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' ' ' CH his character of fMP^^^^^Mf:i^^...
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i^^ V ^^rr
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Critics are not the legislators ;'htit t...
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One of the happiest and most welcome her...
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Blacktoood this month opens and closes w...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
' ' ' Ch His Character Of Fmp^^^^^Mf:I^^...
' ' C ' H his character of fMP - f : i ^^ r :: % y - ^ - ^ ^
I^^ V ^^Rr
¦^^ i 0 ^ : ^^^^^ M ^^ W }§ s
Critics Are Not The Legislators ;'Htit T...
Critics are not the legislators ; 'htit the judges and police of literature . They do not make la . wB--they interpret and ^ y to enforce thein .--J ? d *»& Mr ^ ft \ Eewetp . : : ;
One Of The Happiest And Most Welcome Her...
One of the happiest and most welcome heralds of Qhristihas is assuredly the Extra Number of Household Words , -which at : this jseasoii is woat tb : gladden thousands of firesides in . Britahi , and to bring a voice a ^ thousands of " ourkith and kindred far away . We hear much of cheap reading ( and-very dear at any price it often is 1 % but whai in the " Cvr & f- of cheapness-rof cheap excellence , "we meau- ^ -is comparable with this threepennyExtra N ; uinber ,
ivhich iato ^ compresses , the uiterest and excite ofhow many ambitious novels ! in three volumes j . / . The present Christmas Number is ia one respect a decidcd ^ the Golden Mary' was told by the Master and the Mate "with a force , directs ness , and simplicity reminding ' every redder irresistibly of Defoe ; but tlie symmetry arid pompleteness of the story were somewhat marred and weakened by tie intermixture of needless and obviously inferior workmanship with the principal design . This year it needs no clairvoyance to perceive that the story is ouey entire ; and perfect ; from the two master-hands , united alike by genius and sympathy . "Aie the , M
Apprentices' of the Idle Tour the san > e Dioscuri ? ^ any will have asked this question , and many will fcave answer ^ satisfaction . At all events , in ^ this tale ; of 'The Perils of Certain English Prisoners , * the incurable ( and , ' as we think , most noble ) passion for the sea and for maritime adventure , thei brave , km ^^ pure , generous spirit , ithemanly , courageous , gentle Christian feeling , the compactness arid clearness of narration , the constructive art , the felicity and . force of style ; the ab ^ of Qharacterj and - ^ are the offspring of nb Unequai Match . Perhaps we may amuse our curiosity
by assigning t ^ one hand ; and the > strokes of character-painting to the other : let us express pur gratitudeforthe twinresult / We are hot : going ; io ( boinmit the un \ varr ^ table indiscretion of ^ in the hands of every onei of ; 6 u * : readers ; , liet us only say that this tone is skttfully attuned to the natio ^ iat heart -at ^ difficulty to those who are familiar with bur contemporaTy Indiah annal 3 in finding the originals arid types of ' -: ] 4 ! r . > C 6 mn ^ sio ' n ' er-Fo ^ ageV of Sainbo-Pilot ; of Miss ; Maryon , and of ( 3 ill Davis . . ¦''• ¦¦ ¦ . ' ; ' :-v . ; ;/¦ : ¦/' // v . * ' : ¦ , "¦' . -b ¦ ; " <•••¦ ¦ : .- ' : / : '''¦ v / ¦¦ "• : 'K
Blacktoood This Month Opens And Closes W...
Blacktoood this month opens and closes with an article oh India , the first devoted to the poUtical , the last to the ieli ^ ious history and aspect of the country . Both are equally well writtena ^ seasonable : Of the intermediate articles , the second , on ^ Phrenology in France / is the most interesting . It is written in . full knowledge of the subject , and marked tir oughput by a spirit of fairness rarely seen in the treatmentofdebated scientific questions ; and mo mely of all in phrenological discussions . The writer is at once sympathetic and critical , looking with favour on phrenology and the phrenologists , but at the . same time bringing forward in all their force facts which most strongly contradict the special conclusions of their system . Some of the most startling of these facts were collected and published in a series of papers some years ago by M . !• . Peissi ! , the WelL-knbwn . translator of Sir William Hamilton ' s ; philosophical articles ; and the recent republication of these papers in a separate . volume gives occasion for the article in Blctckwood , Some of the facts thus collected a ie very striking . Take the following for example :- — ¦ •¦ -, . ¦ ; ¦" : ;/ ,. ¦'¦ : / : ;• .. ¦¦ • . ¦¦ : /¦//; . ¦ ¦' ¦ "¦ : ¦ ¦ /¦; ;¦ ¦¦ ,. ¦' . ' . ' . / ' .: ... •¦ V : . . , ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ' ¦ ¦¦ '¦ ' "¦¦ .
¦ fifang iamelo , who astounded the Academic des Sciences by his marvellous powers of calculation , was only eleven years old . The son . of a shepherd , he was himself a shepherd boy . From his infancy this young Sicilian had given indications of a remarkable power of calculation ; but had not been taught the arithmetical methods , nor , indeed , anything of the science of numbers . He "was entirely self-taught . Yet the rapidity with which he solved the most intricate arithmetical problems , ' sans le eecoturs d ' aucune operation graphique , prouve que sa science est fort mysterieuse . ' Here lraia crucial instance for Phrenology : a faculty so . exceptional in its vigour must have a corresponding development of the organ , and , according to Gall , a corresponding development of that part of the skull which lies over the part of the brain constituting the organ . And , observe , not only is this faculty 'manifested inmost exceptional activity , one , therefore , specially suited to phrenological investigation , but it is also a faculty the action of -which ia deBnite , precise , not to be simulated by other faculties . A man
may exhibit some of the actions of benevolence from love of approbation , more than from any direct impulse of benevolence ; but he calculates because ho has the calculating faculty well developed , juat as ho is a great musician because he has the musical faculty well developed : no other faculty will simulate calculation or music ; no motive could make a man rapidly solve an arithmetical problem ; unless ho had the organ of ITumber well developed . This case of Mangiamele , therefore , so exceptional lathe vigour of the faculty , and so unequivocal in the speciality of that faculty , ia , aa-we said , a crucial instance , and the reader will learn with interest that M . Peisse pointed to the skull of this boy , and showed a decided depression at that particular spot-where the organ of Number ia placed—a depression instead of a remarkable eminence 1 The reader will learn , moreover , with increasing interest , that this contradiction between theory and fact was confirmed by the phrenologists themselves ; for , instead of denying the depression , they endeavoured , as usual , to explain it .
. Brbussais and Damoutier undertook to remove the difficulty by declaring that Mangiamele really had no special development of the faculty of Number ; but effected his calculations by other faculties . They began their explanation by affirming that the talent of thi « boy was not one of memory , it was no mechanical faculty exclusively limited to combinations of numbers . M . Dumoutier spoke with admiration of the boy ' s gmitta which divined science : of the power and grandeur of his imagination and
, jini Ms extraordihary powers of induction aiid ^ enera ^^ on ^ *^ turelias > nipnuted on hislwrow theseal ofa Pythagoras , an Archimedes , a Euclid a " Newton , a ^ Kepler ^ All which is very possible , but is it true ? As M . S « remarks , "On -what evidence are these hyperboles founded ? They do notteUw K T ^>^ n - t « ?^ S transcendent genius , the intrepidity displaved Jy Jhe little fellow in . suffenngM . Dumoutier to take a cast of his head , ISS toutefois lin peu pleure , ce < iui est , du reste ^ tres excusable chez un PythLore d ^ f ^ ans ; . An ^ e ^« n * f ta « boy had given evidence of possessing faculties such ^ as are tW gratuitously placed to his credit , the absence of correspondence between the facultv « f Number and the special part of the skull where the organ is localized retains its fW force as an objection to Phrenology ; because , if Mangiamele could add , subtract dmde , and multiply with such astonishing rapidity and precision by means of ihl facuUies of Causality , Comparison , Eventuality , or lndividualiW ^ hieh were ^ n yoked ) , it is quite clear that the organ of Number is useless ; or ( as this would be
overthrowing too many observations , because the organ was originall y established bv OraUfroin examination of the heads of celebrated calculators , and the cast of Geoice Bidder ' s head is one of thejwVces authentiques of the Phrenological Society)—we miist admit that one faculty may takei on itself the specific duty of anbtler and a man totally destitute of Tunej may nevertheless be a great musician in virtue of Ms Causality ; another , totally destitute of W ' it , may . convulse all Europe in virtue of his Comparison ; a third , totally destitute of Philoprogenitiyenessy niay nil his house with squalling ; children ^ and live with them , prompted ^ by : his Adhesiveness , or his Love > f Approbation , In ^^ shortj if one jfaculty can take upon itself to ^^ astonishing vigour and spontaneity the office of any other faculty , the whole groundwork of Phrenology is destroyed . ;¦ ¦ : . -Ut . ^ . ' -: " ' :, - ' . ''' - ; : - ; : ;'; ' :: :. y ^ ' / ... ¦ ¦ "¦¦ . '¦
Towards the close of his paper the writer gives tli ^ phrenblbgist ^ a piece of the sounclest scientifid aclvicej \ yhichi if they would accept and act upon , would do far more towards placing their system on a triie scientific basis than all the volumes of elaborate ; butl partial and angry polemics whiehVliave been wxittenvin-its ' defence . He Says i ^ --: : - ' ; 7 . ; ' .: ^ ; . /; ' : / , ' " ^ -: ¦"'¦ -- ' ¦ ¦ . . •• • ' . ,. ¦' : " . - ¦[ --: : ' . " - ¦ "WTe think that it is . the bounderi duty of all earnest phrenolbgiats to cease for the , present theit accumulation , of corroborative instances , and direct all ' ' : their ' efforts' to the accumulation of contradictprit / ' instances . . They have-already , corrpbbrative facts enough t « prove that ; sonie causal relation / exists between cbafigurations of the skull and psychological ; characteristics . The contradictions , ho > yever , are / so numerous , that we may be certain « Ae trines . I ^ et them collect a large amount of contradictory instances , and from t hese light niay dawn / Instead of ahalf-truth ; they will then present us with a whole truths ;; .- ¦ .-: / :.. ; . ' . ¦• ¦ ¦"•¦ . - ' . . . . ¦ ¦ . " : / ; ., ' ;¦; ' . " ¦ ¦'¦ ' : ' ; . -: . ) ' / v v .- ' . ' . .: - - ' / ' v ' . "¦ ¦ -: > ' - '¦¦'" ' ' >" -. '• ¦ '¦'¦"¦ " '¦ ¦' . ' ¦;¦¦• ' ;¦ . ' : '¦ . ' - . ' ¦ ¦ : ; The fourtli article , on Thb W " ork ^ and Genius of / MichaelAiigelo / gives a just gnd intelligible , explaiiatibii of tlieg ^^^ yrith a . critical estimatje ^ of /> some of his noblest woris ; ^ ^ Aipot— % Part / IV ; >' iSj like the previous ; piapers of the series , marked by pleasant ¦ gossip , ; picturesque description ^ aiid ^ meditative : insight . v : : ¦ / : f - The best article irx Fraser this month is one on the ' Memorials and Goriespondence of Charles James IPox . ' / The writer criticizes sharply—hot ihore shar ^ iy ,. h 6 wever , / tlian it deserve manner in which tlie noble editor oi ! Fox s Correspondencei ' -lvas performed Ms
duties ^ Lord John RussEtii will , indeed ; soon be as distinguislied for ] iis literary failures as he already : is for his political ones . ; Iri botli departments of activity , indeed , he shows the / same qualities ^ - ^ -a restless ; ambition -tiat prompts him to undertake important works , without the patience , sagaisity , arid slill that ensure ; success . . After pointing out instances of the editor ' s carelessness , the / . writer / in ;/ jPV ! ai r . signalizes liis want of anything like intelligent insight iu tlie / foilowing passage :-- . . /;¦• ¦ , ; . ; "' / : ; . //¦ ' //•/ -- ' :.. ' - ;¦'¦'¦ ¦¦; ' '• . / : i /^ , " ¦ ¦ ' // . ¦'¦ /"///' .: : - "' : - ' . What is more important and more striking , is the impress which all this correspondence affords of the character , of Fox himself . AVe had anticipated frbriv these volumes the reflexion of a powerful light upon the intellectual , the social , and : the moral elements of that character . The disappointment of this prospect is rendered
the , more striking by tlie fact that , Fox was evidently an imprudent letter-writer , -who never spared his aspersions on men and their motives , and must therefore be presumed to have written without a particle of reserve . Yet in hardly any one of these letters is there the slightest approach to his inner heart . Charles Fox thought deeply , and \ xQ JeU moxG deeply still . But it is clear that it was ho part of his nature to express either thought or feeling upon paper . His correspondence consequently presents but the most feeble index either of head or heart . ^ Where * however , any additional light is thrown either upon his perceptions , his principles , or his domestic life , it commonly happens that his political prognostications are disappointed , and that his letters display a habit of vituperating his opponents according to the obstacles which they interpose to a realization of his ambition .
The fine intellect and noble disposition of Mr . Fox have been too clearly placed on record during his lifetime , to admit of his memory being compromised by such a posthumous record of his career and opinions . Yet it is certain that no one has so greatly depreciated his character as Lord John Russell has depreciated it by this carelesa editing . It is an idiosyncrasy in , tins correspondence , that it is no more than just so much after-dinner conversation . The gravest aspersions that it contains can only he reconciled with what we have learnt of the writer ' s real character , on the supposition that his letters were written with the easy levity of verbal jest . Lord John offers no such hypothesis in explanation of the inconsistency that Fox was perfectly willing to had
co-operate in public life , whenever an opportunity occurred , with those whom he been thus characterizing in the thoughtless letters of private friendship , / Thia , too , is no merely charitablo supposition . We know , as a matter of fact , that . ' "wliilo Fox , in his letters to Fitzpatrick and Grej ' , rarely omitted to heap some fresh and scurrilous epithet on the character of Pitt , he stood foremost at l ? aris in defending his ^ rival from complicity in' the schemes for tho assassination of Buonaparte , with wluch the First Consul repeatedly charged him . This is but one of many examp les indicative of the justice of such a position . Lord John Russell , on the other hand , by publishing this correspondence , suggests the grayest suspicions of the integrity of Fox ; ana ho leaves them unanswered .
The article on ' Recent Metaphysical Works—Lewes , Maurice , Fleming , is well-intentioned , and that is all . It is chiefly occupied with Mr . Lewes ' s Biographical History of Philosophy , to which , while combating and condemning its point of view , the writer gives high praise . The praise , however , is of little value , and the blame quite harmless , for the writer has no intelligible grasp of the subject he attempts to discuss . He has evidently only the most superficial acquaintance with either the science or history of philosophy . On * illustration of his will suffice . Ho praises Dr . Fleming ' s Vocabulary of Philosophy as a
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 5, 1857, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05121857/page/16/
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