sarily precedes the action of that organization in which the functions of life consist; organization is the antecedents function is the sequent. The origin of organization, to which function is related as the sequent, is referable in every case to a pre-existing organization; organization is not self-existent, but as far back as it is possible for us to trace it, it is always pre-existent. Matter neither organizes itself, nor is organized by any cause but one, viz. a pre-existing organization.

Westminster Review.

CCXXIX.

MAGINARY EVILS.-If we except the blessings of strength, health, and the testimony of a good conscience, all the other conveniences and pleasures of life depend on opinion. Except pain of body, and remorse of conscience, all our evils are imaginary.-Rousseau.

CCXXX.

OOD NATURE.-There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good nature, or something which must bear its appearance, and supply its place. For this reason mankind have been forced to invent a kind of artificial humanity, which is what we express by the word good breeding. For if we examine thoroughly the idea of what we call so, we shall find it to be nothing else but an imitation and mimicry of good nature, or in other terms, affability, complaisance, and easiness of temper reduced into an art.—Addison.

CCXXXI.

IRTUE. The surest, as the shortest way, to make yourself beloved and honoured, is to be indeed the very man you wish to appear. Set yourself therefore diligently to the attaining of every virtue, and you will find on experience, that no one of them whatsoever but will flourish and gain strength when properly exercised.-Socrates in Xenophon.

subdue, whatever he finds in his temper of turbulent and impetuous; knowing that enmity and danger are the attendants on force, while the path of persuasion is all security and good will: for they who are compelled, bate whoever compels them, supposing they have been injured; whereas we conciliate the affections of those we gain by persuasion; while they consider it as a kindness to be applied to in such a manner. Therefore it is only for those to employ force, who possess strength without judgment; but the well advised will have recourse to other means. Besides, he who pretends to carry by force, hath need of many associates: but the man who can persuade, knows that he is himself sufficient for the purpose; neither can such a one be supposed forward to shed blood; for, who is there would choose to destroy a fellow citizen, rather than make a friend of him by mildness and persuasion.-Xenophon.

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the murder of Cæsar, whence did we derive the certainty? How came we to feel sure of the general truth of the circumstances of the narrative? The ready answer to this question will be, that we have not absolute certainty upon this point, but that we have the relation of historians, men of credit, who lived and published their accounts in the very time of which they write; that succeeding ages have received those accounts as true, and that succeeding historians have backed them with a mass of circumstantial evidence, which makes it the most improbable thing in the world that the account, or any material part of it, should be false. This is perfectly correct, nor can there be the slightest objection to believing the whole narration upon such grounds; na', our minds are so constituted, that, upon our knowledge of these rits arguments, we cannot help believing, in spite of r lves. But this brings us to the point to which we wish we believe that Cæsar was assassinated by Bru friends, not because there is any absurdity in sus, reve the contrary, since every one must allow that th possibility that the event never happened! nof this kin render can show that it must necessarily have been that, at a particular day, at a particular place, a successful adventurer must have been murdered in the manner described, but because our evidence of the fact is such, that if we apply the notions of evidence, which every day experience justifies us in entertaining, we feel that the improbability of the contrary compels us to take refuge in the belief of the fact; and if we allow that there is still a possibility of its falsehood, it is because this supposition does not, involve absolute absurdity, but only that of extreme improbability.-Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.

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