiss the hand of their royal mistress2 the daughters of country curates and of city knights sipped loyalty from the back of her ,majesty's hand4 ,radicals and reformers contended who should be first in paying homage to the ,queen2 there was a race for precedence1 quarrelling and pulling of caps between the wives of distinguished orators and caricaturists1 at the very footsteps of the throne2 while ,mr4 ,alderman ,wood1 #8,a gentle ,husher1 ,vanity by name4' strove to keep the peace1 and vindicate the character of civic dames for courtly manners4 ,mr4 ,place1 ,mr4 ,hone1 ,mr4 ,thelwall1 ,sir ,richard ,phillips1 kissed her ,majesty's hand2 ,mr4 ,cobbett alone was not invited1--it was thought he might bite4 ,what a pity that it was before ,mr4 ,irving's time1 or he might have thrown in the casting-weight of his perfect mind and body1 and ousted both the ,king and ,bergami6 ,in the midst of all this1 his ,majesty went to the play1 bowed to the boxes1 the pit1 the gallery1 and to the actors1 and you would suppose in four days' time1 that a whisper had never been uttered to imply that the ,king not only was not the most graceful man in his dominions1 but the best of monarchs and of husbands4 ,the ,queen and her pic-nic parties were no more thought of4 ,what a scene for history to laugh at6 ,,lxxiv4 ,a crowd was collected under the ,horse-,guards1 and on enquiry ,i found it was to see the ,duke of ,york come out4 #8,what went they forth for to see8' ,they were some of the lowest and most wretched of the people1 and it was perhaps the sense of contrast1--a sense of which the great and mighty have always availed themselves liberally1 to cherish the enthusiasm of their admirers4 ,it was also curiosity to see a name1 a sound that they had so often heard1 reduced to an object of sight2 a metaphysical and political abstraction actually coming out of a door with a ruddy face and a frock-coat4 ,it was1 in the first place1 the ,commander-in-,chief1 and the commander of the troops at ,dunkirk1 the author of the love-letters to ,mrs4 ,clarke and of army-circulars1 the son of the ,king1 and presumptive heir to the ,crown2--there were all these contradictions embodied in the same person4 #8,oh1 the wonderful works of nature1' as the ,recruit in the play says on looking at the guinea which has just enlisted him3 so we may say on looking at a king or a king's brother4 ,i once pointed out the ,duke of ,york to a ,scotchman4 #8,is that his ,grace--,i mean his ,royal ,highness8' said the native of the ,north1 out of breath to acknowledge the title1 and pay with his tongue the instinctive adulation which his heart felt6 ,,lxxv4 ,when ,effie ,deans becomes a fine lady1 do we not look back with regret to the time when she was the poor faded lily of ,st4 ,leonards1 the outcast and condemned prisoner8 ,so1 should the cause of liberty and mankind ever become triumphant1 instead of militant1 may we not heave a sigh of regret over the past1 and think that poor suffering human nature1 with all its wrongs and insults1 trodden into the earth like a vile weed1 was a more interesting topic for reflection8 ,we need not be much alarmed for the event1 even if this should be so2 for the way to ,utopia is not #8the primrose path of dalliance2' and at the rate we have hitherto gone on1 it must be many thousand years off6 ,,lxxvi4 ,mankind are an incorrigible race4 ,give them but bugbears and idols--it is all that they ask2 the distinctions of right and wrong1 of truth and falsehood1 of good and evil1 are worse than indifferent to them4 ,,lxxvii4 ,the ,devil was a great loss in the preternatural world4 ,he was always something to fear and to hate4 ,he supplied the antagonist powers of the imagination1 and the arch of true religion hardly stands firm without him4 ,mr4 ,irving may perhaps bring him into fashion again4 ,,lxxviii4 ,perhaps the evils arising from excessive inequality in a state would be sufficiently obviated if property were divided equally among the surviving children4 ,but it is said it would be impossible to make a law for this purpose1 under any circumstances or with any qualifications1 because the least interference with the disposal of property would be striking at its existence and at the very root of all property4 ,and yet this objection is urged in those very countries1 where the law of primogeniture 7intended to keep it in disproportionate masses1 and setting aside the will of the testator altogether7 is established as an essential part of the law of the land4 ,so blind is reason1 where passion or prejudice intervenes6 ,,lxxix4 ,kings1 who set up for ,gods upon earth1 should be treated as madmen1 which one half of them1 or as idiots1 which the other half1 really are4 ,,lxxx4 ,tyrants are at all times mad with the lust of power4 ,,lxxxi4 ,reformers are naturally speculative people2 and speculative people are effeminate and inactive4 ,they brood over ideas1 till realities become almost indifferent to them4 ,they talk when they should act1 and are distracted with nice doubts and distinctions1 while the enemy is thundering at the gates1 and the bomb-shells are bursting at their feet4 ,they hold up a paper ,constitution as their shield1 which the sword pierces through1 and drinks their heart's blood6 ,they are cowards1 too1 at bottom2 and dare not strike a decisive blow1 lest it should be retaliated4 ,while they merely prate of moderation and the public good1 they think1 if the worst comes to the worst1 there may still be a chance of retreat for them1 hoping to screen themselves behind their imbecility4 ,they are not like their opponents1 whose all is at stake1 and who are urged on by instinctive fury and habitual cunning to defend it3 the common good is too remote a speculation to call forth any violent passions or personal sacrifices2 and if it should be lost1 it is as fine a topic as ever to harangue and lament about4 ,patriots are1 by the constitution of their minds1 poets2 and an ,elegy on the fall of ,liberty is as interesting to hear or to recite as an ,ode on its most triumphant success4 ,they who let off ,ferdinand the other day1 confiding in the promises of a traitor and in the liberality of a despot1 were greater hypocrites to themselves than he was4 ,,lxxxii4 ,in the late quarrel about ,liberty1 upwards of five millions of men have been killed1 and one king4 ,,lxxxiii4 ,the people 7properly speaking7 are not a herd of slaves just let loose1 or else goaded on1 like blind drudges1 to execute the behests of their besotted taskmasters2 but the band of free citizens1 taught to know their rights1 and prepared to exercise them4 ,,lxxxiv4 ,the people are the slaves of ignorance and custom2 the friends of the people are the dupes of reason and humanity4 ,power stops at nothing but its own purposes4 ,,lxxxv4 ,the ,author of ,waverley observes--#8,in truth1 the ,scottish peasantry are still infected with that rage for funeral ceremonial1 which once distinguished the grandees of the kingdom so much1 that a sumptuary law was made by the ,parliament of ,scotland for the purpose of restraining it2 and ,i have known many in the lowest stations who have denied themselves not merely the comforts1 but almost the necessaries of life1 in order to save such a sum of money as might enable their surviving friends to bury them like ,christians1 as they termed it2 nor could their faithful executors be prevailed upon1 though equally necessitous1 to turn to the use and maintenance of the living the money vainly wasted upon the interment of the dead4'--#8,antiquary1' vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #dh4 ,if ,i were to attempt an explanation of the peculiar delight and pride which the ,scotch are thus supposed to take in funeral ceremonies1 ,i should say1 that as inhabitants of wild and barren districts1 they are more familiar with the face of nature than with the face of man2 and easily turn to it as their place of rest and final home4 ,there is little difference1 in their imaginations1 between treading the green mountain turf1 and being laid beneath it4 ,the world itself is but a living tomb to them4 ,their mode of subsistence is cold1 hard1 comfortless1 bare of luxuries and of enjoyments1 torpid1 inured to privations and self-denial2 and death seems to be its consummation and triumph1 rather than its unwelcome end4 ,their life was a sort of struggle for a dreary existence2 so that it relapses into the grave with joy and a feeling of exultation4 ,the grey rock out of which their tomb is cut is a citadel against all assaults of the flesh and the spirit2 the kindred earth that wraps the weather-beaten1 worn-out body1 is a soft and warm resting-place from the hardships it has had to encounter4 ,it is no wonder1 therefore1 that the ,scotch prepare for the due celebration of this event with the foresight characteristic of them1 and that their friends consign them to the earth with becoming fortitude and costly ceremony4 #8,man1' says ,sir ,thomas ,brown1 though in quite a different spirit1 #8man is a noble animal1 splendid in ashes and pompous in the grave2 solemnising nativities and deaths with equal lustre1 nor omitting ceremonies of bravery1 even in the ,,infamy of his nature4--,see his ,,urn ,,burial4 ,,lxxxvi4 ,in the ,heart of ,midlothian vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #ac1 we meet with the following reflections3 #8,perhaps one ought to be actually a ,scotchman to conceive how ardently1 under all distinctions of rank and situation1 they feel their mutual connection with each other as natives of the same country4 ,there are1 ,i believe1 more associations common to the inhabitants of a rude and wild than of a well-cultivated and fertile country3 their ancestors have more seldom changed their place of residence2 their mutual recollection of remarkable objects is more accurate2 the high and the low are more interested in each other's welfare2 the feelings of kindred and relationship are more widely extended2 and1 in a word1 the bonds of patriotic affection1 always honourable1 even when a little too exclusively strained1 have more influence on men's feelings and actions4' ,thus far our author1 but without making much progress in the question he has started4 #8,via ,goodman ,dull6 thou hast spoken no word all this while'--,i might say1 but ,i do not choose1 to say so1 to the ,great ,unknown4 ,there is an enumeration of particulars1 slightly and collaterally connected with the subject1 but1 as #8,douce ,david ,deans' would say1 #8they do not touch the root of the matter4' ,in fact1 then1 the mind more easily forms a strong and abstracted attachment to the soil 7in which it was bred7 in remote and barren regions1 where few artificial objects or pursuits fritter away attention1 or divert it from its devotion to the naked charms of nature--7perhaps the privations1 dangers1 and loneliness incident to such situations also enhance the value and deepen the interest we take in them7--and again1 in a rude and scattered population1 where there is a dearth and craving after general society1 we naturally become more closely and permanently attached to those few persons with whom neighbourhood1 or kindred1 or a common cause1 or similar habits or language1 bring us into contact4 ,two ,englishmen meeting in the wilds of ,arabia would instantly become friends1 though they had never seen one another before1 from the want of all other society and sympathy4 ,so it is in the ruder and earlier stages of civilisation4 ,this is what attaches the ,highlander to his hill and to his clan4 ,this is what attaches ,scotchmen to their country and to one another4 ,a ,londoner1 in his fondness for ,london1 is distracted between the play-houses1 the opera1 the shops1 the coffee-houses1 the crowded streets1 c4 ,an inhabitant of ,edinburgh has none of these diversities to reconcile3 he has but one idea in his head or in his mouth1--that of the ,calton ,hill2 an idea which is easily embraced1 and which he never quits his hold of1 till something more substantial offers1--a situation as porter in a warehouse1 or as pimp to a great man4 ,,notes ,,fugitive ,,writings ,,on ,,abstract ,,ideas ,this essay was first published along with the second edition 7#ahcf7 of ,an ,essay on the ,principles of ,human ,action4 ,see ,bibliographical ,note1 vol4 ,,vii4 p4 #chd4 ,the source of the essay does not appear to be known1 but it very likely formed the substance of one of the ,lectures which ,hazlitt delivered at the ,russell ,institution4 ,see ante1 pp4 #be1 et seq4 and notes4 ,the title of one of these ,lectures 7,,iii47 was #8,on ,berkeley's ,principles of ,human ,knowledge1 and on the ,nature of ,abstraction4' ,it has not been thought necessary to give references to all the numerous passages quoted from ,locke and other philosophers discussed by ,hazlitt4 ,in many cases he himself gives a sufficient reference in the text4 ,,page #a4 ,it is by ,mr4 ,locke 444 denied1 etc4 ,see ,an ,essay concerning ,human ,understanding1 ,,ii4 xi4 #aj4 #8,from the root1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,v4 #dgi-dha4 #f4 ,the ,bishop of ,worcester4 ,edward ,stillingfleet 7#afce-afii71 who published three pamphlets in reply to ,locke's ,essay4 ,for an account of the controversy see ,locke's ,works 7,bohn71 ,,ii4 #cci et seq4 #g4 #8,general ideas1' etc4 ,condillac1 ,la ,logique1 chap4 ,v4 #h4 #8,to speak1' etc4 ,ibid4 #i4 #8,it is agreed on all hands1' etc4 ,all the passages quoted from ,berkeley are from the ,introduction to ,a ,treatise concerning the ,principles of ,human ,knowledge 7#agaj74 #ab4 #8,abstract ideas1' etc4 ,locke's ,essay1 ,,iv4 vii4 #i4 ,,on ,,the ,,writings ,,of ,,hobbes ,this and the four succeeding papers were first published in ,literary ,remains1 where the author's son says of them 7vol4 ,i4 p4 #aae73 #8,the following ,essays form part of a series of ,lectures delivered with very great effect by my father at the ,russell ,institution1 in #ahac4 ,i found them with other papers in an old hamper which many years ago he stuffed confusedly full of ,,mss4 and odd volumes of books1 and left in the care of some lodging-house people1 by whom it was thrown into a cellar1 so damp that even the covers of some of the books were fast mouldering when ,i first looked over the collection4 ,the injury to the ,,mss4 may be imagined4 ,some of the ,lectures1 indeed1 to my deep regret1 are altogether missing1 burnt1 probably1 by the ignorant people of the house2 and ,i have had the greatest difficulty in preparing those which remain for the press4 ,they are1 however1 most valuable4' ,the course1 consisting of ten ,lectures1 was delivered in #ahab1 not #ahac4 ,the syllabus will be found in ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt's ,memoirs of ,william ,hazlitt1 #a4 #aib et seq4 ,the first lecture was #8,on the ,writings of ,hobbes1 showing that he was the father of the modern system of philosophy4' #bg4 #8,they were made fierce1' etc4 ,advancement of ,learning1 ,i4 iv4 #f4 #bh4 #8,four champions fierce1' etc4 ,cf4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #hih4 #bi4 ,it has been generally supposed1 etc4 ,cf4 the essay #8,mr4 ,locke a ,great ,plagiarist1' post1 p4 #bhd4 #cb4 #8,discourse of ,human ,nature4' ,this work1 though circulated in ,,ms4 as early as #afdj1 was not published till #afej1 the year before the publication of ,leviathan4 #de4 #8,this difference of quickness1' etc4 ,leviathan1 part ,i4 chap4 ,,viii4 ,harris1 the author of ,hermes1 etc4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,viii4 7,the ,english ,comic ,writers7 p4 #ai1 where the same passages are quoted from ,locke1 ,hobbes1 and ,harris4 #df4 #8,though the effect of folly1' etc4 ,leviathan1 part ,i4 chap4 ,,viii4 #8,the foolish daughters of ,pelias' ,peleus1 etc4 ,ibid4 part ,,ii4 chap4 ,,xxx4 ,the same allusion in ,burke4 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #aac74 #dh4 #8,soft collar of social esteem4' ,ibid4 ,,ii4 #ij4 #8,order of thoughts1' etc4 ,leviathan1 part ,i4 chap4 ,,iii4 #8,stood all astonied1' etc4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,,vii4 ,,vi4 #bh4 #ej4 ,jonathan ,edwards4 ,jonathan ,edwards 7#agjc-ageh71 the ,american theologian and metaphysician1 published his work ,on the ,freedom of the ,will in #aged4 ,,on ,,liberty ,,and ,,necessity ,lectures ,,vii4 and ,,viii4 were #8,on the ,writers on ,liberty and ,necessity1 and on ,materialism4' ,gassendi4 ,pierre ,gassendi 7#aeib-afee71 the ,french philosopher and mathematician1 with whom ,hobbes had been intimate at ,paris4 #ec4 ,spinoza's most exact and beautiful demonstration1 etc4 ,in the ,ethica1 published in ,opera ,posthuma 7#afgg74 ,marsennus4 ,marin ,mersenne 7#aehh-afdh71 the friend and disciple of ,descartes4 #ed4 ,bishop ,bramhall4 ,john ,bramhall 7#aeid-affc71 successively ,bishop of ,derry and ,archbishop of ,armagh1 whose controversy with ,hobbes arose in #afee4 #eg4 ,tripos4 #8,hobbes's ,tripos' 7#afhd7 contained1 among other things1 the essay #8,of ,liberty and ,necessity' 7#afed74 #eh4 #8,with all these means1' etc4 ,henry ,,iv4 ,part ,,ii4 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #fj4 #8,fixed fate1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #efj4 ,dr4 ,priestley4 ,joseph ,priestley's 7#agcc-ahjd7 ,the ,doctrine of ,philosophical ,necessity ,illustrated appeared in #aggg4 ,his controversy with ,horsley lasted from #aghc till #agij1 during which time many letters to ,dr4 ,horsley were published4 #ga4 #8,something far more deeply interfused1' etc4 ,borrowed from ,wordsworth's ,lines composed a few miles above ,tintern ,abbey1 #if et seq4 #gc4 #8,ille igitur1' etc4 ,cicero1 ,de ,fato1 ,,xix4 #dc4 ,,on ,,locke',s ,,essay ,,on ,,the ,,human ,,understanding ,this appears to have been ,lecture ,,ii4 of the course4 ,cf4 the essay #8,mr4 ,locke a ,great ,plagiarist1' post1 p4 #bhd4 #gi4 #8,discourse of reason4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b #ha4 #8,without form and void4' ,genesis i4 #b4 #ha4 ,the mind alone is formative4 ,kant4 ,cf4 post1 p4 #agf4 #hb4 ,the natural fool1 etc4 ,cf4 ante1 p4 #da4 #hd4 #8,peace to all such4' ,pope1 ,prologue to the ,satires1 #aic4 #he4 ,the ,vicar's profession of faith4 ,see mile1 ,livre ,,iv4 #8,light of ,nature pursued4' ,a work abridged by ,hazlitt himself4 ,see vol4 ,,iv4 of the present edition4 #hh4 #8,fluttering its pennons vain1' etc4 ,cf4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #icc-d4 #hi4 #8,the latter end1' etc4 ,cf4 ,the ,tempest1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 #ajj4 #8,the fundamental principle1' etc4 ,hume1 ,a ,treatise of ,human ,nature1 part ,,iv4 sect4 ,,iv4 #ajh4 ,the #8,essay on ,vision4' ,published in #agji4 #aaj4 #8,reason pandering will4' ,cf4 #8,and reason panders will4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 #aah4 ,dr4 ,clarke's celebrated work4 ,samuel ,clarke's 7#afge-agbi7 ,discourse concerning the ,being and ,attributes of ,god1 etc41 one of the ,boyle lectures delivered in #agjd and #agje4 ,,on ,,tooke',s ,,diversions ,,of ,,purley ,lecture ,,ix4 was #8,on the ,theory of ,language2 as treated by ,horne ,tooke1 by the author of ,hermes1 and ,lord ,monboddo4' ,cf4 vol4 ,,iv4 7,the ,spirit of the ,age71 p4 #bca1 and notes4 #aai4 #8,mere very midsummer madness4' ,twelfth ,night1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 #abc4 ,m4 ,portalis4 ,jean tienne ,marie ,portalis 7#agde-ahjg71 one of the compilers of the ,code ,napolon4 #8,of the little sneering1' etc4 ,junius1 ,letter ,,liv4 #8,undoes creation1' etc4 ,gay1 ,verses to be placed under the ,picture of ,sir ,r4 ,blackmore4 #8,rebelling angels1' etc4 ,marvell1 ,on ,mr4 ,milton's ,paradise ,lost4 #8,holds us a while1' etc4 ,ibid4 #abe4 #8,that honour consists4' etc4 ,jonathan ,wild1 ,book ,i4 ,chap4 #ac4 #abh4 ,a celebrated ,german philosopher4 ,kant4 #aca4 #8,so from the root1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 p4 #a1 where much of this paragraph is repeated4 #acb4 #8,has oft been chased1' etc4 ,dryden1 ,the ,hind and the ,panther1 l4 #e-h4 ,,on ,,self-,,love ,lecture ,,iv4 of the series4 ,cf4 the essay on #8,self-,love and ,benevolence 7,a ,dialogue7' printed in vol4 ,,xii4 pp4 #ie et seq41 and ,an ,essay on the ,principles of ,human ,action 7vol4 ,,vii4 pp4 #chc1 et seq471 from which a great part of the present ,lecture is taken4 #acc4 #8,wise saws and modern instances4' ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4 #acf4 #8,mutual interest1' etc4 ,jonathan ,wild1 ,book ,i4 ,chap4 #d4 #aci4 ,shaftesbury or ,hutcheson4 ,anthony ,ashley ,cooper1 third ,earl of ,shaftesbury 7#afga-agac71 author of the ,characteristics 7#agaa71 and ,francis ,hutcheson 7#afid-agdf71 a supporter of ,shaftesbury's ethics4 #adj4 #8,pity is only1' etc4 ,see ,hobbes's ,human ,nature1 ,chap4 ,,ix4 ,sect4 #aj4 #adg4 #8,the jealous ,god1' etc4 #8,love1 free as air1 at sight of human ties1 ,spreads his light wings1 and in a moment flies4' ,pope1 ,eloisa to ,abelard1 #ge-f4 #aeh4 #8,thrills in each nerve1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,feels at each thread1 and lives along the line4' ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,man1 l4 #bah4 #aei4 #8,the hair-breadth scapes1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #afj4 ,junius has remarked1 etc4 ,in his letter to ,george ,,iii4 7,dec4 #ai1 #agfi74 ,,madame ,,de ,,sta,l',s ,,account ,,of ,,german ,,philosophy ,,and ,,literature ,madame de ,stal's ,de l',allemagne1 published in ,london in #ahac1 had been reviewed1 possibly by ,hazlitt1 in ,the ,morning ,chronicle for ,nov4 #ac1 #ahac1 and the four papers here reprinted and signed #8,an ,english ,metaphysician' are ostensibly a continuation of that review1 though they contain very little about ,german philosophy and nothing at all about ,german literature4 ,they are1 in fact1 merely fragments in letter form of the course of lectures which ,hazlitt had recently delivered at the ,russell ,institution4 ,see ante1 pp4 #be et seq4 and notes4 ,hazlitt was a regular contributor to ,the ,morning ,chronicle during #ahac and #ahad4 ,some of his contributions on politics1 the stage1 and the fine arts will be found in vols4 ,,iii41 ,,viii4 and ,,ix4 of the present edition2 and he gives an account of his relations with ,james ,perry1 the editor1 in the essay #8,on ,patronage and ,puffing' 7see vol4 ,,vi4 p4 #bhi74 ,none of the ,chronicle papers included in the present volume have been republished before4 #afb4 ,the article in ,the ,edinburgh ,review4 ,vol4 ,,xxii4 p4 #aih4 ,the review was by ,jeffrey4 #afd4 #8,they were made fierce1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #bg4 #afe4 #8,four champions fierce1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #bh4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued #afg4 #8,a justly decried author4' ,locke1 ,third ,letter to the ,bishop of ,worcester 7,works1 ,bohn1 ,,ii4 #dja74 #8,fame is no plant1' etc4 ,lycidas1 #gh-hb4 #afh4 #8,harsh and crabbed4' ,comus1 #dgf4 ,willich4 ,elements of the ,critical ,philosophy1 etc41 ,translated by ,a4 ,f4 ,m4 ,willich1 ,m4,d41 appeared in #agih4 ,the ,critique of ,pure ,reason had appeared in #agha4 #aga4 #8,and all this1' etc4 ,ben ,jonson1 ,the ,alchemist1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued #agd4 #8,a dark closet1' etc4 ,cf4 ,locke's ,essay1 ,,ii4 xi4 #ag4 #8,drossy and divisible4' ,dryden1 ,the ,hind and the ,panther1 ,i4 #cai4 #age4 ,mrs4 ,salmon's 444 wax figures4 ,an old established exhibition in ,fleet ,street1 near ,temple ,bar4 ,see ,the ,spectator1 ,no4 #bh4 #agf4 #8,without form and void4' ,genesis i4 #b4 #agi4 #8,thrills in each nerve1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #aeh4 #8,jove's light'nings1' etc4 ,the ,tempest1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,at the end of this letter it was announced that #8,another ,letter on the ,principles of ,human ,action will conclude this series4' ,the promised ,letter1 however1 does not seem to have been published4 #aha4 #8,peace to all such4' ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #hd4 ,note4 ,for ,fearn's book1 see ,table ,talk1 vol4 ,,vi4 pp4 #fc-e2 #bfj-b and notes4 #ahc4 #8,so from the root1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #a4 #ahf4 #8,had oft been chased1' etc4 ,the ,hind and the ,panther1 ,i4 #e-h4 ,,fine ,,arts4--,,british ,,institution ,hazlitt used a portion of this notice in the essay on #8,fine ,arts' which he afterwards 7#ahbd7 contributed to ,the ,encyclopdia ,britannica4 ,see vol4 ,,ix41 pp4 #djf-g4 ,the ,british ,institution was founded in #ahje at #eb ,pall ,mall and continued till #ahff4 ,the winter exhibition was of the works of living artists4 ,a second notice1 in ,the ,morning ,chronicle for ,feb4 #aj1 is probably by ,hazlitt4 ,it contains very brief comments on the less notable pictures1 and is not reprinted here4 #ahh4 ,mr4 ,bird's ,picture of ,job4 ,the painter was ,edward ,bird 7#aggb-ahai71 elected a ,royal ,academician in #ahae4 #ahi4 ,mr4 ,allston's large picture4 ,this picture by the #8,american ,titian1' ,washington ,allston 7#aggi-ahdc71 gained a prize of #bjj guineas from the ,british ,institution and is now at ,philadelphia4 #aij4 ,mr4 ,hilton's ,picture4 ,by ,william ,hilton 7#aghf-ahci71 ,royal ,academician 7#ahah74 ,mr4 ,west's ,picture4 ,for ,benjamin ,west 7#agch-ahbj71 who succeeded ,reynolds 7#agib7 as ,president of the ,royal ,academy1 see vol4 ,,ix4 7,essays on the ,fine ,arts71 pp4 #cah et seq4 #8,pure religion1' etc4 ,wordsworth's ,sonnet1 #8,o ,friend6 ,i know not which way ,i must look1' etc4 ,society for the suppression of vice4 ,cf4 vol4 ,i4 7,the ,round ,table71 p4 #fj and note4 ,mr4 ,turner's grand landscape4 ,now in the ,national ,gallery and 7wrongly7 known as #8,apuleia in search of ,apuleius4' ,the confusion seems to have arisen from a misreading by ,turner of a story in ,ovid's ,metamorphoses 7,,xiv4 #eag et seq47 which the picture was designed to illustrate4 ,lord ,egremont's picture4 ,an engraving by ,woollett of ,claude's #8,jacob and ,laban' was in the possession of ,lord ,egremont at ,petworth1 and it is probably to this that ,hazlitt refers4 ,it was at ,petworth that ,turner painted the landscape in question4 #aia4 #8,mercury and ,herse4' ,exhibited in #ahaa4 ,the ,favourite ,lamb4 ,by ,william ,collins 7#aghh-ahdg74 ,,the ,,stage ,nearly the whole of this paper was incorporated into the essay on ,richard ,,iii4 in ,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays4 ,see vol4 ,i4 pp4 #cjj-cjc and notes4 #aib4 #8,as tenderly be led1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,bustle in4' ,richard ,,iii41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 ,,the ,,fine ,,arts4 ,,the ,,louvre #aie4 ,blcher4 ,the fighting at ,laon had taken place on ,march #i and #aj4 ,blcher entered ,paris on ,march #ca4 #8,away to ,heav'n1' etc4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,nay1 if you mouth1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #aif4 #8,pigeon-liver'd1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,scrawls1' etc4 ,pope1 ,prologue to the ,satires1 #ai-bj4 ,the treaty of ,pilnitz4 ,see vol4 ,,iii4 7,political ,essays71 p4 #fa and note4 #8,this present ignorant time4' ,cf4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 #8,tell me your company1' etc4 ,the proverb is quoted in ,don ,quixote1 ,part ,,ii4 chap4 #bc4 #8,stands the statue1' etc4 ,thomson1 ,the ,seasons1 ,summer1 #acdg4 ,the ,venus de ,medici was restored to ,florence after the fall of ,napoleon4 ,there is the ,apollo1 etc4 ,this enumeration of the treasures collected at the ,louvre by ,napoleon makes ,hazlitt's authorship of the essay quite certain4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,vi4 7,table ,talk71 pp4 #ae-af and notes1 and vol4 ,,viii4 7,the ,english ,comic ,writers71 p4 #adi1 where the present passage is repeated almost verbatim4 ,see also ,notes of a ,journey1 etc41 vol4 ,,ix4 p4 #ajg4 #aig4 #8,there is old ,proteus1' etc4 ,misquoted from ,wordsworth's ,sonnet1 #8,the world is too much with us1' etc4 #8,what's ,hecuba to them1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,real feelings1' etc4 ,burke1 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #aja74 #8,we look up1' etc4 ,ibid4 #8,breath can make them1' etc4 ,goldsmith1 ,the ,deserted ,village1 #ed4 ,wittgenstein1 etc4 ,louis ,adolphe ,pierre ,wittgenstein 7#agfi-ahdc72 ,ferdinand1 ,baron ,wintzingerode 7#aggj-ahah71 two well-known ,russian generals4 #8,but once put out their light1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 ,poet who celebrated the fall1 etc4 ,coleridge1 presumably4 #8,time-hallowed laws4' ,hazlitt elsewhere attributes this phrase to ,wordsworth4 ,see vol4 ,,iii41 note to p4 #age4 ,,wilson',s ,,landscapes ,,at ,,the ,,british ,,institution ,part of this article was incorporated in the ,encyclopdia ,britannica article on #8,fine ,arts' 7see vol4 ,,ix4 pp4 #cib-cid71 and a further part was included in ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt's edition of the same essay in ,essays on the ,fine ,arts 7#ahgc74 ,many of ,wilson's landscapes were exhibited at the ,winter ,exhibition of the ,royal ,academy in #aijc4 ,in this and in the later notices of exhibitions the catalogue numbers have been omitted1 and in a few cases it has been necessary to substitute a semicolon for a comma1 in order to distinguish between different pictures4 #aii4 #8,a buoy1' etc4 ,king ,lear1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #f4 #bjj4 #8,resembling a goose-pye1' ,swift1 ,vanburgh's ,house1 l4 #ajd4 #bja4 ,note4 #8,silly shepherds1' etc4 ,cf4 ,milton1 ,on the ,morning of ,christ's ,nativity1 ,the ,hymn1 ,st4 viii4 #bjb4 #8,while universal ,pan1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4 #bff-h4 ,note4 ,mr4 ,northcote's ,dream of a ,painter4 ,see vol4 ,i4 7,the ,round ,table71 note to p4 #afb4 ,,on ,,gainsborough',s ,,pictures ,this article1 like the last1 was used for the ,encyclopdia essay 7vol4 ,,ix4 pp4 #cie-f7 and was partly reproduced in ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt's edition of ,essays on the ,fine ,arts1 #ahgc 7notes to p4 #bdd74 #bjb4 ,a ,portrait of a ,youth4 ,the famous #8,blue ,boy' belonging to the ,duke of ,westminster1 painted in #aggi4 #bjc4 ,portrait of ,garrick4 ,painted in #aggf1 and now at the ,stratford-on-,avon ,museum4 #8,distilled books1' etc4 ,bacon1 ,essays 7#8,of ,studies'74 #8,i to ,hercules4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 ,cottage ,children4 #8,rustic ,children1' now in the ,national ,gallery4 #bje4 ,note4 ,two ,spanish ,beggar ,boys4 ,in the ,dulwich ,gallery4 ,see vol4 ,,ix4 p4 #be4 ,,mr4 ,,kemble',s ,,penruddock ,this theatrical notice is clearly ,hazlitt's1 though he omitted it from ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage4 ,cf4 vol4 ,i4 7,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays71 p4 #bcg1 where the same words are used1 with trifling variations1 in criticism of ,kemble's ,hamlet4 ,cf4 also vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #cgf4 #bje4 ,penruddock4 ,in ,richard ,cumberland's ,the ,wheel of ,fortune 7#agie74 #bjf4 #8,is whispering nothing1' etc4 ,a ,winter's ,tale1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #bjg4 #8,there is no variableness1' etc4 ,st4 ,james i4 #ag4 #8,splenetic splenetive and rash4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,the fiery soul1' etc4 ,dryden1 ,absalom and ,achitophel1 l4 #aef-h4 #8,you shall relish1' etc4 ,cf4 ,othello1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,,introduction ,,to ,,an ,,account ,,of ,,sir ,,joshua ,,reynolds',s ,,discourses ,hazlitt contributed to ,the ,champion six papers on the #8,character of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds4' ,the first two of these 7,oct4 #cj and ,nov4 #f4 #ahad7 were used in the author's ,encyclopdia ,britannica essay on #8,fine ,arts4' ,see vol4 ,,ix4 of the present edition1 pp4 #cgg et seq41 and the notes1 where the omitted portions of the two articles are supplied4 ,the last four 7viz4 the present essay and the three succeeding ones7 are here reprinted for the first time4 ,hazlitt afterwards dealt with the same subject in the two essays entitled #8,on ,certain ,inconsistencies in ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's ,discourses' 7vol4 ,,vi4 ,table ,talk1 pp4 #abb-ade74 #bjh4 ,note4 ,for ,richardson see vol4 ,,vi4 7,table ,talk71 p4 #aj and note4 ,charles ,antoine ,coypel 7#afid-ageb7 was ,director of the ,academy from #agdg4 ,his ,discourses on ,art were republished in #ahhc by ,h4 ,jouin 7,confrences de l',acadmie royale de peinture74 ,,on ,,genius ,,and ,,originality #baa4 ,if ,raphael1 for instance1 had only copied1 etc4 ,see ,reynolds's ,twelfth ,discourse4 #bab4 #8,sole sitting1' etc4 ,wordsworth1 ,poems on the ,naming of ,places1 ,,iv4 #8,beauty1 rendered still more beautiful4' ,cf4 #8----,and he would gaze till it became ,far lovelier1 and his heart could not sustain ,the beauty1 still more beauteous4' ,wordsworth1 ,lines left upon a ,seat in a ,yew-tree1 #ce-cg4 #8,thrice happy fields1' etc4 ,cf4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #efi-egj4 #bac4 #8,the tender mercies4' #8,the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel4' ,proverbs xii4 #aj4 #8,wandering through dry places1' etc4 ,cf4 ,s4 ,matthew xii4 #dc4 #bac4 ,note4 ,claude's ,liber ,veritatis1 now in the possession of the ,duke of ,devonshire1 is not a collection of original sketches1 but a record of his pictures with inscriptions showing for whom they were painted4 #bae4 #8,human face divine4' ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #dd4 ,,on ,,the ,,imitation ,,of ,,nature #bba4 #8,blinking ,sam4' ,see ,mrs4 ,piozzi's ,anecdotes1 etc4 7,johnsonian ,miscellanies1 ed4 ,g4 ,b4 ,hill1 ,i4 #cac74 ,,on ,,the ,,ideal #bbc4 #8,might ascend1' etc4 ,henry ,v4 ,prologue4 #bbd4 #8,obscurity her curtain1' etc4 ,from a poem ,to the ,honourable and ,reverend ,f4 ,c4 in ,dodsley's ,collection of ,poems1 vol4 ,,vi4 7#ageh71 p4 #ach4 ,the poem 7anonymously published7 was written by ,sneyd ,davies 7#agji-agfi71 and was addressed to ,frederick ,cornwallis1 afterwards ,archbishop of ,canterbury4 ,see ,the ,gentleman's ,magazine1 vol4 ,i4 p4 #agd1 and ,nichols's ,illustrations of the ,literary ,history of the ,eighteenth ,century1 vol4 ,i4 #bbf4 #8,whose end1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #bbh4 ,we have heard it observed1 etc4 ,by ,coleridge1 probably4 ,see vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #bag4 ,,charlemagne3 ,,ou ,l',,glise ,d,,livr,e #bcj4 ,the brother of ,buonaparte4 ,lucien ,buonaparte 7#agge-ahdj71 ,prince of ,canino4 ,the present review of his ,charlemagne1 etc4 is signed #8,w4 ,h4' #bca4 ,henriade4 ,voltaire's epic 7#agbc74 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued #bce4 ,the true ,florimel1 etc4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,,iii4 viii4 #bcf4 ,another epic poem4 ,la ,cirnide 7#ahai74 ,,lucien ,,buonaparte',s ,,collection1 ,,etc4 ,this article is signed #8,w4 ,h4' #bcg4 #8,vile durance4' ,kenrick's ,falstaff's ,wedding 7#agff71 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the mistress or the saint4' ,cf4 ,goldsmith1 ,the ,traveller1 #aeb4 ,jocunda4 ,the portrait of ,mona ,lisa1 wife of ,francesco del ,giocondo4 #bci4 #8,laborious foolery4' ,hazlitt seems to be quoting from himself4 ,see his ,letter #8,on ,modern ,comedy' 7#ahac71 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #eed4 #bdj4 #8,come1 then1 the colours1' etc4 ,pope1 ,moral ,essays1 ,,ii4 #ag-bj4 ,watteau4 ,antoine ,watteau 7#afhd-agba74 ,guerin4 ,pierre ,narcisse ,gurin 7#aggd-ahcc74 ,the picture referred to is now in the ,louvre4 #bda4 ,the ,deluge by ,girodet4 ,this picture of ,anne ,louis ,girodet's 7#agfg-ahbd7 is in the ,louvre4 #bdb4 ,lefebre4 ,hazlitt presumably refers to ,robert ,le ,fvre's 7#agef-ahcj7 portrait of ,napoleon now in the ,gallery at ,versailles4 ,,british ,,institution ,these three notices of the ,exhibition at the ,british ,institution are signed #8,w4 ,h4' #bdc4 ,c4 ,l4 ,eastlake4 ,charles ,lock ,eastlake 7#agic-ahfe71 elected ,president of the ,royal ,academy and knighted in #ahej2 ,director of the ,national ,gallery from #ahee4 #8,antique ,roman4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 ,a hint from a high quarter4 ,hazlitt presumably refers to the fact that ,canning had not been in office since his quarrel with ,castlereagh in #ahji4 #bdd4 #8,a great book is a great evil4' ,a saying of ,voltaire's4 ,cf4 vol4 ,v4 7,lectures on the ,english ,poets71 p4 #aad4 #8,it is place1' etc4 ,cymbeline1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #bde4 ,g4 ,hayter4 ,george 7afterwards ,sir ,george7 ,hayter 7#agib-ahga74 ,his #8,ezra' gained a prize of #bjj4 ,mr4 ,harlowe's ,hubert and ,arthur4 ,by ,george ,henry ,harlow 7#aghg-ahai71 a pupil of ,sir ,thomas ,lawrence4 #8,deep scars1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i4 #fja4 ,miss ,geddes4 ,margaret ,sarah ,geddes 7#agic-ahgb71 better known as ,mrs4 ,carpenter1 and a portrait-painter4 ,chalon4 ,alfred ,edward ,chalon 7#agha-ahfj74 ,burnetts1 etc4 ,james ,m4 ,burnet 7#aghh-ahaf7 and ,john ,burnet 7#aghd-ahfh72 ,anthony ,vandyke ,copley ,fielding 7#aghg-ahee72 ,thomas ,christopher ,hofland 7#aggg-ahdc72 ,john ,glover 7#agfg-ahdi74 ,both the ,nasmyths1 ,alexander 7#ageh-ahdj7 and ,peter 7#aghg-ahca71 were represented at the ,exhibition4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued #bdf4 ,w4 ,collins4 ,william ,collins 7#aghh-ahdg74 #bdg4 ,bone4 ,robert ,trewick ,bone 7#agij-ahdj74 ,h4 ,howard4 ,henry ,howard 7#agfi-ahdg74 ,h4 ,singleton4 ,henry ,singleton 7#agff-ahci74 ,p4 ,h4 ,rogers4 ,philip ,hutchins ,rogers 7#agid-ahec74 ,j4 ,wilson4 ,john ,wilson 7#aggd-ahee74 #bdh4 ,the ablest landscape painter1 etc4 ,turner4 ,cf4 vol4 ,i4 7,the ,round ,table71 p4 #gf note4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued #bdh4 ,b4 ,barker4 ,benjamin ,barker 7#aggf-ahch74 ,ab4 ,cooper4 ,abraham ,cooper 7#aghg-ahfh74 ,w4 ,westall4 ,william ,westall 7#agha-ahej74 #bdi4 ,j4 ,stark4 ,james ,stark 7#agid-ahei74 ,p4 ,dewint4 ,peter ,de ,wint 7#aghd-ahdi74 ,a4 ,sauerweide4 ,alexander ,sauerweid 7#aghb-ahdd74 #8,war is a game1' etc4 ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,v4 #ahg-h4 ,,on ,,mr4 ,,wilkie',s ,,pictures ,this essay is signed #8,w4 ,h4' #bdi4 ,archbishop ,herring's letters4 ,cf4 vol4 ,v4 7,lectures on the ,english ,poets71 p4 #ada and note4 #bej4 ,the highest authority on art4 ,from this point the rest of the essay was incorporated in the ,lecture on ,hogarth4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 pp4 #aci-ada4 #bea4 #8,to shew vice virtue1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the very error1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,it is the very error of the moon4' ,othello1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 #beb4 #8,your lungs begin to crow1' etc4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4 ,,character ,,of ,,mr4 ,,wordsworth',s ,,new ,,poem1 ,,the ,,excursion ,under this heading ,hazlitt contributed to ,the ,examiner three papers which he afterwards partly republished with omissions and variations in two essays in ,the ,round ,table4 ,see vol4 ,i4 pp4 #aaa-abe4 ,these omissions and variations are given below4 ,at the beginning of the first essay as published in ,the ,round ,table add from the first 7,august #ba1 #ahad7 of ,the ,examiner articles the following passage3-- #8,in power of intellect1 in lofty conception1 in the depth of feeling1 at once simple and sublime1 which pervades every part of it and which gives to every object an almost preternatural and preterhuman interest1 this work has seldom been surpassed4 ,if the subject of the ,poem had been equal to the genius of the ,poet1 if the skill with which he has chosen his materials had accorded with the power exerted over them1 if the objects 7whether persons or things7 which he makes use of as the vehicle of his feelings had been such as immediately and irresistibly to convey them in all their force and depth to others1 then the production before us would indeed have 8proved a monument10 as he himself wishes it1 worthy of the author and of his country4 ,whether1 as it is1 this most original and powerful performance may not rather remain like one of those stupendous but half-finished structures1 which have been suffered to moulder into decay1 because the cost and labour attending them exceeded their use or beauty1 we feel it would be rather presumptuous in us to determine4' ,at the end of the first paragraph on p4 #aab add the following note3-- #8,every one wishes to get rid of the booths and bridges in the ,park1#fh in order to have a view of the ground and water again4 ,our ,poet looks at the more lasting and serious works of men as baby-houses and toys1 and from the greater elevation of his mind regards them much in the same light as we do the ,regent's ,fair and ,mr4 ,vansittart's 8permanent erections40' ,for #8,he sees all things in himself' 7p4 #aab1 l4 #bh7 read #8,he sees all things in his own mind2 he contemplates effects in their causes1 and passions in their principles4' ,to the words #8our very constitution' 7p4 #aac1 l4 #h7 ,hazlitt in ,the ,examiner appends1 as a note1 #88,god knew ,adam in the elements of his chaos1 and saw him in the great obscurity of nothing40 ,sir ,thomas ,browne4' ,for #8,the general and the permanent' 7p4 #aac1 l4 #ab7 read #8,the common and the permanent4' ,the words #8interlocutions between ,lucius and ,caius' 7p4 #aac1 l4 #ai7 are not between quotation marks in the magazine4 ,the ,examiner for ,aug4 #bh1 #ahad contained a second essay on the same subject1 republished in ,the ,round ,table1 except that the opening paragraph was somewhat curtailed4 ,in place of the paragraph in ,the ,round ,table #8,we could have wished1' etc4 7vol4 ,i4 p4 #aac7 read3-- #8,we could have wished that ,mr4 ,wordsworth had given to his work the form of a philosophical poem altogether1 with only occasional digressions or allusions to particular instances4 ,there is in his general sentiments and reflections on human life a depth1 an originality1 a truth1 a beauty1 and grandeur both of conception and expression1 which place him decidedly at the head of the poets of the present day1 or rather which place him in a totally distinct class of excellence4 ,but he has chosen to encumber himself with a load of narrative and description which1 instead of assisting1 hinders the progress and effect of the general reasoning4 ,almost all this part of the work1 which ,mr4 ,wordsworth has inwoven with the text1 would have come in better in plain prose as notes at the end4 ,indeed1 there is something evidently inconsistent1 upon his own principles1 in the construction of the poem4 ,for he professes1 in these ambiguous illustrations1 to avoid all that is striking or extraordinary--all that can raise the imagination or affect the passions--all that is not every way common and necessarily included in the natural workings of the passions in all minds and in all circumstances4 ,then why introduce particular illustrations at all which add nothing to the force of the general truth1 which hang as a dead weight upon the imagination1 which degrade the thought and weaken the sentiment1 and the connection of which with the general principle it is more difficult to find out than to understand the general principle itself8 ,it is only by an extreme process of abstraction that it is often possible to trace the operation of the general law in the particular illustration1 yet it is to supply the defect of abstraction that the illustration is given4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth indeed says finely1 and perhaps as truly as finely1' etc4 ,instead of saying that ,wordsworth's powers of description and fancy seem to be little inferior to those of his classical predecessor1 ,akenside 7p4 #aad71 ,hazlitt1 in ,the ,examiner1 made the very different statement that #8his powers of description and fancy seem to be little inferior to those of thought and sentiment4' ,to the quotation on page #aaf1 #8,poor gentleman1' etc4 ,hazlitt adds1 as a note1 #8,love in a ,wood4' ,after the words #8any thing but dull' 7p4 #aaf1 l4 #bb7 add1 from ,the ,examiner1 #8,rasselas indeed is dull2 but then it is privileged dulness4' ,after #8natural exercise of others' 7p4 #aag1 l4 #g7 add #8,the intellectual and the moral faculties of man are different2 the ideas of things and the feelings of pleasure and pain connected with them4' ,there are a few other trifling verbal alterations in this paragraph4 ,the note on the word #8solitary' on p4 #aag is not in ,the ,examiner4 ,a third essay on the same subject was published in ,the ,examiner for ,october #b1 #ahad4 ,this was reprinted with a few omissions and additions in ,the ,round ,table 7see vol4 ,i4 pp4 #abj-abe74 ,the opening paragraph in ,the ,round ,table is condensed from the following3-- #8,poetry may be properly divided into two classes2 the poetry of imagination and the poetry of sentiment4 ,the one consists in the power of calling up images of the most pleasing or striking kind2 the other depends on the strength of the interest which it excites in given objects4 ,the one may be said to arise out of the faculties of memory and invention1 conversant with the world of external nature2 the other from the fund of our moral sensibility4 ,in the combination of these different excellences the perfection of poetry consists2 the greatest poets of our own or other countries have been equally distinguished for richness of invention and depth of feeling4 ,by the greatest poets of our own country1 we mean ,chaucer1 ,spenser1 ,shakespeare and ,milton1 who evidently possessed both kinds of imagination1 the intellectual and moral1 in the highest degree4 ,young and ,cowley might be cited as the most brilliant instances of the separation of feeling from fancy1 of men who were dazzled by the exuberance of their own thoughts and whose genius was sacrificed to their want of taste4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 on the other hand1 whose powers of feeling are of the highest order1 is certainly deficient in fanciful invention3 his writings exhibit all the internal power1 without the external form of poetry4 ,he has none of the pomp and decoration and scenic effect of poetry3 no gorgeous palaces nor solemn temples awe the imagination3 no cities rise with glistering spires and pinnacles adorned#fi3 we meet with no knights pricked forth on airy steeds3 no hair-breadth scapes and perilous accidents#gj by flood or field4 ,either from the predominant habit of his mind1 not requiring the stimulus of outward impressions1 or from the want of an imagination teeming with various forms1 he takes the common every-day events and objects of nature1 or rather seeks those that are the most simple and barren of effect2 but he adds to them a weight of interest from the resources of his own mind1 which makes the most insignificant things serious and even formidable4 ,all other interests are absorbed in the deeper interest of his own thoughts1 and find the same level4 ,his mind magnifies the littleness of his subject1 and raises its meanness2 lends it his strength1 and clothes it with borrowed grandeur4 ,with him a molehill1 covered with wild thyme1 assumes the importance of 8the great vision of the guarded mount0#ga3 a puddle is filled with preternatural faces1 and agitated with the fiercest storms of passion2 and to his mind1 as he himself informs us1 and as we can easily believe1 8----,the meanest flower that blows can give ,thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears40'#gb ,after the words #8among these northern ,arcadians' 7vol4 ,i4 p4 #aba7 ,hazlitt quotes ll4 #daa-dci of ,book ,v4 of ,the ,excursion4 ,the short paragraph on p4 #abb reads in ,the ,examiner3-- #8,we think it is pushing our love or admiration of natural objects a good deal too far1 to make it a set-off against a story like the preceding1 which carries that concentration of self-interest and callousness to the feelings of others to its utmost pitch1 which is the general character of those who are cut off by their mountains and valleys from an intercourse with mankind1 even more than of the country people4' ,in ,the ,examiner1 after the words #8the beautiful poem of ,hart ,leap ,well1' the essay concludes as follows3-- #8,we conceive that about as many fine things have passed through ,mr4 ,wordsworth's mind as1 with five or six exceptions1 through any human mind whatever4 ,the conclusion of the passage we refer to is admirable1 and comes in like some dying close in music3--,the ,excursion1 ,book ,,vii41 ll4 #igf-ajjg4 #8,if ,mr4 ,wordsworth does not always write in this manner1 it is his own fault4 ,he can as often as he pleases4 ,it is not in our power to add to1 or take away from1 the pretensions of a poem like the present1 but if our opinion or wishes could have any weight1 we would take our leave of it by saying--,esto perpetua6' ,the first two of these ,examiner articles are referred to by ,lamb in a letter to ,wordsworth of ,sept4 #ai1 #ahad4 ,see ,letters1 ed4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt1 ,i4 #dcd-e4 ,it is significant of ,hazlitt's increasing bitterness 7caused mainly1 no doubt1 by the final downfall of ,napoleon7 that the passages omitted from ,the ,round ,table are for the most part of a highly eulogistic character4 ,,on ,,rochefoucault',s ,,maxims ,this paper is signed #8,w4 ,h4' in ,the ,examiner4 #bed4 #8,the web of our life1' etc4 ,all's ,well that ,ends ,well1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #c4 ,the ,practice of ,piety4 ,see vol4 ,,iii4 7,political ,essays71 note to p4 #aaa4 ,grove's ,ethics4 ,henry ,grove's 7#afhd-agch7 ,a ,system of ,moral ,philosophy 7#agdi74 ,de l',esprit4 ,helvtius's famous book 7#ageh74 ,note4 ,lines written while sailing in a boat at evening4 #bef4 #8,make assurance1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 #beg4 #8,gets the start1' etc4 ,julius ,csar1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 ,,on ,,the ,,predominant ,,principles1 ,,etc4 ,this essay1 the title of which has been taken from the ,index to ,the ,examiner1 is ,no4 ,,ix4 of the ,round ,table series4 ,it was republished in ,winterslow under the title of #8,mind and ,motive4' #bei4 #8,friends now fast sworn1' etc4 ,coriolanus1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #d4 #bfj4 #8,the servile slave4' ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,,ii4 vii4 #cc4 #bfa4 #8,the toys of desperation4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #d4 #bfb4 ,a fine observation1 etc4 ,aristotle1 ,metaphysics1 ,a ,i4 #ihj a1 #ba4 ,,the ,,love ,,of ,,power1 ,,etc4 ,no4 ,,xiii4 of the ,round ,table series1 republished in ,winterslow along with the former essay as #8,mind and ,motive4' #bfe4 #8,but for an utmost end1' etc4 ,hobbes1 ,human ,nature1 ,,vii4 #e1 #f 7,works1 ed4 ,molesworth1 ,,iv4 #cc74 #bff4 #8,he courted a statue1' etc4 ,don ,quixote1 ,part ,i4 ,book ,,ii4 ,chap4 #ac4 #bfg4 #8,catch glimpses1' etc4 ,cf4 ,wordsworth's ,sonnet1 #8,the world is too much with us1' etc4 #8,i also was an ,arcadian4' ,cf4 vol4 ,,vi4 7,table ,talk71 p4 #bg and note4 #bfh4 #8,sithence no fairy lights1' etc4 ,sneyd ,davies1 ,to the ,honourable and ,reverend ,f4 ,c4 ,see ante1 note to p4 #bbd4 ,happy are they1 etc4 ,hazlitt seems to have been fond of this passage4 ,see vol4 ,,iv4 7,reply to ,malthus71 p4 #ajd1 and vol4 ,,iii4 7,political ,essays71 note to p4 #bff4 ,,essay ,,on ,,manners ,this essay1 ,no4 ,,xviii4 of the ,round ,table series1 was republished in ,winterslow4 ,part of it ,hazlitt himself used in the essay #8,on ,manner' in ,the ,round ,table4 ,see vol4 ,i4 pp4 #dd-g and notes4 #bfi4 ,the ,flower and ,leaf4 ,this poem is not now regarded as ,chaucer's4 ,cf4 vol4 ,v4 7,lectures on the ,english ,poets71 p4 #bg and note4 #bga4 #8,the painted birds1' etc4 ,dryden1 ,the ,flower and the ,leaf1 etc41 ll4 #df-ec1 #ajb-aeb4 #bgb4 ,lord ,chesterfield's character of the ,duke of ,marlborough1 etc4 ,the rest of the essay from this point is in vol4 ,i4 7see pp4 #dd-g and notes74 ,,kean',s ,,bajazet1 ,,etc4 ,this theatrical notice is proved to be ,hazlitt's by the passage 7p4 #bgf7 beginning #8,happy age1 when the utmost stretch of a morning's study1' etc41 which is repeated in the ,lecture #8,on ,wycherley1 ,congreve1 ,vanbrugh1 and ,farquhar4' ,see vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #gj4 ,rowe's ,tamerlane was first produced in #agjb4 #bgd4 ,miss ,stephens's reappearance in ,polly4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,viii4 pp4 #aic-e4 #bge4 #8,full of sound1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #e4 #8,a load to sink a navy4' ,henry ,,viii4 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 ,ambition as the hunger of noble minds4 ,see ,tamerlane1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #bgf4 ,the ,country ,girl4 ,produced originally in #agff1 an adaptation by ,garrick of ,the ,country ,wife of ,wycherley4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #gf4 ,mrs4 ,mardyn1 ,mrs4 ,alsop1 and the actors here referred to are dealt with by ,hazlitt in ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage4 ,,doctrine ,,of ,,philosophical ,,necessity ,this paper1 signed #8,w1' is clearly ,hazlitt's4 ,cf4 the ,lecture on the same subject1 ante1 pp4 #dh-gd4 ,the essay is ,no4 ,,xxvii4 of the ,round ,table series4 #bgg4 #8,for ,i had learnt1' etc4 ,cf4 ,wordsworth1 ,lines composed a few miles above ,tintern ,abbey1 #ie-ajb4 #bgh4 #8,threshold of ,jove's throne4' ,cf4 #8,before the starry threshold of ,jove's court1' ,comus1 ,i4 #bgi4 #8,praise and blame1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 p4 #ef4 #bhj4 #8,a good favour1' etc4 ,loosely quoted from ,much ,ado ,about ,nothing1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #bhb4 ,marvell and his leg of mutton4 ,hazlitt refers to the story of ,danby's unsuccessful attempt to win over ,marvell to the court4 ,one version of the story is that in ,danby's presence ,marvell summoned his servant and said to him1 #8,pray1 what had ,i for dinner yesterday8' #8,a shoulder of mutton4' #8,and what do you allow me to-day8' #8,the remainder hashed4' ,marvell then added to ,danby1 #8,and to-morrow1 my lord1 ,i shall have the sweet blade-bone broiled4' #8,allemagne1' etc4 ,de l',allemagne1 ,preface4 #8,but there is matter1' etc4 ,wordsworth1 ,hart-,leap ,well1 #ie-f4 ,,parallel ,,passages ,,in ,,various ,,poets ,no4 ,,xxviii4 of the ,round ,table series1 and signed #8,w4' ,the long passages from ,voltaire1 etc4 have been indicated by the first and last line4 #bhb4 ,zaire4 #agcb4 #bhc4 #8,soft you1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,vanished melted into thin air4' ,the ,tempest1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 ,ducis4 ,jean ,franois ,ducis 7#agcc-ahaf71 who adapted some of ,shakespeare's plays for the stage4 #bhc4 #8,as flat1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,he has crushed his nose1 ,susannah says1 as flat as a pancake to his face4' ,tristram ,shandy1 ,,iii4 #bg4 #bhd4 ,potter4 ,robert ,potter's 7#agba-ahjd7 translation of schylus appeared in #aggg4 #8,when ,i had gazed1' etc4 ,poems on the ,naming of ,places1 ,,ii4 #ea et seq4 ,we have once already attempted1 etc4 ,in three articles in ,the ,examiner4 ,cf4 ante1 pp4 #egb-e1 and vol4 ,i4 7,the ,round ,table71 pp4 #aaa-abe4 #8,in my former days of bliss1' etc4 ,from #8,the ,shepherd's ,hunting' 7#afae74 ,,the ,,duke ,d',,enghien ,in addition to the essays reprinted in the text from ,the ,examiner of #ahae there are four letters signed #8,peter ,pickthank' on the ,duke ,d',enghien1 to which reference should be made4 ,these appeared on ,september #bd1 ,october #h1 ,november #ai1 and ,december #aj1 and were written in reply to a correspondent signing himself #8,fair ,play4' ,the controversy arose out of an article 7,september #c7 entitled #8,chateaubriand1 ,the ,quack1' which contained a casual reference to the ,duke ,d',enghien1 #8whom ,buonaparte is accused of having murdered because he was not willing that he1 the said ,royal ,duke1 should assassinate him4' #8,fair ,play' seized on this passage and protested 7,september #aj7 against the implied defence of the ,duke ,d',enghien's execution4 #8,peter ,pickthank' replied 7,september #bd71 and the correspondence was kept up till near the end of the year1 #8,fair ,play' contributing letters on ,october #a1 ,october #bi1 and ,november #bf4 #8,peter ,pickthank's' letters contain many of ,hazlitt's stock quotations and personal allusions 7to ,dr4 ,stoddart1 for example72 they embody exactly his political opinions1 and altogether the internal evidence of their having been written by him is very strong4 ,inasmuch1 however1 as there is not absolute certainty in the matter1 and a considerable part of the letters would have been unintelligible without including #8,fair ,play's' letters as well1 the editors have felt justified in omitting the whole correspondence4 ,an editorial note at the end of #8,peter ,pickthank's' third letter 7,november #ai7 states that #8this article has been delayed in order to soften some of the asperities4' ,,mr4 ,,locke ,a ,,great ,,plagiarist ,no4 ,,xxxi4 of the ,round ,table series1 and signed #8,w4,h4' #bhe4 #8,the very head1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,a justly exploded decried author4' ,see ante1 p4 #afg and note4 ,professor ,stewart's very elegant ,dissertation4 ,prefixed to the ,supplement to the #dth and #eth editions of the ,encyclopdia ,britannica 7#ahaf74 #bhf4 #8,fame is no plant1' etc4 ,lycidas #gh-hb4 #bhg4 #8,the greatest and as it were radical distinction1' etc4 ,bacon1 ,aphorisms1 ,,lv4 #8,that strain ,i heard was of a higher mood4' ,lycidas1 #hg4 #bhh4 ,what is most remarkable1 etc4 ,this passage on wit will be found in an expanded form in ,lectures on the ,english ,comic ,writers4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 pp4 #ah-ba4 ,three papers1 which we propose to write4 ,these papers do not appear to have been written4 #bhi4 #8,the laborious fooleries4' ,see ante1 note to p4 #bci4 #bij4 #8,the tenth transmitter1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,no tenth transmitter of a foolish face4' ,savage1 ,the ,bastard1 #h4 #8,the mind alone is formative4' ,see ante1 p4 #agf4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,in ,the ,examiner for ,march #c1 #ahaf appeared the following note3--#8,a correspondent who signs himself ,j4,w4 thinks we ought to bring proofs of ,mr4 ,locke's want of originality as the founder of a system4 ,we recommend him1 if he is curious on this subject1 to read the first eighty pages of ,hobbes's ,leviathan1 if the name does not alarm him4 ,after that1 if he is not satisfied and repeats his request1 perhaps we may attend to it4' ,on ,march #ca 7,round ,table ,no4 ,,xxxiv47 ,hazlitt brings forward his proofs in a long paper which consists chiefly of extracts from ,locke1 ,hobbes and other philosophers4 ,the essay begins as follows3-- #8,we have been required to give proof of ,mr4 ,locke's want of originality as a metaphysical reasoner1 and of the claims of ,hobbes to be considered as the founder of the modern system of the philosophy of the human mind4 #8,here then it is4 ,but at the same time we would observe1 that we do not think ourselves bound to give this proof to those who have demanded it 7somewhat impatiently7 at our hands4 ,it was sufficient for us to have stated our opinion on this subject1 and to have referred the curious expressly to the sources from which they might satisfy themselves of the truth or hollowness of our assertion4 ,to our readers in general we owe some apology for alluding to such subjects at all4 ,but to the point4--,we have said that the principles of the modern school of metaphysics are all to be found1 pure1 entire1 connected1 and explicitly stated1 in the writings of ,hobbes3 that ,mr4 ,locke borrowed the leading principle of that philosophy from ,hobbes1 without understanding or without admitting the system in general1 concerning which he always seems to entertain two opinions3 that succeeding writers have followed up ,mr4 ,locke's general principle into its legitimate consequences1 and have arrived at exactly the same conclusions as ,hobbes1 but that being ignorant of the name and writings of ,hobbes1 they have with one accord and with great injustice attributed the merit of the original discovery of that system to ,mr4 ,locke1 as having made the first start1 and having gone further in it than any one else before him4 #8,the principles of the modern system1 of which ,mr4 ,locke is the reputed and ,mr4 ,hobbes the real founder1 are chiefly the following3-- #a4 ,that all our ideas are derived from external objects1 by means of the senses alone1 and are merely repetitions of our sensible impressions4 #b4 ,that as nothing exists out of the mind but matter and motion1 so the mind itself1 with all its operations1 is nothing but matter and motion4 #c4 ,that thoughts are single1 or that we can have only one idea at a time2 in other words1 that there are no complex ideas in the mind4 #d4 ,that we have no general or abstract ideas4 #e4 ,that the only principle of connection between one idea and another is association1 or their previous connection in sense4 #f4 ,that reason and understanding are resolvable entirely into the mechanism of language4 #g4 and #h4 ,that the sense of pleasure and pain is the sole spring of action1 and self-interest the source of all our affections4 #i4 ,that the mind acts from necessity1 and consequently is not a moral or accountable agent4 ,the manner of stating and reasoning on this last point1 viz4 the moral and practical consequences of the doctrine of necessity is the only circumstance of importance1 in which the modern philosophers differ from ,hobbes4 #aj4 ,that there is no such thing as genius1 or a difference in the natural capacities or dispositions of men1 the mind being originally alike passive to all impressions1 and becoming whatever it is from circumstances c41 c4 #8,that these are the most striking positions of the moderns with respect to the human mind1 is what every one1 familiar with the writers since ,locke1 as ,berkeley1 ,hartley1 ,hume1 ,priestley1 ,horne ,tooke1 ,beddoes1 among ourselves1 and ,helvetius1 ,condillac1 ,mirabaud1 ,condorcet c41 among the ,french1 will readily allow3 that most of them are to be found in the ,essay on ,human ,understanding1 mixed up in a state of inextricable confusion with common-place and common sense notions1 now advanced1 now retracted1 the arguments on one side of the question now prevailing through an endless labyrinth of explanation1 now those on the other1 and now both opinions asserted and denied in the same sentence is what is equally well known to the readers of ,locke and his commentators4 ,that the same system came from the mind of ,hobbes1 not hesitating1 stammering1 puling1 drivelling1 ricketty1 a sickly half birth1 to be brought up by hand1 to be nursed and dandled into common life and existence1 but just the reverse of all this1 full grown1 completely proportioned and articulated1 compact1 stamped in all its lineaments1 with the vigour and decision of the author's mind1 is what we have now to shew4' ,the extracts follow1 interspersed with brief comments by ,hazlitt1 and the essay concludes as follows3-- #8,to what ,mr4 ,hobbes has written on this subject ,liberty and ,necessity nothing has been added nor can be taken away4 ,we agree to every word of it1 and the more heartily1 because it is the only one of all the points which have been stated on which we do4 ,in speaking of the popular notions of liberty1 in his controversy with a foolish ,bishop of that day 7,bramhall71 he says1 8,in fine1 that freedom which men commonly find in books1 that which the poets chaunt in the theatres1 and the shepherds on the mountains1 that which the pastors teach in the churches1 and the doctors in the universities1 and that which the common people in the markets1 and all mankind in the whole world do assent unto1 is the same that ,i assent unto1 namely1 that a man hath freedom to do if he will2 but whether he hath freedom to will1 is a question which it seems neither the ,bishop nor they ever thought on40 ,hobbes was as superior to ,locke as a writer1 as he was as a reasoner4 ,he had great powers both of wit and imagination4 ,in short he was a great man1 not because he was a great metaphysician1 but he was a great metaphysician because he was a great man4 #8,it has been thought1 that the neglect into which ,hobbes's metaphysical speculations have fallen was originally owing to the obloquy excited by the irreligious and despotical tendency of his other writings4 ,but in this he has also been unfairly dealt with4 ,locke borrowed his fundamental ideas of government from him2 and there is not a word directly levelled at religion in any of his works4 ,at least1 his aristocratical notions and his want of religion must have1 in some measure1 balanced one another2 and ,charles ,,ii4 had his picture hanging in his bed-room1 though the ,bishops wished to have him burnt4 ,the true reason of the fate which this author's writings met with was1 that his views of things were too original and comprehensive to be immediately understood1 without passing through the hands of several successive generations of commentators and interpreters4 ,ignorance of another's meaning is a sufficient cause of fear1 and fear produces hatred3 hence arose the rancour and suspicion of his adversaries1 who1 to quote some fine lines of ,spenser1 ----#8,stood all astonished like a sort of steers ',mongst whom some beast of strange and foreign race ,unawares is chanced far straying from his peers2 ,so did their ghastly gaze betray their hidden fears4'#gc ,,coleridge',s #8,,christabel' ,on ,june #b1 #ahaf1 ,the ,examiner published a review of ,coleridge's ,christabel1 as to the authorship of which there has been some discussion4 ,see ,notes and ,queries1 #ith ,ser4 ,,xi4 pp4 #aga and #bga4 ,mr4 ,dykes ,campbell 7,the ,poetical ,works of ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge1 p4 #fjf7 is disposed to attribute the review to ,hazlitt4 ,as in the case of the ,edinburgh ,review notice of ,christabel 7see vol4 ,x4 of the present edition1 pp4 #daa-dah71 ,hazlitt's authorship cannot be regarded as absolutely certain4 ,the review is as follows3-- #8,the fault of ,mr4 ,coleridge is1 that he comes to no conclusion4 ,he is a man of that universality of genius1 that his mind hangs suspended between poetry and prose1 truth and falsehood1 and an infinity of other things1 and from an excess of capacity1 he does little or nothing4 ,here are two unfinished poems1 and a fragment4 ,christabel1 which has been much read and admired in manuscript1 is now for the first time confided to the public4 ,the ,vision of ,kubla ,khan still remains a profound secret2 for only a few lines of it ever were written4#gd #8,the poem of ,christabel sets out in the following manner3 8',tis the middle of night by the castle clock1 ,and the owls have awaken'd the crowing cock2 ,tu--whit6 ,tu--whoo6 ,and hark1 again6 the crowing cock1 ,how drowsily it crew4 ,sir ,leoline1 the ,baron rich1 ,hath a toothless mastiff bitch2 ,from her kennel beneath the rock ,she makes answer to the clock1 ,four for the quarters and twelve for the hour2 ,ever and aye1 moonshine or shower1 ,sixteen short howls1 not over loud2 ,some say1 she sees my lady's shroud40 #8,we wonder that ,mr4 ,murray1 who has an eye for things1 should suffer this 8mastiff bitch0 to come into his shop4 ,is she a sort of ,cerberus to fright away the critics8 ,but--gentlemen1 she is toothless4 #8,there is a dishonesty as well as affectation in all this4 ,the secret of this pretended contempt for the opinion of the public1 is that it is a sorry subterfuge for our self-love4 ,the poet1 uncertain of the approbation of his readers1 thinks he shews his superiority to it by shocking their feelings at the outset1 as a clown1 who is at a loss how to behave himself1 begins by affronting the company4 ,this is what is called throwing a crust to the critics4 ,if the beauties of ,christabel should not be sufficiently admired1 ,mr4 ,coleridge may lay it all to two lines which he had too much manliness to omit in complaisance to the bad taste of his contemporaries4 #8,we the rather wonder at this bold proceeding in the author1 as his courage has cooled in the course of the publication1 and he has omitted1 from mere delicacy1 a line which is absolutely necessary to the understanding the whole story4 ,the ,lady ,christabel1 wandering in the forest by moonlight1 meets a lady in apparently great distress1 to whom she offers her assistance and protection1 and takes her home with her to her own chamber4 ,this woman1 ----8beautiful to see1 ,like a lady of a far countree10 is a witch4 ,who she is else1 what her business is with ,christabel1 upon what motives1 to what end her sorceries are to work1 does not appear at present2 but this much we know1 that she is a witch1 and that ,christabel's dread of her arises from her discovering this circumstance1 which is told in a single line1 which line1 from an exquisite refinement in efficiency1#ge is here omitted4 ,when the unknown lady gets to ,christabel's chamber1 and is going to undress1 it is said-- 8,then drawing in her breath aloud ,like one that shuddered1 she unbound ,the cincture from beneath her breast3 ,her silken robe and inner vest ,dropt to her feet1 and full in view ,behold6 her bosom and half her side-- ,a sight to dream of1 not to tell6 ,and she is to sleep by ,christabel60 #8,the manuscript runs thus1 or nearly thus3-- 8,behold her bosom and half her side-- ,hideous1 deformed1 and pale of hue40 #8,this line is necessary to make common sense of the first and second part4 8,it is the keystone that makes up the arch40#gf ,for that reason ,mr4 ,coleridge left it out4 ,now this is a greater physiological curiosity than even the fragment of ,kubla ,khan4 #8,in parts of ,christabel there is a great deal of beauty1 both of thought1 imagery1 and versification2 but the effect of the general story is dim1 obscure1 and visionary4 ,it is more like a dream than a reality4 ,the mind1 in reading it1 is spell-bound4 ,the sorceress seems to act without power--,christabel to yield without resistance4 ,the faculties are thrown into a state of metaphysical suspense and theoretical imbecility4 ,the poet1 like the witch in ,spenser1 is evidently 8,busied about some wicked gin40#gg ,but we do not foresee what he will make of it4 ,there is something disgusting at the bottom of his subject1 which is but ill glossed over by a veil of ,della ,cruscan sentiment and fine writing--like moon-beams playing on a charnel-house1 or flowers strewed on a dead body4 ,mr4 ,coleridge's style is essentially superficial1 pretty1 ornamental1 and he has forced it into the service of a story which is petrific4 ,in the midst of moonlight1 and fluttering ringlets1 and flitting clouds1 and enchanted echoes1 and airy abstractions of all sorts1 there is one genuine outburst of humanity1 worthy of the author1 when no dream oppresses him1 no spell binds him4 ,we give the passage entire3--' ,here follow ll4 #djc-dcj of ,christabel1 beginning #8,but when he heard the lady's tale4' #8,why does not ,mr4 ,coleridge always write in this manner1 that we might always read him8 ,the description of the ,dream of ,bracy the bard1 is also very beautiful and full of power4 #8,the conclusion of the second part of ,christabel1 about 8the little limber elf10 is to us absolutely incomprehensible4 ,kubla ,khan1 we think1 only shews that ,mr4 ,coleridge can write better nonsense verses than any man in ,england4 ,it is not a poem1 but a musical composition4 8,a damsel with a dulcimer ,in a vision once ,i saw3 ,it was an ,abyssinian maid1 ,and on her dulcimer she play'd1 ,singing of ,mount ,abora40 #8,we could repeat these lines to ourselves not the less often for not knowing the meaning of them4' ,in a sketch of ,coleridge which appeared in ,the ,examiner for ,oct4 #ba1 #ahba1 ,leigh ,hunt quotes the lines from ,kubla ,khan 7#8,a damsel with a dulcimer1' etc47 and says3 #8,we could repeat such verses 444 down a green glade1 a whole summer's morning'2 but in spite of this and a few other verbal similarities1 a comparison of the sketch with the review does not support the theory that the latter was written by ,leigh ,hunt4 ,possibly he wrote a few lines here and there1 but the review as a whole is far more suggestive of ,hazlitt4 ,,shakespear',s ,,female ,,characters ,no4 ,,xliii4 of the ,round ,table series4 ,it is partly reproduced in ,characters of ,shakespear's ,plays4 ,see especially the essays on ,cymbeline and ,othello 7vol4 ,i4 #agi et seq4 and #bjj et seq4 and notes74 #bij4 ,miss ,peggy4 ,see ante1 p4 #bgf4 #bia4 #8,calls true love1' etc4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #bie4 #8,books1 dreams1' etc4 ,personal ,talk1 ll4 #cc et seq4 ,tate4 ,nahum ,tate's ,king ,lear was brought out in #afha4 #8,and her heart beats1' etc4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #bif4 #8,sir1 the fairest flowers1' etc4 ,a ,winter's ,tale1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #d4 ,,sketches ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,good ,,old ,,times ,three papers appeared in ,the ,examiner for ,april #f1 ,april #ac1 and ,april #bj1 #ahag1 under the heading of #8,sketches of the ,history of the ,good ,old ,times before the ,french ,revolution1 when ,kings and ,priests did what they pleased1 by the grace of ,god4' ,in these essays a ,french anti-,bourbon book1 the title of which is not given1 is made the text for a most unflattering review of the characters of a number of kings1 from ,hugh ,capet to ,louis ,,xvi4 ,the subject would naturally attract ,hazlitt1 and indeed it may be said that the essays are almost certainly his4 ,as1 however1 the internal evidence1 though very strong1 does not prove his authorship to be absolutely certain1 it has been thought better not to include the essays in the present edition4 ,,miss ,o',,neill',s ,,widow ,,cheerly ,this and the five succeeding theatrical papers from ,the ,examiner of #ahag have been inserted in the text because the internal evidence seems to leave no room for doubt that they were written by ,hazlitt4 ,it is clear from ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage that he was writing theatrical notices for ,the ,examiner during the whole of the period in question 7,jan4-,may1 #ahag74 #big4 ,the best actress 444 with one great exception1 etc4 ,for this comparison of ,miss ,o',neill with ,mrs4 ,siddons1 cf4 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #aih1 and for ,miss ,o',neill's failure in comedy1 ibid4 p4 #bia4 #big4 ,the ,soldier's ,daughter4 ,by ,andrew ,cherry1 produced in #ahjd4 #bih4 #8,the insipid levelling morality1' etc4 ,see ,lamb's footnote to ,middleton and ,rowley's ,a ,fair ,quarrel4 ,hazlitt quotes the passage elsewhere4 ,,penelope ,,and ,,the ,,dansomanie #bii4 #8,like to see the unmerited fall1' etc4 ,cf4 ,burke1 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #afd74 #cjj4 ,the ,gentleman who is understood1 etc4 ,william ,ayrton 7#aggg-aheh71 who was musical director at the ,king's ,theatre in #ahag and again in #ahba4 ,of the ,dansomanie1 etc4 ,a comparison of this passage with a reference to the #8,dansomanie' in vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #dcg is conclusive as to ,hazlitt's authorship of this notice4 #8,such were the joys1' etc4 ,bickerstaffe1 ,love in a ,village1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,roll on1' etc4 ,ossian1 ,the ,songs of ,selma4 ,the notice concludes with a long quotation from ,colley ,cibber1 introduced by the following paragraph3 #8,as the present season may be considered as a sort of revival of the ,opera1 the following particulars of its first introduction into this country may not be unacceptable to the reader4 ,they are taken from ,colley ,cibber's ,memoirs of himself1 p4 #caf4' ,,oroonoko ,this tragedy by ,thomas ,southerne 7#affj-agdf7 was produced in #afif4 ,see post1 note to p4 #cjc 7on ,imogine71 for conclusive proof of ,hazlitt's authorship of this notice4 #cja4 ,the success of his ,richard ,,ii4 ,this passage1 though the conclusion drawn by ,hazlitt is somewhat different1 may be compared with his notice of ,kean's ,richard ,,ii4 7vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #bbc74 #8,the melting mood4' ,othello1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 #cjb4 #8,the devil has not1' etc4 ,cf4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,v4 ,sc #c4 #cjc4 ,imogine4 ,in ,maturin's ,bertram4 ,cf4 the notice of that play in ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage 7vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #cjg74 ,in one of ,hazlitt's theatrical papers in ,the ,london ,magazine 7ibid4 p4 #cia71 he says of ,miss ,somerville's 7,mrs4 ,bunn's7 voice that #8it resembles the deep murmur of a hive of bees in spring-tide1 and the words drop like honey from her lips4' #8,the music of her honey-vows4' ,cf4 #8,that suck'd the honey of his music vows4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,he often has beguiled us1' etc4 ,cf4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 ,gray1 the poet1 etc4 ,see a letter to ,horace ,walpole1 ,september1 #agcg 7,letters1 ed4 ,tovey1 i4 #h74 ,,the ,,pannel ,,and ,,the ,,ravens ,a comparison of this paper with ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage and the other dramatic essays in vol4 ,,viii41 makes it perfectly clear that ,hazlitt is the writer4 #cjd4 ,the ,pannel4 ,by ,john ,philip ,kemble1 produced at ,drury ,lane in #aghh4 #8,balsam of fierabras4' ,described by ,don ,quixote4 ,see ,don ,quixote1 ,i4 ,i4 #b4 #cjd4 ,the howling of the rabble4 ,the ,regent had been attacked on his return to ,st4 ,james's ,palace after opening ,parliament on ,march #bh1 #ahag4 ,the wax figures at ,mrs4 ,salmon's4 ,see ante1 p4 #age4 #8,circe and the ,sirens three4' ,comus1 #bec4 ,miss ,stephens4 ,hazlitt had noticed her first appearance4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #aib4 ,mr4 ,fawcett4 ,john ,fawcett 7#agfh-ahcg7 was manager of ,covent ,garden theatre4 ,till ,miss ,o',neill is tired1 etc4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 note to p4 #cjh4 #8,the ravens are hoarse1' etc4 ,cf4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 ,toujours perdrix4 ,see vol4 ,,iv4 7,the ,spirit of ,the ,age71 p4 #bge and note4 ,mr4 ,canning4 ,cf4 post1 p4 #ccf note4 ,the ,ravens1 etc4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 note to p4 #cec4 ,the ,maid and ,magpie1 etc4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 pp4 #bdd and #bgi4 #8,and choughs1' etc4 ,cf4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 ,the ,maid of ,palisseau4 ,the ,magpie1 or the ,maid of ,palaiseau1 a version attributed to ,t4 ,j4 ,dibdin of ,la ,pie ,voleuse1 produced at ,dury ,lane1 ,sept4 #ab1 #ahae4 ,reminded us of her mother's4 ,mrs4 ,alsop was daughter of ,mrs4 ,jordan4 ,,john ,,gilpin #cje4 #8,and when he next1' etc4 ,john ,gilpin1 ,st4 #fc4 #cjf4 #8,the turnpike men1' etc4 ,ibid4 ,st4 #bi and #cj4 #8,first1 last1 and midst4' ,cf4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,v4 #afe4 ,quoted by ,hazlitt more than once4 #8,that ligament1' etc4 ,hazlitt elsewhere quotes this passage from ,tristram ,shandy 7,book ,,vi4 ,chap4 #aj74 #cjg4 ,mrs4 ,hill4 #8,from ,belfast1' her first appearance4 ,,don ,,giovanni ,,and ,,kean',s ,,eustace ,,de ,,st4 ,,pierre ,with this notice compare ,hazlitt's article on ,don ,juan in ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage1 vol4 ,,viii4 pp4 #cfb-cff4 #cjg4 ,spenser's description of ,belphebe4 ,in his former notice ,hazlitt had compared ,madame ,fodor with ,spenser's ,belphebe4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #cfd and note4 #cjh4 ,the ,surrender of ,calais4 ,by ,george ,colman1 ,junior1 originally produced at the ,haymarket in #agia1 and described by ,genest as #8a jumble of ,tragedy1 ,comedy1 and ,opera4' #8,a clout upon that head1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act4 ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,though we have seen this1' etc4 ,ibid4 #8,thunder1 nothing but thunder4' ,measure for ,measure1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 ,a new character1 etc4 ,achmet in ,barbarossa4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #cgb4 ,,character ,,of ,,the ,,country ,,people ,the internal evidence of ,hazlitt's authorship of this paper is overwhelmingly strong4 ,some of the main points are referred to in the following notes4 ,the essay was probably written at ,winterslow4 #cji4 #8,here be truths4' ,this is a saying1 not of ,dogberry1 but of ,pompey1 in ,measure for ,measure1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 #cji4 #8,mountain foreigner4' ,the ,merry ,wives of ,windsor1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,retired from public haunts4' ,cf4 #8,this our life exempt from public haunt1' etc4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,lord ,foppington4 ,in ,vanbrugh's ,the ,relapse4 ,a philosophical poet1 etc4 ,coleridge1 probably4 #8,pelting villages4' ,king ,lear1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,a crew of patches1' etc4 ,a ,midsummer's ,night's ,dream1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 ,p--tt--n4 ,probably ,pitton1 a small village near ,winterslow4 ,my friend ,c---- ,l----4 ,lamb1 no doubt1 who went with ,hazlitt from ,winterslow to ,oxford in ,august1 #ahaj4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,vi4 7,table ,talk71 p4 #ahh4 #8,fearing no colours4' ,twelfth ,night1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 #caj4 ,they are fer natur1 etc4 ,cf4 a sentence in vol4 ,i4 7,the ,round ,table71 p4 #abd3 #8,they country people are taken out of a state of nature1 without being put in possession of the refinements of art4' #caa4 #8,be trampled in the mire1' etc4 ,a favourite quotation of ,hazlitt's from ,burke1 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #ic74 ,a mischievous wag1 etc4 ,perhaps ,lamb's schoolfellow1 ,bobbie ,allen1 who visited ,scotland and the ,lakes with ,dr4 ,stoddart in #ahjb4 ,lamb describes him in #8,christ's ,hospital ,five and ,thirty ,years ,ago4' ,see also ,lamb's ,letters 7ed4 ,ainger71 ,i4 #ahh4 #8,the spinsters1' etc4 ,twelfth ,night1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #d4 #8,may ,i not take mine ease at mine inn8' #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 ,a few odd volumes of old plays and novels4 ,it is known that ,hazlitt was at the ,hut at ,winterslow during the summer and autumn of #ahai1 and that he had taken with him some volumes of the old dramatists in order to prepare for the course of lectures #8,on the ,dramatic ,literature of the ,age of ,elizabeth1' delivered in the following year4 ,see ,barry ,cornwall's ,autobiographical ,fragment4 #8,fleet the golden time1' etc4 ,cf4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 ,note #a4 ,salisbury is only six miles from ,winterslow4 #cab4 #8,giving to airy nothing1' etc4 ,a ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 ,to elevate and surprise4 ,frequently quoted by ,hazlitt from the ,duke of ,buckingham's ,the ,rehearsal1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,but ,i told him1' etc4 ,henry ,v41 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4 #cac4 #8,sufficient to the day1' etc4 ,s4 ,matthew1 vi4 #cd4 #8',twould thin the land1' etc4 ,the ,beggar's ,opera1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 #cad4 #8,anon as patient1' etc4 ,cf4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 ,,mr4 ,,macready',s ,,macbeth ,macready played ,macbeth for the first time on ,june #i1 #ahbj4 ,cf4 this with the notice of ,kean's ,macbeth 7vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #bjd74 #cae4 #8,air-drawn dagger1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 #8,thick-coming fancies4' ,ibid4 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,docked and curtailed4' ,cf4 #8,we know that they bishops hate to be dockt and clipt4' ,milton1 ,reformation in ,england1 ,i4 #8,twa lang ,scotch miles4' ,cf4 #8,we think na on the lang ,scots miles4' ,tam ,o',shanter1 #g4 #8,oh ,hell-kite1 all8' ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #c4 ,david ,rizzio4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #dei4 #cae4 ,the ,lord of the ,manor4 ,a comic opera by ,general ,john ,burgoyne 7#agbb-agib71 produced in #aghj4 ,the ,libertine4 ,an opera attributed to ,isaac ,pocock1 produced in #ahag4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #cgj4 ,mr4 ,contrast4 ,in ,the ,lord of the ,manor4 #8,a speaking face4' ,hazlitt was perhaps thinking of the lines in ,bombastes ,furioso 7,sc4 #a73 #8----,fusbos1 give place1 ,you know you haven't got a singing face4' ,moll ,flagon4 ,in ,the ,lord of the ,manor4 #8,let those laugh1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,let those love now1 who never lov'd before2 ,let those who always lov'd1 now love the more4' ,parnell1 ,catullus1 ,the ,vigil of ,venus4 #cag4 ,mrs4 ,salmon4 ,eliza ,salmon 7#aghg-ahdi71 a well-known concert and oratorio singer4 ,the references in this paragraph to ,miss ,stephens and the quotations are conclusive evidence of ,hazlitt's authorship of the notice4 ,d'une pathtique1 etc4 ,rousseau1 ,confessions1 ,liv4 ,i4 #8,thoughts of which1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,yet loss of thee would never from my heart1' ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ix4 #iab4 #8,with other notes1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #ag4 ,the voice of ,liberty1 etc4 ,the ,revolution in ,spain had broken out early in #ahbj1 and on ,march #aj ,king ,ferdinand had proclaimed the ,liberal ,constitution of #ahab4 #8,had three ears again4' ,cf4 #8,had ,i three ears1 ,i'd hear thee4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,know the return of spring4' ,the ,beggar's ,opera1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,,guy ,,faux ,see vol4 ,,iv4 7,the ,spirit of the ,age71 p4 #cfe and note1 and the essay #8,on ,persons ,one ,would ,wish to ,have ,seen' 7republished in vol4 ,,xii4 of the present edition71 from which it appears that the subject was suggested to ,hazlitt by ,lamb4 ,lamb himself wrote an essay 7not republished by him7 on the same subject in ,the ,london ,magazine for ,november #ahbc4 ,this essay1 in which a chaffing reference is made to ,hazlitt's three papers1 was partly founded on an earlier essay #8,on the ,probable ,effects of the ,gunpowder ,treason1' published in ,the ,reflector1 #ahaa4 ,see ,the ,works of ,charles and ,mary ,lamb1 ed4 ,e4 ,v4 ,lucas1 ,i4 #bcf and notes4 #cag4 ,mr4 ,hogg's ,jacobite ,relics4 ,published in #b vols4 in #ahai4 ,in the ,introduction ,hogg says1 #8,and now1 when the horrors of the ,catholic religion have ceased to oppress the minds of men1 there is but one way of thinking on the rights of the ,stuarts throughout the realm4' ,a ,popish ,priest4 ,guy ,fawkes 7#aegj-afjf7 was not a priest4 #cah4 ,which ,mr4 ,hogg treats1 etc4 ,hazlitt seems to be referring to the general sense of the ,introduction to ,the ,jacobite ,relics4 #8,the best of cut-throats4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 #cai4 ,regulus4 ,the stories of the self-sacrifice of ,regulus and of ,codrus1 the last ,king of ,athens1 are familiar4 #cbj4 #8,the compunctious visitings of nature4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 #8,the spirit is willing1' etc4 ,s4 ,matthew xxvi4 #da4 #cbj4 ,the keys of the ,house of ,commons1 etc4 ,the allusion is to a passage in ,john ,cam ,hobhouse's pamphlet1 ,a ,trifling ,mistake1 for which as a breach of privilege he was committed to ,newgate in #ahai4 ,margaret ,lambrun4 ,this story is told as a #8popular historical tradition' by ,miss ,strickland in her ,lives of the ,queens of ,england4 #cba4 ,sandt4 ,karl ,ludwig ,sand 7#agie-ahbj71 who had assassinated ,kotzebue the dramatist 7,march #bc1 #ahai74 #8,well done1' etc4 ,s4 ,matthew1 xxv4 #ba4 #8,no dim doubts alloy4' ,lamb1 ,lines ,on the ,celebrated ,picture by ,lionardo da ,vinci1 called the ,virgin of the ,rocks4 #8,quiring1' etc4 ,the ,merchant of ,venice1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #cbb4 #8,this night1' etc4 ,cf4 ,s4 ,luke xxiii4 #dc4 #8,dross compared1' etc4 ,cf4 ,romans viii4 #ah4 #8,disembowelled1' etc4 ,burke1 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #aja74 ,the ,constitutional ,association4 ,see vol4 ,,vi4 7,table ,talk71 note to p4 #aij4 ,the concealed ,editor of ,blackwood's ,magazine4 ,this question of the editorship of ,blackwood had recently 7,feb4 #af1 #ahba7 led to the fatal duel between ,john ,scott and ,lockhart's friend1 ,christie4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued #cbc4 #8,the infinite agitation of wit4' ,bacon1 ,advancement of ,learning1 ,book ,i4 iv4 #e4 #8,the soul of goodness1' ,henry ,v41 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 #cbd4 #8,according to knowledge1' ,romans x4 #b4 #8,a consummation1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,a king is but a king man1' etc4 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #ij74 #8,as the vine1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv4 #cjg4 #cbe4 #8,through the airy region1' etc4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #cbf4 ,note4 #8,as men should serve a cucumber1' etc4 ,the ,beggar's ,opera1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 #cbg4 #8,bears a charmed life4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #h4 #8,all mortal consequences4' ,ibid4 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,set duty in one eye1' etc4 ,julius ,csar1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,set but a ,scotsman1' etc4 ,burns1 ,the ,author's ,earnest ,cry and ,prayer1 etc41 ,postscript4 #8,happy warrior4' ,see ,wordsworth's ,character of a ,happy ,warrior 7#ahjg74 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,concluded #cbh4 ,the ,cid4 ,southey's translation of the ,chronicle of the ,cid was published in #ahjh4 #ccb4 ,mr4 ,kean4 ,an ,american lion was presented to ,kean by ,sir ,edward ,tucker4 ,barry ,cornwall 7,life of ,edmund ,kean1 ,,ii4 #ace7 says that #8it amused the tragedian 7who was fond of simple pleasures7 to allure his acquaintance into the room1 and set them face to face with the beast4' #8,masterless passion1' etc4 ,cf4 ,the ,merchant of ,venice1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,the shot of accident1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 #ccc4 ,like ,hotspur4 #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #d4 ,regnault de ,st4 ,jean ,angely4 ,michel ,louis tienne1 ,comte ,regnaud de ,saint ,jean ,d',angely 7#agfb-ahai71 a well-known politician of the ,revolution and under ,buonaparte4 ,the reference seems to be to his conduct in #ahad when in command of the ,national ,guard at ,paris4 #ccc4 #8,be mine to read1' etc4 ,gray1 ,letter to ,west 7,letters1 ed4 ,tovey1 ,i4 #ig74 #8,from worldly care1' etc4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,i4 ,,iv4 #bj4 ,,character ,,of ,,mr4 ,,canning ,this essay was included in the ,paris edition 7#ahbe7 and subsequent editions of ,the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,see vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #ahf4 #ccd4 #8,the child1' etc4 ,wordsworth1 #8,my heart leaps up1' etc4 #8,like as the sun-burnt ,indians1' etc4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,,iii4 ,,xii4 #h4 #ccf4 #8,like the morn1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,v4 #caj-caa4 #8,scylla heard1' etc4 ,cf4 ,comus1 #beg-bei4 #8,the nation's ,great ,divan4' ,cf4 #8,august divan of the ,british ,senate4' ,h4 ,walpole1 ,letters 7#aheg71 ,,iv4 #acj4 #ccg4 ,reply to ,sir ,john ,coxe ,hippesley4 ,on ,march #aa1 #ahac4 ,speeches1 ed4 ,therry1 ,,iii4 #cif4 #cch4 #8,the worse the better reason4' ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #aac-d4 #8,that makes these odds all even4' ,measure for ,measure1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,he aggravates1' etc4 ,a ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,quite chopfallen4' ,cf4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #cci4 #8,the inimitable satire of ,cervantes4' ,see ,canning's ,plymouth speech1 ,october #ahbc4 #cdj4 #8,pluck out the heart1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the deliverance of mankind4' ,cf4 ,southey1 ,carmen ,triumphale4 #8,of his port1' etc4 ,chaucer1 ,the ,canterbury ,tales1 ,prologue1 #fi4 #8,freezes his spirits up1' etc4 ,cf4 #b ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 #cda4 ,described so well1 etc4 ,in his speech on receiving the freedom of ,plymouth1 ,october #ahbc4 #8,the golden round1' etc4 ,cf4 ,richard ,,ii41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,and to call evil good1' etc4 ,isaiah v4 #bj4 #8,revered and ruptured ,ogden4' ,for this famous phrase1 used during the debates on the ,indemnity ,bill1 #ahah1 see ,hansard1 ,,xxxvii4 #ajbf1 and ,stapleton's ,political ,life of ,canning1 ,i4 #hf4 ,rejected ,addresses4 ,by ,james and ,horace ,smith1 published in #ahab4 #8,poetry of the ,anti-,jacobin4' ,republished 7#ahja7 from ,the ,anti-,jacobin4 #cdb4 #8,to turn what is serious1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,what should be great1 you turn to farce4' ,prior1 ,the ,ladle1 #aci4 ,note4 ,see ,the ,three ,trials of ,william ,hone 7#ahah1 ,first ,trial1 pp4 #ch-i71 where a verse of ,jekyll's parody is quoted from ,the ,spirit of the ,journals4 ,note4 #8,a wit's a feather1' etc4 ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,man1 ,,iv4 #bdg-h4 ,,the ,,dandy ,,school ,this essay1 now republished for the first time1 is attributed to ,hazlitt by ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt 7,memoirs1 etc41 ,i4 xxix7 and by ,ireland 7,list of the ,writings of ,william ,hazlitt and ,leigh ,hunt1 p4 #gf74 ,the ,,ms41 in ,hazlitt's hand-writing1 is still in existence4 #cdc4 ,vivian ,grey4 ,disraeli's first novel1 published #ahbf-g4 ,the dedication was as follows3 #8,to the best and greatest of men ,i dedicate these volumes4 ,he1 for whom it is intended1 will accept and appreciate the compliment3 those1 for whom it is not intended1 will--do the same4' #cdd4 ,long's4 ,a well-known hotel in ,bond ,street4 ,almack's4 ,assembly ,rooms 7now known as #8,willis's ,rooms'71 in ,king ,street1 ,st4 ,james's4 ,mr4 ,martin's bill1 etc4 ,richard ,martin's 7#aged-ahcd7 efforts on behalf of animals were bitterly opposed on all sides4 ,mr4 ,croker1 etc4 #8,the ,dulwich collection 444 was quite as distant as ,russell ,square1 though he did not profess to know exactly where ,russell ,square was4' ,march #bh1 #ahbe4 ,hansard1 ,new ,series1 ,,xii4 #abff4 #cde4 ,sir ,sedley ,clarendels1 etc4 ,in ,camilla4 ,meadowses4 ,in ,the ,wanderer4 #cdf4 #8,the ,court1' etc4 ,cf4 ,a ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 ,sayings and ,doings4 ,the first series appeared in #ahbd1 the second in #ahbe and the third in #ahbh4 #cdh4 ,mr4 ,vivacity ,dull4 ,a character in ,vivian ,grey1 said to represent ,horace ,twiss4 ,,actors ,,and ,,the ,,public ,this and the eleven following papers from ,the ,examiner of #ahbh have been included in the text mainly on account of the strong internal evidence they bear of ,hazlitt's authorship4 ,one of the papers is signed #8,w4 ,h41' the rest are unsigned4 ,during the period covered by these essays other ,theatrical ,examiners appeared1 signed #8,x' or #8,q4' ,so far as the editors are aware1 it has not been hitherto known that ,hazlitt resumed regular theatrical criticism so late as #ahbh1 but they feel that no reasonable doubt can exist with regard to his authorship of these twelve essays4 #cdi4 ,bate ,dudley4 ,sir ,henry ,bate ,dudley 7#agde-ahbd71 the notorious clergyman and journalist discussed by ,johnson and ,boswell 7,life1 ed4 ,g4 ,b4 ,hill1 ,,iv4 #bif74 ,he was for a time editor of ,the ,morning ,post4 #8,fall into misfortune4' ,cf4 post1 note to p4 #ecc4 #8,to tatters1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #cej4 ,who has praised ,sir ,walter1 etc4 ,the failure of ,constable and of ,ballantyne and ,co41 involving ,scott's financial ruin1 had occurred in #ahbf4 ,a vulgar crim4 con4 ,in ,january #ahbe1 a verdict of #hjj was given against ,kean in an action1 ,cox v4 ,kean1 for criminal conversation4 ,in consequence of this he was for a time #8hooted from the stage4' #8,the spells1' etc4 ,cf4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 ,if an actor is indeed six feet high1 etc4 ,hazlitt probably refers to ,conway4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #bjj1 and post1 p4 #cfa4 #cea4 #8,the fiery soul1' etc4 ,dryden ,absalom and ,achitophel1 #aef-h4 #8,the envy1' etc4 ,richard ,,ii41 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,madame ,catalani4 ,angelica ,catalani had retired from the stage in #ahbg4 ,it was some time since we had seen ,mr4 ,kean's ,shylock1 etc4 ,this paragraph makes ,hazlitt's authorship of this ,theatrical ,examiner quite certain4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #agi4 ,,french ,,plays #ceb4 ,monsieur ,perlet4 ,adrien ,perlet 7#agie-ahej71 a well-known ,french comedian1 who had made his first appearance in #ahad4 #8,upturned eyes1' etc4 ,cf4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #ceb4 ,madame ,pasta4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,vii4 7,the ,plain ,speaker71 pp4 #cbd et seq4 #8,a friend of ours1' etc4 ,see ,patmore's ,my ,friends and ,acquaintance 7vol4 ,,iii4 pp4 #cb-e74 ,according to ,patmore1 the following passage was intended by ,hazlitt to form part of the ,conversations with ,northcote in ,the ,new ,monthly ,magazine1 but was suppressed by the editor3-- #8,he then asked me if ,i had seen anything of ,h----8#gh ,i said1 yes2 and that he had vexed me2 for ,i had shown him some fine heads from the ,cartoons1 done about a hundred years ago 7which appeared to me to prove that since that period those noble remains have fallen into a state of considerable decay71 and when ,i went out of the room for a moment1 ,i found the prints thrown carelessly on the table1 and that he had got out a volume of ,tasso1 which he was spouting1 as ,i supposed1 to let me understand that ,i knew nothing of art1 and that he knew a great deal about poetry4 #8,i said ,i never heard him speak with enthusiasm of any painter or work of merit1 nor show any love of art1 except as a puffing-machine for him to get up into to blow a trumpet in his own praise4 ,instead of falling down and worshipping such names as ,raphael and ,michael ,angelo1 he is only considering how he may1 by storm or stratagem1 place himself beside them1 on the loftiest seats of ,parnassus1 as ignorant country squires affect to sit with judges on the bench4 ,he told me he had had a letter from ,wilkie1 dated ,rome1 with three marks of admiration1 and that he had dated his answer 8,babylon the ,great10 with four marks of admiration4 ,stuff6 ,why must he always 8out-,herod ,herod80#gi ,why must the place where he is always have one note of admiration more than any other8 ,he gave as his reasons1 indeed1 our river1 our bridges1 the ,cartoons1 and the ,elgin ,marbles--the two last of which1 however1 are not our own4 ,h4 should have been the boatswain of a man-of-war3 he has no other ideas of glory than those which belong to a naval victory1 or to vulgar noise and insolence2 not at all as something in which the whole world may participate alike4 ,i hate 8this stamp exclusive and professional40#hj ,he added that ,wilkie gave a poor account of ,rome1 and seemed1 on the whole1 disappointed4 ,he 7,haydon7 should not be disappointed when he went1 for his expectations were but moderate4 8,ay10 said ,northcote1 8that is like the speech of a little1 crooked1 conceited painter of the name of ,edwards1 who went to ,italy with ,romney and ,humphreys1 and when they looked round the ,vatican1 he turned round to ,romney and said1 #8,egad1 ,george1 we're bit4'0 #8,i said that when ,i heard stories of this kind1 of even clever men who seemed to have no idea or to take no interest except in what they themselves could do1 it almost inclined me to be of ,peter ,pindar's opinion1 who pretended to prefer taste to genius3 8,give me10 said he1 8one man of taste1 and ,i will find you twenty men of genius40 ,n4 replied1 8,it is a pity you should be of that opinion1 for all your acquaintances are great geniuses2 and yet1 ,i fancy1 they have no admiration for anybody but themselves4'0 #ceb4 ,sir ,william ,curtis's4 ,sir ,william ,curtis 7#ageb-ahbi71 ,lord ,mayor of ,london 7#agie7 and for long ,m4,p4 for the ,city4 #cec4 #8,our ,cupid1' etc4 ,cf4 ,the ,earl of ,dorset's song1 ,dorinda4 #ced4 ,the age of ,louis ,,xiv41 etc4 ,cf4 a passage in vol4 ,,ix4 7,notes of a ,journey1 etc471 p4 #aej4 #ced4 #8,new manners1' etc4 ,thomas ,warton1 ,sonnet #8,written in a ,blank ,leaf of ,dugdale's ,monasticon4' #cee4 #8,unmixed with baser matter4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 ,a certain happy-spirited writer4 ,leigh ,hunt1 no doubt1 whose recently published ,lord ,byron and ,some of his ,contemporaries had created some sensation4 ,,french ,,plays 7continued7 ,this article in ,the ,examiner begins with a long editorial passage written in a chaffing spirit and praising the former notice of the ,french ,plays4 #cef4 #8,that soul of pleasure1' etc4 ,cf4 ,pope1 ,moral ,essays1 ,,iii4 #cjf4 #ceg4 l4 #ae4 ,ariste4 ,this should be ,valre4 #ceh4 ,there is a credulous and unqualified assent1 etc4 ,cf4 a passage in vol4 ,,viii4 7,english ,comic ,writers71 p4 #bi1 where almost the same words are used4 #8,to the woods1' etc4 ,quoted elsewhere by ,hazlitt4 ,,the ,,theatres ,,and ,,passion ,,week ,this paper is signed #8,w4 ,h4' #ceh4 #8,because thou art virtuous1' etc4 ,twelfth ,night1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4 #cei4 #8,seizing tear their pleasures1' etc4 ,marvell1 ,to his ,coy ,mistress4 #cfj4 ,ranting ,croly4 ,the ,rev4 ,george ,croly 7#aghj-ahfj71 a contributor to ,blackwood's ,magazine1 and to ,jerdan's ,literary ,gazette4 #8,stretched upon the rack1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,than on the torture of the mind to lie ,in restless ecstasy4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,all the natural ills shocks1 etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,to jest1' etc4 ,love's ,labour's ,lost1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 #cfa4 #8,what is set down for them4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 ,,charles ,,kean #cfb4 ,young ,mr4 ,kean4 ,charles ,john ,kean 7#ahaa8-ahfh71 second son of ,edmund ,kean4 ,he had made his first appearance at the opening of the ,drury ,lane season1 ,october #a1 #ahbg4 ,lovers' ,vows4 ,mrs4 ,inchbald's adaptation from ,kotzebue 7#agih74 ,the ,marquis of ,douro4 ,arthur ,richard 7#ahjg-ahhd71 eldest son of the ,duke of ,wellington1 afterwards second ,duke4 #cfc4 ,we do not presume1 etc4 ,this adaptation of a passage from ,burke's ,a ,letter to a ,noble ,lord 7,works1 ,bohn1 ,v4 #aad7 is quoted elsewhere by ,hazlitt4 ,the ,dumb ,savoyard4 ,by ,thompson1 acted thirty-eight times4 #cfd4 ,mrs4 ,w4 ,west4 ,mrs4 ,w4 ,west 7#agij-ahgf7 who first appeared 7as ,miss ,cooke7 in ,london in #ahab4 ,she married ,william ,west in #ahae4 ,meggy ,macgilpin4 ,maggy ,macgilpin in ,o',keeffe's ,highland ,reel 7#aghh74 ,keeley4 ,robert ,keeley 7#agic-ahfi74 ,his height was five feet two inches4 #cfe4 #8,a man made after supper1' etc4 #b ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,vice to be hated1' etc4 ,cf4 ,pope1 ,essay on ,man1 ,,ii4 #bag-ah4 #cff4 ,ecole des ,veillards4 ,by ,casimir ,delavigne 7#ahbc74 ,,some ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,actors ,this notice is full of favourite quotations and of sentiments which ,hazlitt had expressed elsewhere4 ,see specially the ,dramatic ,essays in vol4 ,,viii4 #cff4 #8,warbles1' etc4 ,l' ,allegro1 #acd4 #8,fierce extremes4' ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #eii4 ,the ,invincibles4 ,a musical farce1 acted #cd times4 #8,our mind's eye4' ,cf4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,our heart's core4' ,cf4 ,ibid4 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #cfg4 #8,fancy's midwife4' ,cf4 #8,the fairies' midwife4' ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #d4 #8,gay creatures1' etc4 ,comus1 #bii-cja4 #8,tears1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i4 #fbj4 #cfh4 #8,mr4 ,kean's ,othello1' etc4 ,from ,the ,times4 ,see post1 p4 #djf1 and vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #dad and notes4 #8,with kindliest change4' ,paradise ,lost1 ,v4 #ccf4 ,,the ,,company ,,at ,,the ,,opera #cfi4 ,mr4 ,peake4 ,richard ,brinsley ,peake 7#agib-ahdg74 ,the farce here noticed is called by ,genest #8,little ,offerings4' #8,crabbed age1' etc4 ,the ,passionate ,pilgrim1 ,stanza ,,xii4 ,miss ,goward4 ,mary ,ann ,goward 7#ahje8-ahii71 who afterwards became so well known as ,mrs4 ,keeley4 ,she married ,keeley in #ahbi4 #cgj4 ,madame ,caradori4 ,madame ,caradori-,allan 7#ahjj-ahfe71 who made her dbut at the ,italian ,opera in ,london in #ahbb4 ,mademoiselle ,sontag4 ,henriette ,sontag 7#ahjf-ahed74 ,she married ,count ,rossi in #ahbh and retired from the stage till near the end of her life4 #cga4 ,brocard4 ,suzanne ,brocard 7#agih-ahee71 whose first appearance at the ,comdie ,franaise was in #ahag and who retired in #ahci4 #cgb4 ,lord ,byron and his ,contemporaries4 ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #cee4 #8,the mob1' etc4 ,pope1 ,imitations of ,horace1 ,book ,,ii4 ,ep4 ,i4 #ajh4 ,,the ,,beggar',s ,,opera #cgc4 #8,vanity1 chaotic ,vanity4' ,hazlitt may have had in mind the lines in ,romeo and ,juliet 7,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a71 #8,o heavy lightness6 serious vanity6 misshapen chaos6' #cgd4 #8,waste her sweetness1' etc4 ,cf4 ,gray's ,elegy1 #ef4 ,splenetic #8splenitive and rash4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 ,blanchard4 ,william ,blanchard 7#agfi-ahce71 for long a member of the ,covent ,garden ,company4 #8,and when the date1' etc4 ,butler1 ,hudibras1 ,part ,i4 ,canto #a4 #bhe-f4 ,de ,vere4 ,by ,robert ,plumer ,ward 7#agfe-ahdf71 published in #ahbg4 ,it was supposed by some1 though denied by the author1 that ,de ,vere was intended to represent ,canning4 #8,we have heard1' etc4 #b ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #cge4 ,sir ,john ,sylvester4 ,sir ,john ,silvester 7#agde-ahbb71 ,recorder of ,london4 #8,the thief1' etc4 ,leviathan1 ,part ,i4 ,chap4 #c4 ,a ,race for ,dinner4 ,by ,g4 ,h4 ,b4 ,rodwell 7#ahjj-aheb74 #8,and ,birnam wood1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,acts ,,iv4 and ,v4 ,the ,poor ,gentleman4 ,by ,george ,colman the ,younger 7#ahja74 #cge4 #8,to advantage dressed4' ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,criticism1 #big4 #cgf4 ,miss ,ellen ,tree4 ,ellen ,tree 7#ahje-ahhj71 who married ,charles ,kean in #ahdb4 ,she was a younger sister of ,mrs4 ,bradshaw1 the actress and singer4 #cgg4 ,miss ,love4 ,emma ,love1 afterwards ,mrs4 ,calcroft1 had made her first appearance on the stage in #ahag at the ,english ,opera ,house4 ,,the ,,taming ,,of ,,the ,,shrew ,,and ,l',,avare #cgg4 #8,the lungs of others1' etc4 ,cf4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4 #cgh4 ,mr4 ,wilkie failed1 etc4 ,see ante1 p4 #beb4 #8,warble1 warble4' ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #e4 #cgi4 ,mademoiselle ,mars4 ,for ,mademoiselle ,mars in #8a sort of shadowy ,catherine and ,petruchio1' see vol4 ,,ix4 p4 #aea4 #chj4 ,ninette la cour4 ,by ,charles ,simon ,favart 7#agaj-agib74 #cha4 ,seraglio4 ,an opera by ,dimond1 produced in #ahbg4 ,charles the ,second4 ,by ,howard ,payne1 produced in #ahbd4 ,,mrs4 ,,siddons #cha4 ,pie ,voleuse4 ,see ante1 note to p4 #cjd4 #8,born to converse1' etc4 ,cf4 ,pope1 ,prologue to the ,satires1 #aif4 ,the ,fall of ,nineveh4 ,by ,john ,martin 7#aghi-ahed74 ,the painting was being exhibited in ,bond ,street4 #chb4 ,abridged ,paradise ,lost4 ,mrs4 ,siddons published ,the ,story of our ,first ,parents selected from ,milton's ,paradise ,lost for the use of young persons1 #ahbb4 ,a triumphant peroration1 etc4 ,hazlitt no doubt refers to ,scott's ,life of ,napoleon1 published in #ahbg4 #8,the worst1 the second fall of man4' ,cf4 ,william ,windham1 ,speeches1 ,,ii4 #dg 7,nov4 #d1 #ahja74 #chd4 #8,barren spectators4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 ,mr4 ,stanfield's landscape back-grounds4 ,william ,clarkson ,stanfield 7#agic-ahfg74 ,veluti in speculum4 ,cf4 #8,inspicere tamquam in speculum in vitas omnium1' etc4 ,terence1 ,adelphi1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 ,,the ,,three ,,quarters1 ,,etc4 #chd4 ,the new comedy4 ,ups and ,downs1 or the ,ladder of ,life was the title of the piece here noticed by ,hazlitt4 ,it was acted eight times4 ,the secretary of the ,admiralty1 etc4 ,croker4 ,cf4 ante1 p4 #cdd4 #che4 ,a nice distinction in ,miss ,burney4 ,see her ,cecilia4 ,killing no ,murder4 ,a farce by ,theodore ,hook1 produced in #ahji4 #chf4 #8,like dew-drops1' etc4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,fine by degrees1' etc4 ,prior1 ,henry and ,emma1 #dcj4 #8,they best can paint them1' etc4 ,pope1 ,eloisa to ,abelard1 #cff4 ,lord ,porchester's tragedy4 ,don ,pedro1 ,king of ,castile1 by ,lord ,porchester1 afterwards #crd ,earl of ,carnarvon 7#ahjj-ahdi7 was produced at ,drury ,lane on ,march #aj1 #ahbh4 ,lord ,morpeth's4 ,lord ,morpeth1 afterwards #gth ,earl of ,carlisle 7#ahjb-ahfd7 published in #ahbh ,the ,last of the ,greeks2 or the ,fall of ,constantinople1 a tragedy in verse4 #chf4 ,the ,sphynx1 etc4 ,the ,sphynx 7#ahbg7 and ,the ,athenum 7#ahbh7 were started1 and ,the ,argus 7#ahbh7 was projected by ,james ,silk ,buckingham 7#aghf-ahee74 #chg4 #8,oh6 dearest ,ophelia1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #chh4 #8,he knows his cue1' etc4 ,cf4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 ,,mr4 ,,kean #chi4 ,we do not wonder1 etc4 ,kean had played ,richard ,,iii4 at the ,thtre ,franais in ,may #ahbh4 ,voltaire has borrowed1 etc4 ,cf4 ante1 p4 #bhb4 #8,the poet's eye1' etc4 ,a ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #cij4 #8,should be as a book1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 ,the ,hetman ,platoff4 ,the ,russian general1 ,matvei ,ivanovich ,platoff 7#ageg-ahah71 ,hetman of the ,cossacks of the ,don4 ,see vol4 ,,ix4 p4 #dfe4 #cia4 #8,give us pause4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,miss ,smithson4 ,harriet ,constance ,smithson 7#ahjj-ahed71 who played frequently in ,france and married ,hector ,berlioz in #ahcc4 ,a series of elegant bas-reliefs1 etc4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #def1 where the same comparison is made4 #cib4 ,little ,bartolozzi4 ,miss ,bartolozzi made her first appearance 7at the ,haymarket7 on ,june #ag1 #ahbh4 ,she was a sister of ,madame ,vestris4 ,,munden',s ,,sir ,,peter ,,teazle ,for ,hazlitt's connection with ,the ,times as dramatic critic see vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #eab4 ,the fifteen articles reprinted for the first time in the present volume have been included upon internal evidence of ,hazlitt's authorship4 ,no reasonable doubt can be felt with regard to any of them4 #cib4 ,past ,ten ,o'clock4 #8,a moderate farce' by ,dibdin1 produced ,march #aa1 #ahae4 ,see ,genest4 ,in another account of ,munden 7vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #bgj7 ,hazlitt had referred to his #8broad shining face' and #8the alarming drop of his chin4' ,,young',s ,,hamlet ,cf4 this paper with the account of ,hamlet in ,characters of ,shakespear's ,plays1 vol4 ,i4 p4 #bcg4 #cid4 ,the ,miller and his ,men4 ,a successful melodrama by ,pocock1 produced in #ahac4 #cie4 #8,the paragon of animals4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,peaked or pined4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,oh that this too1 too solid flesh1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the pretty ,ophelia4' ,ibid4 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #e4 ,,dowton ,,in ,,the ,,hypocrite ,cf4 the notice of ,the ,hypocrite in ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage1 vol4 ,,viii4 pp4 #bde-g4 #cie4 #8,very craftily qualified4' ,othello1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4 ,,miss ,,brunton',s ,,rosalind ,cf4 the notices of two other ,rosalinds in ,a ,view1 etc41 vol4 ,,viii4 pp4 #beb and #ccf4 #cig4 ,miss ,brunton4 ,elizabeth ,brunton 7#agii-ahfj71 who in #ahbc married ,frederick ,henry ,yates1 the actor4 #8,good emphasis and discretion4' ,cf4 #8,with good accent and good discretion1' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the gods1' etc4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 ,,maywood',s ,,zanga ,hazlitt had noticed ,maywood's ,shylock4 ,see ,a ,view1 etc4 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #cgd4 ,in #ahba ,maywood wrote to ,hazlitt from ,new ,york introducing a ,mr4 ,greenhow1 who was entrusted to present to ,hazlitt a morsel of ,george ,cooke's liver4 ,see ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt's ,memoirs1 etc41 ,,ii4 #a-b4 #cih4 #8,from the sound1' etc4 ,cf4 ,collins1 ,ode1 ,the ,passions1 #ai-bj4 #8,distilling them1' etc4 ,cf4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 #8,too tame4' ,ibid41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8',twas ,i that did it4' ,the ,revenge1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,forced gait4' #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,,kean',s ,,richard ,,iii4 ,cf4 the essay on ,richard ,,iii4 in ,characters of ,shakespear's ,plays 7vol4 ,i4 pp4 #bih-cjc71 where ,hazlitt speaks of the #8miserable medley acted for ,richard ,,iii4' and gives some of the omitted passages as being #8peculiarly adapted for stage effect4' ,shakespeare's ,richard ,,iii4 was revived at ,covent ,garden on ,march #ab1 #ahba1 ,macready playing ,richard and ,mrs4 ,bunn ,queen ,margaret4 #cii4 #8,now is the winter1' etc4 ,richard ,,iii41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,even so6' etc4 ,ibid4 #djj4 #8,they do me wrong1' etc4 ,ibid4 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,his grace looks cheerfully1' etc4 ,ibid4 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 ,,the ,,wonder ,cf4 ,a ,view1 etc41 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #ccb4 #djb4 #8,snatch a grace1' etc4 ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,criticism1 #aee4 #8,catch ere she falls1' etc4 ,pope1 ,moral ,essays1 ,,ii4 #bj4 ,,venice ,,preserved ,cf4 the account of ,kemble's ,pierre1 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #cgh4 #djc4 #8,the most replenished1' etc4 ,richard ,,iii41 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #c4 ,,she ,,stoops ,,to ,,conquer #djc4 ,borrowed from ,fielding's ,joseph ,andrews4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #aae4 #djd4 #8,his singularity1' etc4 ,johnson frequently denounced singularity4 ,the instances are collected in ,boswell's ,life1 ed4 ,g4 ,b4 ,hill1 ,,ii4 #gd-e4 ,,kean',s ,,macbeth #dje4 ,except in the murder scene4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #bjg4 #8,proud and lion-hearted1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,be lion-mettled1 proud1 and take no care1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 ,,kean',s ,,othello #dje4 ,this young debutante4 ,her name was ,mrs4 ,robinson4 #djf4 ,mr4 ,kean's ,othello1 etc4 ,this passage1 to the end of the notice1 was quoted more than once by ,hazlitt4 ,cf4 ante1 p4 #cfh and vol4 ,,viii4 p4 #dad and notes4 ,,kean ,,and ,,miss ,o',,neill ,cf4 this with ,hazlitt's appreciation of ,miss ,o',neill in ,the ,london ,magazine1 vol4 ,,viii4 of the present edition1 pp4 #cib et seq4 #djg4 #8,o'erstep the modesty1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #djh4 #8,as one in suffering all1' etc4 ,ibid4 #8,abide the beating1' etc4 ,twelfth ,night1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #d4 ,,the ,,honey ,,moon #dji4 #8,what is set down for him4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,plautus was too light1' etc4 ,cf4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,and near him1' etc4 ,collins1 ,ode on the ,poetical ,character1 #dc-d4 #8,grew sharp as a pen4' ,henry ,v41 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4 #daj4 #8,go thou1' etc4 ,s4 ,luke x4 #cg4 ,,mr4 ,,kean #daj4 #8,not ,fate itself could awe4' ,richard ,,iii4 7,cibber's version71 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4 ,,king ,,john #daa4 #8,to me1' etc4 ,king ,john1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,,the ,,press1 ,,etc4 ,hazlitt was a very frequent contributor to ,john ,hunt's #8,weekly ,miscellany1' ,the ,yellow ,dwarf1 which ran from ,jan4 #a to ,may #bc1 #ahah4 ,most of his contributions were included in ,political ,essays4 ,see vol4 ,,iii4 pp4 #bed et seq4 ,of those included in the present volume #8,the ,opera' was reprinted with some omissions and variations in ,literary ,remains1 the rest are now republished for the first time1 on the strength of what the editors regard as the conclusive internal evidence of ,hazlitt's authorship4 ,all the essays are reprinted verbatim from the ,magazine4 #daa4 ,m4 ,jollivet4 ,jean ,baptiste ,mose1 ,comte ,jollivet 7#agec-ahah71 a prominent ,french politician4 #dab4 #8,had'st thou believed1' etc4 ,zapolya1 ,prelude1 ,sc4 #a4 #dac4 ,was one of the passages1 etc4 ,see the last chapter of ,coleridge's ,biographia ,literaria4 #8,restored1' etc4 ,carmen ,triumphale1 ,st4 ,,xviii4 #8,a full solemne man4' ,canterbury ,tales1 ,prologue1 #bji4 #dad4 ,odes on ,hoffer1 etc4 ,hazlitt refers to some of ,wordsworth's #8,poems dedicated to ,national ,independence and ,liberty4' #8,a dateless bargain1' etc4 ,cf4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,stretching out1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,the same1' etc4 ,hazlitt is no doubt quoting from ,southey's ,carmen ,nuptiale1 ,st4 #eb4 ,mrs4 ,tofts4 ,see ,hogarth's #8,credulity1 ,superstition1 and ,fanaticism1' where the well-known imposture of ,mary ,tofts 7#agja8-agfc7 is ridiculed4 #dae4 #8,charm these deaf adders1' etc4 ,cf4 ,psalms1 lviii4 #d1 #e4 #8,drops which sacred pity1' etc4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4 #8,which knaves1' etc4 ,butler1 ,hudibras1 ,i4 i4 #ce-f4 #daf4 #8,the ,gods1' etc4 ,cf4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,a mingled medley air1' etc4 ,wordsworth1 ,peter ,bell1 #cjd-e4 ,,mr4 ,,coleridge',s ,,lectures ,this course of ,lectures began on ,jan4 #bg1 and ended on ,march #ac1 #ahah4 ,hazlitt was lecturing on ,poetry at the same time4 ,for ,coleridge's prospectus see ,lectures on ,shakespeare 7ed4 ,ashe71 #agj4 #daf4 #8,those fair parts1' etc4 ,cf4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 #dag4 #8,unhouselled1' unhoused etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,this island's mine1' etc4 ,the ,tempest1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,independently of his conduct1' etc4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,iii4 7,political ,essays71 p4 #bhe4 #8,he had peopled else1' etc4 ,the ,tempest1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,lunes and abstractions4' ,cf4 ,the ,merry ,wives of ,windsor1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #b4 #dah4 #8,conquering and to conquer4' ,revelation vi4 #b4 ,bertram4 ,cf4 vol4 ,x4 p4 #aeh1 and ante1 pp4 #dab-c4 #8,tedious and brief4' ,a ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,the man may indeed be a reviewer1' etc4 ,this saying does not seem to have been reported elsewhere4 ,coleridge and ,wordsworth were often accused of ridiculing ,southey's poetical genius4 #dai4 #8,fie1 ,sir6' etc4 ,milman1 ,fazio1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,to leave this keen encounter1' etc4 ,richard ,,iii41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,reason reasons as plenty1' etc4 #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #d4 #8,the inconstant moon4' ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #dbj4 #8,his large discourse of reason1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #d4 ,,childe ,,harold',s ,,pilgrimage #dbj4 #8,i do perceive a fury1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,i do understand a fury in your words1 ,but not the words4' ,othello1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #b4 #dba4 #8,and as the soldiers' bare dead bodies lay1' etc4 #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,the very age1' etc4 #8,the very age and body of the time4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,an understanding1' etc4 #8,give it an understanding1 but no tongue4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #dba4 #8,they are begot1' etc4 ,hazlitt was perhaps thinking of #8,begot upon itself1 born on itself4' ,othello1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 #8,he has tasted1' etc4 ,lamb's version 7as given by ,coleridge7 of ,thekla's song in ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #f of ,the ,piccolomini4 ,see ,coleridge's ,poetical ,works 7ed4 ,j4 ,d4 ,campbell71 p4 #fdh4 ,lamb himself printed the song differently4 ,see ,the ,works of ,charles and ,mary ,lamb1 ed4 ,e4 ,v4 ,lucas1 v4 #bg and notes4 #dbb4 #8,the man whose eye1' etc4 ,wordsworth1 ,lines left upon a ,seat in a ,yew-tree1 etc41 #ee-ei4 ,hogarth's famous print4 ,hazlitt perhaps refers to ,hogarth's frontispiece to ,kirby's #8,perspective4' #8,as 'twere in spite of scorn4' ,cf4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i4 #fai4 #8,the child and champion1' etc4 ,see vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #ii and note4 #dbd4 #8,the statue1' etc4 ,thomson1 ,the ,seasons1 ,summer1 #acdf4 #8,the starry ,galileo4' ,childe ,harold's ,pilgrimage1 ,canto ,,iv4 #ed4 #8,now in glimmer1' etc4 ,coleridge1 ,christabel1 #afi4 #8,moving wild laughter1' etc4 ,love's ,labour's ,lost1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the double night'1 etc4 ,childe ,harold's ,pilgrimage1 ,canto ,,iv4 #ha4 #dbe4 #8,seen of all eyes4' ,cf4 ,revelation1 i4 #g4 ,,the ,,opera #dbf4 #8,the glass of fashion1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,the fool of the senses4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,how happy1' etc4 ,the ,beggar's ,opera1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #dbh4 #8,with some sweet1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,the cloister'd heart1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 p4 #bfh and note4 #dbi4 #8,the flower of ,britain's warriors1' etc4 ,southey1 ,carmen ,nuptiale1 #af4 #dcj4 ,a contemporary critic4 ,hazlitt perhaps refers to ,schlegel4 ,see vol4 ,,viii4 7,a ,view1 etc47 p4 #cbd4 ,,on ,,the ,,question ,,whether ,,pope ,,was ,a ,,poet ,hazlitt was for a time a fairly frequent contributor to ,the ,edinburgh ,magazine 7,new ,series71 otherwise known as ,the ,new ,scots ,magazine4 ,two of his contributions1 #8,remarks on ,mr4 ,west's ,picture of ,death on the ,pale ,horse1' and #8,on the ,ignorance of the ,learned1' have been published in vols4 ,,ix4 and ,,vi4 respectively4 ,the essays #8,on ,fashion1' #8,on ,nicknames' and #8,thoughts on ,taste' in the present volume were first reprinted with omissions and variations in ,sketches and ,essays 7#ahci72 those #8,on the ,question whether ,pope was a ,poet1' 7signed ,w4 ,h471 and #8,on ,respectable ,people1' are now reprinted for the first time4 #dca4 #8,the pale reflex4' ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #e4 #dcb4 #8,in fortune's ray1' etc4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,gnarled oak4' ,shakespeare uses this phrase 7,measure for ,measure1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b71 but ,hazlitt probably meant a #8knotted oak' which is the expression used in the passage he had just written down4 #8,calm contemplation1' etc4 ,thomson1 ,the ,seasons1 ,autumn1 #abgg4 ,,on ,,respectable ,,people ,signed #8,a4 ,z4' in the ,magazine4 #dcd4 #8,buys golden opinions4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #g4 #8,the learned pate1' etc4 ,timon of ,athens1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #c4 #dce4 ,otway1 etc4 ,otway1 according to the familiar but probably untrue account first given by ,t4 ,cibber in ,the ,lives of the ,poets1 was choked by the first mouthful of a roll which he bought with money given to him by a gentleman in a coffee-house4 #8,for a song4' ,the story of ,lord ,burghley's ungenerous treatment of ,spenser was first recorded by ,fuller4 #8,the time gives evidence of it4' ,cf4 #8,this was sometime a paradox1 but now the time gives it proof4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #dcf4 #8,what can ennoble sots1' etc4 ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,man1 ,,iv4 #bae-f4 #8,all honourable men4' ,julius ,csar1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #dcg4 #8,lives and fortunes men4' ,for the old formula of #8lives and fortunes' see ,burke's ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #ah and note47 ,,on ,,fashion #dcg4 #8,born of nothing1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #dba4 #8,his garment1' etc4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,,iii4 xii4 #h4 #8,the great vulgar and the small4' ,cowley1 ,horace's ,odes1 ,,iii4 #a4 #dci4 #8,the sign of an inward1' etc4 ,misquoted from the ,catechism4 #ddj4 #8,and are1 when unadorned1' etc4 ,thomson1 ,the ,seasons1 ,autumn1 #bjf4 #8,the city madam' woman1 etc4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4 #8,the age is grown so picked1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #dda4 ,the story in ,peregrine ,pickle4 ,chap1 lxxxvii4 #8,lisping and ambling1' etc4 ,cf4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #ddb4 #8,in a high or low degree4' ,cf4 ,pope1 ,epilogue to the ,satires1 #a4 #acg4 #8,and thin partitions1' etc4 ,dryden1 ,absalom and ,achitophel1 #a4 #afd4 #8,kings are naturally1' etc4 ,burke1 ,speech on ,economical ,reform 7,works1 ,bohn1 ,,ii4 #ajf74 ,,on ,,nicknames #ddb4 #8,h nug1' etc4 ,cf4 ,horace1 ,ars ,poetica1 #dea-b4 #ddc4 #8,the priest1' etc4 ,the ,beggar's ,opera1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,as infidels1' etc4 ,hazlitt alludes to a note in the #8,beauties of the ,anti-,jacobin1' denouncing ,coleridge1 ,lamb1 and ,southey4 ,see vol4 ,x4 7,contributions to the ,edinburgh ,review71 p4 #aci4 #ddd4 #8,sound them1' etc4 ,julius ,csar1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 ,an eminent character4 ,probably ,stoddart1 late editor of ,the ,times4 ,see post1 p4 #ddh4 #8,hath ,britain all the sun1' etc4 ,cymbeline1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 #dde4 #8,brevity is the soul of wit4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the unbought grace of life1' etc4 ,burke1 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed4 ,payne1 ,,ii4 #hi74 #ddf4 #8,leave the will puzzled1' etc4 ,ibid41 ,,ii4 #ajc4 #8,bring but a ,scotsman1' etc4 ,burns1 ,the ,author's ,earnest ,cry and ,prayer1 etc4 ,postscript1 ,st4 #d4 #ddg4 #8,as rage1' etc4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,a nickname is the heaviest stone1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,it is the heaviest stone that melancholy can throw at a man1 to tell him he is at the end of his nature4' ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 ,hydriotaphia1 ,,iv4 #bc4 ,see also vol4 ,,iii4 7,political ,essays71 p4 #bfa4 ,as ,canning pelted a noble lord1 etc4 ,canning ridiculed ,henry ,addington 7afterwards ,lord ,sidmouth7 under the title of the #8,doctor4' ,his father was well known as a #8mad' doctor4 #ddh4 #8,with so small a web1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,a starling1' etc4 #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #ddi4 ,stat nominis umbra4 ,lucan1 ,pharsalia1 ,i4 #ace4 ,,thoughts ,,on ,,taste #dej4 #8,he had found a few pearls1' etc4 uvres1 ,l4 #eh4 ,july #ai1 #aggf4 #8,rich as the oozy bottom1' etc4 ,henry ,v41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,or like a gate of steel1' etc4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #dea4 #8,damns condemns him1' etc4 ,much ,ado ,about ,nothing1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,lay their choppy fingers1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #deb4 #8,have built high towers1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i4 #gdi4 #8,majestic though in ruin4' ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #cje4 ,innocence #8likest heaven4' #8,o innocence deserving ,paradise4' ,ibid41 ,v4 #dde-f4 #8,in tones1' etc4 ,paradise ,regained1 ,,iv4 #bee4 ,the author of the #8,friend1' etc4 ,coleridge may have said this to ,hazlitt himself4 ,he described ,pope's writings as #8a conjunction disjunctive of epigrams' 7,biographia ,literaria1 chap4 ,i474 ,for his views on ,french ,tragedy1 see ibid41 ,satyrane's ,letters1 ,letter ,,ii4 ,the author of the #8,excursion1' etc4 ,see ,the ,excursion1 ,,ii4 #dhd4 ,cf4 vol4 ,i4 7,the ,round ,table71 p4 #aaf and note4 ,note4 ,non satis est1 etc4 ,horace1 ,ars ,poetica1 #ii4 #dec4 #8,not to admire1' etc4 #8,not to admire is all the art ,i know1' quoted by ,pope from ,creech's translation of ,horace4 ,see ,imitations of ,horace1 ,book ,i4 ,epistle vi4 ,i4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued #ded4 #8,hope told a flattering tale4' ,an anonymous song sung to ,paisiello's famous air1 #8,nel cor pi non mi sento1' from ,la ,molinara4 #dee4 #8,pierceable4' #8,not perceable with any power of any starr' 7,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,i4 ,i4 #g7 is quoted elsewhere by ,hazlitt4 #8,the drops1' etc4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act4 ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4 #def4 #8,swept and garnished4' ,s4 ,matthew xii4 #dd4 #8,knowledge at each entrance1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #ej4 ,note4 ,mr4 ,allston4 ,see ante1 note to p4 #ahi4 ,note4 #8,a temple1' etc4 ,cf4 #b ,corinthians1 v4 #a4 #deg4 #8,nor seem'd' appeared1 #8etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i4 #eib-d4 ,better than nothing4 ,at this point in the ,magazine there is a footnote by the editor1 protesting against the view that ,rogers's ,human ,life is #8nothing1' and the ,lyrical ,ballads only #8something4' ,he adds #8,who told this lively writer that ,mr4 ,southey ever preferred the ,excursion to ,paradise ,lost8' ,the preference given1 etc4 ,a review of ,human ,life by ,jeffrey in ,the ,edinburgh ,review 7,,xxxi4 #cbe7 contains a contemptuous reference to #8a ,lakish ditty4' #deg4 #8,carnation1' etc4 ,henry ,v41 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4 #deh4 ,i know an admirer of ,don ,quixote1 etc4 ,this was ,lamb4 ,see vol4 ,,vii4 7,the ,plain ,speaker71 p4 #cf4 ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,,continued ,this conclusion of #8,thoughts on ,taste' does not appear to have been published in the ,edinburgh ,magazine1 or1 so far as the editors have been able to discover1 in any ,magazine4 ,in the ,edinburgh ,magazine the second essay is described as #8a conclusion of some thoughts on the same subject1 in our ,number for ,october #ahah4' ,this third essay is reprinted from ,sketches and ,essays1 where it was perhaps printed from a ,,ms4 or proof4 #dfj4 ,mr4 ,pratt4 ,samuel ,jackson ,pratt 7#agdi-ahad71 whose #8,sympathy1 a ,poem1' was published anonymously in #aghh4 #8,that come' etc4 ,a ,winter's ,tale1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #d4 #dfa4 #8,and fit audience find1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,vii4 #ca4 ,,historical ,,illustrations ,,of ,,shakespeare 7#a7 ,two letters from ,hazlitt under the heading #8,historical ,illustrations of ,shakespeare' appeared in the number for ,january #ahai 7vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #ci7 and ran as follows3 #8,mr4 ,editor1 ,i daresay you will agree with me in thinking1 that whatever throws light on the dramatic productions of ,shakespeare1 deserves to be made public4 ,i have already1 in the volume called ,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays1#ha shewn1 by a reference to the passages in ,north's translation of ,plutarch1 his obligations to the historian in his ,coriolanus1 and the noble way in which he availed himself of the lights of antiquity in composing that piece4 ,i shall1 with your permission1 pursue the subject in the present and some future articles4 ,the parallel is even more striking between the celebrated trial-scene in ,henry ,,viii41 and the following narrative of that event1 as it actually took place1 which is to be found in ,cavendish's ,negociations of ,cardinal ,wolsey1' a long quotation from that work follows1 and ,hazlitt concludes3 #8,in another article ,i shall give some remarks on this subject1 and the passages in ,holingshed on which ,macbeth is1 in a great measure1 founded4 ,i am1 ,sir1 your humble servant1 ,w4 ,hazlitt4 ,london1 ,nov4 #ac1 #ahah4' ,another letter on the same subject appeared in ,september #ahai 7vol4 ,v4 p4 #bfb73 #8,mr4 ,editor1 ,the following passage in ,north's translation of ,plutarch will be found to have been closely copied in the scene between ,brutus and his wife in ,julius ,csar' a long quotation from ,plutarch--see ,temple ,classics edition1 vol4 ,,ix4 pp4 #bef-beh--;follows1 and ,hazlitt continues3 ,again1 the following curious account1 extracted from ,magellan's ,voyage to the ,south ,seas1 may throw light on the origin of the ,tempest1 and the character of ,caliban4 ,the mention of the god ,setebos seems decisive of the identity of the source from which he borrowed4' ,the letter concludes with an extract from ,magellan's ,voyage4 ,,on ,,the ,,present ,,state ,,of ,,parliamentary ,,eloquence ,many of ,hazlitt's numerous contributions to ,the ,london ,magazine have been included in former volumes of the present edition4 ,of those printed in this volume1 the essay #8,on the ,spirit of ,partisanship' was reprinted in ,sketches and ,essays 7#ahci71 that #8,on ,consistency of ,opinion' in ,winterslow 7#ahej74 ,the remaining five are now republished for the first time4 ,some interesting particulars about ,the ,london ,magazine will be found in ,mr4 ,bertram ,dobell's ,sidelights on ,charles ,lamb 7#aijc74 ,the essay #8,on the ,present ,state of ,parliamentary ,eloquence' is signed #8,t4' and is ,no4 ,,iv4 of the series entitled #8,table ,talk4' ,cf4 the ,bibliographical and ,critical ,notes to ,the ,eloquence of the ,british ,senate1 vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #chi1 to which this essay may be regarded as supplementary4 ,hazlitt had been a parliamentary reporter on ,the ,morning ,chronicle in #ahac4 ,the exact period does not seem to be ascertainable1 but the present essay shows that he heard ,plunket's great speech on ,catholic ,emancipation 7,feb4 #be1 #ahac71 and ,sir ,james ,mackintosh's maiden speech 7,dec4 #ad1 #ahac74 ,with regard to ,plunket's speech there is a tradition that ,hazlitt was so fascinated by it that he omitted to take any notes of it4 ,see ,memoirs1 etc4 7#ahfg71 ,i4 #aif4 ,most of the speakers here described are referred to more than once by ,hazlitt elsewhere4 #dfd4 #8,such a one1' etc4 ,the ,letters of the younger ,pliny1 ,i4 #bj4 #dfe4 #8,domestic treason1' etc4 ,cf4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #dff4 #8,make a wanton4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #b4 #dfh4 #8,plays round the head1' etc4 ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,man1 ,,iv4 #bed4 #dfi4 #8,kindle them1' etc4 ,comus1 #gid-e4 #dgj4 #8,ample scope1' etc4 ,cf4 ,gray1 ,the ,bard1 #ea4 #dga4 #8,would lengthen stretch out1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 #dgb4 #8,grove nods to grove1' etc4 ,pope1 ,moral ,essays1 ,,iv4 #aag-h4 ,roubilliac4 ,louis ,franois ,roubiliac 7#afie-agfb71 many of whose monuments are in ,westminster ,abbey4 ,his remark quoted by ,hazlitt was made to ,reynolds4 ,see ,northcote's ,life of ,sir ,j4 ,reynolds1 p4 #dd4 ,note #a4 #8,it is a custom1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #d4 ,note #b4 ,mr4 ,phillips4 ,hazlitt presumably refers to ,charles ,phillips 7#aghg8-ahei71 a florid ,irish barrister1 called to the ,english bar in #ahba4 ,note #c4 #8,like ,juno's swans1' etc4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #dgc4 ,mr4 ,banks4 ,henry ,bankes 7#ageg-ahcd71 ,m4,p4 for ,corfe ,castle 7#aghj-ahbf74 ,mr4 ,charles ,yorke4 ,charles ,philip ,yorke 7#agfd-ahcd71 who had been conspicuous in the stormy privilege debates of #ahaj4 ,he was at this time ,m4,p4 for ,liskeard4 ,mr4 ,secretary ,peele4 ,sir ,robert ,peel 7#aghh-ahej71 then ,chief ,secretary for ,ireland and a strong opponent of ,catholic ,emancipation4 #8,without o'erflowing1 full4' ,sir ,john ,denham1 ,cooper's ,hill1 #aib4 ,it was but indifferently reported1 etc4 ,as to ,hazlitt's own difficulty in reporting it1 see ante1 introductory note to the essay4 #dgd4 #8,come then1 expressive silence1' etc4 ,thomson1 ,a ,hymn1 #aah4 ,note #b4 #8,that speech1' etc4 ,this famous saying is usually credited to ,talleyrand1 but ,voltaire had said much the same thing 7,dialogues1 ,,xiv4 ,le ,chapon et la ,poularde74 ,note #b4 ,isabey4 ,jean ,baptiste ,isabey's 7#agfg-ahee7 picture of ,the ,congress of ,vienna is at ,windsor ,castle4 #dge4 #8,in many a winding bout1' etc4 ,l',allegro1 #aci-adj4 #8,but 'tis the fall1' etc4 ,pope1 ,epilogue to the ,satires1 ,i4 #add-e4 #dgf4 #8,out upon such half-faced fellowship4' #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 ,summum jus1 etc4 ,cicero1 ,de ,officiis1 ,i4 #aj4 #dgg4 #8,the punto1' etc4 ,cf4 ,the ,merry ,wives of ,windsor1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c1 and ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a2 and ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #d4 #8,no further seek1' etc4 ,misquoted from ,gray's ,elegy1 #abe-f4 #dgh4 #8,hear him's that now rise1' etc4 ,cf4 ,burke1 ,speech on ,american ,taxation1 #aggd 7,works1 ,bohn1 ,i4 #dbi74 #8,swinging slow1' etc4 ,il ,penseroso1 #gf4 #8,mother-wit1' etc4 ,cf4 ,dryden1 ,alexander's ,feast1 #aff4 #8,sole sovereign sway1' etc4 ,cf4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 #dgi4 #8,what's serious1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 p4 #cdb4 #8,a windy fan1' etc4 ,cf4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,,iii4 xii4 #h4 #dhj4 #8,trifles1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,to make the worse1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,book ,,ii4 #aac-d4 #8,takes the rose1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 #8,in the extremity of an oath4' ,probably an adaptation of a common ,shakesperian expression4 ,,mr4 ,,crabbe ,to ,the ,london ,magazine for ,may #ahba1 ,hazlitt contributed an essay on ,crabbe1 under the heading #8,living ,authors1 ,no4 ,v4' ,the greater part of this essay was republished in ,the ,spirit of the ,age 7see vol4 ,,iv4 pp4 #cdh et seq471 but some passages were omitted which are here supplied4 ,in the ,magazine the first paragraph 7which differs to some extent from the opening of the ,spirit of the ,age essay7 runs as follows3 #8,the object of ,mr4 ,crabbe's writings seems to be1 to show what an unpoetical world we live in3 or rather1 perhaps1 the very reverse of this conclusion might be drawn from them2 for it might be said1 that if this is poetry1 there is nothing but poetry in the world4 ,our author's style might be cited as an answer to ,audrey's inquiry1 8,is poetry a true thing80 ,if the most feigning poetry is the truest1 ,mr4 ,crabbe is of all poets the least poetical4 ,there are here no ornaments1 no flights of fancy1 no illusions of sentiment1 no tinsel of words4 ,his song is one sad reality1 one unraised1 unvaried note of unavailing woe4 ,literal fidelity serves him in the place of invention2 he assumes importance by a number of petty details2 he rivets attention by being prolix4 ,he not only deals in incessant matters of fact1 but in matters of fact of the most familiar1 the least animating1 and most unpleasant kind2 but he relies for the effect of novelty on the microscopic minuteness with which he dissects the most trivial objects--and1 for the interest he excites on the unshrinking determination with which he handles the most painful4 ,his poetry has an official and professional air4 ,he is called out to cases of difficult births1 of fractured limbs1 or breaches of the peace2 and makes out a parish register of accidents and offences4 ,he takes the most trite1 the most gross and obvious1 and revolting part of nature1 for the subject of his elaborate descriptions2 but it is nature still1 and ,nature is a great and mighty goddess4 8,great is ,diana of the ,ephesians40#hb ,it is well for the reverend author that it is so4 ,individuality is1 in his theory1 the only definition of poetry4 ,whatever is1 he hitches into rhyme4 ,whoever makes an exact image of any thing on the earth below1 however deformed or insignificant1 according to him1 must succeed and he has succeeded4 ,mr4 ,crabbe is one of the most popular and admired of our living writers4 ,that he is so1 can be accounted for on no other principle than the strong ties that bind us to the world about us and our involuntary yearnings after whatever in any manner powerfully and directly reminds us of it4 ,his ,muse is not one of the daughters of ,memory1 but the old toothless mumbling dame herself1 doling out the gossip and scandal of the neighbourhood1 recounting1 totidem verbis et literis1 what happens in every place in the kingdom every hour in the year1 and fastening always on the worst as the most palatable morsels4 ,but she is a circumstantial old lady1 communicative1 scrupulous1 leaving nothing to the imagination1 harping on the smallest grievances1 a village oracle and critic1 most veritable1 most identical1 bringing us acquainted with persons and things just as they happened1 and giving us a local interest in all she knows and tells4 ,the springs of ,helicon are1 in general1 supposed to be a living stream1 bubbling and sparkling1 and making sweet music as it flows2 but ,mr4 ,crabbe's fountain of the ,muses is a stagnant pool1 dull1 motionless1 choked up with weeds and corruption2 it reflects no light from heaven1 it emits no cheerful sound3--his ,pegasus has not floating wings1 but feet1 cloven feet that scorn the low ground they tread upon2--no flowers of love1 of hope1 or joy spring here1 or they bloom only to wither in a moment2 our poet's verse does not put a spirit of youth in every thing1 but a spirit of fear1 despondency and decay2 it is not an electric spark to kindle and expand1 but acts like the torpedo touch to deaden and contract3 it lends no rainbow tints to fancy1 it aids no soothing feelings in the heart2 it gladdens no prospect1 it stirs no wish2 in its view the current of life runs slow1 dull1 cold1 dispirited1 half-underground1 muddy1 and clogged with all creeping things4 ,the world is one vast infirmary2 the hill of ,parnassus is a penitentiary2 to read him is a penance2 yet we read on6 ,mr4 ,crabbe is a fascinating writer4 ,he contrives to 8turn diseases to commodities10 and makes a virtue of necessity4 ,he puts us out of conceit with this world1 which perhaps a severe divine should do2 yet does not1 as a charitable divine ought1 point to another4 ,his morbid feelings droop and cling to the earth2 grovel1 where they should soar2 and throw a dead weight on every aspiration of the soul after the good or beautiful4 ,by degrees1 we submit and are reconciled to our fate1 like patients to a physician1 or prisoners in the condemned cell4 ,we can only explain this by saying1 as we said before1 that ,mr4 ,crabbe gives us one part of nature1 the mean1 the little1 the disgusting1 the distressing2 that he does this thoroughly1 with the hand of a master2 and we forgive all the rest6'-- ,the essay then proceeds as in ,the ,spirit of the ,age1 with a few trifling variations1 down to the words #8inscribed to the ,rutland family6' 7vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #cea1 last line71 after which there is the following long passage1 omitted from that work the quotations are indicated in brackets3 #8,but enough of this2 and to our task of quotation4' ,the poem of ,the ,village sets off nearly as follows3 #88,no2 cast by ,fortune on a frowning coast10 etc4 ,the ,village1 i4 #di-fb4 #8,this plea1 we would remark by the way1 is more plausible than satisfactory4 ,by associating pleasing ideas with the poor1 we incline the rich to extend their good offices to them4 ,the cottage twined round with real myrtles1 or with the poet's wreath1 will invite the hand of kindly assistance sooner than ,mr4 ,crabbe's 8ruin'd shed02 for though unusual1 unexpected distress excites compassion1 that which is uniform and remediless produces nothing but disgust and indifference4 ,repulsive objects 7or those which are painted so7 do not conciliate affection1 or soften the heart4' #88,lo6 where the heath with withering brake grown o'er10 etc4 ,the ,village1 i4 #fc-hd4hc #8,this is a specimen of ,mr4 ,crabbe's taste in landscape-painting1 of the power1 the accuracy1 and the hardness of his pencil4 ,if this were merely a spot upon the canvas1 which might act as a foil to more luxuriant and happier scenes1 it would be well4 ,but our valetudinarian 8travels from ,dan to ,beersheba1 and cries it is all barren40 ,or if he lights 8in a favouring hour0 on some more favoured spot1 where plenty smiles around1 he then turns his hand to his human figures1 and the balance of the account is still very much against ,providence1 and the blessings of the ,english ,constitution4 ,let us see4 #88,but these are scenes where ,nature's niggard hand10 etc4 ,the ,village1 ,i4 #aca-aec4hd #8,grant all this to be true2 nay1 let it be told1 but not told in 8mincing poetry40#he ,next comes the ,,workhouse1 and this1 it must be owned1 is a master-piece of description1 and the climax of the author's inverted system of rural optimism4 #88,thus groan the ,old1 till by disease opprest10 etc4 ,the ,village1 ,i4 #bbf to the end of ,book ,i4#hf #8,to put our taste in poetry1 and the fairness of our opinion of ,mr4 ,crabbe's in particular1 to the test at once1 we will confess1 that we think the two lines we have marked in italics3 #88,him now they follow to his grave1 and stand ,silent and sad1 and gazing1 hand in hand0-- worth nearly all the rest of his verses put together1 and an unanswerable condemnation of their general tendency and spirit4 ,it is images1 such as these1 that the polished mirror of the poet's mind ought chiefly to convey2 that cast their soothing1 startling reflection over the length of human life1 and grace with their amiable innocence its closing scenes2 while its less alluring and more sombre tints sink in1 and are lost in an absorbent ground of unrelieved prose4 ,poetry should be the handmaid of the imagination1 and the foster-nurse of pleasure and beauty3 ,mr4 ,crabbe's ,muse is a determined enemy to the imagination1 and a spy on nature4 #8,before we proceed1 we shall just mark a few of those quaintnesses of expression1 by which our descriptive poet has endeavoured to vary his style from common prose1 and so far has succeeded4 ,speaking of ,quarle he says3 #88,of ,hermit ,quarle we read1 in island rare1 ,far from mankind and seeming far from care2 ,safe from all want1 and sound in every limb2 ,yes6 there was he1 and there was care with him40#hg #88,here are no wheels for either wool or flax1 ,but packs of cards--made up of sundry packs40#hh #88,fresh were his features1 his attire was new2 ,clean was his linen1 and his jacket blue3 ,of finest jean1 his trowsers1 tight and trim1 ,brush'd the large buckle at the silver rim40#hi #8,to compare small things with great1 this last touch of minute description is not unlike that in ,theseus's description of his hounds3 #88,with ears that sweep away the morning dew40#ij #88,alas6 your reverence1 wanton thoughts1 ,i grant1 ,where once my motive1 now the thoughts of want4 ,women like me1 as ducks in a decoy1 ,swim down a stream1 and seem to swim in joy40#ia #88,but from the day1 that fatal day she spied ,the pride of ,daniel1 ,daniel was her pride40#ib #8,as an instance of the curiosa felicitas in descriptive allusion 7among many others7 take the following4 ,our author1 referring to the names of the genteeler couples1 written in the parish register1 thus 8morals0 on the circumstance3 #88,how fair these names1 how much unlike they look10 etc4 ,the ,parish ,register1 ,,ii4 #bhc-cjj4 #8,the ,library and the ,newspaper1 in the same volume1 are heavy and common-place4 ,mr4 ,crabbe merely sermonises in his didactic poetry4 ,he must pierce below the surface to get at his genuine vein4 ,he is properly himself only in the petty and the painful4 ,the ,birth of ,flattery is a homely1 incondite lay4 ,the author is no more like ,spenser than he is like ,pope4 ,the ballad of ,sir ,eustace ,grey is a production of great power and genius4 ,the poet1 in treating of the wanderings of a maniac1 has given a loose to his conception of imaginary and preternatural evils4 ,but they are of a sort that chill1 rather than melt the mind2 they repel instead of haunting it4 ,they might be said to be square1 portable horrors1 physical1 external1 not shadowy1 not malleable2 they do not arise out of any passion in the mind of the sufferer1 nor touch the reader with involuntary sympathy4 ,beds of ice1 seas of fire1 shaking bogs1 and fields of snow1 are disagreeable matters of fact2 and though their contact has a powerful effect on the senses1 we soon shake them off in fancy4 ,let any one compare this fictitious legend with the unadorned1 unvarnished tale of ,peter ,grimes1 and he will see in what ,mr4 ,crabbe's characteristic strength lies4 ,he is a most potent copyist of actual nature1 though not otherwise a great poet4 ,in the case of ,sir ,eustace1 he cannot conjure up any phantoms from a disordered imagination2 but he makes honest ,peter1 the fisherman of the ,borough1 see visions in the mud where he had drowned his 'prentice boys1 that are as ghastly and bewitching as any mermaid4 ,we cannot resist giving the scene of this striking story1 which is in our author's exclusive manner4 8,within that circle none durst walk but he40#ic #88,thus by himself compell'd to live each day10 etc4 ,the ,borough1 ,letter ,,xxii4 #aga-bjd4' ,the last paragraph1 following this quotation1 is the same as in ,the ,spirit of the ,age 7vol4 ,,iv4 pp4 #ceb-c74 ,,haydon',s ,,christ',s ,,agony ,,in ,,the ,,garden #dhc4 ,matthews4 ,charles ,mathews 7#aggf-ahce71 the comedian1 whose famous #8,at ,homes' ,hazlitt refers to4 #8,sea1 earth1 and air4' ,cf4 #8,and shot my being through earth1 sea1 and air4' ,coleridge1 ,france1 ,an ,ode1 #ajc4 ,he bestrides his art1 etc4 ,haydon was pleased with these words which he quoted in a letter to a friend extracted in ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt's ,four ,generations of a ,literary ,family 7,i4 #bcd74 ,haydon wrongly refers to ,hazlitt's article as having appeared in ,the ,new ,monthly ,magazine4 ,see also ,haydon's ,life1 etc4 7ed4 ,t4 ,taylor1 ,i4 #dah71 where1 speaking of this picture1 ,haydon says #8,except the ,christ's head and the ,st4 ,john sleeping it was the worst picture ever escaped my pencil4' #8,ample room1' etc4 ,gray1 ,the ,bard1 #ea4 #dhd4 #8,a hand1' etc4 ,donne1 ,the ,storm1 #c-d4 #dhe4 ,the celebrated ,madonna1 etc4 ,see vol4 ,,ix4 p4 #fg4 ,,pope1 ,,lord ,,byron1 ,,and ,,mr4 ,,bowles ,for ,byron's ,letters to ,murray #8,on the ,rev4 ,wm4 ,l4 ,bowles's ,strictures on the ,life and ,writings of ,pope' and a full account of the controversy see ,byron's ,letters and ,journals 7ed4 ,prothero71 ,v4 ,appendix iii4 ,cf4 a passage in ,hazlitt's essay #8,on the ,aristocracy of ,letters1' vol4 ,,vi4 7,table ,talk71 pp4 #baj1 #bbc1 and notes4 #dhg4 ,jem ,belcher4 ,james ,belcher 7#agha-ahaa71 who defeated ,andrew ,gamble in #ahjj4 ,in the ,preface to his ,tragedy4 ,marino ,faliero4 #8,a tale of bawdry4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #dhh4 #8,our sweet voices4' ,coriolanus1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4 #dhi4 #8,most small faults4' ,cf4 ,king ,lear1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #d4 #8,ends of verse1' etc4 ,butler1 ,hudibras1 ,i4 iii4 #ajaa-b4 #dij4 #8,sternhold and ,hopkins had great qualms4' ,the ,earl of ,rochester1 ,on a ,parish ,clerk with a bad voice4 #dib4 #8,full of wise saws1' etc4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #g4 #did4 #8,so perfumed1' etc4 ,antony and ,cleopatra1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #die4 #8,roaming the illimitable ocean wide4' ,cf4 #8,roaming the illimitable waters round4' ,wordsworth1 ,the ,female ,vagrant1 #age4 #8,ill at these numbers4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,damnable iteration in him4' #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,keeps distance due4' ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #egh4 #dif4 #8,luscious1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 ,the grand-daughters of ,mr4 ,coutts4 ,the two ,misses ,burdett1 presumably the daughters of ,sir ,francis ,burdett and therefore grand-daughters of ,thomas ,coutts the banker1 were presented at court on ,may #c1 #ahba1 but ,hazlitt's meaning is a little obscure4 ,the ,editor of the ,new ,monthly ,magazine4 ,campbell1 the poet4 #8,high arbiter1' etc4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii4 #ijh-i4 #8,all the art of art is flown4' ,cf4 the note on #8all the life of life was flown' in vol4 ,,vi4 7,table ,talk71 p4 #bd4 #dig4 #8,the stones and tower1' etc4 ,cf4 ,peter ,bell1 #hef et seq4 #dig4 #8,host of human life4' ,byron in his ,letter speaks of having met ,bowles at the house #8of our venerable host of ,human ,life1' i4e4 ,rogers1 the ,poet4 #dih4 #8,of amber-headed snuff-box1' etc4 ,pope1 ,the ,rape of the ,lock1 ,,iv4 #abc-d4 #dii4 #8,denote no foregone conclusion4' ,othello1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,how far1' etc4 ,the ,merchant of ,venice1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #ejj4 #8,so was it1' etc4 ,cf4 ,wordsworth's #8,my heart leaps up1' etc4 #eja4 ,almanach des gourmands4 ,see ,the ,edinburgh ,review1 ,,xxxv4 #ec4 #ejb4 #8,circumscription and confine1' ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the poor man's only music4' ,coleridge1 ,frost at ,midnight1 #bi4 #ejc4 #8,the earth hath bubbles1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,loud-hissing urn4' ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,the ,winter ,evening1 #ch4 #8,enforc'd to seek1' etc4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,i4 i4 #g and #h4 #ejd4 #8,a thing of life4' #8,she walks the waters like a thing of life4' ,byron1 ,the ,corsair1 ,i4 iii4 #8,behold the lilies1' etc4 ,cf4 ,s4 ,matthew1 vi4 #bh-i4 #8,daffodils1' etc4 ,a ,winter's ,tale1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #d4 #eje4 #8,hail1 adamantine steel1' etc4 ,erasmus ,darwin1 ,the ,botanic ,garden1 ,part ,i1 ,,ii4 #bja-f4 #8,launched1' etc4 ,the ,rape of the ,lock1 ,,ii4 #d4 #8,strange that such difference1' etc4 ,byrom1 #8,on the ,feuds between ,handel and ,bononcini4' #ejf4 #8,let me not1' etc4 ,the ,canterbury ,tales1 ,the ,clerke's ,tale1 #hhj4 #8,pope was not assuredly1' etc4 ,the rest of the essay is quoted from a former paper #8,on the question whether ,pope was a poet4' ,see ante1 pp4 #dca-b and notes4 ,,on ,,consistency ,,of ,,opinion ,published with some omissions in ,winterslow 7#ahej74 #ejh4 #8,servetur ad imum1' etc4 ,horace1 ,ars ,poetica1 #abf-g4 #eji4 #8,it is the eye of childhood1' etc4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,where the treasure is1' etc4 ,s4 ,matthew vi4 #ba4 #8,to be wise1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,let it be virtuous to be obstinate4' ,coriolanus1 ,v4 #c4 ,mr4 ----4 ,northcote1 no doubt1 who told ,haydon that he was so delighted with the ,catalogue that he #8ordered a long candle and went to bed to read it in ecstasy4' ,life of ,haydon 7ed4 ,t4 ,taylor71 ,i4 #cgf4 #eaa4 #8,sots1' etc4 ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,man1 ,,iv4 #bae4 #8,i had rather hear1' etc4 ,cf4 #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,amaze the very faculties1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #eab4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth has hardly1 etc4 ,this passage1 down to #8,constitutional ,association-monger' 7p4 #eac7 was omitted from ,winterslow4 #8,so small a drop1' etc4 ,cymbeline1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #b4 ,applied for an injunction1 etc4 ,a hit at ,southey4 ,see vol4 ,,iii4 7,political ,essays71 pp4 #aib et seq4 and notes4 ,one stroke of his prose-pen1 etc4 ,hazlitt probably refers to ,wordsworth's ,two ,addresses to the ,freeholders of ,westmoreland1 published in #ahah4 #8,the wreck of matter1' etc4 ,addison1 ,cato1 v4 ,i4 #ead4 ,contra audentior ito4 neid1 ,,vi4 #ie4 #8,whose genius1' etc4 ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,the ,garden1 #bee-f4 #8,like a worm1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #ejf4 #8,there's sympathy4' ,the ,merry ,wives of ,windsor1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #a4 #eae4 #8,ancestral voices4' ,coleridge1 ,kubla ,khan1 #bi4 #eae4 #8,he looks up with awe1' etc4 ,cf4 ,burke1 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7,select ,works1 ed ,payne1 ,,ii4 #aja74 #8,i've heard of hearts unkind1' etc4 ,wordsworth1 ,simon ,lee1 #ic-f4 #8,every thing by turns1' etc4 ,cf4 ,dryden1 ,absalom and ,achitophel1 ,i4 #edh4 ,a young student1 etc4 ,this passage1 to the end of the paragraph1 was omitted in ,winterslow4 ,it would seem from the last sentence that ,sir ,john ,stoddart is referred to4 #8,perpetual volley1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,arrowy sleet1 skin-piercing volley4' ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,the ,winter ,morning ,walk1 #adj-a4 #eaf4 ---- always sets himself1 etc4 ,the reference seems clearly to be to ,northcote4 #8,though truth be truth1' etc4 ,cf4 ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4 #eag4 #8,pride elevates1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,hope elevates1 and joy brightens his crest4' ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ix4 #fcc-d4 #8,from morn to noon1' etc4 ,ibid4 ,i4 #gdb-d4 #eah4 #8,in all things1' etc4 ,cf4 ,burke's ,speech on ,economical ,reform 7,feb4 #aa1 #aghj71 ,works1 ,bohn1 ,,ii4 #aje4 #8,to have done1' etc4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,with one consent1' etc4 ,ibid4 #8,like a fashionable host1' ,ibid4 #eai4 #8,noise1' etc4 ,cf4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,tell me your company1' etc4 ,cf4 the well-known proverb quoted in ,don ,quixote1 ,part ,,ii4 chap4 xxiii4 #ebj4 #8,linked bound each to each1' etc4 ,wordsworth1 #8,my heart leaps up1' etc41 #i4 ,,on ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,partisanship ,published in ,sketches and ,essays 7#ahci74 #eba4 #8,ever strong1' etc4 ,king ,john1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #ebb4 #8,in their generation1' etc4 ,cf4 ,s4 ,luke xvi4 #h4 #8,the milk of human kindness4' ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 #8,stuff o' the conscience4' ,othello1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,turned to the stroke1' etc4 ,cowper1 ,the ,task1 ,the ,time-,piece1 #cbd-e4 #ebc4 #8,though sun and moon1' etc4 ,comus1 #cgd-e4 #8,to do a great right1' etc4 ,the ,merchant of ,venice1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 #ebd4 #8,the very arm1' etc4 ,cf4 ,antony and ,cleopatra1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #e4 #8,entire affection scorneth hateth1' etc4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,i4 ,,viii4 #dj4 #8,our bane1' etc4 ,addison1 ,cato1 ,v4 #a4 #8,screwed to the sticking place4' ,cf4 ,macbeth1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #g4 #8,away to ,heaven1' etc4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #ebe4 #8,to grinning scorn4' #8,to bitter ,scorn a sacrifice1 ,and grinning infamy4' ,gray1 ,on a ,distant ,prospect of ,eton ,college1 #gc-d4 #ebf4 #8,in peace1' etc4 ,henry ,v41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,those who are not for us1' etc4 ,cf4 ,s4 ,matthew1 xii4 #cj4 #ebg4 #8,letting our frail thoughts1' etc4 ,cf4 ,lycidas1 #aec4 #8,nothing but vanity1' etc4 ,cf4 ante1 note to p4 #cgc4 #ecj4 #8,our withers are unwrung4' ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,green-eyed1' etc4 ,cf4 ,burke1 ,a ,letter to a ,noble ,lord 7,works1 ,bohn1 ,v4 #adb74 ,,the ,,pirate ,now republished for the first time on the strength of the internal evidence of ,hazlitt's authorship4 #eca4 #8,so potent art4' ,the ,tempest1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,a far war-cry to ,lochiel4' #8,it is a far cry to ,lochow' is the old saying4 #ecb4 ,that described by ,mr4 ,coleridge4 ,see ,selections from ,mr4 ,coleridge's ,literary ,correspondence1 ,no4 ,i4 ,letter ,,iv41 #8,to a ,junior ,soph4 at ,cambridge1' 7,blackwood's ,magazine1 ,oct4 #ahba1 ,x4 #bef71 republished in ,miscellanies1 etc4 7,bohn1 ed4 ,ashe71 pp4 #bdf et seq4 #8,guns1' etc4 ,pope1 ,imitations of ,horace1 ,i4 #bf4 #8,hell itself1' etc4 ,cf4 ,the ,tempest1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,there be land pirates1 etc4' ,cf4 ,the ,merchant of ,venice1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 ,multum abludit imago4 ,horace1 ,satires1 ,,ii4 iii4 #cbj4 #ecc4 #8,a brave man in distress4' ,macheath is described by ,lucy as #8a great man in distress4' ,the ,beggar's ,opera1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #d4 ,,peveril ,,of ,,the ,,peak ,now republished for the first time1 as it appeared in the first copies of ,the ,london ,magazine for ,february #ahbc4 ,before fifty copies had been sold1 the second and third paragraphs1--from #8,there were two things that we used to admire1' etc4 to #8,might not such a man have written the ,scotch ,novels8' 7see post1 p4 #ech7--were suppressed4 ,shortly afterwards a writer in ,blackwood's ,magazine1 having obtained possession of one of the original copies1 published this passage together with indignant comments4 ,see ,blackwood's ,magazine1 ,august #ahbd1 ,,xvi4 #ahj-a4 ,the editor of ,the ,london ,magazine replied to this attack in the number for ,october #ahbd1 and stated that the review was by #8a celebrated critic1' and that the passage had been withdrawn out of respect1 not fear4 ,see ,mr4 ,bertram ,dobell's ,sidelights on ,charles ,lamb 7pp4 #bje et seq474 ,the suppressed passage is here reprinted from ,blackwood's ,magazine4 #ech4 #8,thinly scattered1' etc4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 #8,he knows all qualities1' etc4 ,othello1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,the wisest1' etc4 ,cf4 ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,man1 ,,iv4 #bhb4 ,,common ,,places ,these were first republished by ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt in ,bohn's ,standard ,library 7#ahga7 in the volume containing ,the ,round ,table1 etc4 ,they originally appeared in ,the ,literary ,examiner on the following dates in #ahbc1 viz43 ,nos4 ,i4-,,xviii41 ,september #f2 ,nos4 ,,xix4-,,xlv41 ,september #ac2 ,nos4 ,,xlvi4-,,liii41 ,october #aa2 ,nos4 ,,liv4-,,lix41 ,october #be2 ,nos4 ,,lx4-,,lxi41 ,november #h2 ,nos4 ,,lxii4-,,lxxiii41 ,november #ae2 ,nos4 ,,lxxiv4-,,lxxv41 ,november #bb2 ,nos4 ,,lxxvi4-,,lxxxii41 ,november #bi2 ,nos4 ,,lxxxiii4-,,lxxxvii41 ,december #ac4 #edg4 #8,according to our own deserts1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #b4 #8,the true fuller's earth1' etc4 ,cf4 #8,for time1 like fuller's earth1 takes out each stain4' ,peter ,pindar1 ,lyric ,odes1 ,,vii4 #ad4 ,the taste of the great in pictures1 etc4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,vii4 7,the ,plain ,speaker7 pp4 #bib-d1 where the whole paragraph is repeated4 #edi4 #8,were ,i as tedious1' etc4 ,much ,ado ,about ,nothing1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #e4 #eej4 #8,i am ,misanthropos1' etc4 ,timon of ,athens1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #c4 #8,the cruel sunshine1' etc4 ,cf4 ,armstrong1 ,the ,art of ,preserving ,health1 ,,iv4 #eea4 #8,in its vacant interlunar cave4' ,samson ,agonistes1 #hi4 ,slop4 ,sir ,john ,stoddart1 no doubt4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #aeh and note4 #eeb4 #8,in spite of pride1' etc4 ,pope1 ,an ,essay on ,man1 ,i4 #bic4 #eec4 ,mr4 ,martin's picture4 ,by ,john ,martin 7#aghi-ahed74 l4 #i4 ,bowers4 ,query1 a misprint for #8flowers4' #8,the earth spins round1' etc4 ,cf4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,viii4 #afd-e4 #eee4 #8,a gentle ,husher1' etc4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,i4 ,,iv4 #ac4 #eef4 ,mr4 ,cobbett alone was not invited4 ,the editor of ,the ,literary ,examiner says1 in a note1 #8,this is bien trouv1 but not quite correct4' #8,what went they forth1' etc4 ,cf4 ,s4 ,matthew xi4 #g4 ,the author of the love-letters1 etc4 ,cf4 vol4 ,,iii4 7,political ,essays7 p4 #bah and note4 #8,oh1 the wonderful works of nature4' ,farquhar1 ,the ,recruiting ,officer1 ,act ,,ii4 ,sc4 #c4 #eeg4 #8,the primrose path1' etc4 ,hamlet1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #c4 #eei4 #8,via ,goodman ,dull1' etc4 ,love's ,labour's ,lost1 ,act ,v4 ,sc4 #a4 ,printed by ,t4 and ,a4 ,,constable1 ,printers to ,his ,majesty at the ,edinburgh ,university ,press ----- ,footnote #a3 ,those essays which are now republished for the first time are indicated by an asterisk4 ,footnote #b3 ,these two essays were published together in ,winterslow as #8,mind and ,motive4' ,footnote #c3 ,published in ,winterslow as #8,matter and ,manner4' ,footnote #d3 ,this paper did not appear in ,the ,edinburgh 7,new ,scots7 ,magazine4 ,see post1 note to p4 #dei4 ,footnote #e3 ,the passage in ,locke is as follows3 #8,if in having our ideas in the memory ready at hand1 consists quickness of parts1 in this of having them unconfused and being able nicely to distinguish one thing from another1 where there is but the least difference1 consists in a great measure the exactness of judgment and clearness of reason1 which is to be observed in one man above another4 ,and hence perhaps may be given some reason of that common observation that men who have a great deal of wit and prompt memories1 have not always the clearest judgment1 or deepest reason4 ,for wit lying most in the assemblage of ideas1 and putting them together with quickness and variety1 wherein can be found any resemblance or congruity1 thereby to make up pleasant pictures and agreeable visions in the fancy2 judgment on the contrary lies quite on the other side1 in separating carefully one from another ideas wherein can be found the least difference1 thereby to avoid being misled by similitude and by affinity to take one thing for another4'--,locke's ,essay1 vol4 i4 p4 #adc4 ,footnote #f3 ,this relates to what ,mr4 ,locke says of unity1 whom all succeeding writers have made a point of bringing forward on all occasions1 merely for the purpose of differing from him4 ,they set him up as the standard1 or ne plus ultra of profound wisdom1 and yet they always contrive to go beyond him4 ,i will just add1 by the bye1 on this argument about number1 that the fair way of putting it is by asking whether one combination of ideas is not different from another1 or whether one foot or one inch is the same with thirty-six feet1 or thirty-six inches1 not whether one foot is the same as thirty-six inches4 ,otherwise there will remain a real distinction of number1 both in idea and in fact4 ,footnote #g3 ,the two men of the greatest ability in modern times as metaphysicians1 that is1 with the greatest power of seeing things in the abstract1 and of pursuing a principle into all its consequences1 are in my opinion ,hobbes and ,berkeley3 after them come ,hume and ,hartley4 ,compared with these ,locke was a mere common practical man3 of the four1 ,i think ,hobbes was at the head1 as the others only worked out the materials with which he furnished them4 ,footnote #h3 ,this1 if the translation is correct1 is proving a great deal more than ,leibnitz's restriction of ,locke's doctrine requires1 and is1 as it appears to me1 the great stumbling block in ,kant's ,philosophy4 ,it is quite enough to shew1 not that there are certain notions priori or independent of sensation1 but certain faculties independent of the senses or sensible objects1 which are the intellect itself1 and necessary1 after the objects are given1 to form ideas of them4 ,that is to say1 ideas are the result of the action of objects on such and such faculties of the mind4 ,kant's notions priori1 seem little better than the innate ideas of the schools1 or the ,platonic ideas or forms1 which are to me the forms of nothing4 ,the sole and simple question is1 whether there are not certain intellectual faculties distinct from the senses1 which exist before any ideas can be formed1 as it is not denied by any one1 that there are certain sensitive faculties which must exist before any sensations can be received4 ,the one supposition no more implies innate ideas1 than the other implies innate sensations4 ,footnote #i3 ,now ,kant1 by thus classing1 as he apparently does1 the representations of space and time as forms of the sensitive faculty1 throws up the whole argument3 for if these very complex 7not to say distracted7 ideas1 can be referred to mere sensation1 ,i do not see why all the rest may not4 ,time is obviously an idea of succession or memory1 and cannot be the result of an immediate sensible impression4 ,the only power of the sensitive faculty is to receive blind1 unconscious1 unconnected impressions2 the only category of the understanding is to perceive the relations between these impressions1 so as to connect them consciously together1 or to form ideas4 ,to this category of relation1 all the other general categories of quantity1 totality1 cause and effect1 etc4 as well as the ideas of space and time1 are necessarily consequent and subordinate4 ,footnote #aj3 ,see to the same purpose ,hobbes's ,human ,nature1 p4 #be1 and ,leviathan1 p4 #ad4 ,berkeley's ,principles of ,human ,knowledge1 p4 #ae and #bd4 ,hume's ,treatise1 p4 #df4 ,helvetius on the ,mind1 p4 #aj1 and ,condillac's ,logic1 p4 #ed4 ,footnote #aa3 #8,lastly1 that there is some one principle or substance1 absolutely simple in its nature1 and distinct from every composition of matter1 which is the seat of thought1 the soul of man1 and the bond of our existence1 will appear evident to any one who considers the nature of judgment and comparison3 where both terms of the one1 and both branches of the other must be apprehended together1 in order to determine between them4 ,let one man be ever so well acquainted with ,st4 ,peter's at ,rome1 and another with ,st4 ,paul's in ,london1 they can never tell which is the larger1 the handsomer1 or make any other comparison between the two buildings by virtue of this knowledge4 ,but you will say1 the one may communicate his knowledge to the other3 but then that other has the idea of both before him in his imagination1 and it is from this that he forms his judgment4 ,nor is the case different with respect to the parts of a percipient being3 let the idea of an elephant be impressed upon particle a1 and that of a mouse upon particle b1 they can never know either jointly or separately which is the larger creature3 nor can a judgement be formed till the ideas of both coincide in one and the same individual4 ,this is the common sense of mankind4 ,for when we make use of the pronouns1 ,i1 ,he1 ,you1 c4 and say1 ,i heard such a sound2 ,i saw such a sight2 or felt such a sensation2 are not these different impressions all referred by implication to the same simple individual8 ,or were ,i to say1 that in looking at a chess-board for instance1 one part of me saw the yellow king1 another the black1 another the queen1 another the bishop1 and so on1 should ,i not be laughed at by every body as not knowing what ,i was talking about8'--,tucker's ,light of ,nature pursued1 chapter on the ,independent ,existence of ,mind4 ,see also ,rousseau's reasoning in ,answer to ,helvetius1 ,emile1 tom4 #c4 ,and ,bentley's ,sermons at the ,boyle ,lecture4 ,footnote #ab3 ,so little has this principle of the unity of thought and consciousness been understood1 that even ,professor ,stewart1 the great champion of the intellectual philosophy1 utterly rejects it1 and supposes that the idea which the mind forms of any visible figure is nothing but a rapid succession of the ideas of the several parts4 ,see his reasoning on this subject most ably confuted in a work lately published1 entitled #8,an ,essay on ,consciousness1 by ,john ,fearn4'--,this ,essay1 in spite of the disadvantage of the mechanical hypothesis with which it is encumbered1 and the technical obscurity of the style1 contains1 ,i think1 more close and original observation on the individual processes of the human mind1 than any work published in this country in the last fifty years4 ,footnote #ac3 ,the faces of ,n4 ,poussin want expression1 as his figures want grace2 but the landscape part of his historical compositions was never surpassed4 ,in his plague of ,athens the buildings seem stiff with horror4 ,his ,giants seated on the tops of their fabled mountains1 and playing on their ,pan's pipes are as natural and familiar as #8silly shepherds sitting in a row4' ,the finest of his landscapes is his picture of the ,deluge4 ,the sun is just seen wan and drooping in his course1 the sky is bowed down with a weight of waters1 and heaven and earth seem commingling4 ,footnote #ad3 ,the reader is referred to an elegant and beautiful description of ,claude1 in ,mr4 ,northcote's ,dream of a ,painter4 ,footnote #ae3 ,the idea of the necessity of tampering with nature1 or giving what is called a flattering likeness1 was universal in this country fifty years ago4 ,this would no doubt be always easy1 if the whole of the art consisted in leaving out1 and not putting in1 what is to be found in nature4 ,it may not be improper to add here1 that1 in our opinion1 ,murillo is at the head of the class of painters1 who have treated subjects of common life4 ,there is something in his pictures which is not to be found at all in the productions of the ,dutch school4 ,after making the colours on the canvass feel and think1 the next best thing is to make them breathe and live4 ,but there is in ,murillo's pictures a look of real life1 a cordial flow of animal spirits1 to be met with no where else4 ,we might here particularly refer to his picture of the ,two ,spanish ,beggar-boys in ,mr4 ,desenfans' collection1 which cannot be forgotten by those who have ever seen it4 ,footnote #af3 ,this theory will be found contained in ,richardson's ,essay on ,painting1 and in ,coypel's ,discourses to the ,french ,academy4 ,footnote #ag3 ,this painter's book of studies from nature1 commonly called ,liber ,veritatis1 disproves the truth of ,sir ,joshua's assumption1 that his landscapes are mere general compositions1 for the finished pictures are nearly fac-similes of the original sketches1 and what is added to them in point of regularity 7if this addition was any advantage7 was at least the result of his own genius4 ,footnote #ah3 ,sir ,joshua considers it as a great disadvantage to ,raphael in studying from the antique1 that he had not the facilities afforded by modern prints1 but was forced to seek out1 and copy them one by one with great care4 ,we should be disposed to reverse this conclusion4 ,footnote #ai3 ,the pictures of ,rubens at ,blenheim are another proof of this1 and certainly finer than the ,luxembourg gallery4 ,footnote #bj3 ,michael ,angelo took his ideas of painting from sculpture1 and ,sir ,joshua from ,michael ,angelo4 ,footnote #ba3 ,why fabulous or obscure8 ,footnote #bb3 ,the personification of the ,deity is another instance of critical contradiction and conceit4 ,objecting to the figures of ,raphael and ,michael ,angelo as mythological and sensible1 he introduces a little golden triangle behind a cloud 7triangulum in nube7 as a philosophical emblem of the ,trinity6 ,footnote #bc3 ,when the writer of this article was in ,france twelve years ago1 a young ,french artist began to copy in pencil a figure of the ,virgin by ,leonardo da ,vinci4 ,he returned to it day after day1 and week after week4 ,he was always there4 ,he would first retouch an eyebrow or an eyelash1 then do something to one of the fingers1 then mark in a bit of the drapery1 and then return to the face again4 ,all this he did1 sometimes leaning over the railing before the picture1 sometimes sitting on a stool1 mechanically screwed on to it1 sometimes standing on one leg4 ,he also relieved the monotony of his undertaking1 by retiring to a small distance to compare his copy with the original1 or shewed it to some one near him1 or went round to look over others who were copying1 or stood at the fire for an hour together1 or loitered into the sculpture room1 or walked round the gallery1 and generally observed at his return that ,poussin was excellent #8pour la composition1' ,raphael #8pour l'expression1' ,titian #8pour les beaux coloris1' but that ,david and his pupils united all these qualities to the fine forms of the antique4 ,at the end of eleven weeks1 we left him perfecting his copy4 ,for anything we know1 he may be at it still4 ,footnote #bd3 ,it is not correct to say that the ,french always colour from their casts4 ,they sometimes rouge them over with a beautiful rose-colour1 or cover their lay-figures with flesh-coloured ,nankin1 like that which adorns the bodies of their opera dancers4 ,we were at a loss to account for the colouring of ,david1 till we heard of this contrivance4 ,it is thus that these accomplished persons think to rival the hues of ,titian and ,correggio6 ,footnote #be3 ,a radical objection to it1 in point of composition1 is1 that it is addressing the spectator1 and has its back turned to the audience4 ,footnote #bf3 ,the waiter drawing the cork in the ,rent-day1 is another exception1 and quite ,hogarthian4 ,footnote #bg3 ,mr4 ,wilkie's pictures are in general much better painted than ,hogarth's3 but the ,marriage a-la-mode is superior both in colour and execution to any of ,wilkie's4 ,footnote #bh3 #8,and see6 how dark the backward stream ,a little moment past how smiling6 ,and still perhaps1 with faithless gleam1 ,some other loiterer beguiling4' ,wordsworth4 ,footnote #bi3 ,mr4 ,southey is1 it is hoped1 politically reconciled to ,mr4 ,dryden1 since his succession to the ,laureatship4 ,which of these two writers is the better poet1 it would be presumptuous in us to determine4 ,we could sooner determine which was the honester man4 ,mr4 ,dryden1 we believe1 never wrote ,regicide ,sonnets1 ,jacobin ,odes1 or ,revolutionary ,epic ,poems4 ,how the ,prince must laugh1 if he can laugh at any thing4 ,he might as well have made his chaplain his historical painter6 ,footnote #cj3 ,as a contrast to the story at the beginning of this article1 it will be not amiss to mention that of ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 on a somewhat similar occasion4 ,he had prepared some papers for the press with great care and study1 but happening to leave a lighted candle on the table with them1 his dog ,diamond overturned the candle1 and the labour of several years was destroyed4 ,this great man1 on seeing what was done1 only shook his head1 and said with a smile1 #8,ah1 ,diamond1 you don't know what mischief you have done6' ,footnote #ca3 ,we have an instance in our own times of a man1 equally devoid of understanding and principle1 but who manages the ,house of ,commons by his manner alone4 ,footnote #cb3 ,sheer impudence answers almost the same purpose4 #8,those impenetrable whiskers have confronted flames4' ,many persons1 by looking big and talking loud1 make their way through the world without any one good quality4 ,we have here said nothing of mere personal qualifications1 which are another set-off against sterling merit4 ,fielding was of opinion that #8the more solid pretensions of virtue and understanding vanish before perfect beauty4' #8,a certain lady of a manor' 7says ,don ,quixote in defence of his attachment to ,dulcinea1 which however was quite of the ,platonic kind71 #8had cast the eyes of affection on a certain squat1 brawny lay brother of a neighbouring monastery1 to whom she was lavish of her favours4 ,the head of the order remonstrated with her on this preference shown to one whom he represented as a very low1 ignorant fellow1 and set forth the superior pretensions of himself1 and his more learned brethren4 ,the lady having heard him to an end1 made answer3 ,all that you have said may be very true2 but know1 that in those points which ,i admire1 ,brother ,chrysostom is as great a philosopher1 nay greater than ,aristotle himself6' ,so the ,wife of ,bath3 #8,to church was mine husband borne on the morrow ,with neighbours that for him maden sorrow1 ,and ,jenkin our clerk was one of tho3 ,as help me ,god1 when that ,i saw him go ,after the bier1 methought he had a pair ,of legs and feet1 so clean and fair1 ,that all my heart ,i gave unto his hold4' #8,all which1 though we most potently believe1 yet we hold it not honesty to have it thus set down4' ,footnote #cc3 ,at ,salisbury1 which is a cathedral and county town1 you cannot get a copy of ,congreve or ,wycherley at any of the shops4 ,footnote #cd3 ,the knack of off-hand1 unprincipled1 idle fabrication is not assisted1 but the contrary1 by general knowledge or regular education4 ,women1 for this reason1 have the better of their husbands in trumping up sudden excuses and contrivances that have no foundation in fact or reason2 and their servant maids1 who are more uneducated still1 beat them hollow at the same paltry game of cross-purposes4 ,footnote #ce3 ,it is observed and perhaps justly that the members of the ,established ,church are the pleasantest sort of people to deal with4 ,dissenters are more soured by the leaven of religion4 ,the others do not trouble themselves enough about it to come to a conclusion of their own1 or to quarrel with other people who do4 ,they are religious merely out of conformity to the practice of the age and country in which they live1 and follow that which has authority and numbers on its side4 ,footnote #cf3 ,there is a common inversion of this opinion1 which is desperation2 or the becoming reckless of all consequences1 poverty1 disease1 or death1 from disappointment in some one thing that the mind is set upon1 no matter what4 ,a man who has been jilted of his first choice marries out of spite the first woman he meets4 ,a girl1 whose sweetheart goes to sea1 because she will not have him1 as soon as he is gone1 and she is baulked of her fancy1 runs a-muck at ruin and infamy-- #8,as men should serve a cucumber1 ,she throws herself away6' ,losing gamesters act nearly on the same infatuated principle4 ,harrel1 in ,cecilia1 makes a fine hair-brained mock-heroic exit4 ,i declare ,i prefer it to the termination of ,gray's ,bard4 ,gamesters and highwaymen are so far heroes that it is neck or nothing with them3 they set consequences at defiance4 ,their actions are disinterested2 but their motives are not so4 ,a fortune-hunting ,general stands much in the same predicament4 ,the abstracted1 the ideal1 is necessary to the true heroic4 ,but before a man can fight for an idea1 he must have an idea in his head to fight for4 ,now there are some ,generals that are not understood to possess this qualification of the heroic character4 ,footnote #cg3 ,it has been suggested whether this phrase #8insulted' is not too modern4 ,footnote #ch3 ,mr4 ,canning1 when on a tour to the ,lakes1 did ,mr4 ,wordsworth the honour of paying him a visit4 ,the favour was duly appreciated1 but quite unexpected4 ,really1 we do not know any one so little capable of appreciating the ,lyrical ,ballads4 ,footnote #ci3 ,we once heard it said1 that #8,mr4 ,canning had the most elegant mind since ,virgil4' ,but we could not assent to this remark1 as we just then happened to think of ,claude ,lorraine4 ,footnote #dj3 ,we have said nothing here of the impiety of ,mr4 ,canning's parodies1 though a great deal has been said of the impiety of ,mr4 ,hone's1 which unfortunately happen to be on the other side of the question4 ,it is true that one man may steal a horse sooner than another can look over a hedge4 ,mr4 ,hone is not a ,cabinet ,minister1 and therefore is not allowed to take liberties with the ,liturgy4 ,it is to no purpose to urge that ,mr4 ,hone is a very good-natured man1 that he is mild and inoffensive in his manners1 that he is utterly void of guile1 with a great deal of sincere piety1 and that his greatest vice is that he is fond of a joke1 and given to black-letter reading4 ,the answer is--#8,but he has written parodies'--and it is to no purpose to reply--,so has ,mr4 ,canning6 ,he is a ,cabinet ,minister1 and therefore incapable of any thing vulgar or profane4 ,one would think that the triumphant question put by ,mr4 ,hone to his ,jury1 #8,whether ,mr4 ,jekyll's ,parody on ,black-eyed ,susan was meant to ridicule ,sir ,william ,curtis or the ,ballad of ,black-eyed ,susan8' would have put an end for ever to the cant on this subject1 if reason could put an end to cant on any subject4 ,the fate of different men is curious4 ,mr4 ,canning1 who has all his life been defending the most odious and mischievous men and measures1 passes1 on that very account1 for a most amiable character and an accomplished statesman4 ,mr4 ,hone1 who defended himself against a charge of blasphemy for a parody on the ,church ,service of which ,mr4 ,canning had furnished him with a precedent1 rose from the attack by the force of good-nature1 and by that noble spirit of freedom and honesty in which to be unjustly accused is to be superior to all fear1 and to speak truth is to be eloquent--but that he did not suffer himself to be crushed to atoms1 and made a willing sacrifice to the prejudice1 talent1 and authority arrayed against him1 is a resistance to the opinions of the world and the insolence of power1 that can never be overlooked or forgiven4 #8,a wit's a feather1 and a chief's a rod3 ,an honest man's the noblest work of ,god6' ,footnote #da3 ,it is amusing to see an ,english woman in the streets of ,paris looking like a dowdy1 and scarcely able to put one foot before another for very awkwardness and shame1 who but a week before she left home had perhaps trampled on a dress brought home to her1 in a fit of uncontrollable rage1 thrown a cap into the fire1 and kicked her milliner down stairs for bringing her such unfashionable trumpery4 ,one would scarcely believe that a mere change of place would make such an alteration in behaviour4 ,when we see our country-women so unpleasantly situated1 we are naturally both ashamed and sorry for them3 but1 as in this case1 we pity many of them more than they deserve4 ,footnote #db3 ,lady ,byron1 when a girl1 was so affected at seeing ,mrs4 ,siddons as ,isabella1 in the ,fatal ,marriage1 that she was carried out fainting into the lobbies1 and kept sobbing and exclaiming involuntarily #8,oh1 ,byron1 ,byron6' ,egad1 she had enough of ,byron afterwards4 ,this good-natured remark is not ours4 ,whose1 reader1 do you suppose it is8 ,we have heard the late ,mr4 ,curran say1 that when he was a young man studying the law at the ,temple1 his supreme delight was to see ,mrs4 ,siddons in her great parts1 and all he wanted was a couple of pails on each side of him to fill them with his tears6 ,such things have been4 ,footnote #dc3 #8,lodging-houses for the ,universe1' and #8,stage-coaches of the ,universe4' ,footnote #dd3 ,in this sort of representative ,government the utility of the ,press seems by no means superseded4 ,footnote #de3 ,papers on ,codification4 ,what an odd title4 ,mr4 ,bentham writes a style of his own1 and in his titlepages he puts his best foot foremost4 ,footnote #df3 ,venice4 ,footnote #dg3 ,there is a false concord here4 ,footnote #dh3 ,this word is not ,english1 nor its meaning clear4 ,footnote #di3 ,why is the word portion here used1 as if it were a portion of ,scripture8 #8,those strains that once did sweet in ,zion glide1 ,he wales a portion with judicious care4' ,cottar's ,saturday ,night4 ,now1 ,mr4 ,wordsworth's poems1 though not profane1 yet neither are they sacred1 to deserve this solemn style1 though some of his admirers have gone so far as to compare them for primitive1 patriarchal simplicity1 to the historical parts of the ,bible4 ,much has been said of the merits and defects of this large poem1 which is #8portion of a larger2'--perhaps ,horace's rule has been a double bar to its success--,non satis est pulchra poemata esse1 dulcia sunto4 ,the features of this author's muse want sweetness of expression as well as regularity of outline4 ,footnote #ej3 ,a ,french teacher1 in reading ,titus and ,berenice with an ,english pupil1 used to exclaim1 in raptures1 at the best passages1 #8,what have you in ,shakespeare equal to this8' ,this showed that he had a taste for ,racine1 and a power of appreciating his beauties1 though he might want an equal taste for ,shakespeare4 ,footnote #ea3 ,it is a fashion among the scientific or pedantic part of the musical world to decry ,miss ,stephens's singing as feeble and insipid4 ,this it is to take things by their contraries4 ,her excellence does not lie in force or contrast1 but in sweetness and simplicity4 ,to give only one instance4 ,any person who does not feel the beauty of her singing the lines in ,artaxerxes1 #8,what was my pride is now my shame1' c41 in which the notes seem to fall from her lips like languid drops from the bending flower1 and her voice flutters and dies away with the expiring conflict of passion in her bosom1 may console himself with the possession of other faculties1 but assuredly he has no ear for music4 ,footnote #eb3 ,there is a very striking and spirited picture of this subject by an ingenious living artist 7,mr4 ,alston71 in the present exhibition of the ,royal ,academy4 ,the academic skill in it is admirable1 and many of the forms are truly elegant and beautiful2 but ,i may be permitted to add1 that the scene 7as he represents it7 too much resembles the courtly designs of ,vitruvius or ,palladio1 rather than #8a temple not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens'2 and that the angels seem rather preparing to dance a minuet or grand ballet on the marble pavement which they tread1 than descending the air in a dream of love1 of hope1 and gratitude4 ,footnote #ec3 ,i apprehend that natural is of more importance than acquired sensibility4 ,thus1 any one1 without having been at an opera1 may judge of opera dancing1 only from having seen 7with judicious eyes7 a stag bound across a lawn1 or a tree wave its branches in the air4 ,in all1 the general principles of motion are the same4 ,footnote #ed3 ,in answer to a criticism by ,mr4 ,godwin on his poem called ,sympathy4 ,footnote #ee3 #8,liberty is a custom of ,england1' said a ,member of ,congress2 who seems also to be of opinion1 that it is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance4 ,footnote #ef3 ,i by no means wish to preclude ,mr4 ,phillips from trying annually to naturalize his favourite mode of oratory at watering-places in this country1 or in ,evangelical ,societies held at the ,egyptian-hall1 where it is not out of character4 ,he may there assure his hearers1 with great impunity1 that ,dr4 ,franklin's orthodoxy was never called in question2 and rank ,moses and ,mahomet together as true prophets1 7by virtue of the first letter of their names7 in opposition to the infidelity of ,paine and ,priestly1 who go together for the same reason-- ,like ,juno's ,swans1 link'd and inseparable4 ,footnote #eg3 ,the best speeches are the worst reported1 the worst are made better than they are4 ,they both find a convenient newspaper level4 ,footnote #eh3 ,his ,lordship is said to speak ,french with as little hesitation as he does his native tongue2 and once made a speech in that language to the ,congress for three hours without interruption4 ,the sentiments1 we may be sure1 were not ,english4 ,or was it on that occasion that ,prince ,tallyrand made his observation1 #8that speech was given to man to conceal his thoughts'8 ,i cannot agree with ,mr4 ,hobhouse in his compliment to the expression which ,isabey has given to ,lord ,castlereagh's face in the insulated figure of him in the picture of the ,congress4 ,an old classical friend of ,mr4 ,hobhouse's would have supplied a better interpretation of it4 ,but ,i do not think the ,french artist has done his ,lordship justice4 ,his features are marked1 but the expression is dormant4 ,footnote #ei3 ,see his panegyric on the late ,king1 his defence of the ,house of ,commons1 and his eulogy on the practical liberty of the ,english ,constitution in his ,liverpool ,dinner ,speech4 ,footnote #fj3 ,letter to 99999999 999999999999 on the ,rev4 ,w4 ,l4 ,bowles's ,strictures on the ,life and ,writings of ,pope4 ,by the ,right ,hon4 ,lord ,byron4 ,third ,edition4 ,murray4 ,footnote #fa3 ,we have #8purest architecture' just before2 and #8the prior fabric which preceded1' is rather more than an inelegant pleonasm4 ,footnote #fb3 ,see ,mr4 ,bowles's ,two ,letters4 ,footnote #fc3 ,coleridge4 ,footnote #fd3 ,most people have felt the ennui of being detained under a gateway in a shower of rain4 ,happy is he who has an umbrella1 and can escape when the first fury of the storm has abated4 ,turn this gateway into a broker's shop1 full of second-hand furniture--tables1 chairs1 bedsteads1 bolsters1 and all the accommodations of man's life1--the case will not be mended4 ,on the other hand1 convert it into a wild natural cave1 and we may idle away whole hours in it1 marking a streak in the rock1 or a flower that grows on the sides1 without feeling time hang heavy on us4 ,the reason is1 that where we are surrounded with the works of man--the sympathy with the art and purposes of man1 as it were1 irritates our own will1 and makes us impatient of whatever interferes with it3 while1 on the contrary1 the presence of nature1 of objects existing without our intervention and controul1 disarms the will of its restless activity1 and disposes us to submit to accidents that we cannot help1 and the course of outward events1 without repining4 ,we are thrown into the hands of nature1 and become converts to her power4 ,thus the idea of the artificial1 the conventional1 the voluntary1 is fatal to the romantic and imaginary4 ,to us it seems1 that the free spirit of nature rushes through the soul1 like a stream with a murmuring sound1 the echo of which is poetry4 ,footnote #fe3 ,this1 we are sorry to say1 relates only to the three first volumes4 ,the fourth is in a very mixed style indeed4 ,it looks as if the author was tired1 and got somebody to help him4 ,footnote #ff3 ,see ,mackenzie's ,life of ,home1 the author of ,douglas4 ,footnote #fg3 ,the ,duke of ,wellington1 it is said1 cannot enter into the merits of ,raphael1 but he admires #8the spirit and fire of ,tintoret4' ,i do not wonder at this bias4 ,a sentiment1 probably1 never dawned upon his ,grace's mind2 but he may be supposed to relish the dashing execution and hit or miss manner of the ,venetian artist4 ,oh1 ,raphael6 well is it that it was one who did not understand thee that blundered upon the destruction of humanity6 ,footnote #fh3 ,hazlitt refers to what ,the ,examiner calls the #8regal raree-show' in the ,parks at the beginning of ,august #ahad4 ,a sham fight on the ,serpentine was one of the features4 ,footnote #fi3 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii4 #eej4 ,footnote #gj3 ,wordsworth himself says 7,hart-,leap ,well7 #8,the moving accident is not my trade4' ,footnote #ga3 ,lycidas1 #afa4 ,footnote #gb3 ,wordsworth's ,ode1 ,intimations of ,immortality1 #bjf-g4 ,footnote #gc3 ,see ante1 note to p4 #dh4 ,footnote #gd3 ,this opening paragraph is certainly very like ,hazlitt4 ,cf4 the review by anticipation of ,coleridge's ,lay ,sermon in ,political ,essays1 vol4 ,,iii4 pp4 #ach-adb4 ,footnote #ge3 ,query1 a misprint for #8delicacy4' ,footnote #gf3 ,ben ,jonson's ,underwoods1 ,,xxx41 #8,an ,epistle to ,sir ,edward ,sackville4 ,a favourite quotation of ,hazlitt's4 ,footnote #gg3 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 ,,iii4 ,,vii4 #g4 ,footnote #gh3 ,haydon4 ,footnote #gi3 ,hamlet1 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #b4 ,footnote #hj3 ,leigh ,hunt1 ,the ,story of ,rimini1 ,,iii4 #cb4 ,footnote #ha3 ,see vol4 ,i4 p4 #bah-bba4 ,footnote #hb3 ,acts xix4 #bh4 ,footnote #hc3 ,to the line #8,and to the ragged infant threaten war1' ,hazlitt appends the footnote1 #8,this is a pleasing line2 because the unconsciousness to the mischief in the child is a playful relief to the mind1 and the picturesqueness of the imagery gives it double point and naivet4' ,footnote #hd3 ,to the line #8,see them beneath the dog-stars raging heat1' ,hazlitt has a footnote3 #8,this seems almost a parody on the lines in ,shakespeare4 8,not all these1 laid in bed majestical10 etc4 ,henry ,v41 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a1 ll4 #bhd-big4 ,who shall decide where two such authorities disagree6' ,footnote #he3 #a ,henry ,,iv41 ,act ,,iii4 ,sc4 #a4 ,footnote #hf3 ,to the line #8,or wipes the tear that stagnates in his eyes1' ,hazlitt adds a footnote3 #8,and the motion unsettles a tear4--,wordsworth4' ,the ,convict1 7,lyrical ,ballads7 l4 #db4 ,footnote #hg3 ,the ,parish ,register1 ,i4 #ajg-aj4 ,footnote #hh3 ,ibid4 ,i4 #bcj-a4 ,footnote #hi3 ,the ,parish ,register1 ,i4 #cja-d4 ,footnote #ij3 ,a ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 ,act ,,iv4 ,sc4 #a4 ,footnote #ia3 ,the ,parish ,register1 ,i4 #ded-g4 ,footnote #ib3 ,ibid4 ,,ii4 #cai-bj4 ,footnote #ic3 ,dryden1 ,prologue to ,the ,tempest1 #bj4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #b4 ,retained archaic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings as printed4 #c4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4