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¦ Wivm 20,1652.] THE lUEAjDER. 277
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7- ¦' ¦ ¦¦;¦ ^-..^ftefirtttrf ¦;¦
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Critics are not the legislators, but the...
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Lobd Cockbubn's Life .of Jeffrey has jus...
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The ninth and tenth volumes of Mr. Grote...
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Mr. Gladstone has published the third vo...
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NIJEBUHR'S LIFE AND LETTERS. , The Infe ...
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.
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¦ Wivm 20,1652.] The Lueajder. 277
¦ Wivm 20 , 1652 . ] THE lUEAjDER . 277
7- ¦' ¦ ¦¦;¦ ^-..^Ftefirtttrf ¦;¦
7- ¦' ¦ ¦¦;¦ ^ -.. ^ ftefirtttrf ¦;¦
Critics Are Not The Legislators, But The...
Critics are not the legislators , but the judges and police of literature . They do not make laws—they interpret and try to enforce them .. —Edinbivrgh Beview .
Lobd Cockbubn's Life .Of Jeffrey Has Jus...
Lobd Cockbubn ' s Life . of Jeffrey has just been published . We have not * read the volumes ^ but doubt not that ; whatever may be their literary merits , they contain matter that will be abundantly interesting in literary circles . Lord Coekburn was one of the most intimate friends Jeffrey had first his associate and friendly rival at the Scottish bar , and afterwards his brother on the Scottish Bench . Many stories perhaps mythical , are current in Scotland , bringing out the contrast of the two friends—^ -Jeflfrey and Cockburn- —in their character of barristers addressing Scottish juries : Jeffrey , the clear , Attic intellect , speaking in a distinct , musical voice , from which the Scottish accent had been almost eradicated ; Cockburn , the
Scotchman all over , and , what is more , the Scotch humorist . One of the stories , as far as our English ears can recollect the dialect in which it was told , was as follows : —In one case , in which Jeffrey and Cockburn , when barristers , were engaged , a question arose as to the sanity of one of the parties concerned . "Is the defendant , in your opinion , perfectly sane ?" said Jeffrey , interrogating one of the witnesses , a plain , stupid-looking countryman . The witness gazed in bewilderment at the questioner , but gave no answer . It was clear he did not understand the question . Jeffrey repeated it , altering the words ., " Do you think the defendant capable of managing his . own affairsV * . Still in vain ; the witness only stared the
harder . W I ask you again , " said Jeffrey , still with his clear English enunciation , "do you consider the man perfectly rationalV * No answer yet ; the witness only staring vacantly at the eloquent little figure of his interrogator , and exclaiming ; " Eh ! " <( Let me tackle him , " said Cockburn . Then assuming his broadest Scotch tone , and turning to the obdurate witness , " Hae ye your mull wi ye ? " " Ou ay , " said the awakened Cimon , stretching out his snuff-horn . " Noo , hoo lang hae ye kent John Samson ? " said Cockburn , taking a pinch , . ' < Ever since he was that high ; " was the ready reply , the witness indicating with his hand the alleged altitude of John Samson at the period of his first acquaintance
with him . "An ' , d ' ye think noo , atween you and me / said the barrister , in Ms most insinuating Scotch manner , " that there ' s onything intili the cratur . " " I wudna lippen him wi a bull-calf > " ( I wouldn't trust him with the guardianship of an infant bull , ) was the instant and brilliant rejoirider . The end was-attained , amid the convulsions of the court y what Jeffrey could not do with all his cleverness , Cockburn had done by dint of his inveterate Scotticism . " Such is the story : true or not , we give it as we got it ; and like most myths , if it is not true , it ought to be true , for it
indicates exactly the two men , the one of whom now appears as the biographer of the other . We hope that Lord Cockburn , while doing justice to Jeffrey in his character as the Reviewer and the Man of Letters , known to . all Britain , has also kept true in the biography to his own instincts , and told us a great deal about Jeffrey as the Scotch lawyer and Scotch judge , and one of the ornaments of that northern metropolis , all whose beauties , moral as well as physical , are dearer , we believe , to no heart than to Lord Cockburn ' s .
The Ninth And Tenth Volumes Of Mr. Grote...
The ninth and tenth volumes of Mr . Grote ' History T > f Greece are now out . They bring down the history from the period of the culmination of the Spartan supremacy , to the accession of Philip of Macedon . A very remarkable thing about these two volumes , is the amount of political teaching they contain , adapted to the present hour . The volumes are , we may say , pervaded with a lesson of contrast between the results of a government founded on despotism , and those of a government founded on free speech . Invariably in Greece , where free speech was permitted , and
democratic spirit prevailed , the developments of society were better , greater , and more orderly , than where matters were managed by long continuations of military despotism , or occasional coups oVe ' tat . Politicians at the present day coulii not find anywhere better illumination on the great and growing question of " Government by popular assemblies , " versus " Govemment by individuals , or oligarchies , " than in these two volumes ; and the illumination is all the more welcome , that it arises not out of intention to be dogmatic , but out of pure exercise of historic insight . Three or four volumes more will , wo believe , conclude this great work of Mr . Grote's .
Mr. Gladstone Has Published The Third Vo...
Mr . Gladstone has published the third volume of his translation of Fnnni ' s History of the Roman State . This volume carries on the story from the flight of the Pope , to the landing of General Oudinot at Civita VeCchia . The narrative is interesting ; but , like the two previous volumes , narrow and peevish in its spirit . One regrets more than ever , on reading these volumes , thnt Margaret" Fuller ' s History of the Italian Movement has been , lost to the world ' ; it would have told the story . of the Roman Rc-| mblw in so different a spirit from that of the crabbed Fnrini , who , though lie writes well enough , ia precisely one of those men who would act like vinegar in any cause , souring all , and helping nothing . By the bye , Sam , Mazzini ' s young and gifted colleague in the Triumvirate ( one of the few
men of whom even Farini speaks well , and who is precisely the man to win golden opinions from all sorts of p < wple , and what is more , to deserve them ) , ia writing a History of the Roman Revolution of 1848-49 . Wo bewve part of it w already written , if not published by the Italian press , of
Switzerland ; we would fain see it finished , and translated for the benefit of the English public , who , at present , grateful to Mr . Gladstone for his revelations of facts with regard to Italy , would be too much disposed to take a book like Farini ' s as sound on his recommendation .
Nijebuhr's Life And Letters. , The Infe ...
NIJEBUHR'S LIFE AND LETTERS . , The Infe and " Letters ' of NtehuJir , trith Essays on his Character and Influence . By the Chevalier Bunsen and Professors Brafldjs and Loebell . 2 vols . . Chapman and Hall . TttEBE are books to read , books to borrow , and books to buy . JOebuhr ' s Life and ^ Letters , though less interesting perhaps than many a book we borrow , is more decidedly a book worm buying than ninety-nine in , a hundred that are published . It is a book rich in teachings to the young ambitious student : teachings not simply of a didactic or critical nature , but such as form the rules and guidance of a steadfast ^ honourable life . iNiebuhr himself was certainly far from being what we should call a great man ; we separate widely from those enthusiastic admirers who in Germany and England almost worship his name ; but we heartily admire that quality in him which raised him so high above mere pedants , and which gave as it were a moral momentum to his intellect , intensifying its force to such a degree that it seemed like a great intellect : and that quality is truthfulness . We do not mean thereby a simple abstinence from conscious fafsehoodrr-we mean a stern and noble singleness of mind , which translates itself in honesty and accuracy of thought and action . He was arrogant , he was prejudiced , but he was never untruthful . One may collect a heap of absurdities and of rash assertions from his published writings , but nothing said for mere " effect , " nothing said to equivocate with truth , nothmg that implies a want of the most thorough honesty of mind . For our own parts we have little admiration of his writings , although recognising their enormous erudition and destructive merit . He
was , we must think , a dissertator , not an historian ; a GescmcAtforscAer , not a Geschicktschreiber . He destroyed traditions , bat he constructed nothing . Up IRoman moves across his page . No life animates his story * He was a giant among Scholars ; but among Thinkers and Artists he has noplace . As a Scholar it does not become us to speak of him : his acknowledged superiority cannot be affected b y any questions of detail , Let us , however , by way of warning to the student , remind hmv that the highest authorities are . only to be accepted with respect , not with blind obedience ; the verdict of a great authority should make us suspicious of any difference from it we may see reason to entertain , but should not , merely as a verdict , suffice to overthrow that opinion . Niebuhr , as we
said / is a great authority ; but his temperament was arrogant and rash , and we counsel the student to test every assertion coining from Niebuhr , just as if it came from a Jones . We remember , when the Lectures published by Dr . Schmitz came into our hands , we were startled by the assertion that Ennius " uses ego as a monosyllable . " It is possible ; but with all the softening of the Tuscan guttural ( e . g ., hasa for casa , hanto for canto , ) it is difficult to conceive ego pronounced like the Italian to . Being naturally of a rebellious mind , and disinclined to accept the dictum even of a JSTiebuhr , we turned to the fragments of Ennius collected by MeruJa , and found that the word ego only occurs three times , and on eacn occasion the pronunciation is equivocal , because the final vowel is elided before the
initial vowel which succeeds ! But although , as may be seen , we have . not the high opinion of his intellectual greatness , held by many , we are unfeigned admirers of the purity and highmindedness of his moral character ; and hence these volumes of Life and Letters have been of more interest and pleasure to us Uban all his achievements in history . Peculiarly valuable must these letters be to the young student , struggling against poverty , obscurity , and the insensate promptings of his own ambition , urging him to snatch at the success only toil and courage can achieve . Early in life he settled his career . Bfe was to be an historian ; and as far as nature had gifted him with the qualities to succeed , he succeeded in this dream of youth .
Watch , him in his study—how happy among his books ! how honestly laborious ! how ho plans studies without thought of the toil , thinking only of the knowledge to bo gained ! While fellow students were wasting a God-given , life in the Weinstube , enveloped in clouds of smoke , talking the infinite nonsense of youth , or roaring burschen songs—while others were airing their amiability at tea parties , Niebuhr was amassing the materials of his future work . . " And believe me , dearest parents , ' he writes , in answer to their gontlo reproaches , " it would be impossible to be as happy in much socioty as I am in the feeling that my solitude is well employed . When I have completed my studies , I will enter the world . Woe be to the fool who enters it before he has knowledge enough to compensate for its emptiness" —the true feeling of the scholar I
That ho did not underrate the immensity of the task he had , before him , may bo read in this : — " In order fully to understand , and to give lectures upon ancient literature , and ancient history , which forms a part of it , it is , in my opinion , absolutely necessary that 1 should have road through nil the ancient writings still extant , at loaat once , with the closest attention—the moro important works many times—and acquired a living and familiar acquaintance with each period . There may possibly do some exceptions to this rule in the case of special sciences , which must for over remain a mystery to the uninitiated . This undertaking was carried out by Milton long ago . Thoro would scarcely l > o found many to do it now , but it secma to mo that it is what I undoubtedly ought to 'attempt .
" A profound and practical acquaintance with the grammar of the two classical languages must bp obtained , partly by means of the various treatises on that subject , and partly from the literature of the languages themselves . A systematic philosophy , as the groundwork of all sottled convictions , and all accurate thought ; what iis porhapB still moro important , method in thinking , writing , and studying ; added to these , various exorcises in the art of composition , and a thorough command of our mother tongue , aro indispensable requisites for any ono who stops forth boforo tho public , and acoks to obtain n high standing . It is no moro than a man demand * of himself . " Those , thou , ore tho preliminary taakjj that I should have to execute , before I
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 20, 1852, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20031852/page/17/
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