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has doffed her ancient poetical garb, and assumed the earnest character of a thinking impersonation of things observed; positive knowledge and definition have taken the place of obscure imaginings and imperfect inductions. The dogmatical speculations of former ages only exist at present in the prejudices of the vulgar, or in circumstances where, as if conscious of their weakness, they willingly keep themselves in the shade. They also maintain themselves as a heavy inheritance in language,—which is disfigured by symbolical words and phrases innumerable. A small number only of the elegant creations of the imagination which have reached us, surrounded, as it were, with the haze of antiquity, acquire a more definite outline and a renovated shape.

Nature, to the eye of the reflecting observer, is unity in multiplicity; it is combination of the manifold in form and composition; it is the conception of natural things and natural forces as a living whole. The most important consequences of physical researches are therefore these:-To acknowledge unity in multiplicity; from the individual to embrace all; amidst the discoveries of later ages to prove and separate the individuals, yet not to be overwhelmed with their mass; to keep the high destinies of man continually in view; and to comprehend the spirit of Nature, which lies hid beneath the covering of phenomena. In this way our aspirations extend beyond the narrow confines of the world of sense; and we may yet succeed, comprehending Nature intimately, in mastering the crude matter of empirical observation through the might of mind.

XXIX.-DANTE AND MILTON.-Macaulay.

THE character of Milton was peculiarly distinguished by lof tiness of thought; that of Dante by intensity of feeling. In every line of the Divine Comedy, we discern the asperity which is produced by pride struggling with misery. There is, perhaps, no work in the world so deeply and uniformly sorrowful. The melancholy of Dante was no fantastic caprice; it was not, as far as at this distance of time can be judged, the effect of external circumstances. It was from within. Neither love nor glory, neither the conflicts of the earth nor the hope of heaven, could dispel it. It twined every consolation and every pleasure into its own nature. It resembled that noxious Sardinian soil, of which the intense bitterness is said to have been perceptible even in its honey. His mind

was, in the noble language of the Hebrew poet, "a land of darkness, as darkness itself, and where the light was as darkness!" The gloom of his character discolours all the passions of men and all the face of nature, and tinges with its own livid hue the powers of paradise and the glories of the Eternal Throne.

Milton was, like Dante, a statesman and a lover; and, like Dante, he had been unfortunate in ambition and in love. He had survived his health and his sight, the comforts of his home, and the prosperity of his party. Of the great men by whom he had been distinguished on his entrance into life, some had been taken away from the evil to come; some had carried into foreign climates their unconquerable hatred of oppression; some were pining in dungeons; and some had poured forth their blood on scaffolds. That hateful proscription-facetiously termed "The act of indemnity and oblivion"-had set a mark on the poor, blind, deserted poet, and held him up by name to the hatred of a profligate court and an inconstant people. Venal and licentious scribblers, with just sufficient talent to clothe the thoughts of a pander in the style of a bellman, were now the favourite writers of the sovereign and the public. It was a loathsome herd-which could be compared to nothing so fitly as the rabble of Comus:-grotesque monsters, half bestial, half human, dropping with wine, bloated with gluttony, and reeling in obscene dances. Amidst these his Muse was placed, like the chaste Lady of the Masque,-lofty, spotless, and serene-to be chatted at, and pointed at, and grinned at, by the whole tribe of Satyrs and Goblins.

If ever despondency could be excused in any man, it might have been excused in Milton. But the strength of his mind overcame every calamity. Neither blindness, nor gout, nor penury, nor age, nor domestic afflictions, nor political disappointments, nor abuse, nor proscription, nor neglect, had power to disturb his sedate and majestic patience. His spirits do not seem to have been high, but they were singularly equable. His temper was serious, perhaps stern; but it was a temper which no sufferings could render sullen or fretful. Such as it was, when on the eve of great events he returned from his travels, in the prime of health and manly beauty, loaded with literary distinctions and glowing with patriotic hopes; such it continued to be-when, after having experienced every calamity which is incident to our nature, old, poor, sightless, and disgraced, he retired to his hovel to die.

XXX.-CONNEXION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION.- Wiseman.

I KNOW not why any one who possesses but ordinary abilities, may not hope, by persevering diligence, somewhat to enlarge the evidences of truth. There are humble departments in this as in every other art; there are calm, retired walks, which lead not beyond the precincts of domestic privacy, over which the timid may wander, and, without exposure to the public gaze, gather sweet and lowly herbs,-that shall be as fragrant on the altar of God, as the costly perfume which Bezaleel and Oholiab compounded with so much art. The painted shell which the child picks up on the hill-side, may be sometimes as good evidence of a great catastrophe, as the huge bones of sea-monsters which the naturalist digs out of the limestone rock; a little medal may attest the destruction of an empire, as certainly as the obelisk or triumphal arch. "While others," says St. Jerome, "contribute their gold and their silver to the service of the tabernacle, why should not I contribute my humble offerings,—at least of hair and skin?"

But whosoever shall try to cultivate a wider field, and follow, from day to day, the constant progress of every science, careful ever to note the influence which it exercises on his more sacred knowledge, shall have therein such pure joy, and such growing comfort, as the disappointing eagerness of mere human learning may not supply. Such a one I know not unto whom to liken; save to one who unites an enthusiastic love of Nature's charms to a sufficient acquaintance with her laws, and spends his days in a garden of the choicest bloom. And here he seeth one gorgeous flower, that has unclasped all its beauty to the glorious sun; and there, another is just about to disclose its modester blossom, not yet fully unfolded; and beside them, there is one only in the hand-stem, giving but slender promise of much display: and yet he waiteth patiently, well knowing that the law is fixed whereby it too shall pay, in due season, its tribute to the light and heat that feed it. Even So, the other doth likewise behold one science after the other, when its appointed hour is come and its ripening influences have prevailed, unclose some form which shall add to the varied harmony of universal truth; which shall recompense, to the full, the genial power that hath given it life; and, however barren it may have seemed at first, produce something that may adorn the temple and altar of God's worship. And if he carefully register his own convictions, and add them to the collections already formed of various converging

proof, he assuredly will have accomplished the noblest end for which man may live and acquire learning-his own improvement, and the benefit of his kind.

When learning shall have been once consecrated by such high motives, it will soon be hallowed by purer feelings, and assume a calmer and more virtuous character than human knowledge can ever possess. An enthusiastic love of truth will be engendered in the soul, which will extinguish every meaner and more earthly feeling in its pursuit. We shall never look with a partisan's eye upon the cause, nor estimate it by personal motives; but, following the advice of the excellent Schlegel, we shall "eschew all sorts of useless contention and uncharitable hate, and strive to keep alive a spirit of love and unity."

But these motives will have a still stronger power; they will insure us success. For if once a pure love and unmixed admiration of Religion animate our efforts, we shall find ourselves inflamed with a chivalrous devotion to her service, which will make us indefatigable and unconquerable when armed in her defence. Our quest may be long and perilous; there may come in our way enchantments and sorceries, giants and monsters, allurements and resistance; but onward we shall advance, in the confidence of our cause's strength; we shall dispel every phantasm, and fairly meet every substantial foe, and the crown will infallibly be ours. In other words, we shall submit with patience to all the irksomeness which such detailed examination may cause: when any objection is brought, instead of contenting ourselves with vague replies, we shall at once examine the very department of learning, sacred or profane, whence it hath been drawn; we shall sit down calmly, and address ourselves meekly, to the toilsome work; we shall endeavour to unravel all its intricacies and diligently to untie every knot; and, however hopeless your task may have appeared at first, the result of your exertions will be surely recorded in the short, expressive legend, preserved on an ancient gem,-" RELIGION, THOU HAST CONQUERED!"

XXXI. THE ADVANTAGES OF EDUCATION.- -Dr. Doyle.

NEXT to the blessing of redemption, and the graces consequent upon it, there is no gift bestowed by God equal in value to a good education; other advantages are enjoyed by the body, this belongs entirely to the spirit; whatever is great, or good,

or glorious, in the works of men, is the fruit of educated minds. Wars, conquests, commerce, all the arts of industry and peace, all the refinements of life, all the social and domestic virtues, all the delicacies of mutual intercourse; in a word, whatever is estimable amongst men, owes its origin, increase, and perfection, to the exercise of those faculties, whose improvement is the object of education. Religion herself loses half her beauty and influence, when not attended or assisted by education; and her power, splendour, and majesty, are never so exalted, as when cultivated genius and refined taste become her heralds or her handmaids. Many have become fools for Christ, and, by their simplicity and piety, exalted the glory of the cross; but Paul, not John, was the apostle of the nations; and doctors, more even than prophets, have been sent to declare the truths of religion, before kings, and princes, and the nations of the earth.

Education draws forth the mind, improves its faculties, increases its resources, and, by exercise, strengthens and augments its powers. I consider it, therefore, of inestimable value; but, like gold, which is the instrument of human happiness, it is, and always must be, unequally distributed amongst men. Some will always be unable or unwilling to acquire it; others will expend it prodigally, or pervert it to the worst ends; whilst the mass of mankind will always be more or less excluded from its possession. Doomed as we are to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow, the great bulk of Adam's posterity will ever be engaged in procuring for themselves the necessaries, or in supplying to others the comforts, or luxuries, of life; this is the order which Providence has established on the earth, while, in justice to men, it has taken care that happiness should not depend on station. From this disposition, however, it appears, that, as we cannot all belegislators, or astronomers, or merchants, or agriculturists, so we cannot all be well educated-not having the means, nor the talent, nor the time, necessary to acquire much knowledge. It behoves, however, the government of every well-regulated society, to provide, as far as may be in its power, for each class of its subjects, as much education, and of the best kind, as the latter are capable of receiving with advantage to themselves, and security to the public interests.

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