Modern Philosophy. upon man, that two and two could not be equal to four, nor fire produce heat, nor the sun, light, without an express act of the human understanding: That none of our actions are in our power; that we ought to exercise power over our actions, and that there is no such thing as power :-That body and motion may be regarded as the cause of thought; and that body does not exist: That the universe exists in the mind; and that the mind does not exist :—That the human understanding acting alone does entirely subvert itself, and prove by argument, that by argument nothing can be proved! These are a few of the many sublime mysteries brought to light by this great philosopher." That such a man as Hume, should have brought himself to believe in the truth of any reasoning (if reasoning it can be called) which denies and overturns every rational principle, and which the common sense of mankind pronounces absurd, can be attributed to nothing short of some defect in an otherwise vigorous understanding: That he should have been so anxious to publish and recommend these things with all their pernicious consequences, betrays, we fear, a callousness or malignity of heart. While he robs the breast of its composure, and rudely tears from us whatever can alleviate the sorrows of affliction, and tranquillize the agonies of death, he substitutes or encourages, neither peace nor hope. Doubt-doubt of every thing is the triumph of his Philosophy; and this object he pursued through the most daring falsehoods, the grossest absurdities, and the most unpardonable misrepresentations. If he could only make men Atheists he cared not how! "As to certain advantages of style, (to use the words of Dr. Magee) Mr. Hume, no doubt, possessed them: but, as to his reasoning, nothing under that name can be more contemptible. This, indeed, seems now pretty generally admitted, and few, who have any regard for the opinion of men of sense, would at this day venture to support the paradoxes, and adduce the arguments, of David Hume. By the species of reasoning adopted by that writer, Dr. Beattie has well remarked, it would be easy to prove any doctrine; and to evince this he supplies the following recipe as conveying the whole mystery of the manufacture of his metaphysical paradoxes: Take a word (an abstract term is the most convenient) which admits of more than one signification: and by the help of a predicate and copula form a proposition suitable to your system, or to your humour, or to any other thing you please, Essays on Eminent Characters-Dr. Chalmers. except truth. When laying down your premisses, you are to use the name of the quality or subject in one sense; and, when inferring your conclusion, in another. You are then to urge a few equivocal facts, very slightly examined (the more slightly, the better) as a farther proof of the said conclusion; and to shut up all with citing some ancient authorities, either real or fictitious, best suit your purpose. A few occasional strictures on Religion as an unphilosophical thing, and a sneer at the Whole Duty of Man or any other good book, will give your dissertations what many are pleased to call a liberal turn; and will go near to convince the world that you are a candid Philosopher, a manly freethinker, and a very fine writer." as may Whether the quotation from Cicero, be more applicable to the ancients or to the moderns, let our readers say. 26th November 1819. S. ESSAYS ON EMINENT CHARACTERS. ESSAY IV. DR. CHALMERS. Although in a preceding part of the volume we have made some observations on the character of this eminent clergyman, yet we cannot think our labour or our time mispent in again attempting to analyse a mind distinguished for the originality of its formation, and for the extensive influence it has been the means of exercising over that department in which it so ably excels. Every one must be prepared to admit, that the progress of certain branches of knowledge is widely different-that the sciences can scarcely have limits set to their improvements, that they are as boundless as are the works of nature, and that every succeeding age must have a greater knowledge than those which went before. With literature the same law does not hold. We have long ago acquired all the information it can develope. From generation to generation it has been the same, our ancestors were as deeply versed in its mysteries as ourselves. Hence in science the knowledge of a Newton, or a Galileo, would sink to insig Essays on Eminent Characters-Dr. Chalmers. nificance on a comparison with that of many modern philosophers vastly inferior in genius-but in criticism the knowledge of a Longinus, or an Aristotle, was not inferior to that of a Blair, or a Campbell; and in Theology, that of a Luther and Calvin was equal to the theological acquirements of a Tillotson, or Chalmers. The first advances on with giant strides, for it is but yet in its infancy-while the others remain in statu quo, because they are unimproveable, or because we are ignorant on what data to proceed to accomplish their improvement. But if nothing can be added to our information, we are not thence to infer that theology is at a dead stand-it admits of improvements which may yet render it more alluring; the man of God may not be the unprofitable labourer in a field which seemingly defies further cultivation-he may yet be enabled to root up the weeds which incumber its value, and present the same vineyard in a different culture. This, however, needs the hand of a master. To quit the beaten path of generations-to open up a new road to knowledge-to lead the mind to the same fountain by a different and more alluring way, is a work only to be attempted by a man who despises custom for the sake of utility, and who inherits a fund of original power above his fellows. It is indeed one of the greatest marks of genius to chalk out a track for itself. Every man who towers by his talents above the multitude, is a peculiar man-he thinks, he acts for himself, he despises the artificial trammels of custom, whatever he touches upon he illumines, and displays a mind unique for the peculiarity of its designs. In Dr. Chalmers is a man of that cast; we have only to glance at his writings to get a complete insight into that mind which labouring with the magnitude of his conceptions, has boldly attempted to rear up a fabric equally novel and magnificent. his manner and style he is without an archetype, he has not venally followed in the steps of his compeers, his resources are not drawn from others, they are peculiar to himself, and lie accumulated in his own vigorous and original mind. Every eminent author is distinguished by a certain peculiarity, the shades of writing are almost as various as the human countenance. Some are remarkable for a certain cast of thought, some for the style in which their sentiments are delivered. We see this unerring principle prevail with some of the greatest intellects of the present day. Byron, Scott, Southey, Cole Essays on Eminent Characters-Dr. Chalmers. ridge, and Wordsworth, are perfectly peculiar, between these illustrious men there is no trait of resemblance except in their greatness, their structures are clear and evident-they think for themselves, and cannot fail when minds so greatly disagree, to rear up pictures of fancy and passion perfectly distinct. Such features characterise Dr. Chalmers, features of originality which are the surest marks of genius, and without which no man in any department of knowledge can be ever eminently great. But it is necessary to observe that what raises him in the estimation of the liberal and enlightened, is the very circumstance to excite cavil in the minds of the ignorant. In his discourses, or in his writings, they can detect no marks of intellectual superiority. They are strangers to the corruscations of genius he is pouring upon them.-Closed against conviction, their minds revolt at novelty, and spurn that excellence of sentiment-that energy of style and that glowing enthusiasm, which distinguishes this truly ardent and original man. He has done for preaching the same service which Pope has accomplished for poetry. Neither have achieved the impossibility of bringing forth any thing new in their different departments, but each has clothed what was always well known, in such a dress as to bestow all the charm of originality. This too is one of the most difficult attempts, an attempt which has seldom succeeded, one which requires a mind amply stored with facts, and a peculiar tact of observation to set every thing forward in its most advantageous view, Nothing more than this can now be done for theology, and it must evidently become every year a more difficult task; the turnings which the subject will receive from different hands, must continually augment the labour of a work at all times hard to achieve, and he who is able to overcome this difficulty by such a masterly execution as Dr. Chalmers, is undoubtedly entitled to praise of no ordinary kind. The principal characteristics of Dr. Chalmers's mind are strength and comprehensiveness, a mind like Thomson's which looks with a wide expanded view over nature, and includes within its range the smallest and most magnificent of objects. In the Astromical Discourses, there are many passages of sublimity, but we must pause a moment and reflect, whether they acquire their grandeur from the nature of the subject, or from the genius of the author. We are of opinion that both are concerned in their production. His temperament is undoubtedly poetical and ad Essays on Eminent Characters-Dr. Chalmers. mirably qualified to narrate the stupendous working of the Almighty. Howsoever narrated, they would inspire in a feeling mind, sentiments of awe and elevation, but they produce a wonderful effect in the hands of our author, especially when they are employed to celebrate the glory of the Invisible, and to confound the impious doctrines of luke-warm infidelity. He speaks as he should do with vigour and fearlessness; the question at issue is one of stupendous moment, the being of a God, one in which the whole human race are vitally concerned, or of equal importance to all, the savage and the philosopher. In these discourses the whole bent of his mind is ardently devoted to his one object--argument, eloquence,piety, and persuasion, mutually, and indivisibly act their parts. His illustrations are not drawn from the abstruseness of metaphysical reasoning, but from a source more plain, more magnificent, and more calculated for every mind, from boundless nature.—The insect on the forest leaf, the stars of heaven, and every intermediate part of materiality, afford arguments, and indeed constitute his energetic, simple, and manly reasoning. Thus we speak of his astronomical discourses not because we think this better than his other works, or more entitled to perusal, but merely because it is only one of his early theological attempts, and containing perhaps more ingenuity, than the rest. The last volume of Sermons which he has published will likewise do him infinite honour, and although not so well known deserve at least as attentive perusal as any produc tion of his pen. By what power is it, that he succeeds in arresting the attention and in carrying home his discourse to the minds of his brethren? His reasoning is not more profound than that of most clergymen, and there are some who have all his vehemence and all his ardour. The explanation of this truth will prove a most exalted testimonial of his talents. It appears that by the collision of his different faculties, they are brought into mutual assistance, and that where one is defective, it is aided by the superior power of another—hence where his arguments would of themselves fail to produce complete conviction, they are driven on to the heart by the power of eloquence, and are so adorned by splendour of diction and richness of fancy that they carry the full weight of incontrovertible proofs.-We are far from saying that his reasonings are false, or that he convinces by spurious argument, we only assert that it is seldom strong, often elegant, but sometimes puerile |