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    Thjebe is an unjust , unwise practice prevalent in Literature of taking up a man ' s opinions , developing them to tlieir extreme conclusions , or interpreting- them into conclusions he would-repudiate , and having done this , the interpreter exclaims , Lo ! the absurdity ! We need not cite illustrations ; but if such a practice were reasonable , how easy it would be to make it appear that orthodox writers do not really believe in the Bible when they exhibit such extreme eagerness for " proofs , " as shown in the jubilations over the discoveries in Nineveh . How stands the case ? Here is a book claiming to be the word of God , and as such the eternal role of life . The evidence in favour of such a claim is mainly internal ; but it is also said to have external evidence , such as miracles ,

    prophecies , and historic testimony . We will not here discuss , or even glance at so vast a subject ; we only note the strange uneasiness which can clutch at proofs , when those proofs are only proofs of the book containing much historical matter , and do not in any way affect the divine authorship . In the London Quarterly Review , of which the second number is before us , there is an article on Oriental Discovery , its Progress and Mesults , well worth reading for its own sake , and typical of much that has been written and said on the Layard discoveries . Curious and interesting as they were , it is to say little to say that their main interest has been their supposed corroboration of scripture ; and yet Logic is perplexed to see where the corroboration lies . The writer we

    f . re about to quote holds the " demonstrative internal evidence to be complete , " and nevertheless he says : — / "We have also , in the results of these explorations , very powerful corroborations of the truth of Holy Scripture . They have furnished these coi'roborations by exhibiting the names and actions of individuals specially mentioned in its sacred pages—as Sargon , Sennacherib , Esarhaddon , Nebuchadnezzar , and Cyrus . These Kings are spoken of by the Prophets , and other inspired writers , in connexion with ; the most sublime miracles and prophecies . But the name and memorial of some of these having perished from the pages of profane history , sceptics have dared to sneer at the relations of Scripture concerning them . But how does the case now stand ? The records of these sovereigns are found in the city which the sacred writers said they occupied , and , as clearly as can be ascertained , at the times , in the order , and under the circumstances which were ascribed to them . "

    In the name of all that is precise , " corroborations" of tohat ? Of the divine authorship ? Not at all . Simply of certain historical passages . In Livy and Dion Cassius there are historical persons—events mixed with mythical persons and events—will any amount of discovered accuracy in the historical portions corroborate the truth of the mythical ? In the life of Plato there are facts stated which may receive ample corroboration from historic research ; will they at the same time corroborate the story of his having been the child of a virgin mother by Apollo ?

    There is another article in this review to which attention may be directed—it is on \ h . e Natural History of Man , apo |) ular , agreeable statement of the present condition of the ethnological question . There are one or two passages , however , to which we must take exception . For example : —

    ' Without admitting the details of tho phrenological delusion , we believe in some of its broad truths , and , as a general rule , connect with tho healthy expansion of the cerebral organ a corresponding power in the functions which it performs . At the same time , it appears probable that , as in the other organs of the body , those functions will attain additional vigour by exercise ; whilst the organ which is their instrument will undergo a corresponding increase in its size . Few persons doubt that the passions and tho intellect , respectively , bring into action different portions of the brain . "

    We do not like such phrases as " tho phrenological delusion , " especially when followed by an admission of all tho capital points in phrenology . The subject of Phrenology is touched on in another column , but wo will not suffer the present occasion to pass without a remonstrance against the very common and extremely unphilosophic practice of sneering at phrenology whilo admitting its main principles , because a tow of its details are rejected . JNTo one sneers at Chemistry or Biology because its teachings are constantly being reversed by fresh discoveries . And if phrenologists do somewhat prematurely and arrogantly assume their science to bo in a fixed , iminoveablo condition , their error should not tlmnv xis off from our nllogiftnco to tho truth .

    fopeaking of tho lower forms of humanity us exhibited by tho Foejees and AlfouroiiH , this writer , who regards them us degradations of tho race , adds , " Surely the veriest of infidels must acknowledge tliat Satan has done his worst amongst these unhappy outcasts of creation" —a sentence of Hupromo absurdity ! Tho " veriest of infidels" in the truest of infidels ; and how the men who do not bolievt ; in Satan are to acknowledge that Satan has done his worst hero , and why those outcasts woro left to his particular attention , we loavo others to docide . Into what twaddle does the desire for " rounding a period" seduce men !

    nutckwood hvg ' niH a now story thin month—The Quiet Heart—which one may presume to bo by the writer of Katie Stewart . There is also a gossiping letter from Paris agreeable to read ; and the conclusion of tho articles , The Narcotics wo indulge in . . From this paper we learn with RWprieo that not only clay is oaton by some racos ( of which IIumjioldt and others had informed us ) but arsenic ! Tho Styrian peasants eat

    arsenic as the Chinese eat opium . They eat it for two specific purposes —to acquire plumpness and freshness of complexion , and to improve their " wind , " so as to enable them to climb long and steep mountains without difficulty of breathing . And , strange to hear , these specific purposes are attained . The young poison-eaters are remarkable for blooming complexions , and full , rounded , healthy appearances . The peasant after dissolving a slight particle of arsenic in his mouth ascends heights with facility which he could not otherwise do without the greatest difficulty of breathing . There is danger of taking too much ; but you cannot eat too many mutton chops with impunity . Is this good result , however , only a flash— -or is it permanent ? Professor Johnston , who writes these papers , answers :

    "No symptoms of illness or of chronic poisoning are observable in any of these arsenic-eaters , when the dose is carefully adapted to the constitution and habit of body of the person using it . But if from any cause the arsenic be left off for a time , symptoms of disease occur which resemble those of slight arsenical poisonings : especially a great feeling of discomfort arises , great indifference to everything around , anxiety about his own person , deranged digestion , loss of appetite , a feeling of overloading in the stomach , increased flow of saliva , burning from the stomach up to the throat , spasms in the throat , pains in the bowels , constipation , and especially oppression in the breathing . From these symptoms there is only one speedy mode of relief—an immediate return to arsenic-eating !

    " This custom does not amount to a passion , like opium-eating in the East , betel-chewing in India , or coca-chewing in Peru . The arsenic is not taken as a direct pleasure-giver or happiness-bestower , but the practice , once begun , creates a craving , as the other practices do , and becomes a necessity of life . " In Vienna they give arsenic to horses with the same results . And now attend to this : '' The chemico-physiological action of arsenic , in producing these curious effects , has not as yet been experimentally investigated . Prom the nature of the results ,

    we think it probable that , when experiments come to be made , they will show that the quantity of carbonic acid given off by the , Lungs is diminished by the use of this drug . The effects of this , supposing it to be the case , are , Jirst , that less oxygen is required to be inhaled , and hence the greater ease of breathing under all circumstances , but which is especially perceived in climbing hills ; and , second , that the fat of the food which would otherwise have been used up in supplying carbonic acid to be given off' by the lungs , is deposited instead in the cellular tissue beneath the skin , and thus pads , plumps out , and renders fair the animal that uses it . "

    This is matter for reflection . While drawing attention to these articles on Narcotics , let us mention that Professor Johnston is about to reissue them in his new monthly work , The Chemistry of Common Life , which appears in sixpenny parts , and will treat of the air we breathe , the water we drink , the bread we eat , the food we cook , the soil we cultivate , &c , thus really fulfilling its title of the Chemistry of Common Life . The first part has already appeared .

    We may also mention another serial—Dr . Sheridan Muspratt ' s Chemistry , Theoretical , Practical , and Analytical , as applied to Arts and Manufactures . This is to be in thirty-six monthly parts at one shilling each . It is handsomely printed and illustrated . The arrangement is alphabetical . The copiousness with which each subject is to be treated may be estimate . d when we add that the first part containing thirty-two imperial double-columned pages does not suffice to exhaust one articleacetic acid .

    The Illustrated London Magazine completes its first volume with this number . The editor , Hhjhakd Brinslky Knowles , has catered liberally , and we are glad to hear successfully ; so good and cheap a periodical deserves its success . The same must be said of John Cassell ' s Illustrated Magazine of Art—a marvel of pictorial cheapness . The pictures of the old masters here given for one shilling , are each worth that sum , and there arc seventeen for the shilling , not to mention other

    illustrations . The Introductory Treatise to Orr ' s Circle of the Sciences has appeared , and certainly a more remarkable treatise for twopence is not known to us . Were we to criticise it , indeed , wo should have several points to combat , and some imperfect logic to rectify ; but Avhilo protesting against its views on the Logic of Science , against its conception of Induction , and its patronage of Teleology , we nevertheless commend it to our readers , trusting they will read it with caution .

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    There is nothing so monotonous as philippics ; even praise , of which we quickly tire , does not so weary us m abuse , thanks to the real kindness of human nature . Hence wo conceive that Vigtou IIuoo lias committed an enormous mistake in his recent work , Chdtimoits . It is a thick volume of poeuiH , fiery with indignation , terrible in sarcasm , copious in contempt , vehement in allegation directed against Loins Napolkon and his accomplices . ViOTon Hugo is a good writer and a , good hater ; but bin hate is verbose . He thunders , but' he thunders too much and too loud . Why the very cannoneers will . Bleep upon their guns , wonriedwiUi the iteration

    of flashing wrath , mid terrible boomings ; and if any reader koeps awake throughout Viotok Hihjo'h cannonade , he must have a more ingenious restlessness of hate , or n more ravenous appotilo for rhyme than ordinary men can boost . GhAtiments has all Viotoh II nm >' n well known force of epigram , antithesis and imagery , and all his well-known weakness of the same . It is glittering—and tiresome : indignant—and tiresome : remorseless—and tiresome . What a strange place it will occupy in tho ages of future generations among tho poetical works of tho author of Les Orientates !

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    Cri tics are not the legislators . but the judges and police of literature , They do not make laws—they interpret ' and try to enforce them—Edinburgh Revieto .

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    December 10 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . ' 1191

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 10, 1853, page 1191, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2016/page/15/