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IT tf t>r fltiTTT> JUkVKr K U*- Wl V ? —
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It Tf T≫R Fltittt≫ Jukvkr K U*- Wl V ? —
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The war does not deter publishers from serial works , whatever may be its effect oh Literature in general . Parker continues his elegant edition of our Poets ; Nichol the same with his ; Boiin shows no pause in enterprise ; John Chapman grows more and more confident about his Quarterly Series of Philosophic Works , and announces Feuerbacii ' s startling work The Essence of Christianity , which will be a bombshell thrown into the camp of orthodoxy ; and now Constable announces a new series under the title of Constable ' s Miscellany of Foreign Literature , which is to present the public with a varied and valuable collection of Foreign and American works at 3 s . 6 d . a volume . The plan is vague ; which is at once an advantage and a disadvantage—it offers a wide field for selection , but it does not appeal to any class . Nothing but great skill in selection , and excellence in translalation , will make this series a success —but they may make a great success .
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The Lectures on Education delivered at the Royal Institution by Wheweul , Faraday , Latham , Daubeny , Tyndaljl , Paget , and Hodgson , have been published hy J . W . Parker and Son in handsome pamphlets , and paged to be united In a handsome volume , where we . advise the reader to consult them ; for although it is not easy to say anything new on this hacknied subject , the subject is only hacknied because of its importance and what is here said is for the most part well worth being iterated . Raba-» at throughout preaches from the text of table-turning , which , he so truly says , is terrible evidence of the -want of mental discipline in a public ready to accept it . He touches also on the morale of this question , as regards the attitude of scientific men : —
" And now a few words upon the mutual relation of two classes , namely , those who decline to educate their judgments in regard to the matters on which they decide , and those who , by self-education , have endeavoured to improve themselves ; and upon the remarkable and somewhat unreasonable manner in which the latter are called upon , and occasionally taunted , by the former . A man who makes assertions , or draws conclusions , regarding any given case , ought to be competent to investigate it . He has no right to throw the onus on others , declaring it their duty to prove him right or wrong . His duty is to demonstrate the truth of that whicli he asserts , or to cease from asserting . The men he calls upon to consider and jndge have enough to do with themselves , in the examination , correction , or verification of their own views . The world little knows how many cf the thoughts and theories which have passed through the mind of a scientific investigator have been crushed in silence and secrecy by his own severe criticism and adverse examination ; that in the most successful instances not a tenth of the suggestions , the hopes , the wishes , the preliminary conclusions have been realised . And is a . man so occupied to be taken from
liis search after truth in the path he hopes may lead to its attainment , and occupied in vain upon nothing but a broad assertion ? " Neither has the asserter of any new thing a right to claim an answer in the form of Yes or No ; or think , because none is forthcoming , that he is to be considered as having established his assertion . So much is unknown to the wisest man , that he may often be without an answer : as frequently he is so , because the subject is in the region of hypothesis , and not of facts . In cither case ho lias the right to refuse to speak . I cannot tell whether there are two fluids of electricity or any fluid at all . I am not bound to explaiu how a table tilts any more than to indicate how , under the conjuror's hands , a pudding appears in a hat . The means are not known to me . I am persuaded that the results , however strange they may apppur , are in accordance with that which is truly known , and if carefully investigated would justify the well-tried laws of nature ; but , as life is limited , Inm not disposed to occupy the time it is made of in the investigation of matters which , in what \ s known to me of them , offer no reasonable prospect of any useful progress , or anything but
negative results . \ Ve deny the right of those who call upon us to answer their speculations , * if we can , ' whilst we have so many of our own t : o develop and correct ; and claim the right for ourselves of withholding either our conclusions or the reasons for them , without in the least degree admitting that their affirmations are unanswerable . We are not even called upon to give an answer to the bqst of our belief : nor bound to admit a bold assertion because wo do not know to the contrary . * * * * u When men , more or less marked by their advance ( arc led by circumstances to give an opinion adverse to any popular notion , or to the assertions of any sanguine inventor , nothing is more usual than the attempt to neutralise the force of such an opinion by reference to the mistakes which right educated men have made ; nnd their occasional misjudgmentsand erroneous conclusions are quoted , as if they were less competent than others to f ive an opinion , being even disabled from iudinno' like matters to those which nre . included in their
pursuits by the very exercise of their minds upon thorn . How frequently has the reported judgment of Davy , upon the impossibility of gas-lighting upon a largo scale , been quoted by speculators engaged in tempting moniccl men into companies , or in the pages ot journals occupied with the popular mncios of tho d « y ; as if an argument were derivable from thut in favour of some special object to be commended . Why should not men taught in tho matter of judgment fair boyond their neighbours , bo expected to err sometimes , sinco the very education in which they arc advanced can only terminate with their lives ? What is there about them , derived from this education , which sets up tho shadow of a pretence to perfection ? Such men cannot learn all things , and may often bo ignorant . Tho very progress which science miikea amongst them i \ s a bod y is a . continual correction of ignorancea . e ., of a state which in ignorance in relation to tho future , though wisdom and knowledge in relation to tho past . " The following little digression is worth quoting : —
When I wag young , I received from ono well ablo to aid a learner in his endeavours toward Bclf-improvomcnt , a curious lesson in tho mode of estimating tho iimount of belief one mifjlit bo induced to attuch to our conclusions . Tho porson was Dr . Wollnsjton , who , upon a given point , was induced to oiler mo a wiigor of two to ono on tho nllirmative . 1 nvthcr impertinently quoted Butler's well-knovu lined about tho kind of portions who use wngera for argument , ' Quoth sliC j " I ' ve hoard old cunning singers , Suy fooltt lor arguinuutu uso wngcra . ' " And ho gently explained to mo , thut he considered uiu-h n wager not mi a thoughtless thing , but aa an exprouuion of tho amount of boliof in tho inlnd of tho person oll'uring it ; combining this curiouu application of tho waiger , aa a victor , with tho nowsaity that over caiatcd ot drawing conclusions , not absolute but proportionate ti » tho evidence " Since wo havo commenced citation wo will not omit tho cupital philosophic satire Wmkwkjli . quotes from Fontknki . l » : ' s Plurality of Worlds : —
made to fly away through the upper part of the scene , to the great admiration of the gazers 1 he more- speculative ot these attempt to explain this extraordinary movement of Phaeton One says , ' Phaeton has an occult quality , which carries him away . ' This is the Aristotelian Another says-, ' Phaeton is composed of certain numbers , which make him move upwards * This is the Pythagorean . Another says , ' Phaeton has a longing for the top of the theatre . He is not easy till he gets there . ' This is the philosophy which explains the universe by Love and Hate . Another says , ' Phaeton has not naturally a tendency to fly - but he prefers flying to leaving the top of the scene empty . ' This is the doctrine of ihejuga vacui nature ' s horror of a vacuum . And after all this , says the speaker , comes Descartes , and some other moderns ; and they say , Phaeton goes up , because he is drawn by certain cords , and a weight , heavier than he is , goes down behind the scenes . "
Science puts an end to more absurdities than those hinted at by Fontenelle , and is the great instrument of human progress . Therefore we unceasingly applaud efforts made in that direction , be they never so humble . " VVe like to see science fashionable—much , more do we delight in the idea of its being popular . That it will be " superficial" is no bugbear to us . We have no fear lest Faraday should fail us because Jokes talks something too loosely on diamagnetics ; nor do we anticipate Oweh ' s silence , because Smith alludes to " ganglionic centres , " as if he knew what they were . The tide of nonsense will flow on in spite of all Can 0 tes . There is no dam for that . We must bear with it , unless we adopt Cabltle ' s suggestion , — " blacklead all the blockheads , and send them to the West Indies as slaves . " Beside the fools stand thoae-who are not fools , but merely uninstructed ; make science popular , and you reach them .
Orr s Circle of the Sciences , which has now reached , the first volume , is one of the many praiseworthy attempts to popularise science , by giving good matter at the cheapest possible cost . Owen ' s little treatise on the Structure of the Skeleton and the Teeth is , unhappily , deficient in the attractive art of popular exposition ; but if the student " will but take courage , and read this treatise with labour , he will be in possession of the last word of science on the subject . Of very great value , also , is the treaty on the Varieties of the Human Race by Dr . Latham . The Principles of Physiology , by the editor , is a compilation from good authorities ; but the tyro will find difficulties in the exposition . Abundant woodcuts illustrate the text , and altogether the work , although falling short of -what it might have been , is one which must do good .
Professor Johnstone ' s Chemistry of Common Life we have frequently noticed . It is by far the best work of tlie kind we have had . It is very intelligible , very readable , very valuable : quite a model for popular expositors .
™ ° re , the sagoa of antiquity , tho PytlmgonisoH , riatoa , Aristotloa , arc represented aa looking at tho npcctivolo of tho universe , like no m « ny flpectutoni in the pit of tho Opera Mouao looking at tho billet . Tho subj « at of tho ballet in supposod to be , rimtiton curried » iway by tho winda : and to represent this , tho diiucvr who cimcta tho mrt of l'hitiiton , ia
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Now everyone is travelling , or about to travel , we advise the said " every one " to get The Royal Motel Guide which Messrs . VT . H . Smith and Son have published . This is not precisely Literature , yet to any one moving about , there are few works which will be consulted with greater eagerness , especially when—as in a few months must be the case—all the details are filled in where now the columns are blank . It professes to furnish the traveller with an index to all the Hotels and Inns in England and Wales—and this first number comprises a list of upwards of eight thousand . The prices are given in columns , so that the traveller may know beforehand what his
bed , breakfast , dinner , sitting-room , and attendance will cost him , —that is to say he will know it in those case 3 where the honest and farsighted proprietor has furnished the information ; cases at present only amounting to about three per cent , of the whole . But Messrs . Smith and Son declare they will give the charges according to the receipted bills , if the hotel-keepers continue to withhold this information . It is certainly preposterous to think of an hotel publicly inviting custom , yet refusing to exhibit a tariff of charges . The Royal Hotel Guide , which will be a supplemental Jtradshaw , must produce a reform in our hotel system .
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GUIZOT'S CROMWELL . History of Oliver Cromwell and the English Conimo 7 iweaWt , from the Execution-of Charlei the Pit-st to the Death of Cromwell . By M . Guizot . Translated by Andrew R . Scoble 2 vola . Bentley . This work forms the second of the four projected by M . Guizot on tho History of the English Revolution . It takes up the narrative where the former one ceased , with tho death of Charles the y ii * st . We are informed in the preface , that the two succeeding works "will conduct tho history to the expulsion of James tho Second , and tho final fall of the House of Stuart . It is impossible to conceive a history written with greater care and endeavour to- secure accuracy than the ono before us . M . Guizofc ' s high reputation us an historian is a guarantee for this ; ami in tho present instance : he has had access to many papers and documents , in tho French and Sp anish archives , now for tho first time given to the public . Ho scorns also to have
examined till the immense mass of papers , letters , and memoirs already existing , which throw any light on the history of the period , and to have weighed nnd compared thoir evidence ; indeed , his history must be considered chiolly in the light of a compilation from existing materials . To such an extent is this true , that we scarcely read half a page in the two volumes , without meeting with a reference to some works , which have been M . Guizot ' s authority for his statements nnd conclusions , all which authorities nro acknowledged in notes at the bottom of each pjifje . English literature is not poor in memoirs and histories bearing on , perhaps , the most important period in our history , —eorminly tho moat important struggle for liberty , because the most dounito and enlightened , lor it was not a more rebellion against tyranny nnd oppression , vague , indeterminate , and aihnoat instinctive ; men know what wore their just rights , what they wore contending for , and won tlunn jMunfuIly and porsevenn ^ ly . Every Englishman soems to have a personal interest in tho Revolution , every memoir , every letter of tUoso times ia road and treasured . It is the favourite
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July 1 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 617
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Critics are nob the legislators , but the judges an ? police of literature . They do not make laws— they interpret and try to enforce them . — Edinburgh Review .
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Leader (1850-1860), July 1, 1854, page 617, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2045/page/17/
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