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    a like fate , because they see no help . And so they fall : so any one of us may fall at any moment , because we will not trust God to strengthen our weak faith in His own way ; because we will maintain it by the pride of an unsympathising formal orthodoxy , instead of by that frank and free discussion or our doubts and perplexities which would itself le a truer symbol and earnest of Church communion , and of the presence of Him whose presence makes the Church , than either rituals and dogmas , or traditional interpretations of Scripture . There is a schismatic temper which leads us to deny Church fellowship to men who believe in Christ , because they will not deny Him by the admission that the faith which is His gift is worthless if not supplemented with our rituals and articles : and 5 t is only another manifestation of the same spirit which excludes those who will not , because the God of truth forbids them , worship at the shrines of a traditional bibliolatry . And so we excommunicate each other because we will not admit on either side that the light should be set in the candlestick of plain speaking , and not under the bushel of orthodox formulas . " Our religious" life in relation to the Bible—and without the Bible there can be no religious life long—is all sickly and flabby and stunted for want of free discussion . We keen our Body Politic in sobriety no less than vigour of health by a discussion as free as the

    air we breathe , and which we permit one-sided or unwise , or even bad men to use in their way because so only can the wise and good use it effectively for the common weal . We do this and laugh or grieve at the panic-stricken rulers of the Continent , who repress -with the eyes and hands of an ever-present police each natural and in itself innocuous expression of thought and feeling . But in religion we liber ty-prizing English are very Austnans : in every social meeting , almost in every household , we have some member of a spiritual police which is ever ready to make a man an offender for a word , and to exert an activity in suspecting evil , which is only equalled by its incapacity for apprehending the utterance of tiuth or reason . And it does its work just in the fashion of its civil counterpart : for if some individual who still retains a more than ordinary loyalty to the orthodox creeds should , therefore , make an effort to defend them by insisting on their applicability to the new wants of men ' s minds , him it discovers and denounces and casts out of . the synagogue ; but the greater number of inquirers our police system merely ( yet how effectively we all know ) represses into a mental and spiritual condition , which too often suggests the question whether a rational reformation is still possible , or -whether there onl y remains for us the alternative of a volcanic torrent of atheism or a Byzantine Christianity , in-which faith and scepticism will be but contending forms of death and corruption . Solitudi » emfaciunt , pacem appellant" . We cannot do better than recomnnend the writers of these two significant and stirring books to read' one another .

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    FRENCH IHERATUKE . History of French Literature in the Eighteenth Century , By Alexander Vinet . Translated from the French by the Bev . James Bryce . Edinburgh : T . and T . Clart . This book contains the substance of a course of lectures prepared for delivery during the summer of 1846 , at Lausanne . M .-Vinet ' s labours , however , were interrupted by deathj and as the lectures wete never written , tie French editors had to rely partly on the professor ' s own notes , and partly on the notes of some of his pupils who had attended the course . No less than twenty-seven writers are included in tbe list , some of them scarcely known by name except to students of French literature . No one , however , must look for either a history or a series of biographies : the book is best described as Notes upon the French Literature of the Eighteenth Century , written , as became the Professor of Theology at Lausanne , from the Christian and orthodox point of view . There is nothing strikingly novel in the way either ~ oTlact or ^ criticism , lmt the book will doubtless be useful as an index or an introduction to tbe history pf French Literature . The truth is , M . Vinet had been long engaged in collecting materials for a more

    elaborate work , of which this must be regarded as a study . M , Vinet thus sums up his account of Voltaire : ' " If we had onl y here to sum up his moral character , our task would be easy . What renders him terrible , and what exaggerates Ms wickedness , is his genius ; there is iii this an optical illusion . But we ought not to take , as the measure of a man ' s wickedness , the evil which he has produced . If any one were desirous to estimate Voltaire as a man , he must keep out of view his talent and his works ; take him merely in his personal relations ; in a word , make tlie distinction between the writer and the individual . It would then be seen tliat lie was not more wicked than many others , but that , in his case , all was prominent and freely developed . His life received no guidance from the law of God , or from his conscience' —ho had only instincts . Some were decidedly bad , others were not . Had he been reduced to the condition of a citizen or artizan , Voltaire would have been , like so irany others , impassioned , unbriilled , very vain , very irritable , capable of sympathy , and of many things -winch the most vulgar morality quickly repels ; formidable , hateful , and one to whom there would have been granted some interest and nil' ection . tlis talent and his age have impressed on his existence something monstrous , without being able to call him a monster .

    " The character of Voltaire does not present the dignity of harmonious existence ; but ho bus the power , which is joined to the irregularity of a nature in lively contrast . No nian was made up of antitheses more frequently repented . Extravagancies multiply ; this disposition is like a thicket , whose brandies , crossing one another , stop your progress in every direction . As a man of sirt , in the ideal sense of the term , Voltaire would have known internal peace- and harmony . In philosophy and literature men of system are encountered . They may bo so in two ways ; some embrace , their circle of ideas with abrendth which allows them to comprehend tho-o of other men ; others are exclusively attached to tJioir own k'oiis , but their exclusivcncss is quite consistent with themselves . Unity always prevails , lint in all ages men of action liuvo been n sories of contrasts , and so far from weakening them , those contrasts * were a condition of their strength . Tho power of a scientific , synthetic , benevolent , and peaceful genius , is much morn bonelicent mm profound ; but it acts only at a distance—tho force near at hand was exercised by men deficient in internal harmony . " It ia difficult to rqfYiso to Voltaire th « epithet great ; his destiny pronounced him 'to b « of an entire ago tho thought mid tho Ufa ; ' this is to be , great , and tins is his greatness . r u repcre impenopopnlos . But tl | ia grontnesa m not personal : true greatness cannot bo concoived without generosity , and without n certain degree or goodness , otherwise tho devil himself would bo grout . 'We see liorc , ' mi id . Lnviitor , ' a personage greater nnd more , encrootio than wo . Wo feel our weakness in his nreaonco , but without his ranking

    ua gront ; ins toad of each being , who ia « t once great und g < " > J , not merely awakening in ua tno feeling : of our woaknoss , but , by n secret clnuin , cluvnting ua above- ouraclvoR ^ iind communicating 1 to ue something of its greatness . Thcro ia nothing sublime- in Voltiuronothing to inspire respect for human nature , Ho hna not ono great thought . That of tho UoAtruation or Ghriutinnity ia nol great—an abstraction made from our faith to tho divinity of our belief , Hatrutl . according to it » object , may inako a man great , but that of ^ olUii'u wtis not hujh-niiiulou und not honont . Uesidoa , to strip , without any indemnity , tlio human a ^ ocios of tho future state mid of God , and conneiiuciitly of their dignity , is not proutncBH . btningo and primary antithetic , ho has for human niituro tin ardent lovo , but it i » without respect ; ho lovoa her a » n mmlroms , not as n , lawful wife . ymaomuivoi from disposition and interest , Yoltairo , in his hatred of Christianity , Hucims ma long hfo in doutroyliitf it . Ho aiiua ut improvements in the social government , tuu no riycota-with Anger every iliing which might reach tho root of tho evils against which « io complains . Ao overturn tho positive religion of his ;* ro and country , and to maintain ? I ? 7 )! i VVM llia wlBh "ll ( l the end of hitteilorts , irrowronce , violence , nnd tl ! w { i ?" • • tho wir wllich ho declared against Christianity , or at louttt whut ho w . m « n ' r «¦ t -l' iV ^'" groHH iudocciioy of his attuoks boonmo proverbial ; there , wim no v-li .. | ., ii ,, i -I i . l ' l llir 0 ( l autlionlioB , ho had no hesitation in rofumnR to books y IUUi did nol oxut . Ho continuall y appealed to pmudieoB , iubtoad of rawing the mind to

    generalities , at which he- himself might have arrived . He brings forward the perpetual sophisms of the evils produced by Christianity . To superficial understandings this areument is irresistible ; to persons of cultivated minds it is very weak . The true statement of tlie question is this : ' Does the Gospel contain any doctrine intended to authorise the horrors , of which the Christian religion has been the occasion ? ' Let us suppose that bocrates , for example , had been a witness of the life of Jesus Christ , of His miracles of His doctrine , and of the conduct of His first disciples , he would undoubtedly have said : There is a religion about to banish oppression , injustice , and wars ; it will render the world happy . ' He would , have spoken as a wise man of the world . God alone could say I have come to send fire on earth . Suppose ve that I am come to give peace on earth ?

    1 tell yon , Nay- ; but rather division . ' A sublime paradox , which God alone could utter ! God alone knew that He -was going to create upon the earth two worlds at enmity with each other . He saw all vices and all hypocrisies taking refuge under the robe of Christianity . He knew that the worst of corruptions is that of excellent things , and the worst of persecutions that of false against true Christians . Yes , the Gospel has brought out human nature in all its wickedness . Will it be said , on this account , that Christianity has been hostile to society ? One word is sufficient : do we live for time or for eternity ? Is tbe direct object of Christianity better to organise the society of the earth , or to prepare the society of heaven ? Do we consider Jesus Christ merely as the author of the principle of social equality and fraternity ? Let us reject , then , a religion which , becomes to society the occasion of unquestionable evils , or let us accept it as training the soul for heaven j and , in that case , let us hold it as absolved from all the scandals with which men have been pleased to weigh it down . " ¦ .

    False shame , according to M . Vinet , was the great moral defect in J . J . Rousseau . He g ives instances from the Confessions : "M . de Fontaine , formed a correct judgment of Rousseau , when he said : —' L « t a man open the Confessions of J . J . Rousseau ; all the faults of which lie is accused spring from false shame . ' I add faults , in appearance the most opposite . When , from timidity , he had violated the truth ? then , to balance it , he was guilty of some preposterous brutality . If we wish examples of these consequences of false shame , Rousseau will amply supply them . The facts are not important , but they are characteristic . "The Abbe , afterwards Chevalier de Boufflers , had painted a portrait of Madame de Luxembourg : ¦— . ' This portrait was horrible . She maintained , Rousseau tells us , tlat it did not at all resemble her , which was the truth . The treacherous abfce consulted me , and I , like a fool and a liar , said . that the portrait was a resemblance . ' " Will any one say , that almost everybody would have done the same thing ? Perhaps

    but Jean Jacques was not free to do as every one did ; he was bound to be more inflexibly true than everybody else . "On another occasion , he says : — - ' I had a dog , which Bad been given to me quite young , about the time that I came to the Hermitage , and at that time I called him Du&e . This dog , not beautiful , but of a rare species , that I had made my companion and friend , 3 nd certainly he deserved that title better than the most of those who took it to themselves , had become celebrated at the Castle of Alontmorency for his affectionate sensible disposition , and for the attachment which we had' for one another ; but from a pusillanimity , very foolish , I changed his narne to Turk , as if there were not multitudes of dogs called Marquis , without any Marquis giving himself any trouble about it ; The Marquis de Villeroy , who knew this change of nam « , annoyed me so much about it , that I was obliged to tell before the whole community at table what I had done . In tins story , what Was offensive in regard to the name of duke did not consist so much in my having given it to him as in having taken it from him . The worst of it was , that several dukes were there—M . de Luxembourg and his son had that title . "

    One more extract must suffice . It is a criticism on Fontenelle : "On the whole , Fontenelle was a . being by himself , Voltaire , in his Temple 6 f Taste , characterises him by a jast epithet ; he calls him ' the discreet Fontenelle . ' Discreet marks a man who has at once discretion and discernment ; now , in both senses , Fontenelle was discreet . He was called the Erasmus of the eighteenth century , but in spite of some relations , the differences are too marked ,- —let us keep by tho epithet of Voltaire . We may add that Fontenelle was less discreet during the most reserved period , and that he became singularly so at the time when society threw off its reserve . Bash in the time of Louis XIV ., and bearing then the [ character of the times which were coming , he became prudent as the eighteenth century proceeded in its development . As to this matter , we must re . ckon in Fontenelle the effect of age , and the progress of minds beyond himself ; what but lately would have passed for boldness , had becomo reserve ; but we must not mistake the mixture of boldnoss and circumspection for the peculiar character of Fontenelle .

    " Ho has also been culled the sage Fontenelle . Tlie philosophers of tho eighteenth century regarded him as the model of wise men , because he had dared to think , and . had only spoken out the half of his thouglits . It was a tractable wisdom and tolerably egotistic . He said , that ' if he had his hand full of truths , ho would tako good care not to open it . ' He did , however , open this hand a little , but never entirely . Nowhere in his writings is there any very explicit explanation of morality or philosophy ; nevertheless , from the whole of his life and writings , we may easily deduce amoral and philosophical system . It is nowhere and everywhere . This philosophy at bottom is mere scepticism . To affirm nothing , and to have no sure belief nbout anything , only there must be no quostion about tho cortainty of physical and mathematical truths , summed up tlie philosophy of an age , which regarded as wisdom tlie disbelief of philosophical truth . Fontenelle , a sceptic in history , as in everything else , thought that ho possessed this wisdom . Reserved as ho was , he said ho was unacquainted -with any folly . Folly , indeed , as tho age viewed itthat is to say , exaggeration and excess—was not in the nature of Fontenelle . His wisdom

    consisted in living morall y and intellectuall y in a moderate temperature , it is a lukewarm existenco , but pleasant , like everything which is lukewarm . It m : iy be said that his character itself was a system ; the nit of being happy was with him a talent , mid in this respect his life deserves to bo studied . At hixty years of nge , lie was placed in circumstances peculiarly favourable , but oven then , though hi . s nature prevented him frcm sharp suffering , ho wns exposed to n mass of contradiction . At win' with the classical writers of tho seventeenth century , he was on the point of being persecuted for having indulged in some writings by no moans Catholic , nnd ho wns atnukod in libels , which , however , ho made a rule not to read . These struggles were prolonged till the licgency ; at Unit period tho prevailing opinion chanced , and lie )> u < l then only admirers . FonteiK'llo was a bachelor , and waa really born for celibacy ; ho wns afraid , nbovo nil , of lively impressions , and knew how to avoid them cvon to the end . In his hist momenta , when n&kcd what lie felt , ho answered , ' I feel only tho difficulty ui existing . ' Tlmn tornunnted u life singulurly happy in a ciircer which ia scarcely so—that of men of letters . "

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    BOOKS ON OUH TABLE . Critical and Historical Kaaays contributed to the Edinburyk JHuincw , by tho Right lion . Thomas Bubington Macaulay , M . I * , l ' art 6 . Longman , Brown , Grcon , and Longmans . Cetui ua of Great'Britain , 1851 . Population Tables If . Afftm , Civil Condition , Occupations ami liirthplaca of the People : With the Number ' s and Ai / ch of the Jiiind , tha Deaf and Dumb , and tho Inmates of Workhouses , Prisons , Lunatic Asylums , and llonjiitaltf . Kyroaml Spottitiwoodc . What / .- » - Truth ? John Chapman . Tho Smoko Question Simplified . Ji > l" » Weulo . Routhdiia ' a American Handbook and Tourists' (! ui < l < < throuuh thti L ' nitvd States . G . Houtlodgo and Co . The Ilhtoni of the Decline and Frfl of t / u : liomau X mince . JJy Jiiliv « rd Gibbon , Esq ., with Notes by Dwin Millmun and I \ I . ( Jui / . i » t . Julileil , with additional Notes , by William Smith , L . L . D . Vol . IV . Jolin M'm-ny . Clinical Handbook of Auscultation cud J ' trcusshn : an Imposition , from first J ' rinciplea of the Method of Investinatiwi Diseases of the Itrnpirutoru and Circulating Organs , from the German of Weber ' . JJy John Oocklo , A . M ., M . D ., l ' . It . C . S . yiunuol Highly .

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    Auqvsx 19 , 1854 . ] T-HiE : LEADER . 789

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 19, 1854, page 789, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2052/page/21/