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    m TimEL - j&gBA. MMM |yoB«l » BfcTrog»*t...

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    " HISTORY OF MODERN IT ALT. History of M...

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    FOUR NOVELS. A Lobt Love. By Aahfonl Owe...

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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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    Bain Ox The Senses And The Intellect. Th...

    ^^ i ^ t ^^^ ^^^^ fr ^ ^ SS » witS ^ the organism , by * he mere oxidation of tissue for Sance * Swell as from a stimulus wAout -Thus he maintains that move-> ment precedes sensation ; and he makes excellent use of the position ^ which tweonliraWre to see cleared from ambiguity . But on close scrutiny it turns out that movement only precedes some specific sensation . Ho says the ^ encephalic centres are the sources of spontaneous movement . « without tue aid ofsensations and impressions from without" and he adduces

    men-, dence , " In wakening from sleep movement precedes sensation . . It ligjt > were essential to the movements concerned in vision , it would be _ unpossibie to open the eyes . " Now , when the word sensation is thus used , it is ambiguous . What sensation does movement ; precede 1 Some external and specific sensation ? Yes ; but not some internal sensation . Stimulus of some kind must precede movement . Mr . Bain himself explains this when he adds , ^ The act of awakening from sleep can hardly be considered in any other friew than asthe reviving of the activity by a rush of nervous power to the muscles , followed hy the exposure of the senses to the influences ot the outer world " Ruf , tLis rush of nervous power , to what is it owing but to internal

    • tfanulus ? In a second edition Mr . Bain will do well to clear up these ambiguities which will obscure his ideas to many readers ; especially in that suggestive view he has given of the instinctive germ of volition . Hrhe second Book , which treats of the Intellect , is one we may seek some bther occasion of discussing , since both the Method employed and the results brought forward are open to much question . It it as unlike the first book as can well he conceived , and does not , indeed , seem like a part of the same treatise ; for whereas in the first book organ and function have been considered together , in this second book function alone is considered , and that m a less definite way than is desirable . The intellectual operations are classed under four heads : the law of continuity ; the law of similarity ; compound association , and constructive association . Much admirable analysis and many valuable suggestions will be found . in these chapter * ; and even those who think they see flaws in the systematic construction of the treatise will 3 be ready enough to acknowledge how much light the work throws on our mental processes . We look impatiently for the second volume , and meanwhile commend this to all interested in such subjects .

    M Timel - J&Gba. Mmm |Yob«L » Bfctrog»*T...

    m TimEL - j & gBA . MMM | yoB « l » BfcTrog »* tf ,

    " History Of Modern It Alt. History Of M...

    " HISTORY OF MODERN IT ALT . History of Modern Italy from , the first French Revolution to the year 1850 . By Richard Hcber Wrigatson . Bentley . Events are immutable as soon as past , and the discretion with which the historian ? pronounces judgment on them so as to condemn or absolve a people alone constitutes the superiority of a new history . over others that have been written on the same subject . Mr . Wrightson does " not claim for his volume the name and title of a history in any such extended sense ^ all that h . e professes to attempt is a compendious sketch of the occurreneetv which have prepared the way for the preseat condition of the Italian Peninsula . " But this modesty , which would disarm , criticism , loses its value when we find the author has neither renounced the importance of his title , nor the duties

    of the historian . We have therefore a right to judge how far he has fulfilled hia self-imposed task . - .. ! The subject is most difficult . Italy is a country divided by interests and traditions , from which have arisen a diversity of customs and ideas among the people of the various states . Hence , the history of each # > ate requires a more diligent research , a calmer judgment , and a more careful exposition than any Mr . Wrightson appears capable of giving . Notwithstanding these political distinctions , the languago , literature , science , And art belong equally to the whole peninsula . The boundaries and geographical position of Italy mark her as one nation , and the foreign Oppression , which equally crushes all her various states , unites them in one common misfortune , as it is to be hoped ere long they will be united for the general liberation . The wish that petty intereets should be merged in the

    federal good ( whether expressed by the terms Uoitarianism , federalism , Monarchy , or Republic ) has determined the special characteristics of all the revolutions of modern Italy , but there is one watchword on which all Italians from the Alps to the L il ibeo equally agree , and that is , ^ Liberty and Independence / ' The obstacles to the attainment of this object have been greatly increased , if not exclusively created , by the mutual jealousy of the rival potentates within , and the desire for aggrandisement of the various foreign rulers without . These general facts , of which no one can doubt , should principally have guided the historian of modern Italy . Instead of this , Mr . Wrightson has a fixed and partial idea , which we haye no hesitation in pronouncing narrow -minded . According to him , the misfortunes of Italy arise from one cause only—the sette . If the limits of this brief indication permitted us to follow the author from event to event , we could show how

    greatly he exaggerates the importance of these secret societies ; we must , however , be , ' content to offer a few general remarks , and remind the author , that the . political bondage of Italy , existed before the secret societies wore thought of . In fact , the most powerful of these , the Carbonaria , was not organised until the Bourbon restoration in 1799 , when ( notwithstanding the assurance of pardon given through Welson to the people ) the first hecatomb of pariots was sacrificed , and the history of the nineteenth century in Italy began by the death of . the most illustrious republicans of Waples , under the eyes of the * great English admiral , whom the

    blandishments of Lady Hamilton had rendered deaf to the voice of humanity . . Does tbe author mean to inculpate the societies in these and similar enormities tfrilich disgrace the history of nearly half a century ? Socret societies are $ ie result of the present state of Italy , not the cause . We hayo no disposition to justify the excesses occasionally committed by the factions , although these ^ have never , cither in cruelty or duration , equalled those of despotism And its aectiefc organisations . These excesses , sometimes inherent in the institutions themselves , sometimes the result of individual abuse of power , can at the moat but condemn the form of those institutions , not their

    oxnumber of rulers , and oblige them to grant concessions . It is thus that England has commenced , and will carry out those reforms which elsewhere have led to popular insurrections . But in a land where to express an idea is a fault , to hate oppression a crime—where for su « h faults and such crimes a prison , on which might be inscribed Danta ' s terrible words , is closed , to open no more , unless ns a passage to the scaffold—secret societies alone afford liberty of discussion . If the Italian people were permitted freely to express their opinions , we should willingly agree with the author . But such is not the case ; and where the legal exercise of a right is prohibited , an appeal to force , the only means of escape , becomes just ; now such an appeal must be organised , and this can only be done in secret . ,

    isteuco . The multiplicity of these , societies is to bejajgretted , otherwise they would have been a nucleus of patriot * who sougajTto cultivate their moral and intellectual faculties so as to act together for the general good , to become citizens , and not remain slaves . In England , we do not understand the necessity for these secret societies , for under a liberal Government , they would be absurd , and could only be organised for some improper purpose that feared the light : hence they are justly condemned . Where there is liberty of association , of the press , of opinion , and of creed , every individual idea that has objects of public utility in view will find adherents , and , if it accords with public opinion , which eoverns allfrom the meanest to the highest , will finally influence the small

    We could answer the objection , that facts have proved the inadequacy ot secret societies to liberate Italy , but the philosophy of success , which ultimately rules the opinions of the masses , should not be regarded as the historian ' s guide . It is well known that the revolution of 1848 was not provoked by any " setta . " It was / the treachery of princes that made conspirators . The insurrection of 1848 was the spontaneous ! explosion of the National Party , which had breathed the spirit of liberty and independence that has ever been the constant aspiration of all the great writers of Italy . Most of the young men of the present generation were , and still are , strangers to every political society ; yet they feel they are Italians , and they rush to exile , to prison , or to death , with a fortitude that makes their

    tyrants quail . . . ,,.,. _ ,. It is evident , therefore , that Mr . Wrigbtso * s fixed idea is erroneous ; and also , from the manner in which he treats the question , that he is a warm partisan of legality . This predilection , most honourable when conscientiously and impartially upheld , becomes ridiculous when it imposes restrictions on one party only . What shall we think of an " historian" who severely condemns the Carbonari and the members of the Giovane Italia , but has no harsh words for the Sanfedisti and Calderari ? That the reader may judge how far the opinions of the author extend , we need only indicate , that according to him , it was a crime for the learned men of Italy , who , previous to 1848 , were permitted to assemble in " Congressi Scientifici" once a year , to utter ^ even a few words on the unhappy condition of the peninsula , as though the ^ progress of humanity were not the chief object of every scientific Dursuit . On the whole , it would appear that learned men should

    not speak , patriots should not think , associations should not act , men should not feel ; truly , we begin to think that Mr . Wrightson should not have written " history . " To whom , then , should be entrusted the charge of making Italy free and independent for the Italians ? Our historian reminds the Italians " that England 19 at all times ready , by just and honourable means , and by the fulf weight of her influence , to support the independence of those states which are de jure and by force of treaties independent . " We know not iu what manner , or by whom , England has made this assertion to Mr . Wrightson , but the meaning of this sentence is , that Lombardy and Venice should remain Austrian provinces ; that Tuscany should be an Austrian dependence ;

    that Bologna , Ferrara , and Ancona should be Austrian outposts on Southern Italy ; Rome a nursery for corruption and despotism , upheld by French bayonets ; while Naples and Sicily should still be crushed by that unnatural tyranny which is upheld by Swiss mercenaries . This settlement has been imposed by treaties and ratified by potentates , and plenipotentiaries assembled in Congress , and it constitutes the independence ae jure of the Italian States . The system is unfortunately at the present time strong enough to uphold itself , and we do not believe that it is England ' s mission to aid * Austrian oppression , should the Italians resolve to throw it off . It is but too true that despotism has gained so much ground in Europe , that the advocacy of Mr . Wrightson is quite out of season , save as an additional

    homage to Austrian policy , which , under existing circumstances , can afford but little satisfaction to " any Englishman who has not become an alien in thought , in manners , and in heart . The narrative portions of this book , although tolerably clear and well arranged , cannot be commended either for depth of observation or historical conscientiousness , and , as a collection of facts that have occurred in Italy , the student of contemporary history would have learnt more from a translation of Gualterio ' s work , from which the author has obtained the greater portion of his materials , than from a compilation , distorted by that party and sectarian spirit so clearly visible in every page of Mr . Wrightson's " history . "

    Four Novels. A Lobt Love. By Aahfonl Owe...

    FOUR NOVELS . A Lobt Love . By Aahfonl Owen . Smith , Kldor , and < Jo . My Brother's Wife . A Lye-History . By Amelia Edwards . KouUimIko . Cleve Hall . IJy tha Author of " Amy Herbert . " Longnmu and Co . Vonatantine ; or , The J ^ ast Days of an Empire . liy Captain Spencer . SumjiMon Low and Sun Tiibsk four novels may bo classified in couples . Two of" them are readable books , and two are dull books . Wo had not gone further than tho fir « t twenty or thirty pages of A Lost Love before wo begnn to have our suspicions that " Ashford Owen" must be a lady . Tho book exhibits the harm less sexual feeling , tho observation of minute things , tho intense appreciation of tho pleasure of talking , the fcoblu dramatic power , and tho delicate glibness of stylo , which—among other characteristics—generally distinguish fictions written by women . The subject of tho atory of A Lost Love

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 11, 1855, page 772, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_11081855/page/16/