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No. 401, November 28,1851] THE LEADER. 1...
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IPXl***!****^ : jLU^lUTUv?» ' ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ' ¦ ¦
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Critics are not the legislators, but the...
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M. 32. Litire, the life-long friend and ...
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The Memoirs of M. Gtjizot, which are to ...
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3M. Ejlilk ToitoiJES a the conscientious...
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.RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. The RamlTcs of...
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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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No. 401, November 28,1851] The Leader. 1...
No . 401 , November 28 , 1851 ] THE LEADER . 1 U 3
Ipxl***!****^ : Jlu^Lutuv?» ' ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ' ¦ ¦
Citerato .
Critics Are Not The Legislators, But The...
Critics are not the legislators , but the judges and p olice of literature . They do not make laws—they interpret and try to enforce them . —Edinbtirff 7 i Review .
M. 32. Litire, The Life-Long Friend And ...
M . 32 . Litire , the life-long friend and most eminent disciple of Auguste CoarirE , Las recently addressed a circular to the friends and followers of that distinguished thinker . His object in this circular is twofold—to rally tlie disciples of Positivism round the doctrines of their master , and provide , throtigli their united efforts , an annuity for his widow . Such an effort comes most appropriately from M . Littke . While M . Comte lived he proved himself his faithful and devoted friend , assisting him in his domestic and personal
reverses , expoundinghis doctrines , defendinghis character , and "bearing"with equanimity those outbursts of pride and irritability which latterly alienated some of Comte ' s earliest friends , and separated him from many of his "warmest admirers . And though the master is now no more , the letter before us sufficiently shows that M . Liitre still retains towards him . the double relation , of disciple and friend , and that he is anxious to fulfil to the utmost the duties it imposes by providing for the family he has left , and extending the influence o ? the doctrines he taught . In appealing to his fellow-disciples on behalf of thenmaster and his system , M . Lixtbe gives a sketch of the true charactei , the present position , and future prospects of Positivism . And his aim being to ronse them to united action , he naturally dwells on the practical side of JVL Comte's
speculations . " Had he simply founded a purely philosophic school , " JSLLittre tirges , " this might have been left to the care of isolated tlunlters , as happens to most systems whose reign is provisional , and whose social . utility is only indirect . 33 ui the positive philosophy has a directly practical bearing . Through the historic development which it has been M . Cohte ' s happiness and glory to wori out , Humanity now , leaving the age of instincts and aspirations , enters on that of consciousness and self-goyernment . And that it may pass safely through this epoch of crisis and realize its future , it ; has need of science which explains what . «> , of philosophy which systematizes science , and of the ideal which elevates and consecrates philosophy . The work of M . Comte is therefore something very different from a school . It is intimately connected
with the greatest interests of the time , as M . Comte felt , and as his disciples still feel . " M . Littbe proceeds to point out that the influence of Positivism has extended beyond the circle of its disciples , and is felt by many who know nothing directly of its doctrines . " Its ideas , " he truly says , •' " are appropriated by many who arc ignorant of the source whence they are derived . They have become a sort of common possession amongst the more advanced and liberal thinkers of the time ; and that not only in France , but in almost every civilized country . It may be easily seen , ¦ hpwever , that the work of assimilation between the new truths arid the old society is latent rather than manifest , and more fragmentary than general . The positivist aptitudes of the time are still feeble , uncertain , and nascent . To multiply and strengthen these aptitudes
is the task of M . Comte ' s immediate disciples . " Further on he repeats , emphatically , " That to show to all , high as well as low , the strict connexion that indissolubly unites speculative and political activity , and that makes them neither more nor less than one and the same problem , one and the same interest , is , above all , the function of those who attach themselves to Positivism . " TVith regard to the more immediate and benevolent object of M . Litiee ' s letter , we may add that he proposes , with the help of others interested in the matter , \ o continue to Madame Comte a pension of 2000 francs , which she received d \; ring her husband ' s life . And he appeals to the friends of Positivism to make the fulfilment of this kindly duty the first bond of their new and closer union , the augury of their more vigorous and united activity on behalf of the doctrines of their master .
The Memoirs Of M. Gtjizot, Which Are To ...
The Memoirs of M . Gtjizot , which are to appear soon , will perhaps disappoint , in a certain sense , the expectations of a class of readers who are on the look-out for questionable confidences for ever trembling on the verge of scandal . These Memoirs ( a private letter from Paris assures us ) contain scarcely any facts : they arc a sort of series of political papers : nearly all discussion , and little or no narrative .
3m. Ejlilk Toitoijes A The Conscientious...
3 M . Ejlilk ToitoiJES a the conscientious and devoted literary executor of Lathennais , is actively engaged in preparing for publication the Letters of Lamennais , and in writing an Introduction which we doubt not will add greatly to the interest and value of the correspondence . One volume , we hear , is already in print , but M . FoKGtriss has wisely resolved to abstain , from publishing until all is completed .
.Rambles Of A Naturalist. The Ramltcs Of...
. RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST . The RamlTcs of a Naturalist on the Coaxi * of France , » SW « , ami Sicily . By A , do Quotrcfages . Transited by E . 0 . Otttf . 2 veils . Longman and Co . M . be QuATuici-AcKs is well and honourably known to all naturalists in JLuropo as a diligent -worker , a successful investigator , ami an agreeable ¦ writer . His contributions to our knowledge of tho simpler organisms , especially of the various classes of worms , have been numerous and important ; and , if not gifted with any depth of philosophic insight , he has constantly studied zoolojry by tho light of philosophic ideas . A popular work !? li !! T ° " V fnyom ' c ( L , to P \ 1 c «»» ot bo otherwise than acceptable ; and in these two volumes . of Rumbles' ho has gathered together the various articles
which from time to time he published in the Revue dee Deux Mondes , adding to-them a variety of notes , biographical and explanatory . To naturalists and amateurs his work Trill be very welcome ; but unfortunately , althou"ii expressly meant for the general public , it will not be very intelligible to that public , because , although his exposition is clear and unteclmical , lie generally assumes that the reader knows something of the animals he is writing about . The general reader will be able to form no definite conception of these animals , and M . Quatrefages gives no plates or diagrams to supply this want . This is a serious drawback to the popularity of a work which might otherwise be widely read . In spite of that drawback it -will be read with pleasure , for the sake of its enthusiasm , its sketches of the var ious coasts and their inhabitants , and its revelations of the marvels of organiEation . As a mere book of travels it will be of interest , for , although the scenes visited by him , are ly no means untrodden , they are of eternal attraction , and he gossips very pleasantly , mingling useful information with hisgossip . He tells us of his introduction to marine zoology : —¦
I had spent the spring of 1841 in studying some of the inferior forms of animal life which , occur in the environs of Paris . In the course of these researches I explored the ponds of Plessis-Piquet and Meudon , the stagnant pools around Vincennes , the basins in the gardens at Versailles , and even the ditches along the high roads . My table was daily covered -with vessels containing the water -which I had brought home with me from these excursions ; and while the aquatic plants that had been left undisturbed were exhibiting an active state of vegetation , the delicate filaments of their roots formed a place of retreat for thousands of those minute being 3 whose existence and marvellous organization are only revealed to ns by the microscope . In this passage we see how near he was to the discovery , of the Aquarium which , now that the principle as understood , has become the ornament of thousands of drawing-rooms ; but although he allowed the plants to grow in his vessels , it- was only to afford a shelter for his animals : he had no idea of the balance of animal and vegetable life being thus preserved . The wonders revealed to him in the study of these simple organisms were not simply amusements : —•
Such studies are highly attractive , even when considered on the simple grounds of curiosity :. this , however , is not their only claim upon our attention , for they possess another and a far greater source of interest . In the higher forms of animal life , the size and opacity of the organs do aot allow of our studying the mechanism of their actions and functions in tlie living state ; in their case we must content onrselves with , the-mere study of their anatomy . In the lower animals , on the other hand , we are enabled to trace the operations of nature at the very moment of their accomplishment : thus ; for instance , in the animalcule -we can follow the alimentary molecule from the very moment in which it is swallowed until itis rejected by the animal , after having yielded up all its nutritious matter . The changes which this molecule undergoes in its passage through the animalcule , and the successive action of the animal organs and fluids , are all displayed before our eyes , so that these crystalline organisms seem almost to invite science to raise a corner of the veil which conceals-from us the mysteries of that which we term life . Again : — ' ¦ . '' .. '' . '¦'¦¦ -. ' : ¦ ' .. ¦ ' -. "' ' : - ' .. ¦ ¦ -. . ' " . - .
In physical science man controls , to a certain extent , the object of his investigations . Thus , for instance , in the examination of a machine he may successively study each of the parts , consider their respective actions , and judge of the effect of the whole . It is very different , however , in the case of the natural sciences generally , and especially of zoology . Here we must wait and watch . The multiplicity of vital acts in animals which occupy th « highest places in the scale of being too frequently conceals the truth from , us , while it is impossible for vis to imitate the physicist in isolating a single phenomenon ; for when we do this , the whole is lost to our inquiry , and the animal ceases to exist . But in proportion as we descend the scale of being , we find that organization is simplified , and that life , without being altered in its essential nature , is to a certain degree modified in its manifestations . The animal machine , if we may use the expression , is shovn to us piece by piece , as if to reveal the action of its several parts , and to demonstrate to us the great laws of physiology apart from all accessory phenomena . These laws are the same for the highest mammal and the lowest zoophyte ; the sauae for man , whose complicated anatomy has been studied for ages past , and for the sponge , whose organs appear to be blended into one solo living homogeneous mass , the smallest particle of which participates in all the properties accorded to the entire organism .
But thrilled as he was by the marvels constantly revealed , he began to long for a wider field . The treasures of the deep allured him . He had never seen the sea , yet knew the wealth it contained . Packing up his books and instruments he set olF for the coast . The spot chosen was the archipelago of Chausey , near St . Michael ' s Mount ; and very interesting is the picture he gives of his four months' residence there . Imagine what endless delight the sea must have furnished him 1 ' , The dweller on the earth must sow the seed , plant trees , or turn the soil with his plough before be can gather in the grain that is to nourish him , or pluck the fruit that is to quench his thirst . Months , nay years , may pass before his labours will he recompensed , and perhaps at tho very moment when he is about to reap the reward of his toil , a blast of wind , or a liailstorm , comes xitterly to destroy hia hopes . The ocean demands no such protracted waiting , and gives birth to no such painful disappointments . Tho tide falls ! — to work ! to work I both young and old ! there is
room for all , and labour proportioned to every age and to every degree of strength , Tho men and their sturdy helpmates , epade in hand , turn up the sand , which has been covered by the sea for some hours , and soon their baskets are filled with cqcklcn . razor-fibhea , and jvenuses , which although leas delicate , are more nourishing than oyaters ; besides these , there in also the sand-eel { Ammodytcs tdhianus et A . lancea ) ,. n little fish which is held in high esteem , but which is not so easily captured as the shell-fish , fur it loves to hide itself under tho suiul , where it raovea about with marvellous agility . During this time the young girls aro dropping their pocket-like nets into tho pools which have been left by tho retiring tide , busily employed In collecting shrimps , or in catching some lobster or crab , or perchance even some stray shore-fish , which has been arrested before it could regain its distant plncc of retreat .
Others , armed with a stick , terminating in a Btrong hook , scrape tho e « n < l below the stones and hollows of tho rock , and from timo to time draw forth a conger-eel with glistening . skin , or some cuttle-fish or calamary , which vainly attempts to escape by Hliroudiny itself in a cloud of ink . The children in the meantime gather from tho rocks lhnputs , periwinkles , whelks , roaring buckies , onucrs , or mussels , which haug clustering together like bunches of grapes , Huspcmlvri by tho thrcailu of tho byssus , which tho animal weaves for itself . For two or tlireu houru tho beach ia full of life and activity , whilst a whole population pours forth to seuk its daily food ; but . soon Uio waves return towards tho . shore , tho tide riscw , and nil hasten homeward , certain that the sea will replaces tho bounteous gifts which it . is taking from them , and that in . a f < i \ v hours they may como forth aigain to reap a harvest which has needed no" season of planting or of sowing . ' ' ''
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 28, 1857, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_28111857/page/15/
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