Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

"These principles were grappled with, discussed, analyzed, viewed in every possible aspect, and assayed to be developed with marvellous acuteness and philosophical skill." P. 73.

"It was through this channel that the writings of Aristotle . . . were conveyed to them about the commencement of the ninth century, and which imparted such a powerful stimulant to their speculative subtilty and logical skill." P. 112.

[ocr errors]

Many of the scholastic doctors pronounced it as useless."... P. 154. "Indeed, we see here very distinctly... that men were bent on testing all logical methods and systems by their own private judgment, and to be no longer led by the sheer power of authority for ancient and venerated names.” P. 163.

"The plague raged in Paris, and cut off several of its most influential and popular of the professors of the university." P. 170.

"The great movement of the Reformation effected logical science considerably." P. 185. Effect is put for affect, also p. 245, and in other places.

"It must always, however, be taken into consideration, that there are every degree of mysticism".. P. 197.

"A stronger stamina of enthusiasm" . . . P. 222.

"Man was no longer considered as only a finer specimen of the animal, but had within an immaterial and immortal principle, which the coldness of the grave could not destroy." P. 247.

"Even if it be admitted that men ignorant of artificial logic, reason sometimes more promptly and correctly than those intimately skilled in it; yet this does not prove its absolute inutility, any more than because we occasionally find persons quick and correct at arithmetical accounts who, nevertheless, know scarcely anything of formal figures, that therefore the science of numbers is of little use." P. 250.

"He (Locke) makes the distinct portion of his philosophy subservient to this end." P. 279.

"The first item in the elements of logic are conceptions." P. 302.

"The logical portion of his (Condillac's) voluminous works are contained under the general head of Cours d'Etude." P. 318.

"The Christian system conferred new logical canons on the nature, importance, and promulgation of truth." P. 329.

"When the five members of the Hindoo syllogism is considered"... P. 384. "The formation of a philosophical logic-similar in its character and intended offices as that contemplated by the late Dugald Stewart " . . . P. 399.

These examples are amply sufficient to prove that Mr. Blakey can write neither English nor grammar, but, if further illustration is desired, other instances may be found at pages 12, 36, 52, 68, 81, 87, 91, 100, 107, 148, 172, 188, 224, 232, 234, 260, 263, 266, 279, 280, 294, 295, 306, 364, 376, 411, 412, 415, 419, 458, 466, 481.

Examples of pure nonsense in Blakey's History of Logic. "Antisthenes-This philosopher entertained certain opinions on that branch of logic which embraces the nature and use of definitions." P. 16.

"This being or existence, as well as its opposite, non-being or non-existence, cannot be defined; only the being is represented by an effulgent light which encircles it; whereas the non-being is the pure negative, or the want of this irradiating influence." P. 33.

"Possession-This category involves the whole rights of property." P. 38. "They (the ancient philosophers) viewed the mind of man in all its totality, and more especially directed their attention to that attribute of its nature

which was immediately engaged in the pursuit and communication of truth; and scanning this attribute from every angular position in which it could present itself to the understandings of men, they saw that it revolved, as on a fixed centre, upon the great and interesting truth, that there was in some unknown sphere of creation some living and active power, which inspired men with ideas on these topics, and forced upon them that indissoluble connexion which subsisted between what was true, and good, and beautiful, and the preservation of their own existence and happiness as human creatures." P. 77. "If the principle in question should be carried to its full or ultra-logical consequences." P. 87.

"This (that logic was the universal science) was the current or every-day belief of all the scholastic thinkers in every age of their disputations; and this belief forms that logical unity which is imprinted on the mind of every one conversant with their speculations." P. 128.

"Hobbes's system of philosophy was evidently of a material cast; and, on this account, he was too clear-headed to admit into his logic any principle or formal arrangement which might seem to be at variance with his leading views on human nature." P. 224.

"Thinking long and earnestly on this topic, he (Descartes) was induced to conceive that there must certainly be some method or other, which, if pursued, would enable candid and inquiring minds to throw off this incubus of doubt, and, following up the first suggestion, he thought he saw in the distance, like a nebulous cloud in the horizon, a certain principle which pointed him to something like certitude and truth." P. 232.

Judgment and probability are two important instruments in Locke's logical system." P. 274.

"The fundamental doctrines of theology, considered as an embodiment of scientific truth." P. 285.

"Reasoning is not, therefore, a general and blind energy, or impulse, directed to a particular end, and guided by nothing higher or extrinsic to itself." P. 295. Every fundamental truth should have an existence of all knowledge from experience." P. 306.

66

"There is prefixed to the end of the volume." . . . P. 321.

"Genovesi's logic is founded on a psychological view of the mind." P. 334. "His (Rydelius's) opinions on the general principles of logical science are to be found in his other publications devoted to mental philosophy." P. 373. (Other than his logic.)

This list may be extended by reference to pages 29, 30, 33, 66, 66, 67, 81, 83, 84, 86, 122, 143, 194, 244, 272, 294, 297, 319, 348, 380, 415, 455, 466.

Blakey's blunders in matters historical.

Besides omissions, chronological dislocations, and disregard of propriety and proportion in the amount of consideration bestowed upon different authors and periods, there are numerous distinct errors, of which we specify the following:

Socrates "spent a long life in teaching . . . what were the best rules and principles for guiding the judgment in the acquisition and promulgation of truth generally." P. 17.

[ocr errors]

"This huge mass of speculation (philosophy before Socrates) had neither beginning, middle, nor end." P. 21.

"Following the Peripatetics, another class of logicians made their appearance, denominated Sceptics." P. 53.

"The Stoics do not appear to have entered very deeply into the logic of either Plato or Aristotle." P. 59.

The Stoics" took men as they found them. And hence it is that theories of every kind hung loosely about them." P. 61.

"St. Athenagoras." P. 99.

"His (Cassiodorus's) views (on logic) are contained in the treatise Rhetorica Compendium!" Pp. 107, 108.

"The Arabian logical philosophy, taken as a whole, is a compound of three leading ingredients-the Scripture doctrine as to the nature of truth, the Grecian dialectics, and the theories of the New Platonists." P. 112.

"The logical method of Aquinas, and his speculations on the nature of truth and evidence generally, are developed chiefly in his Summa Theologica, and in his Commentaries on some parts of the philosophy of Aristotle." P. 149. "Its barrenness and formality soon became apparent." P. 154. He is speaking of Raymond Lully's Ars Magna, and contradicts himself in what immediately follows.

"James Zabarella (A. D. 1532) was a logician of some note." P. 181. "Melancthon entertained no very high opinion of scholastic logic." P. 191. The Novum Organon "gave a new and powerful impetus to logical investigations." P. 200.

"In respect to the syllogistic mode of reasoning, Leibnitz expresses himself a qualified admirer of it." P. 249.

66

Archbishop Whately's Elements of Logic is one of the most important and influential logical publications of modern times." P. 454.

Similar blunders, many even grosser than these, may be discovered on pages 26, 54, 55, 58, 71, 76, 94, 95, 110, 125, 127, 140, 141, 160, 161, 169, 181, 195, 213, 220, 221, 246, 257, 271. 287, 329, 344.

Blakey's blunders in matters logical and philosophical.

So much space has been already occupied with the previous enumeration of Mr. Blakey's errors in regard to other subjects, and lapses in Logic and metaphysics, or in points involving those branches of science, require so much elucidation to render their enormity or even their existence sensible to the majority of readers, that we have collected in the note the references to Mr. Blakey's sins of this kind,* instead of writing out in extenso any of the long and tedious passages in which they are contained. If, therefore, we have not fully substantiated all our severe censures of this Historical Sketch of Logic, we have furnished to others an ample apparatus criticus by which it may be justified and confirmed. We have, therefore, no hesitation in taking leave of this volume,

"Blunders in Logic: Pp. xix, 13, 28, 35, 40, 68, 75, 78, 85, 90, 92, 94, 95, 97, 101, 107, 116, 119, 122, 130, 132, 145, 159, 202, 230, 245, 277, 455, 470.

Blunders in matters metaphysical: Pp. 27, 29, 31, 33, 45, 47, 69, 70, 72, 80, 91, 126, 127, 128, 134, 152, 153, 159, 178, 205, 206, 207-8, 210, 220, 248, 273, 284, 296.

As Mr. Blakey confounds Logic and Metaphysics together, these two classes of error in his book are frequently almost undistinguishable from each other.

with the declaration that it is good for nothing, and is entitled to commendation only for its paper and print. Let every one who desires to know something of the History of Logic, avoid it like the plague, and recur to the able and valuable treatise of St. Hilaire, De la Logique d'Aristote, so frequently referred to in the course of our remarks.

ART. II.-IRVING'S WORKS.

The Works of Washington Irving. 16 vols., 12mo. New-York: G. P. Putnam.. THE name of the distinguished man whose works are placed at the head of this article, has, for a long time, been a household word in. both hemispheres. For more than forty years, words of beauty and thoughts of purity have been constantly flowing from his classic pen; and all that we can do in the premises, is to hold up before mankind a model of beautiful sentiment and elegant writing. Washington Irving is the first of our writers who won a brilliant fame in countries separated from his own by the ocean. We had men whom Europe and the world honoured, long before he wrote, and who were reckoned brothers to universal humanity. The deeds of our heroes, and the practical wisdom of our statesmen, were everywhere admired as soon as men heard of them. Our energy and morality, our industry, our freedom, our intelligence, and our unexampled progress, were the wonder and envy of the nations. But no man was known solely for his ability to write his native tongue in an elegant and graceful manner, or for his power to awaken emotions of beauty, pity, tenderness, and mirth in the minds of others. The reputation of Irving is, therefore, in the minds of his countrymen, very much like the heart's estimation of a first love-an exaggerated remembrance of a delicious dream; or like the fond mother's dotings over the infant exploits of her first-born son, a gladsome picture of futurity, coloured by the magic glass of hope. He is the best beloved, as well as the oldest, of American writers, and the collection of his works marks an era in the history of our literature which ought not to be passed without due notice.

The writings, as collected and thus far published, embrace, in some sixteen volumes, fictitious works, such as tales and sketches; essays, moral, humorous, and sentimental; narratives of adventures and travel; biographies of eminent men; and histories, burFOURTH SERIES, VOL. VIII.—34

+

[ocr errors]

lesque and authentic. It is not often that a writer assumes to use his pen in so many and so various kinds of literature; and still less often is it that one succeeds. Southey wrote poetry, history, philosophy so called, fiction, and biography, and succeeded in all, so as to have made many enemies and few warm friends; and yet men will remember his biographies and profit by them, when they would willingly forget all else of his works. Scott wrote criticisms, fiction, poetry, and history, and made each nothing else than a kind of poetic fiction. And so of others; they have only excelled in one, or, at most, two departments; and even in those they have many who, if not cavillers, are only hesitating friends. But Irving seems to have shown that in each thing which he undertook he had a master's power, and has attained the height of ambition. In the whole of what he has written there is a vast variety of incident, an almost unexampled scope of design and construction, and a compass of subject and style which well might satisfy the pride of a writer, or the omnivorous curiosity of a fashionable reader. His writings embrace almost every species of literary composition, except that which proceeds with the majestic march of measured verse. There are the broadest and most ludicrously-strained caricature; the most genial and mirth-provoking humour; the keenest and the most unexpected sallies of wit; the tenderest and the truest sentiment; the sweetest, the most natural, and most heart-profiting moral reflection; the soundest and noblest lessons of practical wisdom; the loftiest and most enduring poetic imagery; the best and holiest morality; all written in words the smoothest and most bewitching, and conveyed in a style the most enchanting and soul-elevating. He is at once a master of all the weapons, and all the arts, of written eloquence. It is an honour to any country to have produced such a man, and a still greater honour to any age to have, in some good degree at least, appreciated him and his works.

The earliest work which it has pleased him to revise and reprint, is "Knickerbocker's History of New-York, from the beginning of Creation to the close of the Dynasties of our worthy Dutch Governors," first published in 1809. Irving had before this been engaged with one or two others in the publication of a series of humorous and sentimental essays, called Salmagundi; but he has not seen fit to claim his own particular share of these, and to incorporate them in the present edition of his writings. If we may judge of public opinion at that time by the alacrity with which the name "Knickerbocker" was adopted, we must conclude that the book was welcomed with a hearty enthusiasm. Indeed, for forty years it has been a universal favourite, and few books have been hailed with a warmer

« AnteriorContinuar »