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existence of an external world at all. Hume, in his "Essays," "Treatise on Human Nature," and other metaphysical writings, asserted, that from the fallaciousness of our reason and other mental powers, as well as of our senses, we had no good grounds for certainty in any of our beliefs. Hartley, a contemporary of Hume, taught, in his Observations," that all our thoughts were occasioned by the association of ideas in our minds, and that ideas were produced in us by vibrations in the brain. To oppose such doctrines as these, which seemed to establish nothing but universal scepticism and materialism, and to justify the often-repeated taunt that metaphysics was a mere juggling with words, Dr Reid, Professor of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow, promulgated a new system. He maintained, in his "Enquiry and his "Active Powers," that all men had an immediate knowledge of the world, and as firm a conviction of its existence as of their own, and laid down certain principles taught by common sense as the basis on which alone any sound philosophical system could be built. His opinions have exercised a very important influence on the course of speculation ever since his day. In moral philosophy opinions have been principally divided on the answers which should be given to two questions, viz.-Is there any essential and immutable difference between right and wrong, and if so, wherein does it consist? and, How is it that we distinguish the one from the other? To these questions very various answers have been given. Lord Shaftesbury, in his Inquiry concerning Virtue," asserted that right and wrong were necessarily distinct, and that in our judgment of actions we were regulated by a "moral sense.' Dr Clarke, author of the à priori argument, taught that right and wrong consisted in the fitness or unfitness of a certain line of conduct to certain necessary and eternal differences of things perceived by the understanding. Hutcheson, Professor of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow, held, with Shaftesbury, that we perceived moral qualities in actions by means of a moral sense, just as we perceive the qualities of external bodies by our bodily senses, and that we judged of actions without any necessity of reasoning upon their consequences. Bishop Butler's moral system, contained in his "Sermons," is distinguished mainly by the prominent place assigned to the doctrine of the supremacy of conscience, to which he assigns the right to control all our actions, and to judge of them as right or wrong according as they do or do not correspond to the dignity of our nature. Dr Adam Smith, in his " Theory of Moral Sentiments," holds that we are able to judge of the propriety or impropriety of actions only through sympathy, by supposing ourselves to be in the place of the actor, and judging accordingly. A different view was taken by Hume, who taught that utility was the sole ground of the distinction between actions; that those actions were good which tended to promote our happiness, and that those which had a contrary tendency were bad. This theory of morals is known as the utilitarian theory, and, with various modifications, has been widely prevalent ever since the times of Hume. These were the chief writers in moral and mental philosophy; but the same departments of literature were cultivated with more or less success by many others, of whom Beattie and Lord Kames are the best known. It is worthy of remark, that a large proportion of the writers that have

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been named were Scotsmen; and, for nearly a century, the study of mental philosophy attracted a much greater number of devotees in Scotland than in any other part of the British dominions.

10. There still remain to be noticed some compositions which cannot be distinctly classed under any of the previous heads, and must, therefore, be considered together as miscellaneous works. Of writers of this class the earliest was Swift, Dean of St Patrick's, Dublin, and already enumerated among the minor poets and the essayists. His works are very numerous, but almost all short, and chiefly on political subjects, and of a satirical cast. He may, indeed, be said to have brought political satire to its perfection, and no one ever possessed in higher eminence all the requisites of a satirist. Using the plainest and most forcible language, however gross, and sparing no taunt, however coarse, his sole object was to overwhelm his political opponents with ridicule; and in this he succeeded so well that, unable to answer him in any other way, they oftener than once threatened him with a prosecution, and offered a large reward for his apprehension. His chief works are the "Tale of a Tub," in which he satirizes, not always in very choice language, the differences among Christians, and especially the opinions of the Roman Catholics and Presbyterians; and "Gulliver's Travels," a political satire in the form of a humorous book of travels, which enjoyed an unequalled popularity at the time of its issue, and is still popular with many who have no suspicion of its author's political views in publishing it. Arbuthnot, a friend of Swift and Pope, and their associate in many literary projects, was the author of part of the "Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus," a fragment of a large work, which the illustrious trio designed as a satire upon the history of human folly. Lord Bolingbroke, also a friend and correspondent of Swift, is the author of "Letters on the Study of History," "Letters on the Spirit of Patriotism," and "Philosophical Essays." His works are written in a very forcible and eloquent style, but contain many oblique reflections upon morality and Christianity, which cannot but prove offensive to a reader of good principles. Unhappily his more powerful mind exercised an evil moral influence over the poetry of Pope, most conspicuously manifested in the "Essay on Man." In the next generation, the chief miscellaneous writer was Samuel Johnson. Without any of the accidental advantages of wealth, high descent, or powerful patrons, Johnson, by sheer force of learning, strong good sense, and high moral energy of character, gradually won his way to the first rank in literature, and was for many years a sort of literary dictator, whose style was the model for universal imitation, whose opinions formed the standard of criticism, and whose sentence of approval or condemnation sealed the fate of every literary production. He introduced a new style, which, though occasionally pompous and pedantic, was yet more dignified and sonorous than that which had been established by the authority of Addison; he infused a higher moral tone into the literature of the day; and established a code of critical laws, which, though unjust to the literature of the fancy and imagination, are yet, on the whole, eminently sound and judicious. His chief works are his "Lives of the Poets," "Journey to the Hebrides," and numerous articles in the "Gentleman's Magazine and other periodicals. His "Dictionary," moreover, though such

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works are not usually reckoned among the literature of a country; forms an important era in the history of our language, and its value, with all its faults, is shown very conspicuously by the failure of almost every work of the same kind which has been projected to supply his deficiencies. To the same period belong the miscellaneous works of Goldsmith, his Essays," "History of Animated Nature," &c., all characterized by the graceful ease of narrative which is so conspicuous in all that Goldsmith wrote. It is impossible to mention the names of Johnson and Goldsmith without referring to one of the most delightful books in our literature, the "Life of Dr Johnson" by Boswell, a work which, by its interesting revelations of the private intercourse of that famous band of literary associates of which Johnson was the centre, has more than any other contributed to impress us with a high opinion of the intellectual eminence of the men whose brilliant conversational sallies it so faithfully records. Of the younger friends of Johnson, the most eminent by far was Edmund Burke, an Irishman, whose ability made him the foremost orator in the House of Commons, and who was favourably known in Johnson's days by his "Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful." His first work is in style a remarkable contrast to his later productions; it is plain and unadorned, while they afford the finest specimens of florid, highly-coloured, impassioned eloquence of which our language can boast. As a parliamentary orator he has been seldom equalled, and he is now universally allowed to be the most philosophical of all political writers. His latest works were occasioned by the outbreak of the French Revolution, which he fiercely condemned, and though his prognostications were at the time considered by many of his old friends as unfounded and improbable, subsequent events unhappily showed that they were in general only too true. The study of political economy was immensely advanced and placed on a firm foundation by Adam Smith in his "Wealth of Nations," a work displaying great sagacity, and much power of patient observation and acute conjecture. A similar service was rendered to the study of law by the publication of Blackstone's "Commentaries on the Law of England," a work which, with some imperfections, is still highly valued as an able summary of the nature of our constitution, and the spirit of our jurisprudence. Of a similar nature is the famous work on the "British Constitution" by De Lolme, a Swiss lawyer, which has however lost much of its original reputation. The " History of Civil Society" by Dr Adam Ferguson has been admired, both for its sentiment and its eloquence; and Lord Monboddo's "Essay on the Origin of Languages," among much that is strange, and even positively ludicrous, gives proof of extensive learning and great shrewdness. The "Letters of Junius," a series of letters full of the most cutting sarcasm, appeared anonymously, and though the question of the authorship has been vigorously canvassed ever since, it still remains unsettled; the main difficulty, in fact, being to discover among the less eminent authors of the age (for none of the more eminent, except Burke, has been suspected) any one capable of producing a work so talented. The letters of Walpole are perfect models of graceful epistolary correspondence, and throw much light on the characters, manners, politics, and transactions of the long period over which they extend. Three female

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writers obtained a considerable share of public applause, Mrs Montagu, Mrs Chapone, and Hannah More, the last of them being by much the most popular, and the only one whose fame has reached our day. The "Discourses on Painting" of Sir Joshua Reynolds are worthy of the distinguished friend of Johnson, and have always been considered as high authority upon everything connected with the art to which they refer. Of writers on natural history, the names of Pennant and Gilbert White of Selborne are best known to ordinary readers; and to the antiquarian, the names of Strype and Grose are still familiar. Books of travel were not then so popular as now, and formed a much smaller constituent part of the current literature: this period, however, produced some works of merit in this department, of which those now most usually read are the " Voyages of Captain Cooke," the account of the " Embassy to China" by Lord Macartney and Sir George Staunton, and the "Travels in Abyssinia" of Bruce. The scholarship of Bentley at the beginning, and Porson at the close of the period, has never been surpassed in our country; and to the diligence of Malone and Ritson, we are much indebted for the knowledge we now possess of our earlier literature.

SELECTIONS.

JOSEPH ADDISON.

JOSEPH ADDISON was the son of the Dean of Lichfield, and was born in 1672 at Milston, in Wilts. His early education was received at Salisbury, Lichfield, and the Charter-house School in London; and on his removal to Oxford, he greatly distinguished himself by his proficiency in classical literature, and especially by his skill in composing Latin verse. He joined the Whig party, and his ability was rewarded with pensions and offices; he commemorated the victory of Blenheim in a poem called the "Campaign," and received in return the office of "Commissioner of Appeals;" he was afterwards advanced to the Secretaryship for Ireland, and finally became one of the Secretaries of State, from which post, after a brief tenure of office, he retired with an abundant pension of L.1500 a-year. He died at Holland House near London, in 1719. Addison occupies a high position in our literature as a poet, and still more as a prose writer: of his poems the most admired is his "Letter from Italy," and some of his exquisite hymns are universal favourites. His famous tragedy of Cato, though containing many magnificent passages, is too deficient in feeling to suit the taste of the present day. Of his prose writings, the papers in the "Spectator" are the best known, and on these his fame rests imperishably. They are justly considered models of a graceful style, pure language, and polished humour. In delineation of character Addison was peculiarly happy; his "Sir Roger de Coverley" is not surpassed by anything in the whole range of our literature. It should also be mentioned to his honour that his pen is always employed in the service of virtue and morality, a commendation which few writers of the period deserve.

1. SIR ROGER DE COVERLEY AT THE ASSIZES.

NO. CXXII.)

SPECTATOR,"

A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next, to escape the censures of the world. If the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it gives itself seconded by the applauses of the public. A man is more sure of his conduct when

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