sophers occupying themselves exclusively with general laws and the doctrines of forces in physics, Cousin concludes that the sciences are spiritual, and no longer material, and that natural and moral science thus become one. Reason, which distin→ guishes the good and the beautiful, is the link of communication between God and man, and an emanation of divinity illuminating every one; while necessary truths are a species of revelation leading us directly to the absolute or First Cause, which is the identity of activity and intelligence. This absolute existence is not a being unoccupied with and unconcerned about the things of mortality, but is in all, and through all, and with all, Reason enlightens every man in the world; and, to conclude in the language which Cousin makes use of, it contemplates the infinite from the bosom of the finite, attains the absolute in the individual, and participates in the two worlds which it connects.

Jouffroy terminates the list of the Eclectic school. His preface to the translation of Stewart's Sketches of Moral Philosophy,' was written in answer to the dogmatising spirit of the present psychological school in France, and to assert, that there are facts of consciousness as convincing and as evident as those which are discovered by the microscope or the dissecting knife. He coincides in the charge against the ideas of Bacon when applied to moral philosophy, though he admits with him, in natural science, that all which we can know of the reality is reduced to the facts observed, and to the inductions drawn from these facts; but this does not prevent him from believing that there are facts of another kind which are neither visible to the eye, tangible by the hand, nor discoverable in any way by sense, and which are yet capable of being known with absolute certainty, or at least with as much as in the natural sciences. The phenomena of consciousness are to him, in all respects, as undeniable, as facts which bring with them the evidence of sense. In the edition before us, several articles are introduced which did not appear in the first, amongst others, those upon Lancelin and Broussais, in the sensual, and three upon Ballanche and St. Martin, in the theological class. Laromiguiere has been changed from the first to the third division, and placed amongst the eclectics; and the opinions of Royer Collard and Cousin are more fully stated and examined. We shall, upon a future occasion, refer more particularly to the lectures of the latter, and to the notes of the former, appended to Jouffroy's translation of Reid's works, all of which have been lately published. Besides these additions, there is prefixed to the present work, a general outline of the state of opinions in France, from the Revolution down to the present day, wherein

the

the author endeavours, and we think generally with success, to demonstrate the influence of the prevailing systems of philosophy upon the moral and political conduct of those in power, and to shew the general sympathy which exists between the philosophy and history of any given period. It is curious and instructive to trace how true this is, with reference to France, from the time when what is there termed Locke's Philosophy,' was introduced by Voltaire. Condillac first built upon it his Traité des Sensations;' and Helvetius and Holbach, afterwards, by an erroneous application of his principles, degraded and discredited them. It is true, that Montesquieu as a Publicist, Rousseau as a Moralist, and Buffon as a Naturalist, were, in many instances, exceptions to the cold and disheartening philosophy that prevailed; but when the Revolution broke out, the passions of men were too exclusively occupied by party considerations, to think either of materialist or other opinions, farther than as they were connected with political views, and the triumph of popular or monarchical principles. When the government afterwards became more settled, and the Institute was founded, it was natural that philosophy should, in some degree, revive, and this was the case; but its character, in the first instance, was but little different from that which it had assumed before its temporary disappearance in the vortex of the Revolution. The first decided change in its tendency was to be discerned in the literary productions of the times, and in the works of moralists, more than in the writings of what might strictly be termed philosophers. Among those, who mainly contributed to purify and spiritualize the public mind and taste, were to be remarked Bernardin St. Pierre, Chateaubriand, and Madame de Staël. The views of Laromiguiere, Mainé de Biran, De Gerando, and others, though belonging nominally to the sensual school, were so far modifications of the doctrines of Condillac, that they likewise, in a certain degree, prepared the way for the adoption of opinions which, generally speaking, must be venerated and esteemed. We can only say, to conclude, that without agreeing in all of them, they have a strong claim upon our respect, were it only from their contrasting, in their consequences, so advantageously with the cheerless and selfish philosophy to which they are opposed. The mind, under one system, is satisfied and elevated, whilst under the other it is debased in this life, and annihilated in that which, we anxiously hope, is to follow.

ART.

ART. IV.-1. Noticias Historicas de D. Gaspar Melchior de Jovellanos. Consagradas a sus respetables Cenizas. J. M. de A. M. 4to. Palma.

2. Memorias para la Vida del Excelentissimo Señor D. Gaspar Jovellanos, y Noticias analiticas de sus Obras. Por D. Juan Agustin Cean Bermudez. 12mo. Madrid.

GASP

ASPAR Melchior de Jovellanos, as a writer, a magistrate, a public man, and a, patriot, is the most distinguished Spaniard of modern times. He was the foremost among those who encouraged the restoration of literary taste, which, in the reign of Charles III., received so remarkable an impulse; and he, subsequently, paid the penalty of his zeal for public instruction, and of his incorruptibility and eminent knowledge, under the despotism of that ignorant and presumptuous minion, the Prince of the Peace-who, abusing the indolence of Charles and the weakness of the Queen, Maria Louisa, choked the good seed and blighted the opening blossom, which gave promise of a fruitful future for the civilization and prosperity of Spain. It was this individual, among Spanish enthusiasts, who plunged into the strife against Napoleon-who with the highest moral and intellectual energy, combated usurpation, strengthened the powers of resistance, and, as it were, nationalized the manly and sacred war of liberty. By his great labours and eloquent reasoning, he taught his countrymen to feel that they fought for more than the vindication of outraged national dignity and a violated throne:-he shewed them the blessings of independence and the opportunity for recovering the public liberties, which had been trampled on and neglected during three centuries of despotism. He pointed out, moreover, the precise station which, in a moderate monarchy, those liberties ought to occupy, and what measures, according to the circumstances then prevalent, it behoved Spain to adopt, in order to secure them, with every guarantee for the general good, and without prejudice to the interest of the established classes,-which, together with the indispensable addition of the hierarchy, ought to constitute the body politic of a nation.

Nature had gifted Melchior Jovellanos with that fortunate disposition of mind and body which is found in her most favoured children, and which causes, that, from the first step in the career of education, till the latest labours of literary life, each effort should induce evident progression, each new attempt be an acquisition for science, and each enterprize a triumph of truth over

error,

error, of solid and profitable erudition over vain and useless learning. By this, we would not advocate the infallibility of Jovellanos, in all that he proposed, undertook, or accomplished. But it may be said with the most rigorous truth, that he, whose works we are about to consider, possessed one of the amplest minds of modern times,-that he was one, moreover, who applied his vast and profound knowledge to the most various objects of practical and general utility. In all the tasks which he undertook, either voluntarily or at the request of the government, and of the learned bodies to which he belonged, he always overcame difficulties which would have deterred less energetic genius, and displayed an immense erudition and acquaintance with precedents, bearing on the particular subject, as also a mode of treating it, at once philosophical, profound, and adapted to actual circumstances. Never has any Spanish writer evinced a greater enthuiasm for the national glory, more strict impartiality in considering the errors and defects in Spanish literature, more firmness in pointing them out to the observation of the public and of the government, or more prudence, skill, and aptitude, in their correction and supply.

The Spaniards are neither so ignorant, nor so prejudiced, as is gratuitously supposed by strangers in general; nor do they labour under any impediment in their moral or intellectual constitution, which should prevent them from keeping pace with the rapid progress of European cultivation. It must, however, be admitted, as many enlightened natives of that country have candidly confessed, that, generally speaking, inflated or blinded by their past glory, which was gained in a century less advanced, than the present, in social civilization, they are either not excited to emulation, or honestly believe that every thing is decided and taught in their own venerable volumes. Hence it is nothing uncommon to hear the natives of the Peninsula lament that these books are neglected by their countrymen and unknown among strangers; but rarely do we find them desirous, or capable, of presenting a critical disquisition, or even a rational analysis of their vaunted productions of the past. Indeed, in Spain, that most essential branch of literature-sound, enlightened, and independent criticism, is lamentably neglected. But how can this be otherwise, when a fierce despotism scorches up the vigour of the mind, and the vilest superstition approximates the noble and erect image of man to the filthy prostration of the beasts of the field!

This being the case, our readers will readily believe that a complete and well-arranged edition of the works of Jovellanos would, necessarily, prove one of the most signal benefits that

could

could be conferred on his native country. If to this we add the consideration that, among Spanish writers, Jovellanos is, beyond all question, the most skilful manager of the beautiful Castilian language, giving to it that Ciceronian rotundity of which it is susceptible, and an euphony, flexibility, and richness, peculiar to his own admirable style; preserving the purity, as far as compatible with the necessity of introducing a cautious neology-it will be perceived that his works are deserving of popularity, in the most extended sense of the term. It is the more to be wished that they may become so, since one of the principal causes of the ignorance in which the lower classes of the Spanish population continue sunk, is, that there are not, among the many works deserving of general circulation, any placed within the reach of the humble reader, if we except the Catecismo del P. Astete,'*-El Egerzizio Cotidiano,'+'El Año Christiano,'t-and some others of the like kind.§

Of the many writings completed by the zealous and inde fatigable Jovellanos, only a very small portion have been brought into public notice; and though some of the academies and societies of which he was a member, agreed to write the eulogy of one whom they so much and so justly esteemed, the project was not realized by all, nor, had it been so, could it have afforded any adequate idea of the extent and importance of his labours. The Noticias Historicas, mentioned at the head of this article, are well written, and in a lively and interesting style. They, however, open with the first expulsion of Jovellanos from the Court, and silently pass over the period of his earlier studies, and of his connexion with the magistracy: the author contenting himself with giving the titles of some of the best (published) works of D. Melchior. The Memorias del Señor Cean Bermudez, the inseparable friend and assistant of Jovellanos from infancy, undoubtedly constitute the most compendious and best arranged account of his life and the catalogue of his numerous writings. In the present article, we have had before us, not only the two works just mentioned, but also the principal part of the published writings of Jovellanos,

A very short explanation of the dogmas of the Catholic creed.

A Common Prayer Book.

1 Biography of the Saints, arranged for every day in the year.

§ If even the desire we have here expressed concerning the works of Jovellanos were not justified by the generally felt necessity, it would be sufficient to remark, that Pope Leo XII. thought proper to include those works in the list of books prohibited by the Romish See. But we have the pleasure to add, for the honour of truth, and of the re putation of this excellent writer, that neither the Madrid Government, nor the Committee of Public Instruction, could be induced by the papist Nuncio to enforce the prohi bition in Spain.

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