savage and uncontrouled life, gigantic in stature and grossly sensual. The thunder from above and the powers of nature overawe him. He seeks an asylum, and with this arises social life. The first fathers of families were like the Polyphemes of Homer-they were absolute, though submitting themselves to the power of Providence. In this way, the first government is a theocracy. These fathers of families are the early nobles or patricians. Those who still remain in a savage state recur to the society which is constituted, for protection and advice, and hence they become the dependents or vassals. Such a government is naturally aristocratical, and societies so formed are warlike; πόλις, πόλεμος, foreigner or stranger is synonymous with the word 'enemy.' As man gets more civilized, democratical take the place of monarchical feelings; but, nothing being fixed or immutable, popular governments, in their turn, become corrupt, and riches are made an instrument of tyranny instead of legal superiority. Hence we see in Tacitus, that after the Roman people had passed through the consular, decemviral, and tribunitian power, and were wearied with Cinna, Sylla, Pompey, Crassus, and Cæsar, they took refuge in the sole authority of Augustus. Domestic rule springs from divine legislation, then comes aristocratical power, and from its abuse the exaction of popular rights. These, in their turn, becoming licentious, the nation resolves itself again into monarchy.

Such are the general views which Vico develops with no less solidity of reasoning than confirmation from historical authority. It is in enumerating the great writers of the History of Mankind, that M. Cousin, in his Course of 1828, speaks of Vico as being the natural successor of Bossuet, and the predecessor of Herder: he looks upon the Scienza Nuova' as the model, and perhaps the source, of Montesquieu's 'L'Esprit des Lois.'

Elle rappelle les institutions particulières à leurs principes les plus généraux, rattache le mouvement des sociétés humaines à un plan supérieur et invariable qui domine l'avenir comme le passé, et convertit les conjectures et les probabilités de l'erudition et de la politique en une vraie science dont la base est la nature commune des nations...... Il ne faut pas oublier non plus que Vico est le premier qui, au lieu de s'en laisser imposer par l'éclat qui environne certains noms, ait osé les soumettre à un examen sévère et qui ait ôté à plusieurs personnages illustres de l'histoire leur grandeur personnelle pour la rendre à l'humanité elle-même, au temps, au siècle, dans lequel ces individus avoient fait leur apparition. Vico a démontré qu'il fallait considérer Homère, Orphée et quelques autres non comme de simples individus, mais comme des représentans de leur époque,

omme

comme des symboles de leur siècle et que s'ils avoient existé réellement on avoit mis sur leur compte ou avoit ajouté à leurs propres ouvrages tous ceux du siècle et du peuple qu'ils représentent dans l'histoire. Le premier encore il a discuté les temps primitifs et les lois fondamentales de Rome, et il a indiqué à la critique moderne quelques-uns de ses plus beaux points de vue. Tels sont les mérites de Vico. Ils justifient sa haute renommée.'

Vico's most important work, after the Scienza Nuova,' is entitled 'De antiquissima Italorum sapientia ex originibus linguæ Latinæ eruenda.' The object of this discussion, which is metaphysical, was to prove, from the history of the Latin language and its etymology, the knowledge which existed amongst the Italians in very remote times. Aware that the Roman people, in the early period of its history, despised alike all science and art, which was not either military or agricultural, and yet observing in their language terms which could only be applied correctly in a nation, which had either itself made great advances in civilization, or which sprang from another which was enlightened, Vico assumes, that from Pythagoras and the Italic school which he founded, and from the Etruscans, who are admitted by all to have been anterior to the Roman people, and from whom many of the rites, laws, and ceremonies of Rome were afterwards derived, much must have emanated of that refinement in the powers of reasoning, which showed itself in the common language of the country. This again is traced up to an Egyptian origin, and consequently made to be older than the philosophy of Greece. We know from Iamblichus and others, that Pythagoras visited Egypt and remained there a considerable time, and that upon his return to his native island, he endeavoured to instruct his countrymen in the knowledge he had acquired during his absence, but that, upon being unsuccessful, he passed over into Italy, and established his school in Magna Græcia. He taught his doctrines at Crotona, Metapontus, Agrigentum, and Rhegium. His method of instruction was founded upon the Egyptian system. It was exoteric and esoteric. The number of the brethren of the College of Pythagoras, at Crotona, was so great as six hundred. This manifests such a desire of instruction in the people, as to justify the opinion of Vico, that even before Pythagoras settled in Magna Græcia, the inhabitants were far from being in an uncivilized state. The most general opinion with respect to the origin of the Etruscans is, that they were either Lydians or Pelasgians, and not in any way connected with Egypt. Vico, on the contrary, believes, that the Egyptians colonized Etruria, when they possessed that great empire, which extended itself

over Africa and the whole of the East, and of which Tacitus gives us a short description, when relating the visit of Gerinanicus to the ruins of Thebes.

'Mox visit veterum Thebarum magna vestigia; et manebant structis molibus litteræ Ægyptiæ, priorem opulentiam complexæ : jussusque e senioribus sacerdotum patrium sermonem interpretari, referebat habitasse quondam septingenta millia ætate militari, atque eo cum exercitu, Regem Rhamsen, Libya, Æthiopia, Medisque, et Persis, et Bactriano, ac Scythia potitum, quasque terras Suri, Armeniique, et contigui Cappadoces colunt, inde Bithynum, hinc Lycium ad mare imperio tenuisse. Legebantur et indicta gentibus tributa pondus argenti et auri, numerus armorum, equorumque, et dona templis ebur, atque odores, quasque copias frumenti et omnium utensilium quæque natio penderet, haud minus magnifica, quam nunc vi Parthorum aut potentia Romana jubentur.'

Whether Vico is or is not correct in making the Etrurians descend immediately from the Egyptians, instead of from the Pelasgians or Lydians, is a question which it is now impossible to decide. Dionysius says, that there was no resemblance between the people of Asia Minor and the Etrurians, either in their language or laws, and that their own writers declared the latter to be a primitive race. This is in favour of Vico. The resemblance of the works of art in Etruria and Egypt would also seem to confirm his theory; and we know, from the statements of Livy, that the connection between the Romans and the Etrurians is undeniable in the earlier times of Rome, when, as he states, the Roman youth were as carefully instructed in Etruscan as they were afterwards in Greek literature. Valerius Maximus and Cicero both speak of young men being sent to Etruria for the purpose of learning augury; and Numa, who was the founder of religion in Rome, if not a disciple of Pythagoras as asserted, was at least intimately acquainted with and borrowed much of his system from the doctrines of that philosopher. All of this we think bears directly upon the matter in dispute, and strengthens Vico's views.

The neglect which has attended the works of Vico in other countries is perhaps, besides the causes before mentioned, to be ascribed to the little attention he for many years met with in his own. We find honourable mention made of him by Leclerc, who was his contemporary, at the time of the appearance of his productions, entitled, De universi Juris, uno Principio et Fine uno,' and 'Liber alter est de Constantia Jurisprudentis;' but little notice was then taken of him for several years, and until La Scienza Nuova' was reprinted in 1801, the work had become scarce. Genovesi and Duni, the one in his Logica Italiana,' and the other in his Governo

Civile,

Civile,' allude to Vico; and Cesarotti comments upon his theory with respect to Homer; but still, up to the period just mentioned, he was comparatively little known. M. E. Weber, of Leipzig, has since translated his La Scienza Nuova' into German, and the Marquis of Villa Rosa has collected his minor works into one publication, printed at Naples in 1818. It would be difficult, in the short limits of a literary notice like the present, to give any adequate idea of the laborious investigation of Vico. His mind was philosophical and capacious, and it is impossible not to be struck by the novelty of his ideas upon many subjects of literature, jurisprudence, and history. The ability with which he advocates views, such as, in his day, must have been judged paradoxical and unsound, but which the increasing knowledge of a century has tended to confirm rather than invalidate, entitle him to the highest degree of commendation, and justify us in comparing his writings with those of the best informed historians, critics, and philologists of the present day. We think that many of them are indebted, in a greater or less degree, to Vico; and we are anxious to assert his claim to that merit which he so eminently possesses. Had his style been as clear and forcible as his information is profound, we are convinced few writers would have attracted more attention, and none communicated more knowledge.

ART. V.-Thomas Morus.-Aus den Quellen bearbeitet. Von Dr. Georg Thomas Rudhart, Professor at the Royal Lycée at Bamberg. 1829. 8vo. pp. 458.

T is certainly a somewhat singular circumstance, that foreigners often lead the way in inquiries concerning our own history. Rapin was the first who wrote what may be called a systematic history of England; and now we find a German giving us a biography of our countryman, such as we are not able to exhibit. The mere enumeration of the works which Mr. Rudhart has consulted fill thirty pages, and we see among them the Rotuli Parliamentorum, &c., the Journals of the House of Lords, the Statutes at large, all the works of Sir Thomas More himself, Latin as well as English; the Chronicles of Hall, Stowe, and Holinshed; L'Art de Vérifier les Dates, &c. Every work relative to the subject, to be found in the excellent public library of the University of Göttingen, which contains nearly every important book on the history of England, has been consulted by Mr. Rudhart. His whole volume, therefore, is full

of

of matter to be relied on; and if there is little of reasoning, it is certainly because Mr. Rudhart was of opinion, that the best argument is, that which we awaken in the reader's own breast by the intelligence which we convey. The style, indeed, could have been somewhat more elevated without prejudice to simplicity; but we are too thankful to the author to find much fault with his labours: we shall therefore proceed, without further preface, to lay the contents of the volume before our readers.

Sir Thomas More was descended from an honourable English family. His father Sir John, one of the Justices of the King's Bench, was a man of an unblemished character, and of courteous and engaging manners; and, though his first marriage might have had sufficient drawbacks, yet he thrice contracted that engagement. His first wife, of the Handcombs of Holywell, Bedfordshire, brought him a son, Thomas, and two daughters. Thomas was born in Milk-street, Cheapside; the date of his birth, however, is variously stated between 1479 and 1483; neither Roper nor Stapleton have mentioned the circumstance: Cresacre More fixes it in 1480.

He learned the first rudiments of the Latin language at St. Anthony's school, in Threadneedle-street-one of the four grammar-schools established by the pious Henry VI. He next entered, according to the fashion of the time, into the house of Cardinal Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury, where he remained some time. Thence, but under the auspices of the Archbishop, he went to Canterbury College, now called Christ Church, Oxford. We cannot, indeed, compare the then state of that University, with that which now distinguishes it as the seat of so much talent and erudition; however, it had already began to emerge from the sloth and ignorance which till lately had prevailed there; for when the famous Dean of St. Paul's, John Colet, the friend and teacher of Sir Thomas More, first went to pursue his studies at Oxford, the learning of the Greek language was still considered there as at least superfluous, and those who cultivated it could not avoid a suspicion of heresy. The description given by Erasmus of the state of learning at Cambridge will also apply to Oxford; where 'Alexandri Parva Logicalia,' the old Axioms of Aristotle,' and Joannis Scoti Quæstiones,' comprised the whole course of studies. But visible improvements began to be introduced, when the fame of the Italian Universities having attracted scholars from the remotest parts of Europe, such men as William Grocyn, Thomas Linacre, and William Lilly brought home their treasures of classical learning. It was under their tuition that More stu