cecal

NEW.Y()RKi AMERICAN.
OCTOBER 25-31, 1834.

LITERARY NOTICES.-

Tm: CONNEXION or run Pnvsrcn; So1uucus—nr
Mas. SOMEIWILLE, lvol. Phil. Ksv & Broom.

Man can no longer boast ofhaving the domain of sci-
ence to himself. Mrs. Somerville, Miss Martineau,
and others, have boldly and successfully explored
those paths heretofore denied to, or avoided by, wo-
men; and in the lessons they teach us ofastronomy,
of political economy, and now in the volume be-
fore us, of the connexion between all the physical
sciences———they prove their title to the rank of com-
petent masters. For a book, however, of general
utility——and such a one might be made, we appre-
hend, on this subject--—the volume before us assumes
too great familiarity with, and progress in, science,
on the part of readers. It is not intelligible to those
who have only a passing knowledge of the general
laws and phenomena of physical science.

Tush Hisroitr or ENGLAND FROM THE EARLIEST
TIMES TO THE vmit 1588; by Sm Jxs. Maoiunrosn,
1 vol. 8vo.: CAREY, Lin & BLANClIAR'D.—-Death in.
terrupted the eloquentwriter of this history ’ere he
had yet completed the volume now published. It
was continued; and the work will be completed, it is
promised, by those who, having possessed them.
selves thoroughly of the spirit in which Mackintosh
had entered upon the work, have also possessed
themselves of all the materials and notes prepared
by him.

The edition we have now before us is in a hand-
some well printed 8vo., with double columns. Apro-
vious edition in 1‘.3mo., was, as our readers were at
the time apprized, issued some time ago by the same
publishers as a part of their republication of Dr.
Lardner’s Cyclopzedia, for which work this history
was originally undertaken by Sir Jas. Mackintosh.

Tun Sourusau LITERARY MESSENGER, No. II.
Richmond,(Va.) T. W. Wniru.-——We like this se-
cond number, and are pleased to learn, that the pub-
lic liked the first so well as to give encouragement
to the proprietor to persevere. We, however,
would prefer this periodical in a monthly, rather
thauin a semi.wcekly form; and such we suspect
would be the general view of those who desire to

, preserve their numbers.

There is variety and talent in both the prose and
poetical contents. Too much space, however, is
pcrhapsgiven to the extract from the Pilgrims of
the-Rhine, now no longer a new book.

The annexed letter from Mr. Wirt, written not
a great while before hisilamented death, will be
eagerly read. It was written, as is stated, under
the following circumstances : I

“A young gentleman who is about to leave the
walls of a University, and looks to the law as his
profession, who is not related to or connected with
Mr. Wmr, nor even acquainted with him, and knows
him only as an ornament to his profession and his
country is induced by the high estimate he has form-
cd of his character, and the great confidence that
might be reposed in any advice that he would give,
to ask at his hand some instruction as to the course of
study best to be pursued.” Mr. VVirt replied thus :

Baltimore, December 20, 1833.
MY DEAR slit: Your letter, dated “ University of
, December 12,” was received on yesterday
morning-—-and although itfinds me extremely busy in
preparing for the Supreme Court of the United
States, I am so much pleased with its spirit, that I
cannot reconcile it to myself to let it pass unanswer-
ed. It’ I were ever so well qualified to advise you, to
which I do not pretend, but little good could be done
by asinglc letter, andl have not time for more.——
Knowing nothing of the peculiarities of your mental
character, I can give no advice adapted to your pecu-
liar case- I am persuaded that education may be
so directed by a sagacious and skilful teacher, as to

 

prune and repress those faculties of the pupil which
are too prone to luxuriance, and to train and invigor-
ate those which are disproportionately weak or slow;
so as to create a just balance among the powers, and
enable the mind to act with the highest effect of
which it is capable. But it requires a previous ac-
quaintance with the student, to ascertain the natural
condition of his various powers, in order to know
which requires the spur and which the rein. In
some minds imagination ovcrpowers and smothers
all the other faculties: in others, reason, like a star.
dy oak, throws all the rest into a sickly shade.-~
Some men have a morbid passion for the study of
poetry-—others, of mathematics, &.c. &c. All this
may be corrected by discipline, so far as it may be
judicious to correct it. But the physician must un.
derstand the disease, and become acquainted with
all the idiosyncrasies of the patient, before he can
prescribe. I have no advantage of this kind with re-
gard to you ; and to prescribe by conjecture, would
require me to conjecture every possible case that
maybe yours, and to prescribe for each, which would
call for a ponderous volume instead ofa letter. Ibe
lieve that in all sound minds the germ of all the facul-
ties exists, and may, by skilful management be wooed
into expansion; but they exist naturally. in different
degrees of health and strength, and as this matter is
generally leltto the impulses of nature in each indi-
vidual, the healthiest and strongest germs get the
start—give impulse and direction to the efforts of
each mind——stamp its character and shape its destiny.
As education, therefore, now stands among us, each
man must be his own preceptor in this respect, and
by turning his eyes upon himself, and describing the
comparative action of his own powers, discover
which of them requires most tone——which, if any,
less. We must take care, however, not to make an
erroneous estimate of the relative value ofthe facul-
ties, and thus commit the sad mistake of cultivating
the showy at the expense of the solid. With these
preliminary remarks, by way of explaining whyl
cannot be more particular in regard to your case,
permit me, instead of chalking out a leourse of study
by furnishing you with lists of books and the order
in which they should be read, (and no list of
books and course of study would be equally proper
for all minds,) to close this letter with a few general
remarks.

If your spirit be as stout and pure as your letter
indicates, you require little advice beyond thatwhich
you will find within the walls of your University. A
brave and pure spirit is worth more than ‘ half the
battle,’ not only in preparing for life, but in all its
conflicts. Take itfor granted, that there is no car.
cellencc without great labor. No mere aspirations
for eminence, however ardent, will do the business.
Wishing, and sighing, and imagining, and dreaming
of greatness, will never make you great. If you
would get to the mountain’s top on which the temple
of fame stands, it will not do to stand still, looking,
admiring, and wishing you were there. You must
gird up your loins, and go to work with all the in-
domitable energy of Hannibal scaling the Alps.——
Laborious study, and diligent observation of the
world, are both indispensable to the attainment of
eminence. By the former, you must make yourself
master ofall that is known of science and letters : by
the latter, you must know man, at large, and particu-
larly the character and genius of your own country-
men. You must cultivate assiduously the habits of
reading, t/Linking, and observing. Understand your
own language, grammatically, critically, thoroughly:
learning its origin, or rather various origins, which
you may learn from Johnson’s and Webster’s prefa-
ces to] their large dictionaries. Learn all that is
delicate and beautiful, as well as strong, in the lan.
guage, and master all its stores of opulence. You
will find a rich mine of instruction in the splendid
language of Burke. His diction is frequently mag.
nificent ; sometimes too gorgeous, I think, for a

chaste and correct taste; but he will show you all
the wealth of your language. You must, by ardent
study and practice, acquire for yourself :1 mastery of
the language, and be able both to speak and to write
it, promptly, easily, elegantly, and with that variety
of style which different subjects, different hearers,
and different readers, are continually requiring.-—
You must have such a command of it as to be able
to adapt yourself, with intiutive quickness and ease,
to every situation in which you may chance to be
placed—-and you will find no great difficlulty
in this, if you have the cnpia verborum and a cor-
rect taste. Witli this study of the language
you must take care to unite the habits alrea-
dy mentioned—the diligent observation, of all that
is passing around you, and active, close, and useful
thinking. If you have access to Franklin’s.works,

AlVIERI.CAN"RAILROAD JOURNAL, AND -
 *

read them carefully, particularly his third volume,
and you will know what I mean by the habits of-ab.
serving and thinking. We cannot all be Franlclins,
it is true ; but, by imitating his mental habits and un.
wearied industry, we may reach an eminence we
should never otherwise attain. Nor would he have
been the Franklinihe was, if he had permitted him.
self to be discouraged by the reflection that we can.
not all be Newtons. It is our business to make the
most of our own talents and opportunities,=and’in.
stead of discouraging ourselves by comparisons and
imaginary impossibilitics, to believe allthings possi-
ble, as indeed almost all things are, to a spirit bravely
and firmly resolved. Franklin was a fine model of
a practical man as contradistinguishcd from.a vision-
ary theorist, as men of genius are very apt to be.——
He was great in that greatest of all good qualities,
sound, strong, common sense. A more book.worm
is a miserable driveller; and a mere genius, a thing
of gossamer, fit only for the winds to sport with.
Direct your intellectual efforts principally to the cul
tivation of the strong masculine qualities ofthe mind}
Learn (I repeat it) to think-—think deeply, comprc.
hensioely, powerfully-—and learn the simple nervous
language which is appropriate to that kind of think.
ing. Read the legal and political arguments ofChief
Justice Marshall, and those of Alexander Hamilton,
which are coming out.
and observe with what an omnipotent sweep of
thought they range over the whole field of every.
subject they take in hand——and that with a scythe. so
ample, and so keen, that not a straw is left standing
behind them. Brace yourself up to these great ef-
forts. Strike for this giant character of mind, and
leave prettiness and frivo.ity for triflers. There is
nothing in your letter that suggests the necessity of
this admonition; I make it merely with reference to
that tendency to efflorescence which I have occa-
sionally heard charged to Southern genius. It is per-
fectly consistent with these herculean habits of
thinking,,to be a laborious student, and to know all
that books can teach. This extensive acquisition is
necessary, not only to teach you how far science has
advanced in every direction, and where the term in-'
cognita begins, into which genius is to direct its fu-
ture discoveries, but to teach you also the? strength
and the weakness of the human intellect—how far
it is permitted us to go, and where thewpenetration
of man is forced, by its own impotence and the
nature of the subject, to give up the pursuit ;—
and when you have mastered all the past con».
quests of science, you will understand what Socrates
meant by saying, that he knew only enough to be
sure that he knew nothing—nothing, compared with
that illi/nitable tract that lies beyond the reach of
ourfacultics. You must never be satisfied with the
surface of things: probe them to the bottom, and
let nothing go till you understand it as thoroughly as
your powers will enable you. Seize the moment
of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your

doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never «

return, and you may remain in ignorance. The ha.
bits which 1 have been recommending are not mere-
ly for college, but for life. Franklin’s habits ofcon.
stant and deep excogitation clung to him to his la-
test hour. Form these habits now; learn all that
may be learned at your University, and bring all your
acquisitions and your habits to the study of the law,
which you say is to be your profession ;—-and when
you come to this study, come resolved to master it
— not to play in its shallows, but to sound itsdepths.
There is no knowing _what a mind greatly and firm-
ly resolved, may achieve in this department of sci-
ence, as well as every other. Resolve to be the
first lawyer of your age, in the depth, extent.‘ vari.
ety, and accuracy of your legal learning. Master
the science of pleading—master Coke upon Little-
ton—and Coke’s and Plowden's Reports—mastcr
Fearne on Contingent Remainders and Executory
Dcviscs, till you can sport and play familiarly with
its most subtle distinctions. Lay your foundation
deep, and broad, and strong, and you will find the
superstructure comparatively light work. It is not
by shrinking from the difiicult parts of the sci-
ence, but by courting them, grappling with them,
and overcoming them, that a man rises to profes-
sional greatness. There is a deal of learning that
is dry, dark, cold, revolting-—but it is an old feu-
dal castle, in perfect preservation, which the le-
gal architect, who aspires to the first honors of
his profession, will delight to explore, and learn
all the uses to which its various parts used to be put :
and he will the better understand, enjoy and relish
the progressive improvements ofthe science in mml-
em times. You mustbe,a mast_cr.in every branch of
the science that beloingig.to.your1profession;;thelaw of
nature and of n.ations{_t,he civil law, the law merchant,

Read them, stutlythcm; 4